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Superintendent's Newsletter March 2022

3/25/2022

We welcomed spring on March 20 after what seemed like a long winter. Although it is not unusual to experience snowfall this month (it is New England, after all), there is the comforting prospect of continued better weather ahead.

Please see the latest newsletter below.

In this issue:

School Committee
Registration for Incoming Students
Belmont Summer Enrichment
Looking for BHS Student Volunteers
Belmont Recreation Department News
School News
Visual and Performing Arts
Helpful Links

SCHOOL COMMITTEE

Isolation Guidance Update/Vote: The School Committee voted to follow DESE guidance for a five day isolation for those individuals who test positive for COVID regardless of vaccination status and suspend the current BPS protocol of a ten day isolation period for unvaccinated individuals. BPS will follow the DESE, CDC, and MDPH guidance for all individuals. Please see the Health Notices and News page on the BPS website for more information on this and mask reminders/protocols.

DEI Update: DEI Director Chont'tel Washington presented an update to the School Committee on March 23 on DEI initiatives in the district such as next steps with the district equity audit and information about the newly formed Equity Action Planning Steering Committee.

Challenger Math Update: At the March 23 School Committee meeting, Assistant Superintendent Janice Darias discussed math pathways, review of the Challenger Geometry program after year one, and areas for growth by increasing access to advanced learning in math in 2022-2023 for K-12. Please see the presentation from that meeting and upcoming communications regarding opportunities for next year:

March: Information regarding a pilot option to enroll in a high school math course different from traditional pathways will be emailed to all families of all rising 9th through 12 graders on March 30; due to scheduling, forms must be submitted by April 15 to register for courses next year. The appendix in the presentation shows high school pathways in more detail.
May: Information session to families of rising 8th graders and registration next year regarding next steps/changes for Challenger Geometry. (Please note there will also be a program created next year for 7th graders to improve access to advanced math).

We will continue to support our elementary math learners by maintaining the two elementary math specialists hired with ESSER funds through the end of the 2022-2023 school year. In order to maintain these two math specialists and hire two more elementary math specialists that are needed to have one per elementary school, funding will need to be included in the FY24 budget. The middle school currently has 1.6 FTE math specialist that we want to maintain. The part time (0.6) position is funded in the general budget and the additional 1.0 was hired in January using reallocated FY22 funds. It will disappear at the end of the 2021-2022 school year if the request currently in the FY23 budget can't be funded. This is the first time Belmont has ever had math specialists, a position that neighboring school districts have had for years, and they are needed to support students who are not meeting benchmarks so that all students can access advanced learing in math. We were able to bring them in to address academic recovery from COVID with federal funds. Continued funding will be a challenge for FY24.

To further explore math options for middle school students for the next several years, we will form a math working group to meet beginning in May through November 2022. They will bring short-term and long-term recommendations to the School Committee in December 2022. The groups will include building-based and math administrators; math educators; parents/community members who represent the math parents group, special education, and diversity. More information will be communicated about the group and participation in the next month.

Dyslexia Presentation: The School Committee was given a presentation of the district's Dyslexia Screening process and support for students struggling to read. Presenters included Assistant Superintendent Janice Darias, Director of Special Education Ken Kramer, Wellington Principal Heidi Paisner-Roffman, Winn Brook Principal Anita Mecklenburg, and Elementary ELA and Social Studies Curriculum Specialist Jaynene Dellitt-Young. The presentation goes through instructional resources, the aligning of state and BPS guidelines and assessments, elementary screening timelines, and next steps. Administrators, educators, curriculum leaders, special education leaders, and building principals have been regularly meeting as a group for the past year to make sure BPS practices align with state guidelines (which we do) and to discuss the implementation of the work to support all students and how we can continue that work, especially for those struggling with reading.

BPS Equity Audit: As you know, Elizabeth Borneman and Belicia Smith, external education consultants from M.I.T. Teaching Systems Lab, conducted a district-wide equity audit for BPS and presented their findings at the March 8 School Committee meeting. The audit is a comprehensive evaluation of all schools in the district in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The audit process involved student/staff interviews and surveys, family focus groups, and meetings with BPS leadership. This audit represents the beginning of the work we need to do in Belmont regarding equity and inclusion. Please see the extensive slide presentation along with an Executive Summary. Please also see more information and FAQs on the DEI page of the BPS website.

The next School Committee meeting is on April 12 at 6:30 p.m. As you know, you can watch School Committee meetings on Belmont Media Center live or On Demand anytime.

REGISTRATION FOR INCOMING STUDENTS

Online registration for incoming kindergartners and grades 1-12 who are new to Belmont is now open. For more information, please see our registration pages (K-4 and 5-12) on the BPS website. Please note, you do not have to register an existing BPS student.

BELMONT SUMMER ENRICHMENT PROGRAM IS BACK

BPS Summer Enrichment program is now open for registration, offering a variety of classes for incoming Pre-K through incoming grade 7. Please go to the BPS website for more information about the program and registration.

LOOKING FOR BHS STUDENT VOLUNTEERS

The English Language Education department is looking for high school volunteers to be teacher assistants at the ELE summer camp program at Winn Brook, Wellington, and Chenery locations for elementary and middle school students. If you are or know a Belmont High School student who is looking for community service, has an interest in working with or teaching younger students, and has an appreciation for other cultures and languages, the ELE department welcomes all to apply. Please go to the ELE form for more information and to apply.

BELMONT RECREATION DEPARTMENT IS HIRING

Belmont Recreation Department is looking to hire camp counselors and lifeguards for the summer. You must be 16 years old. Please see the Recreation Department website for more information and an application.

SCHOOL NEWS

The Belmont Middle and High School (BMHS) topping off ceremony was held on March 4. The final steel beam was signed by high school students, grades 5 and 6 students who will be the incoming 7 and 8 grades to the new building, and iron workers and other invited guests. The BHS Marching Band and Color Guard was there to provide entertainment as well as perform the National Anthem to mark the occasion. Speakers at the event included the Chair of the BMHS Building Committee Bill Lovallo, BHS Principal Isaac Taylor, and representatives from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) and general contractor Skanska USA. Please see more pictures in the gallery below.
BHS Marauder of the Week for March 25 are Meredith Christo and Derek Chen. Please see more about these marauders on the BHS website.
CMS 8th graders who are reading Red, White, and Whole in their literature circle unit had a visit from local author Rajani LaRocca on March 18, organized by Grade 8 ELA Teacher Caitlin Corrieri. The author spoke about her own life experiences that lead her to pursue a career as a medical doctor, and how she never gave up on her love of writing. She published her first children's book in 2019, and has continued to write several more books, fiction and nonfiction, middle grade texts and picture books. Students had an opportunity to ask questions at the end of the presentation. She and other authors will be at Chenery in May for the Author Festival organized by CMS Librarian Karen Duff.
CMS Upper School Math Team students thus far have a ranking of third in the state after four meets in the Intermediate Math League of Eastern Massachusetts (IMLEM) against other middle schools across the state. Three eighth graders are individually ranked in the top 50 in the state. The fifth and final meet is on March 31. In addition, some Upper School Math Team students also competed in MathCounts. At the metro-north chapter competition, CMS MathCounts team placed fourth and advanced to the state level of competition. There, the team placed eighth in the state, and one eighth grader ranked 21 amongst individuals. The CMS team thanks the sophomores from Belmont High School who mentor the team and support their successes.
Chenery Librarian Karen Duff is organizing the second edition of Chenery Cooks!, a cookbook started several years ago at CMS. Recipes were submitted by CMS families and/or staff members and was a representative of their cultural heritage. The first edition represented 36 countries. The CMS community is again asked to submit recipes for a new digital version of Chenery Cooks!. Please go to Chenery Cooks instructions for more information or email chenerycooks@belmontschools.net.
Butler held a virtual Math and Science Night on March 11. Some Butler parents shared experiments and activities that families can try at home and also learned about Butler parents who work in math and science jobs.
Burbank held the 25th annual Dr. Feinberg Geography Challenge on March 17 and 18. Organized by the PTA, Burbank students who signed up for the Challenge answered questions found in the Study Guide, which is distributed before the Challenge day. This educational and non-competitive event is always a fun activity for teachers and students to watch, learn, and cheer the teams.
Winn Brook kindergartners and first graders had a visit from author/illustrator/animator Sarah Reul on March 11 and 12. Butler first graders also had author visits from Joanna Ho, and third graders from author Elizabeth Shreeve held virtually on February 17.
Wellington held a school-wide Book Character Day on March 2 as part of "Read Across America" Day. Students who wanted to participate selected a book and their favorite character to share with the class and/or dress up as their favorite character. The day was topped off with a virtual Wellington Storytime night.

VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS

Congratulations to the visual art students selected for Scholastic Art awards and to the performing art students accepted to perform in the MMEA Northeastern district Junior/Senior ensembles and All-State Festival. Please see more information on the Visual and Performing page on the BPS website.
From Visual and Performing Arts Director Arto Asadoorian: We had a very successful weekend at BHS with our run of The SpongeBob Musical. This was our first BHS Musical since March 2019. The 2020 musical Shrek was set to open on the day we closed schools in March 2020 for what we thought would be just two weeks. At that time, we were hoping to perform Shrek a little later in the spring. Little did we know that it would be two full years later, in a completely different building, when our next full-scale production would open.

Musicals at BHS and Chenery bring so many people of all ages, from all corners of the community, into our school and showcases our students in a very positive light. If you were able to attend one of the shows this weekend at BHS, you saw this on full display. I could not have been prouder of the performances themselves or by the way our students served as representatives of our school to the community. There is no better evidence of this than in the way they interacted with the youngest audience members who attended the Saturday afternoon matinee.

Thank you to all the students and to the BHS Theater Director Ezra Flam and the PAC production team, BHS Chorus Director Kaitlin Donovan, Choreographer Jenny Lifson, Music Director Jonathan Kessler, Set Designer Anna Moss, Costume Designer Lila West, Technical Director Ian O'Malley, Lighting Designer Chris Fournier, and CMS Theater Director Christin Rills.