Fitchburg Public Schools

FITCHBURG CITY CLERK Nov 17 2025 3:44 pm Minutes approved by the School Committee on October 6, 2025 REGULAR MEETING OF THE FITCHBURG SCHOOL COMMITTEE Monday, September 15, 2025 – 6:00 P.M. The Regular Meeting of the Fitchburg School Committee was held at the Fitchburg City Hall Campus, Legislative Building, 700 Main Street, Fitchburg, MA 01420; the Zoom meeting platform; and concurrently live-streamed on FATV STUDIO-FATV.ORG, GOVERNMENT LIVE STREAM; and on cable access Comcast Channel 9, and Verizon Channel 36 (NO PUBLIC ACCESS) on September 15, 2025. Mayor Samantha Squailia, Chairperson, presided at the meeting. Present Mayor Samantha Squailia - Chairperson Mr. Peter Stephens -Vice Chairperson Mr. James Walsh Ms. Rosemary Reynolds - absent Dr. Maritza Knight Mrs. Debra Jeffries Mrs. Lindsey Englund Present (Administration/Staff) Mr. Jonathan Thompson, Superintendent Mrs. Glenda Colón, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Mr. Jeremy Roche, Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Mrs. Mary-Alexandra Molina, Recording Secretary Mrs. Lauren Mountain, 21st Century Administrator Ms. Cari Fabale, Director of Human Resources Ms. Sarah Carnabucci, Middle School Teacher 1. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Not at this time. 2. CALL TO ORDER AND SALUTE TO THE FLAG Mayor Squailia, Chairperson, called the regular meeting to order at 6:03 P.M. Mayor Squailia announced that FATV was conducting an audio and video recording of the meeting for public broadcast. She requested anyone present in the audience recording the meeting to identify themselves for the record by standing and stating their name and city of residence. Mayor Squailia requested that all electronic devices be placed into silent mode. School Committee Member Lindsey Englund led the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND STUDENT REPORTS 1 Fitchburg School Committee Minutes  Minutes approved by the School Committee on October 6, 2025 REGULAR MEETING OF THE FITCHBURG SCHOOL COMMITTEE Monday, September 15, 2025 – 6:00 P.M. School Committee Chair Report – Mayor Squailia No report at this time. Resource Sub-Committee – Mr. Stephens Meeting was held on September 4, 2025. Grants to submit and approve, as well as donations to accept were brought to the subcommittee. Mr. Stephens named donation donors for the beginning of the school year. He thanked the donors for their generous contributions. An enrollment update was given. The subcommittee reviewed our Special Education program and the feasibility of creating a school or program that can accommodate and service many of our students who are placed in out of district placements. Mr. Stephens mentioned inviting the Director of CAPS to join one of our meetings to give us further information. School Building Needs Sub-Committee – Mr. Stephens Meeting was held on September 4, 2025. Mr. Stephens gave a brief overview of the Director of SBM’s reports of things that were worked on during the summer. Dr. Knight inquired about the rugs at Goodrich Academy. About $100,000 was put into Goodrich Academy, paint, ceilings, walls, some flooring. The ceiling has been replaced where pigeons were entering through the roof. The auditorium at Longsjo Middle School is still closed and will require millions to be opened back up. The elevator has been repaired and is now functional. Policy Sub-Committee – Mrs. Jeffries Second reading of the policy reading will take place this evening. Will meet on September 24, 2025 at the Superintendent’s Office at 5:00 PM. Student Support Sub-Committee – Dr. Knight Meeting was held on September 15, 2025. Discussed the additional 16 hours of collaborative time for our educators. Implementation of the Handle with Care program to help support our students who are exposed to trauma. The subcommittee also discussed graduation requirements. Discussed further topics moving forward. School Personnel Sub-Committee- Mayor Squailia Nothing to report at this time. Student Report • No student report this evening. 2 Fitchburg School Committee Minutes  Minutes approved by the School Committee on October 6, 2025 REGULAR MEETING OF THE FITCHBURG SCHOOL COMMITTEE Monday, September 15, 2025 – 6:00 P.M. 4. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING OF AUGUST 25, 2025. A motion was made by Mr. Stephens, and seconded by Mrs. Englund, to approve the minutes of the Special School Committee Meeting of August 25, 2025. With all voting in favor, the motion was adopted unanimously. 5. COMMUNICATIONS – • Recognition of Aracelis Abreu, Latino Educator Shine Award • Representative Kushmerek presented an award to one of our educators. Each year they have an annual educator ceremony. This is an educator who works very hard at ensuring that her students feel welcomed. She goes above and beyond. She was presented with a citation and an award. 6. PUBLIC COMMENT – • No registrations for making virtual public comments were made. 7. SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT • *Permission to Plan Out of State Fieldtrip – Sarah Carnabucci o Cost for the trip is $976. The cost will be reduced to $716 if the district can fund the buses. The tour company has agreed to keep the price the same as last year. This is not the final amount, as it should decrease due to fundraising. o Mr. Roche mentioned that we will have the funds to cover the 3 buses for our students, lowering the over all cost for our students. o The fundraisers include selling cookie dough, popcorn, , semi- formal and penny wars. There is a GoFan account to collect funds from community members. o To make a donation, the check can be made out to the City of Fitchburg and it would be put in the account to support our middle school activities. o We had 142 students attended the trip last year. o Dr. Knight inquired about how our students are recruited to attend the trip?  There is a parent meeting where they can meet all coordinators and get further information. There were also various ways students are recruited and encouraged to attend the trip. The trip is open to all eighth graders students. 3 Fitchburg School Committee Minutes  Minutes approved by the School Committee on October 6, 2025 REGULAR MEETING OF THE FITCHBURG SCHOOL COMMITTEE Monday, September 15, 2025 – 6:00 P.M.  What strategies are being put in place for our families who work after hours. Emails are sent to all of our parents. It is never mandatory for our parents to attend the meetings. o Mr. Stephens inquired about the mixing of students on the buses and room arrangement? It was confirmed that the students can make requests to be roomed with specific students from the other middle school.  The semi-formal also includes both middle schools.  Our families have the ability to choose a payment plan and pay over time, as opposed to a lump sum.  A motion was made by Mr. Stephens to take item #25-524 out of order, seconded by Mr. Walsh. The motion was accepted unanimously. A motion was made by Mr. Stephens to approve action item #25-524, seconded by Mrs. Englund, with all in favor the motion passed unanimously. • Summer School Update – Lauren Mountain, 21st Century Administrator o The program was funded by DESE. o The focus of the program was for all students to have fun. o There were element of health and wellness throughout the program. o The administrators of the program wanted out students to experience Fitchburg and be a proud member of our society. o There was a literacy component throughout the day and activities to improve social emotional learning. o We had great attendance throughout the program. No greater than 12:1 student to teacher ratio. o The program took place at FHS, 375 students, 6 hours a day for 4 weeks. o Mr. Brad Pelletier shared various activities and programs that took place over the summer program. o Feedback from our families and staff were shared regarding the summer program. o Over the summer there were 11 interns, most being FPS students. o The department is currently staffing for our afterschool programs. Our afterschool programs start next Monday. • Welcome Back to School Update – Supt. Thompson and Asst. Supt. Colón o School starting on September 2 for our grades 1-12, Kindergarten on September 4 and PreK on September 8. A had few transportation hiccups but had great opening days overall. o An enrollment update was shared including the enrollment data for each of our schools. o Total enrollment is 5509 students as of last Friday. 4 Fitchburg School Committee Minutes  Minutes approved by the School Committee on October 6, 2025 REGULAR MEETING OF THE FITCHBURG SCHOOL COMMITTEE Monday, September 15, 2025 – 6:00 P.M. o Mayor Squailia briefly highlighted that some parents were unhappy with student placement. Supt. Thompson adds that due to the numbers, there had to be some shifts for some of our elementary schools. Supt. Thompson discussed busing and our school placement policy. o Professional Development – Our PD followed a similar process as in previous years. A lot of our work prioritized the code of conduct. o All administrators also attended professional development. There was content and/or grade level learning as well as resources, which were made available to our educators. o Details about the professional development days were shared. o Dr. Knight inquired about how our teachers are prepared to educate our lowest performing students. Asst. Supt. Colón stated that there is a focus, district wide, on scaffolds and supports for our students. Specific professional development was offered that focused on supporting students at various levels of learning. o Dr. Knight made a statement regarding the importance of teacher retention. o New Teacher Orientation – our new staff walked into orientation with their Chromebooks and everything they needed to get started. o There were many opportunities for them to speak to HR, teacher mentorship, city benefits, social emotional learning, behavior management, code of conduct, IT, curriculum resources, as well as meet and speak with the curriculum directors. This included our paraprofessionals and staff who are not teachers. o We had approximately 60 new teachers. About 1/3 were veteran teachers, 1/3 new teachers, and 1/3 returning staff. o Dr. Knight inquired about posting the statistics of job applicants on our website for transparency including the demographics of applicants who applied and were hired. o Admin Retreat – Supt. Thompson gave a brief overview of what took place over the four-day week. o Dr. Knight inquired about guidelines regarding cell phones, based on the code of conduct. Supt. Thompson added that there is no current guideline but we will be discussing this with our policy subcommittee. o Open houses are starting this week. All open house dates were shared. o Strategic Plan one pager is shared. • Human Resources Update – Cari Fabale, Director of Human Resources o New hire data was shared.  20 FHS, 2 GA, 14 LMS, 9 MMS, 9 CES, 18 MES, 6 RES, 11 SSELC. o We started hiring early and were in a good place in August. 5 Fitchburg School Committee Minutes  Minutes approved by the School Committee on October 6, 2025 REGULAR MEETING OF THE FITCHBURG SCHOOL COMMITTEE Monday, September 15, 2025 – 6:00 P.M. o There was a push to get fully licensed teachers.  A brief discussion regarding licensing waivers ensued. Waivers are valid for one year. o The new contract was attractive to new candidates.  New hires, 48 teachers, 14 paras, 6 counseling, 2 other, 2 administrators. o We had 600 applicants over the summer for approximately 300 positions. o Demographics of new teacher hires is shared. This data is self- reported.  55 Caucasian, 3 Asian, 1 Indigenous, 1 two or more races. o Out of the teachers hired at FHS, none self-identified as African American. o Dr. Knight inquired about having more accurate data to see who is applying and who is getting hired. o Asst. Supt. Colón clarified some information regarding the data presented. o Dr. Knight, what are we doing for African American teachers who are new and how are we helping them get licensed?  Asst. Supt. Colón added that we have partnerships with MTEL courses, vouchers for prep courses, PRPLE program, and additional support is share with staff.  Our new teacher mentorship program is an amazing program that provides supports as well as a direct mentor within their own building to help on a daily basis.  Dr. Knight asked what we can do to pay more careful attention to African American teachers who are struggling?  Mr. Walsh added that if teachers didn’t get their certification, they were let go. If individuals are coming into a position, they should know what the requirements are and how to stay in the position that you are in. If they don’t pass, under state law, they are not able to teach that subject. o 90% of the teachers who lost position because they were not licensed, were replaced with licensed individuals. o Asst. Supt. Colón stated that as a woman of color she is careful to look at the program carefully. In terms of the over all work, she stated that she is very proud of the program and encouraged Dr. Knight to learn more about the program. o Asst. Supt. Roche stated that DESE tracks the data and that we have been able to diversify our staff, although in small numbers, we are moving in the right direction. o There are a lot of opportunities through our district for support. o Ms. Fabale discussed our current vacancies. 6 Fitchburg School Committee Minutes  Minutes approved by the School Committee on October 6, 2025 REGULAR MEETING OF THE FITCHBURG SCHOOL COMMITTEE Monday, September 15, 2025 – 6:00 P.M. • Facilities Update/Capital Projects – Asst. Supt. Roche o Roche reviewed our various capital projects and the status of each project • Supt. Thompson discussed his proposed goals and asked the School Committee members for feedback in the upcoming weeks. BUDGET ITEMS: Superintendent Thompson presented the donations and Mr. Roche presented the grants. • *Donations – (8) • *Grants – to submit (2) • *Grants – to accept (7) POLICY ITEMS: • *Second and Final Reading of the revised Fitchburg Public Schools’ Policy Manual o Section A – Foundations and Basic Commitments  No comments or questions o Section B – Board Governance and Operations  No comments or questions o Section C – General School Administrations  No comments or questions o Section D – Fiscal Management  No comments or questions o Section E – Support Services  No comments or questions o Section F – Facilities Development  No comments or questions o Section G – Personnel  No comments or questions o Section H – Negotiations 7 Fitchburg School Committee Minutes  Minutes approved by the School Committee on October 6, 2025 REGULAR MEETING OF THE FITCHBURG SCHOOL COMMITTEE Monday, September 15, 2025 – 6:00 P.M.  No comments or questions o Section I – Instruction  No comments or questions o Section J – Students  No comments or questions  The vote will exclude policy JIC. Policy JIC will come before the School Committee at a later date. o Section K – Community Relations  KBE, Relations with parent organizations • A motion was made by Mayor Squailia to amend #3 to state that is recommended and not required. The motion was seconded by Mr. Stephens. With all in favor, the motion was passed unanimously. o Section L – Education Agency Relations  No comments or questions Mr. Walsh thanked the Policy Subcommittee for their hard work. MASC was crucial in this process. 8. ACTION ITEMS Mr. Walsh made a motion, seconded by Mr. Stephens, to bundle #25-525 and #25-534. With all in favor, the motion was adopted unanimously. Mrs. Englund made a motion to approve the bundle, seconded by Mrs. Jeffries. With all in favor, the bundle was approved unanimously. Mrs. Englund made a motion to bundle #25-535 through #25-546, which was seconded by Mrs. Jeffries. Dr. Knight inquired about what can be done so these policies are followed? Mr. Stephens added that if a policy is not being followed it needs to be brought to the attention of the Supt. or the chair of the School Committee. With a vote of 5 to 1, with Dr. Knight opposing the bundle, the motion was adopted. 8 Fitchburg School Committee Minutes  Minutes approved by the School Committee on October 6, 2025 REGULAR MEETING OF THE FITCHBURG SCHOOL COMMITTEE Monday, September 15, 2025 – 6:00 P.M. Mrs. Englund made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Jeffries, to approve the bundle #25-535 through #25-546. Mr. Walsh requested a roll call vote, which Mr. Stephens seconded. Mayor Squailia- Yes Mr. Stephens -Yes Mr. Walsh -Yes Dr. Knight - No Mrs. Jeffries- Yes Mrs. Englund – Yes With a vote of 5 to 1 the bundle was approved. Mrs. Jeffries shared some back-to-school advice from our Nursing Home residents: The Highlands, slides and photos are shared. 9. OTHER BUSINESS: Not at this time 10. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Not at this time 11. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Mrs. Jeffries, and seconded by Mrs. Englund, to adjourn the meeting. With all in favor, the motion was adopted by unanimous consent. Mayor Squailia declared the meeting adjourned at 8:34 PM. Respectfully submitted by, Mr. Jonathan Thompson Superintendent Fitchburg Public Schools JT/mam 9 Fitchburg School Committee Minutes