TRSB Meeting 07/16/2026

Speakers are labeled SPEAKER_N. This transcript is machine-generated.

Recording

Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Are you ready, Dean?
I'd like to call this meeting to order.
Could we have a roll call, please?
Here.
Here.
Here.
Sean O'Neill?
Here.
Mark Sherwood?
Here.
Sean O'Manthorne?
Absent.
Excuse.
Katie Knudson?
I'm trying to make it absent temporarily.
Excuse.
Don Woodworth?
Yeah.
Jack Sapia?
Hello.
Melissa Kalsik?
Here.
Paula Cain.
Absent excused.
Could we rise with the pledge, please?
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which
it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, I'd like to actually make a motion for a point of order.
Since we have our delegate session moved to the very end, I'd like to do what we normally
do and put it to the beginning of the meeting.
I'm making that motion.
I'll second it.
Okay.
Call the question, please.
Comments first.
I think it is appropriate, seeing as how this special meeting, this is not a normal school
board meeting.
This is regulated under a different RSA.
For example, one of the differences is we are only allowed to discuss the current business
specifically as it was stated and not be off the tracks at all.
I think that's good for everybody in the audience because that's exactly what it is you
want to hear and what it is you want to talk about.
One of the other differences is unlike a regular school board meeting, delegates and individuals
want to give voice is not a required part of this.
However, because of the outpouring from the community, the need for information and a lot of
expressions of people wanting to speak on this subject, we are adding that.
It was my objective in having this added on, though it was not required, to allow those who
want to give voice, give voice and speak.
At this stage, because the special meeting was called to allow our superintendent to talk about his
thoughts, the processes, and the current standing of where the unified arts model is going.
It would be appropriate to have him explain where it is going prior to having people express how
they feel about where it may or may not be going.
So I don't want to put the cart before the horse.
I think it is important and would be appropriate to allow the superintendent to talk before he
is talked to, thinking that a lot of the information he will be providing may answer questions, may
bring up more questions, in which case you will have an opportunity to express yourselves.
But it may answer a lot of the questions and concerns that folks have and address those issues that we
have a board have received.
So, yes, Jack.
So, the first couple of things you brought up about it not being required.
Well, I can tell you, I feel very strongly that this board probably would have insisted
on it through a vote.
I won't speak for the board.
You make it sound like it was some kind of concession that we allowed it.
Not really.
I was the person who called the meeting.
I called the meeting to hear from them.
That was the purpose.
Quite frankly, the administration had six months to articulate this and we didn't hear
anything.
And this is about the reason why I called the meeting was to listen to them.
So, that was the purpose of the meeting.
I can tell you, it doesn't surprise me that the order of the meeting was posted the way that
it was.
For me, it reinforces my questioning the process.
It brings up concerns about the process.
And ironically, it's about the first transparent thing.
And out of this entire issue, that is clear to me.
So, I support listening to them.
That's what tonight's about.
We had six months and I hope, and I won't talk outside of this, but I hope tonight isn't
about making the case for this.
The case for making this happens over time, follows a rigor and a process.
Not what we've been, not what has happened here.
And too many times our board gets confronted with, here it is.
Here's the proposed motion and we have to vote up or down on it within five minutes.
So, I feel very strongly this is their time.
That's why I called this meeting.
I appreciate the support from the people that supported me in calling this.
As a matter of fact, this meeting wasn't going to happen.
It had been rejected a couple of times.
And I had to go through the process of formally requesting a special meeting, having two other
board members agree with me on this, or this meeting wouldn't be taking place at all.
So, I find it unique that all of a sudden, we flip flop our normal process.
It's somehow spun that by, it's a courtesy to them that we're allowing this to happen.
I don't think so.
That's not the community in which we live.
And we are, in representative government, I believe that the people should be heard first.
And that sometimes gets lost in the sauce around here.
So, that's how I feel about that.
Don?
You know, I think it's great that we're having this meeting.
And you can probably get to the same point over time, regardless of how you approach it.
But I do think we've had about a month of active dialogue around this.
Some at the board meetings, a lot through letters and conversations over the telephone.
I'm sure that, say if I've had 30, our superintendents probably had 130 conversations with people, staff members,
administrators, board members.
So, I do think if we have a starting place and say, where does the superintendents see,
just exactly as you framed it, I think it will help, you know, us not waste a lot of time.
If it's just emotion, otherwise, I think everybody knows how everybody here feels about it based on who they're, you know,
whether they're a teacher, a parent, you know, a counselor.
From whatever their perspective is, it's an important perspective.
And I'm not going to shut anybody down from speaking their perspective.
But I do think that the superintendent can share with us what they've been working on with this
and what the staff has been working on and help tell his story so we know it.
And that doesn't become something we have to correct people on if they haven't had a chance to learn that yet.
So, I support what you proposed.
And I fully understand why Jack wanted the meeting.
You know, so that's not a -- I don't think it's so much of a difference.
I think it's just a matter of respect for the superintendent.
Mary Ann?
I would prefer to hear the superintendent first because when I came years ago when my kids were in school
and different things came up that I wanted to speak to, I did not like the idea that the delegates and individuals
had to speak before the agenda item because I wanted to hear first and respond after.
So, I would prefer to hear the superintendent's overview, presentation, and then hear from the delegates and individuals.
We'll all be on the same page that way.
John?
The way that this board has operated in the past is that you had the delegates in the beginning.
Ask it just as Mary Ann just pointed out now.
You ask what you're -- it's the only time they're going to be able to respond to a topic you're going to be talking about.
But, yeah, we don't have any feedback that might come out of the discussion that happens to there.
So, what happens is that if you do it at the very end, where are we going to be?
We're already going to probably be at the end of the meeting, which we've already voted on.
Anything else?
Delegates in sessions?
No.
Okay.
Adjourn.
That's when you do it.
Why not do it before a crucial vote before that and then have the delegates in session?
So, one of the things that they're able to -- that the audience will be able to bring to the table is maybe they'll enlighten us with a question or an aspect that they're going to bring to us that none of us have thought about.
And then when we get to the start to the topic of discussing it, we can actually bring that topic up or that question on up.
They do not have the luxury in this embodiment that we've chosen.
Well, I'd say that's just before us.
That's the way it is.
And they have to live with it, unfortunately.
And I don't want to do it, especially turning it around here at this special meeting.
It's not called for.
Just as a point of information, there will be no votes.
We cannot vote on anything.
Okay?
That I did disagree with.
That's what the RSA says.
Put information on there?
Nope.
Because that's what our attorney advised.
The only way that we can make any changes is to if we had had a full board, there will be no vote this evening.
Okay.
Just informationally.
Can I make a proposal to allow Justin to do his presentation and then no other discussion with us.
Just allow him to do his presentation.
Then do delegates individuals and then we can have a discussion.
That seems reasonable to me.
However, there is a vote on the floor.
Sean called.
And I want to call it because I want everybody on the record to be actually where their position is.
Jack.
So I don't think the board has ever voted on this relative to the proposed changes.
I find it interesting that we've had a hundred special meetings since I've been on the board and now we're engaged with attorneys.
I'd like to know how much that cost the taxpayers, if anything.
I know that there was quite an effort not to do this.
That concerns me.
And I think this is a challenge for the board.
Now, these are board meetings for the board where we do the board business.
This is not administrative meetings.
Okay.
And to get to the point, if the board has never voted on this change, then in my mind, everything stays the same.
Because if we change a booking curriculum, it goes through curriculum and assessment.
It goes through the proper rigors.
It goes through a certain process.
And that's always been our policy.
So how could we potentially have a structural change by the admission of the administration is supposedly impactful without having a vote by the board?
So I think until we do have a vote by the board, everything stays status quo.
So I don't think you can do the change.
I don't.
Or at least it would fall very outside of the standard operating procedure of this board.
And I've been around here longer than anybody else sitting on these boards, even you, Sean.
And I have never once seen a change, a substantial change or any kind of change like this without a vote of the board approving it.
So.
Don?
I've been away for a couple of years.
Okay.
Nice.
So anything that I -- I haven't talked to the superintendent in that period of time or other board members in any way, shape, or form to, you know, get an update on where we stand.
There was conversations that we had that led me to believe that this was not a done deal.
There was going to be some conversations about moving forward and what that would look like and that he was going to get back to us about it.
And I'd like to know that.
Right.
And I don't.
So I feel like, you know, this is a disjointed situation for sure.
It's kind of unusual, but I'm ready to do the vote, you know, and move from there.
So Sean has asked for vote.
The last comment I will make is I believe it's appropriate to have the folks here who want to express their opinions, express their opinions after they receive information.
It's kind of like having an editorial before you read the headline and the newspaper article.
So for that reason, I would like to give them the opportunity to respond perhaps to information that is yet to be provided.
It's hard to respond to information if you don't have it yet.
So the vote has been called.
If it is if if the vote passes, then D and I will be first.
Otherwise, delegates and individuals will be after the superintendent's presentation.
Those in favor of Sean's proposal.
Say aye.
Those opposed.
Motion fails.
Next order of business.
Can we point about just to to to Melissa's request or suggestion?
I agree.
Are you making another motion?
No, but I don't think it has to be in the form of motion.
I just think it can be understood that that right after that before the board has a discussion, we'll then talk and we can do our thing.
I'm just trying to be I'm Jeannie.
That makes sense to me.
We will make a motion if that's required.
Mr. Superintendent, the floor is yours.
Thank you.
I certainly do not have a presentation.
I have a very short --
I'm sorry by using that word.
-- pieces of words I'd like to present.
Before I do that, just to clarify a point of action for the board.
Under RSA in a special meeting, you may take action on the agenda on the current business that's in front of you.
That's already been agreed upon as long as you have a quorum here this evening.
You may take action.
So then my statement was correct.
You may take action.
Having said that, you have an executive summary in your packet.
It contains the educational rationale for the proposed change.
It has the process, including the future PD and past PD opportunities and supports that have been mapped out.
And it also draws together all the resources that have been put together in terms of public communication to this board, to the families of our elementary students and our elementary staff and administrators.
I wanted to put all of that in one place for all three of those groups of folks.
Welcome, Katie.
Thank you.
I wanted the school board to have them in one place.
I wanted families.
I wanted our staff and administrators to have them in one place.
Not because I'm going to present and walk through all the pieces that are there for you that you've already previewed, but rather to recognize the significant engagement that's occurred in this community over the last three months.
Both within and between this board, with families and staff members, to the school and to the SAU, and amongst my staff and my own administration.
It's become equivocally clear to me that despite what I believe are the merits of this proposal, we have not built, I have not built a shared understanding and a readiness level for the district that would be successful moving forward.
We are not going to be implementing this model.
We are not ready to do so in the fall.
Having said that, I want to continue this conversation.
There is a lot of work and more conversation I want to do about the merits of this.
I want to define a more collaborative process with my administrators through this year.
I want to engage with our staff and I want to be able to again have this year to see if this is something to determine if Timberlane indeed wishes to move here.
The merits are strong.
I have not built a shared understanding this year and the district is not ready to move forward.
So to do so would be irresponsible.
That's the current position.
I've communicated that to my administrators in a letter today.
I have a letter prepared that I'd like to send to families tomorrow and also the elementary staff and my administrators also tomorrow.
That is my current thinking and position.
And that's all I have.
So comments from the board.
So this is to say is that we're going to be going status quo and like Jack has alluded if we want to make the changes it's going to go to the normal curriculum process, vetting and so forth, the transparency, all that stuff.
We're going to be going to come back to the board and your team and then come back here for a work committee down the road months from now.
Is that correct?
There's a lot of questions in there, Sean.
Yeah.
A bit of time so I can answer them accurately for you.
We're staying status quo until otherwise.
Status quo.
We, meaning this board votes in support of like a recommendation.
Well, clearly I think that would be a best practice right now.
I do not think that the board just has the general authority to dictate how the district is organized.
I think that usually do lies with the superintendent.
Yeah.
To bring up Jack's point, the process is already for curriculum to go through that and there is a process for that.
It just, from my viewpoint, I look at this as at the last really school board meeting of the year.
This came down.
I know I wasn't there because I have actually indicated I wasn't going to be there.
I know Jack wasn't there.
It was a lighter board.
And all of a sudden, as I'm away, my phone started lighting on up with a bunch of stuff that comes through there.
I'm like, what?
And then finding out what's transpired, all this stuff.
Jack, I commend him for wanting to put together this meeting.
And then the fighting that we got and the pushback is just astounding to me.
The more that that happens.
Can I ask you just to be clear?
Was that pushback from me?
No.
I want to just be clear with that, with my community and my staff.
No, no, no.
Well, I mean, because it's, to be honest, Justin, this isn't your meeting.
It's the school board.
I understand that.
I'm just trying to draw the distinction.
The school board member has to go back into the finites of a policy and has to actually tell, actually,
how that policy is written and what it means.
I just shake my head and I'm like, why are we arguing to get a meeting here?
I mean, a lot of us wanted to have these meetings continue on.
We had 12 months, two meetings a month, 24 times a year.
Is that really too much to ask of your representatives, folks?
Is it?
It's not.
So I think we should have been going through the whole summer here.
And if you can't make one because you're on your family on a vacation, that's why there's nine of us here.
It's just a lot of things that get piled on up.
And then the resistance, having to talk to legal about this to find that out now that you probably asked the lawyer,
which Justin just confirmed that your statement prior to this was wrong.
So was that great advice that we got, Marianne?
This doesn't seem to be related to the topic for which all of these people are here.
If they want to talk about this model and we would like to hear from them, the logistics of getting to this point aren't really relevant.
Thanks, Marianne.
Don?
Well, I think that the relevance is that process kind of matters.
And in this case, you can look at what happened and say we didn't have consensus.
We didn't establish an awareness and support that was kind of global for the district.
We didn't do that.
We didn't do it as well as we thought we did it.
You know, I'm not saying I had anything to do with it.
I was reminded of how it took us eight years from the first time it was put forward to go to high school,
change of our schedule to deliver like this, the same curriculum, but in a different way with block scheduling.
And we did visits to other districts that were doing it the way we might want to.
We had various versions of that to look at.
We had committees.
We made presentations.
It was not accepted.
You know, the superintendent and the board had questions about, you know, the merits of our arguments.
It took us a long time until, by that time, about 75% of the state was all in block scheduling.
When we first started doing what we had done in the top, say 10% of the people do it.
And sometimes good ideas take time to be able to, you know, support, you know, with any confidence by the district.
You know, people are used to one thing.
They like some things about it.
They're afraid to lose those things.
And I think that's what we'll hear tonight.
There's some things that, you know, people have ownership of in terms of their creation of, you know, how to deliver the curriculum in the way our spark for elementary schools are run.
So, you know, certainly all those staffs are a little different.
They have some quirks that are their own thing.
They have projects.
They have different approaches to teaching it.
But I would like to hear, you know, all of the, you know, the process that went through.
I want to know more about exactly why this might be a really good idea.
But I also want to make sure we are not ignoring any of the things that we also say, well, that doesn't sound good.
And we have a lot of those, you know, which I've read, which was very well expressed in letters from people who I know care deeply about the education.
You know, nobody here is a bad guy, in my opinion.
You know, there's no single, you know, opinion from anybody who was against this that didn't have merit, right?
But if you're talking about what's going to create learning the best, you know, just isolate that piece, it might be different than what's going to, you know.
Be comfortable.
You know, what do you sacrifice to do that?
Right.
And so it becomes a value piece, you know, a decision about what you want, what you value.
And if you can find a way to meld those things, you know, put those things together so that you're achieving both, you know, that's the ideal type of thing.
Agreed.
And I'd like to see, you know, what kind of creative juices we can, you know, put together.
If this is going to be like a more focused delivery of a learning piece that is important, whether it's techniques and art, you know, an approach to music,
you know, a unit of work in PE, you know, whatever it is, you know, I can see advantages to, you know, having more than just once or twice a week for an hour or less, right?
Where you might want to go more.
I know that what I've seen in the past with the elementary schools is that they'll have interdisciplinary units.
They'll have teachers who have, you know, good math teacher, good art teacher, good, you know, music teacher combined, you know, with being a part of a thematic unit.
And that's kind of what the advantage of some of these extended periods of time, everyday revisitations for an over a short period of time or more often getting together over a common learning experience might have value.
So I want to hear more about it.
Understood.
Yep.
Jack.
Yeah.
First of all, thank you, Justin, for taking a step back and listening.
And clearly, you know, we get, I know at least with me, I get something in my head and it's pretty hard to get out.
So, well, there's not much up there to begin with, but with that said, thank you for that.
I want to thank staff and the parents.
Our staff is incredible.
They're, they're professionals.
Our parents are engaged.
People from Atkinson support this district, not only fiscally, but way beyond that.
So let this be a warning when we have curriculum meetings, attend, find out, participate, because that's where I saw, I mean, a lot of my funding get taken away in a split second and I'm kind of happy for it.
So I do have a few points relative to delegations and individuals, I guess, a point of order that I'd like to bring up at this point.
Sure.
So you bring up a point of order.
So we had agreed.
We just took a vote.
Right.
Well, we took a vote to have D&I after so that they, so that that's now, right?
No, we're still discussing as a board.
Oh, this is what we do.
We're discussing.
We're discussing as a board and then we can have delegates and individuals.
So I think it, I think it's important for them also to hear what the board has to say so that they can express their opinions on.
Okay, so I'm mistaken.
I thought Sean kind of, because I was going based off of Alyssa's kind of theory that we would have this discussion after.
Wait, can I get me in this now?
Then you got the ball rolling and Don got going.
And so I just thought.
I would certainly be amenable to discussing what we hear after we've heard from candidates and individuals.
No, no, no, no.
I don't want to talk.
What I want to do is I want to make a point of order as to some of the criteria under individuals and delegations that after watching the last meeting, I have some experience with that as a former board chair and sitting on other boards that I think will be fruitful.
And there are some concerns I have.
So that's what I wanted to discuss.
Yeah, please.
Thank you.
We can't because not all the board members here so we can't bring up anything else other than UA stuff.
Oh, that's.
No, no, no.
This is about the process of the meeting.
Yep, hold on.
Yep.
Nice try though.
Jack.
So anyways, well, I wasn't the one who, you know, it's going to change.
So under advice of counsel, and I had this, I was in a meeting Tuesday night and it was reaffirmed that this is the case.
And I don't want to put the board in legal jeopardy.
If you allow an individual more time, that's a lot.
And in our case, we allow everyone three minutes.
The minute you give someone more time, you now have to offer everyone the same amount of equal time.
Everyone during the course of that entire year under the same board or potentially face a discrimination suit.
This came from council, not once, but twice.
The other thing I want to point out is that in the last meeting, the 30 minute number was used.
It was only 21 minutes of counted a number of times, but that 30 minutes is not a cap.
It's a minimum amount required.
Agreed.
And that's for a regular board meeting.
This is a special meeting.
No, no, no, no.
Well, I want to let me just clarify.
I have the floor mark.
Please.
Please.
Please.
So this is things that I'm pointing out.
These are the things that I'm pointing out.
I would like there not to be.
I can do it in the form of emotion.
I know you're upset, Jack.
No, I'm not upset.
Don't say that.
And I still have the floor.
Being interrupted gets me upset.
So this is a special meeting.
Actually, point of order, who's running this meeting right now?
Is it you Katie or is it Mark?
I'm sorry.
I have the floor.
I was just making a point.
The 30 minutes.
You do not have the floor, Mr. O'Neil.
Jack.
Please continue.
Thank you.
Are you the chair now or is Katie?
Are you the chair or is Katie?
Answer the question.
I am acting as chair right now.
Okay.
So then why are you not disciplining your colleague that's over to your right?
I'm just merely making the point that it was used as a cap in the last meeting.
And in light of the people and the interest tonight, I would like to give everyone the
opportunity to speak their mind.
And I don't want to cap this at 30.
I don't know if it will go over 30 minutes, but these people have been anxious for over a month.
Right.
There's a lot of attention or people want to get some stuff off there.
And I just want to give them again.
I call this meeting and it was really took this meetings for the staff and for the parents.
That's why I call this meeting.
I'm real happy with the way this gone today.
But this trying to steer manage sensor.
It's coming to an end.
So there's one last thing that I want to bring up is that it's been brought to my attention.
And I get asked this question over the course of the last couple weeks and we have done it in the past.
If there's a non-resident staff member, I'd like to make a motion to allow them to speak tonight.
Because if people dedicate themselves to our children and care about them enough and care about them.
And I don't know if there's anyone here care enough about them to be here.
Then I would like to hear their opinion as a board member because these are the people in the trenches.
These are people doing the work.
I don't know.
But I was asked the question a number of times.
So that's what I would like.
So I'll do that in a form of emotion.
So I was asked that same question and I would have no issue with an out of town person.
Then it doesn't have to be emotion.
I think that's appropriate.
I also agree that we are here to provide information to hear Justin and hear where the status was or in this case is not.
So I think it's important that he was able to speak first because that may change some of the narrative that we are hearing from delegates and individuals.
It may have been quite different had they preceded.
I do agree with that.
The 30 minutes is indeed a minimum requirement.
Absolutely agree with that.
But the three minute that is standard.
That is what we've always done.
I think this is a special meeting.
We don't even we're not required to have it.
But I agree with you.
It is important to allow people to express themselves and not be limited by time unless.
Unless people in the back are getting.
So.
Go ahead.
I just want to respond.
I don't understand what we're to expect.
If we have 30 people that all want to speak, I'd like to know that.
It might help me to, you know, advise you how much time.
Currently there are 12 individuals.
I have no problem with the list.
Currently there are 11 individuals.
I have no problem with hearing people up.
We're back up to 12.
Before we go to delegates and individuals, we have a couple more.
So we have probably four more.
Is there anything else that board members.
Yes.
Alyssa.
This would be to Justin and I just want to.
It's a two part question.
The initial decision when this was made prior to the, the, the opinions of the public and
us were known.
Who was actually involved in the original decision making?
Because I felt like we kept hearing.
It was either said admin team or it was a very broad term that was being used.
Can you be a little more specific on who was actually part of that?
Thank you.
My team and the building administrators at each of those four buildings.
And from there and then engage their staff with a slide show to get some feedback and start troubleshooting pieces.
The communication chain fell off at that point.
We're unable to engage with the board at that point as well.
So before, I'm trying to think how to word this.
Was outside of the principals, vice principals, admins of the four elementary schools, you're
saying prior to making this decision there was staff level teachers, UA specials, teachers?
Clearly, clearly.
That's not to the level that it needs to be or need to be.
Okay.
Going forward, if this continues to be something that's looked at in the future, will those staff
members be involved in this decision making, planning, discussion, any of it?
Yes.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Great question.
Jack.
So just one point is if we had known of the superintendent's decision as the board, which if we had been
advised even just before the meeting, we probably would have cut 10, 15 minutes off the meeting
trying to turn the ship around.
So I think that was maybe a lack of communication there.
Hank, so I have a proposed motion.
But you know what?
I'm going to let them speak first.
But I think I want to read the motion, but not make the motion, because I think it is in the spirit
of what Justin is suggesting we do.
So we're all and what Alyssa just alluded to.
I think it's it probably I can pass it down.
Let everyone read it.
So would you allow Marianne and Sean to speak before you make the motion?
I'm not going to make money.
I just want to read it.
Okay.
So everyone follows the spirit of it.
I don't.
You know what I'm saying?
I'm trying to be congenial here, not ram it down everyone's throat.
So that's it.
It would have been as different.
We were started off differently if we had been a little bit better informed as to the direction all this was going.
Marianne.
Well, I very much appreciate the superintendent's recognition, the communication shortcomings in this process,
and the decision not to move forward.
I also appreciate the fact that we're having a special meeting.
What I would really like now is to hear from the delegates and individuals who came to speak about this,
so that we get as much information as possible because I very much value their time and their input.
Sean.
I agree with that.
I'm going to be very quick.
To add on to your comment, Jack, is I don't even believe we would be here tonight if we knew what Justin's opinion was two weeks ago.
We don't know when he made that decision.
Yeah.
No, we don't.
But that's what's alluding to this being a requirement because everybody felt that this is going to be a done deal
and it's going to happen in September.
Any other board members like to speak before we move on to B&I?
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
In that case, the very first person is Mr. Boyle.
And because there are 16 D&Is right now, what I will do, with everybody's permission,
is set the clock for three minutes as a reminder for folks that three minutes has passed.
Otherwise, it could become a very long meeting.
So do me a favor, just ding.
That does not mean you have to stop speaking at three minutes, Mr. Boyle.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Good evening.
My name is Brian Boyle from Atkinson.
I know there's probably different perspectives in this room.
I come from perspectives of two terms on this board, a couple years as a chair.
So I've had the pleasure of knowledge, if you will, of seeing what happens on the other side of the table
And unless you've been a board member, especially a school board member, you just don't really get it.
Because you have to be in the room to see what's going on.
And I'm glad Dawn brought up block scheduling because block scheduling went through the Timberland school board.
Much like this should have gone through the Timberland school board.
It has a lot of similarities.
I watched the last meeting.
I watched the last meeting.
Quite honestly, I watched the last meeting because my daughter spoke.
So it's a problem.
Now we have to watch to see what's going on.
And she did a good job.
But what I was surprised at that evening was watching the board.
And I could see the looks in people's faces.
This is the first you heard about it.
Someone goes, "Oh, no, no, Brian, we heard about it the day before."
You sure as hell didn't hear about it in January.
So when I looked at your packet, and one of the things that Justin laid out very nicely,
I think probably the people behind me are already aware of this.
The goals the superintendent has, 99% of them have already met at the elementary school.
Because when I look at one of the educational rationale,
the center of this work is a guiding belief.
Students should learn at high levels when they feel safe, connected,
and experience a strong sense of belonging in the schools.
Well, you just spelled out precisely what I served.
So when I sat on this board, 99% of the issues would come from the middle school
or the high school, whether it's their age or whatever.
But the elementary schools ran like clockwork.
I had the good fortune of senior people being around me,
the Cathay De Otis's, the Barcellos of this world.
Oh, very good at what they did.
So the middle school and the high school had to deal with a lot of issues,
different issues as the kids get older.
But I would be hard pressed if I was across the table here to be worried about the elementary schools.
When you're going out of your way to do a change like this,
that brings people up on a summer vacation.
That should speak volumes to you.
So obviously someone tend to recognize that, which is, which kudos to him.
But I just want to enforce the responsibilities of the board.
I heard Mr. Springer make a remark.
Hey, I'm all for this.
What time out here, guys?
You should be all for this thing back in January.
You're doing something like this.
This board should know what the heck's going on.
So, and then if you, and I also just, in departure here, you may have something which obviously, whether you have done this or not,
you might want to confer that you're in compliance with any type of TTA contract before there's any type of change to that.
You're the first one that got a laugh this evening.
I don't know what that's about.
You can sit with me.
Come sit with me.
I'm going to sit with her.
Okay.
I'm glad.
Actually, my stomach's been in knots the whole ride from my beach house in Maine to here.
Exhale.
Name.
Where are you from?
Here we go.
I'm Michelle Parker.
Timberlaine graduate from a resident of Sandow, innovation teacher at Sandow North.
I'm actually really grateful to my teachers at Timberlaine.
If I cry, I'm going to say this in advance.
I've only spoken here twice because of things I'm very passionate about.
It's tears of passion, really.
I'm grateful to my teachers at Timberlaine for teaching me to approach challenges with confidence.
To research, think critically, articulate information respectfully, and advocate for what I believe
in.
Although the UA team at Sandow North, my wonderful colleague here, and some who are out of state
can't be here, were not asked for input when the 12-day rotation model was rolled up to us on May 21st.
Our team was concerned by the numerous challenges this model presented.
So we, as a team, began researching.
We requested time to observe in successful settings.
We engaged in thoughtful discussions and compiled a list of our concerns, which I shared with our team,
shared with our administrators.
and shared with Mark.
I hope he has shared with all of you.
On June 9th, we sent that letter.
These are just some of the highlights.
Our first and probably most important item was the lack of stakeholder input and transparency through this process.
And the exclusion of essential voices, as well as the precedent of failure in comparable districts.
Our second point was the fundamental disruption to student stability and self-regulation.
We talked about it in terms of the vitamin analogy of learning habits.
Skills and habits and self-regulation are built through regular consistent intervals over time.
It's significantly more beneficial to a child's development to take a vitamin once a week
and to take six vitamins in six days and none for the next 40.
The same cognitive and physical laws apply to our UA classes.
There could be potential for severe impact on neurodivergent learners.
Loss of weekly variety and ability for students to decompress.
And what we call the six-day trigger cycle without relief.
Our research revealed that there were spikes in behavior challenges in schools that have implemented similar models.
We are also highly concerned about concentrated movement starvation.
Although we felt the current model of one time a week was in the best interest of all,
we closed by respectfully requesting a compromise for the 12-day rotation to be reduced to six.
And on June 12th, we were told that it was reduced.
While our team has done our best to be open-minded and respectful of the thought that this could be a positive change,
we continue to struggle because our research doesn't support this notion.
We haven't been shown any that does.
If we truly value creating positive, productive learning experiences for our students during our UAs,
I believe we may need to back up.
And over the upcoming school year, develop a committee that includes representation from all stakeholders,
administration, staff, parents, and even students.
We need to do the research and share it.
We need to think critically and have respectful and collaborative conversations about the future of our elementary UAs schedule.
Thank you for your time.
Thank you very much.
Now they're not.
I agree.
Laura Ross.
Oh, geez.
Okay.
I was wondering where you were going.
I didn't have to go.
Are we fine?
You can stay with me?
All right.
Sorry.
I need to bring mine back up.
I deleted it.
I'll close it.
Hi, everybody.
I'm Laura Ross, and I've been the librarian in Sandown for over 20 years.
I've lived in Sandown for coming up on 30 years now.
I want to start by thanking you guys who pushed to have this meeting.
And I really appreciate the decision that you've made, Justin, to take a step back and think about it.
Same.
Yeah, I really do.
I think Michelle said a lot of what's already on our mind, so I'd just like to focus a little bit on the library specifically.
One of the reasons for the change that's been presented to us is that administration feels this would form -- forge better connections between students and the adults that are teaching UA.
In the library, that would actually have the opposite effect.
The time when I most connect to students is when they come down on independent or small group time to look for books, to find a book that sparks their interest.
I'm not going to have that time with this model.
I expressed this concern to Mark directly, and I said that my biggest concern was circulation of books.
And he said to me, "Oh, that's not going to change, Laura.
I don't want you to worry."
And I said, "Oh, but it is."
And he also said to me, "We don't know what we don't know."
So I just would like to point out to you, I'm sure you're all aware that the assistant librarians were cut this year.
What that means is that the only time students are going to have time to check out books is when they're in the library for a class.
There is no other time in my schedule.
And I have to be perfectly honest, if I still had my assistant, I'd probably be fighting this a lot less.
Because she would be there to help with the circulation, with the other things, the other parts of my job that people aren't aware of.
Yes, I am a teacher just like any classroom teacher.
And I have back-to-back classes just like any classroom teacher.
And I have a 45-minute planning period.
But I also have a whole administrative piece to my job.
Checking books in and out, buying new materials, buying new books, shelving books.
The list goes on and on.
I don't know when I'm going to have time to do those things.
And I'm certainly not going to have time for students to come down either individually or small groups to check out library books.
So what that means is if we move forward with the six-day rotation, students will have six days to check out books.
And then they won't come back to the library for another, what did we figure, 40, 50 days?
Yes, I think it's 40.
A long time.
Right.
So not only will this impact our students as readers, but it's also going to impact their classwork.
When are they going to come down to get materials for research projects or activities in the class?
When are they going to have time to learn about our databases?
A student in September that comes in is not going to be prepared to learn about the same things as they will be when they come in November.
They're just not ready.
I'm very concerned.
I've spoken to two librarians who have tried this model and they both expressed to me that they have not found a way to make it work.
With this model, the library will never be open for those students who find it a safe space, come down to study or read, choose books, or even have a little social break out of the classroom to decompress.
Teachers will also be unable to use the library as a rotation during their literacy blocks, which grades one through three, it's a rotation.
The kids come down on a regular basis.
Another reason that's been given for the change is more collaboration with teachers.
There's going to be less communication collaboration because there's no time in our schedule.
Finally, I have yet to figure out how I would run special events such as the book fair and author visits with this model.
And again, the individuals I've spoken to, PTA runs the book fairs.
They don't have author visits.
It just doesn't happen.
I'm very concerned for the library program if this continues forward.
But again, I appreciate the fact that we've got a year to maybe process and work through some of these things.
But I hope you'll keep those things in mind moving forward.
So thank you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Crystal Walker.
Good evening.
My name is Crystal Walker.
I live in Atkinson.
And Justin, I wanted to thank you for pausing on rolling this out, waiting to roll it out.
So I just wrote a little letter.
I wanted to share my thoughts with everyone.
Good evening, members of the school board, superintendent, and district families.
My name is Crystal Walker and I'm an Atkinson resident.
Thank you for being here this evening.
I'm here because I'm concerned about the proposed changes in the Unified Arts schedule.
I watched the last school board meeting and have spoken with families who are unable to attend tonight due to vacations.
Like everyone here, we all want a strong school district, supported teachers, and successful students.
I do not believe this proposal is in the best interest of our children.
I also have concerns about the process.
It did not feel transparent or collaborative with staff.
What board members were informed of these plans in April, in May?
It appears there was not enough communication or meaningful consideration of staff feedback before deciding on this significant change.
Additionally, when you look at the school calendar, early release days, holidays, Thanksgiving, winter break, and the April vacation all interrupt the proposed six-day blocks.
Instead of creating cohesive learning units, these interruptions could leave students intending only a single Unified Arts class before moving on.
Students thrive on balance and consistency.
They know every Monday is art, every Tuesday is gym, and so on.
It gives them something to look forward to and makes routines easy for families.
Even something as simple as remembering gym shoes.
I have volunteered in our schools for years and have seen firsthand the strong relationships between Unified Arts teachers and students.
I do not believe six consecutive days are necessary to strengthen these relationships, which has been presented as one of the benefits of this proposal.
My children have loved making clay ornaments and art, participating in seasonal PE activities like capture the flag or capture the pumpkin, winter Olympics, and rock wall climbing.
Physical education is especially important because students need regular movement.
If they have PE for one week and they go several weeks without it, they lose the consistency needed to build healthy habits and physical skills.
This change would also eliminate or impact valuable collaborations between classroom and Unified Arts teachers, including projects like the Moon Journal and the Tree Journal.
As school board members, you are responsible for making decisions that support students' academic, physical, and emotional well-being.
Staff and parents have expressed thoughtful concerns, and I respectfully ask that those concerns receive greater consideration.
Please pause this proposal instead of rushing into such a significant change.
Continue listening to staff, educators, and families, and work together to find alternatives that preserve the consistent, well-rounded education our students deserve.
Thank you for your time and for listening to my concerns tonight.
Thank you.
and Roberta Monroe. Hello. Hi. My name is Roberta Monroe. I'm an occupational therapy assistant,
a CODA, at Atkinson Academy. My role in the school is to work with kids with cognitive
and physical deficits to help them fully access their learning environment. Often, kids with
cognitive and/or physical challenges are seen by several other disciplines as well, such
as speech therapy, physical therapy, and special education teachers for help with math and reading
and writing. It can be difficult for everyone, students, teachers, and therapists, to schedule
their mandated time with the children, ensuring they're out of the classroom as little as possible,
while still addressing those particular skill deficits we're responsible to address. As
practitioners, we are encouraged to push into different classroom settings during times when
they're working on tasks these kids have the most difficulty with and where our particular
discipline can help. As a CODA, one of the best places for me to consistently see the skills
O.T. addresses is in art. In art, students work on fine motor skills, visual perceptual skills,
and sensory skills, all areas where O.T. can support. It's also a class I don't have to compete with other
disciplines for time with students since the skills needed for art don't fall under their areas of
expertise. Also, particularly, the foundational skills addressed during art classes with the younger students,
such as cutting, painting, grading the force on a bottle of glue, folding, and coloring are all
developmental skills needed for academic skills of reading, writing, and math later on in the higher grades.
In art, they work on pre-writing skills such as drawing shapes and patterns which are necessary before writing letters.
In art, they address spatial concepts, a foundation required for math skills. With this new model for the U.A.
schedules, these children would have inconsistent exposure to those fundamental skills. There would be huge
gaps in the opportunities to develop their fine motor and visual motor skills rather than having them
addressed weekly throughout the school year. It would also make it difficult for me to fulfill my legally
obligated number of O.T. sessions for the school year. After the first round of art is done and they move
on to another U.A. such as gym or music, they may not benefit from or require assistance from O.T. in those
particular specials. And then I have to find another space to move, see them in. The same problem would occur
for P.T.s who may schedule their push-in time during a gym class or speech therapists to push in to library
or innovation. The children they service most likely won't require benefit from their assistance in those
other U.A. classes. I sincerely hope you reconsider this change in the U.A. schedule. I think the proposed change would
be a significant service to the students and staff. Thank you for your time and thank you for making the change you did.
Thank you. Jennifer Perino. Thank you for your time. I'm just coming here as a
parent. I have a daughter that's going into the fourth grade and just speaking
from my personal perspective, she looks forward to certain UA classes and then
there are some that she doesn't look forward to. That's just how it is. I think by the six-day
approach is going to be detrimental to some of these kids because they're going to look at that
class that they love and know it's going to take a whole month before they get to go to that class
again. The relationship that she's built with some of these teachers is something that I wish I had
when I was a kid. And I honestly feel that that length of time that goes in between, you know,
art to the next art, that relationship that she's built with the teacher, it's not going to be as
as sincere as it was last year. Also, the kids that are now going to have to have six days of a class that they don't necessarily love.
I don't think that they're going to put as much time and energy as they would if it was only okay I can get through one day versus
I have to go six days of this class. I just don't think it's a good idea. I'm happy that you've decided to table it. I really hope that you take everyone's perspective.
I appreciate the fact that you're thinking of the students. I just don't think this is a great idea. So that's it. Thank you.
Thank you.
Samantha Chawinski?
Yep, no, Samantha.
Correct me, please.
Chawinski.
Chawinski, okay.
Thank you.
Hello.
I'm coming at this from a very simple but I think important perspective.
I know there's a lot of nuance and discussion around this decision having more to do with collaboration between the teachers at each school, the district and how this was communicated, but my knowledge is limited in all of those aspects.
But I am a mom of an almost six-year-old boy going into first grade and his needs as well as my daughter's are where I think I'm most knowledgeable.
And my son is on the younger side of his grade and there were definitely some growing pains when it came to his behavior at the start of kindergarten, even though he did do well academically.
We collaborated and communicated with his teacher and guidance counselor to come up with ways to help him sit still better and not be too disruptive, and one of the biggest themes of those tools was having opportunities to move his body.
I believe gym and recess are the best outlets for his brain to reset during a long school day where a lot is expected of a young boy in terms of sitting still in class.
We have a very high degree threshold for when kids can go outside in the winter.
I know family and friends from Mass and Maine and theirs are 15 and 20 degrees where ours is 32.
Winter is one of the hardest times of year especially for behavior because of this.
Losing gym class for almost five weeks of school on top of long stretches of not having recess will be detrimental for most kids and in turn their teachers when it comes to the amount that they'll be able to focus and truly absorb everything they are learning in their classroom.
Movement breaks and walking to classes or to the bathroom will not be enough of a solve to replace the giant hole of not having a gym class with the wonderful Mr. Goddard for several weeks of school.
Please take this into consideration when making this decision.
This will be very hard on the kids and is not a decision that will benefit any child.
There already is such a lack of physical activity at a traditional school.
Please don't take more away.
And I ask that you keep an open mind to that this might not be the best decision for the kids.
That is what this should come down to.
It's more simple than I think we are making this issue.
I believe it sounds like physical activity is kind of an afterthought in this discussion and I think it should be pretty much front and center.
I think it's very, very important when it comes to how these kids learn and how they're able to absorb information and get through the school day.
And I appreciate your time.
Thank you very much.
Pamela Dulong.
So good evening.
Thank you for the opportunity to address the board.
I am one of those not in district, but I have been teaching in Timberlaine this past June was the end of my thirtieth year.
So during that time, I've been a classroom teacher, first grade, second grade, first and second, multi-age, third grade.
I was the enrichment teacher and currently unified arts specialist.
I'm the innovation teacher at Atkinson.
So I came this evening kind of thinking of myself as the Lorax and I speak for the trees.
We had there was concern that there was some misunderstandings that there were only a couple of people that were upset by this or a couple of people that were bothered by this and that were kind of pushing the negativity around it.
And I just wanted to be able to say that what the concerns I was going to express are shared by many within my own building in all various roles within the building.
And then also by other teachers within the district that have my same position.
So, and those concerns come from about the actual model that's being proposed.
And then also the process that it's been, how it's been introduced.
So, obviously the little shift that happened tonight, I've been standing back there trying to decide how to reword things and rewrite things based on that.
So I'm just going to kind of pick and choose some of the things that I would have said and hope that just puts us on that path for transparency moving forward this year as we go through this.
So, educators are used to change and new initiatives.
So, in the three decades that I've been with Timberlaine, multiple programs have been adopted to support elementary instruction.
In the past, when a clear need has been identified and a large-scale significant programming change has been proposed to be implemented,
there have typically been multiple steps and phases that all stakeholders were involved with from the earliest stages.
We would get professional articles or books to read to build background knowledge and start some thoughtful discussions.
There were opportunities to visit other schools that were implementing a range of options before we just selected one math program.
small groups had an option or a chance to pilot possible programs or sample potential resources.
We collected baseline data and reviewed that to kind of guide us moving forward.
And it was a very different process that seemed to unfold with this proposed shift in the unified arts elementary model.
Unified teachers, unified arts teachers were caught quite off guard when in late May they were informed by building administration
that the structure of classes would be moving to this multi-day block format.
And then two weeks later, the rest of the staff heard about the change and collectively we all wondered what problems or issues
had been identified that this new approach was going to solve.
And we asked where can we go to find research-based explanations to help us understand the benefits of this shift in practice.
We inquired which other schools or districts are using similar models that we could go and visit and observe.
And we were told that the new model would help us build stronger connections with students and increase collaboration with colleagues.
And that there was one other school in New Hampshire that was an example of having tried this approach.
So in the interest of time, just what follows here, a quick bulleted list of concerns that this model creates.
And I look, try to think about it from all angles, the classroom teacher, the unified arts specialist, certainly parents.
Elementary age students have a wide range of developmental needs and a student after six days of school is vastly different than a student after six weeks of school.
What they will be capable of grows over weeks and instruction can't really be coherent across the grade level.
If different grade, different classes at that grade level have the unified arts classes at different times.
And to just also acknowledge that there is a significant amount of collaboration between unified arts teachers ourselves,
and also between the UA and classroom teachers, and that's already happening.
But some of the things that we're doing will prove to be much more challenging and less likely to take place under this model.
And one of the only other aspects that hasn't been touched on tonight is that one of the things we're told about was that there would be this element that's part of this model of a push in by UA teachers to go into the regular classrooms.
We've not heard much about that, and hopefully that's something we can find out more about because of the scheduling of that.
If you can push in for six to 12 days because you don't have a grade level at that time block, and you kind of hit your stride with that classroom teacher and how things are working,
but then the rotation comes back around, and now you have a grade level for your UA during that time.
You've left that teacher without consistent support, and we are making connections.
UA teachers meet at their PLC, and we talk about students, and that's five different individuals that have all seen these students.
in different settings, and what works for you, and what works for me.
And if we only have seen them six days at a time, it's going to take 30 days before we'll all have seen all of the students and be able to kind of bring those things that we're mentioning.
So there's currently about 47 comments entered into the document that was shared with us to kind of start talking about things we find challenging
and move forward with some planning and, you know, that was daunting to think how are we going to address those 47 things before August.
So it is nice to think that perhaps that will be hopefully a place we come back to and can really look closely at some of those things next year.
Thank you very much.
Jeff Goddard.
Jeff Goddard in the House.
I am the resident of Atkinson.
I've been in Kensington, but I've been teaching.
Pam and I started the same year, so next year will be my 31st.
I teach PE.
To your point, ma'am, you asked about who made the decision, and we, like Pam said, we heard the end of May.
We didn't hear anything other than, we heard it from our principal, and he said, "It's from the people up above."
At the end of the year, I spoke to the woman who's head of elementary curriculum.
She denied any involvement with it.
Our principals, I come to find out, I had known several months before.
So we first heard about it at the end of May, and we heard very, very little about it.
So I will, I agree with everything that's been said here, both by parents and staff, but I will just simply state a few things about
why I do not think that the six-day block schedule, which we originally told it was going to be 12,
now it's down to six, why I do not favor this.
I do not think it would be beneficial to our students, any of our students.
One lady said she thought that we would not see the kids if we saw them, say, in week one.
We wouldn't see them again for a month.
Well, in fact, with six-day using the calendar, the first rotation, there would be a total of six rotations.
You have five unified arts teachers.
That means we would go five weeks before they would even see the next one.
Well, by calendar, it actually works out to be.
The first, first rotation would be five weeks before, not a month, five weeks.
That's the shortest amount of time.
In the winter months, seven weeks for the second one, and eight weeks for the third.
That we would see our students, not see our students.
And I have no problem with seeing them six days in a row.
I'd love to see them every single day.
But it's the time that we would not get to see those students.
As Mrs. Monroe mentioned, the special population that we have, we have a NEC program.
I don't know how they would handle, as Crystal said, kids are very schedule-driven.
Well, special populations are even more schedule-driven.
And changing a schedule every six days would be very difficult, very difficult for these kids.
So special populations, kids on IEPs, 504s, I don't know how their needs would be met.
How would they be scheduled?
And that is in art, phys ed, speech, OT, PT, in particular, those 504 plans.
NIEPs especially take hold.
As Pam mentioned, the themed classes would be and units would be just totally disrupted.
They'd be happening five weeks apart.
In a normal schedule, all students and families get to experience them together.
And this week we're doing Capture the Pumpkin.
This is what you might figure out.
That's at Halloween time.
Winter Olympics in the wintertime, one week.
It's not over five weeks.
It's not a big deal for most.
But if one sibling is talking about it and the other sibling or two in that family is not,
I just think it would cause disruption and be uncomfortable with kids.
So I strongly disagree with the six-day block scheduling.
And we haven't heard anything about what the benefit would be.
No data, no studies, nothing.
We were just told that this was going to happen.
So I'm happy it's been tabled.
I hope it does not resurface.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Good evening and thank you to the board members who were able to make it here for quorum and the district staff who were able to make it here.
I know you typically don't meet in July, so I'm not thankful for this meeting.
First off, I'll just say that I'm not necessarily opposed to change.
I think when I first heard about this, I assumed that the district administrators who have over a decade of experience would be doing this for a particular reason
and they would go through the whole process of really thinking this through.
But as I'm hearing from a lot of people today, and I'm glad you made that clarification earlier, Alyssa,
there clearly was some sort of communication breakdown.
And I also think as a former school board member, I do recall that there was something that we had to discuss before
in reference to block schedules within the high school.
So I was sort of surprised that when this idea of changing unified arts was brought up,
that there wasn't knowledge within the school board, but there wasn't an ongoing discussion,
not only with the district administration, the building administration, but also with the teaching staff.
I actually assumed the first time I heard this, that this was happening the whole entire time.
Like you would think if you're going to implement something, you're going to have all parties involved.
And I think for me, that is probably one of the most difficult things to swallow about this, that if we're supposed to kind of buy into the idea of a change,
we all should be involved in the process.
So we all feel comfortable with what we're learning is going to happen.
So one of the things that I hoped that would happen if we didn't have this meeting is that we would have had like a public presentation
where parents, even staff for that matter, can have like a Q&A.
We can sort of go through the whole process of discussing the facts, getting some answers.
The letter that was given to parents at the end of the school year, it left a lot to be desired.
It did explain a little bit of what was going on and some of the reasons why.
And I agree with a lot of staff members who have already spoken about this.
There wasn't data related to any of this or the idea of collecting data.
There wasn't a really strong explanation of what you were seeing that even prompted this idea.
And I thought that was kind of unusual.
And I also think there should have been more of a transparent process with that as well.
I don't think it's beyond us as a whole community that if the district sees a problem and it's widespread enough amongst enough students,
that is brought up as a discussion, whether it's maybe through a letter or even just, you know,
through your administrative report at a board meeting, and then it's constantly discussed over time.
I think that would have helped a lot with this process.
But ultimately, I do agree with a lot of what parents have been saying, a lot of what the staff have been saying.
They have extremely valid concerns. I have extremely valid concerns.
This is probably one of the first times my wife really got into this.
So she had a whole list of stuff that you want me to go over, which I'm glad most of you have already brought up.
But the one thing that no one brought up yet, at least I didn't hear it,
was the fact that you would have these blocks of six days, right?
We live in a world in which COVID is a real thing. We, you know, on the news recently, we had this whole
explosive diarrhea thing going on. If a student happens to come down with one of these illnesses,
for example, and they lose a whole week of time, how are they supposed to make that up?
Are they going to lose like a whole theme, a skill? Like what happens in that situation?
And as I understand it, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, I believe you have like a bit of a scaffolding
model, right? So if you're teaching one skill for this week, it's going to be applied to the following
week. It's going to be necessary for the week after that and so on. So in this particular situation,
if a child does happen to be sick for a week or more, what happens then? Does that child just fall
behind for the whole school year? So I do have quite a bit of a problem with that.
If there is a real concern with enough students who need to have some extra sort of support,
I think you should bring it forward publicly. I think that's fair to say. And maybe through the
community, maybe through staff, people will bring in a new idea. Because I don't think this idea is going
to work out. And I think at district level, you've kind of concluded that, yeah, this is probably not
going to work out. But whatever you do decide to do, I encourage you all to think of having a public forum
well before it's even implemented, so the public can have their own buy-in and be able to discuss this,
because that would have been really great to happen months ago. Thanks.
Marianne Chaffee.
Not the first one?
Okay.
So a lot of the points I was thinking of earlier tonight have been made very articulately by some
of the folks that have come before me. But my name is Marianne Chaffee. I'm out of Atkinson. And I'm
coming here from the perspective of a parent. And my focus is more from the special education
perspective as a parent. So I'm particularly concerned about kids that really thrive on the
repetition. They really need the routine week to week to maintain consistent progress. And particularly
for us, the focus is on those earlier years, right? Kids coming in, maintaining self-regulation is such
a critical focus for those kids and for the families who are supporting them. It means these kids continue
to build confidence, building skills to maintain the focus that they need to maintain academic development.
And when they have all those things come together, they're developing the deeper peer relationships
they need. So those are really the critical foundational blocks that they need to move on.
They're so important for providing a safe, productive environment for all children. So the ones that are
still learning the self-regulation piece, how to handle those transitions, and then also the ones
just for the peers developing for the friendships with them. So I'm really happy to hear that it's being paused.
I had a lot of concerns about having six days where kids are doing preferred activities, right? And then
having those transitions be that much harder, right? Every new school year is a really big transition for
these kids. And so having six days of preferred activities and then expecting them to move on to
something that's less preferred, that's a really big transition to ask of them. And then similarly, the flip
side of that with kids having to do a non-preferred activity for six days, I think you would see
potentially an uptick in behaviors, a lot of challenges with that. It can affect the way that
they interact with their peers and those friendships and those relationships. And so just sort of the bottom
line here is that I just want to make sure that we're making changes based on good research
and making a focus be, you know, providing a good environment where we don't see those uptick in
behaviors. We don't see regression with those students and we're providing support so we don't see burnout
with the teachers, the paras that support them, and then also just the kids and the parents, which would
really defeat the purpose of changing the curriculum. So my big ask here as a parent who does a lot of research
moving forward is to understand and to know what research is being done that would indicate that
this is the best course of action for all students. Thank you very much. Molly Conroy.
Hello again. My name is Molly Conroy. I am a Timberland graduate, a resident, a parent, and a teacher
at Atkinson Academy. I had Jeff Goddard for gym when I was in school. He's a wonderful teacher. He still is,
always has been, just to jump on. And again, same, a lot of people have already said what needs to be said. And
I'm just going to whip through my notes because I'm adapting on the fly, too, due to the new information.
Thank you, Justin, for hearing us and for taking the feedback and making the decision to kind of call
it back for at least for now. I appreciate that. We were told about this change, again, as the other
teachers from my school said back in, I believe it was late May. And to be honest, I have a bit of a
problem with the word engaged because in this document that you shared, Justin, it says that
we engaged the teachers. In engagement, I'm coming up on my 10th anniversary, it takes two people.
You need both sides. And it kind of felt very one-sided. It felt like we were being told this
change was happening. And again, I won't go super into this because I said it last time.
We were told about this change. We were told it wasn't really a discussion. We were given a
feedback document, which I have printed out here. Again, as Pam said, there are 47-plus
different submissions on here, concerns listed. And then there's a comment section here that says
potential solution and it's entirely blank. So my understanding was maybe the admin team would look
at this, hear concerns, read through them and kind of like write some notes in so that we can feel a
bit better about this change. But there has been nothing. We've had no response. I didn't receive an email
from you. I know you're very busy. It sounds like you've got a million emails. I didn't get a response
from you. I didn't get a response from my own principal. I didn't get any answers on here.
We just felt very much like, "Oh, here's a feedback form. Fill it out so we can hear you guys." But then
we didn't hear anything back. It was total crickets. And we were just left here stewing in our own minds
for months just kind of worrying about this major change, which it's not like we're changing math
from nine o'clock to 11 o'clock. That would be a scheduling change. This is a major change that will
impact our school greatly. Our school does thematic units. Jeff didn't say enough about it, but he has
done, Mr. Goddard, has done so many extra programs with the extra time he has had in his schedule, like
what little extra time he has had. He's done capture the pumpkin, winter Olympics, gymnastics, which
again, you do these where you do the same unit for all the grades at the same time so that you can
move on to the next thing. Taking out all the equipment, everything, it takes a lot of prep work.
He does the spring sports outside. If one group of students gets a week where it's sub temperatures or
it's, you know, something affects their ability to go outside. That's unfair for those kids. Not to mention,
my daughter was in pre-k this this year, and she had the ability to go to gym with Mr. Goddard,
whereas that's not something that was mandated in his schedule. He pushed to be able to take those
preschool and pre-k students as part of their first school experience. I always loved going to
gym with Mr. Goddard. She had such great things to say about him. She just loved being in the big kid
room where all the big kids got to go. It helped her feel more comfortable in the school. It was like
a great introduction to here's how things are going to work here at our school for big kids. She absolutely
loved it, and it was really special, but that was not something he had to do. It was something he worked
into his schedule because he's an amazing educator, plus the NECC program group, which he also didn't have to
take, but then did. He also does 30 plus reward classes across all grade levels for various reasons.
He does extra gym classes for the winners of the healthy snack challenge that he does the whole
second half of the year. So he adds extra gym classes in for the winning classes, and that's a school-wide
thing that engages all students. So that's really special. He doesn't, he's, and the fact that he and the other
UA teachers were not asked for their professional opinion about this change really bothers me,
and I'm not even one of them, but it will affect my students, and it will affect my planning with those
teachers as well. So I do have a problem with that, and I guess my biggest question is what, and as
somebody had said before, what was so bad before that it needed to be changed? Because we do have student
engagement, we do have great teacher-student relationships, we do have great collaboration,
and we still don't understand what was wrong with what was going on. So I do, again, Justin,
appreciate your taking our thoughts and feelings and opinions and professional expertise and kind of
thinking about it now. Again, I would love the idea of a committee to kind of explore this more so we can
look into it. As Jeff said, I really hope it doesn't happen, but I'm also, as Michael said,
I'm not opposed to change. I would love to learn more. I would love to hear the positives to this model,
but again, it's, I think it needs to be more collaborative. So, thank you.
Thank you.
If I could just ask your affiliation.
I'm a non-resident. I'm a teacher at Atkinson Academy.
Thank you. I'm going to be starting my 32nd year in August, and I think that what everyone has spoken
about, parents and teachers alike, I agree with completely. I did not support the proposed changes,
but going forward, I would like to implore you, Justin, to look at your teachers and your staff
as an asset. Please appreciate what we do and the knowledge that we have of our students,
of what we teach and why we teach it. Please come to our classrooms. Please ask us questions.
Please look at what we teach and understand why we teach it and to the benefit of our students.
So, a lot of the comments that have been spoken, I have hashed over in my mind. I have contributed to
these documents. And now that things have changed tonight, going forward, please get to know your
elementary staff. I think that we might surprise you. I think that education is amazing. What we do
is amazing. It's fun. I have a blast with these kids. I want to continue doing that. I think the
idea is that we can help bring this all together and really
we are less than nothing. And unfortunately, that's how we were left feeling the last couple of months.
So, if you got to know us a little bit better and what we teach and why we teach it, I think we could
come together and really improve what we already do. And I'm encouraged by that. I'm also not afraid of
change. I love to learn. That's why I'm in this job. So, please, going forward, let's have open dialogue.
Let's have open conversations. And let's make it better for our students. Right? That's what I like.
That's all I have to ask. So, thank you.
Jennifer Toth: Thank you. Jennifer Toth: Hi, I'm Jennifer Toth. Sorry, Toth. Sorry, should be Toth.
Jennifer Toth: Thank you for that. Jennifer Toth: My husband's family didn't ask me.
Jennifer Toth: I just want to speak tonight to say one of my biggest issues with this has been
the fact that I feel that there was a lot of change happening without really understanding what was
being changed. So, to repeat what Pam Alexander just said, I implore you to spend time in your elementary
schools. Go to specials. See how all of them work. See the connections that kids have made with teachers.
Jennifer Toth: Talk about the collaborations that are already happening because there are
many more than I could list for you today. And this change would have a very huge impact. And in my
Jennifer Toth: In my opinion, a very negative impact on both student connection and teacher collaboration,
both classroom and between unified art specialists. So, I just implore you to spend this year
and learn about how the elementary schools, especially specifically the UAs, but all of them
are working because again, not to say that there's not room for improvement, not to say that
we're not willing to make changes. But I think what's happening is pretty amazing. And I think there's
just a lack of understanding because the kids that we have aren't going home and explaining all of
those background details maybe. So, we need the teachers in those schools need you to come in
and know what's happening. So, thank you. Thank you very much.
Maybe Ellis? Or is it Ellis?
Jennifer Toth: That should be Ellis. I know that was a joke.
Jennifer Toth: Thank you for having me. I'm a mom in Atkinson. I'm here as a parent and also,
frankly, as a taxpayer. And I want to say that I agree with every point made by those who spoke before me.
Jennifer Toth: The parent community of Timberlane showed up for the district by supporting the budget
at the deliberative session, as well as at the voting booths. And frankly, this proposal feels like
a kick in the teeth. With the budget that was approved, it is very disappointing that this proposed
change feels more like a cut than a curriculum decision supporting the youngest, most malleable
teachers in our district. Teacher and student illness also needs to be factored in. And I know that Mr. Boucher
also spoke to this as well. If a teacher is out for several days, will one session get a more equitable
learning experience than the other that had the sub? I'm not down on subs. Subs are wonderful. I was also a substitute
teacher for many years. But the answer there, I have to say, is no. In the single email that was sent to
parents, there was not a single problem stated with the current long-standing unified arts model that has
served my child well thus far. And he thrived in his first year in kindergarten. I would hate for that
progress to be derailed by what appears to be an experimental and unproven at best and detrimental at
worst. And lastly, I just wanted to share a thought that occurred to me while I was sitting and listening to
everyone speak, that if this program is vastly unpopular, which I expect it would be, as you can see by the
temperature in the room tonight, people would take advantage of the voucher program, reducing funding
even further to a district that we strive to support. Or they would take advantage of the option to send their
child out of district, pulling funds away. So thank you very much to Mr. Krieger for deciding to table
the start of this in the fall. And I do implore you to not move forward with this model. Thank you for your time.
Thank you. Thank you very much. And the cleanup batter is Beth Kisrell.
I wasn't planning on speaking. I'm not in district. I'm from Derry. I've been the library media special in
Danville for 18 years. When I started in Danville, a librarian's course, I'm going to talk about libraries,
right? Because you've all heard about the whole UA and how we felt. And it was, it was a lot. The last
eight weeks of school was a lot. However, when I started in Danville, there was no library program.
I have my masters in education and I'm a certified library media specialist and I teach information
literacy skills. I would like to know anybody on the board here knows that that's what your librarians do.
We teach research, formulate questions. What's inquiry? How do we find those answers? Where do we find those
answers? Do we plagiarize or do we use our own voice? Collaboratively together with the teachers,
the paraeducators, the libraries were packed. We may have had 20 minutes in our schedule, but we may be
doing book clubs. We don't take our lunch or our planning because we're going to do book clubs or we have
author visits that we need to plan. Those aren't easy. You know, there's a lot of work that goes into a lot of
these things. So while I'm teaching in a flexibly scheduled environment, the door is open and you
have students coming down, going to get a new book. What can you recommend today? The library assistants,
which we found out the day that they got let go, that they would be let go, constant in their lives.
Librarians, art teachers, music, PE, constant. We see these kids from kindergarten all the way to fifth grade and we
form the most amazing bonds. There was a parent in this room from Dandril that I hope and I believe that
she could agree with me. And I think that's why she's here today. To have those doors in that library
closed. Okay, yeah, you're going to get a parent who's going to volunteer. Okay, now we have to train the
parent. There are privacy issues in libraries. Kids come to the library for safety, for trust.
It's gone. Doors closed. Even this year, we had assistants pulled all the time.
Coverage, coverage, coverage, coverage. Kids trying to get in. Why is the library closed? Well,
I'm teaching. I can't help you. Tears. When am I going to get to come?
I said, ask the SAU. Excuse me, Justin. I'm not being disrespectful. Because we're in the dark.
And I just feel like at the entry, the elementary level is abandoned in this district.
We're not asked. We're told. We're told what to do. How to do it. You have 45 minutes for science,
45 minutes for this, 45 minutes for that. Five minutes in between each class. We're all running
crazy. And we all just want to be with our kids. Teach our kids. I've asked people to come and observe
me in that library for a day. Sometimes there are 30 children in that room. 20 of them are getting
lessons. They're engaged. They're reading. They're presenting their projects. They're talking about
citations and plagiarism. And it's all gone. I mean, it's not all gone. We'll still, we embraced.
We've talked about embracing the model that's going to come at us and how we're going to do it.
Again, we're going to have kids learning about information literacy for how long? And then by the
time I get to see, I do appreciate the fact that this table, and I agree with Pam and everybody else here.
You guys, all of you, please come and sit in our UAs. You don't have to just sit and watch.
Sometimes people come to the library and come by myself and they're like, oh, what's she doing?
Okay. Well, it should come for a whole day. Not one day. Not an hour. For a whole week. Spend time.
Get to know us. We're all tied to the changes that come at us after the changes have been made.
And I do respect that you've changed it. I appreciate it. And I thank you all very much
for hearing me, considering that I didn't have anything prepared.
Thank you very much. Unless there's anybody else, Kelly? So that was the last person that
have signed up. I'll speak for myself and I think for probably the rest of the board as well.
Thank you for showing up. Obviously, those of us who are here that are not parents are not here
because of the massive paychecks we get. We're here to try to benefit our community, to try to provide
the best services that we can to our children with limited resources, be that time or money that we
have. I've served on the board for a number of years and this is in some ways a unique board.
The tenor of the district has changed from some of the challenges that we have in the past. This is part
of the process. Now I'm only speaking for myself, nobody else. The process has been fairly smooth,
but there will be bumps in the road as far as communication goes. I will tell you that, again,
speaking for myself, I have seen a sea change in the level of attempted communication and openness
with this board which has not historically always been there. Thank you. We will not always like what
we hear. You will not always like what you hear, but it's important to keep that communication because,
as I said, we don't know what we don't know and you don't know what you don't know. So communication is
key to this. This is part of the process. Thank you for showing up. Would anybody else like to make a
comment? Jack? So first of all, I'd like to say I have two personal notes. But first, I'd like to say
I'm proud of the parents in this room. I am proud of the staff in this room. I'm proud of the administration
in this room and I'm proud of this board because tonight is how it's supposed to work, right? This is how
we get consensus. I will tell you that on a personal note, when you have two kids that are 28 and 30,
it's sometimes hard to remember how vulnerable and innocent our kids in our grandma's school are.
But I get to see that every day as the crossing guard, right? That makes me pretty vulnerable.
Honestly, jet lag has affected God's brain. But what I will tell you beyond that is what I get to see
in the rain, the sleep and the snow are teachers out there with the warmth and compassion and how
every student is greeted before they walk in that building. And I unfortunately was at a funeral today,
which I did not expect to have to be at. And the priest said something that kind of struck me as
pertaining to tonight, that everyone has something special deep down in their hearts.
I believe that the UA and the teachers in particular do a pretty good job of drawing that out. And the
priest says it's up to us each individually to draw that out of them. I see you guys doing that every
morning and every afternoon. So thank you. Thank you. I will also share with you another personal note that
my grammar school career was very special. I had a lot of time in the principal's office. I don't think
they called it a unified arts at the time, but we had gym, art, music, you know, if you had an instrument,
you got a half an hour to go play your instrument. We had partnership. I don't know if that would qualify
as a unified arts thing, but that was my get out of jail free card. And anyone that's had a three minute
conversation with me knows I probably have ADHD. I was diagnosed later on in high school with a slight form of
dyslexia. Those classes were my oasis. They were my getaway. And I remember it to this day with my gym teacher
was Mr. Perry. I mean, I remember it like it was yesterday. So for what you guys do, thank you very
much. And I will share with you my takeaway from all of this, which was originally my motion. But I think we
all agree that this is how we proceed. Whether you agree with this or not, that's not. I tried to be very
unbiased as a board member, unless it's a life safety issue. The implementation of the United Arts
that scheduling or for that matter, anything would be put off for one year during that time. And this
is the important part. The administration shall work collaboratively with teachers, principals,
parents, and the curriculum committee and this board to evaluate the proposal, review educational
research, assess and assess its impact on student learning and return the recommendation supported by
the evidence to the board. I think historically, that is what's been happening around here. I think in
this case, I don't even want to I mean, this was a good outcome. I think we've all learned from this,
everybody. So let's move forward as a team because we are a team. And ultimately, it's about those
vulnerable, innocent kids that we're all equally interested in. I mean, about a positive outcome.
That's it. Thank you, Jeff. John? Yeah, I got two points that I want to make. One is I want to
three points. And thank everybody for your input here tonight. As I had said earlier about you,
you learned some stuff. And one thing I want to comment to you, ma'am, right there,
is that you brought up the important part that I thought was as an occupational therapist. You're
able to use that time to critique the student that you've been engaged in for a vast amount
of time. That's an angle that I have not concluded as well until tonight when you spoke of it. So this is
where we all learn. And that's my learning point tonight. A lot of the other points that were made,
all very good points, but some of them I have already recognized them as well. But one of the
other points that I want to bring on up that was said by our former school board chair, Brian,
is that we're focusing on touching something that is the best performing segment in our school
district, the elementary. We are atrocious when it comes to quality and proficiency as we get
farther down the middle school and in high school. If any place should have the focus, it should be in
them. This gets back to the old saying is that like in a store, you broke it, you own it. Why are
we touching and trying to break something potentially that we know that's working? This doesn't make sense.
That's it. Thank you. Anybody else? Okay. Thank you. In that case, the time is 8:45. Meeting is adjourned.
Thank you.
Thank you.