WILMINGTON, MA — Here are FIVE things that happened at Wednesday’s Wilmington School Committee Meeting:
#1) The Wilmington School Committee unanimously supported entering into an agreement with the Educatius International Student Program. Beginning next school year, Wilmington High School will host 3-5 foreign students. These students would stay with their host families for 10 months and attend Wilmington High before departing back to their home countries. The students would be eligible to play for WHS sports teams and participate in other extracurricular activities. Educatius, which has headquarters in Boston, sends “the cream of the crop,” highly motivated students who are proficient in English and high academic achievers. Students would be vetted closely through Homeland Security.
Assistant Superintendent Sean Gallagher, who pitched the proposal to the School Committee, noted that his previous school district — Beverly — has successfully partnered with Educatius for the past six years.
“We need to create opportunities for more students from abroad to come to Wilmington High School,” said Superintendent Mary DeLai, who was inspired by the success of Lou Schramm, a German student who – last year – enrolled at WHS and excelled both inside the classroom (2-time student of the month) and outside (made the state tournament on the tennis team). “The program exposes the foreign students and our students to more cultural diversity.”
DeLai noted that the initial financial investment is minimal – just a 1-time payment of $1,700 – and the 3 to 5 foreign students would not negatively effect class sizes, as next year’s Wilmington High student population is projected to hold steady, or possibly slightly decline.
#2) The Wilmington School Committee reviewed the district’s 2016-2017 English Language Leaners Program Plan. The plan ensures the district meets all federal, state and local ELL standards and provides a quality education to all ELL students. Members had few questions on the 16-page plan, which can be found in the agenda packet HERE. There were only 34 ELL students enrolled in Wilmington Public Schools last year. There are currently just 30 this year, although kindergarten students have yet to be screened, so that number may see a slight uptick. The languages spoken are “all over the map,” with the biggest concentration is Spanish, spoken by 6-7 students.
#3) Director of School Administration and Finance Paul Ruggiero provided the School Committee with a schedule outlining the development of the district’s FY18 budget. A draft budget will be initially presented at the School Committee’s Meeting on December 7. The recommended budget will be presented to the School Committee in January. The Town Manager will present the entire budget on January 23. The School Committee will hold its annual public hearing on the proposed budget on February. The Finance Committee will hold a hearing on the school budget in March. The budget would then, presumably, be approved at the Annual Town Meeting on April 29.
#4) The Wilmington School Committee reviewed the district’s 2016-2017 Curriculum Accommodation Plan (DCAP). Members had few questions on the 35-page plan, which can be found in the agenda packet HERE. The DCAP summarizes resources and procedures available to teachers and principals to meet the instructional and learning needs of students in regular education. The intent of the plan is to make the necessary accommodations to keep students in a general education setting when appropriate. Assistant Superintendent Sean Gallagher and District STEM Coordinator Lisa Ippolito were instrumental in the updating of this year’s plan.
#5) One issue that was NOT addressed during the meeting was Superintendent DeLai’s decision to allow a Wilmington High School teacher to return to work despite facing domestic assault charges. It was not placed on the agenda, nor was it allowed be brought up under ‘Public Comments.’
“I’m very proud of how organized and efficient we run our school committee meetings,” said School Committee Chair Julie Broussard prior to the ‘Public Comments’ portion of the meeting. “Part of the reason for this is because we stick to an agenda… We have a longstanding practice of following the agenda… We invite the public to observe us in our discussion, and while do take public comments and questions, they must [pertain] to our agenda items.”
(A parent did take to the mic during Public Comments to congratulate the Woburn Street School and North Intermediate School for attaining ‘Level 1’ school status on the Spring 2016 MCAS.)
It remains to be seen if the Altieri decision will be placed on the agenda of the School Committee’s next meeting on Wednesday, October 12. The Committee does not typically delve into personnel matters at public meetings. The Committee is, however, holding an Executive Session meeting (closed to the public) on Monday, October 4 at 7pm. It’s unclear what the meeting is exactly about, but the agenda does state the following: “To discuss the reputation, character, physical condition or mental health, rather than the professional competence, of an individual, or to discuss the discipline or dismissal of, or complaints or charges brought against a public officer, employee, staff member or individual.”
In case you missed it, here are 5 more things that happened at last week’s School Committee Meeting.
Watch the entire School Committee meeting, courtesy of Wilmington Community Television, below:
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