Boston City TV, MA Boston Public Schools (BPS), 3 May 2022

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From YouTube: BPS Superintendent Search Committee Meeting - 5-3-22

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BPS Superintendent Search Committee Meeting - 5-3-22

A

Okay well good evening, everybody and welcome to this meeting of the boston public school superintendent search committee. I'm co-chair pam edinger and because this is a remote session, I will ask ms sullivan to please call the role.

B

Thank you chair, ms harvey president, mr o'neal.

C

B

Dr pignato and mr roundtree, ms tang.

B

I believe I heard her. Mr valenzuela president, dr edinger president, ms lopera, mr mcneil. We do have a quorum.

A

Thank you, ms sullivan tonight's session is being shared, live on zoom and it will be rebroadcast on boston city, tv and posted on the search committee's web page bostonpublicschools.org, slash, s-u-p-t search. The committee is pleased to be offering live, simultaneous interpretation tonight in spanish after the interpreter finishes introducing themselves and providing zoom instructions.

A

We will activate the interpretation icon or the globe at the bottom of your screen. Click the icon to select your language preference. So would our spanish interpreter please introduce themselves and give some instructions. Please.

D

Hello good evening, dr edinger and good evening, everyone.

D

A

Thank you for assisting us this morning. We will now activate the interpretation icon at the bottom of your screen. I'd like to remind everyone to please speak at a slow pace to assist our interpreter.

A

So, let's move on to the approval of minutes. um I will entertain a motion to approve the minutes of our last meeting april. 26 2022.

A

Do I have a motion.

A

Thank you save me. I have a motion. Thank you. May I have a second second. Thank you any discussion or objection to the motion. Ms sullivan, please call the role.

B

Ms harvey yes, mr o'neill.

C

B

Dr pignato, yes, mr roundtree, ms tang.

E

Oh, can you not hear me.

B

B

Oh we're calling the roll for the um for the approval of minutes for the april 26th.

E

Can you hear me now? Yes, yes, okay, sorry, I had my um um headphones and apparently I could hear you fine, but you couldn't hear me. Yes,.

B

Thank you, mr valenzuela.

D

B

Dr edinger, yes, ms lopera and mr mcneil, the motion- the motion is approved unanimously. Thank you.

A

We will now move on to public comments. The committee has set aside up to 15 minutes of tonight's agenda for public comments. I will now turn the process over to ms sullivan.

B

Thank you, dr ettinger. um Before I read my piece, do we have anyone here who would like to speak for public comment? Please raise your hand virtually and we'll call on you in the order in which hands are raised.

B

Any speakers for public comment this evening.

B

Dr edinger, I'm not seeing any hands for public comment. Okay, thank you.

A

All right, then, um let's move on to the next piece of our agenda, um and this is going to be um our search process. Update for the record.

A

Let's see all right so in terms of engagement.

A

The search committee has several additional small stakeholder sessions and they were hosted and led by various stakeholder groups, and I want to thank the partners who hosted these sessions as well as the committee members who took time out of their busy schedule to be present this week and next week. The search committee is partnering with the mayor's office to hold additional listening sessions and five other bps languages.

A

Sessions are open to the public and we'll have live interpretation. The zoom links for the additional language listening sessions are have been posted on both the city of boston website and the search committee's website. Bostonpublicschools.Org, slash soup search. So yesterday on may 2nd. The cabo verdiano creole session was held, and earlier today the vietnamese session was held tomorrow. Wednesday may 4th from three to four.

A

The mandarin session will be held and uh the coming tuesday next week may 10th from three to four we'll have a session on hey um in haitian creole and then thursday may 12th from three to four again. We will have a session in cantonese and we continue to encourage groups who wants to share feedback to host their own listening session and send a summarizing memo to the search committee, official email or invite search committee members who are available to attend and listen.

A

There are other formats for engagement, video, testimony and text. Submissions are still being accepted via the search page. An email under the email address of superintendent search at bostonpublicschools.org will continue to receive your comments. Should you wish the committee welcomes continuous feedback from our community and this feedback will help us shape the interview, questions and the elements for the candidates selection.

A

We also anticipate assembling this information for the incoming superintendent to inform their planning work all right. Any uh questions on engagement from our committee before I go on.

A

Okay, hearing none um the search yeah, I'm so sorry, you have my apologies holler at me, um jessica.

E

Sure so I was just wondering how we're doing outreach for these additional language specific um listening sessions and if we are proactively partnering with community-based organizations, for example. um So you know, I know um the um cambodian one didn't have great participation and I don't know if the vietnamese one did, um but if it didn't. I think we have to not assume that the rest will be well attended either.

E

And so I wonder if, like for the mandarin speaking one like, have we advertised it and um the chinese language newspapers and have we partnered with bcnc and um cpa and yes and other.

E

um Community-Based non-profits and partners that uh you know the the chinatown ymca, etc for the cantonese and mandarin ones, because I am concerned that if we are not doing that aggressive intentional partnering that um we're not going to get great turnout- and uh you know even the labor one I hosted you know, if you don't make the phone calls, they don't come right and do the intentional uh organizing around it, and so um they just wanted to see what the plan was. There.

A

I'm actually going to turn to our our support staff folks um to talk a bit about how they have been. I know that they've been on the website, but I don't know about the actual outreach pieces and how the folks who are hosting it for us are outreaching. Maybe lis. Do you know if um or is annie on maybe annie has information that that we don't.

A

B

um Yeah, annie has been taking the lead with that piece of it, and I don't see her on the call.

A

Okay, so so why don't we do this? I we we will ask and get some answers and and and try to uh crank up for the next um for the next three that are coming up to see if we can make some additional phone calls or ask our partners to right through through their venues as well.

E

Right, but I think we have to be intentional about even asking our partners to say: hey, have you sent this out to your newsletter or have you announced this at meetings? Have you handed out flyers? Have you gotten rsvps um and, and um sometimes those partners need that kind of specific push, because uh what I do know is just putting on the website and tweeting it out or sending out an email blast is not going to get people there.

A

Yeah: okay, all right, we'll we'll connect with annie to see um to see where, where those pieces are and um yeah, because I'm supposed to go to one of these.

E

Yeah tomorrow and I'm missing two other meetings- and I you know like okay.

A

Let's see, let's see what we can, what we can do from here. um Thank you. Roxy.

F

Thank you similar to what um jessica was talking about. um I guess my concern was because I did attend the kabul verdian one and I saw when jessica asked about the vietnamese participation. One dr bernardo shook her head know that it wasn't a lot of participation, because I wasn't able to attend that.

F

So my concern from just being in the cavalry one asking questions that one I thought it was going this these language sessions were going to be similar to the spanish one, whereas the person taking the lead facilitating was speaking that um that native language showed that it was in this interpretation flow for the cabo verdean one it was mary was facilitating it predominantly. So I so I'm just trying to figure out so so I was just listening to people speaking in english.

F

So not that that's the reason people didn't participate because once again you got to arrive first to even realize that's what's occurring, but that stood out to me because in spanish speaking one person facilitating and leading it was speaking in spanish and the cabo verde one. There was the liaison from the city.

F

That said, she speaks gay birthday and also, but she was speaking in english on the session I was on and I didn't hear it, but two things that stood out for me were one that she said she got pushed back and she heard from her family that gave her a community that basically a later time would have been better.

F

So I'm confused, because I'm thinking this was a partnership with me when I say partnership, I'm thinking the city, individuals, what the lays on whoever speaking to the cargo verdicting community, because we know we have a significant amount in boston because they're also working on a dual language program right, so we know the community does come out to advance.

F

um So when she said I got pushed back to not do it later. The families needed it later. So if the families need it later, then that's when it should occur. So that was confusing for me if it would occur at a time that is not working for those families and those community members. That's not logical to me if you're not making a time that fits with the community, so I would ask um annie to also provide feedback on how the times were selected to if it was in partnership, it's a live and learn.

F

This is not a blame game.

F

My whole thing.

D

F

Done a little bit differently or it was like hey. We tried this time, it didn't work.

F

I could just hope moving forward with the other ones at the time where something needs to be adjusted, because the group that groups that may work with individuals that speak these languages or the other partners that work with them and the families that do if they say you know what 3pm doesn't work for most of our families, they're still at work, picking up their children, then the time needs to be moved before the meeting happens, and I want to be very intentional.

F

Just being honest and just saying it doesn't work if you just pick something that doesn't work for families to come out and speak at something, that's supposed to be for them. um The second thing, so that's just hoping that annie can provide feedback, and if we need to make adjustments, let's make them immediately, um because I think organizations can bring people so, and I hear the comment about will go to things that organizations are hosting to, but really this was the perfect time that we have kabul, verdi, partner organizations.

F

That say this time and date works for them, and we have city officials and liaisons to speak those languages. That's the partnership right doing it at that same time versus saying, oh, we can also do a separate one if you pull something together. um So I want to be mindful of that.

F

The second thing which I want to ask, um because it did come up- and I thought the individual who brought it up, um made a very poignant point about the students who are incarcerated, I'd like to know how we are reaching out to them how they do get voice these students who are detained or incarcerated and still being educated by boss bps.

F

um They have a voice, they should have agency and we should hear feedback from them on the perspectives of how you know whether the school system did didn't work for them in certain aspects, because they're currently detained and no one wakes up in the morning saying I want to be detained right. So something didn't work well for them, we'd like to hear how they think a leader could help them do better successfully and also get the academics they need, while they are in a different place um at this point in time.

F

So I'm also interested in engagement with those students and not just per se. Cherry picked, a certain student I'd also say, and it's maybe a later answer to come, but just to be mindful of also including those students, because they matter they count we're educating them and so the trajectory that brought them there. That's not what they wanted for their life. Of course,.

A

A

C

I may just speak to.

A

C

And thanks for bringing that up roxy, I can't speak to getting input among those youth with regards to superintendent surge. But I will tell you that there is in fact fairly extensive involvement between dys and the alternative ed program, in particular um through the boston youth service network.

C

So a number of folks that provide our alternative, ed schools, uh such as abcd, etc, sit together on the boston youth service network, as does dys and there's actually fairly close engagement between those groups to making sure the voice and sheriff tompkins office, for example, also sits in that group as well. So there's a fairly extensive involvement between those between the groups that work with the youth that are caught in court involved and um our alternative ed system. But that is a separate.

C

I just want to make sure you heard that that is a slightly separate issue, though from hearing from those students with regards to superintendent search. That is a secret.

F

Can I just ask to clarify a question from you? Is it the groups that are having the conversation or the students actually speaking for themselves,.

C

No you asked about, I heard you ask kind of two questions. The first one and I do want to be mindful of time. This can be a separate conversation for us. You asked about how those youth can have agency in the search process, and I said that I couldn't answer, but you also asked how the district works with those youth, because those are our students as well.

C

You are absolutely right, and so I want to let you know there actually is a fairly formal effort through the re-engagement center, through boston youth service network through our alternative network that is involved with both dys and sheriff tompkins office, etc. In how we engage with those students.

F

So I understood everything you stated the second part that you were clarifying to tell me about the engagement. That's the part. I was seeking clarification.

C

That's what we need some work on. I agree with that.

F

C

So one of those things happening okay, but what I think we can probably do is reach out to the boston youth service network bison. It's called because they do have involvement of dys from sharon sheriff tompkins office and the alternative, ed programs that are educating those students to figure out how we can get voice from the students that are that are caught involved.

A

Right so so I I am, actually um I am going to ask us to wrap this piece up. The last time we were together, we talked about um getting more student voices anyway. Maybe we can wrap this piece into it and deal with it. You know, as as um as a group of work, that we need to do and getting more more more student voices on the table and also um students who are incarcerated, um who are still receiving bps services.

A

Let's, let's put a, um let us put a pen put a pin in that, so we don't lose it and then we can. um We can also hear back from from annie if um we can crank this up a notch and get some people to show up, because my cantonese is not good enough to carry on individual conversations, so we need more people around the table.

A

um Okay, so let's move into our um executive session work. um I the committee, will now adjourn to an executive session to consider um interview actually to I'm sorry.

A

I lost my place there um to consider um training uh regarding what we need to know for protocol for interviews and or to consider interview, applicants and to discuss questions to hold this discussion, and an open meeting would have a detrimental effect in obtaining qualified applicants and therefore the committee will um will, and after we after we have a motion and receipt to um executive session, we will not return to public session again.

A

um We will we will dismiss and and and and end the meeting from our executive session portion of the meeting. um I'm sorry, I probably confused folks. I am now entertaining a motion to go into executive session. May I have a motion please so I moved a second. Did I hear a second, you did. Thank you, uh ms sullivan. Can you please call the world or ms.

B

Harvey yes, mr o'neal.

C

B

Dr pignato, yes, ms tang, yes, mr valenzuela, yes, dr edinger, yes, it's unanimous! Thank you.

A

Okay, so I want to remind everyone that you need to log off of this meeting, so we can end the public portion of our meeting and you have been send a zoom link for the second half of our meeting. Does everybody have that link.

A

Okay, all right so I'll see you around the corner.

A

E