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Holyoke School Committee Meeting, October 28, 2024

OctOctober 28 2024

6:00pm - 7:00pm Fifield Room @ William J Dean Technical High School

1045 MAIN ST , Holyoke, Ma 01040

MEETING NOTICE

SCHOOL COMMITTEE AGENDA

DATE: October 28, 2024

TIME: 6:00 PM

LOCATION: Fifield Room, HOLYOKE HIGH DEAN CAMPUS, 1045 MAIN ST, HOLYOKE, MA 01040

 

Members of the public can access the meeting here:  https://hps-holyoke-ma-us.zoom.us/j/85266232176?pwd=ci9tWEs3cG81SkQxdXZrWW5GenBXQT09 

(Spanish Interpretation will be available).    

 

On March 29, 2023, Governor Healey signed into law An Act Relative to Extending Certain State

of Emergency Accommodations, which, among other things, extends the expiration of the

provisions pertaining to the Open Meeting Law to March 31, 2025. Specifically, this extension

allows public bodies to continue holding meetings remotely without a quorum of the public body

physically present at a meeting location, and to provide “adequate, alternative” access to remote

meetings. The Act does not make any new changes to the Open Meeting Law other than

extending the expiration date of the temporary provisions regarding remote meetings from

March 31, 2023, to March 31, 2025. 

 

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN IN ACCORDANCE WITH CHAPTER 28 OF THE ACTS OF 2009, SECTIONS 17-20 (FORMERLY SECTION 23B OF CHAPTER 39) OF THE MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL LAWS, THAT A REGULAR MEETING OF THE HOLYOKE SCHOOL COMMITTEE WILL BE HELD ON October 28, 2024.

  • 1. CALL TO ORDER ~ ROLL CALL ~ PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCEPursuant to M.G.L. c. 30A, s. 20, I am hereby informing all attendees that a video and audio recording is being made of the meeting and the meeting is being live-streamed and run live on the City’s community TV channel

 

   2.Election of Vice-Chair Pro-Tem for October 28, 2024 regular meeting of the Holyoke School Committee as per Policy       BDA: School Committee Organizational Meeting

  “In the absence of the Vice Chairperson at any meeting thereafter, the Committee shall elect, in the manner outlined, a Vice  Chairperson pro-tem.”

     3.Student Showcase – None  

 

     4. Public Comment- Members of the public wishing to submit public comments can email ifeliciano@hps.holyoke.ma.us no later   than 3:00 p.m. Monday, October 28, 2024. 

  • Comments will either be displayed or read during the meeting.

     5.Communication Reports-

A. Student Reports

  • HHS North-Student Representative
  • HHS Dean Campus- Student Representative

      B. Superintendent’s Report – N/A

C. Vice Chair Report

Reminder: November 12, 2024 at 6:30pm Superintendent Evaluation Training. This training will take place immediately following the regular meeting of the Holyoke School Committee which will start at 6pm.

D. Subcommittee Appointed List Updated

     6. New Business- Holyoke High Dean Campus Admission Policy

    RECOMMENDATION: That the School Committee refer the admission policy of Holyoke High     Dean Technical to the Policy and Governance Subcommittee for discussion and recommendations if warranted.

        B. Orders

  • Introduced by Committee Member John Whelihan, that the Receiver/Superintendent provide an update to the School Committee on activities done throughout the district to recognize Hispanic Heritage Month September 15-October 15.

 

  • Updates of Committees
  • Policy and Governance Subcommittee
  • Finance and Operations Subcommittee
  • Joint City Council/School Committee
  • Local Control Subcommittee
  • Leadership, Accountability and Measurement Subcommittee

 

  1. Ongoing Business
  2. MASC Resolutions

ACTION: School Committee to provide feedback to the Delegate and Alternate Delegate of the Delegate Assembly. No motion required.    

 

  1. Announcements

 

Packet

Order filed for Hispanic Heritage Month

 

Dear School Committee Members,

Here is the requested overview of how Holyoke Public Schools recognized, celebrated, and educated about Hispanic Heritage Month, which is nationally recognized each year from September 15 through October 15.

Schools held their own events and programming, which included parades, assemblies, specialized lesson plans, and family events. While all schools did something to acknowledge the month, the following is what was submitted to the communications team for coverage:

  • STEM Academy and HHS Dean Tech Campus had themed morning announcements with facts about each Hispanic country and shared curated playlists. Dean’s culinary students also made themed dishes.
  • Sullivan Middle School had an educational bulletin board contest, and an after school event for families that featured food, dancing, and art. 
  • Metcalf Middle School had an assembly/pep rally that featured remarks from the Mayor, a ceremony listing each Hispanic country, and performances by two different dance troupes. 
  • Lawrence School spent a week (October 15-18) learning about the 21 different Hispanic countries, with each classroom picking one country to learn about. The students then gave a hallway parade for families, followed by an assembly where students presented what they learned to the rest of the school, practicing public speaking with a microphone.
  • Kelly School had a car parade where families and community members decorated their cars for different countries and drove by for the students. 
  • Morgan School had a read-aloud event where older students read relevant Hispanic Heritage Month titles to younger students, had a number of educational bulletin boards up, and did a special morning broadcast on October 15 to wrap-up the month.

District wide, the communications team highlighted the month by providing news coverage about school events, sharing the Superintendent’s letters that emphasize the importance of the month, and sharing pieces of Holyoke’s history in the Together For Holyoke newsletters and on the district website. Additionally, a celebration of our Language Access team and a new video about the positive impact of our Dual Language program for Latino educators tied into the month’s theme. A roundup of these news stories and newsletter editions includes: 

The official district social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube) amplified a number of the above events, and shared some additional pieces of content, including profiles of Jasarah Burgos and Yadilette Rivera-Colón, a call for heritage recipes from FoodCorps, and a video about Sullivan School’s bulletin board contest. Links to that content can be found here:

 

Please let me know if you need any other information regarding how schools across the District celebrated this month.

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