Maynard Public Schools

Good evening, Please use the information that follows in conjunction with the information that was shared a short time ago. In the fall, a concern was brought forward about the air quality at Green Meadow. The Maynard Public Schools and Town Facilities team immediately worked with the Department of Public Health and an independent contractor to determine that, according to the reports provided, the learning environment was safe. There has been a subsequent evaluation, done by the Teacher’s Association, that largely confirmed those reports. Still, something wasn’t right. There are a number of teachers and staff at GM that reported continuing concerns about air quality. The School Committee, Dr. Gerardi and the Facilities Director have continued to work to resolve these concerns. Last Friday, a concern was brought forward about asbestos. Water has been infiltrating through a failing roof and into the Kindergarten/Preschool  wing. Once again, school leadership and the facilities team have worked to determine the severity. In the last week, members of the School Committee, the school administration, Facilities Director, DPW Director and others have participated in more than 10 hours of building walkthroughs, planning sessions and conference calls to come up with a plan. This plan is what is being communicated on the town website and on the school department News Feed. Right now, what we know is that when the roof leaked in the Kindergarten wing, it made pieces of ceiling tiles fall in a classroom. These tiles may contain asbestos due to the age of the building and the materials that were known to be used at the time. Some repairs have been made to the roof, but it's an old roof. Rather than wait for it to leak again and damage more ceiling tiles, we are going to shut down the old wing of the school and safely rip out all of the old building materials and replace them with a modern drop ceiling. Air quality is another concern at the school, so we are going to move forward with adding air purifiers. We are evaluating a number of options and vendors. The leadership has worked with our insurer to file a claim, the claim has been approved, and funds are available for remediation and repair. I’m certain that there will be many questions that have not been answered. There are several steps of this plan that are still being analyzed in conjunction with the Facilities Department, our staff professional organizations and the administration.  Updates will continue to be provided as soon as additional information is available. I have been contacted by many members of the community through email and social media. When possible, I have responded to all individuals directly and honestly. I have also seen the conversations online, or been made aware of them. I want to reassure the community, as much as possible, that the School Committee has always had the best interest of our teachers, students and staff at heart. Many groups have been working behind the scenes to resolve these concerns quickly and safely. The next few weeks and months are going to be hard. We are committed to working with all groups to minimize the disruption to the GM community as much as possible while making the building a safer place for world class teaching and learning. As soon as the relocation plan, developed with our Teachers Association and building leaders is finalized, it will be shared with parents and other people who are involved in the educational process. Thank you for reading this and for your patience and understanding going forward. Justin Hemm Chair, School Committee

The Technology Department is hiring a new part-time Helpdesk Technician for the Fowler School. View job posting at https://www.schoolspring.com/job.cfm?jid=3042971

Green Meadow Evacuation Update. The Fire and Police Departments responded and determined that there was an isolated incident in the gymnasium. All students have returned to their classroom and the facilities staff are addressing the issue. Sincerely, Superintendent Gerardi

The roadwork on Powdermill Road, which has already affected bus routes, will be progressing further down the street around January 14th. The DPW, school, and police departments will be working collaboratively on further changes to bus routes and will provide updates next week.

The 129 Parker Street downstream sewer project construction will move onto Parker Street/Route 27 beginning on Monday 12/10/2018 for approximately three weeks. The School Department is working on bus route modifications and will notify those effected. Sincerely, Bob Gerardi

In this holiday season, I am personally thankful for being part of the Maynard community. I wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving Holiday

There is a fire on Summer Street this morning. The MPS transportation company is doing there best to re-route busses but they may be running late.

Maynard Public Schools start time will be delayed by two hours today, 11/16/18

Thank you to the members of the community who made us aware of the concern regarding the video of our recent SC meeting. We have been informed that the issue has now been corrected.

So excited to have multiple members of the School Committee at MASS/MASC 2018 learning how to serve our students, teachers and community better. Continuous growth, continuous improvement.

Thank you to the advisors and members of the MHS National Honor Society for the invitation to your new member induction ceremony tonight. The Maynard community is proud of you and in awe of the amazing things each of you has accomplished.

The El Huipil Mexican restaurant is supporting the MHS Spain exchange again by donating 10% of food bills on Monday, October 29 for eat in and take out orders. Please support this amazing experience for MHS students, and enjoy authentic Mexican food at the same time.

All community members are invited to join the School Committee and Administration for a discussion of "The Energy Bus" following Thursday's School Committee meeting.

School Committee Agenda for Thursday:          1. Minutes          2. Chairperson's Report             3. Superintendent's Report           4. Student Representative Report           5. FY20 Budget Update          6. School Committee Goals          7. Citizen’s Comments           8. Member’s Comments/Questions After the School Committee Meeting: Book Talk – The Energy Bus

Extreme thanks to the Friends of WAVM for hosting tonight's Mother-Son Luau. A great time was had by all!

The Maynard School Committee would like to thank the community members who attended tonight's Parent Forum. We greatly appreciate the honesty, passion and thoughtfulness you brought to the conversation. We are committed to improvement and thank you for being part of the process.

Enjoy a fabulosa meal from El Huipil restaurant in Maynard on Mondays October 8th & 15th. El Huipil will donate 10% of the food bill to the Maynard-Spain exchange. This amazing authentic cultural exchange for Maynard students began last year and we hope it will continue annually for many more Maynard students to benefit from. Even if you can't get to El Huipil for a sit-down meal, proceeds from take out orders will also be donated. We appreciate El Huipil's generosity and the support of everyone who goes there for great food October 8th & 15th.

The Assabet Valley Regional High School has an immediate opening on the School Committee for a representative from Maynard. This position runs through the end of the school year and then will be subject to regular town election. In the meantime, this position will be filled according to Maynard Town Charter bylaw which require a joint appointment by vote by the Board of Selectmen and Maynard School Committee. The vote will take place on October 16th at the Board of Selectmen Meeting. Interested residents should send a letter of interest to both: Justin Hemm, Chair of the School Committee jhemm@maynard.k12.ma.us and Chris DiSilva, Chair of the Board of Selectmen. cdisilva@townofmaynard.net Deadline to submit is Friday, October 12, 2018.

School Committee meeting Thursday night at 7pm in the Fowler Library. 1. Minutes 2. Chair Report 3. Superintendent Report 4. Student Representative Report 5. G.M. Air Quality Update 6. School Committee Goals 7. Citizen's Comments 8. Member's Comments

A Parent Forum will be hosted by members of the School Committee on Wednesday, Oct 3rd, at 6:30PM in the Fowler Library. This is a follow-up to a similar event held last year and a great way for the School Committee to hear from parents in a more informal setting.