MANCHESTER – Here’s your recap of the Monday, March 11, Board of School Committee meeting. The agenda for the meeting is here: https://5il.co/2g66e. Video from the meeting will be posted online by Manchester Public Television. As a reminder, we recap meetings live online at https://twitter.com/mansd_nh.
The agenda for this meeting was fairly light, so this recap will also be on the lighter side. Now, on to the recap:
McDonough Students Lead the Pledge of Allegiance
Thank you to McDonough Mustangs Samuel, Nyaliz, Kayanda, Kiaraliz and Mwanvua for leading us in the pledge of allegiance at Monday night's Board of School Committee meeting.
Beforehand, the students and their families – joined by Principal DiBenedetto – had a chance to meet Mayor Ruais and check out his office. Great job, everyone!
Quickly Moving to Consent Agenda
With no recognitions, presentations or action agenda items, the board quickly moved to the consent agenda. All items were ultimately approved, and included the following:
A new policy, BOSC 117: Board Meeting Minutes, that reflects existing board rules on minutes and codifies changes to reflect new state law
A job description change for a position in the district human resources office
Collaborations between the school district and Office of Youth Services
New business: New Boundary for Wilson Students
With Henry Wilson Elementary School closing at the end of this year, the district has been working to prepare to shift students and staff to new schools for the start of the 2024-2025 school year. All students currently in the Wilson attendance area will attend either Beech Street or McDonough Elementary Schools next year. The only exception being that fifth grade students will move up to middle school, as the district completes the transition to a 5-8 middle school model.
This item was brought up in new business in order to ensure families received notice of their student's school placement for the coming year as soon as possible. Bringing an item in via new business such as this required the board to suspend its rules, which it did in ultimately approving the plan.
All families impacted by this change will receive an individual letter explaining the change and where their student will attend school next year. The letters will be sent the week of March 18, and will be translated into the primary language of the family as needed.
Superintendent's Communications
Superintendent Gillis and Assistant Superintendents Ransdell and Doherty provided a fairly lengthy list of updates and reminders. Here is a quick rundown:
Solar eclipse: With our region expected to experience a near total solar eclipse on April 8, Dr. Gillis noted that the district will communicate with schools and families to ensure they are prepared. The eclipse is expected to take place in our region during and immediately after school dismissal time.
Spring Into Summer: The District and Manchester Proud will host a new event this Saturday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at Beech Street School. Spring Into Summer is a resource fair aimed at helping connect families and students to enriching summer activities, career-connected learning programs and job opportunities. All are welcome at this free event.
No School Monday, March 18: There is no school on Monday, March 18, for a district-wide professional learning day. Students will return to class on Tuesday, March 19.
Changes to CDC Guidance: As per policy, the district follows CDC guidance on COVID-19. Assistant Superintendent Ransdell announced that the district would immediately change procedures to match the CDC recommendations, which remove the five-day period of absence following a diagnosis of COVID-19. The updated guidance recommends staying away from others and returning to normal activities 24 hours after symptom improvement or reduction in fever. The District has shared this update with staff and will share with families, as well.
Kindergarten registration: Assistant Superintendent Doherty announced that kindergarten registration for the upcoming school year opens on March 16. Families can register online at https://www.mansd.
student and a series of in-person registration dates will be announced for each school.
Facilities information sessions: Finally, Dr. Gillis announced that the next information sessions on the long-term facilities project will be at Beech Street School this Thursday at 5, at McLaughlin on the 27th at 6 and Hillside on the 28th at 6.
As a reminder, you can find more information on the Board of School Committee at https://www.mansd.org/page/bosc. We'll be back with live updates for the March 25 meeting and a recap the following day.