District presents teaching and learning updates, operations overview and recommended E‑Rate bids

District leaders used the March 3 board meeting to give a multi-department briefing on teaching and learning, operations and technology projects that will shape next school year’s implementation plans.

Associate Superintendent Dr. Raby introduced a teaching-and-learning overview covering curriculum, assessments and professional learning. Executive directors described planned elementary and secondary resource adoptions (social science and science at the elementary level were specifically noted), expanded curriculum documentation for secondary courses, and work on multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS). The district highlighted a partnership with the Dunham Foundation to provide Latera tutoring and said it will introduce a newcomer lab at Washington Middle School next year.

Special education and multilingual leaders described implementation steps for the district’s new K–5 bilingual curriculum and said they will consolidate some early‑childhood self‑contained classes into a single location to better support specialized staff. They also said that most students with Individualized Education Programs receive services in general education settings and that district professional learning will focus on enabling teachers to adapt the new literacy curriculum for students with IEPs.

Tom Davidson, executive director for data, research and accountability, summarized assessment and grants work including management of federal and state funds and support for schools in targeted or comprehensive status. He said the district is preparing for a migration to a new student information system (PowerSchool) and plans new data dashboards for community and board transparency.

Operations staff reviewed transportation, fleet and facilities. Transportation staff said their fleet includes large passenger buses and smaller special‑needs buses, uses contractor routes for some out‑of‑district placements, and currently operates roughly 360 routes. Operations reported plans to introduce electric buses in the fall (district staff stated that 27 of the large buses will be electric in an upcoming change) and noted state eligibility rules that generally require students to live more than 1.5 miles from school for district transportation eligibility unless a ‘‘serious safety hazard’’ is present.

Director of Technology Kyle Frizzie presented recommended bids for the second part of the district’s E‑Rate upgrade (WAN, point‑to‑point and Category 2 equipment). He recommended MetroNet for point‑to‑point wireless service (5‑year term at $360 per month after the projected E‑Rate discount) and for the wide area network (to upgrade multiple sites from 1 Gb to 10 Gb), and recommended Continental Resources for Category 2 switching, cabling and battery backup equipment (bid price about $168,915 before E‑Rate discounts; an estimated post‑discount cost cited was $89,881.06). Frizzie noted bundling WAN and point‑to‑point work could reduce equipment costs versus purchasing devices outright. The board was told the next meeting would include vote-ready scoring matrices for each bid.

On student conduct policy, Pete Martino said the district has a draft cell‑phone policy under development and is vetting enforceability and progressive enforcement steps with secondary staff and neighboring districts. He told the board the district is discussing practical enforcement and learning from other districts’ approaches (cell‑phone caddies, classroom signage) while guarding against repeated workarounds (smart watches, wearable devices).

Several operational numbers and vendor quotes were provided on the record. The transcript shows comparisons between MetroNet and Comcast pricing and two equipment quotes (Continental Resources and CDW). The presentation closed with an invitation to return the next meeting for formal votes on the E‑Rate bids.

No formal votes were taken on these informational items at the March 3 meeting; the E‑Rate recommendations will return for board action at a future meeting.