Brockton School Committee awards supplemental-services contract to Youth Guidance

The Brockton School Committee voted to award FY2026 school bid CNT 26001 to Youth Guidance, a Chicago-based youth-support organization, for a supplemental-services program at Brockton High School.

Principal McCaskill presented the recommendation, saying Youth Guidance would place full-time staff at Brockton High to provide mentoring, case management, social-emotional learning supports and family outreach for cohorts of male and female students. “They are currently at, I believe, 3 to 4 schools in Boston…Madison Park was their flagship,” McCaskill said, describing attendance and referral improvements seen in other schools where the program has operated.

The bid-review subcommittee — comprised of committee members who met earlier — recommended Youth Guidance after vetting two proposals and considering price stability over a three-year term. Committee member Mr. Gomes moved the award; Miss Oliver seconded the motion. The motion passed by show of hands and, per the meeting record, “passes unanimously.” The motion as read in the meeting was: “Motion to approve Youth Guidance as the awarded vendor for the supplemental service program for BHS CNT number 26001.”

Committee members asked for clarification on program design and metrics. Mr. Vega pressed for concrete attendance and discipline outcomes; McCaskill said students with attendance below 70% in other sites increased to “over 80%” after program implementation and saw “a massive decrease in the amount of teacher referrals.” Committee members also asked how students would be selected; McCaskill said referrals and staff recommendations would inform selection because the program has limited capacity.

The proposal described two separate cohorts for each gender and a full-time school-based staff presence, with home visits and family engagement included in the model. Committee discussion noted the district had received two bids; the subcommittee recommended Youth Guidance as the lower-cost option with consistent pricing across three years and a stronger match to the district’s needs.

The award does not appear to include a detailed, line-by-line funding breakdown in the public discussion; committee members asked about year-to-year pricing and implementation timing. McCaskill said the program would begin once Youth Guidance completes hiring and onboarding and that this first year is primarily to “get it up and running.”

Votes at the meeting record show the motion was made, seconded and approved unanimously; the transcript does not include an itemized roll-call of individual yes/no votes.

Implementation details to be provided later include staffing start dates, exact cohort lists, and district reporting on the program’s attendance, referral and academic metrics. The subcommittee’s recommendation and the full committee vote move the contract award into the implementation phase under district procurement procedures.