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Norwood committee hears safety-committee progress, Aspen rollout and Interface mental-health referral report
Summary
The committee received a safety-committee update describing district-wide implementation of Aspen referral tracking, train-the-trainer safety care plans for staff, and an Interface/William James College referral report covering 33 referrals during April–September 2025.
School Committee member Amari Mazzola updated the board on the safety committee's work, describing efforts to create consistent conduct-referral procedures across elementary schools, district-wide training for entering referrals in the Aspen system, development of consistent student reentry protocols after removals related to conduct, and a planned safety care train-the-trainer model to expand staff capability.
"So 1 of the things that we had decided to implement, was the use of Aspen... at the elementary level as well," Mazzola said, noting the tool will help the district track anonymized incident trends and improve consistency in reporting and response.
Dr. Gallien (online) emphasized that the work is educator-driven and designed to put practical tools in place for daily safety and staff support.
Separately, district staff presented a report on Interface, a William James College referral service the district has used since November 2018. Dr. Luff said that in the reporting period from April 1 to Sept. 30, 2025, Interface handled 33 referrals in Norwood (mostly adults, some students) and that common issues included anxiety and family concerns. "They have been with us working in Norwood since, November 2018," Dr. Luff said.
The committee discussed how Aspen data would be used in anonymized form to identify trends, the constraints of FERPA on sharing incident-level detail, and next steps for training principals, adjustment counselors and teachers on consistent practices.
No formal action was requested on Dec. 17; the committee received the update and requested follow-up on training and data-review timelines.
