Open Forum Letters
Dear Members of the School Committee,
I hope this email finds you well. I am reaching out to provide feedback on the attendance policy changes discussed during the Policy Subcommittee meeting on May 7. Parents who attended the May Citywide PTO meeting have expressed concerns and considerations that we hope you will take into account as you continue to revise this policy.
One key concern raised is the need for attendance policies to address whole family care. We strongly encourage the implementation of procedures for proactive outreach to families of students with chronic absenteeism. Rather than relying solely on punitive measures, we urge the committee to explore strategies for working collaboratively with these families to identify and address the root causes of absenteeism and develop supportive solutions.
We kindly ask that the School Committee consider the following, for students in the middle and high school levels:
* Establishing a system for outreach and direct engagement with families struggling with attendance issues
* Creating a more holistic approach that recognizes attendance challenges as a shared responsibility between schools and families
* Acknowledging the financial impact on families when a parent must miss work to take a child to a sick visit for routine illness, and exploring ways to minimize this burden
* Considering research findings from the UCLA School Mental Health Project, which found that a program denying aid to families with dependent children if teenagers did not attend school led to lower achievement and higher dropout rates. This underscores the importance of supportive, rather than punitive, approaches to improving attendance.
* Providing resources and support services that address barriers to attendance, such as transportation, health concerns, or family circumstances
We appreciate the time and effort the School Committee is putting into ensuring that our school policies best support students, families, and educators. We look forward to further discussion and collaboration on this important issue.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Best regards,
Jill Sabin
Quincy Citywide PTO President
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Good evening, members of the School Committee. Thank you for your dedication to our students and schools.
I'm Tom Leung, and I'm running for School Committee because I believe in Quincy schools and their potential to serve every child effectively.
While canvassing recently, I met a family whose child demonstrated clear academic readiness for first grade but was denied placement solely because of a rigid birthdate cutoff. Despite meeting all academic criteria, the family was told no exceptions could be made.
That family has now left our district for a community with more flexible policies.
This raises an important question: Are we inadvertently losing talented students because our current approach lacks appropriate flexibility?
I've researched how other districts handle similar situations. Belmont maintains a strict cutoff with no exceptions. Our Quincy policy appears to lack clear guidance for exceptional cases. Meanwhile, Westford has developed a balanced, common-sense approach that maintains high standards while allowing merit-based exceptions through a transparent assessment process.
I believe we can develop a policy that creates pathways for our children's success while maintaining clear standards. This approach aligns with our shared commitment to putting our children's educational needs first.
I respectfully suggest the committee consider reviewing our age-placement policy with an eye toward incorporating merit-based exception procedures. I'd be happy to share the research I've gathered on successful models from other districts.
Thank you for considering this important opportunity.
Tom Leung
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Hello School Committee Members,
My name is Kim Horrigan, currently a PTO member of our proud Montclair Elementary School, where all three of my kids are attending/attended. My two younger sisters and I also graduated from Montclair as well, many moons ago and I am so proud to serve my Montclair community. We recently had a very successful 89th Montclair May festival and I am grateful to take part in one of the city's oldest traditions.
Thanks to our amazing PTO moms and teachers who volunteered to make this event memorable for parents/grandparents and kids! I am extremely grateful to work alongside a group of amazing parents/teachers from Montclair! But a common theme I keep hearing at Citywide PTO meetings is low attendance at PTO meetings, or low PTO members running for the board. I feel for those schools, and we need a way to increase participation at the PTO level. This also makes me realize that putting on any fundraisers or events requires a lot of team effort and the cost of common equipment rental (cotton candy/popcorn machines, bouncy houses, games) eats away any profit of the hard work of the PTO. This equipment can be purchased and shared amongst the school for festivals/fun runs/ fundraisers, etc. This might alleviate the burden of PTOs and can allow schools to raise and keep more $$. More $$ raised results in more paid field trips, more support for our classrooms and our teachers, happier students, and an overall better learning environment when our kids get to enjoy these fun activities!
This might be even a consideration to partner with Quincy's parks/recreation, etc. Obviously, I might be oversimplifying because we need to account for storage, setup up/repairs/maintenance, but these can be factored in. Just for Montclair, we might be renting a bouncy house twice this year (May Festival + Field Day) this year.
Lastly, I truly want to give shout-outs to the most amazing PTO moms of Montclair. Thank these ladies for making volunteering at a PTO so much fun! I hope we can share this PTO culture!
President: Staci O'Brien
Vice President: Amanda Jordan
Treasurer: Stephanie Eddy
Recording Secretary: Emily Moore
Corresponding Secretary: Jen Lyons
City Wide PTO Representatives: Leah White & Amy Warren
City Wide EDI Representative: Joanna Chow & Kim Horrigan
Thank you for your consideration,
Kim