December 2022 Meeting Minutes

2/1/2023 9:58 am

PTA MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 2022

 Wednesday, December 7, 2022 – 6:30 EDT

Present: Leila Samara (Vice-President), Jessica Williamson (Secretary), Jessica Grande (Treasurer), Maya Dias (President)

Other in-person attendees: Catherine Carney (Management Team), Blanca Burgos (Family Liaison), Kevin McCaskill (interim Management), BJ Osuagwu, Emily JB Chapman, Rose O’Connor, Nicole O’Neil, Boston City Councillor Kendra Lara

Zoom attendees: Tim Weaver, Carrie Greenaway, Stefanie Frischknecht, Laura Goodbody, Brian Cook, Matthew Smith, Kelly Lepley, Stefania Maheras, Laura Goodbody, Sam Lewis

AGENDA

Welcome, Meeting Overview, Introductions 

• Maya welcomed everyone to the meeting 
• Welcome BJ from Councillor Kendra Lara’s Office
• Re-introduction of Blanca Burgos

Minutes Approval, Essentials

• A MOTION to approve the November meeting minutes was approved. The Minutes will be posted to the PTA website. 
• Accomplishments & Ongoing Events
• Michelle Bylsma and Steve Lewis were the photographers for Family Photo day which was a success - 24 orders placed
• Lyndon Gear Store - 84 items were ordered 

• Middle School Meeting
• The meeting was held Monday, November 28 
• Issues were identified have an impact on school schedule and budget 
• Action points were identified. The notes must go to the SSC and Equity Round Table and Inclusion Committee  
• Next year if we lack materials or afterschool activities or other things, we need to be 
• Maya encouraged the evening’s attendees to also attend the SSC meeting on December 15. 

• Membership Historical Comparison Chart was shared 
• Current 58 families are registered and 22 teachers

• Drop Off / Pick Up Reminders 
• Our neighbors are asking us to be mindful and cautious - particularly of going on sidewalks and blocking driveways
• JW asked about closing Mt. Vernon during school drop off - Maya stated that it’s a community effort that needs the approval and endorsement of many players. Brian Cook stated via zoom chat that we need to look at the accessibility of driving up Mt. Vernon from  an inclusion perspective
• Breakfast, Lunch & Recess Volunteers are needed
• you must be CORI checked in order to volunteer - there is a Google Form 

• SSC Updates - updates from Nicole O’Neil:
• Communication is still a concern according to feedback from parents and teachers
• With regards to safety, messaging is tardy and ambiguous
• Regarding school events, people aren’t receiving Blanca’s emails
• Regarding 3:30 pick up time, there is unclarity
• She encouraged the Senior Leadership to address some of her concerns 
• Next SSC meeting is December 15, 6pm, Maya reiterated the importance of having people attend 

• Turkey Trot 2022 Review
• Great turn out
• Better crowd flow
• Addition of Heat Sponsor level was successful. Although it was a lower amount of money, it allowed for a longer time to engage and ask for sponsorship
• Next year we should start fundraising earlier - banks and other big organizations need much more lead time. Let’s get a committee in place at the beginning of the 23-24 school year. 
• Please start thinking about whether you want to be on the committee for 2023
• Thanks to Maureen Hickey, Sarah Parker, Christine Venture, Tara Donohue, PTA Board, Teachers, staff and administrators and all the volunteers
• Maya thanked Carrie Greenawy for her hard work.

• Turkey Trot in Numbers;
• Net Revenue $9,300
• Business Sponsors -$5,000 raised
• Race Day Revenue (Food, Raffle)$1,605
• Family Wall/Individual Donations $1,835

UPDATES

• CPC updates from Matthew Smith
• parent engagement - attempt to ensure robust and diverse parent engagement 
• Budget - monitor and advocate for a budget that serves all
• Special education - encourage close collaboration with SpedPac
• Green New Deal - key to Mayor Wu’s agenda
• Monitoring school closures due 
• Guiding development of new buildings 
• Equity in school assignment is a major concern
• Transportation issues regarding buses 
• CPC Members were invited to get involved in any of the above priorities, if any Lyndon families would like to get involved, contact Matthew: matthew.noah@gmail.com

• Update from Friends of Lyndon
• First Cornhole Event at the Elks Club was a success
• Next event will be a Cinco de Mayo repeat of last year. Currently they are looking for a venue, and FoL will be asking families for donations to the auction
• If anyone is interested in getting involved, reach out to Kelly: Kelly.K.Lepley@Gmail.com

• Room Parents
• PTA is sponsoring the craft materials 

• Outdoor Classroom
• Friday Before Turkey Trot - daffodil bulbs were planted

• Caring Committee
• Thanks to the Fleury family who designed and built the Boutique

• Equity Roundtable
• Sam and Catherine Carney stated that recruitment is ongoing and members are needed 
• Maya encouraged participation 

• Treasurer's Report
• Bake sale a success - $1300
• Family Photo Day $1900
• Turkey Trot $9500
• We fell short of goal on Turkey Trot
• Reminder from Maya that there are funds for Teacher Grants and staff should use this money or PTA will repurpose these funds
• Nicole asked for an example of what could be used: rug, books, art supplies 

UPCOMING 

• Square 1 Art was deferred to Spring 2023 - please reach out if you would like to volunteer 
• Spelling Bee & Spellcheck Fundraiser will happen in early 2023
• Red Sox Tickets will be available soon for the April 28th evening game against Cleveland. Tickets will be available on the PTA Website

OPEN FLOOR DISCUSSION with Councillor Kendra Lara

• Question from Sam Lewis: what conversations have been happening around the traffic issues on Centre Street? Maya: could there be a crossing guard at that intersection? (From Library to West Napoli)?
• Councillor Lara: a couple of things - a crossing guard is a good short-term solution, although there is a crossing guard shortage at the moment. She suggests AIDStrong - where seniors can volunteer for public organizations and they get a tax credit. West Roxbury has the largest concentration of seniors in the city. Her office will check in to make sure Crossing Guard is one of the positions that they can get instated.
• She acknowledges that Centre Street traffic is a huge issue that is a part of The Centre Street re-design that has been ongoing for a long time. “The reality is that 4 lanes in this kind of neighborhood is never safe in a neighborhood like WR.” 
• Matthew Smith: thanks councillor for attending and for pushing this. There was a plan that BTD put forward that was in the works but was killed in 2019 as a result of business owners. There is a plan that exists, there’s a great deal of work that’s already been done for a “road diet”. Part of the idea is to create a condition where families can travel safely. Let’s reanimate that plan, revive it. It’s needed in this community. 
• Councillor Lara: these issues become political proxy for other things. They invoke a certain kind of backlash, but she still needs the backing of her constituents. 
• Question from Meghan: what’s going on with issues for children with IEP needs? 
• Councilor Lara: she and Councillor Mejia have been working on special needs and transportation issues. Parents are entitled to compensatory services, for example, if your child’s bus doesn’t show up and misses therapy. Parents aren’t receiving this info and don’t know they are owed that - This needs to be made more clear.

OTHER QUESTIONS

• Question from David C.: what about the ongoing emails about toy guns,etc that families are receiving? 
• Catherine Carney: effort of transparent communication and an effort to plead with parents to make sure that families are doing their part in making sure kids don’t come to school with these things. 
• Nicole: adding on to this conversation that as a new parent, they haven’t seen a code of conduct, other parents have stated this too. 
• Mr. McGaskill: my first day was October 14. Yes, we have been working on this document and will be sharing with the entire staff in the next couple of days. Tuesday 12/12 there will be a presentation for all staff. He doesn’t foresee there being a problem in it being stalled. He extended his thanks to the staff who helped author the handbook. 
• Nicole: will there also be information about processes of communication? Like a hierarchy of communications?
• Mr. McGaskill encourages people to go to Ms. Burgos. 
• Maya asks that there’s a more publicly shared process as to how the communication works, for example when a bullying incident takes place. 

Reminder there is no January PTA meeting. 

Meeting adjourned.  

Minutes submitted by Jessica Williamson