On Thursday evening, April 23, the School Committee met in special session for an update on the COVID19 closure and the presentation of a proposal for a Computer Science Endorsement Program.

Meeting remotely, the SC was joined by administrators Dr. Brad Jackson, Superintendent, Peter Botelho, Assistant Superintendent, and Keith Buday, Business Manager.  Dr. Jackson began by reviewing Governor Charlie Baker’s announcement on Tuesday of the closing of all school buildings through the remainder of the school year, that being June 18, in Holliston.  Remote learning will continue until the last day.

As part of Dr. Jackson’s update, he shared statistics of participation in the remote learning program for week two:

On Monday, April 27, a new survey will go out to parents and students.  The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education of MA will soon release revised guidelines for the purpose of strengthening remote learning experiences for students. 

The School Committee voted to pay the Extended Day Program (ED) personnel through June 18.  These employees are presently working on extended day curriculum that will be offered on the school website. 

Tom Reeve, Technology Integration Specialist, and Nicole Bottomley, HHS Principal, joined the meeting remotely to present “Holliston High School Computer Science Endorsement Program” for the purpose of gaining the approval of the School Committee.  Mr. Reeve offered helpful slides to augment his information. 

The goals of the Endorsement program are “To increase HHS participation in computer science-related coursework and programs; and to demonstrate Holliston’s commitment to computer science education.”

In defining Computer Science according Code.org, Reeve said, “[it is] the study of computers and algorithmic processes, including their principles, their hardware and software design, their implementation, and their impact on society.”

Presently, 15 courses are Computer Science related (see photo above) across 5 departments at HHS.  To obtain the Endorsement, students who opt-in would need to complete 5 credits covering study in the 4 Computer Science learning categories.  This would break down as follows:  2 credits in Coding; 1.5 credits in Complex Apps; 1.0 credit in Hardware and Systems; and 1.0 credit in Computer Science and Society, as well as the completion of an independent project. 

The School Committee voted to approve the proposal of the Computer Science Endorsement Program.

In other news, Dr. Jackson updated the Committee on the search for a Student Services Director.  Three finalists have been chosen who will participate in three 45-minute remote interviews to meet separately with groups of administrators, faculty, and parents.  The finalists are Barbara Cerwonka, Mary Buchanan, and Kelly Camp.

Chair Stacey Raffi reported having paid a warrant for a school bill of $16,377.07. 

The next remote meeting of the School Committee will be on May 7, at 7 PM. 

The meeting adjourned at 8:36 PM.