| District HighlightsThere were many notable celebrations and highlights at the last School Committee meeting, including:The Holliston High School robotics team earned first place at the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) New England District WPI event.For the first year, Holliston High School has a chapter of the Tri-M Music Honor Society. This is a nationally recognized honor society designed for high school music students and offers students chances to demonstrate their academic, musical, and leadership skills.Four Holliston athletic programs ranked in the top 20 of their respective divisions in the October 6 MIAA power rankings.RAMS has ranked in the 91st percentile for MCAS scores statewide.Holliston will host the 2027 5-Town Special Olympics on April 9 with a Track & Field Theme. |
| High School ScheduleStudent representatives reported that administrators are working with the Student Advisory Council to arrange 1-1 meetings between students and administrators. Notes will be collected to identify student concerns, particularly regarding the school schedule, instructional time, and homework workload. |
| Welcome, Officer Beltran as the Woodland Campus SRODistrict Administrators announced that Officer Gustavo Beltran will be the Woodland Campus’ new Student Resource Officer following Officer Woods’ retirement this past spring. Officer Gustavo is multilingual, speaking both English and Portuguese, which administrators noted will be a benefit to our students as our Portuguese-speaking population continues to grow. |
| District Safety PlanningJess Beattie, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services announced that the first meeting of the District Safety Committee was held and that a two-year strategic plan is being developed to address environmental safety, cybersecurity, emergency drills, and mental health. The committee includes building and central administration, police, fire, and Youth and Family Services representatives. |
| Multilingual Learners & FamiliesA Multilingual Learner Family Potluck Dinner will be held on October 15th from 5:30-6:30 PM at Miller Elementary School. Dr. Karen Rondon-Bourn reported that the district has reached the threshold to establish a English Language Parent Advisory Council (ELPAC) and the dinner provides an opportunity for the district to connect with families that might be interested in implementing Holliston’s first ELPAC. Dinner will be provided free of charge. |
| Superintendent’s GoalsThe School Committee voted to approve the superintendent’s goals for the 2026–2027 school year. You can read Dr. Carter’s goals here. |
| MCAS & District Accountability PresentationDr. Karen Rondon-Bourn, Director of Teaching and Learning presented the 2026 district MCAS results, highlighting areas of growth and targeted areas, as well as district strengths:Areas of Growth and Targeted Areas: Overall performance and growth of English Language LearnersGrade 10 English Language Arts subgroup performanceScience performance in Grades 5 & 8Bright Spots and Strengths:Grades 3-8 and Grade 10 math growthStrong statewide accountability rankings across all schoolsHigh Percentile Rankings:RAMS ranked in the 91st accountability percentile and scored a 79% cumulative criterion-referenced target percentage – meeting or exceeding targets.HHS ranked in the 83rd accountability percentile and scored a 64% cumulative criterion-referenced target percentage – substantial progress toward targets.Miller Elementary School ranked in the 75th accountability percentile and scored a 60% cumulative criterion-referenced target percentage – substantial progress toward targets.Dr. Rondon-Bourn reported that the district will be reviewing English learner programming, implementing and piloting science curricula, and examining instructional practices and student supports in response to shifting student needs. You can read the full report here. |
| Paraprofessional Negotiation SubcommitteeThe School Committee voted to appoint Frank Ogura, Sarah Fitzgerald, and Tracy Floekher to the paraprofessional bargaining subcommittee. |
| Updated Policy: IJNDCThe committee reviewed and approved an amendment to Policy IJNDC: Acceptable Use of Digital Resources aligning it with updated student handbooks. Read the full policy here. |
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