The School Committee approved four policy changes during the summer, which included new use-of-facilities rental, class-size, dress-code, and cellphone policies.
The committee began addressing these four policy changes at its meeting June 26.
After the meeting, School Committee Chair Kate DePrizio said the committee is “keenly focused on reducing barriers to learning, for students and staff, in a holistic manner throughout the district.”
Through the class-size, dress-code, and cellphone policies, the committee hopes to “effectively minimize additional distractions that can negatively impact teaching and learning,” she. “The mantra, ‘Every student, every day’ remains at the forefront of our decision making.”
“One of the primary roles of the School Committee is to review and create educational goals and policies for our district,” DePrizio said. “With recent updates to the structure of the School Committee and approval of Superintendent Geary, we have refined our focus on teaching and learning.”
Use-of-facilities rental policy
The School Committee unanimously voted to approve a new use-of-facilities rental policy at its meeting July 10.
After the meeting, DePirizo explained the new policy created a separate class for Lynnfield residents to be subjected to reduced rental fees.
Class-size policy
The School Committee voted to approve a new class-size policy at its meeting July 10, with Committee member Jamie Hayman voting present.
The approved policy establishes criteria for considering class sizes and provides recommendations for each grade level.
Dress-code policy
The School Committee unanimously voted to approve a new dress-code policy at its meeting Aug. 7.
Committee member Jenny Sheehan, who serves on the Policy Subcommittee, first presented the proposed policy at the committee’s June 26 meeting.
She said the policy focuses on eliminating distractions, safety concerns, and anything disrespectful in the classroom setting. Violations of the policy will result in a series of consequences based on whether the student has previously violated the policy.
At the committee’s July 23 meeting, the public provided mixed feedback regarding the updated policy.
Lynnfield High School seniors Maeve Donovan, Ella Hayman, and Emma Rose spoke together about the proposed policy and emphasized the importance it has on students at the July 23 meeting. The three students had presented to the committee as eighth graders in 2021 to spearhead previous changes to the dress-code policy.
“The significant impact a dress code can have on students cannot be understated,” Donovan said at the July 23 meeting. “One of the most pressing issues that students and teachers are currently facing is a mental-health crisis… and it seems imperative that you understand the impact this dress code can have on students’ mental well-being.. When discussing young girls’ and teens’ mental health, body image consistently comes up as a topic of conversation.”
The conversation surrounding the proposed policy “directly” impacts LHS and Lynnfield Middle School students, Rose said at the July 23 meeting.
“We believe student opinions and perspectives deserve to be heard,” she said. “We are not implying that students need to be directly involved for every policy change. But we will encourage this committee to engage with LHS students and solicit feedback to learn about LHS culture and what actually goes on at our school. A policy change during the summer limits the ability to have students’ voices heard, and we find that very disappointing.”
The goal of the proposed new policy is to create “more balance” to what the committee, principals, and teachers observe in the schools, DePrizio said at the July 23 meeting.
Cellphone policy
The School Committee unanimously voted to approve the district’s first cellphone and related electronic devices policy at its meeting Aug. 7.
Committee member Jim Dillon, who serves on the policy subcommittee, first presented the proposed new policy for cellphones and related electronic devices at the committee’s meeting June 26. He said disruptions from cellphones and other related electronic devices are a widespread, national issue.
At the June 26 meeting, DePrizio said the student handbooks currently have rules about using electronic devices during school hours, but there is no district policy. Creating a policy helps faculty enforce the rules.
Hayman, at the June 26 meeting, asked how these policies would be enforced.
“If you have a teacher who says, ‘I don’t care,’ and another teacher who says, ‘Put that away,’ you’re actually creating an equity issue,” he said.
In response, Committee Vice Chair Kristen Elworthy said she feels not establishing a policy because teachers might enforce it differently would not be beneficial.
Before voting on the policy at the Aug. 7 meeting, Hayman addressed the issue of coaches communicating with athletes through text messaging and asked Geary to help switch this communication to email.
“I think it’s a good start,” Hayman said. “It’s something that we’re going to need to review each year.”
At the Aug. 7 meeting, after the approval of the two new policies, Sheehan said she and Dillon are continuing to find new policies to update in the district.
“We greatly appreciate the feedback that our principals, teachers, and the community have shared with us thus far, regarding our policies,” DePrizio said after the meeting. “Reducing barriers to learning for students and staff, paired with setting a standard for excellence and respect is resonating with our community.”
The committee plans to review each policy annually to “assess their effectiveness and any need for revision, as well as, to solicit feedback from the entire LPS community,” she said.
DePrizio said the community is “always welcome to discuss policy changes and policy needs” with the committee. The School Committee encourages public feedback through public participation at any committee meeting, contacting the School Committee via email and lpssc@lynnfield.k12.ma.us, or contacting any committee member individually via email, phone, or through their Facebook School Committee page.
