The Saugus Union School District governing board is set at Tuesday’s meeting to hear an update from the behavior council that was established to address student behaviors and their impact on the classroom.
According to the meeting agenda, the behavior council was established in December 2024 and began meeting after school in January.
“However, following its last meeting, the members of the council determined they needed a more concentrated amount of time to truly do justice to this complex problem,” the agenda item reads.
The next meeting of the council will be a full day to allow members the time needed to discuss the challenges responses, and recommendations they will make, according to the agenda item.
It also says the council is looking through the suggested consequences for student behavior that will be implemented districtwide. Two representatives from the council will be presenting an update on the work they have done.
The board is also expected to approve a resolution that is going to reassign general education paraeducators in the writing program to other programs across the school sites.
According to the agenda item, 31 general education paraeducator positions in the writing program were funded by the Learning Recovery Block Grant. The grant has been expended and is no longer ongoing, which is the reason for the need to reassign the employees.
Of the 31 positions, 10 of them are currently vacant and will not affect any employees, read the agenda item.
Jennifer Stevenson, assistant superintendent of Human Resources, said that 20 employees in the writing program are going to be affected but no one is going to be laid off.
The district is planning on absorbing the 20 employees into other open positions. The agenda item does note that there are 21 affected employees, but Stevenson said one general education paraeducator in the writing program resigned.
The board will also be recommended to approve the 2024-25 second interim report with a positive certification.
The second interim report shows the district is projecting to have the available resources to meet its financial obligations for the rest of this fiscal year and for the subsequent two fiscal years.
The board will be discussing Superintendent Colleen Hawkins’ special education task force’s findings and recommendations.
The presentation will address things the district does well and areas of opportunity the task force identified.
“Specifically, the task force’s primary goals were to review a number of areas as it relates to special education practices to ensure that Saugus district is utilizing current research-based instructional practices, staffing is sufficient and cost-efficient, identify areas that could be refined and become more efficient so that students continue to maintain appropriate provision of services to make adequate programs on grade level standards and curriculum,” reads the agenda item.
The board will also be reviewing the district’s social-emotional learning survey results.
The survey consisted of two areas being rated: teacher perception and student self-ratings.
According to the presentation included in the agenda item, the survey is intended to:
- Proactively identify students who may be struggling with social and emotional competencies.
- Allow for early intervention and support to address potential issues that could impact students’ academic performance, well-being, and overall school experience.
- Create a comprehensive understanding of students’ SEL needs across the entire school population to provide targeted interventions where necessary.
Tuesday’s meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at the district’s administration office, located at 24930 Avenue Stanford.
