WINDHAM SOUTHEAST SCHOOL DISTRICT
DRAFT MINUTES
The Windham Southeast School District Communications Council
Met at 12pm on Friday, December 8, 2023
WSESU Central Office Conference Room, 53 Green Street
and remotely via Zoom.
Attendance: Ruby McAdoo, Robin Morgan, Matt Schibley, Michelle Green
I. Call to Order / Introductions / Recognition of Visitors
The meeting was called to order at 12:04.
II. Google drive / shared file system for board use
The committee discussed the best way to utilize the shared drive that was created for board members.
Beyond the use for creating a resource of publications to subscribe to, which was voted on at the 11/14
WSESD meeting, the drive could be used to house orientation and meeting documents for board
members to read. The committee discussed creating a folder for each meeting that could hold the
agenda, support documents such as presentations and new hire materials, and eventually the minutes.
There was some question of whether there would be any open meeting law or confidentiality issues
with creating a shared resource to be used in this way. If board members are interested in this we could
seek legal advice.
III. Gather or create documents / info for public:
a. Tutorial on website / site map
The committee discussed the benefits of a video tutorial and who would be the target audience(s). The
site is used by parents, staff, prospective employees, board members, and other community members,
all of whom have differing things they are typically looking for on the website.
Kerry Amidon’s family has volunteered to help create a video. There was also discussion of whether this
could be a project for video classes at BUHS or WRCC. Ruby agreed to follow up with Jody Normandeau
and Kerry Amidon about this.
b. Acronym cheat sheet
This was requested by a community member. Matt noticed there is one in the board orientation
documents and he agreed to ask Deborah Stanford for a link to it.
c. Synopsis on Act 173
This was requested by a community member. The Agency of Education has already created a synopsis
of Act 173 (full text available here). The committee discussed whether a simplified version of this
synopsis might be helpful to families and community members. There was consideration about whose
role it is to convey this important information to the school communities. Ruby volunteered to talk
further about this with Jody Normadeau.
IV. Survey on how to improve feedback loop between LCs and board
Superintendent Mark Speno suggested that the Communications Council develop a survey to get
feedback from Leadership Councils about how we can strengthen communication between LCs and the
Board.
The committee discussed the Board representative assigned to each committee as the primary
conduit of information from the LC to the Board and vice versa. Upcoming policies were discussed
as a potential source of input from LCs. The committee discussed various ways of inviting feedback
from LCs on policies under consideration. Ruby created a draft survey. Some suggested questions
were “What should board be communicating to LC?” and “What does LC want to have influence
on?”
V. Community engagement:
a. Revitalizing email distribution lists & systems
Mailing lists for receiving emails of meeting agendas were established in 2020 but they have not been
updated since that time. Mo Hart is now in the process of updating them. She indicated to Ruby that
there will be new language at the end of notifications that gives recipients a way to unsubscribe from
the mailing list. A new sign up form will be sent out to give people who have joined the school district
since 2020 the opportunity to sign up. Going forward the Communications Council recommends that
this form be sent to all enrolled families at the start of each school year. All Leadership Council chairs
will also be added to these mailing lists.
b. District Calendar: recommendations for clarity
There was a discussion regarding parent confusion over the last day of school and how that is
communicated on school calendar. The last day of school is not determined until late in the school year
because it depends on how many snow days or other school cancellations occur. It is mainly an issue
for families who need to arrange childcare when school is not in session. There has been a banner
added to the website that advertises the last day of the school year once that is established and Mo
Hart is working on clarifying the language on the district calendar for 2024-25. Robin agreed to send her
the email with suggestions that she sent in 2022.
c. Communications for district: possible recommendation for district to have a
communications council
The committee discussed whether this might already be in the job description of Central Office
staff. There has been a lot of focus recently on increasing communication with the public. Ruby
volunteered to check in with Mo Hart to see if any support or action is needed.
VI. Consider plan for future meetings
The committee agreed to plan a future meeting once the Leadership Council surveys have been sent out
and completed.
VII. Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 2:20pm
