When I ask parents and caregivers about their child’s experience with their elementary school, the overwhelming response is that they love their teacher! We are blessed in Medford to have a group of caring and inspiring teachers that have worked tirelessly, especially through this COVID crisis, in order to ensure that each child receives the best possible educational experience. It is my mission to both support our teachers in their capacity to care and inspire our learners, and to address immediate and ongoing concerns.

Elementary School Concerns:

1. 1. Prioritizing elementary school students as “in person” learners, rather than remote schooling which is problematic for many students and their families.

   2. Development of at-home, self-directed activities for students in case of COVID surges.

   3. Figuring out the logistics for outdoor lunch time. Students congregated together indoors with their masks off is worrisome due to the potential health risks.

   4. Cleaning supplies for the classrooms. Teachers need supplies to enable them to provide the healthiest possible indoor environment.

   5. Busing concerns.

   6. Curriculum Nights - a remote option.

After-school Program - Up until the COVID crisis, Medford had a great win-win program whereby high school students would be hired to provide after school programming for elementary school students. I have taught many of the high school students involved in this important program and have personally witnessed their lit-up faces at the end of the day. They were excited to go see “their” kids. For the elementary school students this was also a win-scenario because they were exposed to amazing, bright, and enthusiastic young role models. We were sending in a diverse group of high school students, so that the younger kids got to interact with someone who looked like them. That is also important.

Currently, there are not enough after-school slots; we know that this is critical for working families. I know that there are obstacles to re-implementing this program, but these are outweighed by the enormous benefits the program provides. I will focus on ensuring that every Medford family that needs after-school care, will have access to our unique, affordable after-school program.

World Languages Exposure - One of Medford’s greatest strengths is that many of our students speak more than one language. Neuroscience tells us that the window of opportunity to learn languages are the early elementary years. Learning a language benefits the developing brain because of its non-stop problem solving capacity. When exposed to another language the brain seeks to answer questions such as, “what did I just hear?”, or “how do I say it in another language?” Can we provide an introduction to all three languages we teach at MPS?

If we fast-forward past elementary school, we know that students that can receive the National Seal of Bi-literacy, or successfully pass an Advance Placement language test, do much better in the college admissions process, and/or go on to be successful in other endeavors. (One such former student of mine, Justin Tseng is fluent in five languages, and also currently a wonderful candidate for Medford City Counsel.) To this end, I will promote and support programming that introduces world languages to young students.

Andy Milne - School Committee