All meetings in Truro are remote only. Go to truro-ma.gov and click on the meeting you want to watch. The agenda includes instructions on how to join.
Thursday, Sept. 23
- Economic Development Committee, 9:15 a.m.
- Select Board work session, 1 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 27
- Local Comprehensive Plan Committee, 2 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 28
- Cemetery Commission, 10 a.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 29
- Planning Board, 5 p.m.
Conversation Starters
A Two-Student 6th Grade
Before the 2021-2022 school year kicked off, Truro Central School (TCS) Supt. Stephanie Costigan and Principal Patrick Riley did a headcount for the fifth and sixth grades. TCS was expected to welcome 16 fifth graders. As for sixth graders, they anticipated just two.
“Small numbers as low as two are not a healthy-sized classroom for any age group,” Costigan told the school board last Thursday. To solve the problem, she wrote a letter to TCS families proposing that the district combine the fifth and sixth grades, with the recently hired Josh Paul as the lead teacher. He would be supported by reading specialists, TCS’s math coach, and two educational assistants.
A number of parents responded by email, outlining their qualms, and on Sept. 2, Costigan held a Zoom meeting to touch base with families. Some parents worried that a larger fifth-and-sixth-grade classroom would heighten the risk of Covid-19 transmission. Others objected to the lack of parent input into the process. Another concern: could a brand-new teacher handle a blended classroom?
Over Labor Day weekend, Costigan and her team revised their plan, and on Sept. 6, they sent a second letter to families, informing them that the fifth and sixth grades would remain separate. Paul would teach the 16-student fifth-grade class, and Abby Roderick would teach the two-student sixth-grade class, assisted by a special education teacher.
“It was a learning lesson for myself in getting more input before we make changes,” Costigan said. —Jasmine Lu
