Lincoln School Committee approves seventh-grade overnight trip to Maine's Schoodic Institute

LINCOLN -- May 22, 2025, Lincoln School Committee approves Schoodic overnight, hears strong progress on school improvement plans. The committee voted unanimously to approve a three-day overnight trip to the Schoodic Institute in Winter Harbor, Maine, for next year's seventh graders at $267 per student, with the district covering roughly $11,000 in bus costs from this year's budget. Members also ratified a 2.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment for Superintendent Parry Graham and reappointed Dr. David Keller as school physician. Lincoln 5-8 Principal Jay reported formal bullying investigations dropped from nine to three this year after a peer-mediation program seeded by a Lincoln School Foundation grant to teacher Jenny Nam. The Hanscom principal said special education referrals from the IST process fell 41 percent and 93.3 percent of parents surveyed called the K-5 looping pilot "great." Business Administrator Angela White opened a discussion on using unspent fiscal 2025 funds to prepay special education tuition under MGL Chapter 71, Section 71D, with a formal vote expected at a coming meeting.