Concord-Carlisle's School Committee will review school climate data three times a year under a framework the district's Climate and Culture Working Group completed Sept. 16.

The plan, first reported by The Concord Bridge, ties specific surveys and metrics to each review window. It comes after the district reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice in April to resolve a federal review of alleged antisemitism at Concord-Carlisle High School.

The working group met three times over the summer via Zoom before locking in the schedule. Each session targets different data:

• Session 1 (October or November): Youth Risk Behavior Survey results, the 2025 Panorama Survey and academic data.
• Session 2 (January or February): The 2026 Panorama Survey and a METCO family check-in.
• Session 3 (May or June): Bias reporting trends.

K-8 School Committee Chair Sandeep Pisharody proposed the three-times-a-year cadence at a June 16 joint meeting, calling it "a reporting floor rather than a ceiling if urgent incidents arise," according to meeting minutes.

School Committee member Michael Williams, who also pushed for bias and hate incidents to become a recurring agenda item, said at the Sept. 16 session that professional development for committee members should go further than explaining the framework. He said training should also cover how members handle difficult conversations.

"I don't think we can do it well for our community and for our students if we don't do it well among ourselves," Williams said.

The group had been weighing a 90-minute training proposal from consultant Darnisa Monte Jackson, who has previously worked with Concord Public Schools. Some members raised concerns about timing and budget. The group agreed to ask Jackson to revise the proposal to incorporate Williams' suggestion rather than schedule a separate session.

The working group includes Williams, Pisharody, School Committee Chair Brian Waterson, METCO Representative Michelle MacDougall, Superintendent Laurie Hunter and Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Andrew Nyamekye.

The framework grew out of the district's April agreement with the DOJ, which resolved a federal review of antisemitic incidents the department said occurred between 2023 and 2025 at both the high school and middle school levels. The district admitted no liability or wrongdoing. The agreement's reporting requirements are set to sunset in August 2027 unless federal authorities raise compliance concerns.

The working group planned to present the finalized framework and revised training proposal at the Sept. 23 joint School Committee meeting. Minutes from the July 30 working group session were approved Sept. 23, confirming the joint meeting took place, but no public record of what action the full committee took on the framework is available. No date for the next joint School Committee meeting has been posted.