EAST LONGMEADOW — At the Nov. 3 East Longmeadow School Committee meeting, the committee recognized Food Service Director Lori Pahl and voted in the town’s Superintendent Screening Committee.
The meeting began with a visitor addressed by Mountain View School Therapist and Chess Instructor Danielle Crescione. Crescione brought a concern involving how digital learning and curriculum pacing has affected critical skills like handwriting, critical thinking and problem solving.
“Coming here is not about blame, it’s about awareness,” Crescione said. “The curriculum testing demands with the pace of technology and the dominance of electronics at home have all eroded a child’s ability to slow down, think and reason.”
Crescione admits that the problem is bigger than any one teacher, parent or curriculum plan can fix but invites the committee to attend one of her chess meetings to observe.
Christina Cooper also visited the meeting as a representative from the public library to discuss their “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” program. Parents can sign up on the East Longmeadow Public Library’s website and receive a free book before tracking book milestones.
“We can accommodate every single person in this town to get 1,000 books in their hands before their kids start kindergarten,” Cooper said.
Principal Steve Pearson and Assistant Principal Natalie Ojunga-Andrew of Birchland Park Middle School joined the meeting to cover Birchland’s SMART goals.
The first goal looks to support the child as a whole through a “safe, joyful, nurturing, equitable and inclusive” learning environment. The school looks to support students’ physical and mental health in safe spaces using mentoring groups biweekly. They are re also partnered with Mapleshade Elementary school to pair elementary students with middle school students as mentors to ease the transition into middle school.
East Longmeadow High School also seeks to improve attendance rates by strengthening its focus on an inclusive environment where students feel valued. They hope to reduce individual and schoolwide absenteeism by taking a targeted and coordinated approach with students and families.
Pahl was also recognized by the committee after winning the Massachusetts School Nutrition Association Volunteer of the Year.
Pahl was awarded at the 2025 Snammies on Oct. 21, the School Nutrition Association of Massachusetts award show that celebrates excellence in school nutrition. Pahl won Director of the Year at the Snammies a few years ago as well.
SNA said that Pahl is a devoted and dependable member and is always ready to lend a hand whenever needed. Pahl is one of the first to step up when supporting events or members of the community, whether serving an official role or volunteering behind the scenes.
Principal Frank Paige of ELHS discussed a Connecting Activities grant from MassHire Workforce Boards for $4,000. The grant utilizes high school students and engages them in work-based learning experiences.
Paige said many of the opportunities are free and that the majority of the grant would be focused on student transportation to and from locations. The grant motion carried 5-0.
With Superintendent Gordon Smith retiring in 2026, the committee moved towards discussing the search for someone to take over the position. The motion carried 5-0 to add Leslie Morrison, a parent with children in ELPS, Librarian Christina Cooper and student representative. Anna Flanagan to the superintendent screening committee. One more school committee member is still to be added to the search for a superintendent.
Smith initially started with ELPS from 2002-2004 as a vice principal and was hired as superintendent in 2010.
As of Nov. 1, SNAP benefits have been frozen due to the government shutdown. Smith discussed the ability for students to have a free breakfast and lunch at school each day and the ongoing food drives happening across the district, such as the Mayflower Marathon that ELHS and many Western Massachusetts schools and businesses are participating in. Smith mentioned that Mountain View Elementary has committed to a drive for the Veterans Association but three of their schools have committed to the East Longmeadow Food Pantry.
Based on the government shutdown, Smith can’t speak on what will happen to the funding for free meals at school past December.
Assistant Superintendent for Business Pamela Blair said that there are options for additional help for meals, transportation or athletic fees through forms on the ELPS website.
In the back half of the meeting, a motion including educational opportunities for students in foster care carried 5-0. It states that a foster student can choose to stay in the district or choose to go to school where their foster home is.
