Malden School Committee: Enrollment up to 5,939; district outlines registration fixes and vaccination plan

Malden Public Schools officials told the School Committee on Sept. 13 that district enrollment stood at 5,939 students as of Sept. 9, an increase of 169 since Aug. 26, and described steps to speed up the registration process and support COVID‑19 mitigation in schools.

Superintendent Noriega‑Murphy said district staff are improving data tracking and preregistration systems after caregivers experienced delays at the Parent Information Center (PIC). Committee member Mr. Iovino reported districtwide totals and backlog figures: 57 applications were pending as of the meeting, about 207 applications were under review, and staff are assigning family liaisons to contact families with incomplete applications.

Assistant Superintendent Laryssa Doherty told the committee she expects an online registration portal for new registrants to be in place by Dec. 1 and that policy changes affecting registration for 2022–23 will be recommended to reduce barriers. Pam MacDonald said Individualized Education Program (IEP) documents will be delivered both electronically through Frontline and on paper to families; MacDonald said Frontline will streamline some parts of the IEP process.

District officials described vaccination clinics to be operated at school sites in partnership with Cambridge Health Alliance. Patricia Tramondozzi said clinics will require prior registration but families may complete paperwork on site; participants will receive dates for second doses as appropriate. Tramondozzi also said pool‑testing information will be sent home to families.

Charlie Conefrey, director for athletics, reported 337 student athletes in grades 9–12 this year, higher than recent years’ typical range of 250–275, and attributed the increase to new coaching and a larger freshman class.

Mayor Christenson requested the district make school dropout counts a standing item at future meetings and asked staff to clarify how dropouts are defined and how local figures compare with statewide averages. Superintendent Noriega‑Murphy and staff agreed to provide definitions, reasons cited for dropouts and comparative statistics going forward.

Votes at a glance: the committee unanimously approved minutes for the Aug. 30 regular session and the Sept. 8 special session earlier in the meeting; later, the committee voted unanimously to enter executive session (motion by Mr. Iovino, second Mr. Froio). The committee reconvened and adjourned at 8:32 p.m.

The committee plans further reporting on registration outcomes, dropout definitions and the rollout timeline for the online registration portal.