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Home My WebLink About2012-01-05 School Council - Wood End Elementary Minutes r APPrcvice Wood End Elementary School DECEIVED School Council Meeting TRWN CLERK EBy_LL\�j 3 2012 �\�0l�N46, M SSS. MINUTES OF A MEETING OF Thi'S'GHOOL COUNCIL January 5, 2012 ;1p11 FEB -b P 1' 4U A meeting of the Wood End School Council was held on Thursday, January 5, 2012 from 3:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the conference room of the Wood End Elementary School, Reading, Massachusetts. Council Members Present: Richard Davidson, Debbie Hattery, Joanne King, Sally Mucica, Barbara Sheehan, Monette Verrier, and Maria Walsh. Council Members Absent: Sandy Emery Special Guests: Dr. John Doherty, Superintendent Call to Order Principal Davidson called the meeting to order at 3:15 p.m. and Joanne King recorded the minutes. A quorum of Council Members was present, and the meeting, having been duly convened, was ready to proceed with business. Principal Davidson introduced Dr. Doherty to give a general overview of the proposed budget for 2012-2013. School Budget Dr. Doherty stated that the budget is better than the past three years. There has been a 0% increase on average over the last three years and gaps have emerged. The district has identified needs and the Superintendent is proposing a 2.9% increase over last year, assuming a level-funded state aid budget. The Town Manager suggested a 2% increase. The Town is contributing $1.5 million to reach the suggested 2% increase using cash reserves. He will present this proposal to the School Committee next Monday night (January 9, 2012), then to the Town Manager, who may make some suggested changes before it moves onto the Finance Committee and Town Meeting. The proposal includes the following and is available on Edline (District page) for review: • $100,000 increase from last year's reduction in supplies and materials (Dr. Doherty noted that the Town of Reading's per pupil expenditure is on average $2,000 less than surrounding communities). One half of the reduced hours for para-educators to be returned for regular education ($40,000 increase) • Programs to provide for the behavioral health of our students including a middle school health education class for Grades 7 or 8, a required health education class in Grades 11 or 12, and funding for a Growth and Development unit to be taught by school nurses in Grade 5. • In addition, a therapeutic support program will be put in place at the high school to provide for our most at-risk students suffering from school phobia, anxiety, depression, hospitalizations, and substance abuse. This will be designed as a self-contained classroom with counselors to meet the needs of current students on IEPs and will begin at the end of January, 2012. • In-school suspension coordinator to provide academic support and community service opportunities for students who have been suspended. In 2010-2011, there were 154 high school suspensions. • The hiring of a .4 DLC special education teacher at Barrows • Additional OT an PT support for the district • Professional Development opportunities and curriculum development focusing on Common Core Standards (writing at the elementary level and math at the high school level) • Development of Common Core Assessments for the new educator evaluation process • Additional counseling support including a district-wide assessor which will allow for a full-time school psychologist at each elementary school. • The hiring of 1.5 computer technicians to support the district's technology needs. • $100,000 to begin a technology replacement cycle based on inventory. Dr. Doherty noted that the goal is to have all schools wireless by the end of this summer using money from the Capital Plan. Currently $75,000 is set aside for this purpose. • With 287 current kindergarten students registered, Dr. Doherty does not foresee any other additional staffing needs at this time. Agenda, Minutes, and Introductory Business All members present reviewed and approved the minutes of the previous meeting held on December 1, 2011. Principal Davidson reviewed the agenda and asked for feedback on the recent"homework free" school vacation from those members present. It was noted that most thought it was a terrific idea and parents were relieved of stress around homework. A motion was made to accept the minutes by Monette Verner and Sally Mucica second the motion. Minutes were approved. New Student Survey Debbie Hattery posted a survey for new families on Survey Monkey; Council members had the opportunity to review the questions and give feedback. The survey was thought to be well done and it was approved. It will be sent to new parents within a week. Parent Focus Groups Established at the last School Council meeting, Parent Focus groups have been set up off site to provide parents with an opportunity to give feedback to Principal Davidson. He proposed three open-ended questions to parents and families for feedback. Parents `I will be invited via a random email selection to get a cross-section of Wood End families. It was suggested to add another date in February in Boston to encourage Metco families to attend along with host families from Reading. The first meeting will be held at the home of Monette Verrier on January 19`" at 9:00 a.m., and an evening time will be hosted by Debbie Hattery in March. Reading Education Foundation Principal Davidson reviewed the grant applications that were submitted from Wood End as follows: digital camera ($300), document camera ($500), and a kiln ($800). Building Based Technology Committee Monette Verrier presented an overview of a proposed plan for this committee with the purpose being "to assess the current technology at Wood End, and working with the Principal, develop a five-year plan to guide the PTO in making technology purchases." This will include analyzing current hardware, meeting with staff to understand the needs, and understanding the district's plan on funding technology in the future. Principal Davidson suggested forming the committee immediately and will send out an email asking for parents and staff who have technology expertise to participate. Blue Ribbon Site Visit Wood End will host a site visit for the Blue Ribbon Conference on Thursday, April 12, 2012. Mr. Davidson passed out a packet from the last school site visit in 2009 and asked Council members to review for next meeting. Sandy Emery was scheduled to contact a Wood End parent who is a graphic designer to ask for prices and information on creating a digital color brochure to highlight Wood End. She may present this information at the next School Council meeting. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m. The School Council will resume discussions at the next meeting on February 2, 2012. Respectfully submitted, Joanne King Recording Secretary, 1/15/2012