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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-11-05 School Committee MinutesReading Public Schools Reading, Massachusetts Regular Meeting of the School Committee Open Session Date: November 5, 2012 Time: 6:30 p.m. Place: Superintendent's Conference Room School Committee Members Present Karen Janowski Hal Croft Chuck Robinson Chris Caruso Rob Spadafora Visitors Barbara Jones, Reading Chronicle Nadine Wandzilak, Reading Patch I. Call to Order Staff Members Present FD 2112 Der 18 P 2: 45 John Doherty, Superintendent Patty de Garavilla, Assistant Superintendent Mary DeLai, Assistant Superintendent Alison Elmer, Director of Student Services Conner Traugot, Student Representative Maham Ahmed, Student Representative Cathy Giles, Killam Principal Chairperson Janowski called the School Committee to order at 6:31 p.m. She reviewed the agenda and welcomed guests. Mr. Croft moved, seconded by Mr. Spadafora, to enter into executive session to discuss the deployment of security personnel or devices, or strategies, to consider the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property and the approval of minutes and to reconvene in open session at approximately 7:00 p.m. The roll call vote was 5 -0. Mr. Caruso, Mrs. Janowski, Mr. Robinson, Mr. Spadafora and Mr. Croft. Mrs. Janowski called open session back to order at 7:20 p.m. II. Recommended Procedure A. Public Input (I) Reports I 1. Student Student Representative Ahmed reported on the upcoming national election. She said the students are excited about the opportunity to vote for the first time. She also shared that the Spanish National Honor Society held their first meeting and are hoping to volunteer in an elementary school in Lawrence to work with Spanish speaking students. November 5, 2012 Student Representative Traugot reported on the successful National Honor Society's canned food drive for the Reading Food Bank. He also updated the Committee on the fall sports teams. 2. Assistant Superintendent Ms. DeLai shared that she has created a District dashboard section on the website where the public will be able to view data from different sources for the district. 3. Superintendent Superintendent Doherty shared the quarterly personnel update. He also discussed the recent hurricane and decisions made because of the weather. Town officials held a meeting to discuss the impending storm and it just reinforced the high level of collaboration and cooperation we have between all town departments. The Superintendent also shared the post season tournament success of our field hockey, volleyball and boys' soccer teams and football is still going strong. The RMHS Drama production of Footloose opens this weekend. He also reminded the Committee of several Veterans Day celebrations in our schools. Secretary of Education Paul Reville will be visiting Birch Meadow to see first -hand technology integration in action. B. Continued Business (Out of Order) Approval of First Reading of Policies Mr. Croft began the second reading of Policy AC. Mr. Spadafora moved, seconded by Mr. Caruso to waive the reading of the policy. The motion carried 5 -0. Mr. Croft moved, seconded by Mr. Caruso, to accept and approve the second reading of revised Policy AC — Nondiscrimination. The motion carried 5 -0. Mr. Croft began the second reading of Policy ACA. Mr. Spadafora moved, seconded by Mr. Robinson to waive the reading of the policy. The motion carried 5 -0. Mr. Croft moved, seconded by Mr. Robinson to accept and approve the second reading of revised Policy ACA — Nondiscrimination on Basis of Sex. The motion carried 5 -0. Mr. Croft began the second reading of Policy BEC. Mr. Spadafora moved, seconded by Mr. Robinson to waive the reading of the policy. The motion carried 5 -0. November 5, 2012 Mr. Croft moved, seconded by Mr. Robinson to accent and approve the second reading of revised policy BEC — Executive Session with corrections. The motion carried 5 -0. C. New Business Middle School Redistricting Dr. Doherty recently met with approximately 60 people from the Killam School to hear their concerns with the proposed middle school redistricting. He said they had some valid concerns that will be addressed before any decisions are made. He also shared a new timeline for the discussion and vote. The Superintendent hopes to present the different options at the November 27th meeting and have the School Committee vote on the item at the December 10th meeting. Mrs. Janowski would like to delay the vote until all options are considered. Special Education Presentation Director of Student Services Alison Elmer presented information on the RPS Student Services Department. Student Services encompasses several departments in the district including Special Education, Behavioral Health, ELL, Nursing, Guidance, Homeless Liaison, Home & Hospital Tutoring and Section 504. Ms. Elmer went on to discuss the programs we offer including the Developmental Learning Center for children on the Autism Spectrum, the Integrated Learning Program for students identified with cognitive deficits, the Language Learning Differences for students with language based learning disabilities, the Student Support Program for students with emotional impairment and the Therapeutic Support Program, new to RMHS, which is for students identified with anxiety issues in part due to school avoidance behaviors. Ms. Elmer the reviewed the number of students requiring services both in and out of district. All placements are driven by policy that requires students be placed in the least restrictive environment to effectively educate them. She reviewed programs that have been put in place including the creation of the Therapeutic Support Program, hiring of a .5 Social Worker at RMHS, the introduction of the Teen screen survey. Our Speech & Language pathologists are working on developing in -class interventions and continued professional development. The focus for the 2012 -14 school year has been the Massachusetts Tiered Systems of Support, Student Support teams district wide and the use of the Baseline Edge student intervention module. These three initiatives are tied together and Sara Burd will be doing a presentation at a future meeting. The Department of Student Services is also looking into the expansion of the RISE Preschool program, SSP /TSP continuum of services, the Occupational Therapists are developing a Life Skills curriculum for middle school students, new Special Education Teacher induction and professional development opportunities. Ms. Elmer turned the meeting over to Sarah Fuller, Heather Denton and Jeri Hagopian who will discuss the Therapeutic Support Program (TSP) and the Student Support Program (SSP). Each teacher introduced themselves and provided a brief background. Ms. Fuller explained that the Therapeutic Support Program is the most restrictive environment for students. The students in the TSP struggle with social and emotional disabilities but are resilient and capable of positive changes when presented with a small, structured learning environment with predictable expectations and outcomes. November 5, 2012 Ms. Denton and Ms. Fuller described a day in the life of a TSP student. Ms. Fuller is the academic teacher for these students and will adapt the curriculum to meet the needs of the students that are enrolled. Some students remain in TSP for the entire day while others may attend classes in both the TSP room as well as in mainstream RMHS classes. Decisions regarding coursework and classes are made by the TSP Special Education staff under the guidance of administration and with parental input and approval. The TSP staff will communicate weekly with teachers of students that participate in mainstream classes. They will work to identify primary problems and concerns, set goals and measure progress. Ms. Hagopian reviewed the Student Support Program (SSP). She works with two other teachers to provide support for students. These students are scheduled one block per day for SSP support. Students in this program follow a regular schedule and fulfill graduation requirements. If students need additional social /emotional support during the day they can access the SSP staff with the goal being to transition the student back to class. Ms. Fuller shared her experience moving to the TSP program from a general education classroom teacher. She said her experience has been very eye opening and rewarding and feels that general education teachers need to receive information on how the two programs work and what the needs of the students are and how they need to be addressed in the mainstream classroom. The TSP staff is working with students to develop their own SMART goals, supporting them in tracking their goals and celebrating their successes. This approach has been very helpful. The two programs are working with a consultant to bring the programs to the next step, discussing what works and what doesn't as well as ideas for moving the programs forward. Mrs. Janowski thanked the group for presenting this evening. FYI Budget Status Update Ms. DeLai updated the School Committee on the FYI budget for the first quarter. Mr. Croft moved, seconded by Mr. Spadafora, that the School Committee authorize the transfer of $162,642 from the School Building Maintenance Cost Center to the Special Education Cost Center. The motion carried 5 -0. Approval of Field Trips RMHS Spanish Club — NYC Dr. Doherty outlined the annual Spanish Club trip to New York City Mr. Croft moved, seconded by Mr. Caruso, to approve the RMHS Spanish Club field trip to New York City in March 2013. The motion carried 5 -0. III. Routine Matters a. Bills and Payroll (A) b. Approval of Minutes November 5, 2012 Mr. Croft moved, seconded by Mr. Spadafora, to approve the open session minutes dated October 20, 2012 with corrections. The motion carried 5 -0. Mr. Croft moved, seconded by Mr. Spadafora, to approve the open session minutes dated October 22, 2012. The motion carried 5 -0. c. Bids and Donations Donation RMHS Boys' Soccer Mr. Croft moved, seconded by Mr. Caruso, to accept the donation of $1000 from the Friends of Reading Soccer to be used to support a boys' soccer coaching assistant. The motion carried 5 -0. Mr. Croft moved, seconded by Mr. Caruso, to accept a donation in the amount of $1,000 from the RMHS PTO to be used to support the Library Media Center. The motion carried 5 -0. Calendar IV. Information Mr. Caruso and Mr. Spadafora held office hours. There were no visitors. Dr. Doherty reminded the School Committee of the upcoming Town Meeting. He will present the State of the Schools and there are 3 capital items under Article 3; Killam Project, Elementary Space Solution and the Library. The next meeting will be November 27th and the December 3 meeting date has been changed to December 10tH V. Future Business VI. Adjournment Mr. Caruso moved, seconded by Mr. Spadafora, to adiourn. The motion carried 5 -0. Meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m. NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred dunkg the meeting. F. Doherty, Ed.D. rintendent of Schools