Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-02-11 School Committee MinutesReading Public Schools Reading, Massachusetts Regular Meeting of the School Committee Open Session Date: February 11, 2013 Time: 7:00 p.m. Place: Superintendent's Conference Room School Committee Members Present Karen Janowski Chuck Robinson Rob Spadafora Lisa Gibbs Hal Croft Visitors: Christina Gentile, RISE preschool Karen Stuart, RISE preschool Joyce Camenker, RISE Preschool Patrice Donahue, RISE Preschool Erica Boran, RISE Preschool Maureen Deligianides, RISE Preschool 1. Call to Order Staff Members Present John Doherty, Superintendent Mary DeLai, Assistant Superintendent Conner Traugot, Student Representative Barbara Jones, Reading Chronicle Chairperson Janowski called the School Committee to order at 7:00 p.m. She reviewed the agenda and welcomed guests. IL Recommended Procedure A. Public Innut (I) Reports I 1. Student Conner Traugot shared how the recent snow days have affected the high school and extracurricular activities. 2. Liaison Mr. Robinson recently attended a RCASA meeting. The group is sponsoring a showing of My Name was Bette — "The Life and Death of an Alcoholic ". The also will be holding a fundraiser at Fuddmckers and introducing a program for new drivers called "Distmctology" February 11, 2013 which is an interactive program to allow students to experience the effects of driving and texting, etc. Mrs. Gibbs appreciated the fact there was no school today to allow for the removal of snow to ensure our students were safe. 3. Assistant Superintendent Ms. DeLai will be attending two workshops this week at the DESE. One will focus on the development of SMART goals and the other on the expanded background checks. 4. Superintendent Dr. Doherty toured the buildings to see the progress of snow removal efforts. He said it will be messy in the morning. B. Continued Business C. New Business RISE Presentation Christina Gentile and several members of the RISE Preschool staff presented to the School Committee. Ms. Gentile provided an overview of the RISE program. The program continues to grow offering opportunities for both regular education students and students with special needs. Mrs. Joyce Camenker provided an overview of the half year Internship program and the full year offerings of Child Development & Early Childhood Development classes. Mrs. Camenker said that the enrollment in the classes has increased steadily and loves having the high school students in the RISE classrooms. She said the students are given a hands -on learning experience similar to student teaching. The students are required to complete to two classes before interning for a half year. Mrs. Gentile continued to review the goals of the program. She is hoping to work more closely with the elementary schools and will be participating in the kindergarten screening process. She is also hoping to increase community awareness of the RISE Preschool. The RISE Preschool staff is also working closely with Sara Burd to implement MTSS to better address the needs of all students. The staff is also actively working on incorporating the Common Core Curriculum Standards. Mrs. Gibbs asked if the program was accredited. Dr. Doherty said it is not currently accredited but will look into the process. Mrs. Gibbs wondered if there would be grant opportunities if the program was accredited. Mr. Spadafora would like more information as to how we compare to similar programs. Mrs. Gentile said she is a member of a collaborative and discussions do take place regarding the member programs. February 11, 2013 Mrs. Janowski wondered if this was the time to expand the program when we are facing space issues at the elementary level. Mrs. Gentile said we are not adding programs. We are making changes to the programs offered. Mrs. Janowski thanked the staff for coming this evening. Kindergarten and DLC Program Transition Superintendent Doherty reviewed his proposal for the incoming kindergarten students and his transition of the DLC I & 2 programs from Barrows to Birch Meadow. The staff have begun to work together to ensure the transition for the students goes as smoothly as possible. The 2013- 14 school year will see the Kindergarten, grade 1 and grade 2 DLC 1 & 2 programs at Birch Meadow. This will allow the redistricting of the children, in those grades, in the Library area to attend Barrows. Over time the Library will slowly be redistricted to Barrows. This will address the concerns of the parents of students in that area for the middle school years. He went on to review the status of the incoming kindergarten class. Sixty six percent of the incoming kindergarteners have signed up for full day kindergarten. Dr. Doherty would like to introduce an integrated kindergarten model for the schools with low half day enrollment. All students would be in school until 11:30 am at which time the full day students would go to lunch and the half day students would go home. Advantages to this approach would be that the half - day students would receive more instructional hours throughout the school year, the classes would be at a more optimum size and depending on the school, and we would save a classroom. Currently the afternoon half day students do not attend school on Wednesdays. The integrated option would allow for the students to attend in the morning without missing a day of school. There would be no change over half way through the year. Financial Assistance Guidelines Ms. DeLai reviewed the history of the financial assistance program. The district would like to base eligibility for financial assistance for user fees or tuition be based on free and reduced lunch status. Parents had expressed concerns over confidentiality and multiple applications. By using the Federal Child Nutrition Program guidelines the process becomes streamlined and more controlled. Mr. Croft moved seconded by Mrs Gibbs to auorove the revision to the Financial Assistance Guidelines as outlined. The motion carried 5 -0. Financial Forum Preparation Dr. Doherty said there will be two portions of the Financial Forum. The first will be the FY14 revenue picture. Since the Committee voted on their budget the Town has been able to reexamine the numbers, particularly health insurance. He proposed an idea to close the gap between the School Committee Recommended Budget and the Town manager's Budget without losing any items. The second part will be an executive session. Ill. Routine Matters ., a February 11, 2013 a. Bills and Payroll (A) b. Approval of Minutes G Bids and Donations Donation carried 5 -0. Calendar IV. Information V. Future Business VI. Adioumment Mrs. Janowski declared that an executive session is necessary. Meeting adjourned at 8:56 p.m. NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the meeting. Jo F. Dk D. Su ' tendent of Schools