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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-04-08 School Committee MinutesReading Public Schools Reading, Massachusetts Regular Meeting of the School Committee Open Session Date: April 8, 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 Chris Caruso Visitors: Cathy Giles, Killam Principal Catherine Rice, Killam Teacher Nina Balfe, Killam Teacher Christian Del Rossi, Killam Teacher 1. Call to Order Staff Members Present John Doherty, Superintendent Mary DeLai, Assistant Superintendent Alison Elmer, Director of Student Services Conner Traugot, Student Representative Eric Sprung, Birch Meadow Principal Chairperson Janowski called the School Committee to order at 7:03 p.m. She reviewed the agenda and welcomed guests. IL Recommended Procedure A. Public Input I Reports I 1. Student (Out of Order) Conner Traugot reported on the following: • National Honor Society acceptances — Students will be inducted on May 8`s • Artsfest. • Several students will be volunteering during the upcoming Blue Ribbon Conference The recent sophomore semi was successful. The Junior Prom is Thursday evening The RMHS Robotics Team finished 10' out of 50 participants in the recent state competition April 8, 2013 • Trips to Italy and Spain will be happening over vacation • There is a Color Guard competition this weekend. 2. Liaison 3. Director of Student Services Ms. Elmer reported that the PAC has sent out a survey district wide via Edline and her department is working on establishing Edline accounts for the families of our out of district placements to improve communications. The PAC is hosting a presentation on April 24. 4. Assistant Superintendent 5. Superintendent Dr. Doherty shared information on the upcoming Blue Ribbon Conference. He also shared information on the K -9 search held at RMHS. He next updated the School Committee on the Coolidge Principal Search. He feels that neither candidate is a good match and is s!Tending the search opting to appoint an interim. He is appointing Sarah Marchant, current 8 grade Science teacher who will begin on July 1, 2013. B. Continued Business FYI Budget Update Ms. DeLai updated the School Committee on the status of the FY2013 budget and explained the need for a transfer. C. New Business Killam Presentation (Out of Order) Mrs. Cathy Giles introduced members of her Grade I team, Catherine Rice, Nina Balfe and Christian Del Rossi who will share information about their data and instruction meetings, analyzing student work, collecting formative and summative data in relations to the grade -level standards, and using the new data system to track student achievement. Mrs. Giles said that all they do at Killam is based on the School Improvement Plans which align with the District Improvement Plan. This year the Killam community is focusing on Teaching and Learning and Continuous Improvement Using Data school goals. Mrs. Giles also reviewed the School Improvement Plan SMART goals. Mrs. Rice shared that the team is continually assessing the standards and making adjustments that will lead to student success. Ms. DelRossi echoed that statement. She said the reassessment of standards is used as a dipstick for student progress. ' April 8, 2013 Mrs. Giles continued sharing that data drives instruction and the challenge was that the data was scattered across many different programs that not all essential staff members had access. She shared that the implementation of Baseline Edge has allowed all the data to be located in one central location easily accessible to all that need it. Killam holds grade level data and assessment meetings every six weeks where the team can review the student progress and determine if students require additional interventions. Ms. Balfe said the grade based meetings are invaluable. Teachers and specialists are able to share information on all students and that the grade level teachers, because of tiered instruction, are able to know all students. Mr. Croft asked Mrs. Giles to describe intervention. Mrs. Giles referred to the MTSS program. All students are at Tier 1, students requiring additional needs are on Tier 2 and students will more pronounced needs are placed on Tier 3. These tiers are fluid and students may move from one level to another over the course of the year. Mrs. Janowski thanked the Killam staff for sharing the work being done at Killam to ensure all of our students succeed. NISL Presentation (Out of Order) Mrs. Giles shared information on the recently completed cohort for the National Institute for School Leadership (NISL). Reading is the first district in the nation to host this type of program. The cohort consisted of 18 months of rigorous coursework. Credits earned can be used towards Doctorate programs at several colleges and universities. The cohort was co- taught by Mrs. Giles and Mrs. King. Mrs. Giles said there were 20 teacher/leadcrs from Reading and one from Wakefield in this cohort. Birch Meadow/Killam Field Trio (Out of Order) Mr. Sprung provided an overview of the proposed overnight field trip for the fifth grade students from Birch Meadow and Killam for next year. The trip to Camp Bournedale will be a hands -on science based, team building experience. The joint trip is to ease transitional stress when the students move onto middle school. Mr. Spadafora expressed concerns regarding the overnight aspect of this trip. Dr. Doherty indicated that he would not support this trip if he did not feel comfortable with sending the students on this trip. Mr. Croft moved seconded by Mr. Caruso to approve the Birch Meadow/Killam fifth grade trip to Camp Bournedale in October 2013. The motion carried 6 -0. Second Reading and Acceptance of Policies (Out of Order) Mr. Croft moved seconded by Mr. Robinson to approve the second reading and accept policies: 1. ACAB /ACAC Harassment & Discrimination 2. BBBABBBB School Committee Member Qualification /Oath of Office_ 3. GBA Equal Employment Opportunity April 8, 2013 4. IJ Instructional Materials 5. JA -E Student Policies Goals 6. JB Egual Educational Opportunities 7. JFBB School Choice 8. JJ-E Co- Curricular and Extracurricular Activities Mrs. Janowski pointed out that the changes in these policies are minimal and are required to be in compliance with state law. She also inquired about the placement of "gender equity". Dr. Doherty said the placement was determined by the Legislature. The motion carried 6 -0. Approval of Field Trios Dr. Doherty pointed out that this will be the 20" trip to the National Competition for the Coolidge Science team. RMHS Dr. Doherty shared that his is the first year of the RMHS Robotics team that is an offshoot of the First LEGO League teams that were introduced to the Reading Public Schools several years ago. He thanked David Ventola, Chuck Strout and all the parent volunteers and chaperones. The motion carried 6 -0. Last Day of School Town Manager Hechenbleikner arrived at 8:00 p.m. Birch Meadow Complex Transfer of Lan d Mr. Hechenbleikner provided an overview of Article 19 on the Town Meeting Warrant. April 8, 2013 Further move that the School Committee recommends approval of the subject matter of Article 19 on the warrant of the 2013 Annual Town Meeting. Mr. Croft asked about the plans for the Imagination Station area. Mr. Hechenbleikner said that there is a Master Plan in the works for the Birch Meadow Complex. This vote is to meet an obligation of an agreement to clarify lines in the Birch mMadow Complex per the agreement between the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee in 2003. The motion carried 6-0. I[I. Routine Matters a. Bills and Payroll (A) b. Approval of Minutes Mr. Croft moved seconded by Mr. Robinson, to aoorove the open session minutes dated March 13, 2013. The motion carried 6 -0. Mr. Croft moved seconded by Mr. Soadafora to aoorove the Finance Committee ooen session minutes dated March 20, 2013. The motion carried 6 -0. Mr. Croft moved seconded by Mrs. Gibbs, to aoorove the ooen session minutes dated March 30, 2013. The motion carried 6 -0. c. Bids and Donations Award of Electrical Services Contract Ms. DeLai reviewed the submitted bids. She explained the contractor would be used for major capital electrical work and our in house electrician will handle the routine work. Award of Architectural Contract Ms. DeLai reviewed the submitted bids. The contract is for the schematic design and cost estimating for the proposed Early Childhood Education facility. Mr. Croft moved seconded by Mrs Gibbs to approve Per the requirements of MGL c. 7, 438 the rankings of the three finalists as determined by the designer selection team. The motion carried 6 -0. Ms. De Lai shared that Ai -3 has done the most similar school -type projects and have a good on time /on budget record. April 8, 2013 Donations Calendar IV. Information Friends and Family Day was discussed. It was decided to host a meet and greet once again. V. Future Business VI. Adioumment The Chair declared that an Executive Session is necessary. Meeting adjourned at 8:52 p.m. NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the meeting. J4H F. Doherty, Ed.D. S rintendent of Schools