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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-11-29 School Committee MinutesREADING SCHOOL COMMITTEE Reading, Massachusetts Regular Session November 29, 1999 CALL TO ORDER At 7:00 p.m. Chair Dahl called the meeting to order. Present were School Committee members Cavicchi, Dahl, Keigley and Twomey. Also present were Superintendent Harutunian and Associate Superintendent Richards. Ms. Williams arrived at 7:10 p.m. and Ms. D'Antona arrived at 7:40 p.m. At 7:02 p.m. Ms. Cavicchi made a motion to enter into executive session for the purpose of conducting strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with the Teachers' Association, Custodians and Maintenance Workers, Cafeteria Employees, Association of Secretaries and Clerks, Educational Assistants, Nurses and Tutors, to discuss the possible sale or lease of real estate and to discuss pending litigation to return to regular session at approximately 7:30 p.m. Mr. Twomey seconded the motion the vote was 4 -0 Ms. Cavicchi, Mr. Dahl, Mr. Keigley and Mr. Twomey. CALL BACK TO ORDER At 7:40 p.m. Chair Dahl called the meeting back to order BILLS & PAYROLL There were no bills and payroll for the meeting. CITIZEN'S INPUT There was no citizen input. REPORT OF THE CHAIR Chair Dahl advised that he and the Superintendent attended last night's Board of Selectmen's meeting where a discussion was held regarding the possibility of an override for a potential budget shortfall. The Board of Selectmen asked if the School Committee would support an override. Chair Dahl advised that the Committee had not met to discuss that issue and he did not feel comfortable speaking for the Committee without having had a meeting to discuss the issue. Chair Dahl stated that he informed the Board that he personally would be supportive of anything so as not to have to lay off teachers from the schools. The Board of Selectmen requested that the School Committee move up their budget process. Chair Dahl stated that he advised the Board that our budget process is detailed and takes a fair amount of time to complete. Regular Session -2- November 29, 1999 Dr. Harutunian advised that the Selectmen had distributed a document to the Chair and him with several requests. These requests including knowing the total cost remaining on the Peat Marwick issue, information on the proposal that was discussed at the M.A.S.S. regarding special education spending limits and the number of new hires and a breakdown of the new hires. Dr. Harutunian advised that at this meeting was the first time that he had heard that there was a request to have the budget ready by January I". He stated that at the Financial Forum retreat the current budget timeline was discussed and agreed upon. Dr. Harutunian stated that there are three things that we cannot control, enrollment, state mandates and special education mandates. Dr. Harutunian updated the Committee on the Pertussis situation. CURRICULUM UPDATE Dr. Harutunian thanked the Committee for the opportunity for teachers and administrators to make a curriculum presentation to them this evening. Dr. Harutunian thanked Mr. Richards and members of the curriculum leadership for their hard work and dedication. Mr. Richards thanked the curriculum leadership members and stated that they have worked very hard and spent many hours with staff on curriculum issues. He stated that he has asked each group to spend 15 minutes making a presentation this evening on their subject area. Foreign Language Mr. Cowles advised that Mr. DiSanzo could not attend this evening and updated the Committee on the foreign language curriculum. He distributed information from Mr. DiSanzo regarding the philosophy of the courses and the expected outcomes. Mr. Twomey asked if the DOE had determined if and when MCAS is going to include foreign language. Dr. Harutunian advised that he has been informed through his professional organization that the foreign language has been pushed out further and there is more uncertainty about if and when this requirement will begin. Regular Session -3- November 29, 1999 Mr. Twomey stated that he was pleased with the foreign language program increases and that we will be better prepared when the regulation is instituted. Ms. Williams asked whether any thought has been given to watching the 6`h grade students to see if the expanded program changes the 25/75 Spanish/French selection. Mr. Cowles stated that this would be a significant piece of information and it is the hope that the 6t" grade program will allow students to make a more well informed choice. Ms. Williams asked if the language program was compatible with a CD so parents that want to assist their children can and if there is a CD was that information made available to parents. Mr. Cowles explained that there was a compatible CD and that information is distributed at the back to school night. Ms. Williams asked if anything had been set up to help students entering the system that had not had the benefit of foreign language. Dr. Harutunian advised that there is nothing set up at this time and that this will be monitored Social Studies The leadership members from elementary: Karen Callan, Walter Huston, Rosemary Palmer and members from secondary: Tom Darrin, Jack Delaney and Ellen Howland updated the Committee on the social studies curriculum. Ms. D'Antona stated that the expanding curriculum sounds exciting. She asked the leadership members to discuss the talk on the streets that teachers are teaching to the MCAS. Ms. Howland stated that it would be very difficult to teach to the test, there is so much factual recall that it could not be done. She stated that they are looking at methods of teaching which make the subject matter meaningful to students. Ms. Callan stated that they are trying to get as much integration as possible. She stated that Everyday Math has geography built into the program and literature is built into the Social Studies curriculum. Ms. D'Antona stated that it sounds like the members are aligning curriculum to the frameworks but have brought more skills to students. Regular Session -4- November 29, 1999 At 8:45 p.m. Mr. Keigley left the meeting. Language Arts The leadership members from elementary: Lisa Pitella, Mary Beth Banios, Pam Chomsky- Higgins and members from secondary: Frank Orlando, Kathy Montejunas, Gary Hart and Ellen Howland updated the Committee on the language arts curriculum. Mr. Twomey stated that differentiated learning was mentioned to meet the needs of a broad range of students. He asked how successful the members felt that this was. Ms. Banios stated that differentiated learning is a difficult thing to accomplish but that the benefits are well worth the effort. She stated that breaking students into groups is one way teachers are able to do differentiated learning. Mr. Twomey asked if the group has come to any conclusion regarding elementary class sizes and the ability to successfully put together differentiated learning for students. Ms. Banios stated that obviously smaller is better. The smaller the number of students in a group the more closely you can match student abilities and learning styles. Ms. Cavicchi asked if any thought had been given to adding another AP course at the high school. Ms. Montejunas stated that the plan is to increase AP courses across the curriculum. She stated that they have been reluctant to add one yet because they have received much positive feedback from students on the current courses. Dr. Harutunian stated that he wanted to make the Committee aware that among the administrative council the language arts curriculum was given the highest priority in this year's budget discussion. He stated that if we do not move forward next year with language arts curriculum we cannot expect to see the MCAS scores rise. Mathematics The leadership members from elementary: Paul Guerrette, Christine Redford, Karen Macari and members from secondary: Joe Finigan, Peter Moscariello and Andrea Bruno updated the Committee on the mathematics curriculum. Regular Session -5- November 29, 1999 Mr. Dahl asked what plans were underway to help students who fail the 10`" grade MCAS test. He stated his concern that test results are not received until `/2 way through the next school year. . Mr. Moscariello stated that different things such as summer work and evening work were being looked in to. He stated that he is hopeful that the powers to be will get information to the district and the schools more quickly. Ms. Williams stated that last year the 6"' grade did not finish the Chicago math program and had to do more in the 7"' grade she asked whether that will occur again and whether enriched learning was being looked at with this program. Ms. Bruno stated that that not finishing the program may happen again this year. She stated that the spiral may not have moved as quickly during the beginning years of Chicago Math Program. Ms. Callan stated that modification for assistance rather than enhanced learning has been the focus because the program itself tends to meet the needs of the higher end students. Science The leadership members from elementary: Richard Davidson, Ann Harney, Karen Rickershauser and members from secondary: Cheryl O'Brien, Carol Galvin, John Doherty and Andrea Bruno updated the Committee on the science curriculum. Ms. Williams asked that thanks be passed on to Ellen Mounteer for her hard work on the elementary science kits. . Mr. Twomey stated that he had read an article in Scientific America Magazine stating what will happen and what we will learn in the next 50 years are things we cannot even begin to imagine. How do you integrate those type of advances into a curriculum. Ms. Harney stated that the focus is teaching children to think, act and talk like a scientist and to develop critical thinkers and students with a high level of curiosity. Dr. Harutunian and the Committee thanked Mr. Richards and the members of the curriculum leadership. Regular Session -6- November 29, 1999 ADJOURN At 10:25 p.m. Ms. Williams made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Twomey seconded the motion. The vote was 5 -0 Ms. Cavicchi, Mr. Dahl, Ms. D'Antona, Mr. Twomey and Ms. Williams. Res ectfully submitted, Harry . Harutunian, Ph.D. Superintendent of Schools