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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-12-08 School Committee MinutesREADING SCHOOL COMMITTEE Reading, Massachusetts REGULAR SESSION December 8 1997 CALL TO ORDER Chair Twomey called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Superintendent's conference room. Present were School Committee members Cavicchi, D'Antona, Spadafora, Stohlman and Twomey. Also present were Superintendent Harutunian and Associate Superintendent Richards. At 7.02 p m Mr. Spadafora made a motion to enter into executive session for the purpose of discussing union and non -union negotiations, the possible sale of real estate and possible litigation and to return to regular session at approximately 7:30 p.m. Ms. Cavicchi seconded the motion. The vote was 5 -0 Ms. Cavicchi, Ms. D'Antona, Mr. Spadafora, Mr. Stohlman and Mr. Twomey. At 7:30 p.m. Chair Twomey called the meeting back to order. Student Representative Heather Shannon was present. BILLS AND PAYROLL The bills and payroll are as follows: Bills 12/01/97 $179,718.12 12/08/97 $89,511.48 Payroll 11/28/97 $141,370.11 (bi- weekly) 12/04/97 $647,205.90 (teachers) SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT (out of order) Dr. Harutunian advised that he visited Ms. Giles' first grade class at the Barrows School and he thanked Ms. Giles and her class for an enjoyable time. REPORT ON FIFTH GRADE MATHEMATICS TESTING Associate Superintendent Richards introduced Edward J. Masonis, Ed.D., National Measurement Consultant for Harcourt Brace, Eileen Buckley, local representative for Harcourt Brace and Rosanne O'Donnell, local representative for Everyday Mathematics (Chicago Math) . REGULAR SESSION -2- December 8 1997 Dr. Masonis informed the group that the Stanford Test was one of the longest running achievement tests. It was first published in 1923. Dr. Masonis then presented an analysis of the results of the test. The achievement of Reading students were compared to the achievement of a national sample of fifth graders using the 1995 norms from the Stanford 9. At 7:35 Ms. Williams arrived. Dr. Masonis provided information on how to interpret the results of the test. He also described the four levels of performance standards set for the Stanford 9 test which mirror the pattern that is used for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Dr. Masonis advised that in his opinion, the overall test results were good. Dr. Masonis opened the discussion up to questions from the School Committee and the audience. Mr. Spadafora asked about standard deviation and the spread of the scores. Dr. Masonis advised that he did not look into this, but he can pull the numbers if desired. Ms. Cavicchi asked if the higher results achieved at Barrows and the lower results at Killam may be related to the fact that Barrows has the smallest school population and Killam has the largest. Dr. Masonis advised that the results may be related to the school size. A concerned parent asked if there was a difference in curriculum between the elementary schools that may explain the difference in the scores of the different elementary schools. Chair Twomey advised that the curriculum is the same but each school has individual teachers that have their own unique way of teaching. A parent asked for clarification on the performance charts. Did the performance charts show that 70% of the students scored in the top two categories and 30% of the students scored in the bottom two categories? REGULAR SESSION -3- December 8 1997 Dr. Masonis advised the results did show the 700/300 as described. He also advised that Reading students scored above the national average but that it is up to the individual community to decide the values for the students and what scores are acceptable. A parent asked about possible test bias. Dr. Masonis advised that there is a bias review committee that reviews the test item by item looking for offensive material or anything that may be unfamiliar. He stated that the test is bias free. A parent asked if the proficient level was proficient for 5th or 6th grade level. He also asked whether the results would be reproducible and if normal distribution was noted as this could be an important factor in a program that may be good only for those children with math aptitude. The final question was where does the district place in relation to other districts. Dr. Masonis advised that because the test was given in the fall of the fifth grade, the proficient level was for the fourth grade. He then stated that the test is very reliable, approximately 990, however, he cautioned that other factors can affect a student's performance on any day the student may be taking the test. Dr. Masonis advised that he didn't look into distribution but believed that there were numerous students at the top with a string to the bottom. He also advised that he did not look into where the district would place but believed it would be at the top. A parent asked about performance over time and a possible comparison from Stanford 8 to Stanford 9. Dr. Masonis advised that in 1988 a group of students had taken both the Stanford 8 and the Stanford 9 tests so that connections could be made between the two tests. Dr. Masonis gave the numbers which could be used to compare the Stanford 9 to the Stanford 8. A parent then asked if the numbers given for the Stanford 8 test compared to this year's Stanford 9 test showed an 110 drop. REGULAR SESSION -4- December 8 1997 Dr. Masonis advised that you cannot compare those numbers there is no link to connect the two scales. A parent asked Dr. Masonis's opinion of Chicago Math. Dr. Masonis advised that it would be inappropriate for him to respond to that question. A parent stated that Dr. Masonis was reviewing the scores from an impartial view and that the town of Reading has higher expectations. He stated that people move to Reading for the schools and the town of Reading does not celebrate the fact that the students of Reading placed a little above average. Ms. Williams stated that the students scored lower in computation skills and higher in problem solving skills. She asked how that could be. You need computation skills in order to solve problems. Dr. Masonis stated that concept and process are part of the problem solving section. A parent stated that on table six, 42% scored in the partial mastery to no mastery categories. Dr. Masonis stated that only 5% have a serious deficiency and 37% have a small deficiency. Mr. Spadafora stated that he wished to respond to Mr. Carpenter's comment regarding the town not celebrating scores of just above average. Mr. Spadafora stated that he is certainly not celebrating scores of just above average. The School Committee and administration are moving forward and will continue to move forward. Mr. Spadafora advised that teachers were surveyed, math nights held and the Stanford 9 test was given to students. A parent asked if the fact that many students were being tutored was factored into the results. Dr. Masonis stated that it was not and if you tried to factor that in, you would not know whether students were being tutored because they were failing or because of higher expectations. Concerned parent, Dr. Mandell also made a presentation on the Stanford 8 and 9 test results which showed a steady decrease in percentile rankings over the past four years. Dr. Masonis compared Standford 8 and 9 tests and indicated his interpretation is there was not a steady decline. REGULAR SESSION -5- December 8 1997 A parent asked when the students would be tested again. Chair Twomey advised that no conclusion had been reached on further testing. A parent stated that a standard test is a way to measure performance but it is only one way. He cautioned against reading too much into the results of a standard test without looking at all factors. Chair Twomey thanked Dr. Masonis on behalf of the School Committee for making the presentation and answering questions. CAPITAL PLAN A discussion was held regarding approving $600,000 for asbestos removal and boiler replacement at Reading Memorial High School. Michael Brickley, SIEB Account Executive, Domenic Cacciapuoti, Interim Director of Buildings and Beth Klepsis, Town Treasurer were in attendance to answer questions. Mr. Spadafora questioned how much was spent on oil for the high school last year and how many days the burners were actually down last year. Mr. Cacciapuoti advised that there were approximately 20 days last year when the boilers were down. The oil cost for last year was $110,071 and maintenance costs to care for the boilers last year was approximately $25,000. Student Representative Heather Shannon stated that the lack of even heating creates a poor learning environment at the high school. Mr. Spadafora stated that the study for the high school was not yet completed and he is concerned that if new boilers are purchased and the study determines that a new high school should be built, the boilers could have been 6611 reimbursed by the state. He also stated his concern that the $600,000 cost could increase because of asbestos. Mr. Brickley stated that the cost of $600,000 was a firm price and that SIEB would not come back to Reading to ask for additional money for this project. Town Treasurer Klepsis stated that SIEB has thoroughly reviewed the project and the price is firm. She also stated that Reading REGULAR SESSION -6- December 8 1997 can't count on 6601 reimbursement because the project will not meet state enrollment or desegregation requirements. Ms. Cavicchi stated that she understands Mr. Spadafora's concern but that no matter what the study shows, we will need boilers and she stated that it would be prudent to do it now. Mr. Spadafora asked whether supporting the $600,000 would impact the Coolidge project. Dr. Harutunian advised that the Building Committee meeting is Monday and he will have a better idea then. The Coolidge project will be presented to the March town meeting and the $600,000 for the high school boilers would be presented to the April town meeting. Ms. D'Antona made a motion to approve on the recommendation of the administration, $600,000 for asbestos removal and boiler replacement at Reading Memorial High School. Ms. Cavicchi seconded the motion. The vote was 6 -0 Ms. Cavicchi, Ms. D'Antona, Mr. Spadafora, Mr. Stohlman and Mr. Twomey. GIFTS Dr. Harutunian thanked Mr. Fred Stevenson for his donation of a Stylewriter 4500 printer to the Killam School and Mr. David Gray for his donation of mouse pads for every computer in the Killam school including the media center. SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT (continued) Dr. Harutunian advised that the School Committee Goal of having him do a 5 or 10 minute update program could not be done due to the fact that Media One's shortest production is thirty minutes. Dr. Harutunian advised he will speak to Media One again to see if a compromise could be reached. Dr. Harutunian requested approval to purchase from the budget a one quarter page add in the year book from the School Committee and School Administration. Mr. Stohlman objected to using taxpayers money to purchase the add and suggested to purchase the add out of pocket. The consensus of the Committee was to purchase the add with money from the budget as has been done in the past. Dr. Harutunian requested that the School Committee appoint a screening committee for reviewing the applications of the architects for the Reading Memorial High School project and forwarding a final decision to the full Committee. The consensus of the Committee was that the Chair would appoint the Committee REGULAR SESSION -7- December 8, 1997 and the Committee would bring back 3 candidates to the full School Committee for review. Selectman Hines discussed his letter to Chair Twomey, dated November 17, 1997 regarding the Reading Memorial High School Building Study. Mr. Hines' letter stated that he would like to recommend that the scope of evaluating a new -build alternative should be based on building new on the existing site only. Chair Twomey advised that the Committee agreed to leave options open and to have all possibilities explored. Chair Twomey advised that a formal scope of services has not yet been prepared. Dr. Harutunian gave a brief update on the Strategic Planning Committee and the high school Community Service plan. ADJOURN At 11:10 p.m. Mr. Spadafora made a motion to adjourn from regular session and return to executive session. Ms. Cavicchi seconded the motion. The vote was 6 -0 Ms. Cavicchi, Ms. D'Antona, Mr. Spadafora, Mr. Stohlman, Mr. Twomey and Ms. Williams. spectfully submitted, Harr K. Harutunian,Ph.D. Superintendent of Schools