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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1987-06-16 School Committee MinutesREADING PUBLIC SCHOOLS Reading, Massachusetts SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES Call to Order 205 JUNE 16, 1987 Chairman Cliff Allen called the regular meeting of the Reading School Committee to order at 7:45 p.m. on June 16, 1987 in the Superintendent's Conference Room at 34 Gould Street. All members of the School Committee were present, with the exception of Mr. Nissen and Mrs. Philbrick, both of whom arrived later in the meeting. Also present were the Superintendent, Robert S. Wells, Assistant Superintendent, Robert J. Munnelly, Dr. Jack Delaney, Principal of Parker Middle School, Chairperson of the Math Department, Mary Abegg, and member of the Math Department, Jack Kelliher, parents, and a reporter from the Ch'ronicl,e. Mr. Allen stated the matter listed on the Agenda as "Principal's Appointment" would be taken up later in the Agenda, after "Foreign Language Curriculum Report" in order that the School Committee members who would be arriving late would have a chance to participate in the discussion regarding this item. Approval of Minutes of June 1, 8, 10, 1987 Mr. Coco made a motion, seconded by Carol Lyons, to approve the Minutes of the Meetings of June 1, 8, 10, 1987. Mr. Allen then asked if there were any omissions or corrections. Carol Lyons stated that she would like a correction made on Page 3, of the Minutes of June 10th, where it quoted her as saying, "Ms. Lyons stated she thought that if there were any negative opinions expressed by any people interviewed in regard to the candidates, it should be discussed in Open Session." Ms. Lyons requested that the words "the professional competency" be inserted after the words "in regard to ", to clarify what was said. A vote was taken on the Minutes, and with the amendment to the June 10th Minutes, they were unanimously approved, 4 -0. Bills and Payrolls Warrants for bills and payrolls were approved as follows: Bills June 22, 1987 - General Expense S28,045.24 Payrolls June 19, 1987 - Weekly - $ 39,859.02 June 26, 1987 - Weekly - S 53,286.99 June 22, 1987 - Teachers - $1,207,975.80 206 READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES JUNE 16, 1987 Citizens' Input There was no citizens' input. School Highlights Dr. Wells stated that evening there would be a program in regard to competence in Math which would be presented by members of that department at Parker Middle School. Dr. Wells then introduced Dr. Delaney, Principal at Parker. Dr. Delaney stated he was very pleased with the work that was being done by the Math Department, and the success enjoyed by the math team in the math competition. He stated two of the four members of the department were present, Chairperson, Mary Abegg, and also Jack Kelliher. He stated as a department that past year, they participated in a joint project focusing on problem solving. Dr. Delaney then introduced Mary Abegg. Mrs. Abegg then reviewed the Math Program with the School Committee and gave some background information on how the subject of problem solving became a priority in the curriculum for mathematics. She stated this issue of problem solving was a priority for the '80's on the agenda of the National Council of the Teachers of Mathematics, as it was found that students were good at skills, but not in applying it to real life. Mrs. Abegg then gave a math problem to the School Committee to solve in order to demonstrate the program. After a short period of time, Mrs. Abegg demonstrated how to solve this problem using methods that she had learned while participating at UMASS and National Science Foundation projects. This method included motivating students to approach solving mathemathics problems in a number of new ways. Mrs. Abegg stated some goals beyond basic number operations include application to practical situations, the development of "number sense" essential for estimation, mental arithmetic, and reasonableness of answers, the study of probability and statistics, and computer applications. After some questions by the School Committee, Mr. Cliff Allen thanked Mrs. Abegg and others from the Math Department and the Parker Middle School for their presentation. Executive Session Minutes of March 9, 1987 Mr. Cliff Allen stated he thought this issue had been taken care at a previous meeting, but since that time, the D. A.'s office had requested that these Executive Minutes be handled in a different manner. He stated they would like the committee to rescind their previous vote to make these minutes an Addendum of the Open Session Minutes on that date, and vote to release them to the public as originally written. READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES 207 JUNE 16, 1987 A motion was made by Mr. Nissen, seconded by Carol Lyons, to rescind the vote of April 6, 1987 in which the committee agreed to make the Executive Session Minutes of March 9th available to the public as an addendum to the Open Session Minutes, and that the Executive Session Minutes of March 9th, be made public as originally written. The motion passed unanimously on a 5 -0 vote. Horace Mann Projects.1987 -88 Dr. Wells stated these Horace Mann proposals were part of the Chapter 188 of the School Educational Reform Act, and the State has informed Reading that they will be receiving $31,632.00 for SY87 -88 for these projects. He stated the School Committee had negotiated with the RTA over the process in which grants would be formulated and accepted. Dr. Wells noted that the committee chosen to review these projects had worked over 14 hours on the proposals which were being recommended that evening. He stated that a total of $75,800 of proposals had been received,.and the committee had accepted proposals in the amount of $31,600. Dr. Wells then stated that Dr. Munnelly would review the list of proposals with the School Committee. Dr. Munnelly stated that although these projects came out of bargaining and negotiations, it had been a good - spirited exchange. He noted that the recommendations came with the unanimous approval of the review team which consisted of a core of administrators and representatives of the association. He noted that for the most part these proposals called for extra work assignments for the teachers involved. Dr. Munnelly stated a broad area of concern showed up in the proposals for elementary literature, library media development of curriculum at Barrows and Birch Meadow, Art and Mathematics, Typesetting, and Science to name a few. Dr. Munnelly stated it was the feeling of administration and the review committee that the teachers should be notified of approval of their proposals before the end of the School Year. In this way, it would give them time over the summer to layout some plans for implementing their projects in order to get an early start in the Fall. Dr. Munnelly reviewed the proposals with the School Committee which totaled 37. Dr. Munnelly stated that this week there would be a review of the projects from last year and any tangible evidence of how they worked out and how that influenced instruction or services to the pupils. He stated that there was concern that these proposals not be a one -shot deal, but rather projects that could be expanded upon, if reports indicated a positive influence. In answer to a question from Carol Lyons in regard to the cutback in some proposals in the amounts that were proposed and the amounts that were finally approved, Dr. Munnelly stated this I.' READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES JUNE 16, 1987 difference represented mostly a cutback in the number of hours that would be spent on the proposal and not a change in the quality of the proposal. Mr. Shannon asked if on Proposal #4, Language Arts, the cut was also a matter of hours? Dr. Munnelly stated the committee felt that originally the proposal was for a large project for development of a workshop program on Language Arts, comparable to the one in Math that is in place, and because it was a new proposal, that* it should be cut in half for the first year so some feel for how successful it was could be determined. Dr. Delaney also stated the committee had some concern about the project because it was focused at one school and they felt there should be more of a commitment to sharing. A motion was made by Mr. Nissen, seconded by Mr. Shannon, to approve the Horace Mann Proposals as outlined on Enclosure B -3 -b dated June 20, 1987, in the amount of $31,600.00 for the School Year 1987 -88. Mr. Nissen had` a question on the small number of proposals that were at the elementary level. Dr. Delaney stated there was a lot of discussion on that, and one of the concerns of the elementary teachers was the absence of an affiliation with a department which made the projects less conducive for the elementary level. He stated the committee is going to try to convey to the teachers at this level development of a longer time frame and collaborative efforts. Mr. Coco asked if there were going to be some reports on these projects which would be brought to the School Committee. Dr. Munnelly stated that every project would be evaluated, and this report would be given to the School Committee for their review. A vote was taken on the motion, and it was unanimously approved 5 -0. Foreicn Lancauacae Curriculum Report Dr. Munnelly introduced Dr. Piechota who was present with Gina Healy, Foreign Language Department Head, and Fran Lanouette, member of the department to review this report with the committee. Dr. Piechota stated that he was very proud of this department and Mrs. Healy and that it was one of the strong departments at the High School. He noted they are always looking for new ways to grow and develop and improve services for pupils. Dr. Piechota then turned the presentation over to Gina Healy. 209 READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES JUNE 16, 1987 Gina Healy stated that some of the aims of her department were to promote communication in modern languages and improve analysis skills so that students could become more proficient in their own languages. Secondly, she noted, it was to provide opportunities for students to experience other languages and cultures. Mrs. Healy stated there are extensive course sequences from the Middle Schools through High School. She noted that students can begin with language courses as early as the 8th grade, at which time, she showed a slide and reviewed the sequences of language classes with the School Committee. Mrs. Healy stated that Latin was a language that was not offered in the 8th grade, but students can elect it in Grade 9 through 11. Therefore, most of the students have already elected a choice of language by Grade 9, and this has had a dire effect on enrollments in Latin in the last three years. She stated French has been at the Middle Schools for some time, but since the introduction of Spanish the Latin enrollments have decreased greatly. Mrs. Healy stated when she came to Reading there were more enrollments in French classes than Spanish, but that has since turned around. Mrs. Healy stated she believed that all three languages should be offered in the Middle Schools from which students can choose and have long term sequences with all three. She stated in reality there are some problems with this, because presently teachers in Middle Schools teach both French and Spanish and Latin would have to be added. Mrs. Healy stated the introduction of Latin at Middle Schools would require the hiring of another teacher, which is unlikely because of declining enrollments, and also because scheduling problems would result and that students have other electives they may choose from. Mrs. Healy stated that Latin is in great trouble because of these reasons. Mrs. Healy stated all the teachers in the department have been active in developing their skills as teachers and in the last three years, all have attended the Mass. Foreign Language Assoc. Conference where sessions are offered to improve teaching skills and to strengthen their knowledge of their subject area. Mrs. Healy stated within the Department she had been concentrating on two facets of instruction: 1. Decentralizing the role of the teacher in Foreign Language instruction, which means that teachers work toward active student participation rather than taking the leading role all the time. 2. More active student participation getting the student to speak the language more and getting them more involved in the teaching process. Mrs. Healy stated that most students and lots of other people are laboring under the false myth that 2 years of a Foreign Language is all that is necessary to get into college. She stated this is the minimum requirement to get into a college, but it takes a lot more to graduate. She noted, therefore, a long -term sequence of Foreign Language courses is of great help to students in preparation for 2 -year and 4 -year colleges. 210 READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES JUNE 16, 1987 Mrs. Healy stated in this regard, the department has tried to inform students which colleges have these Foreign Language graduation requirements. Mrs. Healy stated the department is enjoying a very high enrollment in Foreign Languages, approximately 65% per year, as nationally it is 45 %. She stated this was due in part to the Board of Regents requirements for two years of language for entrance into State Colleges, which is a new regulation, and will keep the enrollments where they are. Mrs. Healy stated there has been a shift in the interest from French to Spanish, which seems to be a national trend. Mrs. Healy's students have high scores on achievement tests, and can compete in any college Foreign Language course, because they are well prepared. She noted one area that needs improvement is the communication between the Middle Schools and the High School. She stated that the teachers have worked during release time with her on this issue and also on a Horace Mann Grant proposal this year, which has proven to be very beneficial. Mrs. Healy stated there is still a need for more direct coordination, and she would recommend something on a Coordinator's position, which would be a person responsible for the three schools for coordinating curriculum, personnel, etc. She stated it was very difficult to be the only Foreign Language teacher in a school, because it is an isolating experience. A Coordinator would be a person that could have dialogue with these teachers in Middle Schools and would know what resources are available to all and would make them available without having duplication. She noted another recommendation to think about was offering languages other than French, Spanish or Latin, e.g., Japanese, Chinese, Russian. Mrs. Healy stated both of these recommendations had the approval of the evaluating committee in 1983 during the 10 -year evaluation at the High School. Mrs. Healy stated presently the department is working on a proficiency based curriculum, which means instead of a traditional curriculum, it would be one based more around a situational contact, having students learn the grammar incidentally to learning how to survive in a certain situation. She noted this would eliminate teaching students things they will not use and leans more toward active use of the language. She stated there are eight people in the department and the least experienced is a teacher with 7 years, which can be a strength. Mrs. Healy stated most of the teachers have been involved in self - improvement and growth. She noted that the Cultural Exchange Program has been conducted with France for three years and has proven to be very successful. Mrs. Healy stated that this type of cross cultural experience has been very helpful in teaching students the realities of another language. 211 READING SCHOC! COMMITTEE MINUTES JUNE 16, 1987 Mrs. Healy stated there should be some consideration given to state -of -the art technology, giving students access to videos, tapes, computers, and depending on enrollments, the use of interactive T.V. networks. There was a brief question and answer period with the School Committee, and Cliff Allen then thanked Mrs. Healy and Ms. Lanouette for their presentation. Principal's Appointment At 9:15 p.m. Cliff Allen stated that since Mrs. Philbrick had arrived, he would take up the Principal's Appointment item on the Agenda which had been delayed. Dr. Wells stated with a great deal of reluctance, he was not going to recommend a Birch Meadow Principal. He stated he felt he was given an insufficient number of viable candidates and had even gone back to the Screening Committee and asked for more, which they saw fit not to provide. Dr. Wells stated the School Committee guidelines state approximately 6 should be given and although not a specific number, it should indicate more than two. He noted that having only two candidates did not give him sufficient choice to make a good appointment which, he felt, has always been a tradition of this school system. Dr. Wells stated, therefore, he was going to defer this appointment until another alternative could be thought of or his successor was appointed. Carol Lyons asked Dr. Wells if he had interviewed the finalist, and if he hat, did he find them qualified and acceptable, or had he found any problem with either of them? Dr. Wells stated that there is a problem with every human being, as everyone has strengths and weaknesses, but he would say he found them acceptable. Mr. Allen sated he felt the committee should address what alternatives now faced them. Dr. Wells stated he didn't think these alternatives would be that serious. He stated the School Committee knew the schedule for getting his replacement better than he did and that will be a determinant, another is that the committee would have the knowledge that he could go into that pool of candidates interviewed by the Screening Committee and come up with a recc-amendation, although some committee members have already made it clear they would find it very difficult to vote on any candidate not given by the Screening Committee. He stated this feeling on the part of the committee members made this last solution not very viable. 212 READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES JUNE 16, 1987 Cliff Allen asked if there was an Assistant Principal at the school. Dr. Wells stated there was and if that was what was required, he could be appointed acting Principal. He noted there was a good staff at Birch Meadow, and they could still get a good start in the Fall. Dr. Wells stated Birch Meadow is as good a school as any in the system, and this has been proven in all test results, although it seemed to be the perception of some people that because of problems, only an experienced Principal can put the school right. Mr. Coco stated he was very disappointed with the turn of events and one of his biggest concerns was that a person who might have been appointed Principal will miss the opportunity for the July and August months of quiet to acclimate himself with the school and ideas for changes, if any. He stated he felt the Screening Committee gave Dr. Wells some strong candidates, and that it was only the fact that 2 of the 4 had accepted other positions in the interim, that this situation developed. He stated this will possibly delay an appointment until Sept. or Oct., and it was possible that getting a qualified pool of candidates will be a lot more difficult at that time. Mr. Shannon stated he was very much insulted by the statements in Dr. Wells' enclosure B -3 in regard to this appointment. He stated that the Screening Committee, of which he was a part, gave Dr. Wells 4 candidates, and it was only chance that left only 2 remaining because of two candidates taking positions in the interim. Mr. Shannon stated the number 6 had never been cast in stone and because of the marked difference in these 4 and the rest of the pool the screening committee did not feel they wanted to go back for two additional candidates. He noted that at one of the meetings on May 25, the committee made a statement which made clear that recent administrative experience was a strong consideration, and parents at the public meeting also felt this was a major concern. Mr. Shannon stated there were 5 active teachers and a Principal on the committee, and he didn't feel that Dr. Wells should imply that the committee had not given him candidates who were viable. He stated that he also felt that Dr. Wells did not go into these interviews with an open mind. Mr. Shannon stated if the administration was only interested in candidates within the system, the committee should have been charged with selecting only an in -house candidate. He stated he felt the Superintendent was misusing his power in not recommending either of these two qualified finalists, not the Screening Committee. Mr. Nissen stated although he was disappointed, there was no point in going over the issue again, and he felt the committee should now address what their next step would be. He stated he felt the committee should now appoint an acting Principal, with advice from the Administration, and confirm the date of Mr. Murphy's 213 READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES JUNE 16, 1987 resignation. Mr. Nissen noted then the committee had two possible approaches, one to present the new Superintendent basically with the situation we have now, two recommended candidates and a pool of others, and ask him to make a recommendation, and another solution was to open the position up again. Mr. Nissen stated he had two concerns with that, one, he would not wish to see the same situation recur, so he would like a review of the policy and guidelines covering this area and make them more specific as to what our expectations of the committee are so that we and the Superintendent can agree that the results will be acceptable. Mr. Nissen stated, secondly, the choosing of another screening committee will have to be dealt with, and also that 50 applicants have been gone through, this number being reduced to 16 and then 4. He noted 2 of those 4 no longer available, therefore, this meant there are 40 or 50 people who would have no reason to submit another resume, which could leave the pool only 25 to 30 candidates. Mr. Nissen stated perhaps there should be no action that night, giving the committee time to decide what steps they would like to take at the next meeting. Mr. Allen reviewed the selection of the Screening Committee with the audience and the committee members. He stated he felt it was useless to try to discuss that issue presently, and should be done when the new Superintendent was appointed. Mrs. Philbrick stated she agreed with all that her colleagues had said that evening and asked when the new Superintendent came in, did the committee have to begin the search process all over again? Mr. Nissen stated a Superintendent can walk into the room any time and make a recommendation, but the committee can either accept it or reject it. He noted according to the State Law, we have followed the policy to the letter, however, one of these two final candidates may not still be interested in the position, and then perhaps we would have to start over. Mrs. Philbrick asked if the 12 semi - finalists had been notified they were no longer being considered, and Mr. Shannon stated when Dr. Wells indicated that having only 2 finalists was an insufficient number and that he and Dr. Munnelly would go back into the pool, we gave all the applications to them at that time. Dr. Munnelly stated there were no letters then because at that time they were considering an open pool of candidates. Mrs. Philbrick stated some decision should be made about a letter to be sent to the 12 candidates who were still in the pool. Mr. Coco stated he would like to get a legal opinion from MASC on their interruption of that rule and also any exceptions to it, if any. There was a short discussion among the School Committee members on whether to send this letter, and it was the consensus that a letter should be sent. 214 READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES JUNE 16, 1987 There was a great deal of discussion between some parents from the Birch Meadow School area with the School Committee regarding Dr. Wells' reasons for not making the recommendation. Mr. Nissen made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Philbrick, that the administration send a letter to each of the 12 semi - finalists stating that the School Committee had not received a recommendation from the Superintendent, and therefore, the position of Principal of Birch Meadow Elementary School is being held open until the appointment of a new Superintendent. There was a discussion among School Committee members on the wording and intent of the letter, and it was agreed that it should contain a statement similar to wording in the motion. A further discussion ensued with parents in the audience from Birch Meadow School area and the School Committee on the actions of the Superintendent and the Screening Committee and the process as a whole. A vote was taken on the motion, and it was unanimously approved. Leaves Dr. Munnelly stated he had received a letter from Peter Moscariello requesting a one -year leave of absence from his position as Head Baseball Coach at R.M.H.S. for physical and personal reasons. Dr. Munnelly stated Administration and the Athletic Director were recommending approval of the request. A motion was made by Mr. Nissen, secondec by Mrs. Philbrick, to approve the request for a one -year leave of absence to Peter Moscariello from his position as Head Baseball Coach at R.M.H.S. The vote was unanimous. Resignations Dr. Munnelly stated he had received a letter from Stacey Dortch resigning her position as Grade 2 teacher at Birch Meadow School, effective the end of the present school ye-=r. A motion was made by Mrs. Philbrick, seconded by Mr. Shannon, to accept the resignation of Stacey Dortch, Grade 2 teacher at Birch Meadow School, effective the end of the 1 °86 -87 School Year. The motion was unanimouslv aoDroved. Appointments Dr. Munnelly stated this Enclosure F and . Addendum was a list of reappointments and one -year appointments for the 1987 -88 School Year. He then reviewed the list with t ^e School Committee and stated Administration was recommending approval of all. 215 READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES JUNE 16, 1987 Mr. Nissen made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Philbrick, to approve the appointment and reappointment of all candidates listed on Enclosures F and F Addendum to the positions and at the salaries listed and pending presentation of credentials where indicated, and also the approval of Ms. Mary G. Graham as Head Field Hockey Coach for SY1987 -88. The vote was unanimous. At 11:15 p.m. on a motion by Mr. Shannon, seconded by Ms. Lyons, it was unanimously voted to go into Executive Session to discuss matters of Litigation. The vote was unanimous. Mr. Allen indicated that the committee would not be returning to Open Session.