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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-09-22 School Committee Minutes .PR i ���, Town of Reading (r� �7 I Meeting Minutes ,s3plNt0"; Board - Committee - Commission - Council: School Committee Date: 2014-09-22 Time: 7:00 PM Building: School - Memorial High Location: Superintendent Conference Room Address: 82 Oakland Road Purpose: Open Session Session: General Session Attendees: Members - Present: Linda Snow Dockser John Doherty, Superintendent Jeanne Borawski Martha Sybert, Director of Finance Chuck Robinson Craig Martin, Assistant Superintendent Gary Nihan Carolyn Wilson, Director of Student Services Elaine Webb Members - Not Present: Chris Caruso Others Present: Andrea Nastri, Student Representative, Carl Gillies, Student Representative Al Sylvia, Reading Chronicle, RCASA Board Members: SRO Mike Muolo, Chief Jim Cormier, Lt. Mark Segalla, RCASA Director Erica McNamara, Julianne Deangelis, RCASA, Dr. Sherri VandenAkker, RMHS Assistant Principal Tom Zaya, RMHS Principal Adam Bakr Sara Burd, District Administrator for Student Support Dan Ensminger, Board of Selectmen Rebecca Liberman, Parent Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: John F. Doherty, Ed.D. Superintendent Topics of Discussion: I. Call to Order Vice-Chair Robinson called the School Committee to order at 7:06 p.m. Mr. Robinson made a statement regarding the recently released MCAS scores. He said the School Committee and district are concerned about the district data and will be presenting on MCAS in November. This will allow time for the administration and staff to review the data and develop an action plan. II. Recommended Procedure A. Public Input (I) Vice-Chair Robinson called for public input. Page I 1 Dan Ensminger of the Board of Selectmen asked the School Committee about the elimination of grade 7 health educator position in the FY15 budget. He pointed out that middle school substance abuse education was a community priority. He asked how the curriculum will be taught to the 7th grade students. Dr. Doherty indicated the curriculum materials have been purchased and that the health curriculum will be taught in the Wellness classes. Health education will also be taught in grades 6 and 8 as part of the Wellness curriculum as well. Dr. Doherty responded to the question about the elimination of the grade 7 health position. He pointed out that during the budget deliberations that the School Committee felt it was of greater importance to add a social worker at the high school to address the behavioral health needs of that population. The long term vision is to have dedicated health educators at the elementary and middle school levels. The high school currently teaches the health curriculum to grades 9 & 11. Chief Cormier added that it is important to follow the long term vision for health education. Studies have shown that the onset age for substance abuse is dropping and it is a real concern community-wide. It is important that comprehensive health education is taught at the middle and elementary levels. Rebecca Liberman, parent, shared concerns over the recently released MCAS math scores. She urged the administration to schedule a parent math meeting earlier than November. She next urged the School Committee to reverse their decision regarding participation in the PARCC testing pilot. She feels there will be no way to track the progress. Mrs. Liberman also asked the administration to refocus the priorities on the current students and away from the Early Childhood Center. Mr. Martin addressed the MCAS concerns and shared that the MCAS will be aligned with the new frameworks in 2014. He also stated that in reviewing the 8th grade math open response questions and the application to real world problem solving the scores went up. Mr. Martin also shared that the district using the student growth percentile (SGP) as an indicator of student progress and overall the 8th grade scores went up. B. Reports Students Student Representative Gillies reported that there was no school on Thursday in observance of Rosh Hashanah. He also shared that the Boys Soccer and Girls Volleyball teams will be participating in fundraiser to support cancer research. Student Representative Nastri reported on the successful open house held last week. Parents were able to follow their child's schedule and meet teachers. The high school is hosting Swiss exchange students for the next 3 weeks. Page 12 Sub-Committee Dr. Snow Dockser reported on the first meeting of VOICE, the high school choral group and the upcoming activities and fundraisers. Mrs. Borawski, representative to the Recreation Committee, reported on the committee's recent meeting. Updates included information on dugouts and benches at Morton Field, lighting at Memorial Park and the installation of a climbing wall at Birch Meadow. She also shared that on October 29 the Recreation Department will host a downtown trick or treat event for children along the businesses on Main and Haven Streets. Dr. Snow Dockser added that it was great to see so many excited and energized teachers raving about their students at the high school open house. She also attended the Senior Parent Night hosted by the Guidance Department. Mrs. Webb commented on several fundraisers that will be happening to support athletics and activities and thanked the parent groups that spearhead the efforts. C. New Business Behavioral Health/YRBS Presentation and Update RCASA president Elaine Webb thanked the Board members that were at the meeting tonight and shared that RCASA has received a five year/$125,000 per year Drug Free Communities grant. She thanked Erica McNamara and Julianne Deangelis for their efforts. Dr. Doherty said that for the past 3 or 4 years we have made the behavioral health of our students a priority and we have made significant strides. In addition to the RCASA grant the district has received notification that we have received two more federal grants. The first being a 2 year/$50,000 per year"Now is the Time" Project AWARE grant to be used to provide behavioral health professional development opportunities for our staff. The next grant is a 5 year/$250,000 per year grant to implement the Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS). He thanks Ms. McNamara, Ms. Burd and Ms. Deangelis for their efforts in securing the Federal grants. He then turned the meeting over to Erica McNamara. Ms. McNamara began by saying that the adolescent brain does not develop fully until the 20's. This fact has direct bearing on the decisions that students make in the teens. She went onto say we struggle as a nation and substance use and mental illness is not only a teenage problem. It is estimated that 20 million adults in the U.S abuse alcohol and more than half started drinking heavily as teenagers. More than 70% of adult substance abusers hold jobs. She went on to review suicide and overdose statistics recorded by the Reading Police Department between January and August of 2014, and the numbers are higher than previous years which is cause for concern. Page 13 Ms. McNamara reviewed factors that cause the disease of addiction which include family background, culture, lifestyle choices and co-occurring disorders. She pointed out that addiction is a disease, although not always easy to see,that needs to be treated. Once a person has developed an addiction it cannot be cured but with treatment it can be managed. Early intervention is important in the ability to treat substance abuse and mental illness. Ms. McNamara went on to review the 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The purpose of the survey is to monitor priority health behaviors, track progress of current efforts, evaluate programming and curricula and use the data to acquire funding. The 2013 test included 122 questions and was taken by an even amount of boys and girls at the high school level. Underage drinking and marijuana use by student in grades 9-12 stayed in line with state and national averages and has shown a decrease among Reading students between 2011 and 2013 but there was an increase in drug use particularly in heroin. Ms. McNamara reviewed stress, bullying, depression and eating disorder results then moved onto suicidality. Students were asked the following questions; seriously considered suicide, made a plan to commit suicide, attempted suicide in the past 12 months and attempted suicide that required medical treatment. She said that 14% of the respondents had considered suicide and of that group 13% of them had a plan. This information needs to be taken seriously. Parents should not be afraid to ask questions of their children. The act of asking about suicidal thoughts does not prompt the student to act, in fact, it may provide some relief to the student and an avenue to talk about what is prompting these thoughts. The middle school results showed that cyberbullying is still a concern for the middle school age student. Drug and alcohol use by grade 6 & 8 students has decreased in Reading between the 2011 and 2013 surveys. Sara Burd continued the presentation focusing on behavioral health. She said using the recommendations of the Behavioral Health Task Force support services have been put in place to address the needs of our students. The Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS) is starting to structure and implement Tier 1 supports. Students will be assessed three times per year to determine their health and well- being to promote behavioral health for all. Once all students have been assessed determinations will be made for students that may require supplemental Tier 2 supports both academically and behaviorally. Students requiring more intensive support and individualized services will receive Tier 3 supports. The determination of the level of support is data driven and subject to resources available. The MTSS process will take 2—3 years to fully implement. Another improvement to address the behavioral health needs of our students includes program consultation with Wediko Children's Services, increased staffing dedicated to the behavioral health of students and the introduction of the Behavioral Health Internship Program. This year we have 7 interns providing support for students in 8 of our schools. The students are benefitting from the services provided by these interns who are in the buildings 2 to 3 times per week providing services to students. The interns represent 3.6 FTE of staff that the district receives at no cost. The Reading Public Schools received a Safe and Supportive Implementation grant for $10,000 from the DESE. The funds have been used to structure and implement district-wide Building Leadership teams and to provide MTSS Page 14 training. Reading is considered on the forefront of safe and supportive schools helping to enact legislation. The district has also provided many opportunities for staff professional development training in behavioral health areas. Ms. McNamara presented information on Diversion Program in place for students that have violated the Chemical Health policy. This program is highly regarded in the area and the Middlesex District Attorney's Office would like to see the program expanded but Ms. McNamara said that we will be focusing on the Reading students for now. She also mentioned two new programs to be implemented soon. The RMHS Adults Assist Program which will educate coaches and other adults who work with children in extra-curricular activities to be able to identify some of the signs of substance abuse and Rocket Revolution which will provide high school varsity athletes with the opportunity to learn, practice, and demonstrate leadership skills that can be shared with the fellow athletes, peers, and the Reading community. She finished up mentioning the current initiatives which include the RX Roundup, Text a Tip, health education and the upcoming RCASA Annual meeting and World Café event. She also emphasized that the substance abuse must be viewed as a health issue that requires comprehensive treatment. Mr.Nihan was very impressed by the presentation and is happy that prevention is emphasized. Mrs. Webb agreed that this was a phenomenal presentation and identified many resources. She pointed out that during the upcoming budget season, which will be very challenging, that the community work together to address the behavioral health needs of our students. Dr. Snow Dockser asked about Adult Assist and Rocket Revolution programs. Ms. McNamara said that RCASA is working with Reading Recreation this year and hopes in years 2 & 3 that the Adult Assist program will expand to youth programs. The Rocket Revolution program will also expand to activities. Dr. Snow Dockser went onto say that she left the first World Cafe with a sense of helplessness. Reading has a serious problem but after tonight's presentation she does not feel as helpless knowing that we are building a system of support to meet the needs of the community. Vice-Chair Robinson called a brief recess at 8:44 p.m. The meeting was called back to order at 8:49 p.m. D. Continued Business FY14 Budget Update Ms. Sybert reviewed the final budget update for FY14. She indicated that the Town Accountant had closed the budget. Page 15 Mrs. Borawski asked about the encumbered amounts particularly in the Maintenance, District Technology and Special Education lines. Ms. Sybert said that there was ongoing maintenance and technology work over the summer and we are waiting for the invoices. Mr.Nihan asked if$571,748 was an unusually high amount to return to the town. Superintendent Doherty said the school department usually returns $50,000 - $75,000 to the town. This year's amount is high because of some out-of-district placements that did not occur. Mrs. Webb pointed out the transparency in our budget. There are no surprises. E. New Business FY16 Budget Calendar Ms. Sybert reviewed the calendar. Mrs. Borawski moved, seconded by Mrs. Webb, to approve the FY16 Budget Calendar as presented. The motion carried 5-0. Mrs. Borawski would like to review the current budget document for changes. Mrs. Webb suggested that input should be sent to Ms. Sybert well in advance of the public discussion. Dr. Doherty asked the Committee to ask themselves "what is the purpose of the document?" He feels it tells a story about the school department and prospective employees often reference the document for information about the district. III. Routine Matters a. Bills and Payroll (A) The following warrants were circulated and signed. Warrant S1512 9.11.14 $113,509.07 Warrant S 1512E 9.8.14 $3,225.00 Warrant S1513 9.18.14 $290,521.62 Warrant P1506 9.12.14 $1,391,070.30 Warrant P1505 8.11.14 $997,208.01 b. Minutes (A) Mrs. Borawski moved, seconded by Mrs. Webb, to approve the open session minutes as revised dated September 8, 2014. The motion carried 5-0. c. Bids and Donations (A) Donations Coolidge Page 16 Mrs. Borawski moved, seconded by Mr. Nihan, to accept a donation in the amount of$3,500 from the Coolidge Science Olympiad Support Group to be used to compensate the head coach for the 2014-15 school year. The motion carried 5-0. RMHS Cheering Mrs. Borawski moved, seconded by Mrs. Webb, to accept a donation in the amount of$2,400 to be used to purchase choreographer services and corresponding music for the 2014 competition season. The motion carried 5-0. RMHS Girls Soccer Mrs. Borawski moved, seconded by Mrs. Snow Dockser, to accept a donation in the amount of$1,820 to be used to purchase bench coats for the girls soccer team. The motion carried 5-0. d. Calendar IV.Information V. Future Business VI.Adjournment Mrs. Borawski moved, seconded by Mrs. Snow Dockser, to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m. NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the meeting. \ ' $ 4 '� - � �• , F. Dohert' , Ed.D. Page 17