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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-12-08 School Council - Wood End Elementary Minutesor Town of Reading Meeting Minutes x Board - Committee - Commission - Council: School Council -Wood End Elementary Date: 2014 -12 -08 Time: 3:15 PM Building: School - Wood End Location: Conference Room Address: 85 Sunset Rock Lane Purpose: Regular Monthly Meeting Attendees: Members - Present: i?ECEIVED i OWN CLERK ADING, MASS. AN DEC IS P 7 33 Joanne King, Debbie Hattery, Kerl DlNapoli, Alana Fustolo, Frederick Van Magness, Jr. Members - Not Present: Lynda Michel Others Present: None Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Frederick Van Magness, Jr. Topics of Discussion: A regular monthly meeting of the Wood End School Council was held in the Conference Room of the Wood End Elementary School on Monday, December 8, 2014. CALL TO ORDER A quorum of members being present, and the meeting having been duly convened, Wood End Principal Joanne King called the meeting to order at 3:20pm and proceeded with business. Secretary Lynda Michel was unable to attend the meeting, so minutes were agreed to be taken by member Fred Van Magness. PUBLIC COMMENT As has become custom at meetings of the Wood End School Council, Mrs. King announced that the School Council would take a moment to pause from its ordinary consideration of regular business to accept any public comment. No members of the public were in attendance at the meeting, so there was no public comment. Meetings of the Wood End School Council are open to members of the public and are posted in accordance with the requirements of the state Open Meeting Law. Mrs. King also advises parents in the Wood End community of upcoming School Council meetings in her regular newsletter, which is posted on EdLine and advised to parents directly by email every week. Members of the School Council thanked Mrs. King for these efforts and for making the opportunity for public comment a regular part of School Council meetings. REVIEW AND ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES There being no public comment, members of the School Council returned to the agenda for the meeting and proceeded to review draft minutes from the last meeting, which was held on November 3, 2014. The minutes were prepared by School Council Secretary Lynda Michel. There being no discussion, Mrs. Hattery moved that the minutes be accepted as drafted. Mrs. DiNapoli seconded the motion. The members then voted unanimously to approve the minutes. VOTE: - Minutes Accepted 5 -0-0 cage 1 1 OLD BUSINESS Parent Handbook Mrs. King told members of the School Council that the Wood End Parent Handbook has been fully revised and duly updated. Revisions to the handbook were necessary to update parents on recent changes in the laws regarding such issues as harassment and bullying. Mrs. King also updated certain language in the handbook to be more consistent with district policies and the policies being followed at other schools, as appropriate. The handbook was fully reviewed by legal counsel prior to publication. In addition to other topics, the handbook also contains the Health and Wellness Policy for the school. The Health and Wellness Policy is initially determined at the district level for all schools, after which each individual school has the option of making it more restrictive for itself, subject to the approval of the Superintendent. Members engaged in a brief discussion about the policy, and particularly the issue of making staff and room parents aware of its guidelines with regard to such issues as sending food into the classroom. Mrs. King said that Mrs. Finigan will be sending an email out to room parents and staff summarizing these guidelines. A copy of the handbook is now posted on EdLine, and Mrs. King encouraged all members to read the handbook carefully and to familiarize themselves with its contents. Printed copies of the handbook will be distributed to new Wood End families and to families of incoming Kindergarten students. Update on School Improvement Plan In recent meetings of the School Council, members reviewed and approved the School Improvement Plan for Wood End. One of the goals of the plan is to reduce the student attendance and tardiness rates, based on empirical data that showed those rates had been as high as ten percent in recent years. Mrs. King has been working hard over the past several years to bring these rates down to more acceptable levels and induced advisories of stateldistrictIschool policies regarding absence and lateness as part of her remarks at Back to School Night this fall. Mrs. King advised members that new data on attendance and tardiness was made available in the time since the School Improvement Plan was adopted, and the data indicates that rates are now much lower. In fact, rates are now down below one percent, which gives Wood End the best attendance and tardiness rate for any of the schools in the Reading distract. Therefore, while attendance and tardiness rates are always important, bringing down those rates dramatically is no longer a high - priority goal of the School Improvement Plan. Members cengmtulated Mrs. King on this positive accomplishment and voiced appreciation for all of the outreach efforts that assisted parents in making this a reality. NEW BUSINESS 2016 -2016 Budget Mrs. King updated the members of the School Council as to the status of the district budget for next year Andrea Quirbach (who served as one of two Wood End 'budget parents' last year) and Brian O'Mara have agreed to volunteer as Wood End's parent representatives to the School Committee on budget issues this year Serving as a'budget parent is a significant time commitment, requiring attendance at a series of budget meetings throughout the process, and is also important from the standpoint of making sure that Wood End's interests are well- represented throughout the process. Therefore, members of the School Council expressed their appreciation for Ms. Quirbach and Mr. O'Mara's willingness to participate. Mrs. King told members that the first budget meeting held by the School Committee was scheduled for Thursday, December 11 at 6:30pm in the Superintendent's Office. The Superintendent wished to invite all members of the School Council (as well as other interested parties) to attend the meeting. Early signs indicate that the upcoming budget process could be difficult, with projections that the school department could be expected to deal with a cut of about $900,000 from its budget. There is also the lingering possibility that cuts at the state level (so-called '9C reductions' by the Governor) could force reductions in current-year spending. All of this is happening at the same time that district costs are going up, including rises in health insurance costs of approximately eight percent and increases in facility costs. The Administrative Leadership Team is actively looking at ways the school budget could be cut, if necessary, so as to minimize any impact on students. Everything is on the table, including class sae. This is a particularly Page 1 2 important issue because early indications suggest that the incoming Kindergarten class could be one of the largest classes in recent memory; in fad, applications for full -day Kindergarten have almost reached their limit The budget is an ongoing issue and Mrs. King will keep members of the School Council posted on developments as they occur. It is still far too eady in the process to know what the speck effect of cuts, if any would be on the Wood End community next year. WASH Committee Under the guidance of the School Council, a new committee is being formed to address student health and wellness concerns at Wood End. This committee, to be called the Wellness, Allergy, Safety and Health ('WASH'S Committee, will help to make recommendations for policy changes and implementation to the School Council. School Council member Alana Fustolo has generously volunteered to act as a liaison to the WASH Committee. Efforts are also being coordinated with the Birch Meadow School community as there is a common set of interests between both schools. The initial question for the School Council was that of determining what the proper scope of the WASH Committee should be. Suggestions included general health and safety concems impacting students and staff at Wood End, development of a handbook specifically for room parents, coordination of "Walk to School Wednesdays ", communication with the PTO and staff, and finding ways to encourage more support and participation by parents and members of the community. Members engaged in a bdef brainstorming discussion focused on the Walk to School Wednesday issue. The state originally set up the Safe Routes to School program, and Walk to School Wednesday was devised as a way to encourage students to take advantage of the program. Members voiced support for having staff participate in the program if possible, perhaps by lining ingress routes to school on designated days and either handing out rewards to students or participating in some sort of recognition or visibility event. Mrs. King is also working with the Reading Police Department to address safety issues, particularly with regard to bicycle safety. Parent Workshops The discussion of the WASH Committee and ways to encourage involvement led the School Council to consideration of its next agenda item, which was to consider a list of possible topics for parent workshops in early 2015. The goal of the workshops would be to facilitate communication with parents and to encourage more participation by parents in school activities. The Wood End Leadership Team has invited members of the School Council to attend its next meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, December 17 at 3pm, to coordinate ideas for sponsoring workshops and related events. Members discussed possible topics for workshops. Generally, members supported the idea of having a series of workshops in eady January, 2015. Possible topics for this round of workshops included (1) communication with parents, (2) implementation of MTSS, SST and Wood End Core Values, and (3) the Math in Focus curriculum. A second round of workshops might include such topics as (1) Internet and bicycle safety (in coordination with Officers Muolo and Savio of the Reading Police Department), (2) writing workshops and Young Authors Day, (3) Wood End Core Values, and (4) the WASH Committee. Members discussed several ideas, including how information might be presented by staff and parents, how information might be made available or disseminated following the workshops, and what the format of workshops might be. Further resolution of these issues will be made in coordination with the Leadership Team, with a goal of possibly having the first workshops sometime during the week of January 12, 2015. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the School Council adjourned at 4:21 pm with plans to meet again at its next regular meeting scheduled for January 5, 2015 at 3:15pm in the Wood End Conference Room. Respectfully submitted, Frederick Van Magness, Jr. December 12, 2014 Page 1 3