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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-12-22 School Committee Minutes 4 . Town of Reading Irtrb� Meeting Minutes \3g71XC04f� Board - Committee - Commission - Council: School Committee Date: 2014-12-22 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 Carolyn Wilson, Director of Student Services Gary Nihan Craig Martin, Assistant Superintendent Chris Caruso Elaine Webb Members - Not Present: Others Present: Andrea Nastri, Student Representative Zach Camenker, Reading Chronicle Chris Copeland, RTA President Joanne King, Wood End Principal Kelly Colon, Director of Facilities Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: John F. Doherty, Ed.D. Superintendent Topics of Discussion: I. Call to Order Chair Caruso called the School Committee to order at 7:02 p.m. He reviewed the agenda and welcomed guests. II. Recommended Procedure A. Public Input (I) Chair Caruso called for public input. There was none. B. Reports Students Page I 1 Student Representative Nastri reported that the Select Chorus had a very successful caroling fundraiser and today was ugly sweater day at the high school to benefit the Samantha's Harvest Club. Sub-Committee Mrs. Borawski updated the Committee on the Early Childhood Space Needs Sub- Committee meetings. The group held its first meeting in October and submitted 46 questions to the Superintendent. At the second meeting in December the questions were reviewed and goals for the group were established. The group will be moving ahead visiting the buildings in small groups, finalizing the Space Needs grid and developing a comprehensive communication plan. Dr. Snow Dockser congratulated Amanda Robinson and the students in her ILP class for all the good work they have recently done with the ringing of the Rocket Bell. She also updated the Committee that Rob Surette will be painting 4 portraits as part of the MLK Celebration and locations for the portraits to be displayed is being investigated. The Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation is donating funds, as part of their community grant program,to offset the cost of the Martin Luther King Day activities. Assistant Superintendent Mr. Martin shared that the first meeting of the Joshua Eaton Task Force was held. The group is comprised of community, school and district members. Information will be posted on Edline for the public to stay apprised of the work being done. C. New Business (out of order) Wood End Presentation Mrs. King provided a brief introduction of BOKS at Wood End. The program is made possible by a grant from Reebok to "Build Our Kids Success Through Fitness". The program was launched in 2009 and now has more than 1,200 schools in 48 states participating. Studies have shown that kids that exercise improve school performance. This before school program gets kids moving and brains ready for learning. Mrs. King introduced the Wood End BOKS team. Wood End parents Kelly Mahoney, Matt Brearley, Natasha Costa, Lisa Zucchero and Kerry Giordano have spearheaded the effort at Wood End. Wood End has received a$500 grant from Reebok that provided materials and equipment for the program. Four Wood End parents were trained as Lead teachers. Mrs. Mahoney described the Lead Teacher training that was held at Reebok headquarters. There was a four hour training session. At this training the curriculum and resources were explained and the group was able to network with other schools. There are online resources that contain tools and resources needed to run the program. They also discussed assessment tools and surveys for parents and students. Page 12 Activities are geared toward building teamwork, develop motor skills, build confidence,tolerance, empathy and respect as well as making healthy food choices. Mr. Brearley outlined a typical day which begins with an email from Mrs. Mahoney with the day's activities. The BOKS classes are held on Monday and Wednesdays and run from 7:30— 8:10 a.m. Activities take place inside and outside and the cost is $50 for 8 weeks. The kids arrive and have free play. The session begins with a meeting and warm-up. Each class has a running related activity, a skill of the week and a class game. Each session ends with a cool down and"BOKS bit" which is a discussion on nutrition Natasha Costa. The students are learning about healthy snack choices and how to determine which snack is better than another. Mrs. Costa is teaching the students to read labels, nutritional information and serving sizes. Mrs. King thanked the parents for their support and dedication. Mr. Caruso asked about the age breakdown and when the next session would begin. Mrs. Mahoney said it was pretty even across the board and the next session would begin after the Martin Luther King Holiday. Mr.Nihan commended the group and appreciates that this activity will motivate students to get to school. He then asked if the activities were developmentally appropriate. Mrs. Mahoney said that skill level does not matter, the activities can be done by all levels. Mrs. Borawski asked if they would be able to accommodate an increased enrollment. They believe they will be able to handle an increased enrollment. Bella Bielicki and Ellie Mahoney are BOKS participants and enjoy the classes. They find them to be a lot of fun. Ms. Bielicki talked about enjoying the different games, learning to read ingredients from labels, and making better food choices. Ms. Brearley talked about working with kids in all different grades, and earning the sneaker charms when they learned a new skill such as sit ups. Dr. Snow Dockser asked what they have learned about health food choices. The girls shared that they have learned to read labels and know that if sugar is the first ingredient it probably is not a good choice. The girls were then asked if they are making healthier food choices. Their response was that they were. Mr. Robinson is thrilled with the program on many levels. He feels that the confidence building and teamwork are lifelong skills they will be able use. Mr. Caruso thanked the group for presenting and called a brief recess at 7:28 a.m. The meeting was called back to order at 7:31 p.m. D. Continued Business Full Day Kindergarten Option Dr. Doherty began the discussion reviewing the memo that was included in the packet. He discussed the full day enrollment from 2005 to the present and noted Page 13 that the demand for full day kindergarten has increased on a yearly basis and this year is no different. He thanked the elementary secretaries and Mrs. Engelson for their efforts to ensure that we had the most up to date numbers for tonight. We have received registration packets from 294 families. He cautioned that these numbers will increase between now and August with families that are moving into town. We have not been able to contact 50 families from the census as well. He has concerns at Barrows and Killam with high numbers. Joshua Eaton's first grade will also require an additional classroom next year. He next reviewed the classroom needs for next year. Additional classrooms for kindergarten will be needed at Barrows and Killam. He then reviewed the options for next year. Option 1 is to develop a plan to build additional temporary classroom space for Barrows, Joshua Eaton and Killam. Part of this solution is to convert the multipurpose room at Parker into two classrooms to house Eaton students. Option 2 proposes spot redistricting of Barrows and Killam students. If this option is selected the students that are spot redistricted will in all probability, remain at that school for their elementary school years. Option 3 is to limit full day kindergarten and implement a lottery system. Discussion continued on the three proposed options. The Superintendent pointed out that he would like to, at the very least, use three modular classrooms and ideally would like five to address the enrollment issues. The School Committee would, after discussions with the Finance Committee, request a Special Town Meeting to vote on the appropriation of funds for either the purchase or lease of modular classrooms. Chair Caruso added that the Committee needs to work with the Finance Committee, Town Meeting and the community to be sure the space needs of the School Department are clearly communicated. The three options proposed are short term solutions and will allow time for the Space Needs Sub-Committee to continue to work on a long term solution. The School Committee consensus was to choose Option 1 without using the Parker Multi-Purpose Room in the solution. They did not feel it would be in the best interest of students to place kindergarten students at Parker. Ms. Colon spoke about multiple options her department investigated to address the space issues. She reviewed the cost and construction time for these options which included: (1) reconfiguring the Parker MPR, (2) purchasing modular classrooms and (3) converting the Parker MPR and two modular classrooms. A question was asked regarding the solution if Town Meeting does not authorize the funding. Dr. Doherty said there would be a lottery for full day kindergarten. Another question was asked if the use of modular classrooms would eliminate the need for integrated classrooms. Mr. Caruso asked that a discussion regarding integrated classrooms be put on the agenda for a future meeting. Page 14 Mrs. King shared that the integrated classroom setting has been a positive experience. Dr. Doherty added that teachers in the integrated classroom settings have become more effective. Dr. Doherty asked for direction from the School Committee tonight. He would need to know which option they would like to pursue. If the use of modular classrooms is one of the options, he would like direction regarding the number of modulars,the scope and cost. Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Webb, to direct the Superintendent to develop a plan to build additional temporary classroom space in the form of modular classrooms at Barrows,Killam and Joshua Eaton. Dr. Snow Dockser proposed a friendly amendment, seconded by Mrs. Borawski, to leave the option of using the Parker MPR in the discussion until more information is available. The motion failed 1-5. Dr. Snow Dockser voting in favor. The motion on the original motion carried 6-0. Chair Caruso called a brief recess at 9:30 p.m. The meeting was called back to order at 9:34 p.m. III. Routine Matters a. Bills and Payroll (A) The following warrants were circulated and signed. Warrant P1513 12.19.14 $1,456,145.61 Warrant S1526 12.18.14 $266,325.01 b. Minutes (A) Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski,to approve the open session minutes dated December 1, 2014. The motion carried 6-0. Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski, to approve the open session minutes dated December 15,2014. The motion carried 6-0. c. Bids and Donations (A) Donations Rotary Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski, to accept a donation in the amount of$2,800 from Reading Rotary to be used to purchase books as part of their literacy initiative. The motion carried 6-0. Page 15 CMS PTO Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Webb,to accept the donation in the amount of$2,400 from the Coolidge PTO to be used to cover the stipends for the orchestra members participating in the Coolidge Drama production. The motion carried 6-0. MLK Celebration Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Dr. Snow Dockser, to accept the donation in the amount of$100 from Moynihan Lumber to be used to support the purchase of portraits as part of the MLK Day celebration. The motion carried 6-0. RMHS Wrestling Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mr. Nihan, to accept the donation in the amount of$759.98 from the Friends of Reading Wrestling to be used to purchase two mat carts for the RMHS Wrestling team. The motion carried 6-0. Parker Basketball Rims Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski, to accept the donation from Carl McFadden in the amount of$359.98 to be used to purchase two breakaway basketball rims for the Parker Middle School. The motion carried 6-0. d. Calendar IV.Information V. Future Business VI.Adjournment Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski,to adjourn. The motion carried 6-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:43 p.m. NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the meeting. Ji 1 F. Doherty, Ed.D. Page 16