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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-03-09 School Committee Minutes 4� e Town of Reading 77.--* Meeting Minutes r,t t4,, J \1 s'_9r JHCOR;e Board - Committee - Commission - Council: School Committee Date: 2015-03-09 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 Craig Martin, Assistant Superintendent Chuck Robinson Martha Sybert, Director of Finance Chris Caruso Carolyn Wilson, Director of Student Services Elaine Webb arrived at 7:05 p.m. Gary Nihan Members - Not Present: Carl Gillies, Student Representative Others Present: Andrea Nastri - Student Representative Doug Lyons, Parker Principal Andrew Spinelli, Parker teacher Jane Costa, Parker teacher Chris Twomey, Parker teacher Juli Mitrano, Parker teacher Al Sylvia, Reading Chronicle Nancy Docktor, SC Candidate Steve Zessis, SC Candidate Chris Copeland, RTA president 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 7:03 p.m. Chair Caruso welcomed guests and reviewed the agenda. II. Recommended Procedure A. Public Input(I) Chair Caruso called for public input. There was none. Page I 1 B. Donations (out of order) Friends of Reading Football Mr. Tom Connery and Mr. Cyril McWeeney, Friends of Reading Football, presented a gift of 10 Reading Rocket flags to be flown during football and school events held in the Stadium. Mrs. Webb arrived at 7:05 p.m. These flags will replace the outdated flags currently used that represent the towns of the Middlesex League. The league structure has changed therefore all teams are not represented. Mr. Connery pointed out that this donation was suggested by the Class of 2015 football players. Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski, to accept a donation from the Friends of Reading Football in the amount of$2,500 to be used to purchase stadium flags. The motion carried 6-0. C. New Business (out of order) Parker Presentation Mr. Lyons introduced members of his 7th grade team that would be presenting this evening. He provided a brief overview of the presentation, "Measuring What Matters Most—Helping 7th Graders Create a Culture of Ownership and Personal Best". Tonight the team will discuss how the 7th grade team at Parker is addressing the behavioral health needs of their students. The strategy is aligned with school and district goals looking at what is in the best interest of the students. The process begins in the spring with discussions as part of the team meetings where the educators work on goals as part of the educator growth plans. Mr. Twomey shared that his team would be describing "Office Hours", a system of support that provides consistency and accountability to help students take ownership of their learning while the other team will show how they analyze student learning trends and use self-assessment tools to help students and teachers meaningfully reflect on behaviors that enhance student learning. Mr. Twomey said the Office Hours concept was created to offer a consist support system for students to teach accountability and ownership of actions and work. Office hours are offered four days a week from 2:30—3:30 pm everyday but Wednesday. It is a team system with each teacher taking a day to provide the support. Students can come in for extra help on an assignment, study for a test, for test and quiz makeup, a quiet place to get work done or to be able to access technology that may be unavailable at home. Ms. Mitrano shared that the students and parents are aware of the system and know the office hour provides a place for students to get extra support and to ask questions. Page 12 Students are also required to attend the office hour if they have late, missing or incomplete assignments, unsatisfactory behavior in class or if a parent has requested that their child attend. Mr. Twomey added that a goal is to change the perception that the required attendance is detention. If a student fails to attend the required office hour an email is sent home to the parent notifying them. This helps to keep the students accountable for their actions. If a student has a conflict and is unable to attend a required office hour they can check in with the teacher on duty and make arrangements to attend another day. Mr. Twomey said that the use of a Google Doc provides tracking of students that have been assigned to the office hour with the reason. The Google Doc is a sortable database that allows the teachers to track a student's growth, identify struggling students, patterns of attendance and who is attending. Ms. Mitrano said some kids come every day for various reasons. Mr. Robinson asked if students will help other students. Ms. Mitrano said yes they will. There is an atmosphere of cooperative learning but the teachers still have to manage the session. Mrs. Borawski asked how the data collection enables the staff to see trends. Mr. Twomey said that the teachers were able to see who was attending office hours on a daily basis. They have found that attendance was greater in the fall. As the year has gone on students have made adjustments to be successful. The office hour provides a safe supportive environment for students. There has been a decrease in missing assignments and the communication between both the student and teacher and the parent and teacher has improved. Mr. Lyons concluded by saying that no student is going to slip through the cracks. This program makes them accountable for their actions and behavior. The office hour model provides for a positive intervention and is not meant to feel punitive. The second half of the presentation began. Mr. Spinelli began the presentation on "Promoting Positive Learning Behaviors". He said that this model was built off of the success of student led conferences asking the following questions: How can we help students become more self-aware and what are the kinds of positive behaviors that we want them to display and be aware of? Ms. Costa said the process began at the beginning of the school year as the teachers became "students of their students"to observe behaviors. After the observation period the Costa team also met with the students to discuss the strengths and goals for them. Mr. Spinelli explained that the process has to reset each year with the new group of students. Page 13 Ms. Costa said that so far this year the students have received feedback indicating they are polite, responsible for turning assignments in in a timely manner and they work well collaboratively. She continued, sharing what the team hopes are for the 7th graders which include learning to advocate for themselves, to be able to recognize and consistently follow class routines/procedures, to learn how to set meaningful goals and to define their personal best and learn how to push themselves further. Mr. Spinelli continued saying that the teachers work with the students guiding them through the reflective process by having them complete a positive learning behavior rating scale/reflection sheet, developing student driven goals and having 1:1 conferences. The team meets prior to the 1:1 conferences to share information on the students. He went on to share student behavioral scale/reflection rubrics. This rubric is based on the school core values of kindness, community and personal best. The students are also asked to write a"Dear Me" letter where they write reflections as if they were our team of teachers. The students shared these reflections with their parents and the letter writing aligns with progress report time. Mr. Spinelli said that in shaping the team's professional practice they develop a consistent language to talk to and about the students, use consistent measures for gauging student learning behaviors and have a common starting point to discuss actionable steps to support individual students and groups. This ensures that all parties are on the same page. The team will look for a careful approach to completing work, more clarity/cohesion in the final product and consistent involvement in learning activities especially independent activities as signs of growth. Action steps to ensure growth include provide strategies on proofreading/checklists, checking in with the student more frequently during independent work, encourage the student to slow down and review work quality and provide positive reinforcement that the student is capable and there needs to be consistency. Ms. Costa said the team is encouraging students to focus on the process rather than the product and to evaluate how they got to a point rather than the final result/grade. They are teaching their students to persevere and step outside of their comfort zones. Mrs. Borawski asked about the transition to 8th grade. The teachers said the students Google Doc portfolios travel with the students and the 8th grade team will have access to the work. Chair Caruso thanked the group for sharing tonight. D. Reports Students Student Representative Nastri reported on the Drama production Antigone. The spring production is Sleepy Hollow the first weekend in May. She also reported Page 14 that the girl's hockey team will play in the State finals on Sunday and the Robotics team hosted a regional competition over the weekend. Liaisons Mrs. Webb reported on the Robotics Competition held over the weekend. She said the atmosphere was electric. There were 40 teams competing in the two day competition. The field house was jam packed and the atmosphere was as exciting and intense as any sporting event. The RMHS team did very well. Mr. Caruso asked how Reading was able to host this event. Dr. Doherty said it was a team goal to host a regional event. The planning of the event has been ongoing for the past six months. Dr. Snow Dockser congratulated the team and loved the spirit of the event. She said the RMHS Robotics Team won the Team Entrepreneurship Award. Team Advisor Chuck Strout was nominated for the Woodie Flowers Award and parent Sanat Patel was named the Volunteer of the Year. Director of Finance Ms. Sybert provided an update on the asbestos containment and removal at Joshua Eaton. Due to a roof leak the carpet in a small office was damaged. In the process of removing the carpet it was discovered that the floor tiles and mastic that adhered to the carpet contained asbestos. An Environmental Hygienist was called in to assess the contamination and develop a plan for removal. The remediation plan has been submitted to DEP for approval. Once approved, the removal will commence. At no time were students and staff at risk of exposure. She next reported that spring sports are scheduled to begin on Monday. With that in mind Athletic Director Tom Zaya and Director of Facilities Kelly Colon recently visited Woburn High School to observe the snow removal from the turf fields. In an effort to alleviate the demand for practice time in the field house, the district will contract to have the snow removed from the turf fields to allow for additional practice space. She updated the Committee on the status of the modular classroom procurement. The Modular Classroom Sub-Committee is in place and will begin the review of the proposals. E. Continued Business Fincom Presentation Preparation The School Committee will present the FY2016 budget to the Finance Committee on Wednesday night at Town Hall. The Superintendent will provide information on the latest state numbers in his presentation. Early Childhood Space Needs Working Group Update Page 15 Mrs. Borawski and Mr. Robinson said the group will be meeting on Thursday night and it will be recommended that the work be put on hold until the fall to allow the administration to focus on the modular project. The group will meet in the fall to discuss a direction. Dr. Snow Dockser asked about the status of the Town Building Committee. Dr. Doherty said the article has to be voted on by the Attorney General's office. Elementary Enrollment Update Superintendent Doherty updated the School Committee on the projected 2015-16 school year elementary enrollment. He pointed out that because of his ability to use the Superintendent's option across the district has allowed for class sizes to be within the School Committee recommended guidelines. With the addition of modular classrooms he has been able to address the large number of 1st grade students at Joshua Eaton and had been able to maintain current staffing levels. He also cautioned the group that these numbers will change between now and the beginning of school. Mrs. Borawski asked if any decisions have been made to what models will be used in the buildings. Dr. Doherty said, as of now, Joshua Eaton and Wood End will use the integrated model. F. New Business Joshua Eaton Principal Search Dr. Doherty shared that the position has been advertised and the search will be similar to the process used for the Barrows search. The screening committee timeline and a survey have been sent to the Joshua Eaton community. Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Webb, to approve the screening process and timeline for the Joshua Eaton Principal Search. Mr. Caruso pointed out that there is no longer a School Committee representative on the screening committee. Mrs. Webb asked if the Committee would be informed of the open microphone sessions. Dr. Doherty said he would inform the Committee of the sessions. The motion carried 6-0. Approval of Field Trips Robotics Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski, to approve the RMHS Robotics Team day field trips to Bryant University in Smithfield, RI on March 21 and 22. The motion carried 6-0. Page 16 Jazz Band Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Dr. Snow Dockser, to approve the RMHS Jazz Ensemble and Combo field trip to UNH on March 14th. Mr. Nihan was concerned about the student/chaperone ratio and would like it to be clearer on future trips approved by the School Committee. The motion carried 6-0. RMHS Boys Lacrosse Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Dr. Snow Dockser, to approve the RMHS boy's lacrosse trip to Exeter, NH on March 28th to play against Exeter High School. The motion carried 6-0. III. Routine Matters a. Bills and Payroll (A) The following warrants were circulated and signed. Warrant S1536 2.26.15 $367,216.47 Warrant S1537 3.5.15 $160,673.88 Warrant P1518 2.27.15 $1,400,512.26 b. Minutes (A) c. Bids and Donations (A) Donations Silicon Valley Community Fund Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski,to accept the donation in the amount of$400 from the Silicon Valley Community Fund grant program as part of an employee match from Mrs. Webb. The motion carried 6-0. Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski,to accept a donation in the amount of$200 from the Silicon Valley Community Fund grant program as part of an employee match from Mrs. Webb. The motion carried 6-0. Mr. & Mrs. John Halsey Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Dr. Snow Dockser, to accept a donation in the amount of$1,200 from Mr. & Mrs. John Halsey to be used to offset the cost of the Rob Surette artwork as part of the Martin Luther King Day celebration. Page 17 Dr. Snow Dockser thanked the Halsey's for the donation. The motion carried 6-0. Minutes Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski,to approve the Financial Forum minutes date January 21,2015. The motion carried 6-0. Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski, to approve the open session minutes dated February 24,2015. The motion carried 6-0. d. Calendar Mr. Caruso reviewed the calendar. IV. Information Dr. Snow Dockser wanted to make the community aware that the Human Relations Advisory Committee in conjunction with the Winchester group will be hosting a multi-cultural event. She also reminded the community that the HRAC is looking for new members as well as anyone interested in volunteering. She also shared that the MLK Day celebration is available on RCTV's YouTube page. V. Future Business VI.Adjournment Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs, Borawski, to go into Executive Session to conduct strategy with respect to litigation and approval of minutes and not to return to open session.. The roll call vote carried 6-0. Mrs. Borawski,Mr. Nihan,Mr. Robinson, Mr. Caruso, Mrs. Webb and Dr. Snow Dockser. The meeting adjourned at 8:46 p.m. NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the meeting. I'W &)iL J. F. Dohert ,Superintendent Page 18