HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-09-21 School Committee Minutes <. .FR i
/I, { Town of Reading
Meeting Minutes
�.39,.INCORFo�.
Board - Committee - Commission - Council:
School Committee
Date: 2015-09-21 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:
Chuck Robinson, Jeanne Borawski, Gary Nihan, Linda Snow Dockser, Elaine
Webb (arrived at 8:37 p.m.) &Julie Joyce (arrived at 7:04 p.m.)
Members - Not Present:
Others Present:
John Doherty, Superintendent, Craig Martin, Assistant Superintendent,
Carolyn Wilson, Director of Student Services, Martha Sybert, Director of
Finance, Chris Copeland, RTA President, Student Representative Alex
Nazzaro, Student Representative Carl Gillies (arrived at 8:15 p.m.), Team
Chairs Stephanie Leccese, Adam Blaustein, Kelley Bostwick and Allison
Wright, Al Sylvia, Daily Times Chronicle
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Linda Engelson on behalf of the Chair
Topics of Discussion:
I. Call to Order
Chair Robinson called the School Committee to order at 7:00 p.m.
Chair Robinson welcomed guests and reviewed the agenda.
II. Recommended Procedure
A. New Business (out of order)
Special Education Presentation—Walker Report
Mrs. Wilson presented information on the findings of the Walker Report.
Mrs. Joyce arrived at 7:04 p.m.
Mrs. Wilson continued by saying that the overall purpose of the evaluation was to
determine the current status of special education programming throughout the
district in supporting positive outcomes for students receiving special education
services; and to identify areas of strengths and areas for improvement.
Page I 1
The group reviewed documents, conducted full day walk-throughs of all schools
with principals, to observe areas of special education instruction. They also
observed all district programs and held focus groups with all stakeholders. Each
focus group was asked the same questions. The Walker Group pointed out
several areas of strength which included quality professional staff committed to
student success in the schools, well written IEP's, the districts efforts to assure all
students have access to the general education curriculum, excellent classroom
technology, the observed dedication and concern that special education staff
exhibited for their students, efforts put forth by school based staff to have special
needs students served in the least restrictive environment and the ongoing
concerted effort by the district to return students from out of district placements to
the district's internal programs.
Mrs. Wilson reviewed factors affecting implementation of programs and services
and how Reading compares to comparable communities.
Mr. Robinson and Mr. Nihan asked how the comparable communities were
selected. Dr. Doherty shared that those comparable communities were
determined by the Walker Group.
Mrs. Wilson went on to review the some of the key findings in several areas. She
pointed out that there is a rise in the number of students on IEP's from elementary
to middle to high school.
Mr. Nihan asked why this increase occurs. Mrs. Wilson said one of the factors
may be that there are more general education supports available at the elementary
level. Mrs. Borawski would like more information on this finding.
The Group found varying degrees of MTSS implementation and the model of
support is unclear. The district also needs to develop and distribute a DCAP.
Mrs. Wilson indicated that the principals are working to integrate a District
Curriculum Accommodation Plan(DCAP). The district will also work to develop
a MTSS action plan which will connect to the administrator goals and eventually
the teacher's goals. There will be an overview/refresher training for each building
on MTSS, data will continue to be reviewed for students that are referred by the
building teams for special education evaluations and there will be continued work
with data teams at all levels—reviewing academic and behavioral data.
Administrative findings and recommendations include numerous mid-level
leadership changes over the past several years which have led to inconsistent
building leadership, many recommendations of a previous report have not been
implemented, special education programs have not been evaluated on an annual
basis, there have been four changes in the Director of Student Services since 2007
and the role of the team chair is unclear. Next steps to address these findings
have included an increase in the number of team chairs, continuing to review the
structure of the Student Services office and to review the evaluation from 2007
and compare the findings.
Program Development
The next area reviewed by Mrs. Wilson was program development. The findings
and recommendations include the need to further develop and expand existing
Page 12
program options for the special education population, ensure that programs
remain consistent as students transition between levels, to further develop and
expand existing program option, strengthen the SSP/TSP programs by adding
counselors at each level, develop entrance and exit criteria for all programs, and
to continue to look at our spaces and how to better use them. The district
continues to vertically and horizontally align programs and have made use of the
PLC meetings to work on this. There will be 13 meetings this year to work on the
horizontal and vertical alignment. Learning Center teachers will be meeting to
work on creating consistency in services offered at each building and begin
discussions of co-teaching, review of the ILP and DLC programs will take place
and the programs will be renamed (not labelling students by disability) and
program information including entrance and exit criteria will be publicized and
the creation of the POST Program for 19—22 year old students will allow the
teachers for grades 9-12 to focus on those student's needs.
Mrs. Wilson shared that the POST Program is up and running at RMHS. The
program has procured a van allowing the students to travel within the
communities, will be running a copy center, assisting the high school with mail
distribution and possible internships at RISE. An email address has been created
for the program as well.
Co-Teaching
The district needs to develop a clear and consistent approach to co-teaching and
inclusion across the district which includes developing a manual with clear
expectations needed to be developed to support co-teaching. The Administrative
Council will be working this year to develop shared definition of co-teaching and
in-class instructional supports as well as establishing an action plan by the end of
the school year for beginning implementation, including professional
development.
Professional Development
The district needs to develop a more comprehensive approach to professional
development experiences for all school personnel by focusing on general and
special education topics, time needs to be provided to special education teachers
and paraprofessionals to meet and discuss student needs and the supports the
paraprofessionals should be providing and continued training for the Team Chairs
in the unique role they play. We are currently reviewing the eligibility process
with all staff, a"Roles and Responsibility" document has been finalized for
special education staff around the IEP process and the district will continue to
work with Allan Blume on special education, general education and the IEP
process.
Professional development opportunities this year include the Social Thinking
Conference to which we will be sending 50 staff members, Person Centered
Planning for middle and high school staff and the Mass Down Syndrome
Congress Educator Forum, clinical supervision and consultation with the
Northshore Consortium to provide an on-going in-depth coaching model for our
counseling and TSP/SSP staff, and BCBA consultation by the SEEM
collaborative will also be provided to the TSP/SSP staff. This consultation
service is being funded by our School Transformation grant. We now have in-
Page I 3
district BCBA support to ILP, DLC and Compass supporting staff and
paraprofessionals.
Next steps include the development of a comprehensive plan for professional
development that includes training for co-teaching and differentiated instruction,
create opportunities for all staff to review key special education topics annually
and to continue to gather feedback from teaching staff and paraprofessionals on
the training topics they are seeking.
Transition Practices
Recommendations for this category include a more structured transition practice
which includes a more sequential and consistent manner between the various
school levels and to develop a written transition process.
The Administrative Council will be developing a process of transitioning building
to building and ensuring this is communicated to all staff. The process will be
written in December so the staff can begin implementation in January. This
process will be shared with SEPAC in January.
Parental Awareness
Recommendations and findings include the need to develop effective strategies to
improve parental awareness that includes understanding of their child's disability,
parents need to be an integral part of the IEP process, the reestablishment of the
SEPAC and updating program descriptions and sharing them with parents.
Mrs. Wilson is hoping to use the SEPAC as a way to provide training on topics
that are relevant. She is hoping that there are some parents that will be willing to
take on a leadership role.
Mrs. Wilson has scheduled four SEPAC meetings and will be communicating the
dates with the families. She will also update the Student Services webpage to
provide more information for families. Team chairs will continue to provide
parents with the Team Meetings survey form that is returned to Student Services
to provide feedback on team meetings and a survey will be sent to all parents who
had children in the extended school year program to gather information on these
programs.
Mr. Nihan commended Mrs. Wilson and Dr. Doherty for commissioning this
report.
Mr. Robinson asked if an update could be provided at a later meeting. Dr.
Doherty said there will be an update at our April 26th meeting.
Mrs. Borawski hopes the SEPAC can be reestablished to provide that link
between schools and parents.
Mrs. Wilson thanked the team chairs who were at the meeting.
Page I4
B. Public Input (I)
Chair Robinson called for public input.
There was none.
C. Reports
Student Representative
Ms. Nazzaro reported that the start of school went smoothly and fall sports and
activities have begun.
Liaisons
Mr. Nihan reported that there will be a fundraising walk held in memory of Wood
End teacher Sally Mucica on October 17th. Funds raised will go toward a
scholarship in her memory.
Dr. Snow Dockser thanked all those who stopped by the HRAC booth during the
Street Fair and reminded the community that the HRAC will be meeting on
October 1St
Director of Finance
Ms. Sybert informed the Committee that the Town Accountant has closed the
books on FY15 and she will provide an update at our next meeting.
Superintendent's Report
Rosh Hashanah
Dr. Doherty reported on the student and staff attendance for the Rosh Hashanah
holiday.
Dr. Snow Dockser asked if there had been any feedback regarding the
Accommodation Policy. Dr. Doherty said he has heard nothing. Dr. Snow
Dockser followed up asking where feedback and concerns should be directed. Dr.
Doherty said the public could contact him.
Chapter 70 Commission Preliminary Report
Dr. Doherty next reported on part one of the Chapter 70 Commission Report that
was released at the end of June. He shared that the commission has had a lot of
discussion on the formula which has not changed since 1993. Part 1 of this report
focuses only on out of district special education and health insurance costs. Part 2
of the report is due to the legislature on November 1St. This portion of the report
will focus on in-district special education costs, low income increment, ELL
increment and several other areas. The Superintendent will update the committee
when information becomes available.
Page 15
MCAS/PARCC Timeline
Superintendent Doherty updated the committee on the MCAS/PARCC timeline.
The Board of Education met today to discuss MCAS and PARCC. Our district
MCAS results will be shipped to the districts later this week. Grade 5, 8 & 9
Science and Grade 10 math and ELA results will be mailed home.
Student Representative Gillies arrived at 8:15 p.m.
The high school administration will be doing a MCAS presentation in the
upcoming weeks. The Board of Education will hold meetings in mid-October for
more discussion on PARCC/MCAS and in early November the Commissioner
will give a recommendation on state assessment to the Board of Education. In
mid-November there will be public hearings on state assessment and the Board
will vote on the Commissioner's recommendation. Individual student PARCC
results are expected in districts in December.
Student Representative
Mr. Gillies reported on the positive atmosphere at RMHS. He shared that
Principal Bakr has added senior privileges to students that meet the established
criteria. The seniors are appreciative. He also said Mr. Bakr is a visible presence
in the halls of RMHS.
He also shared that Mr. Zaya held a leadership workshop for student leaders,
captains and student council members that focused on leadership skills and team
building.
D. Continued Business
Modular Update
Ms. Sybert provided an update on the status of the modular classroom project.
We now have two of the three sites operational. There are still punch list items to
be addressed before the final occupancy permit can be issued. She said the
contractor is making progress. She also reviewed the project budget.
The School Committee asked clarifying questions.
III. Routine Matters
a. Bills and Payroll (A)
The following warrants were circulated and signed.
Warrant S1562 6.30.15 $50,424.40
Warrant S1562A 6.30.15 $4,475.00
Warrant S1563 6.30.15 $450.00
Warrant S1610 9.03.15 $467,350.69
Warrant 51611 9.10.15 $388,829.26
Warrant S1612 9.17.15 $868,435.40
Warrant P1605 8.10.15 $1,050,483.26
Page 6
b. Bids and Donations (A)
Donations
Friends of Reading Field Hockey
Mrs. Borawski moved, seconded by Mrs. Joyce, to accept a donation in the
amount of$1,500 from the Friends of Reading Field Hockey to be used to
support the coaching assistants for the 2015 season. The motion carried 5-0.
RMHS Volleyball
Mrs. Borawski moved, seconded by Mrs. Joyce, to accept a donation in the
amount of$1,250 from the Reading Volleyball Parents Organization to be
used to support the coaching assistants for the 2015 season. The motion
carried 5-0.
Friends of RMHS Cheering
Mrs. Borawski moved, seconded by Mr. Nihan, to accept a donation in the
amount of$2,400 from the Friends of RMHS Cheering to be used to
purchase choreographer services and the corresponding music for the 2015
competition season. The motion carried 5-0.
Catalano Family
Mrs. Borawski moved, seconded by Dr. Snow Dockser, to accept a donation
from the Catalano family in the amount of$500 to the Coolidge Middle
School to be used to support the band and chime choir expenses and the art
department.
Mrs. Borawski read a portion of the letter from the Catalano family recognizing
several Coolidge teachers.
The motion carried 5-0.
Young Women's League of Reading
Mrs. Borawski moved, seconded by Dr. Snow Dockser, to accept a donation
in the amount of$800 from the Young Women's League to be used to
supplement educational enrichment at the Coolidge Middle School. The
motion carried 5-0.
Mrs. Borawski moved, seconded by Mr. Nihan, to accept a donation in the
amount of$1,000 from the Young Women's League to be used to upgrade
the audio/visual equipment in the Parker Middle School Auditorium. The
motion carried 5-0.
Page 17
Anonymous Donation
Mrs. Borawski moved, seconded by Mr. Nihan, to accept an anonymous
donation in the amount of$10,000 to be used to support the district
behavioral health efforts with students and to be used at any time at the
discretion of the Superintendent.
Dr. Doherty said that a portion of this donation will be used to support Challenge
Day at the middle schools.
Mrs. Joyce asked what Challenge Day was. It was explained that it is a day of
reflection and team building that will take place in December with our 8th grade
students.
Mr. Martin added that it is a good opportunity to begin the transition process from
middle to high school focusing on behavioral issues. Activities encourage
students to get to know each other therefore they may become less likely to bully.
Mrs. Borawski would like data and information to show how successful the
program is.
Mr. Nihan feels this program works and would also like to see data on the
effectiveness.
Mrs. Webb arrived at 8:37 p.m.
The motion carried 6-0.
c. Minutes
Mrs. Borawski moved, seconded by Mrs. Joyce, to approve the open session
minutes dated August 31,2015. The motion carried 6-0.
d. Calendar
IV. Information
V. Future Business
VI.Adjournment
Mr. Robinson declared that executive session is necessary to protect the litigation
positions of the body.
Mrs. Borawski moved, seconded by Mr. Nihan, to enter into executive session
to discuss strategy with respect to litigation and the approval of minutes and
to NOT to return to open session. The roll call vote carried 6-0. Mr.
Robinson, Mrs. Borawski, Mrs. Joyce, Mr. Nihan, Mrs. Webb and Dr. Snow
Dockser.
The meeting adjourned at 8:39 p.m.
Page 18
NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not
the order they occurred during the meeting.
%, il1. ).
AI . title
John F. i erty, Ed.D.`
Handouts: DESE Press Release
Page 19
MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF
ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY
EDUCATION Press Release
•
EMBARGOED until 5 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 21,2015
Contact: Jacqueline Reis 781-338-3115
State Releases Statewide MCAS Results and Preliminary PARCC Results
MCAS results improve in most areas,preliminary PARCC results highlight challenges
MALDEN—The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education today released statewide
MCAS results for 10th graders, statewide results for the 202,000 students in grades 3-8 who took
MCAS, and partial preliminary results for students who took PARCC.
As part of the state's two-year test drive of PARCC, districts chose whether to give PARCC or
MCAS in spring 2015, with the exception of the 10th grade MCAS, which remains a graduation
requirement. Districts that chose PARCC had the option of administering it by computer or with
paper and pencil. The PARCC results shared this evening reflect only those students who took
PARCC on a computer, or roughly 59 percent of the Massachusetts students who took PARCC.
The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is expected to vote in November on whether
to switch from MCAS to PARCC.
"I would like to thank all the students, teachers and administers whose experiences will help the
Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to determine whether to adopt PARCC," said
Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Mitchell D. Chester. "I am pleased to see
the MCAS scores reflect continued progress in narrowing some of the achievement gaps that
persist between groups of students. We also have our first look at partial PARCC scores,which
will ultimately help establish a baseline for comparison with other PARCC states and with our
own progress over time, should the board choose to adopt PARCC as our statewide assessment."
Overall,the percent of students scoring Proficient or higher on MCAS rose in most subjects in
most grade levels compared to 2014. Also noteworthy is the fact that between 2007 and 2015,
the gaps between white students and their African American/black and Hispanic or Latino peers
narrowed in all grades in both English language arts and math. (The baseline year for the full
grades 3-8 testing regimen is 2007.)
The preliminary PARCC results showed that in most grades, students who took PARCC math
and English language arts tests on a computer were less likely to score in the "meeting
expectations" range than MCAS students were to score Proficient or above. In other words,
student achievement on PARCC for those who took the test on a computer appears to have been
lower than for students who took MCAS. The exception was in grade 4, where the percent of
students who scored in the "meeting expectations" range on a computerized PARCC test and the
percent of students who scored Proficient or above on MCAS were virtually the same.
The high school PARCC results are not representative of the state as a whole. Relatively few
Massachusetts high schools volunteered to give PARCC tests in grades 9 and 11, because of the
10th grade MCAS requirement, and only a subset of those who used high school PARCC tests
r
did so on a computer.
Commissioner Chester and Education Secretary Jim Peyser cautioned Board members about
reading too much into the preliminary results.
"This early report on PARCC results is preliminary and incomplete and therefore cannot yet be
directly compared to this year's MCAS results," Secretary Peyser said. "I look forward to seeing
the complete results as they become available."
-Grackt and
S % %Needs
Warning/failing improvement Proficient Advanced
3 ELA 9 32 49 11
3 math 11 18 39 32
4 ELA 14 33 43 11
4 math 13 40 29 19
5 ELA 9 20 48 23
5 math 12 21 32 35
5 science 13 37 35 16
6 ELA 10 19 52 19
6 math 14 24 32 30
7 ELA 8 23 60 9
7 math 23 26 30 20
8 ELA 6 14 54 26
8 math 17 23 31 29
8 science 18 40 39 3
10 ELA 3 6 42 49
10 math 8 13 25 53
10 science 5 23 44 27
£ 1 2 3 4 5
3 ELA 13% 17—oh 23% 43% 4%
3 math 7 17 25 42 9
4 ELA 6 13 26 42 13
4 math 5 19 28 43 5
5 ELA 6 14 25 49 6
5 math 7 17 28 40 8
6 ELA 6 13 27 45 9
6 math 6 16 29 42 7
7 ELA 8 12 23 37 20
7 math 5 18 32 39 6
8 ELA 13 12 23 44 13
8 math 13 19 22 39 7
9 ELA* 23 22 24 25 6
11 ELA* 23 21 20 27 9
Algebra I* 14 26 21 35 4
Geometry* 8 28 37 26 1
Algebra II* 47 24 16 12 1
Integrated Math 1*
13 19 15 38 15
Integrated Math II* 39 26 22 13 0
districts
*While more than half of Massachusetts school that serve students in grades 3-8 gave
PARCC in the Bring,far fewer districts volunteered to use the PARCC high school tests,
because the 10` grade MCAS is still a graduation requirement. In addition, some eighth grade
students took
Algebra I tests instead of eighth grade PARCC math tests.
Highlights of 2015 MCAS Results
Statewide MCAS results showed that 91 percent of 10th graders scored Proficient or higher in
English language arts, 79 percent in mathematics, and 72 percent in science and
technology/engineering (STE).
Student achievement statewide improved on 11 of the 17 MCAS tests administered in 2015.
Results included a small increase in third grade English language arts,but those scores have been
essentially flat over the past six years.
Other statewide results include:
• 88 percent of 10th graders last spring (class of 2017)met the state's minimum testing
requirements to earn a •high school diploma on their first attempt by scoring Needs
Improvement or higher in English language arts, mathematics and science and
technology/engineering. That is the same percentage as last year(class of 2016) and in
2013 (class of 2015). Eleven years ago, when the graduation requirement first took effect
with the class of 2003, only 68 percent met the requirements on their first try.
• Between 2007 and 2015, the achievement gap in English language between white
students and African American/black students and between white students and Hispanic
or Latino students narrowed in all grades. The greatest gap narrowing in English
language arts for African American/black students and Hispanic or Latino students
occurred in 10th grade, where it narrowed by 19 percentage points and 18 percentage
points respectively. That represents a 63 percent and 53 percent narrowing of the gap
respectively.
• In mathematics between 2007 and 2015,the achievement gap between white students and
African American/black students and between white students and Hispanic or Latino
students narrowed in all grades. Among African American/black students,the greatest
narrowing occurred in grade 4, with an 8 percentage point reduction in the gap. Among
Hispanic or Latino students,the greatest narrowing occurred in grade 3, where it
narrowed by 11 percentage points.
A note about representative samples
The fact that districts chose which assessment to give to grades 3-8 in spring 2015 meant that the
student body in districts that chose MCAS and the student body in the districts that chose
PARCC were not representative of the state as a whole in terms of students'prior achievement,
income level, race, English proficiency and level of disability. To make the results meaningful
for the state as a whole, ESE is using large representative samples of the groups that more
closely mirror the state's actual enrollment primarily in terms of prior achievement and secondly
with respect to demographics,English proficiency and level of disability. For instance,the
grades 3-8 data for MCAS presented in this release includes the results of about 74 percent of the
students in grades 3-8 who took MCAS, not the entire universe of test-takers. When district and
school results are released later this week,those will include all of the tested students in a given
district or school.
For more information on MCAS, visit http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/. For more information on
PARCC, visit www.doe.mass.edu/parcc and http://www.doe.mass.edu/parcc/TestDrive-2yr.pdf.
###
