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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-01-05 School Committee MinutesOFR q� pi Town of Reading Meeting Minutes 539.1!fCURp�� Board - Committee - Commission - Council: School Committee Date: 2017-01-05 Building: School - Memorial High Address: 82 Oakland Road Purpose: Attendees: Members - Present: RECEIVED TOWN CLERK READING, MASS. 1011 FEB 23 P I: 3b Time: 7:00 PM Location: Superintendent Conference Room Session: Open Session Version: Final Jeanne Borawski, Chuck Robinson, Elaine Webb, Linda Snow Dockser, Gary Nihan, Nick Boivin Members - Not Present: Student Representative Mario Cutone Others Present: Superintendent John Doherty, Director of Finance Gail Dowd, Director of Student Services Carolyn Wilson, Assistant Superintendent Craig Martin, Birch Meadow Principal Julia Hendrix, Joshua Eaton Principal Eric Sprung, Parker Principal Ricki Shankland, Wood End Principal Joanne King, Math Instructional Coach Caren Brown, RMHS Math department Head Trey Skehan, Members of the Joshua Eaton School Council, Joshua Eaton Staff Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Linda Engelson on behalf of the Chair Topics of Discussion: I. Call to Order Chair Borawski called the School Committee to order at 7:05 p.m. II. Recommended Procedure A. Public Comment Jack Devir of Tamarack Road pointed out a discrepancy in the executive session minutes listed for release. He asked that the dates be reviewed. Marianne Downing of Heather Drive asked about budget rumors circulating around town and asked what the protocol was to develop two different budgets should there be another override vote in the spring. Rebecca Liberman also asked about the rumor mill regarding potential cuts to middle school foreign language and how the cuts will affect the math track. B. Accept a Donation Samantha's Harvest Donation Page 1 1 Rob and Samantha Gibbs presented a donation in the amount of $3,000 to be used for professional development for the special education staff. This is the 15th year of a donation from Samantha's Harvest. Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Dr. Snow Dockser, to accept the donation in the amount of $3,000 from Samantha's Harvest to be used for professional development for the special education staff. The motion carried 6-0. C. Consent A eg nda Mr. Robinson asked the Committee if there were any consent agenda items that they would like removed. Mr. Boivin asked that the donation from the Fidelity Charitable Grant be removed due to a discrepancy in the memo. Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Webb, to approve the consent agenda as amended. The motion carried 6-0. - Accept Donations to RMHS — Swim Coaching Assistant & Boys Hockey Coaching Assistants - Accept a Donation from the Parker PTO — Challenge Day - Accept a Donation from Reading Rotary — Reading Initiative - Accept a Donation from Lueders Environmental Approval of Minutes (November 22, & December 13, 2016) Donation from the Fidelity Charitable Grant Mrs. Borawski said the donation is in the amount of $500 and not $5,000 as indicated in the memo. Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Webb, to accept the donation in the amount of $500 from the Fidelity Charitable Grant. The motion carried 6-0. D. Reports Student Representatives Student Representative Alex Nazzaro reported on the following: • The annual visit from alumni to meet with seniors and share their college experiences Midterms and Real World Problem Solving begin January 17tH The annual Martin Luther King celebration is on January 16th and the RMHS chorus will be performing RMHS track had a successful week Liaison's Report Dr. Snow Dockser reported the upcoming Martin Luther King celebration. Page 1 2 Mrs. Borawski congratulated Elaine Webb, who will be receiving the Women in the Enterprise of Science and Technology (WEST) Giving Back Award for making a difference in the Reading and Gloucester Communities. Director of Student Services Mrs. Wilson reported on recent professional development sessions attended by our special education staff. Superintendent's Report Dr. Doherty congratulated Director of Student Services Carolyn Wilson who has been selected to be on the Board of Directors for the Massachusetts Branch of the International Dyslexia Association. The Annual Reports for our two collaboratives have been included in the packets for the committee's information. The Boards of Northshore Education Consortium and SEEM Collaborative have approved their Annual Reports. He shared the dates and times for his upcoming Office Hours and announced the release of Executive Session minutes. E. Old Business Joshua Eaton Update Dr. Doherty said that tonight's presentation is a regular update on the Joshua Eaton School Improvement Plan. Joshua Eaton principal Eric Sprung introduced the members of the Joshua Eaton staff and School Council that were in attendance. Christine Lusk, School Council co-chair, reviewed how the School Council works at Joshua Eaton. The group is made up of grade K — 4 teachers and parents representing grades K — 5. The School Council meets once a month. During these meetings the group is able to dig into and challenge the data. The School Improvement Plan is not solely used to increase test scores. The School Goals include meeting the academic needs of all students focusing on closing the achievement gap for all students and improving communication continuing to foster a positive partnership between the school and the community. Mr. Sprung commended his staff stating that change takes time and appreciates the effort and energy his staff has exhibited in this collaborative partnership to meet the school and district improvement goals. Mr. Sprung reviewed PARCC information comparing it to our June benchmark assessment (Fountas & Pinnell) data. The benchmark assessment is a predictor for success in PARCC. The use of the fall benchmark scores in reading help to identify students that need additional support. Tricia Stodden, ELA Literacy Coach, has spent a great deal of time at Joshua Eaton working with teachers in the classroom as well as providing instructional practices training sessions. Page 1 3 Mr. Sprung went on to review the accomplishments in literacy and math which include districtwide writing training, changing expectations and routine in reading, grades K — 3 using Lucy Calkins Reading Program, hiring a reading tutor allowing the reading specialist to coach teachers, collected data for benchmark and students receiving interventions, purchasing of on-line programs for reading and math allowing home practice and tracked classroom progress in alignment with the math scope and sequence. Other accomplishments include the hiring of a full time team chair and special education teacher and meeting with parents in the Bridge program to discuss areas of strength and improvement. Joshua Eaton has effectively used partnerships working with North Reading to visit literacy classrooms and met with DSAC to discuss structured Learning Walks for teachers observing other teachers. The staff has been working with students in preparation for the upcoming MCAS testing, creating more opportunities for written response to texts and adjusting accommodations based on MCAS test. The school has also worked hard to improve communication to the community through the school council and newsletter. Joshua Eaton teacher Jaime Quinn shared information on the after school tutoring program. This program meets on Wednesday afternoons, three times per month, from December to March and has 60 grade 3 — 5 students. Currently there are 10 teachers involved in this program. Regular updates are provided to parents and support for our METCO students is provided through online resources if the students are unable to stay. Ms. Quinn reviewed the schedule for the program which provides support in both ELA and math. Students are able to receive specialized small group instruction, improve problem solving strategies when answering questions, practice using technology and receive home and session based MobyMax support. Support in grade level concepts in ELA and math is also provided. Mr. Sprung next reviewed the next steps which include training the K — 3 staff on the new math assessment, continue to regularly update the school community and continue the data collection for Benchmark assessments and check on student progress regarding interventions. Staff training and collaboration is also an important next step to move the school forward. Chair Borawski thanked Mr. Sprung for presenting this evening. Dr. Nihan asked about the Lucy Calkins reading program. Mr. Sprung responded by saying that the reading units of study allow for individual conversations with students about their reading. There are still comprehension conversations happening as well. Each student is doing more reading and all have multiple books. Dr. Nihan next asked how often ELA coach Tricia Stodden was in the building. Mr. Sprung said she is in the building daily working with teachers in the classroom and running staff meetings. Page 1 4 Mr. Robinson would like to see an implementation timeline. Mrs. Webb asked who is providing the training for the new math assessment and wanted to know if the students were typing their responses during the written response practice sessions. Mr. Sprung indicated at this point the focus is on content. Mr. Boivin asked how the students that are participating in the after school tutoring program were selected. Mr. Sprung indicated that last year's PARCC data, Title 1 information and the Benchmark assessment were all looked at to determine which kids would benefit from the program. The student's progress was tracked over time and 100 were invited to participate and 60 families opted in. Mr. Boivin asked what the social perception was for this program. Mr. Sprung said the goal is to make it enjoyable allowing for breaks throughout the afternoon. Christine Lusk said there are many programs going on in the school so this is just another activity. Mr. Boivin asked how the needs for the other 40 students is being met. Mr. Sprung said these students are provided with interventions and supports during the school day. Dr. Snow Dockser asked if any of these steps have been shared districtwide. Mr. Sprung said the conversations have just begun with Mr. Martin. Mrs. Borawski pointed out that we are putting more resources in at Joshua Eaton. Dr. Doherty said all additional support funding is coming out of the operating budget. Mrs. Borawski then asked about professional development and teachers being out of the classroom. Mr. Sprung said we are trying to offer'/2 day options for professional development to lessen the time teachers are out of their classrooms. Dr. Nihan asked if the Lucy Calkins program was the correct one for us. Mr. Sprung said it is a comprehension based program which addresses an area of concern at Joshua Eaton. F. New Business Math Update Mr. Martin provided a brief overview sharing that there has been a shift in the standards. The new frameworks emphasize coherence at each grade level — making connections across content and between content and mathematical practices in order to promote deeper learning, a focus on key topics at each grade level to allow educators and students to go deeper into the content, emphasis on progressions across grades, with the end of progression calling for fluency — or the ability to perform calculations or solving problems quickly and accurately, to foster reasoning, problem solving, modeling, decision making and engagement among students and to require students to demonstrate deep conceptual understanding by applying them to situations. Mr. Boivin asked about the Math frameworks and asked that a link to the document be included in the minutes. Page 1 5 httD://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/math/0311.2df Math Instructional Coach Caren Brown reviewed Number Sense which is a predictor of future success. This is important because it encourages students to think flexibly and promotes confidence with numbers. Ms. Brown went onto the main ideas in our current math work beginning with fostering positive attitudes. By using real world problems students are challenged to think differently about numbers. We are looking for the quality of the solution not the speed in which they get to the answer. It is also important to incorporate more student talk into lessons engaging them in a dialogue and rigorous, high-level questions helping them to develop critical thinking skills and use mathematical vocabulary. There will be an expectation that students explain their thinking and mathematical reasoning. Teachers are learning to ask essential questions to help engage kids by helping them find entry points into discussion, and allowing them to understand why they are learning math. The right questions allow students to learn with less directed instruction with the most important question being "why". Ms. Brown continued to discuss using assessments that tie to the learning outcomes, not the math program. This can be done by identifying the learning outcomes and using best practices to plan. Birch Meadow principal Julia Hendrix shared information on the K-2 Common Assessments we are now implementing. The Assessing Math Concepts (AMC) assessment will uncover students' understanding and misconceptions to provide teachers with the information they need to teach for understanding to provide a cohesive look at the development of students' understanding of core math concepts, identify the "Critical Learning Phases" that students move through as they develop an understanding of the foundational mathematical ideas they need to know, follow the stages of students' growth through these phases as they learn the core concepts for numbers up to 100, ensure students understand the mathematical concepts they need to know in elementary school to be successful in math in middle school and beyond, help teachers pinpoint what each child knows and still need to learn and not about "helping children be right", but about uncovering their instructional needs. These assessments have been designed so each question elicits several levels of student thinking, in order to give teachers, the most information possible about each individual student in a short period of time. The assessment is conducted in short one-on-one student/teacher interviews. This format is critical since we learn most about how our students think and what they can do when we sit beside them and observe their mathematical work and take as little as five minutes and no more that fifteen minutes. Birch Meadow teacher and PLC leader Danielle Tucker said that we are lacking data points in math assessment needed for their MTSS conversations. This new assessment will allow the students' progress to be tracked enabling the teachers to determine the interventions and support needed. Birch Meadow teacher Kelly Strob shared how the assessment works. The student is given a task during their one-on-one session with their teacher. All students are given the same questions. She said the assessment tool is very easy to use. Page 1 6 Mr. Martin reviewed the grade levels and shift in standards and how they impact grades 7 —11. He went on to say that by aligning to the new standards, elementary and middle level students are getting a stronger foundation in math with our goal being to prepare more students to sustain success in higher levels. The attrition rate for high school in higher level math sequences used to be very high but with the shifts we have made and new sequences being introduced, we will have more students reaching higher level courses (such as AP Calculus) than ever before. RMHS math department head Trey Skehan reviewed the Math sequence. The middle and high school staff have worked closely, so that we can ensure that Grade 8 Algebra 1 and Grade 9 Algebra 1 (H) represent the same course. The new sequence, available for 8t` grade students currently enrolled in Math -8 Enhanced, will allow a straight path to AP Calculus without doubling up in math or enrolling in a summer course and based on our current enrollment and projection, the new sequence could result in 3-4 AB Calculus (AP) classes and 2 BC Calculus (AP) classes; approximately double the number of students who have traditionally accessed these classes. Dr. Snow Dockser asked about the role of the Instructional Coach. Ms. Brown said she is assisting with the implementation of the new assessment tool holding 6 -week training sessions in two schools at a time. She said coaching is most effective when data is available. Mr. Boivin asked how the assessment works and what does it yield. Ms. Tucker said it will be very helpful. Teachers are able to meet with students individually to determine the needs. All five elementary schools are using the assessment tool. III. Routine Matters a. Bills and Payroll (A) Warrant S1725 12.15.16 $180,301.53 Warrant S1727 12.29.16 $300,056.37 Warrant S1728 1.05.17 $73,502.37 Warrant P1712 12.02.16 $1,539,370.11 Warrant P1713 12.16.16 $1,534,494.97 b. Calendar IV. Information V. Future Business Mrs. Borawski would like to review the Religious Accommodation Policy possibly putting together a small sub -committee. Page 1 7 M VI. Adjournment Adj ourn Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Dr. Nihan, to enter into executive session to discuss strategy with respect to a personnel matter and the approval of minutes not to return to open session. The roll call vote carried 6-0. Mr. Robinson, Dr. Nihan, Mr. Boivin, Mrs. Borawski, Mrs. Webb and Dr. Snow Dockser. The meeting adjourned at 9:57 p.m. NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the meeting. Jo . *Doherty,D. Page 1 8