HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-06-05 School Committee Minuteso`er orq o/
Town of Reading
Iso �e Meeting Minutes
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Board - Committee - Commission - Council:
School Committee
Date: 2017-06-05
Building: School - Memorial High
Address: 62 Oakland Road
Purpose: Open Session
Attendees: Members - Present:
IuE -IVEU
T011N CLERK
EA01NG. MA;S.
IUII JSP 29 P 12 40
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: RMHS Schettini Library
Session: Open Session
Version: Final
Gary Nihan, Chuck Robinson, Linda Snow Dockser, Nick Boivin, Mrs.
Borawski and Mrs. Webb (arrived at 7:06 p.m.)
Members - Not Present:
Others Present:
Superintendent John Doherty, Director of Finance Gail Dowd, Assistant
Superintendent Craig Martin, Student Representatives Catle Coumounduros,
Mario Cuttone, RMHS principal Adam Bakr, Parker principal Rick! Shankland,
Barrows principal Heather Leonard, Birch Meadow principal Julia Hendrix,
Joshua Eaton principal Eric Sprung, Killam principal Sarah Leveque, Wood
End principal Joanne King, RISE Preschool Director Debbie Butts, Director of
Food Service Kristin Morello, Chronicle Reporter Al Sylvia, Selectman John
Arena
Minutes Respectfully Submitted
Topics of Discussion:
L Call to Order
Linda Engelson on behalf of the Chair
Chair Borawski called the School Committee to order at 7:00 p.m. and reviewed the
agenda.
Il. Recommended Procedure
A. Public Comment
There was no public comment.
B. Consent Agenda
There were no consent agenda items
Staff Recojznition
Mr. Bakr presented the awards to his staff.
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CHIAPPINI
MICHELE
READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
MAHONEY
PAUL
READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
SCHUETTE
FIONA
READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
SKEHAN
HENRY
READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
SMITH
LAURIE
READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
WILLIAMS
AUDRA
READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
DEBENEDICTIS
JAMES
READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
MCSWEENEY
MICHAEL
READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
RYAN
JEFFREY
READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
STROUT
CHARLES
READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
Brokenrope
Zachary
READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
Derman
Courtney
READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
Hagopian
Jennifer
READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
Hooper
Susan
READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
Jones
Danielle
READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
Pray
Courtney
READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
Williams
Allyson
READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
Bosco
Lori
READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
Dee
Janet
READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
Graham
Paula
READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
O'Brien
Valerie
READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
Shields
Patricia
READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
Tenedios
Angela
READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
Thomases
Jeanne
READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
Mrs. Shankland presented the awards to her staff.
ANDERSON
MICHELLE
PARKER MIDDLE SCHOOL
ARTHUR
MARIA
PARKER MIDDLE SCHOOL
CORMIER
BRIAN
PARKER MIDDLE SCHOOL
HILTZ
ERIC
PARKER MIDDLE SCHOOL
DAVIS
DIANE
PARKER MIDDLE SCHOOL
MARTINSON
DONNA
PARKER MIDDLE SCHOOL
Carter
Caitlin
PARKER MIDDLE SCHOOL
Williams
Matthew
PARKER MIDDLE SCHOOL
Anderson
Virginia
PARKER MIDDLE SCHOOL
Mrs. Webb arrived.
Mrs. Shankland also presented the awards to the Coolidge staff.
WEBSTER
CHERYL
COOLIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL
Coyne
Jerry
COOLIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL
Pinkham
Lindsey
COOLIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL
Simpson
Paul
COOLIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL
White
Jane
COOLIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL
White
Jennifer
COOLIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL
Page 12
10 Years
10 Years
10 Years
10 Years
10 Years
10 Years
20 Years
20 Years
20 Years
20 Years
PTS
PTS
PTS
PTS
PTS
PTS
PTS
Retirement
Retirement
Retirement
Retirement
Retirement
Retirement
Retirement
10 Years
10 Years
10 Years
10 Years
20 Years
20 Years
PTS
PTS
Retirement
20 Years
PTS
PTS
PTS
PTS
PTS
Buttaro Sheila COOLIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL I Retirement
DeBenedetto Concetta COOLIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL Retirement
Mr. Sprung presented the awards to his staff.
Atkinson
Lee Ann
JOSHUA EATON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
CLARK
JOAN
JOSHUA EATON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
MINARD
SUSAN
JOSHUA EATON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
ZERFAS
LUCRETIA
JOSHUA EATON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
KINTON
DEBRA
JOSHUA EATON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Kinton
Debra
JOSHUA EATON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Ms. Leveque presented the awards to her staff.
BRUNO
JESSICA
KILLAM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
RUOCCO
TONI-ANN
KILLAM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
RYAN
CYNTHIA
KILLAM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
TUCKER
MICHELLE
KILLAM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
SAWYER
KAREN
SCHOOL CENTRAL OFFICE
DOUGLAS
KAREN
KILLAM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Adamo
Kimberly
KILLAM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Hall
Karen
KILLAM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Zrike
Ellen
KILLAM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Dellovo
Deborah
KILLAM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Osterlind
Priscilla
KILLAM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Mrs. Hendrix presented the awards to her staff.
BUTLER
GIOIA
BIRCH MEADOW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
MILNER
MELISSA
BIRCH MEADOW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Anderson
Katie
BIRCH MEADOW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Cullen
Laurette
BIRCH MEADOW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Hallett
Talia
BIRCH MEADOW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Leahy
Edwina
BIRCH MEADOW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Piacentini
Patricia
BIRCH MEADOW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Thurnauer
Maureen
BIRCH MEADOW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Underwood
Christine
BIRCH MEADOW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Mrs. King presented the awards to her staff.
BIARNGARD
CATHERINE
WOOD END ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
LYDON-RUELOS
VICTORIA
WOOD END ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
SOLIMINI
ROSE
WOOD END ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Gianatassio
Danielle
WOOD END ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Sheehan
Barbara
WOOD END ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Mrs. Leonard presented the awards to her staff.
Page 1 3
PTS
10 Years
10 Years
10 Years
20 Years
Retirement
30 Years
30 Years
10 Years
30 Years
10 Years
20 Years
PTS
PTS
PTS
Retirement
Retirement
10 Years
10 Years
PTS
PTS
PTS
PTS
PTS
Retirement
Retirement
10 Years
10 Years
20 Years
PTS
Retirement
GARGANO
JACLYN
BARROWS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
ROSE
CHRISTINE
BARROWS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
WALSH
DONNA
BARROWS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Engelson
Kara
BARROWS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Carroll
Denise
BARROWS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Ms. Butts presented the awards to her staff.
STUART
KAREN
RISE PRE KINDERGARTEN
BOUDREAU
CYNTHIA
RISE PRE KINDERGARTEN
DONAHUE
PATRICE
RISE PRE KINDERGARTEN
Butts
Deborah
RISE PRE KINDERGARTEN
Hogan
Anita
RISE PRE KINDERGARTEN
Mrs. Morello presented the awards to her staff.
FERGUSON
DIANNE
SCHOOL FOOD SERVICE
KOURBALI
HOURIA
SCHOOL FOOD SERVICE
LUGO
IVONNE
SCHOOL FOOD SERVICE
10 Years
30 Years
20 Years
PTS
Retirement
10 Years
20 Years
20 Years
Retirement
Retirement
30 Years
30 Years
30 Years
Mrs. Morello and Mrs. Leonard recognized Barrows Food Service Manager
Dianne Ferguson on being named Massachusetts SNA Manager of the Year and
Regional Manager of the Year.
Dr. Doherty presented the awards to the Facilities staff.
GOODWIN
JOHN
SCHOOL FACILITIES
Doherty
Kevin
SCHOOL FACILITIES
Porter
Darlene
SCHOOL FACILITIES
Dr. Doherty presented the awards his staff.
10 Years
Retirement
Retirement
ENGELSON LINDA SCHOOL CENTRAL OFFICE 20 Years
MARTIN CRAIG SCHOOL CENTRAL OFFICE 20 Years
Dr. Doherty shared that the awards have been funded by the Arnold Berger
Foundation and thanked HR Administrator Jean Bove for putting this all together.
Chair Borawski presented Dr. Doherty with his thirty-year pin. She also
presented the superintendent a plaque acknowledging his 30 years of the service
to the district and the community.
DOHERTY JOHN SCHOOLCENTRALOFFICE 30 Years
Mrs. Borowski called for a brief recess at 7:31 p.m.
The meeting was called back to order at 7:41 p.m.
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C. RenoI'tS
Student Representative
New Student Representative Catie Coumounduros introduced herself to the
School Committee. She is a member of the RMHS Interact and Girls Rising clubs
and is a competitive dancer. She is excited for her role as a student representative
which fuels her interest in Town politics.
Student Representative Mario Cutone reported that the RMHS students are taking
the science MCAS, there will be a financial fair for all juniors next week as well
as the Underclass Awards Day. Today was move up day and June 14" is Future
Freshman night.
Liaison's Report
Dr. Snow Dockser reported that the Human Relations Advisory Committee will
be meeting this Thursday. The HRAC is looking at restructuring. The Clergy
Association is working with Rabbi Abramson on a town wide event. She attended
the Parker Writing Day saying it was an inspiring event. She was also fortunate
enough to attend the Senior Class Day and was awed on how well our kids use
their technology skills.
Chair Borawski reminded the Committee that Friends & Family Day is on Jane
17" and hopes that all members can man the booth at some point during the day.
She reminded the Committee to submit the final versions of the Superintendent's
Evaluation to her by Thursday.
Assistant Superintendent
Mr. Martin also attended Parker's Writing Day and shared how it was great to
teach a class and how engaged the students were. He also attended Joshua
Eaton's Author Celebration.
Director of Student Services
Mrs. Wilson updated the committee on the special education staffing. She is
interviewing for 2 vacant Team Chair positions, a special education teacher and
the .5 BCBA position. The Extended School Year hiring is complete and she
thanked Kelly DiCato for pulling this together. She also shared that we will be
using Title 3 funds to provide support for our ELL population over the summer.
Superintendent's Report
Dr. Doherty introduced new Joshua Eaton principal LisaMarie Ippolito to the
community and shared that she has been very active at Joshua Eaton since she
was hired.
The superintendent next reported on the annual Interfaith Baccalaureate
Celebration held last week. He thanked the Facilities Department for facilitating
the move to Joshua Eaton due to the condo fire downtown. It is a beautiful event
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where students speak about faith. These students represented all faiths. He
thanked Kristin Killian and the chorus for performing at the celebration.
Dr. Doherty thanked RMHS principal Adam Bakr for the successful graduation
celebration yesterday pointing out that the Class of 2017 was the 150u class to
graduate from Reading, the 60 on this campus and 10' in the renovated building
He announced a partnership with RCTV with the creation of a satellite TV studio
at the high school.
Dr. Doherty wanted to clear up some confusion in the community regarding the
status of the remainder of the School Transformation grant. We we completing
yen 3 of the 5 -year grant and all indications from the federal government are the
grant funding will continue. He shared that Sara Burd will be leaving Reading.
The scope of her position is being changed to a coach position providing support
to teachers in the classrooms. The administration is exploring the options
regarding who will oversee the last 2 years of the grant.
Mrs. Borawski asked if there would be a financial impact of the TV studio. Dr.
Doherty said that RCTV will be funding the initiative.
D. Old Business
Joshua Eaton Update
Mr. Sprung began by thanking School Council member Christine Lusk for her
continued support. Ms. Lusk said it was a wonderful year at Joshua Eaton and
wanted to thank the staff for addressing the root causes and underlying challenges
half way through the year by changing the approach they had been taking. She
went on to highlight some of the activities that have taken place. Joshua Eaton
recently had the Jr. Authorfest. This was a yearlong effort culminating in the
students sharing their books. The whole Forton community was involved in the
process. They also held the second annual Spelling Bee & Art Contest, the annual
Jaguar Jog and the variety show.
Mr. Sprung said that the focus of the Joshua Eaton staff is to meet the academic
needs and closing the achievement gap of all students. He reviewed literacy data
gathered since January that shows the majority of the K — 3 students have moved
up two reading levels. He added the students with the highest level of need are
receiving individualized tutoring every day.
Mr. Sprung next reviewed kindergarten math assessment which show that student
results are improving in this area.
Another area of focus has been to improve communication. Mr. Sprung reviewed
data from a recent communication survey which has shown that most parents we
satisfied with the information and avenues in which they receive it from the
weekly school -wide newsletter and the teacher newsletters.
The faculty and staff at Joshua Eaton continues to reinforce the school's core
values and the implementation of the MTSS model with monthly assemblies that
highlight the school values and publicly recognize students for positive behaviors,
Page 1 6
and the ability for students to cam core value recognition cards for demonstrating
core values.
Another change took place by eliminating the annual holiday concert and moving
to an opportunity for parents to see music instruction in action during the school
day (Informances). Many parents liked this change and enjoyed seeing music
instruction in the classroom.
Mr. Sprung shared some of the work done since February 2017 which includes
continued training with Allan Blame with the special and regular education staff,
Special education training in several areas, a two day MTSS training session to
plan Tier I & II routines, coffee with the SEPAC, special education director, team
chair and principal, transition work with incoming principal LisaMarie Ippolito
and additional resources spent on books and teacher resources to institute reading
instruction.
Mr. Sprung outlined the successes experienced, work still to be done and the
methods that will be used to measure accountability. In the 2017-18 school year
schedules with a focus on instructional time, intervention, and IEP
implementation, regular data collection in Literacy and Math, data meetings to
monitor student progress, continued implementation of the weekly
communication from the classroom and school and a continued partnership
between parents, teachers, and students through the school council will all be
focus areas.
Mrs. Wilson finished up by saying that there will be continued special education
work with the Bridge Program looking for inclusion opportunities to meet the
needs of all students.
School Committee Reorsanizatiion
Chair Borawski handed the gavel over to the Superintendent. Superintendent
Doherty thanked Mrs. Borawski for her leadership over the past year. He then
asked for nominations for Chair.
Dr. Nihan nominated Mr. Robinson, seconded by Dr. Snow Dockser, for the
position of Chair for the 2017-18 school year. The roll call vote carried 6 — 0.
Mr. Boivin, Dr. Nihan, Mrs. Borawski, Mr. Robinson, Dr. Snow Dockser and
Mrs. Webb.
Dr. Doherty congratulated Mr. Robinson and turned the gavel over to the new
chair. He asked for nominations for Vice Chair.
Mr. Boivin nominated Mrs. Webb, seconded by Dr. Nihan, for the position of
Vice -Chair for the 2017-18 school year. The roll call vote carried 6 — 0. Mr.
Boivin, Dr. Nihan, Mrs. Borawski, Mr. Robinson, Dr. Snow Dockser and
Mn. Webb.
School Committee Liaison Appointments
Mrs. Borawski moved, seconded by Dr. Nihan to appoint Elaine Webb as the
School Committee liaison to the Audit Committee. The motion carried 6-0.
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Mrs. Webb moved, seconded by Dr. Snow Dockser, to reappoint Jeanne
Borowski as the School Committee liaison to the Recreation Committee. The
motion carried 6-0.
Mrs. Webb moved, seconded by Mn. Borawski, to reappoint Linda Snow
Dockser as the School Committee liaison to the Human Relations Advisory
Committee. The motion carried 6-0.
Mrs. Webb moved, seconded by Mr. Boivin to appoint Gary Nihan as the
School Committee liaison to RCASA. The motion carried 6-0.
Mrs. Borowski moved, seconded by Dr. Nihan, to appoint Nick Boivin as the
School Committee liaison to the RCTV Board of Directors. The motion
carried 6-0.
III. Routine Matters
a. Bills and Payroll (A)
Warrant S1748
5.25.17
$233,964.45
Warrant SI748E
5.25.17
$57,337.09
Warrant S1749
6.1.17
$570,592.95
Wan-antP17245.19.17
$1,547,180.75
b. Calendar
IV. Information/Correspondence
V. Future Business
VI. Adjournment
Adjourn
Chair Robinson declared that executive session was necessary to protect the
board's bargaining position.
Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Dr. Snow Dockser, to enter executive
session to discuss strategies with respect to collective bargaining and not to
return to open session The roll call vote carried 6 — 0. Mr. Boivin, Dr.
Nihan. Mrs. Borawska Mr. Robinson, Dr.. Snow Dockser and Mrs. Webb.
The meeting adjourned at 9.15 p.m
NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not
the order they occurred during the meeting.
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