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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-10-30 School Committee MinutesTown of Reading ' Meeting Minutes Board - Committee - Commission - Council: RE�INC M"r�S:S School Committee t 44:'1 1l11:fi�01i "30 P Date: 2017-10-30 Time: 7:00 PM Building: School - Memorial High Location: Superintendent Conference Room Address: 82 Oakland Road Session: Open Session Purpose: Open Session Version: Final Attendees: Members - Present: Chuck Robinson, Nick Boivin, Linda Snow Dockser, Jeanne Borawski, and Elaine Webb Members - Not Present: Gary Nihan, Carolyn Wilson others Present: Superintendent John Doherty, Director of Finance Gail Dowd, Assistant Superintendent Craig Martin, Student Representative Catie Coumounduras, Parker Principal Ricki Shankland, Joshua Eaton Principal LisaMarie Ippolito, Joshua Eaton Staff, Director of Facilities Joe Huggins, Selectman John Arena, Chronicle Reporter AI Sylvia 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. and reviewed the agenda. II. Recommended Procedure A. Public Comment There was none. , B. Consent Agenda Mrs, Webb asked if anyone would like to remove any item from the consent agenda. There were no items removed. Consent Agenda - Accept a Donation to Joshua Eaton - Accept a Donation to Killam - Approval of Minutes (October 16, 2017) Page i 1 Mrs. Webb moved, seconded by Mr. Boivin to approve the consent agenda. The motion carried 5-0. C. Reports Student Representative Ms. Coumounduros reported on the upcoming fall musical Pippen and SAT testing. Liaison's Report Dr. Snow Dockser reported on the recent SEPAC sponsored workshop. She said it was a very informational presentation on the IEP process. Mrs. Borawski reported that the Reading 375 Committee will be holding a trivia night on November 17th at the RCTV Studios and encouraged the community to join in for a fun event. Assistant Superintendent Mr. Martin reported on Challenge Day held last week at both middle schools. He shared that it was a moving experience and the kids were fantastic. He next reported that the MCAS results will be mailed out in the next week or so and he will be presenting on the MCAS at the meeting on November 6th. Superintendent's Report Dr. Doherty handed out an updated enrollment chart. He wanted to thank the 5ch grade team at Barrows for taking on extra students in their classes due to the resignation of a 5th grade teacher at the start of the school year. The teachers felt it was in the best interest of the students to have them in their classes rather than hiring a long-term substitute and then eventually a full-time teacher. Dr. Doherty mentioned some budgetary concerns as we approach the FY19 budget development, specifically, the large incoming grade 9 class. He feels he will need to add staff. He reminded the committee that most of the recent personnel cuts have been at the high school level. The Superintendent reported on the recent Parent University which was made possible by a grant from the Reading Cooperative Bank. He said it was a positive experience and hopes to continue it as an annual event. He thanked Director of Community Education Sandy Calandrella and her staff (Arm Marie Johnson, Rich Belmonte and Vivian Tringale) for their hard work in making this a success. Dr. Doherty recognized the Killam School for a $100 award from the National Schools Project, Young American Poetry Digest for promoting writing and creativity. Lastly, he shared that Chad Hymas will be speaking at both middle schools this week. Mr. Hymas is an inspirational speaker promoting powerful messages of understanding and dealing with peer pressure, how to build and maintain self - Page 1 2 esteem, how to set and achieve goals, and staying positive around negative people. The district is also seeking budget liaison for the FY2019 budget season. D. Old Business FY2018 Capital Plan Mr. Huggins reviewed the Capital Plan outlining the revised and amended item as it pertains to the schools. The revised item is the inclusion of the Wood End skylight replacement. The budgeted amount for the work to be included in the FY2018 Capital Plan is $480,000. At our meeting on September 25th Mrs. Dowd and Mr. Higgins presented on the need to replace the Wood End skylight. Mrs. Dowd wanted to make it clear to the public that the Capital Plan is outside of the operating budget. Mrs. Webb asked Mr. Huggins to review the chronology of the skylight. Mr. Huggins said that during a routine inspection it was discovered that the skylight was cracked and retaining moisture between the panes. We brought an architect to come in and examine the skylight. After his examination, he recommended that it be replaced sooner than later. The new skylight will be a hinged modular system with replaceable parts. Mr. Boivin asked about the timeline. Mr. Huggins shared that he hopes to go out to bid in January and award the contract in February/March with the intent to do the work over the summer. Mrs. Webb moved, seconded by Dr. Snow Dockser, to approve the FY2018 Capital Plan as revised and amended, as it relates to the schools. The motion carried 5-0. Mr. Robinson asked how the modular classrooms were working out. Mr. Huggins indicated they are working out well. E. New Business Joshua Eaton School Improvement Plan Update Joshua Eaton principal LisaMarie Ippolito began her presentation by introducing staff and school council members in attendance tonight. She also thanked the community for being so warm and welcoming. She went on to say that she has had support from many stakeholders including Dr. Doherty with whom she meets biweekly, the administrative team, Eaton secretary Amy Greco, who supports communication with families, the facilities and public works departments, her school custodians, the PTO presidents and executive board and School Council co -president Christine Lusk. Joshua Eaton also held a back to school night on August 28th which was a great event. Page 1 3 The Joshua Eaton philosophy is a whole child approach in which policies, practices and relationships ensure each child, is healthy, safe, engaged, supported and challenged. Mrs. Ippolito reviewed the goals for student achievement beginning with Literacy. The goal is to continue to improve student performance in English Language Arts as they move towards full adoption of the Readers and Writers Workshop model. Steps taken to achieve this goal include professional development, staff meeting collaboration to calibrate instructional practices, data meetings with grade level teams and a Read-a-Thon. Joshua Eaton is striving to improve communication among students, parents, staff and community, through increased communication to focus on learning and facilitate more effective instruction and accountability using Jaguar Tracks, social media, Parent Cafd, English Learner Coffees, Special Education Coffees, classroom teacher newsletters and the use of the portal. Mrs. Ippolito reviewed attendance data from the 2016-17 school year. The staff is working to improve student attendance for this school year, using the data to develop a strategy including establishing deeper relationships with students, working with SRO Lewis, supporting families around health, social and emotional needs, phone calls home after 3 absences and letters home after 5 absences. She next reviewed steps that are being taken to address the special education concerns at Joshua Eaton. Steps taken include the development of timelines for schedules and IEPs. The special education and general education staff have been working collaboratively during common meeting time. A summer open house was held for students in the Bridge Program and continued professional development opportunities include a co -teaching book group and attendance at a dyslexia conference. Joshua Eaton continues to focus on enrichment and community building opportunities with activities such as bringing in guest authors, participating in the Understanding Disabilities Jail & Bail at the annual Street Fair, community readers and the annual Veterans Day Assembly. The Joshua Eaton staff continues to use data to drive instruction. Corrective instruction happens during the teaching and learning cycle, interventions occur, in addition to, regular classroom instruction and are assigned based on data thresholds for each tier. Student progress is assessed using multiple tools and the information is stored and monitored in a shared document. Time is scheduled for grade level teams to meet and evaluate the intervention plan; intervention effectiveness data is used to transition students between tiers and most teachers have an intervention block every day. Mrs. Ippolito reviewed the 2017 MCAS data and reviewed areas to work on including examining students with disabilities and high needs subgroups more in depth, continue to support writing with various text types and purposes, provide more consistent math instruction in all grades, continue to work at narrowing the proficiency gap in math and the focus on targeted interventions in ELA and Math. She gave kudos to her staff for their hard work in the interest of their students. Page 1 4 Mr. Robinson asked about the attendance data. Mrs. Ippolito said the staff was tracking the data looking at patterns and trends. Mr. Boivin inquired about where we are from last spring with students reading at grade level. Mrs. Ippolito said she is looking at what the students need and what is holding this child back. Mrs. Webb asked about the intervention blocks. Students are getting the support they need during these blocks. There are targeted skills for all students. A question was asked about the Literacy Coach, a position that has not been filled. Dr. Doherty said we are using consultants from Teachers College which is a one year solution. The consultants are teaching lessons and having conversations that the teachers are bringing back to their classrooms. He feels we need to bring back the Literacy Coach. Marianne Downing asked what students that do not need additional supports during the intervention block do. These students are provided with enrichment activities. Chair Robinson called for a brief recess at 8:48 p.m. The meeting was called back to order at 8:57 p.m. District and Superintendent's Goal Presentation Superintendent Doherty began by saying we are in the second of a three-year District Improvement Plan. He reviewed the district goal, focus areas and action plans. The focus areas include; 1. Closing the Achievement Gap (Action Plan A); 2. Literacy (Action Plan B); 3. Mathematics Practices (Action Plan C); 4. Social Emotional Learning (Action Plan D). In addition to these focus areas, there is one additional area, Communication (Action Plan E). The elementary schools are focusing on Action Plans A & B and the High School on A & D. the Superintendent reviewed the Process Benchmark for each Action Plan. Mr. Boivin asked if it is a realistic goal to complete the pacing charts for all subjects, at all grade levels, as part of the District Improvement Plan. Mr. Martin replied that ELA and math is an attainable goal. The School Committee asked additional clarifying questions and asked for adjustments to the District Improvement Plan. Dr. Doherty indicated that he will incorporate the suggestions into the document for the mid-cycle review. Mrs. Webb shared that the District Improvement Plan is the driver for action in the district. Mr. Robinson asked for clarification on what a pacing chart entails. Mr. Martin indicated the document provides timeline recommendations to staff. Developing these documents is very time consuming. Mr. Boivin expressed concerns that some of the Process Benchmark status dates have passed and the work is ongoing. He would like the administration to be held to a date or revise the dates of completion. Page 1 5 Dr. Doherty moved on to the Superintendent's Goals. He reviewed the evaluation process which is five step cycles. It begins with a self-assessment and moves to the analysis, goal setting, and plan development which is where it stands at this point. During his self-assessment, the Superintendent felt too much time was spent focused on the RMHS litigation, and override and a difficult budget rather than ways to move the district forward and improve student achievement. The Superintendent has a Student Learning Goal and Professional Practice Goal that align with the District Improvement Plan. The Superintendent is using his Professional Practice Goal as his stretch goal. He has asked all administrators to have a stretch goal which is a goal that focuses on their passion. Dr. Doherty's stretch goal is to restructure his time to focus more on the instructional and professional culture aspects. He took the School Committee feedback from the spring very seriously and reflected the feedback in his goals document. Mrs. Webb moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski, to accept the Superintendent and District Goals as presented. There was continued discussion. The motion carried 4-1. Mr. Boivin voting against. III. Routine Matters a. Bills and Payroll (A) Warrant S 1816 10.19.17 $203,431.52 Warrant S 1817 10.26.17 $121,653.59 Warrant P1807 10.06.17 $1,515,984.12 Warrant P1808 10.20.17 $1,511,060.59 b. Calendar IV. Information/Correspondence V. Future Business VI. Adjournment Ad journ Mrs. Webb moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski, to adjourn. The motion carried 5 — 0. The meeting adjourned at 10.44 p.m. NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the meeting. Page 1 6 John F. D h y, Ed.D. Page 1 7