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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-12-11 School Committee MinutesQFR Town of Reading r b Meeting Minutes '�39.1NCOtQ�PP� Board - Committee - Commission - Council: School Committee Date: 2017-12-11 Building: School - Memorial High Address: 82 Oakland Road Purpose: Open Session Attendees: Members - Present: 10 WN C! :_ K Er1DiNG. I'll f',..J. 1010 JAN 25 P 12. 16 i Time: 7:00 PM Location: Superintendent Conference Room Session: Open Session Version: Final Chuck Robinson, Nick Boivin, Linda Snow Dockser, Jeanne Borawski, and Elaine Webb Members - Not Present: Student Representatives Coumounduras & Cutone Others Present: Superintendent John Doherty, Director of Finance Gail Dowd, Assistant Superintendent Craig Martin 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. Il. 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 none. Consent Agenda - Accept a Donation from the RMHS Band Parents Organization - Accept a Donation to the Parker Middle School - Accept a Donation to the Coolidge Middle School - Accept a Donation from the Friends of Reading Wrestling - Approval of RMHS Wrestling Field Trips - Approval of RMHS Drama Field Trip - Approval of Minutes (November 20, 2017) Page I 1 Mrs. Webb moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski, to appro%,e the consent agenda. The motion carried 5-0. C. Reports Student Representative There were no student reports. Liaison's Report Mrs. Webb updated the Committee on the recent RCASA meeting. Dr. Snow Dockser reported on the recent SEPAC meeting. She added that The Reading Embraces Diversity (RED) group and the Human Relations Advisory Committee co-sponsored "A Conversation with Anna Ornstein" on November 29th at 7:00 p.m. The groups will use feedback gathered for future events. Dr. Ornstein will be presenting to the middle school students later this week. She next reported on the annual PSST Dickens Faire held at RMHS. She thanked Mrs. Borawski for spearheading the effort to have a School Committee tree at the Festival of Trees. Mr. Robinson indicated that the Committee will replace Dr. Snow Dockser as the representative to HRAC. Dr. Doherty asked about the RCASA liaison now that Dr. Nihan has resigned from the Committee. Chair Robinson will check with Dr. Nihan to determine if he would like to continue in this role. Director of Student Services Mrs. Wilson provided a staffing update. She was happy to report that a Speech and Language Pathologist has been hired at the high school. The parents have been notified and compensatory services are being scheduled. A team chair has been hired to take on the caseload at RISE and Birch Meadow. Jane Finger will remain as team chair at Wood End to allow for stability and continuity. The BCBA and school psychologist positions remain unfilled. Mrs. Wilson next updated the group on the recent SEPAC meeting. She provided some information on what the LLD sub -committee has been working on to date. The sub -committee provided names of other vendors that may be able to provide a program review. She has also reached out to Tufts University Center for Reading and Literacy to perform the Bridge Program evaluation but the Center will be closing. She said the staff could perform the work through a private LLC. Mrs. Wilson has reached out to a few other organizations to no avail. Mrs. Webb asked if the RISE/Birch Meadow team chair would be working out of RISE. The answer was yes. Superintendent's Report Page 1 2 Dr. Doherty thanked the Reading Education Foundation for holding a very successful Festival of Trees event. The REF grant cycle is underway with proposals due in January. REF has also provided funding for professional development that our teachers have accessed. RMHS has been named to the 8`h Annual AP Honor Roll. We were 1 of 25 districts in the state. The Reading Public Schools have partnered with the SEEM Collaborative and several surrounding districts to receive the RADAR Grant from the DESE. The grant in the amount of $88,900 will be managed by SEEM and our teachers will be able to attend professional development in inclusive practice improvement. Dr. Doherty thanked SEEM for taking the lead. D. New Business RMHS Initiatives and Guidance Report Director of Guidance Lynna Williams began her presentation by reviewing the Class of 2017 post -graduation plans. We saw an increase in students opting for 4 year schools and a decrease in 2 year programs. Students that opted for working or other increased over the previous year. Mrs. Williams would like to see this number go down. Her department is working with the students to develop a solid plan for when they graduate. Mrs. Williams shared that last year's graduates are attending 127 different colleges which is up from last year. The Guidance Department is working hard to bring in more colleges which gives the seniors an opportunity to meet with college representatives. These are the individuals that will be reviewing the applications. The Guidance Department also has an opportunity to interview the college representatives gathering information on what the schools are looking for in students and the counselors can share information about prospective applicants. She went on to review application data and admissions criteria. Most students submit 6 —10 applications and there has been a big shift in students applying early action. College admissions criteria has remained fairly consistent over the last 10 years. In an effort to create a seamless process our high school juniors now work on their essays in English classes so by the time they are seniors many have a substantially completed essay working during the flex block time to tweak their work. Mrs. Williams reviewed the importance of demonstrated interest in a particular school. Admissions representatives will use this criterion when determining financial aid packages. Students really need to visit campus and speak with admissions staff. Naviance is a great tool for our students and parents in determining what particular schools are looking for in their students. She next reviewed SAT and ACT data. The SAT has changed which has caused a jump in the number of students taking the ACT, however the students are still using the SAT scores. Freshmen and sophomore students also have been taking subject tests. These tests in conjunction with the MCAS are criteria in qualifying for the Koplik Award. Lastly, AP data was reviewed. The number of exams taken and students enrolled in AP courses has risen. The majority of students took more than 1 exam and the high school staff have been encouraging students to take AP exams if they are enrolled in AP courses. Reading Memorial High School was recently recognized as an AP School of Distinction. Page 1 3 NEASC Update Mr. Bakr updated the Committee on the Accreditation Process pointing out this is still an important process because accreditation continues to be important to many colleges and parents. The process has been overhauled and is far less disruptive and less expensive. Principal Bakr reviewed the timeline. This is a several year process. The high school has done a self-assessment and developed a school improvement plan. Surveys have been given to students, staff and parents. The school will form inclusive committees to review the survey results and review the Standards and Indicators. Years 2 & 3 the school improvement plan will be implemented and evidence will be gathered. A collaborative conference will be set up to review the data and discuss the school improvement plan which includes a school tour and classroom visits, as well as a discussion with the committee that put together the data report and plan. This will occur in one day. Once the conference takes place, the report and plan are submitted to NEASC who will then review the plan and respond with additional questions or concerns. The school then implements the school improvement plan and collects data and evidence on an ongoing basis to document the process. Year 4 the NEASC Accreditation visit will take place. They will meet with stakeholders, shadow students, observe in classrooms and review documentation collected. After this visit the school will receive a draft report and decision on continued accreditation. If the school has areas to remediate, it is given 1 year to do so. The school develops a new/revised action plan based on the feedback from the visiting committee and the recommendations received. The plan is due to NEASC one year after the visit. Mr. Bakr finished up by saying that it is the goal that our graduates are leaving school with the skills that make them marketable. Quarterly Personnel Report Human Resources Administrator Jenn Bove begin by saying that in creating this report she has incorporated feedback received from the committee. She clarified the definitions for FTE, why positions were vacant and what reallocation meant. This report contains all relevant personnel actions between the dates of May 1, 2017 through December 4, 2017. She reviewed newly hired employees/positions and reasons for the vacant positions. Next, she reviewed all budgeted positions for which a vacancy occurred to date and positions that have been restructured. These positions are budget neutral. Ms. Bove reviewed the new positions, current open positions, reasons for teacher separation and descriptions of separation reasons. The committee asked why there were so many changes. Ms. Dowd shared that 25-30 teachers is normal. Dr. Doherty reminded the committee that this report covers the time period from the end of the school year when, typically, there is movement of staff. The next quarter report should not be as extensive. Mr. Boivin thanked Ms. Bove for this report and would like to see more information including the percentage of turnover by function, percentage of Page 1 4 teachers under 5 years of experience and percentage of teachers leaving within 5 years or after 20-30 years. Quarterly FYI Budget Update Ms. Dowd reviewed the FYI budget status. This report is restructured, eliminating the budget information school by school and focusing on cost centers and the information is as of November 17`h. We currently have a $348,945 surplus which is lower than in previous years. A chart has been added with the summary by expense category which Ms. Dowd reviewed. She went on to review the summary by cost center. The Administration Cost Center shows a deficit of approximately $50,000 which reflects the addition of hours for additional support to assist the Director of Finance and the business office. Also included is the annual match for teachers into tax sheltered annuities resulting from increased participation. The Regular Day Cost Center has a projected surplus of approximately $585,000 which is due to salary savings. These savings are offset by an increase in transportation reflecting the addition of a non -mandated bus as well as an increase in homeless transportation. This projection also reflects restoring the district wide instructional technology funding and substitute teacher funding that were removed from the final FY 18 budgets. The Special Education Cost Center is projected to have a deficit of approximately $223,000 due to increases in out of district transportation. In addition, the projected deficit reflects costs associated with consultation services, psychological evaluations and vision services due to the inability to fill positions. We will also need to add a sub - separate classroom for the RISE Preschool due to a number of students requiring services as they turn 3 years old. The committee asked clarifying questions. Ms. Dowd is requesting that the School Committee authorize the transfer of funds to cover the projected deficits. Dr. Snow Dockser asked about the additional help and would like to see permanent rather than temporary. Dr. Doherty said that he will come to the Committee with a proposal as part of the FYI budget process. Mrs. Webb followed up by saying the committee had looked at this several months ago and indicated that Mr. Boivin asked if we could find temporary resources to bring in the extra help for the Director of Finance. Mrs. Webb moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski, to approve the transfer of $270,000 to the Special Education Cost Center from the Regular Day Cost Center. Mrs. Borawski wanted it to be clear that these special education expenses are mandated. The motion carried 5-0. Mrs. Webb moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski, to approve the transfer of $50,000 to the Administration Cost Center from the Regular Day Cost Center. Mr. Boivin would like more information although he is not opposed to the concept. Page 1 5 Ms. Dowd shared that $8,100 would support the increase of the tax-sheltered annuities which are contractual, $4,000 would support employee physicals due to the increase in the number of substitutes and the remainder would support the temporary help for the Director of Finance. Mr. Robinson asked how much training this person would need. Ms. Dowd and Dr. Doherty are determining what tasks this person will be responsible for doing and are being selective in this person's role. Mrs. Borawski is comfortable with this and reminded the committee that this position had been cut. She thanked Ms. Dowd for the level of detail and quality of the memo. The motion carried 4 —1. Mr. Boivin voted against. E. Old Business Second Reading and Approval of Revised Policy JICFB — Bullying Prevention Mrs. Webb moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski, to accept and approve the second reading of revised Policy JICFB — Bullying Prevention. Dr. Doherty said that Attorney Joyce concurred that the clause that Mr. Boivin questioned was not needed and it has been removed from the plan. Attorney Joyce reviewed the plan and policy for any other changes. The policy has not changed. The Committee will be approving the policy only. Dr. Snow Dockser questioned the use of target and victim. Dr. Doherty said the language is consistent with the law. Mrs. Webb begin the policy reading. Mrs. Borawski moved, seconded by Dr. Snow Dockser, to dispense of the further reading of the policy. The motion carried 5-0. Mr. Boivin asked for clarification on the definition of bullying and would like to see consistency throughout the plan. He is curious to know why the plan definition is narrower than the MGL definition. Dr. Doherty will check with Attorney Joyce. Mr. Robinson suspended the vote pending clarification of terms. III. Routine Matters a. Bills and Payroll (A) Warrant 51820 11.16.17 $581,512.75 Warrant S 1821 11.22.17 $65,193.40 Warrant S 1822 11.30.17 $124,254.69 Warrant S 1823 12.07.17 $399,430.91 Page 1 6 Warrant P1810 111.17.17 1 $1,536,358.54 b. Calendar IV. Information/Correspondence V. Future Business V1. Adjournment Adjourn Mrs. Webb moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski, to adiourn. The motion carried 5-0. The meeting adjourned at 10.06 p.m. NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the meeting. I� 41 F. Doherly, Ed.D. Page 1 7