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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-03-19 School Committee Minutes �N OFRF� Town of Reading Meeting Minutes t G SIVEID IG 1639°1H OR4�� 1`l A D 1 N t-3 10A. Board - Committee - Commission - Council: 2010 MAY 15 PM !: 27 School Committee Date: 2018-03-19 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, Sherri Vanden Akker, Nick Boivin, Jeanne Borawski, Linda Snow Dockser, and Elaine Webb Members - Not Present: Student Representative Catie Coumounduros Others Present: Superintendent John Doherty, Director of Finance Gail Dowd, Assistant Superintendent Craig Martin, Director of Student Services Carolyn Wilson, RPS Administrators Joanne King, LisaMarie Ippolito, Sarah Leveque, Julia Hendrix, Heather Leonard, Sarah Marchant, Ricki Shankland, Adam Bakr, RPS Kindergarten Teachers Katie Cole, Anne Manna, Victoria Binns, Erica Boran, Al Sylvia - Reading Chronicle Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Linda Engelson on behalf of the Chair Topics of Discussion: I. Call to Order Chair Robinson reviewed the agenda and called the meeting to order and reviewed the agenda. Recognition Chair Robinson presented former School Committee member Gary Nihan a Captain's Chair in recognition of his years of service to the Reading Public Schools and the Reading School Committee. Mr. Nihan thanked the committee and administration saying it was an honor and pleasure to work with them. He went on to thank Superintendent Doherty and Wood End principal Joanne King for the flexibility and support they have shown to his wife Marian, who teaches at Wood End, while dealing with his schedule. Mrs. Borawski thanked Mr.Nihan and said she learned much about advocating for Health Education issues. Dr. Snow Dockser reflected on her long working relationship with Dr. Nihan and thanked him for his service. Page 1 1 Mrs. Webb said Dr.Nihan had an indelible impact on kids. Chair Robinson pointed out that he appreciated his insight and collegiality. Mr. Boivin thanked Dr. Nihan for his mentorship when he came on the board. Dr. Vanden Akker thanked Dr.Nihan for his service and said she has big shoes to fill. II. Recommended Procedure A. Public Comment Gina Botticelli Amico, parent of high school students, wished to speak about a matter she had emailed the committee about. Chair Robinson pointed out that the information she wished to share contained confidential student information that could not be discussed in a public forum, but assured her that her email and concerns are being taken seriously. Dr. Doherty also shared that the high school administration is aware of her concerns and will be reaching out to her. Rebecca Liberman asked when the community will hear a math update. She shared that next month marks the 5th year anniversary of the new paths, denying access to algebra in middle school. She also asked for an update on the pacing guides and curriculum maps. She also feels there needs to be a comprehensive assessment. Chair Robinson apologized but the calendar was adjusted to address budget and kindergarten matters. Marianne Downing asked if the curriculum maps are needed for the accreditation process. Dr. Doherty said they are not. B. Old Business Kindergarten Update Dr. Doherty thanked the kindergarten parents that have reached out to him over the last several weeks regarding half day kindergarten. He has also had discussions with the elementary and preschool administrators to review space availability options and full and half day enrollment numbers. The modified plan includes full and half day kindergarten programs (the integrated model will not be used), half day students with siblings in another elementary school (past and present)will be able to return in Grade 1 to their neighborhood school, any half day student who has a sibling at a neighborhood school and is on the full day waitlist will be accepted as a tuition based full day student in their neighborhood school in all schools but Wood End, a RISE classroom will be moving from Wood End to Killam enabling us to return the half day Wood End students to their neighborhood school. At this point, all half day Page 1 2 session will be morning only and will begin at 8:15 a.m. Extended Day early drop off will be offered, at no cost, to the half day students that have been placed out of their neighborhood school and when next year's kindergarten students are in grade 1 we will review all Grade 1 school assignments and prioritize according to siblings, geographic proximity to the school, while maintaining our class size goals. The goal has always been to provide the learning environment for our students including smaller class sizes and programs that are educationally sound. Mr. Robinson thanked the administration for all the work that has been done since the September 26th meeting. Mrs. Borawski asked if an email has been sent to all families with this information. The answer was yes. She followed up by saying she has met with several families and is impressed with the group of parents and their willingness to work together to come up with a solution. Dr. Vanden Akker thanked all involved in the process which has resulted in a synthesis of something better. She would like the School Committee to have a discussion to look at priorities. Dr. Snow Dockser said we can learn from the process. Mr. Boivin would also like a future agenda item looking to update the guidelines. Chair Robinson said the School Committee has been looking for solutions to the space issue for many years. Kindergarten teachers, Katie Cole, Anne Manna, Erica Boran and Victoria Binns read a statement signed by all 14 kindergarten teachers stating they are not in support of using the integrated model. "Together,families and educators are the greatest influence on a child's achievement. #growingtogether01867 Dear School Committee and Reading Community, As the district kindergarten teachers, we feel we must reiterate the absolute and definitive need for full-day and half-day program models in the Reading Public Schools. We wholeheartedly support the decision made by Dr. Doherty and the District Leadership Team. We, the teachers, reach out to the school committee and the Reading community as the "experts in the trenches", as the professionals who are teaching, supporting, observing, guiding, and loving these young learners in the educational setting. Our number one goal is to support each child in developing as a person. As Dr. Seuss'Lorax once spoke for the trees, we are here to speak for the students. Many of us have had the opportunity to teach all three kindergarten models; half- day,full-day, and integrated. In teaching these models, we have seen that the full and half day programs are the most effective in supporting our students social/emotional development and in developing foundational academic skills. In Page 1 3 the half and full day programs, our students can establish a strong community. They are given the opportunity to interact with each other throughout their entire school day; all are present. This enables students to establish meaningful social and learning relationships. All of their learning and exposures can be connected and presented in a way that integrates learning and makes it most meaningful. Developmentally, the integrated program has proven to be the direct opposite of this. All students are not present. Instruction, learning, and practice is chunked into time blocks that are restricted and not able to be connected. The unplanned learning that takes place naturally in the kindergarten day is not able to be taken advantage of. We recognize that the integrated model allows for interactions and learning to occur. However, because the day is disjointed it does not provide the same learning opportunities as the half and full day models. Students are constantly switching gears and do not have the chance to dig deep because instructional blocks are divided throughout the day. In a time where expectations and standards have become increasingly more rigorous, the integrated program puts students at a disadvantage. We have done our best to accommodate this model and be mindful of these pieces, however, each day, we feel the impact of missed instructional and coaching connections. It is disheartening to feel as though we, as teachers, are not providing the very best that we can for our students. We recognize that to have the half and full day programs, that we know our students need, siblings may not attend school together and that this is upsetting to families and may potentially be inconvenient. However, we must remember what is best for the students socially, academically, and instructionally. As teachers we assure you that we will work to support all students impacted by this potential separation. If the integrated model continues to exist in our district it will grossly impact class size and will be going against what the MA DOE recommends in Chapter 603 8.01. Kindergarten classes "shall not exceed an average of 25. " In addition, it will also be going against what the School Committee has previously set forth; "recommended class sizes of 18-22 for grades K to 2". If we continue with an integrated model, as of now, class sizes will exceed that. It is very difficult for teachers to differentiate for all learners with groups this size. Additionally, the larger the class, the less frequently the small group/teacher-led instruction can take place. We feel that this is a crucial component to academic success for all children. As the fourteen current kindergarten teachers, we are unanimously opposed to the integrated model. We continue to urge the School Committee and the community to act in the best educational and developmental interest of our students. The decision to have half and full day kindergarten programs is what is needed. It supports the development of a learning community. A decision to continue the integrated model will truly limit and put a cap on what kindergarteners are able to be exposed to and what they are potentially able to achieve. We want you to know that we are committed to giving your children the best opportunity as they start their educational journey in the Reading Public Schools. Respectfully, Page 1 4 The Kindergarten Teachers of Reading Public Schools" Chad Smith read the following statement: "New Kindergarten statement 3/19/18 Thanks for your time everyone. It's been a real pleasure getting to know you over the last six weeks or so. I'm hopeful this is the last school committee meeting I attend for a long time. -Troubling Divide I note, that the content I provided at the February 26th, 2018 committee meeting was initially omitted from the minutes from that meeting. I'm hopeful that it will be included because it details exactly how the families were provided the information about the half day kindergarten program. To start, I am troubled by the generated divide between full day families and half day families evidenced by the email(s) included in'-the packet for the March 5th, 2018 school committee meeting. In one the emails, our integrity is attacked indicating foreknowledge that the integrated program wouldn't be offered and that half day wouldn't be offered at every school. I just want to point out that the half day families are not asking for special consideration. We are not asking for our own classrooms. We're just asking for an equitable opportunityfor our kids. I'm troubled further by another email in the packet from the March 5th, 2018 School Committee meeting which states that (page 32): "This seems very unfair to the majority of incoming Kparents who have been told we would not have to worry about the integrated model next year, or astronomical class sizes at some schools." When did the correspondence take place when select parents were told that they "wouldn't have to worry about the integrated model"? All in all I feel a lack of transparency and now a generated, unnecessary divide in the community. Again, I'm not up here asking for special treatment, not asking for dedicated classrooms,just an opportunity to make an informed decision. -Waning support There is an incredible amount of documented support of the integrated model available from the Superintendent,principals of the elementary schools, teachers of the model, and parents of the students. I see a signed statement from the current kindergarten teachers expressing their concern over teaching the integrated model is included in this meeting's packet. I had no idea the teachers felt this way. I'm troubled by the timing of the presentation especially given that this information is provided after the enrollment deadline in mid December. Has it always been the plan to not provide the integrated model for the 2018-2019 school year?If so, why was it offered as an alternative plan during the February 26th, 2018 School Committee meeting?If so, why wasn't this communicated to all parents before the enrollment deadline?I thought we were up against a space constraint issue. Again, I'm not asking for anything special, not asking for any kind of preferential treatment,just a fair shot at making the right decision for my family. Page 1 5 -Future Mentally, I've moved beyond 2018-2019 school year. I've come to terms with paying to keep my kids together. But, I've got three kids so let's look to the future. Here are a couple of solutions to consider: 1. Ask parents what they want. Send out a survey 2 weeks prior to the initial letters and see what the parents of the kindergartners would prefer. Full day neighborhood school, half day neighborhood school, integrated neighborhood school,full day other school, half day other school, or integrated other school. You'd have relevant data to develop your proposed models and could present the results at the information night. Note, this would be a good place to provide some demographically relevant student performance data for the various models. Do the research comparing full day, half day,full day integrated, half day integrated performance over time. The results of this research could also aid in the decision on providing the program in the future - instead of opinions which obviously change over time. 2. I gave this one already, but I'll adjust given then distaste for the integrated program. Note, half day kindergarten is the only program Reading is required to provide: "Half day kindergarten will be offered to all children in the community in their home school. Where possible, every effort will be made to offer full day kindergarten in your home school through dedicated full day classrooms. However, if space limitations present due to increased full day enrollment numbers, your child may need to attend one of the other schools in the district where full day space is available." Regarding the 2019-2020 school year, let's assume free full day isn't available for everyone, all of the current space used for kindergarten is available, let's assume a 15y average plus one standard deviation of 332 kindergarten kids, and let's not assume anything about the numbers for half or full day enrollment. Dr. Doherty, given these assumptions, what would you like to happen next year?" Chair Robinson thanked him for his input and his concerns will be addressed at a future meeting. Mr. Boivin would like more information on full day vs. integrated and which is best for kids. He would like statistics looked at and to develop a scenario plan. Alicia Williams feels transitions are real with little kids. She suggested looking at the class size recommendations. She asked why the RISE classroom could not be moved to Joshua Eaton. Dr. Doherty said there is no additional classroom space at Eaton. She next suggested kindergarten and space subcommittees. Michele Sanphy said she was on the Space Committee which explored many options to solve the space issue and found no acceptable solutions. She also feels increasing the class size guidelines is not in the best interest of kids. Taylor Burns thanked everyone for looking at this issue and said continued communication is important Chair Robinson called a brief recess at 8:07 p.m. Page 1 6 The meeting was called back to order at 8:11 p.m. District Improvement Plan Update Dr. Doherty thanked the administrators and staff for being here. Tonight's presentation will focus on how each school is addressing the needs of the District Improvement Plan through their School Improvement Plan. Our staff has not wavered in their commitment with all that is going on. Dr. Doherty reviewed the district goal, five focus areas, and the projects that are prioritized based on the focus areas. He also reviewed the professional development activities that have been occurring. Data Specialist Courtney Fogarty described the work she is doing supporting the adults in grades PreK— 12. In her role as Data Specialist it is important that the staff is comfortable with the data and from the conversations they are able to develop action plans. Ms. Fogarty provides the raw data to be looked at so the staff does not have to dig for the pertinent information. These conversations can focus on next steps to address the needs of the students. She went on to review the levels of analysis, starting with very broad discussions at the aggregate level which is looking at the overall outcomes down to student work/staff voice which involves grade level teams examining if the outcomes they want are being achieved. She reviewed the 5 basic steps of inquiry which are needed for any data discussion. Ms. Fogarty has held several data workshops over the course of the year covering topics such as district data and building overview, building data& interventions, building data&tracking progress, building data& success/barriers and district capacity assessment. High School principal Adam Bakr and Middle School principals Sarah Marchant and Ricki Shankland provided a look at the work done at the secondary level with the building and district improvement plans. Some of the work they are doing is individual to the building needs, and in other areas we have commonalities. Mrs. Marchant shared some common areas of focus across the secondary level which include the development, implementation and refinement of intervention opportunities (math and literacy support & closing the achievement gap), social emotional learning and support(integrating more opportunities to address student needs, build connections, create a safe and supportive learning environment) and build staff capacity (social emotional learning, math& literacy). Mr. Bakr shared that year 1 was used as a time to look at intervention opportunities such as office hours and the flex block. Both have been very effective Tier 1 interventions. Year 2 looked at the effect level consolidation had on students. Students that needed additional supports were identified and Tier 2 & 3 interventions were put in place. The 3 d year the high school administration will look at ways to more effectively use the office hour and use data to look at 2 or 3 report card items to address. Mrs. Shankland shared that at Parker the staff is looking for intervention opportunities. There have been challenges scheduling math and reading support for incoming students, so they are providing short term support for the kids. Page 1 7 Mrs. Marchant said Coolidge is also providing small group/individualized short term supports in addition to a mindfulness group at the sixth-grade level. Mrs. Shankland said looking ahead both schools will be looking at revisions of what the systems look like within the schedules next year. They will also be looking at professional development opportunities for staff training on entrance and exit criteria, defining areas of need/focus. Mr. Bakr reviewed the social emotional learning and support at the high school which include new Guidance Department Practices. The Counselors have been meeting with students by grade level to discuss transition(grade 9), career exploration(grade 10), post-secondary planning (grade 11) and post-secondary planning/application process (grade 12). They have also met with students individually during the course selection process. Positive behavior interventions at the high school include student of month awards that are tied to the core values, a grade 9 -11 awards ceremony in June and use of the flex block for enrichment opportunities. The high school is also working on promoting the student voice. Mrs. Marchant and Mrs. Shankland reviewed how the Advisory works at the middle school level. It is a place for social-emotional learning opportunities that allow for an increase of empathy, inclusiveness and community in small group sessions with the goal that all students are known well at school by at least one adult and is part of a peer group. Another resource is Facing History and Ourselves. Themes covered this year using Facing History: identify and community; contracting for a safe space; identify and examining labels; identify group membership (we &they); identify and choices. Other uses of Advisory time include discussion and reflection on relevant topics (goal setting, building- based, community, adolescent development and needs), Challenge Day follow-up and preparation for important events. Students and staff are surveyed, by grade level, midyear for feedback about needs. These results are used to guide future Advisory topics some of which are reducing stress and anxiety, building empathy, building connections/teamwork and transitions to high school or the next grade. Summer work at the middle schools includes the determination of differentiated themes/goals by grade level, refine and develop resources for Facing History and to build theme-based"tool kits"with additional resources for items such as anti- bullying, team building,problem solving, stress reduction and goal setting. Mr. Bakr addressed building the capacity of staff/closing the achievement gap at the high school. In addressing the keys to literacy 39 teachers across 4 departments have been trained in ways to make complex literacy skills accessible to a variety of learners with an emphasis on note taking and summarizing. They are also using Engaging Schools for differentiated instruction, maintaining rigor and not leaving students behind. Building the capacity of staff examples include the use of instructional rounds which are small group activities allowing teachers to observe each other and share feedback and using the 5 steps of inquiry in data informed practices. Using data to look at connections between district work, level work, and classroom practices and data teams to analyze data. None of this work would be possible without Page 1 8 Courtney Fogarty's work. As part of the Facing History program, staff attended training by the Anti-Defamation League on Anti-Bias, several staff members have completed the level 4 certificate in the Lesley University Impact of Trauma on Learning and several others are at different stages of the course. Mrs. Wilson reviewed the work done in the Bridge Program at the Parker Middle School. The program is being reviewed by staff from the Center for Reading and Educational Achievement. The program review being conducted includes 2 days of observations of small group and inclusion instruction, feedback from staff from surveys and meetings and feedback from parent surveys. This data will be collected and a written report will be shared with the district. The report will also be shared with parents, staff, administration to determine the next steps. The observation portion of the review is complete and the next step will be to survey the parents and staff. PreK—5 School Improvement Mrs. Ippolito reviewed what the 5 elementary schools have in common which includes AMC math and Writer's Workshop, focusing on Goals A, B, D &E and data driven goals and interventions. Barrows principal Heather Leonard shared information on Barrows work in closing the Achievement Gap (Focus Area A) and Barrows School Improvement Plan-Goal#1 (meeting the academic needs of all students). Mrs. Leonard shared the Data Meeting structure used at Barrows. Full data meetings occur every 6—8 weeks utilizing grade level or schoolwide data to examine curriculum and instructional practices with an ongoing focus on Tier 1 needs. These meetings utilize curriculum-based measures, common assessment measures, district screeners, and state assessment. Mini-Data meetings also occur every 6- 8 weeks and focus on intervention and WIN blocks. The meeting is used to review students currently receiving Tier 2 and 3 supports (with specific focus on math, reading and SEL), review of data&progress to determine appropriate groupings, progress, and intervention curriculum/methods, make changes to Tier 2 groupings and identify new students that may need Tier 2 or 3 supports. Birch Meadow principal Julia Hendrix shared that as one of Birch Meadow's goals is closing the achievement gap in the area of literacy. One of Birch Meadow's School Improvement Plan goals is to have 80% of students who are two or more levels below the Month Two Fountas &Pinnell benchmark in October will be one level below in June of 2018. The school Literacy team attended professional development workshops focused on literacy and are now providing school based professional development for their colleagues. Birch Meadow has increased reading data collection, are using running records and the Data Team reviews on a 7-week cycle. Killam principal Sarah Leveque shared Killam's work in regard to closing the achievement gap addressing their school improvement goal#2—making data- informed decisions that increase differentiated lessons during intervention blocks and which are used to determine general education tutor support in the areas of mathematics and literacy. Intervention blocks will meet at least 1 time a week and progress will be measured through direct teacher observations during the intervention blocks. Killam has a block schedule that allows grade levels to have Page 1 9 common content time. As part of this schedule, an entire grade level has a 60- minute intervention block which is supported by at least one general education tutor. Grade level teams meet every 6 weeks to review data. From there, interventions are reviewed and the next focus is decided. The interventions must be directly tied to the needs that are determined through an assessment and targeted instruction is identified. Interventions are planned and prepared during meetings. Wood End principal Joanne King shared how Wood End was approaching the District Improvement Goal to improve literacy skills for all students. Wood End's School Improvement goal #2 is to improve literacy instruction for all students by providing teachers with time and training,timely supervision and coaching, evidenced based Tier 2 student interventions, grade level progressions, clear expectations and pacing chart. March Madness Observations - as part of the school improvement plan, the School Council is providing teaching staff an opportunity to observe another classroom. This is their opportunity to see some of the amazing teaching and learning that goes on at Wood End. Wood End is seeking volunteers to help provide coverage to allow teachers to observe another classroom. The teachers are very excited about this opportunity. RISE Preschool Director Kelley Bostwick shared what our youngest learners have been doing to close the achievement gap. Preschool is the foundation for the school district. The RISE version of Writer's Workshop uses talking, drawing and writing. They use"handwriting without Tears"to develop writing skills and story-telling—drawing pictures to match the story and journal writing with adult support. Ms. Bostwick shared student work from the beginning of the year to present to show the progress the students have made. The committee asked follow-up questions. Chair Robinson thanked all for attending and called a brief recess at 10:18 p.m. The meeting was called back to order at 10:30 p.m. C. Consent Agenda Mrs. Webb asked if the committee wanted any items removed from the consent agenda. There were none. Consent A eg nda Approve RMHS Robotics Field Trip Accept a Donation from the Reading Education Foundation Accept a Donation to the Birch Meadow School Accept a Donation to RMHS Softball Approval of Minutes (February 26, 2018) Mrs. Webb moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski, to approve the consent agenda. The motion carried 6-0. D. Reports Page 1 10 Assistant Superintendent Mr. Martin reminded the community of the upcoming Institute Day and presentation by David Walsh. Mr. Martin responded to an email sent by Rebecca Liberman regarding the math presentation, math curriculum documents and the math pathways. Mr. Martin shared that, in general, the district has focused initially on K—5 documents in reading, writing and mathematics in order to achieve greater consistency among our elementary schools and also because these grade levels and content areas provide the foundation for student success in subsequent grade levels. Reading and writing documents are available on the district website; and while not published the math documents, math curriculum documents were distributed to all K—5 staff this year. He went on to review the math pathways and pointed out that it is important that the pathways and curriculum align with the state frameworks. Mr. Martin wanted to thank the staff for their work on the curriculum documents. Liaison Mr. Boivin thanked Mr. Martin for his service. Superintendent Superintendent Doherty updated the committee on the high school principal search which has been suspended for the time being. The finalist withdrew from the search because she felt her skill set was a better fit for another district. She also pointed out the uncertainty in the community(override) as a determining factor. Dr. Doherty will wait a few weeks before opening up the search and is also exploring the possibility of hiring of an interim principal. He next updated the committee on the Assistant Superintendent search. He thanked the screening committee and said that interviews were held today. There were 30 applicants of which 9 were interviewed. The screening committee will recommend prefinalists who will meet with the Superintendent. Following-these meetings, the Superintendent will move a group of finalists ahead. There will be open microphone sessions and site visits next week and he hopes to make his recommendation next Wednesday. Superintendent Doherty shared some student achievements including several middle and high school students won Scholastic Art Awards,the RMHS Jazz Band won a gold medal at a recent competition qualifying to play on Mother's Day at the Berklee Performing Arts Center. The RMHS Robotics team participated in a regional competition at RMHS and captured the Entrepreneurship Award. Several staff members recently completed 4 sections of the Lesley College Trauma Course. ALICE drills continue to happen in our buildings. Page 1 11 The student led walk-out was postponed due to snow. Coolidge and Parker held assemblies and the high school walked out on Friday March 16th. All the events were student driven and student led. III. Routine Matters a. Bills and Payroll (A) Warrant S1835 3.01.18 $53,045.97 Warrant S 1836 3.08.18 $448,124.34 Warrant 51837 3.15.18 $88,949.51 Warrant P1818 3.09.18 $1,518,113.99 b. Calendar IV.Information/Correspondence V. Future Business VI.Adjournment Adjourn Mrs. Webb moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski, adjourn. The motion carried 6-0. The meeting adjourned at 10:47 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, Ed.D. Su e intendent of Schools Page 1 12