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Home My WebLink About2019-05-09 School Committee Minutes r Town of Reading i Meeting Minutes RECEIVED F, TOWN CLERK READING, A7 IMCOP� Board - committee - commission - council: 2019 JUN 17 PM 2: 18 School Committee Date: 2019-05-09 Time: 7:00 PM Building: School - Memorial High Location: School Library Address: 62 Oakland Road Session: Open Session Purpose: Open Session Version: Final Attendees: Members - Present: Chuck Robinson (arrived @ 7:02 p.m.), Linda Snow Dockser, Elaine Webb, Jeanne Borawski, Tom Wise (arrived @ 7:02 p.m.) and John Parks Members - Not Present: Others Present: Chief Financial Officer Gail Dowd, Assistant Superintendent Christine Kelley, Interim Director of Student Services Sharon Stewart, RMHS Principal Kate Boynton, RMHS Athletic Director Tom Zaya, Al Sylvia, Daily Times Reporter Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Linda Engelson on behalf of the Chair Topics of Discussion: 1. Call to Order Chair Webb called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. A. Public Hearing on School Choice She opened the public hearing on School Choice. Mr. Robinson and Mr. Wise arrived at 7:02 p.m. Dr. Doherty shared that the School Committee must vote annually to opt out of school choice. He went on to review district enrollment and recommended that the committee vote to opt out of school choice. Dr. Snow Dockser moved seconded by Mr. Robinson,pursuant to the provisions of G L c 76 & 12B that the School Committee of Readine,following a public hearing hereby withdraws from its obligation to enroll non-resident students in Reading Public Schools during the 2018-2019 school year for the following reason: General District Enrollment. The motion carried 6-0. B. Public Input Gage I i Rebecca Liberman, 50 Pratt St., asked that precalculus at the high school not be eliminated until curriculum maps are created. She would also like to see access to Algebra 1 be reinstated. Alex Becker, incoming kindergarten parent, expressed concerns over the extended day process and asked if there are plans to expand the program in the future. Assistant Superintendent Kelley said that she is working with the Extended Day staff to address the concerns and looking at options for expanding the program. C. Consent Agenda Mrs. Webb asked if the committee wanted any items removed from the consent agenda. There were none. - Accept a Donation to the RMHS Science Club - Accept a Donation from the RMHS BPO &VOICE - Accept a Donation from Samantha's Harvest - Accept a Donation from RMHS PSST - Accept a Donation from The Friends of Reading High School Baseball, Inc. - Accept a Donation from the RMHS PTO - Approval of Minutes (April 11, 2019) Dr. Snow Dockser moved seconded by Mr. Robinson, to approve the consent agenda. The motion carried 6-0. D. Reports Liaisons Mrs. Borawski reminded the community of the upcoming Reading 375 celebration. She thanked members of the Reading 375 group for attending tonight's meeting. Mrs. Borawski reviewed the 2-week calendar of events (attached) culminating in the Annual Friends and Family Day on June 15`x. Mrs. Borawski asked the committee to spread the word. Mr. Robinson reported on the recent Recreation Committee meeting and shared that the Committee has a couple of openings and encouraged those interested to apply. Student Student Representative Maura Dmmmey reported on the following high school events: the annual spring band and choral concerts, the spring Drama Club production of"Don't Touch That Dial", spring sports are in full swing, AP testing and MCAS is ongoing, students attended a presentation by a Holocaust survivor and the seniors have 5 school days remaining. Interim Director of Student Services Page 1 2 Mrs. Stewart reported that we had 42 Special Olympians attend the annual School Day Games in Malden today. Reading was the second largest contingent. She thanked Tara Herlihy for once again spearheading the event. She also thanked all those that contributed behind the scenes. Our Olympians were welcomed back to Town with a police escort and greeted by their classmates when the returned to school. Mrs. Stewart also shared that Director of Student Services Jennifer Stys has completed her Doctorate program and is officially Dr. Stys. Dr. Stys has begun her transition. Old Business NEASC/Late Start Update RMHS Principal Kate Boynton presented information from the NEASC Executive Summary. The RMHS Self-Study took place between 2016-2018 and the Collaborative Conference visit by NEASC was held in November of 2018. Priority areas were identified by the Self-Study process and NEASC team. She reviewed the commendations and priority areas and recommendations from NEASC. Lastly, she reviewed the next steps in the process including alignment of the School Improvement Plan with the priority areas and recommendations. The next visit will be in December of 2020. Late Start Update Mrs. Boynton reviewed the work done since the last update. The Late Start group is working on the logistical part of the transition and the HW and Activities Working Group will hold its final meeting on May 151h. E. New Business Last Day of School Dr. Doherty said that students must attend school for 180 days. This year we used one snow day making the 180" day June 17" and recommended the School Committee vote that date as the last day of school. Dr. Snow Docleser moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski,to approve the recommendation that June 17,2019 be the last day of school. The motion carried 6-0. Superintendent's Evaluation Process Dr. Doherty started by saying that this process is an evaluation of district work as well as the Superintendent. He provided an overview of the Superintendent's Evaluation process and timeline. Dr. Doherty shared that the DESE is updating the evaluation toot and the basis of the process is for continuous growth and improvement. He reviewed the District Goal for 2016-19 school years and the focus areas related to the goal. He next reviewed the professional development activities aligned with the District Improvement Plan. The Superintendent Page 1 3 reviewed the action steps as related to the five focus areas. Lastly, the Superintendent provided an end-of-year update on his goals. Mrs. Borawski will once again be compiling the final composite document. Members of the committee were asked to have their final individual summative evaluations to her by June 7h. The School Committee will discuss and approve the Summative Evaluation Report at the June 27s meeting. Lauren Bennett asked if there were any plans to use a research-based monitoring tool in addition to the Fountas and Pinnell tool already in use for students in the Bridge Program. II. Routine Matters a. Bills and Payroll (A) Warrant 51942 4.18.19 $239,103.74 Warrant S1943 4.25.19 $99,781.04 Warrant S1944 5.07.19 $450,041.40 Warrant S1945 5.09.19 $77,447.90 Warrant P1921 4.19.19 $1,632,079.27 Warrant P 1922 5.03.19 $1,574,658.27 b. Calendar III. Information/Corresoondence IV. Future Business V. Adjournment Adjourn Mr. Parks moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski, to adjourn. The motion carried 6-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:45 p.m. NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the meeting. Link to meeting video: In ://www. outube.com/watch?v=s3zW A9C 5M&feature= outu.be Jo . Doherty, .D. Page 1 4