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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-04-23 School Committee Minutes rA Town of Reading r Meeting Minutes ` Board - Committee - commission - council: cui] tA1 26 o?+ 1: 33 School Committee Date: 2020-04-23 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Location: Address: Session: Open Session Purpose: Open Session Version: Final Attendees: Members - Present: Chuck Robinson, John Parks, Tom Wise, Erin Gaffen, Carla Nazzaro and Shawn Brandt Members - Not Present: Others Present: Superintendent John Doherty, Assistant Superintendent Chris Kelley, CFO Gail Dowd, Director of Student Services Jennifer Stys, Human Resources Administrator Jenn Allard and Student Representative Maura Drummey Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Linda Engelson on behalf of the Chair Topics of Discussion: 1. Call to Order Chair Robinson opened the meeting and announced the School Committee was meeting in a virtual setting, fully remote via Microsoft Teams, practicing social distancing and in accordance with the Governor's suspension of certain open meeting laws. The meeting was being recorded and broadcast live on RCTV. The Chair called attendance: Mr. Parks-here Dr. Doherty-here Mr. Wise-here Mrs. Kelley-here Mrs.Nazzaro-here Mrs. Dowd-here Mrs.Gaffen-here Dr. Stys-here Mr. Brandt-here Mrs. Allard-here Mr. Robinson-here A. Public Hearing on School Choice Chair Robinson opened the public hearing on school choice. 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. Page 1 1 Mr. Robinson closed the public hearing at 7:08 p.m. Mr. Wise moved seconded by Mr.Brandt pursuant to the provisions of G L c 76 & 12B that the School Committee of Reading, following a public hearing hereby withdraws from its obligation to enroll non-resident students in Reading Public Schools during the 2020-2021 school year for the following reason: General District Enrollment. The roll call vote carried 6-0. Mr. Parks Mr.Wise Mrs.Nazzaro Mrs.Gaffen,Mr. Brandt and Mr.Robinson. B. Public Input Mr. Robinson explained that public comment would be held at the end of the meeting allowing the public time to email questions to dgschoolcommittee@readine.kl2.ma.us C. Consent Agenda None D. Reports Student Representative Student Representative Maura Drummey reported on remote learning for this week. The work has been manageable. Senior activity planning is picking up. Senior shirts will be distributed to seniors in a safe way,the drama and choral groups are putting together presentations to be live streamed. Director of Student Services Dr. Stys reported that"continuation of learning plans"are still being distributed. There has been instructional support meeting time,which we are calling office hours(State language). There is a parent training planned—What an IEP will looks like—via Microsoft Teams. In the coming weeks we will offer a parent training on IEPs remotely. The district is also holding 504 and IEP meetings remotely. Look for a community mental health website with resources and emergency protocols. Assistant Suoerintendent Mrs. Kelley said there is now a professional development website for staff with links to PD and webinars for remote learning. Her team has worked closely with the special education team,technology integration specialists and technicians on the integration of technology. Mr. Parks asked if we were looking at other solutions for remote learning. Mrs. Kelley said we are looking at many other tools to support us in our work. Superintendent The Superintendent said schools and daycares will be closed until June 29"'. Even though we knew this was coming there is still sadness and our hearts go out to the Class of 2020. We are working on graduation plans. It is a difficult situation for all especially for our students and staff not being able to make final connections. Page 12 He went on to say we are awaiting guidance for the next phase of remote learning. Dr. Doherty reviewed the Incident Command Structure with the Town describing it as a complex operation. He applauded all the staff that have been coming to work or taking on additional roles. Mrs.Nazzaro asked if a plan for getting seniors together as a group can be kept on the table. She followed up by asking that a video presence at each grade level could be included in the next RTA MOU. Mr. Robinson asked if there is a plan in place to allow students/teachers back into the buildings. Dr. Doherty said he is waiting for guidance from the Governor,everything is closed until May 4"'. Mr. Parks would like to see some kind of graduation ceremony and prom. He followed up asking who represents the district in the RTA MOU process. Dr. Doherty said that the central office and district leadership teams have discussions on items to include and those are presented to the RTA. Liaisons Mrs. Gaffen reported on the SEPAC videoconference with Dr. Stys and Ms.Wright. The SEPAC delivered feedback from parents which was mostly positive. Mr. Brandt reported that the HR Ad Hoc Committee was due to sunset, but was extended until December by the Select Board. E. New Business Student Oonortunity Act(SOA) Dr. Doherty explained that this plan is part of the Ch. 70 funding approved a few months ago. He is not sure if the funding will be allocated with the current situation. The SOA has been shared with the DLT and SEPAC for their feedback. He went on to review the 4 student opportunity commitments; l.) Focusing on student subgroups;2.)Using resources and evidence-based programs to close gaps; 3.) Monitoring success with outcome metrics and targets; 4.) Engaging all families. It is recommended that districts do a few things well and focus on the implementation piece. There are 17 high quality programs. We have chosen 7 programs to focus on. Dr. Doherty reviewed the 7 program categories that we will be addressed in this application. Commitment 1 —Focusing on Student Subgroups. Commitment 2—Using Evidence Based Programs to Close Gaps. - Evidence Based Program I - Supporting educators to implement high-quality,aligned curriculum. - Evidence Based 2—Research based early literacy programs in prekindergarten and early elementary grades Mr. Robinson asked if we would receive guidance from the state when they come down the road with new programs. Dr. Doherty said the SOA will be aligned with the DESE goals and objectives as well as the District Improvement Plan. Page 1 3 Dr. Doherty reviewed the budgetary impact for evidence based programs I & 2. - Evidence Program 3 —Diversifying the educator/administrator workforce through recruitment and retention. Dr. Doherty reviewed the budgetary impact. Mr. Brandt asked what activities and initiatives would be used for recruitment and retention. Mrs. Allard responded by saying that we have begun on some of the initiatives including exploring different platforms forjob postings. The HR Department services 900 employees. She is supported by a Payroll Assistant. This position would allow her to become more active in the hiring process and work more closely with Mrs. Kelley on the mentor and induction programs. Mr. Robinson read an email from Marianne Downing regarding the proposed position: "Good evening, Can the Superintendent please explain why we need a NEW HR assistant position to allow our HR director to focus more on recruiting diverse staff? Why isn't our HR director already empowered and required to do that anyway and why does is require an additional assistant to be able to do this? And as for having her focus on 'retaining" diverse staff, do we have many diverse staff to retain? DESS says our teaching staff is 98% white,for example. l fully support and encourage hiring diverse staff, ]just am puzzled why this is not already part of our processes and why we need a new assistant to enable this to happen, especially in tight budgetary times. Thanks, Marianne Dawning 13 Heather Drive" Dr. Doherty said that this position is part of the budget as part HR and part payroll. DESE has identified this as an area of the SOA process. Mrs. Gaffen thanked Mrs.Allard for providing insight to the challenges she faces in her position. Evidence Based Program 4—Facilities improvements to create healthy and safe school environments. Dr. Doherty reviewed the budgetary impact. He went on to remind the committee that a lot has happened at the state and local level since March l3a'. Dr. Doherty reviewed the future evidence based programs included in the SOA which would be in year 2 and beyond. - Future Evidence Based Program 5 —Expanded access to full-day kindergarten - Future Evidence Based Program 6—Increased staffing to expand student access to arts,computer science,enrichment,strategic scheduling to enable common planning time for teachers. - Future Evidence Based Program 7—Increased personnel and services to support holistic student needs. Page 1 4 Dr. Doherty reviewed the budgetary impact. The committee asked clarifying questions. Commitment 3—Outcome Metrics DESE has a list of outcomes from which districts can customize. The committee asked clarifying questions. Commitment 4—Engaging all families Dr. Doherty said the first three areas are in the budget,the future items would require additional funds. They are a vision of where we want to go to provide opportunities for students. Superintendent Evaluation Process Dr. Doherty walked through the 5-step evaluation process. He will provide a large amount of evidence to support the process. Committee members will submit draft copies of the summative evaluation to the Chair and the Superintendent. Dr. Doherty reviewed the timeline. The Superintendent reviewed the rubric and the evaluation forth. The committee discussed the timeline and process. They asked if they could have access to feedback from principals, peers, etc. Calendar Chair Robinson said the meeting calendar has been updated and is included in the packet. Mr. Brandt asked for a substantive update on remote learning. Dr. Doherty said the updates will be part of the administrator's reports when the MOA is completed. Mrs. Gaffen would like the social media policy on the agenda sooner than later. F. Public Comment—emails received during meetine None received 1. Routine Matters a. Bills and Payroll (A) b. Calendar 2. Information/Correspondence 3. Future Business Mr. Robinson said the next meeting will be on April 30th. Page 1 5 4. Adjournment Adjou n Mr.Wise moved,seconded by Mrs.Nazzaro,to adjourn. The roll call vote carried 6-0. Mr.Parks,Mr.Wise,Mn. Nazzaro,Mrs. Gaffen,Mr.Brandt and Mr. Robinson. The meeting adjourned at 9:05 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: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8OUYBLCOcw "14— JIF.F. Dorerly, A.D. Page 1 6