Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-11-05 School Committee Minutes FR Town of Reading Meeting Minutes 06^r"J I cD F r! I F U M A. Board - committee - commission - Council: PM 12: 29 School Committee Date: 2020-11-05 Time: 6:00 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 Jen Stys 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. Robinson Dr. Doherty—here Mr. Parks—affived during Mrs. Dowd—here executive session Mr. Wise—here Mrs, Kelley -here Mrs.Nazzaro—here Dr. Stys—here Mrs. Gaffen- here Mr. Brandt—here Mr. Robinson called open session order at 6:00 p.m.and reviewed the agenda. Mr.Wise moved seconded by Mr. Brandt,to enter into executive session to discuss strategy with respect to collective bamainine and non-represented Personnel and the approval of minutes and to return to open session at approximately 7:00 p.m. The roll call vote carried 5-0. Mr.Robinson,Mrs.Gaffen,Mrs.Nazzaro,and Mr. Wise,Mr.Brandt. The open session meeting recessed at 6:01 p.m. Chair Robinson called the open session back to order at 7:16 p.m. Page I 1 A. Public Input Mr. Robinson explained that for public comment,please use the live chat feature on the Microsoft Teams link which will be posted on the Superintendent's Blog and sent out via Connect Ed prior to the meeting. In lieu of the live chat,you may send an email in advance of the meeting to schoolcommitteegreading k 12.ma.us This email will be included in the next packet. B. Old Business Elementary Space Refresher Dr. Doherty shared that members of the Permanent Building Committee were watching and would relay any questions through Joe Huggins. He added that this is a refresher for the Elementary Space Planning Study that was initially presented about a year ago. Chair Robinson turned the meeting over to Dale Gienapp of Gienapp Architects. He reviewed his agenda. He reviewed the factors when creating a long-term plan. He reviewed the enrollment projections which show a modest increase. The data was gathered by NESDEC and said the numbers are affected by the COVID pandemic. He said the decreases are typical to our comparable communities. The most growth is in the Killam and Birch Meadow districts. Mr. Gienapp went onto discuss the MSBA space standards which are 160 sf/student. We fall about 23 sf/student below that in all buildings except Wood End. With the increase in enrollment and programmatic needs of the district,our schools need to be 30-40%bigger. Mr. Gienapp reviewed the building restraints of the five elementary schools. There are limitations in the current districts, cycle of renovations/needs and awareness of middle school districting. It is not practical to expand at Joshua Eaton and Barrows. It would be difficult to expand at Wood End and redistricting is not a viable solution. He reviewed the assumptions and constraints used when developing a long term solution which include modular classrooms are not a long term solution, PreK at the high school is not advantageous, interest in down-sizing to four sites, redistricting is acceptable, all graphics are representative areas not design options and all estimates are based on approximate square foot cost. Construction options were discussed. Scheme A calls for the construction of a 725 student school on the Killam site and Scheme B calls for the construction of a 660 student school on the Killam site and an addition to Birch Meadow. He discussed pros and cons of other options and the conclusion is that we need approximately 35%more elementary school space, only two sites are viable for expansion,a single large school will tax the Killam site and the two-site solution will be more expensive. Lastly,the next steps were reviewed including the MSBA process. An option would have to be selected and a letter of intent filed with MSBA. The whole process from the document preparation to completed construction would take approximately 4 years. Mr. Robinson asked if the 35%deficiency in space includes the modular. The answer was no, modular classrooms are not a long-term planning solution. The committee followed up with MSBA funding questions. The Town Meeting would have to approve the request for funding at which point the letter of intent would be filed. We would have to commit to the design and construction costs. MSBA would provide a proposed reimbursement rate. Page 1 2 Mr. Wise read a question from Marianne Downing: "7 have a question about whether it is appropriate or typical to retroactively apply current building space standards of MSBA to ALL school buildings in a community as part of this. If a district is building one new building, why are they required to make all existing school buildings compliant with current modern school space standards, especially if the existing buildings otherwise are sufficient to hold the student population. to clarify, my question is, I understand that new construction must meet msba standards. But, as part of getting msba money, are we also required to make other schools (i.e., those we are not renovating or rebuilding)also compliant with the new space standards. Doing that seems to add extra cost and complexity to the proposals, especially if it is not legally required to ah for buildings that we are not renovating. " Mr. Gienapp said we are not required to address other buildings. Dr. Doherty relayed a question from Pat Tomkins of the PBC who asked what the approximate costs would be. $250,000—$350,000 for the schematic design. Discussion continued around the cost. Dr. Doherty shared that he feels MSBA reimbursement rate would be around 45—53%because of our community type. Chair Robinson thanked Mr. Gienapp for sharing the information tonight. C. New Business High School Volunteer Program Mrs. Boynton said that she has been given the green light to use community volunteers to cover the satellite classrooms. She is working with Mrs.Nazzaro(as a parent)to recruit volunteers from the community. The volunteers would have to be Cori checked and fingerprinted and would receive training. They would also sign a confidentiality agreement. Mrs.Nazzaro added that it is the hope to have volunteers lined up to allow the high school to go to the full hybrid model at the end of November. Phase 2 would begin after the winter break. She will roll out the sign-up genius tonight and would love to see people sign up for multiple days. Requirements are you must be 18 years of age and you do not have to be a high school parent. High school parents would not be placed in their child's classroom. D. Old Business District and Superintendent's Goals Introduction Dr. Doherty shared the draft plan with the committee. He said this plan has also been shared with the District Leadership Team. He reviewed the strategy behind the development of the plan with Year I focused on hybrid learning and any initiatives that we were already working on pre COVID-19. In Year 2 & 3 we will build on Year 1 and continue work on curriculum, instruction, equity,capital and safety. Dr. Doherty highlighted the Strategic Initiatives for Strategic Objective A which include the development and implementation of the fall reopening plan, strengthening remote learning, identifying assessments for both in person and remote Teaming,continue NEASC work and develop a Vison of the Graduate. The highlights for Strategic Objective B include continued implementation of a five year curriculum overview and examination cycle in all curriculum areas,develop and implement a five-year special Page 13 education program review cycle, develop entry and exit criteria for students entering district special education programs as appropriate, completion of curriculum guides, implement Universal Design for Learning, select and implement a high quality universal screening assessment for K-5 students,develop and implement an early literacy screener and develop and implement a plan to improve early literacy skills. Strategic Initiatives for Strategic Outcome C include conducting an equity audit of the school district and develop an action plan based on information, use the DESS Safe and Supportive Schools Framework Tool to assess effectiveness of schools,provide professional development in SEL,trauma,equity and diversity,develop student programs that focus on equity and diversity, revise middle and high school handbooks to reflect updated policies and equity practices, develop and implement a plan to recruit, select,and retain a diverse workforce,develop a leadership academy for aspiring school leaders, work with public safety to review efficiency and implementation of all safety drills, continue elementary space needs and enrollment study and prepare recommendations to the School Committee and community for approval and work with the Town Manager to continue to develop a school capital plan that focuses on health and safety issues. Dr. Doherty reviewed the interim and final outcomes and moved on to the Superintendents Goals. The goals mirror some pieces of the strategic objectives. There are 2 new goals, I current and I revised. Goal I aligns with Strategic Objective C—to develop and implement a talent diversification and development strategy. Goal 2 aligns with Strategic Objective B—to improve our literacy evaluation process, enhance our reading instructional strategies,and structure our progress monitoring more effectively for students who are struggling readers. He thanked Dr. Stys for her assistance in developing this goal. Goal 3 aligns with Strategic Objective A—to develop and receive approval of a district vision which will be used as a vision statement for the RPS and for the NEASC Accreditation Process. Goal 4 aligns with Strategic Objective C—to continue to build and implement an infrastructure and a set of policies and procedures that will support the physical and psychological safety of our staff and students. The Superintendent will meet with the individual school committee members to review the plan,the plan is being reviewed by district administrators and directors,community members can sign up for an office hour to provide input and finally the school committee will vote on the plan at their meeting on November 10. Mr. Parks asked if an exit plan should be added to the DIP and followed up if the strategy for attracting candidates of color is an attainable goal. Dr. Doherty said the goal is for all staff. Mr. Wise read a question from Marianne Downing: "I have a question not in my fincom hat. 1 think the goal of shooting for 20% of teacher interviewees being people of color is very admirable. However,per DESE, in the teacher population, only ll$%of the teacher population is nonwhite. how can you ensure 20% of interviewees are people of color when the pool of interviewees is 89% white? That is, what steps are you going to take to get this many applicants of color, especially if there are not that many in the pool?" Dr. Doherty said we will rely on the DESE document to develop a culture to be able to attract candidates of color as part of year 1. Mr. Wise asked if goal I would be more achievable if we step up the percentages from a lower starting point(5%)and in smaller increments(2.5%). Additionally,he liked the Page 14 specificity in the document and asked if the principals feel these goals are achievable. Dr. Doherty said the School Improvement Plans will use similar wording. Reopening Plan Update Dr. Doherty updated the committee on COVID in the district specifically, Birch Meadow and the high school, and it was communicated to the community over the weekend. We have cancelled all extra-curricular and athletic activities until November 13". He commended our nursing staff on doing an outstandingjob. He thanked Principal Hendrix for putting together a staffing plan to allow us to keep Birch Meadow open during the quarantine of several staff members. Mrs. Kelley has been at Birch Meadow as the administrator and a member of the Extended Day staff is acting as secretary. Two paraeducators from other schools have been shifted to Birch Meadow for support. Mr. Parks asked if all athletic and extra-curricular activities are cancelled and we do not sanction any"captains"practices. Dr. Doherty said that is correct. Dr. Doherty reviewed the timeline and staffing needs. Grades 4&5 will return to a full hybrid the week of November I6C'. He thanked the teachers for working incredibly hard and the parents for their flexibility and patience. He thanked the principals for all the interviews they did to staff our elementary schools. Dr. Doherty announced that he has hired a Human Resources Administrator who will be starting the first week in December. Second Reading and Approval of Policy JLCB—Immunization of Students Mr.Wise moved seconded by Mr. Parks to remove Policy JLCB- Immunization of Students from the table and accept the second readine and approval. Dr. Doherty said that the verbiage has been changed to reflect the law. He has also included a document in the packet with the required vaccines for the committee's information. Discussion about the note at the bottom of the policy continued. It was agreed to keep it in the policy. The roll call vote carried 6—0.Mr. Parks,Mn. Gaffen,Mrs.Nazzaro,Mr.Wise, Mr. Brandt and Mr.Robinson Second Reading and Approval of Policy AC—Non-Discrimination and Harassment Mr.Wise moved,seconded by Mrs.Gaffen to remove Policy AC— Nondiscrimination and Harassment from the table and accept the second readine and approval. Dr. Doherty consulted Attorney Joyce regarding the use of sex and gender. The two words are interchangeable. The roll call vote carried 6-0. Mr.Parks,Mrs.Gaffen,Mrs.Nazzaro,Mr.Wise,Mr. Brandt and Mr.Robinson. Political Ideology Page 1 5 Dr. Doherty consulted with Attorney Brunt who felt that Policy 31 was an appropriate place. We will come to the committee with a draft at an upcoming meeting. E. Consent Agenda - Approval of Minutes(10.29.20& 11.2.20) Mr.Wise moved seconded by Mrs.Nazzaro,to approve the consent agenda. The motion carried 6-0. Mr.Parks Mrs.Gagen,Mrs.Nazzaro,Mr.Wise,Mr. Brandt and Mr. Robinson F. Reports Director of Student Services No report Assistant Suoerintendent No report Chief Financial Officer No report Superintendent Dr. Doherty reported that our email system has been down and did not want the community to think their emails were being ignored. Liaison Mr. Wise reported on the Finance Committee meeting at which capital and how to use it was discussed. Dr. Doherty,Mrs. Dowd and Mr. Huggins also were in attendance. G. Public Comment None 1. Routine Matters a. Bills and Payroll(A) Warrant 52117 10.22.20 $5,343.25 Warrant 52118 10.29.20 $283,772.72 b. Calendar 2. Information/Correspondence 3. Future Business 4. Adiournmen[ Page 1 6 Adioum Mr.Parks moved,seconded by Mrs. Gaffen,to adjourn. The roll call vote carried 6-0. Mr.Parks,Mrs. Gaffen,Mrs.Nazzaro,Mr. Wise,Mr.Brandt and Mr. Robinson. The meeting adjourned at 9:41 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.voutube.com/watch?v=DyxEzaaUlwY VA 1 n F.bohcrty, Ed.D. Page 1 7