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Meeting Minutes
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Board - Committee - Commission - Council:
School Committee
Date: 2020-12-17 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 Geffen, 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, Human Resourses Director
Kerry Meisinger, RMHS principal Kate Boynton, RMHS Guidance Director
Lynna Williams
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—here Dr. Doherty—here
Mr. Parks-here Mrs. Dowd—here
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 7:00 p.m. and reviewed the agenda.
A. Public Inuut
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
schoolcommitteeQaa reading.kl2.ma.us This email will be included in the next packet.
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B. Old Business
RMHS/Guidance Update and Student Handbook Review
RMHS Guidance Director Lynna Williams began her presentation on graduation data.
She said her department is getting away from a one size fits all for students regarding
post-secondary options. She said there are so many options for students including gap
year programs. Last year a Gap Year Fair was attended by over 200 students, the annual
College Fair was switched to a College and Career Fair but was postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The guidance webpage has been updated to include post high
school planning. We have partnered with the Northeast Voke and Ben Franklin Institute,
to experience options in the trades. The counselors are also providing social emotional
resources and support. Students that applied early action/early decision are starting to
hear from the schools. It is a stressful but exciting time for families.
The Guidance Department has had to be nimble during the pandemic regarding the
college admissions process. Changes were made to the SAT calendar with seniors taking
the exam in October and offering the exam to juniors in March. A virtual college
admissions panel was held in addition to the annual senior parent night. We have hosted
115 virtual college rep visits for seniors. The decile rank for seniors has been eliminated
due to Covid and feedback received from colleges over the last few years and we are on
track with our timeline for the college admission process.
She went on to review college admissions data for the Class of 2020. Mrs. Williams said
she was proud of the Class of 2020 saying they persevered and overcame the obstacles
they faced. The Class of 2021 is also showing the same resilience. Mrs. Williams
believes the post high school plans for our students were impacted by the pandemic with
more students opting for other options rather than a 2 or 4-year college. She also shared
that we had a high percentage of seniors opting for state schools.
Mrs. Williams shared information on SAT and AP testing. The AP test was done online
this past spring. The spring was a stressful time for our students, and some opted out of
taking the AP exams. Our scores were down but Mrs. Williams said she was not
surprised by this. She said our surrounding districts were seeing the same thing.
Committee members asked questions about college visitations, social emotional support
and SAT/ACT testing.
Mrs. Williams shared that a big part of what her department does is social emotional
support for our students. She feels the kids are all over the place and there are more
students and parents reaching out to the counselors. Some kids like being home and
others are having difficulty. Her department has concerns about students reacclimating to
full in person learning next year. She also feels more kids are struggling than she is
aware.
RMHS Student Handbook Update
Mrs. Boynton thanked Mrs. Williams for a nice job presenting the great work happening
in the Guidance Department.
She began by saying that she is committed to updating the student handbook looking at it
from an equity and social emotional lens. The School Council met in November and
December to discuss the first several sections of the handbook and unanimously agreed to
the changes that will be presented. The RMHS faculty also approved the changes.
Tonight, she will review the changes to the Academic section of the handbook. Changes
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were made to the bell schedule, graduation and promotion requirements, grading system
and associated honors,weighted GPA and changing"parent"to"parent/guardian" in
several sections.
• Bell Schedule—updated to include the new Friday schedule
• Graduation& Promotion Requirements—RMHS will now issue credits at the end
of the academic year, not at the end of the semester. Rationale—to streamline
the transcripts for college application; keeps students engaged in their classes
with the possibility of passing the year even if they have an off quarter;the
current transcript is confusing to colleges and also to DESE for state reporting
• Grading System and Associated Honors—Beginning with the Class of 2022—
keep A+on the transcript but weight A and A+the same(consistent with UMass
GPA formula); remove F-as a grade. Rationale—this adjustment results in a
more accurate GPA
• Weighted GPA—stop calculating and communicating decile and class rank.
Rationale—class rank and decile produce unnecessary stress;not calculating and
communicating rank or decile has proven to be a benefit for students in the
college admissions process; RMHS will transition to using the UMASS GPA
calculation formula. Rationale—our current GPA formula is confusing; colleges
do their own GPA calculations and the current GPA formula is discriminatory
towards students in the lower level classes by taking .3 points away.
Mrs. Nazzaro asked for clarification on the UMass GPA calculation. Mrs. Williams said
that all colleges use their own formulas and we have a high number of students that apply
to UMass. Many colleges use a similar formula.
Mr. Wise thanked Mrs. Boynton for following through. Mrs. Boynton said rich
discussions were held. He is concerned at not rewarding excellence and asked if there
was unanimous School Council consent to the changes. Mrs. Boynton said there was.
Mr. Parks asked how many colleges calculate their own GPA. Mrs. Williams said many
of them do recalculate GPAs.
Mr. Wise read a comment from the live chat from Geoffrey Coram, Ridge Road:
"Isn't it early to say "Not calculating and communicating rank or decile has proven to be
a benefit for students in the college admissions process"(per the overview) since only
early-admission results are known now?Has it been a significant benefit, orjust there
doesn't appear to be a significant detriment?"
Mrs. Williams responded by saying that we need to figure out what is important with
emphasis on social emotional learning and finding other ways to celebrate academic
excellence.
"How does a college in a different state know if a student's GPA is good versus all
students at RMHS get straight A's, if no decile information is provided?I understand that
UMass probably sees enough applications to know how a students GPA stacks up."
Mrs. Williams said the School Profile,which is included with all transcripts, shows the
distribution of GPA.
Mr. Wise read a comment from the live chat from Marianne Downing, Heather Drive:
"Hi there school committee and Kate. I am trying to follow this listing because at the
school council, we definitely had very significant rich discussions on the changes, but I
do not recall taking a vote. I thought it was still being discussed and nor yet being finally
presented? We heard the faculty voted on this, and we were all hearing about proposed
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.changes to be put into into the draft, but I think we were not aware it was the final draft
goingfor approval? That is, Icannot recall there being a vote by the school council for
this to go into final draft for the SC.I thought this was still all a work in progress. Can
you clarify'
Is it possible to table this approval now so that the school council can take a formal vote
new month? just so that we can be sure the minutes reflect an official vote to be taken,
etc. "
Mrs. Boynton asked the School Council if they were okay with the changes.
Mr. Wise read a comment from the live chat from RMHS teacher Michelle Hopkinson:
'I am on the council that discussed the changes in GPA and agreed to the changes and
believed everyone else did including students."
Mr. Wise read a comment from the live chat from Geoffrey Coram, Ridge Road:
Yyou remove the 0.3 for A+, won't you have more students wanting to take more AP
classes to get the AP boost, rather than laking Honors and working for the A+?"
Mr. Wise read a comment from the live chat from RMHS teacher Michelle Hopkinson:
"I believe that we were discussing those specific changes. I agree with Kate."
Mr. Brandt and Mrs. Gaffen supports the proposed changes.
Mrs. Williams said the changes were taken very seriously and we are doing what is right
for students.
Mr. Wise read a comment from the live chat from Michelle Greenwalt, Strawberry Bill
Lw:
"Hello-Pm another School Conrail member and I did not realize we were taking a
formal vote. We did have a rich discussion, but there was no motion1second so maybe I
just didn't realize that it was a formal vote without those."
Mr. Wise read a comment from the live chat from Geoffrey Coram, Ridge Road:
"Thank you, Lynna Williams,for the explanation about the profile. When I glanced at the
profile for this year, I did not notice that the GPA histogram was not binned by decile. "
Mr. Wise moved,seconded by Mr. Parks,to approve the revisions made to the
Academic section of the RMHS Student Handbook as outlined in Mrs. Boynton's
memorandum.
Discussion continued on the proposed changes to the student handbook.
Mr. Wise asked that because of a lack of understanding or agreement that the School
Council voted,the matter should be tabled. Mr. Robinson said no and would like to
move forward.
The roll call vote carried 5-1. Mr. Parks,Mrs. Gaffen,Mrs.Nazzaro,Mr.Brandt
and Mr.Robinson voting in favor. Mr.Wise voting against.
C. New Business(out of order)
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FY22 Prebudget Presentation
Mrs. Dowd began by reviewing the school budget structure outlining the types of funds,
cost centers, items not included in the budget, and grants.
She next described the budget process,outlining the municipal budget process, budget
summary as of the October Financial Forum and the budget drivers. Drivers include
salaries, special education costs, curriculum updates, athletic and regular day mandatory
transportation costs and renewal of software programs and maintenance programs based
on the three-year renewal cycle.
Throughout the budget process information will be shared via the weekly newsletter,
School Committee meetings and District webpage. The FY22 budget calendar was
reviewed.
Mrs. Dowd does not anticipate any extensions in the Covid Grant funding and expects to
spend down the Covid Relief funding by December 30ih.
Mr. Wise read a comment from the live chat from Geoffrey Coram, Ridge Road:
'Regarding the CvRF enonev for the meal program: there was an article in the Boston
Globe this weekend about families having trouble getting to their school to get food Do
we know if any RPS students have difficulties?"
Mrs. Dowd is working closely with Food Service Director Danielle Collins to ensure that
all families in need are receiving the weekly meals.
D. Old Business
Second Reading of Policy BDF—Advisory Committees to the School Committee
Mr. Wise moved,seconded by Mr. Parks,to accept the second reading of Policy
BDF—Advisory Committees to the School Committee.
Mr. Wise began the second reading.
Mr. Parks moved,seconded by Mr. Brandt to suspend further reading of Policy
BDF. The roll call vote was 6-0. Mr.Parks,Mrs.Gaffen,Mrs. Nazzaro,Mr.Wise,
Mr.Brandt and Mr. Robinson.
Mr. Wise asked if the language included is a result of conversations with legal counsel.
Chair Robinson said it was.
The roll call vote carried 6-0. Mr. Parks,Mrs. Gaffen,Mrs. Nazzaro,Mr.Wise,Mr.
Brandt and Mr. Robinson
Student Opportunity Act
Dr. Doherty presented the SOA several months ago and the plan is not much different
except he has added the Special Education Literacy Goal and steps for diversifying the
workforce from the District Improvement Plan.
Mr. Wise moved,seconded by Mr. Brandt,to approve the Reading Public Schools
Student Opportunity Act Plan.
The committee asked clarifying questions.
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The roll call vote carried 6-0. Mr.Parks,Mrs.Gaffen,Mrs.Nazzaro,Mr.Wise,Mr.
Brandt and Mr.Robinson
E. Reports
Student
No Report
Director of Student Services
Dr. Stys reported on the updated Program descriptions and thanked the staff for their
amazing work they did updating the Program descriptions. They are current and rooted
in best practices. The Program descriptions are posted on the website. Program names
have been changed and reflect action words. Next steps include developing entrance and
exit criteria and at the next SEPAL meeting the five-year plan will be discussed.
She nerd reviewed a recent Office of Civil Rights ruling on a complaint filed on matters
from 2015-17. All issues have been resolved. The district continues to learn from this
ruling by updating policies and procedures.
Mrs. Nazzaro expressed concerns about how much time this ruling took. Dr. Stys said
that was out of our control and is working hard to address concerns of our families.
Mr. Wise read a comment from the live chat from Geoffrey Coram, Ridge Road:
"What I tookfrom the OCR document was: make sure your IEP is done properly. And I
recall SEPAC having a special presentation about IEPs last year, and making sure the
IEP is complete and signed in a timely fashion was a key take-away"
Assistant Superintendent
Mrs. Kelley was happy to report that the curriculum guides have been posted on the
Learning and Teaching page of the website. Mrs. Kelley thanked all those that had a
hand in completing these guides.
A community curriculum update has been sent out and is posted on the website.
Upcoming professional development opportunities include courses in UDL and cultural
proficiency focusing on race and ELL. The January 15'h In-Service day will focus on
resiliency and support in the Covid classroom.
Human Resources Director
Mrs. Meisinger reported on the staffing needs throughout the district.
Chief Financial Officer
No report
Superintendent
No report
Liaison
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Mr. Parks reported on the ad hoc Human Rights Committee which will be ending after
the meeting next week. The committee will send a letter of endorsement for the position
to the Library Board of Trustees.
F. Old Business(out of order)
Winter Hvbrid Learning Update
Dr. Doherty began with health and safety beginning with information on the Mask Up
campaign in town. He went on to update the committee on the cases in the schools
pointing that we have not had any in school transmissions. He gave a shout out to
Director of Nursing Mary Giuliana and her staff who are spending their days contact
tracing. He also reminded everyone of the travel advisory and outlined the updated
quarantine rules.
Mr. Wise read a comment from the live chat from Geoffrey Coram, Ridge Road:
Is there a "not'missing on the /4-day release criteria?
The answer was no.
Dr. Doherty updated the information on winter sports. He shared a letter from the
Middlesex League Superintendents and Athletic Directors. Practices and tryouts have
begun, and the competition begins January 2 or later.
There will be a meeting in the next few weeks to discuss the schedule of competitions
and if spectators will be allowed.
Dr. Doherty moved on to the hybrid learning survey sent to staff,parents and students.
The responses indicate that many are feeling positive about the model they are in. He
feels that we will be able to drill down, there is a lot of rich data to review. He reviewed
the updated time on learning regulations.
Dr. Doherty thanked principals,assistant principals, RISE Preschool Director and team
chairs for the amazingjob they have done keeping the schools running smoothly. At
times they may be subbing in a classroom or fixing technology while still running the day
to day operation of their buildings.
Dr. Doherty shared that he met with staff regarding Policy IMB and received good
feedback. He is working on setting up a meeting with students. Lastly, he thanked the
Fine Arts Department on the recent winter concerts.
Mrs. Gaffen appreciates the Superintendents efforts in meeting with the staff and students
on Policy IMB. She would like to see the full results,broken down by level,of the
Hybrid Learning Survey in January.
Mrs.Nazzaro would like to see the seniors back in person full time.
G. Consent Agenda
- Accept a Donation from the Friends of Reading Soccer, Inc.
- Accept a Donation to the Parker Middle School
- Approval of CvRF School Meal Program Grant
- Approval of Minutes(November 19& December 3,2020)
Mr.Wise moved,seconded by Mr.Brandt,to approve the consent agenda.
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The roll call vote carried 6-0. Mr. Parks, Mrs. Griffen,Mrs.Nazzaro,Mr.Wise,Mr.
Brandt and Mr. Robinson
H. Public Comment
None
1. Routine Matters
a. Bills and Payroll(A)
Warrant S2124 12.10.20 $195,016.54
Warrant 52125 12.17.20 $135,151.73
Warrant 52126 12.24.20 $116,667.47
Warrant P2112 12.11.20 $1,699.679.14
b. Calendar
2. Information/Correspondence
3. Future Business
4. Adiournment
Adjourn
Mr.Brandt moved,seconded by Mrs. Nazzaro,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 10:37 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: httos://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crRIK43FxLU
o F. Doherty, Ed.D.
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