HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-02-09 School Committee Minutes Town of Reading
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Board - committee - commission - Council:
School Committee
Date: 2021-02-09 Time: 7:00 PM
Building: School - Memorial High Location: School Library
Address: 62 Oakland Road Session: Open Session
Purpose: Open Session Version: Draft
Attendees: Members - Present:
Chuck Robinson, John Parks, Tom Wise, Erin Gallen, Carla Nazzaro and
Shawn Brandt
Members - Not Present:
Others Present:
CFO Gail Dowd, Human Resourses Director Kerry Meisinger, MASC Field
Director Dorothy Presser
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Samantha LaPierre on behalf of the Chair
Topics of Discussion:
L Call to Order
Chair Robinson opened the meeting and announced the School Committee was meeting in
person,practicing social distancing.The meeting was being recorded and broadcast live on
RCTV.
Mr.Robinson called open session to order at 7:13 p.m.
A. Public Ionat
None
B. Consent Agenda
None
C. Reoorts
Student
No Report
Director of Student Services
No Report
Assistant Superintendent
No Report
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Human Resources Director
No Report
Chief Financial Officer
No Report
Sunerintenden[
No Report
School Committee
No Report
D. New Business
Superintendent of Schools Candidate Interview—Tom Milaschewski
Chair Robinson thanked RCTV for making tonight's in person meeting possible.
MASC Field Director,Dorothy Presser introduced candidate,Mr.Tom Milaschewski.
Mr.Milaschewski began with opening remarks. He thanked the School Committee for
the opportunity to interview,and also thanked the faculty,students and community for
meeting with him during the focus groups.Mr.Milaschewski spoke about the strengths
of Reading which he believes are their talented,dedicated,and passionate staff of
educators and the pride the community takes in providing the children of Reading with a
well-rounded education. Mr. Milaschewski also believes there are opportunities for
growth,which he states are the opportunity to take academic outcomes to the next level,
growth in areas of equity and diversity as well as post pandemic planning.
The School Committee asked the following questions of Mr.Milaschewski.
"What appeals to you specifically about coming to work for Reading Public Schools?
What are some areas where you see a need for change or that you would like to build
upon?Further,how do you see your particular skill sets working effectively for us and
why do your skills match our needs?"
"Decision making is a two-edged sword. Some situations call for decisiveness right at the
start,while others involve consensus building. Tell us about a situation where you were
decisive and how it worked out for you. Tell us about a time when you were not decisive
enough and what you learned from it."
"What actions have you taken as a leader to ensure that all students make effective
progress in your district?What were the outcomes?And,as you plan to close the
achievement gap and help all students reach the highest possible goals in Reading,how
will you think about the social and emotional well-being of the student?"
"Can you spend a little bit of time discussing the evaluation of curriculum tools that you
would use in that process and how do you assess what ours are-what might be working
and what might not be working?And then discuss the change that might be necessary,if
anything-to address that number one item on your list"
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"Please give me a couple examples of how you have fostered growth and developed
leadership capacity in your staff(central office,principals,asst. principals,department
heads),focusing on your leadership and coaching style as well as examples on how you
have specifically supported their development?"
"How do you think school choice, in your experience in Salem,factors into thinking
about accountability and principal autonomy?"
"In the event a school committee member crosses over into the area of operations or
curriculum choices of the schools, how would you maintain the boundaries and secure
that that work, and those decisions are made by the appropriate members of the
leadership team and our educators?"
"What culture would you create and what guidance would you give about teaching equity
and social justice?What did you do/what would you have done in response to the events
on January 6"?"
"At the time you begin your tenure at Reading Public School district,the country and
community will have likely have emerged,or will have begun to emerging from the
COVID-19 crisis,talk about how you will reengage staff,students and community to a
sense of normalcy moving forward. How will you build the trust and previous confidence
of Reading Public Schools?"
"If you were to have an audience of local colleges and universities,what would you tell
them their future teachers' curriculum would have to look like so that they be prepared
for post COVID?"
"Describe your budget experience in both good financial times and difficult financial
times.Describe your experience with the parameters set by Proposition 2'/.Also,your
vision of how an ideal budget process works. Reading is one of only a handful of districts
in Massachusetts without universal free full day Kindergarten,would addressing this be a
priority for you,and how would you generally approach trying to fill the$1 M+budget
gap that fully funding kindergarten would create?"
"Please discuss you process for goal setting,implementation and modeling?"
"Please talk about your views on school safety and the various drills that have been
established by state and national leaders.Do you think there is sufficient evidence to
support these drills across all levels?
"Can you tell us about any experiences you may have with school construction or
renovations."
The following scenario question was presented—"The parents of an eighth grader objects
to the teaching technique of their students math teacher, whose weekend"problem of the
week"be solved by Monday.However,if no students can solve the problem and explain
the method to the class,the teacher refuses to give the answer or a method for finding it.
Parents who have been trying to help their children solve the problems note that some
kids spend hours of weekend time wrestling with the challenge-often failing. Requests
by parents to give the answer and method to the students does not receive a response.
Things come to a head at the PTO meeting when a parent with a math background points
out that some problems pose a challenge for college math majors.Failing to give answer
builds esteem problems for students,especially girls who are stereotyped unfairly as not
ready for math. The teacher,however,is adamant.The teacher responds that"it's my
classroom,and I do what I want."The principal,who hired the teacher,explains that it's
important for kids to recognize the role of unanswered questions in their lives.A parent
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escalates to the school committee member and demands that this practice stop. Some of
their kids are being turned off to math and feel humiliated by the teacher.The board
member calls the superintendent and demands that something be done.Walk though the
process that you would use to resolve this situation."
"We heard a lot about how you coached superintendents throughout the state and built
strong relationships and mentorship with sometimes much older,more experienced
people. Was there ever a situation where somebody was resistant upon meeting you,and
how did you approach that relationship differently than others?"
Mr. Tom Milaschewski answered each of the questions and also made closing remarks.
He thanked the community,and the school committee, for their time and consideration.
E. Old Business
None
F. Public Comment
None
1. Routine Matters
a. Calendar
2. Information/Correspondence
3. Future Business
4. Adiournment
Adioum
Mr.Wise moved to adjourn. The roll call vote carried 60. Mr.Parks,Mrs.
Nauaro,Mr.Wise,Mr. Brandt,Mrs.Gaffen and Mr.Robinson.
The meeting adjourned at 9:08 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:
School Committee 02-09-2021 -YouTube
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