HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-10-26 School Council - Killam Elementary MinutesTown of Reading 'RECEIVED
Y Meeting Minutes TOWN CLERK
READING, MA.
2021 Nov -I L&
Board - Committee - Commission - Council: PM 12: 39
School Council -1 Warren Killam Elementary
Date: 2021-10-26 Time: 3:00 PM
Building: School - Killam Location: Meeting Room
Address: 333 Charles Street Session: Open Session
Purpose: Quarterly Version: Draft
Attendees: Members - Present:
Sarah Leveque, Kim Adamo, Tonia McGuire, Marc Cerasuolo, Bryn Panee
Burkhart
Members - Not Present:
Others Present:
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Bryn Panee Burkhart
Topics of Discussion:
The first quarterly meeting of the J.W. Killam Elementary School Council was conducted
virtually via Zoom on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021, from 3 - 4 p.m.
Call to Order: Once a quorum of members were present, Sarah called the meeting to order
shortly after 3 p.m.
Review and Acceptance of Minutes: Members had the opportunity to review the draft
minutes from the June 2021 meeting and voted unanimously to approve them, 5 - 0.
Updates:
Tonia McGuire was elected Co -Chair and Bryn Panee Burkhart was elected Secretary of the
Council for the 2021-22 School Year, in a unanimous vote of 5-0.
Sarah reminded members of Open Meeting Guidelines and Conflict of Interest taw forms
she sent in advance of the meeting and thanked members for signing these forms.
School Improvement Plan: Sarah is working on this and will send to the Committee later
for review.
Budget: The 2021-22 budget opened up in mid-August so it's early in season. But starting
to plan for big-ticket items that might need to be purchased at the school and how to fund
this. Over the summer, Sarah noted that she replaced furniture (cafeteria tables, classroom
tables, chairs, 25 bookshelves). Also purchased $20K of books for the school - including full
collection of books that can be used in multiple settings.
Killam continues to grow and is now at 450 students (includes 4 RISE classrooms at Killam)
Sarah says they are facing issues with staffing district wide, and this has put a tremendous
strain the staff/teachers. We need substitute teachers.
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One example of this is that Killam has challenges with the cafeteria model. We cannot
accommodate all Killam students in the cafeteria, so spacing and staffing various lunch
locations is tough. Sarah needs six adults for one lunch period and that is a struggle to find
(for example, 14 staff members were out one day last week). Also, because some students
are eating lunches in the classroom, then classrooms must be cleaned. There is a big strain
because of the staffing issues.
Bryn Burkhart asked a question about bringing lunches to school and asked about the
supply/delivery issues with food. Sarah stated that was another issue going on across MA.
There is no longer a reliable delivery of food and options are very limited, and portions are
smaller. Bryn suggested perhaps the Superintendent put out a message that suggests that
families who are able to send in lunch with their child do so. It is a fine line to walk but
Bryn did not think most families understood about the food shortages and those who were
able would probably try to help alleviate the problem.
WASH Committee: Sarah said she is still hoping to update the allergy guidelines at some
point, but COVID required us to focus on the mitigation factors. Wellness and Health
guidelines were updated last year.
Revised/updated Parent Handbook with new regulations keeps getting pushed back
(b/c of COVID) in terms of updates. It is updated on the Killam website to incorporate
COVID protocols with a mix of pre-COVID protocols. Was reviewed by district lawyers over
the summer and updated to ensure regulatory pieces were correct.
There was a request for a quick guide (2-3 pages) to give a short overview of the most
important pieces for parents.
Professional Development: Next Tuesday, Nov. 2, is a Professional Development Day for
teachers. Sarah shared 3 areas that professional development will be available:
A. Coherent Instructional Systems - using knowledge gained last year, looking how to
create and sustain a robust learning environment. An example of this is a new
program that is being used this year, Illustrative Math - each lesson Includes a
Warmup, Think Time, Turn & Talk time, 2 Activities and a Cool Down). Students
know what to expect and Tonia McGuire says it has been a great success in her S'h
grade classroom. Coherent Instruction also focuses on meeting students where they
are at and adjusting to where all learners are. An example if this is the Increased
social -emotional support needs of students this year. Sarah said her team has been
trying to change overall instruction to accommodate worries that students are feeling
(and staff too).
B. DEI - this is a continuation from last year and a priority district wide, not just at
Killam. With the goal of fostering a culturally responsive environment, Killam has
been able to update book selections and school -wide bulletin boards so that all
students can see themselves and have a place where their identity is affirmed.
C. Data informed decision makina - this involves looking at all the date we have and
looking at how to synthesize Tier 2 support and make sure that those kids who need
extra support are able to move forward. Like the coherent instructional systems,
this is about what learners need most right now and how they can be supported on a
daily basis.
Adjournment: The School council adjourned at 4:00 p.m. with plans to reconvene on
January 11, 2022.
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