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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-10-20 School Committee MinutesY r y Town of Reading 4 "R-EIDE �a Meeting Minutes TOWN CLERK READING. MA. Board—Committee —Commission —council: C.U. 2823 MAY —4 PM 4:56 School Committee Date: October 20, 2022 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Reading Memorial High School Location: Library Address: 62 Oakland Road, Reading, MA Members Present: - Shawn Brandt, Erin Gaffen, Carla Nazzaro, Sarah McLaughlin, Charles Robinson, Tom Wise Others Present: Superintendent Dr. Tom Milaschewski, Dr. Jennifer Stys, Ms. Michelle Roach, Jayda Hayes, Olivia Ritondo Minutes Respectfully submitted by: Susan E Brown on behalf of the chairperson A. Call to Order - Mr. Brandt called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM Mr. Brandt asked that we have a moment of silence, after Dr. Milaschewski shared about the passing of two members of the RPS Community. Theodore "Teddy' Freedman a Jr. at RMHS and James "Jim" Henerberry a 6th Grade teacher at Coolidge. Dr. Milaschewski also thanked NEMLEC Stars and staff from surrounding communities for their quick response in supporting students and staff during this difficult time. Mr. Brandt reviewed the agenda for the evening. E. New Business— Seal of Biliteracy Overview Dr. Mahoney, World Language Dept. Chair presented on the State Seal of Biliteracy program being launched at RMHS. The presentation in its entirety is available in the school committee packet. There was discussion and questions from the committee. B. Public Comment—no public comment Consent Agenda - Ms. Nazzaro made a motion to approve the consent agenda, seconded by Ms. McLaughlin. Amendment to the previous minutes to ensure we include the student representatives in the attendance portion. Motion carried 6-0 Reports: 1. Ms. Ritondo reported on the difficult week for the students, with the passing of Mr. Henerberry and Teddy Freedman, the students have been posting sticky notes of memories of Theo by the guidance office, the soccer team wore black arm bands, and there are flowers placed where he sat in the mornings before school. The students felt well supported during this difficult time. Ms. Hayes reported that the Field Hockey team is currently #1 for D2, academic lab has opened, a student trip to DC, PSAT's were held the past Saturday, Q3 ending and early applications due for college. 2. Dr. Stys updated on District Improvement Plan, part of the focus is the development and managing the community partnership, we have been joined by Karen Hall to help ensure all of our multilingual learners have access to all the things that Reading has to offer; YMCA receiving ARPA funding to support adaptive programing and lessons, in conjunction with the schools, Communitas just held a teen craft night and they will have and adult program as well as other programs throughout the fall for all Reading residents. S. Dr. Milaschewski—shoutout and recognition to Jayda Hayes, has been named as a 2022-2023 College Board National African American Scholar. Congratulations on behalf of the district on this incredible academic accomplishment. Recognizing Dan McGrath RMHS Boys Soccer Coach, as MIAA Coach of the Year. Staffing update, there are a significant increase in multilingual learners, it's exciting and in response we have increased our staffing to support these students. Also there has been a PD for our staff, for grades 3-8 for mathematics, through Moth Labs with a consultant they talk through the lesson and the different teaching moves we will be following, and then go into the class with the consultant and work through the strategies. Teachers are learning through their actual work and collaborating with their grade level peers. 6. Ms. Gaffen - SEPAC met and discussed program reviews, it was a well -attended meeting, they elected the board for the year as well. There are 3 returning members and 1 new board member. The next meeting is in November, and it will be a parent workshop. PAIR met, also well attended hybrid meeting, there were updates from subcommittees, setting of goals, and the subgroups will not be meeting separately it will all be on the same day as the PAIR meetings, they are working on a newsletter as well. Next meeting is in November. The first in a series with Dr. Chatterjee and LT Silva they will be holding a program called Reading Reflects, open to all Reading residents. November 2, 6pm in the PAC. Mr. Robinson - REC Committee met, it was lengthy, two public hearings one being Reading Little League, and the other was on pickle ball courts, no vote was held at the time of the meeting. Mr. Wise— RAAC Meeting the allocations were distributed to various programs and departments in the community. Finance committee met and voted on the percentage allocations. Ms. Nazzaro— Ms. Nazzaro along with Ms. Bottan attended an MSBA Meeting at the Hildreth School in Harvard, there were 2 sessions. Session 1 was going through the process and how its important for the learning needs to be the driving force, session 2 was working with the community. Mr. Brandt reported on Select Board, there was a discussion on the Herndon Street project, they are moving forward with discussions, the next meeting will be discussion ARPA fund distribution. C. Personnel 1. Personnel Update— Ms. Roach presented on 01 HR Update —the presentation in its entirety is available in the packet. There was some discussion and questions from the committee. D. Old Business 1. Review and Approve District Improvement Plan Updates Dr. Milaschewski presented on the District Improvement Plan, the presentation in its entirety is available in the SC Packet. There will be updates made throughout the year. There was some discussion and questions from the committee Ms. Nazzaro made a motion to approve the district improvement plan as amended, seconded by Mr. Robinson, Vote Carried 6-0. E. New Business 2. Student Advisory Committee Approach Discussion and Liaison Assignment -The results of exploration of the inclusion of a student advisory committee, RMHS has created the committee, the proposal is to have an open public meeting every other month, prior to school committee with separate agenda, there will be a SC member liaison to guide the students, the objective to allow the students to have more candid conversation with the SC and it will allow SC to support the committee. There was discussion and questions from the committee The meeting would be held at 6pm prior to regular SC meeting. Mr. Brandt called a 5 -minute recess 8:30 pm Meeting called back to order at 8:45 pm 3. Special Education Program Reviews— Dr. Stys and Ms. Wright presented the program reviews and executive summaries of the Special Education. The presentation in its entirety is available in the SC Packet. There were questions and discussion from the committee. Ms. Maria Morgan commented on the program reviews, SEPAC appreciated the thoroughness of the reporting on the entire program, not just what is required by the state. 4. Assign Liaison to Symonds Way Exploratory Committee —The Select Board has requested to form a committee to explore possibilities of Symonds Way uses. There needs to be a liaison from the SC to be on the committee. That will be discussed at a later time. S. Introductory Discussion for Superintendent Goals— Initial discussion will be tonight with ongoing over the next few weeks. Dr. Milaschewski presented on his goals going forward for Sy 2022-23, broken into 3 categories, category 1 being a multi-year district strategic plan, category 2— continued goal around leadership coaching for our principals, and category 3— innovations that could have a positive impact on student outcomes. Discussion from the committee. Ms. Nazzaro motioned to adjourn, seconded by Mr. Robinson, Vote carried 6-0 Meeting adjourned 10:00 pm