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Board Committee - Commission - Council: M4 h,;,. " "� 7: 5`
School Committee
Date: 2024-02-29 Time: 7:00 PM
Building:
School - Memorial High
Location: School Library
Address:
62 Oakland Road
Session: Open Session
Purpose:
Open Session
Version: Final
Attendees:
Members - Present:
Tom Wise, Sarah McLaughlin, Shawn Brandt (remote), Erin Gaffen, Charles
Robinson and Carla Nazzaro
Members - Not Present:
Others Present:
Assistant Superintendent of Learning & Teaching Dr. Sarah Hardy, Assistant
Superintendent of Student Services Dr. Jennifer Stys and Superintendent Dr.
Thomas Milaschewski
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Olivia Lejeune on behalf of the chairperson.
Topics of Discussion:
A. Call to Order — Mr. Wise called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. to review the agenda
Roll Call to order — Ms. McLaughlin — here, Mrs. Gaffen — here, Mrs. Nazzaro — here, Mr.
Robinson — here, Mr. Brandt (remote) — here, Mr. Wise — here
E. New Business
1. Vote to Approve 07-01-2024 through 06-30.2027 Reading Cafeteria Employees
(AFSCME, Council 93, Local 1703) Contract
Mr. Wise briefly reviewed the changes made to the Cafeteria Employees Contract. We have
renormalized the pay scales and level set to the market. Other changes include the
introduction to longevity, New Year's Day as an additional holiday, and increased the
uniform allowance from $325 to $400. Mr. Wise also noted the state initiative to now serve
breakfast at the elementary level, starting in FY25, which does include an adjustment to the
contract.
Mrs. Gaffen motioned to approve the 07-01-2024 through 06-30-2027 Reading Cafeteria
Employees Contract seconded by Mrs. Nazzaro.
Roll Call Vote — Mr. Brandt — yes, Mr. Robinson — yes, Mrs. Nazzaro — yes, Mrs. Gaffen—yes,
Ms. McLaughlin — yes, Mr. Kraunelis (Town Manager) —yes, Mr. Wise—yes. The vote passed
7-0.
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B. Public Comment
Public Comment — None
Focus on Excellence
1. Parker Leaders and Parker World of Difference— Dr. Milaschewski introduced Parker
students participating in A World of Difference and Parker Leaders. Both organizations
and groups are paving the way in terms of student leadership and advocacy in the
community.
Consent Agenda
1. Minutes (02-08-2024)
2. RMHS Boys Swim Team Donation
3. RMHS Ski Club Field Trip Request
4. Robotics Competition Field Trip Request
5. Acceptance of FY24 High School Senior Internship in Education Project Grant Award
Accounts Payable Warrant Reports
1. 02-08-2024
2. 02-15-2024
3. 02-22-2024
Payroll Warrant Reports
1. 02-02-2024
2. 02-19-2024
Mrs. Gaffen motioned to approve the consent agenda with the removal of the Pats
Peakski trip planned for the upcoming weekend, seconded by Mr. Robinson.
Roll Call Vote — Mr. Brandt — yes, Mr. Robinson — yes, Mrs. Nazzaro — yes, Mrs. Gaffen—
yes, Ms. McLaughlin —yes, Mr. Wise — yes. The vote passed 6-0.
Reports
Assistant Superintendent for Learning & Teaching — Dr. Hardy discussed today's
successful internship fair at the high school. We had over 30 local companies attend.
Dr. Hardy recognized different groups within the arts department. Recently, two
photography students will be receiving the 2024 Scholastic Arts and Writing Award:
Ryan Fox and Annabelle Goldy. Additionally, the jazz band was recently awarded a
gold medal at the Paul M. Albert Norwood Jazz Classic and the Drama Club
participated in the METG high school festival with their short adaption of The Great
Gatsby.
Assistant Superintendent for Student Services — Dr. Stys discussed the partnership
with the Children's Cabinet as we work on increasing our social emotional supports.
She also recognized Mary Giuliana for the outreach and work she is doing with
community members such as Joe Thomas and Donna Fitzpatrick from the Reading
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Lions Club, Dr. Barrett from Reading Eye Care, Dr. McHale from Ideal Eye Care, and
Morgan Faustino at Convenient MD.
Superintendent— Dr. Milaschewski reiterated starting next year, breakfast will be
served at all schools. We have two sites up and running with a breakfast cart at the
high school and recent launch at Killam. Dr. Milaschewski recognized staff members
who have been vital in supporting the Killam School Building Project: teacher Ms.
Katie Cole, teacher Ms. JoEllen McGinnity, and paraeducator Ms. Denise lozzo. As of
7pm tonight, we have launched the Killam School Building Project website
(KillamSchool.com). Thank you to Mrs. Nazzaro for her help creating the vision,
parent Mr. Chris Haley who shared his expertise and volunteered time to help us
behind the scenes get this up and running and Ms. Olivia Lejeune who received
training to keep the website updated and maintained.
Liaison/Sub-Committee
a. Mr. Robinson —The Recreation Committee had a robust meeting last week.
SWEC met to formulate a presentation to the Select Board.
b. Mrs. Nazzaro—Please follow the Killam School Building Project Facebook page to
stay connected. Tonight, we had a sustainability community meeting and the
next community meeting is March 181^ which will focus on site and traffic.
c. Mrs. Gaffen — PAIR met last week and received the preliminary DEI Community
survey results which were really interesting. A full presentation will be provided
to the Select Board.
d. Ms.McLaughlin— Noreport
e. Mr. Brandt — Noreport
f. Mr. Wise—Last night, the budget was presented to the Finance Committee. It
was a good meeting and we received positive feedback.
D. Old Business
1. Discussion and Vote on FY25 School Calendar
Dr. Milaschewski noted as the high school continues their review of the pilot schedule, we
will come back to this committee with any changes that need to be reflected on the
calendar. A community member pointed out that Christmas is noted as a holiday, but
should be a vacation day. We will update the calendar to reflect this change. The committee
has raised a point of school ending on a Monday next year and it was discussed with the
union. We will stick with this end date and see how the year goes with snow day calls. Ms.
McLaughlin also pointed out that the holidays falling during February and April vacation
should be changed from "holiday" to "vacation" days.
Mrs. Gaffen motioned to approve the 2024-2025 school calendar as amended, seconded
by Mrs. Nazzaro.
Roll Call Vote — Mr. Brandt — yes, Mr. Robinson —yes, Mrs. Nazzaro —yes, Mrs. Gaffen —yes,
Ms. McLaughlin — yes, Mr. Wise—yes. The vote passed 6-0.
E. New Business
Mrs. Gaffen motioned to take item E3 out of order, seconded by Mr. Robinson.
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Roll Call Vote—Mr. Brandt—yes, Mr. Robinson—yes, Mrs. Nazzaro—yes, Mrs. Gaffen—yes,
Ms. McLaughlin — yes, Mr. Wise — yes. The vote passed 6-0.
3. Special Education Program Review Progress Tracking Update (SOAR, SAIL, EMBARC,
REACH, & LEAD)
Dr. Stys and her team provided an update on progress relating to recommendations
provided through recent special education program reviews. This is a high-level overview
sharing updates by specific program (REACH, SOAR, LEAD, SAIL/EMBARC, LIFT, RISE,
Learning Center) and at the end of the year, the district will present a written update on
each recommendation outlined in each program review. With each program reviews, there
were common recommendations across all programs. Recommendations across the
programs included:
• Hiring a program administrator with appropriate credentials to supervise specialized
programs
• Hiring a transition specialist
• Revising he current program descriptions to define program missions, philosophies,
and outcomes
• Increasing parent and staff communication
• Planning high-quality professional development for teachers, paraprofessionals, and
related service providers
• Improving transition planning for each student moving between schools
Over the next few months, the team will be sharing different presentations for parents and
the community to attend. A question was raised about the LIFT program and investments
being made as it was not discussed during budget season yet positions are being posted. It
was discussed that a position from the Wood End SAIL track has shifted to the LIFT program.
We have also shifted unfilled para positions. This has given us Flexibility to make additions
without adding positions as it is a continuation of existing funding.
A full presentation can be found in the packet.
The committee took a five-minute break and returned at 8:41 PM.
Mr. Brandt exited the meeting at 8:29 PM and returned at 8:53 PM.
2. ARC Core Implementation Plan Update: What we are seeing in classrooms and next
steps for calibrating and customizing
Dr. Hardy provided a progress update on the ARC Core implementation plan specifically
reviewing what we are seeing in the classrooms. The presentation included a lot of graphics
so the community can get a good understanding of the foundational skills and knowledge
building being developed.
There are areas for continued calibration. This spring, there will be a training focus for K-2
teachers to get a better understanding of the foundational skills scope and sequence. We
also want to support teachers in the data collection process. For next year, we are looking
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at explicit professional development for K-2 teachers and continued partnership with The
Hill for Literacy. The team will continue customizing and monitoring ARC Core to ensure it is
meeting our needs.
The full presentation can be found in the packet.
4. FY25 Kindergarten Enrollment Update
Dr. Milaschewski reviewed the FY25 kindergarten enrollment. We have had 220 students
register which is a gap between the 268 projected. We have outlined in the packet our plans
for outreach to students who are not registered and we will come back with an update at
the April 411 meeting.
S. Review of Charter Committee Updates to Reading Home Rule Charter and Collation of
Feedback
Mr. Robinson provided a high-level review of the updates made to the charter. As it
pertains to the schools, the changes made are naming vernacular changing selectman to
selectboard.
Mr. Wise noted some scheduling changes. The next committee meeting is on March 10. We
will not hold the March 28th meeting and the next meeting will take place on April 4" at the
METCO Headquarters. After that, we will not meet again until after Town Meeting.
httos://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkTnm9ltFuw
Meeting Adjourned from regular session at approximately 9:31pm.
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