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Home My WebLink About2024-12-19 School Committee MinutespNr rNF'10 Town of Reading Meeting Minutes S1,`RK e QJP'IXCOPtOP Board - Committee - Commission - Council: "_CIS �l''' 4' 23 School Committee Date: 2024-12-19 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, Erin Gaffen, Sarah McLaughlin and Carla Nazzaro Members - Not Present: Charles Robinson and Shawn Brandt Others Present: Students Alex Vincent and Sachi Selvakumar, Assistant Superintendent for Student Services Dr. Jennifer Stys, Assistant Superintendent for Learning and Teaching Dr. Sarah Hardy, 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 approximately 7:02 p.m. to review the agenda. B. Public Comment—None Focus on Excellence 1. Recognition of RMHS DECA Team Dr. Milaschewski introduced teacher Ms. Anna Rosenfeld and students from the RMHS DECA team, who shared their recent achievements at the District 4 Regional Career Development Conference. They also provided more details about the program and discussed the group's future goals. Consent Agenda 1. Minutes (12-05-2024) 2. Acceptance of FY25 Educational Improvement Earmark— RMHS Award 3. Acceptance of FY25 HQIM PDPO Grant Award 4. Friends of Reading Rockets Hockey Donation 5. Friends of Reading Football Donation 6. Northshore Education Consortium 2024 Annual Report Accounts Payable Warrant Reports 1. 12-05-2024 page I 1 2. 12-12-2024 Mrs. GaJfen motioned to approve the consent agenda, seconded by Mrs. Nazzaro. The vote passed 4-0. Reports 1. Student Representatives Alex and Sachi shared the following updates: a. a. Shoutout to the band concert for tonight's show. b. b. The RMHS Business Department brought in Puma Corporation representatives to meet with and present to students. C. c. Thank you to the RMHS Choir for singing Christmas carols this week, bringing holiday cheer to the community. d. d. Shoutout to the Choir program for their winter concert last week. e. e. On January 30th, RMHS will host Career Day for the junior class. f. f. During Flex, the Science Department held a STEM talk with an outside speaker on engineering work in the industry. g. g. Congratulations again to DECA for their accomplishments. h. h. Members of the Rocket Leaders in Action Club attended a food donation drive at the Reading Food Pantry. i. L On January 7th, the alumni panel will return for all seniors. j. Students are looking forward to winter break. 2. Assistant Superintendent for Learning and Teaching— Dr. Hardy commended Multilingual Learner Program Coordinator Karen Hall, who received recognition from WIDA for her efforts in helping to organize standards for MLL students. Karen went above and beyond by reaching out to WIDA to assist in designing a better way to organize one of their standard resources. The format she created for Reading has been adopted by WIDA and will be used in over 40 states. This is a testament to the great work being done by the MLL department and its dedication to improving resources and support for multilingual learners. 3. Assistant Superintendent for Student Services — Dr. Stys shared a follow-up on the district's review process. As we are legally required to conduct a program review every year, either internally or externally, this year we plan to do an internal review of executive functioning. We've noticed an increased need and have received feedback from both special education and general education teachers regarding concerns about consistent implementation and ensuring student success. We have also heard from parents and recognize the need to address this. A team will be assembled within our district, focusing on those skilled in executive functioning. More details will follow, but we're happy to share this update for now. 4. Superintendent — Dr. Milaschewski congratulated the Parker Lego Team on their first -place win last weekend at the First Lego League competition. Thank you to the School Committee for their advocacy in bringing the Lego League back. S. Liaison/Sub-Committee a. Mrs. Nazzaro —The Killam School Building Committee met on Monday making two decisions: the HVAC system and the selection of two bidding types. The next meeting on January 22nd will focus on total project costs. Page 1 2 b. Mrs. Gaffen—No report c. Ms. McLaughlin—No report d. Mr. Wise—No report E. New Business 1. Q3 — FY25 Human Resources Update Human Resources Director Michelle Roach provided a QS HR update for FY25. The presentation focused on hiring and open positions, leaves and terminations, talent pipelines, staff internal growth and development, an update on mandated trainings, and resignation data. A copy of the presentation can be found here. 2. RISE Preschool Programming Update Dr. Milaschewski and RISE Director Alanna Shone provided an overview of a shift in preschool programming for the 2025-2026 school year, which includes closing the afternoon class, extending the 4 -day morning class, and leveraging the afternoon time to improve the process of completing initial evaluations. This change aligns with feedback provided by families. A memo explaining the full rationale and implementation of this change can be found in theao cket. 3. Literacy Update— Building Literacy Success for Every Student with a Systematic Approach to Screening & Intervention Dr. Sarah Hardy and K-8 Humanities Coordinator Erin Burchill presented on building literacy success for every student through a systematic approach to screening and intervention. The presentation provided context on why there is a focus on early literacy skill development, RPS DIBELS data, RPS structures for early literacy screening and intervention, literacy initiatives for the 2024-2025 school year, and additional resources such as previous literacy presentations and MCAS data. The full presentation can be found here. 4. Parker & RISE Leadership Search Processes Dr. Milaschewski provided an update on the Parker & RISE leadership search processes. Ms. Alanna Shone stepped into the role of interim RISE Director in late August, expressing her willingness to serve a one-year interim period before retiring. Alanna, a long-term member of our community, recently discussed with district leadership the possibility of extending her tenure for another year. Dr. Milaschewski gathered staff feedback on Alanna's leadership, and many staff members have expressed appreciation for the thought partnership and stability Alanna brings. As a result, we are pleased to announce that Alanna Shone will continue as the RISE Director for one more year. The second search involved the positions of Parker Principal and Assistant Principal. Last summer, we committed to conducting a full search this winter for both roles. As the first step in the process, Dr. Milaschewski spoke with as many people in the Parker community as possible, including over 30 staff members and nearly all members of the Parker PTO and School Council, to gather feedback on the interim leadership. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with unanimous support for the current leadership. This feedback aligned with the sentiments of district leadership, and we are excited to announce Dr. Jill Page 1 3 Story as the permanent principal and Ms. Beth Simpson as the permanent assistant principal. These two strong leaders, working together, form a powerful leadership team. The committee appreciated Dr. Milaschewski's collaborative approach in making these permanent decisions and noted the positive leadership they are seeing and hearing about Parker. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4ul6cFp8cE Meeting Adjourned from regular session at approximately 8:38pm. Page 1 4