Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-03-15 School Committee MinutesReading Public Schools Reading, Massachusetts RE ' L;' s 0V,I~1~ C E R K Regular Meeting of the School ComqA,#t e PRIG, M Open Session 43 Date: March 15, 2010 Time: 7:33 p.m. (Open Session) Place: Superintendent's Conference Room School Committee Members Present Chuck Robinson Elaine Webb David Michaud Chris Caruso Karen Janowski Staff Members Present John Doherty, Superintendent Mary DeLai, Director of Finance and Operations Patrick O'Sullivan Student Representative Visitors: Kara Gleason Chief Jim Cormier, Reading Police Sgt. Rich Abate, Reading Police Officer Corey Santasky, New SRO Naomi Stonberg, School Counsel Steve Hagan, Reading Advocate L Call to Order Chairperson Robinson called the meeting to order at 7:33 p.m. and reviewed the agenda. Ii. Recommended Procedure A. Public Input (I) B. Re ports I 1. Student Mr. Patrick O'Sullivan thanked the custodial staff for handling the leaks at the high school due to the rain. He also reported on the following: ' RMHS Production of The Elephant Man RMHS Color Guard hosted a competition and finished first RMHS Jazz Band participated in the UNH Jazz Festival Health & Wellness Fair MCAS begins next week Several students participated in the National Latin Exam Recent National History Day regional - 6 projects moving on to. States March 15, 2010 Conclusion of successful winter season. First day of spring tryouts today Upcoming events - Sophomore Semi and Freshman Progressive Dinner Liaisons Reports Mr. Robinson reported that he attended METCO Lobby Day at the State House today. The Reading students accompanied by Ms. Castro and he met with Representative Jones. He thanked our students for participating and the event was well attended. Mr. Robinson commented on the recent production of The Elephant Man. He also reported that the School Committee budget was presented to the Finance Committee last week and that he and the Superintendent would be attending a meeting regarding The Race to the Top program on Thursday. Mr. Michaud reported that the Ad-Hoc Building Committee had its first meeting. They drafted agendas for upcoming meetings and organized as a committee voting Mr. Michaud the chairperson. The committee will meet twice a month and the goal of the committee is to look at the town-wide building needs. Mrs. Webb acknowledged Patrick O'Sullivan's role in The Elephant Man and congratulated him on a fine performance. She also attended the Health and Wellness Fair and thanked the organizers for providing this opportunity for our students. She also informed the committee that student representative Patrick O'Sullivan will be attending the MASC Day on the Hill. Mrs. Janowski informed the committee that she would be attending the upcoming MASC Subcommittee on Special Education meeting. 2. Superintendent's Report Dr. Doherty reported that the Coolidge Middle School Peer Leaders ran a coat drive and were very successful. They collected 478 coats which was the most in the area. Coolidge won this contest and will be the recipient of several prizes. He pointed out the new artwork from the high school. Last week there was an elementary technology in-service and this week the middle school teachers will have their technology in-service. He indicated that this in-service is teachers teaching teachers and a few years ago this would not be possible. Dr. Doherty attended the MASSCUE Conference in Worcester and was fortunate to participate in a panel discussion as part of the opening keynote session. The keynote speaker focused on methods to integrate 21St century skills into the classroom. The Superintendent shared that the Parker Middle School 7th graders finished 8th in the nation in their division at the Wordmasters Challenge. He congratulated the students and coaches. Dr. Doherty was sad to report that Hilda Gaffney, first Barrows principal, recently passed away. March 15, 2010 Director of Finance and Operations Ms. DeLai updated the committee on the system wide water damage. She indicated that here was no significant damage in town and school buildings. She also updated the committee on the Performance Contracting work being done in the town. She stated that the project is currently on schedule and on budget. C. Continued Business D. New Business Teaching American History Grant Presentation Dr. Doherty introduced Kara Gleason, Director of the Teaching American History grant program. He indicated that Ms. Gleason would be discussing our second grant. Ms. Gleason presented an overview of the current TAH grant. She indicated that we are currently half way through the first year. We are in partnership with nine districts in the area. The teachers participating in this grant are required to make a year-long commitment to the program. She went on to the programming to date which includes Monthly School Day Seminars and Monthly History Book Discussions Study Groups. The Book Discussion groups are held in Reading and Lowell and they meet twice a month. Ms. Gleason went on to review a typical School Day Seminar. These seminars are generally led by a noted historian from one of the collegiate partners. She indicated that there is a companion wiki site where participants can access workshop information and other resources. She indicated the partnership with the Tsongas Industrial History Center has worked well. Ms. Gleason reviewed the upcoming programming and stated that the program is progressing well toward the goals and is having a positive impact on teachers. Ms. Gleason went on to provide a brief overview of the TAH elementary grant that we will be applying for this week. This grant is geared toward grade 3 -5 teachers aligning with the Massachusetts History & Social Studies Frameworks. The grant is called "History Networks" ,and she has been able to secure the support of several Cultural, Classroom Connection and University Scholar partners to work with the teachers on this grant. Helen Sellers will be the Project Director for this grant. She is currently a 5th grade teacher at the Killam School. We should hear in June or July if we get this grant. The School Committee thanked Ms. Gleason. Introduction of the New School Resource Officer Dr. Doherty introduced Chief Jim Cormier. Chief Cormier gave a brief overview of the School Resource Officer position that was established four years ago. He felt the success of the position is due to the outstanding work done by Rich Abate. He worked very hard developing good relationships with the students and parents. March 15, 2010 Chief Cormier then introduced new School Resource Officer Corey Santasky. He feels Officer Santasky will be a great fit and will continue the great work started by Sgt. Abate. Chair Robinson congratulated Sgt. Abate on his promotion and thanked him for doing a great job. He went on to welcome Officer Santasky. The committee echoed his sentiments and thanked Chief Cormier for nurturing the relationship between the schools and the police department. Superintendent Evaluation Process Dr. Doherty introduced School Counsel Naomi Stonberg. She reviewed the Superintendent Evaluation Process and the impact from a recent court decision. She indicated that all individual evaluations must be presented in open session. The composite evaluation can be created from those individual evaluations. She emphasized that this process be as transparent as possible. She felt that the Evaluation tool that the School Committee uses is very good. Ms. Stonberg reviewed the changes to the Open Meeting Law that will take effect on July 1, 2010 and the impact it will have on the School Committee. She indicated that the Attorney General's office will have exclusive jurisdiction. The School Committee asked clarifying questions and thanked Ms. Stonberg for her time. Mr. Robinson called a brief recess at 8:55 p.m. The meeting was called back to order at 9:00 p.m. First Reading and Approval of Policy EEAJ - Policy Regarding Motor Vehicle Idling on School Ground.-, Mr. Caruso moved, seconded by Mr. Michaud. to accent the second reading of polic Section EEAJ, Policy Regarding Motor Vehicles Idling on School Grounds, and acceptance of the policy Section EEAJ, Policy Regarding Motor Vehicles Idling on School Grounds, of the Reading Public Schools Policv Manual in accordance with the Superintendent's memorandum dated March 11, 2010. Mr. Caruso began to read the policy. Mr. Michaud moved, seconded by Mrs. Webb, to waive the full reading of the policy. The motion carried 5-0. There was a brief discussion and Mrs. Webb read a clarifying statement. (See attached). The original motion carried 5-0. March 15, 2010 Friends and Family Day Friends and Family Day will be held June 19th. There was a brief discussion on the events of the day. It was decided to come to the next meeting with some ideas. Additional Services Order Dr. Doherty reviewed the request from Design Partnership for an extension of the Additional Services order due to the current litigation. He recommended that the School Committee approve the extension with an upset limit of $5,000. He and Ms. DeLai had conversations with Scott Dunlap and feel that $5,000 is an appropriate amount. Mr. Caruso moved, seconded by Mrs. Webb, to authorize the Superintendent to enter into an extension of the Additional Services contract with Design Partnership of Cambridge, Architect for the high school proiect, with a total upset limit of $5,000. The motion carried 5-0. Director of Pupil Services Search Dr. Doherty indicated that Ms. Dolan has been appointed the new Executive Director for the Northshore Education Consortium and would be leaving as of June 30, 2010. He outlined the process and timeline indicating that the process will be similar to that of the Assistant Superintendent. Superintendent Doherty indicated that there were three things working against - us, the Blue Ribbon Sharing Conference, April vacation and Town Meeting therefore the candidate interviews would take place on one day. He is hoping to announce the new Director of Pupil Services on May 3, 2010. Mr. Caruso moved, seconded by Mrs. Janowski, to approve the Director of Pupil Services hiring process and timeline. The motion carried 5-0. III. Routine Matters • Bills and Payroll (A) • Approval of Minutes Mr. Caruso moved, seconded by Mr. Michaud, to approve the open session minutes dated March 1, 2010. The motion carried 5-0. • Bids and Donations Mr. Caruso moved, seconded by Mr. Michaud, to accept the donation from the Birch Meadow PTO of $694 to support educational technology. The motion carried 6-0. Mr. Caruso moved, seconded by Mrs. Janowski, to accept the donation from the Reading Educational Technology Fund as part of their grant program in the amount of $13,819.31 to support educational technology as outlined in the Superintendent's memorandum dated ' March 11, 2010. The motion carried 5-0. March 15, 2010 The question was asked regarding the number of grant applications received. Mrs. Janowski indicated that RTEF received $60,000 worth of applications. She thanked RTEF for their continued support of the Reading Public Schools. Mr. Robinson asked about the RTEF brick fundraiser. Dr. Doherty indicated they have postponed this fundraiser for now. Calendar Dr. Doherty reminded the School Committee that they would be interviewing the Assistant Superintendent candidates and the committee should think of questions that they would like to ask all candidates. N. Information V. Adjournment Mr. Caruso moved, seconded by Mr. Michaud, to adjourn. The motion carried 5-0. VI. Future Business Meeting adjourned at 9:45 p.m. J Im Dohert , Ed.D. permtendent f Schools NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the meeting. t' . March 2, 2010 Letter to the Editor Submitted by Elaine L. Webb, Reading School Committee member Clarification on the impetus for the Proposed School Committee Idling Policy On March 1St, 2010, the School Committee conducted the first reading of a new proposed policy, EEAJ - Policy Regarding Motor Vehicle Idling On School Grounds. While the article in the Chronicle, 3/2/2010, "First reading of new idling policy held", described the details of the proposed policy, it did not address the impetus for this policy. There are three underlying issues necessitating the School Committee's action. First and foremost is a requirement and responsibility to comply with recent changes in State Law, M.G.L. Ch. 90 Sect 16B and 540 CMR 27.00. Secondly, this new law is aligned with our continued efforts to assure that vehicle exhaust fumes are mitigated in proximity to our school facilities fresh air intakes. Thirdly, reductions in vehicle exhaust support the Town wide efforts led by the Cities for Climate Protection Program Committee and Town Meeting. The proposed policy is consistent with the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) recommended policy. The policy and the text of the law can be found on the Reading School Committee web site in the School Committee Packets folder, March 1, 2010 Meeting Packet. The second reading of the policy is scheduled for the March 15, 2010, School Committee meeting.