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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-12-04 School Committee MinutesRECEIVED Reading Public Schools T O N C L E R K Reading, MassachusetRE A D! X M A S S. Regular Session 1001 FEB 15 PcQ 4, 2006 Call to Order Chair Webb called the regular session to order at 7:33 p.m. in the Selectman's Meeting room at Reading Town Hall. Present were Ms Webb, Mrs. Gibbs, Mr. McFadden, Mr. Caruso, Mr. Michaud, Superintendent Patrick Schettim, Jr., Assistant Superintendent John Doherty, Director of Human Resources and Finance Mary DeLai, High School Principal Mr. Finigan, Mrs. Vicki Griffin, RISE Pre-school, Scott Dunlap, Phil Callahan AD, Dave Capaldo, Design Partnership. Bills and Payrolls Bills and payrolls were circulated Citizens' Input No citizen's input Gifts There was a presentation by Mr. Weston Adams, Board of Directors, of Samantha's Harvest of a gift of $10,000 to the RISE Pre-School program which will in part be used to fund the construction of the RISE playground. Special thanks were given to Mr. McFadden and State Representative Brad Jones. Mrs. Griffin thanked Mr. Adams for the generous donation. Mr. Michaud moved to accept lift from Samantha's Harvest to RISE. Seconded by Mr. Caruso The motion passed 4-0 Ms Webb, Mr. Caruso, Mr. McFadden and Mr. Michaud. Mrs. Gibbs abstained. After a brief recess to thank representatives of Samantha's Harvest, committee reconvened at 7:40 p.m. Ms. Webb read the mission statement for the Reading Public Schools. Reports of Chairman, Liaisons & Superintendent Mr. Caruso highlighted events he had recently intended including the Veteran's memorial observance at Joshua Eaton on November 6, 2006; the MASC/MASS joint conference from November 8-10, 2006; the RMHS production of Seussical The Musical; and the RTEF Festival of Treeson December 2-3, 2006 which raised over $10,000-to fund grants for technology requests from the district. Regular Session 2 December 4, 2006 Mrs. Gibbs highlighted her participation in a Joshua Eaton reading day and her experience reading to a 5th grade class there. Ms. Webb talked about the recent football luncheon sponsored by Rotary and how impressed she was by the speech by Mr. Fiore, HS Football coach. Mr. Michaud attended the Veterans Day celebration on the Town Common on November 11, 2006 where the Veterans presented Mr. Schettini with a special flag that has been flown over ever school and every cemetery in town to be kept at the High School as a tribute to the Memorial at RMHS. He noted that he, Ms. Webb, and Mrs. Gibbs attended a recent School Committee roundtable at Melrose High School that included Stoneham, Melrose, Wakefield and Reading School Committee members addressing issues of interest to all four districts. Mr. Michaud also highlighted the recent meeting of the Reading Substance Abuse prevention committee. Mr. Schettini announced that Killam Elementary School has been awarded the designation of Blue Ribbon Lighthouse School. In addition, Joshua Eaton has attained the Point of Light designation and is working toward becoming a Blue Ribbon Lighthouse School. He noted that these designations are part of the District's commitment to continual improvement and that these organizations emphasize continual improvement in their standards and criteria. He noted the similarity of these standards to - other accreditation standards which have been applied to other schools in the district as part of the accreditation process. Mr. Schettini also discussed the attendance of he and several administrators at the Blue Ribbon schools conference and the excellent opportunity it offered to network with other schools in the country who have the same mission to provide the highest quality instruction and to gather information on best practices to be used to benchmark the performance of our schools and implement in our schools. Mr. Schettini congratulated Mr. Finigan and his staff on their receipt of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association's District B Sportsmanship Award. New Business Mr. Buono, High School science teacher, with Mr. Finigan requested approval of a Field Trip for High School students over February vacation to assist with a Habitat for Humanities Project in an underprivileged area of rural North Carolina. Mrs Gibbs moved to approve the proposed field trip with Mr. Buono to North Carolina for habitat to humanity projects as stated in the Superintendent's memo of November 30 Mr. Michaud seconded Motion passed 5-0. Ms. Webb, Mr Michaud, Mrs. Gibbs, Mr. Caruso and Mr. McFadden. Regular Session 3 December 4 2006 School Committee Calendar Mrs. Webb reviewed the School Committee Calendar for the remainder of the school year and noted that additional meetings may be added during the budget presentation cycle as needed. Ms. Webb encouraged Fin Com liaisons to attend Fin Com meetings during the budget season. Personnel There were no personnel issues to be discussed. Old Business Building Project Update Mr. Dunlap provided the School Committee with an update on the High School Construction Project. Last few weeks spent on Phase II - Phase III transition. TLT is expected to complete Phase II and have the building ready for occupancy within the next two weeks. Mr. Dunlap reviewed the schedule for equipment and furniture delivery and installation between today and December 20th. Telephone conversions between December 26th and December 29th and will attempt to minimize downtime of telephone system. Student orientation scheduled for December 18th and 19th. Mr. Dunlap distributed an updated project budget which included the additional appropriation of $1.532 million by fall town meeting. He noted that the FF&E and technology budgets have been replenished with the additional funds from town meeting. Mrs. Gibbs asked about punch list and system testing schedules and Mr. Dunlap noted that some punch list items will be addressed during the holiday and right up to occupancy. Completing the punch list and troubleshooting systems will take place outside of school hours following occupancy with input and feedback to be solicited from the High School faculty and administration. Mr. Dunlap noted that as we move forward in assessing damages or penalties related to the delayed occupancy, TLT will be held to the October 1 deadline. Mr. McFadden asked about some of the charges related to the re-design of Central Office. Mr. Dunlap and Mr. Capaldo addressed these issues and Mr. Schettini reviewed the history of demolition and reconstruction of this area. Mr. McFadden asked about some of the unfinished items in the Field House. Mr. Dunlap - and Mr. Schettini noted that they are discussing these issues each week with TLT and, Regular Session 4 December 4, 2006 while a source of some frustration when not completed, they continue to emphatically insist that they be addressed. New Business MCAS Presentation (PowerPoint slides distributed) Mr. Schettini noted the efforts of district administrators and Mr. Doherty in examining and analyzing assessment data and the tools that are being used in this effort. Mr. Doherty stated that he would be reviewing the results of last year's tests and its implications for NCLB AYP determinations and some measures that the district is taking to assist students who are not in advanced or proficient. Points of concern included science scores at all levels at which this test is administered, Grade 4 ELA scores, and Grade 4 Math scores. Ms. Webb asked about other assessments and Mr. Schettini noted that there are a number of assessments that are used to evaluate student performance and achievement in addition to MCAS. Mr. Doherty reviewed areas of the District Improvement Plan that address MCAS Issues and current actions currently underway to address MCAS performance concerns. Mr. Doherty noted that, while we do have one elementary instructional specialist, the loss of curriculum and instructional specialist positions in the other elementary subjects and at the middle school has presented a challenge to the district and its efforts to improve student performance. Mr. Doherty reviewed the definition of Adequate Yearly Progress for the No Child Left Behind Act, it's implementation in Massachusetts, how it is calculated, the concept of straight-line progression, and the criteria necessary to achieve Adequately Yearly Progress. Mr. McFadden asked where we are at with Math. Mr. Doherty answered that the Middle School special education subgroup did not meet AYP for Math this year. Mr. Michaud noted that it might be a good idea to present to the School Committee the trends and performance for those that are in the Needs Improvement and Warning category. Ms. Webb noted that there would be a discussion with legislators on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. to discuss MCAS, NCLB and other related issues. Regular Session 5 December 4 2006 Approval of Minutes Mrs. Gibbs moved to approve minutes dated October 16, 2006 Second Mr. Caruso Motion passed 5-0. Ms. Webb, Mr. Michaud, Mrs Gibbs, Mr. Caruso and Mr. McFadden. Mrs. Gibbs moved to approve minutes dated November 1, 2006 Seconded Mr. Caruso. Motion passed 5-0. Ms. Webb, Mr. Michaud, Mrs Gibbs, Mr. Caruso and Mr. McFadden. Move to enter into executive session for the purposes of entering contract discussions and not to return to regular session Roll call vote was 5-0 Ms Webb, Mr. Michaud, Mrs. Gibbs Mr. Caruso and Mr. McFadden. Respectful I I- ~11 Patrick A. S~hettini, Jr. Superintendent of Schools