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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-12-13 School Committee MinutesReading Public Schools Reading, Massachusetts Regular Meeting of the School Committee Open Session ~,.n ED41 Date: December 13, 2010 Time: 7:30 p.m. (Open Session) Place: Wood End School Cafeteria School Committee Members Present Chuck Robinson Karen Janowski Chris Caruso Lisa Gibbs David Michaud Jared Beaulieu Student Representative Matthew Conway Student Representative Staff Members Present John Doherty, Superintendent Patty deGaravilla, Assistant Superintendent Mary DeLai, Director of Finance and Operations Visitors: Richard Davidson, Wood End Principal Isabella Jordan, Wood End Teacher Stephanie Malone, Wood End Teacher Kathleen Ingemi, Wood End Teacher Joanne King, Wood End Teacher Julie Jeffery, Wood End Teacher I. Call to Order Art Katz, Reading Advocate Bob Mooney, RTA President Chairperson Caruso called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. The Chair reviewed the agenda and thanked Mr. Davidson for hosting the meeting II. Recommended Procedure A. Public Input (I) Reports (1) 1. Student Student Representative Conway reported on the recent happenings at RMHS: • Swim Team won the Division 2 state championship • RMHS football had an impressive run • Improvosaurus is this Friday in the Performing Arts Center • Several students auditioned for at the Senior District tryouts. 11 students were selected and 5 were recommended for the state wide chorus and band groups December 13, 2010 2. Liaison Mrs. Janowski reported on the recent Festival of Trees sponsored by thee Reading Technology & Educational Foundation. She said it was a wonderful community event. 3. Superintendent's Report No report this evening 4. Director of Finance and Operations No report this evening. 5. Assistant Superintendent Mrs. de Garavilla updated the School Committee on the DESE Curriculum Summit she attended with Mrs. Oliveira, Mrs. Kwiatek and Mrs. Puglisi. The focus was on the Common Core standards. She went on to report on two exciting exchange programs coming to Reading. Reading will host 4t' - 8t' grade students from Korea for four weeks in January and middle and high school students from China for a week in February. B. Continued Business Update on Naming of Facilities Sub-Committee Mr. Caruso shared that the sub-committee is in place and he hopes to have the first meeting on Tuesday. C. New Business Wood End Presentation Dr. Doherty introduced Mr. Davidson who went on to introduce the teachers that would be presenting. Mr. Davidson provided an overview of the Open Circle program in place at Wood End. He thanked the PTO and Dr. Doherty for the support they have provided for this program. Isabella Jordan reviewed the Open Circle Curriculum. The goal at the start of the school year is to create a cooperative classroom environment, making children feel safe while at school. This goal is achieved by meeting twice a week, engaging the children in team building activities and developing rules to create a safe and fair environment. Ms. Jordan indicated as the year progresses the goal is to build positive relationships and solving people problems using the tools the students have learned. The children learn to recognize annoying and destructive behaviors and ways to address them including problem solving and role modeling. She said it is important to start introduce these skills at the early elementary levels to ensure the social-emotional development in our students. Stephanie Malone discussed the differences in the curriculum for Grades K-2 and Grades 3-5. At the lower elementary levels it is important to build the children's vocabulary as well as introducing language, skill and problem solving. The greater focus is on building the fundamental social skills and less focus on bullying. At the upper elementary levels it is December 13, 2010 important to reinforce, the vocabulary with a greater emphasis on applying the language, skills, and problem solving techniques. At the upper elementary levels there is more explicit bullying discussion, Ms. Jordan reviewed the Open Circle coaching roles and goals. There are several Open Circle coaches on the Wood End staff. These coaches are able to model and observe Open Circle lessons and provide support for their colleagues. The ability to establish collaborative relationships is an important role of the Open Circle coach. Kathleen Ingemi shared information from a teacher's perspective. Training sessions allows for reflection on why you teach, allowing connection to lessons of the program. She shared how Open Circle works in the Kindergarten classroom. The number one goal is to make the students feel secure and safe in school. This is accomplished through a variety of activities that provide basic skills for these young kids to develop their friendship building skills. She said that the children will bring the Open Circle language from the classrooms to the home. Joanne King shared perspective as a fifth grade teacher. This initiative provides a common language and expectations for all students. The students develop their listening and problem solving skills and these skills are used in a variety of settings outside of the classroom. This is an important skill set to have as the students gain more freedoms such as switching for classes. The students, at this level, use the skills they have learned over the years to become better learners/listeners and are able to use their problem solving, listening and reflective skills to address annoying behaviors, teasing or Double D's. Julie Jeffery offered perspective as a non-classroom teacher. She is able to observe application of the skills outside the classroom. Because there are common expectations school wide and everyone has a voice the school has been able to create extension activities. Wood End has implemented an all school meeting once a month to celebrate or address issues. These meetings are student run. There are also small school meetings run by teachers. A new program, Playground Pals, allows students volunteer to initiate play scenarios so no one is left out. Ms. Jeffery also said that the Open Circle Initiative aligns with the Bullying Prevention Plan being developed in the district. Mrs. Janowski asked about a parent component. Mr. Davidson indicated there was no funding at this point for training. He has discussed what is going on with Open Circle with the PTO and a newsletter is sent home to parents to keep them informed. Mr. Caruso thanked the presenters for taking time out of their busy schedules to share information on this important program. Superintendent's Goals and School Improvement Plans Dr. Doherty reviewed the process he took to develop his goals for the 2010-2011 school year. He indicated the administrators participated in graduate credit class that dealt with developing Professional Learning Communities that focused on student learning for continuous improvement in Reading. Working with the district mission and vision three categories we established to be used to develop goals. Dr. Doherty went on to describe the three types of goals in the goal setting process - Stretch, SMART and Performance Targets. He went on to discuss his goals for the year and how they align with the district goals. The Superintendent's goals also align with work that will be done as part of the Race to the Top. December 13, 2010 Discussion turned to the School Improvement Plans. These plans were developed with the goal development process in mind. There are measurable outcomes where data can be analyzed. It was determined to focus on a few items rather than many. Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mr. Michaud. to approve the School Improvement Plans from the eight schools as outlined in t December 8, 2010. The motion carried 5-0. Mrs. Gibbs was pleased with the format of the School Improvement Plans. She is able to compare apples to apples because all schools have the district goals to align their school goals with. Approval of Field Trips Dr. Doherty reviewed the proposed field trip. Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Gibbs, to approve the RMHS Girl's Basketball field trip to participate in a holiday tournament in York, Maine as outlined in the Superintendent's memorandum dated December 8, 2010. The motion carried 5-0. III. Routine Matters • Bills and Payroll (A) • Approval of Minutes Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mr. Michaud, to approve the open session minutes dated November 22, 2010. The motion carried 5-0. Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mr. Michaud, to approve the open session minutes dated November 23, 2010. The motion carried 5-0. • Bids and Donations Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Gibbs, to accept donation to the RMHS Drama Program from PSST to be used to fund two positions as outlined in the Superintendent's memorandum dated December 8 2010. The motion carried 5-0 Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Janowski to accept the donation of $220 from Mr. Troutman that was used to fund bus transportation for a field trip to Salem, MA as outlined in the Superintendent's memorandum dated December 8, 2010. The motion carried 5-0. Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Gibbs to accept the donation of tickets to the Division 2 Super Bowl game valued at $900 from Mr. Tom Flanagan as outlined in the Superintendent's memorandum dated December 8, 2010. The motion carried 5-0 Calendar December 13, 2010 IV. Executive Session V. Information VI. Adjournment Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Gibbs, to enter into Executive Session to discuss stratepy with respect to collective bargaining and approval of minutes and not to reconvene to open session. The roll call vote was 5-0. Mr. Caruso, Mr. Michaud, Mrs. Janowski, Mr. Robinson and Mrs. Gibbs. VI. Future Business Meeting adjourned at 8:57 p.m. NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the meeting. 01 A, ~o: F . bohe-rtt Ed.D rintendent of Schools t