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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-02-28 School Committee MinutesReading Public Schools Reading, Massachusetts Regular Meeting of the School Committee Open Session Date: February 28, 2011 Time: 7:00 p.m. (Open Session) Place: Birch Meadow Cafeteria School Committee Members Present Chuck Robinson Karen Janowski Chris Caruso Lisa Gibbs David Michaud Staff Members Present John Doherty, Superintendent Patty deGaravilla, Assistant Superintendent Mary DeLai, Director of Finance and Operations Kim Oliveira, Director of Pupil Services Visitors: Joanne King, Wood End Teacher Karen Callan, Barrows Principal Eric Sprung, Birch Meadow Principal Karen Feeney, Eaton Principal Cathy Giles, Killam Principal Richard Davidson, Wood End Principal Birch Meadow Staff 1. Call to Order Matt Casey, Reading Patch Art Katz, Reading Advocate Charlie Arthur, SC Candidate Anthony Cerullo, Epilepsy Foundation Chairperson Caruso called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m. The Chair reviewed the agenda and welcomed guests. Mr. Caruso asked for a moment of silence to remember Margo Popken who passed away over vacation. She was a tutor in the Barrows School. She will be sorely missed. Dr. Doherty introduced Mr. Anthony Cerullo, representing the Epilepsy Foundation. The School Committee recognized the winners of the Color Me Benjamin Contest. The School Committee congratulated the students and thanked Mr. Cerullo. The Chair called a brief recess at 7:24 p.m. The meeting was called back to order at 7:28 p.m. II. Recommended Procedure A. Public Input (I) February 28, 2011 Mr. Caruso read a statement regarding the decision to defer the naming of the field for John Hollingsworth. Mr. Caruso indicated that the School Committee will readdress this decision after the budget process is completed. He said he would be sure to inform the group when this would be on the agenda. Representative supporting the naming of the Stadium Field after John Hollingsworth made statements concerning the recent School Committee decision to defer the naming. Pete Moscariello, Mary Cookson and Ken Hollingsworth requested that the Committee reconsider their decision. Reports (1) 1. Student Mr. Beaulieu spoke of the passing of Mrs. Popken, Barrows Tutor over vacation. He was touched by the outpouring of support for the family. Many students and staff attended the wake and funeral. He also reminded the audience of the Parker Middle School presentation of "Fiddler on the Roof', RMHS VOICE presentation of the "The Cat's Pajamas" and Drama's upcoming play "Noises Off' The Wellness Education Department and RCASA will be hosting the 2nd annual Wellness Fair next week. He also shared that the course selection process is ongoing and winter activities are winding down. 2. Liaison Mrs. Gibbs informed the School Committee that the Green Repairs subcommittee has met and chosen a Project Manager and Designer for the two projects. The goal is to have the specifications and plans to the MSBA by the end of the week. This would enable our project to be placed on the next MSBA meeting agenda. 3. Superintendent's Report Dr. Doherty announced the appointment of Karen Feeney as Principal of the Joshua Eaton School. 4. Director of Finance and Operations Assistant Superintendent Mrs. de Garavilla shared information regarding the upcoming Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence Conference on April 14th & 15th. She stated that she has received many presentation proposals from our staff and several outside groups including Middlesex Partnership for Youth, Riverside Counseling and some of our Special Education Consultants. The Assistant Superintendent updated the School Committee on the Common Core process. She attended a workshop recently held by the DESE. At this point the standards are being reviewed and methods of addressing gaps in the curriculum are being discussed. February 28, 2011 B. Continued Business Race to Nowhere Next Steps The Superintendent introduced Joanne King who gave an update on the Race to Nowhere. The district will be showing the film once again on March 15th. There will be a panel discussion after the film. The panel will be made up of parents, students, teachers and community members. Information will be gathered from the discussion and used to help address issues and concerns. Mrs. King also stated that we will be hosting a screening for all high school students and a third screening as part of the Blue Ribbon Conference for faculty and staff. FYI 2 Budget Update Dr. Doherty reviewed the FYI 2 budget in light of the recent information regarding the health insurance cost increase. The town assumed a 10% increase. The actual increase is 13.5% which will result in approximately a $100,000 reduction to the bottom line number of the School Committee budget. State aid numbers have not been released. The Superintendent suggested that the School Committee wait until the state aid number is released before addressing additional reductions. The information is expected mid-March Dr. Doherty also informed the School Committee that the Town Manager adjusted the bottom line of the School Committee budget by approximately $100,000 prior to forwarding it to the Finance Committee. Mrs. Janowski offered that the Superintendent contact the Town Manager and Fincom to postpone the budget presentation until after the state aid information is made available. The Superintendent said he would inquire. B. New Business Birch Meadow School Presentation Chair Caruso thanked Mr. Sprung for hosting the meeting. Mr. Sprung began the presentation discussing the Blue Ribbon school improvement process. He indicated that the whole Birch Meadow community has had an active role in determining the process. An Action Plan has be established-which includes communication between all stakeholders, solutions to meet the nine assessment standards, evidence of standard and solution and sustainability. Birch Meadow has set a goal of December 2011 to become a Blue Ribbon Lighthouse School. Mr. Sprung turned the meeting over to his grade 1 teachers, Danielle Piazza, Patti Beckman & Cheryl Davie. They presented the current reading model, Daily 5 and Daily Cafe, being used in to teach reading strategies in first grade at Birch Meadow. The children have 4 options - Read to Self, Read to Someone, Listen to Reading and Word Work. The students are broken down into level groups and switch classes. They work on phonic skills and spelling patterns and writing skills to strengthen comprehension. Another aspect is to meet with the teacher in small groups for guided reading, one on one conferences with students and conversations between teachers to help keep the students on track. The teachers have seen tremendous progress at all levels. February 28, 2011 The grade 3 teachers presented the Tiered Instruction Model they use for third grade reading. Matt Kaminski, Maureen Thurnauer, Kristie Lambert and Jan Rhein explained that all students are assessed at the beginning of the year to determine their level. The students are grouped into individual guided reading groups. This benefits the students by allowing them to read at their optimum level and the flexibility allows the readers to move between groups. The children are assessed in several ways including the use of DIBELS, one on one conferences, setting strategies to develop goals, recognizing progress and celebrating strengths. Next up was the Kindergarten team of Maria Simon and Danielle Tucker who discussed comprehension strategy instruction. The tools used include visualization, comprehension, making connections, retelling new stories and inferring knowledge clues from text and pictures. The grade 2 teachers, Heidi Murray, Leana Vrenagnr, and Janis Gerety, shared a reading literacy project. In collaboration with Library Media Specialist Tully Warschauer the second graders designed and created a project - "Book Character to Love". The students were paired up and worked collaboratively choosing a character from the book they agreed on that exhibited traits that they chose off of a list of adjectives. The next step was to write 3 paragraphs about their character and finally the artwork was created and the whole project put together. Using a flip camera the stories were recorded and put on the school website. The grade 4 & 5 teachers, Melissa Fleishman, Beth Slater, Rick Downes, Jolene Tewksbury, Jo- Anne Garlick and Jennifer Emmett shared information on Math Flexible Grouping. The flexible math grouping challenges students at their own level. A pretest is given prior to each unit. Students can self evaluate and request a change in group if they feel it is too hard or easy. Each teacher stays at about the same lesson but the pace and content varies. All students are tested on the same day. The fourth grade meets every day and the fifth grade meets twice a week (the other days regular math work is done). This method is very successful at Birch Meadow. About 11 % of the students moved to a different tier each unit. The classes were able to complete more chapters than previous years and there has been positive feedback for parents and students. Mr. Caruso and Mrs. Janowski were impressed by the different types of presentation technology that was used to create the presentations. Mr. Sprung wrapped up the presentation by saying that Birch Meadow will be hosting a technology sharing day on April 6t'. Town Meeting _Warrant Article Ms. DeLai outlined the proposed warrant article for Town Meeting requesting authorization to enter contracts longer than 3 years in length. The district will be going out to bid for transportation this year and the ability to offer a contract longer than 3 years may attract more competition. Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Gibbs, to authorize the Superintendent to request that Article 14 be placed on the Annual Town Meeting warrant for consideration. The motion carried 5-0. February 28, 2011 III. Routine Matters • Bills and Payroll (A) • Approval of Minutes Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Gibbs, to agprove the open session minutes dated February 7, 2011. Mr. Michaud asked for clarification regarding Mr. Croft's statements on the naming of the field. The Chair felt it was better to wait to ask Mr. Croft at the next meeting. The motion was tabled. • Bids and Donations Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Janowski, to accept a $5,000 donation from the Parker Middle School PTO to Parker to be used to support technology. The motion carried 5-0. Mrs. Janowski asked how the funds would be used. Dr. Doherty indicated that the funds would supplement the grant from RTEF to purchase Nooks, Smart Document Cameras and possibly some tablets. Calendar IV. Information Mr. Caruso reminded the committee that the next meeting was March 14th at Killam. V. Adjournment Mr. Robinson moved to enter into Executive Session to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining, safety and security, strategy with respect to litigation and approval of minutes and not to reconvene to open session. The roll call vote was 5-0. Mr. Caruso, Mrs. Gibbs, Mrs. Janowski, Mr. Robinson and Mr. Michaud. VI. Future Business Meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m. NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the meeting. a ~ r a J&ii~ F. Doherty, Ed.D St rintendent of Schools