Minutes
Quincy, Massachusetts – September 4, 2019
Special Organizational Meeting of the Quincy School Committee
A Special Organizational meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on
Wednesday, September 4, 2019 at the Coddington Building at 6:00 p.m.
Superintendent DeCristofaro called the roll and present were School Committee
Chair Mayor Thomas Koch, Mr. Anthony Andronico, Mr. Paul Bregoli,
Mr. James DeAmicis, Mr. Douglas Gutro, Mrs. Kathryn Hubley, and
Mrs. Emily Lebo, Vice Chair.
Vice Chair Presiding
Also present were: Dr. Richard DeCristofaro, Secretary; Deputy Superintendent Kevin Mulvey; Mr. James Hardy, Massachusetts Association of School Committees; and Ms. Laura Owens, Clerk.
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School Committee
Goal Setting
After being introduced by Mrs. Lebo, Mr. Hardy reviewed the concept of Goal Setting for School Committees: Overarching Goals, carefully chosen integrated long-term initiatives supported by SMART goals that specify evidence. Once School Committee determines a starting point, available data should be analyzed to set the objective goals. These goals filter down through the Superintendent, the Leadership and Principal Teams, to professional staff. Goals that are measurable demonstrate progress and achievements: Outputs, Outcomes, Benchmarks, and Data (Quantitative vs Qualitative).
Mr. Hardy suggested that one goal could be to address the number of items in Subcommittee, some that have been there for several years. He suggested that Subcommittee members rank the items in order of priority and focus on eliminating the items so that nothing more than a year or two old.
Mr. Gutro said that other deliberative bodies (i.e., City Council) do not carry items across elected terms. All items must be reintroduced in the new term. Mr. Hardy said there is not one way to do this. Mrs. Lebo said that this meeting is the usual forum for reviewing the items in Subcommittee.
Mr. Hardy shared examples of goal setting from Cohasset and Nantucket. Nantucket used the language of Educator Evaluation and set very specific and detailed goals, objectives, indicators of success, and evidence. Cohasset’s goals were less measurable in some instances and did not present sources of evidence.
Mr. Hardy said that it is a School Committee responsibility to clearly define expectations on presentations, type and length, narrow the focus so that presentations are not overwhelming. Mr. Hardy cited the QPS Framework document as an example of a starting place for School Committee as there are established goals, indicators, benchmarks.
Mr. Hardy said that updating the School Committee Policy Book is not a goal as it is an ongoing responsibility.
Mrs. Lebo would like to have a goal around the VOCAL survey results and aligning the curriculum for health and wellness. All students have access to the curriculum, curriculum maps as evidence. The VOCAL survey data will inform discussions about school culture. Mrs. Lebo said we are very fortunate, the school system is doing well.
Mr. Hardy said Step 1 would be to analyze the data and select target areas based on the data. Next steps would be to identify any gaps and expand programming to address those. Until the data is analyzed, we don’t know where the gaps are.
Dr. DeCristofaro said the Frameworks have six standards, and School Committee goals would be in Standard 1, Leadership & Governance.
Mrs. Lebo said that a Homework Survey was completed with students, parents, and teachers. There is an enormous amount of data and hopefully a revision to the existing Policy will come from this.
Mr. Gutro asked about the process and language for setting the goals, does not want to micromanage the Superintendent and his team. Other towns have simpler goals, cited Milton and Somerville as examples of aspirational goals.
Mr. Hardy said the most common way School Committees do this is a Summer Retreat. A brainstorming session can be posted as a workshop and no votes take place until a posted meeting.
Mr. Gutro asked about public input, this can be scheduled separately.
Mayor Koch suggested a Saturday morning meeting; School Committee decided on September 28 from 8:30 am to noon.
Mr. Hardy said that if each person suggests five goals, the proposed goals would then be analyzed for commonalities. Discussion would take place to identify the most important goals for each of the categories identified (for example, Cohasset’s categories of Human Capital, Communication & Collaboration, Safety & Security, Finance, Digital Learning, for example or aligned to the Superintendent’s Goal categories.) The proposed goals can then be brought to the next School Committee meeting for voting.
Mayor Koch left the meeting at 7:00 pm.
Mr. Gutro asked if the goals are being established for 2019-2020 and Mrs. Lebo said as long as it would not be disruptive to what is already underway for the school year. Mr. Gutro said he noticed one and two-year goals, but not longer term goals in his research. Mr. Gutro noted that this is an election year and at least one member will be different in January.
Mrs. Lebo said that this has to be a reflective process, School Committee can’t be way out there. Mr. Hardy said the goals have to be reviewed regularly, School Committee will define what this means and this year’s goals will be the basis for next year’s goals. Incremental improvement is an overall goal, at some point the goal will plateau.
Mr. Hardy left the meeting at 7:05 pm.
After a brief recess, School Committee moved onto the Review of Items Currently in Subcommittee; items were deleted and new items added by unanimous consent.
Athletics & Wellness: Mr. Gutro requested to remove Before School Exercise Programs, Bishop Field Update, School Nurses, and Elimination of Styrofoam from School Nutrition Service as these items are completed.
Budget & Finance: No changes
Facilities, Security, and Transportation: Mr. DeAmicis requested to remove School Playgrounds, the New Middle School Project, ALICE Protocol, and Direct Emergency Contact from School Offices to Quincy Police Department as these items are completed.
Policy: Mr. Bregoli requested to remove Extended School Day/Recess Scheduling as completed. Mr. Bregoli requested to add a review of the Acceptable Use Policy in relation to cell phone usage at the middle and high schools.
Special Education: Mr. Andonico requested to update the item on High School Inclusion Classes to be for the 2019-2020 School Year. Mr. Andronico requested to add an item for review of the DESE Special Education Significant Proportionality Data.
Teaching & Learning Mrs. Lebo asked to remove Enrollment Data/Class Size, District Goal for Science, and MCAs Growth Percentile as those are ongoing items. Mrs. Lebo asked to update Superintendent Evaluation and High School Mid-Term Examinations to reflect current status.
Mrs. Lebo and Mr. Gutro requested to add a review of the current Tobacco Policy to the next School Committee Agenda to add Vaping.
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Adjournment
Mrs. Hubley made a motion to adjourn for the evening at 7:50 p.m. The motion was seconded by Mr. Bregoli and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.