Sept. 15, 2010 School Committee Meeting

Agenda

Regular Meeting of the Quincy School Committee
September 15, 2010

7:00 p.m.
City Council Chambers

I. Approval of Minutes: Special Meeting minutes for June 10, 2010, Regular Session minutes for June 16, 2010 and Executive Session minutes for June 16, 2010.

II. Superintendent’s Report:

A. Carol Shiffer, Amelio Della Chiesa Early Childhood Ctr.

B. Administrative Appointments

C. Backpack Initiatives

D. Open House Dates: See Attachment A.

E. Partnership Events: Tis the Season…. Symphony and Song. December 7, 2010

III. Open Forum: (7:15 p.m.) An opportunity for community input regarding the Quincy Public Schools. After giving his or her name and address, each speaker may make a presentation of no more than four minutes to the School Committee.

IV. Old Business

A. Update on building projects, renovations, and construction: Mr. Murphy to report.

B. Update on the New Quincy High School: Mrs. Dwyer to report.

C. Update on Central: Mrs. Bragg and Mrs. Mahoney to report.

V. New Business:

A. Enrollment and Class Size Information

B. Summer Programs/Quincy Evening School

C. Fall School Committee and Leadership Team Tasks

D. Out-of-Country Travel: North Quincy High School to Paris, France. See Attachment B.

VI. Additional Business:

VII. Communications:

VIII. Hearings:

IX. Reports of Special Committees:

X. Executive Session:

XI. Adjournment:

Subcommittees of the School Committee

Subcommittee Date Referred Business Pending
Budget & Finance
Mahoney/Bragg/Lebo 4/11/2007 HS Health Curriculum
  3/29/2008 Bus Rental Fees
  3/29/2008 Building Rental Fees
  9/10/2008 Revolving Funds 5-yrs. History
  5/6/2009 Advanced Placement Policy 10.15.1
  10/7/2009 Half Time Teachers
  4/7/2010 RTTT
  4/7/2010 Curriculum Director
  6/16/2010 Revenue Generating Ideas
School Facilities Management    
Dwyer/Lebo/McCarthy Major Building Projects  
  3/4/98 QHS/Central/Sterling Building Plans
  10/20/2004 ADA Report
  9/7/2005 Alternative Plans for Central Middle School
  2/8/2006 Conservation
  4/9/2008 Track
  3/3/2010 Coddington Hall
Health, Safety & Security    
McCarthy/Isola/Dwyer 3/17/2010 North Quincy Traffic Intersection
  4/11/2007 HS Health Curriculum
  3/26/2008 Increase School Breakfast Participation
School Policy    
Bragg/Isola/Dwyer 3/12/2008 Teacher Evaluations
  9/10/2008 Grade Configurations
  3/11/2009 MS Interim Letters
  3/11/2009 Naming of QPS schools/places/etc.
  12/16/2009 School Tardiness Policy
  6/3/2010 (Subcommittee) Free & Reduced Lunch
  6/10/2010 Waivers
Special Education    
Lebo/McCarthy/Mahoney 1/17/2007 Emergency Information Form
  1/17/2007 Substitute Teachers for SPED
  3/21/2007 Implementation of IEPs
  9/24/2008 INSPIRE Initiative
Rules, Post Audit & Oversight    
Isola/Mahoney/Bragg 10/29/2008 Faxon Field
     
AD HOC COMMITTEES:    
Channel 22    
Mahoney/McCarthy 10/17/2007 Encourage greater use of

 

Minutes

Quincy, Massachusetts - September 15, 2010
Regular Meeting of the Quincy School Committee

Regular

A regular meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on Wednesday, September 15, 2010 in the City Council Chambers, City Hall. Present were: Mr. Dave McCarthy, Mrs. Emily Lebo, Ms. Barbara Isola, Mrs. Jo-Ann Bragg, Mayor Thomas P. Koch and Mrs. Anne Mahoney, Vice Chairman.

Vice Chairman Presiding

The Superintendent called the roll and Mrs. Dwyer was absent. Also present were: Dr. Richard DeCristofaro, Secretary; Mrs. Tefta Burrelli, Clerk; Messrs. Mullaney, Draicchio, Mulvey, Murphy and Keith Segalla; Ms. Roberts, Tenaglia, Todd, and Hughes. Ms. Allison Cox, QEA President and Ms. Tracey Christello, Citywide.

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The Committee observed a moment of silence for Mrs. Carol Shiffer and Mr. Steve O’Donnell who recently passed away.

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Special Meeting Mins. Approved 6/10/2010

On a motion by Mrs. Bragg, seconded by Mr. McCarthy, the Special Meeting minutes for June 10, 2010 were approved. The ayes have it.

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Reg. Session Mins. 6/16/2010

On a motion by Mrs. Lebo, seconded by Mayor Koch, the Regular Session minutes for June 16, 2010 were approved. The ayes have it.

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Exec. Session Mins. 6/16/2010

On a motion by Ms. Isola, seconded by Mrs. Lebo, the Committee approved the Executive Session Minutes for June 16, 2010. On a roll call vote, the motion passed 5-1. Mrs. Bragg ABSTAINED and Mrs. Dwyer was absent.

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Occupational & Physical Therapy Room named after Carol Shiffer @ Amelio Della Chiesa Early Childhood Ctr.

On a motion by Mr. McCarthy, seconded by Mayor Koch, the Committee approved a request to name the Occupational and Physical Therapy Room at -2- September 15, 2010 the Amelio Della Chiesa Preschool after Carol Shiffer. Mrs. Shiffer served the young children in Quincy for almost 30 years. She supervised the occupational therapists and physical therapists for many years. The ayes have it. Mrs. Bragg asked that, in the future, requests like this appear on two agendas before approval is given.

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Rachael’s Challenge

Students from North Quincy High were present to invite everyone to watch Rachael’s Challenge. Rachel Scott was a student who was killed at Columbine. This is student run program.

Supts. Report

Backpack Initiatives has become an annual initiative with our Quincy partners. This year, 2,100 backpacks were handed out to our elementary schools students.

Appointments

Mr. Nicholas Ahearn was appointed principal of Marshall Elementary School, Dr. John Franceschini was appointed Assistant Principal of the Reay E. Sterling Middle School, and Mrs. Kerri Connolly has been appointed Special Education Team Administrator at the Amelio Della Chiesa Early Childhood Ctr.

The Committee received a listing of school Open Houses for this new school year. Tis the Season….. will be held on December 7, 2010 at the new Quincy High School auditorium. There was a very informal orientation gathering held for our new teachers.

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Open forum

As there was no one who wished to speak at Open Forum, the committee went on with the business at hand.

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Bldg. Update Mr. Murphy reports

Maintenance and custodial staff worked very hard over the summer. There were over 100 moves—(besides the big move at Quincy High School) tables, chairs, desks, computers, etc. Floor tiles and new floors were replaced at Parker, Beechwood Knoll, Squantum, Point Webster, North Quincy, Atherton Hough, Marshall and Atlantic. A complete fence repair for dump enclosures were done at several schools, several air conditioning repairs, a new heating system along with a new expansion tank at Veterans Stadium, numerous rooms were painted, through a grant, two retaining walls were built at Sterling, five new computer labs at North Quincy, and a new gym floor at Merrymount. Mr. Murphy said that the Merrymount gym floor cost approximately $30,000. It is an epoxy type material.

Mrs. Bragg asked about a security issue (paving school yards) which she had brought up several times before. Mr. Murphy said there was some progress. Potholes were filled in, but there has been no repaving. Mayor Koch said there is no money right now for repaving. He will try to get to it under capital improvement. He is going to the City Council for funds and of that money will be school related. Mr. Murphy said Alantic, Bernazzani, Squantum, and Snug Harbor had pot holes filled. Mrs. Mahoney said she saw the City tarring the inside of the Veterans Stadium. The Mayor said the money used for that is from a bond issue for the Stadium project. That money had been specifically allocated for improvements at the Veterans Stadium. The timing of it was unfortunate as there were events scheduled for that day also.

Mrs. Lebo commended and thanked the custodians and maintenance staff for their work getting the new Quincy High School ready to open. Mr. McCarthy inquired about access to the old Quincy High School. The Mayor said he will report at next meeting on old Quincy High School and Coddington Hall.

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New QHS Supt. Reports

The Superintendent thanked everyone who attended the grand opening for the new Quincy High School held Sunday, August 29. It was a huge success. Mr. McCarthy inquired about the punch list. The Superintendent said they are working on that he will try and get Jim Anderson at next meeting to go through the punch list. Mayor Koch said there are some issues and still some work to do. The City is working on who is responsible for what. When Mrs. Dwyer returns, we have a walkthrough with Tishman and come back with a refreshed punch list.

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Central Bldg. Comm. Mrs. Bragg Reports

Mrs. Bragg expressed concern with the amount of time between meetings for the Central Building Committee. She asked the Superintendent and/or the Mayor to schedule a meeting on the new Central. She would like to begin visiting other middle schools. Mayor Koch said things are going well. He will present a draft report for the new Central at the next School Committee meeting. He hopes that the School Committee will take a vote at this time and he can go on to the City Council. The Superintendent will work with Mr. Cunniff on Coddington Hall and what he envisions for a layout if we’re going to move the Administrative offices there.

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Enrollment/Class Size

Mrs. Colleen Roberts reported on the preliminary class sizes. We have a total of 9,347 students. Mrs. Roberts explained that the first priority of all the schools is to make sure that the students registered are put into Star Base. We then take a look at the class list to make sure we find out where any students who are not in front of a teacher are--if they moved, etc. That stage is happening at this time. The numbers that the Committee received are preliminary. The final numbers have to be sent in to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on October 1. Mrs. Roberts should have the exact figures on or before the October 13 School Committee meeting. At this time, there are two grade 3 Montclair and Snug Harbor and one grade 4 at Squantum with 26-27 students in a class. All have a skill support teacher in their class. The skill support teacher works in conjunction with the full time teacher every morning for reading, writing, and math. At middle school, there are six classes 29 and above. At high school there are 40 classes that are 30 or above. We are watching class size very closely. Schedules in high schools constantly change for the first month.

Mrs. Lebo asked Mrs. Roberts to come back to the Committee with the breakdown for informational purposes. She has a concern with the standard classes being 30 or above. Mrs. Isola asked that her report include level, subject, and the school.

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Summer Programs

Ms. Janice Erler reported on this past summer programs. There were 183 teachers that worked. Funding came from grants and tuitions. Also, 16 students graduated in August from the Evening High School. A short video of the students that participated in the summer programs was presented.

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Fall SC Leadership Team Tasks

The Superintendent listed his fall school committee and leadership team tasks. They are: MCAS results, common core students, technology upgrades, system wide, the DIP, School Committee leadership tasks, School Improvement Plans, Bullying, tardiness procedures, Athletic waivers, the free and reduced lunch process, full day Kindergarten, Opportunities and Challenges, open enrollment policy. We need to look at our facilities, look at demographics, student achievement, our graduation rate. The Committee reviewed the items in their subcommittees.

Subcommittees Updated

Under Safety and Security Subcommittee, the Committee removed:

HS Health Curriculum

Under Budget and Finance Subcommittee, the Committee removed:

High School Health Curriculum
Bus Rental Fees
Building Rental Fees
Revolving Funds 5-yr. History
Advanced Placement Policy 10.15.1
RTTT
Curriculum Director

The Committee added to the Budget and Finance Subcommittee:

Opportunities and Challenges
Full Day Kindergarten
Free and Reduced lunch
Short and long term goals for budget

Under Health, Safety, Security and Transportation, the Committee removed:

High School Health Curriculum

Under School Policy Subcommittee, the Committee removed:

Teacher Evaluations
Grade Configurations

The Committee added to the School Policy Subcommittee:

Attendance & Tardy Policy with High School Principals
CPR/AED and First Aid Training
Students Use of Electronics
Open Enrollment Policy
Anti-bullying Policy

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Out of Country Travel NQ to France

On a motion by Mayor Koch, seconded by Ms. Isola, the Committee approved a trip to Paris, France for North Quincy High students from April 12, 2011 to April 23, 2011. The ayes have it.

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Staff Evaluations

Mrs. Lebo asked to see a report on the last two times staff evaluations were done. She also wants to make sure promoting and marketing is going on for the late fall, early winter CTE programs. Ms. Isola wants people to be assured that even though there is a change in the name, it is still technical education.

Mr. McCarthy is looking for a transportation update on our vendors for the next School Committee meeting from Mr. Draicchio. How is it working out with all transportation? Mr. McCarthy asked Mrs. Roberts to look at Mr. Carew’s position with the a cappella choir. Is he half time at both high schools?

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Budget Subcommittee Mrs. Mahoney reports

At the Budget Subcommittee meeting earlier this evening, Mr. Mullaney went through the budget to date. We need to pay attention to some areas. The Superin- tendent will re-evaluate short term and long term goals. There are two sources of stimulus money coming in--$1.3 million for the educational jobs program, that money can be spent anytime going back to August 2010 up until the first quarter of 2012. The $101,000 SFSF Funds money, which can be spent any time this fiscal year or the first quarter of FY2012.

Mrs. Mahoney cautioned that we move slower with the larger portion. The Superintendent will come back with recommendations in the areas of the budget with short term and a longer financial picture so that we can evaluate the best way to proceed with these additional funds.

Mrs. Mahoney requested from the city side a forecast that they have been working on so we will be able to look at what the City is doing, so the Committee can make the best choices. The Committee also requested updates between the quarterly budget reports.

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Appointments

The Committee noted the following appointments:

Teachers: Jaclyn Baltrukonis, John Daley, Ciane Newell, Catherine O’Connor, Paula Parker, Angela Yu

Resignations

The Committee noted the following resignations:

Teachers: Lisa Bellask, Colleen Carlson, Elizabeth Collura, Jennifer Eddy, Emily Gude, Paula Radzewich, James Scott
Bus Driver: John Doran
Sr. Clk. Typist: Allyce Kenney
Paraprofessional: Nancy McLaughlin

Retirements

The Committee noted the following retirements:

Conf. Secretary: Janice Francis
Paraprofessional: Francis Kabilian, Ann Marie Norris

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Leaves of Absence

The Committee noted the following Leaves of Absence:

Teachers: Mark Connerty, Karen Kelliher, Katie Kunevich, Michelle Nixon, Stacy Reed, Maria Weber

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On a motion by Mrs. Bragg, seconded by Mr. McCarthy, the Committee voted Adjournment to adjourn at 8:35 p.m. for the evening. There was no executive session. On a roll call vote, the motion passed 6-0. Mrs. Dwyer was absent.