Quincy Public Schools

A meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on Wednesday, April 5, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. in the School Committee Room at the Coddington Building.  Superintendent Kevin Mulvey called the roll and present were Mayor Thomas P. Koch, School Committee Chair, and School Committee Members Mr. Paul Bregoli, Mrs. Tina Cahill, Mr. Douglas Gutro, Mrs. Kathryn Hubley, Mrs. Emily Lebo, and Mr. Frank Santoro, Vice Chair.   

Also present were:  Superintendent Kevin Mulvey, Assistant Superintendent Erin Perkins, Ms. Claire Boudreau, Ms. Kim Connolly, Ms. Allison Cox, Mr. Michael Draicchio, Mr. Keith Ford, Mr. Dan Gilbert, Ms. Julie Graham, Ms. Julie Krieger, Mr. James Mullaney, Ms. Madeline Roy, Mr. Keith Segalla, Mr. Christopher Tierney; and Ms. Laura Owens, Clerk.

A moment of silence was observed for the safety and well-being of students and staff and those that protect us locally and around the world.

Mr. Santoro read the following statement into the record:  Pursuant to the Open Meeting Law, any person may make an audio or video recording of this public meeting or may transmit the meeting through any medium.  Attendees are therefore advised that such recordings or transmissions are being made whether perceived or unperceived by those present and are deemed acknowledged and permissible.

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Regular Meeting

Vice-Chair Presiding

Mrs. Hubley made a motion to approve the minute of the Regular Meeting for March 22, 2023. 

On the motion, Mrs. Lebo requested to add the names of the volunteers for the Food Diversion pilot to the meeting minutes.

Mrs. Lebo seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

Mrs. Lebo made a motion to approve the minutes of the Executive Session for March 22, 2023.  Mr. Bregoli seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

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Approval of Minutes

North Quincy High School students Angela Chen, Jasmine Chen, and Nichole Chen spoke in support of recognizing Lunar New Year as a Quincy Public Schools holiday, noting that Brookline and Boston have now designated this as a school holiday.  In addition, the students have gathered over 500 signatures on a petition.  In addition, parents Susan Chinsen and Grace Young-Jae also spoke in favor of Lunar New Year being recognized as a holiday.

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Open Forum

Superintendent Mulvey recognized the following Quincy Public Schools students:  Congratulations to the QNQ Colorguard on receiving a bronze medal out of the ten squads competing in the Scholastic Region A division at the New England Scholastic Band Association finals competition held last weekend. Special congratulations to North Quincy High School senior Jason Li on receiving the Ed Denon Memorial Scholarship presented by the Massachusetts Scholastic Band Judges Association.

Quincy Public Schools high school band students participated in the Massachusetts Instrumental, Choral & Conductors Association Concert Band competition last weekend.  Congratulations to the QNQ Symphonic Band, which won a silver medal under the leadership of Matthew Cavanaugh and the QNQ Wind Ensemble who also won a silver medal under the direction of Michael Demarco.

Congratulations to Athletic Director Kevin Mahoney for being recognized by the Massachusetts Secondary School Athletic Administrators Association as the 2022-2023 Ted Damko winner for his outstanding contributions to athletics administration at Quincy High School and the Quincy Public Schools community.

Quincy High School’s Spring Concert was held last night and showcased the talents of the QNQ Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, Select Choir, and Tenor-Bass Acapella.  In addition, the Quincy High School Junior and Concert Choirs performed.  North Quincy High School’s Spring Concert is next Tuesday, April 11 at 7:00 pm featuring the same citywide ensembles and the North Quincy Junior and Concert Choirs.

On Thursday, April 6, Quincy High School’s Career Vocational and Technical Education students enrolled in Engineering Design & Development class will present their Final Presentations.  Students work as a team to design and construct the solution to an engineering problem, applying the principles they have developed in the previous Project Lead the Way courses.  This year's projects include:  Better Backpacks, Smarter Safety Glasses, Hygienic Handles, and Bike Helmet Storage.  Presentations will begin at 6:00 p.m. at Quincy High School in the Adams Lecture Hall.

Congratulations to Lincoln Hancock student Alexandra Lee who was selected as one of four statewide winners of the Massachusetts Safe Routes to School Yard Sign Design Contest.  Alexandra’s design was one of over 500 submitted and features a multi-lingual design with text in English and Chinese.  We will post the design on the QPS website and social media and the signs will be distributed statewide later in the spring.

Season 14 of WGBH’s High School Quiz Show is underway, and defending champions North Quincy High School have already made it through the qualifying round, beating St. Joseph Prep.  Next up is Brookline High School on April 15 at 6:30 pm.  Best of luck to the team as they prepare for this impressive competition.

Mr. Bregoli noted that the Instrumental Music program has grown tremendously in the last ten years.

Mr. Santoro thanked the Quincy Public Schools staff for their efforts with students beyond the school day, the middle and high school STEM Fairs and Drama productions are just a few examples.

Mayor Koch made a motion to move to New Business, A so the students can present their STEM Fair projects.

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Superintendent’s

Report

School Committee recognized the first, second, and third place projects from the recent High School STEM Fairs: Mirudulaa Suginathan Yamini (Quincy High School, 1^st place); Michelle Chen (North Quincy High School, 1^st place); Christiana Nguyen, Dante Nguyen & Ruari Gorham (Quincy High School, 2^nd place); Caitlyn Huynh (North Quincy High School, 2^nd place); Mina Al Tikriti (Quincy High School, 3^rd place); Madison Evans (North Quincy High School, 3^rd place). 

North Quincy High School Principal Dan Gilbert and Science Department Chair Claire Boudreau introduced the North Quincy High School students.  120 projects were reviewed by 55 volunteer judges who selected three winners and seven Honorable Mentions. Ten students went to the Massachusetts Region V Stem Fair and six students are advancing to the state STEM Fair in May.

Quincy High School Principal Keith Ford and Science Department Chair Julie Krieger introduced the Quincy High School students, 100 projects were reviewed by 75 judges, with five winners selected (one project was a team of three students).  Two students to  went to the Massachusetts Region V Stem Fair and one student is advancing to the state STEM Fair in May.

Mrs. Hubley, Mrs. Lebo, Mr. Gutro, Mr. Bregoli, and Mrs. Cahill all thanked all the presenters and complimented their projects.

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New Business

High School STEM

Fair Winners

After a brief recess, Mayor Koch made a motion to resume the regular order of the Agenda.  Mr. Bregoli seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

Mr. Bregoli reviewed that the 2023-2034 Quincy Public Schools School Year Calendar is on the agenda for discussion.  After discussion, School Committee agreed to review the calendar again in Policy Subcommittee, scheduled for April 26, 2023.

 Mr. Bregoli reviewed that the revision of School Committee Policy Book 5.2.3 Emergency Closings was approved at the March 29, 2023 Policy Subcommittee meeting.  This item is eligible for vote on May 3, 2023.

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Old Business

2023-2024 School Year

Calendar & Revision to

Policy Book Section 5.2.3

Assistant Superintendent Erin Perkins, Senior Director of Student Support Services Madeline Roy, and Coordinator of Data Christopher Tierney presented an update of MCAS Administration and Accountability Targets from the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education.  Spring 2023 Grade 10 English Language Arts MCAS administration is complete and just underway for Grades 3-8.

DESE recently shared the 2023 Accountability targets which are disagreggated for the district, schools, content areas, and student groups.  DESE has defined two paths (1) forward, for schools and student groups where 2022 MCAS Achievement was greater than or equal to 2019 and (2) recovery, for schools and student groups where there was a decline in student achievement for 2022 MCAS.  Each is assigned a certain number of years to return and then surpass the 2019 MCAS achievement results.  The quartiles are (1) 4 years to recovery; (2) 3 years to recovery; (3) 2 years to recovery; and (4) 1 year to recovery. 

For Quincy Public Schools elementary and middle schools, ELA status is Recovery Quartile 1 (4 years to recover, based on a decline of 9.7 points); Mathematics is Recovery Quartile 2; for Science, Forward path.  For high schools, ELA status is Recovery Quartile 3, Math is Forward, and Science is Recovery Quartile 4.  Paths and Quartiles are also assigned for EL and Former EL students (all curriculum areas in Recovery); Students with Disabilities (mix of Forward and Recovery); Lowest Performing Students (mix of Forward and Recovery); and Race/Ethnicity (all Recovery for English and Math and most are Forward for Science for elementary and middle school; mix of recovery and forward for high school).  Lowest Performing Student data was not released by DESE until February, although principals had extrapolated this data in the fall from the Spring 2022 data.

Steps to recovery for English Language Arts include the Universal Literacy Screener, the implementation of the CKLA program, additional professional development for Orton-Gillingham, increased usage of Lexia Core/Power Up.  For Mathematics, the Illustrative Mathematics program implementation, along with the elementary Math Interventionists, incorporating Desmos lessons for middle school and additional professional development on effective instruction.

DESE released 2023 Accountability Targets on March 22, including performance of the lowest performing students group, school and student group percentiles, overall classifications for requiring assistance/intervention, and schools of recognition.  This is a return to the full accountability system for the first time since 2019.  Students identified as lowest performing are 25% of students at each school and at the district level, based on average MCAS scaled score for ELA and Mathematics.  (This is for Grades 3-8, there is No Lowest Performing group for high school.)  Chronic Absenteeism is calculated on students who missed 10% or more days of school.  Progress Towards English Language Proficiency is the percentage of EL students making progress towards their annual student-level ACCESS targets.  Four-year Graduation rate is the percentage of students in a graduated cohort that graduate from high school in four years or less; the Annual Dropout Rate is the percentage of students in Grades 9 through 12 that drop out of school in a given year.  In addition, Advanced Coursework Completion is the percentage of students enrolled in Grades 11 and 12 who complete at least one advanced course.

Mr. Gutro asked about how the students that need targeted assistance are reached.  Ms. Perkins said that some interventions are for whole classes and some are for small groups or individual.  With the support of School Committee, the MAP and Amplify data are being used to determine areas where students need assistance before the MCAS data is available.

Mr. Gutro asked about Chronic Absenteeism.  Ms. Perkins said prior to COVID, the elementary and middle schools especially had made significant strides through detailed tracking and interventions and the district average was 6%.  Ms. Perkins said that student illness is still a factor, students who are positive for COVID or contract the flu will miss up to five days of school.

Mrs. Cahill asked about how Quincy Public Schools compares with other districts and asked if cohorts can move from Recovery to Forward status in less time than projected.  Mr. Tierney confirmed that these will be adjusted annually, so a cohort would immediately move into Forward status if the data warrants it.  The detailed data has not yet been released publicly, so we are not able to assess where QPS falls in the state except at the highest level.

Mrs. Lebo asked how DESE can expect data that is released so late in the school year can be actionable.  Mrs. Lebo critical of the Lowest Performing Student metric, asked for clarification on the cohort model.  The student would need to be tested in the same school two years in a row to be included. 

Mrs. Lebo asked if Early College High School counts as Advanced Coursework completion, Ms. Perkins will confirm.  Dual Enrollment is currently counted.

Mrs. Lebo said that with the current COVID restrictions, it is going to be difficult to manage chronic absenteeism.

Mr. Bregoli said it is unfair to school administrators that this data and targets are released to late in the school year.

Mr. Bregoli and Mrs. Cahill both asked about whether districts will be penalized for not meeting targets, but this is not yet determined.

Mr. Bregoli asked about high school MCAS, students have multiple opportunities to retake MCAS but can also earn a diploma through implementation of an Educational Proficiency Plan.

Mrs. Hubley thanked the presenters, the teachers are doing amazing work with our students that may not be reflected in MCAS data. 

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New Business

MCAS & Accountability

Data

Mayor Koch updated that security consultants Secure One has done an audit of Quincy Public Schools security protocols and facilities issues.  A draft report is being finalized and will be shared for review with School Committee in Executive Session.   Mayor Koch said this report will lead to Capital investments and strengthening training and implementation at the individual schools.

Mrs. Cahill thanked Mayor Koch for allocating the resources for this Security assessment.

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New Business

QPS Security Assessment

Update

Mayor Koch made a motion for Quincy Public Schools to withdraw from School Choice for the 2023-2024 school year.  Mrs. Lebo seconded the motion and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 7-0. 

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New Business

School Choice

Participation (VOTE)

Quincy Public Schools will partner with the Museum of Science to implement the Essentials in Engineering curriculum for Grades 3-5 next school year.  The Museum of Science will provide curriculum materials and professional development with an estimated value of $80,000.

Mrs. Hubley made a motion for Quincy Public Schools to accept the grant of Engineering in Education curriculum materials and professional development valued at $80,000.00.  Mrs. Lebo seconded the motion and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 7-0. 

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New Business

Curriculum Grant from

Museum of Science

Mrs. Lebo made a motion to approve the Out of State/One Day Travel of Atherton Hough Elementary School Grade 5 to Canobie Lake Park, Salem, New Hampshire on June 16, 2023.  Mr. Bregoli seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

Mrs. Lebo made a motion to approve the Out of State/One Day Travel of South~West Middle School to Canobie Lake Park, Salem, New Hampshire on June 7, 2023.  Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

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New Business

Out of State Travel/

One Day

Mrs. Cahill made a motion to refer School Committee Policy Book Section 1.7 Wellness Policy to the Policy Subcommittee for review.  Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion, and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

Mrs. Cahill made a motion to refer School Committee Policy Book Section 10.19 Concussion Policy to the Policy Subcommittee.  Mr. Bregoli seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

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New Business

Referral to Policy

Subcommittee

Mayor Koch made a motion to take the Agenda out of order and move to Executive Session for the Purpose of Contract Negotiations at 8:20 pm.  Mrs. Lebo seconded the motion and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 7-0. 

School Committee will return to Regular Session.

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Agenda Out of Order

Executive Session

School Committee returned to the Regular Meeting at 8:40 pm and resumed the order of the agenda.

Mayor Koch made a motion to approve the Memorandum of Agreement between the Quincy School Committee and the Quincy Education Association, Unit A for September 1, 2022 through August 31, 2025.  Mrs. Lebo seconded the motion and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 7-0. 

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MOA Approval:

Quincy Education

Association, Unit A

There was no Additional Business.

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Additional Business

Mr. Santoro noted that Regular School Committee meetings are scheduled for May 3, 2023 in the City Council Chambers at Historic City Hall; and May 17, 2023 and June 14, 2023 at 6:30 pm at the Coddington Building.  Upcoming Subcommittee meetings include the Quarterly Budget & Finance Subcommittee on Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at 6:00 pm, followed by Teaching & Learning and Policy.  

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Communications

Mr. Gutro reviewed the Facilities, Security & Transportation Subcommittee meeting held on March 29, 2023, where Public Buildings Commissioner Paul Hines presented an overview of the construction of the DeCristofaro Learning Center, the MSBA Accelerated Repair Projects for Wollaston, Montclair, and Parker and the Core Project for the Squantum Elementary School.  Commissioner Hines also reviewed the School Improvement Plan facilities needs and the development of the new Capital Plan.

Mrs. Lebo reviewed the Teaching & Learning Subcommittee meeting held on March 29, 2023, where a review of the State Seal of Biliteracy, the collaboration with the Museum of Science for the implementation of the Engineering is Essential curriculum, and the partnership with the Quincy Art Association.

Mr. Bregoli reviewed the Policy Subcommittee where the items reviewed under Old Business tonight were discussed and approved.

As there were no corrections, the minutes of the March 29, 2023 Facilities, Security & Transportation, Teaching & Learning, and Policy Subcommittee meetings were accepted as presented.

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Reports of

Subcommittees

Mrs. Cahill made a motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting at 8:45 p.m., which was seconded by Mr. Gutro.  On a voice vote, the ayes have it. 

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Adjournment