Minutes
Quincy, Massachusetts -January 11, 2012
Regular Meeting of the Quincy School Committee
Regular Meeting
A regular meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on Wednesday,
January 11, 2012 at Broad Meadows Middle School. Present were: Mr. Paul Bregoli,
Mrs. Kathryn Hubley, Mayor Thomas Koch, Mrs. Emily Lebo, Mrs. Anne Mahoney,
Mr. Dave McCarthy,and Ms. Barbara Isola, Vice Chair.
Vice-Chair
Presiding
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There was a moment of silence in memory of Lt. Col. Joseph Ciampa, Junior Air
Force ROTC instructor at Quincy High School for over 20 years.
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The Superintendent called the roll and all were present. Also present were:
Dr. Richard DeCristofaro, Secretary; Ms. Laura Owens, Clerk; Messrs. Chella,
Draicchio, Metzler, Mullaney, Mulvey, Murphy, Rendle, Santoro, Keith Segalla,
Shaw, Taglieri; Mrs. Fredrickson, Kisielius, Papile; Ms. Murray, Todd;
Ms. Allison Cox, President, QEA, and Mrs. Tracey Christello, representing the
Citywide Parents’ Council.
Ms. Isola introduced Principal Larry Taglieri, who welcomed everyone to Broad
Meadows Middle School. Mr. Taglieri recognized the members of his staff who were
present: Assistant Principal Peter Chella, Joe Boss and Christy Cronin from the
Guidance Department, School Secretary Debbie Golden, and Choral Director Dan
Caruso. Mr. Taglieri spoke of Ann Marie Zukauskas, principal of Broad Meadows
from 1994 to 2003, who created many of the traditions and values that are an integral
part of the school today. One of these long-standing traditions is community service,
which all Grade 7 students take part in. Broad Meadows is proud that three Grade 8
students were chosen to be Quincy’s Ambassador’s to Governor Deval Patrick’s
Project 351 Day of Service on January 14, 2012. Mr. Taglieri spoke of the twenty
different before- and after-school programs at Broad Meadows funded by the 21st
Century Grant Program, including academic enrichment, the arts, and community
service. Eighty percent of Broad Meadows students take part in one or more of these
activities that enhance the nurturing and positive school climate. Mr. Taglieri
concluded by thanking the School Committee for their support for the students and
staff of the Broad Meadows Middle School.
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Regular Meeting Minutes Approved
12/14/2011
Mrs. Lebo made a motion, seconded by Mr. McCarthy, to amend the regular session
minutes for December 14, 2011. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Mr. McCarthy then made a motion to accept the minutes as amended. Mrs. Mahoney
seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Organizational Meeting Minutes
Approved 1/3/2012
Mrs. Lebo made a motion, seconded by Mr. McCarthy, to accept the minutes from
the Organizational Meeting of January 3, 2012. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.
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Open Forum
As no one wished to be heard in Open Forum, the Committee went on with the
business at hand.
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Superintendent’s Report
The Superintendent opened his remarks by wishing everyone a Happy New Year,
and welcoming Mr. Bregoli and Mrs. Hubley to the School Committee. He spoke of
the upcoming Professional Educator Status Reception being held on Thursday,
January 19 at 3:00 pm in the Quincy High School Rotunda. Fifty-eight professional
staff members will be receiving recognition of achieving this status. He also spoke
about the ongoing partnership with Boston University for student teaching.
Organized by Assistant Superintendent Colleen Roberts, 35 Boston University prepracticum students are at both high schools, GOALS, and the Atlantic Middle School
working in the English, Foreign Language, ELL, Math, and Science departments.
On Monday, January 30, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
will be holding an informational meeting about the New Educator Evaluation
regulations at Quincy High School at 3:00 pm. The Superintendent also discussed the
recent events connected to the Mayor’s Drug Task Force Initiative, including antibullying and drug awareness presentations for students and parents of both high
schools by John Morello and NBA player Chris Herren. These presentations were
funded by donations from First Financial, the Quincy Masons, Impact Quincy, and
George Burke.
School Committee members also received in their packets copies of monthly
newsletters from Atherton Hough, Quincy High School, and Clifford Marshall, copies
of the Bernazzani Curriculum newsletter, the Secretary Team newsletter, and
information about upcoming IT Professional Development opportunities for staff.
The Superintendent closed his remarks by reflecting on the Inauguration, held on
January 3, 2012 at Quincy High School. Having students participate in so many ways
made it a very successful and special evening: the Combined Select High School Choir, John Adams Quintet, Jazz Band Quartet, North Quincy High School ROTC,
Quincy High Schools Skills USA, the Robotics Teams and class officers from both
high schools, and especially the Quincy High School Culinary Arts students. He also
extended thanks to the teachers and advisors, custodial and maintenance staff, and
everyone who worked so hard on the event.
Mr. Bregoli suggested making a CD of the Combined Select High School Choir’s
rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner.” The recording could be played at school
sporting events. He also noted that he attended the Chris Herren presentations at both
high schools and that they were very moving events.
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Old Business
Building Projects Update
The next item on the agenda was the update on building projects, renovations, and
construction from Mr. Murphy. During the recent vacation week, many projects were
completed, including replacing rugs with floor tiles at North Quincy High School;
ceiling tiles were also replaced, with more rooms to be completed during the February
and April vacations. The intercom system was repaired at the Parker School, lockers
repaired at Point Webster, heating repairs, carpentry, and other daily work orders were
addressed. In addition, the vacation week afforded the Custodial staff the opportunity
to clean classrooms and wash and wax floors.
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New Central Middle School Project
Mrs. Mahoney reported that there has not been a Central Building Committee meeting
since the last School Committee meeting. She reported that demolition has been
completed and the site cleared.
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Update on MASC Resolutions
The next item on the agenda was the Update on MASC Resolutions, reported by
Mrs. Lebo. Mrs. Lebo attended the Delegate Assembly and all five resolutions were
passed, as voted on by the School Committee and two were first amended as discussed
at the November 9, 2011 School Committee meeting.
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New Business
Head Injury / Concussion Draft Policy Presentation
The Superintendent introduced Mrs. Papile, Director of Student Support Services,
Mrs. Kisielius, Coordinator of Health Services, Mr. Rendle, Director of Athletics,
and Dr. Patrick Carroll, who presented the draft of the Quincy Public Schools Head
Injury Prevention Policy and Process. Mrs. Kisielius began the presentation by
reviewing that in July 2011, the governor signed a law requiring the Department
of Public Health to develop regulations for all students participating in extracurricular
athletic activities for middle and high schools. Key provisions of the law include
creating school policies and procedures, requirements for training, participation
requirements for students and parents, guidelines for exclusion from play for injury,
guidelines for medical clearance and return to school, roles and responsibilities of
key school personnel, and record maintenance and reporting. The state law requires
that Quincy Public Schools has a School Committee-adopted head injury policy
in place by March 1, 2012.
Dr. Patrick Carroll, Chief Medical Officer of Granite Medical spoke about his
experience with head injuries in adolescents and his initiative in helping the Quincy
Public Schools secure grant funding from Dick’s Sporting Goods to pay for baseline
ImPACT testing for all winter sports athletes at both high schools. Athletic Director
Jim Rendle followed Dr. Carroll and spoke of the training that all coaches have
received certifying them to identify head injuries. The emphasis on this issue is
underscored at meetings; students athletes have been trained about self-reporting and
this process begins as part of the middle school health curriculum. The athletic
permit card has been revised so that parents are asked about their awareness of the
issue. Mrs. Papile concluded the presentation by noting the teamwork that went into
the recent baseline testing, including the Assistant Principals at both high schools for
coordinating the schedules and the middle school health teachers, who acted as test
administrators. She also thanked Dr. Carroll for finding the grant funding and for
voluntarily training Quincy Public Schools nursing and health staff on head injury
identification.
Head Injury/Concussion Draft Policy to Policy Subcommittee
In the discussion that followed, School Committee members asked follow-up questions
about the baseline testing, funding, participation, HIPPA, and paperwork. At the
conclusion of the discussion, Mr. McCarthy made a motion to move the draft Quincy
Public Schools Head Injury/Concussion Policy to the School Policy Subcommittee for
study and review. Mr. Bregoli seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
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NEASC Presentation
North Quincy High School Principal Earl Metzler and Quincy High School Principal
Frank Santoro, along with North Quincy High School Assistant Principal Rob Shaw and
Quincy High School Assistant Principal Ellen Murray presented on the New England
Schools and Colleges (NEASC) accreditation process that both high schools are
currently preparing for. Both high schools are already members of NEASC, the
accreditation process being a 10-year cycle, with each school at a different place in
the cycle. NEASC is a non-profit and non-governmental agency and accreditation is
not a pass/fail process. Accreditation means adhering to seven standards, plus
NEASC policies, and demonstrating a willingness to improve. Schools undertake a
self-evaluation, which is then followed by the creation of reports and documentation,
a visit from NEASC, and then progress reports. Each of the high schools has a
Steering Committee, plus a committee for each of the seven standards; the
committees are interdisciplinary. The staff of each school votes on the school’s
alignment to NEASC’s seven standards and ratify all reports. In the reports, the
schools’ strengths and needs are summarized and the school then works on the needs
issues over the next five years.
Quincy High School is preparing for their NEASC visit on March 4 and 5, 2012. The
committees are finalizing their reports. Upon reflection, the staff feels that the
process has surfaced so many good things that go unnoticed and raised their
awareness of keeping high standards for all students and using this new knowledge to
help with the transition to the new Common Core Standards. Next steps include
making two-year and five-year target plans, including creating rubrics for academic,
social, and civic expectations for students. Final reports and rubrics will be shared
with the School Committee and they are also invited to attend the NEASC panel
discussion on March 4 and other meetings on March 5.
North Quincy High School’s NEASC visit is scheduled for October 2013 and the
staff is just beginning the self-study process. The first step was the review and
revision of the school’s mission statement, which was just completed. Committees
have been formed for the seven standards plus the Steering Committee and work will
begin in February on developing the self-studies.
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Subcommittee on Teaching
and Learning
Ms. Isola announced that a new Subcommittee will be formed to focus on Teaching
and Learning. Mrs. Lebo will be the Chair of this Subcommittee.
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Out of Country Travel
Permission is requested for a trip to Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai, China for Quincy
High School and North Quincy High School students April 13, 2012 through
April 21, 2012. Mr. McCarthy motioned to table this request until more information
about the tour is provided. Mrs. Mahoney seconded the motion and on a voice vote,
the ayes have it.
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Out of State Travel
Mr. McCarthy made a motion to approve the Out of State travel of Sterling Middle
School to New York City June 6 and June 7, 2012. Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion
and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
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Gifts
Mrs. Lebo made a motion to approve the gift of $10,000 from the Randy C. Wolfe
Trust to benefit the Quincy Public Schools’ Music program and the gift of $50.00
donated in memory of Ken Rickson. Mr. Bregoli seconded the motion and on a voice
vote, the ayes have it.
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School Year 2012-2013 Draft Calendar
Mayor Koch made a motion to move the draft of the 2012-2013 School Year
Calendar into the School Policy Subcommittee for review. Mr. Bregoli seconded the
motion and,on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
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School Committee Meetings 2012-2013
Mrs. Mahoney made a motion to move the draft of the School Committee Meetings
2012-2013 into the School Policy Subcommittee for review. Mrs. Hubley seconded
the motion and, on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
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Additional Business
Out of State
Travel
Mr. McCarthy made a motion to approve the Overnight travel of Quincy High School
to the MASC Conference in Hyannis, MA from March 7-March 9, 2012. Mayor Koch
seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Mr. McCarthy mentioned that as School Facilities Subcommittee Chair, he will have
items to bring up for Maintenance at future meetings. Ms. Isola clarified that these
items should be added to the Agenda rather than presented as Additional Business.
Mrs. Mahoney made a motion to add Conflict of Interest: Volunteering, Tutoring, and
Hiring Process be added to the School Policy Subcommittee for review. Mrs. Lebo
seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
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Communications
Mrs. Lebo mentioned that the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day breakfast was being held
on January 16, 2012 at the Germantown Neighborhood Center. She also noted that
QPAC is having a meeting on January 17, 2012 at 7:00 pm.
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Appointments
The School Committee noted the following teacher appointments:
Teachers Erina Carr, Katherine Culbert, Andrea Keogh
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Adjournment
On a motion by Mrs. Lebo, seconded by Mr. McCarthy, the School Committee
adjourned at 8:45 p.m. for the evening. There was no executive session.
The ayes have it.