Minutes
Quincy, Massachusetts -January 25, 2012
Regular Meeting of the Quincy School Committee
Regular Meeting
A regular meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on Wednesday,
January 25, 2012 at Quincy High 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 Barbara McConaghy. Mrs.
McConaghy was employed by the Quincy Public Schools for over 30 years, most
recently at North Quincy High School.
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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.
Draicchio, Mullaney, Mulvey, Murphy, Keith Segalla; Mrs. Papile; Ms. Todd;
Ward 5 City Councilor Hughes; Councilor-at-Large Gutro; and Ms. Allison Cox,
President, QEA.
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Regular Meeting Minutes Approved
1/11/2012
Mr. McCarthy made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Mahoney, to approve the regular
session minutes for January 11, 2012. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.
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The Superintendent opened his remarks by introducing Mr. Kevin Doyle, Special
Assistant to the National President of the National Association of Government
Employees (NAGE), David Holway. NAGE represents 50,000 members across the
country and is a platinum-level business partner to the Quincy Public Schools. Mr.
Doyle made a presentation of a check for $10,000 to the Quincy Public Schools,
representing the first of three annual installments to support the Professional
Development Teacher Mentoring team.
After a brief recess, the Superintendent pointed out examples of the home-school
connections created by some of the elementary school principals: monthly
newsletters from Parker, Montclair, and Snug Harbor and curriculum newsletters
from Squantum and Wollaston. He invited the School Committee to attend the
upcoming Special Olympics on February 10 in the Squantum School gymnasium and
spoke of Montclair Guidance Counselor Bic Lam who was recognized by the Big
Brother/Big Sister Association as Community Partner of the Year for all her efforts to
support the program. The Superintendent congratulated the 58 teachers and support
staff members who achieved professional status and were celebrated at the January
19th reception.
The Superintendent then spoke about Secretary of Education Paul Reville’s visit to
the Atlantic Middle School in honor of “No Name-Calling Day.” Accompanied by
the Superintendent, Mrs. Roberts, Mrs. Papile, and members of the legislative
delegation including Representative Ayers and Senator Keenan, Secretary Reville
was shown around the school by Principal Maureen MacNeil and Assistant Principal
Dr. Adam Wolf. Secretary Reville visited several classrooms and met with the
school’s Peer Leaders and watched them talk with the sixth grade classes about
Rachel’s Challenge.
At the conclusion of the Superintendent’s Report, Ms. Isola opened the nominations
for Secretary to the School Committee. Mr. McCarthy nominated Dr. Richard
DeCristofaro and Mrs. Mahoney seconded the nomination. Mayor Koch motioned to
close the nominations for Secretary to the School Committee and Mr. McCarthy
seconded the motion. On a roll call vote, the ayes have it 7-0.
Ms. Isola then opened the nominations for Clerk to the School Committee. Mrs.
Lebo nominated Ms. Laura Owens and Mrs. Hubley seconded the nomination.
Mayor Koch motioned to close the nominations for Clerk to the School Committee
and Mrs. Lebo seconded the motion. On a roll call vote, the ayes have it 7-0.
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Open Forum
Dick Leonard, a substitute teacher at Quincy High School spoke in support of
creating a Community Service graduation requirement for both high schools and
offered his assistance in collaborating on developing a policy.
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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 last two weeks, 120 work orders were
completed by all of the trades, including electrical, plumbing, carpentry, and painting.
Mr. Murphy also recognized Mr. Draicchio and the Security and Transportation
staffs and Mr. Kevin Segalla and the Custodial staff for all of their work keeping things
running smoothly behind the scenes along with the Maintenance Department staff
members.
Mrs. Lebo inquired about loose stones in the North Quincy High School walkway.
Mr. Murphy responded that this issue will be addressed in the spring. Mr. Bregoli
mentioned the difficulties regulating the heat at North Quincy High School and Mr.
Murphy responded that there is a challenge with keeping the heat balanced in the
building and the installation of a separate boiler for the gymnasium is being explored.
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New Central Middle School Project
Mrs. Mahoney reported that the next Central Building Committee meeting has been
scheduled for Monday, February 6th at 4:30 pm. The value engineering process is
close to completion and the site grading is underway.
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Out of Country Travel
Mayor Koch moved approval for Quincy High School and North Quincy High School
students to travel to Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai, China for April 13, 2012 through
April 21, 2012. Mrs. Lebo seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Mr. McCarthy requested that going forward, information about airlines accompany
requests for approval for out of the country travel. Information for the trip to China
will be provided to the School Committee when it is available in early March.
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New Business
QHS Professional Learning Community TEAM Presentation
The Superintendent introduced Quincy High School Principal Santoro, who in turn
introduced the Quincy High School staff members involved in the Quincy High School
Professional Learning Community TEAM: Mr. Bretsch, Ms. Conlon, Mr. Gendron,
and Ms. Lundquist. Mr. Bretsch opened the presentation by giving an overview
of Quincy High School’s Professional Learning Community, an example of
professional collaboration that is not common to schools. The teams are cross-
functional teams with members from different disciplines; they connect and empower
teachers to collectively improve their practice and their school. Ms. Lundquist spoke
about the team process for brainstorming ideas for guest speakers and areas for skill
development. The teams work together to acquire information and to discuss and
reflect on what they’ve learned. Ms. Conlon spoke next about Collaborative Lesson
Planning and how teachers work together to focus on parts of the curriculum that
might present challenges for students. The lessons developed have both a crosscurricular and departmental focus and are shared throughout the high school.
Mr. Gendron then spoke about the four categories of completed team projects:
Improving Communication (developed an internal QHS website to share information
and resources); Parents and Community (developed a Parent Handbook, created
online scheduling tool for Parent-Teacher Conferences); Instruction (created training
documentation and resources for teachers); and Celebrate QHS! (developed
recognition system for student achievement, created Facebook page, focused on
increasing student participation at school events). Mr. Bretsch summarized the four
years of community building at Quincy High School: the staff has worked together to
build a powerful vehicle for ongoing teacher-driven school improvement and
professional development. The nineteen teachers serving as team leaders or
facilitators have led to improved school culture and climate and created a sense of
potential within the school. Mr. Bretsch thanked Principal Santoro for his support
and promotion of the teams and Assistant Principal Murray for all her work in
scheduling the team meetings.
In the discussion that followed, Mr. McCarthy complimented the team for their work
on improving school climate. Mrs. Lebo also complimented the team on their work
and the impact on students’ education and test scores. Mrs. Mahoney was
enthusiastic about the Parent-Teacher conference scheduling tool and suggested
adding information about classroom location to help parents understand the potential
distance between appointments.
The Superintendent ended the presentation by noting how tremendously impressive
this piece of educational organization is. The teams’ collaborative efforts extending
the school into the students’ homes has, and will in the future, make a difference in
the lives of the students.
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President’s City Inn Presentation
After a brief recess, Ward 5 City Councilor Kirsten Hughes discussed the proposed
upgrades to this privately-owned business adjacent to the site of the new Central Middle
School. A neighborhood meeting was held on Monday, January 23, 2012 and over
forty neighborhood residents attended to hear presentations by the business owner’s
attorney, project architect, and landscape architect. The proposal is to add a second
story to the existing building, adding 22 guest rooms, as well as enclose the first story
to change the building to a hotel with controlled access. The business owner is also
seeking a partnership with a national chain. The proposal was positively received at
the neighborhood meeting.
Mr. McCarthy and Mrs. Mahoney asked for clarification about fencing (entire
common property line will be fenced off) and privacy (the hotel will not have guest
room windows on the school side; the school’s auditorium and gymnasium will be
closest to the hotel side of the property). Mr. Bregoli expressed concern about
security; both Mayor Koch and Mrs. Lebo reiterated the information presented by the
Quincy Police Department during the Central Middle School siting process. Ms.
Isola agreed and noted that the neighborhood support for the plan was impressive at
the recent meeting.
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Out of Country Travel
Mayor Koch made a motion to approve Quincy High School’s trip to Costa Rica
April 13-April 21, 2012. Mr. McCarthy seconded the motion and on a voice vote,
the ayes have it.
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Out of State Travel
Mayor Koch made a motion to approve the Out of State travel of the North Quincy
and Quincy High Schools Robotics Team to St. Louis, MO April 24-29, 2012.
Mrs. Lebo seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Mayor Koch made a motion to approve the Out of State travel of Quincy High School
CTE Seniors to Mt. Sunapee, NH on March 2, 2012. Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion
and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Mayor Koch made a motion to approve the Out of State travel of Central Middle
School to New York City May 31-June 1, 2012. Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion
and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Mayor Koch made a motion to approve the Out of State travel of North Quincy High
School ROTC to Monticello, VA; Washington, D.C.; and Lexington/Concord
April 27-May 1, 2012. Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the
ayes have it.
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Overnight Travel
Mrs. Mahoney made a motion to approve the Overnight travel of Central Middle
School to Camp Wing, Duxbury, MA June 12-June 15, 2012. Mrs. Lebo seconded
the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Mayor Koch made a motion to approve the Overnight travel of Broad Meadows
Middle School to Camp Wing, Duxbury, MA June 6-June 8, 2012. Mrs. Lebo
seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
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Additional Business
Special School Committee Meeting
Ms. Isola announced that there would be a Special School Committee meeting held on
Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 9:00 am in the Gillooly Room on the first floor of the
NAGE building. The School Committee and the Superintendent and Leadership Team
will meet for organizational purposes, as well as to discuss goals for the School
Committee as a whole and each individual Subcommittee.
Mr. McCarthy thanked Mr. Doyle and NAGE for their generous donation and threeyear commitment to the Quincy Public Schools. He also said that he is planning to
call a School Facilities and Security Subcommittee meeting in February. Agenda
topics will include remaining punchlist items for Quincy High School; electrical, and
HVAC issues system-wide, including additional training for custodial staff.
Mrs. Mahoney announced that there would be a Special Education Subcommittee
meeting on Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at Quincy High School at 7:00 pm.
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Communications
Mrs. Lebo mentioned that the Quincy High School Culinary Arts students recently
had the opportunity to spend a Saturday working with other Boston-area culinary
students and have their work judged by a panel of local celebrity chefs. After that
event, she saw the Quincy and North Quincy High Schools’ Robotics team
working together on a project and wanted to mention both these wonderful
opportunities for our students.
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Reports of Special Committees
Mr. Bregoli reported on the School Policy Subcommittee meeting, which was held on
January 23, 2012. The Head Injury/ Concussion Policy, originally presented
to the School Committee at the January 11, 2012 meetingwas reviewed and several
changes requestedto the policy. Mrs. Kisielius revised the policy and it was distributed
to School Committee members this evening. Ms. Isola requested that the Head Injury/
Concussion Policy be tabled until the February 8, 2012 School Committee meeting to
give the members time to review the revised policy.
Mrs. Isola made a motion to approve the School Committee meeting dates for 2012-
2013. The motion was seconded by Mr. McCarthy and on a roll call vote, the ayes
have it 7-0.
Mr. Bregoli then reviewed the discussion of the 2012-2013 School Year Calendar.
The calendar has been adjusted to accommodate both the State Primary Election on
Thursday, September 6 and the Presidential Election on Tuesday, November 6. Both
days will be no school for students; on September 6, the professional staff will have
an inservice day. The calendar has been distributed to principals, school system
leadership, the Quincy Educators Association, Citywide Parents’ Council, and Quincy
Parent Advisory Council to Special Education for comment. The vote on the 2012-
2013 School Year Calendar was tabled until the February 8, 2012 School Committee
Meeting to allow time for public comment.
Mr. Bregoli moved to approve the meeting minutes from the January 23, 2012 School
Policy Subcommittee Meeting. Mr. McCarthy seconded the motion and on a voice
vote, the ayes have it.
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Adjournment
On a motion by Mayor Koch, seconded by Mrs. Hubley, the School Committee
adjourned at 8:55 p.m. for the evening. There was no executive session.
The ayes have it.