March 6, 2012 Health/Safety Sub Meeting

Minutes

School Health, Transportation and Safety Subcommittee Meeting

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

A meeting of the School Health, Transportation, and Safety Subcommittee was held on Tuesday, March 6, 2012 at 4:30 pm in the Superintendent’s Conference Room. Present were Ms. Barbara Isola, Mr. Dave McCarthy, and Mrs. Kathryn Hubley, Chair. Also attending were Superintendent DeCristofaro, Mrs. Colleen Roberts, Mr. Keith Segalla, Mr. Mike Draicchio, Mrs. Jane Kisielius, Mrs. Joanne Morrissey, Mrs. Maura Papile, and Ms. Jill Gichuhi, President of the Quincy Parent Advisory Council to Special Education.

The meeting was called to order at 4:30 pm by Mrs. Hubley.

The first item on the agenda was a review of the items currently in Subcommittee. The goal of increasing breakfast participation was referred to subcommittee in 2008. Since that time, participation has doubled. In addition, “universal schools,” such as Snug Harbor and Parker receive fresh fruit or vegetables daily in each classroom for snacks. A motion was made to remove this item from subcommittee. The issue about the NQHS Intersection was referred in 2010 during the construction of the new Walgreen’s store. Subsequently, the intersection was widened and a dropoff area added; in addition, a police officer is in the intersection during dropoff and pickup. A motion was made to remove this item from subcommittee, on condition that the Mayor’s Office be consulted to confirm that the intersection is under the state’s jurisdiction.

The next item on the agenda is the current traffic issues at Quincy High School. On Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 7:30 am, Mrs. Hubley, Mr. McCarthy, Dr. DeCristofaro, Mr. Santoro, Quincy Police Officer Keenan, Mr. Draicchio, City Councillor Laforest, and PTA President Molly Mullin all met to observe the traffic pattern. From that meeting, Councillor Laforest filed a Traffic Control Request for signage on the north side of Coddington Street limiting parking and establishing a dropoff zone. This was presented at the February 27, 2012 City Council meeting and approved to go to Communications. It will be voted on at the March 12, 2012 City Council meeting. In addition, Jack Gillen is looking into adjusting the signal at Newcombe Street so the left turn arrow will happen first and will follow up with the MBTA as well.

The mid-year Program Improvement Plan (PIP) goals for Food Services, Health Services, Student Support Services, and Transportation were then reviewed. Mrs. Joanne Morrissey spoke about her upcoming presentation at the March 21, 2012 School Committee Meeting on the new Massachusetts Standards for Competitive Foods and Beverages sold or provided to students in public schools. As of September 1, these Nutrition guidelines will be in effect; on September 6, there will be staff professional development on the new guidelines. The guidelines will impact snacks, school stores, fundraisers by limiting what can be sold or given away within 30 minutes of mealtimes. The guidelines also change the scope of what is able to be available to students (i.e., 1% or fat-free milk).

For the Food Service PIP goals, (1) installation of the POS system at North Quincy High School and Central Middle School is moving ahead; (2) for the pilot with DESE and Health and Human Services for students whose families receive Transitional Assistance, Food Services is working with IT to link to state’s Virtual Gateway; and (3) the Wellness Team has had several meetings, reviewed new guidelines from the state. Federal guidelines are still not finalized, but we may want to review the team members and add parents and/or students.

Mrs. Jane Kisielius then reviewed the Health Services PIP goals: (1) revising the QPS selfmedication policy to incorporate the newest Department of Public Health (DPH) regulations, creating an addendum with parent documentation and required signoff is in process. This draft will need to be reviewed by the Policy Subcommittee. (2) Professional Standards for Nurses: revised document had been drafted, but due to the state’s new Educator Evaluation regulations, the process will need to be restarted. Mrs. Kisielius is a part of the DPH task force looking at the new standards for nurses. (3) The Head Injury/Concussion Policy has been completed and approved by School Committee; the nursing staff has been trained and a Powerpoint created for the nurses to do training with their school’s staff, students, and parents. CDC materials are available for parents, staff, and student athletes. The nursing staff also had professional development sessions about stress in children and asthma.

Mrs. Maura Papile then reviewed the Student Support Services PIP goals: All guidance counselors and the supervisors of attendance have participated in Professional Development related to 504 guidelines and procedures; in addition, elementary, middle, and high school guidance had professional development on other topics including substance abuse awareness, bullying, and social-emotional barriers to learning. Psychologists had BCB training and the Homeless Liaison provided education and training for parents and teaching staff on the rights and responsibilities under the McKinney-Vento Act. The High School Guidance Counselors implemented the Naviance program and have been working on preparing for NEASC. The Supervisors of Attendance are working to proactively address attendance issues with the guidance staff to be sure issues are handled consistently across schools, assisting with parental communication, and family conferences. In addition, the Student Support Team has gathered and analyzed data for high risk students and is working on revising the Student Support guidelines and procedures.

Mr. Mike Draicchio was the last presenter, reviewing the Transportation PIP goals: (1) training completed in multiple areas, including health, medication, and special education issue awareness; training is ongoing throughout the school year and will wrap up with an end of the year meeting to evaluate and discuss concerns. (2) Communication is ongoing with a weekly memo being sent to bus drivers, the Safety and Security Newsletter, and updates on medical issues provided by Mrs. Kisielius. (3) Transportation safety is monitored through the quarterly inspections with the Registry of Motor Vehicles and circle checks of all buses by all drivers are completed daily. (4) The partnership with the Quincy Police Department is invaluable to ensure the safety of bus and van transportation; the Transportation Administration and Maintenance Teams meet monthly to review any issues.

Mrs. Hubley requested information on how many buses are used in the summer. Mr. Draicchio noted that it depended on how many summer programs there are; last summer, eighteen buses were used.

All agenda items having been discussed, the meeting was adjourned at 5:45 pm.