Minutes
Quincy, Massachusetts - September 17, 2014
Regular Meeting of the Quincy School Committee
Regular Meeting
A regular meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on Wednesday,
September 17, 2014 in the Coddington Building. Present were Mr. Paul Bregoli,
Mr. Noel DiBona, Ms. Barbara Isola, Mayor Thomas Koch, Mrs. Anne Mahoney,
Mr. David McCarthy, and Mrs. Kathryn Hubley, Vice Chair.
Vice-Chair
Presiding
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The Superintendent called the roll and all were present. Also present were:
Dr. Richard DeCristofaro, Secretary; Ms. Laura Owens, Clerk; Mr. Michael
Draicchio, Mr. John Fagerlund, Mrs. Mary Fredrickson, Mr. Daniel Gilbert,
Mrs. Renee Malvesti, Mr. James Mullaney, Deputy Superintendent Kevin
Mulvey, Mrs. Maura Papile, Ms. Madeline Roy, Mr. Keith Segalla, Mr. Robert
Shaw, Ms. Judy Todd; Mr. Scott Alessandro and Ms. Paula Reynolds, Citywide
Parents Council Co-President; and Ms. Allison Cox, President, Quincy
Education Association.
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There was a moment of silence for Mr. Leo McKillup, a Quincy Public Schools
teacher, principal, and administrator for thirty-four years.
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Regular Meeting Minutes Approved
9/3/14
Mr. McCarthy made a motion, seconded by Ms. Isola, to approve the Regular
Meeting minutes for September 3, 2014. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Special Meeting Minutes Approved 9/10/14
Mr. McCarthy made a motion, seconded by Mr. Bregoli, to approve the Special
School Committee Meeting minutes for September 10, 2014. On a voice vote,
the ayes have it.
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Open Forum
Ms. Danielle Neal thanked School Committee for forming the Ad Hoc Committee to
look at Grade 5 students at Point Webster and Sterling. Her goal is for Grade 5
students to have to same opportunities across the city.
Ms. Courtney Perdios also thanked School Committee for creating the Ad Hoc
Committee. She is hoping for an exhaustive discussion, exploring all options.
Ms. Alexis Veith, also thanked the School Committee and Dr. DeCristofaro for
creating the Ad Hoc Committee and urged using every means possible to notify
families of meetings and give them opportunities for input.
Ms. Paula Reynolds, Citywide Parents Council Co-President is concerned that the
fingerprinting requirement will affect volunteering and children's access to
events. On the topic of early Foreign Language instruction, she spoke of its benefit
in narrowing achievement gap and enhancing basic skills development.
Ms. Patrice DuPuis spoke of her concerns about traffic and safety issue at the Della
Chiesa Early Childhood Center on Brooks Avenue.
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Superintendent's
Report
Dr. DeCristofaro welcomed everyone to the Coddington Building and turned the
meeting over to Mayor Koch. Mayor Koch welcomed the visitors and viewers, he is
grateful to School Committee and City Council and the Community Preservation
Committee for their support and funding. The investment in the restoration of the
Coddington Building is a great opportunity for Quincy Public Schools, Planning &
Community Development, and City IT departments to work together. This
architecturally significant building has been preserved and renovated through a
collaboration with department directors, Wessling Architects, and the contractor,
Nauset. Thanks to everyone involved, the end result is something that all can be
proud of. Mayor Koch announced that there will be an Open House on October 8
from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm and School Committee will begin at 7:30 pm that evening.
Dr. DeCristofaro then shared excerpts of School Committee reports from 1856, the
year the original Coddington School building was constructed. The school was built
to accommodate scholars, on land donated by William Coddington for educational
purposes. The original building was renovated in 1876-77 under the guidance of
School Committee members John Quincy Adams II and Charles Francis Adams. The
new Coddington School was designed by Charles Brigham and opened in 1908-
1909. Built with products of Quincy industry, this school is the prototype for the
Wollaston, Adams, Parker, and Daniel Webster Schools. Through the years, it was
also used for Quincy College and Quincy High School.
Dr. DeCristofaro thanked the Mayor for his vision in blending Quincy's past and
future and his dedication to education. Dr. DeCristofaro then introduced a video of
the Coddington staff in their new offices.
Dr. DeCristofaro noted that Quincy Public School’s enrollment is reviewed before
being submitted to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for
October 1. In comparison to this time last year, we are within a few students,
around 9,400 total. At the October 8 meeting, details of class sizes will be shared for
elementary, middle, and high schools.
Mr. John Fagerlund introduced the Quincy School~Community Partnership
information booklet. Upcoming Quincy Public Schools events include Open House
dates at all schools and the Professional Educator Status reception on October 2 at
3:00 pm at Quincy High School. Home-School Connections from Atherton Hough
and Beechwood Knoll were shared.
Dr. DeCristofaro then introduced the Inspire Quincy video which featured the recent
backpack and school supply distribution at Clifford Marshall and Snug Harbor, the
Atlantic Middle School book fair to benefit their nationally recognized literary
magazine, and Fall Athletics at both high schools.
Dr. DeCristofaro thanked Brian Smith for his work on creating this evening's videos.
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Old Business
Revised Student
Discipline Policy
(Vote)
Mr. Bregoli made a motion to adopt the Revised Student Discipline Policy,
specifically, adopting the new state law in its entirety. Mr. DiBona seconded the
motion and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it 7-0.
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New Business
Review of
September
10, 2014
Special School
Committee Meeting
Mrs. Hubley reviewed the Special School Committee meeting held on September 10,
2014. At the meeting, Superintendent DeCristofaro reviewed the District
Improvement Plan development timeline and then each Subcommitttee met in small
groups to review and refine goals for 2014-2015. Two Ad Hoc Committees were
created, one to review Grade 5 students at Sterling and Point Webster (chaired by
Mr. McCarthy) and the other for District Maps (chaired by Ms. Isola). Each Ad Hoc
Committee will include all School Committee members.
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Educator Evaluation
2014-2015
Deputy Superintendent Mulvey thanked the School Committee for the beautiful
building and the honor of being the first presenter. In this 2nd year of Educator
Evaluation, 100% of Quincy Public Schools educators will be evaluated, some for the
first time and others for the first year of their two year cycle.
The collaboration between the School Committee, Superintendent and Leadership
Team, Principals, and the Quincy Education Association has allowed for the
successful completion of the first year of Educator Evaluation. The Educator
Evaluation work group will continue to meet to evaluate strengths and weaknesses
and make adjustments to the process. There are still details to be bargained,
including the District-Determined Measures (DDMs) and associated Student Impact
ratings.
Quincy Education Association President Allison Cox echoed Mr. Mulvey's sentiments
about the value of the collaboration; in year 1, there were many small issues that
were easily resolved. She then reviewed that the Educator Evaluation regulations
are designed to promote growth and development of leaders and teachers. The
regulations place student learning at the center, using multiple measures of student
learning, growth, and achievement; they recognize excellence in teaching and
leading, set a high bar for professional teaching status, and shorten timelines for
improvement.
The new Educator Evaluation is a two-rating system: a Summative Rating (first
given to 50% of educators in June 2014). The Student Impact Rating, where student
performance is tied into teacher rating, will be implemented in October 2017. The
Educator Evaluation work group is committed to figuring out this difficult
task. Teacher teams created DDMs last year and recently received a 1-year
extension from DESE. This will allow for an additional year for piloting and
adjustment and developing protocols.
The five-step Educator Evaluation cycle begins with Self-Assessment, followed by
Analysis/Goal Setting/Plan Development, Implementation of the Plan, Formative
Assessment/Evaluation, and Summative Evaluation and then the cycle begins
again. In year 1, the timeline had benchmark dates for completing each step and
these were adjusted as needed during the year. Every educator proposed at least
one professional practice and one student learning goal.
Mr. Mulvey reminded School Committee that Quincy’s evaluation tool is the Baseline
Edge system, which has successfully assisted QPS in managing the process. Mrs.
Malvesti said that having gone through the five-step cycle once, it was really
beneficial in opening conversations about student learning and achievement among
staff members. Beginning with the self-assessment, a teacher will review student
data for current students and use the rubrics to create goals. Different rubrics are
available for educators, nurses, support staff, and administrators. Mr. Gilbert said
that Baseline Edge has been a valuable tool to manage the documents, evidence, and
feedback. Each item has a deadline and all staff being evaluated or creating
evaluations receive emails reminding them of upcoming dates. Once a document is
signed by the owner, it can be reviewed by the administrator, but not while it is a
work in process.
For goal-setting and plan development, the teachers' personal goals aligned with
grade level, department, school, and district goals. Each goal has action steps,
individualized for a classroom, grade level, or a vertical team. Rubrics serve as a
guide for educators to match their practice against the standards. Goal-setting
inspired a different level of collaboration within schools.
Next, educators organize evidence of progress towards their goals: multiple
measures of student learning, judgments based on observations and artifacts of
practice, and evidence relevant to one or more performance standards, including
student and staff feedback. This evidence collection is the springboard for ongoing
discussions about student achievement. Evidence is organized by standard and
uploaded to support proficiency against the four standards and the two
goals. When evidence is added, specific information about goals and standards can
be added to link to the educator plan.
Mrs. Malvesti said that on the administrative side, the tool allows sorting by
standard and helps guide staff in making sure all standards are covered. Mr. Gilbert
said that part of the task is to guide educators to focus on quality over quantity.
For the Formative Assessment, Tier 1 teachers will have their mid-cycle review in
February 2015, while Tier 2 educators on a 2-year plan will have theirs in June or
September 2015. At the end of the cycle, the Summative Assessment forms the
basis for the educator's Summative Rating. At this stage, all evidence has been
uploaded, conversations around Formative Assessment have been completed, and
progress towards goals has been documented. Using the three types of evidence,
filtered through the correlation to rubrics and goals, the evaluator arrives at a
Summative Performance rating. Educators may be rated Exemplary, Proficient,
Needs Improvement, and Unsatisfactory and will be assigned to a performance plan
going forward. An educator with professional status receiving a Proficient or
Exemplary rating will go onto a 2-year Self-Directed Growth Plan. Educators
without professional status are assigned one-year Developing Educator Plans. An
educator with a Needs Improvement rating will be assigned a Directed Growth Plan
for one year; and educator with an Unsatisfactory rating will be assigned to an
Improvement Plan for a minimum of 30 days with a maximum of one school year.
Mrs. Papile concluded the presentation by thanking the Educator Evaluation work
group for the collaborative work last year and going forward. Philosophically,
everyone agree that educators need to continue to grow in professional
practice. Immediate feedback provides ongoing support to educators. Timelines
have been established for 2014-15, for both Tier 1 and Tier 2 educators and
trainings have been provided for new and returning Baseline Edge users. Mrs.
Papile and Mr. Mulvey are both grateful for the educators and administrators who
worked hard to make this complicated process successful.
Deputy Superintendent Mulvey noted that with 100% of educators being evaluated
this year, the timeline was created to assist Principals in prioritizing educators who
are being evaluated for the first time. The database assigns primary and
contributing evaluators to all educators to assist with the workload. Assistant
Principals, Department Heads, Directors, and Coordinators all are part of the
evaluation team. For 2014-15, bargaining over language for implementation for
DDMs is ongoing with the QEA. In granting an extension for DDM implementation,
DESE noted the tremendous work QPS has done in implementing educator
evaluation for 50% of the staff as well as developing the DDMs. Staff and Student
feedback are part of the Student Impact Rating and will be bargained as well.
Resources for educators include the training modules, the QPS Educator Evaluation
Handbook, rubrics and contract language, DESE standards, all posted online.
Mr. McCarthy said this is an incredible amount of work to organize, plan, implement,
and absorb all this information. It is clear that a great amount of collaboration was
done with respect. Mr. Bregoli commended the group for the work and asked about
teachers’ time to work on this and whether it is from prep time. Mr. Gilbert said
that arrangements are made for substitute coverage, Professional Development
days have time built in, and each building develops ways to manage the time
factor. Mr. Shaw said that at the high school level, department heads and assistant
principals assist with coverage.
Mrs. Mahoney asked about classroom coverage. Mr. Gilbert said at the middle
school level, the principal, building sub or Assistant Principal can cover a class
during the Student Support Block. Many teachers will offer to come in early or stay
late; as an administrator, he spends time with one teacher per day. Three
observations per teacher, plus meetings equals five-seven lengthy interactions per
teacher for each evaluator. Mrs. Mahoney asked for more information on the
bargaining for contract language. Mr. Mulvey said that DESE has issued model
language which we have the option to adopt, adapt, or create our own. We have
chosen to adapt, which must be bargained and then approved by DESE. The model
language is a starting point, adaption must meet the spirit and letter of the law. Mrs.
Mahoney asked whether Baseline Edge has any interaction with Aspen. Baseline
Edge is a separate program and allows for submission to DESE. MUNIS, Aspen, and
Baseline edge all have components that are part of state reporting submission.
Ms. Isola said when School Committee saw the initial presentation, it was difficult to
see how this would all come together. Tonight's presentation showed how the
teacher, grade level, school, and leadership team are all working together with the
common goal of student learning.
Mrs. Hubley and Dr. DeCristofaro thanked the presenters.
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Additional Business
Mrs. Mahoney noted that she had requested that Open Enrollment go into Policy
Subcommittee for review, but it had not been added to the items in that
subcommittee because it had not appeared on a Regular Meeting Agenda yet. Open
Enrollment will be an item on the October 8, 2014 School Committee Meeting
Agenda so it can be referred to the Policy Subcommittee for review.
For the next School Committee meeting, Mrs. Mahoney asked for an update on
Middle and High School Progress reports in Aspen to be presented.
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Communications
There were no Communications.
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Reports of
Subcommittees
Mrs. Hubley noted that full Subcommittee meeting minutes are posted online on the
School Committee page at www.quincypublicschools.com.
Policy
Subcommittee
Mr. Bregoli reported on the Policy Subcommittee Meeting held on September 16,
2014. Deputy Superintendent Mulvey reviewed the National Background Check,
noting that under the law, all employees, contractors, vendors must be
fingerprinted. The only discretionary item is implementing this for volunteers. Mr.
Mulvey presented from his own background as a former prosecutor in the Norfolk
County District Attorney’s Office, in 2002 successfully prosecuted a serial
perpetrator of over 20 years of child exploitation and abuse. Prior to this case, the
Massachusetts CORI law didn't exist and while this has been successful, one gap is
that perpetrators can move from state to state without the ability to have their
records checked. At the time the CORI check was implemented, there was a concern
of impact on volunteering, but in the long run, this has not proved to be true. The
measure is designed to protect our children, and will be administered under a
sensible standard. Mr. Mulvey consulted with the Massachusetts Association of
School Committees (MASC) and their position supports fingerprinting of volunteers
who will have direct and unmonitored contact with students. Neighboring cities
and towns have begun to implement fingerprinting for volunteers, most commonly
for field trips and overnight trips and other situations at the discretion of
administrators. It was requested that Mr. Mulvey draft a Policy for review at the
October 8 School Committee meeting; the first opportunity to vote on this would be
at the October 22 School Committee meeting.
The next item on the agenda was the Review of the Regular School Committee
Meeting Agenda. Mrs. Hubley said that for Reports of Subcommittee, Roberts Rules
states that there should be no discussion on the minutes beyond corrections. Ms.
Isola said that if something happens at a Subcommittee that needs further
discussion, it should be a School Committee meeting agenda item. Subcommittee
meeting minutes do not need to be motioned for approval, unless they are amended,
they stand as accepted.
For Additional Business, Mrs. Hubley said that this provision is meant to be used
only for emergency items. Mr. McCarthy said that he feels that this is a place to
suggest requested future items. Mr. Mulvey agreed that Additional Business could
be used for that purpose, as long as there is no discussion on the new topic. Mr.
Mulvey said this should be simply presented, as any discussion not of an emergency
nature is a violation of the Open Meeting law. Both topics will appear on the
October 8 School Committee Meeting agenda for discussion; a vote will be taken on
October 22.
Ms. Isola made a motion to approve the minutes of the Policy Subcommittee
Meeting for September 16, 2014. Mrs. Mahoney seconded the motion and on a voice
vote, the ayes have it.
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Adjournment
Mayor Koch made a motion to adjourn for the evening at 8:50 p.m. The motion was
seconded by Mr. DiBona and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.