Jan. 28, 2015 School Committee Meeting

Agenda - Meeting Cancelled Due to Inclement Weather

Regular Meeting of the Quincy School Committee
Wednesday, January 28, 2015, 7:00 pm
Coddington Building

I. Approval of Minutes: Regular Meeting Minutes for January 14, 2015.

II. Open Forum: An opportunity for community input regarding the Quincy Public Schools. After giving his or her name and address, each speaker may make a presentation of no more than four minutes to the School Committee. An individual may not exchange their time or yield to others.

III. Superintendent’s Report:

A. Inspiring Quincy

B. Project 351

C. Food Service Staff Recognitions

D. Middle School Citywide Volleyball Championships

E. Letter to the Education Commissioner (Draft)

F. Sterling Building Committee Meetings

G. School~Community Partnership Events

H. Home-School Connections: Atherton Hough, Beechwood Knoll Elementary School Monthly Newsletters and Squantum Curriculum Newsletter.

IV. Old Business:

A. 2015-2016 School Year Calendar (Vote)

B. 2015-2016 School Committee Calendar (Vote)

V. New Business:

A. QPS Initiatives 2014-2015 - Dr. DeCristofaro

1. Common Core Implementation

2. New Teams

3. Parent Academies

4. Advanced Placement Pathways

5. Elementary Grade Reporting and Ad Hoc Grade 5 Status

B. MSBA Statement of Interest: Squantum Elementary School (Vote) - Mayor Koch

C. MSBA Accelerated Repair Program Statements of Interest (Vote) - Mayor Koch

1. Beechwood Knoll Elementary School Windows & Doors, Roof

2. F.W. Parker Elementary School Roof

3. Della Chiesa Early Childhood Center Windows

D. Out of State Travel: Broad Meadows Middle School to Pat’s Peak, Hennicker, New Hampshire on February 21, 2015.

VI. Additional Business:

VII. Communications:

A. Upcoming School Committee Meetings (Coddington Building, 7:00 pm):

1. February 11, 2015

2. March 4, 2015

3. March 18, 2015

B. Upcoming Subcommittee Meetings (Coddington Building):

1. Facilities & Security, February 2, 2015, 5:00 pm

2. Policy, February 2, 2015, 5:45 pm

3. Health, Transportation, and Safety, February 9, 5:00 pm

VIII. Reports of Subcommittees:

A. Policy Subcommittee: Mr. Bregoli to report on the January 14, 2015 meeting.

B. Special Education Subcommittee: Mrs. Mahoney to report on the January 21, 2015 meeting.

C. Quarterly Budget & Finance Subcommittee: Mrs. Hubley to report on the January 26, 2015 meeting.

D. Teaching & Learning Subcommittee: Ms. Isola to report on the January 26, 2015 meeting.

IX. Executive Session:

X. Adjournment:


Subcommittees of the School Committee

Budget & Finance
Hubley/Bregoli, DiBona, Isola, Koch, Mahoney, McCarthy

Facilities and Security
McCarthy/Bregoli/Hubley

  1. Sterling Building Plans Referred to Subcommittee by the School Building Task Force in 1998.

  2. Houses on Saville Avenue Referred to Subcommittee at the May 18, 2011 School Committee Meeting. Currently home to the City’s Public Building department, the School Committee and Superintendent see no future educational uses for these properties.

  3. President’s City Inn Referred to Subcommittee at the October 10, 2012 School Committee Meeting. Safety concerns have been expressed about this property that abuts the new Central Middle School. Current construction plans were reviewed at the March 18, 2014 Subcommittee Meeting.

  4. North Quincy High School Campus Expansion/Teel Field Project Referred at the January 22, 2014 School Committee Meeting. A presentation on the proposed enhancements will be scheduled.  

Health, Transportation & Safety
DiBona/Bregoli/McCarthy

  1. School Meal Charges Referred to Subcommittee at the March 21, 2012 School Committee Meeting. New state and federal regulations require formalization of the school meal charges policy.

  2. Science Lab Safety: Referred from the Teaching and Learning Subcommittee at the April 2, 2012 meeting. Monitoring of supplies will be handled by School Safety Teams.

  3. Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Referred to Subcommittee at the September 24, 2012 Special School Committee Meeting. Student Support Services working with Lincoln Hancock, Clifford Marshall, and Parker Elementary Schools on piloting this initiative.

  4. Traffic Concerns at North Quincy High School Referred to Subcommittee at the March 5, 2014 School Committee Meeting. Concerns about East Squantum Street crosswalk/parking lot entrance.

  5. Solar Array Installation on School Roofs Referred from the Facilities & Security Subcommittee on September 10, 2014. Monitoring of the ongoing projects and the educational opportunities.

  6. Learn to Swim Referred at the September 10, 2014 Special School Committee Meeting. Monitoring the ongoing partnership between QPS and the South Shore YMCA.

  7. Farm to School Referred at the September 10, 2014 Special School Committee Meeting. Monitoring the Planning Grant rollout, a collaboration of QPS and the Planning Department.

  8. CPR Certification Referred from the Policy Subcommittee at the September 10, 2014 Special School Committee meeting. Grade 8 students will be certified through Health classes.

  9. Before School Exercise Programs Referred at the September 10, 2014 Special School Committee meeting. Monitoring the implementation of these programs across QPS.

  10. Food Services Technology Referred at the September 10, 2014 Special School Committee meeting. Exploring the options for further publicizing the advantages of these new systems.

Policy
Bregoli/Isola/Hubley

  1. Graduation Requirements Referred to Subcommittee at the September 7, 2011 School Committee Meeting and discussed at the October 11, 2011 School Policy Subcommittee. The discussion centered around adding a fourth year of Math as a graduation requirement; the issue is tabled until more is known about the impact of the new Common Core Standards on the Massachusetts frameworks.

  2. New Educator Evaluations Referred at the September 7, 2011 School Committee Meeting and shared with the Teaching and Learning Subcommittee. Further discussion will be held in joint Subcommittee Meetings and Executive Session as it pertains to collective bargaining.

  3. High School Community Service Referred to Subcommittee at the December 14, 2011 School Committee Meeting. In the 2012-13 school year, Grades 10 and 11 completed requirement. In the 2013-14 school year, Grades 11 and 12 completed the requirement. In 2014-15, Grades 9-11 plus any seniors who did not complete their Grade 11 requirement will perform Community Service.

  4. Advertising/Sponsorship Opportunities Referred at the June 13, 2012 School Committee Meeting. Review and discussion of amending the existing policy requested to explore the possibility of raising revenue by accepting advertising sponsorships.

  5. Residency Referred at the September 18, 2013 Special School Committee Meeting. Review of existing policy and expansion to include additional information on verification process.

  6. Review of High School Academic and Extracurricular Programs Referred at the November 13, 2013 School Committee Meeting. A comparison of the offerings at both schools to be analyzed to ensure equitable and parallel opportunities for all students at both facilities.      

  7. Open Enrollment Referred at the October 8, 2014 School Committee meeting for review and discussion to focus on the timeline for placement decisions and communication to parents.

  8. Middle School Grading System Referred at the December 10, 2014 School Committee meeting for review and discussion.

  9. Emergency Procedures Policy Referred at the December 10, 2014 School Committee meeting for review and updating of the existing policy to reflect current standard protocols.

Special Education
Mahoney/DiBona/McCarthy

  1. Student Information for Substitute Teachers Originally referred to Subcommittee at the January 17, 2007 School Committee Meeting. Aspen Student Information System Special Education module reports will be utilized to share information with substitute teachers beginning in September 2014.

  2. Special Education Program Assessment Referred to Subcommittee at the January 28, 2012 Special School Committee Meeting. This will be an ongoing discussion of the curriculum initiatives for Special Education.

Rules, Post Audit & Oversight
Hubley/Isola/Mahoney

Teaching and Learning
Isola/Hubley/Mahoney

  1. New Educator Evaluations Referred at the September 7, 2011 School Committee Meeting and shared with the School Policy Subcommittee. The 2013-2014 school year is the first year of the new Educator Evaluation process and a collaboration will continue between the School Committee, Superintendent’s Leadership Team, and the Quincy Education Association around issues related to the implementation.

Ad Hoc Committees: Channel 22

Sterling Building Committee
DiBona/McCarthy

Sterling/Point Webster Grade 5
McCarthy/Bregoli/DiBona/Hubley/Isola/Koch/Mahoney

Created at the September 10, 2014 Special School Committee meeting to review issues related to Grade 5 being located in middle school buildings.

School District Maps
Isola/Bregoli/DiBona/Hubley/Koch/Mahoney/McCarthy

Created at the September 10, 2014 Special School Committee meeting to review issues related to school district maps.

Minutes

The January 28, 2015 School Committee meeting was cancelled due to inclement weather.