Minutes
Quincy, Massachusetts – September 21, 2016
Regular Meeting of the Quincy School Committee
Regular Meeting
A regular meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on Wednesday,
September 21, 2016 at the Coddington Building. The Superintendent called the
roll and present were Mr. James DeAmicis, Mrs. Kathryn Hubley,
Ms. Barbara Isola, Mayor Thomas Koch, Mrs. Emily Lebo, Mrs. Anne Mahoney,
and Mr. Paul Bregoli, Vice Chair.
Vice-Chair Presiding
Also present were: Dr. Richard DeCristofaro, Secretary; Ms. Laura Owens,
Clerk; Mr. Michael Draicchio, Ms. Beth Hallett, Mr. James Mullaney, Deputy
Superintendent Kevin Mulvey, Mrs. Maura Papile, Mrs. Erin Perkins, Ms.
Madeline Roy, Mr. Keith Segalla; Quincy Education Association President
Allison Cox; and Citywide Parents Council Co-President Scott Alessandro.
§
There was a moment of silence for members of the armed forces serving
overseas and at home.
§
Regular Meeting Minutes Approved
9.7.16
Mrs. Lebo made a motion, seconded by Mr. DeAmicis, to approve the Regular
Meeting minutes for September 7, 2016. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Executive Session Minutes Approved
9.7.16
Ms. Isola made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Hubley, to approve the Executive
Session minutes for September 7, 2016. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Executive Session Minutes Approved
9.14.16
Ms. Isola made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Lebo, to approve the Special
Meeting minutes for September 14, 2016. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.
§
Open Forum
Ms. Stacy Barker, President of the Quincy Choral Boosters, spoke in favor of
supporting Choral Arts Education in the Quincy Public Schools. She announced
that the Boosters were hosting a car wash on Saturday, September 24 from 9:00
am to noon in the Quincy High School parking lot.
Mr. Daniel Molloy, Vice-President of the Quincy Choral Boosters, highlighted the
importance of choral arts in the schools, a significant part of academic success,
building confidence and communications skills.
§
Superintendent's
Report
Dr. DeCristofaro opened the Superintendent’s Report with Inspire Quincy,
featuring highlights of the Quincy Public Schools including the
School~Community Partnership Backpacks Initiative (thanks to donations from
Harvard Pilgrim, Cradles to Crayons, Quincy Credit Union, National Association
of Government Employees, W.B. Mason); PBIS at Squantum; the Atlantic
Literary Magazine; Band Instrument demonstration at elementary schools; Dr.
Mykee Fowlin’s presentation for Grades 10 and 11 at both high schools, funded
by Peter Thompson to support the Student Support Services Diversity &
Respect Initiative.
Upcoming Quincy Public Schools events include the Quincy School~Community
Partnership Welcome Back Reception on September 29 at 5:00 pm at the
Common Market; Professional Educator Status Reception on October 13 at
Quincy High School; and the Educator Mini-Grants Awards on November 3 at
the Quincy Neighborhood Club.
At the September 12, 2016 City Council meeting, the additional appropriation
for Full-Day Kindergarten paraprofessionals was approved. The Sterling
Middle School Project Scope & Funding Agreement was referred to the next
Finance Committee meeting, which will be held on September 29 at 6:30 at
Sterling Middle School. Thanks to the City Council for their continued support
of Quincy Public Schools.
Site Assessment Days begin next Tuesday, September 27 at the elementary and
middle schools. Using MCAS data as a starting point, school staffs will begin to
develop goals and action steps for 2016-2017. Subsequent Assessment days
throughout the school year will evaluate progress towards these goals. These
Assessment Days provide leadership development opportunities for staff
members working collaboratively in grade level and curriculum vertical teams.
Water Sampling began this week and will be ongoing through October at all
twenty Quincy Public Schools buildings.
Dr. DeCristofaro reminded School Committee that the Sterling Middle School
Family 5K Road Race will be held Saturday, September 24 at 9:00 am and the
third annual City of Presidents 5K Run/Walk will be held on Sunday, September
25 at 10:00 am at Adams Field to benefit the Quincy Public Schools Health &
Wellness programs. This year’s event is in memory of Central Middle School
teacher Emily Zarnoch. The Beechwood Knoll Fall Festival will be held on
Saturday, October 1 from 11:00 am to 4:00 p.m.
Dr. DeCristofaro concluded the Superintendent’s Report by noting that October
1 enrollment and class size data will be shared at the October 5 School
Committee meeting.
§
New Business
Review of the Special
School Committee
Meeting on
September 14
Dr. DeCristofaro reviewed the connections of the Quincy School Committee to the
District Improvement Plan. Mr. Bregoli reviewed the detail of the discussion
about Subcommittee goals and items in Subcommittee, noting that meeting
minutes are available online on the School Committee page of the Quincy Public
Schools website: www.quincypublicschools.com.
§
New Business
New Science,
Technology &
Engineering Standards
Senior Director of Curriculum Madeline Roy presented an overview of the new
Massachusetts DESE Science, Technology, and Engineering Standards along with
Ms. Michelle Cunniff, Grade 8 Science Teacher at Central and Ms. Taylor Dennehy,
Grade 5 Science Focus Teacher at Montclair.
The 2016 Pre-K through Grade 12 Science, Technology, and Engineering
standards maintain much of the content of the earlier Massachusetts Science
Frameworks, but reflect changes in the field over the past 15 years. There are
additional inquiry and design skills that students need to successfully engage in
this discipline. The new standards focus on conceptual understanding and
application of concepts; integrate disciplinary core ideas and practices from PreKindergarten through 12; and the application of science in engineering contexts.
There are now specific standards for each grade level from Pre-Kindergarten
through Grade 8.
The Massachusetts STE standards are an adaptation of the Next Generation
Science Standards (NGSS), integrated with Massachusetts’s strong standards in
place since 1996. Three primary concepts are Practices (describe behaviors that
scientists engage in as they investigate and build models and theories about the
natural world and the practices that engineers use as they design and build
models and systems); Core Ideas (focusing K-12 science curriculum on the most
important aspects of science – physical, life, earth and space, and engineering and
technology); and Crosscutting (concepts have application across all domains of
science; as such they are ways of linking the different domains of science).
The transition to the new STE standards began in 2009 at the state and national
level. After drafting of the Massachusetts STE standards and the public comment
and revision period, the Massachusetts Board of Education adopted the STE
Frameworks in January 2016. In the Quincy Public Schools, the process began
during the 2014-2015 school year with the Elementary Report Card team which
aligned to the new STE standards. The middle school Science team created a
transition plan and in the summer of 2015, Grades 5 and 6 staff began a mapping
and alignment process to roll out a partial implementation. This alignment
continued in Summer 2016 with the collaboration on unit development and
Advanced Science coursework. Full implementation will be in this 2016-2017
school year.
For all Quincy Public Schools students, the goal of STE education is to develop
scientifically and technologically literate citizens who can solve complex,
multidisciplinary problems and apply analytical reasoning and innovative
thinking to real-world applications needed for civic participation, college
preparation, and career readiness. Students experience and navigate the world as
an integrated whole. Language, literacy, mathematics, science, technology, and
engineering are seamlessly interwoven in our everyday lives.
Ms. Roy reviewed the Advanced Science Pathway team, a collaboration of middle
and high school teachers and administrators to create a pathway for achievement,
encouraging independent learning and stimulate natural curiosity in science.
Ultimately, the effect will be for more Grade 9 students to be ready for Advanced
and Honors Biology, for Grade 11 & 12 students to have opportunities with STE
electives and/or AP courses, and creation of Grades 6 and 7 pacing guides with
differentiation.
Ms. Cunniff spoke of the Boston University GLACIER program, which partners
graduate students with middle school science teachers to enhance science
curriculum and provide expertise in the classroom. 2016-2017 is the last year of
the current grant, but Boston University writing a grant to continue funding and
discussions are underway with Boston Scientific to become involved.
Mr. Bregoli thanked the presenters and asked about the Interactive Science
Notebooks, Ms. Cunniff explained that it is a daily Science Journal. Ms. Roy said
this is a cumulative tool, the goal is for students to have three years of information
to refer to when preparing for the Grade 8 STE MCAS. Mr. Bregoli asked about
how students will be recommended for Advanced Science. Ms. Cunniff said the
teachers will recommend students who are interested and talented in Science, and
also look at Grade 5 and 8 MCAS, term, and full year grades.
Ms. Isola said this is very exciting, how we are acknowledging the different
learning styles of students. At a young age, students will learn that it is fine to
explore, make a mistake, learn from experiments. Ms. Isola said that having
female scientists as role models for our students is wonderful, a tangential benefit
of this program. The team clearly had a very thoughtful approach to the changes.
Mrs. Mahoney agreed with Ms. Isola about the importance of having scientists in
the classrooms. Mrs. Mahoney asked about communication to the parents about
the new standards and the importance of the Science Journal. Ms. Cunniff said the
schools are encouraging students to keep their journals securely at school. Mrs.
Ms. Cunniff said that materials are posted on Aspen for parent reference. For the
interdisciplinary connections, this year has been amazed by the art generated
during science inquiry. Mrs. Mahoney asked if students will bring their journals to
high school; Ms. Cunniff said this is something they are discussing with the high
school department chairs.
Mrs. Lebo thanked Ms. Roy for her leadership and the informative presentation.
§
New Business
Fall Parent
Academies
Ms. Roy then introduced an overview of the planned Parent Academy events for
2016-2017. Senior Director of Student Support Services Maura Papile reviewed
the first event, a collaboration of QPAC, the Special Education Department, and
Student Support Services, scheduled for October 6 at Central Middle School. An
Evening with Maria Trozzi, discussing stresses of living with students with
disabilities, strategies for understanding and coping, and a conceptual model for
working with collaborative educators. In Spring 2017, there will be a Healthy
Choices Family Night.
Director of High School Curriculum and English Language Learners Beth Hallett is
planning two events focused on expanding Dual Enrollment for Grades 11-12 at
both high schools: NQHS on October 12 and QHS on October 20 from 6:00 pm to
7:30 pm. For English Language Learner families at Della Chiesa and Parker,
parenting workshops will be offered in collaboration with Quincy Asian Resources
and South Shore Mental Health that focus on understanding the educational
system and addressing stressors of living bi-culturally.
Special Education Director Erin Perkins introduced a three-part series on
Learning to Read that will be presented in the fall and winter covering topics
including the developmental process of Reading; signs of struggling and tips on
how to intervene; and dyslexia education. Back by popular demand, Brain
Boosters for Breaks will be held for Grades K-2 in March and 3-5 in April, focused
on keeping students active and engaged in educational process during time away
from school. In late May or early June, a Welcome to Kindergarten Parent
Academy will be scheduled.
Ms. Roy said two Parent Academy events for middle school families will be held
for Understanding Close Reading Strategies on November 1 and Helping to
Organize the Disorganized Student on January 19, 2017.
Dr. DeCristofaro thanked the Leardership Team members for planning these
events and extending our family & community engagement. Principals, assistant
principals, department chairs, academic and academic program staff are an
integral part of these events.
§
New Business
Out of State
Travel (One Day)
Mayor Koch made a motion to move the Out of State travel of North Quincy High
School to the University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire on October
19, 2016. The motion was seconded by Mr. DeAmicis and on a voice vote, the ayes
have it.
Mayor Koch made a motion to move the Out of State travel of North Quincy High
School Soccer to St. Anselm College, Manchester, New Hampshire on October 16,
2016. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Hubley and on a voice vote, the ayes have
it.
§
Communications
Upcoming meetings were announced: School Committee on October 5, 2016;
October 19, 2016; and November 9, 2016, all at 6:30 pm at the Coddington
Building.
Upcoming Subcommittee meetings were announced: Policy on September 26,
2016 at 5:00 pm; Teaching & Learning on October 3, 2016; October 24, 2016;
November 2, 2016; and November 16, 2016. The meeting originally scheduled for
November 14, 2016 has been moved to November 15. The October 12, 2016
Health, Transportation, and Safety Subcommittee will be rescheduled. Budget &
Finance Subcommittee will meet on November 14, 2016, along with the Facilities
& Security Subcommittee.
Mrs. Lebo asked for an update on the Athletics Subcommittee. Dr. DeCristofaro
said there is nothing to report at this time, but will meet with Mayor Koch to
determine the membership of the subcommittee.
§
Adjournment
Mayor Koch made a motion to adjourn for the evening at 8:00 p.m. The motion
was seconded by Mrs. Lebo and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.