Minutes
Quincy, Massachusetts - January 9, 2008
Regular Meeting of the Quincy School Committee
Regular Meeting
A regular meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on Wednesday,
January 9, 2008 at the Merrymount Elementary School. Present were Mrs.
Mrs. Anne Mahoney, Mr. Kevin Mulvey, Mrs. Jo-Ann Bragg, Mr. Jim
Timmins, Mrs. Elaine Dwyer, Mayor Koch and Mr. Dave McCarthy, Vice
Chairman.
Vice Chairman Presiding
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The Superintendent called the roll and all members were present. Also
present were: Dr. Richard DeCristofaro, Secretary, Mrs. Tefta Burrelli
Clerk. Dr. Pattavina, Messrs. O’Brien, Walsh, McPhee, Kevin and Keith
Segalla, Ms. Powell, Hughes, and Roberts. Mr. Paul Phillips, QEA
President, was present.
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Moment of Silence
A moment of silence was observed for the following Quincy Public Schools
staff who recently passed away: Thomas Maher, custodian; Kevin Maldonado,
Science teacher; Noreen Myers, paraprofessional; Rita Nazzaro, retired
secretary; and Marilyn Waywood, retired secretary.
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Reg.Mins Approved 12/12/2007
On a motion by Mrs. Dwyer, seconded by Mr. Mulvey, the Committee approved
the regular session minutes for December 12, 2007. The ayes have it.
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Welcome by Principal
Ms. Ann Pegg welcomed everyone to the Merrymount Elementary School.
Ms. Pegg commended her staff who continually works to raise the bar. Students
are showing continued growth in all academic areas.
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Supts. Report
Quincy received a $30,000 grant from the Department of Education. The
grant award will fund a program beginning in the spring and continuing in the
Summer for students transitioning from eighth to ninth grade. Thanks
went to Janice Erler for her hard work.
The Committee received a copy of the Health Services News Letter. Thanks
went to Ms. Jane Kisielius.
The Committee received a copy of the Drop-out Report. The Committee
will review this information. The members received a pamphlet for Winter
Institute which begins this Saturday.
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Assessment Teams Update
The Committee took out of order, New Business, Report from School
Building Assessment Teams. The Merrymount Assessment Team and
the Central Assessment Team were present to review for the members
how their teams work. The teams assess the needs of the students,
assess their curricular strengths and weaknesses and assess their practices
as educators. The assessment team provides classroom teachers with
individual student reports generated from Test Wiz. These reports give
teachers a detailed picture of individual student performance on MCAS
testing. Along with classroom data, teachers use these reports to help
develop Individual Student Success Plans. The assessment team presents
data to the staff. The staff then determines grade level and school wide
curriculum strengths and weaknesses. These discoveries go into developing
school wide Smart Goals and Professional Development Plans. The
Merrymount Assessment Team is concentrating on math. They hold a
Math-a-thon, Math Fair, Continental Math league to keep students
motivated.
Central’s goal is to improve overall test scores on the MCAS. This
assessment team worked with the math team. They looked at all the incorrect
answers the students had and came up with several different answers. They
aligned their curriculum. They have a “Challenge Day,” a “Hero Day” and
Healthy Choices to keep their students motivated.
The Committee asked how/if this data follows the individual students, however,
Ms. Fay stated they haven’t come that far yet. Transition is a big part of
guidance. Cards do follow the students. Mr. O’Brien added that this is called
“data mining.” They collect data all the way through high school. Mr. O’Brien
anticipates that Quincy will get there, but we’re not there yet.
There was a two minutes recess at 8:05 p.m.
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At 8:14 p.m. the Committee went on with the business at hand. There was
no update on building projects, renovations and construction.
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New QHS
Mrs. Dwyer reported that a Building Committee Meeting is scheduled for mid-
January and then hold a Building Needs Subcommittee to update everyone.
She would like a presentation at the next School Committee meeting
January 23 on the new high school project. The next week will be closing
dates for the subcontractors. Phase II is still 50% completed. The Science
Technology wing will be poured in February. A 36” drain pipe has been
installed in Woodward Ave. There is a meeting scheduled for next Monday
with Gilbane. Mr. O’Brien will be updating the webpage. Dr. DeCristofaro
and Mrs. Dwyer will make a presentation before the City Council soon.
At this time, Mr. Timmins reported that he had driven by the site and found a
gate open and no security guard. He got out of his car and walked the site. A
few workers there ignored him. He said he hopped on a crane and then strolled
the first two floors of the Annex building on Saville Ave. The building was wide
open and only one person there on the third floor. He found this very disturbing.
Mrs. Dwyer will bring this up to Gilbane again.
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Central Middle School
Mr. McCarthy reported that we are awaiting information from the MSBA
on the feasibility study for Central Middle School.
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Motion re. “fees” Approved
Mrs. Bragg made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Mahoney to take the
tabled motion regarding fees off the table. The ayes have it. On a motion
by Mrs. Bragg, seconded by Mr. Mulvey, the Committee approved the
motion that the elementary level, a statement noting that “parents should
contact their principal if they have difficulty paying a fee” will appear on
every notice sent to parents that involves a fee of any kind; and that such
a statement should be created by the elementary school principals. The
ayes have it.
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Appointment Dir. of Career & Tech. Ed.
Following appropriate advertising, interviews were held on January 3,
and the Superintendent met with two candidates for the position of Director
of Career and Technical Education. The Superintendent announced that
he is appointing Mr. Keith Segalla to the position of Director of Career
and Technical Education for the Quincy Public Schools.
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Atlantic to Burgess
On a motion by Mr. Mulvey, seconded by Mr. Timmins, the Committee
approved a trip to Camp Burgess for Atlantic Middle School from June 3, 2008
to June 6, 2008. The ayes have it.
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Gift - Homeless
On a motion by Mrs. Dwyer, seconded by Mrs. Mahoney, the Committee
accepted a gift of $500 from the Quincy Point Congregational Church
to Project Access- Educational Services to Homeless Children. The ayes
have it.
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Mrs. Bragg will hold a Policy Subcommittee meeting to review the remaining
items in her subcommittee.
SC to review Agendas
Mr. McCarthy said he will discuss with the members and brainstorm agenda
items. The members would like more input as to what goes on the agenda.
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Letter to Sun Approved
On a motion by Mrs. Bragg, seconded by Mrs. Dwyer, the Committee approved
a letter written by Mr. Ken McPhee to the Quincy Sun regarding security in the
schools. The members said the letter was well written and addressed the security
issues. It should be shared with the public. Mr. Mulvey agreed that it outlines
many of the programs in place, many of which we can’t reveal for security
reasons. Regarding the article in the Quincy Sun, Mrs. Dwyer said there were
a lot of things in the article that are not true. She didn’t think that the person had
ever been in the schools. Parents should know that the children are safe and
the teachers are safe. The ayes have it.
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Retirements
The Committee noted the following retirements:
Sr.Clerk & Typist: Janet Tantillo
Resignations
The Committee noted the following resignations:
Teacher: Barbara Cross
Paraprofessionals: Linda Della Croce, Annette Oliver
Appointments
The Committee noted the following appointments:
Teachers: Patricia Dwyer, Joan Walsh
Occupational Therapist: Abby Thorell
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Adjournment
On a motion by Mrs. Timmins, seconded by Mrs. Dwyer, the Committee
adjourned for the evening at 8:36 p.m. On a roll cal vote, the motion
passed unanimously 7-0.