Minutes
Quincy School Committee
Teaching and Learning Subcommittee Meeting
Monday, December 2, 2013
A meeting of the Teaching and Learning Subcommittee was held on Monday, December 2, 2013 at
5:00 pm in the 2
nd floor Conference Room of the NAGE Building. Present were Mr. Paul Bregoli, Mrs.
Kathryn Hubley, Ms. Barbara Isola, and Mrs. Emily Lebo, Chair. Also attending were Superintendent
DeCristofaro, Deputy Superintendent Kevin Mulvey, Mrs. Mary Fredrickson, Ms. Beth Hallett, Mr.
James Mullaney, Mrs. Maura Papile, Mrs. Erin Perkins, Ms. Madeline Roy, Mr. Keith Segalla, Ms. Judy
Todd, and Ms. Laura Owens, Clerk.
Mrs. Lebo called the meeting to order at 5:00 pm.
Curriculum Coordinator Erin Perkins presented the Title I Program Improvement Plan, noting that
the mission is to provide improved educational opportunities and enhanced supplementary services
to all students attending schools with a high rate of poverty. In presenting measures of student
achievement, Mrs. Perkins shared information on achievement levels as compared to district and
state averages.
Reflecting on last year's goals, Clifford Marshall and Snug Harbor designed a benchmark writing rubric
for consistent use which has been shared with all elementary schools. The team also worked on
preparing for the Coordinated Program Review, which was delayed by a year, so this goal will
continue. Lincoln Hancock staff worked closely with the Hill for Literacy on using data to drive
instruction and implementing the Journeys program. The Parker School staff created model
curriculum units in conjunction with a Literacy specialist from DSAC. Ms. Isola asked for clarification
on the continued consultant relationship with the Hill for Literacy; under the current grant, their work
will continue through this school year. Mrs. Lebo asked for clarification on the different approaches
schools have taken and was assured that the Curriculum Office will work to make sure these items
are shared across all schools.
Mrs. Perkins reviewed the 2013-2014 Goals: (1) During the 2013-2014 school year, the Title I team
will oversee the implementation of initiatives created and developed to promote the district-wide
goal of increasing the average percent correct by 2% in both ELA and Math. (2) During its 2013-2014
meetings, the Title I team will continue identifying and organizing documents required, creating a
documents binder for the 2014-2015 Coordinated Program Review. Mrs. Lebo suggested that the
action steps for Goal 1 related to Summer School program belongs under a separate goal as it will not
increase spring 2014 results.
Ms. Isola made a motion to approve the Title I Program Improvement Plan, with the requested
revision to Goal 1 incorporated. Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have
it.
Mrs. Perkins then presented the Pre-Kindergarten Program Improvement Plan by reviewing the
program mission and program design, measures of student achievement. Curriculum and pacing
guides ensure compliance with the Common Core State Standards. Reflecting on last year's goals, the
analysis and alignment of the Common Core standards was completed. The study group on family
engagement collaborated with Head Start and community-based programs to analyze strategies to
increase involvement; a family survey was completed and continued work on this goal will carry into
the 2013-2014 school year. Mrs. Lebo asked about the NAEYC accreditation process; the portfolio
submission is completed and the schools are waiting for the site visits.
Goals for 2013-2014: (1) During the 2013-2014 school year, the Pre-Kindergarten Team will analyze
and assess their use of whole group and small group instruction and their use of data to target and
inform instruction, creating a benchmark assessment to monitor, support, and develop foundational
skills. (2) The Pre-Kindergarten Team will continue to work together to increase and sustain family
engagement by increasing opportunities for parents to participate in activities within the PreKindergarten program. The team will work together to align their approach to parent information
distribution and activities to be consistent across the district.
Mrs. Lebo asked whether parent engagement is an issue at this grade level. Mrs. Perkins said there is
a difference in engagement between the two sites and partly due to a lack of casual interaction with
teachers due to the numbers of students transported.
Ms. Isola made a motion to approve the Pre-Kindergarten Program Improvement Plan. Mrs. Hubley
seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Senior Curriculum Coordinator Madeline Roy presented updates for the Quincy Public Schools
Curriculum Plan. Last year, a three-year plan for 2012-2015 was created under direction of Colleen
Roberts. This year is focused on implementation: the Curriculum and Assessment Teams were
merged to reflect the overlap of issues and concerns and a subgroup of SLT focused on curriculum
issues was established. The team spent the first part of the summer creating definitions for ELA and
Math proficiency by grade levels, which was shared with the School Committee. Vertical Teams and
DDM Team meetings are underway; sample materials will be presented at an upcoming Teaching and
Learning Subcommittee Meeting.
Other Key initiatives for the Curriculum & Assessment Team include full implementation of Core
Curriculum Frameworks; the team attended the recent DESE Curriculum Summit. Model units are
now available from DESE and include consideration of CEPA (curriculum-embedded performance
assessments). Vertical Teams are continuing to build and revise pacing and alignment guides and are
reviewing DESE model units as potential cross-curricular units. The Career & Technical Education
program staff is transitioning to their new standards. DDM Teams are exploring the assessment
options connected with new Reading and Math programs across all grade levels. ELA and Literacy at
middle school will need additional materials; Common Core Coach is being used now at Grades 6-8;
recommendations will be needed for materials to pilot next year.
Related professional development includes: relevant and content-specific professional development,
digital tools for new curricula; Understanding Fractions, Foundations of Mathematics (98% of Pre-K
through 2 teachers have completed); and Math workshops for middle school mathematics regular
and special education teachers on special topics.
For MCAS and PARCC Assessments, MCAS 2014 will be based totally on CCSS. The PARCC developer is
continuing to release sample test items and guidelines; QPS us working with DESE on state-wide field
test for Grades 3-10. Grade-level and vertical teams are continuing to review and discuss PARCC-like
assessment items; teachers are incorporating similar tasks in class lessons and incorporating
performance tasks into Curriculum & Pacing Guides. In collaboration with Information Technology,
readiness preparation is underway; next series of reports due 12/3.
For District-Determined Measures, many webinars have been attended and there is much
information to synthesize on exemplar DDMs. QPS is piloting 5 DDMs and monitoring this pilot
through team meetings; the Curriculum and Assessment Team is also researching software to collect
and analyze DDM pilot data. Mrs. Lebo asked whether a manual for system-wide DDM
implementation will be created. Ms. Hallett said that every educator has to have two identified
DDMs for each curriculum area. DDMs are specific for grade level, content, and course. At the
district level, a district plan for identifying DDMs or creating them is in development. QPS has the
organizational vision in place for DDM implementation at a district level and shared with
principals/instructional leadership and ultimately every teacher. The DESE timeline says that every
educator should have these DDMs in place by 2014-15 school year.
In addition, guidelines for scoring these Assessments plus the storing of the data are other tasks to be
completed this year. The process of developing DDMs forces teachers and principals to define what
proficient means for a certain grade. Ms. Isola asked if other factors such as mobility rate, poverty,
and other high needs subgroup factors will be taken into account. Ms. Roy said the goal is to show
growth no matter what the starting point. DIBELS is a good example of a tool that can be used as a
DDM. Ms. Isola asked if the state intends to provide additional supports based on the outcome of
these DDMs. Ms. Hallett said that this year's pilot DDMs have been learning experience for teachers
and administrators. Ms. Isola complimented the level and opportunity for teacher involvement. Ms.
Roy said the teacher involvement adds to the logistics and planning process but will be worth the
extra time and effort. Mr. Bregoli asked about the effect on reporting information to parents; Ms.
Roy said that a new elementary school report card is needed and the middle and high school will be
evaluated as well. Ms. Isola brought up the issue of the correlation between grades and test scores;
these DDMs will be an opportunity to explore these issues. Mrs. Lebo asked whether the Advanced
Placement test will be a DDM for AP courses. Ms. Isola asked if AP course students were still
required to take the AP exam; additional information will be provided.
For the RETELL Initiative, this is Cohort Year 2 with QPS running nine courses this year. Over 200
teachers and administrators will be eligible for SEI endorsement once these courses are
completed. WIDA Training will continue this year, along with collaboration with DSAC ELL liaison for
advanced WIDA Curriculum development; continuing ELL curriculum mapping; introduce WIDA
standards and language features into all curriculum maps;
In conclusion, Ms. Roy said the initiatives are ever-evolving and growing. The Curriculum and
Assessment Team appreciates the School Committee’s commitment to these issues. Mrs. Lebo
suggested that more on these topics should be presented at full School Committee meetings and Mr.
Bregoli and Ms. Isola agreed. Mrs. Lebo restated her opinion that the Central Office is understaffed.
Ms. Isola said the work behind the implementation of these initiatives should be stressed and
suggested a presentation that is more parent-friendly for an upcoming meeting. “What does
Common Core and the new PARCC assessments mean for your student.”
Mrs. Perkins reminded the School Committee about the upcoming Parent Academy evenings: Grades
K-2 presentation on December 3 and Grades 3-5 on January 7. These evenings will feature a
curriculum presentation, plus Technology breakout sessions for Think Central and Reading
Eggs. Parent feedback about additional topics for upcoming presentations will be solicited. An email
address was created for parents to contact the Curriculum Office directly:
[email protected].
Ms. Isola made a motion to adjourn the Teaching and Learning Subcommittee meeting at 6:15 pm.
Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.