Quincy Public Schools

A meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on Wednesday, March 8, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. in the School Committee Room at the Coddington Building.  Superintendent Kevin Mulvey called the roll and present were Mayor Thomas P. Koch, School Committee Chair, and School Committee Members Mr. Paul Bregoli, Mrs. Tina Cahill, Mr. Douglas Gutro, Mrs. Kathryn Hubley, Mrs. Emily Lebo, and Mr. Frank Santoro, Vice Chair.   Also present were:  Superintendent Kevin Mulvey, Assistant Superintendent Erin Perkins, Ms. Kim Connolly, Ms. Susan Shea Connor, Ms. Allison Cox, Mr. Michael Draicchio, Ms. Julie Graham, Ms. Lauren Lindsay, Ms. Rebecca McInnis, Mr. James Mullaney, Ms. Madeline Roy, Mr. Keith Segalla, Mr. Lawrence Taglieri; and Ms. Laura Owens, Clerk.

A moment of silence was observed in memory of retired Quincy Public Schools employees who recently passed away:  Maria Anastasi, QPS administrator for over 10 years, most recently in Transportation department; Luleen Anderson, retired Coordinator of Psychological Services and Elementary Guidance Department Chair, 16 years with Quincy Public Schools; Ruth Carney, Cafeteria Manager at North Quincy High School for 20 years; Dorothy Kressler, Paraprofessional at Snug Harbor for 17 years; Mary Peretti, worked in the Payroll department in the 1940s and 1950s for 7 years; Marilyn Puopolo, Kindergarten Teacher at Squantum Elementary School for over 30 years; Stanley Sadowski, English teacher at Point Webster and Central for 37 years; Catherine Smith, Science Teacher & Department Chair at Quincy High School for over 30 years; Dolores Tormey, Social Studies Teacher & Department Chair at North Quincy High School for 30 years.

Mr. Santoro read the following statement into the record:  Pursuant to the Open Meeting Law, any person may make an audio or video recording of this public meeting or may transmit the meeting through any medium.  Attendees are therefore advised that such recordings or transmissions are being made whether perceived or unperceived by those present and are deemed acknowledged and permissible.

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Regular Meeting

Vice-Chair Presiding

Mrs. Hubley made a motion to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting for February 8, 2023.  Mrs. Lebo seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

Mrs. Lebo made a motion to approve the minutes of the Executive Session for February 8, 2023.  Mr. Bregoli seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

Mrs. Cahill made a motion to approve the minutes of the Executive Session for March 1, 2023.  Mr. Gutro seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

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Approval of Minutes

Mr. Bregoli made a motion to take the agenda out of order and move to the Outstanding CVTE Students presentation.  Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

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Agenda Out of Order

Executive Director of Career, Vocational & Technical Education Keith Segalla presented the five finalists for 2023 Outstanding Career Vocational Technical Education Student of the Year:  Sonny Le, Victoria Bentley, John Thomas Malvesti, Lillian Nguyen, Dante Nguyen, and the winner Madeline Chen-Baryza.

Each student presented their senior year project and the School Committee members complimented the students for their achievements and for taking advantage of all of the opportunities offered to them.

Superintendent Mulvey thanked CVTE Department Chairs Ms. McInnis and Ms. Collins and all of the CVTE teachers. 

Mr. Santoro said the students make all of us proud.

Mrs. Lebo said that our school system offers an array of educational opportunities that is unmatched across the state, thanks to the support of the City and community for the budget that supports these programming.  Mr. Bregoli agreed, looking for additional opportunities to add programs at North Quincy High School.

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New Business

Outstanding CVTE

Student of the Year

After a brief recess, the order of the agenda was resumed.

The following parents and community members spoke in support of the Quincy Education Association and urged School Committee to move forward to settle the contract negotiations: Laura Moye, Liz Speakman, Leslie Larocca, Bill Southworth and Ashley Lynch-Mahoney, Heather Belanger, Jennifer Chen, Grace Chua, Bill Zamzow, Sarah Alessandro, Scott Alessandro, Alexis Veith, Jana Mulkern, Bill Zamzow, Courtney Perdios, Houda Salameh, Robin Guan, Bill McCoy, Kate Campbell, Truc Lai, David D’Attilio, Jon Gorey, Joe Barger, Tameika Oden, and Shivpreet Singh.

Quincy High School Teacher Scott Devlin spoke in support of Outstanding CVTE student of the year Madeline Chen-Baryza.

Ms. Owens read letters submitted to the Open Forum email from Ms. Lori Earl, Mr. Joe Markman and Ms. Maurin Howard, and Ms. Christina Duncan supporting the Quincy Education Association and urging the School Committee to continue negotiating.

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Open Forum

Superintendent Mulvey reviewed that North Quincy High School student Dominique Dang has been named a National Merit Scholarship Finalist, one of 15,000 nationwide, the top 1% of graduating seniors who took the PSAT in October 2020.  Dominique is #1 in her class with a GPA of 5.28.

The North Quincy High School Boys Basketball and Hockey teams and the Quincy High School Girls Basketball team all qualified for the MIAA Tournament.  The hockey team lost in the first round and while both basketball teams won their first-round games, they were defeated in the second round by very competitive teams.  Congratulations to all the players and coaches on their successful seasons.  Spring Athletics will be underway March 20.

The Massachusetts Music Educators Eastern District Junior Festival will be held later this week on March 10 and 11.  Congratulations to the following students who were selected to participate:  Chorus: Joshua Chen, Kaelen Griego, Anya Healy, Kyle Solano (all from Central);  Nathaniel Baryza and Joshua Ferrini (both from QHS); Band: Nathan Aronoff (QHS, Tenor Saxophone); Justin Zhao (NQHS, Bassoon); Orchestra:  Alan Li (NQHS, Violin); Alvin Nikolla (NQHS, Flute); Owen Veith (QHS, Horn).

Recent Quincy Public Schools & Community Events included the Grade 5 Leadership Summit where 70 members of the school-based Grade 5 student councils from across the city came together on February 9 to learn about leadership and team building from our high school senior class officers.  A Matter of Heart was held during the week of February 27, when all Grade 8 students at each middle school learned about the basics of CPR.  On Saturday, March 4, over 60 Grade 8 students and parents took part in the American Heart Association CPR-AED certification course.  Special thanks to our partner Brewster EMS for their support of this initiative. 

In celebration of Dr. Seuss’s birthday on March 2, QPS elementary schools celebrated by inviting parents, grandparents, and community members to be guest readers in the classrooms for Read Across America.  In honor of Women’s History Month, on Saturday, March 4, Mayor Koch and Mrs. Christine Koch hosted the Remember the Ladies Event, recognizing four local women in the fields of Arts & Culture, Non-Profit, Health & Wellness, and Education.  Quincy Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Erin Perkins was recognized, along with Cynthia Sierra from Manet Community Healthcare, Beth Ann Strollo from Quincy Community Action Programs, and Sarah Labrie from the Quincy Choral Society.

Superintendent Mulvey concluded his report with reviewing upcoming Quincy Public Schools event, including a Parent Academy on Restorative Practices on Monday, March 13 at 6:00 pm via Zoom.  Presenters from the Suffolk University Center for Restorative Justice will present on their work with Quincy Public Schools around community-building and conflict resolution.  The Middle School STEM Fairs will be held at Point Webster on March 9 at 5:30 pm; South~West, March 14 at 5:00 pm; Broad Meadows, March 16 at 5:00 pm; Central, March 30 at 5:00 pm; Atlantic, March 30 at 6:00 pm.

All Grade 8 students and parents are invited to attend an overview of the course selection process at Quincy High School on March 14 and North Quincy High School on March 15, both at 6:30 pm.   Upcoming High School Drama Productions:

Quincy High School will present Little Shop of Horrors on March 17, 18, 24, and 25 at 7:30 pm and North Quincy High School will present You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown on March 30, 31, and April 1 at 7:00 pm.

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Superintendent’s

Report

There was no Old Business on the agenda.

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Old Business

Coordinator of English Language Arts Bridget Vaughan, Merrymount Elementary School Acting Principal Susan Shea Connor, and Bernazzani Elementary School teacher Lauren Lindsay shared an overview of the selection and implementation of the Quincy Public Schools new ELA curriculum Core Knowledge Language Arts. Through grant funding provided by the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education under the GLEAM grants for planning and a multi-year implementation grant of $200,000 for 2021-2022 and over $750,000 for 2022-2023.  Quincy Public Schools also has a partnership with the HILL for Literacy, who are consultants to assist in the selection and implementation process. 

The program builds knowledge through connections between Social Studies and Science and Literature, rich and diverse content, foundational skill instruction, building background, with topics and skills spiraling as the grades progress.  In the current school year, teachers are beginning to use the program with fidelity to the scope and sequence, with the goal of moving into maximizing impact on student learning.  The program provides support for all levels of learners and ongoing assessment so that teachers can assess student progress and areas of need.  Project-based learning is integrated throughout the grade levels.

Targeted professional development supports educators and administrators through in-person lesson modeling and enhancing planning/pacing.  A recent Parent Academy introduced the program to parents and guardians.

Mrs. Lebo said that she’s seen firsthand the impact and interest of the curriculum on her grandson.  Mrs. Lebo thanked Ms. Vaughan and the team for their work on securing the grant and field testing and implementing

Mr. Santoro said that this program provides important connections for our students between literacy and content areas.

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New Business

Curriculum Update:

Core Knowledge

Language Arts Program

Superintendent Mulvey updated School Committee that an additional $77,000 in funding has been granted by the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education to support the Early College High School program.  With the original $250,000 grant, this brings the total to $327,000 for this school year.

Mr. Gutro made a motion to accept the grant funding from the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education of $77,000.00 for the Early College High School program.  Mrs. Cahill seconded the motion and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 7-0.

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New Business

Grant

Mr. Bregoli made a motion to refer the Purchasing of Athletic Apparel to the Athletics & Wellness Subcommittee for review.  Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion, and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

Mrs. Lebo made a motion to refer Training & Evaluation of Athletics Coaches to the Athletics & Wellness Subcommittee.  Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

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New Business

Referral to Athletics &

Wellness Subcommittee

Mr. Gutro made a motion to refer ESSER Funding Expenditures/Future Budget Impact to the Budget & Finance Subcommittee.  Mrs. Cahill seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

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New Business

Referral to Budget &

Finance Subcommittee

Mr. Gutro made a motion to approve the in-State/Overnight Travel of North Quincy High School AFJROTC to the Leadership Camp at Camp Edwards in Bourne, Massachusetts on September 27-October 1, 2023.  Mrs. Cahill seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

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New Business

In-State Travel/

Overnight

There was no Additional Business.

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Additional Business

Mr. Santoro noted that Regular School Committee meetings are scheduled for March 22, 2023; April 5, 2023; May 3 & 17, 2023; and June 14, 2023 at 6:30 pm at the Coddington Building.  Upcoming Subcommittee meetings include the Facilities, Security & Transportation Subcommittee on Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at 6:00 pm, followed by Teaching & Learning and Policy.  

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Communications

Mrs. Lebo and Mrs. Hubley reviewed the Joint Special Education and Teaching & Learning Subcommittees meeting held on February 15, 2023, featuring presentations on the LEAP Program at Quincy College, an update on the Early College High School program, the annual Special Education Rights & Responsibilities presentation, and an update from the QPAC board.

Mr. Santoro reviewed the Quarterly Budget & Finance Subcommittee meeting held on February 15, 2023, where Director of Business James Mullaney presented a review of the FY2023 2^nd Quarter salary and expense expenditures.

As there were no corrections, the minutes of the February 15, 2023 Joint Special Education and Teaching & Learning Subcommittee meeting and the Quarterly Budget & Finance Subcommittee meeting were accepted as presented.

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Reports of

Subcommittees

Mr. Gutro made a motion to adjourn to Executive Session for the purposes of Contract Negotiations at 9:05 pm.  Mrs. Cahill seconded the motion and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 7-0. 

School Committee will not return to Regular Session.

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Executive Session

Since School Committee did not return from Executive Session, the Regular Meeting was adjourned at 9:05 pm.

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Adjournment