| TSC Permanent Minutes November 5, 2009
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PERMANENT MINUTES
TOPSFIELD SCHOOL COMMITTEE (TSC)
REGULAR MEETING
PROCTOR SCHOOL LIBRARY
NOVEMBER 5, 2009
Members Present: Susan Archer (Acting Chairperson), Rebecca Brockelman and Rosemarie Lucey
Members Absent: Jeanine Cunniff and Jeffrey Evaul
Others Present: Jessica Minnaar, Jodi Gosule, Tricia Truhart, Katie Lyons, and Katie Bastille (Steward School Teachers), Kevin Zajas (Topsfield Teachers’ Association (TTA)), Karen Dow (Board of Selectmen (BOS)), Julie Amyouny and Melissa McSweeney (Topsfield Elementary School PTO (TESPTO)), Dr. Bernard Creeden (Tri-Town Union (TTU) Superintendent, Steven Greenberg (TTU Director of Finance and Human Resources), Michelle Costa (Steward School Principal), Sarah O’Leary (Proctor School Principal), Ellen Gaskell (Recording Secretary) and Kathy Curran (Videographer)
ROUTINES:
1. Call to Order: Susan Archer called the meeting to order at 7:41 p.m.
2. Remarks from the Public: None
3. Reports from Other Committees:
a. Topsfield Elementary School PTO (TESPTO):
i. TESPTO Co-Presidents Julie Amyouny and Melissa McSweeney presented these handouts, which are included in the packet: TESPTO Events Calendar, Curriculum Enrichment News and Schedule, a list of funded projects and a brochure with TESPTO’s Mission Statement and a list of Board Members.
ii. Curriculum Enrichment is the largest part of TESPTO’s budget; teachers play a major role in suggesting programs. Dr. Creeden commented that a total of $24K will be spent at both Steward and Proctor this school year.
iii. All field trips are funded by TESPTO – about 2 per grade.
iv. Community Give Back Events are new this year. The Fall Family Fun Fest is at Steward in November and a Proctor School event will be planned in the spring.
v. Susan Archer praised TESPTO and encouraged the audience to donate to them.
b. Tri-Town School Union and K-12 Committees:
i. A report about the K-12 Committee was given at a previous meeting.
ii. The TTU Committee met last Thursday. Dr. Creeden reported on topics covered and noted that the meeting will be broadcast in all 3 towns.
1. The Regionalization Readiness Study was presented. A subcommittee was formed to further study regionalization. A letter has been sent to the Tri-Town Boards of Selectmen and Finance Committees, asking them to serve on the subcommittee. The subcommittee will meet 4-5 times between now and January and present recommendations at the TTU meeting in January. One of the consultants who wrote the study, Susan Beckman of Future Management Systems, will be present at the first meeting. The Regionalization Readiness Study is posted on the TTU website.
2. Special Education Director Sharon Lyons presented her fall report.
3. The TTU moved to allow the schools to report Body Mass Index data of 1st and 4th graders to the Mass. Dept. of Public Health. The schools must do this by 2010-2011.
4. The TTU accepted Curriculum Coordinator Debra Hale’s resignation due to retirement.
REPORTS:
1. Report of the Building Principals:
a. Michelle Costa, Steward School
i. Michelle Costa presented her report, a copy of which was included in the packet.
ii. Highlights included: the recent completion of DIBELS assessments on kindergarteners, progress reports were sent home 10/19, thank yous to 3rd Grade teacher Paula Klipfel for running Smartboard workshops for teachers and the Committee members who participated in the 2nd Grade program yesterday and a recent visit by the Multi-Age Classroom teachers to their counterparts at Cole School.
iii. Report Card Revisions – 1st Grade
1. First Grade teacher Jessica Minnaar presented the proposed changes. Copies of the old and new report cards were included in the packet.
2. Under the Reading Section, the 2 criteria “Demonstrates 1to 1 correspondence” and “Uses appropriate word analysis strategies” will be replaced with “Applies reading strategies”. “Makes predictions and connections” will now be two separate criteria, “Makes predictions” and “Makes connections”.
A motion was made by Rosemarie Lucey to accept the changes to the First Grade Report Card, seconded by Rebecca Brockelman. Motion passed 3-0-0.
iv. Report Card Revisions – 3rd Grade
1. Michelle Costa said the new report card would not include letter grades, which is consistent with all other grades at Steward and all 3rd grades across the Tri-Town. Issuing letter grades was a practice left over from when the 3rd Grade was at Proctor School. A letter from Curriculum Coordinator Debra Hale supporting the change was included in the packet, as were copies of the old and new report cards.
A motion was made by Rosemarie Lucey to accept the change to the Third Grade Report Card, seconded by Rebecca Brockelman. Motion passed 3-0-0
v. Report Card Revisions – 6th Grade
1. Sarah O’Leary presented the Grade 6 Report Card changes. Copies of the old and new report cards were included in the packet.
2. In the Writing Section, a criteria about understanding new words using knowledge of Greek/Latin roots was added
3. In the Science Section, understanding the engineering process is now included.
4. In the Social Studies Section, amendments have been made to reflect the curriculum change from Ancient Cultures to Geography.
5. The heading will be changed from Topsfield Public Schools to Proctor School.
6. The Revision Date will be changed from 11/08 to 11/09.
A motion was made by Rosemarie Lucey to accept the changes to the Sixth Grade Report Card, seconded by Rebecca Brockelman. Motion passed 3-0-0.
b. Sarah O’Leary, Proctor School:
i. A copy of this Principal’s Report was included in the packet. Highlights included: the upcoming math interim assessment on November 13th, recent meetings between the Tri-Town Leadership Team and Newbury Elementary School Principal Sylvia Jordan regarding data usage to chart growth and the Special Education team and retired Middleton SPED teacher Louise King regarding the Read Naturally Program. Thank yous went out to Grade 4 and 5 DASH volunteers and all involved in creating the new playground.
ii. Guidelines for Use of School Facilities
1. A copy of this was included in the packet. Sarah O’Leary and Michelle Costa thanked all involved in revising the guidelines: Custodian Cory Sandman, Dr. Creeden and TTU Director of Facilities Steven Clifford. It was agreed that all coaches / chaperones that use the buildings need to be aware of the guidelines, as do the parents of the children involved.
2. Report of the Superintendent:
a. A copy of the report was included in the packet.
b. H1N1 Planning Update
i. There will be an information session Monday 11-16 at Cole School at 7:30 p.m.
ii. Influenza Like Illness (ILI) updates will continue to be sent to parents via ConnectEd.
c. Personnel: Proctor School Secretary Kathy Deveney will move to part-time hours, sharing the position with Helen Dukehart. Curriculum Coordinator Debra Hale has submitted her retirement request and an interim replacement for her is being sought.
d. MCAS Growth Percentile Reports
i. A copy of this report, comparing the performance of the Tri-Town elementary schools and Masconomet was included in the packet. Information is also on the Department of Elementary and Secondary (DESE) website.
ii. Dr. Creeden spoke of classification of Student Growth Percentile (SGP) by subgroups, noting the large difference in SGP between boys and girls Grade 4 English Language Arts (ELA).
iii. Rosemarie Lucey asked if the Math and ELA curriculum are aligned in the Tri-Town; Dr. Creeden said the Math curriculum was more consistent than ELA.
iv. There was discussion of studying the options to change the Math program in the Tri-Town. Sarah O’Leary noted the Impact Math books may have to replaced with a newer version and that there have been revisions to the Math curriculum in the state framework.
3. Report of the Director of Facilities:
a. This report by Steven Clifford, included in the packet, was presented by Steven Greenberg.
i. On Oct. 24th, Steve Clifford met with Selectmen, Finance Committee members, the Treasurer and the Accountant to present the Capital Plan. There is a concern regarding the backup of deferred capital projects. One project mentioned was replacing or refurbishing the cupola on Proctor School; it should be investigated if there are grants that could help pay for this.
4. Report of the Director of Finance and Human Resources:
a. This report was presented by Steven Greenberg.
b. Transportation Services Specifications:
i. A copy of the Bid Invitation and Specifications was included in the packet. The contract is for the elementary schools in the Tri-Town, plus Masconomet. The deadline for bids is 12-17.
ii. There is actual competition for the contract this year, with 6 vendor requests.
NEW BUSINESS:
1. School Committee Annual Report 2009:
a. Two versions of a previous report, a shorter one and a longer landscape-formatted one were included in the packet. Rebecca Brockelman agreed to generate the new version of this report.
2. FY 2011 Budget Development Process:
a. Governor’s 9C Cuts to FY 2010:
i. Steven Greenberg reported that although Local Aid was previously reduced by about 12% from last year to this year, there are no new Local Aid cuts yet.
ii. He also said that regionalized transportation reimbursement has been cut; this affects Masconomet, but not the Tri-Town elementary schools. Circuit Breaker (SPED reimbursement) has been cut; the reimbursement rate is now at 40%, much lower than anticipated.
iii. Dr. Creeden said that some state agencies have been drastically cut, forcing towns to provide the services in some cases.
iv. Dr. Creeden received information about the North Shore Coalition for School Funding, which was included in the packet. Membership in the Coalition is open to school committee members and he thinks Topsfield should join because it could be a tool to bring common concerns to the Legislature and come up with funding solutions. He suggested that this should be an action item at a December meeting.
b. Instructional Technology Planning:
i. The Technology Plan 2006-2011 was included in the packet.
ii. There will be a Technology Meeting with the Tri-Town elementary school technology administrators tomorrow.
iii. At Proctor, there are diagrams of technology location per area – the 3rd Floor of Proctor chart was displayed by Sarah O’Leary.
iv. Steve Greenberg spoke of virtual machines, which would improve efficiency and cut down on electricity consumption. They are being considered at the new school in Middleton.
v. Susan Archer asked if the state issues a technology ranking for schools; Dr. Creeden said it did and Topsfield needs improvement.
vi. A new system for the Topsfield Schools website is being established; existing teacher websites will still be supported in the transition period.
vii. Rosemarie Lucey asked Steven Greenberg if Topsfield could purchase technology with the new Middleton school to cut costs; he said he’d check on it.
3. Correspondence:
a. Dr. Creeden received a request from the TTA to open contract negotiations, with an initial meeting on 11/23/09. That date will be changed due to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Meetings will be at 7 p.m. on Mondays. Ginna Wilder will be asked to attend.
4. Other: None
CONSENT AGENDA:
1. Bills and Payrolls: A copy of the handout was included in the packet.
Motion by Rebecca Brockelman to approve the following, as read by Susan Archer:
BW FY10-26 DATED 11/4/09 $ 59,771.90
BW FY10-27 DATED 11/5/09 $ 4,776.50
BW FY 10-25 DATED 10/28/09 $ 12,953.78
PAYROLL #9, 6&4 DATED 11/5/09 $203,073.66
Seconded by Rosemarie Lucey. Motion passed 3-0-0.
2. Minutes of Previous Meetings:
a. October 22, 2009 – Regular Meeting (no Executive Session that night):
i. Routines Section
1. Paragraph 3b., Subsection iii., Number 3., Line 2, change the all to all the.
2. Paragraph 3e., Subsection ii., Line 1, remove the word it.
A motion was made by Rebecca Brockelman to accept the 10/22/09 Regular Meeting minutes as amended, seconded by Rosemarie Lucey. Motion passed 3-0-0.
EXECUTIVE SESSION:
Since Executive Session would’ve dealt with contract negotiations with represented personnel and the two Committee members on the Negotiation Subcommittee were absent, Dr. Creeden said it should be postponed.
ADJOURNMENT:
At 9:55 p.m., a motion was made by Susan Archer to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Rosemarie Lucey. Motion passed 3-0-0.
Respectfully submitted,
Ellen Gaskell
Recording Secretary
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