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School Committee Meeting Minutes Wednesday, January 8, 2020 District Office Conference Room 2 Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 7:00 p.m.

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THE GLOUCESTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Our mission is for all students to be successful, engaged, lifelong learners.

School Committee Meeting Minutes

Wednesday, January 8, 2020 District Office Conference Room 2 Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA

7:00 p.m.

Members Present Administration Present

Jonathan Pope, Chairman Dr. Richard Safier, Superintendent

Kathy Clancy, Vice Chairperson Gregg Bach, Asst. Superintendent

Laura Wiessen, Secretary Gary Frisch, Director of Finance

Melissa Teixeira Prince and Operations

Joel Favazza James Cook, GHS Principal

Samantha Verga Watson Lynne Beattie, O’Maley Principal

Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken

Recorded by 1623 Studios

I. CALL TO ORDER – Chairman Pope called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and stated the mission of the Gloucester Public Schools.

II. SALUTE TO THE FLAG

III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS – Patti Amaral of Myrtle Square read a statement in defense of saving Mattos Field (see attached).

Michael Laurie, a disabled veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, stated that selfless service is the backbone of every person who serves in the military, and he believes that Joseph Mattos lived up to the principle of selfless service. The idea of being selfless puts the

community above the individual. He applauds the residents who worked hard to raise money and contribute funds to the playground and stated that he believes that Joseph Mattos would put the good of the community before the good of a few. He stated that a school in our community will help bring families into the city, help better our children’s education, and strengthen our community. He noted that it is clear from the plans that there is 25,000 square feet of dedicated space for playgrounds at the site and asked the community to disregard their personal feelings, stop being short-sighted, and think long-term.

IV. COMMENTS FROM THE CHAIRPERSON – Chairman Pope welcomed new School Committee members Samantha Watson and Laura Wiessen.

V. RECOGNITIONS – Dr. Safier reported that he received a call from the superintendent in Rockport asking for help from our social service personnel in response to the stabbing at Rockport Middle School. Dr. Safier gave his unconditional appreciation to Amy Kamm, Florence Johnson, Rebecca Wetter, Mary White and Michelle Lizotte for assisting students in Rockport for two days after that incident.

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Chairman Pope reported that the inauguration ceremony was the best one he has attended and recognized the Docksiders for their excellent performance. Mayor Theken also recognized the JROTC for their support at the inauguration.

VI. GHS STUDENT ADVISORY COUNCIL – A member of the Student Advisory Council updated the committee on the following events at GHS: Gloucesteropoly boards, NHS tutoring, Gloucester Youth Council’s free food locker, and the blood drive.

VII. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approval of Minutes

1. School Committee of October 23, 2019 2. Personnel Subcommittee of October 30, 2019

3. Building & Finance Subcommittee of October 30, 2019

4. Personnel Subcommittee and Executive Session of November 12, 2019 B. Approval of Warrants

C. Approval of Transfers D. Referrals

E. Approval of Out-of-State Field Trips

1. GHS JROTC to Clayton, Delaware from Friday, February 7 to Saturday, February 8, 2020 for drill competition

2. GHS JROTC to Daytona Beach, Florida from Tuesday, April 28 to Saturday, May 2, 2020 for annual National Drill Team Championship Competition

3. GHS trip to Spain from Wednesday, April 14 to Friday, April 23, 2021

4. O’Maley trip to Washington, DC from Tuesday, March 31 to Thursday, April 3, 2020

F. Acceptance of Gifts/Donations

1. Donation of excess wood from Pete and Kim Radochia to GHS

2. Rebate check from CollegeBoard AP to GHS in the amount of $250.00.

3. $25.00 from Brady and Rosann Smith towards West Parish food service debt

Ms. Teixeira Prince removed Item E.3 from the Consent Agenda. She would like to review the trip to Spain again to make sure there are enough chaperones. Mr. Favazza requested that the trip be approved at the next meeting.

On a motion by Kathy Clancy, seconded by Ms. Teixeira Prince, it was unanimously VOTED: 7 in favor, 0 opposed to approve the Consent Agenda as noted.

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VIII. DELIBERATIONS ON EDUCATIONAL ISSUES/SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

A. GHS Turnaround Plan – Summary and Update – Mr. Cook presented a slide show on the GHS Turnaround Update, including an update overview, the GHS

2018-19 Accountability Report, progress towards meeting the goals, the focus on sustainable improvement, engaging and supporting all students in higher order thinking, improving student attendance, improving the transition from eighth grade to ninth grade, completed actions, benchmark data, and next steps.

Mr. Cook stated that some of the issues with high needs groups were not weighted as heavily five years ago and are now coming to the forefront because of the new way data are measured. Ms. Watson requested an example of a lesson designed for higher order thinking, and Dr. Safier indicated that that can be brought to the Program Subcommittee.

Finally, Chairman Pope asked Mr. Cook if there is anything that the School Committee can do immediately to support the turnaround plan. Mr. Cook stated that he has been working with Gregg Bach to find grants so there is no immediate need but that he will likely need more staff in the future.

B. Update on Development of Middle School Sustained Improvement Plan –

Ms. Beattie presented a slide show on the collaboration with the Statewide System of Support beginning in November, including formation of the instructional leadership team, SchoolWorks’ site visit on January 21 and 22, root cause analysis, completion of the sustained support plan by 06/30/2020, implementation in September of 2021, and connections and positive indications.

(At this time, the agenda was taken out of order.)

D. Superintendent’s Report – Dr. Safier updated the committee on the following matters:

1. Accountability and Assistance Advisory Council (AAAC) – Mr. Bach and Mr. Cook spoke about training on bias and stereotyping.

2. Cape Ann Study for Education (CASE) Update

3. Positive Happenings – Dr. Safier reported that the stipend publicist positions have not worked out and this newsletter has been implemented to share district events.

Ms. Teixeira Prince referred the publicist positions to the Personnel Subcommittee.

On a motion by Ms. Teixeira Prince, seconded by Kathy Clancy, it was unanimously VOTED: 7 in favor, 0 opposed to accept the Superintendent’s Report.

C. Scheduling of School Committee Meetings, Subcommittee Meetings and Workshops – Chairman Pope indicated that the School Committee will meet on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month but that schedule will vary in April if a meeting falls during

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April vacation. He stated that there will be three meetings on Wednesday, January 15th, namely Building & Finance Subcommittee at 4:15 p.m., Personnel Subcommittee at 5:30 p.m., and a School Committee workshop at 7:00 p.m. Finally, he indicated that the public hearing on the budget will be held on April 1. There was a discussion about meetings being posted on the district calendar.

IX. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS – None.

X. ACTION

A. Approval of Subcommittee Assignments – On a motion by Kathy Clancy, seconded by Ms. Wiessen, it was unanimously

VOTED: 7 in favor, 0 opposed to approve the subcommittee assignments as presented.

B. Acceptance of Grants

1. C.A.S.IT., Inc. Grant – After discussion, on a motion by Ms. Teixeira Prince, seconded by Kathy Clancy, it was unanimously

VOTED: 7 in favor, 0 opposed to accept a grant from C.A.S.IT., Inc. in the amount of $1,400.00 for the GHS Italian program.

2. Gloucester Education Foundation Grant – After discussion, on a motion by Ms.

Teixeira Prince, seconded by Kathy Clancy, it was unanimously

VOTED: 7 in favor, 0 opposed to accept a grant from the Gloucester Education Foundation in the amount of $28,250.00 for the following:

- $11,700.00 for theater productions at elementary schools - $6,550.00 for after-school music lessons

- $10,000.00 for O’Maley Academy

Kathy Clancy pointed out that the O’Maley Academy grant decreases every year, and Mr. Bach stated that we should be thinking ahead on how to fund the program once the grant ends.

XI. DISCUSSION/OTHER COMMUNICATION/OLD AND NEW BUSINESS

A. MSBA Project Update – Chairman Pope reported that there is a School Building Committee meeting scheduled for January 16th at 5:00 p.m. at East Gloucester School.

He indicated that the architects are working on the design of the building and that there was a focus group meeting at West Parish to discuss elements of the design. He also reported that the Article 97 disposition request will go into the Mayor’s Report on

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January 28th, will be referred out to subcommittee, and then will come back to the full council for a vote on February 11 or 25.

B. Superintendent Search Update – Chairman Pope reported that the Personnel Subcommittee will be meeting with Dorothy Presser of MASC on January 15 at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the screening committee, online survey, job description, focus groups, and a brochure. The subcommittee will come back to the full committee with

recommendations at the January 22nd meeting. There was a discussion about the search timeline.

C. Preschool Location – Chairman Pope reported that the city will be continuing with the lease at least until next year. He noted that there is very little to negotiate with respect to the purchase of the building because there is a set price in the lease.

Mr. Favazza discussed the need to find space for the administrative office, and Chairman Pope referred that matter to the Building & Finance Subcommittee. Mayor Theken reported that she has been talking to the landlord and that we are in the second year of a three-year lease with two one-year extensions. She suggested slowing down and

focusing on the new school and swing space first. Mr. Favazza cautioned against waiting too long to find another option in the event the purchase of the building falls through.

D. Letter from Nephew of Joseph S. Mattos – FYI.

E. Letter (12/15/19) from Cynthia Bjorlie, MD regarding Gun Forum – FYI. Chairman Pope reported that the gun forum was very informative and very well run.

F. Stipends for Publicist Positions – Ms. Teixeira Prince referred this matter to the Personnel Subcommittee.

G. Van Driver Job Description – Ms. Teixeira Prince referred this matter to the Personnel Subcommittee.

H. Location of School Committee Meetings – Chairman Pope stated that Ms. Wiessen suggested that the committee hold meetings in the schools or at City Hall on occasion to make them more accessible to the community. This matter was referred to the Building

& Finance Subcommittee.

XII. ADJOURNMENT – On a motion by Chairman Pope, seconded by Mayor Theken, it was unanimously

VOTED: 7 in favor, 0 opposed to adjourn the School Committee meeting of January 8, 2020 at 9:42 p.m.

All reference documents and reports are filed in the Superintendent’s office.

Maria Puglisi, Recording Secretary

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References

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