Our Mission is for all Students to be Successful, Engaged, Lifelong Learners
SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING
Wednesday, April 30, 2014 7:00 pm
Superintendent Conference Room — District Office 2 Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930
AGENDA
Meetings are recorded
I. CALL TO ORDER/Statement of Mission II. SALUTE TO THE FLAG
III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
IV. COMMENTS FROM THE CHAIRPERSON V. RECOGNITIONS
VI. GHS STUDENT ADVISORY COUNCIL VII. CONSENT AGENDA
A. Approval of Minutes
*1. School Committee Public Hearing on Budget of April 2, 2014 (To follow)
*2. Program Sub-Committee of April 3, 2014
*3. Special Building & Finance of April 4, 2014
*4. School Committee of April 9, 2014
*5. Building & Finance Sub-Committee of April 16, 2014 (To follow)
*B. Approval of Warrants – Cover Sheets
*C. Approval of Transfers, as recommended by the Building & Finance Sub- Committee at its meeting of April 16, 2014.
*D. Out-of-State Field Trip Request – Grade 5 Annual Trip to Nature’s Classroom to Camp Cody, Freedom, NH from Tuesday, May 27 to Friday, May 30, 2014.
*E. Acceptance of Gloucester Education Foundation Grant — GHS 3-D Program to enhance the opportunities for STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts
& Math) in the amount of $40,693.00.
VIII. DELIBERATIONS ON EDUCATIONAL ISSUES/SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
*A. Gloucester High School - School Improvement Plan — Principal Erik Anderson
*B. Special Education Update — SPED Director, Patricia Wegmann
*C. Superintendent’s Report
IX. SUB-COMMITTEE REPORTS (Items listed under X. ACTION may be brought forward with reports)
A. Building & Finance Sub-Committee Meeting of April 16, 2014 — Chairperson Clancy
Agenda: Draft Budget Timeline and Outline of Roles and Responsibilities, Food Service Debt Update, Transfers, FY 2015 Budget, and Salary Adjustment for Confidential Secretary.
B. Personnel Sub-Committee of April 28 & 30, 2014 — Chairperson Teixeira
Agenda: Executive Session to discuss negotiations with Food Services and AFSCME A & B X. ACTION
DISCLAIMER: Listed below are all known items that may require action but action may not be taken on all items listed; i.e., action items that are known including all votes taken by all sub- committees previous to the Friday before a Wednesday School Committee meeting and items that may flow from the Superintendent’s Report
A. District Participation in School Choice for 2014/2015
To approve the district’s participation in the inter-district School Choice Program under MGL, Chapter 76, Section 12B.
*B. Acceptance/Approval of Gloucester High School – School Improvement Plan for 2014/2015
XI. DISCUSSION/OTHER COMMUNICATION/OLD AND NEW BUSINESS A. Massachusetts School Building Authority Project Update
XII. EXECUTIVE SESSION
A. Strategy regarding Grievance Resolution XIII. ADJOURNMENT
*Enclosures
Gloucester High School — End of the Year Calendar for Seniors
• Academic Recognition Night 7:00 pm Thursday, May 15 Auditorium
• Grand Promenade 5:30 pm Friday, June 6 Field House
• Prom 7:00 pm Friday, June 6 Hyatt Regency, Cambridge
• Senior Awards Night 7:00 pm Saturday, June 7 Auditorium
• Graduation 1:30 pm Sunday, June 8 Newell Stadium
List of upcoming meetings – Meetings will be held at the District Office, Superintendent’s Conference Room unless otherwise noted:
• May 1 – Program Sub-Committee at 5 pm
• May 14 – School Committee at 7 pm
• May 21 – Building & Finance Sub-Committee at 4:45 pm
• May 28 – School Committee at 7 pm
• June 11 – School Committee at 7 pm
• June 25 – School Committee at 7 pm
VII.A.2.
THE GLOUCESTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Our mission is for all students to be successful, engaged, lifelong learners.
Program Subcommittee Meeting Minutes
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Superintendent’s Conference Room – District Office 5:00 p.m.
Members Present Administration Present
Michelle Sweet, Chairperson Dr. Richard Safier, Superintendent Melissa Teixeira, Vice Chairperson Gregg Bach, Asst. Superintendent Jack O’Maley
Also Present JP Ware
_________________________________________________________________________________
I. CALL TO ORDER – Chairperson Sweet called the meeting to order at 5:02 p.m. and stated the mission of the Gloucester Public Schools.
II. REPORTS/DELIBERATIONS/DISCUSSION
A. Writing Across the Content Area – Dr. Safier introduced JP Ware, a second-year consultant at O’Maley, and stated that she has been doing extensive work to organize and coordinate the writing program there. Ms. Ware reviewed the list of essential common language that was prepared last fall by the ELA teachers. She stated that she then brought that language into the social studies, science and math curriculum
meetings to create awareness of it in those areas. She noted that the use of academic language is not great and that the staff is discussing how to devise a method of working on better use of good academic language as opposed to content specific language.
Ms. Ware discussed an “all school write” that was conducted last year in order to collect a sample of work from O’Maley students, which led to a professional
development day with ELA teachers to go through the responses, discuss how to shape writing instruction to promote growth, and how to measure that growth. Ms. Ware also reviewed a draft rubric that was developed for two of the writing forms. Mr. Bach offered to have Fred Wolff from Six Traits come back for a professional development session on September 2nd, and Ms. Ware thought that would be a great idea.
Ms. Ware discussed two recent sessions where the entire O’Maley faculty reviewed collections of O’Maley students’ writing, one an argument and one an explanation, and refined the rubric. She suggested that the district hold a community scoring event to show the magnitude of the work that is being done in the district and to raise parents’
level of expectation of their child(ren).
There was a discussion about feedback given to the students, including the use of comments on Google Docs and a student-friendly checklist for those who are falling short in their writing. Dr. Safier noted the importance of teaching students how to continually edit and refine their writing. He also stated that he would like to see a minimum of a semester exclusively dedicated to writing in ninth grade.
B. School District Annual Report Policy, File CM – Dr. Safier reviewed the numerous reports already provided to the School Committee and asked for clarification on what further report the committee is looking for. Ms. Teixeira pointed out that the policy references Mass. General Laws Chapter 72, Section 4, which states that the committee
“shall” make an annual report on the condition of the schools and “shall” send two copies of it to the commissioner on or before April 13th and file it with the City Clerk.
She suggested that Dr. Safier include any existing reports in a packet called “annual report,” and Dr. Safier stated that he will take care of it.
C. Athletic and Cheerleading Booster Organizations Policy, File KJAA – Dr. Safier reported that he received a call from a parent asking whether performing arts booster organizations are expected to comply with this policy. Dr. Safier indicated that they are and recommended to the subcommittee that the policy be revised and the title changed to “Booster Organizations.” He stated that he will revise the policy for review at the next subcommittee meeting. With respect to the second paragraph on page 2 of the policy regarding CORI checks, Dr. Safier stated that he will look into whether fingerprinting checks also need to be conducted.
D. Introduction to K-12 Insight’s “Let’s Talk” – Dr. Safier reported that Jesse Lieb from K-12 Insight will be meeting with the principals on April 17th to demonstrate this program. He stated that $7,500 for the first year cost has been placed into the FY15 budget. Dr. Safier presented a slide show on the various reports that can be generated through the program, including the number of calls per day, response type, respondent type, priority level, case status, etc. Ms. Teixeira suggested looking into whether this type of service could be done in-house to save money.
E. School Committee SMART Goals – Ms. Teixeira noted that this document came out of the School Committee’s governance project, and Dr. Safier indicated that the document was drafted in special sessions of the Program Subcommittee without the administration present. Ms. Teixeira stated that the document needs to be updated but she believes the full committee should review it as opposed to the subcommittee since the goals apply to the full committee. Dr. Safier suggested inviting Dorothy Presser from MASC to conduct a School Committee workshop to review the goals, and Ms. Teixeira suggested that that would be up to Chairman Pope.
III. ACTION – None.
IV. ADJOURNMENT – On a motion by Mr. O’Maley, seconded by Ms. Teixeira, it was unanimously
VOTED: 3 in favor zero opposed, to adjourn the Program Subcommittee Meeting of April 3, 2014 at 6:27 p.m.
All reference documents and reports are filed in the Superintendent’s office.
Maria Puglisi Recording Secretary
VII.3.
THE GLOUCESTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Our mission is for all students to be successful, engaged, lifelong learners.
Special Building & Finance Subcommittee Meeting Minutes
Friday, April 4, 2014
Superintendent’s Conference Room – District Office 4:00 p.m.
Members Present Administration Present
Kathy Clancy, Chairperson Dr. Richard Safier, Superintendent Tony Gross, Vice Chairperson Hans Baumhauer, Director of Finance
Jonathan Pope and Operations
______________________________________________________________________________
I. CALL TO ORDER – Chairperson Clancy called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m. and stated the mission of the Gloucester Public Schools.
II. REPORTS/DELIBERATION/DISCUSSION
A. Transfers – Mr. Baumhauer presented the transfers made since the last batch was approved by the committee. He stated that all of the ordinary to salary transfers were attributable to the 2% increase for non-union employees, which came out of the health insurance account. Mr. Gross noted that the subcommittee has not yet seen the transfers from 2/8/14 to 3/3/14 and requested that they be added to the next batch for approval.
On a motion by Mr. Pope, seconded by Mr. Gross, it was unanimously
VOTED: 3 in favor zero opposed, to recommend to the full School Committee that we approve the transfers from 3/4/14 to 3/28/14, as recommended by the Building & Finance Subcommittee on April 4, 2014.
B. O’Maley Lockers and Request for Contingency Funding – Dr. Safier reported that due to the influx of West Parish fifth graders at O’Maley next year, Principal Lucey has requested that new lockers be installed in the area where the sixth graders are being relocated to avoid unnecessary traffic in the fifth grade area.
Mr. Baumhauer reviewed the quote received from J. Sallese & Sons in the amount of
$9,520 for 80 lockers, which would come out of the contingency fund. He noted that Ms. Lucey had requested 60 lockers but the quote indicates that that would not fill out a complete locker pad. Mr. Pope expressed concern with spending an extra $3,300 for lockers that are not needed simply to fill the locker pad. The committee discussed purchasing 52 lockers at a cost of $6,188 and finding a solution for the extra space in the locker pad. Mr. Baumhauer stated that he will follow up with the company to find out whether there would be any structural issue with that scenario and report back at the next meeting.
VOTED: 3 in favor zero opposed, to recommend to the full School Committee that we approve the transfer of $6,188.00 from the Main Office contingency account to the appropriate account for the purpose of purchasing lockers for the O’Maley Innovation Middle School, contingent upon verification of the structural details.
C. Food Service Debt Update – Dr. Safier reviewed the report he received from Phil Padulsky on food service debt as of March 31st. Mr. Baumhauer noted that the total amount due from the 33 families owing between $150 and $200 is not indicated on the report, and Mr. Pope pointed out that the numbers do not add up. Mr. Baumhauer stated that he will run a report indicating whether the overall balance due has increased.
There was a discussion about how to reconcile the balances owed by families who now qualify for free and reduced lunch, which have now been written off. Mr. Baumhauer indicated that money will be need to be transferred into the revolving account at the end of the year. Chairperson Clancy requested that families be reminded that they need to pay off their balances by the end of the school year. This matter will be discussed again at the next meeting.
D. FY15 Budget – Public Hearing Feedback Discussion – Chairperson Clancy reported talking to a few people who were pleased that a new performing arts position has been included in the budget. Mr. Pope noted that there have been some adjustments made since the budget was voted for the public hearing and asked whether the budget that the School Committee is voting on next week is the same as the budget that was voted for the public hearing. Mr. Baumhauer stated that nothing has been changed within the
departments, and Dr. Safier indicated that he expects to be able to prepay $40,000 at the end of the fiscal year to lease computers for next year.
Mr. Gross stated that the presentation made at the public hearing should not have included the performing arts position because it was not part of the budget voted by the School Committee. Dr. Safier noted that that position is not part of the budget
expenditures because it is being funded with school choice revolving funds. Mr. Gross believes it should have been approved by the committee before it was included in the presentation.
Mr. Gross indicated that there are four positions in the school choice revolving account, including the performing arts position, and questioned if there is enough money to pay for them. Mr. Baumhauer stated that next year he expects $221,000 for the two high school teachers and the fifth grade teacher at Beeman. The performing arts position will also be funded with the school choice revolving account because the FY14 school choice funds will be rolled over.
Mr. Gross expressed concern that the performing arts position was added without the committee discussing the cuts that had already been made to the budget, including
$88,000 for technology at the high school. He noted that the high school previously had a performing arts class and that it was poorly attended, which is why it was eliminated.
Chairperson Clancy stated that the lack of performing arts instruction has been a big issue
performing arts program. Mr. Gross cautioned that the teacher who is hired should have to teach other classes if participation is low.
Mr. Pope suggested that since the performing arts position was included in the budget presentation, it should be added to the budget with an indication that the funding is coming from the school choice revolving account. Mr. Baumhauer noted that that will not affect the budget summary.
On a motion by Mr. Pope, seconded by Mr. Gross, it was unanimously
VOTED: 3 in favor zero opposed, to recommend to the full School Committee that we approve the FY15 budget in the amount of $38,605,623 as presented at the School Committee public hearing.
E. Circuit Breaker Extraordinary Relief – Mr. Baumhauer reported that the district is getting extra money from the state for FY14. The district is eligible for an extra
$238,463, which is subject to appropriation. He hopes we will be getting between
$100,000 and $150,000, which he can roll over into FY15. Dr. Safier indicated that two special education students just moved into the district a couple of days ago at a cost of
$96,000, which does not include transportation. Chairperson Clancy suggested
communicating the magnitude of these types of expenses to the City Council when the budget is presented to them.
F. BSRI Funding – Mr. Gross requested an explanation of BSRI funding at the next
meeting. There was a discussion about donations made to BSRI on behalf of the district.
III. ACTION – See Items II.A, II.B and II.D.
IV. ADJOURNMENT – On a motion by Mr. Pope, seconded by Chairperson Clancy, it was unanimously
VOTED: 3 in favor zero opposed, to adjourn the Special Building & Finance Subcommittee Meeting of April 4, 2014 at 5:09 p.m.
All reference documents and reports are filed in the Superintendent’s office.
Maria Puglisi Recording Secretary
VII.A.4.
THE GLOUCESTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Our mission is for all students to be successful, engaged, lifelong learners.
School Committee Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, April 9, 2014 City Hall – Kyrouz Auditorium
7:00 p.m.
Members Present Administration Present
Jonathan Pope, Chairman Dr. Richard Safier, Superintendent
Melissa Teixeira, Vice Chairperson Kathy Clancy, Secretary
Tony Gross Michelle Sweet Jack O’Maley Mayor Carolyn Kirk
__ Recorded by Cape Ann TV I. CALL TO ORDER – Chairman Pope called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. and stated the
mission of the Gloucester Public Schools.
II. SALUTE TO THE FLAG
III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS – Sarah Grow of 12 Marble Road read a prepared statement on behalf of the O’Maley site-based counsel regarding the conditions there (see attached).
IV. COMMENTS FROM THE CHAIRPERSON – Chairman Pope reported that he attended the first Recreational Facilities Committee meeting, whose charge is to come up with rules for the use of Newell Stadium. He reminded the audience that the track can be used by the community for walking and running but the use of the field is by permit only.
V. RECOGNITIONS – Kathy Clancy noted that “Grease” will be performed at Beeman and
“Mary Poppins” will be performed at West Parish, both on April 10th and 11th.
Dr. Safier thanked Kathy Clancy for working through Representative Ferrante’s office to provide an opportunity for 100 O’Maley students to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the
“Math Alive” exhibit at the Museum of Science on May 29th.
Mayor Kirk thanked the eighth grade team at O’Maley for a very successful four-day trip to Washington, DC.
Finally, Chairman Pope reported that the inaugural spring track meet took place at Newell Stadium on Monday, which was the first time that Gloucester spring track has had a meet at home in nine years.
VI. GHS STUDENT ADVISORY COUNCIL – Kevin Rogers introduced himself and updated the committee on the following events at Gloucester High School: talent show, junior event at Cruiseport, NEASC meeting at GHS with guest Meghan Duggan, Foreign Language Week, senior banquet, senior prom, and class selections for next year.
VII. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approval of Minutes
1. Special Program Subcommittee Minutes of March 18, 2014 2. Building & Finance Subcommittee Minutes of March 19, 2014
3. Special Building & Finance Subcommittee Minutes of March 25, 2014 4. School Committee Minutes of March 26, 2014
5. Personnel Subcommittee Minutes of April 1, 2014
6. School Committee Public Hearing Minutes of April 2, 2014
7. Amended Special Building & Finance Subcommittee Minutes of March 19, 2014
B. Approval of Warrants – Cover Sheets C. Approval of Transfers
1. To approve transfers from 3/4/14 to 3/28/14, as recommended by the Building
& Finance Subcommittee
2. To approve the transfer of $6,188.00 from the Main Office contingency account to the appropriate account for the purpose of purchasing lockers for the O’Maley Innovation Middle School, contingent upon verification of the structural details
D. Acceptance of Scholarships
1. Rockport Music Scholarship in honor of Susan Gray and Alec Dingee and Phil and Eve Cutter in the amount of $1,000.00
2. The Pieter Smit Memorial Scholarship in the amount of $3,000.00 per year for four years
E. Acceptance of Donations – To accept donations of $2,000.00 from Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund and $3,000.00 from Beeman PTO for a new sound system at Beeman Memorial Elementary School
F. Acceptance of DESE Grant – Academic Support Services Allocation (summer program) in the amount of $14,419.00
Mr. Gross removed Items A6 and C2.
On a motion by Ms. Teixeira, seconded by Ms. Sweet, it was unanimously
VOTED: 7 in favor zero opposed, to approve the Consent Agenda as noted above.
VIII. DELIBERATIONS ON EDUCATIONAL ISSUES/SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT A. Superintendent’s Report – Dr. Safier updated the committee on the following
matters:
1. Annual School Choice Vote 2. MEFA Webinars
3. The Common Core Standards – Dr. Safier indicated that an informational session will be held on May 8th or May 15th to talk about the Common Core Standards and PARCC. Mr. Gross pointed out that the Common Core Standards were modeled after Massachusetts standards that have been in effect for many years.
4. The Commissioner Speaks About PARCC – Dr. Safier reported that students in Grade 3 at East Gloucester, Grade 5 at Plum Cove, Grade 8 at O’Maley, and Grade 9 at GHS have been taking the PARCC test. He stated that the logistics of administering the test online are extremely complicated. A more in-depth report will be provided at the next meeting. There was a discussion about the number of students and the amount of time spent taking the test.
5. The Kindergarten Assessment System – Dr. Safier indicated that this
assessment will begin in September. He will provide more information at the next meeting.
6. West Parish Production of “Mary Poppins”
7. Beeman Performance of “Grease”
On a motion by Kathy Clancy, seconded by Ms. Teixeira, it was unanimously VOTED: 7 in favor zero opposed, to accept the Superintendent’s Report.
IX. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS
A. Personnel Subcommittee Meeting of April 1, 2014 – Chairperson Teixeira reported that the subcommittee discussed the following matters at its meeting on April 1, 2014:
• Human Resource Director’s Job Description
• Hiring Procedures
• Superintendent Evaluation
After discussion, on a motion by Ms. Teixeira, seconded by Mr. Gross, it was unanimously
VOTED: 7 in favor zero opposed, to accept the Superintendent’s Consolidated Rubrics for the 2014 evaluation.
Ms. Teixeira referred the Criminal Offender Record Information Checks policy, File GBJA, to the Personnel Subcommittee for review.
B. Program Subcommittee Meeting of April 3, 2014 – Chairperson Sweet reported that the subcommittee discussed the following matters at its meeting on April 3, 2014:
• Writing Across the Content Area
• School District Annual Report Policy, File CM
• Athletic and Cheerleading Booster Organizations Policy, File KJAA
• K-12 Insight’s “Let’s Talk”
• School Committee SMART Goals – Ms. Sweet suggested that the full School Committee review these goals. Chairman Pope noted that the protocols need to be reviewed at the beginning of the fiscal year and stated that he will set up a workshop with Dorothy Presser from MASC right before school starts in September to review both the SMART goals and protocols. Mr. Gross suggested reviewing the rules and procedures at the same time.
C. Special Building & Finance Subcommittee Meeting of April 4, 2014 – Chairperson Clancy reported that the subcommittee discussed the need for new lockers at O’Maley in the area where the sixth graders are being relocated to avoid unnecessary traffic in the area where the West Parish fifth graders will be housed.
After discussion, on a motion by Kathy Clancy, seconded by Chairman Pope, it was unanimously
VOTED: 7 in favor zero opposed, to approve the transfer of $6,188.00 from the Main Office contingency account to the appropriate account for the purpose of purchasing lockers for the O’Maley Innovation Middle School, contingent upon verification of the structural details.
Dr. Safier reported that Principal Lucey indicated that 52 lockers would be adequate.
Chairperson Clancy stated that the subcommittee also discussed the public hearing on the FY15 proposed budget.
After discussion, on a motion by Kathy Clancy, seconded by Chairman Pope, it was VOTED: By Roll Call Vote
Ms. Teixeira – yes Kathy Clancy – yes Mr. Gross – yes Mayor Kirk – present Mr. O’Maley – yes Chairman Pope – yes Ms. Sweet – yes
To approve the FY15 budget in the amount of $38,605,623 as presented at the School Committee public hearing.
On a motion by Kathy Clancy, seconded by Ms. Teixeira, it was VOTED: By Roll Call Vote
Ms. Teixeira – yes Kathy Clancy – yes Mr. Gross – yes Mayor Kirk – present Mr. O’Maley – yes Chairman Pope – yes Ms. Sweet – yes
To approve the FY15 budget for submission to the Mayor and the City Council.
Finally, Chairperson Clancy reported that the subcommittee discussed the Food Service debt at its meeting on April 4, 2014.
X. ACTION
A. FY15 Budget Proposal – See Item IX.C.
B. O’Maley Lockers and Request for Contingency Funding – See Item IX.C.
XI. DISCUSSION/OTHER COMMUNICATION/OLD AND NEW BUSINESS
A. MSBA Project Update – Dr. Safier updated the committee on the following matters with respect to the West Parish project:
• The City Council approved $70,000 for rent and utilities at St. Ann’s.
• Security issues at the new school, including glazing of the windows, access and egress into the building, security cameras, automatic locks on doors of the classroom wing, and doors between classrooms
• A subcommittee has been formed to look at interior materials and colors.
Subcommittee members are Kathy Clancy, Dr. Imel and Lisa Groleau. Kathy Clancy reported that the subcommittee will be meeting again next week.
• Remodeling work at St. Ann’s will begin shortly after April 20th and will be concluded by late July.
Dr. Safier reported that permission has been granted for use of the lot next to Yellow Sub. In addition, a path will be built from the parking lot at Burnham’s Field to Pleasant Street, and Dr. Safier has requested that the lot be graded and stone put down. Use of the lot behind McDonalds will be discussed with the owner, as well.
With respect to transportation issues, Dr. Safier stated that buses will come down Smith Street towards Burnham Field and children will be escorted to St. Ann’s. All students will be bused to O’Maley at the end of the day for pickup. The
administration is also requesting signage around St. Ann’s to minimize congestion and parking.
B. Essex Tech Budget Process – Ms. Teixeira, who is also a member of the Essex Tech School Committee, reported that the new school will be opening in September and that the School Committee met on March 20th to discuss the budget. She noted that there is no oversight of that budget, unlike in Gloucester where the budget is
submitted to the Mayor and City Council. She indicated that each member of the School Committee has a weighted vote by their city or town’s enrollment.
Ms. Teixeira reported that a budget was submitted by the Finance & Property Subcommittee in the amount of approximately $28 million. She stated that she and the Peabody representative on the committee voted against the budget, with the remaining dozen or so members voting in favor of it. She indicated that her reasons for not supporting the budget were:
• The enrollment that the budget was based on is inaccurate.
• The freshmen coming into the new school and the Essex Aggie students were not included in the Chapter 70 formula, which resulted in a $500,000
discrepancy.
• The per pupil cost at the new school is increasing from approximately $17,000 to $25,088 per student.
• The acknowledgment by Superintendent O’Connell that the budget is intentionally inflated because of unknown costs.
Ms. Teixeira stated that she spoke with Representative Ferrante and Senator Tarr about this matter and that the legislature has already taken action to resolve the issues of enrollment and Chapter 70 funding.
Ms. Teixeira reported that as it stands now, Gloucester has approximately 67 students attending the new school next year, which represents almost 10% of the budget.
There is a foundation requirement of $789,000 and the assessment is $584,745 more than it was last year. There is also a transportation assessment, a debt service
assessment, and a capital improvement assessment. Therefore, as of March 20th, next year’s total assessment for Gloucester is $1,680,949.
Ms. Teixeira reported that the budget has already been reduced almost $2.5 million since the School Committee met on March 20th, and they will be meeting again next week. There is an expectation that it will go down further once more of the
unknowns are identified.
Mayor Kirk reported that every mayor and town administrator in the district pulled Superintendent O’Connell into a meeting to voice their concerns. In addition, the finance directors of all of the communities will be getting together to weigh the options around the debt service to try to bring it down. She indicated that the mayors are taking a hard look at the line item budget and encouraging their representatives on the School Committee to also take a hard look at it. She stated that she is very worried that if the assessment does not come down, it will impact Gloucester’s school budget.
Ms. Teixeira stated that the finance directors met today to discuss the bonding process going forward and that the committee will vote on that next week, which will have an impact on the assessment. She reported that she will vote based on the advice of Mayor Kirk and Mr. Dunn and try to convince the rest of the committee to do the same to try to reduce the assessments.
Finally, Ms. Teixeira noted that the new school will have an indoor hockey rink and an indoor soccer field that are being built at no cost, which will provide a huge opportunity for revenue.
XII. EXECUTIVE SESSION – On a motion by Chairman Pope, seconded by Ms. Teixeira, it was unanimously
VOTED: By Roll Call Vote Ms. Teixeira – yes Kathy Clancy – yes Mr. Gross – yes Mayor Kirk – yes Mr. O’Maley – yes Chairman Pope – yes Ms. Sweet – yes
To enter into Executive Session after a 5-minute break to discuss salary comparisons for non-union employees and to enter back into regular session for the purpose of adjournment only.
XIII. ADJOURNMENT – On a motion by Ms. Sweet, seconded by Mr. O’Maley, it was unanimously
VOTED: 7 in favor zero opposed, to adjourn the School Committee Meeting of April 9, 2014 at 8:55 p.m.
All reference documents and reports are filed in the Superintendent’s office.
Maria Puglisi Recording Secretary
Special Education Update
Report to School Committee – April 30, 3014
Budgetary Considerations
The district has experienced a number of students moving in and being placed by Department of Children and Families. The result is the following:
Move-Ins 1 Student placed by DCF at RFK $ 45,000
2 Students placed by DCF at The Home for Little Wanderers $ 72,000/each 1 Student placed at Lighthouse School as of July 1, 2014 $ 61,000
1 Student at NSC (4/14) $ 31,000
1 Student at SEEM Collaborative (4/14) $ 37,000
$318,000 Note: Tuition of students in collaboratives is assumed immediately upon move.
Move-Outs 1 BSD Student (tuition until July 1) $ 70,000
1 Student in a Collaborative move $ 31,000
$101,000 Note: 1 student in 45-day assessment - Placement determination to take place in June.
Walker Report Commendations:
• Dedication and concern that special education staff exhibited for their students.
• Support by the building principals for specialized programming to accommodate the needs of special education students in their schools.
• Recently updated Polices and Procedures for Special Education.
• Programs and students are integrated into each building with desirable general education based curriculum.
• Effort put forth to develop a continuum of programs and services for the various disability groups of students.
• Efforts put forth by school-based staff to have special needs students served in the LRE.
• Co-Teaching
- Need to expand the current co-teaching and in-classroom support practices- should we eliminate in-class model of support?
- Develop a co-teaching manual that clarifies roles and responsibilities.
• Formal review of paraprofessional assignments and roles
- Establish criteria by which paraprofessionals are assigned to a student, a group or students, a program or classroom.
• Child Study Process not consistently followed across the district - Specifically, there is a need for RTI model for behavior.
- Behavior and academics are intimately connected and need to be addressed together. The district does have an elementary universal classroom behavior support program called Second Steps. However, it is not yet under full implementation in all buildings.
- The district is utilizing many of the elements of an RTI tiered system approach, but it has not been formalized as part of our child study process.
Typical Tiered support:
Tier One - All students-universal classroom positive behavior support program.
Tier Two - (10-20%) Classroom based, proactive interventions (notes home, contracts, check-in system) - small group training and supports.
Tier Three - (3-5%) Students Functional Behavior Assessments performed, intensive social skills teaching, individual behavior plans.
Special Education Parent Advisory Counsel
We will be electing new officers next month. Last month, we had the largest turnout for a presentation given by two of our school psychologists. The topic was Executive Functioning Disorder in School Aged Children. Pathways for Children has generously offered their space for our meetings, with free child care. Jen Messier is our current president and hopefully will return next year. Our goal is to schedule presenters months in advance so that parents can plan accordingly.
Our mission is for all students to be successful, lifelong learners
Report of the Superintendent of Schools
School Committee Meeting April 30, 2013
1. April 28 Board of Education Meeting to Discuss PARCC
The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will meet on April 28 (special meeting). Commissioner Chester along with Higher Education Commissioner, Richard Freeland, will lead a discussion on preparing for the potential transition from MCAS to PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) as a high school graduation requirement. We will stay in touch with the results of this meeting and the ongoing conversations regarding this topic including the extent of the piloting of PARCC next year.
2. PARCC Field Testing
In early April, students at four schools participated in PARCC field testing. The grades and schools included:
Grade School Subject Student # Format
Grade 3 East Gloucester Math PBA 48 (all grade) computer Grade 5 Plum Cove ELA PBA 31 (all grade) computer
Grade 8 O’Maley ELA PBA 40 (random) paper
Grade 9 GHS ELA PBA 46 (random) computer
By all accounts, testing went very well, thanks to the help of test coordinators, Mike Muniz and John Nicastro, and IT staff members Grant Harris, Tylor Marquis, and Paul Donovan, as well as the teachers and paraprofessionals who helped proctor the test sessions. Network infrastructure and workstations functioned well.
Students encountered some minor technical difficulties while testing, typically with the online highlighting and text masking tools. Some students found the drag and drop features cumbersome, while others had little difficulty with navigation.
During several days of close observation at two elementary schools, the Assistant Superintendent noted the following:
• Students’ keyboarding skills are poor in general, with common use of one- finger typing.
• Students moved through the tests at a faster pace than usual and wanted to complete and log out rather than meticulously review as is normal practice.
• Students were not able to use commonly taught paper-based practices such as different color highlighting and margin notes.
• Special needs students appeared to struggle with online accommodations.
Next Steps:
The district will need to consider keyboarding fluency for students as early as 2nd grade, as well as a review of all paper-based reading and editing strategies and how they translate to an online assessment format. Elementary schools, in particular, will need greater numbers of laptops or chromebooks. Schools currently have one fixed or mobile lab to share among 12 – 15 classrooms. PARCC sample items should be reviewed by all teachers so that multi-step questions can be incorporated into regular instruction.
3. Fingerprint Background Checks (Attachments)
In a recent memo from the DESE, we received a reminder that one of the requirements in the regulations regarding fingerprinting is that school employers (school committees or boards of trustees) must adopt a policy governing their schools’ use of the background check information. Toward that end, the department has posted a model policy that the Program Subcommittee can consider in its upcoming review of the School Committee’s background check policy. A copy of the model policy is attached to this report, as are answers to frequently asked questions.
4. New Educator Evaluation Data (Attachment)
On Tuesday, April 29, 2014, the DESE released new educator evaluation data at the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meeting. This report expands upon the earlier November report (which compared ratings of districts) in two ways: (1) by showing how the summative performance rating relates to one measure of impact on student learning, the MCAS median student growth percentile; and (2) by disaggregating the overall performance ratings by race and gender.
Among the report’s key findings are the following:
• Teachers rated Exemplary in the summative performance rating were more likely than other teachers to have achieved high student academic growth, and teachers rated Needs Improvement or Unsatisfactory were more likely than other teachers to have achieved low student academic growth;
• The distribution of ratings for educators of color is more disperse than the distribution for white educators;
• Teachers without professional teaching status (PTS, or tenure) were more likely to be evaluated than PTS teachers and were more likely to receive low ratings.
Please see attached chart.
(NAME OF ENTITY)
Policy Governing Fingerprint-Based Criminal History Record
Information (CHRI) Checks Made for Non-Criminal Justice Purposes
This policy is applicable to any fingerprint-based state and national criminal history record check made for non-criminal justice purposes and requested under applicable federal authority and/or state statute authorizing such checks for licensing or employment purposes. Where such checks are allowable by law, the following practices and procedures will be followed.
I. Requesting CHRI checks
Fingerprint-based CHRI checks will only be conducted as authorized by M.G.L. c. 71, §38R and 42 U.S.C. § 16962, in accordance with all applicable state and federal rules and regulations, and in compliance with M.G.L.
c. 6, §§ 167-178 and 803 CMR §§ 2.00, et seq. If an applicant or employee is required to submit to a fingerprint- based state and national criminal history record check, he/she shall be informed of this requirement and instructed on how to comply with the law. Such instruction will include information on the procedure for submitting fingerprints. In addition, the applicant or employee will be provided with all information needed to successfully register for a fingerprinting appointment [e.g., IdentoGO web site address, Provider Identification Number (Provider ID)].
PLEASE NOTE: The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) suggests including the language in italics in this document as part of a CHRI policy. However, a CHRI policy will meet legal requirements without the inclusion of the italicized language.
The (insert name of entity) may want to include factors it will consider in determining whether to conduct discretionary fingerprint-based background checks (i.e. for volunteers and subcontractors or laborers who might have direct and unmonitored contact with children). Factors might include likelihood of direct and unmonitored contact, duration of potential contact (e.g. chaperones on overnight field trips), ability of requesting entity to limit potential for unmonitored contact (e.g. by means of escorting, physical separation, restrictions on hours of access to school facility).
II. Access to CHRI
All CHRI is subject to strict state and federal rules and regulations in addition to Massachusetts CORI laws and regulations. CHRI cannot be shared with any unauthorized entity for any purpose, including subsequent hiring determinations. All receiving entities are subject to audit by the Massachusetts Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS) and the FBI, and failure to comply with such rules and regulations could lead to sanctions. Title 28, U.S.C, § 534, Pub. L. 92-544 and Title 28 C.F.R. 20.33(b) provide that the exchange of records and information is subject to cancellation if dissemination is made outside of the receiving entity or related entities. Furthermore, an entity can be charged criminally for the unauthorized disclosure of CHRI.
III. Storage of CHRI
CHRI shall only be stored for extended periods of time when needed for the integrity and/or utility of an individual's personnel file. Administrative, technical, and physical safeguards, which are in compliance with the most recent CJIS Security Policy, have been implemented to ensure the security and confidentiality of CHRI.
Each individual involved in the handling of CHRI is to familiarize himself/herself with these safeguards.
In addition to the above, each individual involved in the handling of CHRI will strictly adhere to the policy on the storage, retention and destruction of CHRI.
IV. Retention and Destruction of CHRI
purposes only:
• Historical reference and/or comparison with future CHRI requests,
• Dispute of the accuracy of the record
• Evidence for any subsequent proceedings based on information contained in the CHRI.
CHRI will be kept for the above purposes in {Insert specifics of the storage location}.
When no longer needed, CHRI and any summary of CHRI data must be destroyed by shredding paper copies and/or by deleting all electronic copies from the electronic storage location, including any backup copies or files. The shredding of paper copies of CHRI by an outside vendor must be supervised by an employee of the (insert name of entity).
IV. CHRI Training
An informed review of a criminal record requires training. Accordingly, all personnel authorized to receive and/or review CHRI at(insert name of entity) will review and become familiar with the educational and relevant training materials regarding SAFIS and CHRI laws and regulations made available by the appropriate agencies, including the DCJIS.
V. Determining Suitability
In determining an individual's suitability, the following factors will be considered:
a. {List factors to be considered here}
PLEASE NOTE: In addition to CHRI, these factors may include, but not necessarily be limited to: the nature and gravity of the crime and the underlying conduct, the time that has passed since the offense, conviction and/or completion of the sentence, nature of the position held or sought, age of the individual at the time of the offense, number of offenses, any relevant evidence of rehabilitation or lack thereof.
A record of the suitability determination will be retained. The following information will be included in the determination:
a. The name and date of birth of the employee or applicant;
b. The date on which the school employer received the national criminal history check results; and, c. The suitability determination (either "suitable" or "unsuitable").
A copy of an individual's suitability determination documentation must be provided to another school employer, or to the individual, upon request of the individual for whom the school employer conducted a suitability determination.
VI. Relying on Previous Suitability Determination.
PLEASE NOTE: {(insert name of entity) may want to include those circumstances, consistent with 603 CMR 51.06, where the employer will rely on a suitability determination made by another school employer.
Relevant factors might include: date of previous suitability determination, type of organization that conducted the previous determination (public school district, private school), state of residence of subject of suitability determination.)}
VII. Adverse Decisions Based on CHRI
• Provide the individual with a copy of his/her CHRI used in making the adverse decision;
• Provide the individual with a copy of this CHRI Policy;
• Provide the individual the opportunity to complete or challenge the accuracy of his/her CHRI;
and
• Provide the individual with information on the process for updating, changing, or correcting CHRI.
A final adverse decision based on an individual's CHRI will not be made until the individual has been afforded a reasonable time depending on the particular circumstances {entity may want to specify a maximum time} to correct or complete the CHRI.
VIII. Secondary Dissemination of CHRI
If an individual's CHRI is released to another authorized entity, a record of that dissemination must be made inthe secondary dissemination log. The secondary dissemination log is subject to audit by the DCJIS and the FBI.
The following information will be recorded in the log:
1. Subject Name;
2. Subject Date of Birth;
3. Date and Time of the dissemination;
4. Name of the individual to whom the information was provided;
5. Name of the agency for which the requestor works;
6. Contact information for the requestor; and 7. The specific reason for the request.
IX. Reporting to Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education
Pursuant to M.G.L. ch 71, § 71R and 603 CMR 51.07, if (insert name of entity) dismisses, declines to renew the employment of, obtains the resignation of, or declines to hire a licensed educator or an applicant for a
Massachusetts educator license because of information discovered through a state or national criminal record check, (insert name of entity) shall report such decision or action to the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education in writing within 30 days of the employer action or educator resignation. The report shall be in a form requested by the Department and shall include the reason for the action or resignation as well as a copy of the criminal record check results. (insert name of entity) shall notify the employee or applicant that it has made a report pursuant to 603 CMR 51.07(1) to the Commissioner.
Pursuant to M.G.L. ch 71, § 71R and 603 CMR 51.07, if (insert name of entity) discovers information from a state or national criminal record check about a licensed educator or an applicant for a Massachusetts educator license that implicates grounds for license action pursuant to 603 CMR 7.15(8)(a), (insert name of entity) shall report to the Commissioner in writing within 30 days of the discovery, regardless of whether (insert name of entity) retains or hires the educator as an employee. The report must include a copy of the criminal record check results. The school employer shall notify the employee or applicant that it has made a report pursuant to 603 CMR 51.07(2) to the Commissioner and shall also send a copy of the criminal record check results to the employee or applicant.
What provider ID should my employees use?
• Use the 8-digit DESE organizational code, which can be found by looking up your school or district on the DESE School Profiles webpage
(http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/). In multi-school districts, employees working at a single school can use the appropriate school code; employees working at multiple schools or in the central office can use the district code. For charter and regional vocational schools, use the district code (ending in 0000) rather than the school code. Employees working in multiple districts that are part of a superintendency union can use the code for the lead district.
• Note that up to 10 provider codes may be entered at the time of registration, to accommodate employees who may be working for more than one district.
Will there be more enrollment centers opening up?
• Yes. MorphoTrust has just opened its eleventh center in Westport, serving the Fall River and New Bedford area. Additional enrollment centers are tentatively
scheduled to open within the next 6-8 weeks in or near the following locations:
Attleboro, Braintree, Chicopee, Easthampton,
Framingham, Greenfield, Haverhill, Hyannis, Lawrence, Leominster, Martha’s Vineyard, Milford, Nantucket, Natick, North
Adams, Plymouth, Revere, Roslindale, Southbridge, Taunton, Watertown, Wil mington, and Yarmouth. As new sites are opened, they will be listed under
locations on the MorphoTrust Massachusetts registration webpage.
What is the deadline for checking all employees?
• Employees who were hired for the 2013-14 school year should be going through the process now and completed by the end of the school year. Because of the delay in opening all of the planned sites, schools that need to extend this process into the summer may do so, but no later than the end of August.
• New employees being hired for the 2014-15 school year should be checked as part of their hiring process. You may choose to have new hires go through the
fingerprinting process after you have received a satisfactory CORI report, in order to spare them the cost of fingerprinting if they are disqualified by information in the CORI report.
• Employees who were on board prior to the 2013-14 school year will be checked between September 2014 and June 2016. Later this summer we will provide
guidance on how to stagger the fingerprinting for this group to avoid overloading the system.
Can I use my background check from another state or from another background check conducted in Massachusetts (e.g., firearms license)?
• Under federal and state law, fingerprint-based criminal history records obtained for one purpose/under one authority (i.e., for a firearms license or for a record check in another state) cannot be disseminated outside the original receiving entity. This includes not only any criminal history information but also the actual fingerprints
If an employee has been previously fingerprinted for another Massachusetts school or district, can we get a copy of the results sent to us?
• You cannot get the detailed results from the previous background check, but you may be able to request a copy of the other school’s suitability determination and rely on that. See the regulations for more detailed information.
Do student teachers and interns need to be checked?
• Yes, if the school or district determines that they “may have direct and unmonitored contact with children”. See the regulations for more detail on who is subject to the background checks.
Our school/district operates a summer camp program? Must employees hired for the camp be checked?
• Although the law does not explicitly mention summer camp programs, it applies to all employees hired by the school or district. If the camp is operated by a third party and is simply leasing space from the school or district, employees hired by the third party would not be subject to the requirement.
What if a person is employed by or seeking employment with a preK-12 sector program and an early childhood program under EEC jurisdiction?
• Because of federal rules prohibiting the sharing or disseminating of criminal history record information, an individual who works in both sectors will have to submit, and pay for, two separate fingerprint-based criminal record checks. If back-to-back
appointments are unavailable, applicants should select a second appointment time that is as close to the first appointment as possible. Applicants will be fingerprinted for both submissions at the same time, and will not be made to wait for the later time.
What is the fee for teachers at private or charter schools who are not required to have an educator’s license?
• If the individual holds a DESE educator’s license, the fee is $55, whether or not a license is required for employment. If the individual does not hold a DESE educator’s license, the fee is $35.
Can the fees for our employees be billed directly to the school?
• Sorry, no. Individual payment must be made by the employee at the time of registration. If your school elects to cover the cost, you can reimburse your employees.
How long does it take to get results back?
• Results of state and national fingerprint-based criminal record checks are normally available within 72 hours. However, there will be situations in which results will not be available for a longer period of time. Please do not contact DCJIS until at least 72
