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2005-10-19 BEVERLY PUBLIC SCHOOLS BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS October 19, 2005 A regular meeting of the Beverly School Committee was held on Wednesday, October 19, 2005, at the City Council Chambers, Beverly City Hall, Beverly, MA. Members Present: Ms. Brusil, Ms. Cesa, Ms. Cronin, Ms. Gordon, Ms. Saxton, Mayor Scanlon, Mr. Tallo Mayor Scanlon left at 8:30 p.m. Also in Attendance: Dr. James Hayes, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Marie Galinski, Assistant Superintendent of Schools Heidi Zimmerman, Administrator of Finance & Operations Emily O’Toole, Student Representative President Cronin called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. Ms. Cesa led the Pledge of Allegiance. Recognitions of Students, Employees and Community Members ?? Dr. Hayes and Ms. Cronin recognized Kevin Tobin, Vice President of Tobin Movers for his contribution to Beverly High School in getting donations to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. ?? Bob Dunn, English Teacher at Beverly High School was also recognized for his successful work in developing the Teaching American History Grant. Open Forum for Citizens Concerns None Opportunity for Citizen Input into Agenda-Related Items None RECORDS OF MEETINGS A motion was made by Ms. Gordon and seconded by Ms. Saxton to approve the minutes of So voted. the regular meeting held on September 14, 2005 as presented. REPORT FROM STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE Emily O’Toole reported that the fall play the “Matchmaker” would be on Thursday, st December 1 thru Saturday, December 3. All shows are at 6 p.m. Also the freshman elections will be taking place next week and the Student Senate is running them for the first time ever. A student concern that Emily presented was the Model U.N. advisors not being paid their stipend. Emily requested meeting with the Superintendent to further discuss this matter. COMMUNICATIONS Regular Meeting September 14, 2005 Page 2 ?? Ms. Saxton – no communication, it’s been quiet. ?? Ms. Gordon – concerns around accreditation ?? Ms. Cesa – a few concerns at Briscoe, regarding overcrowding in the halls during passing of classes, which is being addressed. Also of concern wasthe open house nights being scheduled on the same night. Recognitions of district accomplishments are not getting any and/or good press. ?? Mr. Tallo – concerns around the high school. Ward 3 residents of Swan, Mason and Lyman Street have repeated concerns around the buses, the speed in which they travel thru their neighborhood. Mr. Tallo has spoken with Officer Tarsook (Traffic Division). The Mayor referenced an upcoming meeting around this issue. ?? Ms. Brusil – follow-up calls regarding middle school consolidation, parents extremely pleased with how well it has gone. ?? Ms. Cronin – spoke of the PTO meetings that she has been attending with Dr. Hayes to speak about the BHS academic wing. She has been getting a lot of good feed back from these meetings. SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT Action Items Overnight Field Trip Proposal Ms. Rodolico, Foreign language Teacher at Beverly High School, presented information about the Foreign Language department’s request for an overnight field trip to Spain, thth departing on April 11 and returning on April 19. There was a short discussion around the cost of trip. Ms. Gordon inquired as to whether there was any financial help if a student couldn’t come up with the money needed; Ms. Rodolico said that they can do fundraising to help off-set the cost. So A motion was made by Ms. Brusil to approve the trip and was seconded by Mr. Tallo. voted. MASC Resolutions Dr. Hayes explained that during the MASC/MASS Annual Joint Conference, October 26-28, there will be an Annual Business meeting in which Nancy Brusil will join with the delegates from other district to discuss and vote on attached twelve resolutions. At this point in the meeting Ms. Cronin read and summarized each of the twelve resolutions following which a vote was taken: Resolution 1 – MCAS Passing Scores - A motion was made by Ms. Cesa to approve and So voted. was seconded by Ms. Gordon. Resolution 2 – Opposing the Addition of Science and Technology/Engineering MCAS Testing as a requirement of the Competency Determination - A motion was made by Ms. So Voted. Gordon and seconded by Ms. Saxton. - Resolution 3 – Appointments to the Board of EducationA motion was made by Ms. Cesa So voted. to vote to approve and seconded by Ms. Saxton. - Resolution 4 – Use of Race in Desegregation PlansA motion was made by Ms. Gordon So voted. to approve and seconded by Ms. Saxton. Regular Meeting September 14, 2005 Page 3 - Resolution 5 – “Costing Out Study” for Education ReformA motion was made by Ms. The vote was 4 in favor 1 opposed. Cesa to approve and seconded by Ms. Saxton. - Resolution 6 – State Accountability and Assessment SystemsA motion was made by So voted. Ms. Gordon to approve and seconded by Ms. Saxton. - Resolution 7 – Value Added Assessment A motion was made by Ms. Gordon and The vote was 2 in favor 3 opposed seconded by Ms. Cesa. . - Resolution 8 - METCO Funding A motion was made by Ms. Cesa to approve and So voted. seconded by Mr. Tallo. - Resolution 9 - Advocacy A motion was made by Ms. Brusil to approve and seconded by So voted. Mr. Tallo. Resolution 10 - Social Security - A motion was made by Ms. Gordon to approve and So voted. seconded by Ms. Saxton. Ms. Brusil made a motion to abstain from voting. - Resolution 11 - Social Services Safety NetA motion was made by Ms. Brusil to approve So voted. and seconded by Ms. Cesa. - Resolution 12 – School Improvement PlanA motion was made by Ms. Saxton to approve So voted. and seconded by Mr. Tallo. Informational Items Teaching American History Grant Dr. Hayes brought to the microphone Mr. Dunn, Academic Division Leader for the Social Studies Department at Beverly High School to talk about the work he has done along with Brad Austin, History Professor from Salem State College, to successfully acquire a federal grant entitled “Teaching American History”. Mr. Dunn explained that Professor Austin found Beverly to be a good partner for this grant. This grant will net us $990,000 over the next three years much of it going toward professional development for our high school social studies teachers. Mr. Dunn has received congratulations from Senator Kennedy and Lt. Governor Kerry’s office. Northeast Network STEM Pipeline Project Dr. Hayes introduced Ms. Schwartz, Science Teacher at Briscoe Middle School, to do a presentation on the STEM Project (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Ms. Schwartz, along with her colleagues, Ms. Busby, Science teacher at Briscoe Middle School and Ms. Dube, Math teacher at Beverly High School, spoke about the project and their goals. They explained the project and what it means at each grade level through their power point presentation. There were questions around the cost of this project. Ms. Schwartz felt it would be around two thousand dollars or so. Ms. Schwartz said that she is in the process of writing a grant proposal, which will hopefully cover the cost of this project. Ms. Brusil commented how impressed she was with this work they are doing and other committee members echoed the same. Response to our “Show Cause Appeal” – NEASC Commission on Public Secondary Schools Regular Meeting September 14, 2005 Page 4 Dr. Hayes addressed the letter of October 3, 2005 in which the NEASC recommended termination of the accreditation of Beverly High School. Dr. Hayes then explained the process that there were four areas in which to appeal and we chose to file in all four areas. Dr. Hayes explained that this action has to be endorsed by the Governing Body (School Committee) and that the School Committee held a special meeting, Friday October 14, 2005. At that meeting a motion was filed by the members to proceed with the appeal. Dr. Hayes then read the appeal that had been unanimously voted on and signed by the School Committee. Dr. Hayes went on to say that on Monday, October 17, 2005, Dr. Scuzzarella delivered the appeal to the NEASC’s Board of Directors. Dr. Hayes explained further the time line for this process and the work ahead of us that need to be prepared and presented. Dr. Hayes then touched upon the High School design and that the Demographic Study interviews have been completed and we are in the selection process. Mayor Scanlon said that the high school accreditation is extremely important and, if lost, it would take a long time to regain. Mayor Scanlon said he felt we should be prepared for court action, (only) if necessary. Mayor Scanlon then introduced Mr. Gelineau, City Solicitor. Mr. Gelineau spoke to the option of filing if the need arises and read the “Proposed Motion School Committee 10/19/05”. There were a few questions/concern around the proposal. A motion was made to approve the So voted. Proposed Motion School Committee by Ms. Gordon and seconded by Mr. Tallo. Community Open House – Beverly High School Dr. Hayes spoke about the upcoming open house at Beverly High School. Himself and Dr. Scuzzarella are hosting the open house on Monday, October 24, 2005, at 7 p.m. starting in the auditorium. Dr. Hayes explained this was an opportunity for the community to view the facility and learn about the reasons why a new facility is necessary. October 1 Enrollments Dr. Hayes said that he had attached the October 1 Enrollment numbers for the district and also attached were middle and high school average class sizes. Dr. Hayes said he had reviewed the numbers for the three levels and thought we were right on target. thth Other discussions around enrollment numbers were Ms. Brusil concerns around 4 and 5 grade class sizes at Cove & Centerville. In response, an option is Open Enrollment. Ms. Saxton had concerns regarding hands on experiments with the size of classes. That question was referred to the Curriculum Instruction Committee meeting. Overnight Field Trip – Change of Destination Dr. Hayes informed the Committee that the Music Department’s field trip to Orlando, Florida has been changed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania due to the cost. No other elements of their Regular Meeting September 14, 2005 Page 5 field trip request have change so no further action by the School Committee seemed necessary. Health & Education Services Report Dr. Hayes made reference to an attached report from Health and Education Services detailing the work they do in the region and to the extent that Beverly Public Schools has benefited. Memorandum of Collaboration Dr. Hayes made reference to the attached Memorandum between the Beverly Public Schools and the Department of Social Services, Cape Ann Area Office (DSS). Survey of Fees – Massachusetts Public Schools Dr. Hayes talked about the attached Survey of Student Fees in Massachusetts. This information was compiled by Dick and Sharon Hawkins of Hingham, MA and can be accessed on line at www.SuperEdNet.com. Committee Reports Standing Committee on Finance & Facilities: Mike Tallo, Chairperson Upon the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Finance and Facilities a motion was made by Mr. Tallo and second by Ms. Brusil to approve the position for an Assistant So voted. Middle School Cross Country Coach (not to exceed $1,800). Upon the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Finance and Facilities a motion was made by Mr. Tallo and second by Ms. Brusil to approve the position of a 1:1 ESP at th So voted. McKeown 4 Grade (not to exceed $15,646). Upon the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Finance and Facilities a motion was made by Mr. Tallo and seconded by Ms. Brusil to approve the position of one half time So voted. 1:1 ESP at Cove Preschool (not to exceed $7,823). Upon the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Finance and Facilities a motion was made by Mr. Tallo and seconded by Ms. Brusil to approve the potion of one for 1:1 ESP So voted. at Ayers Aim Program (not to exceed $15,646). Upon the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Finance and Facilities a motion was made by Mr. Tallo and seconded by Ms. Brusil to approve the position of oneMedical So voted. assistance (two hours) for a significantly impaired student (not to exceed $8,000). Standing Committee on Curriculum, Instruction, and Student Life: Annemarie Cesa, Chairperson Ms. Cesa said they had seen the same STEM Pipeline presentation as we viewed tonight. Ms. Cesa reported that they had review the School Improvement Plan there were two goals, math and concerns around student safety. These concerns are around bullying and they are planning to make that a focus for this year. Regular Meeting September 14, 2005 Page 6 Ms. Cesa said that they saw the district wide Grade 3 reading scores. Dr. Galinski gave a presentation on how the scores had gone down considerably and how they are going to deal with that. Lastly, Ms. Cesa spoke about the Student Safety Policy. They felt the first sentence was too long. Other concerns brought up were around snow days and if parents couldn’t get their child to school, and/or if they were injured on the way, is the school liable. Also, if the parent kept the child home how would the child be marked – absent – excused absence? Ms. Cesa talked about bringing this to the Policy Committee but Dr. Hayes explained that it should go back to the sub committee (Student Life) first. Negotiations: Karen Saxton, Chairperson The Negotiation meeting has been moved to Tuesday, November 1, 2005. Policy: Nancy Brusil, Chairperson The Policy meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 3, 2005. Ms. Cronin made a request to go into Executive Session. A motion was made by Ms. Saxton to go into Executive Session and seconded by Mr. Tallo. A roll call was requested which resulted in the following: Yes: Ms. Gordon, Ms. Saxton, Mr. Tallo, Ms. Brusil, Ms. Cesa and Ms. Cronin No: None Unanimously voted. Meeting adjourned to go into Executive Session and not return at 9:35 p.m. Annemarie Cesa Secretary