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2015-04-08BEVERLY PUBLIC SCHOOLS Regular School Committee Meeting Wednesday, April 8, 2015 Beverly City Hall Beverly, Massachusetts A regular meeting of the Beverly School Committee was held on Wednesday, April 8, 2015 in Council Chambers at City Hall, Beverly, MA. Members Present: David Manzi, Annemarie Cesa, Kris Silverstein, Paul Manzo, Matthew Kavanagh and Lorinda Visnick Not in Attendance: Mayor Cahill Also in Attendance: Dr. Steven A. Hiersche, Superintendent of Schools, Suzanne Charochak, Assistant Superintendent, Donna Bergeron, Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent and School Committee, Paula Borsetti, Art Educator, Stephanie Lowe, German Educator, Beverly High School Call to Order: Mr. Manzo called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Pledge of Allegiance: Ms. Cesa led those assembled in the Pledge of Allegiance. AGENDA Recognition of Students, Employees and Community Members Mr. Manzo, Superintendent Hiersche and Art Educator Paula Borsetti recognized the following Beverly High School Art students who received awards in the Scholastic Art Competition, Congressional Art Award and Endicott College High School Art Competition: Tessa Duzz Silver Key, Art Portfolio Congressional Art Award — Best of School Endicott College High School Art Competition — Dean's Choice Award Hannah Theriault Honorable Mention Art Portfolio Casey Oliver Honorable Mention — Photography Allison Lewandowski Honorable Mention — Photography Lyla Norton Endicott College High School — Art Competition — Dean's Choice Award Mr. Manzo and Superintendent Hiersche recognized the following BHS musicians who qualified to participate in the Massachusetts Music Educators' Association Conference that took place in Boston: Timothy Johnson All State Chorus, Bass Nicole Shawn All State Chorus, Alto Elizabeth Davidson - Blythe All State Orchestra, Violin Open Forum for Citizen Input into Non - Agenda - Related Items Sara Sallese, 24 Shortell Avenue — Ms. Sallese addressed the School Committee about the funding of Free Full -Day Kindergarten. She reported that she'd been out in the community speaking to community members about this proposal. Ms. Sallese noted that half -day, as opposed to full -day students miss out on 40 -50% of the instruction that full -day students receive. Ms. Sallese said she had started a petition and has collected 180 signatures. Ms. Sallese presented the petition to Chair Paul Manzo. Mr. Manzo stated that the Committee will hold a Public Hearing on this issue within the next three months. Mr. Manzo noted that this is one of the long term goal priorities for the School Committee. Mr. Manzo commented on the fiscal challenge currently with the loss of revenue at the McKeown School. He stated the Committee wants to take the time to implement this and to do it the right way. Kathy Whitehair, 7 Juniper Street — Ms. Whitehair stated that she has three daughters all of whom have attended the Beverly Public Schools. She thanked the School Committee for the work they have done towards the middle school project. Ms. Whitehair commented on the amount of research done and that the school committee had taken a vote for the 5 to 8 grade model and noted that the vote was unanimous. Ms. Whitehair stated that she is very excited to move on from there and wants the Regular Meeting Apri18, 2015 Page 2 of 6 Committee to "stay the course ". Michelle Curreri, 3 Eagle Lane — Ms. Curreri thanked the School Committee not only for the work they've done but also for coming up with a long term goal. She commented that she has been involved with the PTO and was a citizen representative on the Finance and Facilities Committee so she understands and appreciates the amount of work the committee does. Ms. Curreri stated that while Mr. Manzo stated that free full -day kindergarten is a priority right now she feels the focus needs to be on the middle school building project. Mr. Manzo commented that the building committee meets on monthly basis and the next meeting is April 14 He said that at the meeting we will receive an update on the fantastic designs and will receive a report from Bryant Ayles, Municipal Finance Director updating us on how we will pay for the middle school building project. Sara Rossetti, 3 Wentworth Drive — Ms. Rossetti addressed the committee with her concerns regarding foreign language stating she is the mother of a junior at BHS who back six years ago was told students that did well on MCAS, as an experiment, were offered to take a Foreign Language in Grade 6. Ms. Rossetti said at the time they were told this would give them the opportunity to become really fluent in the language and, if continued, they would have the opportunity to take four years of a language in the high school. Now as they transitioned into 9 th grade there was a problem because the high school and middle school did not coordinate. Now they were going to be asked to repeat a language. This didn't happen but most of the students were placed in honors level not an AP class. Now her daughter is going to be a senior next year and there is no foreign language class for her to take. She stated she is worried about the expectations from the colleges and stated that the School Committee and high school need to fix this. Open Forum for Citizen Concerns or Citizen Input into Agenda - Related Items None Approval of Meeting Records A motion was made by Ms. Visnick to approve the Regular School Committee meeting minutes from the March 11, 2015 meeting. The motion was seconded by Ms. Silverstein and approved by a vote of 6:0 with corrections. Report from Student Representative to the School Committee Not in Attendance Communications from Committee Members Mr. Manzi reported communications regarding filing a petition to hold a public hearing on the funding of full -day kindergarten and heard from a parent regarding opting out of PARCC. Ms. Visnick reported the same communications were received via email and stated that this is an opportunity to say that when communications are sent to all of the committee members they cannot reply. Mr. Manzo explained that if they were to reply or comment it would be as if they were conducting a meeting and this would be in violation of the Open Meeting Law. Mr. Manzo said if a communication is sent to all he would try to reply as Chair of the Committee. Ms. Visnick also received an opting out of PARCC communication and a call about the middle school student survey which she said is available Ms. Silverstein and Mr. Kavanagh reported receiving the same full -day kindergarten and opting out of PARCC communications and inquiries. Ms. Cesa reported the same and also received communications regarding religious holidays, calendar and how to communicate with the school committee / when to go to the superintendent and Ms. Cesa said she received a specific budget question. Mr. Manzo stated that while there is not an option to officially opt out of PARCC should a student refuse to take PARCC/MCAS they are given appropriate work to do in place of the test. Mr. Manzo stated he also received communications on kindergarten transportation and a request from the Council on Aging to speak at one of our meetings. Mr. Manzo noted that they will be at the Curriculum, Instruction and Student Life meeting. Mr. Manzo also received a question regarding sailing which he referred to James Coffey. Regular Meeting Apri18, 2015 Page 3 of 6 Report from Superintendent Dr. Hiersche 1. German Exchange Program / Overnight Field Trip Dr. Hiersche introduced Stephanie Lowe, BHS German Educator who was present to request approval of the German Exchange Program. She stated that this program is run by the German American Partnership Program. She stated that the German students would be coming here for two weeks in October, 2016 and our students will be going there for two weeks in June /July 2016. A motion was made by Ms. Cesa to approve the BHS German Exchange program. The motion was seconded by Mr. Manzi and approved by a vote of 6:0. 2. School Choice Numbers 2015 -2016 Dr. Hiersche reported that School Choice is an annual action item requiring School Committee approval with the current and requested numbers included. He reported that we are beginning to max out at some of the grade levels which will require us to hold an open lottery. Ms. Cesa asked about the increase on the numbers in versus out. Dr. Hiersche commented that he didn't have numbers but said we were approximately $100,000 to the good. A motion was made by Ms. Visnick to continue participation in the School Choice program at the parameters set. The motion was seconded by Mr. Kavanagh and approved by a vote of 6:0. 1 2015 -2016 School District Calendar Dr. Hiersche reported including a revised 2015 -2016 School District Calendar showing students attending school on Yom Kippur and Good Friday, ending the year 180 days on Thursday, June 16 185 days on June 23` Dr. Hiersche stated that the other conversation he had was with the teachers association about starting school a week earlier, commenting that this would require negotiations. Dr. Hiersche stated that the conversation began but has not closed yet but that he would do that before the Committee of the Whole meeting on the 29 Dr. Hiersche stated that he would like to distribute the calendar to parents and staff and let them know that we will be making a decision at the Committee of the Whole meeting on April 29 with the Committees approval. There was some discussion on the proposed calendar. Ms. Silverstein stated that her understanding is that if there is school on Yom Kippur and Good Friday that they cannot do any testing or introduce new materials on those days. Dr. Hiersche commented that we would need to make sure everyone understands the policy surrounding this as school commences. Ms. Visnick remarked that if a child doesn't attend school in observance of the religious holiday there would be no repercussion and asked Dr. Hiersche to speak to that. Dr. Hiersche reiterated that if we were to have school on those two days there would be no repercussion and staff would be made aware. 4. FY16 Budget Dr. Hiersche stated that he had no new information from the legislature at this point on the FY16 budget. 5. Global Child — Winter /Spring Summary Dr. Hiersche commented on the Global Child program summary and spring schedule included in the packets. He stated that this is a great program and the enrollments continue to get healthier. Report from School Committee Chair, Paul Manzo 1. School Committee Meeting Schedule — Fall 2015 Mr. Manzo stated that the Fall 2015 schedule had been included in the packets. Mr. Manzo made note that the November School Committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday November 10 instead of Wednesday, November 11 due to the Veteran's Day holiday. Ms. Silverstein asked what the reason was for flipping the December meeting and Ms. Cesa replied it is because of the annual Mayor's meeting that is held in Boston. Ms. Silverstein commented that the Curriculum, Instruction and Student Life meeting scheduled for November 0 will conflict with the upcoming MASC conference and will probably need to be adjusted. 2. Middle School Building Proiect Update Mr. Manzo provided the committee with an update on the Middle School Building Project. He commented that meetings continue with Heery and Ai3. He stated that a number of them attended the MSBA Board meeting on March 25 in Boston where Mayor Cahill spoke on our behalf. The MSBA Regular Meeting Apri18, 2015 Page 4 of 6 shared many positive comments and voted to approve unanimously our preferred schematic report. Mr. Manzo said that the next Middle School Building Committee meeting is Tuesday, April 14 at 6:30 p.m. in the BHS Library. Bryant Ayles, Director of Municipal Finance will provide financial information to the committee at the April 14 meeting. 3. Nomination Papers Mr. Manzo stated that Monday was the first day to take out nomination papers, which he did. Mr. Manzo reported that two school committee members will not be seeking re- election; Matt Kavanagh, Ward 4 and Annemarie Cesa, Ward 5. Committee Reports Standing Committee on Finance & Facilities - David Manzi, Chairperson Mr. Manzi reported that the Finance and Facilities Committee last met on March 18 and the committee approved minutes and received a Buildings and Grounds report from Tim Howland Director of Public Schools Division. He stated they received a Food Service update from Nancy Antolini. Ms. Antolini discussed some staffing challenges, the summer program with the Y, and that they provide lunches for Bootstraps. Jean Sherburne, Director of Finance and Operations reported on the FY15 budget revenue. Mr. Manzi stated that the Finance and Facilities meeting scheduled for April 15 has been cancelled and our next meeting will be Wednesday, May 20 at 7:00 p.m. Curriculum, Instruction and Student Life Sub - Committee — Kris Silverstein, Chairperson Ms. Silverstein reported that the Curriculum, Instruction and Student Life Sub - Committee last met on April 1 ". She reported that Library Media Specialists, Barbara Fecteau, Beverly High School and Alex Woznick, Briscoe presented the summer reading program and the list of books students can choose from. They told the Committee that when students return in September they have an art show at the Beverly Public Library. Mr. Poska, Briscoe Middle School Principal provided a review of the Program of Studies. He discussed foreign language, the process going from middle school to high school and the reading program. Mr. Poska talked about expressive arts and noted that sign language will not be offered next year. Ms. Silverstein stated that she is bringing forward the following three policies for a first reading: 1. The Standing Committee on Curriculum, Instruction and Student Life recommends the attached policy on "Summer School' (Section I: Instruction) for a first reading. The second reading will take place at our May 13, 2015 meeting and will require a formal (2/3) vote of approval by the School Committee. 2. The Standing Committee on Curriculum, Instruction and Student Life recommends the attached policy on "Teaching Controversial Issues" (Section I: Instruction) for a first reading. The second reading will take place at our May13, 2015 meeting and will require a formal (2/3) vote of approval by the School Committee. 3. The Standing Committee on Curriculum, Instruction and Student Life recommends the attached policy on "School Volunteers" (Section I: Instruction) for a first reading. The second reading will take place at our May 13, 2015 meeting and will require a formal (2/3) vote of approval by the School Committee. The next Curriculum, Instruction and Student Life meeting is scheduled for April 29th at 6:00 p.m. in the Beverly High School library. Negotiations Subcommittee - Matthew Kavanagh, Chairperson Mr. Kavanagh reported that negotiations are ongoing and they continue to make progress. Policy Review Subcommittee - Annemarie Cesa, Chairperson Ms. Cesa reported that the policy subcommittee last met on April 1 st and they are bringing forward the following three policies for a first reading: 1. The Policy Review Subcommittee recommends the attached policy on "Committee Membership — Filling of Vacancies" (Section B: School Committee Governance and Operations) for a first reading. The second reading will take place at our May 13, 2015 School Committee meeting and will require a formal (2/3) vote of approval by the School Committee. Regular Meeting April 8, 2015 Page 5 of 6 2. The Policy Review Subcommittee recommends the attached policy on "School Committee Officers — Powers and Duties" (Section B: School Committee Governance and Operations) for a first reading. The second reading will take place at our May 13, 2015 meeting and will require a formal (2/3) vote of approval by the School Committee. 3. The Policy Review Subcommittee recommends the attached policy on "Relations with Non - Public Schools" (Section L: Education Agency Relations) for a first reading. The second reading will take place at our May 13, 2015 meeting and will require a formal (2/3) vote of approval by the School Committee. Community Engagement Ms. Cesa reported that she had attended PTO meetings and two Massachusetts Association of School Committees events. One on Chapter 70 funding and the other was a speaker, Jack Schneider whose topic was Measuring School Success. Ms. Cesa said that it was a great presentation and that they would like to have him speak in Beverly. Mr. Kavanagh stated that he was away part of the month. Ms. Silverstein reported she also attended the MASC Chapter 70 meetings, and continues attending the Drug Task Force meeting and the Be Healthy Beverly opiate group. Ms. Silverstein noted that on May 6 the DA's opiate prevention presentation will be held at Beverly High School. She said they are working on having Chris Herren to come to the high school in December. Ms. Silverstein said she also attended the musical at the high school, all city band, Gloucester Crossing Neighborhood monthly meeting, Last night Dr. Stember's presentation on childhood anxiety that the City -wide PTO hosted. Ms. Silverstein said she was asked to come to the Beverly Bootstraps After School Homework Club and teach calligraphy to the students. She commented that she was very honored to be invited there. Ms. Visnick commented that she wore her "BevEd" hat to the Gloucester Crossing meeting to let them know of the funding that exists around the laptops at the high school. Ms. Visnick said she also attended the MASC Measuring School Success meeting commenting that we would like to bring that speaker to the District. She stated she also attended several of the Family Math and Science Nights and the Peabody Essex Museum BHS art exhibit. She told the committee that she went to Cell Signaling with a report of how the money they have donated was spent and stated she has been invited to Endicott College to learn how to make kaleidoscopes. Ms. Visnick stated she attended a YMCA event with Dr. Hiersche and noted this summer the Y will be taking 60 of our first graders and will put them in a program providing them some camp and education to try to combat the summer slide. Ms. Visnick noted that the data from last year shows that this has really made a difference. Mr. Manzi noted that the BHS musical was fabulous as always and he is looking forward to the rescheduled start of the baseball season. Mr. Manzo stated he attended the robotics competition at UMass Dartmouth, the Drama festival at the Danversport Yacht Club and APR program at the Essex Museum. He stated he attended the Ward 2 meeting, high school art show at City Hall and tried to attend some of the athletic events. Reminders: Ayers Art work on display in City Hall, 1" floor Hannah Science Fair next Thursday, April 16 SEPAC Resource Fair at Centerville School on April 30 New Business None Opportunity for Questions from the Press None present Consider Executive Session Mr. Kavanagh made a motion to enter into Executive Session to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining with union and non -union personnel and not to return to open session. The motion was seconded by Ms. Cesa and a roll call vote was taken and resulted in the following: Kris Silverstein — Yes Annemarie Cesa — Yes David Manzi — Yes Lorinda Visnick — Yes Regular Meeting Apri18, 2015 Page 6 of 6 Matthew Kavanagh — Yes Paul Manzo —Yes Mayor Cahill — not in attendance. Motion passed 6:0. Motion to Adjourn Ms. Cesa made a motion to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Ms. Silverstein and approved by a vote of 6:0. The meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Annemarie Cesa, Secretary Beverly School Committee Documents Reviewed at the meeting: Draft of the March 11, 2015 Regular School Committee minutes Overnight Field Trips Justification Form: BHS German Exchange Program 2014 -2015 School District Calendar II School Committee Meeting Schedule — Fall 2015 Global Child Summary School Choice Numbers 2015 -2016 Policies: Summer School Teaching Controversial Issues School Volunteers Committee Membership — Filling of Vacancies School Committee Officers — Powers and Duties Relations with Non - Public Schools