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2018 10 10 School Committee MinutesBEVERLY PUBLIC SCHOOLS Regular School Committee Meeting Wednesday, October 10, 2018 Beverly City Hall — Council Chambers Beverly, Massachusetts A regular meeting of the Beverly School Committee was held on Wednesday, October 10, 2018, in Beverly City Hall, Council Chambers. Members Present: Rachael Abell, Paul Goodwin, Kris Silverstein, Lorinda Visnick, Kelley Ferretti, Mayor Michael Cahill Not in Attendance: John Mullady Also in Attendance: Dr. Steven A. Hiersche, Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Suzanne Charochak, Assistant Superintendent, Jean Sherburne, Director of Finance and Operations, Bethany Splansky, Special Education and Student Services Director, Eliza Michaels, Student Representative, Julia Brotherton, BHS, Betty Taylor, Principal Beverly High School Call to Order: Ms. Silverstein called the meeting to order at 7:08 p.m. Pledge of Allegiance: Paul Goodwin led those assembled in the Pledge of Allegiance. AGENDA Recognitions of Students, Employees and Community Member Kris Silverstein and Dr. Steven Hiersche along with Beverly High School Principal Betty Taylor recognized Nathan Levin, Catherine Johnson, and Samantha Fafard for receiving the National Merit Commended Scholarship award. Dr. Hiersche, Ms. Silverstein, and Ms. Taylor recognized Marley Norton, Emily Pratt and Rory Devlin who were chosen to receive the Certificate of Academic Excellence from the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents. Dr. Hiersche, Ms. Silverstein, and Ms. Taylor also recognized Marley Norton who were chosen to receive the National School Development Council Award for Academic Growth and Student Leadership in Learning. School Committee Recessed: 7:13 p.m. School Committee Reconvened: 7:20 p.m. Open Forum for Citizen Input into Non - Agenda - Related Items None Open Forum for Citizen Concerns or Citizen Input into Agenda - Related Item None Approval of Meeting Records A motion was made by Kelley Ferretti to approve the minutes from the September 12, 2018, School Committee meeting. The motion was seconded by Lorinda Visnick. Motion passed 5:0:1 (Abstain: Mayor Cahill). Items by Consensus Dr. Hiersche recommended approval of the following warrants: A. The Superintendent recommends the School Committee vote to approve Warrant #19008 in the amount of $163,797.98. B. The Superintendent recommends the School Committee vote to approve Warrant #19009 in the amount of $255,427.06. C. The Superintendent recommends the School Committee vote to approve Warrant #19010 in the amount of $381,487.42. D. The Superintendent recommends the School Committee vote to approve Warrant #19011 in the amount of $479,192.78. A motion was made by Rachael Abell to approve the warrants listed. The motion was seconded by Ms. Visnick. Motion passed 6:0. Report from Student Representative to the School Committee Beverly High School Student Representative Eliza Michaels reported there was an ALICE drill held on October 2 working with the Beverly Police Department, everything went as expected. A College Fair was held on October 3 rd for both juniors and seniors. Eliza reported that freshman elections were also held on October 3 Eliza reported that PSATs will be held on October 13 for both sophomores and juniors. There will be a Homecoming dance for all grades on October 19 as well as the Beverly Highs Got Talent Show on October 17 at 7 p.m. in the BHS Auditorium. Eliza stated that BHS summer reading projects and artwork are currently on display at the Beverly Public Library. In addition, progress reports went live in the ASPEN student information system on September 28 Eliza reported on upcoming fundraisers; Class of 2020 What's Brewin Saturday, October 20th, 20% of proceeds will go to BHS, Class of 2021 spinning fundraiser will be held at Inner Cycle on Sunday, October 14 at 1 p.m., annual music department Fall Yard Sale will be held outside the Beverly Middle School on Saturday, October 13 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m Communication from School Committee Members Ms. Visnick reported she had received interest from constituents who missed the original tour dates and were interested in visiting the new middle school building. She had received feedback from parents regarding transportation issues at the beginning of the school year. She reported that Walk to School Day was a success and is hoping to hear more about the citywide Transportation Study and recent survey results. In addition, Ms. Visnick has received some questions regarding MA Ballot Question #3 in regards to Transgender accommodation issues. With a recent Transgender issue hitting nationwide news, Ms. Visnick has received questions regarding clarification of Beverly Public Schools Policies and Procedures. Ms. Abell reported she has heard from parents regarding communication and confusion regarding different methods across the district. She went on to discuss constituent concerns regarding the emphasis on technology and how the district is working towards a balance. She has referred the parent to Dr. Charochak for further information. Ms. Abell also brought up parent concerns regarding transportation time for the middle school's X- Country Team. Ms. Ferretti reported that she attended the Cove PTO meeting and they are very excited about the upcoming Science Fair on November 16 She also spoke about upcoming auction fundraisers for the Citywide PTO. Ms. Ferretti reported that feedback has been positive regarding pick -up and drop -off at Beverly Middle School. Mr. Goodwin reported there were a few parent concerns regarding ALICE Training and communication. He stated he recently attended the Hannah PTO meeting and their new website is now live. Report from Superintendent Hiersche 1. Overnight Field Trip — BHS Model UN - MIT Cambridge, MA Dr. Hiersche called on Julia Brotherton to present her overnight field trip Model United Nations at MIT, Cambridge, MA, projected to take place on February 8 -10, 2019. She stated she has 12 slots available. They will be using public transportation both into Boston and from the hotel to MIT. A motion was made by Ms. Visnick to approve the overnight field trip to MIT, Cambridge, MA, projected to take place in February 2019. The motion was seconded by Ms. Ferretti. Motion passed 6:0. 2. October 1 Enrollments Dr. Hiersche reported on the October 1, 2018, enrollments district wide. Dr. Hiersche stated the October enrollments are used to determine Chapter 70 funding. Enrollments are higher than last year with a total enrollment for FY19 of 4,774 over FY18 enrollment of 4,699. Average class sizes K -8 are increasing, with the highest spike at the 5 t " grade level. Mayor Cahill clarified that the 125 Preschools students are represented in the Elementary enrollment total. Ms. Abell inquired about the number of sections at the 5 t " and 6 t " grade level. Dr. Hiersche stated the 5 t " grade has 16 sections and the 6 t " grade has 14 sections. 3. Preliminary District Accountability Presentation Dr. Hiersche called on Dr. Charochak to present on the new Massachusetts's District Accountability System. She stated the information will be presented in two (2) parts. Tonight will cover general information regarding the statewide changes and next week district principals will report on their individual schools. Dr. Charochak reported that the new system is based on certain defined Indicators that provide information about the student and school performance. A school's performance will be compared against designated Improvement Targets as well as other schools across the state. The new system will focus on the raising the performance of the lowest performing students. Dr. Charochak spoke in depth about each of these new Accountability Indicators and how they are derived. She stated the new Indicators are different for K -8 and high schools. She also stated that with so many changes, historical data is not comparable. Ms. Visnick inquired about how the district targets are set. Dr. Charochak stated the targets were set based on past performance and she felt the targets set were fair overall. She stated as the system progresses, targets will change based on the data. Ms. Abell inquired about whether the targets set for 3 rd and 4 t " grades consider the grade configuration change with the new middle school. Dr. Charochak stated the largest change will be that the growth target will only span one (1) year rather than two (2) years. Ms. Abell inquired about the limited scope in testing at the elementary level and Dr. Charochak clarified that MCAS testing is only one piece of data used to determine school performance. The district has very robust district developed set of benchmark assessments across the curriculum. Ms. Abell inquired about Chronic Absenteeism accountability indicator in Beverly. Dr. Charochak agreed the score is not where the district wants to be, however, this opens the door for discussion on how to improve this group. Mayor Cahill asked about the categorization of schools and the fact that those schools with less than 95% participation will automatically be classified as needing focus /targeted support. He inquired how hard it was to meet the 95% participation criteria. Dr. Charochak stated for the aggregate it is not difficult but for small target groups it can come down to three (3) or four (4) students. She spoke directly about the middle school ELL (English Language Learners) student subgroup as an example. She stated that early reporting showed the group to be at 93% participation. However, upon review of those students not required to take the assessment due to their 1 st year ELL status, the subgroup was up to 96% participation. Report from School Committee President, Kris Silverstein Action Items 1. Dorothy Presser, MASC — Primer on Superintendent Searches Ms. Silverstein introduced Dorothy Presser from the MASC. She spoke about the choices the Committee will have in hiring a new Superintendent. She stated the Committee may appoint a Superintendent, open the search to internal candidates only, or open the search to external candidates. She went on to discuss the pros and cons of all three options. Ms. Presser spoke about the participation of the community and their influence on the process. She went on to discuss the current climate of the Superintendent pool. On average, most applicants are not current sitting Superintendents. The Committee should consider in this case, that external candidates would be learning the job as well as the district while internal candidates would only be learning the job. Ms. Silverstein inquired if a community forum is a good place to start the process. Ms. Presser stated many districts begin with online surveys as well as community focus groups. MASC would then help the district compile the information in order to create a list of Superintendent qualifications that meet the district goals. Ms. Abell inquired the potential of a nationwide search. Ms. Presser reported that historically committees that do a national search end up hiring someone within their state. It is particularly difficult for candidates to relocate to Massachusetts due tight regulations as well as the ability to transfer pensions between other states. Often candidates willing to relocate have retired, looking to extend their careers and are not usually long term candidates. Ms. Ferretti inquired about how to decide on community focus groups members. Ms. Presser stated that typically there are multiple focus groups geared towards a particular group of stakeholders such as parents /community members, teachers /administrators, etc. This generally encourages more open conversations. Mr. Goodwin inquired about the effects on the search if beginning with an internal vs. external search. Ms. Presser confirmed that beginning with an external search with potential internal candidates can have a negative effect on the external candidates that choose to apply. Ms. Presser stated that often the districts that start with an external search know they do not have an internal candidate. Mr. Goodwin inquired about Superintendent Search services offered through MASC. Ms. Presser stated that since the district was a MASC member, they would be available to answer questions if the district were stewarding the search on their own. However, MASC can also provide consulting services that run the search and handle all the administrative tasks involved. These fees would range from $15K -100K. Ms. Silverstein stated that through her experience the committee would first interview potential consultants. She stated they often vary widely in both cost and services they provide. The Superintendent search is a lot of work for the committee and she is expecting them to vote on which direction they want to go at the next Committee of the Whole meeting on Wednesday, October 17, 2018. Mayor Cahill inquired about non - traditional candidates that are seen in the Superintendent candidate pools. Ms. Presser stated non - traditional candidates are relatively infrequent but typically may come from a company that works in the education field or those that have a Charter School background. She confirmed that the typical pool consists of Superintendents, Assistant Superintendents, and Principals. 2. 2019 Spring School Committee Schedule Ms. Silverstein presented the Spring 2019 School Committee Schedule for discussion and vote. A motion was made by Ms. Abell to approve the Spring 2019 School Committee Schedule as presented. The motion was seconded by Ms. Ferretti. Motion passed 6:0. 3. Naming Delegate and Resolutions Ms. Silverstein reported she had provided the Committee with information regarding the Massachusetts Association of School Committee's (MASC) Voting and Resolutions. She stated that the committee would need to vote to appoint a delegate for the annual MASC business meeting in November. A motion was made by Mayor Cahill to nominate Ms. Visnick as the MASC delegate with Ms. Silverstein as the alternate. The motion was seconded by Mr. Goodwin. Motion passed 5:0:1. (Visnick abstained) Informational Items 4. Directive to Delegate to Vote on MASC Resolutions The committee then discussed the nine resolutions that Ms. Visnick would be voting for on their behalf with the following results: Resolution 1: Rejecting the Arming of Educators — Vote Yes Resolution 2: Small & Rural Districts — Abstain Resolution 3: Elimination of the Federal Dept. of Ed — Vote Yes Resolution 4: Regional School Transportation — Vote Yes Resolution 5: Reporting & Accountability Standards — Vote Yes Resolution 6: Reproductive Health Education — Vote Yes Resolution 7: Gender Identity Inclusive Athletic Participation Policy — Vote Yes Resolution 8: Sports Wagering — Vote Yes Resolution 9: Access to Information for Parent and Student Who are Clients of Sped — Vote Yes Proposal to Amend MASC By -Laws — Vote Yes Committee Reports A. Standing Committee on Finance & Facilities Rachael Abell, Chairperson Ms. Abell reported that the Finance and Facilities Committee last met on September 26, 2018. The committee worked to continue their review of the Building Rental Policy. Ms. Abell stated she was bringing forward the following for approval. Upon the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Finance and Facilities a motion was made by Ms. Visnick to approve the Gifts to Schools —June 15 - August, 2018, itemized below, totaling $11,372.00. The motion was seconded by Ms. Abell. Motion passed 6:0. Gifts to Schools - June 15th - August 2018 Beverly High School $ 500.00 BHS PTO PEM Transportation $ 750.00 Beverly Education foundation Theater Tech nology & Design Seminar Series $ 1,000.00 Beverly Education Foundation Tools for Science Classrooms $ 450.00 Beverly Education Foundation PEM Field Trips Beverly Middle School $ 900.00 Beverly Education Foundation Mass Children's Book Award $ 992.00 Beverly Education Foundation Engineering / Robotiu Cove Elementary School $ 300.00 Beverly Education Foundation Watershed Ecology Program Hannah Elementary School $ 400.00 Beverly Education Foundation Breakout EDU / Learning Games Platform $ 350.00 Beverly Education Foundation Hooray for Health $ 500.00 Beverly Education Foundation Kindergarten Sensory Garden $ 450.00 Beverly Education Foundation Maker Movement Initiative $ 500.00 Beverly Education Foundation Creating a Novel Engineering Library $ 1,497.00 Cell Signaling School Wide $ 400.00 Hannah PTO Breakout EDU / Learning Games Platform $ 499.00 Hannah PTO Mystery Science North Beverly Elementary School $ 800.00 Beverly Education Foundation Family Night Math $ 323.00 Beverly Education Foundation Ellis Square Lunch Initiative Beverly Preschool $ 761.00 Beverly Education Foundation Harvest Unit - Creating Lenguage & Learning Opportunitiesfor YOUng Children $ 11,372.00 Total Upon the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Finance and Facilities a motion was made by Ms. Visnick to approve the attached EOY 2018 Transfers. The motion was seconded by Mr. Goodwin. Motion passed 6:0. 3. Upon the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Finance and Facilities a motion was made by Mayor Cahill to approve the request for an additional Preschool Teacher and Paraprofessional at the McKeown Preschool. The motion was seconded by Kelley Ferretti. Motion passed 6:0. Ms. Abell reported that the next meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 24, 2018, at 6:30 p.m. at the Beverly Middle School. B. Standing Committee on Curriculum, Instruction and Student Life Paul Goodwin, Chairperson Mr. Goodwin reported that the Curriculum, Instruction, and Student Life meeting Scheduled for October 3, 2018, was cancelled. The next meeting of the Curriculum, Instruction, and Student Life meeting is scheduled for November 7, 2018, at the Beverly Middle School at 7:00 p.m. C. Negotiations Subcommittee John Mulladv, Chairperson D. Policy Review Subcommittee Rachael Abell, Chairperson Ms. Abell reported there is no meeting scheduled at this time. E. Safety Committee Summary Kelley Ferretti Ms. Ferretti reported that efforts are ongoing and moving along appropriately. Mayor Cahill stated the building principals have the results of the citywide traffic report and would share the results with committee members. Community Engagement Ms. Abell reported that the Fall Frolic and Mom -Ball Tournament fundraisers were great to attend. She stated her favorite community engagement activity was the Walk on the Ryal Side. She stated that student participation was high and everyone enjoyed themselves. Ms. Ferretti reiterated the success of the events mentioned by Ms. Abell and congratulated the Centerville Elementary team as the winner of the Mom -Ball Tournament. Ms. Visnick reminded the committee that it would be great to have members attend school PTO meetings. She reminded the committee of the Beverly Education Foundation (BevEd) Distinguished Speaker Series on Monday, October 22, 2018 with Mr. Bill Cummings. Ms. Silverstein spoke about the Summer Reading Projects currently on display at the Beverly Library and she went on to mention the success of the Dr. Ruth Potee presentation, "Teen Brain Under Construction," which spoke to the effects of vaping, drugs, and alcohol. Adjourn A motion was made by Ms. Ferretti to adjourn the School Committee meeting. The motion was seconded by Ms. Abell. Motion passed 6:0. The Meeting adjourned at 9:05 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Rachael Abell, Secretary Beverly School Committee Documents Reviewed at the meeting Minutes for approval: Regular School Committee Meeting, September 12, 2018 Overnight Field Trip: BHS - MIT, Cambridge, MA October 1, 2018 Enrollments Assessment and District Accountability Data 2019 Spring School Committee Schedule MASC Resolutions Primer on Superintendent Searches EOY 2018 Transfers Gifts to Schools: June 15 - August, 2018 Request for Additional Preschool Teacher and Paraprofessional