|
MANCHESTER
BOARD OF EDUCATION
REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2006 |
|
|
M
I N U T E S
|
|
|
7:30
p.m.
Lincoln Center |
|
|
Present: Crockett, Edwards, Marcano, Pohl, Rizzo (in the Chair), Small-Miller Absent: Hackett, Huyler, Stafford Also Present:
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ouellette A. OPENING A. 1 Call
to Order A.2. Pledge of Allegiance Mr. Rizzo led the Pledge of Allegiance. A.3. Minutes of September 25, 2006 Mr. Rizzo asked for a Motion to adopt the Minutes of September 25, 2006. MOTION: Small-Miller/Edwards s.v. The Manchester Board of Education approved the Minutes, as printed. The motion carried 6/0/0.
B.1. Verplanck "Read to Grow" Award Dr. Ouellette
welcomed Mrs. Luce, Principal of Verplanck who was present with members
of her staff to report to the Board on the collective efforts that had
gone into winning the "Read to Grow" Award. She referred to
them as family members. Mrs. Luce used the terms "Rigor",
"Relevance" and "Relationship. The program had turned
out to be wonderfully successful in encouraging young people to read.
Mrs. Luce emphasized that the kudos was not due to her personally: she
was just the voice for Verplanck; the award had been attained through
a team effort. Copies of the program, A gift, from Bennet, - a "Bear Bag" - "Begin Early And Read" successfully, was talked about. Books were being given out to preschoolers when they came to school. Mr. Rizzo
congratulated Mrs. Luce and said he had gleaned two things from her:
she had characterized herself as a 'family'. Undoubtedly, her efforts
had made Verplanck a lot more inviting to the families in that district.
He applauded her efforts; also he equated the program with "Taking
the mountain to Mohammed." They had done something that had involved
bringing the program outside the school and into the community;
Mr. Nino Pagani, 42C Bluefield Drive, was perturbed about the fact that after he goes to a lot of trouble preparing pasta dinners, etc, parents had not bothered to show up. He wanted to know what was being done by the Board of Education to carry out a study to find out why. Greater efforts needed to be made to encourage parents to come to the school and be more supportive. Mr. Pagani criticized 'fatty' snacks children brought into the school each day. He loved the children and it distressed him to see what they were eating: parents are the ones needing educating to take better control: parents were "coming up short!" Mr. Pagani also expressed a grievance about the fact that they had to pay a food service to use the school kitchens. This should not be the case. Mr. Rizzo thanked Mr. Pagani for his volunteer services, which were very much appreciated. Mr. Tom Stringfellow Mr. Stringfellow,
183 Hillstown Road, spoke about Hispanic Heritage Month ending on October
15, 2006, and as a follow up named: Articles:
USA Today 10/10/06 - "School Security" - High Tech School
Security is on the rise. Attitude
Magazine November 2006 - cover stories "Beyond Medication - Several
Ways to encourage Good Behavior" and "Raising Tweens (middle
school students). There was mention of ADD for children beyond medication:
Mr. Stringfellow referred to the combination of students between Bennet
and Illing. NAMI sponsored "Meet the State Legislature Forum" held Thursday, October 5 in Center Congregational Church. Mrs. Mary Voiland, outgoing NAMI President Mental Health Curriculum in our school system, East Hartford High School had this curriculum. NAMI "Child & Adolescent Action Center": "Beginnings, summer 2006 "Students with Mental Health Concerns": Booklet "Autism Spectrum Disorders". Noted: Raymour & Flanigan Furniture Store contributed to the "Read to Grow" Program. Diverse Magazine, October 5, 2006 "Issues in Higher Education": cover story by Dr. Margaret Spellings "Shift from K-12 to Higher Education: especially matriculation and graduation rates, as well as cost of colleges and universities."
Mrs. Kidd, Manchester PTA Council, reported briefly on the first meeting of the Council held on September 22, 2006. She thanked Dr. Ouellette and Ms. Hackett, who had attended the meeting and answered questions regarding current school issues. The next meeting would be held on October 25th in the Waddell Elementary School Library, at 6:30pm; the public would be welcome. This year the Council would continue helping to coordinate PTA activities; promote information sharing, define and support common goals; provide developmental training in all the town's PTA's. Plans were being finalized for the Community Conversations event. The event had been scheduled for November 9th, 5:30pm-9:00pm at Manchester Regional Academy. They were still looking for community participants, as well as Moderators and Recorders. Mrs. Kidd said if anyone in the community had any questions they should call either Ms. Diane Kearney at the Board of Education, or herself, at 432-0955. The PTA Council was sponsoring a Substance Abuse Presentation and she was working on this with the Manchester High School Principal and the PTA Executive Board. The Presentation was tentatively planned for April 11, for Grade 9-12 in the Bailey Auditorium at 7:00pm. This was the same presentation that was well received last May, by Illing and Bennet students. They would be reaching out to the Community for financial support. The PTA budgeted annually for Substance Abuse education and the recurring event would be collaborated between the Illing PTA and the Principal.
Dr. Ouellette reported on the two items on the Consent Calendar requiring Board approval: E.1. Personnel
Action E.2. Extended
Field Trip Request - Manchester High School Mr. Rizzo asked for a Motion to approve the Consent Calendar. Mr. Crockett said he had been under the impression that the appointment of a Grant Writer was to be a full-time position. Dr. Ouellette said it was her belief that the salary had been set at a certain limit, and, based on the qualifications of the applicant; the position could only support a .5. This could certainly be adjusted should additional funding become available. It was anticipated it would become full-time. Mr. Rizzo
commented that Ms. Novak would be joining a long and distinguished list
of administrators and staff that had worked for thirty years in the
district; had retired, and yet were being tapped once again to return.
It was important to note the district really tried to utilize the talents
they had developed over a great length of time. The Motion to approve the Consent Calendar was on the floor. MOTION: Small-Miller/Edwards s.v. The Board of Education approved the Consent Calendar, as outlined by the Superintendent. 6/0/0.
1 Enrollment
Update The data in the report showed that at the district level, the total elementary student enrollment for 2006-2007 was listed as 3,722; total middle school enrollment 992, and high school enrollment 2190. The MRA enrollment was listed at 70: Head Start, 125. There were also 53 students enrolled at Bentley. Those numbers were included in the numbers stated for middle and high school figures. This gave a sub-total of student enrollment, within the Town of Manchester, of 7099. The full day Magnet School attendees, when added, gave a grand total of 7,360. When the October 2nd report was compared with the initial September report - Head Start rose approximately eight students: elementary, in general, fell fifty-three: secondary fell thirty-one. There was no change at MRA and the Magnets were up two hundred and sixty one. The overall net increase was one hundred and eighty-five. Looking at the breakdown of class size throughout the district, average class sizes were: All day kindergarten, 20.8; Kindergarten, 16.2: Elementary Grade 1, 18.34: Grade 2, 17.65: Grade 3, 19.43: Grade 4, 19.40: Grade 5, 18.63: Grade 6, 16.39. Middle School academic classes averaged between 22 and 23: Exploratory courses 19, Physical Education 21. MHS overall class size was typically down approximately 15%, and was being attributed to the funding and the support provided by the Board of Education to maintain low class size and address achievement opportunities for the children. Mr. Martin said he viewed Manchester as being in good shape at this juncture, in terms of class sizes. Mr. Edwards said he noted that the all day Kindergarten was almost a twenty-one student average, whereas the standard half day Kindergarten was approximately sixteen per class. He wondered if this was typical or something new this year. Mr. Martin responded that the numbers reflected the geographic location of the schools that had all day, versus schools with a half-day. At Washington, Robinson and Nathan Hale classes were a little higher. Dr. Ouellette pointed out that one additional all-day kindergarten class had been provided at Waddell School, which would have impacted the numbers. Mr. Edwards requested further data, for a future meeting, in order to compare the performance of children, over a five-year period: particularly data showing what enrollments were last year, and where there had been increases or decreases. Mr. Rizzo made the point that Magnet schools had been factored in and that had inflated the total, and wondered why these were included. Mr. Martin told him that this was the way it had been reported. Obviously, if this were taken out there would be a negative impact in terms of growth. Mr. Rizzo was happy to learn about the class size at Manchester High School, which had been one of the issues throughout the Budget Workshop discussions. Mr. Rizzo echoed the concern with the all day Kindergarten averaging the highest class in the district. He would like the Administration to keep an eye on the all day kindergarten numbers, hoping it could be arranged for Mr. Martin to return and report on this. F. 2 Summer
School Update Mr. Daly reported that this had been the first year the Middle School and High School had come together in the same building and this had been very successful and beneficial. The Middle School Program worked with 7th & 8th graders and had been broken down into two components, i.e., students who had not been successful during the year, primarily in the courses of language, arts, reading, science, social studies and math. The second component dealt with an inclusion model, and the students had come to Bennet during the morning and worked with the teachers. Every student in the first program completed summer school successfully. Mr. Thorndike reported on a successful Summer Program. The staff and children worked well together and space was adequate. They had one hundred and ninety-nine high school students enrolled, twenty-five coming from other districts, who had opted to come to Manchester for the program. They had taken a total of two hundred and seventy-two courses, with some taking two courses. Of the one hundred and ninety-nine students, one hundred and eighty-eight of them had passed. Dr. Ouellette
asked if Mr. Daly and Mr. Martin had any thoughts about the following
year Summer School to give the public an idea of location. Had discussions
begun? She pointed out that Bennet would be offline, as would Illing
and Manchester High School. Mr. Thorndike responded that discussions
had not yet begun but they were currently putting together a committee.
It had been beneficial this past year to share resources, and this should
be a factor for the committee to consider. Mr. Rizzo and Mr. Thorndike had a discussion about CAP courses.
G.1. Textbook
Adoption MOTION: Small-Miller/Edwards s.v. The Manchester Board of Education approves the textbooks and other reading materials, as recommended by Dr. Richardson. 6/0/0. Mr. Edwards expressed his thanks to the staff who had done the pilots on the projects, members of the High School English Department, the librarians, and the Curriculum Committee, who had all spent a good deal of time in choosing the literature.
Mr. Crockett reported that he had received numerous telephone calls in the last few weeks concerning changes at the High School on the Athletic Program. Callers wanted to know when the position of the baseball coach would be posted. He had been under the impression a new full-time A.D. was to be hired and this had not transpired. He would like to be updated on this. Some parents had expressed a desire to be included in the interviewing process. He would like to hear from the Administration as to the current status at the next meeting of the Board, if possible. Dr. Ouellette promised to bring the matter to Mr. Martin's attention stating that she would be happy to discuss it at a future time.
I.1. Building
& Sites Committee Mr. Glen Neilson, Gilbane Construction, had presented Phase 2 Logistic Plan for Illing Middle School, which included demolition of the Illing kitchen and tie-in of the new addition. Work would continue at Illing during the school year. A copy of the schedule, attached to the minutes, showed that the project was expected to be completed during the summer of 2007. Mr. Epstein had given an update on construction projects: Bennet was going out to bid within the following two weeks; auction to dispose of surplus equipment would be held Saturday, September 30, 2006 at 9:00am. The site would be closed off after the auction. Swing space projects were down to the punch lists. Michael James Construction had been working 2nd shift to complete the work. Modular
classrooms were complete, except for Washington Elementary. If the Contractor
did not complete the work by Monday, October 2, the Town would complete
the work and deduct the amount spent from the amount owed to the contractor. Manchester Safe & Lock installing a new lock set at Bowers to enable magnetic buzzer system to be used. Buckley and Keeney: Ms. Louise Guarnaccia brought drawings for bus loops. Committee asked that the Engineering Department come up with alternative drawings with a cost estimate for the drawings. Ms. Guarnaccia recommended changing the entrance/exit driveway at Illing. Ms. Guarnaccia was retiring but Mr. Epstein would stay on top of the projects and ask the Engineering Department to present designs and projected costs to the Committee in early November. Mr. Stafford talked about a telephone problem at the high school. Mrs. Brooks was unaware of a problem but promised to look into the situation and report back. The Committee agreed to return to monthly meetings and Ms. Brooks would send out a new meeting date list. The next meeting would be held on October 25, 2006 at 5:30pm. in the Central Office Board Room. I.2. Personnel & Finance Committee Mr. Rizzo gave the following précis of the Minutes of the Personnel & Finance Committee, held on October 3, 2006. Dr. Ouellette informed the Committee that Great Path Academy would be piloting a tenth grade class for the 2007/2008 school year. Dr. Joe Townsley would be invited to the next Personnel & Finance Committee meeting to discuss the pilot. The Committee were told by Mrs. Brooks that the Northeast Family Credit Union had expressed an interested in operating a student branch of the credit union in Manchester High School. Mrs. Brooks had advised the Committee that a Request for Proposals should be drawn up for this endeavor, if approved. She felt that there were other credit unions in Manchester who would want the same economic opportunity to present a curriculum and establish a student branch office at the high school. Mrs. Brooks was directed to have Mr. Gasper share the finance and banking curriculum with the Curriculum Committee. If approved, the project should be brought before the entire Board of Education for consideration. Dr. Ouellette shared that a new charter school, Cross Cultural Academy of Hartford, would like to have Manchester approve five to six slots. After discussion, it was determined that Manchester Public Schools would not participate at this time. The Committee reviewed the FY2007-2008 Budget Workshop dates and location. The Committee approved the workshop dates of January 16, January 23, January 30, and February 7, 2007, (if necessary). The workshops would be held in Robertson School from 6:00-8:00pm and would be videotaped for the public. Mrs. Brooks presented the Committee with a copy of Manchester Community College High School Partnership Fact Sheet. Dr. Jonathan Daube, President of MCC, had informed Dr. Ouellette that the State Legislature had reconfirmed its commitment to the Connecticut Community Colleges' High School Partnership Program by approving special funding for students who enrolled in math, science and technology courses at community colleges. High School juniors and seniors who met the program criteria could continue to enroll in those courses at no cost to them. Mrs. Brooks informed the Committee that she had encumbrance problems with the September Financial Report and would send copies to the Board as soon as these were corrected. Mrs. Brooks requested the November 8, 2006 meeting be moved to November 15, 2006 because of a conflict at Central Office, and this was approved. Mrs. Brooks stated that the Committee would be going to bid, in the near future, for student transportation, and shared the daily cost of school buses in surrounding towns also in DRG G. The next meeting of the Committee would be held on November 15, 2006 at 5:30p.m. in the Central Office Board Room. Ms. Brooks
mentioned that the Budget Workshop scheduled for January 16 would be
moved to January 18th. Dr. Ouellette reviewed the goal of the Community Relations Committee. There was an in-depth discussion on the Committee's role in the upcoming Community Conversation to be held on November 9, 2006. Mrs. Kearney and her staff had made a video that would be presented to the public on that date. The Committee agreed that the Board Chair and the Town Mayor would be the spokespersons representing the Board of Education and the Board of Directors with regard to formal remarks on racially balancing our elementary schools. The Committee agreed to meet on an "as needed" basis, and would like to reconvene after all the data and brainstorming sessions from the Community Conversation had been collected and analyzed. This information would be presented at the Community Relations Committee meeting at the end of November, and presented to the full Board in December. The next
meeting of the Committee would be held on Wednesday, November 29, 2006
at 5:30p.m. in Central Office. This was the initial meeting and Mr. Stafford was elected Chair. The Committee agreed to meet in June, July and, beginning in September, meet monthly until the appropriate policies for this Committee had been reviewed. Ms. Tait would send proposed meeting dates and topics for each meeting to committee members for their review, comment and approval. The district-wide Wellness Committee, chaired by Diane Kearney, presented the Wellness Policy. This was a new policy and required, under recent legislation, to be in place before the start of school in September 2006. Nick Aldi, Director of Food Services, Karen Fiedler, Chair of Physical Education K-8, and Suzanne V. Valade, Director of Health Services, attended the meeting to present and answer questions. A committee of twenty people had worked on developing the policy, broken down into smaller subgroups, each with a particular topic area. The Committee was positive about the policy: no changes to the wording were suggested. After discussion, the following areas were recommended, either for clarification or additional information: "Is certification in nutrition education required, and is there such certification; an alternate plan for replacing withholding of recess (no longer approved), with an appropriate positive behavior motivator: verify the time calculations for activity in the classroom and the type of activities suggested; issue of faculty as a role model; having soda in the classrooms - would soda be available after school? "What about soda and snacks at concession stands during events? "Do fundraising activities, such as candy sales, fit into the policy? Depending on the information related to these questions, there might be slight adjustments to the proposed policy. The Committee agreed that the policy should be presented under "New Business" for comment by the entire Board, at the May 8, 2006 Board of Education meeting.
Mr. Pagani reiterated his statements about the lack of support from parents to school events and charges he considered unnecessarily incurred in using school kitchens. Mr. Stringfellow Mr. Stringfellow quoted (anonymous source) "What will be done about the achievement gap? Starting at Kindergarten - K3 35% gap proficient vs. black Hispanic students with white, by High School widened. Whites - 83%-85% proficient vs. 48%-50% of subgroup members. "Funding for after-school tutors." Articles:
No items were proposed for future agendas There being no further business a Motion was made to adjourn. MOTION: Rizzo/Edwards s.v. The Manchester Board of Education adjourned at 8.45pm. 6/0/0. Respectfully submitted,
|