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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSchool Comm. 01/25/2022Approved 03-08' 2 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, January 25, 2022 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebmaR CEWED R15S OFFICE An Open Meeting of the Mansfield School Committee was held in pedal dYtt'v�EUatT'} ott"Aday, January 25, 2022. The open meeting session was called to order by Chair Kierl O'NI il, at 6:02p.m. 1O TTc Members Present: Administration Present: Kiera O'Neil, Chair Teresa Murphy, Superintendent of Schools Lynn Cavicchi, Vice Chair Michael Connolly, Assistant Superintendent (Teaching/Learning) Lauren Scher Ed Donoghue, Assistant Superintendent (Finance/Operations) Jenn Walsh Members Absent: Linda Fernando ***All votes taken by roll call vote *** Roll Call: Lynn Cavicchi aye Jenn Walsh arrived at 6:57 pm Kiera O'Neil aye Lauren Scher aye (attended remotely) Executive Session cancelled. Public Speak: None Communications: School Committee received two letters. One is a proposal to remove Styrofoam trays from the MHS cafeteria. The second is a request to remove masking in our schools. Administrative Reports: Special Education Director Jim Leonard introduced MHS student Kathryn Guravage. Kathryn started an effort called the Lavender Project which raised $800 for the Best Buddies Program. Kathryn and her family created lavender sachets and fire starters which she sold to the community. Kathryn is a senior at Mansfield High School who has been here since first grade. Tonight we honor Kathryn's efforts with a thank you, certificate and gift. We are incredibly grateful for Kathryn's efforts and her donation. Superintendent Teresa Murphy asked Health Director Christine Dooling to join her. They discussed updates on COVID 19 testing. Per DESE's recommendations, the district is opting into the new test at home program. Parents, students and staff can opt into the program where we will deliver one test kit per student every other week. We ask that families complete the test and report IF you test positive. There is no mandate for this test and we will not be checking to be sure that students are taking the test. By moving to this process, we will eliminate contact tracing and test & stay. We have moved beyond the need for these efforts and by doing so we will take a big burden off of our school nurses. On Wednesday, Teresa will hold a "Lunch & Learn' session to announce the details of this program to families. Lauren Scher asked if we could create a summary document as the current instructions on the website are very complicated. Teresa noted that we will create a summary but it is critical that all documents are read in full by families before participating. Lauren also had some concerns with students who may be immunocompromised and at risk for catching COVID. Will the nurses take Page 1 of 7 Approved 03-08-22 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, January 25, 2022 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar extra care to monitor these students since contact tracing is ending? Christine noted that we always work with these families and we will continue to do so. Very few positive COVID cases have come from in school transmission malting contact tracing no longer effective. Lynn Cavicchi asked what kind of questions we are getting from families. Teresa noted mostly "why should I take a weekly test?" "Should I test if I recently had COVIDT' "Why is Test & Stay ending?" Christine noted that we need to get to the point where we treat this like the flu. Assistant Superintendent Michael Connolly gave an update on the January 12th professional development day and an update on the Student Opportunities Act. Some of the efforts on January 12th included guided math lessons, Keys to Literacy curriculum, Therapeutic learning environments, curriculum pacing, NEASC work. Our counselors, nurses worked with the Police POP unit to discuss wrap around services that are available to families. We continue to work closely with the Mansfield Police Department to help our community. To provide some history on Student Opportunity Act, DESE started this effort in September 2018 as "Number 1 for some" indicating not all students have equal opportunities. In June of 2019 DESE devised the "highway forward" to provide learning for all students. They asked districts to start planning under a strict set of guidelines. In March of 2020, the initiative stalled with COVID though Mansfield still submitted their program proposal. Now DESE is working on a reset. They are clarifying requirements and establishing new deadlines for districts to submit amendments to the original plan with annual reporting. Several DESE webinars have been held to assist districts. The changes are due April 1, 2022. Meetings are scheduled with Principals to review our plan, progress and make any changes needed. We do not expect to steer far from our original plan as we have already made significant progress on our action items. Assistant Superintendent Ed Donoghue gave an update on the revolving accounts. Lynn Cavicchi asked if we can expect any revenue replacement from the county. Per Ed, this is currently on hold so we should not count on it. She asked how we will manage our CHAMPS deficit without these funds. Ed feels we can shift some expenses to the operating budget until our revenue starts coming in. We are very excited to open CHAMPS programming up again this summer. Kiera O'Neil commented on the facilities account and asked that we look into spending down some of this balance. Ed indicated we are looking at possible lighting on Alumni Field and new storage solutions for student musical instruments. She also asked about the large balance for student activities. Some of this is due to the lack of activity over the last couple of years and balances in athletics and drama which get spent in large chunks. MHS Student Representative: Caitlyn Zajac joined us remotely to provide updates as follows: This is mid-term week, a stressful time for all. She noted that the staff has done a wonderful job helping the students. Extracurricular activities are flourishing. Students are excited to be engaged once again. Some examples of events are color guard, percussion, one act play, spring play, athletics as well as many clubs. Prom preparations are starting with hopes of returning to Gillette for a "normal" prom. Page 2 of 7 Approved 03-05-22 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, January 25, 2022 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar New Business: Best Buddies Annual presentation: Christine Riley and Kelly Kenney gave an update on the past year. Events were limited but we are happy to be getting back into more activity. We have created easy, fun activities to help with the stress that our students face. We are providing opportunities to connect with other students and make new friends. Christine was happy to announce that with Kathryn Guravage's donation, Best Buddies will hold a spring dance parry. Consideration of Field Trips: MHS Percussion Ensemble to New Hampshire - Band / Percussion teacher, Tim Ketterer presented the details of the trip. COVID restrictions and travel were discussed. Lynn noted the need for the district to establish COVID guidelines for out of state and overnight field trips. Jenn Walsh is so happy to see the ensembles competing once again. Tim also noted that we had to unfortunately cancel our Home Show due to COVID restrictions. This was a big disappointment for our students and a financial loss as it is a big fundraiser. Motion to approve the MHS Percussion Ensemble and Color Guard trip to NH for a competition by Jenn Walsh / Lauren Scher Roll Call: Kiera O'Neil aye Lynn Cavicchi aye Lauren Scher aye Jenn Walsh aye Motion Carries 4 - 0 MHS Varsity Baseball to Maryland/Washington, DC Teacher / Baseball coach, Chris Hall presented the details of the trip. COVID restrictions and travel were discussed. The trip will take place over 4 days during April vacation. Kiera asked if the hotel has any vaccination restrictions? Chris will look into this. Teresa noted that the school committee can choose to mandate vaccines for field trips. This has not yet been determined by the committee and we would look for final guidance from legal. Lauren Scher asked what the testing plans are while away. Chris supports the will of the board and can have students test prior to getting on the bus. Lynn noted it is difficult to approve all of these trips piecemeal. If we are going in the direction of allowing trips, we need to have COVED guidance so there is a standard set of benchmarks for all. Chris appreciated her concern but also noted how hard it is to develop guidelines when things are changing so rapidly. Teresa noted that we are taking a chance with everything. There is no way to predict where we will be with COVID in the future. We are trying to give students opportunities. Would the committee be willing to support if they have the option to rescind later? Kiera O'Neil supports the trip as we need to give our students something to look forward to. She has two caveats: 1) district guidelines are created 2) We get language from Andy regarding a vaccination mandate for extracurricular events such as field trips. We also need to very clear to families that the district cannot absorb any lost money if we have to cancel last minute. Page 4 of 7 Approved 03-08-22 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, January 25, 2022 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Motion to approve the MHS Varsity Baseball trip to Maryland/Washington, D.C. during April Vacation by Jenn Walsh / Lauren Scher Roll Call: Kiera O'Neil aye Lynn Cavicchi aye Lauren Scher aye Jenn Walsh aye Motion Carries 4 - 0 World Travel Club Trip Summer 2022 Kevin McGovern has invited a member of EF Tours to give the committee a chance to ask questions about this summer's trip to Croatia. Students are very vested in this trip. They have been saving money, attending meetings and we need to come to a decision soon. (Note that it was already approved but is now being reconsidered due to COVID.) Portugal is on the table as an alternate venue. Jenn Walsh asked if both countries are accepting visitors. The EF rep said yes but each has their own set of limitations which we are constantly reviewing. Lyn Cavicchi noted that the EU is easing some restrictions soon. Does each country require a vaccination passport? EF Tours is requiring that all participants are vaccinated. Currently this extends to June 301h but we don't yet know about July trips. PCR testing will be required before leaving the U.S. and again upon return. EF tours will make arrangements for testing. Kiera asked what would happen if a student tests positive prior to the trip. Student will not be allowed to travel but will get a refund less a $500 deposit. Lynn asked if students are fully aware of vaccine and testing requirements. Kevin noted that they do not but will once approval is given tonight. Does fully vaccinated mean 2 or 3 shots? EF considers fully vaccinated on 2 shots. However, some countries may require the booster. Kiera asked for protocols if a student gets COVID on the trip. EF will provide all assistance including obtaining doctor appointments and finding pharmacies. EF will fly a parent/guardian at EF's expense. Parents should make sure their passports are up to date in the event of an emergency. Lynn asked if any trips have had to be rescheduled. EF noted that most trips are going on as planned. Some had to change locations. EF needs an answer on a location change by March. Lynn asked what the most common trips are right now. Germany, France, Portugal are popular. Other countries are starting to open up. Lynn noted that proof of vaccine is very important and students need to be prepared. After lengthy discussion the committee chose to move forward with the trip so no vote required as it had already been approved by school committee. Consideration of HS Request for reverse ha1J'days due to MCAS Guidance Director Tina Karidoyanes spoke on the benefits of this schedule change. It allows a better testing environment with fewer students in each room and no distractions from other students passing in the halls for class. Grade 10 students will be able to use normal morning bus transportation. For those students who have the half day, transportation will be provided and we ask students to use that time for catch up or secondary school planning. Motion to approve the MHS request for reverse half days for grades 9, 11, 12 on March 22, 23 and May 17, 18 to facilitate grade 10 MCAS testing by Jenn Walsh / Lauren Scher Page 5 of 7 Approved 03-08-22 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, January 25, 2022 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Roll Call: Kiera O'Neil aye Lynn Cavicchi aye Lauren Scher aye Jenn Walsh aye Motion Carries 4 - 0 Consideration ofMHSProgram of Studies 2022-23 Guidance Director Tina Karidoyanes presented the requested changes. As a summary the sequence grids for math and science were updated to reflect new course opportunities and pathways. Many course descriptions had minor changes to better reflect the course offering or to reflect changes in the class. All remote learning options were removed. New courses are: AP Environmental Science, Field Ecology, Statistics. Earth Science course has been enhanced based on new MA frameworks. Lynn asked that the high school add any costs associated with a program such as band uniforms, calculators, etc. We need to be up front with costs while also offering scholarship when needed. Motion to approve the MHS Program of Studies for 2022-23 by Jenn Walsh / Lauren Scher Roll Call: Kiera O'Neil aye Lynn Cavicchi aye Lauren Scher aye Jenn Walsh aye Motion Carries 4 - 0 Consideration of Policy LDA (add Endicott College) Motion to add Endicott College as an acceptable source for student teachers and observers by Jenn Walsh/Lauren Scher Roll Call: Kiera O'Neil aye Lynn Cavicchi aye Lauren Scher aye Jenn Walsh aye Motion Carries 4 - 0 Superintendent Murphy mid year update: As part of the annual superintendent evaluation process, Superintendent Murphy is required to provide an update on progress to goals to school committee. She provided an update of sample activities. Additionally, Ms. Murphy provided a status update on her: • Student Learning Goal (equity audit) which is making very good progress toward completion • District Improvement Goal (Educational Space Study) which is in progress but a more complicated process than anticipated. There are a lot of components that make the project bigger than first thought. However, next steps have been identified so that the district can move forward in processing Requests for Qualifications. Page 6 of 7 Approved 03-08-22 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, January 25, 2022 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Professional Practice Goal (complete and obtain approval on a dissertation proposal) which she is making progress on and is meeting with her advisor on a regular basis. School Committee Business: Other- Items not anticipated by the Chair 48 hours prior to this meeting_ Documents Referenced: DESE presentation of At Home Testing Field Trips MHS Program of Studies Mid Year Update Motion to adjourn: At 9:58 p.m., Motion to adjourn by Jenn Walsh / Lauren Scher Roll Call: Kiera O'Neil aye Lynn Cavicchi aye Lauren Scher aye Jenn Walsh aye Motion Carries 4 - 0 Respectfully Submitted, Diane Nugent, Administrative Assistant to Superintendent & School Committee Page 7 of 7