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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSchool Comm. 10/24/2023Approved 11-14-23 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, October 24, 2023 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar An Open Meeting of the Mansfield School Committee was held in person and virtually on Tuesday, October 24, 2023. The open meeting session was called to order by Chair Lynn Cavicchi at 6:31 p.m. Members Present: Administration Present: Lynn Cavicchi (Chair) Teresa Murphy, Superintendent Jenn Walsh (Vice Chair) Michael Connolly, Assistant Superintendent (Teaching/Learning) Steve Schoonveld Ed Donoghue, Assistant Superintendent (Finance/Operations) Jenifer Sellon Vivian Webster Members Absent: None Public Speak: None Administrative Reports: Superintendent Murphy informed the committee of the upcoming Community Service Awards nomination deadline and urged members to consider nominations. She emphasized that the is a student category each year. The district has nine new families arriving at the Envision Hotel. It appears that we ing hwg:�)- 4 new students. Superintendent Murphy continues to attend both the Mansfield; and DM TW-" Force meetings. On Thursday DESE Commissioner Riley will visit Mansfield Pti-PULP Sc�ols WAS minutes which will include a visit to a classroom. This is part of his statewidexo�l rIof scj� hools; `; welcoming our new arrivals, r' Fri c _) v --t .9 The Health and Wellness meeting was held last week. It was a large group including op stlt"dent rep. Last year our council worked with a DESE Wellness Coach. We continue to carry out s@?ie of . the ideas brought forward. For example, our elementary schools highlight a "fruit of the month" where students partake in activities, make posters and have the opportunity to try a new fruit. At the secondary level, we continue to focus on making healthy decisions including vaping. Fire Chief Desrosiers trained our administrators in "Stop the Bleed" a valuable tool along with AED and CPR training. Natalie Johnson, Department Chair for Health and Wellness is reviewing the latest DESE curriculum mapping for her department. We will adopt this curriculum in a phased in approach. This curriculum represents the first new review since the 1990s. The town held a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee meeting. It was the first meeting in some time, so basic principles were reviewed. The town is looking to come up to speed in the same manner that our schools did last year. Vivian Webster also attended and noted that it was a small number of attendees compared to last year; she is hoping that interest is renewed for the next meeting. Lynn Cavicchi asked if student reps were chosen for the committee. Teresa will research. Assistant Superintendent Connolly reviewed the DESE Comprehensive Audit that occurred last week. Four consultants were here and completed focus groups, interviews and classroom observation focusing on inclusivity, student opportunities, curriculum, identifying gaps, etc. We had tremendous response from our staff, parents and students. We have no feel for how we did. A report of findings will be delivered in January or February and we will present to the committee at Page 1 of 7 Approved I1-14-23 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, October 24, 2023 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar that time. Chair Cavicchi noted that both she and Vice Chair Walsh met with the consultants and discussed items such as budget oversight, town/school relationships, equity, school improvement plans and school committee / superintendent relationships. Steve Schoonveld asked if the various audits represent different DESE departments and questioned why there was such a disconnect. Mike noted that there is a lot of overlap but that various audits are required at different points in time. Assistant Superintendent Donoghue updated the committee on FY24 Q1 financials. The only two areas in a deficit right now is the Bristol County Aggie assessment for their new building. There are more students attending which also drives up the fees. For special education we show a negative but we have prepaid many tuitions and not yet applied any circuit breaker. Arwroval of Warrants: Salary & Salary & Salary & Wages Goods & Services Wages Goods & Services Wages 2024.5 24010S 2024.6 24012S 2024-8 9-1.23 9-5-23 9-15-23 9-19-23 9-29-23 General Fund 298,666.84 275,178.04 1,650,215.46 246,701.93 1,705,232.82 Medicare 2,539.20 - 2,539.20 - 2,539.20 Capital - 196,417.36 - 20,812.00 - Revolving 40,285.89 425.48 68,291.64 1,836.25 84,545.16 Food Service 8,462.10 - 24,084.30 6,226.48 32,125.96 Gifts - - - - Student Activity - - - - - Grants 872.00 11,770.00 91,021.13 9,275.00 86,352.24 Prior Year 2,050.00 14,421.47 - 39,229.20 - 352,876.03 498,212.35 1,836,161.73 324,080.86 1,910,795.38 Motion to approve the warrant memo dated 10-13-23 by Jenn Walsh / Jenifer Sellon Discussion: Chair Cavicchi asked that the committee help support the Business Department by signing the warrant when requested as these approval signatures are needed before the warrant can be sent to the town for payments. The warrant can be signed in person or electronically. Motion Carries 5-0 Committee Updates: CIP Subcommittee: Met to discuss the items that will be on the Special Fall Town Meeting. Will need to start looking ahead to new 5-year plan. Audit Subcommittee: Discussed start of own audit process and review the electric department audit results. Next meeting is in December. Page 2 of 7 Approved 11-14-23 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, October 24, 2023 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Old Business: Consideration of policy BEDH Public Speak: Teresa brought questions from the last meeting to Attorney Andy Waugh. He agreed to policy language instructing both online and in person attendees of instructions. Teresa did note that this is already in practice as participants are provided instruction. Regarding the timing of public speak, Mr. Waugh opposes adding an additional section of time at the end of the agenda or splitting the public speak time around key agenda items. Leaving it at the beginning is the best option for reducing school committee liability. Lynn Cavicchi discussed language with Mr. Waugh regarding the idea that the committee does not debate or exchange dialog with public speak members as it could be mistaken for committee deliberation. Language was clarified regarding this topic. As for the number of speakers, we can limit based on time but it is at the judgment of the chair if the time is expanded due to an important issue. Keep in mind that it is a school committee business meeting and the committee must have time to attend to that business. Steve Schoonveld was very happy with the changes and the responses to his questions. Motion to approve changes to BEDH Public Speak as corrected by Jenn Walsh / Jenifer Sellon Motion Carries 5-0 New Business: Consideration of QMS Ski Club to Pat's Peak in NH: Principal David McGovern presented the details of this trip. Pending weather, the trips will occur on Saturdays 1/20 and 2/10. The goal is leave at 6:30 AM, ski from 8:30 - 4:00 and return to Mansfield around 7:00 pm. Steve Walsh and Kevin Vartian run the event with many staff and parent volunteers. The bus fee is non-refundable due to the required contract with the bus company. However, parents pay the ski resort directly for passes, rentals and lessons and some refunds are available. Additionally, parents do not need to pay the resort far in advance. Last year we had approximately 100 students (2 buses). Our capacity is determined by interest. If both buses fill up then we open it up for another 50 students. If we can fill a third bus then we will accept those students. Steve Schoonveld asked if families ever meet the students at the resort. We cannot turn families away as it is a public location. However, we prefer that we maintain complete control over the chaperoning of students. Steve asked how we keep track. We have many staff members who attend. This venue is a great spot for us to hold ski club as it is compact and all trails lead to one area making student check -in easier. Regular check -ins occur and students are required to ski with a buddy. Steve asked if Friday night trips will return. Dave noted that the Saturday trips are much more affordable since a large portion of the cost is the bus. Two trips instead of five or six drops the cost significantly. Also, students overall get more ski time and we find that there are fewer injuries since the students are not starting off tired after a full day of school. Finally, Friday trips were increasingly difficult due to lack of storage space for ski equipment. Lastly, Steve asked the protocols for injuries. We plan for various scenarios. A couple of staff members travel by their own car so that there is someone to be with the student at all times including if transported to the hospital. The resort makes the call on whether or not transportation to the hospital Is needed. Lynn Cavicchi asked if financial assistance is available. Yes, we do have funds available. Motion to approve the QMS ski club trips to NH by Jenn Walsh / Jenifer Sellon Motion Carries 5-0 Page 3 of 7 Approved 11-14-23 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, October 24, 2023 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Presentation of Curriculum Mapping- Understanding by Design: Julia Greenstine, Director of Instruction and Assessment provided the committee with our migration plans to this new curriculum model as highlighted in our school improvement plans. The unique approach begins with "where do you want your students to end up" and backward designs to desired outcomes and steps. It provides clear understanding and measurable tasks. Although the snapping is very detailed, there is still a lot of flexibility for individual teachers. They have the freedom to approach every day lessons as they choose. It is like a google map which will identify the starting and ending location but provide several possible routes along the way. In 2019 the district met with trained consultants on how to adopt. This past year we re -grouped with the consultant to move forward. The rollout started with the leadership team and then utilizing many summer institutes, expanded the knowledge further. Full staff meetings are also being held. By the end of January, all training will be completed. By the end of the school year each department will have one course fully mapped out. These models will all be stored on a shared drive for all staff to view. Another nice component is that the models can feed into our Data & Assessment system for evaluating progress. Questions/Answers: Jean Sellon likes the metrics, themes and assessment tools. Steve Schoonveld asked if this is for all grades. Julia noted that we will use for grades 6 - 12 at first. There may be pockets of use at the elementary grades but for the most part, elementary curriculum is driven by the programs selected for use. How long does it take to "unwrap" a curriculum? It varies for each standard and we are working toward determining this. The good news is that it is a "one and done" task. For example, we will utilize this to build the new health curriculum. Lynn Cavicchi asked how these expectations are articulated to a student or parent. Student outcomes have never been clearly articulated. Julia noted we are not quite there yet. The model is designed to build unit expectation not at the course level. We can work toward that goal however. Presentation of MHS Vision of a Graduate: Principal Russ Booth described the concept that is being adopted by many school districts. This vision identifies skills and abilities that a student should attain by graduation. It sets goals and shows accomplishments of our students. Mansfield has adopted the word Mpowered (empowered) emphasizing the M for Mansfield. The process began when Tim Tichacek was Interim Principal and more recently Russ and his team have worked on wording and logos with the key components being: Mpowered Citizen, Learner, Innovator, and Communicator. The concept was adopted by the MHS staff last year. As a team, the school is beginning their branding campaign getting information out to students with posters, announcements, etc. MHS would like to see this become part of the every day language. The next steps are to expand this into curriculum development, opportunities in and out of classrooms and provide staff with the tools needed to start detailed conversations with students. The long-term goal is to create measurable goals, evaluate and provide feedback. Questions/Answers: Steve Schoonveld- It is important to start young. Can we have a K -12 approach rather than just at the high school? Can we survey graduates on what they feel is important to a graduate? How do we Page 4 of 7 Approved 11-14-23 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, October 24, 2023 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar get parents and community to support us? Russ noted that the vision will be incorporated into the Districts new vision statement. We need to start at the high school level and then start to roll out ideas at the younger grades; but yes, buy -in at a young age is important. Vivian Webster- Feels that this fits well with Russ' graduation speech last year and is a good message to build from. Jen Sellon loves the idea of well-rounded students. Leadership skills are important. Jenn Walsh loves the one -page graphic that sums it all up. It is simplistic and can be adapted by each individual. Consideration of Student Activities by School: Motion to Approve the Maximum 1st 2nd Discuss Vote Checking Acct Balances Y/N no change from current - one vote for all schools - MHS $75,000 motion QMS $32,000 Jean Jenifer See approved JJ $20,000 Walsh Sellon below 5-0 Rob $17,000 The above represents the limit in checking accounts with limited check writing ability. Additional funds can be kept in savings. Individuals with this ability are not bonded but are protected under the town liability umbrella. Ed Donoghue noted that this week his staff will be going to each school to provide training on student activity accounts. Motion to accept New Student Activity 1st 2nd Discuss Vote Accounts as follows: Y/N QMS Turkey Shoot Jean Jenifer See Motion MHS Senior Celebration 2026 Walsh Sellon Below approved MHS Senior Celebration 2027 5-0 MHS Class of 2027 Jen Sellon suggested that the Turkey Shoot be renamed to something else. Lynn Cavicchi asked if it is still a student council event. It is not student council. Funds are raised for charitable purposes. Motion to close zero balance accounts 1st 2nd Discuss Vote Order Y/N MHS Class of 2023 Jean Jenifer Motion QMS The Hive Walsh Sellon approved 5-0 Motion to remove accounts and 1st 2nd Discuss Vote transfer balances equally to other Y/N accounts Close MHS Senior Celebration 2023 and Jenn Jenifer Motion reallocate equally to Senior Celebration Walsh Sellon approved 2024, 2025, 2026 (approx. balance of 5-0 $1,900 Page 5 of 7 Approved I1-14-23 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, October 24, 2023 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Motion to approve the 2023-2024 1�t 2H Discuss Vote Student Activity Account List as Y/N presented in spreadsheet plus/minus Jenn Jenifer Motion new and obsolete line items as Walsh Sellon approved approved above. 5-0 Consideration of Fall Town Meeting Articles: Will review each article even though the CIP projects were already approved by School Committee. Article Comments Motion Motion Vote 1 2 Article 5 — Afolion 1: Capital Part of a larger article of Improvement Projects (Lighting, capital items for both Elevator) town and school. Motion amended to vote on only Motion to approve Article 5 — the school portion. Jenn Walsh Jenifer Motion 1. Steve suggested an Sellon amendment. Motion Revoked Motion New Motion to approve the Jenn Walsh Jennifer Approved school related items of Lighting Sellon 5-0 and Elevator upgrades in Article 5—Motion 1. Article 5 Motion 4: Capital School Committee voted Improvement Projects (QA,1S to support on 9-26-23 Boilet) Motion Motion to still support the QMS Jenn Walsh Jenifer Approved Boiler CIP project in Article 5 Sellon 5-0 Motion 4. Article 5—A4otion 5: Capital School Committee voted Improvement Projects (14HS to support on 9-26-23 AhunniField! MHSGym Floor, Robinson Playground) Jenn Walsh Jenifer Motion Motion to continue to support the Sellon Approved School CIP Projects 5-0 Article 11: Transfer ojj,nds to Special Education Reserve Fund Motion to support the transfer of Jenn Walsh Jenifer Motion funds into the Special Education Sellon Approved Reserve Fund 5-0 Article 12: School Technology School Committee voted Contract to support on 9-26-23 Motion to support the school Jenn Walsh Jenifer Motion district entering into a new Sellon Approved Technology Contract. 5-0 Page 6 of 7 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Approved 11-14-23 Minutes for Tuesday, October 24, 2023 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar School Committee Business: Upcoming presentations include MCAS, Communities That Care, Vision Statement. Steve Schoonveld asked if the committee can add School Committee Goals to an upcoming agenda. Other- Items not anticipated by the Chair 48 hours prior to this meetingNone Documents Referenced: Warrant Memos FY24 Q1 Financial Update Policy BEDH QMS Ski Club Request Curriculum Mapping Presentation Vision of a Graduate draft poster Student Activities Account Details Town Meeting Warrant Articles / Motions Motion to adjourn: At 8:34 p.m., Lynn Cavicchi asked for a motion to adjourn. Motion made by by Steve Schoonveld / Jenn Walsh. Motion carries 5 - 0 Respectfully Submitted, Diane Nugent, Administrative Assistant to Superintendent & School Committee Page 7 of 7