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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSchool Comm. 10/22/2024Approved 11-12-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, October 22, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar An Open Meeting of the Mansfield School Committee was held in person and virtually on Tuesday, October 22, 2024. The open meeting session was called to order by Chair Steve Schoonveld at 6:00 p.m. Members Present: Administration Present: Steve Schoonveld (Chair) Teresa Murphy, Superintendent Jenn Walsh Michael Connolly, Assistant Superintendent (Teaching/Learning) Vivian Webster (remote) Jessica Davis, Assistant Superintendent (Student Services) Members Absent: Jenifer Sellon (Vice Chair) Lynn Cavicchi The chair asked for a motion to enter into Executive Session under Exception No. 3 To discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining or litigating position of the public body and the chair so declares Motion by: Jenn Walsh / Vivian Webster ROLL CALL Vote: Vivian Webster aye Jenn Walsh aye - d Steve Schoonveldaye Motion Carries 3 — 0 c� �• - Return from Executive Session at 6:37 pm ray ' Public Speak: None New Business taken out of order: v, rr i _ Consideration of Field Trios- MHS World Travel Club to the Mediterranean coast: --q -i u N C7 CDTI MHS teacher Lisa Buron presented the details of the trip. The cost is comparable with I year wfth sonm increase due to inflationary costs. Teresa requested that Lisa bring some of the students back to the schopLcommittee to present on their experience. Questions/Answers: Vivian Webster wanted to clarify for parents that in order to use 'What's app' there must be a wi-fi connection. Lisa noted that there is usually not an issue with wi-fi. Steve asked how many countries are involved and how will they manage exchange rates. There are four countries and they all use Euros so it is not an issue. Exchange rate information will be determined at the time of the trip. Does EF tours offer financial support? Yes, there area scholarships available. Students have accounts setup with EF tours for payment. They can request assistance; and setup a GoFundMe account with EF as well. Superintendent Murphy noted that we will verify data privacy agreement with EF tours. On behalf of member Lynn Cavicchi, Superintendent Murphy presented a list of questions: What is the cost of a passport? ($165). How much money should be sent with the student for meals? (minimum of $240). What other gratuity money is needed? ($100 per student which is collected at the start of the trip and used by chaperones for tipping for tour guides, bus drivers, etc. How will the new European Travel Information and Authorization system requiring visas impact the trip? (EF tours does not have a lot of info about this yet. As it gets closer to implementation (2025) we will determine impact. It should not impact any student under 18 and if needed the cost is less that $10.) Will the World Travel Club arrange for the students to travel to/from Logon by the Big Apple Bus? (Parents are welcome to make their own arrangements for this part of the travel. MHS will not coordinate an effort to travel by the bus. In Lisa's experience, parents like to drop off and pick up directly at the airport.) It will be helpful to have a more descriptive response to learning goals and outcomes. (The World Travel Club's experiences align with the MPS's vision of a graduate by empowering students to become engaged global citizens. Through exploring the history and cultures of the countries they visit, students broaden their worldviews and actively participate in diverse Page 1 of 4 Approved 11-12-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, October 22, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar environments. These tours also foster empowered learners and innovators, building students' confidence, independence, and problem -solving skills. Students develop resilience while discovering more about themselves and gaining an appreciation for different people and places. Upon returning, they share these valuable experiences with their families, peers, and teachers.) Motion to approve the World Travel Club 2026 to travel to Italy, Monaco, France and Spain by Jenn Walsh / Vivian Webster. ROLL CALL Vote: Vivian Webster aye Steve Schoonveld aye Jenn Walsh aye Motion Carries 3 —0 Presentation of FY24 MCAS Results: Presenters were: Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Michael Connolly, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Jessica Davis, Director of Instruction and Assessments Julia Greenstine and Principals John Nieratko, Denise daGraca, Matt McGuire, and Russ Booth Slides (available on our website) include information on English Language Arts (ELA), Math and Science scores showing trends over the last few years, comparison of student scores as they move ahead in school as well as principal input on what the school response is to these scores. Ms. Greenstine noted that this year's presentation has been expanded to include assessments for all students and are noted on the slides labeled Access Testing for English Language Learners and MICAS Alt testing for a group of students IEPs. Additionally, for the first time, we are reporting on results based on race and ethnicity. Julia noted that 88 students were Accessed tested last year— our highest number ever. Jessica Davis noted that all students must participate in MCAS testing and there are three different testing opportunities for students on IEPs. 1) standard MCAS testing 2) MCAS with accommodations 3) Alt-MCAS tests. The special education team meets to determine which test is right for each student following set criteria that must be met. School level response to ELA testing: J/1(Denise daGraca): new use of a universal screener at both 11 and Robinson; adopting a new literacy program next year which will provide highly -qualified instruction; three common writing prompts with common rubrics to help prepare students; professional development to help tailor writing prompts for targeted instruction. In was also noted that online test taking can be impacted by individual student typing stamina. QMS (Matt McGuire): Utilizing a new ELA program this year and expect to see impact to scores next year; continuing to use screening data to determine student need; benchmark writing prompt twice per year; working to break down barriers and improve access to curriculum; first year of the Hornet Hive which is a period per day available for students to obtain extra support. MHS (Russ Booth): our students are performing well; MHS showed growth in several different student groups; administering 8 writing assessments per year; co -taught classrooms are showing positive results for students; added literature circles and additional reading time to help support student reading stamina during long tests taking. School level response to Math testing: JJ: Implementation of the new Reveal math curriculum which provides lessons to support small group studies, improves lesson duration and modifies pacing. Page 2 of 4 Approved 11-12-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, October 22, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar QMS: Change in curriculum pacing by moving some lessons to the beginning of the year; the hive block to support students; and researching high quality math curriculum for next year. MHS: Students scored above the state average; curriculum review to focus on major concepts; improved small group curriculum and co -teaching models; expanding the types of practice questions we use in our internal sessions. School level response to Science testing: 1/1 (John Nieratko): Adoption of a new program; preparing for new science assessments; providing students with real -life scenarios to improve understanding. QMS: Fall of 2020 began a multi year shift in curriculum. This conversion is complete and we should see improvements in next year's testing scores; working on common assessments during the course of the year; would like to see additional co -taught classes in the science department. MHS: Co -teaching models provide more opportunities for students and has shown improved success; science teachers are actively using results from our data analysis tools in day to day teaching. Questions/Answers: Vivian asked for examples of accommodations for students. Jessica Davis provided a few examples such as paper test vs online testing; familiar test proctor and small groups. She will provide the full list to Vivian. Jenn Walsh was pleased with the gains while recognizing the opportunities for growth. Steve Schoonveld asked what other assessments are used to determine student success? Are there disparities between these that cause concern? Julia Greenstine said it was important to remember that this is a snapshot of a student on one particular day of the year. Some disparity should be expected. Our teachers dig deep at results to determine what may have caused an issue on that particular day. It could be as simple as a vocabular word that a student did not recognize. Denise daGraca provided an example where we teach the students to identify the "theme" of a story but the MCAS test may use the word "central idea." Some students picked up on the similarity but others were thrown off. She also noted that in math some lessons at the end of the year were not able to be completed by the time of the testing. What should the parents at home know if they saw that their student did not perform well? John Nieratko noted that administration is already having conversations with families; we assure them that it is a "point in time' and we help them understand how the school helps the student as a whole. School Committee Business: Update on FY26 Budget: Next meetings for the town budget sub are 10/28 and 11/13. The school budget sub will meet on 11/19. Steve reminded all that we need to include more detailed narrative when preparing next year's budget. Update on Superintendent Search: The next meeting will be held on 10/29 at 7:00 pm. It will be a workshop to meet with MASC and NESDEC and then identify which organization with lead us on our search. On Friday Jenifer Sellon and Steve Schoonveld will hold a zoom call with these organizations for preliminary details. School Committee Questions and Comments: None Other- Items not anticipated by the Chair 48 hours prior to this meeting: None Documents Referenced: Field Trip Page 3 of 4 Approved 11-12-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, October 22, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar MCAS Presentation Motion to adjourn: At 8:03 p.m., Chair Schoonveld called for a motion to adjourn Motion to adjourn by Jenn Walsh / Vivian Webster ROLL CALL Vote: Vivian Webster aye Steve Schoonveld aye Jenn Walsh aye Motion Carries 3 — 0 Respectfully Submitted, Diane Nugent, Administrative Assistant to Superintendent & School Committee Page 4 of 4