Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutSchool Comm 06/10/2025Approved 07-29-25 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, June 10,2025 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar REU I VED :r,1crr 6 %rn�FICE An Open Meeting of the Mansfield School Committee was held in person and virtually on Tuesday, June , LO in room 3AB of the Town Hall. The open meeting session was called to order by Chair Jenn fshJ8t6 J& p.rrl,. I'; O Members Present: Administration Present:c._ IELD r.,r Jenn Walsh, Chair Teresa Murphy, Superintendent �.;'•, fir. ,� ,. Jenifer Sellon, Vice Chair Jessica Davis, Assistant Superintendent (Student Services) �.�ij.)DTTS Lynn Cavicchi Diane Ready Steve Schoonveld Members Absent: None Retiree Reception: Ginger Boisvert Deborah LaPointe Carolyn Burnham Mary Ann La Hive Stewart Coleman Theresa Nyhan Cynthia DeGirolomo Suzanne Shea Christine Dooling Kevin Smith Karen Elofson Bill Timmins Deborah Fournier Greg Tobichuk Sheryl landoli Daryl Webster Susan Jenkins The above staff members were recognized by Superintendent Teresa Murphy, The School Committee and representatives from the Select Board, House of Representatives and State Senate. New Business taken out of order: Best Buddies Presentation Christine Riley attended tonight with two of her Best Buddies leaders (Sabrina Monaghan and Meeghan Walsh) who provided an update on the past school year. Activities included an in -school field trip, 20 extracurricular events including bowling and various get-togethers. The students expressed great excitement about the program and its impact to our students. The group is always looking into opportunities to expand. Consideration for a field trip Best Buddies to annual conference in Indiana: This year Christine Riley will bring Meeghan Walsh to the conference which is jam packed with activities and learning opportunities. Lynn requested that travel insurance be purchased in the event that the trip needs to be cancelled as the district cannot pay for the trip if the attendees decide to cancel. Motion to approve the Best Buddies field trip to Indiana by Steve Schoonveld / lenifer Sellon Motion Carries 5-0 Administrative Reports: Superintendent Murphy updated the committee on the senior events that took place over the last week. Everything went extremely well and staff, students and families were all happy. John Nieratko has been selected as the new Director of Instruction and Technology replacing Julia Greenstine who left in May. He is an excellent candidate who rose to the top of the applicants. Michelle O'Connor has accepted the payroll position replacing Ginger Boisvert. With retirements and departures, there are many open positions to fill. Page 1 of 4 Approved 07-29-25 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, June 10, 2025 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Approval of Minutes: Date 1st 2nd Discuss Y/N Vote 10-22-24 Executive Session SS JS N 4-0-1 Diane Ready abstained. 04-29-25 Open Meeting Ss 1S Y 4-0-1 She was not present. 10-22-24 Executive Session SS Steve requested that documentation provided to the committee by Little Hornet's parents be attached to the minutes. New Business continued: Consideration of MHS Handbook changes for 2025-26: Principal Booth highlighted changes made to the handbook in response to questions posed at the June 3, 2025 meeting. Open items were resolved though the following items were discussed further. Regarding make up work, there was still some confusion on "Final grading decisions rest with the classroom teacher." Russ Booth will go back and reword. Regarding dress code, there is still some ambiguity. It was agreed that a group will take this on over the summer / fall. Motion to approve changes to the 2025-26 MHS Handbook by Diane Ready / Jenifer Sellon Motion Passes 5 - 0 Review of 2025-26 School Improvement Plan: John Nieratko along with the principals of each school presented their school improvement plans all which are aligned with the current district plan. Each section was presented by every school and then the committee asked follow up questions. Curriculum Questions/Answers: Are specialists and paras are included in the new curriculum launch? Yes, all applicable staff participate. Regarding the new curriculum at QMS, what communication will be given to parents? Matt McGuire reported that they are working on a communication plan that will include at a minimum curriculum night and sharing of digital components available for families. Matt noted that it is important to communicate this information and give parents an opportunity to ask questions. Will assessments need to change? Yes. However, we feel confident in our ability to make these changes with the number of tools provided by the vendor. Have the principals examined the pacing in grade 5 to ensure that students learned all material needed to move right into grade 6? Matt McGuire worked closely with Denise daGraca and Jaime Mintz (math department chair); QMS is comfortable that we can pickup where grade 5 left off. At MHS, what is being done to support the NEASC recommendations? Principal Booth reported that we have reviewed the draft report and responded as necessary. We are waiting for final recommendations. The biggest issue is that we are falling short on having a complete curriculum library. However, we are working through this with "Understanding By Design" Can any teacher can review the entire curriculum at any time? Russ noted that we are not at that point yet, but it is part of the plan. Matt noted that Grade 6 —12 all work with the one department chair and share a lot of the curriculum plans. Do students get proper training for new technology assessment tools such as Fastbridge at Roland Green. Kris Delaplain responded that students do not use technology independently and are well prepared come assessment time. Instructional Strategies Questions/Answers: Page 2 of 4 Approved 07-29-25 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, June 10, 2025 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Does SST apply to all subject areas? Yes, this support structure is for all academic areas as well as behavioral support. How does the change to MCAS/graduation requirement affect our use of MICAS as a data evaluation tool. Per Matt McGuire, we should continue to use it as a data point but not the only data point. How do schools ensure consistency from one class to another? Principal Booth indicated that the use of Understanding by Design will help with this. Additionally, as we evaluate many data points, we can identify if there are any discrepancies. Superintendent Murphy emphasized that we need to continue to highlight the importance of MICAS as it is the basis for our school's accountability and a measurement of growth. For the MHS and QMS plans, we need to have more specificity in how to measure 'improving student outcomes.' In the Roland Green plan, it should be noted that walkthroughs are for monitoring instruction but are not staff evaluations. Environment Questions/Answers: What are some of the goals for staff? A few of the ideas included focusing more on staff recognition, creating a positive environment for students which in turn improves staff morale. Would the QMS consider creating new athletic options similar to cross country? Likely not. The district does not want to draw students away from our town sports programs. However, we are looking to expand Unified Sports down to the middle school level. Concern that the proposed honor society would be very subjective and may create equity issues and asked that QMS review this as they move forward. Have there been any transportation issues regarding students who wanted to participate in Active Minds before school? No issues reported. School Improvement plans are approved by the Superintendent with feedback from School Committee; therefore, no vote needed. Consideration of Board -Certified Behavior Analyst job description Superintendent Murphy introduced the new position as a replacement for a consulting firm that we have used for many years. There are a couple of reasons for this change. First, the person who we have relied on, is now so heavily sought after that it is harder for us to get their time. Second, it has long been the desire to get a BCBA in- house. For the most part there will be a wash in our budget. The contract will look similar to that of our current BCaBA who is in-house. The rate will be comparable with the teacher salary but they will not be part of the union. Motion to approve the BCBA job description by Steve Schoonveld, Jenifer Sellon Motion Carries 5 — 0 School Committee Business: The committee reviewed possible meeting dates for next year. Some key dates were identified and Diane Nugent will reserve all Tuesdays except the 3rd Tuesday of each month. A MASC workshop will be planned for the summer. Once the new superintendent and assistant superintendent come on board, more exact dates will be identified. School Committee Questions and Comments: Other- Items not anticipated by the Chair 48 hours prior to this meetine: None Documents Referenced: Retiree Information School Improvement Plan Field Trip Minutes Statement on Superintendent Murphy's retirement Page 3 of 4 Approved 07-29-25 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, June 10, 2025 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Chair Tenn Walsh read a statement expressing the committee's gratitude and well wishes for Teresa as she retires from the Mansfield Public Schools. At 10:15 pm, The chair asked for a motion to enter into Executive Session under Exception No. 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 regarding collective bargaining of food services and impact bargaining. Motion by: Steve Schoonveld / Jenifer Sellon ROLL CALL Vote: Jenifer Sellon aye Diane Ready aye Steve Schoonveld aye Lynn Cavicchi aye Jenn Walsh aye Motion Carries 5-0 Respectfully Submitted, Diane Nugent, Administrative Assistant to Superintendent & School Committee Page 4 of 4