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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSchool Comm. 08/08/2018Approved 9-4-18 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Wednesday, August 8, 2018 Superintendent's Office An Open Workshop Meeting of the Mansfield School Committee was held in the Superintendent's Office on Wednesday, August 8, 2018. The open meeting session was called to order by Kiera O'Neil at 6:21 pm Members Present: Administration Present: Lynn Cavicchi Teresa Murphy, Superintendent of Schools Linda Fernando Kiera O'Neil Jenn Walsh Members Absent: Lauren Scher Open Meeting: Gift Approval- Tree Donation from the Class of 1961: Ronald Linardi'61 attended the meeting to discuss the donation a dogwood tree to MHS. The class met recently in honor of their 75th birthdays. The class approved and has allocated money for the tree. In addition to the tree, there will be a small stone engraved with "Donated by the Class of 1961" The tree was chosen for its white flowers and green leaves to represent Mansfield colors. Teresa thanked Mr. Linardi for his offer and presented a location option. Plans are in place to restructure the main entrance so it would not be beneficial to add a tree to that area. She had worked with Mary Watkins and Matt Jacques and proposed the location next to the gymnasium entry door. This door is used for voters, as well as attendees to events in the gymnasium. Mr. Linardi was happy with this location. Mr. Linardi offered two thoughts for planting: 1) School department will plant or 2) Nursery will plant at Mr. Linardi' s expense. Lynn Cavicchi suggested that we research the best time of year to plant and to check the soil conditions and ongoing care needed. Mr. Linardi offered to stop by and water the tree. Next steps will be for Matt Jacques to contact Mr. Linardi and finalize the planting date. Motion to accept the donation of the dogwood tree by Lynn Cavicchi / Jenn Walsh. Motion Approved 4 - 0. Field Trip- MHSBand to NJ Mets Stadium for competition Motion to approve the Band trip to NJ by Lynn Cavicchi/Jenn Walsh Discussion: Lynn Cavicchi noted that the district still needs to review how student activity accounts are managed through booster clubs. Motion Approved 4 - 0. Field Trip- QMS Chorus to Providence Bruins for performance Motion to approve the Chorus trip to the Providence Bruins by Linda Fernando/Jenn Walsh Discussion: The committee discussed the cost of the trip in order to perform for a short period of time. Motion Approved 4 - 0. Open Meeting: The intent of tonight's workshop was to review district goal policies, finalize superintendent goals and rubrics, and finalize school committee goals. Page 1 of 3 Approved 9-418 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Wednesday, August 8, 2018 Superintendent's Office Policy: AD- Educational Philosophy: School Committee discussed proposed change and will bring to vote on 9/4/18. ADA- School District Goals and Objectives: This policy was reviewed and will remain as is. Superintendent Goals: Teresa provided a copy of her proposed goals and reviewed each. Professional Practice- Teresa proposed that she complete the second year of the New Superintendent Induction Program and earn at least Proficient ratings on each major assignment. Key actions were proposed and discussed. See attached. Workshop dates are 9/13, 11/15, 1/10, 3/14 and 5/2. Teresa's first assignment due on 9/13 is to create a "Problem of Practice." At the workshop, Teresa will facilitate a discussion with a small group to solve the problem. The capstone project for 2018-19 is to create action plans using the DESE action plan templates. Each action plan will be evidence which will be provided to the school committee for the evaluation. District Improvement- Teresa has proposed that the district study the possibility of moving the Roland Green preschool to the East Street campus. Her goal for this year is to complete a feasibility study. It may or may not be possible to make the move but by the end of the year, she will complete a logistical and financial study. If we chose to move forward, then she will bring in teachers, parents and the community to discuss. Key actions were proposed and discussed. Student Learning- Teresa had a few options for school committee to consider. 1) Decrease student absences by X percent. 2) Increase grade 3 ELA MCAS scores of "Meeting/Above' by X% over two years. 3) Provide opportunities from students to share their perceptions on how we can improve their learning experience. Kiera O'Neil suggested that we do not use MCAS as a barometer for success. The state is still changing how the testing works and we do not have stable testing methods in order to compare. Additionally, our district is about so much more than MCAS scores. Everyone was in agreement on this and MCAS will not be used. The committee then discussed absences. Tracking student absences allows for measurable goals. However, it is more important to focus on 'at risk' students. How can we help those students with chronic absences? We will have greater success with our students but it will be difficult to track. The committee was very interested in the third goal of empowering out students to have a voice. It provides an important opportunity for our students. The committee suggested the following in order to measure: initial survey of students. During that survey, we can ask for volunteers to meet with Teresa. Benchmarks will be established to track that students are meeting with the district. At the end of the year, another survey will be done to measure student response. Teresa will present a report of findings to the school committee. It was agreed that Teresa's third goal will be to empower student voices by having meetings with Teresa. Page 2 of 3 Approved 9-4-18 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Wednesday, August 8, 2018 Superintendent's Office At the 9/4/18 meeting, the committee will discuss and vote on Teresa's goals and evaluation tools. Teresa will identify her goals and offer her suggestions for the elements that best measure those goals. A timeline was established for the evaluation cycle. January 15 2019 is tentatively scheduled for the formative assessment. April 1, 2019: Teresa will complete her report of evidence April 9, 2019: Committee will provide scores and comments to Kiera. April 23, 2019: Final evaluation. (This allows the review to be done prior to any change in members due to the spring elections. ) School Committee Goals: • Operational Calendar- Continue to enhance • Professional development goals • Communication with the public / community outreach. Further discussion will be held at 9/4 meeting. Upcoming Agenda Items: • Teresa's goals and evaluation elements • School committee goals Other- Items not anticipated by the Chair 48 hours prior to this meeting: none Documents Referenced: Teresa Murphy Ideas for Educator Evaluation Goals 2018-19 Motion to adjourn: At 7:38 p.m., Motion to adjourn the open meeting by Jenn Walsh / Linda Fernando Motion Carries 4 - 0. Respectfully Submitted, Diane Nugent, Secretary to the Superintendent & School Committee Page 3 of 3