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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSchool Comm 10/16/2018Approved 10/30/18 Mansfield School Committee Meeting p Minutes for Tuesday, October 16, 2018 CEDE Town Hall, Room 3ab 1GE 011 � ��rQ(�}leilJM�eting off the Mansfield School Committee was held in room 3AB of the Town Hall on Tuesday,_O¢�brT 16, 2018. The open meeting session was called to order by Kiera O'Neil at 7:03 �rl�.- tr. P.% { Members Present: Administration Present: Kiera O'Neil Teresa Murphy, Superintendent of Schools Lynn Cavicchi Michael Connolly, Assistant Superintendent (Teaching/Learning) Linda Fernando Edward Donoghue, Assistant Superintendent (Finance/Operations) Lauren Scher Jenn Walsh Members Absent: None Video Recordine: None Communications: Parks & Recreation have invited the School Committee to participate in the annual Halloween Parade on October 27th. Jenn Walsh and Teresa Murphy have volunteered to participate in the judging. Superintendent Report: The Mansfield Girls Soccer team earned their 13th straight Team Academic Award from the United Soccer Coaches Association. The teams combined GPA of 3.62 for 2017-18 is commendable. Mansfield is one of only 205 girls' high school teams across the country to win this award. Additionally, the team was recently ranked #23 nationally. Congratulations to Coach Kevin Smith, his coaches and the girls' soccer teams. Assistant Superintendent of Teaching & Learning Report: Michael Connolly presented an update on the new social studies curriculum standards that were recently adopted by the state in June of 2018. Changes include the addition of civics curriculum in all grades. In grade 8, the year long course will change from World History to United States Civics. World history will be focused at the high school level. There will also be a greater focus on diversity, news media and financial literacy. Bill Hocking, Social Studies Department Chair, is very active with the state and provided input to these new standards. He has monitored progress and made sure we are in a position to move forward with the changes. Summer Institutes and vertical team time will be used to update classroom instruction. Interestingly, the new curriculum is almost identical to the standards from several years ago. In fact, some towns never even made the move to the last curriculum standards and have very little to do now. Mike feels that we are well prepared to make the changes which will appear in the 2019-20 Program of Studies. The state has not provided any deadline but is looking for the move as soon as possible. Lynn Cavicchi asked if the elementary teachers would be able to take on these changes above and beyond the new math and literacy programs. Mike will speak to Bill regarding this but they would work closely with the elementary staff to set priorities. Lynn asked who would teach the new financial literacy at the high school. Would it be the history department or the business department? Mike will review. Lauren Scher asked if the state will provide any assistance. Mike did not anticipate much help from the state other than information on the new standards. Fortunately, there is no MCAS testing for history so we have some flexibility in our programming. Page 1 of 6 Approved 10/30/18 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, October 16, 2018 Town Hall, Room 3ab Assistant Superintendent of Finance & Operations Report: Ed Donoghue provided a copy of the FY 2018 yearend report which is sent to DESE. It highlights all spending vs. budgets. It shows a $70 million expenditure for the school. Report is attached. Student Advisory Report: Lili Barnes provided an update of happenings at the high school. In the arts, the stage crew has set up for the fall show. Fall athletics are doing extremely well. The football team will play their annual Thanksgiving game on Tuesday night, November 20Lh at Fenway Park. In the cafeteria, the move to reusable trays is complete. No longer are they using throw away Styrofoam trays. Lockdown drills have occurred which have provided opportunities for practice and dialog. The students are looking forward to spirit week 10/28 - 11/2. Students will dress in spirit gear, hold a pep rally and the teachers will participate with a dance -off. Approval of Minutes: Open Session Minutes of 9-25-18 Motion to approve the minutes by Linda Fernando / Jenn Walsh Motion Carries 5 - 0 Executive Session Minutes of 9-25-18 Motion to approve the minutes by Linda Fernando / Jenn Walsh Motion Carries 5 - 0 Attendance at Board of Selectmen meeting on 10-10-18 Motion to approve the minutes by Linda Fernando / Jenn Walsh Motion Carries 3 - 0 - 2 (Jenn Walsh and Kiera O'Neil were not in attendance /abstained.) Gifts: On September 8th The Paper Store of Mansfield held their grand reopening of their expanded store at Mansfield Crossing. The local event manager had approached us during the summer and offered to donate 10% of sales to Mansfield High School. The total funds donated were $1250 which will be deposited to the MHS gift account. The funds will be allocated to support scholarships for senior students to help cover the many year end costs of graduation, testing and year end activities. Thank you to Kerstin Marrama and the Paper Store for their generous donation. Old Business: Committee Updates., Audit: Chris Moussette was voted as the new member at large. Two weeks ago, the committee approved the electric audit. The town audit would be reviewed next. CIP: In progress. Teresa will be reviewing with Kevin Dumas. Budget: The subcommittee met earlier today to discuss a potential time line, work on key dates, review FY19 and start looking at FY20. Facilities: The subcommittee met last week to review summer projects and to discuss priorities for the upcoming year. Next meeting will be late November. Policv: The subcommittee met last week to prioritize areas of focus for FY19. Section I Instruction will be one key area of review. Page 2 of 6 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, October 16, 2018 Town Hall, Room 3ab New Business: Approved 10/30/18 Field Trips: 1. MHS Performing Arts to PPAC for the Nutcracker: a. A motion to approve the arts trip to RI was made by Linda Fernando / Jenn Walsh. b. Discussion: None c. Motion U.C. 5-0 2. QMS Grade 8 students to Trinity Rep for A Christmas Carol: a. A motion to approve the 8w grade trip to RI was made by Linda Fernando / Jenn Walsh. b. Discussion: None c. Motion U.C.5-0 3. MHS Girls basketball to Newtown, CT for a tournament: a. A motion to approve the girls' basketball trip to CT was made by Linda Fernando / Jenn Walsh. b. Discussion: Lauren Scher lilted the spirit that the "M" paintings on driveways brought to the town of Mansfield. Lynn Cavicchi asked that on future field trips, the cost detail is spelled out very specifically. For example on this trip it was originally brought forth as 100% fund raising but was later noted that the bus cost is coming out of the athletic department. It is important for the committee to know what they are approving. c. Motion U.C. 5-0 MCAS 2018 Accountability Overview: Teresa let the committee know that MCAS letters were distributed to parents last week. As a district, we will review the details of the scores and report to the committee on November 6th. Tonight, we will provide some background on the new accountability reporting. Our staff and students have been very flexible in taking MCAS then PARCC then next generation MCAS. Joshua Fogel and Michael Connolly have led a group which has dug deep into the reporting process. Josh will present their findings tonight. The State has spent the last 2 years revamping the accountability to take into account diversity, English Language Learners, absenteeism, etc in order to track not only our academic success but our growth with the goal of raising the performance of our lowest performing students. The old levels of I thru V been replaced by new categories. These categories are primarily tied to the level of required assistance or intervention. Josh then reviewed slides as to how districts are categorized. Scores can be impacted not only by overall score but also by participation rates, growth and the number of low performing sub groups. In the November presentation, we will drill down to the specifics of the scores. In Mansfield we fell below participation minimum requirements which automatically put us in a lower bracket. Participation is based on individual sub groups. Therefore if ONE subgroup reported a low participation rate (under 95%) then that would reflect on the entire district. How do we help with the participation rate? During the MCAS testing period we remind students and parents of the importance of testing. If a student is absent, we contact parents that morning to see if we can get students in the door. If a student takes the test during the makeup period, it WILL count toward scores. However, there are times when a student just can't make it in. How does a concussion absence count? If a student is out for a concussion protocol and cannot take the test then it will count as non participation. However, the district can appeal. Mike feels that our school improvement plans have helped toward improving our processes and scores. Mary Watkins also provided some highlights of the scoring and next steps. The state has not defined what steps we Page 3 of 6 Approved 10/30/18 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, October 16, 2018 Town Hall, Room 3ab need to take to follow upon scores. The state is, however, paying more attention to how we handle the sub groups. Human Resources Position: Kevin Dumas, Town Manager, requested that Teresa look into the possibility of sharing a human resources position with the town. Kevin had worked with a consultant who did an audit of our human resources functions. The consultant suggested a consolidation of efforts. Teresa was open to dialog and worked with Kevin and Jocelyn LeMaire on possible solutions. Teresa has set the following goals as she reviews the possibilities: 1) Improve the HR position in town 2) Be effective and efficient 3) Maintain that schools will NOT lose anything when we migrate to a consolidated position. Teresa wants to inform the committee tonight of the status and will bring a more formal proposal on October 30th. She will present the plan, identify pros and cons, make a recommendation and ask for a vote. Sex education at Mansfield High School: In January of 2018, the district proposed curriculum for the QMS health classes. There was a positive rollout of this effort. Joe Russo and his high school wellness teachers have reviewed options for high school based courses (grades 9 and 11.) The classes are aligned with the MA health curriculum. The draft proposal was presented to the Health and Wellness Council gaining positive feedback. If adopted the lessons would start in November for the students currently in a health course. First day of school packets to students identify the possibility of sex education in schools. The staff will also send out notification to all parents regarding the classes. Teresa is asking the committee to discuss and if willing vote on moving forward. This is not a packaged program. The MHS staff developed the program that would meet the needs of our students, would align to state standards and recognizes the approach taken in the past in Mansfield. Topics for grade 9 are: Topics for grade 11 are: ❖ Body Image & Self Esteem Reproductive Health & Anatomy ❖ Effective communication ❖ Medical Access in our Community 40- Boundaries & Consent 4. STD Prevention & Contraception ❖ Healthy Relationships Healthy Relationships, Boundaries & ❖ Online Health Consent ❖ Gender & Sexual Orientation Online Health & Internet Dating B• Anatomy ❖ Sexual Orientation B• Reproductive Health ❖ Gender Identity Ethics, Respect and Responsible Decision -Making Parents will be able to review lesson plans and meet with staff. They can then choose to opt out. Linda Fernando was at the Health and Wellness meeting and thought the curriculum was very clear, well presented and the entire framework identified. Everyone was receptive. Lauren emphasized that the communications to parents must be very clear in identifying what would be included and what would not. There are many programs available to us but it is very difficult to change behaviors of students. Some students may also need additional supports beyond what they hear during class. The district must be able to assess if the program has a positive impact on students. Can we do a pre test and post test? Have the students gained knowledge, changed behavior Page 4 of 6 Approved 10/30/18 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, October 16, 2018 Town Hall, Room 3ab intentions? Did the program meet their needs and expectations? Lynn agrees with Lauren that an assessment would be helpful. Kiera would like to see if the student knowledge changes over time as we implement these lessons. It was suggested that we incorporate the sex education class in the evening school. However, that would be difficult do to the tight time constraints for the evening school schedules. It was noted that the Game Changer grant did not continue this year. There still may be some interest but there is not currently an advisor. The SafeBae group that was student initiated last year may start up again at the request of a few students. Mary Watkins is reviewing. A motion to approve the new Grade 9 and 11 sex education curriculum by Linda Fernando / Jenn Walsh. Motion U.C. 5-0 Upcoming Agenda Items: Review of upcoming meeting dates: 10/24 meeting with Select Board 10/30 School Committee 11/6 School Committee 11/13 Town Meeting 12/11: look into changing 12/18 meeting to 12/11 Budget Process (priorities and timelines) Organizational Chart Technology Plan (On 10/30 agenda) MCAS Review 11/13 agendas Approval of Student Activity Funds for FY19 (10/30 agenda) 10/24 Board of Selectmen (Discuss CIP) HR Consolidation approval (10/30 agenda) Creation of school committee goals subcommittee FY20 Budget (11/27 agenda vote) Citizens Comments: None New School Committee Business: The committee discussed goals for the current school year. Kiera O'Neil drafted goals for 2018-19. The committee will build upon the goals from last year (Create annual, repeatable operational calendar; Seek out professional educational opportunities as appropriate.) The committee will continue to improve upon schedule for superintendent evaluation, and continue to refine calendar. Two new goals suggested are: 1. SC will investigate multi channeled communication plan perhaps by creating a subcommittee to discuss what, how and when information will be passed to the public through social media, etc. 2. SC will design a community outreach plan with the following goals a. Provide alternative channels for SC members to communicate messages b. Provide alternative channels for SC members to obtain community feedback. Page 5 of 6 Approved 10/30/18 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, October 16, 2018 Town Hall, Room 3ab Items 1 and 2 will be consolidated into one goal. In order to accomplish this goal, the school committee will create a subcommittee to determine what will be communicated, when and how (via social media or other?). Will also determine what meetings to attend and how to build a schedule for members to attend these meetings. The final set of goals will appear as follows: 1. Continue to improve upon the annual, repeatable operational calendar for the committee. 2. Seek out professional educational opportunities as appropriate. 3. Investigate and design a community communication and outreach plan by a. Providing alternative channels for school committee members to communicate messages to the public and to obtain community feedback. b. Attending various meetings throughout the school year (example PAC, MESA, SEPAL...) A motion to approve school committee goals as discussed by Linda Fernando / Jenn Walsh Motion U.C. 5-0 Other- Items not anticipated by the Chair 48 hours prior to this meeting: Documents Referenced: MCAS Presentation FY19 End of Year Financials School Committee Goals Motion to adjourn: At 8:43 p.m., Motion to adjourn the open meeting by Linda Fernando / Jenn Walsh Motion Carries 5 - 0. Respectfully Submitted, Diane Nugent, Secretary to the Superintendent & School Committee Page 6 of 6