Sept. 17, 2014 School Committee Meeting

Revised Agenda

Regular Meeting of the Quincy School Committee
Wednesday, September 17, 2014, 7:00 pm
Coddington Hall

I. Approval of Minutes: Regular Meeting Minutes for September 3, 2014 and Special Meeting Minutes for September 10, 2014.

II. Open Forum: An opportunity for community input regarding the Quincy Public Schools. After giving his or her name and address, each speaker may make a presentation of no more than four minutes to the School Committee. An individual may not exchange their time or yield to others.

III. Superintendent’s Report:

A. Welcome to Coddington Hall

B. Inspiring Quincy

C. Preliminary Enrollment 2014-2015

D. School~Community Partnership Newsletter

E. Home-School Connections: Newsletters from Atherton Hough and Beechwood Knoll Elementary Schools

IV. Old Business:

A. Revised Student Discipline Policy (Vote)

V. New Business:

A. Review of September 10, 2014 Special School Committee Meeting - Mrs. Hubley

B. Educator Evaluation: 2014-2015 - Deputy Superintendent Mulvey

VI. Additional Business:

VII. Communications:

VIII. Reports of Subcommittees:

A. Policy Subcommittee: Mr. Bregoli to report on the September 16, 2014 meeting.

IX. Executive Session: None

X. Adjournment:


Subcommittees of the School Committee

Budget & Finance
Hubley/Bregoli, DiBona, Isola, Koch, Mahoney, McCarthy

Facilities and Security
McCarthy/Bregoli/Hubley

  1. Sterling Building Plans Referred to Subcommittee by the School Building Task Force in 1998.

  2. Houses on Saville Avenue Referred to Subcommittee at the May 18, 2011 School Committee Meeting. Currently home to the City’s Public Building department, the School Committee and Superintendent see no future educational uses for these properties.

  3. President’s City Inn Referred to Subcommittee at the October 10, 2012 School Committee Meeting. Safety concerns have been expressed about this property that abuts the new Central Middle School. Current construction plans were reviewed at the March 18, 2014 Subcommittee Meeting.

  4. School Lobby Security Controls Referred to Subcommittee at the January 23, 2013 School Committee Meeting. Review of existing visitor protocols, with special consideration of current high school policies and discussion of enhancements moving forward for all schools.

  5. North Quincy High School Campus Expansion/Teel Field Project Referred at the January 22, 2014 School Committee Meeting. A presentation on the proposed enhancements will be scheduled.  

Health, Transportation & Safety
DiBona/Bregoli/McCarthy

  1. School Meal Charges Referred to Subcommittee at the March 21, 2012 School Committee Meeting. New state and federal regulations require formalization of the school meal charges policy.

  2. Science Lab Safety: Referred from the Teaching and Learning Subcommittee at the April 2, 2012 meeting. Monitoring of supplies will be handled by School Safety Teams.

  3. Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Referred to Subcommittee at the September 24, 2012 Special School Committee Meeting. Student Support Services working with Lincoln Hancock, Clifford Marshall, and Parker Elementary Schools on piloting this initiative.

  4. Traffic Concerns at North Quincy High School Referred to Subcommittee at the March 5, 2014 School Committee Meeting. Parent concerns about East Squantum Street crosswalk/parking lot entrance.

  5. Solar Array Installation on School Roofs Referred from the Facilities & Security Subcommittee on September 10, 2014. Monitoring of the ongoing projects and the educational opportunities.

  6. Learn to Swim Referred at the September 10, 2014 Special School Committee Meeting. Monitoring the ongoing partnership between QPS and the South Shore YMCA.

  7. Farm to School Referred at the September 10, 2014 Special School Committee Meeting. Monitoring the Planning Grant rollout, a collaboration of QPS and the Planning Department.

  8. CPR Certification Referred from the Policy Subcommittee at the September 10, 2014 Special School Committee meeting. Grade 8 students will be certified through Health classes.

  9. Before School Exercise Programs Referred at the September 10, 2014 Special School Committee meeting. Monitoring the implementation of these programs across QPS.

  10. Food Services Technology Referred at the September 10, 2014 Special School Committee meeting. Exploring the options for further publicizing the advantages of these new systems.

Policy
Bregoli/Isola/Hubley

  1. Graduation Requirements Referred to Subcommittee at the September 7, 2011 School Committee Meeting and discussed at the October 11, 2011 School Policy Subcommittee. The discussion centered around adding a fourth year of Math as a graduation requirement; the issue is tabled until more is known about the impact of the new Common Core Standards on the Massachusetts frameworks.

  2. New Educator Evaluations Referred at the September 7, 2011 School Committee Meeting and shared with the Teaching and Learning Subcommittee. Further discussion will be held in joint Subcommittee Meetings and Executive Session as it pertains to collective bargaining.

  3. High School Community Service Referred to Subcommittee at the December 14, 2011 School Committee Meeting. In the 2012-13 school year, Grades 10 and 11 completed requirement. In the 2013-14 school year, Grades 11 and 12 completed the requirement. In 2014-15, Grades 9-11 plus any seniors who did not complete their Grade 11 requirement will perform Community Service.

  4. Advertising/Sponsorship Opportunities Referred at the June 13, 2012 School Committee Meeting. Review and discussion of amending the existing policy requested to explore the possibility of raising revenue by accepting advertising sponsorships.

  5. Residency Referred at the September 18, 2013 Special School Committee Meeting. Review of existing policy and expansion to include additional information on verification process.

  6. Review of High School Academic and Extracurricular Programs Referred at the November 13, 2013 School Committee Meeting. A comparison of the offerings at both schools to be analyzed to ensure equitable and parallel opportunities for all students at both facilities.

  7. New Regulations Regarding Student Discipline Referred at the May 21, 2014 School Committee meeting for review and discussion and revision of existing policy.

  8. Regular Meeting Agenda: VIII. Reports of Subcommittees and VI. Additional Business Referred at the September 10, 2014 Special Meeting for review and discussion. Concerns about business conducted under these agenda sections being in violation of the Open Meeting Law.

Special Education
Mahoney/DiBona/McCarthy

  1. Student Information for Substitute Teachers Originally referred to Subcommittee at the January 17, 2007 School Committee Meeting. Aspen Student Information System Special Education module reports will be utilized to share information with substitute teachers beginning in September 2014.

  2. Special Education Program Assessment Referred to Subcommittee at the January 28, 2012 Special School Committee Meeting. This will be an ongoing discussion of the curriculum initiatives for Special Education.

Rules, Post Audit & Oversight
Hubley/Isola/Mahoney

Teaching and Learning
Isola/Hubley/Mahoney

  1. New Educator Evaluations Referred at the September 7, 2011 School Committee Meeting and shared with the School Policy Subcommittee. The 2013-2014 school year is the first year of the new Educator Evaluation process and a collaboration will continue between the School Committee, Superintendent’s Leadership Team, and the Quincy Education Association around issues related to the implementation.

Ad Hoc Committees: Channel 22

Sterling Building Committee
DiBona/McCarthy

Sterling/Point Webster Grade 5
McCarthy/Bregoli/DiBona/Hubley/Isola/Koch/Mahoney

Created at the September 10, 2014 Special School Committee meeting to review issues related to Grade 5 being located in middle school buildings.

School District Maps
Isola/Bregoli/DiBona/Hubley/Koch/Mahoney/McCarthy

Created at the September 10, 2014 Special School Committee meeting to review issues related to school district maps.

Minutes

Quincy, Massachusetts - September 17, 2014
Regular Meeting of the Quincy School Committee

Regular Meeting

A regular meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on Wednesday, September 17, 2014 in the Coddington Building. Present were Mr. Paul Bregoli, Mr. Noel DiBona, Ms. Barbara Isola, Mayor Thomas Koch, Mrs. Anne Mahoney, Mr. David McCarthy, and Mrs. Kathryn Hubley, Vice Chair.

Vice-Chair Presiding

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The Superintendent called the roll and all were present. Also present were: Dr. Richard DeCristofaro, Secretary; Ms. Laura Owens, Clerk; Mr. Michael Draicchio, Mr. John Fagerlund, Mrs. Mary Fredrickson, Mr. Daniel Gilbert, Mrs. Renee Malvesti, Mr. James Mullaney, Deputy Superintendent Kevin Mulvey, Mrs. Maura Papile, Ms. Madeline Roy, Mr. Keith Segalla, Mr. Robert Shaw, Ms. Judy Todd; Mr. Scott Alessandro and Ms. Paula Reynolds, Citywide Parents Council Co-President; and Ms. Allison Cox, President, Quincy Education Association.

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There was a moment of silence for Mr. Leo McKillup, a Quincy Public Schools teacher, principal, and administrator for thirty-four years.

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Regular Meeting Minutes Approved 9/3/14

Mr. McCarthy made a motion, seconded by Ms. Isola, to approve the Regular Meeting minutes for September 3, 2014. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.

Special Meeting Minutes Approved 9/10/14

Mr. McCarthy made a motion, seconded by Mr. Bregoli, to approve the Special School Committee Meeting minutes for September 10, 2014. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.

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Open Forum

Ms. Danielle Neal thanked School Committee for forming the Ad Hoc Committee to look at Grade 5 students at Point Webster and Sterling. Her goal is for Grade 5 students to have to same opportunities across the city.

Ms. Courtney Perdios also thanked School Committee for creating the Ad Hoc Committee. She is hoping for an exhaustive discussion, exploring all options.

Ms. Alexis Veith, also thanked the School Committee and Dr. DeCristofaro for creating the Ad Hoc Committee and urged using every means possible to notify families of meetings and give them opportunities for input.

Ms. Paula Reynolds, Citywide Parents Council Co-President is concerned that the fingerprinting requirement will affect volunteering and children's access to events. On the topic of early Foreign Language instruction, she spoke of its benefit in narrowing achievement gap and enhancing basic skills development.

Ms. Patrice DuPuis spoke of her concerns about traffic and safety issue at the Della Chiesa Early Childhood Center on Brooks Avenue.

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Superintendent's Report

Dr. DeCristofaro welcomed everyone to the Coddington Building and turned the meeting over to Mayor Koch. Mayor Koch welcomed the visitors and viewers, he is grateful to School Committee and City Council and the Community Preservation Committee for their support and funding. The investment in the restoration of the Coddington Building is a great opportunity for Quincy Public Schools, Planning & Community Development, and City IT departments to work together. This architecturally significant building has been preserved and renovated through a collaboration with department directors, Wessling Architects, and the contractor, Nauset. Thanks to everyone involved, the end result is something that all can be proud of. Mayor Koch announced that there will be an Open House on October 8 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm and School Committee will begin at 7:30 pm that evening.

Dr. DeCristofaro then shared excerpts of School Committee reports from 1856, the year the original Coddington School building was constructed. The school was built to accommodate scholars, on land donated by William Coddington for educational purposes. The original building was renovated in 1876-77 under the guidance of School Committee members John Quincy Adams II and Charles Francis Adams. The new Coddington School was designed by Charles Brigham and opened in 1908- 1909. Built with products of Quincy industry, this school is the prototype for the Wollaston, Adams, Parker, and Daniel Webster Schools. Through the years, it was also used for Quincy College and Quincy High School.

Dr. DeCristofaro thanked the Mayor for his vision in blending Quincy's past and future and his dedication to education. Dr. DeCristofaro then introduced a video of the Coddington staff in their new offices.

Dr. DeCristofaro noted that Quincy Public School’s enrollment is reviewed before being submitted to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for October 1. In comparison to this time last year, we are within a few students, around 9,400 total. At the October 8 meeting, details of class sizes will be shared for elementary, middle, and high schools.

Mr. John Fagerlund introduced the Quincy School~Community Partnership information booklet. Upcoming Quincy Public Schools events include Open House dates at all schools and the Professional Educator Status reception on October 2 at 3:00 pm at Quincy High School. Home-School Connections from Atherton Hough and Beechwood Knoll were shared.

Dr. DeCristofaro then introduced the Inspire Quincy video which featured the recent backpack and school supply distribution at Clifford Marshall and Snug Harbor, the Atlantic Middle School book fair to benefit their nationally recognized literary magazine, and Fall Athletics at both high schools.

Dr. DeCristofaro thanked Brian Smith for his work on creating this evening's videos.

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Old Business

Revised Student Discipline Policy (Vote)

Mr. Bregoli made a motion to adopt the Revised Student Discipline Policy, specifically, adopting the new state law in its entirety. Mr. DiBona seconded the motion and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it 7-0.

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New Business

Review of September 10, 2014 Special School Committee Meeting

Mrs. Hubley reviewed the Special School Committee meeting held on September 10, 2014. At the meeting, Superintendent DeCristofaro reviewed the District Improvement Plan development timeline and then each Subcommitttee met in small groups to review and refine goals for 2014-2015. Two Ad Hoc Committees were created, one to review Grade 5 students at Sterling and Point Webster (chaired by Mr. McCarthy) and the other for District Maps (chaired by Ms. Isola). Each Ad Hoc Committee will include all School Committee members.

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Educator Evaluation 2014-2015

Deputy Superintendent Mulvey thanked the School Committee for the beautiful building and the honor of being the first presenter. In this 2nd year of Educator Evaluation, 100% of Quincy Public Schools educators will be evaluated, some for the first time and others for the first year of their two year cycle.

The collaboration between the School Committee, Superintendent and Leadership Team, Principals, and the Quincy Education Association has allowed for the successful completion of the first year of Educator Evaluation. The Educator Evaluation work group will continue to meet to evaluate strengths and weaknesses and make adjustments to the process. There are still details to be bargained, including the District-Determined Measures (DDMs) and associated Student Impact ratings.

Quincy Education Association President Allison Cox echoed Mr. Mulvey's sentiments about the value of the collaboration; in year 1, there were many small issues that were easily resolved. She then reviewed that the Educator Evaluation regulations are designed to promote growth and development of leaders and teachers. The regulations place student learning at the center, using multiple measures of student learning, growth, and achievement; they recognize excellence in teaching and leading, set a high bar for professional teaching status, and shorten timelines for improvement.

The new Educator Evaluation is a two-rating system: a Summative Rating (first given to 50% of educators in June 2014). The Student Impact Rating, where student performance is tied into teacher rating, will be implemented in October 2017. The Educator Evaluation work group is committed to figuring out this difficult task. Teacher teams created DDMs last year and recently received a 1-year extension from DESE. This will allow for an additional year for piloting and adjustment and developing protocols.

The five-step Educator Evaluation cycle begins with Self-Assessment, followed by Analysis/Goal Setting/Plan Development, Implementation of the Plan, Formative Assessment/Evaluation, and Summative Evaluation and then the cycle begins again. In year 1, the timeline had benchmark dates for completing each step and these were adjusted as needed during the year. Every educator proposed at least one professional practice and one student learning goal.

Mr. Mulvey reminded School Committee that Quincy’s evaluation tool is the Baseline Edge system, which has successfully assisted QPS in managing the process. Mrs. Malvesti said that having gone through the five-step cycle once, it was really beneficial in opening conversations about student learning and achievement among staff members. Beginning with the self-assessment, a teacher will review student data for current students and use the rubrics to create goals. Different rubrics are available for educators, nurses, support staff, and administrators. Mr. Gilbert said that Baseline Edge has been a valuable tool to manage the documents, evidence, and feedback. Each item has a deadline and all staff being evaluated or creating evaluations receive emails reminding them of upcoming dates. Once a document is signed by the owner, it can be reviewed by the administrator, but not while it is a work in process.

For goal-setting and plan development, the teachers' personal goals aligned with grade level, department, school, and district goals. Each goal has action steps, individualized for a classroom, grade level, or a vertical team. Rubrics serve as a guide for educators to match their practice against the standards. Goal-setting inspired a different level of collaboration within schools.

Next, educators organize evidence of progress towards their goals: multiple measures of student learning, judgments based on observations and artifacts of practice, and evidence relevant to one or more performance standards, including student and staff feedback. This evidence collection is the springboard for ongoing discussions about student achievement. Evidence is organized by standard and uploaded to support proficiency against the four standards and the two goals. When evidence is added, specific information about goals and standards can be added to link to the educator plan.

Mrs. Malvesti said that on the administrative side, the tool allows sorting by standard and helps guide staff in making sure all standards are covered. Mr. Gilbert said that part of the task is to guide educators to focus on quality over quantity.

For the Formative Assessment, Tier 1 teachers will have their mid-cycle review in February 2015, while Tier 2 educators on a 2-year plan will have theirs in June or September 2015. At the end of the cycle, the Summative Assessment forms the basis for the educator's Summative Rating. At this stage, all evidence has been uploaded, conversations around Formative Assessment have been completed, and progress towards goals has been documented. Using the three types of evidence, filtered through the correlation to rubrics and goals, the evaluator arrives at a Summative Performance rating. Educators may be rated Exemplary, Proficient, Needs Improvement, and Unsatisfactory and will be assigned to a performance plan going forward. An educator with professional status receiving a Proficient or Exemplary rating will go onto a 2-year Self-Directed Growth Plan. Educators without professional status are assigned one-year Developing Educator Plans. An educator with a Needs Improvement rating will be assigned a Directed Growth Plan for one year; and educator with an Unsatisfactory rating will be assigned to an Improvement Plan for a minimum of 30 days with a maximum of one school year.

Mrs. Papile concluded the presentation by thanking the Educator Evaluation work group for the collaborative work last year and going forward. Philosophically, everyone agree that educators need to continue to grow in professional practice. Immediate feedback provides ongoing support to educators. Timelines have been established for 2014-15, for both Tier 1 and Tier 2 educators and trainings have been provided for new and returning Baseline Edge users. Mrs. Papile and Mr. Mulvey are both grateful for the educators and administrators who worked hard to make this complicated process successful.

Deputy Superintendent Mulvey noted that with 100% of educators being evaluated this year, the timeline was created to assist Principals in prioritizing educators who are being evaluated for the first time. The database assigns primary and contributing evaluators to all educators to assist with the workload. Assistant Principals, Department Heads, Directors, and Coordinators all are part of the evaluation team. For 2014-15, bargaining over language for implementation for DDMs is ongoing with the QEA. In granting an extension for DDM implementation, DESE noted the tremendous work QPS has done in implementing educator evaluation for 50% of the staff as well as developing the DDMs. Staff and Student feedback are part of the Student Impact Rating and will be bargained as well.

Resources for educators include the training modules, the QPS Educator Evaluation Handbook, rubrics and contract language, DESE standards, all posted online.

Mr. McCarthy said this is an incredible amount of work to organize, plan, implement, and absorb all this information. It is clear that a great amount of collaboration was done with respect. Mr. Bregoli commended the group for the work and asked about teachers’ time to work on this and whether it is from prep time. Mr. Gilbert said that arrangements are made for substitute coverage, Professional Development days have time built in, and each building develops ways to manage the time factor. Mr. Shaw said that at the high school level, department heads and assistant principals assist with coverage.

Mrs. Mahoney asked about classroom coverage. Mr. Gilbert said at the middle school level, the principal, building sub or Assistant Principal can cover a class during the Student Support Block. Many teachers will offer to come in early or stay late; as an administrator, he spends time with one teacher per day. Three observations per teacher, plus meetings equals five-seven lengthy interactions per teacher for each evaluator. Mrs. Mahoney asked for more information on the bargaining for contract language. Mr. Mulvey said that DESE has issued model language which we have the option to adopt, adapt, or create our own. We have chosen to adapt, which must be bargained and then approved by DESE. The model language is a starting point, adaption must meet the spirit and letter of the law. Mrs. Mahoney asked whether Baseline Edge has any interaction with Aspen. Baseline Edge is a separate program and allows for submission to DESE. MUNIS, Aspen, and Baseline edge all have components that are part of state reporting submission.

Ms. Isola said when School Committee saw the initial presentation, it was difficult to see how this would all come together. Tonight's presentation showed how the teacher, grade level, school, and leadership team are all working together with the common goal of student learning.

Mrs. Hubley and Dr. DeCristofaro thanked the presenters.

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Additional Business

Mrs. Mahoney noted that she had requested that Open Enrollment go into Policy Subcommittee for review, but it had not been added to the items in that subcommittee because it had not appeared on a Regular Meeting Agenda yet. Open Enrollment will be an item on the October 8, 2014 School Committee Meeting Agenda so it can be referred to the Policy Subcommittee for review.

For the next School Committee meeting, Mrs. Mahoney asked for an update on Middle and High School Progress reports in Aspen to be presented.

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Communications

There were no Communications.

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Reports of Subcommittees

Mrs. Hubley noted that full Subcommittee meeting minutes are posted online on the School Committee page at www.quincypublicschools.com.

Policy Subcommittee

Mr. Bregoli reported on the Policy Subcommittee Meeting held on September 16, 2014. Deputy Superintendent Mulvey reviewed the National Background Check, noting that under the law, all employees, contractors, vendors must be fingerprinted. The only discretionary item is implementing this for volunteers. Mr. Mulvey presented from his own background as a former prosecutor in the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office, in 2002 successfully prosecuted a serial perpetrator of over 20 years of child exploitation and abuse. Prior to this case, the Massachusetts CORI law didn't exist and while this has been successful, one gap is that perpetrators can move from state to state without the ability to have their records checked. At the time the CORI check was implemented, there was a concern of impact on volunteering, but in the long run, this has not proved to be true. The measure is designed to protect our children, and will be administered under a sensible standard. Mr. Mulvey consulted with the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) and their position supports fingerprinting of volunteers who will have direct and unmonitored contact with students. Neighboring cities and towns have begun to implement fingerprinting for volunteers, most commonly for field trips and overnight trips and other situations at the discretion of administrators. It was requested that Mr. Mulvey draft a Policy for review at the October 8 School Committee meeting; the first opportunity to vote on this would be at the October 22 School Committee meeting.

The next item on the agenda was the Review of the Regular School Committee Meeting Agenda. Mrs. Hubley said that for Reports of Subcommittee, Roberts Rules states that there should be no discussion on the minutes beyond corrections. Ms. Isola said that if something happens at a Subcommittee that needs further discussion, it should be a School Committee meeting agenda item. Subcommittee meeting minutes do not need to be motioned for approval, unless they are amended, they stand as accepted.

For Additional Business, Mrs. Hubley said that this provision is meant to be used only for emergency items. Mr. McCarthy said that he feels that this is a place to suggest requested future items. Mr. Mulvey agreed that Additional Business could be used for that purpose, as long as there is no discussion on the new topic. Mr. Mulvey said this should be simply presented, as any discussion not of an emergency nature is a violation of the Open Meeting law. Both topics will appear on the October 8 School Committee Meeting agenda for discussion; a vote will be taken on October 22.

Ms. Isola made a motion to approve the minutes of the Policy Subcommittee Meeting for September 16, 2014. Mrs. Mahoney seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

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Adjournment

Mayor Koch made a motion to adjourn for the evening at 8:50 p.m. The motion was seconded by Mr. DiBona and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.