Minutes
Quincy, Massachusetts – February 8, 2017
Regular Meeting of the Quincy School Committee
Regular Meeting
A regular meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on Wednesday,
February 8, 2017 at the Coddington Building. The Superintendent called the
roll and present were Mayor Thomas Koch, Mr. James DeAmicis,
Mrs. Kathryn Hubley, Ms. Barbara Isola, Mrs. Anne Mahoney,
and Mr. Paul Bregoli, Vice Chair.
Vice-Chair Presiding
Also present were: Dr. Richard DeCristofaro, Secretary; Ms. Laura Owens,
Clerk; Mr. Michael Draicchio, Ms. Beth Hallett, Mr. James Mullaney, Deputy
Superintendent Kevin Mulvey, Mrs. Maura Papile, Mrs. Erin Perkins, Ms.
Madeline Roy, Mr. Keith Segalla; Quincy Education Association President
Allison Cox; Citywide Parent Council Co-President Courtney Perdios; and
Quincy High School Student Representative Owen Doherty.
Mrs. Lebo was absent.
§
There was a moment of silence for Bob McGillicuddy, Grade 7 Science
Teacher at Sterling for 23 years, also High School Swimming & Diving Coach;
retired Director of the Center for Technical Education Joe Mazzarella, and
retired Custodian Arthur Rizzi. 51 years at Sterling Middle School.
§
Regular Meeting Minutes Approved
1.25.2017
Mr. DeAmicis made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Hubley to approve the Regular
Meeting minutes for January 25, 2017. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Executive Session Minutes Approved
1.25.2017
Mr. DeAmicis made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Hubley, to approve the Executive
Session minutes for January 25, 2017. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.
§
Open Forum
As no one was present who wished to speak at Open Forum, School Committee
went on to the next item on the agenda.
§
Superintendent's
Report
Dr. DeCristofaro opened the Superintendent’s Report with Inspire Quincy,
featuring elementary school food tastings hosted by Food Services Director
Sara Dufour and interns from Simmons College. A Matter of Heart CPR
awareness and training initiative for Grade 8 students was also highlighted.
The FY2017 Quincy Public Schools Grant Booklet was shared with School
Committee.
Dr. DeCristofaro reminded School Committee that Kindergarten Registration
will be held on Tuesday, March 7 at all elementary school locations.
Massachusetts School Building Authority Statements of Interests for replacing
the Parker Elementary School boiler and the North Quincy High School roof
were approved by City Council on Monday, February 6. The Statement of
Interest for a new building for Squantum Elementary School will be on the
March 20 City Council agenda.
The Student Council Leadership Summit was scheduled for February 9, but will
be rescheduled due to the impending snowstorm.
Over 100 students and parents were certified for CPR on Saturday, February 4.
Coordinator of Health Services Rita Bailey is planning recertification for Grade
10 students. Thanks to Brewster Ambulance for the week of CPR Awareness
classes held at all five middle schools.
Executive Director of Career & Technical Education Keith Segalla announced
two competitive grant awards recently received by Quincy Public Schools:
Massachusetts Skills Capital Grant, $75,000 for equipment to support Career &
Technical Education programs for Information Technology program at North
Quincy High School and the CTE Partnership Implementation Grant, $75,000 to
increase access for underserved students. Thanks to the Mayor’s Office for
grant writing assistance.
Mr. Segalla also announced to new Quincy School~Community Partners: Gold
sponsor Mass Bay Credit Union and Platinum-level sponsor Granite
Telecommunications, who has committed to donate $15,000 per year for 20
years.
Parent Academies: On March 9, 23, and April 7, there will be a three-part event
on Learning to Read, focusing on the developmental process of reading,
assisting struggling readers, and dyslexia, to be held at Central Middle School.
Director of Academic Programs Beth Hallett announced that two North Quincy
High School students received Boston Globe/Scholastic Art Awards: Alexander
Cox received a Silver Key for Art and Quynh Vu received a Silver Key for
Photography and a Gold Key for Art. Ms. Vu’s Gold Key work will be exhibited
in a regional showcase at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts in March. In addition,
seven Quincy Public Schools middle school choral students qualified for the
MMEA Eastern Junior District Festival to be held on March 3 and 4 at Lincoln
Sudbury High School.
The new All-City Chorus program for Grade 5 is underway on early release
Tuesday afternoons. 61 students from all eleven elementary schools are
rehearsing with teachers Diane Doherty and Ted Evangalista. A concert will be
held on May 2. Dr. DeCristofaro has been meeting with the Quincy Choral
Boosters board on planning a Choral Camp and their fundraising plans to
support the Choral program.
The All-City Band for elementary students continues to grow with over 100
students and a new percussion ensemble. The annual concert will be held in
early June.
The Quincy Band Boosters have been incredibly supportive of the Instrumental
Music program, funding the purchase of instruments and equipment and
procuring substantial grants. This week, Mayor Koch announced that he will
provide funding to purchase marching band uniforms for 2017-18 school year.
Dr. DeCristofaro concluded his report by noting that the newsletters for High
School Community Service, Food Services, and Squantum Elementary School’s
Student Council were shared with the School Committee.
§
Old Business
2017-2018 School Year
Calendar (Vote)
Mayor Koch made a motion to approve the 2017-2018 School Year Calendar. Mrs.
Hubley seconded the motion and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 6-0. Mrs.
Lebo was absent.
2017-2018 School
Committee Meeting
Calendar (Vote)
Mayor Koch made a motion to approve the 2017-2018 School Committee Meeting
Calendar. Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion and on a roll call vote, the ayes have
it, 6-0. Mrs. Lebo was absent.
§
Dr. DeCristofaro shared Opportunity & Challenges IV, an overview of enrollment
trends at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. With just over 10,000
school age students in Quincy, 90% or slightly more than 9,100 students at Grades
K-12 attend Quincy Public Schools. For each elementary, middle, and high school,
enrollment by grade was shared, along with overall enrollment trends over the
last ten years, since the inception of full-day Kindergarten. In some buildings,
Academic Support Programs, such as Literacy, Special Education Resource Rooms,
and English Language space needs are competing with increased student
populations.
Mayor Koch mentioned the potential of acquiring the property of the former St.
Mary’s School and the potential for building a new elementary school in West
Quincy. Dr. DeCristofaro said several parts of the city would benefit from this. For
example, students who now are districted for Montclair and Lincoln Hancock
could attend this new school, and potentially allow for a district boundary change
for Clifford Marshall to alleviate some of the enrollment pressure there.
Mrs. Mahoney asked if there is an idea of the size of a school that could be built
there, does the MSBA have requirements for green space. Mayor Koch said there
are preliminary discussions underway and once the parcel is defined by the
property owner, preliminary analysis of building size and green space
requirements would be completed. Financing would be approved by the City
Council and any MSBA project by both the School Committee and City Council.
Mayor Koch said that a new school would open up the discussion of district
boundaries throughout the City. Plans to keep all informed on the process and
move one step at a time.
With the School Committee goals of class size in mind, current enrollment was
shared, with favorable class sizes at the elementary level with average being 19
students at Grades 1-4 and 20 students at Kindergarten and Grade 5. In Grades 6-
8, 94% of students are in classes of 24 or fewer. At the high school level, 84% of
students are in classes of 25 or fewer students.
In summary, Dr. DeCristofaro said that next month’s Kindergarten registration is
the key to moving forward. Schools that space concerns are already apparent may
need to look at alternatives.
Mrs. Mahoney asked about Kindergarten enrollment and how soon do we have an
indicator about whether there will be higher enrollment at a particular school. Dr.
DeCristofaro said that by late May. Mrs. Mahoney said that other school systems
begin enrollment in January and this may be helpful in predicting class size in the
future. Mrs. Mahoney asked about the Kindergarten classes at Beechwood Knoll,
the need for construction seemed to come up very close to school. Dr.
DeCristofaro said that predictive modeling has been difficult because of the
variables of being an urban district. Dr. DeCristofaro said he is open to exploring
other ways of predicting enrollment.
Mrs. Mahoney said some enrollments were higher in previous years. Also asked to
see Lincoln Hancock broken out for K-4 vs. K-5 enrollments. (Grade 5 moved to
Sterling in 2009-10 school year.) Mrs. Mahoney concerned about feasibility of the
West Quincy property, would this potentially allow for Grade 5 to be moved back
to the elementary school level? Decisions need to be made to serve the whole
school system.
§
New Business
Overnight Travel
(In-State)
Ms. Isola made a motion to approve the Overnight Travel of Sterling Middle School
Grade 7 to Camp Wing, Duxbury, Massachusetts May 22-24, 2017. The motion
was seconded by Mrs. Hubley and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Mrs. Hubley made a motion to approve the Overnight Travel of QHS/NQHS HYPER
Robotics to Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts on March
8-11, 2017. The motion was seconded by Ms. Isola and on a voice vote, the ayes
have it.
§
New Business
Out of State Travel
(Overnight)
Mayor Koch made a motion to approve the Out of State Travel of QHS/NQHS
HYPER Robotics to FRC District Robotics Competition in Smithfield, Rhode Island
March 24-26, 2017. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Hubley and on a voice vote,
the ayes have it.
Mayor Koch made a motion to approve the Out of State Travel of QHS/NQHS
HYPER Robotics to the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire
April 5-8, 2017. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Hubley and on a voice vote, the
ayes have it.
§
New Business
Out of State Travel
(One Day)
Mrs. Hubley made a motion to approve the Out of State Travel of Sterling Middle
School Grade 6 to Canobie Lake Park, Windham, New Hampshire on June 14, 2017.
The motion was seconded by Mr. DeAmicis and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
§
Additional Business
Dr. DeCristofaro asked for School Committee’s indulgence in bringing an item
before them under Additional Business. In light of Mr. Bob McGillicuddy’s sudden
illness and death in late January, a tribute to is planned for February 16, 2017 to
recognize his dedication to the middle and high school swimming & diving
programs. Dr. DeCristofaro proposed naming the timing board at the pool in the
Djerf Community Center at the Lincoln Hancock Community School after Mr.
McGillicuddy.
Mayor Koch made a motion to name the Djerf Community Center Pool’s timing
board for Mr. Robert McGillicuddy. On the motion, Mayor Koch noted that this is a
fitting memorial to Mr. McGillicuddy for all the time he spent at the pool and what
he gave to the students of Quincy Public Schools. The motion was seconded by Mr.
DeAmicis. On a roll call vote, the ayes have it 6-0. Mrs. Lebo was absent.
§
Communications
Upcoming meetings were announced: School Committee on March 1 and 15, 2017
at the Coddington Building at 6:30 pm.
Upcoming Subcommittee meetings were announced: Teaching & Learning will
meet on March 6, 2017 at 5:00 pm. Special Education will meet on March 22,
2017 at 6:00 pm.
§
Reports of
Subcommittees
Mr. Bregoli noted that all School Committee and Subcommittee meeting minutes
are posted online at www.quincypublicschools.com.
Teaching & Learning
Ms. Isola reported on the January 30, 2017 Teaching & Learning Subcommittee
meeting. Ms. Hallett presented an update on Dual Enrollment for high school
students, Ms. Roy and Mr. Smith presented on Advanced Pathways for Science, and
Ms. Roy updated the Subcommittee on preparations for MCAS 2.0.
As there were no corrections, the minutes for the January 30, 2017 Teaching &
Learning Subcommittee meeting, the minutes were approved as presented.
Policy
Mr. Bregoli reported on the February 6, 2017 Policy Subcommittee meeting.
Revisions to sections 2.4.5 and 2.4.11 of the Policy Book as they referred to Open
Forum were discussed with no motion to move forward to School Committee.
This item will remain in Policy Subcommittee.
As there were no corrections, the minutes for the February 6, 2017 Policy
Subcommittee meeting, the minutes were approved as presented.
Facilities & Security
Mrs. Hubley reported on the February 6, 2017 Facilities & Security Subcommittee
meeting. Mr. Draicchio updated on traffic and parking signage installation, the
Snug Harbor traffic issue, and safety concerns about the new hotel on the site of
the former Presidents City Inn.
As there were no corrections, the minutes for the February 6, 2017 Facilities &
Security Subcommittee meeting, the minutes were approved as presented.
Health, Transportation,
& Safety
Mr. DeAmicis reported on the February 6, 2017 Health, Transportation, and Safety
Subcommittee Meeting. Ms. Dufour presented a Food Services program update,
Ms. Owens and Mrs. Manning reviewed the Farm to School grant activities to date,
and Mrs. Papile introduced the Calm Classroom program.
As there were no corrections, the minutes for the February 6, 2017 Health,
Transportation and Safety Subcommittee meeting, the minutes were approved as
presented.
Mrs. Hubley removed Presidents City Inn and Snug Harbor traffic issues from
Facilities & Security Subcommittee.
§
Executive Session
Contract Negotiations
Mayor Koch made a motion for School Committee to go to Executive Session for
the purpose of Contract Negotiations at 8:10 pm. Mr. DeAmicis seconded the
motion and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 6-0. Mrs. Lebo was absent.
Mayor Koch noted that School Committee would return to the Regular Meeting at
the conclusion of Executive Session.
School Committee returned to Regular Session at 8:20 pm.
Mayor Koch made a motion of accept the contract between the Quincy School Bus
Drivers Association and the Quincy School Committee. Mrs. Hubley seconded the
motion. On a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 6-0. Mrs. Lebo was not present.
Mayor Koch made a motion of accept the contract between the Quincy School Bus
Attendants Association and the Quincy School Committee. Mrs. Hubley seconded
the motion. On a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 6-0. Mrs. Lebo was not present.
§
Adjournment
Mayor Koch made a motion to adjourn for the evening at 8:25 p.m. The motion
was seconded by Mrs. Hubley and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.