Quincy Public Schools

A meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on Wednesday, September 8, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. at the Coddington Building. Superintendent Kevin Mulvey called the roll and present were Mayor Thomas P. Koch, School Committee Chair, Mr. Paul Bregoli, Mr. Doug Gutro, Mrs. Emily Lebo, Mrs. Courtney Perdios, Mr. Frank Santoro, and Mrs. Kathryn Hubley, Vice Chair.

Also present were: Superintendent Kevin Mulvey, Assistant Superintendent Erin Perkins, Ms. Allison Cox, Mr. Michael Draicchio, Ms. Julie Graham, Ms. Rebecca McInnis, Mr. James Mullaney, Ms. Maura Papile, Ms. Madeline Roy, Mr. Keith Segalla; and Ms. Laura Owens, Clerk.

School Committee observed a moment of silence for the 20^th anniversary of 9/11 and the men and women in the armed forces serving at home and overseas. Superintendent Mulvey noted the following retired Quincy Public Schools employee who passed away recently: Gerri Herbert, a teacher for 33 years at the Myles Standish Elementary School, Sterling Junior High School, and Montclair Elementary School (24 years, was also Assistant Principal).

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Regular Meeting

Chair & Vice-Chair

Presiding

Mrs. Hubley made a motion to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting for June 9, 2021. Mrs. Lebo seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

Mrs. Lebo made a motion to approve the minutes of the Special Meetings for August 18, 2021 and September 1, 2021. Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

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Approval of Minutes

As there were no letters submitted for Open Forum, School Committee went on to the next item on the agenda.

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Open Forum

Mayor Koch excused himself at 6:35 pm to attend the Veterans Council meeting. Vice-Chair Kathryn Hubley assumed the role of chairing the School Committee meeting.

Superintendent Mulvey thanked the Quincy Public Schools staff for all of their efforts in preparing for the new school year and welcoming the students and families back to school. Superintendent Mulvey reviewed the summer’s administrative appointments: North Quincy High School Principal Keith Ford, South~West Middle School Principal Derek Lakey, Lincoln Hancock Community School Principal Natacha Dieudonne, and Central Middle School Assistant Principal Tracy Kenney Borelli.

Superintendent Mulvey reviewed that an updated report of HVAC and Ventilation system was shared with School Committee and posted on the Quincy Public Schools website. Thanks to Mayor Koch and Commissioner Paul Hines for their support of Mr. David Scott’s work for the Quincy Public Schools buildings. Mr. Scott will attend the September 29, 2021 Facilities, Security & Transportation Subcommittee meeting.

Superintendent Mulvey reviewed that there are currently 9630 students registered in Quincy Public Schools for Pre-K through Grade 12, with additional new registrations pending at Central Registration and school sites. Enrollment data will be submitted to the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education on October 1 and shared at the October 13, 2021 School Committee meeting.

For COVID-19 metrics: 30 students and 2 staff cases were reported in late August and early September prior to the start of the school year. For vaccines, 62% of 12-15 year olds and 74% of 16-19 year old Quincy residents are fully vaccinated. COVID-19 Pooled Testing and Test & Stay will begin on September 15, all vaccinated and unvaccinated staff are urged to participate in these safety checks.

Mr. Gutro asked for clarification on the previous numbers, the SNAP data shared at the August 18, 2021 Special Meeting was from the end of the school year. School nurses are working to update the SNAP database with current information from the MIIS database.

Mrs. Perdios asked about mask guidelines being evaluated by October 1 for school buildings with 80% vaccination rate. Mrs. Lebo asked for clarification about the 80% threshold, this will include staff and students.

Mrs. Perdios asked for data on COVID-19 testing participation, this information will be shared as part of the COVID-19 metrics posted online and shared with School Committee. The QPS COVID-19 metrics information will be posted online beginning on Tuesday, September 14.

Mr. Bregoli asked if previously positive cases count as natural immunity in terms of assessing mask policy, but only vaccinated individuals qualify. Mrs. Lebo said that 90 days is considered limit of immunity from COVID positive cases, based on data from the Broad Institute and the CIC.

Superintendent Mulvey updated School Committee that the IT department is distributing Chromebooks to all students in Grades 6-12 during homeroom this week and next. Students in other grade levels will receive their Chromebooks in the next few weeks, a shipment of 1,000 more Chromebooks is due in three to four weeks.

Mr. Santoro asked if there will be fewer textbooks purchased if all students have Chromebooks. Ms. Perkins said online access fees are on a per student basis, and is sometimes more expensive than physical books.

Mr. Gutro said these Chromebooks being distributed to all students is an opportunity for schools to increase the Digital Literacy of students.

Mrs. Perdios asked if there is a shortage of Chromebooks nationwide as there was at this time last year, but this is not the case. Mrs. Perdios asked about students being required to use QPS Chromebooks rather than their own. Ms. Perkins said that the school networks have been updated so that QPS Chromebooks automatically connect to the secure network, personal devices are on the guest networks. Mrs. Perdios asked about staff members, they have all been issued laptops to use and have desktops in their classrooms as well. Mrs. Perdios asked about how the Chromebooks will be used when students attend school in person full time. Ms. Perkins said younger students would not be expected to bring the Chromebooks back and forth to school. Using the Chromebooks will be part of the day, but not the main focus of the day.

Superintendent Mulvey announced that School Messenger has replaced the Honeywell Instant Alert System to communicate with parents about school events, school closings or delays due to weather, and school emergencies. Enrolling is simple, parents can scan the QR code on the flyer sent home. Mrs. Lebo asked and received confirmation that School Committee can sign up to receive the alerts.

Superintendent Mulvey reviewed that Quincy School~Community Partnership members are once again donating backpacks and school supplies to all elementary and middle schools, plus Central Registration and our homeless and unaccompanied students.

Superintendent Mulvey noted that Back to School/Open House Dates were shared with School Committee. Mrs. Perdios suggested staggering the middle school Open House dates for future years for families with students at two schools.

Superintendent Mulvey concluded his report with the Subcommittee Meeting Calendar that was shared with School Committee for review.

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Superintendent’s

Report

There was no Old Business.

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Old Business

Superintendent Mulvey reviewed that under the most recent federal Elementary & Secondary Emergency Relief Fund Grant (ESSER III), Quincy Public Schools will receive $16 million. Part of the grant application process is to include community stakeholder feedback, including School Committee (but no vote). The ESSER grants are emergency federal funding to address the impact of COVID-19; ESSER I was distributed in Spring/Summer 2020, ESSER II was distributed in Winter 2021, and ESSER III applications are due October 4, 2021. The focus of ESSER III is returning students to school, so all districts in Massachusetts already qualify as students returned to school full time in person in March and April 2021. The grant application is an implementation plan and must be publicly posted. In developing the implementation plan, community stakeholders including staff, students, families, and representatives from high needs groups will be included. Districts will describe how they will use the grant funds to combat loss of instructional learning time and learning loss, address the academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of students, address the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on underrepresented student subgroups.

ESSER III grant funds can be used for capital improvements with prior approval, new curriculum materials, summer programming, technology updates, professional development, translation services, highly-qualified long-term substitutes, and maintaining the operation of and continuity of school district services through September 30, 2024. Funds can be used as a cushion in case of economic downturn. A series of virtual stakeholder meetings are planned for September 13, 2021 at 6:30 pm (QPS/Citywide), September 20, 2021 at 4:00 pm (QPS Staff), September 21, 2021 at 4:00 pm (QPS students in Grades 6-12), September 21, 2021 at 7:00 pm (ELPAC & QPAC). The final plan for ESSER III funds will be reviewed at the September 22, 2021 School Committee Meeting.

Mrs. Hubley asked if funding can be used for staffing, Ms. Perkins said it can be used to pay salaries to avoid staff reductions. It cannot be used for new staffing that cannot be sustained in the school system budget in the long run.

Mayor Koch returned to the School Committee meeting at 7:30 pm.

Mrs. Perdios would like to see an emphasis on mental health issues, also a “quarantine helper” for schools to assist teachers who are livestreaming instruction to quarantining students.

Mr. Gutro asked for a breakdown of how ESSER III funds will be allocated for capital expenditures. Mr. Mullaney said there may be some chargeback of purchases the city made for school building improvements during COVID-19.

Mayor Koch said the city utilized the CARES funding primarily for the schools, so this opportunity to chargeback costs will allow CARES funding to be spent on improvements for other city buildings.

Mrs. Lebo asked for a detail of ESSER I and II funding expenditures to date. Mr. Mullaney said only ESSER I has been disbursed and he can share that information plus the budget for ESSER II. Mrs. Lebo asked about the high needs stakeholder input, Ms. Perkins said Leslie Bridson will assist in recruiting parents to participate. Mrs. Lebo is concerned about the timeline, this is a lot of detail to work through before the application deadline. There is a Facilities Subcommittee meeting scheduled for September 29 and she suggested adding a Teaching & Learning that same night to allow for more discussion.

Mr. Bregoli asked about the School Improvement Plan Facilities lists, Ms. Owens can share the compiled list. Mr. Bregoli feels it is important for the principals to have input into the plans, principals and faculty know the schools best.

Mrs. Perdios is concerned about the ESSER III budget being too focused on facilities/capital improvements and would like to see more emphasis on the addressing the effects of COVID-19 on students.

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New Business

ESSER III Grant Funding

Mrs. Hubley made a motion to appoint School Nurse Jennifer Tupe. Mr. Bregoli seconded the motion.

On the motion, Mrs. Lebo noted that this nurse graduated from Quincy High School and was a CVTE Health Care Technology student.

On a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 7-0.

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Mrs. Lebo made a motion to appoint School Nurse Lindsay Gardner. Mr. Gutro seconded the motion and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 7-0.

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Mrs. Perdios made a motion to appoint School Nurse Lindsay Gardner. Mrs. Lebo seconded the motion.

On the motion, Mrs. Perdios noted that Ms. Bonczar is also a Quincy Public Schools parent.

On a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 7-0.

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Mrs. Perdios made a motion to appoint School Nurse Lianne Delucca-Rushton. Mrs. Lebo seconded the motion and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 7-0.

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New Business

School Nurse

Appointments

Mr. Gutro made a motion to refer School Committee Policy 10.5.5 Assignment of Students to Schools to the Policy Subcommittee.

On the motion, Mr. Gutro is requesting a parent survey about Open Enrollment.

The motion was seconded by Mrs. Lebo and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

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New Business

Policy 10.5.5 Assignment

of Students to Schools

Referred to Policy

Subcommittee

Mr. Gutro made a motion to refer the issue of Wheelchair Accessibility at Atlantic Middle School to the Facilities, Security & Transportation Subcommittee.

On the motion, Mr. Gutro noted that School Committee members had received letters last June from Atlantic Middle School Grade 8 student Civics projects.

Mr. Santoro seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

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New Business

Wheelchair Accessibility

at Atlantic Middle School

Referred to Facilities

Subcommittee

Mr. Bregoli requested adding Middle School Athletics including the Middle School Athletic Director salaries to the Athletics & Wellness Subcommittee. This item will appear on the September 22, 2021 School Committee meeting agenda for referral to Subcommittee.

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Additional Business

Mrs. Hubley noted that School Committee will be meeting on September 22, 2021; October 13, 2021; and October 27, 2021, all at 6:30 pm in the School Committee Room at the Coddington Building.

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Communications

There were no Subcommittee meetings to review.

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Reports of

Subcommittees

There was no Executive Session.

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Executive Session

Mayor Koch made a motion to adjourn the Regular School Committee meeting at 7:50 pm. Mr. Santoto seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

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Adjournment