A meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on Wednesday, October
26, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. in the School Committee Room at the Coddington Building. Superintendent Kevin Mulvey called the roll
and present were Mayor Thomas P. Koch, School Committee Chair and School
Committee Members Mrs. Tina Cahill, Mr. Douglas Gutro, Mrs. Kathryn Hubley, Mrs.
Emily Lebo, and Mr. Frank Santoro, Vice Chair. School Committee Member Mr. Paul Bregoli
was absent.
Also present were:
Superintendent Kevin Mulvey, Ms. Sarah Anderson, Ms. Kerri Connolly, Ms.
Kim Connolly, Ms. Allison Cox, Ms.
Julie Graham, Ms. Jennifer Leary, Mr.
James Mullaney, Ms. Kimberley Quinn, Ms. Madeline Roy, Mr. Keith Segalla, Mr.
Lawrence Taglieri, Ms. Bridget Vaughan; Quincy Education Association
President Gayle Carvalho; and Ms. Laura Owens, Clerk.
A moment of silence was observed in memory of the following
retired and active Quincy Public Schools employees: Wendy
Hanlon: Science teacher at Atlantic Middle School for 24 years; Diana
Reilly: Food Service staff member at Bernazzani for four years; Frances
Young: Business Office/Payroll staff for over 20 years.
Mr. Santoro read the following
statement into the record: Pursuant to the Open Meeting Law, any person
may make an audio or video recording of this public meeting or may transmit
the meeting through any medium.
Attendees are therefore advised that such recordings or transmissions
are being made whether perceived or unperceived by those present and are
deemed acknowledged and permissible.
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Regular Meeting
Vice-Chair Presiding
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Superintendent Mulvey announced that 121 Quincy Public
Schools professional educators recently received mini-grants of up to $400
each for a total of $40,700.00. The mini-grants will provide support
for the academic, emotional, and social development of students. The
annual Quincy Public Schools mini-grants are made possible thanks to the
generosity of twenty Quincy School~Community Partnership members including
Mayor Koch, and over $550,000 has been distributed to date.
Congratulations to all of the educators: Lauren
Abbott, Sarah Ahearn, Courtney Alcott, Kimberley April, Mary Arventos,
Deborah Baird, Molly Belovarac, Ashley Bergin, Stephanie Bogan, Claire
Boudreau, Jill Brown, Vanessa Brown, Julia Buben, James Camden, Julie
Campbell, Andrew Card, Laurie Carnes, Debbie Cerone, Lisa Chin, Dawn Ciardi,
Marianne Collins, Wendy Connell, Patti Cooper, Rebecca Cordero, Michelle
Cunniff, Holly Davis, Casey Deaguero, Kimberly DeBello, Kimberly DeLisle, Michael
DeMarco, Mallory DeVoe, Thomas Doucette, Katelyn Downey, Patricia Eastwood,
Cassandra Feeney, Danielle Fernandez, Meghan FitzGerald, Jesse Flaherty,
Marlena Forrester, Pauline Gao, Christina Gilman, Kerry Ginty, Megan
Goncalves, Elizabeth Good, Jennifer Griffith, Jill Griffith, Kelli Guarino,
JoAnn Hallisey, Gwendolyn Hamilton, Catherine Healy, Maura Healy, Meghan
Healy, Patrice Healy, Tracey Henault, Mary Hurley, Michael Imhoff, Zach
Innis, Colleen Jackson, Melissa Jankowski, Jillian Jasie, Stephanie Jones,
Christine Kelly, Elizabeth Kelly, Patrick Kessler, Christina Kitoski, Julie
Krieger, Nicole Kymissis, Sara Lane, Laura Latini, Judith Letteney, Dominique
Lucier, Maureen Lynch, Deborah MacDonald, Joseph MacRitchie, Stacey Maydak,
Christine McBride, Hope McDonald, Samantha McGrath, Nancy McLaughlin, Mary
McMorrow, Rebecca McNealy, Christina McNeil, Aici Mei, Nina Meltzer, Danielle
Mullaney, Alison Murphy, Clare Murphy, Jennifer Murphy, Lisa Nasanofsky,
Dylan Nauss, Deborah Nelson, Donna Niosi, Sara Onofri, Robyn Paniocco,
Deborah Parrish, Megan Patey, Cara Pekarcik, James Phelan, MaryEllen
Phillips, Caitlin Plaskasovitis, Christine Powers, Marisa Qualter, Aileen
Quilty, Michelle Ramponi, Chris Ranft, John Rogan, Katie Rogier, Renee
Roukous, Linda Savage, Isabelle Smith, Breanne Starsiak, Colleen Stravin,
Antonio Tenaglia, Dorinda Vale, Victoria Wallace, Kate Walpole, Kathryn
White, Joe Wilder, Charles Wilson, Florence Xia, Jessica Young.
Cradles to Crayons has generously included Quincy Public
Schools in their new initiative to supply school districts with
season-appropriate clothing donations for students ages 3-12 in the fall and
spring. Cradles to Crayons provided outfit packs, socks and underwear
packs, hygiene kits, and winter coats.
Upcoming community events include: Quincy High School’s
Student Council is hosting Haunted Hallways on Thursday, October 27 from 4:30
to 7:00 pm and the Quincy High School Drama Club is presenting The Legend
of Sleepy Hollow: A Halloween Panto on Friday, October 28 at 6:00 pm;
Saturday, October 29 at 2:00 pm and 6:00 pm; and Sunday, October 30 at 2:00
pm. The Quincy Parent Advisory Council
to Special Education is hosting a Trunk or Treat on Sunday, October 30 from
1:00 to 3:00 pm in the Wollaston School parking lot. The first English Learner Parent Advisory
Council (ELPAC) Meeting of the year will be held on November 3 at 6:00 pm on
Zoom. The dedication of the new
Abigail Adams statue on the Hancock Adams Common will be held on Saturday,
November 5 at 11:00 am. The North
Quincy High School Parent Advisory Council is hosting a Holiday Shopping Expo
on November 12 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Superintendent Mulvey updated on
recent events: the
Quincy/North Quincy High School Marching Band & Colorguard secured a 2nd
place finish this past Saturday at the New England Scholastic Band Association
competition and qualified for the NESBA Regional Marching Band Finals.
This past Sunday, the band and color guard competed at the Massachusetts
Instrumental & Choral Conductors Association competition at Veterans
Memorial Stadium, earning high marks in Music, Visual, and Percussion and the
silver medal.
Superintendent Mulvey concluded his report by announcing
that at this morning’s Massachusetts School Building Authority Board Meeting,
Quincy was invited into the Accelerated Repair Program for projects at
Montclair and Wollaston (partial roof replacements) and Parker (boiler
replacement). Next steps will include meeting with the assigned Owner’s
Project Manager(s) and beginning the schematic design process, with
construction anticipated for Summer 2023.
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Superintendent’s
Report
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Mrs. Hubley reviewed that at next week’s Massachusetts
Association of School Committee Conference, there will be a membership General
Session on November 2 and she will be representing the Quincy School
Committee. Mrs. Hubley reviewed that
there are six resolutions for consideration, she will cast a vote on each as
the School Committee representative.
Mrs. Lebo made a motion to abstain from a
position on MASC Resolution #1, seconded by Mrs. Cahill. On a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 6-0. Mr. Bregoli was absent.
Mr. Gutro made a motion to support MASC
Resolution #2, seconded by Mrs. Cahill.
On a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 4-2. Mr. Bregoli was absent. Mr. Santoro and Mayor Koch voted No.
Mr. Gutro made a motion to support MASC
Resolution #3, seconded by Mrs. Lebo.
On a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 6-0. Mr. Bregoli was absent.
Mrs. Lebo made a motion to support MASC
Resolution #4, seconded by Mrs. Cahill.
On a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 6-0. Mr. Bregoli was absent.
Mr. Gutro made a motion to support MASC
Resolution #5, seconded by Mrs. Lebo.
On a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 6-0. Mr. Bregoli was absent.
Mrs. Lebo made a motion to abstain from a
position on MASC Resolution #6, seconded by Mrs. Cahill. On a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 6-0. Mr. Bregoli was absent.
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Old Business
MASC
Resolutions
(Vote)
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Team
Administrators Kerri Connolly and Jennifer Leary presented the Early
Childhood Program Improvement Plan, reviewing the program structure of
Integrated Pre-Kindergarten and CARES classes located at the Della Chiesa
Early Childhood Center, Point Webster Middle School, and Snug Harbor
Community School. Full-Day
Kindergarten classrooms are in all eleven elementary school locations.
Supports for Occupational, Physical, and Speech & Language Therapy are
provided in all locations. All
Kindergarten and Pre-Kindergarten classrooms are staffed by a teacher and one
or more Paraprofessionals. Curriculum
is aligned with Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for English Language
Arts, Mathematics, and Social & Emotional Learning. Both Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten have
an array of curriculum and assessment materials for age-appropriate
instruction and student achievement.
In
reflecting on last year’s goals, the Integrated Pre-Kindergarten team
implemented age-appropriate components of Community Circles as part of their
daily routines, with an emphasis on expected behaviors, respect, and
enhancing social skills. The
Integrated Pre-Kindergarten team also collaborated to develop classroom
practices to help students identify feelings and emotions in themselves and
others. The Kindergarten teachers’
goals were focused on new curriculum initiatives: initial implementation of Illustrative Mathematics and the new
early literacy universal and dyslexia screener, Amplify mCLASS with Dibels.
For
2022-2023, the goals for the Integrated Pre-Kindergarten Team are to (1)
implement daily literacy activities to increase student learning in the area
of phonological awareness, in which students learn to manipulate language and
hear the sounds in spoken words and (2) to introduce a monthly character
trait and incorporate character education into play theme activities. The Kindergarten Team will fully implement Illustrative Mathematics core math
resource to meet the academic standards presented in the 2017 Massachusetts
Curriculum Framework for Mathematics.
Mr.
Gutro asked if there is a cap on the number of students enrolled in
Pre-Kindergarten, Ms. Connolly said there are currently 359 students
enrolled. Since the majority of the
classes are integrated special education and typically developing students,
additional classes can be added if the number of special education students
grows.
Mrs.
Lebo noted that Pre-Kindergarten students attend school two or four half days
per week in the Integrated program.
Mr.
Santoro asked about District Determined Measures, Ms. Connolly explained that
there is an Assessment checklist developed by the Pre-Kindergarten team and
used by teachers to evaluate skill developments.
Mr.
Santoro asked about English Learner needs for Pre-Kindergarten students. Ms. Connolly said that picture clues are
used as much as possible and Ms. Graham said there is a Pre-Kindergarten
English Learner screening tool.
Mrs. Cahill made a motion, seconded by Mrs.
Lebo to approve the Early Childhood Program Improvement Plan. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.
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New Business
Early Childhood
Program
Improvement
Plan
Presentation
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