ANDOVER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

EARLY LEARNING CENTER

School Readiness Council Meeting

Minutes from the November 30, 2017 Meeting

Members in Attendance: John Briody/Principal & Preschool Administrator; Sally Doyen, Superintendent; Diane Kane/Administrative Assistant; Leslie Labenski/Preschool Teacher; Holly Maiorano/Director of Special Education; Jennie Morrell, Preschool Teacher;Marilyn Piecuch, SR Liaison; Karen Zito, RN, SR Medical Professional

State Updates: Marilyn noted no specific updates. Some state related information will be shared as the other agenda items are discussed. Holly Maiorano, the new part-time Special Education Director, stated that she attended a workshop on Birth to Three this week and shared some of the information from the meeting. McLaughlin & Associates, a primary Birth to Three group in Mansfield, has closed. It was recommended that districts perform their own evaluations as children enter school; Birth to Three will no longer be doing these due to budget reductions. In fact, it may be preferable for districts to evaluate, thus not relying solely on the Birth to Three evaluation and accepting its terms. Children may be referred as early as two years, six months old. There will be a change in the transition process time from the current 90 days to 60 days; transition and PPT meetings can be held at the same time, one directly following the other. There is a four-step CSDE online Birth to Three course that can serve as professional development credit for NAEYC. Also noted at the meeting, ESY for preschool special education students should be discussed prior to April to give parents time to go to Due Process, if necessary. Finally, Maria Synodi is retiring from the US DOE-Office of Special Education Programs.

Financial Report: [Preschool, School Readiness, and Smart Start budget forms distributed.] John reported that the information is the same as was shared at the last meeting.

Enrollment/Tuition Collection Update: [School Readiness/Smart Start Enrollment & Tuition Summary – November 2017 distributed.] Current enrollment remains at 15 School Readiness and 11 Smart Start students; there are two Smart Start vacancies as of this date. Advertisements have been placed in the Rivereast and Friday Memo. Tuition collected for November = $3414/School Readiness, $2333/Smart Start. Reminder notices for overdue payments will be sent out on December 1st.

Health Report: [Students Not in Compliance with Diseases report distributed.] Five children are still in need of an influenza vaccine dose by December 31st. Karen followed up with parents recently during Intergenerational Day.

Readiness Grant – Quality Component Review(Marilyn): [Component 2 – Plan for collaboration with other community programs and services worksheet distributed.] The following items were suggested:

  • Appendix to be added at back of Family Handbook with information on resources for families, including name of agency and contact information. Also include a sentence on the preschool application and possibly mention on the school website.
  • Release of Information form can be included as an appendix.
  • Unique resources include COOL Program, AHM Youth Services, Channel 3 Kids Camp, Library (summer programs), Town Recreation Department (soccer available for preschool age groups).
  • Public school efforts to provide information to SR/SS staff are noted as: AES professional development, technology assistance (Kirstina/EastConn), information provided in school from SLP/OT/special education/nurse. Keep this data in the Professional Development book, not Family Handbook.
  • Professional development opportunities are coordinated through EastConn, SERC, Thrive (United Way), AES staff mentoring (i.e., SLP session for all staff on sign language), etc.

Review Policies – Special Education (B-06) & Income Guidelines/Per-Child Fee Schedule (B-01): [Copies of both policies distributed.]

  • Special Education (B-06): Important to note in the special education policy is that the student(s) must be in class at least six hours; breaks are allowable as needed. However, the IEP must be followed as a priority.
  • Income Guidelines/Per-Child Fee Schedule (B-01): This policy was revised. Fee Schedule guidance was added as well as a Hardship policy. The SRC has the authority to decide not to collect money from families experiencing hardship such as loss of job, unexpected medical emergency, or other unforeseen event affecting the family’s financial stability. The School Readiness Administrator must be contacted and provided with documentation explaining the hardship claim (i.e., notice of termination of employment, medical note from a physician).

Professional Development Book: This book has been created to maintain a log of all professional development completed by the preschool staff and administrator. Standards that are required are included. Once finalized, the preschool professional development plan should be added. A yearly check-in with teachers is recommended to determine what needs are still pending. Teachers should provide input on any beneficial opportunities they come across. Past trainings can be applied; however, some coursework may need refreshing, for instance, if it took place 10 years or so ago. Professional Development forms should be completed for each training attended and submitted to John Briody.

Set Monthly Dates:

The following dates have been set for the 2017-2018 school year:

December 21April 26*

January 25May 24

February 22June 7 (tentative)

March 22*additional meeting in April possible to discuss grant(s)

Meetings will be held in the Conference Room beginning at 3:15 p.m.

Next Meeting: December 21, 2017 @ 3:15 p.m. (Conference Room)