The Board of Education

Page 5

TOWN OF SIMSBURY

BOARD OF EDUCATION

Record of Proceedings Regular Meeting May 10, 2016

Mrs. Tara Willerup called the regular meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. in the Board of Education Conference Room.
Roll Call:
Members present: Mmes. Tara Willerup, Lydia Tedone and Susan Salina. Messrs. Mike Goman, Tom Doran and Tom Frank.
Members absent: Messrs. Todd Burrick and Jeff Tindall.
Also present: Superintendent Matt Curtis, Assistant Superintendent Sue Homrok-Lemke, Business Manager Burke LaClair, Director of Personnel Neil Sullivan, Student Representative Maia Czaikowski and Recording Secretary Katie Wilde.
RECOGNITIONS
Shannon Gagne, Art Department Supervisor, stated that every 2 years student artwork is framed and hanged in the BOE conference room. This year a piece of artwork from every grade level is represented. The board members recognized each of the student artists: Aliana Barr, Betty Chase, Hailey Underwood, Megan Dunnigan, Isabella Flowers, Rachel Coppinger, John Cody, Anthea Luo, Grace Potter, Jake Kowalchik, Jenna Hillman and Delfina Kalajin. Lexi Soucie was not in attendance.
PUBLIC AUDIENCE
None
BOARD AND ADMINISTRATIVE COMMUNICATIONS
Ms. Czaikowski reported on activities at the high school, including AP testing, the art show, and the retirement celebration for Emmy Lou McLean.
Mr. Frank reported on the sense of community and spirit at Staff Recognition. He recognized Human Resources Coordinator Cindi Freilinger for her work in putting the event together and Mr. Sullivan for his opening remarks.
Ms. Tedone provided an overview of the CABE Legislative Wrap-up that took place earlier in the day. She noted various task forces that have been formed around education issues. Mr. Frank asked when more information on the state budget will be available. Mr. Curtis responded that it should be in the next few days. He noted that the BOF had planned for a $600,000 reduction in state revenue but now it looks like the reduction will be $400,000 or less.
Ms. Lemke reported on the SEPTO Transitions event. Mr. Sullivan noted that there are several elementary schools celebrating bike to school events this week. He also attended the CABE Legislative Wrap-up and noted that education was more fortunate than other areas of government services.
Mr. LaClair provided the results of the Central School partial roof replacement bid. He stated that the project was awarded to Quality Roofing who bid a price of $615,334 which is well within the budget for the project.
Mr. Curtis noted that the BOF will hold a Public Hearing on the budget on May 18th and the referendum will be held June 7th.
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
A.  Approval of Minutes of April 26, 2016 Meeting
Mr. Frank: MOVE to approve the minutes of the April 26, 2016 meeting.
Ms. Tedone: Seconded. So moved.
B.  Personnel
Ms. Tedone: MOVE that the Board of Education accept the retirement of Charlene Kilcomons effective June 30, 2016.
Ms. Salina: Seconded. So moved.
Ms. Salina: MOVE that the Board of Education accept the resignation of Dane Street effective June 30, 2016, with great regret.
Mr. Goman: Seconded. So moved.
C.  Adoption of Healthy Food & Beverage for 2015-16
Mr. Doran: MOVE that pursuant to Section 3 of Public Act 06-63, the Simsbury Board of Education hereby certifies that all food and beverage items offered for sale to students in the school(s) under our jurisdiction, and not exempted from the nutrition standards published by the Connecticut State Department of Education on August 1, 2006, will meet said standards. Such certification shall include food and beverage not exempted from said nutrition standards and offered for sale to students at all times, in all schools, and from all sources, including, but not limited to school stores, vending machines, school cafeterias, and any fundraising activities on school premises, whether or not school sponsored. Excluded from this certification is food and beverage that is sold at events after the end of the regular school day or on weekends and not sold from a vending machine or school store.
Mr. Goman: Seconded. So moved.
D.  End of Year Fiscal Authorizations
Ms. Tedone: MOVE that the Simsbury Board of Education authorizes the Superintendent to act as the Board’s agent in renewing applications for state and federally funded programs.
Ms. Salina: Seconded. So moved.
Ms. Tedone: MOVE that the Simsbury Board of Education authorizes the Superintendent to transfer funds from those accounts in which a surplus is anticipated into those accounts in which a deficit is anticipated.
Mr. Doran: Seconded. So moved.
Ms. Tedone: MOVE that the Simsbury Board of Education authorizes the Superintendent to request Board of Finance approval for the deposit of unexpended funds at the close of the fiscal year into the Unexpended Education Funds Account; as authorized by state law, the amount of said deposit will be no more than 1% of the Board’s current year operating budget. Unexpended funds over the 1% threshold will be returned to the Town General Fund Balance.
Mr. Goman: Seconded. So moved.
Ms. Tedone: MOVE that the Simsbury Board of Education authorizes the Superintendent (or designee), with Board of Finance approval, to approve any and all expenditures from the Unexpended Education Funds Account.
Mr. Frank: Seconded. So moved.
Mr. Doran: MOVE that the Superintendent, with the approval of the Board Chairman, be authorized to hire staff for the 2016-17 school year during the period of July and August when the Board is not in session.
Ms. Salina: Seconded. So moved.
INFORMATION AND REPORTS
A.  Peer Observation
Mr. Sullivan stated that in the fall the board was presented with information on the next step in the evolution of the Professional Learning Community (PLC) process. In each school, plans were developed to facilitate the process of peer observations among teachers. Principals have developed individual approaches that have allowed the teachers within a PLC to define a problem of practice, observe each other in the classroom setting, conduct a conversation within their PLC about their findings, and make commitments about their teaching methods in order to improve student learning.
Mr. Sullivan stated that peer observation goals this year also include a component at the leadership level. A leadership team from within each school conducted school based rounds focused on a problem of practice related to the school improvement plan. The team then developed next steps for the faculty.
Beth Hennessy, Central School Principal, stated that last year’s PLC survey indicated that teachers have found the collaborative culture to have a large impact. At Central School this year all teams have participated in collaborative inquiry learning which is connected to Teachers College professional development. Ms. Hennessy explained the collaborative inquiry model in which teachers choose what they want to focus on. She outlined the process of collaborative inquiry: (1) Grade level team identifies a problem of practice, (2) the team forms an inquiry question grounded in guiding beliefs about instruction, (3) the team plans a lesson together, (4) classroom visits take place, (5) the team debriefs and shares their observations and learning in a non-judgmental way, (6) the team discusses the next level of work and reflects on the process.
Diana Smith, Reading & Language Arts Consultant, stated that the collaborative inquiry structure was created and facilitated through professional development. The goal is to bring together students, teachers and content. Steve Petrella, Grade 6 teacher, explained how the process worked for the 6th grade team at Central School. Ms. Hennessy stated that each of the 7 grades at the school have a PLC team which includes special education representation.
Ms. Salina asked if there is a timeline to accomplish this work. Ms. Smith responded that it depends on the problem of practice. Ms. Hennessy said that the process at Central School has great momentum and discussions are taking place during the end of year teacher reflections. Mr. Frank asked if the other elementary schools are at this same level of work. Mr. Sullivan responded that schools have taken different approaches and are at the same level or close to it. He noted that there has been significant enthusiasm from principals.
Andy O’Brien, SHS Principal, explained the peer observation process at SHS. He stated that the high school leadership team visited 48 classrooms over the course of the year. During visitations the team monitored student’s learning to see if the teacher adjusted their teaching and provided specific and timely feedback to students to improve their performance.
Greg Kuhr, SHS Science Department Supervisor, provided data on what was observed in the classrooms related to teachers checking for understanding and to what degree they adjusted their instruction accordingly. The data collected provides information on needed areas of growth. Mr. O’Brien stated that next year all teachers will participate in schoolwide rounds, observing outside of their departments, followed by debrief and reflection.
Ms. Salina commented that she likes teachers seeing their students in different classroom environments. Mr. Frank asked how teachers feel about being observed by peers. Mr. O’Brien responded that the school culture is conducive to an open door feeling and this gives teachers the opportunity to showcase how they do things. He noted that this process moves culture in a great direction. Mr. Sullivan pointed out that there is a commitment across the district to use our own talents and learn from each other.
B.  Proposed Fee Schedule for Use of Public Schools
Mr. LaClair stated that the building use fee schedule for 2016-17 includes an increase of 2% over the current year. He noted that building use is mostly by non-profit groups and community groups and the fee is for having buildings open when they would normally be closed. The approximate revenue from use of our buildings is $50,000 and goes directly into the town general fund. Mr. Goman asked if we compare our rates to area towns. Mr. LaClair stated that he will review with his colleagues.
C.  Policy Second Reading
Mr. Sullivan noted that this is the second reading of the second set of policies coming forward to the board. He stated that there has been further revision of policy 1100.5 relative to the videotaping of students.
Mr. Frank asked questions relative to the Vision & Core Beliefs policy. Mr. Curtis pointed out that when the 2014-19 strategic plan was adopted by the board an effort was made to streamline the vision which should be viewed in conjunction with the core beliefs.
Ms. Czaikowski noted that there had been an issue when a photography student posted pictures from a high school class. Mr. Sullivan stated that the spirit of the policy is not to put out images without a person’s permission.
PUBLIC AUDIENCE
None
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Mr. Goman: MOVE to enter executive session to discuss the evaluation of the superintendent at 8:39 p.m.
Mr. Doran: Seconded. So moved.
ADJOURNMENT
Mr. Goman: MOVE to adjourn the meeting at 9:03 p.m.
Mr. Frank: Seconded. So moved
______
Todd Burrick Katie Wilde
Secretary Recording Secretary / Recognitions
Public Audience
Communications
Approval of Minutes of April 26, 2016 Meeting
Personnel
Adoption of Healthy Food & Beverage for 2015-16
End of Year Fiscal Authorizations
Peer Observation
Proposed Fee Schedule for Use of Public Schools
Policy Second Reading
Public Audience
Executive Session
Adjournment