open session minutes · $2500 - $3000 is out of reach for most families. she strongly encouraged...

10.20.2015 MERSD School Committee Meeting Minutes P. 1

OPEN SESSION MINUTES

Meeting: School Committee Meeting

Date: October 20, 2015

Location: MERSD MIDDLE/HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY

Attendees: Pamela Beaudoin, Superintendent, Avi Urbas, Dir. of Finance, Linda Crosby, Chairman, Ann Cameron, Vice Chairman, Julie Riordan, Caroline Weld, Shannon Erdmann and Sarah Wolf

Absent: None

Recorded by: Amanda Kuhl

A. Call to Order

MOTION: ANN CAMERON MOVES TO ENTER EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR THE PURPOSES OF CONTRACT NEGOTIATION STRATEGY. SHANNON ERDMANN SECONDS. ALL MEMBERS PRESENT VOTE TO APPROVE THE MOTION. THE MOTION PASSES.

B. Executive Session – For the purpose of contract negotiation strategy.

The school committee reviewed stipend amounts for each position and discussed the method by which staff members are chosen for those positions. Pam Beaudoin will send the committee the position job descriptions. On October 29th the stipend negotiation team will have an organizational meeting to define how the group will operate. The overall strategy is to ensure that stipend positions meet the needs of student and the district. MOTION: CAROLINE WELD MOVES TO CLOSE THE EXECUTIVE SESSION. JULIE RIORDAN SECONDS. ALL MEMBERS PRESENT VOTE TO APPROVE THE MOTION. THE MOTION PASSES.

C. Business Meeting Open Session

Linda Crosby opened the meeting at 7:07pm and thanked Cape Ann Television for filming it.

1) Public Comment - None 2) Student Report

Oscar Heanue, MERSD senior, presented the student report. This week is MERHS spirit week, with grades 9-12 competing against each other. Friday afternoon is the pep rally in the gym. Thursday is senior night for the boys and girls soccer teams. They both have big matches against Rockport. The global issues class is hosting a dodgeball fundraiser on November 17th, open to both middle and high school students. The Night of Stars talent show is on November 15th with Oscar as the event MC. He encouraged all of us to attend. The first edition of the school paper is coming out within the week. The Green Team announced they will be attending an environmental conference at Salem Sound next month.

Caroline Weld asked if spirit week activities are just for high school students and Oscar said he believes it is high school only. Linda asked if any Halloween activities are planned and Oscar said the senior class is dressing up. Oscar confirmed there is a football game on Friday night against


Amesbury. Ann Cameron asked about the expectations of parents for senior’s night (e.g. whether to bring flowers for students). Tricia Puglisi, MERHS principal, said that the teams provide the flowers for the students.

Linda thanked Oscar for his report.

3) Chairman’s Report – None

4) Consent Agenda

Avi Urbas directed attention to Voucher 1019. An item was left out of the packet distributed to the committee but was in the document being approved this evening. It is $1,039.50 paid out of the Title I grant funds for contracted reading specialist services.

The committee briefly discussed the purpose and cost of the upcoming high school trip to France and Germany. Tricia informed the committee that the goal is to enroll 25 students on this trip to France and Germany. The purpose of the trip is to combine cultural travel with skill development in math and science. It is open to all high school students and there are scholarships available for students who meet the Free and Reduced Lunch standard. Ann commented that a trip that costs $2500 - $3000 is out of reach for most families. She strongly encouraged school leadership to offer opportunities that are accessible to a wider swath of people.

MOTION: CAROLINE WELD MOVES TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA – ACCPETANCE OF WARRANTS: VOUCHERS FY16 1018 & 1019, MINUTES FROM THE 10/6/2015 SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING AND TRIP APPROVAL FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL STEM TRIP TO EUROPE. ANN CAMERON SECONDS. ALL MEMBERS PRESENT VOTE TO APPROVE THE MOTION. THE MOTION PASSES.

5) Sub-Committee Reports

a. Elementary Facilities (Caroline Weld/Ann Cameron)

The committee met on October 19 to discuss the November 5th meeting with the Massachusetts State Building Authority (MSBA) at Manchester Memorial Elementary School. The meeting and facilities walk through will be very technical and is intended to review mechanical deficiencies and assess needs. MERSD participants include Jay Pagliarulo, facilities director, Avi Urbas, Pam Beaudoin, John Willis, Caroline Weld and Linda Crosby. MSBA will inform MERSD by mid/late December whether they will move forward with our SOI this year.

b. Finance Committee (Alva Ingaharro/Shannon Erdmann) The committee had its first collaborative meeting with the town board chairs. It went well and

the group is open to setting a meeting schedule for the year. At the next meeting in November, the committees will bring proposed meeting dates and a schedule will be set. This meeting was cut short by the town of Manchester water main break.

c. Policy Committee (Sarah Wolf/Julie Riordan)


The committee met and is working on drafting an investment policy. Avi provided examples of other policies for review. At the next meeting they will be meeting with finance managers to develop next steps.

d. Negotiation Team (Alva Ingaharro/ Julie Riordan) – No Report.

6) Superintendent’s Report Pam does not have a formal report as her comments will be woven throughout other areas of the agenda. She briefly discussed the town of Manchester water main break that occurred on the afternoon of Monday, October 19. School leadership decided against an early release as the busses would not be immediately available and parents of younger children might not be able to get home quickly enough to meet their children. As there was approximately 1 hour left in the school day and they did have some very low water pressure in some bathrooms they decided to remain in session. Pam sent an automated phone message to all families to inform them that there would be no after school activities.

7) Continued Business

Essex Green Communities Grant, vote to accept Vehicle Policy and Essex Energy Renewal Plan.

The school committee voted on MERSD support of the town of Essex Green Communities Grant so that Essex Elementary would be eligible for funding. The funding would potentially pay for projects suggested by Guardian, the group that performed the energy audit at Essex Elementary and throughout Essex. Matt Coogan, assistant town planner for Essex, was available for questions. Ann asked whether a ‘yes’ vote would commit Essex Elementary to the proposed energy renewal projects or just open the possibility of funding. Matt confirmed that a ‘yes’ vote allows for the possibility of funding but does not commit EES to the project(s). Ann asked Avi for his opinion on the benefit of going through with the suggested lighting project. He responded that there is little downside given the funding opportunity and that the school would see significant benefits before any building renovations happen in the coming years.

MOTION: SHANNON ERDMANN MOVES TO ACCEPT THE VEHICLE POLICY. ANN CAMERON SECONDS. ALL MEMBERS PRESENT VOTE TO APPROVE THE MOTION. THE MOTION PASSES.

MOTION: CAROLINE WELD MOVES TO ACCEPT THE ESSEX ENERGY RENEWAL PLAN. ANN CAMERON SECONDS. ALL MEMBERS PRESENT VOTE TO APPROVE THE MOTION. THE MOTION PASSES.

At 7:34pm the meeting stopped due to a potential gas leak in the area around the MERSD Middle/High School Library.

At 7:47pm Linda Crosby reconvened the meeting in the 6th grade pod.

Report Annual Assessment Data (MCAS), Scott Morrison, Director of Curriculum & Technology


Pam offered a ‘big picture’ statement about annual assessment data. The MCAS/PARCC debate is ongoing. On November 17 the State Board of Education is expected to vote on which test to adopt. If PARCC is adopted it will likely take time to implement throughout the state, given both the technology needs for students to take the test (PARCC is an online only exam) and the personnel required to get all locations up and running and ready to roll out the exam. The Board of Education commissioner has suggested a third option, which would be an online, upgraded version of MCAS.

Massachusetts is still influx over assessment; however, MERSD is well positioned to ride out the uncertainty as it uses data from several sources to drive instruction. In addition, Pam stressed that MERSD is expanding use of data assessments to include social/emotional indicators. The following presentations will focus on both academic data and the Youth Risk Behaviors Survey.

Slides from Scott Morrison’s presentation are attached at the end of the minutes. A summary of the presentation and school committee questions/comments follows.

Scott started his presentation with an overview of the current assessment data MERSD students. ELA scores are very strong and correlate to the time spent on the topic. Science scores have shown strong gains in the last 5 years, in part due to increased interest in STEM. Math scores have been uneven and also correlate to time spent on topic. College prep assessments show improved SAT/ACT scores. The SAT will incorporate changes starting in 2016 that will more closely align it with the ACT, which is gaining more attention.

The presentation slides (attached) offer a breakdown of MCAS scores for students in grades 3-10, indicating how MERSD students perform against how the entire state performs. The greatest area of concern is the grades 3-8 uneven math scores. Before the integration of common core standards, students were focused narrowly on many areas. Common core standards shifted students to focus more deeply on fewer areas. In addition, MERSD has initiated changes to the math curriculum. A few of these changes are as follows:

Math facts are taught at a younger grade level.

Teachers in lower grades are focused on ‘subitizing’ or math sense, the ability to quickly identify the number of items in a small set without counting. Research indicates that there is a strong relationship between subitizing skills and math achievement.

Teachers in the older elementary school grades are using a math workshop model with great success. Instead of teaching a math concept to the entire class in the standard lecture format, students are broken into groups based on their preliminary understanding of a concept and move throughout various ‘stations.’ Each small group has the chance to work with the teacher at that groups’ level while other students are actively engaged on the same topic.

Mathletics, an online math gaming program, is now used instead of the standard ‘summer math packet’ and it is being expanded throughout the curriculum. The program allows for informal and regular access to math techniques, it presents questions that challenges student’s level and allows teachers to easily determine where students need the most help.

Ann asked what other assessments are used to inform the math curriculum. Scott referenced two online tools, MCAP and MCOMP, that are part of the AimsWeb assessment used in elementary school. The trend is that lower MCOMP scores in elementary school correlate to lower MCAS scores in later years and therefore the curriculum can be adjusted accordingly.


Caroline commented on the use of Mathletics. She cautioned that some students may not be comfortable with the gaming aspect and that parents have different philosophies about video games. In addition, she asked for assurances that the teachers are appropriately using the data. Julie asked whether college students in STEM programs feel they were well prepared at MERHS. Tricia responded that the guidance team is looking at ways to reach out to graduates to find out how their MERHS experience informed their success in the post-secondary world. Ann asked about the students who received ‘needs improvement’ or ‘warning’ and what MERSD is doing to move them ahead. Scott responded that starting this year any student in grade 6-8 who received a ‘warning’ score would be brought in for before or after school help and would receive support in the classroom. Scott also described the difference between achievement and growth. Year after year a student may be in the same category of ‘warning’ but still showing huge leaps in growth within their cohort group. Caroline asked about subitizing (numbers sense) and whether it is something that can be taught vs. natural talent. Scott confirmed it can be taught and it is happening in the lower elementary school grades. Ann commented on the fact that certain subjects rely on the same skills (e.g., ELA/history and science/math) and asked for a future discussion on how we are using that knowledge in lower grades to help students out of the ‘needs improvement’ and ‘warning’ categories. Scott agreed.

Scott concluded his presentation and yielded the floor to Allison Collins, Director of Student Services.

Report on Youth Risk Behavior Survey Results, Allison Collins, Director of Student Services

Slides from Allison Collin’s presentation are attached at the end of the minutes. A summary of the presentation and school committee questions/comments follows.

Allison set the context of her presentation by reviewing the social / emotional needs of students (as we know them) based on the number of K-12 health office visits for social/emotional reasons in 2013/2014. There were 287 health office visits. She further reported the number breakdown of students who received in school counseling 1 or more times / week, students who worked with an outside therapist and students who received in patient mental health services.

To dig deeper into the issues facing MERSD students, Allison’s team administered the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) to high school students. The survey was developed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 78% of MERHS students participated (almost even boy/girl split.) The survey covered a range of mental topics including:

Alcohol, marijuana and other drug use

Mental health and suicide attempts

Risk related behavior such as carrying a weapon, fighting on school property and harmful dating relationships

Motor vehicle safety

Sexual behavior

Healthy habits


The MERHS survey results are attached in Allison’s presentation slides.

The survey results informed the school leadership that MERSD needs to focus on student mental health and safety and further promote the Signs of Suicide (SOS) program. In addition, MERSD can promote education among families and the community. Next steps include awareness and planning, professional development and evaluation so that staff can troubleshoot current issues and plan ahead. Tricia added that Allison will give this presentation to the high school staff on October 23. At the November 3rd professional development day staff will work on ideas for reducing stress and anxiety among students. Comments and questions from the school committee followed.

Alva asked that this data be shared with the middle school staff in addition to high school staff. Shannon and other committee members agreed. Steve Guditus, MERMS lead learner, confirmed the middle school staff will get this information. In addition, he wants to expand the SOS program and the YRBS to include middle school students.

Tricia commented that a tip line is being set up for reporting on bullying, drug transactions and other issues and that students are more likely to report if they can do so by anonymous text. Once the school has the information they can intervene before serious action is taken by a student.

Pam clarified that the school is limited as to what they can do. They can educate students, control what happens on the school campus and disseminate information to parents. However, students face broader, community and society based issues that need to be taken up by a larger group than only school leadership. Linda commented on how hard it is to get the information to the parents who may need it the most.

Ann suggested that the parents in the broader community need to hear this presentation, as in some cases we know parents are providing alcohol to students (their children and friends.) She also questioned whether we can dig more deeply into the data to differentiate recreational drug use from ‘escapism’. Ann suggested that is not a school problem, it is a community problem and that we need to have a community conversation so that parents understand what is at stake.

Ann asked if we know which communities have successfully tackled these issues and how they did it. Allison responded that, yes, they can research this and find successful community programs. Danvers, in particular, has a strong community based substance abuse prevention program.

Alva asked how MERSD, as a high achieving community, compares to other similar communities. Scott responded they can look into this and get comparisons.

Ann asked what the follow up is to having this data and established next steps. Scott said that awareness is step one.

Pam cautioned that we can’t take on all of these issues ‘full speed.’ We need to have a steady and methodical plan to bring the right people into the conversation in order to see long lasting changes.


Linda thanked Scott and Allison for their presentations.

9) Public Comment

Melanie Oldeman, Manchester. The group known as Community Action for Scholastic Excellence (CASE) has disbanded because it was formed as a ballot committee and the vote has happened. The database, created by the Manchester and Essex communities, is still intact and can be used to reach out to families.

Jake Foster, Essex. Mr. Foster is the father of an EES kindergartner. He appreciates the conversation about science and math as he is a STEM professional.

10) School Committee Comment – None

D) ADJOURN

MOTION: SARAH WOLF MOVES TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 9:28PM. ALVA INGAHARRO SECONDS. ALL MEMBERS PRESENT VOTE TO APPROVE THE MOTION. THE MOTION PASSES.

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