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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1975-12-09-MMSC-min.pdf (87) f MINUTES OF THE MINUTEMAN REGIONAL VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL SCHOOL COMMITTEE December 9, 1975, at the Minuteman School PRESENT Bilodeau, Cormier, Courtright, Cron, Heinrich, Kelsey, Merluzzo, Shimkus, Smith, Wales, Zeoli Lombardo ABSENT Hall STAFF Ricciuti , Resnick, Whitney, Hayward, Mayer, Lydiard, Essman, Marotta, Crafts , DellaPenna, Lillis VISITORS Mr Isenberg of the Parents Organization, Mr O'Neill of the Regional Finance Committee, representatives of the League of Women Voters, representatives of the press, and several parents 4) The meeting was called to order at 7 50 p.m MEMBER FROM John Shimkus , the newly appointed member from Boxborough, was BOXBOROUGH introduced and welcomed by the committee STUDENT Mr Hayward reviewed the status of the student recruitment RECRUITMENT effort Activities already begun include visits from 8th grade teachers and counsellors to the school , tours by 8th grade classes, and preparation of posters (by Mr DiCiaccio) for rotating display at sending schools Still in the organizational stages are letters to newspapers written by students in the Communications/Human Relations areas, closed circuit TV presentation for large groups of students (being developed by Mr Gibson and Mr O'Reilly) , and the formation of recruiting teams (two will be formed, each with one vocational teacher, one academic teacher, and one student) Beginning January 5, these teams will visit 8th grade class- rooms (last year this method proved more effective than the assembly-type meetings) Follow-up visits will be made in February Meanwhile, brochures will be mailed to all 8th grade students , and letters to their parents, as soon as the brochures are ready, in five or six weeks Other projected activities include an evening meeting for parents in each town, at which respective school committee members would be present, and which would feature a slide-tape presentation developed by Mrs Lydiard Dr Ricciuti will organize these meetings, the Parents Organization will publi- cize them, and Mr Hayward AGREED to coordinate the school committee members' participation - Further recruitment efforts are being considered for March and April if necessary (88) 1976-1977 The budget was reviewed briefly by Mr Merluzzo, who noted BUDGET that budgetary matters are being taken care of on time this year, with everyone having plenty of opportunity to ask questions and make suggestions - A parent in the audience said Minuteman should have no trouble getting their budget approved, her daughter was very happy here and they think it is the "best school ' - Mr Courtright asked how the tuition figure is determined Mr Merluzzo answered that transportation costs are subtracted from ofl rating costs and the remainder divided by the st .dent pc ulation Mr Lombardo noted that a state exec live ruliu,; specifies two formulae, one as described above and anothn for state wards, which results in a lower igL e Mrs Wales REQUESTED that for the p ! lic F aring the next week, handouts be printed up )bowing for each line Lem, the figure from last year, the figure for the comieg y ar and the reason for the change (i e , this item higher because of higher student enrollment, or this item changed because of realloaction from another category, etc ) Mr Cron noted that a)the total student population as of October 1 , divided by the number of students from a given town, determines the assessment for that town for the next year; b) the number of 3th grade students in a given town, compared to the number of 8th grade students in the region, determines the number of seats that will be made available to that town the next year Mr O'Neill REQUESTED, on behalf of the Regional Finance Committee, that a per pupil cost estimate for next year be based on a more realistic projected enrollment than has been used in the past He noted that per pupil costs for this year appeared to be right in line with the figures projected in the original brochure, until actual enrollment was con- sidered Then it turned out the towns were spending more money (per pupil) than expected Mr Cron said it was always anticipated that costs would be high in the first years , and would even out to a reasonable figure by the fifth year of operation , even assuming an inflation rate of 72 per year or so Another committee member said it was not valid to compare the costs of vocational edu- cation with those of a comprehensive high school RECYCLING There was considerable discussion of a proposal to permit students to participate in one area for two cycles Several students have requested this opportunity already, some in order to do more advanced work, some to catch up and master an area, all such requests arose From an especially keen 101000-, (89) interest in the particular area Vocational teachers reported on specific cases where the ability to recycle would have made a great difference to those students Arguments were presented on both sides The philosophy of maximum exposure (so that students do not narrow their choice of options too soon) still has validity - Probably only a small percentage of students would be involved, but for those few the chance to recycle would be very important - This proposal is in line with the very basic Minuteman philosophy of individualized instruction - It is better to answer a student's needs, even if his choice may be a little unwise, then to have him become a dropout - If too many students change the program to suit themselves, the program may dis- appear altogether in two or three years It was MOVED by Mrs Smith, SECONDED by Mr Courtright, and VOTED UNANIMOUSLY, that students be allowed to repeat a cycle under the following conditions 1 ) that no other student be denied a program which was his/her first or second choice, and 2) that the decision be reviewed by the student's parents, vocational teacher, SPC, and the Director of Curriculum. BADGE Dr Ricciuti reported that badge readers are no longer used READER to monitor student attendance There were some difficulties with the system, and the manual procedure that was used as a backup is being continued The badge reader is still used in accounting for students who are in other than scheduled areas, in checking out materials and tools, and for identification In the course of the discussion, the problem was raised of getting messages to students ; open mailboxes are not being used It was SUGGESTED that the Student Council consider this problem OCG PAY Dr Resnick reviewed the history of the Occupational Competence Grant program, and explained the request being made for further compensation for OCG teachers $36 per cycle, instead of $72 total , for time beyond student-contact hours, brirying the total for each teacher for five cycles to $900, instead of $792 The position of the prospective Minuteman OCG teachers, as presented by Peter Crafts, was that they had no opportunity for input until two weeks ago, that until that time they had under- stood this would be a five week exploratory program; that they believed it was a worth while program, and still do, and they would like to participate However, considering five cycles, and five different groups of students , there will be much more work involved + r (90) The teachers felt, for instance, that curriculum development should be an ongoing process, benefitting from experience, whereas the original plan called for all curriculum develop- ment to be completed before the first teaching component Also, it would certainly be necessary to put in a great deal of time in "setting up" and "breaking down" shop for each class Altogether the teachers felt they were being asked to do much more than expected, and should be paid for it School committee members expressed concern over various aspects of the proposal Several members pointed out the advantage of having Minuteman staff members teaching in the OCG, because of security, familiarity with the program and the school 's facilities , and interest in recruitment possibilities It was considered very unfortunate that the teachers had not been more involved in drafting the contract in the first place On the other hand, the school committee had already granted two pay increases and authorised a contract; granting the current request would be, in a sense, "allowing the teachers to write a Federal Contract " It was pointed out that 260 students have enrolled for the OCG, that the program was due to start very soon, that Minuteman teachers had planned to fill all but two of the positions Dr Resnick felt the program would be greatly jeopardized by failure to meet this latest request Mr Courtright MOVED, and Mr Bilodeau SECONDED, that the terms be approved as proposed, with the clear understanding that no further amendments would be made This MOTION was later WITHDRAWN, however, when it appeared that the OCG budget would not cover the increased cost (This question was never resolved to everyone's satisfaction) Mr Merluzzo asked Dr Resnick what he would do if the request were turned down; Dr Resnick replied that he would go to the faculty with the present contract and sign up all he could, and then advertise outside Minuteman for teachers to fill the rest of the places Mr Merluzzo then MOVED, and Mrs Smith SECONDED, that the Occupational Competence Grant be continued under the present contractual arrangement and that Dr Resnick put his contin- gency plan into effect immediately if necessary This motion was DEFEATED, 4 in favor, 5 opposed, 1 abstaining After further discussion Mrs Smith MOVED, Mrs Wales SECONDED, that the committee reaffirm its action in the Occupational Competence Grant vote of December 2, 1975 VOTED 5 in favor, 4 opposed, 1 abstention w” (91) TEACHER Mrs Smith REQUESTED that Mr Whitney report in writing on EVALUATION the process of teacher evaluation and how far the evaluations have progressed at Minuteman During the ensuing discussion, committee members emphasized that four evaluations are required per year; that each teacher is entitled to such evaluation it provides a rational basis for granting or denying raises or tenure; for teachers whose performance is below expectations , it allows an early enough warning so that improvements can be made Mrs Wales referred to the document dated ilarch, 1975, which sets forth in some detail the criteria for evaluation Mr Whitney said he had never seen this document He was using an MBO form which had been approved by the school committee His evaluations are based on 1) a pre-form, filled out by the teacher, stating his/her teaching objectives ; 2) an observa- tion form filled out ty the observer (so far, the Director of Curriculum) and left with the teacher, and 3) a post-form in which the teacher responds to the observer's comments The first round of observations is now 60% complete Different forms are being developed for use by peers and subordinates LEXINGTON Mr Zeoii thanked Mrs Wales for her assistance at the meeting with the Lexington Board of Selectmen he reported that the board was very appreciative of the $207,000 Budget Change, but wanted more information , which Mr Zeoli had promised to provide when available SUPERINTENDENT Mr Kelsey reported that the Search Committee expected to SEARCH have no more than 11 and no fewer than 7 candidates for the screening committees to interview on December 13 ANNUAL Mr Heinrich asked about the status of Minuteman's annual REPORT report Mrs Wales said some suggestions had been made for changes She hoped that the towns could wait long enough to be able to include the appointment of the new Superintendent- Director Mr Lombardo said he hoped to be able to review the financial statistics Dr Ricciuti was REQUESTED to supply the population statistics of the school by age, grade, and sex, as of October 1 , for inclusion in the annual report PARENTS Mr Isenberg reported that the Parents Organization meeting ORGANIZATION December 3 had gone off well , with Dr Ricciuti presenting the budget and Mrs Wales answering questions on behalf of the flays and Means Committee Mr Courtright and Mr Hein- rich were also present The Parents Organization had adopted by-laws and so rias now an official organization Mr Isenberg thanked the school committee members for being there and the whole committee for the use of the facilities tRp (92) Mrs Smith MOVED, Mr Heinrich SECONDED, and it was VOTED UNANIMOUSLY, to adjourn the meeting to be reconvened in executive session to consider collective bargaining Meeting adjourned at it 40 p.m R( Respectfully submitted, CewAtt y 00.C.Ce/t. Recording Secretary Approved rf t. ( (VT..) ILc._t t L(_C t0 Ruth W Wales, Se:.retary