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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-10-06-SC-min SC Meeting 10/6/09 page # 1 LEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Tuesday, October 6, 2009 Lexington Town Office Building, Selectmen's Meeting Room 1625 Massachusetts Avenue Present: Superintendent Paul Ash, School Committee Chair Margaret Coppe, School Committee Members Rod Cole, Tom Diaz, Jessie Steigerwald, Mary Ann Stewart and student representative Liam Gandelsman. The minutes were taken by Leora Tec. The meeting was convened at 7:35. I. Call to Order and Welcome II. Public Comment Bonnie Brodner: I wanted to make you aware of a very valuable program that my 10 year old is a part of. It is a peer-mentoring program for children with learning and attention difficulties It is called SMARTS. There is a benefit for SMARTS on November 12th. Dr. Ned Hallowell will be the keynote speaker. Judy Crocker (Safe Routes to Schools coordinator for the Sidewalk Committee): Tomorrow is International Walk Day and Lexington’s first Walking Wednesday. We are in the running to have an infrastructure grant for Bowman School for $250K. There are other projects in the works as well. III. Superintendent’s Announcements 1. $250,000 Grant to Provide Security Equipment at Lexington High School We have received a $250K grant for security enhancements at LHS from the Department of Justice, Office of Community-Oriented Policing as part of the targeted technology program. We will add approximately 130 cameras and access-control hardware on select doors that will function on nights and weekends. Thank you to Congressman Markey, Police Chief Mark Corr, Town Manager Carl Valente and others who helped secure these funds. 2. Fraction Nation. New Partnership with Tom Snyder Productions. Thomas Plati, Director of Technology and Assessment, briefly described the software, which develops fluency in fractions through a fifteen-minute-a-day routine. We are one of six sites doing the testing around the country for this SC Meeting 10/6/09 page # 2 software and in exchange we are getting software valued at $12K. We are already using a sister product that is working well. Tom Snyder Productions is owned by Scholastic. IV. Members’ Reports / Members’ Concerns: Margaret Coppe: The Board of Selectmen voted to sign the SOI (Statement of Intent) for the MSBA (Massachusetts School Building Authority). On October 20th we will be getting the report on the work to be done on the high school and the four elementary schools. Carl Valente, Town Manager, would like a member of the School Committee to participate on the committee for the sale of the Munroe School. The committee will review proposals and make a recommendation to the Selectmen. There is a warrant article on this for the November Town Meeting. LEF Trivia Bee: We need to decide among ourselves who will be on the team. Mary Ann Stewart: We all attended the Cary Library Trustees Meeting; we are all trustees. Library use is way up. There is a new website to stay on top of progress on the Stone building, to be called the Lexington Heritage Center, www.lexingtonheritage.org. There is a wine tasting fundraiser on Nov 6th from 7:30-9:30. I met with Bob Harris, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and Chair of the Diversity Task Force. I was pleased to see much of our conversation reflected in the new district goal. The LEF grantee reception was lovely and exciting. Thank you to LEF. I attended Clarke Back to School Night. It was wonderful. Jessie Steigerwald: Youth Services Council is meeting October 7th. Anyone who is a leader, volunteer, or participant in a group related to youth should come. One thing they are working on is a monthly free or low-cost event for middle or high- school students. Thank you to Dr. Ash for a quick response on this. Thank you to parents and principals who responded to surveys with information on site councils. Tom Diaz: The Fiscal Task Force met on September 30th. We will issue an amended report. Our free cash position is larger than anticipated. We exchanged drafts having to do with long-term compensation policies. SC Meeting 10/6/09 page # 3 Rod Cole: There was an article in the paper regarding schools making use of online classes. Can this work for us? V. Discussion Items 1. School Improvement Plans. Introduced by Dr. Ash. He outlined the history of site councils. The goals should be in line with system goals though some are individual to each particular school. There were questions and comments from the School Committee. Dr. Ash and the principals responded. 2. Professional Development: Introduced by Dr. Ash who discussed the importance of PD. Presented by Joanne Hennessey, Chair of the Professional Development Committee who first introduced and acknowledged the Committee members who were present. She then gave the presentation on PD. It is a joint LEA and administration committee. The goal is to create a self- sustaining, embedded PD program. There were questions and comments from the Committee. VI. Action Items: 1. Vote to Accept System Goals. Dr. Ash described two key changes that were made in the goals since they were first presented. Motion to accept the superintendent’s recommended 2009-2010 system goals (Steigerwald, Diaz). The motion passed 5-0. 2. Clarke Trip to Mexico: Presented by Clarke Principal Steve Flynn. Twenty students will attend. There were questions and comments from the Committee. Motion to approve the Clarke trip to Cuernavaca, Mexico on March 11, 2010 for 7 days (Cole, Diaz ). The motion passed 5-0. 3. Clarke Trip to Quebec: Presented by Clarke Principal Steve Flynn. Forty to forty-nine students will attend. Motion to approve the Clarke trip to Quebec on June 2, 3, 4, 2010 for approx forty-nine students (Steigerwald, Diaz). The motion passed 5-0. SC Meeting 10/6/09 page # 4 4. $5000 Donation to the Professional Development Program. Presented By Dr. Ash. This has been generously offered by Henry Riemer. It is an unrestricted gift. Motion to accept the $5000 donation to the Professional Development Program with gratitude (Cole, Stewart) The motion passed 5-0. 5. $700 Donation to Lexington Children’s Place Playground Gift Fund. Presented by Dr. Ash. Part of the money was appropriated by Town Meeting but the other part is from parents. Dr. Ash recommends that the Committee accept these two gifts, one for $500 and one for $200. Motion to accept with gratitude donations totaling $700 to the Lexington Children’s Place Playground Gift Fund (Steigerwald, Diaz). The motion passed 5-0. 6. Approve School Committee Minutes 9/22/09. Motion to approve School Committee minutes of 9/22/09 (Diaz, Steigerwald). The motion passed 5-0. Mary Ann Stewart brought up the issue of voting minutes earlier in the meeting, which had been previously raised by the secretary. The Committee decided not to change the practice of approving minutes at the end of the meetings. VII. Motion to adjourn (Steigerwald, Diaz). The motion passed 5-0. The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 p.m.