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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-10-04-SC-min1 LSC Meeting 10/4/16 LEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE Tuesday, October 4, 2016 Town Hall, Selectmen’s Meeting Room 1625 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA Present: Chair, William Hurley; Vice Chair, Alessandro Alessandrini; Judy Crocker; Eileen Jay; Superintendent, Dr.Czajkowski Absent: Jessie Steigerwald and Student Representative, Matt Campos The minutes were taken by Sara Calvino, Executive Assistant to the School Committee and Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent The meeting convened at 7pm Call to Order and Welcome: Chair, Bill Hurley called the meeting to order, and introduced committee members. Public Comments: None Superintendent’s Announcement: • Dr. Czajkowski thanked Dan Krupka, 2020 Vision Committee, School Committee, Board of Selectman, Carl Valente, administrators, staff, parents, students and Diamond Bar School District in California for their visit to Lexington last Thursday and Friday. Diamond Bar provided insight on some of the challenges we face here at LPS but also on some successes as well. • Lexington Listen has received 12 comments to date, 7 on the Homework Policy and 5 on Buffer zones. Comments are being monitored and each comment receives a response. • If implemented effective in January, Central Registration would be located centrally at central office in a vacant LABBB room. Dr. Czajkowski has discussed the parking issue at central office with Carl Valente and will be speaking with Pat Goddard about possibly expanding temporary parking for central registration. Parents would be scheduling appointments with the data enrollment specialist to come during the day to register. The benefits to having central registration located in central office would be having the transportation department and food services department close by for parents but also Sandy Trach and Dr. Czajkowski would easily be able to monitor this new department. At the November 1, 2016 School Committee Meeting, Dr. Czajkowski will be bringing forward job descriptions for the Central Registration Department. Whether we are able to install central registration in January or not, Lexington does need to move forward with a paperless system regardless. • Dr. Czajkowski met with all K-8 Principals, K-12 Director of Educational Technology, Eileen McMahon and Director of Technology, Marianne McKenna to discuss our readiness to have our entire fourth grade and eighth grade take the computer based MCAS test in ELA and Math. One of the concerns is IPADs do not have keyboards for the students to test on them efficiently. Dr. Czajkowski recommends we start shifting towards Chromebooks as opposed to IPADs as the MCAS testing will be completely computer based by 2019. Dr. Czajkowski will be working with the principals to come up with a plan to move forward and the next step might be purchasing keyboards for the IPADs. School Committee Member Announcements: 2 LSC Meeting 10/4/16 A. Alessandrini: Mr. Alessandrini had the privilege of meeting with The Walnut Valley District during their two day visit. They encouraged Lexington to revisit the World Language program in the Elementary Schools. Mr. Alessandrini feels the School Committee should revisit the World Language program in the Elementary Schools and look into actual funding’s for this program. J. Crocker: Ms. Crocker announced her 2017 candidacy. W. Hurley: Bill will notify LEF that the School Committee will field a team called Twelve O’clock scholars this year on November 9th. Bill agreed with Ms. Jay, the book discussion turnout was great but particularly the dialogue and hearing similar concerns from parents that the School Committee has discussed as well. Mr. Hurley looks forward to the follow up conversation with the Walnut Valley District. He thanked the community at large who participated in this visit. E. Jay: Ms. Jay enjoyed the Walnut Valley Diamond Bar visit and she thanked everyone in the community that was involved in making this two day visit possible. Last Tuesday, the book discussion on Beyond Measure had a fabulous turnout with discussions on academic stress. The Coalition will be taking all the input and compiling it to show what came out of these discussions. On October 18th, the Beyond Measure film screening will premier at 7pm at Cary Hall. The film is very different from the book; the film showcases many communities across the country with different approaches to teaching and learning to not only to reduce stress but also to engage students. Consent Agenda: 1. Vote to Approve and Not Release Executive Session Minutes of March 8, 2016 2. Vote to Approve School Committee Minutes of March 21, 2016 3. Vote to Approve School Committee Minutes of August 23, 2016 4. Vote to Approve School Committee Minutes of September 14, 2016 5. Vote to Approve School Committee Minutes of September 20, 2016 Motion to approve consent agenda items 1-5 as amended. (Hurley / Jay) The Motion was approved (4-0). Agenda: 1. – Agenda Item: Human Resources Update Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, Bob Harris presented the annual Human Resources update in connection with diversity and employee retention. According to the MA DESE FY16 Statewide EPIMS report, when compared to Lexington’s ten comparable communities, the Lexington Public Schools ranked third highest with eleven percent of its professional educator workforce representing racially diverse populations. The School Committee had many suggestions, comments and questions for Mr. Harris. Mr. Harris is always exploring new ways to improve the process in increasing the diversity in the Lexington Public School district. 2. – Agenda Item: Vote to Approve 2016-2017 Superintendent Goals Motion to approve 2016-2017 Superintendent Goals. (Alessandrini / Jay) The Motion was approved (4-0) 3. – Agenda Item: Clarke – Amendments to Interim Traffic Plan 3 LSC Meeting 10/4/16 Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations, Ian Dailey updated the School Committee on the amendments that were made to the interim traffic plan at the Clarke Middle School. These amendments were made in collaboration with the Principal/School Administration, Public Facilities, and Transportation to improve operational flow and safety at the Middle School. The Transportation Safety Group did not have input on these amendments as the modifications were mostly minimal signage changes. Motion to approve the amendments to the interim traffic plan for Clarke Middle School. The Motion was approved 4-0. (Jay / Alessandrini) 4. – Agenda Item: Update on Buffer Zone Policy Forums The Policy Subcommittee presented an update on the Buffer Zone Policy Forums to the School Committee. The working group stressed that buffer zones could only be used if schools were at capacity. The top three main concerns that arose from these forums were; the uncertainty of not knowing what school their child would attend until the first child is registered, the possible impact on neighborhood cohesiveness, and the overall change in the current culture or status quo change. The Policy Subcommittee will use these topics along with many others to form an FAQ document. The topics will include; neighborhood bus traffic, locations around town that are frequently more redistricted, actual buffer zone boundaries, the pros and cons of one, two or more buffer zones within a town, real estate implications, how does last years redistricting tie into the future buffer zones, the difference between redistricting and buffer zones, and how will the buffer zone maps be publicized in keeping the family as a unit. The first Buffer Zone reading will be during the October 18, 2016 School Committee Meeting. 6. – Agenda Item: October 1st Enrollment Dr. Czajkowski provided her notes to the committee for the enrollment discussion. As of October 1, 2016, the overall increase of students is 156 plus since last October. Last years redistricting allowed the movement of 103 students, which yielded great parity across all 6 elementary schools. These reassignments have helped identify a number of tools that will provide greater flexibility in assigning students. Dr. Czajkowski overviewed what has been learned from the Buffer Zone Forums. She raised the question to the committee; is now the time to start mapping buffer zones or should an update be made to the policy to allow more flexibility with moving students? Director of Planning and Assessment, Maureen Kavanaugh provided an update on enrollment as of October 1, 2016 while comparing current enrollment numbers to last years as well. Ms. Kavanaugh pointed out that we have seven fifth grade students as of now that will potentially break the feeder pattern when entering middle school. Mr. Alessandrini pointed out that first, third and fourth grade have more students than the previous years. Capacity is the foundation for these numbers; we cannot buffer zone our way out of these rising numbers if we are at capacity. School Committee Members raised their concerns with the middle school numbers going into High School along with any new enrollment. To keep in mind, our Special Education program at Fiske and Hastings will also be adding to the high school enrollment and will be at the high school until the students are 22 years old. Dr. Czajkowski completely agrees with the school committee that now is the time to explore more options for space at the High School until a new High School is built. 4 LSC Meeting 10/4/16 6. – Agenda Item: Special Education Update Director of Special Education, Ellen Sugita updated the Committee on the Mid-cycle Program Review by DESE, the Intensive Learning Program 3 at LHS, Special Education Professional Learning, the Attorney fees for litigation and Parent Surveys. A sight visit for the Mid-cycle Program Review will be on February 7, 2016 to tour the facilities, request certain documents, and possibly talk to staff members. Lexington’s first year of the Intensive Learning Program 3 at the Lexington High School is going well. Teachers have reported a great transition for the ILP 3 students at this time. The School Committee commented on the significant progress and the considerable amount the litigation fees have decreased. They thanked Ms. Sugita and the Special Education Program for all their hard work. Two teachers will be holding a workshop on Dyslexia at Lexington Learns Together this year. In addition to this workshop, a parent will be giving insight on what it is like to have a student with Dyslexia. This will allow different viewpoints for teachers. Motion to adjourn. The Motion was approved 4-0. (Hurley/Alessandrini) The meeting was adjourned at 8:46 pm. Meeting Materials: Agenda; A.1- Agenda Item Summary, Human Resource Update, Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings, Teacher Diversity Gap Poses a Steep Climb; A.2- Agenda Item Summary, Superintendent’s Performance Goals 2016 -2017; A.3- Agenda Item Summary, Construction Traffic Plan & Signage Revisions, Bus Loading Zone Photos; A.4- Agenda Item Summary; A.5- Agenda Item Summary; FY17 Snapshot of Enrollment By Grade/School as of October 1, 2016, FY17 Snapshot of Enrollment By Section/Team as of October 1, 2016, FY17 Snapshot of Enrollment By Section as of October 1, 2015, Comparison of Actuals with Enrollment Projections as of October 1, 2016; A.6- Agenda Item Summary, Attorney Costs for Special Education 2010-2016, Summary of Parent Surveys for 2016