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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-04-10-SC-min LEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Wednesday,April 10, 2019 Cary Memorial Building Estabrook Hall 1605 Massachusetts Avenue CALL TO ORDER AND WELCOME: 6:05 p.m. Chair Eileen Jay welcomed and introduced committee members SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT Eileen Jay, Chairperson Kate Colburn, Vice-Chairperson (attending Planning Board meeting/6:33 p.m.) Kathleen Lenihan, Clerk Deepika Sawhney Scott Bokun NOT PRESENT: Rosanna Jiang, Student Rep SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS PRESENT Dr. Julie Hackett, Superintendent Dr. Christine Lyons, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, and Professional Development Peter Rowe, Interim Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations The minutes were taken by Kristen Cronin, Executive Assistant to the School Committee and Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent CONSENT AGENDA: ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS/GIFTS: Mr. Bokun moved to approve donation from Chinese American Association to LHS Science Bowl Team in the amount of$500.00 Mr. Bokun moved to approve Fiske PTO Gift to Fiske elementary in the amount of$42,615.00 Mr. Bokun moved to approve donation from Hastings PTO to Hastings elementary shared literacy library collection in the amount of$10,550.00 Ms. Lenihan seconded the motion(s) - Consent agenda items 1-3 under donations/gifts approved (4-0) 1 LSC Meeting 4/10/2019 MINUTES -APPROVED 8/27/19 PAYROLL AND ACCOUNTS PAYABLE WARRANT APPROVAL: Ms. Lenihan moved to approve payroll period dated March 29, 2010 in the amount of $3,867,937.33 Ms. Lenihan moved to approve accounts payable warrant dated April 5, 2019 in the amount of$1,167,623.24 Ms. Sawhney seconded the Payroll and Accounts payable warrant approval - approved (4-0) APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Bokun moved to approve School Committee retreat minutes from March 28, 2019; seconded by Ms. Lenihan- approved(4-0) Superintendent's Report Dr. Hackett reported on the following items: 1. Recommendation for a New and Improved Field Trip Policy Dr. Hackett recommends to convene Policy Subcommittee to review and amend the Field Trip policy. One of the challenges with our current field trip policy as written is that it does not include a pre-approval process. Many issues can be addressed by asking staff members to make a field trip request early in the process before fundraising and planning begins. Members had further discussion on this topic. 2. Later School Start Fall 2020: An Implementation Update Dr. Hackett announced the appointment of Mr.Thomas Martellone as Project Manager. In addition to his duties as the Principal of Fiske Elementary School, the highly-organized and talented Mr. Martellone will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of a later school start to take place in the fall of 2020. After the late school start public forums, Dr. Hackett worked with members of the Administrative Council to create a list of implementation challenges that will guide Mr. Martellone's efforts. Challenges identified include topics such as (1) examining the METCO transportation routes; (2) exploring the impact onLHS school breakfast if buses are dropped off 10 minutes ahead of school start; and (3) examining the morning coverage which is a concern from SEPAC parents. 3. A Short-Term Solution for Enrollment Growth at Lexington High School We've been a LABBB partner for over 50 years, and we value our partnership. The school community proudly serves approximately 80-90 students enrolled in LABBB at LHS and hopes to continue to do so for many years to come. Presently, LABBB students occupy seven classrooms that were once used as general education classrooms. LABBB is a year-round program, and they do not anticipate any reduction in enrollments in the near future. LABBB also operates "HUB" a community-based work experience in which 2 LSC Meeting 4/10/2019 MINUTES -APPROVED 8/27/19 LABBB students get transportation from LHS to their work sites. Presently, LABBB starts its school day one hour later than LHS, which minimizes traffic congestion. On March 26, 2019, Donna DiNisco and the Superintendent met with Patric Barbieri, the Executive Director of the LABBB Collaborative. LABBB has agreed to participate in the cost of portable classrooms that may be needed to alleviate LHS space problems. In addition, LABBB suggested to locate them in the parking lot where there were portables years ago. That could also become the "staging" are for HUB and alleviate the congestion at the main entrance of the school. They have also agreed to look at another location for HUB. MCAS Update: Ms. Avon Lewis, LEA President, brought to the attention of the School Committee at last week's meeting a situation that involved state testing. Students were asked to read a prompt and write a journal entry from the point of view of a character who is openly racist. One of our 10th grade students was quoted in a newspaper article as saying that he/she felt very uncomfortable answering the question, as were many other students. It was also brought to our attention by Ms. Lewis, that students are asked not to speak about the test to anyone and they are supposed to sign a form prior to taking the state testing. Dr. Hackett read aloud the non-disclosure requirements expected of students during MCAS testing and expressed her concern that the expectations contained in the form are troubling. Members engaged in further conversation around the "non-disclosure" form. Dr. Hackett is suggesting to write a letter to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education informing them that Lexington will not have students sign the "non-disclosure" form and to express displeasure at the recommendation that children to keep information to themselves. The letter will also ask about how they are going to improve their process of screening questions in the future. Mr. Bokun moved to approve the Superintendent's suggestions and Ms. Colburn seconded-Approved 5-0 New Business: Enrollment Update Dr. Maureen Kavanaugh, Director of Planning & Assessment, provided a brief enrollment update as of April 1, 2019. The update included current year enrollment for 2018-19 and developing pre-registration counts for the 2019-20 school year. The "pre-registration" count includes all current student promoted to the next grade and any new students registered for the next school year (i.e. entering kindergarteners and students transferring from private schools for FY20). A summary of historic month-to-month enrollments was also provided as context. 3 LSC Meeting 4/10/2019 MINUTES -APPROVED 8/27/19 These reports are used to monitor developing enrollment throughout the spring and summer and inform any necessary adjustments. A full copy of the Enrollment update can be seen here -10-2019 School Committee Packet Members had some questions that Ms. Kavanaugh responded to. Vote to Appoint Temporary Authorized Signature for Payroll and Warrants for the week of April 22, 2019 Ms. Colburn moved to appoint Ms. Lenihan as the temporary School Committee member permitted to sign the payroll warrant and/or accounts payable batches presented by the School Business Administrator for the week of April 22, 2019, seconded by Ms. Sawhney(Approved 5-0) Unfinished Business: School Committee Member Roles& Liaison Assignments Ms. Jay noted that a vacant seat for the Community Center Advisory Committee was available due to the fact that Mr. Alessandrini is no longer on the School Committee and that the position would need to be filled. Ms. Jay also noted that this position is a voting member position and not a liaison role. Mr. Bokun volunteered to be appointed to the Committee. Ms. Lenihan moved that Mr. Scott Bokun be appointed to the Community Center Advisory Committee;Ms. Colburn seconded the motion. (Approved 5-0) Reconsideration of Article 39 Ms. Colburn gave a brief update on the Planning Board meeting she attended prior to tonight's School Committee meeting regarding Article 39. It was noted the Planning Board voted again and they did not change their vote from last week about approval of reconsideration of Article 39 that was proposed by Ms. Colburn, they still vote 4-0 against reconsideration. Ms. Colburn expressed her concern with Article 39 and informed members of the argument they would have to make tonight on the floor at Town Meeting. School Committee remained in open session and relocated to Battin Hall for the purpose of participating in Town Meeting. 4 LSC Meeting 4/10/2019 MINUTES -APPROVED 8/27/19