BOARD OF EDUCATION
MEETING OF
Members Present: Nadine Bell (Chairperson)
Peter Arico
Kirk Bostwick
Neil Geldof
Charles McMonigle
Francis Palazzolo
Anne Schmidt
Catherine Vargas
Jennifer Viggiano-Grosse
A meeting of the Board of Education was held on
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Chairperson Bell said before the meeting starts, there were a couple of motions that need to be added onto the executive session for this evening.
Moved by Mrs. Schmidt, seconded by Mr. McMonigle, to add under executive
session, the following agenda item: personnel
matter concerning resignation of a teacher.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Moved by Mrs. Schmidt, seconded by Mr. Arico,
to add under executive session, for
this evening’s meeting, the following agenda item: student
discipline.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Moved by Mrs. Schmidt, seconded by Mr. Palazzolo,
to accept the minutes of the
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Moved by Mr. McMonigle, seconded by Mr. Bostwick, to accept the
minutes of the
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Moved by Mrs. Vargas, seconded by Mrs. Schmidt, to accept the
minutes of the
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Moved by Mrs. Schmidt, seconded by Mr. McMonigle, to accept the
minutes of the
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Moved by Mrs.
Schmidt, seconded by Mr. McMonigle, to accept the minutes of the
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Moved by Mr.
McMonigle, seconded by Mrs. Schmidt, to accept the minutes of the
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Several new Sodexho managers were introduced by the new food services coordinator. Jason Colonghi as the manager of day-to-day operations. John Fratiello is in charge of eight school districts in the northeast area, and one of the districts is Rocky Hill. Robin Rivet is the district manager. Chairperson Bell thanked them for taking time out of their schedules to come to the Board meeting.
The first piece of correspondence was a letter from the Chamber of Commerce to Mr. Pitocco, congratulating him on being named the 2005 Connecticut High School Principal of the Year.
The next piece of correspondence, from Dana Whitman, to the Board of Education inviting Board members to march in this year’s Memorial Day Parade.
Dr. Vautour was pleased to inform
the Board that on
Dr. Vautour was notified this
morning, that Claire Burnett, a
Dr. Vautour said that for a
number of years the Connecticut Educators’ Computer Association has hosted a
technology day at the State Capitol. He
was pleased that
Dr. Vautour said the final item was a letter of resignation from Gerard Weatherby. Dr. Vautour said that in order to keep all of the paperwork correct for the Teacher Retirement Board, he said this must be acted upon by the Board of Education.
Moved by Mrs. Schmidt, seconded by Mr. Bostwick, to accept the
letter of resignation from Gerard Weatherby.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
RHTA Liaison Committee
There was no report.
Skyler
Dean-Lee, Julie Lecco, and John Sofianos,
Alex Fulco,
and Alysha Burgwardt,
Tim Cooney, Griswold Middle School representative, spoke about recent activities held at the middle school.
Mr. Pitocco spoke about recent activities held at the high school.
There was no one from the public wishing to address the Board on any item not on the agenda.
1. Consent Calendar
The consent calendar included obsolete equipment.
Moved by Mrs. Schmidt, seconded by Mr. Palazzolo,
to accept the consent calendar of April 7, 2005.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
2. Personnel
and Negotiations
No report.
3. Policy
Mrs. Vargas requested the second reading of Policy 4115.1 (Policy Regarding Athletic Coaches), and Policy 5141 (Health and Safety).
Moved by Mrs.
Vargas, seconded by Mrs. Schmidt, to adopt Policy 4115.1 (Policy Regarding
Athletic Coaches), and Policy 5141 (Health and Safety).
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
4. Finance
Mrs. Schmidt reported the Committee has been meeting to discuss insurance issues between the insurance specialist and Mr. Turansky in an effort to get numbers resolved in time for the budget.
5. Curriculum
No report.
6. Professional
Development
No report.
7. Facilities
Mr. Bostwick reported the Committee has been actively working with the Town’s facility department, and have been informed Rich Cooke, Facilities Director, has interviewed three architects for the feasibility study of Rocky Hill schools. A recommendation will be made at the next Government Operations Meeting on Tuesday.
8. Technology
Mr. Arico said the Committee met last week to review its progress in Rocky Hill in the implementation of the technical plan developed in April 2003. He said the group is made up of parents and teachers, and was originally charged with developing a 3-year technology plan. Since that time more than 500 computers and peripherals have been purchased, or donated to Rocky Hill. The Committee also reviewed present technology policies and made recommendations for changes. The recommendations will be brought to the Policy Committee within the next month. The Committee will be meeting again in order to develop another 3-year plan which must be submitted to the State Department of Education by June 2006.
9. Transportation/Accommodations
No report.
None
10.
Mr. Fell spoke as a
representative of the Rocky Hill Student Leadership Council along with Nick
Vargas and Rachel Tavana. In 2002, the
Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS) established the Connecticut
Association of Student Leaders. He said
there is already a CIAC which covers athletics, and there is a Connecticut
Association of Student Councils for student governments. The intent of this organization on the
statewide level was to throw a blanket over all the other activities that
students are involved in to a great extent.
The purpose of the Connecticut Association of Student Leaders is to
foster leadership development programs in
Nick Vargas and Rachel Tavana spoke about the Student Leadership Council, and the conference.
Chairperson Bell and Dr. Vautour thanked Nick Vargas and Rachel Tavana, and said that the award was a most impressive one for the high school. Dr. Vautour said given the size of our high school, to have the third largest contingent of students at the conference is truly impressive.
11. Presidential
Elementary Science Teacher of the Year
Dr. Vautour introduced Terry
Wilson who will be spending next week in
Dr. Vautour introduced Laurel Ritchie, Rocky Hill’s first national board certified teacher.
(There was a recess at
12. Administrative
Aspirant Program
Dr. Vautour said an administrative aspirant program was initiated this year for promising future leaders to be exposed to concepts of administration. The thought in mind is that as the administrative ranks mature, it would be beneficial to the district to have a cadre of individuals that might be able to step into positions of leadership in Rocky Hill. Dr. Vautour said that a broader perspective is being looked at also at the same time and this perspective is that all districts have a duty to train future leaders. Even if Rocky Hill doesn’t have the necessary vacancies for some of the aspirants, they will be ready for the assumption of leadership positions in other districts.
Dr. Vautour introduced the
aspirants: Kelly Germaine and Laura Cassio from West Hill School; William Duffy, Jason Maziarz, and Gail Thibodeau, from
Griswold Middle School; Terry Wilson and Heidi Koster
from Stevens School; Zoe Dolan from the Clinical Day
Program; and Dave Coyne from Rocky Hill High School. Dr. Vautour said that Tammy Devine from Rocky
Hill High School, and Anthony Kidd from
Mrs. Boutilier said the present aspirants are some of the brightest and best staff members and mentioned a number of different topics covered over the past couple of months, including looking at personal leadership styles and looking at how leadership needs have changed in the business world as well as in the educational world. Dr. Vautour did a session on school law for the aspirants. The budget was also talked about. Mrs. Boutilier said that she was going to be covering curriculum. The theory and practical realities have tried to be weaved in, and the aspirants have responded to some scenarios that have been imposed by “Super Nintendo Vautour”, or “Princess Principal”. Mrs. Boutilier said she and Dr. Vautour created scenarios that are real life experiences they had. The aspirants will be receiving a textbook that is practical in nature in that it deals with real life scenarios that administrators experience and will be used through the end of this year, and into next year. The program was designed as a 2-year program. Next year a component will be added where the aspirants will be doing some work in the school buildings working under some of the other administrators so they will have the opportunity to experience other leadership styles.
Gail Thibodeau said the program is very unique, as well as beneficial, and many of the aspirants are in graduate programs right now and thanked Dr. Vautour and Mrs. Boutilier.
William Duffy said it is a great opportunity, because Dr. Vautour and Mrs. Boutilier give the aspirants a chance to do some case studies and they are challenging.
Terry Wilson said one of the first activities that Dr. Vautour had the aspirants do was to read a very intense article. This semester one of the very first things her college professor talked about was this particular article, and asked the students if any one read it. She was the only one in that class that actually had read it and feels “very blessed” to be working in a district that has such forward thinking administrative people, because she said that no one else in her course work that she has contact with is doing anything like this program.
Dr. Vautour said that the aspirants are an extremely well-rounded and intelligent group of people who are actively participating in this program. Many of the situations the aspirants are put in have no perfect answers and it is intriguing to have other minds look at the same problem, and give further insight.
Mrs. Schmidt confirmed that in the first year of this program, the aspirants are being geared towards personal leadership skills and styles, and in the second year of this program, when the aspirants are able to be with an administrator, they will learn about the budget process, scheduling processes, etc. Dr. Vautour said it is a combination of the two. The aspirants are being helped to see what their own leadership styles are, and are getting overviews of the budget process, etc. Next year it is envisioned that each aspirant will take on a project at the building level, working with an administrator to solve an issue that is of concern to the district. Working within the building, the aspirant will have the opportunity to work with another leader whose style varies from Dr. Vautour or Mrs. Boutilier and said this will be further enrichment of the experience through the aspirant program. Mrs. Schmidt said that it is incredible to see the aspirants being so strongly interested in moving up the ladder, and hopefully staying in Rocky Hill
Mr. Arico asked if the program is voluntary by district, and Dr. Vautour said it is. He asked how many districts are involved, because Rocky Hill would not want to lose these aspirants to other districts. Dr. Vautour said that there are no other districts involved in Rocky Hill’s particular program. There are possibly six districts in the State creating aspirant programs because there is a growing awareness of the fact that there is going to be significant turnover in the administrative ranks in the next five years. If Rocky Hill doesn’t take the steps to groom from within its own ranks, there will not be sufficient researches to draw upon, because the universities and colleges are not turning out people rapidly enough. There are eleven people in the aspirant program, and Rocky Hill has ten administrative slots. He hopes that Rocky Hill can pick the “cream of the crop”, and if there are insufficient positions in Rocky Hill, these individuals will be in a position to take over a leadership spot in another district, pushing forward with the philosophy of Rocky Hill, and Rocky Hill’s particular value system as it relates to kids and instruction. Everyone would benefit.
Chairperson Bell said that this was a key component of Rocky Hill’s Administrative Transition Plan that was implemented in the spring. She said the aspirants should be commended for the extra time being put into this program on behalf of the district, and she thanked them along with Dr. Vautour and Mrs. Boutilier.
13. National
Board Certification
Dr. Vautour introduced Laurel Ritchie. She has gone through the arduous process of becoming board certified at the national level.
Laurel Ritchie thanked her building administration and central office administration for their support in her effort to gain national certification. She extended a special thanks to Scott Bruske who was a lifesaver for her when it came to technology, because a tremendous component had to do with videotaping, and both the students and teacher interactions had to be heard, or the tapes would have been disqualified.
She said national board certification was created in 1987, and was developed by the President’s Commission for Excellence in Education and the Carnegie Taskforce Report “A Nation Prepared”. The Carnegie Report was released in 1986. The taskforce encouraged the establishment of professional standards and a certification process to identify educators who met those standards. National board certification is a professional certification that is increasingly used by states as an option for advanced licensing. It is a voluntary process that compliments state licensing and is a professional improvement opportunity that inevitably results in improved student learning. It is also a symbol of a commitment in education, and a demonstration of a candidate’s teaching practice as measured against high and rigorous standards. It is also a credential attesting to the fact that a teacher has been assessed by his or her peers as possessing all of the attributes of sound teaching and sound judgment, and the application thereof to benefit the students. It is a message that good teaching is valued and that the profession takes itself and its responsibilities very seriously. It is a means of elevating teaching to the same professional level that is enjoyed by medicine and law. National board certification is open to everyone with a baccalaureate degree and a minimum of three years of teaching experience, and is valid for ten years and may be renewed. Each area of national board certification is based on five core propositions: teachers are committed to their students and to students’ learning; teachers know their subjects and teach those subjects to the students; teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning; teachers should be thinking systematically about their practice and learning from reflection and experience; and that teachers are members of learning communities. Her certification area is social studies/history, adolescent/young adult.
14. CMT
Report
Mrs. Boutilier said that she was sorry Ms. Levy was not at the meeting this evening, because there was wonderful news to be shared, and said Ms. Levy put together a very thorough report that the Board members received in their packets. She said beginning next March or April, the fourth generation of the CMT will be entered, and testing of 3rd, 5th , and 7th graders will be added.
Mrs. Boutilier gave all Rocky Hill students surpassed ERG D, and State averages in math, reading, and writing in all three grades tested. Rocky Hill’s rank in comparison with the other twenty ERG towns has improved significantly and there has been demonstrated growth in each of the cohorts (the same group of students that travel through the school through 4th, 6th, and 8th grades) tested in reading, and writing, as well as significant strides made in math.
Mrs. Boutilier explained that because of the No Child Left Behind Legislation, by the year 2014, 100% of students must be at the proficient range. Students in 4th, 6th, and 8th grades have demonstrated significant growth in all areas over the past year, and Rocky Hill ranked significantly higher as a town in ERG D when compared with last year. A series of recommendations which include that all teachers from kindergarten through grade 8 continue to develop familiarity with content and the skills measured by the CMT, and it will be particularly important this year because content and the skills measured by the CMT will change. Professional development activities that support improved instruction should also continue. Improvement will be continued to be looked at, for any student who did not score in the goal range, and an in-depth analysis will be done. In the elementary schools, these students will be invited to participate in the summer school program.
Mr. Watson of Griswold Middle
School, said the school year started off by doing review activities to prepare
the students for the CMT, and “CMT like” activities are done that reflect the
objectives in language arts, as well as in math. The middle school does not have a math
consultant, but they have a subject area supervisor who goes to the math
teachers to make sure that they have the information they need, looks at past
tests, and looks at students individually to see which students met goal and
which didn’t to see who might need a refresher course. This year an after-school 2- week session was
held, and a select group of students were tutored. Throughout the
Mrs. Boutilier said that a lot of people are thinking Rocky Hill public schools are “teaching to the test”. Tests are based on the State standards, which are very rigorous. If “teaching to the test” is being taught, good things are being taught, and with each generation of the CMT, CAPT, and SAT, they are more closely aligned.
Lou Pear explained how the elementary schools prepare for the CMT is similar to what is being done at the middle school as well. At the elementary level, scores are looked at, individual success of each child is looked at, and then meetings are held. There are monthly meetings with language arts consultants, and the classroom teachers. The consultants and teachers bring a list of students, and show how they are doing in September, October, November, and December, so that the progress of each student is watched to see how they are moving forward. On a daily basis, the teachers teach different types of skills (i.e. critical stance, author’s purpose, etc.), because all of these skills are learned over the elementary years, and not just a couple of weeks before the test. There are monthly math review meetings and he meets with all of the teachers, with the subject area supervisor, and each child’s success is reviewed, and it is decided what to do to help each child. Math tutors help the students who need a lot of help. He said nine days before the test this year, elementary school students were able to practice math before school. He said that there are 88 4th graders, and roughly 60 of these students came every morning to practice math.
Ms. Marino said
Mrs. Boutilier said groups of teachers meet on a regular basis to identify materials and resources to use with their students, as well as to share with the classroom teachers.
Mrs. Schmidt said what is
admirable and exciting is Rocky Hill’s standing in the ERG. She said out of 22
towns, in most cases, Rocky Hill has gone from being in the bottom seven, to
top seven, and to number one in math.
Dr. Vautour said that his only regret is this is the last year of
generation three, and next year Rocky Hill has to go back to square one. Rocky Hill will move forward and staff should
be commended for an outstanding performance this year.
15. Schedule
of Open Houses
Dr. Vautour said the Board has
the schedule for the open houses for this coming September and all families
will be notified of the dates through newsletters. There was a change at
Chairperson Bell wanted to
highlight to the Board, as well as the public, that
16. Executive Session
Moved by Mrs. Schmidt,
seconded by Mr. Bostwick, to go into executive session to discuss a student
disciplinary matter and vote on same; to discuss the resignation of a teacher
and acceptance of said resignation, and to initiate the evaluation of the
superintendent of schools. (
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Moved by Mrs. Schmidt, seconded by Mr.
Bostwick, to come out of executive session. (
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Mrs. Schmidt moved, Mr. Bostwick seconded,
to accept the resignation of Doris Nabel, effective
June 30, 2005.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Mrs. Schmidt moved, Mr. Palazzolo
seconded, to approve student disciplinary decision of April 7, 2005.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Mrs. Schmidt moved, Mr. Palazzolo seconded, to adjourn the meeting. (
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Respectfully submitted,
Jo-Anne Booth
Recording Secretary
Accepted by: _______________________________ Date: ______________________