TOWN
OF ROCKY HILL
BOARD
OF EDUCATION
Members
Present: Neil Geldof
(Chairman)
Peter
Arico
Nadine
Bell
Mark
Carberry Charles
McMonigle
Rene
(Skip) Rivard
Anne
Schmidt
Catherine
Vargas
Jennifer
Viggiano-Grosse
Members Absent: None
A meeting of the Board of Education was
held on Thursday, May 17, 2007, in the Council Chambers of the
The pledge of allegiance was recited.
APPROVAL
OF MINUTES
Moved by Renee Rivard, seconded
by Jennifer Viggiano-Grosse, to accept the minutes of the April 5, 2007 Board
of Education special meeting as amended by striking the names of former
members, Kirk Bostwick and Francis Palazzolo, and adding the member names of
Mr. Carberry and Mr. Rivard.
MOTION CARRIED
Moved by Renee Rivard, seconded by Mark Carberry, to accept
the minutes of the April 12, 2007 Board of Education special meeting as amended
by striking the names of former members, Kirk Bostwick and Francis Palazzolo,
and adding the member names of Mr. Carberry and Mr. Rivard.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION
CARRIED
Moved by Peter Arico, seconded
by Renee Rivard, to accept the minutes of the April 12, 2007 regular Board of
Education meeting.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION
CARRIED
CORRESPONDENCE
Dr. Vautour read a thank-you letter to
the Board from the Co-Chair of Project Graduation for their donation toward the
event.
Dr. Vautour announced that
AUDIENCE
PARTICIPATION
RHTA
Liaison Committee
No Report.
Elijah
Calderon and Tyler DiLoreto, 5th graders at
Laura Dobmeier and
Cherie Lepak made presentations for West Hill.
Several
Principal Pitocco highlighted recent events for
Meeting
Open to the Public
No Comments.
1.
Consent Calendar
Moved by Nadine
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
COMMITTEE
REPORTS
2. Personnel and Negotiations
Mr. McMonigle
reported that on Wednesday, May 23rd at 3:00 the Personnel and
Negotiations committee will be interviewing three search firms that have submitted
their bids to the Board for services to help find a replacement Superintendent
of Schools for Dr. Vautour upon his retirement.
He opened the invitation for all Board members to attend.
3. Policy
No Report.
4.
Finance
Mrs. Schmidt
reported there had been some financial issues due to some special education
movement into town, however, after the freezing of some accounts, finances have
stabilized and are in good shape at this point in time.
Also, she
reported that the Superintendent has responded that ten teachers have expressed
interest in the Early Retirement Incentive Plan, a number large enough to
warrant offering the plan.
Moved by Peter Arico, seconded by Nadine Bell, to approve the offering
of an early retirement plan to Rocky Hill teachers, and for the purposes of
State Teacher Retirement, accept the resignations of the following ten
individuals: Alice Bevvino, Lorraine
Elliott, Jane Gregg, Ilona Laporte, Carol Maturo, Susan Ostroski, Barbara
Rawski, Judith Richey, T. Christopher Sheehan, and Ruth Washcalis
FAVOR: ALL
Curriculum
No Report.
6. Professional Development
Mrs.
Viggiano-Grosse reported a meeting of the PDC was held on April 10, 2007 at
central office. A lengthy discussion
took place on the relationship between school improvement plans, the teacher
evaluation plan, and professional development activities. Many ideas were shared, and further
discussions will take place with the staff and administrators. A plea for more time for collaboration with
staff was again made. Decisions will
continue in each of the discussions.
7. Facilities
Mr. Arico stated the Government Ops
Chair and Facilities members completed the building walk-throughs on May 4,
2007. The Government Ops Chair indicated
there are some council members who wish to do a walk-through that have not have
the opportunity. Once the budget
discussion is completed, the Government Ops Chair will get word out to members
of the Ops group that wish to do a walk through to do so sometime prior to the
end of the school year.
He also reported that Dr. Prowda’s
report confirmed the earlier data included in the Schoenhart report that
anticipates a population growth of 300 students in the next 20-25 years. Also, he noted that The Hartford Courant ran
an article on May 16, 2007 that indicated Rocky Hill will experience a 13.86%
increase in population. He factored in
26% of that number being students, and found that this data collaborates with
the figure of a 300-student population growth in the other reports.
Mrs. Bell asked if a joint Facilities
and Government Ops meeting could be scheduled at this point, and asked the
committee to project a time to have these meetings. Mr. Arico responded will be in touch will the
Chair of the Government Ops, and will hold the meeting as soon as
possible.
8. Technology
No report.
9. Transportation/Accommodations
No report.
10.
Liaison
No report.
OLD
BUSINESS
None.
NEW
BUSINESS
11.
Mr. Pitocco extended his thanks to the Board for
permitting the choral trip to
Mrs. Burnett mentioned that the students were recently interviewed this week in the Rocky Hill Post and Rocky Hill Life, and asked everyone to look for those articles.
She extended her thanks to Kim Jenkens for her work on the artwork packages, and Adele Galli, and Rick Incorvati for providing the students with hour-long Italian lessons to help them communicate in the language. She also thanked the parent volunteers, and to the Board and the administration for its support and endorsement of this trip.
Mrs. Burnett explained the trip was a wonderful blend of history, culture, art, and music. Students represented the Town of Rocky Hill very well, and handled themselves very professionally.
She presented a video of the trip spotlighting several
scenic places the class visited, and showing the chorus singing several
performances, many of which were held in cathedrals. The group sang many types of music selections
such as Italian selections by Croche and Palistrina, and also hymns,
spirituals, pop, and gospel.
Mrs. Bell commended the video and noted that this is a
great example of the learning that can go on outside the classroom. She mentioned to Mr. Pitocco it would be
great to incorporate some of this video into the
14. Healthy Food Certification
Statement
Mr. Turansky
provided information regarding the healthy food certification program. Choosing to participate in the program would
mean the district would have to certify that all food items sold to students on
school property would need to meet
He stated the
incentive to participate in the program is an additional $.10 per meal
reimbursement from the state, but the downside would be the negative effect on
the fundraising activities on the premises.
There are many very active fundraising groups such as Project Graduation
and Band Backers, athletic and PTO groups that would be impacted. He suggested
the Board not participate in the certification at this time because the benefits
do not outweigh the costs.
Mr. Turansky
highlighted a decision to not participate in the certification does not mean
the district will be serving unhealthy food.
He explained each district must have their menus analyzed by state
standards already, and we currently choose all snacks off the state accepted
list (even though there is no state requirement at this time to do so). The district has eliminated a-la-carte sales
of french fries in the middle school, and plans to do this next year at the
high school.
Mr. Turansky
noted there will be a new Director of Special Education and Pupil Services who
will resurrect the wellness policy. The
wellness policy group work with some of the fundraisers to educate them on the
state requirements for the certification, and to implement some alternatives
for fundraising in the future, but for now he suggests not participating in the
Healthy Food Certification.
Moved by Mark Carberry, seconded by Nadine Bell, to not participate in
the Healthy Food Certification at this time.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Mrs. Vargas
recollected having this discussion last year, and questioned what action had
been taken since this discussion last came up.
Mr. Turansky responded that the Director of Wellness departed the
district, and therefore, a year was lost, but that with the new Director, we
can pick up where we left off.
12. Elementary
Report Card
Mrs. Boutilier
made a presentation on the newly updated elementary report card. The presentation is the result of 2½ years of
study and work. She opened with some
history of the report card, and explained the value of it and its role in
teacher-student and teacher-parent communication. She explained the state standards as a series
of documents by subject area that professionals in the state have determined
what students should know and be able to do in each subject area in each grade
level. These state standards are
upgraded every 5 years and, these standards were the bible used in developing
the new version of the elementary report card they are proposing to the Board
A hard copy of
the proposed first grade report card was presented. Mrs. Boutilier called attention to the higher
level of specificity on the new proposed report card. When creating the new report card, the
committee took some general goals, and broke them up into several specific sets
of skills that children are responsible in each grade level.
She explained the
need for the change is most importantly for better communication between
teachers and parents and students about student achievements related to the state
standards. For example: The new proposal
for first grade math has 12 measures of discreet skills, when the old report
card had only 4. Teachers can now be more specific when explaining student’s
weaknesses, so they can focus on improving the specific skill.
Learning targets
have also been changed in order to be aligned with the curriculum. The Benchmark Assessments directly relate to
the learning targets on the report card.
Mrs. Boutilier introduced some of the members of the report card
committee: Joyce Waterbury, Liz Mack, Pat Crawford, Sissie Hinchey, Cori DiMaggio
and Audrey Boutaugh. All staff have been
involved in surveys, and have been kept in the loop in addition to using their
twice-per-month Wednesday grade level meetings to whittle down the many
standards to only the “power standards” that each child needs to have a good
grasp of when leaving each grade level. There
has been a parent reaction committee, which provides valuable input in terms of
the language they are using, etc. to try to eliminate some of the jargon that
teachers use, which parents aren’t familiar with. The behaviors of the children that are
necessary for them to succeed in the classroom have been separated out, and
will be graded separately. The idea is
to focus attention onto these behaviors by grading them, and hopefully will
help these behaviors become second nature to the students.
They have
increased opportunity for parent communication beginning in June. The next step for the committee is to figure
out how the assessments of the child’s level of mastery will be done.
The grading scale
is standards based. It’s no longer
averaging grades. Even though in
September a student may not be doing well, as long as they have developed that
particular skill by the next grade period, it will be reported as such at the
next 12-week grading period. The grading
system works as such:
4 = The child consistently
applies that skill or that concept independently
3 = The child
frequently applies that skill or that concept independently
2 = The child is
still developing the skill
1 = Needs
improvement
M =Modifications have been made, which is
used when certain modifications or exceptions have been made for the student
such as extended time, available word banks, etc. When a grade of “M” is given, there is also a
corresponding number grade given. The rating scale for the positive behaviors
needed for successful work in school, the workplace, and life mirror the skill
grading scale, but the title of those behaviors has not been identified
yet.
There is also a change proposed in the
timing of the reporting period. They are
suggesting a 12-month or tri-mester reporting schedule. Teachers will be making contact with parents
within the first month of school by phone, e-mail or some other type of
contact. Conferences will be held in December, with evening hours available.
Mrs. Boutilier stated there is still work to
be done on this project. They are
refining details, and hoping to have the report card available to teachers
online. She added that this will be a
work in progress for at least a year, and then it could be firmed up, and
tweaked slightly as the state standards change over time. Mrs. Boutilier commented that so far the teachers
are very excited about this change.
Anne Schmidt asked about the “absences and
tardys interfered” section on the back of the report card. Mrs. Boutilier added that they are still
working on how to measure how absences and tardys affect the grades. Mrs. Schmidt also asked if the report cards
would be available electronically. Mrs.
Boutilier said that yes, the cards should be available electronically, and they
are also seeking a goal of allowing personalization by the teachers.
Mrs. Schmidt asked if each item will have a
grade or checkmark, or only those items that need improvement. Mrs. Boutilier responded that each available
box will have a check mark or grade unless it is shaded, because it isn’t being
graded that period.
Mr. Carberry thanked teachers and
administrators for their work on this project and asked when the new report
cards will be ready to go out to students and parents. Mrs. Boutilier responded that it should be
ready for use in the fall.
Mr. McMonigle suggested getting blank report
cards out to parents at some point ahead of time to get the parents up to speed
with the changes that will come.
13. Elementary Conference Schedule
West Hill and Stevens/Moser Principals, Cori-Ann DiMaggio and Audrey
Boutaugh presented a new proposal for parent-teacher conferences. They proposed having half-day conferences
rather than full-day conferences. There
were three main reasons for the requested change: 1) Increased instruction for the
students: Currently kindergarten
students have substitute teachers for four consecutive days, and the other
grades have substitute teachers for two consecutive days. This causes a great deal of loss of
instruction for the students. Mrs.
Boutaugh and Mrs. DiMaggio suggest a half-day of instruction with the student’s
regular teachers mainly focusing on language arts and math. 2) Parental needs: They would like to have
evening hours available to parents who work.
3) Reducing district costs: $8,850
could be saved for the district on moneys spent on the substitutes.
Mr. McMonigle asked if it was acceptable to the teachers to have longer
days due to this change, and the teachers in the audience and Mrs. DiMaggio
stated the teachers are willing to do this.
Dr. Vautour commented that Rocky Hill teachers do what is necessary to
ensure communication, and are to be commended for that. Mrs. DiMaggio commented
that with the way the conferences are done now, the teachers have to prepare
for the substitutes anyway, and the teachers would appreciate being able to
instruct children on conference days.
Mrs. Bell questioned what method of communication will be used in order
to inform the parents of this change.
Mrs. Boutaugh stated that they plan on letting parents know in advance
by way of their newsletters and the open houses giving the parents plenty of
notice of the change.
Moved by Mrs. Vargas, seconded by Nadine
Bell to approve the recommendations by Mrs. Boutilier and Mrs. DiMaggio and
Boutaugh.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
15. Rescinding Non-tenured Personnel
Moved by Mrs.
Vargas, seconded by Jennifer Viggiano-Grosse to rescind the notice of
non-renewal of contracts for non-tenured teachers as follows: Mary Aunce-Oberndorfer, Teresa Aurigemma, Matthew
Bennett, Sandra Bonfiglio, Lisa Goldstein, Gregory Gomes, Brian Graca, Richard
Incorvati, Jr., Stephanie Kelly, Magdalena Kruk, David Mangus, Jeffrey Mertens,
Sherri Pereira, Nathan Swartz, Brian Wilcox, Julie Flynn, Mario Marena, Andrew
Benson, Linda Carneiro, Marie Cordone, Christine Hany, Karla Harding, Rebekah
Harding, Rosemary Lentini, James McKinnon, IV, Jonathan Patrei, Laura Ribaudo,
Lynn Skrzypiec, Michael Vye, Melissa Whitaker, Kristen
Allen, Andrew Basroon, Kristyn Carter, Sandra Fravel, Cathrynn King, MHS, Elaine
Malespini, Kelly O’Connell, Wendy Piscitelli, Cindy Poulin, Michelle Proto,
Diane Rainha, Eileen Touger, Cara Viggiano, Sandra Amoroso, Eliska Bayley,
Andrea Rossi, Linda Aiello, Erin Carignan, Merle Cohen, Sarah D’Arco, Vincent
Faienza, Ann Gombotz, Mary Iacobucci, Lynn Marinelli, Meredith Myers, Kelly
Yurechko, Patrice Grogan, Joyce Waterbury, Cassandra Perrett, (until B. Stevens
returns in December), and Samuel Starr.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION
CARRIED
16. Board of Education Retreat
Dr. Vautour announced that the Board will be conducting its retreat in
the training room on June 13th, 2007. The time and nature of the agenda will come
out in the next week or so. Dr. Vautour
will be meeting individually with all of the administrators to talk about their
anticipated department needs to address in the next 3-5 years in an attempt to
provide input as the Board seeks replacement for the Superintendent of Schools
position.
17. Executive Session
Moved by Jennifer Viggiano-Grosse, seconded by Peter Arico to move into executive session at 8:20 p.m.
FAVOR: ALL
Moved by
Mr. Arico, seconded by Mr. Carberry, to come out of executive session. (9:09
p.m.)
FAVOR:
ALL
Move by Mr.
Rivard, seconded by Mrs. Viggiano-Grosse, to approve superintendent of schools’
recommendation for student discipline.
FAVOR: ALL
Move by
Mrs. Vargas, seconded by Mrs. Bell, to adjourn the meeting. (9:10 p.m.)
FAVOR: ALL
Respectfully
submitted,
Lisa
R. Reed
Recording
Secretary
Accepted by: _______________________ Date: _____________________