NEWTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE

MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING — MARCH 12, 2001

EDUCATION CENTER, FRAZIER ROOM, 7:30 P.M.

PRESENT: Chairperson Verne Vance, Vice-Chairperson Anne Borg, Susan Albright, Susan Heyman, Anne Larner, Nancy Levine, Andris Vizulis, Mayor David Cohen, James Tierney, student representative — Newton North High School

ABSENT: Rodney Barker and student representative, Newton South High School

OPEN SESSION

At 6:30 p.m., it was announced that the Committee will entertain a motion to convene in executive session.

MOTION: It was moved, by roll call vote, to convene in

executive session for the purpose of discussing

matters related to collective bargaining. If

passed, the Committee will reconvene in open

session at 7:30 p.m.

(Albright - Vizulis)

8 — 0 — 1

Absent: Barker

ROLL CALL VOTE BY WARD:

Ward I, "yes" (Vizulis); Ward II, "yes" (Albright); Ward III, "yes" (Larner); Ward IV, "yes", (Levine); Ward V, "yes" (Heyman); Ward VI, absent; (Barker); Ward VII, "yes" (Vance); Ward VIII, "yes", (Borg); Mayor David Cohen, "yes"

CALL TO ORDER

Chairperson Verne Vance called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.

PUBLIC COMMENT

David Bunis, 460 Waverley Ave., Ward Elementary School parent, addressed the Committee regarding redistricting. Many families at Ward are concerned that

they may be bused south rather than being able to attend Bigelow, which is in close proximity to their neighborhood. In addition, many of the children attend Temple Emanuel after school, which is also within walking distance. Another concern is the possibility of splitting the Ward community at the high school level.

Jim Cohen, 45 Gralynn Rd., Ward parent, talked about the size of the school and expressed concern about the possibility of small cohorts being split at the high schools.

Paul Alie, 52 Algonquin Rd., Ward and Newton North High School parent, talked about the difficult transition to high school and the importance of keeping children together. Financially it does not seem to make sense to bus a community from one side of the City to the other. He concluded by mentioning his desire for incorporating a pool into the building project at Newton South High School.

Faye Ruopp, 25 Groveland St., thanked the School Committee and administration, on behalf of the Newton North High School Council, for their efforts in securing telephones, voicemail and an intercom, which will allow for better communication among staff and parents.

Jonathan Yeo, 152 Grove St., Copresident of the Williams Elementary School PTO, expressed concern that Williams may be forced to bus children to the south side of the city for seven years. Geography, distance, impact on families, and student participation in after-school activities are what matter most to their community. He asked that the Commonwealth Avenue split option be eliminated from consideration. He presented the Committee with an alternative plan that he feels better addresses the far east portion of the City.

STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES’ DISCUSSION

James Tierney talked about concerns around the issue of parking at Newton North. Recently some student parking has been reassigned to staff, leaving limited street parking.

Anne Larner mentioned that there appears to be a citywide trend with regard to limiting all day parking in neighborhoods, not just around the high school.

Susie Heyman commented that some of the pressure may be eliminated with the completion of the high school project.

RECOGNITIONS

None.

APPROVAL OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES

None.

ACTION ITEMS

VOTE TO APPROVE REPRESENTATIVE TO THE DESIGN REVIEW COMMITTEE

MOTION: It was moved to appoint Lisa Monahan

as the School Committee representative

to the Design Review Committee.

(Heyman — Levine)

8 — 0 — 1

Absent: Barker

VOTE TO ACCEPT DONATIONS

MOTION: It was moved to approve the various donations of

equipment to the Career and Technical Education

and Family & Consumer Sciences Departments and

the monetary donation to Zervas Elementary School,

as outlined in Attachment C.

(Levine — Heyman)

8 — 0 — 1

Absent: Barker

REPORTS

SUPERINTENDENT’S PERSONNEL REPORT

There were no questions on the report.

SUPPORT SERVICES STATUS REPORT

Anne Larner wondered if the high electrical costs at Day can be attributed to the use of the air-conditioning for the SPACE (Summer Program for Academic and

Creative Encounters) program and, if so, they may wish to discuss whether sufficient charges are being assessed for that usage.

Michael Pierce, Manager of Support Services, will review the charges and report back to the Committee.

Nancy Levine asked if the utility costs for Williams Elementary School represent that building, the Carr School, or both facilities

Michael Pierce will review those charges as well.

Susie Heyman asked about environmental concerns at Zervas Elementary School.

James Marini, Assistant Superintendent for High Schools & Operations, talked about air quality issues at Zervas and the involvement of the Building and Health Departments. A committee has been formed to address these issues. A consultant will be hired to examine the facility, identify the problems, and recommend corrective action. A tremendous amount of work has already occurred in certain parts of the building, which has resulted in significant improvements. However, the problems persist and must be addressed.

VOTE ON PRELIMINARY DESIGN FOR HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING PROJECT

Owen Beenhouwer, architect for DRA, asked the School Committee for a vote to approve some minor revisions to the educational specifications for the Newton South High School project.

MOTION: It was moved to approve the Newton South

High School Revised Educational Specifications

Document and the Preliminary Plans prepared

by DRA to reflect those Educational Specifications,

dated March 12, 2001.

(Larner — Albright)

8 — 0 — 1

Absent: Barker

Susan Albright thanked the architect and staff for all the work they have been doing to make sure the specifications are precise.

Anne Larner also complimented them on the thoroughness of the work and the constant communication with staff at the building level.

DISCUSSION ITEMS

UPDATE ON EARLY CHILDHOOD GRANT

Roseli Weiss, Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education, talked about Newton being the recipient of the largest of the Quality Full-Day Kindergarten grants, which has reduced the pupil/teacher ratio K-1 and has allowed them to hire an early childhood coordinator to manage the program.

Linda Karpeichik, Early Childhood Coordinator, conducted a PowerPoint presentation to present some of the highlights of the program. She noted that unlike many other communities, Newton has focused on early childhood for almost 25 years and has made tremendous progress. She is in the process of linking all the various organizations involved in this area, to improve the full-day kindergarten experience, quality of curriculum, and develop continuity from preschool through first grade. She talked about some of the things that the grant will allow them to accomplish. One is the lowered teacher/student ratio. Another is in their ability to purchase more supplies and materials. This year they are focussing on literacy and hope to establish classroom libraries in every kindergarten. They have installed 40 I-MAC computers, a scanner, a digital camera for each elementary school, and assisted technology kits for children on Independent Evaluation Plans. They are also purchasing several surveys and assessment tools. They will eventually apply for accreditation from the National Association of Education. They are working toward links to the private sector and preschool populations to ease the transition into the system, including kindergarten guides for parents, as well as citywide forums. A quarterly newsletter is being published and the first edition is included in tonight’s material. Recently the preschool and kindergarten faculties met and toured one another’s facilities and will hold a joint symposium later this spring. In terms of professional development, they have teamed with the Center for Applied Child Development at Tufts University, and have received on-site coaching for Newton faculty. They have also been working with Newton’s Primary Intervention Reading Specialist in the development of K-2 benchmarks and a new phonics pilot program, as well as assessment tools. They have been present at several national conferences and continue to be a role model system for other communities interested in early childhood development.

Anne Borg asked what a developmentally—appropriate literacy program looks like in a kindergarten classroom.

Linda Karpeichik explained that a developmentally-appropriate literacy program would involve multiple strategies for instruction and a wealth of books in the classroom. It could include shared, interactive, and/or independent reading. It could also include big and leveled books at a variety of ability levels. The challenge is to meet all children at the level of experience that they bring and then challenge them a little further.

Anne Borg commented that some of the concern around full-day kindergarten is the notion of pushing curriculum on children at too early an age and that what was once first grade work becomes kindergarten curriculum before children are ready.

Roseli Weiss stated that most children today have pre-school experience and come into the system already reading. It is important to have developmentally-appropriate practices in place to address the needs of these students. On the other side of the equation are children who enter the system not knowing how to read. The repertoire of strategies for teachers need to cover the gamut. Their concept of early education is a K-3 grouping attitude where children are given several years to acquire skills.

Andy Vizulis asked about the selection process for the purchase of the software.

Linda Karpeichik stated that they will be bringing in vendors to demonstrate some programs. She is very familiar with the software that is on the market and will bring her expertise to the discussions. It will be a decision made in conjunction with staff input.

Verne Vance asked about ongoing costs.

Linda Karpeichik stated that they will apply for an extension of the grant for next year and are very hopeful that it will be approved because the Department of Education at both the state and federal level places a high priority on early childhood and they are very impressed with Newton’s model.

FY01 BUDGET UPDATE

Sandra Guryan, Assistant Superintendent for Business, Finance & Planning, announced that the deficit continues to worsen at another $125,000, for a total of approximately $1,000,000. The main reasons for the increase are three

additional special education placements, custodial overtime, and fuel bills. The budget freeze has been instituted.

Anne Larner asked about the meeting between the Mayor and school administration regarding separating the deficit into unanticipated increases and those of which the system would take ownership.

Mayor Cohen replied that the most recent snowstorm has depleted more of the City’s resources. They continue to look throughout the City’s budget, but it is becoming more apparent that there are no additional funds to help with the deficit and the school system may have to address this within its own budget.

It was decided to request of the Mayor the $879,190 that has been held in budget reserve for the schools.

MOTION: It was moved to request that the $879,190 be moved

from the Budget Reserve account to the FY01

School Appropriation.

(Albright — Larner)

7 - 1 - 1

Abstained: Mayor Cohen

Absent: Barker

The Mayor explained that he abstained from the vote because the request is directed to him.

COMMUNICATIONS

None.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Ken Hamilton, President of the Newton Teachers Association (NTA), announced that a tentative agreement has been reached between the NTA and the School committee negotiating teams. The general membership will meet to vote on ratification of the contract on March 29^th. He thanked everyone involved in the process.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 p.m.