NEWTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE
MINUTES
OF REGULAR MEETING - APRIL 8, 2002
EDUCATION
CENTER, FRAZIER ROOM, 7:30 P.M.
PRESENT: Chairperson Anne Larner,
Vice-Chairperson Susan Albright, Gail Glick, Patricia Kellogg, Marc Laredo,
Nancy Levine, Leslie Schneider, Dori Zaleznik
ABSENT: Mayor David Cohen and student representatives
CALL TO ORDER
Chairperson Anne Larner
called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m.
PUBLIC COMMENT
There were no members of
the public who wished to address the Committee at this time.
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES' DISCUSSION
None.
RECOGNITIONS
The following recognition
was acknowledged:
Recipients of the Charles
E. Brown Fellowship Awards:
Peirce Elementary
School Brown Middle School
Grace Houston-Carr Carlton
Doctor
Jenny Craddock Tom
Sheppard
Gideon Gaudette Jennifer
Picciolo
Richard Romero Richard
Allsbrook
Karen Kelly
Sue Welch Newton
South High School
Lisa Vancans John
Keefe
Newton North High
School
Anne Serafin
APPROVAL OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
Anne Larner requested the
following addendum to the 1/28/02 School Committee meeting minutes:
Page 7, after the end of
public comment, she would like it to be noted that the School Committee fully
supports the Superintendent and has no intention of asking for his resignation.
MOTION: It was
moved to approve the School Committee
regular
meeting minutes of 1/28/02, as amended
(Levine
- Glick)
8 - 0 - 1
Absent:
Mayor Cohen
VIRTUAL HIGH SCHOOL PRESENTATION
Michael Welch, Principal
of Newton South High School, explained that the concept of the virtual high
school was the brainchild of Gordon Duckel, music director, and has been in
existence for the past four years. This
program allows students to partake of classes through the Internet and do all
their work on the computer, on-line.
Currently there are approximately 210 available courses. Mr. Duckel teachers one of the courses, of
which students nationwide participate.
For every class he teaches, they are able to offer 20 students per
semester the opportunity to participate in these programs.
Susan Batler, guidance
counselor, stated that these programs serve two types of students -- those for
wh0m the school's course selections do not prove sufficiently interesting and
those who do not do well in a regular classroom setting. This year she had a student take an Egyptian
archeology course on museum curator.
Some other courses students have participated in are anatomy,
physiology, and statistics. One student
who was having trouble getting along with classmates and teachers has been
utilizing this program to take numerous computer courses.
Gordon Duckel stated that
Virtual High School Incorporated is a non-profit company, with a chief
executive officer and a director of curriculum. The program was initially funded through a federal grant and is
the model for on-line education. Unlike
computer-based training, it is more like a real classroom setting, with
interaction between teacher and students.
One-hundred-and-ninety-two schools participate in 38 states and 12
countries. His class includes a student
from Singapore. Each student can take
up to three courses, so they can be flexible with the number of slots available
and are not required to have 20
students participating at
one time. Each teacher has to
participate in a training course and several people evaluate each course. The program recently won the Stockholm
Challenge, for delivering the best international informational technology
program out of 732 entries from 90 countries.
Rachel Baum, senior at
Newton South High School, talked about the courses she took through the virtual
high school program, including Democracy in America and Shakespearean
Films. The program does not allow you
to slack off and the work is intense, but very gratifying.
Michael Welch noted that
the virtual high school allows the school to have a variety of options for
students and they would like to see the program grow. They are currently looking to engage another faculty member in
the training.
Susan Albright asked how
they blend the virtual high school courses with those of the school, in order
to make sure students are meeting their requirements. She also wondered if they could utilize this technology to
address the issue of low-enrollment courses.
Michael Welch stated that
they currently do not typically offer these courses for credit, but in some
cases they provide exceptions. As it
now stands, transcripts list the name of the course and the fact that it was a
virtual high school program. In terms
of distance learning, it is more a professional development vs. technology
issue. The technology glitches have
been ironed out and it is the training of staff that needs attention.
Gail Glick asked about the
mechanics of the program.
Gordon Duckel explained
that students begin with a week of orientation and then proceed to the lab to
begin their coursework. As the site
coordinator, he is responsible for managing and overseeing their work. He can also monitor attendance and course
work through the computer. Teachers
communicate on-line with the students if there are problems or issues that need
to be addressed.
In addition, there are a
host of housekeeping items that teachers are responsible for as part of the
program.
Gail Glick asked if there
are opportunities for students to interact with one another.
Gordon Duckel responded in
the affirmative. Each course has to
develop methods for student interaction as part of the program.
Dori Zaleznik asked if the
curriculum is based on written or visual materials.
Gordon Duckel replied that
the curriculum is a combination of written and audio/visual materials. Students read books, watch videos, listen to
CDs, and conduct on-line research.
Dori Zaleznik asked Rachel
if she could compare the feedback she gets on her writing in the virtual high
school class with that received in a standard English course.
Rachel Baum stated that
there is more opportunity to communicate in the on-line course than in a
standard classroom, where one is competing for the teacher's time with others
students and within a limited timeframe.
Patty Kellogg asked
her if the teacher makes detailed
comments and suggestions for improvements in her work or if it is just
generally graded.
Rachel Baum stated that it
depends upon the specific teacher.
Gordon Duckel added that
students seem to feel less inhibited on-line than in a classroom setting, where
they might feel awkward or unsure about answering a question or partaking in
group discussions. Students have told
him they feel freer to express themselves without being judged by their
peers. It is a very liberating way to
approach education.
Marc Laredo asked for an
example of a typical hour in a virtual classroom course.
Gordon Duckel stated that
on a typical day, an assignment appears for the week, such as reading a
biography of Beethoven. At the same
time, he might put up an extra credit assignment to watch and review a movie on
the life of Beethoven. Then he might
ask students to comment on each other's reviews and to listen to a CD of
Beethoven's music, as directed by three different conductors, followed by a
discussion on their findings.
Leslie Schneider asked if
all students have access to these courses.
Sue Batler replied that
the courses are open to all students.
Leslie Schneider asked why
they are limited to 20 students per semester.
Gordon Duckel stated that
this is a policy of Virtual High School, Inc.
Patty Kellogg asked if the
program is available at Newton North as well.
Gordon Duckel responded
that a teacher from Newton North participated in training with him but has
since left the school, so the program never got established in that
building. However, he would be happy to
open the slots to Newton North students.
As a matter of fact, there were two Oak Hill Middle School students who
took a math course on-line because they were advanced
beyond the middle school
curriculum. This is part of the
marketing piece that they need to work on, in order to make people aware of the
availability of these options.
Marc Laredo asked about
grading and oversight.
Michael Welch stated that
they rely on the professionalism of the organization to keep the high
standards. In terms of grading, as the
majority of the courses are non-credit electives, it is difficult to compare
grades with traditional course work.
The site coordinators are able to monitor the grades of all students in
a course.
Sue Batler added that the
site coordinator also acts as another resource for the student in addition to
the on-line teacher.
Gordon Duckel noted that
while it is not his practice, it is not uncommon for some teachers to outline
their exact grading process at the beginning of a course based on a point
system.
Susan Albright asked how
he keeps up the classroom interaction.
Gordon Duckel stated that
he is constantly putting messages on the computer and using a lot of
animation. He updates assignments and
course work constantly. In addition,
there are private methods of communication, where students can chat with him
and he can critique work privately.
Every day he tries to make changes to the site so that it is as
different as a day in a regular classroom.
The only difference in communication in these courses is that it takes
place over a longer period of time than instantaneously. He logs on approximately 30 public comments
a week and requires students in turn to make three of their own, which is
similar to raising your hand in class.
Part of obtaining an A in his class is to have 45 comments logged on by
the end of the course.
Gail Glick asked how
virtual high school courses compare with regular classes in terms of
preparation and organization for the teacher.
Gordon Duckel stated that
the timing is different but the end results are comparable. For example, a regular classroom might last
an hour but a virtual classroom might be visited for 15 minutes four times a
day.
Gail Glick asked how the
ideas for the courses are generated.
Gordon Duckel believes
that the majority of it is teacher-generated, but there are instances where
Virtual High School Inc. will request people to teach a popular course.
Superintendent Jeff Young
thanked the group for their enlightening presentation and for their leadership
role in modeling this innovative program.
The
possibilities for the
future in this area are exciting. He
asked if there are similar programs for virtual faculty meetings, where
teachers and administrators could connect in a similar fashion with their
colleagues across the world.
Gordon Duckel noted that
there is a component to the virtual high school program that allows the
teachers to communicate with one another to critique each other's work, ask
questions, etc. The possibilities for
this technology are endless.
REPORTS
SUPERINTENDENT'S PERSONNEL REPORT
There were no questions on
the report.
FY02 BUDGET UPDATE
Sandra Guryan, Assistant
Superintendent for Business, Finance & Planning, announced that the Board
of Aldermen approved the supplemental appropriation that they have been
awaiting and overall the forecast remains similar to last month's report.
SPECIAL EDUCATION UPDATE
Dori Zaleznik questioned
the number of aide vacancies.
Carol Daynard, Assistant
Superintendent for Special Education, explained that the six open slots are
there in case of additional move-ins or other unanticipated situations. Historically they have gone over budget in
the spring, but this allows for some additional flexibility and cushion for
next year as well.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
CONTINUED DISCUSSION ON OUT-OF-STATE FIELD TRIP
POLICY
James Marini, Associate
Superintendent for Secondary Education, presented the revised material around
this topic, as a result of their discussion at the last meeting. He mentioned that they have clarified that
chaperones are required to take attendance.
He also noted that they anticipate contracting with several motor coach
companies and teachers will only be allowed to select from those vendors.
Marc Laredo asked about
waivers for student drivers.
Jim Marini explained that
this has to do with liability issues and relates to the short distance trips,
where students might drive others to extra-curricular activities.
Marc Laredo would like to
see included in the policy a statement having to do with verification, to be
sure students have the appropriate licenses for transporting other minors.
Anne Larner stated that it
appears that there are two very distinct sections associated with this policy
-- one having to do with field trips and travel and the other focusing on
extracurricular activities. She
believes this necessitates separate sections.
Jim Marini agreed that the
"one-size-fits-all" approach may not be practical.
Gail Glick appreciates the
addition of the checklist, to assist teachers in the process. She mentioned the need for making medical
emergency forms part of the paperwork.
Susan Albright asked if
they are allowing travel between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
Jim Marini replied that
their intent is to prohibit travel during this timeframe.
Susan Albright does not
believe the current policy is clear on this issue.
Jim Marini noted that the
proposed State regulation calls for ceasing travel at midnight, so their policy
would be more restrictive, although they are open for discussion around this
issue. They are also proposing a change
in field trip approval. In the past,
principals signed off on all field trips.
The new policy calls for the Superintendent to approve long-distance and
overnight trips and for School Committee to be informed of all international
trips.
Susan Albright asked if
the 1:10 ratio of chaperone to students is a recommendation or part of the
policy.
Jim Marini stated that the
ratio should be grade level appropriate, so they will have to be more specific
on the final draft.
Susan Albright mentioned
the need to clarify the information on scholarships.
Jim Marini agreed and
noted that there are two types of trips -- the required class trips bd. those
that are not mandatory. The systems is
obligated to pay for any students who cannot afford the former, but not
necessarily the latter. Currently their
thinking is that they would offer a limited number of scholarships, with upper
classmen getting preference.
Sandy Guryan mentioned
that the School Committee might wish to consider a specific line item in the
budget for financial assistance.
Dori Zaleznik would prefer
to leave the decisions regarding waivers to the individual schools. Given all the other things that require
funding in their budget, she would not wish to add another line item.
Gail Glick asked what the
insurance covers.
Jim Marini replied that
the coverage is for trip cancellations.
Leslie Schneider suggested
adding to the checklist a timeframe for deadlines.
Jim Marini thanked the
Committee for their comments. He now
needs to revise the material and send it to the law department for review. He will then bring it back to the Committee
for final approval.
CONTINUED DISCUSSION ON FY03 BUDGET
Anne Larner explained that
over the past several weeks, as School Committee members have been visiting
various community groups to talk about the school budget, similar themes have
been expressed. She worked with the
Superintendent to identify these "frequently asked questions." The Superintendent has developed responses
to the questions, which are before the Committee this evening for discussion.
Jeff Young noted that of
the 15 questions identified, seven were determined to be the most salient and
deserving of a formal response. If the
Committee wishes to add any of the others, this would be the appropriate time
to make this request.
Question #1 deals with
money spent on textbooks. It has been
quoted that Newton only spends approximately $30 per pupil per year in this
category. This is a misleading statement
because textbooks are only one of a variety of instructional materials that are
used in this system. The principals
have the discretion of how to spend their per pupil allocation. One school may spend only $20 on textbooks
per student, but $50 on science kits and $10 on math kits. The next year they might reverse those
numbers and spend the majority on textbooks.
Next year's budget includes $143 per student for textbooks and instructional
materials. This still puts them
slightly behind some other communities, but it is an improvement in their
"keeping pace" directive,
Question #2 has to do with
staffing and enrollment growth. It is
true that over the course of the last eight years, staffing has increased by
approximately 500 employees, while enrollment has gone up approximately
600. Again, this is
misleading without
understanding the background. Most of
the additional staffing does not have to do with enrollment increases, rather
are a result of School Committee policy.
For example, the system has made a commitment to reducing elementary
class size, of which 86 positions have been added to accommodate this
directive. A new middle school came on
line during this period and the system moved from a part-time to full-day
kindergarten program. Also, the Time & Learning state mandates required the
need for 38 new additional positions.
Add these to the increased need for special education staff, as dictated
by law, and increased number of students requiring these services and one gets
a more clear picture of the reasons behind the increased staffing.
Question #3 deals with the
number of administrators in the schools.
It continues to be reported that they are overstaffed in this area but,
in actuality, only 3% of the budget is dedicated to this area, which is well
within the state average. Given the
complexity of managing and organizing a system the size of Newton, they are far
from overstaffed administratively.
Questions #4 & #5
address the area of Pupil Services, which includes special education and bilingual/English
as a Second Language (ESL), and the reasons for the large number of staff
associated with this department. The
enclosed material outlines the specifics and he is willing to answer any
questions on these items.
Question #6 has to do with
finding economies. This is something
they do on an annual basis. They have
been providing a maintenance of effort budget for a number of years. They have realized substantial savings in
the operations areas. They have also
worked collaboratively with the City to install controls for managing spending.
Question #7 deals with the
relationship between the municipal and school departments and whether there are
opportunities for consolidation. They
have investigated this and determined that the human resources and payroll
departments in the two organizations have very different functions and it would
not be practical nor cost effective to merge.
Dori Zaleznik mentioned
that people often comment that the hiring of an outside auditor could help find
a lot of money that the system is wasting.
Anne Larner mentioned that
the system's financial and auditing records are all public.
Jeff Young added that this
is an incorrect perception.
Anne Larner asked about
the consultants that are utilized in the area of special education.
Carol Daynard explained
that, in some cases, they are not able to hire staff with the expertise that a
consultant might have, as they usually have very specialized training. For example, there are two consultants who
work with students that are non-verbal and who use electronic devices for
communicating. These are individually
designed systems that have to be changed and altered on an as-needed
basis. These people design the program
and then train the staff who will work with the systems. There are approximately 30 students
systemwide who require these type of services, but they are in different
schools and different grades. They also contract with a consulting
psychiatrist, who works with staff on both individual and crisis cases. The psychiatrist meets with the teams that
support the students and assists in developing the Individual Education Plans
(IEPs). Other consultants work on very
specific behavioral interventions and also help train staff. They are only used on an as-needed basis.
Dori Zaleznik commented
that it is unfortunate that people have the perception that consultants are
overpaid and unnecessary individuals who siphon money from the system. For the most part, they are only utilized for
specific situations where their expertise is needed.
Nancy Levine asked about
the process for deciding when a consultant is needed and the average cost.
Carol Daynard stated that
an outside evaluation or the team can determine the need for specific services,
including consultants. The cost can
range from $40-$100 per hour depending upon the specialization. The costly ones are the applied behavioral
analysis (ABA) programs, which run between $15,000-$20,000 and of which they
have four in the system. Costs are
controlled by utilizing their own staff, as much as possible.
Dori Zaleznik asked about
the role of the school psychologist.
Carol Daynard explained
that the psychologists work with the staff to develop behavioral plans for the
students. They serve as evaluators,
consultants, and program developers.
They also will work directly in the classrooms, when necessary, and may
meet with families. A great chunk of
their time is spent testing and evaluating children which, by law, has to be
done on a cyclical basis.
They also spend a lot of
time in individual, team, and prereferral meetings and are active in crisis
intervention. Contrary to what some
people may think, they do very little individual treatment, but rather focus on
prevention support and educational access models. If ongoing therapy is required, they will work with families
around utilizing outside agencies and services.
Jeff Young asked if Ms.
Daynard could speak about the student/guidance counselor ratio.
Carol Daynard replied that
Newton's ratio is 180:1, which is the average in most surrounding
communities.
Anne Larner commented that
they have a number of coordinator titled positions that vary in their job
description and responsibilities, so it can be confusing.
Carolyn Wyatt, Assistant
Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction, stated that there are the
curriculum & instruction coordinators, whose responsibility it is to define
what students should know in their given subject areas at each particular grade
level. These people have expertise in
their field and stay attuned to current research. Because there is so much state-mandated curriculum, with
associated high-stakes testing, these positions are necessary to help in
working with teachers around the delivery of the skills and concepts necessary
to be sure all children succeed. In
terms of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exam
specifically, each coordinator reviews all the data that is provided to the
system for their subject area. They
review the alignment of the curriculum to the exams and the performance of each
student at grade level and in subject matter.
This allows them to determine where there might be gaps in the teaching
process.
Anne Larner asked if she
could further elaborate on a day in the life of a curriculum coordinator.
Carolyn Wyatt used the
English Coordinator as an example. This
person would spend time each day in one of the elementary or middle schools, in
a classroom, observing a teacher and/or modeling a program. On the Tuesday early release day, he meets
with faculty to talk about the delivery of the curriculum in specific
situations. He might sit with the
principal in a building to talk about the strengths and weaknesses in their
particular school. He also offers
professional development opportunities for teachers and conducts workshops both
in-house and, at times, outside the system.
If he presents at national conferences, he will bring back various
teaching practices. He may spend part
of his day reading and researching in the particular subject matter, as well as
consulting with outside professionals.
He basically serve as the glue that binds the district philosophy and
goals to the individual classroom performance.
Gail Glick asked if the
coordinator plays a role in teacher performance evaluations.
Carolyn Wyatt stated that
while they do not play a formal role in evaluations, they do interact with the
principals informally by sharing their observations.
Nancy Levine asked what
services students would lose if these positions did not exist.
Carolyn Wyatt replied that
it would be difficult to provide a consistent curriculum systemwide without the
coordinators, as well as hamper their ability to tie the professional
development to the work that goes on in the classroom. Teachers would lose that vital connection to
current information in the subject matter and the role modeling that they
provide.
Susan Albright asked how
much time the coordinators spend doing professional development work with
groups vs. individual teachers.
Carolyn Wyatt replied that
equal time is spent doing both.
Coordinators take advantage of the early release days built into the
school calendar to meet formally with groups, but at the same time they move
from building to building and participate in subject and grade level
meetings. In addition, they spend time
with individual teachers piloting programs and working with specific
curriculum.
Susan Albright wondered
how to respond to detractors who insist the system should be containing costs
by cutting in this area.
Carolyn Wyatt commented
that the coordinators work with several hundred K-5 teachers, in the 11 subject
areas, who are responsible for 7,000 students.
They are experts in their field and work with one another on cross-discipline
programs as well.
Anne Larner asked about
the specialist positions.
Carolyn Wyatt likened
these people to assistants who compliment the coordinator. The English specialists work .5 in two
buildings, with the principal and teachers, to model lessons on a daily basis. In addition, they do some testing of students
who are referred for special education or who need assistance in reading. In addition, there are three systemwide
curriculum specialists in math, science, and social studies, who work to
incorporate special education programs in the regular classroom and who act as
a bridge between the two areas. They
also help model strategies around the core value of respect for human
differences, as it relates to and reinforces the work in their specific
departments. They also conduct
professional development workshops. For
example, the math specialist is currently working with the coordinator to
develop a full graduate-equivalent course to be offered to the faculty.
Carol Daynard stated that
the original plan in the reorganization of the department called for three
coordinators at the elementary level.
Instead, they substituted the elementary specialists, which has proven
to be an effective strategy.
Susan Albright asked about
the four information technology specialists.
Carolyn Wyatt explained
that these people work directly in the classroom integrating technology into
the curriculum. They assist in the
training of teachers. Their expertise is
in the software, but they act as trouble-shooters as well, when there are
problems with the hardware.
Dori Zaleznik thanked them
for this discussion, because it provides a much clearer picture of a very
complex organization. This is a large
school system, where they are attempting to provide services that are routinely
available for smaller systems. She
wondered if they could explore some other structural models, to ascertain
whether they are delivering the services in the best possible manner, in the
most cost-effective way.
Jeff Young likes this
suggestion and believes it is something they should be exploring on an ongoing
basis. A school system must be flexible
and fluent in meeting the needs of students as they change over time. One should never look at the organization as
being permanent, but rather an evolving process.
Anne Larner thanked the
group for this enlightening discussion.
She then stated that they will need to prepare a contingency plan before
the next meeting, to address the possibility of the Override failing and the need
to revisit the allocation budget.
VOTE TO ACCEPT DONATION
MOTION: It was moved to approve the donation of
photographic
equipment to Newton South High
School, as outlined
in Attachment E.
(Albright
- Schneider)
8
- 0 - 1
Absent: Mayor Cohen
COMMUNICATIONS
None.
PUBLIC COMMENT
There were no members of
the public who wished to address the Committee at this time.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned
at 10:05 p.m.