MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING,
PRESENT: Chairperson Anne Larner, Vice-Chairperson Dori
Zaleznik, Gail Glick, Susan Heyman, Patricia Kellogg, Marc Laredo, Nancy
Levine, Reenie Murphy
ABSENT: Mayor David Cohen, student
representatives
Chairperson
Anne Larner called the meeting to order at
PUBLIC COMMENT
Julie Fox, Newton Corner,
spoke on behalf of the Underwood Elementary School PTO
requesting that some of the reserve staffing funds be allocated to their school
next year so that they only have to cut one vs. two teachers. Otherwise, they would be bearing over 20% of
the total elementary staff reductions. Underwood
is not going to see declining enrollment and serves one of the most diverse
populations in the City, making larger class sizes extremely challenging. There is a huge population of students
struggling with English, of which many speak it as a second language. There are also a lot of children on
individual educational plans (IEPs) who qualify for federal aid because of poverty
guidelines. There is a high turnover in
the population because of the number of rental properties in the area. The cuts would impact the lower grades
bringing class sizes to 24 or 25. The
students in the third grade have already experienced large classes since
kindergarten. There are two other
schools with the same number of students that are being allotted another
section and they believe this is unfair.
Julia Elhauge, Newton
Corner, talked about how several years ago Underwood instituted differentiated
instruction in response to their heavily diverse population. This type of teaching is extremely effective
but cannot be successful with large class sizes. The physical space itself is small and
children sometimes have to work on the floor.
She urged the Committee to allocate one of the reserve positions to
their school.
Mary Beth DeNucci,
Michelle Techler,
Kate Slocum, Newtonville,
understands that the administration faces decisions about several schools with
potentially large classes. However,
Horace Mann’s situation is unique and bears closer examination. The loss of a third second grade class will
not be merely an inconvenience, but will have a devastating impact on many
fragile learners and at-risk students.
The teachers are doing an excellent job under trying circumstances, but
would not be able to handle additional numbers in this grade given the needs of
these students. She fears many of these
children will be referred for special education services in later years if this
is not addressed now.
Tor Helgeson, Newtonville,
agreed with the previous speakers that the issues at Horace Mann are
unique. Parents are concerned that
academics will be compromised next year without a third second grade class. Many of the students require significant
guidance and attention.
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES’
DISCUSSION
None.
RECOGNITIONS
The following recognitions
were acknowledged:
The Daytime newspaper
(and following students) for receiving the
Gold Crown award by the Columbia Scholastic Press for the
fourth consecutive year, under the
advisorship of Bob
Provencher and
Tim Teelin:
Michael
Elsen-Rooney and Rachel Magid, co-editors-in-chief
Ben
Nathan and Max Wenneker, news editors
Sarah
Gurvis, layout editor
Trevor
Regensburg, business manager
Chris
Solomon, circulation manager
Max Nussenbaum and Rojay Wagner, student producers
of W.O.R.D.
Patricia Ho, Angier Elementary School 4th
grade student, for winning 1st place
in the Grade 4-5 Group of the League of Women Voters 5th annual Online Student Essay Contest, under the
advisorship of her teachers Ann O’Halloran
and Karen Gavin.
APPROVAL OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES
MOTION: It was moved to approve the School Committee
regular meeting minutes of 1/12 and
meeting
minutes of 1/14, 1/20, 1/26, 2/2 and
(Kellogg
– Zaleznik)
8 – 0 – 1
Absent: Mayor Cohen
REPORTS
SUPERINTENDENT’S PERSONNEL
REPORT
Nancy Levine asked about
coverage in the schools where psychologists and social workers have left their
positions.
Carol Daynard, Assistant
Superintendent for Pupil Services, replied that they have been able to replace
a position at
FY04 BUDGET UPDATE
Superintendent Jeffrey
Young stated that the monthly update is once again fairly straightforward, with
few changes.
OPERATIONS STATUS REPORT
Jeff Young noted that
there are sufficient funds to cover priority and emergency repairs through the
end of the school year in charter maintenance.
Under the facilities section of the report, there is information on the
movement towards more “green” schools, so as to make the buildings more
environmentally friendly and safer. The
cleaning products being used have been changed and building based management
teams on these issues are in place in every school. They are in the process of generating the
list of summer projects, which is when numerous tasks that are difficult to do
during the school year are accomplished.
Dori Zaleznik asked about the
chemical makeup of the new cleaner being used in the buildings.
Michael Cronin, Chief of
Operations, stated that the Health Commissioner recommended that they stay away
from antibacterial cleaners and soaps because eventually the bacteria develop immunity
and it defeats the purpose. They are using a neutral cleaner, with a PH of
approximately 7.0. He will obtain the
information on the specific ingredients.
Reenie Murphy asked about
streamlining the purchasing of supplies.
Mike Cronin explained that
they are attempting to do this and have already reduced the variety of products
that have been purchased in the past.
They are now limiting the choices to a few, allowing for the bids to
become more concise and hopefully better priced. The custodians have been very helpful in
providing recommendations for particular products and materials.
Anne Larner commented on
the condition of the
Mike Cronin stated that
the last repairs on the steps were at no additional cost to the system, but
failed over the past two cold winters.
He is waiting for a report from the contractor and will provide this
information to the Committee as soon as it is received.
Dori Zaleznik mentioned
that the stairs outside of the
Mike Cronin stated that
this has to do with cold winter weather and the impact on the concrete
resulting in frost heaves. There are a
couple of buildings with similar situations.
Jeff Young noted that the
work on
Susie Heyman asked about
the status of the tiling in the restrooms in Goodwin House.
Heidi Black, Administrator
of High School Construction & Strategic Planning, responded that they have
asked the contractor for a price on replacement tiles. There may be other areas in the school where
they will also want to do some replacement.
Dori Zaleznik asked about
the schedule for completion.
Heidi Black replied that
they are looking at turning over the new main office by 5/1 and the art rooms
by 6/1. It is critical that Cutler House
be completed by 8/15 for the opening of school, which has been made clear to
the contractor. This is also true for
the library. There is still some work
that needs to be done in the gym and the old main office, as well as the
temporary art space, which is going to become new science labs. Finally, there is also still work to be done
on the connectors.
Jeff Young announced that
New TV filmed the last episode of his program, Newton Public Schools News and Views, at Newton South, in which Principal
Mike Welch took him on a tour of the building.
For those not able to personally view the site, he suggested they watch
this to get a sense of the project.
SPECIAL EDUCATION UPDATE
Jeff Young noted that the
Special Education Update remains fairly consistent with last month’s.
Carol Daynard mentioned that
this month there will be new staff training on the Circuit Breaker legislation
and she is anticipating funds for that within the next few months. Hopefully that will help balance out some of
the inequities in the tuition account.
Reenie Murphy asked about
the process and number of preschool referrals.
Carol Daynard explained
that referrals come from parents, pediatricians or preschool teachers. Children are observed in their current
settings prior to the determination of the need for a full evaluation. They attempt to work with providers as much
as possible in order to offer services within the community nurseries. In addition to full-time students in-house,
there are those who utilize services part-time, such as for occupational and/or
speech therapy. There are a total of 160+
receiving services of some sort.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
DISCUSSION OF TRANSPORTATION
SURVEY RESULTS
Sandra Guryan, Assistant
Superintendent for Business, Finance & Planning, began by giving some
background on the several surveys that were conducted. The first was a bus fee survey offered to the
community. This was publicized through a
press release and notices were sent home with all students. A total of 1,006 surveys were completed; 1002
via the Internet and four by mail. They
used a company called Zoomerang to administer and tabulate the responses to the
survey on-line, at no additional cost to the system, since Newton Public
Schools is a subscribing member.
In addition, they offered a
survey of their own design to principals and the police department, in order to
ascertain their perception of safety conditions. The results of the principals’ survey
indicated that the majority did not view any real changes at their school in
terms of traffic/safety issues. The
police mentioned some changes in traffic in the blue zones and some illegal
parking issues, mostly at the secondary schools, which are fairly consistent
with past experience.
The final survey addressed
transportation fees from 39 other communities; the average being $221 per
student and $418 for the family cap.
With regard to the specifics
of the community bus fee survey, 51% of the responses had purchased or received
bus passes. Of those, 33% of the
elementary students, 71% of middle school students, and 48% of high school
students took the bus three or more days per week. Fourteen percent indicated that they only
utilize the bus service in the afternoons for transportation to an after school
program. Of those who did not utilize
transportation, 14% walked and 37% were driven.
Twenty-seven percent of the respondents would prefer to purchase one-way
tickets for the year and 36% prefer one-use tickets to be used for specific
times. In terms of cost, 47% indicated
that they would expect to pay less than the average fee of surrounding
districts. In response to the question of
whether people felt a bus fee was a good method of bridging the school budget
gap, 29% agreed, 60% did not, 9% were unsure and 2% had no response. In terms of clarity of the process and
communication, 71% were aware of the fee waiver, 58% understood that they could
have their distance checked, and 34% knew that they could pay in
installments. As they move forward, they
will attempt to make the public more aware of these options. Finally, over 600 of the respondents included
additional comments in the section made available for that purpose. The most frequent comment (71 respondents)
said that one-way tickets or pay-per-ride would be helpful. Forty-two commented that the fee was not
equitable, as it only impacts a certain population depending upon where people
live and that families that had been redistricted should not be required to pay
the fee.
Susie Heyman asked if the
data included people’s district.
Sandy Guryan replied that
the surveys were anonymous, so they would only be able to identify the people
who chose to divulge that information.
Anne Larner asked if they
could differentiate the responses as much as possible between the three levels,
which might help in the development of different solutions.
Sandy Guryan stated that
she would provide this information.
Dori Zaleznik asked if
they can determine the number of families that were eligible for transportation
but who did not purchase a pass, to see if they might use the system if one-way
passes or tickets were allowed.
Sandy Guryan will try to cross-tabulate
for this information.
Dori Zaleznik noted that
since anyone could answer the survey, the results do not necessarily reflect
the sentiments of the entire community.
Nancy Levine thanked the
staff for all the work involved, particularly during this busy budget
season. She commented that there were a
lot of students eligible for bus passes whose parents opted not to purchase
them and would be interested to see if they could determine a causal relationship. In terms of busing and safety, many of the
problem areas are the same ones that have been around for a long time, so she
feels reassured that their decisions have not made things worse.
Dori Zaleznik would like
to see some options for modifying the process, including the financial
implications involved, in order to get a sense of what realistic choices might
be available to enhance the flexibility next year.
Susie Heyman stated that
she would like to have some input from the police department with regard to a
couple of elementary walking routes that are of concern in terms of safety and to
consider absorbing these into the waiver process.
Anne Larner acknowledged
that historically the school system had relied on the police department to make
determinations on safety issues.
However, this changed when school closings occurred, at which time children
that had been walking to school were given the option of transportation. These were political vs. safety
decisions. It seems to her that the
police department is the appropriate body to make these determinations on a
neutral basis.
Reenie Murphy mentioned
that the information indicates that one-way passes or one-use tickets were the
items most people seemed interested in having the system pursue. It was also interesting to see the breakdown
between the elementary, middle and high school responses. She would appreciate options that address
these concerns at different levels.
Nancy Levine is interested
in the data on the number of families who are not eligible for busing because
of distance, but who purchased passes because their children attend after
school programs that are off-site, in the hopes that they could provide some
mitigation for these people.
Marc Laredo would
appreciate an estimate of the amount of administrative time involved in any
options that are developed.
Jeff Young mentioned that,
in addition to staff time, they have to consider logistics, such as who would
collect a daily transportation ticket and, if it were the bus driver, how that
would impact on route timing. They will
have to carefully consider all the unanticipated consequences that may be
involved in any decision.
Dori Zaleznik reminded the
Committee that some of the difficulties that occurred this year were a result
of the implementation of the policy occurring late in the school year. This held up the sending of the information
packets and collections did not begin until summer. She feels they need to begin the process
earlier this time so that they do not find themselves in a similar situation.
CURRICULUM REVIEW – MATH
Carolyn Wyatt, Assistant
Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction, thanked School Committee
members for forwarding their questions, which helped in framing the focus of
tonight’s presentation. They are in the
second of the three-year review.
Cindy Bergan, Mathematics
Department Head at
Mary Eich, Mathematics
Curriculum Coordinator K-8, addressed a question around freshmen honors courses
only being open to students who are recommended by their teachers. While teachers make recommendations, the
final choice with regard to the placement of a student in a mathematics level
is up to the parents. However, they are
becoming more constrained by class size at the high schools. There is less flexibility to encourage a
student who may want to try an honors course because, if it does not work out, finding
an alternate class later is more difficult.
She also referred back to the calculus question and noted that both high
schools have stared an advanced placement statistics course, as this is more
likely to be something students will use in their future professions. She would suggest broadening the conversation
to include this in the discussion around accelerating curriculum and
flexibility in movement of students.
Cindy Bergan addressed a
question regarding the tracking issue and how that impacts on late-bloomers. She believes the key is flexibility and
support for students who want to take a risk.
The option is not yet available for an alternate honors course for
curriculum 1 and/or 2 students but it is being considered.
Steve Rattendi,
Mathematics Department Head at
Mary Eich addressed a
question regarding the ability of some families to provide private tutoring and
noted that they are working to gather that data in the community survey. They will be piloting three student surveys (one
at each level), as well as one for parents, teachers and administrators. She then addressed a question about algebraic
concepts in the elementary schools. She
explained that embedded in the process of fact mastery and counting skills,
which one would expect to find in an elementary math curriculum, is an
algebraic thinking strand. They are not
looking for students to be able to understand symbolic representation at this
age, but rather to be able to identify patterns and relationships in numbers.
Steve Rattendi talked
about the Simms curriculum, which is a standards based math program covering
all four years of high school, with all the traditional topics one would expect
to find in a math curriculum. The
difference is in how the curriculum is taught and learned. With Simms, students work collaboratively in
small groups through a series of textbook problems, concluding with whole class
summary activities. Students are an
active part of the learning process and not just sitting and listening to a
teacher. The course is a mix of upper
and lower level curriculum 1 students, as well as some from accelerated middle
school courses. The work also relates to
real-world issues, so students can see how it applies to daily life. There are approximately 96 enrolled at North
and 115 at South.
Jeff Young recalled seeing
Simms in action in one of his school visits when the class was working on oil
spills and it was an excellent example of a real world situation. He asked how what he saw would differ from
the same subject matter being taught in a class not using the Simms curriculum.
Steve Rattendi stated that
in a traditional class the teacher would present the method of solving the
problem prior to the students attempting to do the hands-on experiments
themselves. The Simms curriculum, rather
than having the teacher provide the answer, attempts to draw that out of the
students first.
Nancy Levine asked how Simms
fits into homework if it is so dependent on group activities.
Steve Rattendi replied
that homework is encouraged every night to solidify the skills learned in the
classroom and many of the assignments are still individual based. Teacher training is important for this
curriculum because they need to make sure students are learning
individually. Through the auspices of a
Newton Schools Foundation (NSF) grant, they have been offering summer workshops
for teachers in this curriculum for the past three years.
Patty Kellogg asked how
they keep students on target as they are working in groups. She also asked if the students test similar to
those in curriculum 1 at year’s end in terms of knowledge of the curriculum
matter and math strengths.
Steve Rattendi replied
that it is easy to get off target in a group dynamic setting, but part of the
teacher’s responsibility is to see that this does not happen. The teacher training addresses the notion of
keeping students focused and leading them in the right direction while allowing
room for exploration and creativity. Fortunately,
the 75-minute block allows for more time for exploration, so the teacher can
come back to issues students previously raised once they have completed the
work that needs to be done. Just as
there are certain students who fit better with the Simms curriculum than
others, this is true of teaching styles as well, so there is a procedure
involved in the teacher selection process.
He then
explained that the program is designed so that at the end of
four years students are prepared for calculus in college, which is the same
expectation for students in curriculum 1.
The hope is that students participating in Simms are getting a deeper
conceptual understanding because of the hands-on work and the need to explain
how they reached their conclusions. The
Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), Preliminary Student
Achievement Test (PSAT) and the Student Achievement Test (SAT) will provide
data that will help them in making the comparisons.
Dori Zaleznik feels that
the methodology and substance of Simms would dovetail well with the science
curriculum.
Cindy Bergan stated that
they are having these discussions and envision this melding into various areas.
Mary Eich added that the Connected
Math Program in grades 5 and 6 could be considered a precursor to Simms, as it
is also based on real world problems.
One of the basic reforms in mathematics education is having students
communicate their understanding and justify their reasoning in making
mathematical arguments. The NSF has
funded a Writing in Math and Science Project grant for
elementary teachers that has been the basis of the professional development
activities citywide this year.
Reenie Murphy mentioned
the importance of the parental aspect.
At Cabot Elementary School, the coordinator and specialist met with
parents by grade level to help them understand the curriculum and then had then
spend some time in the classrooms actually working with the material.
Carolyn Wyatt noted that
in addition to the coordinator and specialist assisting parents, they have also
overseen the professional development for staff for the past several
years. She concluded by noting that by
the end of this school year they will be ready to present their formal recommendations
for changes and revisions to the curriculum.
Cindy Bergan added that
the last professional development opportunity brought together staff from all
three levels. They were able to pinpoint
places where they felt there were gaps or problems and talk about what is and
is not working.
DISCUSSION OF CAPITAL
IMPROVEMENT PLAN (CIP)
Jeff Young presented the report,
which outlines FY03 and FY04 projects and the list of outstanding needs.
Mike Cronin detailed some of
the highlights of the report. The
Anne Larner noted that
this item passed the Public Facilities Committee of the Board of Aldermen last
week.
Mike Cronin stated that the
rest of the list includes items that continue to get pushed back each
year. This is something that needs to be
evaluated and perhaps overhauled. Currently
the City determines annually what is available in “free cash” and then
allocates that funding. This does not
allow them to do very good planning and what they end up with is a wish list
from which they have to choose a couple of priority items. He would like to have a discussion about
charter maintenance and the CIP, in an attempt to identify some predictable
funds on an annual basis.
Anne Larner agreed that
this has been an ongoing problem and requires some conversations with the City. Charter maintenance and the CIP have been
seen as two separate entities for too long.
Mike Cronin stated that
they are very much intertwined and often one account will cover the balance for
the other on a particular item. If they
can find a way to make that whole it would be very beneficial.
Jeff Young asked if there are
industry standards for plant maintenance spending for an organization of their
size.
Mike Cronin will
investigate.
Marc
Laredo has been concerned about the under-funding of building maintenance for
some time. The City charter calls for budgeting
up to 2% of the previous year’s budget for building maintenance and they have been
struggling unsuccessfully to meet that goal.
He is particularly troubled by items such as boilers, which, if they
fail, have to be repaired on an emergency basis at a tremendous cost.
Mike Cronin is not even talking
about maintaining buildings, but simply keeping them functional.
Susie Heyman recalls that
CIP funding used to be in the millions of dollars and has dwindled to a couple
of hundred thousand. That is when they
started using “free cash” to support the operating budget. The charter maintenance funds are being spent
to keep generators and boilers working that should have been replaced years ago. She recalls the beginning of the installation
of the new windows systemwide, which was supposed to have been completed in ten
years and that was in the mid-‘80s. It
does not make sense to continue to make these bogus CIP lists.
Dori
Zaleznik asked what $50,000 could accomplish to comply with the Americans With Disabilities (ADA) regulations.
Mike Cronin replied that
this amount addresses
addressing these issues on an as-needed basis in each
building because they have not had sufficient funds to do it properly.
ACTION ITEMS
VOTE TO APPOINT
REPRESENTATIVE TO
MOTION: It was moved
to appoint Carol Greenfield as the
School Committee representative
to the
Community Education Commission
effective
(8
– 0 – 1)
Absent: Mayor Cohen
Dori Zaleznik noted that Ms.
Greenfield’s experience in community-based initiatives dealing with older
adults should dovetail well with this program.
VOTE TO APPROVE GRANT
MOTION: It was
moved to accept the grant totaling
$2,500 for
outlined in the
(Murphy
– Levine)
8 – 0 – 1
Absent: Mayor Cohen
COMMUNICATIONS
Nancy Levine announced
that the
PUBLIC COMMENT
There were no members of
the public who wished to address the Committee at this time.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned
at