NEWTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE

MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING, OCTOBER 24, 2005

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

PRESENT: Chairperson Anne Larner, Vice-Chairperson Dori Zaleznik, Gail Glick, Susan Heyman, Patricia Kellogg, Marc Laredo, Nancy Levine, Reenie Murphy, Mayor David Cohen, Jillian Lenson, student representative - Newton South High School

ABSENT: Superintendent Jeffrey Young, student representative – Newton North High School

OPEN SESSION

MOTION: At 6:55 p.m., it was moved, by roll call vote, to convene in

executive session for the purpose of discussing issues

related to collective bargaining. If passed, the Committee

will reconvene in open session at 7:30 p.m.

(Glick - Laredo)

7 – 0 – 2

Absent for vote: Zaleznik

Absent for executive session: Mayor Cohen

ROLL CALL VOTE BY WARD:

Ward I, “yes” (Glick); Ward II, “yes” (Murphy); Ward III, “yes” (Larner); Ward IV, “yes” (Levine); Ward V, “yes” (Heyman); Ward VI, “yes” (Kellogg); Ward VII, “yes” (Laredo); Ward VIII, absent for vote (Zaleznik); Mayor Cohen, absent for executive session

CALL TO ORDER

Chairperson Anne Larner called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. and noted that the Superintendent is absent and Judith Malone Neville, Assistant Superintendent of Schools, will take his place at the table.

PUBLIC COMMENT

There were no members of the public who wished to address the Committee at this time.

STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES’ DISCUSSION

Jillian Lenson stated that her peer leadership class has been discussing the fact that student athletes are the only group of students that receive activity specific punishment in addition to school punishment for involvement in drug/alcohol situations outside of school and they do not feel it is fair to be held to this higher standard. She personally prefers the stricter standard because it has helped her make better choices. If all students were held to the same high standard it might make them think before acting and make better decisions.

Judy Malone Neville appreciates Jillian’s approach, which is more of a deterrent/ preventative suggestion rather than a punishment. She noted that this is a statewide rule of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association that applies to all students participating in high school athletics and it is adhered to strictly by all school systems.

Anne Larner asked if there had ever been any discussion around adopting the stricter ruling as a consistent systemwide policy.

Judy Malone Neville replied that they have had conversations in the past about the equity of this expectation and it perhaps bears further discussion.

Susie Heyman suggested that this might be a good topic for the student government body.

Dori Zaleznik wondered if it might be worthwhile bringing this issue before the Education Collaborative (EDCO), to see if there are similar conversations occurring in other communities.

Marc Laredo does not feel the School Committee has the necessary information to balance tradeoffs and to understand the implications in terms of enforcement. He agrees with Susie that this should come from the student government, which might lead to a discussion with the administration around consistency of policies.

RECOGNITIONS

The following recognitions were acknowledged:

Elizabeth Craig-Olins, for being selected as one of three teachers to present at the forum convened by the Association of Literary Scholars and Critics at Boston University on the topic of “Teaching Mythology K-12.”

The following students who received Letters of Commendation from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation:

Newton North High School

Christopher Aparo Zachary Baer Stephen Bandini

Judea Beatrice Ian Bullock Jessica Cobb

Julia Cohen Alexander Dietz Christine Dobies

Richard Ellis Jaclyn Faneuil Jacob Fleming

Hadley Franklin Michael Garcia Eric Gastfriend

Margaret Haaland Mary Hall Elliot Handler

Alison Horwitz Maxim Ivanov Jonathan Kalow

Philip Keefe Matthew Kehlmann Elizabeth Krushnic

SzeMan Lam Jessica Li Benjamin Linsay

Pui Yan Lun Joshua Magid Rosa McElheny

Jean Merlet Joshua Nathan William Nichols

Evan Paris Benjamin Rome Aviva Rosman

Magdalen Sangiolo Dylan Sauerwald Sarah Schlegel

Tarun Shanker Alexander Singal Sarah Wengert

Daniel Werb Matthew Woolf Matthew Zimmer

Newton South High School

Rachel Bavley Ayelet Brinn Molly Brown

Daniel Chapsky Alexander Chin Hannah Durschlag

Kristina Eldrenkamp Shoshanna Fine Chamith Foneska

Rebecca Fortgang Vanessa Friedman Elizabeth Hoberman

Nathaniel Horowtiz Clare Howard Megan Hughes

Andrew Iacobucci Emily Jacobson Eric Katz

Natasha Kellaway Annika Kiernan Judah Landzberg

Daniel Lee Margot Leonard Sameul Lilienfeld

Daniel Loeterman Jonathan Lopatin Tamar Melman

Laura Ogburn Yury Olshansky Timothy Pian

Jeremy Putnam Leah Rabin Robert Ruttenberg

Aaron Sciore Hayley Shi Scott Wehrwein

Alan Wong Joanna Wood Catherine Yee

Alex Zaltsman Hannah Zhang

APPROVAL OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES

None.

REPORTS

PRELIMINARY CLASS SIZE REPORT

Judy Malone Neville noted that overall the elementary numbers appear to be close to projections, except for a few surprises at the kindergarten level at Mason-Rice and Peirce. There remain a few classes in the upper grades at Bowen, Countryside, Lincoln-Eliot and Ward that are also a bit high. They are looking at ways to produce some relief in the worst situations. Of the 248 elementary classrooms, 224 have 24 or fewer students. The middle school numbers also came pretty close to target, with team sizes ranging between 85 and 92. They continue to have problems with some math classes running at 25-30 students and there are two world language classes at Brown in this range as well. At the high schools, the average class size at Newton North is 20.6 in the major subjects and 23.2 at Newton South. While they accounted for the enrollment shift in redistricting from North to South, more students enrolled at South than anticipated.

Anne Larner noted that they have been having trouble over the past few years in accurately projecting the general impact of allocations among the high schools and the equity issues. She would like to know if they are reviewing the process so that they can better understand the implications of their actions and so that the intent of their decisions is closer to the reality than what occurs. The Committee feels very frustrated when they vote something that they think will have X impact and it turns out to have Y. The difference does not seem to be explained by an additional 34 students.

Judy Malone Neville stated that while it may not appear that 34 students can make that much of a difference, it actually does. The same formula was applied for transferring full-time equivalencies (FTEs) from North to South that they have been using throughout this redistricting process. It is also important to remember that there are decisions made at the school level that also impact class size. There may be some courses that they want to keep smaller, which then means other areas increase.

Susie Heyman noted that last year they were receiving more accurate information around class sizes at Newton South from the PTO and School Council. There seems to be a flaw in the administration’s process that she would like analyzed. Even with 34 additional students and local decisions she does not understand how there can be such a discrepancy. There was an inequity in the large classes at South last year which rather than equalizing actually grew.

Marc Laredo concurs and does not believe it is acceptable to have such discrepancies between the high schools in the core subjects. It appears that something is not right and they need to go back and reexamine the formula and data so that this problem does not persist.

Judy Malone Neville responded that they are reviewing the formula. Even a small amount of FTEs at this level would go a long way to ameliorate some of the issues. The principal has been advocating for some remediation once it became evident how the numbers were falling in the scheduling.

Dori Zaleznik asked that Judy take this conversation back to Sandy Guryan, Assistant Superintendent for Business, Finance & Planning, who is ill and could not be available this evening, so that together they can review the material. The Committee shifted 13.5 FTEs to account for an anticipated increase of approximately 100 students. One would not expect to see these large numbers with only 34 more students over projections. Last year’s class size report showed an enormous difference in the core subjects that appears to be related to the number of electives. This seems to suggest that the discrepancy continues and that the FTE shift may be more related to the actual number of students. She would like to know what would be needed to equalize this situation and noted that Newton North has some large class size issues as well and does not mean to insinuate taking from that school to address South’s situation. The information indicates to her that perhaps the course offerings are not as robust at South.

Anne Larner stated that the Committee knew they were not going to be able to solve all of the class size issues, but clearly thought their decisions would take care of the equity concerns.

Judy Malone Neville mentioned that there was also a change of leadership at South, so there was the possibility of some miscommunication during that timeframe. They will review all of the information and return with an update.

Anne Larner appreciates this because this is something that they all want to make sure they have a better handle on for next year.

Susie Heyman commented that in their discussions about equalizing the two high schools, one of the advantages for Newton South was that it was going to gain some breadth of program that North had by virtue of being a larger school. She would like this to be part of the conversations as well.

Brenda Keegan, Interim Principal at Newton South, talked about how the contractual average cap of 80 in English classes factors into the equation. For a variety of reasons this was not followed at South and some of the resources had to go into that area. While she certainly supports more breadth of program, she is not convinced that it is the electives that are making the difference. It has been several years since they have run electives with small numbers and if a student does not get a particular elective they have to take another to fill out their program, so it does not necessarily save staff. She is very concerned about the large classes at South. One of the learning expectations in the mission statement is that students will gain self-confidence by participating actively in learning experiences and this is very difficult in classes with very large numbers. She is concerned about how the New England Association of Schools & Colleges (NEASC) will look upon this issue in its accreditation process next month. They would be grateful for any additional support that might be available.

Marc Laredo asked if they have done any analysis around a specific FTE that would address the problems.

Brenda Keegan stated that she has been discussing this with department heads and a 1.0 FTE could remedy some of the worst cases in English and foreign language. While they would also like to have smaller science classes, it is difficult to find a .25 chemistry teacher at this point in the year. However, they could certainly use any and all additional staffing that might be available.

Reenie Murphy talked about the change in the way they projected elementary enrollments in the past budget round, where they used both the administration’s figures and factored in the anecdotal information from the principals, since it is the schools that receive the phone calls about incoming children. The massaging of this process seemed to be very helpful and she wondered if they were going to continue to approach it in this manner again.

Judy Malone Neville stated that even with both the arithmetic formula and anecdotal information they were still surprised at the increased enrollment in some areas, particularly at Cabot, Lincoln-Eliot and Peirce. She hesitates to respond specifically to this question without Sandy present, but is aware that the Business & Finance Dept. continues to be in touch with realtors around the growing housing stock in specific areas of the community. If anyone has any additional thoughts about how else they might gather information they would welcome that input.

Gail Glick noted that there seems to be certain areas in the City that tend to be more volatile in terms of transitional populations and it might be beneficial to include other organizations in the conversations, such as social services.

Anne Larner noted that the Enrollment Analysis Report will be discussed in December and that would be a good time to talk about how these changes get incorporated into projections and how they plan to address the process.

Judy Malone Neville noted that the most difficult spot has always been kindergarten, because they operate from census information. She agreed that the anecdotal data was very helpful this year. There were 25 students more than projected, but over 15 schools this is not a huge increase and the projections vs. actual numbers in kindergarten were surprisingly closer.

Anne Larner agreed that the information from the building level was very important. With the traditional method they projected 42 additional elementary students, but once the other information was added they increased that another 84. Therefore, there were 126 more students than projected in the October ’04 enrollment report. These are the type of conversations they will need to have to see how they are massaging or adjusting the formula to take into account what appears to be a trend.

Marc Laredo feels that whatever sources they can explore that would be helpful in this area would be a good idea, but he cautioned them not to rely solely on anecdotal information for projections. No one expects perfection in this area, but if there is something wrong with the formula it needs to be addressed. He wondered if rather than placing aides in the system to address some of these issues, they might want to consider the notion of returning to having budget reserve teaching positions.

Judy Malone Neville agreed that it is worth considering and it would have been helpful to have had that option this year. In addition, they drastically reduced this area by approximately 50 aides and are at bare-bones.

Dori Zaleznik noted that they have been operating for the past several years under the assumption that the elementary enrollments were going to decrease, but this has not occurred. They need to review the long-range projections because this trend is already going to impact the secondary level projections. In addition, many of their buildings are at the point where they cannot physically accommodate another classroom even with an additional teacher. They might be approaching the time when they have to discuss district redistribution of the population.

Susie Heyman stated that enrollment projections are based on history and a new trend is not picked up right away. This is an opportune time to look at things in a different perspective. This is not to indicate that they have been doing a bad job in projections, but rather that there appears to be a new trend arising that needs to be better understood.

Nancy Levine does not disagree that they should review their data and formulas and think about things differently, which is always a good process. However, they need to keep in mind that they have more students and less funds. There are fewer creative solutions to come up with and until they begin to look at political means, i.e., overrides or additional state funding, she does not see things getting much better.

Anne Larner sees it as two problems. One is the legitimate issue that Nancy raises and the other has to do with equitable distribution of what is available.

Nancy Levine agreed but noted that any increase in one area means a decrease in another.

REPORT ON SUMMER CURRICULUM WORKSHOPS & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT UPDATE

Carolyn Wyatt, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction, noted that rather than give highlights, the Committee has the report and she is prepared to answer any questions.

Dori Zaleznik asked for an example of the school based professional development offerings.

Carolyn Wyatt explained that as a result of the budget cuts they have attempted to deploy staff as much as possible toward site-based work. The coordinators are conducting rotating residencies throughout the elementary schools working for a week at a time in a school with teachers to implement the curriculum. They are focusing on specific grade levels this year and working closely with the principals around hosting workshops in the buildings. This means teachers do not have to leave their school to attend an outside workshop and they are building instructional leaders within the schools. They are attempting to create integrated, sustained professional development and in that regard have developed a course registration packet that sends a report back to the principal so that he/she knows what each member of the staff has or has not taken. Priorities are set through the curriculum council, whose members include coordinators and department heads, to address opportunities needed for aligning curriculum and assessment. Principals then provide their input around priorities and they then divide the opportunities between the two. It is a mutually agreed upon and collegial discussion about the needs of the staff and system and takes into account state and federal mandates. However, the cuts have forced them to set priorities that address ongoing work. The number of opportunities that were once available have diminished and they no longer have outside supplemental support.

Reenie Murphy commented that it seems like the offerings are geared more toward elementary and middle schools.

Carolyn Wyatt replied that unfortunately the professional development book has never included a full complement of the systemwide offerings, particularly at the secondary level. The department heads at this level serve as the content specialists for their specific areas and they have shared their discussions and decisions at the curriculum council meetings. Priorities are based on the K-12 review cycle and they meet with coordinators to plan the offerings. Where they have fallen short systemwide is at the high schools in their ability to provide the breadth of course work that might be desired at the intensity that a teacher may need. In the past they have done this through advanced placement training and/or college level experiences but they have not been able to support that this year.

Gail Glick asked if student teacher vouchers were still being utilized.

Carolyn Wyatt responded that vouchers remain available but are contingent on the number of staff who accept student teachers and their willingness to turn those over to the district. There is obviously more demand than supply. For those that are available, they try to encourage that they be used towards certification or transfer to higher training.

Gail Glick asked if she could expound on how the reduction in professional development has slowed their ability to respond to the mandates around alignment in certain parts of the curriculum.

Carolyn Wyatt used social studies as an example. They were not able to conduct the summer work with small groups of teachers to create and revise the civics curriculum because both the stipends and instructional time was cut. Instead, they are meeting with teachers at the building level to complete this task.

Susie Heyman thanked Carolyn and her staff for setting priorities without optimum resources because of the difficult fiscal times. She also wanted to publicly thank the Newton Schools Foundation (NSF), whose support has helped them continue some of these opportunities in these lean times. She asked about her greatest concerns and priorities as they move forward into similar difficult years.

Carolyn Wyatt reiterated Susie’s comments about the support of the NSF under the leadership of Clare McCully. Without that grant funding they would not have been able to offer such a broad base of opportunities. This past year alone NSF provided approximately $58,000, which was critical in their work in technology. NSF has subsequently set aside an additional $14,000 asking the Curriculum & Instruction Dept. to utilize this in the places of most need. The two critical areas are the ones in the review cycle – social studies and math. In social studies they will need to sequence and realign, which is going to take professional development for staff so that they have the balance of fact based history and critical thinking. In math they want to focus on the middle schools and the need to work with teachers around strengthening their skills and developing the necessary strategies they will need. At the secondary level the question is how to provide and support ongoing training so that teachers can bring their intense, graduate level of work into the classroom, along with good solid teaching strategies. There are approximately 1,500 staff members that they are trying to serve and continue to provide an incentive for staying in Newton.

Marc Laredo commented that everyone is in agreement about the importance of a well-trained workforce. The question becomes the best way to deliver the services in the most cost-effective manner. In terms of the postponing of the social studies summer workshops, he asked why they could not have done that in the spring.

Carolyn Wyatt explained that work was conducted in the spring in terms of gathering data, which is the first step in the revision process and they were even able to pilot the civics piece at that time. It was the intention of bringing teachers into the mix which was delayed. Summer allows for a time when staff does not have to be pulled from school and where they can spend successive days immersed in the work.

Marc Laredo asked if they can provide this same type of opportunity after the school day or in another type of setting.

Carolyn Wyatt replied that teachers have a contractual school day and anytime they are asked to convene outside of that timeframe the system is obliged to provide a stipend.

Anne Larner stated that there may be some disagreement around this issue which is better held for another forum.

Marc Laredo asked how they evaluate the professional development programs.

Carolyn Wyatt stated that the summer work is more about curriculum development, where they are planning and implementing the program. It is during the actual piloting process that they determine its value and success and whether or not changes are necessary. There is an evaluation instrument that is used in every course offering that provides teachers an opportunity to provide feedback. This document was developed by teachers in conjunction with the administration. In addition, the coordinators consult the National School Evaluation Council handbook, which provides a listing of proven excellent programs in their disciplines. The coordinators are the masters of their areas and are abreast of recent curriculum, professional development, and assessments. While they have the skills that an outside consultant might bring, the drawback is that they are single individuals in their areas trying to train all staff.

Dori Zaleznik asked if there is a specific number of hours of professional development that a teacher is required to have and where Newton stands in that regard.

Carolyn Wyatt replied that the State sets mandates for licensure and requires teachers to have a certain number of points, which can be obtained both by attendance in workshops, conferences, etc., as well as serving in leadership roles. The State requires a minimum of $125 per student be spent on professional development, which Newton has exceeded in the past. However, as they have explained previously, salaries and materials and a range of other items are included in the numbers, which skews the results. In fact, there has been a reduction in this area by several thousand dollars in her preliminary review. It is the responsibility for teachers’ professional development plans belongs in their own hands and the Department of Education (DOE) lists several ways in which they can accumulate credits toward licensure. Rather than focusing solely on providing opportunities for individuals to accumulate sufficient points, they also work toward training them in content and pedagogy, which is also a requirement of the DOE. Teachers do a great deal of this training on the Tuesday and Thursday release days, which are very specifically focused.

Dori Zaleznik noted that it is difficult to understand the dollar figures because they reflect partially what staff are paid and the per pupil allocation.

Paul Stein, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, stated that there are different levels of licensure, so every teacher’s need differs. Most begin on an initial level obtaining a master’s in their content area, which they do on their own, although the system is looking at creating a program in-house which he will discuss at a later time. Newton Public Schools is obligated to offer a mentor program for all new teachers, which includes some professional development. In the second year of a new teacher’s hire, they are required to have a 50 hour induction program supervised by another staff member. Within a five year period a teacher is required to obtain 150 points (80% of those being in the content area) for licensure. These points have to be bundled in credits of 10 and have a product connected to the work. At the elementary level there are even more standards for staff and it can become quite complicated.

Marc Laredo can see the obvious complexity around this item. It would be helpful to better understand the benchmarks required by the State, what Newton currently offers to meet those standards and what, if anything, is offered to exceed those standards, as well as the associated costs. Without this information it becomes difficult to have intelligent conversations around this item during budget deliberations.

Paul Stein noted that they can provide this material, but it is important to remember that it is only half the picture. The other half involves the system’s goals around curriculum. For example, the literacy initiative required a tremendous influx of professional development, which is visible to anyone walking around the elementary schools. Now the focus is moving toward middle school math, which is going to require a similar emphasis. So while they are attempting to meet the needs of teachers, of equal importance is meeting the needs of the system.

Mayor Cohen asked if they could talk about the relationship between the program offerings and the impact that has on the quality of teaching in the classroom and their ability to attract and retain the best teachers.

Carolyn Wyatt is convinced that their ability to offer a wide variety of opportunities to staff has attracted the highest quality of teachers to Newton. However, these teachers need an incentive to stay here because there are districts competing for these people through either higher salaries or other incentives, including exceptional professional development opportunities. They can document several instances in which they have lost good people because teaching is not a static profession and requires ongoing and sustained training. Teachers look to have coursework and opportunities to talk with their colleagues and renew themselves professionally.

Paul Stein added that the best candidates always ask in the interviews what kind of support Newton will offer. When he mentions the curriculum and content area support provided by departments chairs and coordinators it makes a huge difference.

Carolyn Wyatt noted that while it may seem that this area is more easily expendable in difficult financial times, she hopes they have been able to paint a clear picture of its importance as a vital tool for retaining the best teachers.

DISCUSSION ITEMS

CONTINUED DISCUSSION ON 2006-2007 SCHOOL CALENDAR

Anne Larner noted that a vote on the calendar has been postponed until their next meeting because the Newton Teachers Association (NTA) has requested the opportunity to bring the options to a larger group beyond their board. With regard to the survey the Committee requested on this year’s start date of neighboring communities, the research indicated that a number did start considerably earlier than Newton.

Dori Zaleznik appreciates the delay in the vote because, in addition to hearing from teachers, it gives the public an opportunity to also weigh in on the subject.

ACTION ITEMS

CONTINUED DISCUSSION/VOTE ON MASSACHUSETTS ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL COMMITTEES/MASSACHUSETTS ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOOL SUPERINTENDNENTS (MASC/MASS) CONFERENCE RESOLUTIONS

Patty Kellogg listed the 12 resolutions which were discussed at the last meeting and how she interpreted the conversations in order to vote at the upcoming MASC/MASS conference.

1. This resolution opposes the increase in the MCAS “competency” score for high school graduation from the current 220 to 240. The resolution explains that multiple assessments are more valid and urges the legislature to add this mandate for them.