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Watertown Board of Education
Regular Meeting
Minutes
Meeting Date: October 10, 2006
Meeting Time: 7:30 p.m.
Meeting Place: Watertown High Technology Center
Members Present: Mr. Richard Mazzamaro, Board Vice Chairperson
Mr. Todd Griffin, Board Secretary
Ms. Gina Calabrese, Board Member
Ms. Mary Colangelo, Board Member
Mr. Thomas Lambert, Board Member
Mr. James Marks, Board Member
Ms. Joanne Pannone, Board Member
Dr. Joseph Erardi Jr., Superintendent of Schools
Ms. Amelia Grover, Dir. of Budget and Financial Planning
Mr. Todd LoFrese, Director of Operations
Dr. Philip Pelosi, Assistant Superintendent of Schools
Mr. William Zeman, W.H.S. Student Representative
Absent: Ms. Mary Dzioba, Board Chairperson
Mr. Chris Lafferty, Board member
Ms. Betsy Hackett, Director of Special Services
Ms. Kace DuPlissie, PTO Representative
Press: Sophie Bieluczyk, Town Times
Tommy Valuckas, Waterbury Republican American
Guests: Mr. Thad Hasbrouck, Mr. Matt Geary, Ms. Pat Corvello, Ms. Marylu Lerz, Ms. Judy Moeller, Mrs. Fran Palmer, Mrs. Sandra Greenwood, Mr. Whitey Greenwood, Ms. Sally Rinaldi and Mr. Charlie Beliveau
A. Convene Regular Meeting - 7:30 PM
Mr. Mazzamaro convened the Regular Board of Education meeting at 7:30 p.m.
B. Salute to the Flag
Mr. Mazzamaro led the Salute to the Flag.
C. Public Participation
None
Report from Student Council Representative – Mr. William Zeman
Mr. Zeman: Thank you Mr. Chairman. Too often I think education exists in a vacuum. Students enter this school and the others in this district and they are separated from the world. For a few hours they are learning abstract ideals and ideas in their classes that too often seem not to connect with the concrete world. When teachers work to correct this, I think it is something that should be applauded and at least acknowledged. With that sentiment in mind I would like to go ahead and bring to the attention of the Board, the actions of Mr. Allen Marko.
Mr. Marko is a Social Studies teacher at Watertown High School. In addition to his time spent teaching and advising numerous clubs, he has taken the initiative to invite numerous politicians to come and speak to Watertown High School students. In the past few weeks Watertown High School has been and will be visited by, to name a few, Alan Schlesinger, Sean Williams, Ned Lamont, and Chris Murphy.
As a side bar, Ned Lamont even appeared on the Indian Inquisitor with Drew VanSteenbergen and myself, making him our biggest guest to date by far. (Laughter) If he gets elected it is going to go through the roof.
Dr. Erardi: Mr. Zeman who was your guest last month?
Laughter
Mr. Zeman: I think his name was….Erdardi? He was good too though.
Dr. Erardi: Thank you former student representative
Laughter
Mr. Zeman: These opportunities to interact with modern leaders and politicos and candidates have given students a unique opportunity to see the theoretical ideas that have been put forth in their history, government and civics classes. They have been given substance and overwhelmingly they are enjoying it, with some students even having their astute comments published in the Hartford Courant, among other publications. Indeed I spoke with one campaign worker at the Lamont rally who pointed out that the students’ questions were amongst the toughest questions he’s ever heard face Mr. Lamont. Any time a teacher gets to bridge the divide between the classroom and reality, I think it is a noble thing and something that is really worthy of the Boards attention.
On a completely different note, Music Under the Stars is this Thursday. I know not all of you have bought tickets so I brought some. It is at six o’clock, gates open at 5:30, $3.00 per person, $10 for a carload. Tickets are available at the door. Two other students I would like to acknowledge, Drew Vansteenbergen and Alex Tinios, have gone through a grueling five hour training process to make them full fledged members of the Community Conversation this weekend and I thought they should be commended for that. Thank you very much.
Mr. Mazzamaro: Kace DuPlissie is not here tonight so there will be no report from the PTO/PTA liaison.
D. Budget Summary – (Information Only – No Action Required)
Mr. Mazzamaro: Budget summary is in the packet for all Board Members.
E. Committee Reports:
1. Advertising Committee, Todd Griffin, Chair
Mr. Griffin: The Advertising Committee did meet where we discussed the transfer of funds; we made a recommendation to the Board of Education to utilize funds from the advertising campaign to support a Robotics Team Advisor and an additional Lego Team at Swift Middle School.
2. Athletics Committee, Chris Lafferty, Chair
No Report
3. Budget Committee, Todd Griffin, Chair
Mr. Griffin: There is no report this evening.
4. Curriculum & Instruction Committee, Gina Calabrese, Chair
Ms. Calabrese: There is no report this evening
5. Facilities Committee, Rich Mazzamaro, Chair
Mr. Mazzamaro: There is no report.
6. Policy and Labor Committee, Mary Colangelo, Chair
Ms. Colangelo: Policy and Labor Committee met on September 7th and we fully endorsed the job description for the Facilities Manager of Buildings and Grounds. The only change is on the last page, the last two sections and that is in accordance with what the Board agreed to at its previous meeting. The Policy Committee brings their full endorsement of this.
7. Cablevision, James Marks
Mr. Marks: No report this evening
8. PBC Representative, Rich Mazzamaro
Mr. Mazzamaro: There is no report this evening
9. Education Connection Representative, Mary Dzioba
No report
F. Communications – Secretary
Mr. Griffin: This one communication from the Secretary this evening and it has to do with an event that I did personally myself this past week. Recently I had the opportunity to visit Mrs. White’s first grade class where I had the opportunity to participate in a community service lesson. The children were eager to learn about my volunteer role as a Board of Education Member. All the children utilized their Character Counts as they were model citizens of John Trumbull Primary School. I would like to say a special thank you to the following students; Ryan, Angela, Aaron, Frank, Christina, Samantha, Kyle, Joseph, Noah, Alexander, Grace, Joshua, Benjamin, Madison, Ava, Aphrodeta, Finn, Alessandria, Aidan, Gina, Nicholas, Dominic, Michael, Dante and Hailey. I would also like to thank Mrs. White for allowing me to come into her class; it was truly a wonderful experience.
G. Minutes
1. Regular Board of Education Meeting – September 25, 2006
Motion Presented by Ms. Colangelo seconded by Mr. Griffin to accept the Regular Board of Education Meeting Minutes of September 25, 2006.
Discussion: None
Motion Passed
(5-In Favor, 0-Opposed, 2 Abstained)
In Favor: Ms. Calabrese, Ms. Colangelo, Mr. Griffin, Mr. Lambert and Mr. Mazzamaro
Abstained: Ms. Pannone and Mr. Marks
H. Superintendent's Recommendations and Report
Dr. Erardi: Thank you Mr. Mazzamaro and thank you Mr. Mazzamaro for pinch hitting this evening for Mrs. Dzioba who is ill. The Superintendents report is relatively brief this evening with appointments, transfers, I don’t know if there are any Board questions or with transfer of funds.
The Board had no questioned regarding Item #1, #2 or #3
1. Appointments – (Information Only – No Action Required)
a. Mr. Keith Borkowski to the position of Athletic Coordinator at Swift Middle School for the 2006-2007 school year at a contractual stipend of $2,379.00.
b. Mr. Charles Fenn to the position of Boy’s Soccer Coach at Swift Middle School for the 2006-2007 school year at a contractual stipend of $1,625.00 payable at the end of the season.
c. Ms. Mary Jean Mangione to the position of Detention Monitor at Swift Middle School effective September 25, 2006 at a contractual stipend of $3,444.00 prorated.
2. Transfers – (Information Only – No Action Required)
a. Mr. Edward Stack from custodian 3rd shift – Band Room at Watertown High School to custodian 3rd shift – Gym at Watertown High School effective September 28, 2006.
3. Transfer of Funds – (Information Only – No Action Required)
At its meeting on November 22, 2004, the Board took action to reaffirm that the Director of Budget and Financial Planning may continue to make transfers of $2,000 or less between objects without prior Board approval. Attached, for information only, are a number of those transfers.
Dr. Erardi: Moving on to item #4. In response to the Board of Education in September, administration has broken down the reporting back to the Board and the community with our Mastery Tests and our Academic Performance Test in a two part presentation. This evening under the direction of Dr. Pelosi, hopefully Board Members will have a much better understanding of what the CMT actually is and what the CMT will actually test, along with the Academic Performance Test which is given to all grade 10 students. Dr. Pelosi is prepared this evening to introduce a panel that will be with us for the next twenty to thirty minutes and then hopefully at the end of the presentation the panel, along with Dr. Pelosi and the Administration would be more than willing to answer any questions.
Dr. Pelosi: As Dr. Erardi said we are attempting to provide an overview of what the Connecticut Mastery Test looks like, grades three through eight. We have asked the coordinators of the test to select sample items, we have reviewed this presentation and pared it down, we did a complete binder that had more extensive information in it with samples. But tonight we will give you an overview with slides on the power point presentation and we will have each coordinator review his or her area. With that I would like to start with Sally Rinaldi our Math Coordinator.
Dr. Pelosi provided each Board Member with an outline of the Power Point presentation (Attachment A)
Ms. Rinaldi: Good evening, I am Sally Rinaldi, I am housed at Hemingway Park School, grade six Math teacher, I am also K-12 Math Coordinator, I am actually going to focus on the Mathematics portion of the CMT, grades three through eight. My first slide, I thought it would be a nice introduction to show you how Mathematics is laid out in the district of Watertown. If you look at the building blocks, as I call them, of mathematical literacy, looking at literacy the same way we talk about reading and writing, we want students to understand, to be able to read mathematics, be able to speak mathematics, write mathematics and just be intelligent people using mathematics that they know. As a child in the center, I actually have the three building blocks state wide, at the left you see the State Department of Education framework, which was just recently adopted. It is a template for content and instruction that they feel is important for all mathematics. They have narrowed it down to four content standards, which are numerical and proportional reasoning, and these standards are that same throughout, pre-K through 12th grade, certainly varying in its degrees of difficulty. But numerical and proportional reasoning, algebraic reasoning, geometry and measurement and then you are working with data, statistics and probability. So those are your four basic standards that are housed in the framework.
Your second building block is your CMT, which is actually looking at your framework and the CMT embodies all of the goals and standards that are within the framework in the hope that by the end of 12th grade, we are going to have students, our goal is to have students who are proficient in their ability to apply all of the concepts and skills that they learned with numerical, proportional, algebraic, geometric and statistical concepts, skills. We want them to be able to apply their understanding so they can reason and communicate, analyze and solve real world problems, all of those embedded in the CMT. If you had a chance to look at some of those items you’ll understand what that entails.
The third building block is our district curriculum; we have recently completed and updated the curriculum. It also embodies the State framework and CMT objective. The Mastery test for grades 3-8 emphasize the mastery of, and I do want to stress the mastery of, basic skills, concepts and the ability to apply all of those into solving problems. Basic skills, yes we are expecting students to be fluent in their knowledge of basic facts, we want them to be able to recall their basic facts, we expect computation and fluency but we want above and beyond that. We want them to understand the mathematics that they do so that they can solve problems.
I remember reading an article of Lee Iacocca, that show you how old I am when I can actually turn to Lee Iacocca, but I do remember one of the things he said was “Solving problems is not reading a problem, it is doing life” and that is really what we hope to do with the mathematics.
There are different response formats in the CMT and that is across grade levels 3-8. There is the multiple choice, no in your third grade level the multiple choice items are certainly more and as you go up in the grade the total number decreases as the grade level increases. So in eighth grade there are less multiple choice items. There are also grid-in items, only for grades 5-8, grid-in meaning that the students actually have to compute on their own the answer to the problems and then they have to bubble in grids. Similar to your multiple choice standardized test items. And then there are the open-ended type of questions where there is not one correct answer that the student actually have to work it out on their own and be able to extend that answer with a reason why, to actually analyze it and to justify their answer. Those the total number increases again as the grade level increases, so your grade test have a preponderance of the open-ended and the grid-in and less multiple choice.
There are 25 strands, remember we started with the four state standards, also within those four state standards there are 25 strands. Still looking at your numerical and proportional reasoning, your geometry and measurement, you working with data and algebraic reasoning. Third grade has each of those four, all the way through eighth grade, twenty-five actual strands. Depending on the grade level there is an average of twenty three strands that are tested. For example in 8th grade we no longer basic facts, we expect them know it by then and also you are not doing your proportional reasoning in third grade.
Integrated understanding is an item unto itself, it is actually strand 25 and that is an item unto itself because it is a very difficult problem. The State predicts that it would take an average student between 10-20 minutes to solve this one problem and it includes content from one of more of the other actual standards. I have one of those in your packet and I do want to spend some time on that today. That is the most difficult because there is an intense amount of reading along with the mathematics.
I just took strand 25 from grade three to show you, in your packet you had samples of other items. This is a third grader in March, the first week of March, who has gone through part 1of the test, part 2 of test and now we have part 3 of the test. This is just one question, and again, we expect 10-20 to be spent on this question alone.
Ms. Rinaldi read through sample problem listed on slides 6-8 of handout.
This is not scored either right or wrong, this is one of those items where there is a rubric score, so they can either receive a 0 if there is no evidence of any type of understanding, a 1 if their understanding is limited, meaning they are getting there but they don’t quite know what they are doing, a 2 where there is somewhat of a mathematical understanding and a 3 which is fine. The multiple choice questions, there is a rubric score of a 1 or a 2 on some items, depending on how involved it is. There is a 0, 1, 2 rubric, so depending on how involved the mathematics is will depend on the rubric that they are using to score it. This is a typical, what makes this interesting is that in third grade you have students that need to read this problem and then it is your guess, test and revise strategy of mathematics where they have to plug in the numbers. There are two knowns, we know that there had to be a total of 18 and we know there are a certain number of sneakers. They have to plug those in and then guess, test and revise with the others. Not only to come up with one scenario but to come up with two. There is this stick-to-itiveness in the problem and just the reading of the material.
Ms. Rinaldi read through sample problems on slides 9-12 of handout.
I do also want you to be aware that these are released sample items because they were piloted for three years, various questions were piloted throughout the State of Connecticut, they received the feedback from the students, these happen to be items that were rejected for one reason or another, so they are not perfect but the reason they are released is it gives you some sense of what the students will be doing. I remember sitting the table in the State Department and doing this grade 8 Bushnell one, we actually walked over to the carousel and look this when we were going through it which was an experience.
They need to show their work and explain how they found the answer. Some students are very specific in their computations so they didn’t have to explain; one or the other is accepted. That is your typical one question on the CMT. Because of that, we have to make changes in the classroom, we do appreciate and we certainly do expect computational fluency, it is an absolute must, we do expect basic facts to be on the tip of the students, we need them to know all of their computational facts, however we can’t stop their any longer. The students have to be able to live life, and we try with our Bushnell Carousel to make it as close to real life as possible, although I don’t remember standing next to a carousel wondering how many rotations it could do in so many minutes, however there is a great deal of reading, we need now in the classroom to have wide experiences for students. We need them to be able to relate to those experiences, we need to write in mathematics, have them explain their thinking, justify their thinking, to actually argue back and forth. To develop a critical learner, someone who can think, come up with an answer and say does this make sense, does this not make sense? How do I approach this problem? Not be afraid to take a risk, trying something and if it doesn’t work to keep at it, not to give up and say I just can’t’ do this. They need to substantiate and elaborate, one sentence is not enough, it is very difficult for student to explain what is going on in their heads. They’ll say I know what I did, I just can’t tell you what I did and we need to have them verbalize. We need to model good mathematics; it should be happening in the classroom, I know that they principals now are in earnest in making sure that is happening.
That is mathematics grades 3-8 with the CMT. Thank you, I wanted to keep it brief but still have some sense of what the students are dealing with. I am now going to turn it over to my esteemed colleagues Pat Corvello and Judy Moeller.
Ms. Corvello: Thank you Sally, I am Pat Corvello, Principal of Judson School and I am the CMT Coordinator for kindergarten through grade 8. I think also, just in case anyone was under the mistaken impression that all of that math was done in one session. The CMT is two weeks of continuous testing in the district, depending on grade level, students have two to three mathematics tests; actually the only grade level that has two math is grade three. There are two reading comprehension tests, there is one direct assessment of writing test, there is on DRP test and there is one editing and revising test. Those testing sessions including directions are anywhere from about 60-70 minutes per session.
In addition to the math, there is a language arts test which involves reading and writing. The reading test involves reading comprehension, as you’ve gotten the impression from what Sally said it is more than ok kids what did you read? They have to be able to give a clear understanding of inference, author’s purpose and all those kinds of things that all reading comprehension tests. There are open ended questions which as with math, are short answer questions that must be written out and not the object tests. There is the degrees of reading power which I am going to have Judy really speak to and the revising in which given a piece of writing how would or revise that piece of writing to make it better. And the direct writing assessment which I will speak to a little bit later. Within the reading comprehension there are authentic works, in the fourth generation than in the three generations prior to this; there are authentic works of literature which may include both narrative and informational passages. In addition in grades 5-8 there is reading to perform a task, which a little bit of a fancy way to say, follow these directions and do thus and such. With many of these there are again multiple choice questions and open ended questions. I will give the next slide to Judy to explain the strands in reading comprehension. Judy Moeller is our K-12 reading coordinator.
Ms. Moeller: Good evening everyone, I am Judy Moeller and I would like to give you an idea of the four strands that are under the CMT content strand, under reading comprehension. We have forming general understanding which is really what they have to do is be able to decode the text and to really understand the text itself; it is a general understanding of the text. The second strand is developing interpretations and the child needs to be able to again decode the text and this time be able to read between the lines, be able to interpret what he is reading. Third is making reader/text connections, this gets a little bit more involved, not only is the child reading to understand what he reads, he needs to decode what he is reading and now he needs to make a connection to himself and to the text but go one step further, he needs to support his evidence giving examples right from the text. Examining the content and structure, that is involving again, interpretation, analyzing the text and being able to really determine the authors craft, determine why the author is using particular words that he is using, why he is using phrasing. Being able to look at the content and structure of the whole text itself and to say well this particular author using the words, he is probably describing a scene or he is probably you know giving another type of authors craft. They have really be able to interpret that.
The reading comprehension is authentic text it is different genres and within this particular text there is a readability range in third grade of 3.5, the middle of the third grade to 4.5, middle of the fourth grade. They have to be able to read text at that level.
Ms. Moeller read examples from slides 18 through 20 on handout.
In grade five the text as you see gets a little bit more complicated. Again the readability of this text is mid 5th grade to mid 6th grade so they not only have to decode the words but now they have to be able to understand and relate an answer question such as, which on of these sentences would best fit at the end of section a? The text is divided into a, b, c, the kids have to be able to go back and forth and manipulate the text and interpret it while they are answering the questions, it is very involved.
Ms. Moeller read examples from slides 21 through 24 on handout.
Pat is going to be talking to you about the direct assessment of writing.
Ms. Corvello: Just as in reading, the reading score the children get one reading score, one level score that is based on the DRP and the reading comprehension, in writing it is based on their editing and revising score and the direct assessment of writing. Most children and parents refer to that as just the writing prompt.
Ms. Corvello read examples from slides 25 and 26 on handout.
All of those, whether it is grade 3 right through 8 are scored on a different rubric particular to each grade level. Those two scores along with the math scores are what the children get for their CMT scores, this time it was late spring. The test is late spring; we didn’t actually get the scores until September.
I would like to at this point introduce my esteemed colleague Assistant Principal Matt Geary who will speak to the grade 10 CAPT test.
Mr. Geary: I want to give you a brief overview of the CAPT, I think that to put it simply the test is really trying to figure out can the students think critically and solve problems across disciplines. In simplest terms those are the two skills we want our students to have across disciplines. What I tried to do is pick some released items so you could get an idea of what the test is like, the packet that I sent to you has in them some sample student responses and things like that, for tonight I just gave you the questions. The writing section of the CAPT contains two writing across the discipline responses, similar to this and editing and revising.
Mr. Geary read examples from slides 28 through 30 on the handout.
The CAPT is covered over six days they do two of these, 80 minutes is the time for one of them. This is the 2006 actual question released, this year they got sort of a pretty relevant topic to write on, some years they are not as relevant.
The editing and revising and the writing, there are three tests, make up the writing score for each student. At the High School the CAPT writing is one of the ways you can meet the graduation requirement in writing. There is also a senior English portfolio but the first option or way to meet the graduation requirement in writing is by meeting the State Goal on CAPT.
Mr. Geary read examples from slides 31 through 33 on the handout.
This is an open ended math question, there are both open ended and grid-ins, this is a 3,2,1,0 rubric. The explanation here is key, I feel like it is the same thing as the CMT but the explanation is this is key. How relevant is the frog population? I am not so sure but the process where you think about a problem and go through the steps to the solution is certainly relevant and that is how we try to connect it to the kids, that everyday you solve problems, it might not be about frogs, but certainly you problem solved.
The last slide is science which in my opinion is a difficult test because it is so broad in what it covers. This is just one particular question. In your packet are 6 or 7 released items that span across all kinds of different topics in science. As far as the score goes, I going to give you the rubric so you have an idea, a 3 on this question would describe several adaptations to help the lizard survive, and explain why it survives with those adaptations. A score of 2 would contain at least 2 adaptations and there would be some explanation, so as the explanation deteriorates in quality, the score goes down. A score of 1 includes at least one adaptation and some explanation and a score of 0 is either no explanation or no adaptation. This again, if you are a 10th grader looking at this question it is a pretty broad question. I do think that the key to this, building on the CMT from earlier is critical thinking and problem solving, those are the keys for our kids.
Dr. Pelosi: Hopefully you have a much better idea of what the tests consist of and the level of difficulty for the third grader or a tenth grader. The thinking that is involved in analyzing and synthesizing the information and then coming to a generalization or conclusion is really what we are looking for, not just filling in the answer or one mathematical answer. What we are doing, as you can see, the coordinators and administrators are intricately involved with this. Dr. Erardi has asked each principal to work with the coordinators to work with me, to work with staff members and to develop a CAPT or CMT action plan, faculty meetings are being held throughout the district and an overview of test scores. The CAPT still hasn’t been released yet; we just received another information today that the annual yearly progress report can’t be released until our next meeting. So at the next meeting you will get all the statistics, but we are utilizing the information that we have thus far to improve not only student achievement but as you saw in one of the slides, I believe it was one of the math slides, instructional changes have to occur for our kids to really succeed. This is what educators across Connecticut have come together and deemed appropriate, in some cases we questioned (inaudible). In fact our state goal is higher than what the federal government has utilized as a state goal for Connecticut, they actually lowered it, it is still high but they lowered it from what the state expects.
I would like to thank our panel and also the administrators who are present and the good work that they are doing with faculty and coordinators and Dr. Erardi for his support of the initiative.
Dr. Erardi: Thank you Dr. Pelosi, questions for the administration or the presenters at this time in regards to CMT or CAPT?
Ms. Calabrese: I would just like to compliment the panel; I think they did a wonderful job in really, in a very concise way, showing everyone exactly what is involved in these tests. We hear a lot about these tests in the newspaper but I don’t think that most of us realize just how much, not just what student have to be able to do but everything we have to do to prepare them for these tests.
Mr. Mazzamaro: I just had one comment as well, as a parent of a third grader, I see my daughter’s homework every night and I am amazed at actually how close the math and the reading, the monthly book reports she has is almost the exact format that was up on the screen. It is amazing how close it is.
Dr. Erardi: Coincidental Mr. Mazzamaro I am sure.
Laughter
Mr. Mazzamaro: Although she is going to get this math problem, she hasn’t seen it yet.
Laughter
Dr. Erardi: For those that are sorting out clogs and sneakers at this point you can email Sally if you are interested in the correct answer to that question. Any other comments or questions for Dr. Pelosi or the panel or administration?
Mr. Lambert: I just have one thing Dr. Erardi. You people on the panel here and Dr. Pelosi also, you do a lot of hard work, a lot of hard work goes into this but we see in industry a lot of mistakes that are made in industry have to do with comprehension, reading comprehension, estimating answers. You are laying the ground floor to make a better student and a better person to release to life in industry, so you are on the right track and I applaud you for it. Thank you very much.
Dr. Erardi: Thank you Mr. Lambert, I think just as an over arching general comment what struck me with this report was the rigor that we are asking of all students to look at as early as grade three. I am hoping that when the community has the opportunity to see this on video tape they will have that same sense of appreciation of the hard work that is happening with our coordinators and with our classroom teachers. Thank you. We will move on.
4. CT Mastery Test and CAPT – (Information Only – No Action Required)
Administration has prepared a detailed summary of the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT grades 3-8) and the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT grade 10). The overview will include sample test items. Sally Rinaldi, Math Coordinator K-12; Pat Corvello, CMT Testing Coordinator; Judy Moeller, Reading Coordinator K-12; Matthew Geary, CAPT Coordinator; and Dr. Pelosi will participate in the discussion.
Dr. Erardi: Item #5 on the Superintendents report, Mr. Griffin introduced that item to the Board of Education. The large umbrella for the spending through the advertising committee was to focus on higher order thinking activities. The Lego program which has great popularity at Swift this year, looking to field a third team. The Robotic Advisor that has been in existence at Watertown High School for a number of years. Administration is prepared to answer questions between now and our next meeting and we’ll also be prepared to share with the Board of Education a written agreement through the lends of legal counsel to articulate an understanding between Watertown High Schools Administration, the Board of Education and the Robotics Program. Questions at all on #5?
The Board had no questioned regarding Item #5
5. One Year Funding – (Information Only – No Action Required – First Reading)
Robotics’ Advisor (W.H.S.) - $1,607.00
Lego Program (Swift) - $ 516.24
Presented to the Board for the first reading this evening is the recommendation that the Board of Education, through the funding stream of their advertising line item, supports the expenditure of funds for the Swift Lego League and the stipend for the Watertown High School Robotics’ Advisor position. It is further presented for the first reading that the Board directs the superintendent to draft an agreement with the Robotics’ parent group that clearly illustrates that the Board’s only financial commitment to the program is that of the stipend for the position and that the Watertown High School administration has full oversight for the hiring of the advisor and the administration of the team.
Dr. Erardi: Item #6 to my right and to the cameras left we have some outstanding artwork and I would like to recognize our artists of the month.
6. Artwork on Display
The artwork on display this evening was done by the following young artists:
John Trumbull Primary School
Davianna Larocque – Kindergarten
Skye Szabo – 1st Grade
Katrina Aucello – 2nd Grade
Judson School
Heather Hughes – 3rd Grade
5th Grade Cooperative Project – 5th Grade
Polk School
Anthony Rinaldi, 4th Grade
Heminway Park School
Kevin Durgana – 6th Grade
Swift Middle School
Bridget Fleming – 7th Grade
8th Grade Cooperative Mural – 8th Grade
Watertown High School
Marta D’Amico – Grade 10, Art 1: Foundations of Art
Julie Kelly – Grade 10, Art 2: Drawing and Painting
Christopher Terzigni – Grade 11, Art 2: Photography
Carla Piel – Grade 12, Art 3: Drawing
I. Report from the Chairman
Mr. Mazzamaro: Mrs. Dzioba this evening wanted to remind everybody about the school safety meeting on October 17th at 7:00pm at John Trumbull Primary School. Invitations have been sent to Police, Fire and the Town Manager and this is in response to community concern about school safety. The meeting will last about one hour and all are invited.
Secondly on a more personal note, later in the meeting on the agenda Item J.h. the Board will be considering the resignation of James Marks and I would like to take this time to thank you for time and service on the Board, you will be missed. If anybody else on the Board would like to say a few words.
Ms. Colangelo: Jim I will miss your insightful comments and your little emails that you send out every so often. You have been a great colleague here and I wish you all the best.
Ms. Calabrese: You have been very supportive of all of us and we really do appreciate your sense of humor and we will miss that sense of humor.
Mr. Marks: You didn’t appreciate it enough to do the Board of Education swimsuit calendar.
Laughter
Ms. Calabrese: See what I mean.
Ms. Pannone: Good luck to you Jim.
Mr. Marks: Thank you Joanne
Mr. Griffin: Good luck to you Jim, we will miss you.
Mr. Marks: Thank you Todd
Mr. Lambert: Thank you Jim for your quick wit and your kindness.
J. Action Items – Adoption of Items to be Approved by Consent
a. Consideration of the Approval of Facility Manager of Buildings and Grounds – Job Description – Second Reading
The Policy and Labor Committee reviewed the proposed job description for the Facility Manager of Buildings and Grounds at its meeting on September 7, 2006 and it was presented to the full Board for the first reading at its meeting on September 25, 2006. It is being presented tonight for the second reading and for Board approval.
It is recommended that the Board approve of the job description for Facility Manager of Buildings and
Grounds effective immediately.
Motion presented by Mr. Griffin, seconded by Ms. Pannone to approve of the job description for Facility Manager of Buildings and Grounds as presented effective immediately.
Discussion: None
Motion Passed Unanimously
(7-In Favor, 0-Opposed, 0-Abstained)
b. Consideration of the Approval of the Watertown High School Graduation Date – Second Reading
The graduation date of June 20, 2007 for the Watertown High School class of 2006-2007was presented to the full Board for the first reading at its meeting on September 25, 2006. It is presented this evening for the second reading and for Board approval.
It is recommended that the Board approve of the graduation date of June 20, 2007 for the Watertown High School class of 2006-2007.
Motion presented by Ms. Colangelo, seconded by Ms. Pannone to approve of the graduation date of June 20, 2007 for the Watertown High School class of 2006-2007.
Discussion: None
Motion Passed Unanimously
(7-In Favor, 0-Opposed, 0-Abstained)
c. Consideration of the Approval of Transfer of Funds
It is recommended that the Board approve of the attached transfer of funds.
Motion presented by Mr. Griffin, seconded by Ms. Colangelo to approve of the transfer of funds as presented.
Discussion: None
Motion Passed Unanimously
(7-In Favor, 0-Opposed, 0-Abstained)
d. Consideration of the Approval of Grants for 2006-2007
Grants for the 2006-2007 school year have been written by Dr. Pelosi and Ms. Betsy Hackett with the assistance of Ms. Amelia Grover. Grant applications have been submitted for the following programs:
1. Title II, Part A – Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting - $103,156 (written by Dr. Pelosi).
2. Title III, Part A – Subpart 1 – English Language Acquisition and Language Enhancement - $9,824 Applying through Consortium – EDUCATION CONNECTION. (coordinated by Ms. Betsy Hackett).
3. Title IV, Part A – Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities - $7,219 (written by Ms. Betsy Hackett).
4. Title V, Part A – Innovative Programs - $5,074 (written by Dr. Pelosi).
It is recommended that the Board of Education approve of the grants as written.
Motion presented by Ms. Calabrese, seconded by Mr. Marks to approve of the grants as written.
Discussion
Motion Passed Unanimously
(7-In Favor, 0-Opposed, 0-Abstained)
e. Consideration of the Approval of Acceptance of Gifts
1. Ms. Carol Quaid, on behalf of IBM, would like to donate a check for $1,000.00 to be used for the photography program at Watertown High School.
2. The Westport Public Schools would like to donate 16 cafeteria tables and 25 filing cabinets with an approximate value of $3,650.00 to the Watertown Public Schools.
It is recommended that the Board approve of the acceptance of these generous gifts and letters of thanks to be sent to the donors.
Motion presented by Mr. Griffin, seconded by Ms. Pannone to approve of the acceptance of these generous gifts and letters of thanks to be sent to the donors.
Discussion
Motion Passed Unanimously
(7-In Favor, 0-Opposed, 0-Abstained)
f. Consideration of the Approval of Extended Family Medical Leave of Absence
At its meeting on April 10, 2006, the Board approved of a childbearing/childrearing leave of absence commencing August 21, 2006 and ending December 3, 2006, under the Family Medical Leave Act, with use of accumulated sick time, then leave without pay, and a medical doctor’s note to return for Ms. Carley Vesneski, Guidance Counselor at Watertown High School.
Ms. Vesneski requests an extended maternity/childrearing leave of absence for a five-week extension until January 8, 2007, without pay, and a medical doctor’s note to return.
It is recommended that the Board approve of an extended maternity/childrearing leave of absence for a five-week extension until January 8, 2007 for Ms. Carley Vesneski, Guidance Counselor at Watertown High School, without pay and a medical doctor’s note to return.
Motion presented by Ms. Calabrese, seconded by Mr. Griffin to approve of an extended maternity/childrearing leave of absence for a five-week extension until January 8, 2007 for Ms. Carley Vesneski, Guidance Counselor at Watertown High School, without pay and a medical doctor’s note to return
Discussion
Motion Passed Unanimously
(7-In Favor, 0-Opposed, 0-Abstained)
Mr. Mazzamaro: I would like a motion to move into executive session to discuss contractual obligations.
Mr. Griffin: Wouldn’t we go to future agenda items?
Mr. Mazzamaro: We will do that when we come out of executive session.
Dr. Erardi: Just for a point of clarification, the reason the agenda is set with moving into executive at this time item g. falls before the Boards acceptance of Mr. Marks’ letter of resignation and the Board felt it was important for Mr. Marks to have the full opportunity to participate in his last meeting.
M.-1 Executive Session
Custodian Negotiations
Motion presented by Mr. Griffin, seconded by Mr. Marks to enter into Executive Session with Dr. Erardi, Mr. LoFrese, Mrs. Grover, Mr. Beliveau and all Board Members listed as present.
Motion Passed Unanimously
(7-In Favor, 0-Opposed, 0-Abstained)
Executive Session convened at 8:30 p.m.
Executive Session ended at 8:50 p.m.
g. Consideration of the Approval and Ratification of Custodian Contract following a discussion in Executive Session
Motion presented by Mr. Griffin, seconded by Mr. Lambert to accept the Custodian Contract as discussed in Executive Session
Motion Passed Unanimously
(7-In Favor, 0-Opposed, 0-Abstained)
h. Consideration of the Approval to Accept James Marks’ Letter of Resignation
It is recommended that the Board accept James Marks’ letter of resignation from the position of Board Member, effective October 11, 2006 for personal reasons.
Motion presented by Ms. Colangelo, seconded by Mr. Lambert to accept James Marks’ letter of resignation from the position of Board Member, effective October 11, 2006 for personal reasons.
Discussion
Motion Passed Unanimously
(7-In Favor, 0-Opposed, 0-Abstained)
K. Future Agenda Items and Board Members’ Comments
None
L. Public Participation
None
M. 2. Executive Session – Second Convening
Personnel Matters
Motion presented by Mr. Griffin, seconded by Mr. Lambert to enter into Executive Session with Dr. Erardi, Mr. LoFrese, Mrs. Grover, Mr. Beliveau and all Board Members listed as present.
Motion Passed Unanimously
(7-In Favor, 0-Opposed, 0-Abstained)
Executive Session convened at 9:00 p.m.
Executive Session ended at 9:09 p.m.
N. Adjournment
Motion presented by Mr. Griffin, seconded by Mr. Marks to adjourn the Regular Board of Education Meeting of October 10, 2006.
Motion Passed Unanimously
(7-In Favor, 0-Opposed, 0-Abstained)
Meeting adjourned at 9:09 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted by
Todd Griffin, Board Secretary
Bonnie Goulet, Board Clerk
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