WAKEFIELD SCHOOL COMMITTEE Wakefield, Ma School Committee Minutes Tuesday, November 25, 2014 Present: Chairman Callanan, Vice-Chairman Morgan, Janine Cook, Anne Danehy, Evan Kenney, Greg Liakos, Tom Markham, Supt. Zrike, Asst. Supt. Smith, Business Admin. Pfifferling. 1. Call to Order – Chairman Callanan called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. 2. Reading of Mission Statement – Chairman Callanan read the Mission Statement. 3. Student Advisory Council – SAC members reported the following: Pep Rally on Wed. for Thanksgiving Game. Football team, dance team and marching band will be in attendance. WHS is one of 547 schools districts honored by the College Board’s 5th Annual AP District Honor Roll for significant gains in Student Access and Success. WHS has increased the number of students taking AP classes. More students are taking the prep classes in preparation for the AP tests. 4. Student Spotlight – Dr. Smith introduced students who will share their experiences: Mr. Odessa’s Gr. 6 Robotics Class – Students spoke about what they are learning in their Robotics class, with a demonstration. As the year progresses the students will learn more about automation, mechanical systems and energy transfer. They will be presenting a STEM showcase in the spring. Mr. Callanan’s AP Computer Science Class –Students gave a demo of a simulated functionality of an ATM thru graphical user interface. Mr. Lashman’s Gr. 8 Computer Programming Class – Students spoke about computer science education. Mr. Lashman noted that WHS has come a long way over the past five years. BYOD program is an added benefit. He spoke about coding, team building and Game Design. At the end of the year students will create a game. The current project is a redesign of the Atari game Pong. They made it from scratch, with all coding of their own. Their next project is a brick breaker game. Enrollment has gone from 0 to76 students. There is so much they do with the class. Ms. Danehy noted that we owe it to our students to provide these courses to prepare them for college. Mr. Liakos asked about development of programs for the early grades; digital literacy and the advanced work in designing the programs. Mr. Kenney commended Mr. Lashman for the time he takes with the students in classroom, and outside the classroom. Ms. Morgan asked about the ratio of female

1

to males in the various classes 5. Superintendent’s Remarks, Reports, Recommendation a. Superintendent Zrike shared the following information with the committee. 1. Full Day Kindergarten Information Night Announcement – Wanted to clarify an article which appeared in the Item regarding Full Day Kindergarten. Wakefield has not committed to full day kindergarten. It is very important that we engage in a community dialogue of moving to full day, before a decision is made. 2. SAT College & Career Readiness Benchmarks from Wakefield High School, it is good baseline data for those students who are deemed college readiness. 3. Lesley University Information Sheet - Lesley is hosting a recruitment event at the Galvin. 4. Improvement Plans – They will be submitted at the next meeting. The only school that will not submitting their Improvement Plan is the Doyle School. The schools will not be presenting. Every plan is aligned to the districts’ strategy. 5. Rotary Club Football – Attended the annual Rotary Club football gathering. The captains spoke about the impact of football on their development. 6. Grateful to our staff, they were very flexible in hosting conferences in the evening. It speaks to the professionalism of our staff. 7. Walton principal position will be posted on January 1st. 8. Regarding School Cancellations - notice sent out about where to go to get information about delays and cancellations 6. STE(A)M Presentation – Dr. Zrike and Dr. Smith presented an update on STE(A)M. Research indicates students identify with STEM before they leave elementary school, so it is important to provide exposure & build interest early on in the students. experience. Research also shows that out of jobs posted in Mass over the past 120 days, 32% posted are STEM jobs. STEM provides a skill set in Science Technology, Engineering and Math. There are commonalities among the practices in science, math and English language art. STEM education is enhanced by coursework in Visual Arts. Wakefield is on its way, but not where they need to be. Automation and robotics, design & modeling, coding, introduction to computer programming, AP computer science and graphic design. More opportunities need to created at the elementary and middle school level. Dr. Smith has agreed to launch a Task Force. There will be recommendations presented around budget time. The system is planning a STEM Showcase in 2015. Dr. Smith spoke about the new draft of science standards. The new standards focus on science and engineering. Dr. Smith presented the timeline for transition: public draft through 2014-2015, move to official public comment and adoption process 2015-201, multi-year implementation and transition period – provide support for transition and adjust MCAS. Wakefield must expand what we offer in technology and connect the arts piece. 2

Ms. Danehy suggested Wakefield Academy become a starting point, and the suggestion was welcomed by the administration. Mr. Markham pointed out the connection between the components is immense. Using the inquiry and learning based piece is at the heart of all of the disciplines. Also, it is important to realize that vocational and technical education have been following business and industry standard models for a long time. It is exciting stuff. Mr. Markham spoke about Project Lead the Way, and Dr. Smith noted that two teachers went to the summer session, and it was an amazing experience. Dr. Zrike felt that the vocational school should be part of the task force. Mr. Liakos spoke about creativity in engineering and the relevance of core values. He asked how the SC can support on building the engineering program at WHS, and was told upgrades would be needed. The high school is busting at the seams and would need personnel to expand the technology offerings. Ms. Danehy felt that partnering with businesses is a great opportunity. Dr. Zrike noted that when he met with the business community, there was interest in the concept. Chamber of Commerce Cohen was very receptive to the idea and has offered assistance. c. Acceptance of Gift – Ms. Morgan moved, seconded by Mr. Kenney that the School Committee accepts with gratitude a $575 donation from the Doyle School, the funds may be used at t he school’s discretion. Voted Unan. Dr. Zrike thanked the PTO, which is amazing. It speaks to the interest and commitment of the school. We are very grateful. d. Approval of Clerical Job Descriptions – Dr. Zrike notes that the Clerical Union spent many hours on creating the job description. Some positions were misscategorized. There are new job descriptions. The union has been willing and eager to move forward with re-writing the job descriptions. Ms. Morgan moved, seconded by Mr. Markham, that the School Committee approve the updated Clerical Job descriptions as presented. Voted Unan. e. Capital Requests – Mr. Evangelista and Mr. Wiener came before the committee to answer questions about the capital requests. Dr. Zrike reviewed the process that was used to create the plan. It will be on the table for two weeks and then ask for motion to approve submittal to the town. . Ms. Cook asked why non-compliance item on tier 2. Mr. Evangelista noted the items in question were slated to 2016. Dr. Zrike noted they had a discussion about high school. The challenge is the elevator and access to courtyard. With Feasibility Study coming we discussed which should be our priorities - 1, 2, and 3. Handicapped accessibility is a high cost item. Ms. Cook felt that students and public should be able to access the facilities. Dr. Smith noted that the high school is in compliance for students and events. All academic areas are accessible. . Ms. Danehy asked if students have accessibility to elevators, and was told the elevator is small, and are not handicapped compliant. . Mr. Markham asked if there was a goal of the dollar value of each tier. Dr. Zrike 3

noted that there was no goal. The estimated amounts were based on quotes. There are important items on tier one. He would like to see some of the sports that don’t get attention on the list, as well as playgrounds. Safety has to be the utmost priority; i.e. high school doors. There should be a pool of money for regular update of buildings. There are items on 2016 plan but some of them will get pushed out to the next year. . Mr. Callanan asked if the technology request was enough and was told b Mr. Weiner that it is. The town is planning to do a town-wide upgrade. In 2017 we may need additional resources. 7. Consent Agenda a. Approval of Minutes – Ms. Morgan moved, seconded by Mr. Liakos that the School Committee approves the November 12, 2014 minutes, as presented. Voted Unan. 8. Subcommittee/Liaison Reports a. Policy – Ms. Morgan moved, seconded by Mr. Liakos that the School Committee lay on the table Policy #1013-R Homeless Students and re-draft of Policy #104-R CORI Background Checks. It was suggested that the word CORI be dropped from the title of the policy. Mr. Callanan moved, seconded by Mr. Liakos to amend the motion to change heading to Background Check. Voted Unan. b. Budget – Ms. Morgan reported they met on Friday and went over Capital Request document. Mr. Markham noted there is a schedule, which will have slight revisions that lays out the plan leading into Town meeting c. Labor Relations – Meeting on Dec. 10th d. Communications – Planning to meet Dec. 2nd 9. School Committee Comments . Mr. Kenney noted he will not be at the Dec.9th meeting . Ms. Cook wished all a Happy Thanksgiving . Mr. Markham pleased to see change in School Improvement Plan process. The Councils spend a lot of time putting plans together. The new timeline for presentation is December 9th in order to hear them before the budget process begins. 10. Adjournment – Ms. Morgan moved, seconded by Mr. Markham that the School Committee adjourns the meeting. Voted Unan.

4