WAKEFIELD SCHOOL COMMITTEE Wakefield, Ma September 9, 2014 School Committee Minutes Present: Chairman Callanan, Vice-Chairman Morgan, Ms. Cook, Ms. Danehy, Mr. Liakos and Mr. Markham. Also present Supt. Zrike, Business Admin Pfifferling and Clerk Majeski. 1. Call to Order – Chairman Callanan called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. 2. Chairman Callanan read the EPS Mission Statement: It is the mission of the Wakefield Public Schools to educate and inspire every student to live a life of engaged learning, personal responsibility and positive contribution through: 1) safe and healthy learning environments; 2) diverse learning opportunities; 3) high quality teachers and staff; 4) community involvement and partnerships; and 5) 21st Century tools and skills. 3. General Public Comment - None 4. Educational Spotlight – Announcement of Winners of Supt. Challenge Supt. Zrike introduced the winners of the Superintendent’s Reading Challenge (Wakefield students read over 10,000 books over the summer). The top reader from each school, Jenna Farber (Woodville), Molly Forest (Greenwood), Gillian Russell (WHS), Kayleigh Callanan (GMS) received a Certificate of Appreciation and a gift card. The top three readers, Samuel Carpenter(Dolbeare) , Jacey Jewett (Walton) and Merilee Jewett (Walton) received Chromebook computers. 5. Chairman’s Remarks, Reports, Recommendations a. Chairman Callanan advised that Senator Lewis is hosting a forum at The Savings Bank entitled Understanding Chapter 70 Funding at 6:30 p.m. on September 24th. 6. Superintendent’s Remarks, Reports, Recommendations a. Superintendent’s Comments/Reports/Communications 1. Supt. Zrike called Florence Martin, WEA President, to the table and asked her to comment on the Lesley Partnership being proposed. Dr. Zrike thanked Ms. Martin and WEA for their support during this year, especially over the summer with the opening of the Doyle and Galvin Middle School. There has been a lot of change in the system this year, and the WEA leadership has been very cooperative in working with the administration. Ms. Martin thanked Dr. Zrike for his comments. Ms. Martin noted that it is a pleasure and honor to represent Lesley College. The partnership will be a win/win situation. 2. District Strategy & Professional Development Plan – Dr. Zrike presented the District Instructional Strategy. The Instructional Strategy for 2014-2015 includes three objectives with specific initiatives linked
to the objectives: Quality Teaching – investing in and developing educators to provide students with powerful teaching and learning that prepare them for college, career and citizenship. Rigorous Curriculum – implementing consistent, standards-aligned curriculum supported by high quality instructional resources. Individualized Student Learning: ensuring that each student receives targeted, data-informed instruction, with appropriate social and emotional supports. The targets of the objectives and initiatives are: Increase in K-3 reading proficiency; increase in student growth % in reading and math (grades 4-8) and increase in % of HS students that attain “advanced” performance level (ELA) for college readiness. Professional Development - Dr. Zrike noted that none of the district strategy can happen without professional development. Dr. Smith and I share the same values around the presentation by Dr. Smith. Dr. Smith did an incredible amount of work and he is very excited there is a plan in place. Dr. Smith presented the Professional Development Overview for 20142015. The mission of the program is to be responsive to the needs of all faculty and staff; provide both internal and external expertise; clearly communicate goals & outcomes; address state mandates as well as district, school and individual goals; differentiated for many educator roles; cohesive, connected and sustainable; directly linked to WPS Strategy; measured by MA State Standards for HQPD. There are three types of PD – district 7 school based, job embedded and district supported professional development. Dr. Smith reviewed the monthly Wednesday monthly early release day’s schedule, as well as the menu options. She reviewed the online offered training. Dr. Smith acknowledged the many individuals involved in creating the plan; especially Richard McKenna, Terry Sullivan and Florence Martin. Mr. Liakos thought the presentation to be very informative and that staff want to be respected as learners. He asked about the “role of time”…is there a balance and how does the system meet the balance? Dr. Zrike commented that more time has been built in at the high school and middle school. Dr. Smith noted that the GMS schedule is driven on the premise that professional development is built into their schedule. Mr. Markham thanked the administration for the amount of work they have done, as well as the WEA. He noted that the WEA was critical during negotiations about professional development and jobs a likes. Also, job embedded PD is a critical one to the success of the program. Ms. Morgan question that no numbers were attached to the targets and will there be metrics attached? Dr. Zrike responded one developed they will come back to the committee with those number. Mr. Callanan asked about PD for paraprofessionals, and was told that they will have the same opportunity to select from the menu options. 3. Lesley University - Dr. Zrike invited Jack Gillette, Dean of the Lesley Graduate School of Education, noting that to be aligned with Lesley University will elevate and give Wakefield staff the type of learning that Lesley is offering. Dr. Gillette introduced Annette McLean and Debbie Moccia from Lesley University. Dr. Gillette noted that the partnership with Wakefield has a number of advantages and benefits. The partnership will extend the reach of Lesley College both for pr-service and inservice teachers, outside of the Boston-Cambridge area. It gives Lesley a stable and visible presence in the Wakefield area. It gives Lesley a sense of the needs of districts as they seek to strengthen their teaching staff. It provides the opportunity for Wakefield only classes, thus allowing the application of the course to the district to go deeper. It facilitates Wakefield teacher enrollment in other Lesley offerings, including online inventory. It given teacher candidates
access to high quality pre-practicum and practicum experiences. It given an opportunity for licensure graduates to possibly find a teaching job in Wakefield. The benefits to Wakefield Public Schools include: . Direct access to Lesley courses and programs; a voice in the courses and programs provided; a discount in costs when there are sufficient numbers for a Wakefield only offering; access to top quality graduates from Lesley licensure programs as new teachers; a revenue stream that grows as the partnership becomes more established. In a memo to the School Committee Dr. Zrike noted that “We have the unique opportunity to enhance our profession learning opportunities for teachers, provide a financial benefit for our employees, collaborate with leaders in our field and generate revenue for the school district. “ The goal for the evening is to put it on the table and then over the next two weeks generate discussion. Town Counsel Tom Mullen has reviewed the proposal. Ms. Danehy noted that Wakefield would be investing in their teachers. It proves a strong support and is going in the right direction. Ms. Morgan asked about the revenue generated and was advised that it could generate between $50,000/$80,000 per year. Mr. Markham noted that one of the goals for the new Galvin Middle School was to generate resources for the community. He asked if the program would be an extension of the Woodville program and was advised it would be a replacement. Mr. Liakos thought it would be a tremendously promising proposal, with discounted offerings to Wakefield residents. Dr. Zrike and the committee thanked Dr. Gillette for his presentation. c. Opening of School Report/Comments Dr. Zrike reports on the following . 3431 students enrolled . New Staff (37 Unit A, 37 Unit C, 3 administrators and 3 custodians) . Custodians works long and hard on preparing the schools for the opening . A thank you to the Galvin and Doyle staff for their flexibility in the opening. Peter Evangelista has worked very hard all summer on the opening of school. . Lot of questions re. traffic supervisors and walkers . Thank you to the Police Dept. . Bus routes may be adjusted, monitoring number of students on the busses. . BYOD program is underway at the high school. Staff member are utilizing Google Docs and Classroom. . Loaner agreement has to be signed. . GMS hosting parent’s night on Chrome Books. . Alice Program – Parents info night scheduled on October 9th at the GM 7. Business Items a. Business Items – Mr. Pfifferling reviewed the monthly business reports. b. Personnel Report – Mr. Pfifferling reviewed the updated Personnel Report
8. Consent Agenda a. Approval of August 12 & August 26 Minutes – Ms. Morgan moved, seconded by Mr. Liakos, that the School Committee approves the minutes of August 12, 2014 as presented. Vote: In favor – Callanan, Morgan, Liakos, Cook, Danehy. Mr. Markham abstained because he was not in attendance. Ms. Morgan moved, seconded by Mr. Liakos that the School Committee approves the minute of August 26, 2014 as presented. Vote: In favor Callanan, Morgan, Danehy, Liakos. Mr. Markham abstained because he was not present at the meeting. So Voted. Mr. Markham asked that the August 26th minutes reflect the five recommended actions of the Facilities Review Committee. 9. Subcommittee/Liaison Reports a. Policy – Mr. Liakos reported that the Policy Subcommittee will be bringing to the table at the next meeting two policies; Crisis Plans and Animals in Schools. The subcommittee is also looking at other MASC policies that we should address in Wakefield. Also having a conversation about cell phone use in schools. b. Budget – Meeting before the next meeting. c. Labor Relations – Have not met. d. Communications – Met on August 27th and are identifying goals that we will continue to work on. 10. Future Dates & Agenda Items – Next regularly scheduled meeting September 23, 2014. 11. School Committee Comments – Ms. Danehy and Mr. Callanan commented that the Galvin is amazing, staff are excited and it’s going to be a great year. 12. Adjournment – On a motion by Ms. Morgan and seconded by Mr. Liakos, the committee adjourned their meeting at 9 p.m. Voted Unan.