Minutes of the Monson School Committee-Regular Business Meeting Via Zoom April 22, 2020 “Pursuant to Governor Baker’s March 12, 2020 Order Suspending Certain Provisions of the Open Meeting Law, G.L. c. 30A, §18, and the Governor’s March 15, 2020 Order imposing strict limitation on the number of people that may gather in one place, this meeting of the Town of Monson School Committee will be conducted via remote participation to the greatest extent possible. Specific information and the general guidelines for remote participation by members of the public and/or parties with a right and/or requirement to attend this meeting can be found on the Town of Monson website, at www.monson-ma.gov. For this meeting, members of the public who wish to listen to the meeting may do so in the following manner: https://zoom.us/j/98589344408 Meeting ID: 985 8934 4408, no in-person attendance of members of the public will be permitted, but every effort will be made to ensure that the public can adequately access the proceedings in real time, via technological means. In the event that we are unable to do so, despite best efforts, we will post on the Town of Monson’s website an audio or video recording, transcript, or other comprehensive record of proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting. Present: Chair Jeffrey Lord; Vice-Chair Emily Graves-Harrison; Secretary Andre Dubois-White, Committee Members Colleen Flynn and Jessy Shea Also Present: Superintendent Dr. Cheryl A. Clarke, Principal William Metzger (MHS); Principal Katherine Watts (GVS); Director of Student Services/Early Childhood Center Suzanne Morneau; Director of Counseling Robert Bardwell and Recording Secretary Karen Methe Note: This meeting was recorded using Zoom technology. Mr. Lord called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Mr. Lord read the Mission and Vision Statements. Announcements: On April 23, 2020 from 8:00 a.m.-9:00 a.m. and again from 7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., Mrs. Cieplik, Mrs. Prentiss and Mr. Schubach will hold a Zoom meeting for Grades 3-6 families. They will be available to assist with any technology assistance that families may need. Senior Signing Day will be held on virtually on May 15, 2020. Recognition: Mr. Lord recognized parents and caretakers that have now assumed the role of educators for their children, thanking them for making continued learning happen in their homes. Mr. Bardwell introduced Work Based Learning (WBL) students, Kelsey Duggan, Haley Fennerey and Mia Krupczak who spoke about their experiences as a Student/Assistant Teacher at Granite Valley School, Finance Intern at Baystate Wing Hospital and with the Springfield Thunderbirds, respectively. WBL “is an educational strategy that provides students with real-life work experiences where they can apply academic and technical skills and develop their employability." In addition, WBL is a way to earn high school credit, an opportunity to get valuable work experience and a way to apply what is learned into a future career. Each student provided an overview of the work they performed, what skills were needed to succeed and the growth and self-awareness gained throughout their experience. Kelsey plans to continue her education at Springfield College in Sports Management, Haley is off to UMASS Amherst to major in Finance at the Isenberg School of Management and Mia will major in Mathematics and minor in Education at Bridgewater State
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University. The three students were awarded the River-East-School-to-Career Partnership Outstanding Student-Mentor Awards for Monson High School. Committee members offered their congratulations to Kelsey, Haley and Mia. Minutes: Motion by Mr. Dubois-White to approve the April 8, 2020, Regular Business Meeting minutes as presented. (Second by Mr. Shea) No discussion Roll Call Vote: Mr. Shea Yes Ms. Flynn Yes Mr. Dubois-White Yes Ms. Graves-Harrison Yes Mr. Lord Yes Motion carries 5-0 Subcommittee and Liaison Reports: Finance Subcommittee: Dr. Clarke requested that a meeting be scheduled as soon as possible. Policy Subcommittee: The Subcommittee will hold on scheduling meetings right now. Human Resources and Negotiations Subcommittee: There is no need for the Subcommittee to meet at the present time. Facilities and Long-Term Planning Subcommittee: The Subcommittee is currently up to date with their information but will discuss scheduling a meeting soon. Curriculum Subcommittee: The Subcommittee has decided to postpone meetings at this time. Superintendent’s Report: Dr. Clarke stated that all teachers will move to a “4 and 1” model: providing four days of lessons instead of five, leaving one “breather” day for students and families adding that assignments will not have daily deadlines; all assignments for the week will be due by Sunday at midnight. Teachers will not be introducing new material and will continue to follow the Virtual Enrichment Plan. The district will be offering on-line resources to parents that were recommended by the Department of Education. Dr. Clarke noted that the Commissioner has said that there will be additional guidance regarding remote learning and moving forward. “Power Standards” will be identified by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), by grade level. Term 3 closes for everyone on May 4, 2020 and report cards will be sent through the portal; hard copies will be available upon request. Term 4 begins on May 5, 2020. Dr. Clarke provided an overview of summer services available for the high school and Granite Valley School (GVS) as follows:
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Monson High School: Depending on the need, students wishing additional course credit or remediation in English Language Arts, Math and/or Science, we would (1) open up virtual seats supervised by Aimee Walat; and (2) offer summer classes taught (hopefully in person) by district staff. The number of seats and/or classes will be budget dependent. Granite Valley School: GVS will offer summer school to target early literacy and non-readers. Classes will be taught by staff. These classes must be done face to face. If the quarantine is not lifted, we will provide instruction and remediation in the fall. This could be done before or after school, or as a Saturday program. The number of classes and hours will be budget dependent. The Extended School Year (ESY) special education summer program will take place in person at Quarry Hill Community School, though if not feasible, will be held virtually as it is a required program. Dr. Clarke said that the Remote Paraprofessional Plan will go into effect this week. Ms. Morneau shared with Committee members that all special education students have remote instruction in place and staff continues to build on current services being offered now. She thanked the Paraprofessional staff for supporting teachers and students and also thanked Mrs. Bidus for all her assistance. She added that any necessary Individualized Educational Program (IEP) annual review and reevaluation meetings will be held through remote access. All departments and the teaching staff are involved in Professional Development. The Administrative Leadership Team (ALT) is discussing ways to support students upon their return. DESE Commissioner Riley has stated that he would like to go forward with the traditional MCAS testing next year. However, a determination will have to be made regarding the current Grade 10 students, who will need to take the test, as to when it will be administered. All staff evaluations have been frozen for the 2019-2020 school year and will resume where left off at the start of the 2020-2021 school year. Dr. Clarke stated that the goal is to have all FY21 teaching assignments in place and notifications given by May 1, 2020. All field trips will be cancelled for the remainder of the school year and any fundraisers are on hold until further notice. Mr. Metzger talked about changing the graduation date. He offered several scenarios for how graduation would look this year. It has been proposed that all end of the year transition activities, senior events, etc., take place either during the week of July 13, 2020, culminating in graduation on July 17, 2020 (rain date July 18, 2020) or during the week of August 10, 2020, culminating in graduation on August 14, 2020, (rain date August 15, 2020). Morning, afternoon and evening times, for each school, will be blocked out during those weeks for scheduling purposes. Should the quarantine still be in place in the summer, fall dates (perhaps Thanksgiving break) will be considered for senior events. Events include: Kindergarten to first grade transition Sixth grade to seventh grade transition Sixth grade send-off Eighth grade step-up The Administrative Leadership Team (ALT) is rethinking all other building-based end of year activities. Motion by Mr. Lord to postpone the June 5, 2020 graduation date to
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either July 17, 2020 (rain date July 18, 2020) or August 14, 2020 (rain date August 15, 2020) dependent on the ability to open the buildings. (Second by Ms. Graves-Harrison) No discussion Roll Call Vote: Mr. Shea Yes Ms. Flynn Yes Mr. Dubois-White Yes Ms. Graves-Harrison Yes Mr. Lord Yes Motion carries 5-0 The Grab and Go lunch program continues and served the largest amount of breakfasts and lunches this week. Dr. Clarke thanked Mrs. Gustafson, the cafeteria staff, custodial staff, specifically Mr. Callahan, and all the volunteers for their dedication to making this program such a great success. She stated to the Committee that home delivery will begin to families that cannot get to the school. Dr. Clarke reported that Granite Valley School and Monson High School have been cleaned, disinfected and deodorized. The prepping and cleaning of all classrooms for next year at Quarry Hill Community School has commenced. A new sink for the VIP Program has been purchased and is being installed. Painting and prepping continues on new Central Business Offices, which are scheduled to be moved next. Dr. Clarke recognized Mr. Ainsworth for his hard work in getting the offices ready. She noted that all employees are observing social distancing guidelines. Now that staff members are not returning to their buildings for this school year, they have expressed the desire to retrieve items from their classrooms. Dr. Clarke and Mr. DeMaio worked on a safe protocol to be adhered to; 30 minutes per staff member, masked and gloved, to be escorted by custodial staff. Dr. Clarke noted that due to lost revenue at the municipal and state levels, an impact to the school’s budget is likely. Though anticipated relief may be coming from the federal government, nothing is definitive at this time. She reviewed some ideas to mitigate the impact and keep classrooms fully staffed, including use of some roll-over funds from the revolving account and purchasing FY21 items from the FY20 budget. She will keep the Committee informed on any changes. New Business: Dr. Clarke reviewed the available School Choice slots for FY21 from the email sent to Committee members prior to tonight’s meeting. A short discussion followed. Motion by Mr. Shea to authorize Dr. Clarke to post the available FY21 School Choice slots as presented. (Second by Mr. Dubois-White) No further discussion Motion carries 5-0 Old Business: Dr. Clarke reviewed the current criteria for the Superintendent’s Evaluation process as done in the past. She outlined her goals and their status to date. A discussion was held in how to proceed with this year’s evaluation. Mrs. Methe will send the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) suggested recommendations to Dr. Clarke for her to share with the Committee. Further discussion was held regarding freezing the evaluation to a date to be determined. Consensus of the Committee was to reassess the evaluation process at a later time after review of the MASC
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recommendations. Dr. Clarke told the Committee that bids from Honeywell and Siemen’s were received for the Energy Service Company (ESCO) initiative. She and Mr. DeMaio read through both bids and chose the one submitted by Siemen’s. The next step is a warrant for the Town Meeting. Dr. Clarke provided a brief update on the Quarry Hill Community School roof project and indicated that she will participate in a remote access meeting with the project manager tomorrow to review the proposed budget figures. On conclusion of that meeting she and Mr. Lord will schedule a date for the entire Committee to meet and discuss the information that is due to the Massachusetts School Building Authority by May 6, 2020. Mr. Lord stated that the goals set for the School Committee this year have been put on hold until the fall or whenever school is back in session in the buildings. Public Session: Mr. Lord opened Public Session at 8:19 p.m. No one came forward to address the Committee. Mr. Lord closed Public Session at 8:19 p.m. Action Items: Schedule Finance Subcommittee meeting. Share available School Choice numbers with the public. Send MASC Superintendent’s Evaluation recommendation email to Committee. Regular Business Meetings will be scheduled for April 29, 2020, May 13 and 27, 2020 and June 17, 2020 (includes Committee Re-Organization) Motion by Ms. Flynn to adjourn Open Session. (Second by Mr. Shea) No discussion Motion carries 5-0 Mr. Lord adjourned the meeting at 8:28 p.m. Documentation for this meeting: April 22, 2020-Regular Business Meeting Agenda April 8, 2020-Regular Business Meeting Minutes-Draft Approved by Committee: ______________________________________ Mr. Dubois-White, Secretary