DRAFT COPY for distribution/ at the Regular Business Meeting-July 13, 2022
Minutes of the Monson School Committee Re-Organization/Regular Business Meeting Quarry Hill Community School – School Committee Meeting Room June 23, 2022 Hybrid Meeting Members of the public who wish to participate virtually in this meeting may do so in the following manner: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88958302338 Meeting ID: 889 5830 2338 Present: Chair Colleen Flynn; Vice-Chair Emily Graves-Harrison, Secretary Kathryn Peterson; Committee Members Alison Morgan and Jamie Murphy Also Present: Superintendent Cheryl Clarke, Director of Business and Operations Leah Zippin; Director of Curriculum Katherine Watts; Director of Student Services Colette Bidus; Granite Valley School Principal Joseph Trivisonno; Monson High School Principal Matthew Sullivan; Granite Valley School Assistant Principal Myriah Hudak (Virtual); Monson High School Assistant Principal Kate Czarniecki (Virtual) and Recording Secretary Karen Methe Note: This meeting was video-recorded by M-Pact and audio recorded by Zoom. Ms. Flynn called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Ms. Flynn introduced and welcomed newly elected member Jamie Murphy to the Monson School Committee. Ms. Murphy read the Mission & Vision Statements. Ms. Flynn turned the meeting over to Superintendent Clarke. Dr. Clarke stated that the next order of business was to reorganize the Monson School Committee and determine the other positions of the Committee. She reviewed the ground rules for nominations. Following, she opened the floor for nomination for Chair of the School Committee. Motion by Ms. Peterson to nominate Ms. Flynn as Chair of the Committee. (Second by Ms. Morgan) No further nominations Mrs. Clarke closed the nominations. No discussion Mrs. Clarke asked for a roll call vote to accept the nomination of Ms. Flynn as Chair of the Committee. Roll Call Vote: Ms. Murphy Yes
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Ms. Morgan Yes Ms. Peterson Yes Ms. Graves-Harrison Yes Ms. Flynn Yes Motion carries 5-0 Dr. Clarke congratulated Ms. Flynn and turned the meeting over to her to continue with the selections and appointments. Ms. Flynn opened the floor for nominations for Vice Chair of the Committee. Motion by Ms. Flynn to nominate Ms. Morgan as Vice-Chair of the Committee. (Second by Ms. Peterson) No further nominations Ms. Flynn asked for a roll call vote to accept the nomination of Ms. Morgan as Vice-Chair of the Committee. Roll Call Vote: Ms. Murphy Yes Ms. Morgan Yes Ms. Peterson Yes Ms. Graves-Harrison Yes Ms. Flynn Yes Motion carries 5-0 Ms. Flynn then opened the floor for nomination for Secretary of the Committee. Motion by Ms. Morgan to nominate Ms. Peterson as Secretary of the Committee. (Second by Ms. Graves-Harrison) Ms. Peterson declined the nomination. Motion by Ms. Peterson to nominate Ms. Graves-Harrison as Secretary of the Committee. (Second by Ms. Morgan) Ms. Flynn asked for a roll call vote to accept the nomination of Ms. Graves-Harrison as Secretary of the Committee. Roll Call: Ms. Murphy Yes Ms. Morgan Yes Ms. Peterson Yes Ms. Graves-Harrison Yes Ms. Flynn Yes As Policy mandates, all Subcommittee liaison positions to the School Committee are assigned next. A discussion was held on combining Policy/Diversity with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
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Subcommittee and moving the DEI mandate. It was the consensus of all Committee members to combine the 2 individual Subcommittees and add the DEI mandate, renaming as Policy/Diversity/Equity and Inclusion.
Assignments for Subcommittee Liaisons were established. An updated list will be provided to Committee members.
Announcements/Recognition:
The Extended School Year (ESY) Program begins July 5, 2022. Dr. Clarke noted that the Program Coordinator is Ms. Bidus and all positions have been filled.
Minutes:
Motion by Ms. Peterson to approve the June 9, 2022 Working Meeting Minutes and June 9, 2022 Regular Business Meeting Minutes as presented. (Second by Ms. Morgan)
No discussion
Motion carries 5-0
Superintendent’s Report:
Dr. Clarke reported that the last days of school went smoothly adding that students were well behaved at all year end events. She thanked the staff and students for a great school year.
Dr. Clarke gave a school safety update, noting that numbers have been ordered for all windows and will be applied over the summer by the maintenance staff. Research is being done for the best door blockers. Ms. Zippin and Ms. Watts are working on a grant website that has many security features. She noted that a specific number is required to upload the grant as it is associated with the Town. She explained that the number needs to be updated to submit the grant and added that the Town Accountant is aware and is working on it.
Dr. Clarke, Ms. Zippin and Mr. DeMaio spoke the scheduler of the Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate (A.L.I.C.E.) program to host a training in the district sometime in August. Specific information will follow.
Dr. Clarke said that offices and classrooms are being moved throughout the district and there will be changes to the layout and functionality of the library at the high school.
Hiring continues at each school. Dr. Clarke added that she is excited about the new hires so far and looks forward to seeing them at New Teacher Orientation Day before school begins.
Ms. Zippin, Ms. Sorel and Dr. Clarke are working on scheduling Grades 7 and 8 specials.
The old playground located by the Central Business Office entrance is being dismantled.
Dr. Clarke reported that the truck for the Director of Facilities is in. The funding will come from the regular FY23 budget utilizing $40,000 of COVID money that was obtained for the district.
The district is transitioning to Power School as its new information system. The program is scheduled to be in place and go live on August 1, 2022. Mr. Schubach and Ms. Watts facilitated a recent Train the Trainers training session. Participants will be in charge of training other staff throughout the district.
New Chromebooks will be distributed to Grades 5, 9, 10, 11 and 12. Dr. Clarke reported that, due to a concern from a previous meeting, Mr. Schubach is looking at different Chromebook cases.
All classrooms and conference rooms will be equipped with view boards and Mr. Schubach will be updating them over the summer.
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Public session: Ms. Flynn opened Public Session at 7:32 p.m. No one came forward to address the Committee. Ms. Flynn closed Public Session at 7:33 p.m. Subcommittee & Liaison Reports: Policy Subcommittee: Ms. Peterson noted that there haven’t been any requests to revise the current Policies that are due for third read vote tonight. Motion by Ms. Peterson to accept the third and final read of Policies AC, ACAB, EC, ECA, FA and FF and incorporate them into the Monson Public Schools online Policy Manual. (Second by Ms. Morgan) No discussion Roll Call Vote: Ms. Murphy Yes Ms. Morgan Yes Ms. Peterson Yes Ms. Graves-Harrison Yes Ms. Flynn Yes Motion carries 5-0 New Business: Ms. Zippin distributed the informational flyer Summer Eats-Free Meals for Kids and Teens. The program was finalized this week and approved for Quarry Hill Community School. It will run from July 5-August 12, 2022. Ms. Zippin noted that information will be advertised and it is not necessary to be a Monson resident to participate. The meals will be available as a sit-down meal option not grab and go and will be provided to all summer camp participants. She stated that she is awaiting updated information and subsequent approval to extend the free lunch program. Old Business: Dr. Clarke gave a PowerPoint presentation on the final draft of the Monson Public Schools Strategic Plan 2022-2025. She spoke about the process of brainstorming ideas from various stakeholders throughout the district that began originally in 2020, prior to school building shutdown from COVID-19. She reviewed and explained the Mission and Vision. Theory of Action, Strategic Objectives and Strategic Initiatives. A brief discussion followed. Motion by Ms. Flynn to approve the Monson Public Schools Strategic Plan 2022-2025 as presented. (Second by Ms. Peterson) No further discussion Roll Call Vote: Ms. Murphy Yes Ms. Morgan Yes Ms. Peterson Yes Ms. Graves-Harrison Yes Ms. Flynn Yes Motion carries 5-0
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Review of Action Items: Move Regular Business Meetings back to Wednesday beginning July 13, 2022. Schedule a Regular Business Meeting for August 10, 2022. Send Charting the Course information to Ms. Murphy. Ms. Flynn will be attending the Massachusetts Association of School Committees Summer Institute, July 15-16, 2022 in Marlborough. All Committee members are welcome to attend. Ms. Flynn asked all Subcommittee liaisons to reach out to their contacts and commit to attending one meeting per month. Brief discussion was held on contacting state legislators via written letter to oppose raising minimum Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment scores. An MCAS letter template may be available. Dr. Clarke will check into it. Motion by Ms. Graves-Harrison to compose a letter to state legislators to ask for their support not to increase MCAS scores. (Second by Ms. Morgan) No further discussion Motion carries 5-0 Motion by Ms. Morgan to close Open Session. (Second by Ms. Graves-Harrison) No discussion Motion carries 5-0 Open Session closed at 8:14 p.m. Documentation for this meeting: June 23, 2023 Regular Business Meeting Agenda June 9, 2022 Working Meeting Minutes (for approval) June 9, 2022 Regular Business Meeting (for approval) Strategic Plan 2022-2025 Distributed at meeting: Summer Eats-Free Meals for Kids and Teens Approved by Committee: ________________________________________ Ms. Graves-Harrison–Committee Secretary