Minutes of the
Monson School Committee
Regular Meeting
October 23, 2024
Present: Chair Alison Morgan; Vice-Chair Jamie Murphy; Secretary Karen Nothe-Valley; Committee Member Colleen Flynn; Committee Member Peter Wiggins; Director of Business and Operations Leah Zippin; Superintendent Dr. Cheryl Clarke and Recording Secretary Haley Ketterman
Note: This meeting was video recorded.
Mrs. Morgan called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.
Ms. Nothe-Valley read off the MPS mission statement.
Dr. Clarke announcements and updates
-Saturday Oct 26th Trunk or Treat @ MHS - sponsored by PTSA
-Oct 28th special town meeting @ 7PM
-Nov 6th PTSA meeting
-Congrats to Tyler Labonte on his 4th place finish @ the MIAA Golf Tournament - moving on to the New England Golf tournament next Monday.
-MPS was recognized by the Special Olympics of Massachusetts for their inclusion and programs
Student Representative report:
Julia Royce - ECC
-ECC has hosted their first Family night of the year / there will be another one to follow up in the spring
-Picture retake day on 10/28
-First school wide PBIS event will be Nov. 1st
-8 more students will be rewarded with student of the month next week
GV
-Parent/teacher conferences last week was a huge hit
-Halloween dance will be this friday
-Dress up day will be on Halloween
-11/6 will be the second round of guest readers
-11/8 Veteran assembly in the auditorium
Mya Bridges - MHS
-7/8th Fall Ball dance will be on Friday
-7/8th grade butter-braid fundraisers are still happening and will be until Oct. 28th - it helps with class dues and field trips
-Western Mass soccer ranks come out this Friday
-Girls/Boys cross country head to western MA this Sunday
-Tyle Labonte heads to the New England golf tournament
-NHS introduction ceremony was last week and was well attended
-Spirit week next week
-1st Quarter is coming to a close
Minutes approval
August 21st minutes approval
Mrs. Morgan makes a motion for line #243 to delete Winnie from the policy wording
Roll call was placed:
Mr. Wiggins - Yes
Ms. Nothe-Valley - Yes
Ms. Flynn - Yes
Mrs. Murphy - Yes
Mrs. Morgan - Yes
September 11th minutes approval
Mrs. Morgan makes a motion to approve minutes
Roll call was placed:
Mr. Wiggins - Yes
Ms. Nothe-Valley - Yes
Ms. Flynn - Yes
Mrs. Murphy - Yes
Mrs. Morgan - Yes
October 10th minutes approval
Mrs. Morgan makes a motion for line #279 correction (the code language of)-EA to: Excused absences
Roll call was placed:
Mr. Wiggins - Yes
Ms. Nothe-Valley - Yes
Ms. Flynn - Yes
Mrs. Murphy - Yes
Mrs. Morgan - Yes
Superintendent update:
-Dr. Clarke Submitted a letter of retirement for June 30th 2025 - each committee member received a copy of the letter.
Public session opened @ 7:13 PM
Closed public session @ 7:15 PM
Policy Subcommittee:
Policy: BHE - Moved to second read - Use of electronic messaging by school committee members.
Alison makes a motion to move policy BHE to third read (Ms. Flynn takes second)
roll call was placed
All in favor 5-0
Policy EHAA - District Security relating to technology - second read.
Mrs. Murphy stated there are no changes to the policy
Mrs. Morgan makes a motion to move policy EHAA to third read - (Ms. Flynn seconds)
roll call was placed
All in favor 5-0
Policy EHB data and records retention - second read
Mrs. Murphy stated that there are no changes to the policy.
Mrs. Morgan makes motion to move EHB policy to third read - (Ms. Nothe-Valley seconds)
roll call was placed
All in favor 5-0
Policy KDCB district website and social media - second read
Mrs. Murphy stated that there are no changes to the policy
Mrs. Morgan makes motion to move policy KDCB to third read (Ms. Flynn seconds)
Ms. Flynn asked if there was any clarification/guidelines on the student run social media pages from Dr. Clarke? It was decided that they will pause on the policy at this time and it will be sent back for some review and reworking.
Policy will stay at second read
Policy GBEE Personal use of technology policy - first read
The School Committee recognizes that the use of technology is an important part of preparing students for adult life. As such, the School Committee expects that staff will use technology as provided, as necessary, and as beneficial. Employees shall use digital resources in a responsible, efficient, ethical, and legal manner in accordance with the mission of the district. Staff members are responsible for teaching and for modeling responsible digital citizenship. The digital resources are provided to support the work of the district; occasional personal communication is permitted so long as such use does not interfere with the employee’s job duties and performance, with systems operation, other users, or network performance. All use must comply with the policies and procedures of the Monson Public Schools. All staff must agree to and sign an appropriate digital use form prior to being granted access to district digital resources. Staff is required to use their school-issued accounts, not personal accounts, for all communication with students, and parents/guardians; such accounts must be used with other staff members when conducting school business. Employees communication is a matter of public record. This extends to employee use of social media when conducting district business. Any online activities that would not be considered appropriate in the classroom should not be conducted online. High standards of appropriate online communication and conduct must be maintained. Team, class, or student organization pages, accounts, or groups will be created only in conjunction with the coach or faculty advisor. All groups must include the appropriate administrator as a member. Access to the page will remain with the coach or faculty advisor. All contact and messages by coaches and faculty advisors with team members shall be sent to all team members, except for messages concerning medical or academic privacy matters, in which case the messages will be copied to the appropriate administrator. When interacting with students online, group interactions are encouraged and should include two staff members. One-to-one interactions should be avoided. Failure to uphold the responsibilities above is misuse, which may lead to disciplinary action.
Mrs. Morgan makes motion to move policy GBEE to second read (Ms. Flynn seconds)
Ms. Flynn confirms with Dr. Clarke that the language is from MASC and to maybe add policy KDCB as a cross reference. She also asked regarding personal use of email or is it extended beyond that - and what the line “occasional personal communications permitted”
The school committee agreed that the policy should be formatted differently for some clarity.
Policy will remain at first read
Finance Subcommittee
-Triboard meeting from Monday - town energy consultant / struggling over the recent year / energy cost discussions / the focus of the meeting was for the upcoming special town meeting that will be finalizing everyone's warrant items / prior year bills discussed. Leah and Dr. Clarke have been working with the town and have a better plan moving forward in order to ensure everything’s on time flowing as it should be.
New Business
Mr. Fontaine and Dr. Trivisonno update - Climate & Learning (VOCAL) Survey
-grades 4, 5, 8 & 10
Main topics: engagement / safety / environment
Grade 10 MHS
state scored in 45%
MHS grade 10 scored at 47%
Grade 8 MHS
School Safety 37% (state 42%)
School Climate 36% (state 43%)
Engagement 38% (state 45%)
Environment 37% (state 45%)
Grade 4 GV
School Climate 56% (state score 58%)
Engagement 57% (state score 57%)
Safety 53% (state score 56%)
Environment 56% (state score 59%)
Grade 5 GV
School Climate 43% (state score 52%)
Engagement 45% (state score 53%)
Safety 42% (state score 51%)
Environment 44% (state score 53%)
Scheduled Meetings
November 13th Regular business meeting
Next wednesday working meeting w/ Tracy
Policy meeting on November 13th
Finance subcommittee October 30th @ 5pm
curriculum meeting to be scheduled and will be posted
December regular business meetings 4th & 19th
Mrs. Morgan makes a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:52PM (Second by Mrs. Murphy seconds)
Motion Carries 5-0
Documentation for this meeting:
October 23, 2024-Working Meeting Agenda
Distributed at meeting:
Meeting minutes for approval: August 21, 2024 / September 11, 2024 / October 10, 2024
Approved by Committee:
________________________________________
Ms. Nothe-Valley, Secretary
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