Minutes
Quincy, Massachusetts – May 2, 2018
Regular Meeting of the Quincy School Committee
Regular Meeting
A regular meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on Wednesday,
May 2, 2018 at the Coddington Building at 6:30 p.m. Superintendent
DeCristofaro called the roll and present were School Committee Chair
Mayor Thomas Koch, Mr. Anthony Andronico (arrived at 6:45 pm),
Mr. Paul Bregoli, Mr. James DeAmicis, Mrs. Kathryn Hubley, and Mrs. Emily Lebo, Vice Chair.
Vice Chair Presiding
Also present were: Dr. Richard DeCristofaro, Secretary; Ms. Laura Owens,
Clerk; Ms. Lori Broughton, Mr. Michael Connor, Mr. Michael Draicchio, Ms. Jill
Greene, Dr. Beth Hallett, Ms. Julie Krieger, Ms. Rebecca McInnis, Deputy
Superintendent Kevin Mulvey, Ms. Jennifer O’Brien, Mr. Kenneth Panaro, Ms.
Maura Papile, Ms. Erin Perkins, Ms. Madeline Roy, Mr. Keith Segalla, Mr.
Edward Smith, Mr. Lawrence Taglieri; Quincy Police Chief Paul Keenan;
Quincy Education Association President Allison Cox; Citywide Parent Council
Co-President Courtney Perdios; and Quincy High School Student
Representative Timothy Nguyen.
Mr. Douglas Gutro was absent.
§
Regular Meeting Minutes Approved 4.11.2018
Mr. DeAmicis made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Hubley to approve the
Regular Meeting minutes for April 11, 2018 as presented. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.
§
Open Forum
As there was no one who wished to speak at Open Forum, School Committee
moved on to the next item on the agenda.
§
Superintendent's
Report
Dr. DeCristofaro opened the Superintendent’s Report by introducing Quincy Police
Department Chief Paul Keenan. Chief Keenan presented a gift of $7,000.00 to the
Quincy Public Schools CARES program and thanked Detective Barkas, Officer
White and his wife Andrea White for organizing the bowling night fundraising
event. Chief Keenan then introduced the new DARE Officer Melanie Reeves, a
lifelong Quincy resident, veteran, and Quincy Police Department member for the
past 15 years. Dr. DeCristofaro thanked Chief Keenan for his assistance in the
recent Safety & Security presentations for the Citywide Parent Council, City
Council Public Safety Subcommittee, and the Quincy Education Association
representative council.
Quincy High School Principal Lawrence Taglieri and Interim Science Department
Chair Julie Krieger introduced the winners from the school’s recent Science Fair:
Rachel Shen (1st place), Alexander Ireland (2nd place), and Marsha Germain,
Amanda Morris, Hannah Murphy (3rd place). North Quincy High School Assistant
Principal Michael Connor and Science Department Chair Kenneth Panaro
introduced the Science Fair winners: Kayli Wu (1st place), Twuyen Tran (2nd
place), and Jenny Zheng (3rd place).
After each student described their project for School Committee, Mr. DeAmicis
complimented the projects and their thoughtful approach to important problems
that affect people worldwide. Mrs. Lebo reiterated how impressive these students
are, their work is amazing and we are so proud of them all. Dr. DeCristofaro
thanked all of the students who participated in the Science Fair and the principals,
assistant principals, teachers, and parents, who supported the students.
Upcoming Quincy Public Schools Events: Cleaner Greener, May 5; Middle School
Choral Festival, May 24; a middle school Parent Academy, May 15 in partnership
with the Thomas Crane Public Library; the Quincy Retired Teachers Association
Scholarship Event, May 15 at Central Middle School; Welcome to Kindergarten
Parent Academy on May 22; the Community Service Learning Celebration, May 30;
the Girl Rising Community Celebration, May 30; the Student Athlete Summit, June
1; the Grade 5 Student Leadership event on June 4; and the Retirement Luncheon
on June 7. The final events of the year are the high school Graduations on June 11
and 12.
The National Honor Society Inductions for Juniors was held at Quincy High School
on April 24 and is scheduled for June 7 at North Quincy High School. Graduating
seniors in the National Honor Society will be recognized at the May 16 School
Committee meeting at Central Middle School.
CVTE Advisory Board Meetings will be held on May 17 at Quincy High School and
May 24 at North Quincy High School. The CTE Advisory Boards will present at the
June 13 School Committee meeting.
Dr. DeCristofaro shared a revised Budget Timeline with School Committee. Mayor
Koch will present an overview of the FY2019 City of Quincy Budget at the May 16,
2018 School Committee meeting, followed by a draft Quincy Public Schools budget
presentation. The Budget & Finance Subcommittee will meet on Monday, May 21
and hold a Public Hearing on Wednesday, May 30.
§
Old Business
Policy Book Section
2.4.11 (Vote)
Mr. Bregoli reviewed that there is a proposed change to the Policy Book Section
2.4.11 Public Participation in School Committee Meetings. The current language
reads:
Open Forum: An opportunity for community input regarding the Quincy Public
Schools. After giving his or her name and address, each speaker may make a
presentation of no more than four minutes to the School Committee. An individual
may not exchange their time or yield to others.
and the proposed new language reads:
Open Forum: An opportunity for community input regarding the Quincy Public
Schools. Community in this context is defined as a resident of the City of Quincy, a
parent of a student who attends the Quincy Public Schools, or an employee of the
Quincy Public Schools. Non-community persons not permitted to speak at Open
Forum may submit written statements to the School Committee. After giving his or
her name and address, each speaker may make a presentation of no more than four
minutes to the School Committee. An individual may not exchange their time or
yield to others.
Mr. Bregoli made a motion to accept the amended language defining Open Forum
in Policy Book Section 2.4.11 as presented.
By reference, section 2.4.5 School Committee Agenda will also be updated to
reflect this change.
On the motion, Mrs. Lebo said this is a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist,
narrows the definition too much and would exclude many categories of people.
Mrs. Lebo feels that there is no public accountability for written communication,
which is private. When someone speaks at Open Forum, it raises issues that the
public may be interested in.
Mayor Koch is supporting the motion, feels that School Committee is accountable
to the residents of Quincy.
Mr. Andronico is concerned that the wording doesn’t include property owners in
Quincy who may not be residents, will vote to support tonight, but would like to
further amend in the fall.
Mayor Koch seconded the motion and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 4-2. Mr.
DeAmicis and Mrs. Lebo voted NO. Mr. Gutro was absent.
§
New Business
Career &
Community Partners
Executive Director of Career & Technical Education Keith Segalla and Quincy High
School Department Chair Rebecca McInnis presented an overview of the 22 Career
Vocational and Technical Education programs in the Quincy Public Schools. Six
programs (Automotive Techology, Culinary Arts, Engineering Technology,
Information Support Services and Networking, Visual Design and
Communications, and Metal Fabrication) are all programs that have national
certification and meet industry standards beyond the Massachusetts DESE CVTE
Program Frameworks. In addition, students have the opportunity to earn
credentials that support students in their professional development, such as OSHA
certification and Certificates of Occupational Proficiency. Articulation agreements
are in place with several local colleges and universities, allowing students to
receive credit for high school coursework.
The Career & Technical Education programs are supported by the greater Quincy
community through the Program and General Advisory Teams, exposure to career
experiences through internships and paid positions, mock interviews, job
shadowing, safety training, internships, site visitations, and clinical placements.
Through video and in-person presentations by community business partners and
CTE students, School Committee learned about internships, site visitations,
summer co-ops, apprenticeships, and clinical placements.
Mrs. Lebo thanked the presenters, very impressive to see the students’
achievements. It is a joy to be a CTE teacher, because you get to teach what you
love and the business partners are also clearly enjoying these opportunities.
Mayor Koch thanked the entire CTE team, the relationships with the partners is so
key to the success of the students and the program.
Dr. DeCristofaro thanked the presenters, the kindness and consideration
highlighted here are part of the student success.
§
New Business
Supervisors of
Attendance
Senior Director of Student Support Services Maura Papile and Supervisors of
Attendance Jenn O’Brien and Jill Greene presented on their role in student success
in the Quincy Public Schools. (Matt Ramponi is the third member of the team, but
was unavailable due to coaching Tennis at North Quincy High School.) The
Supervisors of Attendance have dual roles and many responsibilities: (1)
enforcing the Massachusetts laws pertaining to school attendance and residency
and (2) support students and families struggling with regular attendance,
providing early interventions for high-risk students. The Supervisors of
Attendance each work closely with multiple schools, the school administrators,
and families.
By law, all students between the ages of 6 and 16 are required to attend school
daily, on time, and obey all school rules. Quincy Public Schools has long had a
policy to address truancy, with formal interventions first implemented in 1998. In
2012, the state began requiring all school districts to have Truancy Prevention
Programs in place. Through the Family Assistance Conference process, the
Supervisors of Attendance meet with families, school staff, and bring in services as
needed; in 2016-2017, 39 Family Resource Referrals were made.
In terms of residency, the Supervisors of Attendance reinforce the law that
students attend school in the town where they reside. There are complicating
factors including stability of housing and shared custody for divorced parents.
The goal is to verify residency during the registration process and further
verification for address changes (reported or not) in collaboration with the school
sites and Central Registration. A site-based protocol has been developed to
identify issues and outline steps for verification and resolution.
If acceptable proofs of residency cannot be produced, home visits will be
completed. In the 2016-2017 school year, 574 students were subject to residency
checks, with 16 students not allowed to register due to residency concerns and 14
students discharged for non-residency. Nighttime and early morning checks are
very effective interventions; the Quincy Police Department assists with these.
Mr. Bregoli said that in his time on School Committee, there has been a lot of
positive growth in this area. Mr. Bregoli asked about high school students who
move, is there a provision for students to finish their education in Quincy. Mrs.
Papile said that seniors in good standing may finish high school in Quincy with the
Superintendent’s permission (per School Committee Policy).
Mr. Bregoli asked about limits on tardiness per term. Ms. Papile said that four
unexcused absences in a term is all that is allowed under the Attendance Policy
and a letter is required to be sent out. There is some latitude for judgement at the
school site based on circumstances.
Mrs. Lebo said that the law calls for interventions if a student misses 14 half-days
in a six month period, so that would be an example of extreme tardiness.
Mrs. Lebo asked if a student was absent a number of times, even if there were
illnesses, are we required to do something about this. Ms. Greene said this is
where the site relationships are important, the schools will know if there are
family or health issues. There is a lot of discretion at the school and district level
before legal involvement is required.
Ms. O’Brien said the Attendance Hearings are very instrumental in getting families
to understand that the importance of getting their students to school regularly and
on time. Many issues are resolved at the first meeting and the caseload fluctuates.
Each Supervisor of Attendance has about 300 cases but families will move in and
out over the course of the year.
Mrs. Lebo said with that caseload, the number of actual referrals outside is
impressively low.
Mrs. Lebo asked if there is any follow up on discharged students and Ms. Papile
said we follow the student until a request for records is received from the new
school system.
Mayor Koch asked if there is a common denominator in the families who try to
remain at the schools. Ms. O’Brien said that often the students want to stay with
their friends even though their families have moved.
Dr. DeCristofaro said that the Supervisors of Attendance have a great connection
to their school sites and put in an impressive number of hours attending to the
details to resolve issues for our at-risk families.
§
New Business
NQHS Mascot
Mrs. Lebo referred the North Quincy High School Mascot to the Teaching &
Learning Subcommittee.
§
New Business
Bishop Field Update
Mrs. Lebo referred Bishop Field Update to the Athletics & Wellness Subcommittee.
§
Additional Business
Mrs. Lebo requested that the NQHS Principal and Athletic Director appear at an
upcoming Athletic & Wellness to discuss joining the South Shore League for 2019-
2020.
Mr. Bregoli requested that New Middle School name appear on next agenda for
referral to Policy Subcommittee
These items will appear on the May 16, 2018 School Committee meeting agenda
for referral to the requested subcommittees.
§
Communications
Upcoming meetings were announced: Regular Meetings on May 16, 2018 at
Central Middle School and June 13, 2018 at the Coddington Building, both at 6:30
pm.
Subcommittee Meetings: On May 21, 2018, the FY2019 Budget meeting is
scheduled for 6:00 pm, followed by the Special Education Subcommittee at 6:30
pm. On May 30, 2018, the FY2019 Budget Public Hearing is scheduled for 6:00
pm, followed by the Athletics & Wellness Subcommittee at 6:15 pm and Facilities,
Transportation, and Safety Subcommittee at 6:45 pm.
§
Reports of
Subcommittees
Mrs. Lebo noted that all School Committee and Subcommittee meeting minutes
are posted online at www.quincypublicschools.com.
Budget & Finance
Subcommittee
Mrs. Hubley reviewed the Quarterly Budget & Finance Subcommittee meeting that
was held on April 25, 2018. Director of Business James Mullaney presented a
reconciliation of the FY2018 3rd Quarter, which ended on March 31, 2018. There
is an anticipated deficit for Special Education tuition funding and associated
transportation, which will be made up through anticipated increases in Circuit
Breaker funding.
As there were no corrections, the minutes of the April 25, 2018 Budget & Finance
Subcommittee were approved as presented.
Teaching & Learning
Subcommittee
Mrs. Lebo reviewed the Teaching & Learning Subcommittee meeting held on April
25, 2018. Dr. DeCristofaro presented the Opportunities & Challenges overview of
school enrollment trends, including class size.
As there were no corrections, the minutes of the April 25, 2018 Teaching &
Learning Subcommittee were approved as presented.
§
Executive Session
There was no Executive Session.
§
Adjournment
Mayor Koch made a motion to adjourn for the evening at 8:30 p.m. The motion
was seconded by Mr. Andronico and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.