TOWN OF ROCKY HILL
BOARD OF EDUCATION
MEETING OF
Members Present: Nadine Bell (Chairperson)
Peter Arico
Kirk Bostwick
Charles McMonigle
Francis Palazzolo
Anne Schmidt
Catherine Vargas
Jennifer Viggiano-Grosse
Members Absent: Neil Geldof
A meeting of the Board of Education was held on
PLEDGE OF
ALLEGIANCE
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Chairperson Bell welcomed everyone to this evening’s meeting, and thanked Councilor Lionetti for attending.
APPROVAL OF
MINUTES
Moved by Mrs. Schmidt, seconded by Mr. Palazzolo,
to accept the minutes of the
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
CORRESPONDENCE
Dr. Vautour announced Mr. Pitocco has been chosen by the
Connecticut Association of Schools as their representative at the 2005 Models
Schools Conference, held in
Dr. Vautour announced the New England League of Middle Schools
has elected to continue having
The last item of correspondence was a thank you note from Ms. Marino regarding a recent death in her family.
AUDIENCE
PARTICIPATION
RHTA Liaison
Committee
There was no report.
Student
Representatives
Chairperson Bell said there were no representatives present this evening from the high school.
Gregory Gionfriddo, and Courtney Lester, Stevens/Moser School representatives,
reported on K-5, and what is being learned.
Deanna Drakopoulos, and Kelly Caruso,
reported on K-5, and what is being learned.
Kate LeMay, and Kirstin LeMay, representatives of
Meeting Open to
Public
There was no one from the public wishing to address the Board on any item not on the agenda.
1. Consent Calendar
The consent calendar included the resignations of Lessie Houseworth-Daniels, HS Business Education (currently on leave), and Dolores Callegher, GMS Guidance Counselor. The consent calendar also included a donation for Project Graduation.
Moved by Mrs. Schmidt, seconded by Mrs. Viggiano-Grosse, to accept the
consent calendar of March 17, 2005.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
COMMITTEE REPORTS
2. Personnel and Negotiations
No report.
3. Policy
Mrs. Vargas requested first readings for Policy 4115.1 (Policy Regarding Athletic Coaches) and Policy 5141 (Health and Safety). Dr. Vautour said with respect to the policy regarding athletic coaches, the State Legislature passed a bill this year which required formal written evaluations be conducted on all coaches. This bill also specified that in the event that a coach in a position for three or more years, would be eligible for a hearing in the event that his/her services are terminated. The hearing would be held either in front of a panel of the Board, or the Board as a whole. The language for this policy has been written by the Board’s attorney.
With respect to the health and safety policy, there are cosmetic changes in the wording and some amplification in the communicable diseases section. Dr. Vautour said with the large rise in the number of immigrants, there are increased concerns in particular over tuberculosis. Dr. Anne Milanese, the school medical advisor, provided some guidance in terms of strengthening the policy with respect to entry requirements, and Dr. Vautour told Board members that this information is in their packet.
Dr. Vautour said if there are no problems with these changes, the second readings and adoptions of both policies will occur at the April 7, 2005, Board meeting.
4. Finance
Mrs. Schmidt stated the Finance Committee met for its semi-annual report update. The Board is in very good financial shape, and there are no outstanding items presenting significant problems through the end of the school year. She said the Board is waiting for some situations to develop fully so that financial impact can be determined, but believes these situations would be covered, and the year will be completed in good financial shape. The only outstanding item is the continuation of working with insurance carriers who bid on insurance programs. This is a tedious and complicated process, but progress is being made.
5. Curriculum
Mrs. Vargas said the Curriculum Committee met earlier this evening, and discussed three items. The first was a proposed language arts reorganization update which Mrs. Boutilier would be addressing this later this evening. The second item was the elementary report card update. A committee has been formed made up of teachers and administrators who will look into revising the present elementary report card so that it would be more reflective of the curriculum. The third item was the Time Utilization Committee update, and the Professional Development Committee is looking into more effective ways of using instructional and collaborative time for the teachers.
6. Professional Development
Mrs. Viggiano-Grosse said that Mrs. Vargas just reported on what the Professional Development Committee is doing.
7. Facilities
Mr. Bostwick said the Facilities Committee met earlier this evening. The facilities department of the Town of Rocky Hill has chosen and interviewed three architects for the feasibility study. The Facilities Committee is waiting for the architects’ responses.
8. Technology
No report.
9. Transportation/Accomodations
No report.
OLD BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
10. Clinical Day/Alternative Program
Dr. Vautour said earlier this school year, there was exciting news from Mark Valenti, Executive Director of the Connecticut Student Loan Foundation. Mark Valente informed the Board of Education that he could make space available to them, which would allow for the creation of a clinical day program and an alternative program. These programs have been in operation for nearly a half year and Dr. Vautour felt it was important to share the progress that has been made to date. Ms. Levy said Zoe Dolan and Anne Marie Cox, from the clinical day program, are present to discuss what the program is like, and talk about the students that are in the program. They will also discuss the hopes and dreams are for the program. Ms. Levy said Shirley King and Sheila Tobin, from the alternative high school program, are also present this evening to discuss what is happening in their program.
Ms. Dolan said most Board members have visited the clinical
day program. The program serves the
needs of
Ms. Cox said the academic component of the clinical day
program focuses on student graduation requirements. Courses offered are in math, English, science,
and social studies follow the high school curriculum. Health, art, and physical education are also
provided. Each course provides students
with additional opportunities to develop self-expression and
self-awareness. The program is currently
filled to capacity with eight students.
All students are placed in this program through the planning and
placement team process. Students are
from out-of-district special education placements, court-mandated placements,
and from
Mrs. King said there is a mixture of special education and
regular education students in the alternative program. One student graduated in October and two
seniors will be walking with their class in the graduation ceremony in
June. There are three juniors in the
program and two are planning on returning to the high school for their senior
year. There are also two sophomores
presently in the program, and one is planning on returning to the high school
next year. There are also students from
other towns, in addition to students that have spent four years at
Ms. Tobin asked students if they would make some comments
with regards to what they like about the alternative program. One non-resident young man said he liked was
that it is three hours long and it takes place four days a week, so it works
out well with his job. A young woman who
moved to
Mrs. Schmidt asked if more students could be taken into these programs and wanted to know if these programs are going to expand. She said the innovation and dedication has led to an incredible program and she thanked those involved in these programs.
Dr. Vautour said these programs are being observed by other districts as a model and commends staff for doing an outstanding job.
Chairperson Bell thanked staff on behalf of the whole Board.
11. Reading Reorganization
Mrs. Boutilier said as part of the ongoing review of student achievement data, a number of activities have been done. Some activity involves surveying or visiting other towns that consistently score well on the standardized CMT measures. Eight towns have been spoken with over the past year. The initiative she is proposing is to take the existing four language arts consultants and redefine their job responsibilities so that more classroom support for teachers can be provided with some of the new initiatives at no cost to the Board. There will be one reading consultant responsible for Stevens/Moser students, one responsible for West Hill students, one responsible for teachers and some K-2 students, and one for teachers and some grades 3-5 students. It is hoped there will be better consistency between schools in terms of the materials ordered and used, as well as the teaching methodology utilized. A second component of this reorganization allows the school system to take a good look at the TLC program, which is a remedial reading program for first grade which was implemented at least twelve years ago. Part of the reorganization will be finding an outside consultant who will look at the program and provide a report that Mrs. Boutilier would bring to the Board next spring.
12. Spanish Exchange Program
Dr. Vautour said over the past several years
Mr. Watson said Mrs. Tower and other staff members approached him about the possibility of resurrecting the student exchange program that had been done in the past.
Mrs. Tower explained the town is Colmenar
Viejo. A letter was received from the
school in
Chairperson Bell asked what screening process would be for
host families for the safety of the children traveling to Rocky Hill, and then
potentially for Rocky Hill students traveling to
Mrs. Schmidt said according to the plan, the Rocky Hill
students would be traveling to
Dr. Vautour said one caution given to Mr. Watson and Mrs.
Tower has to do with what the climate would be like in Spain come the spring. He said if such a trip is approved, it would
be done with the emergency insurance clauses and everything else in place. Should the trip be canceled at the last
moment, the parents wouldn’t face any penalties. The pairing up of students is less a concern
of his than the potential for some sort of terrorist activity. Mrs. Schmidt asked what the liability is for
a family hosting someone else’s child, and asked how it works if a child
becomes ill, injured etc. Dr. Vautour
said he believes part of what will occur is that necessary medical
authorizations have to be signed so that while the student is in another
country, if emergency medical treatment is necessary, it can be provided. In terms of Board liability, Dr. Vautour said
he will address this to the Board’s attorney.
Mrs. Tower said the chaperones would accompany a student to the hospital
if it was necessary. Mr. McMonigle asked
how many students they envision taking to
Moved by Mrs. Schmidt, seconded by Mr. McMonigle, to authorize staff to
pursue the initial phase of an exchange program with
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
13. Class Size Report
Dr. Vautour said Board Policy 6113 requires him to submit to the Board, twice annually, updated information concerning the actual enrollments in various courses and classes. He is not making any staffing recommendations at this time.
Mr. McMonigle asked about kindergarten at
Dr. Vautour said Rocky Hill acquired 46 new students since September. Mrs. Schmidt asked if this is the beginning of a trend that should be looked at. Dr. Vautour said this is being looked at, and the current enrollment is 2,505 students. Dr. Vautour pulled some of the earlier enrollment projections, and studying them to see if something is signaling a change. Mrs. Schmidt asked if the new students are accommodated in the budget numbers for next year. Dr. Vautour said he believes they are accommodated.
14. Non-Renewals
Dr. Vautour said on the morning of
Moved by Mrs. Schmidt, seconded by Mr. McMonigle, to non-renew the non-tenured
teachers as follows:
Mary Aunce-Oberndorfer, Sandra Bonfiglio, Linda Ceruzzi, David
Fortier, Rosemary Fuggetta, Brian Graca,
Teresa Hernandez, Robin Hornstein, Daniel Hott, Michael Iavarone, Richard Incorvati, Jr., Stephanie Kelly, Thomas Krupa,
Jr., Kathleen Lessard, Pasquale Maggiora,
Jeffrey Mertens, Anna Norland,
Sherri Pereira, Amy Rosenberg, Eileen Schnyder,
Gerard Weatherby, Brian Wilcox, Walter Avery, Mary
Barnett-Frawley, Lisa Brockel,
Marie Cordone, Deborah Cotton, Karla Harding, Rebekah Harding, Jason Maziarz,
James JcKinnon, IV, Leah O’Leary, Todd Petroff, Lynn Skrzypiec, Marissa Violette, Laurie Antolini, Sandra
Fravel, Tina Maglieri,
Cindy Poulin, Eileen Touger,
Erin Carignan, David Dubos,
Kelly Germaine, Jennifer Holt, Mary Iacobucci, Terri
Ann Lambert, Debora Levine, Jennifer Paragone,
Margaret Szmolda, Maureen Willsey,
Ann Cox, Lucille Baker, Shannon Dammers, Tara
Gentile, Courtney Jean, Petra Kunze-Podgorski, Julie Manuck, Lynn Marinelli, Joseph Moller, Lisa Pietraroia, Gail Pietrycha, Kelly Terry, Sarah Woodin,
and Kelly Yurechko.
.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
15. Executive Session
Dr. Vautour requested that the executive session item be tabled to a future meeting.
Moved by Mrs. Vargas, seconded by Mrs. Schmidt, to have the executive session
item tabled to a future meeting.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Moved by Mrs. Vargas, seconded by Mrs. Viggiano-Grosse, to adjourn the
meeting at
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Respectfully submitted,
Jo-Anne Booth
Recording Secretary
Accepted by: _______________________________ Date: ______________________