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Home My WebLink AboutMinutes - SC - 06/20/2018 a \ T CQ%ASSET� Cohasset School Committee Meeting School Committee Minutes Wednesday,June 20, 2018 Cohasset Middle-High School Community Use Room 143 Pond Street Cohasset, MA In Attendance: Jeanne Astino, Chairman Ellen Maher Barbara Stefan Jennifer Madden Paul Kearney Also in Attendance: Louise Demas, Superintendent Patrick Sullivan, Assistant Superintendent John Tuffy, Business Manager Chairman Astino called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. Roll Call-Paul Kearney-Present,Jeanne Astino-Present, Ellen Maher-Present,Jennifer Madden-Present. Pledge-Recited Public Comments-None. Approval of Warrant-Motion by Mrs. Maher to approve Warrant 18-22S,seconded by Mrs. Madden. Roll Call Vote;Jennifer Madden-Aye, Ellen Maher-Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye, Paul Kearney-Aye. Mrs. Stefan arrived at 7:05 p.m. Superintendent's Report-Gift-Superintendent Demas stated they have received a check from the Cohasset Education Foundation for$36,237. CEF Representative Cindy Matheison stated the Grants are for the following: Elementary Rhythm Band at Osgood-$19,925; Science & Social Studies Resource Library at Deer Hill-$2974; Strengthening Math Fact Fluency at Deer Hill-$3295; Education for Civic Life in a Democracy: Implementing New Social Studies Curriculum at Deer Hill-$8443; Cohasset Middle School Online Newspaper Advisor at the Middle School-$1600 (one-time gift). Motion by Mrs. Maher to accept the gift of$36,237 from the CEF, seconded by Mrs. Madden. Roll Call Vote; Paul Kearney-Aye, Barbara Stefan-Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye, Ellen Maher-Aye,Jennifer Madden-Aye. Later Start Time Update-Maura Sharry was present regarding the proposal of later start for the middle- high school. She gave a brief overview of the meeting and presentations they have given to boards and committees. She presented a brief video from a recent Ted Talks featuring Wendy Troxel, a sleep researcher. She discussed research based on the effects of an earlier start for teenagers. Ellen Carpenter-200 North Main Street stated the Committee just heard a presentation from an expert and asked that they listen to her. She has a 13 year old that she has concerns with due to sleep deprivation. Dima Omran-19 Ledgewood Farm Drive stated she has four children. There are many issues with anxiety and depression with children today. Some people are ashamed but they should not be. Mohamad Omran-19 Ledgewood Farm Drive stated the teenage clock that Ms.Troxel discussed in her presentation is real. It starts happening when a child is 12 years old. There is proof that starting school later and allowing teens to sleep helps with many issues. It doesn't cost a lot of money or time to try this to see if it helps. Mrs. Demas stated that out of 250 students from high school just 28%wanted a later start. Mrs. Sharry responded that the teens input is important, however,the professionals know better. Chairman Astino stated tonight's agenda stated this item was an update. High School Handbook-Principal Carolyn Connolly stated they re-organized the handbook to improve it. The Committee reviewed the changes. Mrs. Connolly added that the title would be changed to Student/Family Handbook. Middle/High School Improvement Plan-Principal Connolly reviewed the School Improvement Plan for the current year. The SIP for 2018-2019 will include a review of the high school GPA calculation. Laura Struzzieri is to chair a committee that will report out findings and recommendations. The SIP will also focus on a continuation of improvements to cultural and systemic practices at the middle school to improve middle level students' learning experiences. Another goal of the SIP is to ensure that Universal Design for Learning is embedded in all curriculum areas. Principal Connolly also discussed reviewing current UDL units in Atlas Rubicon, continuing to have teachers share best practices for UDL at faculty meetings and encouraging UDL curriculum design as a Student Learning Goal for 2018-19. Cohasset's Project Based Learning Summit-High School Teacher Jack Buckley discussed the grant from Mass IDEAS, an initiative of Next Generation Learning Challenges at EDUCAUSE. They are holding the Cohasset's Project Based Learning Summit on July 26th from 8:30 a.m.—4:30 p.m. at the Lighthouse Keeper's. There will be teachers, district leaders, community stakeholders, and students attending who will immerse themselves in Project Based Learning and to connect and reflect on building community partnerships and deeper learning. Mr. Buckley discussed what the day will accomplish. Deer Hill Room Temperature Update-Mrs. Demas distributed a classroom temperature monitoring chart. They began monitoring the temperature when Principal Dr. deChiara complained about a year ago about a couple of rooms being too hot. They met with Director of DPW Brian Joyce and Facilities Manager Mark Kelly and started collecting data. They looked into air conditioners but had issues with the fire code. A/C units should be airtight and fire-proof. This past Monday,the temperatures were forecasted to be 95 degrees. They set up rooms for reprieve. She checked with the teachers and the temperature was not as hot as expected and the rooms were not needed. Room 154 is an interior room near the cafeteria and gets hotter than other rooms in the building. It is used for music. They have had a lot discussions regarding the cost estimates of air conditioning the room. They need to decide if it warrants going to Capital Budget. Monitoring is ongoing. Finance-Monthly Update-Mr.Tuffy reported that he has been working on the end of year forecast. They are waiting on a few utility bills. The salary line is a little different than last year because some months have 3 payroll checks instead of 2. He expects there to be some type of surplus at the end of the year. The grants are in a minor deficit due to timing issues and should end up as forecasted. The revolving accounts are not running any deficits. All in all it has been a pretty successful year with the budget. Bus Maintenance-Mr.Tuffy stated the bus registrations are going smoothly. There are no issues for the year. The buses have all run well. Bus#90738 has some auto body repair which will be offset by insurance money. Food Service Van-Mr.Tuffy stated the van has 2000 miles on it for the year. There are no issues with this vehicle. Summative Review of Superintendent-Chairman Astino distributed each member's review to be signed. She will review the summary and then have each SC member read one of their comments. Chairman Astino read aloud each area of the review and how Superintendent Demas was rated. Superintendent Demas thanked the members for their comments. She stated it has been a challenging year and that her work was not done in isolation. School Committee Comments&Communications-Mrs. Maher stated PEB Committee met last week with all the liaisons. They are benchmarking other towns and their policies. The Hall of Fame is meeting next week to vote on a slate of candidates. Mrs. Stefan attended the SEPAC end of the year meeting at the Corner Stop and it was a nice event. Chairman Astino stated Alternative Energy Committee is meeting on Monday. She has distributed information about the MASC Conference in Hyannis to everyone. Minutes-5/2/18-Public Hearing-Motion by Mrs. Maher to approve the public hearing minutes of the 5/2/18 on school choice as amended,seconded by Mrs. Madden and the vote was unanimous(5-0). Minutes-5/2/18-Regular Meeting-Motion by Mrs. Stefan to approve the minutes of the 5/2/18 public meeting as amended,seconded by Mrs. Madden and the vote was unanimous(5-0). Chairman Astino asked for a motion to go into Executive Session#3-Strategy related to collective bargaining-ESP's. The Committee will come out of Executive Session and into open session to adjourn. Motion moved by Mrs. Maher,seconded by Mrs. Stefan. Roll Call Vote; Paul Kearney-Aye, Barbara Stefan-Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye, Ellen Maher-Aye,Jennifer Madden-Aye. The Committee went into Executive Session at 9:34 p.m. The Committee exited Executive Session at 9:58 p.m. and exited Regular Session at 9:59 p.m. on a motion made by Mrs. Madden and seconded by Mrs. Maher. The vote was 5-0. Documents used at the Meeting High School Handbook E-1 Middle High School Improvement Plan E-2 Deer Hill Room Temperature Update E-3 Cohasset's Project Based Learning Summit E-4 Monthly Finance Update F-1 Bus Maintenance F-2