PEMBROKE SCHOOL BOARD
PRESENT: Clint Hanson, Tom Haley, Michael Reardon, Ry Weisiger, Susanne Whitbeck, Gerry Fleury, Rick Mitchell, Jonathan Burnham, Deb Bulkley, Donna Roy, Tom Serafin, JoAnn Lytle,
1.
CALL TO ORDER
Chair Clint Hanson called the
meeting to order in the PA café at
2.
MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
A motion to approve the minutes as amended was made by Mr. Fleury and seconded by Mr. Mitchell.
The correction related to PA’s graduation. It will be held on
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3.
IMMEDIATE BUSINESS
A. CITIZENS’ COMMENTS None at this time
B. NUTRITION/WELLNESS UPDATE
Update on staff and student wellness and efforts to address changing state and federal nutrition guidelines.
Thank you for chest refrigerator used at
As part of the funding programs and support, the schools belong to the School nutrition association. As a benefit they receive monthly publications. Staff members are SAFE SERV certified which requires monitoring temps and other requirements. Great deal of information and new ideas are a result of these newer initiatives.
The school lunch programs are trying to develop a local School Wellness policy. Formed committee, and have met occasionally with consultation and assistance from the nurses.
Vending machines meet the requirements for healthy snacks as well this year. Since these machines are available now, it shouldn’t be such a shock when the “other concessions” leave the buildings.
Asking for the board to consider going through process of adopting a policy similar to the one presented as a model. This policy would meet the requirements of the Federal Law regarding Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004.
Would need to tighten up the policy and become more specific.
It is estimated that by the beginning of next school year, more detailed proposals regarding the policy would be available.
HASAP- Government also has regulations. The district does have the resources and forms, but the plan has not been finalized. Donna is working with Jim Collins on this.
Serv-SAFE Managers currently are certified, and plan to have all workers as well.
Vending- Tiered according to age groups? The district staff is still working on this. Most of the concessions are only available at TRS and PA.
Pepsico has been wonderful about providing additional products which meet the requirements.
At elem. Level- no snacks provided through lunch program. Discussions are being held to continue to work on healthy food choices and increased availability of those choices.
No fryolators are in the district’s lunch programs. As a school organization the Key Club does not have to adhere to the same standards. There may be discussions about how/if the organizations will need to change some fund raisers that have been done in the past. Ie. Bake sales
Nutra-kids is part of a program that assists with the overall advertising and tracking of sales, items sold. Keyed in nutritional values will be on the menus next year.
Do not consult w/ dietician regarding lunches served at schools. All of the foods met the Child Nutrition label certified through USDA. Individual items are not the problem, but how they put them together. It may be regulated to provide that nutritional information. Currently it is not a requirement.
Policy needs to be in place to continue the federal funding for Free/Reduced Lunch program. This policy will come back before the board at the next meeting. There are additional resources available for further information.
Nutrient dense commodities may be ok.
There was discussion regarding the amount of physical education/movement available at each of the buildings.
At the K-4 level- Recess is available before school and at lunch recess, PE 1/wk,
At
lunch recess
It is technically possible to go
one full year without PE at TRS, but probably doesn’t happen too often. It is possible to have it first marking period
in 5th grade and during the
last marking period in 6th grade. PE is done through the Unified Arts rotation
Phys. Ed at PA- It is part of the continuum for Health. The current program includes health, nutrition, weight training, co-curricular, and mandatory PE for one year. It is a coherent program over 3 years.
There was discussion about how other schools are handling the increased
recommendations.
General knowledge of sports is an essential business and education skill. Many students participate in general sports programs at PA through their PE requirements. It is an improved program over the years. Future plans would be to also include more stretching and heart rate information.
Obesity in our schools is not currently tracked. Heights and weights of all freshmen, sophomores, and students with IEPs. Fitness and Obesity is a problem for our kids. Many more students are less healthy. There is an increased percentage of diabetes. Problems start a lot earlier.
Is there a way to increase the requirement for PE? It can not be done with current personnel and space issues. There are some minimal options for leadership in regard to increased physical activity.
It was decided to readdress this PE topic during the goal setting meeting this spring.
C. CONSENT AGENDA
· Summer Drama Camp
A motion to approve the consent agenda was made by Mr. Mitchell and seconded by Mr. Weisiger.
There was a request for clarification. This is a major production and opportunity for the younger children.
The camp would be limited to 30 children. The proposal is looking to help cover some of
the expenses and the school will work around summer maintenance schedules. This is not going to be a major
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4.
OLD/UNFINISHED BUSINESS
A. NECAP/NWEA ASSESSMENTS
Measured Products have a hand in this assessment. The NECAP was cooperatively developed with VT, RI and NH.
This assessment was given for the first time this year and the results have recently become available. There has not been sufficient time to analyze the results in depth. The State has not established guidelines for classification regarding what would demonstrate AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress).
Mrs. Whitbeck reported that 71% of the students scored at the Proficient or Proficient with Distinction levels. It appears that the results looked pretty reflective of what happened in 3rd grade from perspective of the teachers.
On the MAP test, the school performed at or above National Average and we still are. How they compare is unknown at this time.
In terms of the 2 categories- At Risk and students with IEP- students did very well compared to others in their groups.
Are there incremental steps for proficiency by the state? YES
How data relates to past data? This is new and can not be compared. It is a new test. This is our baseline year. The news media will probably make some type of comparison, even though the tests were not designed to be compared.
There was discussion regarding the level of reading
proficiency at the Middle School. It was
disturbing that in terms of the
NWEA- There is great data to show demonstrated growth. These changes and improvements are a good reflection of alignment of Pembroke’s curriculum to National standards. We still may need to match skills to test skills and the years that the materials are taught.
Other schools have done a variety of things during test options. Are there things that the school should do differently in the future?
Takes time away from what we should be doing with our students in order to “take” the test.
Acceptance of an actual zero on the Proficiency with distinction is very hard. We need to really look at this if it is in fact the case.
At
MAP testing has been helpful in providing additional specific student achievement information. Data is very helpful at PA. Key literacy tools within the content areas courses and trained is essential to the overall success of the students. Staff training is hugely important.
Identify sending school information in regards to the testing data in order to provide curriculum/instructional practices for improvement.
B. GROUNDS MAINTENANCE PLAN
Jonathan Burnham presented information regarding summer maintenance/lawn care.
Additional seasonal personnel may be necessary.
The board was polled earlier regarding this issue. The further information requested was provided and the board will need to confirm this poll.
A motion to confirm the poll vote regarding the Grounds Maintenance Plan was made by Mr. Fleury and seconded by Mr. Weisiger.
Mr. Fleury has discussed this information with Mr. Burnham and has presented a
well thought out proposal with controls in place.
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5.
NEW BUSINESS
A. STAFFING
A proposal for some shifting of positions was made. Teachers request eliminating a couple of para-educators and hiring a special education case manager at TRS. The same level of support would be available, but also allow for more experienced educators to be actually working with students. Case managers do the preparation for the para-educators. This would help provide a more equitable work load. It would also provide additional expertise and ability to contact parents. $52,000 savings by eliminating 3 para-educators
A motion to approve the request as presented was made by Mr. Fleury and seconded by Mr. Mitchell.
Staff members can only be at one place at a time. There was concern about replacing three people with one, even if the level of education/experience is higher. Para-educators are assigned to classes at a block of time. The case manager could move within classes based on what is going on in the classroom depending on the task. No student specific assistants are involved in this proposal.
Communication with teachers and special ed director about how this will work will be critical. There are approximately 24 paras at TRS; 7 of which are 1:1 student specific. It was agreed that this is a high number, and Ms. Bulkley is working at trying to cut down.
Some changes could be through attrition, however all support staff jobs are
year to year positions that are based on the needs of the students.
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B. NOMINATION/ELECTION OF STAFF
Resignation of Chris Gleason
Chris Ulrich is currently working in the position and has been recommended for the position.
A motion to elect Chris Ulrich was made by Mr. Fleury and seconded by Mr. Weisiger.
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C. SCHOOL BOARD ORGANIZATION
A motion to approve the slate as presented was made by Mr. Fleury and seconded by Mr. Weisiger.
There was discussion regarding whether there was a potential conflict of interest. Board members are not negotiating individual contracts. There have been several rulings regarding this and there has been long standing precedent for this in the district.
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6.
OTHER BUSINESS
A. CITIZENS’ COMMENTS None at this time
7.
ADJOURNMENT
NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING
May 9th PA 7PM
8.
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS
Town’s Master Plan- A request for a copy of the Master Plan has been made. In the past, updated school information has been requested. It might be important to have a presence at this meeting. A decision as to who will attend will happen at the next mtg.
Status regarding the Cable TV Committee: Members have received a copy of the proposed Comcast contract for renewal. It is not much different than the current proposed contract. It appears that Comcast will offer nothing, yet demand everything.
There are some interesting clauses that the committee is going to challenge. It is designed to be an automatic 15 yr contract. There are concerns about internet service. At the federal level there has been some discussion and work regarding the ability to break off the entertainment value of television, while still using the same wires for digital phone and internet. There was discussion about not being able to develop local channel that they can sell for development. Committee saw it for the first time at a recent meeting and no additional action has been taken at this point. Public hearings are expected. The language regarding the fiber optics connections is in the contract. The current contract expires at the end of August with new contract to begin in September. Virtually there is no competition in the state, which certainly doesn’t help. .
It was reported that the cast and crew of the Music Man did a terrific job. Board members saw the show on Saturday and it was reported that they did a pretty good job. School band provided the music and the program has significant needs. The performance was well done and the show was well attended. The drama part was outstanding!
At 8:35 PM a motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Mr. Weisiger and seconded by Mr. Serafin.
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