BERLIN BOARD OF EDUCATION
September 24, 2007
MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING

Attendance:      Gary Brochu          
        Julie Erickson
        William Lutz                 
        Diane Mancini                
        Kathleen O’Donnell-Moss     
        Christopher Puzio(Absent)            
        Anthony Recck(Absent)
        John Richards                
        Rachel Rochette            

Also in attendance:  Superintendent of Schools Dr. Michael Cicchetti; Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Rena Klebart; Director of Business Operations Roman Czuchta; Principal of Griswold School Laurie Gjerpen; Principal of Willard School Robert J. Sullivan II; Principal of Hubbard School Alfred Souza; Principal of McGee Middle School Brian Benigni; Principal of Berlin High School George Synnott; Instructional Support Teacher of Berlin High School Janet Parlato; and Administrative Intern at Berlin High School Cheryl Gonzalez.  

I.    CALL TO ORDER

Mr. Brochu called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Board of Education (“the Board”) meeting room at 238 Kensington Road, Berlin, CT.  The Pledge of Allegiance was led by student, Brian Stelmaszek.  A moment of silence was observed.

II.    BOARD AND ADMINISTRATIVE COMMUNICATIONS

Ms. Erickson reported she is very excited about the Fall Teacher Academy and indicated her plans to attend a couple of the classes to help with her own professional development as a Board member.

Ms. O’Donnell-Moss reported the Berlin Education Council is meeting for the first time this year on Wednesday.

Ms. Mancini reported she is also excited about the Fall Teacher Academy and also plans to attend a couple of the classes.  

Mr. Richards reported on his attendance at the open houses at McGee Middle School and Griswold School on behalf of the Board of Education.  Mr. Richards reported on his meeting with Brian Benigni regarding data teams.

Mr. Czuchta reported on the new school security competitive grant the state has initiated, which will run for the next two years and provide approximately $5 million to schools to improve security at school entrances.  Mr. Czuchta reported on a very productive meeting held Wednesday with a subset of the Town’s Emergency Operations Committee.  Mr. Czuchta reported on the meeting that Dr. Cicchetti and he will be attending tomorrow morning with the Regional Inter-District Partnership Consortium.

Ms. Klebart reported on the combined high school-middle school professional development that took place last week regarding reading in the content area and how to obtain information from text.  The teachers will continue this work on October 3, 2007 with their reading consultants.  Ms. Klebart, in response to Mr. Brochu’s request, will provide the Board with appropriate materials so the Board can have an understanding and appreciation of the staff’s professional development. Ms. Klebart reported on the recent meeting with the Special Education teachers to address AYP issues.

Dr. Cicchetti reported on his attendance at the excellent open house programs at Griswold School and McGee Middle School.  Dr. Cicchetti reported today was Ms. Alberta Landino’s first day as Interim Assistant Principal at Berlin High School.  Dr. Cicchetti reported that Director of Pupil Personnel Services Margaret Butler was not able to be in attendance at tonight’s meeting as she is out of the state.

Mr. Brochu reported Town Council candidates and Board of Education candidates will tour the five schools on October 4.  Mr. Brochu reported on the Leadership, Accountability and Measurement Committee meeting held last week.  Mr. Brochu reminded the Board members of the CABE convention in November and also the Board’s evaluation special meeting on October 1.  Mr. Brochu reported the Board’s retreat is scheduled for October 19 -20, 2007.

III.    STUDENT PRESENTATION – HUBBARD SCHOOL

The presentation reflected the concept of continuous improvement and the school goal through instructional strategies and student work as implemented across K-5 classrooms.  Staff members and students from all grade levels (K-5) took part in presenting sample strategies and student work articulating the overarching school goal of making reader-text connections and student literacy.  A coherent, concise continuum of sample strategies (as presented by grade level staff) and student work (as presented by students) provided the audience with a focused illustration of the immediate instructional actions being taken within the first weeks of school that directly link to the concept of continuous improvement and the school goal of making reader-text connections and student literacy.  The following students presented:  Kindergarten – Julia Daddario and Xander DeVoe  – Teacher, Loretta DiPietro; Grade 1 – Zoe Bassett – Teacher, Jane Hubbard and Kyle Parisi – Teacher, Meg Nardelli; Grade 2 – Garrett Jacques – Teacher, Megan Sirois, Brian Stelmaszek – Teacher, Emily Moyer, Intern subbing and Jimmy Wicander  – Teacher, Melissa Cohen; Grade 3 – Marlen Paszkowski – Teacher, Jeff Tarigo and Nicholas Zuk – Teacher, Rebecca Lorch; Grade 4 – Taylor Budney – Teacher, Kim Waldron, Serena Gil – Teacher, Sue Zibell and Evan Cornwall – Teacher, Tim Maule; Grade 5 – Bryan Rozanski – Teacher, Sara Suranna and Sam Papacoda – Teacher, Holly Fusco.  

A short recess was taken from 7:31 p.m. to 7:39 p.m.

IV.    AUDIENCE OF CITIZENS

Nothing to report.

V.    PERSONNEL
Retirements

Dr. Cicchetti presented the notice of Mrs. Jeanne Danielson’s intention to retire as teacher of grade 1 at Emma Hart Willard School, effective June 30, 2008.

Moved by Ms. Rochette, seconded by Ms. Erickson, to accept the retirement of Mrs. Jeanne Danielson, teacher of grade 1 at Emma Hart Willard School, effective June 30, 2008.  Also, to thank her for the twenty years of service she has provided to educating the youth of Berlin and to wish her a long, happy, and healthy retirement.

FAVOR:     ALL  
MOTION CARRIED:  6:0

Dr. Cicchetti presented the notice of Mrs. Karen Tomlinson’s intention to retire as instructional support teacher at Mary E. Griswold School, effective January 1, 2008.

Moved by Ms. Mancini, seconded by Mr.  Lutz, to accept the retirement of Mrs. Karen Tomlinson, instructional support teacher at Mary E. Griswold School, effective January 1, 2008.  Also, to thank her for the twenty-two years of service she has provided to educating the youth of Berlin and to wish her a long, happy, and healthy retirement.

Mr. Richards commented that, because of Mrs. Tomlinson’s influence, he was encouraged to become a volunteer at his children’s school.  

FAVOR:     ALL  
MOTION CARRIED:  6:0

VI.    CONSENT AGENDA
A.     Approval of Minutes - Regular Meeting of September 10, 2007

B.     Field Trip – McGee Grade 8 – Washington, D.C. – April 15-18, 2008

Moved by Ms. O’Donnell-Moss, seconded by Ms. Erickson, to approve the consent agenda as presented.

FAVOR:     ALL  
MOTION CARRIED:  6:0

VII.     INFORMATION AND REPORTS
A.    NEASC Accreditation Process

Berlin High School Principal George Synnott, along with Instruction Support Teacher of Berlin High School Janet Parlato, provided a status report on the NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges) accreditation process self-study and upcoming site visit October 21-24 as well as answered questions from the Board.  Specifically, they (1) highlighted the self-study work the high school has been involved in since March 2006; (2) reviewed components of the actual site visit; (3) described the importance of the high school’s mission statement and expectations; and (4) presented, as identified by the faculty, the strengths and needs that emerged from the seven NEASC standards reports. 

B.     Board of Education Goals and Indicators of Success

Accompanying the agenda was the proposed action plan that outlined activities and a timeline for developing Board of Education goals and indicators of success.  The action plan was designed to serve as a starting point for preliminary discussion, understanding that this discussion would continue in greater depth at the Board’s self-evaluation special meeting on October 1 and at future Board meetings.  As background, at the October 2006 Board of Education retreat, Board members and Administrative Council members initiated a discussion regarding indicators of success.  The session focused on determining ways in which the district could measure the progress of continuous improvement efforts and subsequently report that progress to the school community and greater Berlin community.  During the remainder of the 2006-07 school year, the Board’s Leadership, Accountability, and Measurement Committee extended the retreat discussion and discussed ways in which indicators could be identified and presented.  With the structure of continuous improvement more firmly established in the schools, and with the administrative team fully in place, the Board now has an excellent context within which to define its goals and related indicators of success.  This clearly has emerged as a priority for the Board from discussions at Board meetings and committee meetings throughout the previous school year and into this school year.  The Board engaged in discussion concerning developing goals and indicators of success, and the proposed activities and timeline.  

C.     District Testing Report

Assistant Superintendent Rena Klebart presented the spring 2007 Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) Report for students in grades 3-8.  Board members were provided with a copy of the presentation.  Ms. Klebart explained that this is the second year for the fourth generation CMT testing; therefore, there it is possible to make a comparison to the previous year’s results.  Ms. Klebart reviewed the five performance levels by grade and content area, i.e. reading, writing, and mathematics.  Ms. Klebart and the Board discussed in detail Berlin’s ranking in the DRG (district reference group).   Ms. Klebart remarked that the results reflect positive movement in reading, writing and mathematics.  Ms. Klebart reviewed in detail the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) component of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), including the Safe Harbor Provision.  Ms. Klebart remarked that when considering whole-school performance, all Berlin schools met AYP standards.  Ms. Klebart reviewed the CMT results for subgroup of students with disabilities, noting that Willard School made AYP in Reading and McGee School made AYP in Mathematics and Reading under the Safe Harbor provision of NCLB for the subgroup of students with disabilities.  District administrators, Ms. Gjerpen, Mr. Benigni, Mr. Souza, and Ms. Klebart presented both current and anticipated strategies that will be used to prepare students for the 2008 CMT administration.

Berlin High School Principal George Synnott, along with instructional support teacher Janet Parlato, presented results from the spring 2007 CAPT administration.  Board members were provided with a copy of the presentation as well as specific examples of CAPT questions and prompts from previous CAPT administrations.  The 2007 administration began the third generation of CAPT testing; therefore, comparisons to previous years’ results could not be made.  Ms. Parlato reviewed the testing changes.  The results were reviewed in detail, as well as strategies that will be used to prepare students for the 2008 CAPT administration.  Ms. Parlato reviewed Berlin’s ranking in the DRG.  Ms. Parlato noted the disparity between males and females in their performance, particularly in reading and writing, where females scored much higher than males and also noted there is not such a disparity in Math.       

Mr. Synnott also presented the Academic Profile Report for the Class of 2007, which contained student performance information for the SAT, the UCONN Early College Experience, and the Advanced Placement Program.  Principal Synnott highlighted sections of the report, including participation rates, longitudinal data, and gender comparisons.  

D.     Update – Educational Specifications for New High School

Director of Business Operations Roman Czuchta indicated there was nothing new to report and will probably not have an update until mid-November.   

E.    Technology Bond – Status Report

Director of Business Operations Roman Czuchta reported he received word today that the revised report from Dr. Steven Arnoff, educational consultant, will be available to the committee by October 5, 2007.  Mr. Czuchta is waiting to hear back from Dr. Arnoff as to a date he is available to meet with the Town-Wide Technology Committee after October 5, 2007.  Mr. Czuchta updated the Board on a connectivity problem at Griswold School concerning the Wide Area Network that has been occurring during the past several days.     

VIII.    EXECUTIVE SESSION
Discussion Relative to Negotiations – Head Custodians

At 10:13 p.m., a motion was made by Mr. Lutz, seconded by Ms. O’Donnell-Moss, to go into Executive Session to discuss materials relative to negotiations.    

FAVOR:        ALL
MOTION CARRIED:  6:0

In attendance for Executive Session were Board members Brochu, Erickson, Lutz, Mancini, O’Donnell-Moss, Richards and Rochette.  In addition, Dr. Cicchetti and Mr. Czuchta were present.                                         

At 10:23 p.m., a motion was made by Ms. Erickson, seconded by Ms. Rochette, to return to regular session.

FAVOR:    ALL
MOTION CARRIED:  6:0

IX.    ADJOURNMENT

Moved by Ms. Rochette, seconded by Ms. O’Donnell-Moss, to adjourn the meeting at 10:25  p.m.
 
FAVOR:         ALL  
MOTION CARRIED:  6:0

Respectfully submitted,



John M. Richards,
Secretary,
Berlin Board of Education

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