Minutes
Quincy, MASSACHUSETTS – September 27, 2023
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Regular Meeting of the Quincy School Committee
Regular Meeting
Vice-Chair Presiding
A meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on Wednesday, September 27, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. in the School Committee Room at the Coddington Building. Superintendent Kevin Mulvey called the roll and present were School Committee Members Mr. Paul Bregoli, Mrs. Tina Cahill, Mr. Douglas Gutro, Mrs. Kathryn Hubley (arrived at 6:50 pm), Mrs. Emily Lebo, and Mr. Frank Santoro, Vice Chair.
Also present were: Superintendent Kevin Mulvey, Assistant Superintendent Erin Perkins, Mr. Robert Cavallo, Ms. Kim Connolly, Ms. Allison Cox, Mr. Michael Draicchio, Ms. Julie Graham, Ms. Andrea Huwar, Mr. Michael Marani, Mr. James Mullaney, Mr. Daniel Pacho, Ms. Maura Papile, Ms. Kelly Powers, Mr. Lawrence Taglieri; NQHS Student Representative Amy Tan, QHS Student Representative Mina Al-Takriti; and Ms. Laura Owens, Clerk.
Mayor Thomas P. Koch was absent.
Ms. Owens read the following statement into the record: Pursuant to the Open Meeting Law, any person may make an audio or video recording of this public meeting or may transmit the meeting through any medium. Attendees are therefore advised that such recordings or transmissions are being made whether perceived or unperceived by those present and are deemed acknowledged and permissible.
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Approval of Minutes
Mrs. Lebo made a motion to approve the minute of the Regular Meeting for September 13, 2023. Mr. Bregoli seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Mrs. Cahill made a motion to approve the minutes of the Executive Session for September 13, 2023. Mr. Gutro seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
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Open Forum
As there was no one present who wished to speak at Open Forum, School Committee went on to the next item on the agenda.
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Superintendent’s
Report
Superintendent Mulvey announced that the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education publicly released the Spring 2023 MCAS Data & Accountability information last Tuesday, September 19. Individual score reports will be mailed out to families by mid-October and an analysis of district-level data will be presented at the October 11 School Committee meeting. Montclair Elementary School has been classified by DESE as a “School of Recognition,” one of 66 schools statewide. Montclair was identified for the students demonstrating high achievement and growth and meeting or exceeding targets. Congratulations to Principal Renee Malvesti and the Montclair Elementary School staff on this recognition.
The letter received recently by Quincy High School awarding continued NEASC Accreditation was shared in your packet. The letter cites many of the impressive programs and services at Quincy High School, as well as areas for focus for the School Growth/Improvement Plan due on November 1.
This past Monday, 200 students in Grades 4 and 5 who are electing to join the elementary instrumental program received theIR selected woodwind and brass instruments (saxophone, flute, trumpet, trombone, or clarinet). In addition, this week, students in those grades will see a demonstration of string instruments and have the opportunity to take lessons after school in violin, viola, and cello.
Applications for the Quincy Public Schools Educator Mini-Grants are being accepted through September 29. Once again, the Quincy School ~ Community Partnership will award 57 grants of $350 to support the academic, social, and emotional development of our students. The $20,000 in funding is made possible by the generosity of our community partners.
The Arbella Foundation & Boston Celtics All-Star Program will be offered to each of our five middle schools during the 2023-2024 school year. This initiative aims to encourage regular school attendance and positive school culture.
Lincoln Hancock, Clifford Marshall, and Snug Harbor Grade 2 students are being offered swim lessons through a partnership with the Hale Family YMCA. The Swim, Safety & Skills classes will run for eight weeks beginning this week, students participate with parent permission.
Finally, at the next School Committee meeting on October 11, there will be an update on the DeCristofaro Learning Center, including information on the programming and student and staff transitions. This coming Monday, October 2, the City Council will receive an update on the Learning Center as well.
Mrs. Cahill asked that the NEASC letter be posted on the QPS website so parents can see the positive information about the school.
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New Business
Student Support
Services PIP
Senior Director of Student Support Services Maura Papile presented the 2023-2024 Student Support Services Program Improvement Plan, starting with a reflection on last year’s goals. In collaboration with the principals and student support staff, a systematic approach to social-emotional learning has been rolled out over the last two years. Staff have continued to analyze data that identifies students at risk throughout the school system, providing outreach and interventions. The implementation of the Open Parachute program at elementary, middle, and high schools, along with interventions for families with attendance, housing, and economic insecurity were key to meeting student needs.
Looking ahead to this school year, schools are continuing to practice community building at the classroom level, professional development is offered throughout the school year, and will utilize interventions to raise the attendance rate. The full day of Professional Development on November 7 will allow additional opportunities for classroom educators to participate in workshops on social-emotional learning topics.
Mr. Gutro asked for clarification on the high-risk statistics, the number of students identified tripled in the 2021-2022 school year and increased another 25% in the 2022-2023 school year. Ms. Papile said these are documented interventions with students self-reporting distress or observed as being in distress. Mr. Gutro would like to quantify if the increases are due to more awareness of mental health issues. Ms. Papile agreed that staff building relationships with students may lead to an increase in comfort in disclosing anxiety and other mental health issues.
Mr. Gutro asked about Chronic Absenteeism data, Ms. Perkins said this will be presented on October 11 as part of the Accountability data and indicators are there was some improvement.
Mrs. Cahill asked about the residency verification process; Ms. Papile said families can be referred during the registration process when they cannot present acceptable proofs of residency. In addition, returned mail can also raise a concern about residency or families reporting a new address without verification.
Mrs. Cahill asked about attendance officer training, Ms. Papile said all have social work training/backgrounds and are sometimes accompanied by guidance staff or school resource officers on their home visits.
Mrs. Cahill asked how are students incentivized to return to regular school attendance. Ms. Papile said positive reinforcement is provided through checking in at school, analysis of educational needs (proper program placement), providing mental health supports and referrals.
Mrs. Cahill asked if there is an increase in reporting of bullying or discipline incidents, Ms. Papile said the restorative practices techniques stress taking responsibility and repairing relationships. This is the 3rd school year for restorative practices and the 2nd year for Open Parachute curriculum implementation.
Mr. Bregoli asked about the attendance staff caseload, one staff member is currently on leave. Ms. Papile said residency verification has been the priority for the two staff members, with some assistance from other staff members. Mr. Bregoli would like to add another staff member to the team to balance the caseloads across the schools. Mr. Bregoli is also concerned about staff safety, Superintendent Mulvey reiterated that the Quincy Police Department is a partner to Quincy Public Schools in this.
Mr. Bregoli asked about statistics for outside and emergency referrals and 51As, Ms. Papile will follow up. Ms. Papile said as often as possible, parents are asked to bring the students to crisis centers, rather than the student leaving school in an ambulance.
Mrs. Lebo said that the additional supports are so important in surfacing student issues. Mrs. Lebo asked about Build Up Youth, Ms. Papile said this is substance use prevention program with Bay State
Mrs. Lebo said Homeless Coordinator Ms. Bridson does an amazing job, noted that federal funding has declined to support some of the programs. Superintendent Mulvey said that there are discussions with the Mayor about building a safety net of services for families at risk with economic or residence insecurity.
Mrs. Lebo asked about unaccompanied youth, these are typically high school students without parents or guardians who are staying with another family or friends temporarily. Ms. Bridson also works with the students to assist them through high school and transitioning beyond.
Mrs. Lebo appreciated seeing the timeline for the social-emotional learning curriculum. Mrs. Lebo asked about using the VOCAL survey data to inform the work, Ms. Papile agreed that these school culture and climate concerns are the basis of the planning.
Mrs. Hubley thanked Ms. Papile for the plan and the detailed data. Mrs. Hubley asked about Open Parachute data, Ms. Papile said this was a snapshot of last year’s completed lessons. Working with the unfamiliar platform may have led to inconsistency in reporting what was completed.
Mr. Bregoli asked about residency verification through mailing. Superintendent Mulvey confirmed this is done in the summer and returned mail is forwarded to the schools for further verification.
Mrs. Lebo made a motion to approve the Student Support Services Program Improvement Plan. Mrs, Hubley seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
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New Business
Health Services PIP
Health Services Coordinator Andrea Huwar presented the 2023-2024 Student Support Services Program Improvement Plan, reflecting on last year’s goals including implementing new regulations around mandated vision and hearing screenings. For this school year, the focus will continue to be on infectious illness (strep throat, conjunctivitis, influenza, COVID-19) preventative health measures with emphasis on recognizing/reporting illness symptoms, proper handwashing, and immunization. Professional development topics will include enhancing nursing assessment skills, ENT, orthopedic, and seizure assessments, and food allergy updates.
In the 2022-2023 school year, there were 91,088 student encounters across the 19 school buildings, with a return to class rate of 87%. 10,840 scheduled doses of prescription medication were admnistered. Decreased documented communication to parents, staff, and community agencies mostly due to the change in reporting requirements for COVID cases.
Mrs. Hubley asked about the Healthy Smiles program, they will visit all schools.
Mrs. Hubley asked about the increase in students with life-threatening allergies. Ms. Huwar said that there seems to be an increased awareness of food allergies.
Mrs. Lebo said the data is amazing, glad to see the decline in communications related to the COVID notification requirements being relaxed.
Mrs. Lebo asked about the COVID guidelines for this year. Ms. Huwar said that this is the same as the end of last school year, students stay home for five days and can return to school on day 6 with a mask until day 10.
Mr. Gutro asked about the SNAP uniform data initiative, Ms. Huwar said that the program has been in QPS since 2004, but there is a focus on consistent reporting, using streamlined templates. Mr. Gutro asked if the data is returning to pre-COVID levels, Ms. Huwar said it is getting closer.
Mrs. Cahill asked if the results of mandated screening are shared with parents before students are aware of the results. Ms. Huwar said sometimes students are aware that there may be an issue, but letters are sent to parents for referrals for further screenings for vision, hearing, and postural. Parents are not notified about BMI, SNAP calculates based on height and weight.
Mrs. Cahill asked if there is education on Nutrition; at middle and high school, the Health staff cover these topics. At the elementary schools, there sre not formal lessons.
Mr. Bregoli asked about vaccine requirements, these differ for grade levels.
Mrs. Lebo made a motion to approve the Health Services Program Improvement Plan. Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
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New Business
Technology Planning &
Training PIP
IT Systems Administrator Robert Cavallo, IT Data Coordinator Daniel Pacho, and Digital Communications & Web Accessibility Specialist Kelly Powers presented the 2023-2024 Technology Planning & Training Program Improvement Plan. In reflecting on last year’s goals, there were significant hardware and software acquisitions; an enhanced partnership with Quincy Access Television on video production and broadcasting/livestreaming of public meetings and school events; and significant improvements to the Quincy Public Schools website and social media presence. Looking forward, most of the team’s goals are continued from previous years with some new action steps and initiatives.
Mr. Gutro thanked the team, the IT infrastructure is critical to the success of the school system. Mr. Gutro asked about the Aspen Gradebook usage, specifically training to ensure universal implementation for middle and high school staff members. Mr. Pacho said that taking daily class attendance is one part, the other is the direct use of the Gradebook (training and usage support documents), and the ability to import Google grades into Aspen. Mr. Gutro complimented the enhancements to the QPS website.
Mr. Gutro asked about Technology needs in School Improvement Plans. Mr. Cavallo said that Principals were surveyed on building needs in the spring to inform the budget development. Mr. Cavallo said there are still projectors to be received and installed, hopefully later in the fall.
Mrs. Cahill thanked Ms. Powers for the increased social media presence, information is more readily available.
Mrs. Cahill asked what are some of the challenges related to technology evolution. Mr. Cavallo said that there is a constant need to replace existing hardware as it ages out.
Mrs. Cahill asked about assisting parents with using Aspen. Mr. Pacho and Ms. Powers have collaborated to create a page on the website for Aspen access and usage information. There is also a helpline and there were over 200 requests for assistance in September, which is typical for the start of the school year.
Mrs. Hubley agreed that the website and social media enhancements are wonderful. Mrs. Hubley noted that over 800 desktops are over 8 years old, Mr. Cavallo said these are being maintained as much as possible to increase their useful lifespan.
Mrs. Lebo agreed that parent access for Aspen is important, asked the Student Representatives whether students are comfortable with the platform. Ms. Tan and Ms. Al-tikriti agreed that students are comfortable using the platform and there are resources on Google classroom to support Aspen usage.
Mrs. Lebo asked how many Chromebooks are deployed, all students in Grades 3-12 have been issued one and there are Chromebook carts in elementary schools for Kindergarten through Grade 2 use.
Mrs. Lebo asked about specific software lines and budget deficit (covered by surplus from FY2023). Mrs. Lebo asked about IT technician openings, Mr. Cavallo said there have been a number of resumes submitted and a new staff member will join October 10. Interviews are ongoing.
Mrs. Lebo suggested that Chat GBT might cause QPS to develop a Policy on academic integrity. Mr. Gutro agreed that this is a critical topic.
Ms. Al-Tikriti said that if students were taught about the pros and cons, this could be a beneficial tool.
Ms. Tan said that teachers are concerned about student use of Generative AI, looking for guidance.
Ms. Tan suggested that students be allowed to personalize their Google identification, Mr. Cavallo said that feature is locked, but if the students email IT, unwanted pictures can be removed.
Mrs. Cahill thanked Mrs. Lebo and Mrs. Hubley for advocating for the return on the Student Representatives and their input is so valuable.
Mrs. Cahill made a motion to approve the minute of the Technology Planning & Training Program Improvement Plan. Mr. Gutro seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
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New Business
Appointment of
School Nurses
Mrs. Hubley made a motion to appoint Caitlin Coneran as a School Nurse. Mrs. Lebo seconded the motion and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it.
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New Business
Appointment of
Delegate for MASC General Meeting
Mr. Bregoli made a motion to appoint Kathryn Hubley as the School Committee Delegate to the Massachusetts Association of School Committees General Meeting. Mrs. Cahill seconded the motion and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 6-0.
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New Business
Grants for
ECHS 2023-24 (VOTE)
Superintendent Mulvey shared that for the 2023-2024 school year, $150,000.00 in funding has been granted by the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education to support the Early College High School program. This funding, along with the matching grant from State Street, funds the salaries of the Early College Guidance Counselors and Transition Coaches at each high school.
Mr. Bregoli made a motion to accept the Grant of $150,000.00 for the Early College High School program from the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Hubley and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 6-0.
Mrs. Hubley made a motion to accept the Grant of $150,000.00 for the Early College High School program from the State Street Foundation. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Lebo and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 6-0.
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New Business
Grant from
MassHire (VOTE)
Superintendent Mulvey shared that for the 2023-2024 school year, $22,000.00 in funding has been awarded by the MassHire South Shore Workforce Board for connecting activities for high school students, including career fairs, career exploration, and resume building activities.
Mrs. Cahill made a motion to accept the Grant of $22,000.00 for connecting activities from the MassHire South Shore Workforce Board. The motion was seconded by Mr. Gutro and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 6-0.
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New Business
GLEAM Grant/Year 3
(VOTE)
For the Growing Literacy Equity Across Massachusetts (GLEAM) grant Year 3, $170,000.00 in funding has been awarded by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to support the continued implementation of the Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) program, including purchasing materials, coaching, and professional development.
Mr. Gutro made a motion to accept the GLEAM Year 3 Grant of $170.000.00 from the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Cahill and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 6-0.
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New Business
ST Grant (VOTE)
Superintendent Mulvey noted that a grant for the ST Math program was approved last spring for Grades 5 and 6 students at Point Webster and South~West. Quincy Public Schools recently had the opportunity to apply for and was granted $3,200 in funding from DESE to support the program implementation for Grade 4 students at Lincoln Hancock and Clifford Marshall.
Mr. Bregoli made a motion to accept the ST Grant of $3,200.00 for Lincoln Hancock and Clifford Marshall Grade 4 from the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Lebo and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 6-0.
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New Business
Donation from
Quirk Subaru (VOTE)
Quirk Subaru recently made a donation of $3,000.00 to the Point Webster Middle School through their Adopt a Classroom program. Six classrooms will receive $500 each to use for books, supplies, or equipment to enhance learning opportunities.
Mrs. Hubley made a motion to accept the Donation of $3,000.00 from Quirk Subaru. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Lebo and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 6-0.
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New Business
Referral to Teaching &
Learning Subcommittee
Mrs. Lebo made a motion to refer Generative Artificial Intelligence to the Teaching & Learning Subcommittee. The motion was seconded by Mr. Bregoli and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
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Additional Business
There was no Additional Business.
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Communications
Mr. Santoro noted upcoming School Committee Meetings on October 11 & 25, 2023; November 15, 2023; December 13, 2023, all at 6:30 pm at the Coddington Building. On October 18, 2023, there will be a Quarterly Budget & Finance Subcommittee meeting at 6:00 pm followed by Policy Subcommittee at 6:30 pm.
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Reports of
Subcommittees
There were no Reports of Subcommittees.
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Adjournment
Mrs. Hubley made a motion to adjourn at 8:20 pm. Mrs. Cahill seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
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