January 4, 2023 at 7:00 PM - Regular BoE Meeting

Rationale: 
MOMENT OF SILENCE
Matthew Sportelli - Teacher - Stafford, City Wide, Patterson, Northeast, and Hubbell - 9/3/58 - 6/30/1989

MEETING NORMS
•All participants will actively participate, engage in the work of the meeting, and have an equal voice and airtime. 
• Assume positive intentions by respecting and honoring the diversity of opinions, beliefs, and perspectives. 
• Cultivate trust by being honest and focusing on ideas, practices, and the work...not people. 
• Norms will be upheld during all meetings and in all interactions outside of formal meetings.
 

Rationale: 
1. BAIMS Art Gallery Opening - Pushpita Hussain - Bristol Eastern H.S.

2. BBEF Mini-Grant Winners
The Business Education Foundation, through donations, grants and partnerships is able to fund programs not normally included in the school or City budget. 

The Foundation also promotes partnerships that enable Bristol Public Schools to benefit from corporate grants and matching gifts. These partnerships educate the community on the needs of Bristol Public Schools and deepen community support.

Mini-Grant Winners:

1. Marcy Deschaine - Mountain View School - Capturing Our Learning - Awarded:  $1,000.00

2. Holly Caruso Pugliese - South Side School - Magic Carpet - Awarded:  $1,995.41

3. Nicole Redman - BECC/Edgewood - Communication Beyond the Classroom - Awarded:  $1,935.00

4. Bridget Gohla - ACCESS Program - BEHS/BCHS - Operation Renovation - Awarded:  $422.00

5. Lindsey DiPietro - BAIMS - Make Your Mark Mural at BAIMS - Awarded:  $1,878.64

Rationale: 
1. December 7, 2022 - Regular BoE Meeting
 

Rationale: 

Communication & Community Relations	Finance	Operations	Personnel	Policy Committee	Student Achievement
Kristen Giantonio, Chair	Dante Tagariello, Chair	Eric Carlson, Chair	Dante Tagariello, Chair	Kristen Giantonio, Chair	Todd Sturgeon, Chair
Shelby Pons	Kristen Giantonio	Russell Anderson	Eric Carlson	Shelby Pons	Kristen Giantonio
Russell Anderson	Karen Vibert	TBD	Karen Vibert	Todd Sturgeon	TBD
Alternates:
Eric Carlson	Russell Anderson	Todd Sturgeon	Todd Sturgeon	Dante Tagariello	Dante Tagariello

Rationale:  Student representatives from Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern will share activities, surveys, suggestions, and topics of interest in their respective schools.
Bristol Central                                         Bristol Eastern
Fatima Aamir - Senior                              Pushpita Hussain - Senior
Isabel Paolina - Junior*                            Max Stavens - Senior* 
                                                                 Rita Gao - Junior
                                          

Rationale: 
Chair Jennifer Dube will update the Board and the public on topics related to the Board of Education.

Rationale: 

Dr. Carbone will report/update the Board on the following topics:

1. District Updates

• Redistricting Information

2. Reimagining BPS 2023

• Update on NEMS Project

Rationale:  Cassin, Christopher - BOE - Supervisor of Athletics - Effective February 1, 2023

Rationale: 
Jacques, Stephanie - CW - 6-12 Mathematics Coach - Effective January 30, 2023

Rationale: 
Coyle, Melaney - ID - Social Worker - Effective January 9, 2023
Therrien, Sydney - BE/BC - Special Education Teacher - Effective Date TBD
Wilson, Rachel - WB - Grade 7 Special Education Teacher - Effective Date  TBD

Rationale: 
Chasse, Erin - EDGE - Elementary Science Leader

Rationale:   

Members of the public are invited to comment to the Board on any topic related to school business. Items requiring consideration by the Board must be approved as an agenda item by a 2/3ds vote of the Board members present.  Such items may be referred for further study and not necessarily acted upon at this meeting.

Anyone wishing to address the Board should adhere to the following procedures:

Before a Remote Meeting -  Submitted Public Comment must be received by 4:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting.

1. Send your comments to: susaneverett@bristolk12.org
2. Be sure to put PUBLIC COMMENT - BOE in the subject line.
3. Include your name and address.
4. Direct your comments to the Board Chair.
5. Your comments will be read at the meeting by the Board Chair.
6. All comments should be written in an appropriate manner, comments regarding personnel or confidential student information shall not be discussed under public comment.
7. Any comments not adhering to the guidelines will not be read at the meeting.

During a Meeting

1. Everyone is requested to address the Chair for recognition.
2. Each speaker must state his/her name and address.
3. All speakers must observe rules of common etiquette.  Personalities are not to be injected. Anyone violating this rule will be denied the floor. Unless waived by the Chairperson or a majority of the Board,
4. Each speaker shall limit his/her remarks to three (3) minutes.
5. A speaker will not be recognized for a second time on the same topic.
6. The public may speak as agenda topics come up for discussion or information.  Anyone digressing from the topic will be ruled out of order.
7. Written statements and materials may be made available, in advance of comments, for distribution to Board members.
8. Speakers shall state their positions on the subject being discussed.
9. Board members will not respond directly to comments during the Board meeting. The Superintendent will direct the question to the appropriate staff member for follow-up

Rationale: 
At the December 14, 2022 Board of Education Finance Committee meeting, a bid waiver was requested for the 21st Century Grant.

Rationale: 
At the December 14, 2022 Board of Education Finance Committee meeting, a bid waiver was requested for the Federal Emergency Connectivity Fund.

Rationale: 
In accordance with Section 1-21 of the Connecticut General Statutes and in keeping with Board of Education policy, a schedule of Board of Education meeting dates for the 2023 calendar year is required by the Town and City Clerk. The meeting will be held on the first Wednesday of every month (except July, August, and September) at 7:00 p.m. virtually or in the Auditorium of the Board of Education Administration Building,  located at 129 Church Street, Bristol, Connecticut.

Rationale: 
At the December 21, 2022, Operations Committee meeting, the committee voted to approve the presented Capitol Improvement Plan (CIP). The next step is for the Board of Education to approve it and forward it to the 10-year CIP Committee and the City Board of Finance.

Rationale: 
At the December 21, 2022, Operations Committee meeting, three options were reviewed for projects at Edgewood School. The preferred option was to move forward with Targeted Alterations. It is the recommendation of the Project Manager to engage with an architect for a conceptual design for this.

Rationale: 
At the December 21, 2022, Operations Committee meeting, the three options were reviewed for projects at Edgewood. The preferred option was to move forward with Targeted Alterations. It is the recommendation of the
Project Manager to engage with an estimator for a conceptual estimate for this.

Rationale: 
At the December 21, 2022, Operations Committee meeting, the committee voted to approve a proposed donation from a relative of a BoE employee. The donation is in the amount of $25,000 and it is to be utilized for batting cages at Bristol Central High School.

Rationale: 

Before Andrea Schacht left BPS for another school district back in October, she had submitted and the board had approved a trip abroad to Peru featuring a trip to Machu Picchu and other Peruvian cultural destinations.  BEHS only has a handful of students and chaperones attending so in order to make the trip happen, BEHS was to partner with another school going.  That other school has since canceled their trip rendering the trip as a whole, canceled.  Justin McDermott, who was kind enough to take over for the trip after Mrs. Schacht’s departure was just recently notified of this change which came from Explorica - the company planning the trip’s itinerary.  In an effort to keep a trip abroad on the same April week for our students, Explorica offered three different packages that would be different but equally culturally enhancing for the students.  Two were Costa Rica packages and one was for the Galapagos Islands.  Ultimately, the families voted for one of the two Costa Rican packages.  Benefits of this package include:

• There would be a significant decrease in cost to your travelers - about $840 will be refunded to each traveler

• While a day shorter than the Peru trip, this tour focuses in on the different cultures of Costa Rica, traveling to both the Pacific and the Caribbean sides of the country, where you’ll be able to partake in activities such as a Caribbean dance lesson, Caribbean flavors coking class, a visit to an Indigenous Reserve that farms cacao beans for chocolate, as well as a relaxing yoga class in a rainforest setting.

• This option provides your students each day with new introductions to the various cultures in Costa Rica 

Rationale: 
In conjunction with core academics, the Bristol Schools Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways are designed to support student exploration of high skill, high demand, and/or high wage careers. Each pathway provides students an opportunity to gain college credit and/or industry recognized credentials.  Students are encouraged to complete a minimum of 1.5 credits in a pathway or concentration area. A pathway is a series of courses designed to support exploration for a specific career objective (i.e Accounting and Finance), whereas a career concentration represents the broader industry (i.e. Business).

Commissioners who have questions can contact Dr. Rechenberg at (860)584-7077or by email, jaimerechenberg@bristolk12.org.

Rationale: 

The Lieutenant Dustin DeMonte and Sergeant Alex Hamzy Public Safety Scholarship Fund was established by the Bristol Police Department and Bristol Public Schools to honor their selfless service, and to remember the sacrifice Dustin and Alex made to the community of Bristol. 

Rationale: 
Dr. Kimberly Culkin, Director of Special Services will update the Board regarding Special Services programs and topics.  
 

Rationale: 

The curriculum is based on the Connecticut Health and Balanced Living Curriculum Framework. Students will participate in activities that promote social-emotional well-being while working on improving physical fitness and team-building skills. They will be given a solid foundation which will extend into an opportunity to develop intermediate and advanced skills. An emphasis will be placed on the importance of a healthy lifestyle and physical fitness to address the increase in childhood diseases.   Students will assess personal needs, interests, abilities, and opportunities related to physical fitness with a focus on personal improvement.

 

The curriculum is designed to allow students to select from a variety of activities:

1. Team sports, e.g., basketball, soccer, volleyball.

2. Individual and health-related activities, e.g., weight training, weight control, walk/jog, aerobic conditioning activities.

3. Lifetime, leisure activities, e.g. Badminton, tennis, and backyard games. 

Rationale: 

This course introduces students to the concepts of Cartooning and other sequential arts.  The units are designed to take the students through the creative process to develop and design their own sequential project.  The units below outline the key learning topics for the half-credit, semester-long course.

Unit 1: Story Arch/ Sequencing

• Students will learn the basics of animating pictures from flip books, to Steamboat Willey, to modern digital sequencing.  Emphasis will be on creating a story arch to be depicted with animation.

Unit 2: Character Development

• Students will learn the elements of character design and how that can be interpreted in their drawings.

Unit 3: Scene Building

• Students will learn the skills of a background artist that generate a background setting and develop a consistent aesthetic to support their story and characters.

Unit 4: Presenting

• All of these elements will be culminated in a presentation of the students work to the larger  community through publications, shows, and displays

Rationale:   

This accelerated course is ideal for students striving to get a head start on real life financial challenges affecting them now and in the future.  Students will take a deeper dive into topics from Personal Finance.  The course will examine personal incomes and budgets, home and consumer financing, insurance of personal assets, personal investing, and retirement planning. Topics will include the time value of money, investments, loans and credit, cash management, taxes, life and health insurance, and estate planning.  Students will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully navigate the complex world of financial literacy.

Students will have the opportunity to articulate the credit with this course with athe Personal Finance course at Tunxis Community College (BFN 110). Students will earn .5 high school credit with the potential to earn three college credits through the Tunxis Community College’s Career Pathways program.

In order to take this course, students must be in grades 10 through 12 and have earned an average of 75 or higher in the prerequisite Personal Finance course.

Rationale: 

Physics teachers met to review three physics textbooks and determine which text best aligned to the University of Connecticut curriculum. Each of the selected textbooks were scored using the district rubric for textbook selection.  The three textbooks reviewed and their rubric score are listed below:

1. AP Physics 1 (Edvantage)-25 on Rubric

2. Physics Principles with Applications (Giancoli)-29 on Rubric

3. College Physics 11th Edition (Serway-Vuille)-44 on Rubric

The physics teachers have selected College Physics 11th edition (Serway-Vuille) as its score shows tight alignment to the University of Connecticut and Bristol ECE Physics curriculum. This is the first reading of the textbooks. Books can be previewed in Dr. Rechenberg’s office during the intervening month.

Rationale: 
The Board will discuss any new business proper to come before the Board.

Rationale: 

Any communications/information regarding building projects:

1. MBIAMS Committee Update
2. High School Culinary Project Update
3. ESSER/ARP Building Committee Update
4. NEMS Building Committee Update

Rationale: 

Commissioners will report to the Board on any groups/organizations in which they serve as Board of Education Liaisons and information pertinent to the Board.

Commissioners at Middle and K-8 Schools will give a liaison report.

Rationale: 
There being no other business to come before the Board, the meeting should be adjourned.