July 9, 2008 at 7:00 PM - July Board Meeting

Rationale:  Mary Eder Ege - Kindergarten Teacher at O'Connell from 1958 - 1974

Rationale:  Pursuant to Robert’s Rules of Order, the following questions are subject to the Board’s vote without debate.  Should a member choose to debate a specific question, he/she will move to lay the question on the table, and it shall become the first item of New Business.  The Board will then vote on the remaining questions.

Rationale:  Marilyn Gawitt - EPH - Grade 2
John Jemes - BEHS - Social Studies

Rationale:  Teresa DeBrito - NEMS - Assistant Principal

Rationale:  Jonathan Kozlak - BEHS - Math
Anne Sypek - BCHS - Special Education

Rationale: 

Richard Block – STAF – Physical Education – Effective 8/25/08 Christopher Carriere – EDGE - .7 Physical Education – Effective 8/25/08 Kelley Matzek-Cook – CHMS – Science, grade 7 – Effective 8/25/08 Wendy Miller – BEHS – Social Studies – Effective 8/25/08 Michele Scavone – ID – Physical Education – Effective 1/5/09 Monika Wierzbicka – BEHS – Math – Effective 8/25/08

Rationale:  Raymond LeCara - MBMS - Language Arts Curriculum Coordinator

Rationale:  Lea McCabe - BCHS - Team Leader (Discovery)
Corey Nagle - CHMS- Science Curriculum Coordinator

Rationale:  John Dauphinee – ID – Grade 4
Leslie Fernandez – BCHS, Art
Alyssa Gokey – CTO, Grade 1
Monica Grezlik – GH/EPH – TESOL
Margaret Negron - CHMS – Special Education
Julie Quinto – BCHS - English

Rationale:  Amy Bisson – Asst. Girls Soccer & Asst. Softball Coach – BEHS, eff. 6/20/08
Kevin Fuller – Baseball Coach – NEMS, eff. 6/18/08
Kelli LeBeau – Asst. Volleyball Coach , eff. 6/23/08

Rationale:  The continuation grant  for the Family Resource Center Grant at O’Connell School will permit the FRC to continue services to families and students.  O’Connell School FRC has been operating for the past ten years providing seven components of service including preschool playgroups and programming, school age care, Parents As Teachers home visiting program, home daycare provider training and support, adult education support, positive youth development and resource & referral services.  Almost 400 O’Connell School students and family members have the opportunity to participate in one or more of the components of the Family Resource Center. The after school program in partnership with the Family Center provides mentoring, homework help and a variety of age appropriate activities.  In all of these programs there is a close working relationship with the O’Connell school staff and as a result there is improved communication between the school, family and community. This is year two in a two year grant cycle for a $102,000 allocation.

Rationale:  The continuation grant  for the Family Resource Center Grant at South Side School will permit the FRC to continue services to families and students.  South Side School FRC has been operating for the past ten years providing seven components of service including preschool playgroups and programming, school age care, Parents As Teachers home visiting program, home daycare provider training and support, adult education support, positive youth development and resource & referral services.  Almost 600 South Side School students and family members have the opportunity to participate in one or more of the components of the Family Resource Center. The after school program in partnership with the Family Center provides mentoring, homework help and a variety of age appropriate activities.  In all of these programs there is a close working relationship with the South Side School staff and as a result there is improved communication between the school, family and community.The continuation grant for year 2 of 2year grant cycle is $102,000 allocations

Rationale:  Grant funds are used to pay student work stipends. Continuation of grant funding for the SOS program is used for training and providing work experiences for disabled students from Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern High Schools. The National Organization on Disability has authorized student stipend dollars remaining in the 2007-2008 academic year to be held over to the 2008-2009 academic year.

Rationale:  ELL Curriculum was last updated in 1998.  Since the CT Dept of Education adopted the ELL Frameworks, the ELL Curriculum has been aligned and presented to the Student Achievement Committee for approval.

Rationale:  The social studies curriculum for middle school courses was revised and approved in July 2006.  We have just completed our second year of full implementation.  The social studies teachers and I met on a regular basis throughout the year to discuss curriculum implementation.  As teachers used the curriculum to design daily instruction, they found that minor revisions were needed to best meet the needs of students.  Such changes include changing wording of essential questions to clarify concepts, adding objectives to fill gaps in students’ learning, and/or deleting objectives which students have demonstrated they have already mastered.  The Student Achievement Committee of the Board of Education met on June 12^th for the first reading of this curriculum.

Rationale: 

The Physical Education curriculum was redesigned last year to reflect current and best practice. After a final review, it went to the Student Achievement Committee on June 12th for its first reading.

Rationale: 

The social studies curriculum for middle school courses was revised and approved in July 2006.  The textbooks currently used for U.S. history, grade 8, are ten years old, last purchased in 1998.  The books were currently have are worn and dated, even though the content of early of early American history hasn’t changed.  Textbooks have improved considerably in the past ten years in terms of the variety of ways in which students can access information, including on-line, the variety of ways in which current research on instructional pedagogy is used to present the information, and the number of partnerships publishing companies have developed with other information sources such as National Geographic and Time Magazine.  Student learning will only be supported by the purchase of a more recent textbook.  Additionally, since the grade 8 U.S. history curriculum covers up to Reconstruction, we will be able to purchase a textbook that only provides the content necessary, cutting the length (and weight) of our current textbook in half.

 

The committees of social studies teachers is recommending for approval the following textbook:

• The American Journey:  The Early Years, published by Glencoe McGraw-Hill.

Rationale:  This policy is being revised to include a state regulation regarding referral of students to the Planning and Placement Team is they demonstrate persistent lack of academic success. The addition of this language brings this policy into compliance with state statutes. The proposed changes to these regulations are meant to clarify promotion and retention protocols at the middle school level and to amend some language regarding courses taken in summer school.

Rationale:  A revision to the current policy regarding graduation requirements is needed.  In the current policy, students who did not demonstrate proficiency in writing on the CAPT wrote responses to three prompts in their U.S. history course taken in their junior year.  Since we have revised the social studies curriculum and students will no longer take U.S. history as a junior, we needed to revise the regulations of the current policy.  In the proposed revision, all students in English III will maintain a writing portfolio.  Those students who have not demonstrated proficiency in writing on the CAPT will submit three pieces of writing to a scoring committee.  The scoring committee will determine if students have demonstrated proficiency based on the student’s performance using the same process that has been in place under the current policy.

Rationale:  Before the Children's Trust Fund Grant can implement the Parent Ledership Training Program, they are requiring a corporate resolution certifying the Superintendent as the Bristol Board of Education signatory.

Rationale:  The Operations committee was unable to approve the plans and specifications for the two roofing projects in April, as scheduled. In order to take advantage of current bids for these roofing projects the Board will have to approve the plans and specifications as presented. The CSDE will not reimburse these roofing projects until special legislation is approved in the next legislative session. We have already contacted corporate counsel who will contact our legislators to propose such legislation.

Rationale:  Each year (or off year) the Board of Education votes on awarding an insurance contract to an agency to provide student accident insurance as well as sport insurance.

Rationale: 

Rationale:  Dan Dziedzic, Director of the O’Connell School Extended Learning Program, applied for a grant through the Main Street Community Foundation to enhance science education for our students at the Indian Rock Nature Preserve. This grant is sponsored by the Bristol Brass General Fund Grant, Schumann Special Interest Fund, Gnazzo-Reidy Fund and Edward & Audrey Mink Fund at the Main Street Community Foundation.

Rationale:  For the purpose of discussing:

1. Special Education Litigation in the case of C.T. v. Bristol BOE.
2. 818 Negotiations/Contracts
3. Crossing GuardsNegotiations/Contracts