Minutes
Quincy, MASSACHUSETTS – January 24, 2024
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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, January 24, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. in the School Committee Room at the Coddington Building. Superintendent Kevin Mulvey called the roll and present were Mayor Thomas P. Koch, School Committee Chair and School Committee Members Mr. Paul Bregoli, Mrs. Kathryn Hubley, Mrs. Emily Lebo, Mrs. Courtney Perdios, and School Committee Vice Chair Mrs. Tina Cahill.
Also present were: Superintendent Kevin Mulvey, Assistant Superintendent Erin Perkins, Ms. Kim Connolly, Mr. Michael Draicchio, Ms. Julie Graham, Ms. Andrea Huwar, Mr. Michael Marani, Mr. James Mullaney, Ms. Maura Papile, Mr. Keith Segalla; NQHS Student Representative Amy Tan, QHS Student Representative Mina Al-Takriti; and Ms. Laura Owens, Clerk.
School Committee Member Mr. Doug Gutro was absent.
School Committee observed a moment of silence for the following Quincy Public Schools employees and retirees who passed away recently: Christine Fiander (active staff member), a Grade 2 teacher at Marshall Elementary School for eleven years; Marybeth Phillips (active staff member) Paraprofessional for 39 years at Lincoln Hancock, Quincy High School, Squantum, and most recently at Snug Harbor; Deborah Ali, a Language Arts teacher for 20 years at Sterling Middle School, Atherton Hough and Atlantic Middle School; Ann-Marie Amendolare, a substitute teacher for 22 years; and Jean Maver, Paraprofessional for 15 years at the Quincy Vo-Tech EVA Program
Mrs. Cahill 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. Hubley made a motion to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting for December 13, 2023. Mrs. Lebo seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Mrs. Lebo made a motion to approve the minutes of the Executive Session for December 13, 2023. Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Mr. Bregoli made a motion to approve the minutes of the Organizational Meeting for January 10, 2024. Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
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Open Forum
As no one 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 opened the Superintendent’s Report by noting that Kindergarten Registration for the 2024-2025 school year is underway, with the online link for families to pre-register posted on the Quincy Public Schools website and social media. Pre-registered families will be contacted by school secretaries and Central Registration beginning on February 5 to schedule registration appointments. 300 families have already pre-registered as we begin the process of welcoming the Quincy Public Schools Class of 2037.
On January 17, there was a community meeting for the new Squantum Elementary School project, where the preliminary design for the new school was presented. Participants had the opportunity to ask questions and hear about the next steps in the Squantum school building project. On Wednesday, January 31, the schematic design will be presented to the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s Facilities Assessment Subcommittee for review before being presented to the full MSBA Board.
Thanks to School Committee member Paul Bregoli’s suggestion, the Quincy Police Department Traffic Supervisors (crossing guards) recently received new hand-held STOP signs to assist them in directing traffic and keeping our students safe as they walk to school each day.
On January 15, the Grade 8 Ambassadors from our middle schools participated in the Project 351 Day of Service with Grade 8 students from cities and towns all over Massachusetts. This was the fourteenth year our students have participated in this program and volunteered at programs like Cradles to Crayons and Project Bread. The students have been invited to the February 7 School Committee Meeting to be recognized.
Next week, all Grade 8 students at each middle school will learn about the basics of CPR in their Health classes through the Matter of Heart Initiative. On Saturday, February 3, Grade 8 students and parents are invited to attend a free American Heart Association CPR-AED certification course. Special thanks to Health Services Coordinator Andrea Huwar and our partner Brewster EMS for their support of this initiative.
The North Quincy High School STEM Fair will be held on Tuesday, February 6 and Quincy High School will host theirs on Thursday, February 8, both starting at 5:30 pm. Members of the community are invited to volunteer as a judge for either or both of the STEM Fair events. Links to sign up are found on the Quincy Public Schools website and social media.
Quincy's Early College High School Pathway Symposium will be held on Friday, February 9, 9:00 a.m. at the Boston Marriott Quincy. Early College High School Pathway Students, High School and Quincy College Faculty, members of the Superintendent’s Leadership Team, and staff from the State Street Foundation and RTI International will participate in the morning’s activities, along with Mayor Koch, the Massachusetts Secretary of Education Patrick Tutweiler, Speaker of the House Ron Mariano, Massachusetts Board of Elementary & Secondary Education Chair Katherine Craven, and Department of Elementary & Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley. School Committee members have also been invited to attend, please RSVP at the link that was emailed to you.
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Old Business
School Committee
Policy 2.5.7
Mr. Bregoli introduced the proposed revision of School Committee Policy 2.5.7 School Committee-Staff Communications. The revision was approved in Policy Subcommittee in December and is on the agenda for discussion and eligible for vote at the February 7, 2024 meeting.
Mrs. Perdios requested background information on the proposed Policy revision.
Mrs. Hubley said that School Committee attorney Sarah Spatafore, developed this with the Brockton School Committee and it was subsequently adopted by the Massachusetts Association of School Committees for its Policy Book.
Mrs. Perdios would like to add the to the Policy that informal communication between School Committee and staff should be allowed. Mrs. Perdios asked if the City Solicitor can express an opinion on whether this limits the free speech for the staff or School Committee. Mrs. Perdios asked what the ramifications would be for the violation of this Policy. Mrs. Perdios said that she will not support the Policy as written when it is eligible for vote.
Mrs. Lebo said that the Policy states official communication, is not meant to limit informal communication. Mrs. Lebo said that School Committee has its own legal counsel to provide advice, this Policy was written by the School Committee’s attorney. Mrs. Lebo suggested that the word “official” be added to the first sentence paragraph on Staff Communications to the School Committee.
Mrs. Perdios made a motion to add “official” to the first sentence between “All” and “communications.” The motion was seconded by Mrs. Lebo.
On the motion, Mr. Bregoli agreed with Mrs. Hubley about taking the advice of School Committee’s Legal counsel and adopting the Policy as written.
On a roll call vote, the motion to amend the proposed revision to School Committee Policy section 2.5.7 did not pass, as there was a 3-3 tie. Mayor Koch, Mrs. Lebo, and Mrs. Perdios voted YES and Mr. Bregoli, Mrs. Cahill, and Mrs. Hubley voted NO.
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New Business
Student Opportunity
Act Overview
Assistant Superintendent Erin Perkins and Director of Business James Mullaney presented an overview of the process of reviewing the application for Student Opportunity Act Funding, this is a renewal of the funding received in 2020 just prior to COVID-19. The purpose of the Act is to inject significant funding into the Commonwealth’s education system; this is not a grant. Each school district must set clear targets for improving disparities in achievement among student groups and develop a three-year plan to implement evidence-based strategies to meet their targets. The SOA plan is due to be submitted April 1, 2024, with progress updates due annually in 2025 and 2026 and a new three-year plan due in April 2027. The first step will be to identify disparities in learning experiences and outcomes for student groups and then to explore underlying factors contributing to those disparities (instructional data, curriculum materials, instructional strategies, perspective data, and systems and structures that support student learning). DESE will be providing individual district improvement targets for ELA and Mathematics for the lowest performing student groups in late January.
DESE has provided three strategic objectives/focus areas, districts can choose one, two, or three of these. (1) Cultivate systems to support the whole student and foster joyful, healthy, and supportive learning environments so that all students feel valued, connected, nourished, and ready to learn (social-emotional learning); (2) promote deeper learning so that all students engage in grade-level work that is real-world, relevant, and interactive (curriculum and interventions, including screening tools); (3) develop and sustain a workforce that is diverse, culturally responsive, well-prepared, and committed to continuous improvement, so that all students have equitable access to effective educators (workforce diversity initiatives). Under these objectives, districts must select evidence-based program, designate metrics that will be used to measure progress for the lowest-performing students group.
Community input is an important part of the SOA development and there will be a series of public meetings (ELPAC, SEPAC, parents, and staff) to share a proposed plan and gather input on priorities. In addition, local community members should be also informed of the plan development. Ms. Perkins said many of the focus areas and evidence-based programs are initiatives that are already underway in Quincy Public Schools. This funding may provide options to expand targeted areas.
Mr. Mullaney said that in 2020, each district was supposed to be allocated additional Chapter 70 funding, Quincy Public Schools was designated to receive $6.6 million ($3 million for continuing expenses and $3.6 million for targeted programs). Once the state was impacted by COVID-19, the first year of the funding was delayed to the 2021-2022 school year. This SOA submission will be complicated due to the fact that the Chapter 70 funding number will not be provided ahead of time, so we have to predict the funding. The original SOA was built on anticipated $6.6 million increase; Quincy received $3.2 million in FY22 and additional $3.5 million in FY2023. ESSER funds supplemented the funding gap so the original SOA costs were covered. Since the new SOA plan needs to be submitted before the FY2025 budget is developed, this may be a reallocation of existing funding plus anticipated funding.
Ms. Perkins then shared some initial thoughts on data, focus area, and evidence-based programs including out of school suspensions, chronic absenteeism, dropout rate, ACCESS (% of English Learners making progress toward proficiency targets), and MCAS (% Meeting or Exceeding Expectations). Focus areas will include promoting students’ physical and mental health and wellness; implementing a multi-tiered system of supports; selecting and skillfully implementing high-quality and engaging instructional materials (English Learner curriculum needs to be replaced, along with developing a comprehensive approach to early literacy); and reimagining the high school experience (authentic post-secondary planning; high-quality secondary pathways and programs).
Ms. Perkins reviewed the timeline beginning with tonight’s presentation: January and February will be spent on analyzing data and identifying areas of focus. Stakeholder meetings and surveys will be conducted in late February and early March. The plan will be presented to School Committee for final vote on March 20, and submitted on April 1.
Mrs. Lebo asked when the Chapter 70 allocation information is available, Mr. Mullaney said that the preliminary information is usually shared in February. Mayor Koch noted that at the state level, revenue is down and is not expecting an increase and possibly not even level-service Chapter 70 funding. Mayor Koch said the Chapter 70 funding is allocated to the City’s General Fund and not all school expenses are expended in the School budget.
Mrs. Lebo is concerned about the emphasis on lowest-performing students, there will always be students in this category, regardless of overall improvement.
Mrs. Perdios is concerned about the timeline, will there be enough time to meet with stakeholders and incorporate their input into SOA plan revisions. Ms. Perkins said that we will have to work within the time frame, she has already made contact with the QEA about beginning the process with educators.
Mrs. Perdios asked if the evidence-based programs have to be new, Ms. Perkins said we can quantify the current usage or expanding on programs we already have.
Mrs. Perdios noted that the opening of the RDLC will also impact the FY2025 budget for additional professional and support staff that will be needed. Mr. Mullaney said that planning for those budget impacts is underway.
Mrs. Cahill asked if there is a certain percentage of the current budget that needs to be allocated to the SOA, Ms. Perkins said there isn’t a requirement. Every district, regardless of the level of Chapter 70 funding, is required to submit an SOA plan.
Mr. Bregoli asked for clarification, the English Learner staff and Coordinator Heather Wojcik had already identified replacing the curriculum as an area of need, there are curriculum pilots of new materials underway.
Mr. Bregoli asked about analyzing the reasons why students may have chronic absenteeism and suspension issues. Ms. Perkins said for older students, this may be a matter of analyzing program needs, would some of these students benefit from alternate school options such as Quincy Evening High School. We have already created a program for English Learners at Quincy Evening High School and are working with twelve students who were not flourishing in a traditional high school model.
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New Business
CPPI Grant
Assistant Superintendent Erin Perkins presented on the FY2024 Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative (CPPI) Planning and Implementation Grant opportunity, focused on increasing access to high-quality preschool supports for high needs students. Currently, students may attend the part-time QPS Pre-Kindergarten program, attend a private full-day program, or have no preschool experience prior to attending Kindergarten. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy, through the department of Early Education & Childcare has created this grant opportunity to develop partnerships between school districts and local private early education and care programs, with preference for Gateway cities with a high percentage of high-needs students, already providing early learning programming, and have outside options for local EEC-licensed early learning providers to partner with and funding streams to support additional grant-funded classrooms.
There are two possible entry points: a $50,000 grant for this spring can be used to fund the early planning stage, form a leadership team, and hire an outside firm to do a needs assessment and an additional FY2025 grant of $375,000 to continue those activities, develop a strategic action plan, and to implement the plan to open the new classrooms in Fall 2025. For districts that are already further along in the process and have a completed a need assessment, there is an accelerated timeline and additional immediate funding for Fall 2024 implementation.
Other considerations for the grant include that current classrooms can be converted to CPPI classrooms which must operate on a full-day, five day a week schedule. Classrooms can be located district school buildings or in other child-care facilities; grant funds may not be the sole funding source for any classroom.
Applications are due February 16, 2024 and awards will be announced by March 1. If the grant is received, there will be a number of initial steps to be completed by the end of the school year, including executing Memoranda of Agreement with partners, creating a leadership team, and hiring a consultant for the needs assessment.
Mrs. Lebo said this is a great opportunity, but it will be an additional budget cost for Quincy Public Schools. Mrs. Lebo asked how many students will be impacted. Ms. Perkins said for public schools, the ratios are 15 students for each teacher in a Pre-Kindergarten classroom, so $375,000 would fund two to three classrooms, covering salaries for teachers and paraprofessionals and curriculum materials.
Mayor Koch is concerned about the long-term availability of grant funding and said that his understanding is that many local partners are full and have waiting lists.
Mrs. Perdios asked how families would be identified for the seats. Ms. Perkins said the criteria would be determined by the needs assessment.
Mrs. Perdios asked what would be the incentive for the private partners, Ms. Perkins said that the grant funding would pay the costs for the students to attend the private program.
Mrs. Perdios asked if the teacher would be a QPS employee or an employee of the private school, Ms. Perkins said that this would be determined through the development of the strategic action plan. Superintendent Mulvey said that QPS would need some advisory oversight for the partnership classrooms.
Mr. Bregoli asked for and received confirmation that these would be integrated classrooms.
Mrs. Cahill asked if the Quincy Public Schools Pre-Kindergarten curriculum would be used in a private school setting, Ms. Perkins said yes, and attending Professional Development and curriculum trainings would be required.
Mrs. Cahill said that this is a long-term budget challenge, if we establish these classrooms and then grant funding is gone after a few years, QPS will be faced with absorbing the classrooms. Mrs. Cahill suggested QCAP as a partner as they have multiple grant funding opportunities.
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New Business
Donation: Hats,
Mittens & Scarves
(VOTE)
Superintendent Mulvey thanked the Seaside Stitchers from the Kennedy Center; the local knitting group Purl Jam; Grace Young, Maryanne Walsh, Joanne Morrissey, and many others for their generous donation of hats, mittens, and scarves for Quincy Public Schools students. Health Services Coordinator Andrea Huwar distributed to the school nurses and Homelessness Coordinator Leslie Bridson to share with students as needed.
Mrs. Hubley made a motion to accept the donation of hats, mittens, and scarves for Quincy Public Schools students. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Lebo and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 6-0. Mr. Gutro was absent.
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New Business
Donation from the
Quincy City Club (VOTE)
Superintendent Mulvey announced that the Quincy City Club recently made a donation of $2,500.00 to support the work of Leslie Bridson with students and families struggling with homelessness.
Mayor Koch made a motion to accept the donation of $2,500.00 from the Quincy City Club for Quincy Public Schools homeless students. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Hubley and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 6-0. Mr. Gutro was absent.
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New Business
Donation from the
Randy C. Wolfe Music
Trust (VOTE)
Superintendent Mulvey announced that the Quincy Public Schools Music Program recently received a donation of $17,000.00 from the Randy C. Wolfe Trust. This annual donation is funded by the royalties from Mr. Wolfe’s music publishing catalog and greatly appreciated by our instrumental and choral music programs.
Mrs. Lebo made a motion to accept the donation of $17,000.00 from the Randy C. Wolfe Trust for the Quincy Public Schools Music department. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Perdios and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 6-0. Mr. Gutro was absent.
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New Business
Grant from Treasurer
Goldberg’s Office
(VOTE)
Superintendent Mulvey announced that the Quincy Public Schools recently received a grant of $2,500.00 from Massachusetts State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg’s Office of Consumer Affairs & Business Regulation for the high school Credit for Life Fair.
Mrs. Hubley made a motion to accept the grant of $2,500.00 from Massachusetts State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg’s Office of Consumer Affairs & Business Regulation for the high school Credit for Life Fair. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Lebo and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 6-0. Mr. Gutro was absent.
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New Business
Referral of SIP Facilities Needs to the Facilities Subcommittee
Mrs. Hubley made a motion to move School Improvement Plan Facilities Needs to the Facilities, Transportation & Security Subcommittee. Mr. Bregoli seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
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New Business
Overnight/In State
Travel (VOTE)
Mayor Koch made a motion to approve the Overnight Travel/In State of Quincy High School Robotics Team to the FIRST Robotics Competition at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts from March 28-April 1, 2024. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Hubley and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
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New Business
Overnight/Out of State
Travel (VOTE)
Mrs. Lebo made a motion to approve the Overnight/Out of State Travel of Central Middle School Grade 8 to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania from June 4 to June 6, 2024. Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Mrs. Perdios made a motion to approve the Overnight/Out of State Travel of Point Webster Middle School Grade 8 to New York City, New York on June 6-7, 2024. Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Mrs. Perdios requested future discussion of the cost of Grade 8 field trips; these have grown more expensive
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Additional Business
There was no additional business.
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Communications
Mrs. Cahill noted upcoming School Committee Regular Meetings on February 7, 2024; March 6 and March 20, 2024 at 6:30 pm at the Coddington Building. The Teaching & Learning Subcommittee will meet on January 31, 2024 at 6:00 pm.
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Reports of
Subcommittees
Mrs. Cahill reported on the November 15, 2023 Athletics & Wellness Subcommittee, where Athletic Director Kevin Mahoney presented an update on Fall 2023 Athletics and a preview of Winter 2023-24 Athletics.
Mrs. Lebo reviewed the Teaching & Learning Subcommittee meetings held on November 29, December 4, 6, and 11, 2023 where the School Improvement Plans and the Career Vocational Technical Education Plan were presented and approved.
Mrs. Hubley reviewed the Special Education Subcommittee meeting held on November 29, 2023 where the Special Education Program Improvement Plan was presented and approved and the SEPAC board presented an update on recent and upcoming events and their goals for 2023-2024.
Mr. Bregoli reviewed the Policy Subcommittee from December13, 2023 which was a review and approval of the proposed revised School Committee Policy 2.5.7 discussed earlier this evening.
As there were no corrections to the minutes of the November 15, 2023 Athletics & Wellness; November 29, 2023 Joint Teaching & Learning and Special Education; December 4, 6, and 11, 2023 Teaching & Learning; and December 13, 2023 Policy Subcommittee meetings, the minutes are approved as submitted.
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Executive Session
There was no Executive Session.
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Adjournment
Mayor Koch made a motion to adjourn at 8:20 p.m. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Lebo and on a voice vote, the ayes gave it.
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