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MINUTES OF MEETING
JACKSON SCHOOL BOARD
Jackson Grammar School
May 28, 2013
1. Call to Order: The May 28th meeting of the Jackson School Board was called to order at 6:30 p.m. Present were Genn Anzaldi, Keith Bradley, Lauren Synnott, Andrew Kearns, Dr. Carl Nelson and Principal, Gayle Dembowski. There was one staff member present.
2. Approve Minutes (4-10-13) – Motion by Mr. Bradley, second by Mr. Kearns, to approve the Minutes of the April 10th meeting as circulated. Motion carried with 3 votes in the affirmative and 1 abstention (Kearns).
3. Citizen Comments: None
4. Presentation of School Programs/FYI Items:
- SAU – Other School Board Reports - Dr. Nelson announced the next SAU Board meeting will be held on June 13th at 6:30 p.m. at the Conway Professional Development Center.
B. FYI – Letter from Auditors – Annual report furnished by Auditor.
5. Old Business: None.
6. Instructional Issues:
A. Proposed Configuration for 2013-14 – K/1 – 11 students; 2/3 – 10 students; 4/5 – 15 students; 6 – 11 students. Mr. Bradley questioned the 4/5 configuration. Heather Woodward noted the last time they had 4/5 was three years ago and it worked great. Ms. Robert and Ms. Woodward will work together again across 4,5,6. Ms. Dembowski noted the PTO has reviewed the proposed configuration and no significant objections were expressed.
- Consider Approval of Summer Program and/or Curriculum Work – Ms.
Dembowski reported SAU #9 is working on a new report card and JGS does not have the software to access it; however, Ms. Woodward is working on it to see if they can get it on line. She noted also Kristen Groves has some work she wants to do in getting some of the new Common Core Standards on line.
Motion was made by Ms. Synnott, seconded by Mr. Bradley, that the Board approve the proposed summer program and/or curriculum work. Motion carried by unanimous vote. Ms. Anzaldi requested that at the first meeting after the close of the summer program Ms. Woodward present a review to the Board. Ms. Woodward agreed, noting she will also be upgrading the report card to a medium that is easily accessible and will report on that as well.
7. Consider Personnel Actions:
A. Extension of Gayle Dembowski’s Contract as Teaching Principal – Motion was made by Mr. Kearns, seconded by Ms. Synnott, that the Board approve extension of the contract for the Teaching Principal as recommended. Ms. Dembowski stated this year has been the best year since she began at JGS, the staff has done a great job, everything is all lined up. Mr. Kearns said he has also heard, across the board, it has been a great year. Motion carried by unanimous vote. The Chair thanked Ms. Dembowski for her work and dedication.
B. Election of Personnel for 2013-14 – Motion made by Mr. Bradley, second by Mr. Kearns, that the Board approve election of personnel for 2013-14 as recommended. Mr. Bradley questioned asterisks accompanying the names of four employees [*recommended pending their filing for certification renewal prior to June 30, 2013, receiving a certificate from the DOE, and filing a copy with the SAU office no later than 8/2/13]. Ms. Dembowski explained that is there because it is something that normally gets done. She has signed off and paperwork has been submitted. Motion carried by unanimous vote.
C. Election of Summer Program and ESY Staff – Motion was made by Mr. Kearns, seconded by Ms. Synnott, to approve election of Summer Recreation and ESY Personnel as recommended. Mr. Bradley questioned how much we lose on this every year. Ms. Dembowski said they have budgeted $9,000 for this year, they typically take in $3,000 to $5,000. Mr. Bradley questioned whether, if we are losing $6,000 a year, we can pay to have the kids enrolled in the Bartlett Recreation Program. Mr. Kearns said he does not look at it as losing $6,000. Mr. Bradley said it comes up at town meetings. Mr. Kearns said if there was a big concern we would have to look at whether we could take it out of the budget. Ms. Dembowski noted that as regards the ESY position, that is mandated. She pointed out also
that Bartlett does a real “recreation camp," Jackson does more enrichment and it is much more instructional. Ms. Synnott noted also a lot of kids are not comfortable moving to another program. Motion carried by unanimous vote.
8. Business Affairs:
- FYI – 2012-13 Budget Status Report – Dr. Nelson noted they are still in pretty good shape with the budget.
9. Administrator’s Reports:
- Superintendent –
- The New NORMAL for Public Education – Dr. Nelson provided copy of a presentation made at a Commissioner’s meeting by Mark Joyce, Executive Director of NH School Administrators’ Assn., which points out how the face of public education has changed in New Hampshire, showing declining enrollment, dwindling resources, etc.
Dr. Nelson referred to correspondence from the attorney regarding electioneering during elections and the Board’s preferences as to how it is to be handled with regard to campaigning, etc. He was directed to research this and report back at the next Board meeting.
- Principal –
1. Excellence Committee – Ms. Dembowski had not had an opportunity to print out or consolidate the survey. This will be addressed under Old Business at the June meeting.
- Wounded Warrior Fun Run Fundraiser - Ms. Woodward reported the 6th Grade has chosen the Wounded Warrior Program as a class project and is planning a Fun Run on June 1st in Whitaker Woods which will include a trivia segment with information being posted along the way. She noted there is no cost to the school, it is all done by fundraising. Also local Veterans will be invited to attend. Ms. Anzaldi reported that Dr. Carrier expressed to her that he was overwhelmed by what we do here with this project.
- Heather Woodward Action Research Project – Ms. Woodward announced she is doing a degree program for her Master’s Degree, monitoring the transition of students going over to Bartlett, including things we intentionally do to put the kids together and how we handle their anxiety regarding the transition. She noted they have always done surveys after the first quarter, but this is a little more formalized. She said as soon as approved, she will get consent from both Principals, asking them to complete an on-line survey; students and parents will participate as well, but no names will be included. She will report back. The Chair offered help and support.
- National DAR Essay Winner – Ms. Woodward announced JGS does the DAR essay contest every year and has had three winners. This year’s winner of local, state, regional and finally national, was Aidan Hagerty and he will be going to Washington, DC.
Ms. Dembowski noted also that Kristen Groves was nominated 2013 Tin Mt. Environmental Educator of the Year.
- Review Tuition Proposal from the Enrollment Task Force – Ms. Dembowski noted they are working on a way to bring in more students. A draft of a tuition agreement was provided using a format similar to that used by Waterville public school, including the process proposed by the Task Force. The Board will need to decide how applications will be processed and what tuition rate they would require. Mr. Bradley will attend the next Task Force meeting for further discussion. Ms. Anzaldi questioned what happens if there is a student with special needs. Ms. Dembowski said it is
stated in the contract that JGS is not responsible for transportation or any special services required. She said it is hoped to have this in place to advertise for next year, but they may not be ready for that – they still need information for setting the tuition rate – the number Waterville uses is $8,000 a year; they have looked at Waldorf School and Lilliputian. Mr. Bradley questioned whether there are things we can apply for State-wide. Ms. Dembowski said not from the State unless you are completely charter. Mr. Kearns said he thinks it is a great avenue to go down – there are always people who are looking for something different for their child.
Ms. Anzaldi said there is a surge in local MWV between the housing coalition, Economic Council and Chamber of Commerce looking at new residences, etc. in the valley. Ms. Dembowski noted June 5th there is a housing committee meeting, looking at a property on Main Street as potential affordable housing. Ms. Anzaldi agreed to attend.
Ms. Synnott questioned the 60-day provision for expelling a student. Mr. Kearns said regarding attendance, if it is not a disciplinary thing, they could still not pass. It was noted this will be discussed at the Committee meeting which is to be held on June 13th at 4:00 p.m.
10. Citizen Comments: None.
11. Board Member Issues:
- Set Date for Next Meeting – June 18, 2013 at 6:00 p.m.
Ms. Anzaldi, making reference to the Report Card, questioned writing scores for our 5th Grade, noting it seems unusual. Ms. Woodward said there are two writing tests – one is a variety test including multiple choice, the second one was extremely long and our kids did not write as much. It was noted staff has looked at how the children responded individually; she said the kids did not follow all of the directions and we came up short on long responses which really affected our scores. Ms. Dembowski said also we use a developmental writing process here more than many schools do, and do less teaching of responding to readings of informational text as test preparation. She said the scores were lower than we would like and we have worked on responding to informational text all year –
unfortunately these children will not be tested again until 8th grade. It was noted that Common Core Standards will require more informational writing. Ms. Woodward noted the staff has been meeting extra days trying to better understand the Common Core Standards.
12. Signing of Manifest: Manifests were duly signed.
13. Nonpublic Session: None.
14. Adjourn: Motion by Ms. Anzaldi, second by Mr. Kearns, that the meeting be adjourned at 7:02 p.m. Carried by unanimous vote.
Respectfully submitted,
Gail T. Currier, Recording Secretary
June Agenda
Old Business:
Excellence Committee Report
Policy for electioneering
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