Board of Education Meeting Minutes

November 18, 2008

ATTENDANCE: Susan Hamilton, Migdalia Rivas, Jody Bishop-Pullan, Gregory Burnett, Rosa Murray, Glenn Iannaccone, Jack Chiaramonte

STAFF: Dr. Salvatore Corda, Superintendent of Schools

CALL TO ORDER

Ms. Hamilton called the meeting to order.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Ms. Hamilton then led those present in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS

** MS. RIVAS MOVED TO NOMINATE MS. ROSA MURRAY FOR CHAIR. ** MS. BISHOP-PULLAN SECONDED.

Mr. Kimmel announced that he would be abstaining from the nomination because objected to walking into a meeting and had to make the decision on the spot. He said that he had no doubt that the candidate would do an excellent job, but objected to the process. Mr. Burnett said that he also would be abstaining for the same reason and there has been no discussion of process or the candidates that are being brought forward. Ms. Rivas commented that this information was in the Board packet on Friday and any questions as to what was going to be on the agenda, it could have been addressed. Mr. Kimmel said that it was general practice in legislative bodies that the candidates are announced informally or formally so that those voting can discuss things with the candidates. He said that he had received the packet and in the past, candidates had called him and asked him for his support. This time he had no idea who would be on the slate.

** THE MOTION PASSED WITH SIX IN FAVOR (CHIARAMONTE, IANNACCONE, BISHOP-PULLAN, MURRAY, RIVAS AND HAMILTON) AND TWO ABSTENTIONS (BURNETT AND KIMMEL).

Ms. Murray assumed the duties of the Chair.

** MS. HAMILTON MOVED TO NOMINATE MS. BISHOP-PULLAN AS VICE CHAIR. ** MS. RIVAS SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED WITH SIX IN FAVOR (CHIARAMONTE, IANNACCONE, BISHOP-PULLAN, MURRAY, RIVAS AND HAMILTON) AND TWO ABSTENTIONS (BURNETT AND KIMMEL).

** MR. IANNACCONE NOMINATED MR. CHIARAMONTE FOR SECRETARY. ** MS. RIVAS SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED WITH SIX IN FAVOR (CHIARAMONTE, IANNACCONE, BISHOP-PULLAN, MURRAY, RIVAS AND HAMILTON) AND TWO ABSTENTIONS (BURNETT AND KIMMEL).

SPOTLIGHT ON THE NORWALK PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Mr. Chiaramonte presented the Spotlight on the Norwalk Public Schools. Certificates of Achievements were presented to the principals of Tracey Elementary School, Nathan Hale Middle School, Kendall Elementary School, Jefferson Science Magnet School and Brookside Elementary School on behalf of the staff at these schools.

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

Dr. Corda congratulated the new Board Officers. He said that the recognition given by ConnCan shows that improvement was taking place across the District and this was also documented by hard data. The achievement gap is decreasing, but there is still a lot of work to do.

Update on District Improvement Plan

The State has requested that the District submit an improvement plan and this has been in progress. There has been a strong focus on literacy, numeracy and expanding the involvement with the community in the life of the schools. Part of the District Improvement Plan calls for periodic updates to be provided to the Board.

Mr. Daddona will now present an update to the Board and those present as to where the District is in terms of that plan.

Mr. Daddona came forward and reviewed the situation regarding the data teams across the District. He stated that all nineteen schools have submitted data team outlines, who was on the data teams, and their meeting schedules. It has been a community effort.

Mr. Daddona then presented a PowerPoint program to those present. This included the dates for the meetings, agendas and timelines. Also, there will be a meeting scheduled for the principals to discuss various strategies that work in their various schools.

The various data teams will be creating assessments in each of the three focus areas for each individual school. Dr. Corda said that it would be important to remember that the Board would hearing a lot about data teams. What makes a data team effective is not how well they can collect or analyze data, it is how well the data is used to inform teaching practice. If the outcome of the data teams does not change what is going on in the classroom, it will not benefit anyone. They provide critical information to the staff and the staff uses this information to influence classroom practice.

Mr. Daddona then reviewed the assessment dates for the various grades with everyone.

Mr. Burnett then asked which meeting would be the best one to attend if a Board member wished to observe. Mr. Daddona then suggested the upcoming meetings on the various aspects that would best for observations. Dr. Corda explained that the Board would be receiving these types of reports periodically to keep them informed of the progress being made. The information will also be posted on the website to keep the community informed, also.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Ms. Joan Webster came forward and stated that she teaches at Nathan Hale Middle School. She said that after thirty six years of teaching in Norwalk, this has been a positive experience. Ms. Webster said that she and Ms. Loris had sixty-eight years of teaching between them. She was very inspired by working with Bob McCain, who is creative and bright. She said that she hoped that Mr. McCain realized that she was, besides being outspoken, always honest.

Ms. Loris came forward and said that working with Mr. McCain was an honor because he takes time to provide positive encouragement. He often puts positive things in the personnel files. He believes in teachers teaching teachers and sharing techniques. Ms. Loris said that she and Ms. Webster have been encouraged to be presenters at the New England League of Middle Schools Conference. She then invited the Board members to come to Nathan Hale and check out the various tiers in progress from the District Improvement Plan.

Ms. Georgie Ferrere then asked about the literacy and math specialist for her school. Mr. Daddona then explained that there were math and literacy specialists that covered more than one schools. Ms. Ferrere asked why this was arranged this way. Ms. Bishop-Pullan explained that the public comment portion was for the public to express their concerns to the Board and suggested that Ms. Ferrere call Mr. Daddona so that he could review the details of the plan with her.

Ms. Bishop Pullan stated that there was no one else signed up and asked if there was anyone else present who wished to address the Board. She then repeated this request. Hearing no one, she then announced that the Public Comment portion of the meeting was closed.

ACTION

Consent

Approval of personnel action

** MS. HAMILTON MOVED TO APPROVE THE PERSONNEL ACTIONS. ** MS. RIVAS SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Approval of minutes (November 5, 2008)

** MR. IANNACCONE MOVED THE MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 5, 2008. ** MS. HAMILTON SECONDED.

The following correction was noted:

Page 8, under Norwalk High School Trip to China – Ms. Bishop-Pullan stated that her comment of “Ms. Bishop-Pullan inquired about the trip's tie-in to the curriculum.” should have occurred earlier in the discussion, reflected the fact that it was the AP curriculum she was referring to and include the reason that she voted against the trip was because of the lack of connection to the curriculum.

** THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS CORRECTED PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

INFORMATION AND REPORTS

Human Services Council Proposal for Mentor Program

Dr. Corda introduced Ms. Betty Karkut, the Executive Director of the Human Services Council. Dr. Corda said that the Human Services Council was going to insure that the mentoring program continues until the Board can resume the responsibility for it in the future.

Ms. Karkut came forward and greeted the Board. She said that after talking to various organizations, she had received commitments of $100,000 for the support of the coordinator for the mentor program. In addition, there is also $70,000 in anticipated pledges.

The Human Services Council also sponsors the School Based Health Centers at the high schools.

The proposal is to acquire the coordinator’s position and manage the interviewing, recruiting, training, follow up and supervising of the program. Many of the corporations in town are interested in re-entering the mentoring program again. Ms. Karkut also contacted the Governor’s Prevention Partnership to assist with the training and possible future funding for mentors.

Ms. Karkut said that her board had approved this project, pending the approval of the Board of Education approval and the funding will cover two years worth of the program, which will cover through the 2010 school year. The Council will also help transfer the program back to the public schools and locate funding for it, also.

Mr. Burnett said that he did not see a transition plan for bringing the program back to the District. Ms. Karkut said that currently the funding was awarded to the Human Services Council, and was a collaborative effort of both public and private funding. Ms. Karkut said that as the numbers of mentors are revitalized, the transfer work back to the District would begin at the end of the first year. It is not the mission of the Human Services Council to maintain programs, but to react to the needs of the community, work on a solution and then help transition the programs out again. Mr. Burnett asked for a copy of the separate transition plan. Ms. Karkut said that she would be able to get a copy for him.

Ms. Murray asked how this would work with the grant that the BOE had. Ms. Karkut said that the Council’s cooperation would be available to help transition the program back to the school. If the Council is able to help write the grant and assure everyone that the funding would be transferred back and that this could be put in writing for the Board.

Ms. Rivas had some questions about the allocation of the funding and why the funds could not be transferred back to the District. Ms. Karkut explained that the Council only has the funding for the coordinator’s position. The District still participates in the program in terms of matching the mentors to the students and many other aspects. The Council would also participate in the training of the mentors and support training. Ms. Rivas asked why the District had not applied for the funding that the Human Services Council received. Dr. Corda explained that the funding had come from a variety of donors. The District funding had come from a Federal grant and the District is not able to apply for at least another year. Discussion about the details of the funding then followed.

Mr. Burnett then publicly thanked Ms. Brenda Penn-Williams for her hard work in keeping the program going on a volunteer basis.

Technology

Dr. Corda said that the Capital Budget has been focusing on the acquisition of equipment for technology, he said that most people believe that this is the acquisition of computers. Part of the next level of funding request will be devoted to Smart Boards. Dr. Corda said that it was felt that it would be important to show the Board how Smart Boards are used in the classroom.

Demonstration of Smart Boards

Mr. Ralph Valenzisi came forward and gave a quick update on the budget and gave a quick overview on what a Smart Board is. Mr. Valenzisi then introduce Mr. Peter Lorry, a teacher at Brookside and Dr. Black, who is a Staff Developer. Both men have played key roles in implementing the use of the Smart Boards. Mr. Valenzisi then related an incident where a student who had recently immigrated to the U.S. three months earlier was using a Smart Board in a presentation to the class.

Some of the uses of the Smart Boards include providing all the class with Internet access. Touch Screen technology is becoming a key technology in education. This is the type of technology that iPhones and Smart Boards use.

Dr. Black then came forward and explained why having Smart Boards in classrooms was so very important. When teachers are trained, they can use the Smart Boards and also train the students to interact with their lessons.

Mr. Lorry came forward and explained that one of the hardest thing to do as a teacher is to catch the attention of the students. It is possible to operate the Board from a laptop, but the students can also come up and interact with the Board. He then demonstrated how the stylus and the Board works.

Mr. Burnett then asked what the maintenance on the Board required. Mr. Valenzisi then reviewed the details with the Board and explained that the bulb for the projects cost about $300.

Mr. Valenzisi explained that last year, the District had purchased Smart Boards as a pilot project and they were a huge success. Some of the schools have been so happy with the Boards that the District supplied that they went out and raised funding to purchase more.

Discussion on use of balance of 2008/2009 Capital Funds

Mr. Valenzisi then explained that each year, the District requests purchase information from the various computer manufacturers. This year Hewlett Packard offered the exact same machine as Dell with a $380 difference. This saved the District $200,000.

He then reviewed the figures in the budget and what funds have been expended. The District has all the computers it was planning on this year, the phone system at Roton, the laptop carts for the Science Department, and other proposed projects accounted for and there will be funds left over. Mr. Valenzisi then reviewed the recent talks that he had with the Smart Company about purchasing more Smart Boards. He then requested that the Board consider allowing him to move forward with this project.

Mr. Iannaccone asked if the project went forward, if that would reduce the BOE budget request of $875,000 much. Dr. Corda said that recognizing that the City was feeling the economic pinch, he would like to go to the Land Use Committee and explain that the $200,000 would be used towards the Smart Board technology with the understanding that for the 09/10 School Year, the District would be requesting $675,000. Mr. Valenzisi said that if the District can pre-order, the installations can be done over the summer after the new budget goes into effect on July 1, 2009. Dr. Corda said that he was hoping that the Board would approve this so that he could bring this recommendation to Land Use and keep the entire issue transparent.

Ms. Murray asked if this item would appear on the next agenda. Dr. Corda said that this could be done as an action item, but since the funding has already been approved, a sense of the Board would work as long as everyone was clear about the issue. Mr. Burnett asked what would happen if the Land Use Committee said no. Dr. Corda then reviewed how he thought this would best be handled. At the conclusion of the discussion that followed, Dr. Corda said that he would have a resolution on the agenda for December 2nd.

Update on progress in implementation of administrative technology applications

Mr. Valenzisi stated that the P.O.s are now in order and the training has been completed. The next portion of the package is school attendance. Mr. Valenzisi said that he had just discovered one more adjustment to make on the module. Brien McMahon and Brookside will be used as pilot sites through mid January. Once the glitches have been ironed out, the module will be expanded to include the other schools. Payroll data should be completed by January 30th. Once that is completed, the updated information will appear on the pay stubs.

Ms. Murray asked if the object and Board codes would be added to the P.O. Mr. Valenzisi said that these codes would appear. Ms. Bishop-Pullan thanked Mr. Valenzisi for implementing this important aspect of the program.

Board member announcements

Mr. Iannaccone announced that Norwalk High Marching Band won a championship over Trumbull.

Ms. Bishop-Pullan said that Brien McMahon would be staging a literature play based on the stories of Edgar Allan Poe called “Night Chill” over the week-end and she encouraged everyone to attend.

Ms. Murray said that a number of Board Members had attended CABE over the past weekend. She said that there had been an outstanding speaker, Dr. Lorraine Monroe, who Ms. Murray felt that the partnership and parents community would benefit from hearing.

** MS. BISHOP-PULLAN MOVED TO ADD AN EXECUTIVE SESSION TO THE AGENDA FOR THE PURPOSE OF DISCUSSING A SETTLEMENT OFFER RELATIVE TO AN EXISTING PERSONNEL LITIGATION. ** MR. IANNACCONE SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

The Board entered into executive session at 10 pm

Back to public session -- meeting adjourned at 10:23 pm

** MS. BISHOP-PULLAN MOVED TO ADJOURN. ** MS. SUSAN HAMILTON SECONDED ** THE MOTION PASSED

Respectfully submitted,

Sharon L. Soltes Telesco Secretarial Services

Category: Minutes