Board of Education Meeting Minutes

January 17, 2006

BOARD OF EDUCATION

JANUARY 17, 2006

ATTENDANCE: Thomas Vetter, Chairman; Rosa Murray; Rob Polley; Bruce Kimmel; Jody Bishop-Pullan; Greg Burnett; Richard Fuller.

STAFF: Dr. Salvatore Corda, Superintendent of Schools.

OTHERS: Stuart Opdahl, Chief Operating Officer; John Reynolds, Principal, Jefferson Elementary School; Kathy May, Vice Principal, Jefferson Elementary School, Donna Raguseo, Jefferson School; Mark Gorian, Director of Facilities; John Hawley, Gilbane Construction.

I. CALL TO ORDER

Mr. Vetter called the meeting to order at 7:45 p.m.

II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Mr. Vetter led the Board in the Pledge of Allegiance.

III. SPOTLIGHT

Mr. Fuller reported that recently a number of West Rocks students had auditioned for a spot on the extremely competitive county-wide Fairfield County String Festival orchestra. There are three orchestras: 6th and 7th graders, 8th and 9th graders, and an Honors orchestra. Two eighth grade students qualified to audition for the Honors orchestra. Student Marissa Fung was admitted. West Rocks will hear soon about other students who were accepted.

The BMHS Center for Global Studies reports that 100% of their seniors went on to attend college this year. A CGS student graduated as co-salutatorian of BMHS and 92% of CGS students expressed satisfaction with CGS. The Center for Global Studies is an interdistrict, international studies magnet school that focuses upon Japanese and Chinese language, history and culture. The CGS serves students throughout lower Fairfield County. Currently we have students from Bridgeport, Darien, Fairfield, Milford, New Canaan, Stamford, Weston and Wilton as well as from Norwalk and many other towns. Graduates have gone on to schools such as Harvard, Brown, George Washington, Columbia, Smith, NYU and UCONN.

IV. SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

Dr. Corda began his report by acknowledging the events, which took place on Martin Luther King Day, January 16th, and made special note of Norwalk Housing Authority Director Curtis Law and the wonderful work he does on behalf of the NHA and for Norwalk. Dr. Corda stated that the activities at West Rocks Middle School involved many children, from the very small to high school age, and he found everything extremely informative and said he learned quite a bit from what the children had to say. Dr. Corda also mentioned the concert held later that evening at the Norwalk Concert Hall, and said he found the speaker and the program very inspiring and the music very uplifting.

Dr. Corda announced that Brien McMahon High School was, as everyone was aware, in the midst of renovations, part of which includes an ongoing asbestos abatement, which began on January 6th. He stated that there are very strict protocols that have to be followed, and that they are very conservative in the orientation of these protocols. Dr. Corda explained that the air inside the school is being monitored and checked daily, with three samples taken each day from various places inside the building. Dr. Corda stated that today his office learned that in one of the samples taken outside the asbestos barricades, the results could not be verified in the building. He explained that when this happens, all abatement work stops immediately and the students are evacuated. Dr. Corda wanted to be clear that this is a precautionary exercise, and not a statement that asbestos is actually present in the air.

Dr. Corda said that when the sample was tested in Norwalk, they did not find any asbestos in it. However, protocol requires that the report of the sample is transferred to the State, and the State must issue a statement saying the school can be occupied. Dr. Corda said that his office is awaiting such a statement at this moment in order to determine if Brien McMahon would be open for classes on Wednesday (tomorrow). He was emphatic that unless his office could make contact with the person who makes that determination at the State level, then school cannot be held.

A parent in attendance questioned if the asbestos abatement is happening while school is in session. Dr. Corda replied that it was. The parent asked if this was legal. Dr. Corda said it was, and asked Mr. John Hawley of Gilbane Construction to explain. Mr. Hawley stated that the area of abatement was inside a strict containment area with barriers set up at various points, and that the samples taken each day were taken from points in the building that were far away from the work area. Another parent asked, how far away were the samples taken? Mr. Hawley explained that the samples were taken from as far away as 200 feet, and explained that there are several barriers in place to keep the asbestos away from the students and classroom areas.

Dr. Corda closed his report by reminding the Board that Mr. Frank Harris, Director of Food Services, will be retiring on February 7th, which is the date of the next BOE meeting. He stated that there will be a ceremony in the atrium at City Hall at 7:00 p.m., prior to the BOE meeting, and that all members of the Board are invited and welcome to attend.

Dr. Corda ended by remarking that there will be two presentations tonight that are very important, particularly the report on the Jefferson Magnet School proposal.

V. PUBLIC COMMENTS

No members of the public signed up to speak at this time.

Vi. ACTIONS

A. Consent

1. Approval of personnel actions 2. Approval of budget transfers

** MS. MURRAY MOVED TO APPROVE THE CONSENT ACTIONS. ** MS. BISHOP-PULLAN SECONDED. ** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

B. Approval of A.C.H.I.E.V.E. to use Jefferson Elementary School for summer program

** MR. BURNETT MOVED TO APPROVE THE USE OF JEFFERSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FOR A.C.H.I.E.V.E. SUMMER PROGRAM. ** MS. MURRAY SECONDED. ** MOTION APPROVED WITH ONE ABSTENTION (MR. FULLER)

C. Approve field trip (BMHS Winter Guard to WGI Competition, Boston, MA)

** MS. MURRAY MOVED TO APPROVE THE APPOINTMENT OF MR. BURNETT TO THE DISTRICT ED. SPEC. COMMITTEE. ** MS. HAMILTON SECONDED. ** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

D. Approval of Field Trip – Brien McMahon H.S. CGS to Japan

** MS. BISHOP-PULLAN MOVED TO APPROVE THE FIELD TRIP. ** MR. BURNETT SECONDED. ** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

VII. INFORMATION & REPORTS

A. Jefferson Magnet School report

Mr. John Reynolds, Principal of Jefferson Elementary School; Ms. Kathy May, Vice Principal; and Ms. Donna Raguseo, a teacher at Jefferson Elementary School, addressed the Board with their presentation outlining their proposal to create a Science Magnet School.

Ms. May began by stating that some time ago the District had been informed that several of its schools were racially out of balance. A special board was convened to address this, and it was determined by that board that Jefferson Elementary School, or another elementary school, be made a magnet school. In 2005, all elementary schools were surveyed as to their interest in becoming a magnet school, and Jefferson School showed the most interest.

Mr. Reynolds discussed the research involved in creating a Magnet school at Jefferson. He stated that after reviewing the Racial Balance Committee findings, researching the Magnet possibilities and surveying the families, three options for a magnet school surfaced: Science, IB, or Experimental Learning. The outcome of the findings was that both the Jefferson staff and the families selected science as a primary focus.

Mr. Reynolds described the planning year behind the creation of this plan. It included outreach for interested partners in the community. Relationships have been established with NCC, Northrop-Grumman, Fairfield University, and the Maritime Aquarium. A partnership with the Maritime Aquarium was chosen, as the aquarium is right here in Norwalk and already has established relationships with the District. Site visits to other elementary magnet schools were taken, and it was noted that there are only three Science Magnet schools in the state. The committee also looked at grade level professional development in specific content areas and whole-school training in inquiry-based instruction, working with Dr. Martinelli.

The next steps for year 2005-2006 include continuing professional development to create a strong science program and raise teacher knowledge; for example, the kindergarten teachers are working together to develop a science calendar for their classes. Teachers will develop pacing guides for science with sensitivity to seasons, life cycles, and other content units appropriate to their grade levels. Units of study will be developed with partnership activities in place, classroom lessons anticipating and reflecting on Maritime experiences and activities, and include lessons integrating other curricular areas into the science content. There is also possible summer institute professional development with Fairfield University, through a Teacher Quality Grant, which has been applied for and is awaiting approval.

Mr. Reynolds stated that the projected Maritime Partnership budget for year 2005-2006 is $83,000. Within this budget, each classroom at each grade level will participate in the following: 2 trips to other related coastal and watershed habitats; 3 trips to visit Aquarium exhibits (two ½-day trips per class); 2 trips to the coast or RVO boat trip (grades 3-5 only; younger students cannot take the boat trip); and six two-hour presentations from Maritime staff at Jefferson with students. During these trips, students will have the opportunity to make observations and ask questions, then compare their observations with data they collect and compare later in the classroom environment. To accomplish the trips, a transportation budget of $33,000 has been requested, which includes a charge of $275 per trip, 3 trips per year to the Maritime Aquarium for 22 classrooms; and 2 trips per year to other related habitats. Alternatives for transportation are currently being investigated, including vans and public transportation through Wheels buses.

The Maritime Budget will also include general program costs, which total $9,000. These costs break down to an Aquarium Coordinator who will work 5 hours weekly to coordinate programs between the school and the Aquarium, at a cost of $35 per hour. This charge is whether the Coordinator comes to the school or works with the classes during trips to the Aquarium, not only co-developing, but also co-teaching both before and after visits, integrating the students’ observations and data into regular classroom activities. This cost also includes a distance learning component with video streaming, which can be linked to other similar regions to compile and compare data; plus two-day workshops for Jefferson teachers specific to their visits, to assist in the development of pre and post lessons. Also, there is the opportunity for an in-kind budget from Fairfield University of $2,700 in the form of a Teacher Improvement Grant, which will support the work teachers would be doing in their development courses.

A Public Relations budget has also been proposed. This is to enable the school to reach out to the community through existing accounts, media notices and advertisements, cover community meeting costs, and the preparation of promotional materials such as brochures and flyers, with a total cost projected of $2,500.

Ms. Raguseo indicated the program overview and examples in the Board members’ packets. This overview includes a summary statement, a kindergarten curriculum example, and a Grade 4 example. She noted that for the sake of time constraints she will discuss the kindergarten example in tonight’s meeting, but the Grade 4 example offers a more outlined program example as students in that grade would be expected to be more fully involved in the curriculum.

Ms. Raguseo began with the format for the Maritime Aquarium experiences for a kindergarten class. Step One would involve planning with the Aquarium staff. This includes what her team is calling the Five “E’s”: Engage, Explore, Explanation, Elaborate, and Evaluation. Each step in the planning includes these five items. Step Two involves pre-experience lessons and activities, the difference being the students have the opportunity to engage, giving them the opportunity to wonder, notice, observe and question instead of sitting in front of a teacher who simply delivers information to them. This involves direct experiences in coastal or watershed environments, getting the students focused on the experience, making observations, counting, and collecting data. This information is not separate from the existing curriculum but is more of an embellishment to what already exists. Then the students will integrate what they learn and apply it to the rest of their curriculum; also, this will establish the roles of teachers and staff to deliver the curriculum.

Flexibility in the program is children-driven in many cases, not necessarily teacher-driven. For example, a kindergarten experience might be that the purpose of the lesson is to study animal adaptations and how animals respond to climate. Children would read a book – it was noted that even at the kindergarten stage, children can read nonfiction picture books – and then make observations. The teacher would use the book to get the children thinking and wondering as they observe and discuss, and talk with the teacher in small groups and then in larger groups. Their questions would bring up vocabulary, and staff will assist the class with hands-on classifications such as sorting shells and compare characteristics to bring to discussion.

There would be offsite field trips such as traveling to the seashore twice a year, once in the fall and again in the spring, during low tide so as to see as many animals as possible. There would be data collecting, and the children could, for example, draw pictures of the animal in its natural environment, then bring the pictures to the classroom for further study. The children will observe, classify, compare and contrast the animals and their interactions as the teachers and Maritime staff monitor and guide. Post-experience activities involve the sharing of pictures and the children can tell in their own words their observations. In small groups they will get together to classify and sort data. They will create an illustrated book for each trip that is written by the students and can be compared from spring to fall; the graphing of data; and discussions. This will help the children as they explore their community and learn about their place in the community and the effect they have on the environment.

Areas of future exploration include the seeking of non-certified, dedicated staff members to work with the teachers; dedicated lab space at Jefferson School so students have access to environments not able to be delivered in the classroom; and equipment for both in-class lessons and possible laboratory, as well as science labs to facilitate preparation and breakdown of science lessons for K-5, and continued professional development in content knowledge and unit design. The projected cost for this is $13,280. Other areas of exploration would be consistent with parent requests as well as being essential to address the academic and social needs of the students. The planning committee has begun the investigation of 4-5 day and overnight “Academies” in grades 4 and 5. The projected costs would be $11, 700 for Grade 4 and $18,000 for Grade 5.

Mr. Kimmel asked Mr. Reynolds if the non-certified dedicated staff members they are seeking would be volunteers. Mr. Reynolds commented that eventually they would like to hire staff and make these paid positions.

Mr. Kimmel stated that Mr. Reynolds and his committee gave a very comprehensive report and agreed that a Science Magnet school such as this was a great idea. He commented that in the early 1990s he was involved with programs to teach teachers inquiry-based science and said that it was a difficult way to learn to teach, and an acquired talent. Mr. Kimmel said that bringing in outside staff may be appropriate for this plan, but not for the reasons stated here; he said that teachers need to be able to learn to teach science. He also mentioned that he thought that school libraries were too full of fiction; too many read-aloud books and a paucity of nonfiction in the elementary levels. He suggested that when the program is in place, Mr. Reynolds and his committee should sit down and go through the math program to bring it into context, and he also suggested the use of technology.

Mr. Reynolds said that many of Mr. Kimmel’s remarks echoed the questions teachers have posed to him as well, and he agreed with Mr. Kimmel’s statements. He indicated that the Maritime staff that would come into the school could co-teach the lessons along with teachers. Mr. Reynolds said that Mr. Kimmel was also correct about coordinating with the math program, and he appreciated Mr. Kimmel’s comments.

Mayor Moccia inquired about the cost of $41,000 quoted on page three, and asked if Mr. Reynolds could itemize that for the Board’s evaluation. Mayor Moccia also asked if Mr. Reynolds had spoken with Lou Schulman, the Transit Commissioner, about the possibility of utilizing the Wheels bus system in Norwalk for the class trips. Mayor Moccia said that for a long time now the Maritime Aquarium had been making the transition to thinking that the Sound is a part of our lives and thinks that a school of this kind is a great direction to move in. Mayor Moccia also suggested that, since they are only earmarking $2,500 for public relations, that they utilize City agencies and nonprofits to publicize their programs. He also suggested that Mr. Reynolds work with Curtis Law at the Norwalk Housing Authority. Overall Mayor Moccia thought this was a great presentation and a great offering.

Mr. Polley said that the inquiry-based teaching approach was exciting but unnerving for teachers and it was important that the tone be supportive. He also asked if other elementary schools in Norwalk would be able to share what is learned here. Dr. Corda said it was important to share the experiences that Jefferson would develop, and they need to bring it to all schools.

Ms. Bishop-Pullan had a question about the application process. She asked if the current enrollment and attendances would remain. Dr. Corda said they would, and indicated the design of the Magnet school was being done with the Jefferson school families in mind, and that they would be staying in place, and if the number of applications exceeded the seats available, there would be a lottery. Mr. Fuller asked if parents wanted to opt out, would that be possible. Mr. Reynolds said that the question never came up during the surveys, but it is a possibility. Dr. Corda said that a Jefferson family cannot opt out. He said this is their school, and that the attendance area is being maintained, we would not be emptying the school as we did with Columbus.

Ms. Murray questioned the students’ transition to the new program. Mr. Reynolds said that the families are very happy with the ideas and feel that the relationship with the Maritime Aquarium is exciting. They are looking forward to beginning the program.

Mr. Burnett said the presentation was very detailed and helpful. He inquired about the initial startup costs versus the ongoing costs and said that Mr. Reynolds had stated that this is not a common practice, is there a reason why? Mr. Reynolds responded by saying that most teacher preparation programs don’t offer science as much as other curriculums, plus Norwalk’s being a coastal town is a difference from most other schools. Dr. Corda said it would seem there will be costs if this becomes a reality; for example, there would be continuing costs for transportation. He said he was not sure, other than capital costs, what would be a one-time cost. Dr. Corda said the Board has to accept that running a Science Magnet will have associated ongoing costs as a regular part of the operating budget.

Mr. Kimmel suggested that as there are only three other Science Magnet schools in Connecticut, there should be lots of grants available for them to apply for, and they stand a very good chance of getting them.

Dr. Corda said that if the Board is genuinely serious about hands-on learning, what we learn here could go beyond Jefferson School.

Mr. Fuller said he knew they settled on Maritime Science, but he wondered if there were any other options explored, such as the Norwalk Hospital. Mr. Reynolds said that his staff reached out to anyone who got back in touch with them after the initial inquiries, but the Hospital did not, although he hopes they will become more involved in the future.

Mr. Burnett said they had spoken well about all of the excellent things the program could offer, he was interested now in hearing the risks and asked what could prevent this from not being successful? Mr. Reynolds said he felt it was a win-win situation for all concerned. Their major goal now was to track the children as the next decision was how many seats could they offer, and what kind of construction will be necessary to manifest this.

Mr. Vetter commended Mr. Reynolds and his staff for their presentation. He asked if they plan to put something on a website. Mr. Reynolds said they currently have a website up but need to put more information into it as they get approval.

B. Long range capital plan

Mr. Stuart Opdahl and Mr. Mark Gorian presented a review of the current Capital projects. Mr. Opdahl stated that many of these projects have been out there in the public mind and have been agonized over for many months, in some cases three or four times, and the longer things are held up, the more they will cost. He said the objective tonight is not to go through projects already underway or almost completed, but to look at those still in the design stages.

The problem, as stated, is that the cost of construction projects is exceeding the funds available by approximately $70 million. This is because the overall project allocation has been cut by $25 million – when the projects were first put together in 2001, there had been an additional $25 million in costs based on what the Board was told at the time the projects were proposed. Soft costs are increasing that were not designed to be in the project, things that were promised but did not happen. There was a 20% escalation in costs of projects between 2002 and 2006, including higher costs of steel, sheetrock and concrete. There was a loss of priority school aid at $700,000 per year. Environmental code modifications, particularly code changes in HVAC systems, which called for much more powerful systems that in some cases tripled the costs in some buildings. Add to this increased costs for the response to accreditation requirements; Special Ed requirements such as inclusion of students into the mainstream and new regulations; and a cap on Capital spending by credit agencies, which has to be maintained in order for the City to keep its Triple A bond rating. The impact of these events has caused remaining projects to be modified to the degree that appropriate renovations will not occur.

Mr. Opdahl’s report covered the projects remaining for Norwalk High School, Columbus Magnet and Tracey Elementary Schools; Roton, Ponus Ridge and Nathan Hale Middle Schools. It showed the breakdown between the amount of funds needed to complete the projects, the current budget for each school, and the expected shortfall of funds. There was an itemized breakdown of costs for each school project. The conclusion of the report was that, even though many items in the projects will not be completed according to the original schedule, they will be completed on a revised schedule and take a few years longer to be completed. Mr. Opdahl indicated that the most pressing repairs and modifications have been identified and these will be taken care of first, which will also open the City up to the possibility of receiving more funds as the time to complete the projects lengthens, so it is not an overall bad thing to extend the schedule as they are doing.

Ms. Bishop-Pullan thanked Mr. Opdahl and Mr. Gorian for the report and said that the Board will look it over carefully so they will have answers for the public when asked.

Mayor Moccia stated that the City’s bonded and indebtedness has doubled and that the bonding agencies are looking closely at the City. He said he has a fiduciary responsibility to the entire City to keep the AAA bond rating and he appreciates the Board’s efforts to reduce costs.

Ms. Murray asked how soon can the Board communicate with the parent organizations that are bound to have questions regarding the revised schedules and projects. Mr. Opdahl said they could do this as soon as the Board wants to. He said they are still filing for projects and locking into State aid at this time. Ms. Murray said that timeliness is key and it is critical that the parent organizations get the correct information. She noted that the media was present at this meeting and Mr. Opdahl’s findings would be reported. Mr. Fuller said that the parents are also taxpayers and will understand the necessity of trimming the costs now for a long-range benefit later on. Ms. Murray reiterated that parents who are PTO leaders need to be given the correct information. Mr. Opdahl said he couldn’t release the information to the public until he made the presentation to the Board.

Dr. Corda said it was an appropriate topic for a letter from the Superintendent’s office. He said there was also another message to go along with it. The Board of Education budget is the largest in the City and the taxpayers are aware of this. It is important that the Board work with the City to not only get their projects done but they must also cooperate with the City to delay some costs and give the City some flexibility to address other things that are crucial and may need to be addressed.

Mr. Vetter asked if any parents in attendance wished to comment on Mr. Opdahl’s report. Sharon Cadden of the NFTC thanked the Board for their efforts. She said she was glad to know the work will be done eventually, which was better than trying to remove items from the project altogether.

Mr. Vetter asked Dr. Corda when the administration would be able to update the Board with the full numbers. Dr. Corda said in about two weeks. Mr. Vetter asked if this could be put on the agenda for the February 7 meeting. Dr. Corda agreed but said that three weeks is a long time and we need to get information out soon to avoid rumors.

There was a brief discussion on a thematic approach to the projects.

C. Board Members Announcements

Ms. Murray thanked her colleagues on the Board for their attendance at the MLK Day events. She said that the presence of the Board members, the Superintendent and the Mayor was duly noted by the community and that she appreciated them for following the events through the day. Mr. Vetter congratulated Ms. Murray for her efforts in organizing the events and said she had done a great job.

Dr. Corda stated that he had an update on the Brien McMahon asbestos question. He announced that his office was still awaiting results of the final test and these would be available at 11:30 p.m. He said the results come from Brooks Labs, go to John Hawley, who calls Mr. Opdahl, who informs Dr. Corda, then he can notify the parents and staff of the school. At this point the question of whether there would be school the next day for McMahon students was still in question.

VIII. ADJOURNMENT

** MR. KIMMEL MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING. ** MR. POLLEY SECONDED. ** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Linda J. Hayes Telesco Secretarial Services

Category: Minutes