Board of Education Regular Meeting Showcases a Busy Fall Schedule

The Board of Education held a regular meeting on Tuesday, September 15th at 7pm. The Board asked several departments to prepare a "Back to School" report on how the summer went and what's in store for the next few months, so it was a busy meeting. Greg Smolley (JCJ Architecture) also updated the Board on how the District Utilization Study was going.

Congratulations are in order: Middletown received a National Network of Partnership Schools Award and Macdonough Elementary School is receiving a NAACP - Education Award on September 25th.

In club news from MHS, the FFA (a national organization of students enrolled in Vocational Agricultural Education) is headed to Indiana for its national convention. Board member Jay Keiser voiced concern over the number of days of school that would be missed, and he stated that he expects "to go through a lot of struggling through the budget for next year," and so he was concerned about costs. He was reassured by advisor Rebecca Isaacson that the students had to have a homework plan, that parents had to sign off on the conditions required for the trip, and that students would be working on homework at night when they weren't attending the convention. The Board then approved the trip.

Superintendent Michael Frechette reported that he visited every school in Middletown during the first two weeks of school and that in general, the District had a smooth school opening. "Students are on task and engaged in their daily routine," Frechette commented.

Assistant Superintendent Barbara Senges reported on the District Improvement Plan: Middletown is in year two of a three year improvement plan required by the State under CALI (Connecticut Accountability for Learning Initiative). The heart of this improvement plan involves a 15% improvement in CMT scores in 3 years as well as a reduction in the suspension rate. Senges and the District Data Team are in the middle of evaluating what's left from the first year plan that still needs to be finished, and what can be trimmed from the second year plan (and put off until later) to make room to finish these first year items. Work is also being done on the Lesson Plan Initiative to create a common language so that teachers and administrators (who evaluate lesson plans) can create a more effective and meaningful feedback system. Basically, there needs to be a standard method to evaluate lessons plans.

MHS Director of Athletics Mike Pitruzello's comments were summarized in a previous article.

All sorts of activities are coming out of the Fine Arts Department at MHS: the marching band is competing again, the Drama Department is competing at the New England Drama Festival, and so on. The EYE hopes to be able to share a complete schedule of events in the very near future.

Greg Smolley from JCJ Architecture updated the board on the District Utilization Study. He hopes to have a draft report in October with the finished report finalized in early-mid-November. Board Member Jay Keiser commented that Middletown has until February to tell the State what the plan is to deal with Macdonough's racial imbalance issues, so Keiser really wants the final report by the November BOE meeting (on November 10th).

Smolley talked briefly about the survey results, stating that K-8 transportation isn't an issue for survey respondents (I think this means how students get to school), nor are parents certain that technology is a key driver for decision-making in Middletown. Parents are "happy" with Keigwin, and the number of transitions between schools (elementary - 6th - 7th/8th) doesn't seem to bother many people. Smolley commented that he thinks the 6-7-8 grade configuration is probably "set." For elementary schools, "there are some under capacity and some over," and parental desire for "community schools" is countered by the conditions of those schools (meaning that parents don't see the physical conditions of the schools as being responsible for whatever issues the school has). Travel time on buses for elementary schools is a big concern, and JCJ Architecture will be meeting with Transportation Director Mike Milardo to get a clearer picture of how transportation runs for those schools. Board Member Bill Boyd said that this study "is going to result in some students going to other schools. We don't want to bus kids all over town...we want to minimize bus traffic." Board Member Renee Johnson-Thornton asked to confirm that JCJ believes the current 6th-7th-8th grade configuration (6th at Keigwin and 7th and 8th at Woodrow Wilson) is the best configuration. Smolley replied that he thinks so, if looking at the physical needs plus the curriculum needs plus parent feedback, it all seems balanced, and so the BOE should "leave the buildings as is." Board Member Sheila Daniels then asked if the final report would be just one suggestion or a number of suggestions, and Smolley replied that the final report would provide "a number of options plus an analysis of possible ramifications."

Director of Facilities Ken Jackson talked about lingering construction issues at MHS, as well as on-going projects around the district. New boilers went into Keigwin and the Honeywell project is proceeding around the District.

Summer School at MHS went well: 83 students started, 9 stopped attending, and 4 didn't pass.

Transportation Director Mike Milardo reported that the various road construction sites in Middletown caused issues for the bus routes, but that most problems have now been resolved. Bill Boyd asked what the longest time was that kids were riding the bus, and it's roughly an hour and 10 minutes for some high school students (while others arrive at 6:50 AM for a 7:30 school start time). The earliest middle school pick-up time is 7:15 am (8:15 and 8:18 start times) and the earliest elementary school pick-up is 8:15 am (for a 9:10 start). Boyd then asked if there was a way to reduce the amount of time that students spend on the bus, and there wasn't a clear answer to his question. Fellow Board Member Ryan Kennedy commented: "if you buy more buses the kids won't have to spend so much time riding them - are you going to buy buses, Bill?"

The next regular BOE meeting, scheduled for October 13, will be held in Council Chambers at City Hall (245 deKoven Dr. in Middletown). The BOE is trying to find meeting space where the attending public can actually hear what is being said during the meeting (not so good in the MHS cafeteria at the moment). Board Chairman Ted Raczka commented that while he's willing to try Council Chambers, he thinks that location would "put distance between the board and its constituents, the public." ***Note to Ted from this EYE reporter: I, as a member of the public and therefore one of your constituents, could care less how far away you sit from me in the audience as long as I can actually hear what you're saying without needing a hearing aid at 35. Thanks, though, for considering appearances.***

An adhoc Naming Committee was established to consider re-naming the Farm Hill Elementary School Library for a teacher who recently passed away.

There was a motion to approve the role of the Curriculum Committee as outlined in Asst. Superintendent Barbara Senges report (I don't know what was proposed since I didn't have a copy of the report). Board Member Corinne Gill strongly disagreed with the proposal, saying that it deliberately skirted the intent of the new state law requiring boards of education to "develop" curriculum. Board Member Sally Boske commented that the legal opinion she received was that the BOE has to establish a committee to oversee curriculum, but that board members don't actually have to be on the committee. "Whatever we decide the committee is, that's OK." Renee Johnson-Thornton commented that it would be more transparent to have curriculum discussions with the whole board, not at 8am committee meetings. Bill Boyd stated that "even if this motion is tabled, the committee will just operate how we see fit. We thought that it would be clearer to specify our role, but we don't need that to continue doing what we're doing." There was much disagreement over the role of the Curriculum Committee, and the motion was tabled until the next meeting.

The Board of Education then went into Executive Session to vote on the Middletown School Administrators' Association Contract 2010-2013.

Commentary and disclosure: While I have adopted the BOE as "my area" of EYE reporting, I will disclose that I speak quite frequently during the public session as a parent and a taxpayer. This time around, I urged the BOE "to commit to transparency in your decision-making process and clarity in communicating your goals and objectives with parents and the tax-paying public." Now, I urge you, the public, to take interest in what happens in our town. Three of our elementary schools have been identified as not achieving APY or Adequate Yearly Progress for 2 consecutive years on the CMTs (read here for more details), and therefore "In Need of Improvement." The annual school budget is roughly half the town's entire budget, and JCJ Architecture is about to finish a $138,000 study that will strongly influence what the school attendance areas will look like and how our school buildings are used. $69,750,000 is a lot of money (the approved 2009-2010 budget amount), and I would hope that you want to know that money is being spent wisely, efficiently, and in a manner that supports and furthers the goals that Middletown parents have for our children. In the end, the Board of Education and the School Administration work for us - as parents and taxpayers - and shame on us if we don't pay attention to how the process works. I invite you to join me at a BOE meeting (here's the schedule, make sure you check the location since it changes). I hope to see you there!