Quincy Public Schools

Minutes

Quincy School Committee Teaching & Learning Subcommittee Meeting

A meeting of the Teaching & Learning Subcommittee was held on Wednesday, May 15, 2024 at 6:00 pm in the Coddington Building. Present were Subcommittee members Mr. Paul Bregoli, Mrs. Kathryn Hubley, and Mrs. Emily Lebo, Subcommittee Chair. Also present were Mayor Thomas P. Koch, School Committee Chair and School Committee Members Mrs. Tina Cahill, Mr. Doug Gutro, and Mrs. Courtney Perdios; Superintendent Kevin Mulvey, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Erin Perkins, Ms. Kim Connolly, Mr. Michael Draicchio, Ms. Andrea Huwar, Mr. Michael Marani, Ms. Maura Papile, Ms. Kimberley Quinn, Mr. Keith Segalla, Mr. Lawrence Taglieri, Ms. Bridget Vaughan; and Ms. Laura Owens, Clerk.

Senior Director of Student Support Services Maura Papile presented the Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum Map, the collaboration of Guidance and Adjustment Counselors and Psychology staff members. The five areas of social-emotional competencies are: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Each school provides the multi-tiered systems of support to reinforce appropriate behaviors, intervene with small groups and individuals, providing school-based counseling, and referrals and resources for outside counseling.

Since 2021, Quincy Public Schools has received over $400,000 in grant funding, which assisted with expanding the SEL Curriculum map, integrating the Open Parachute program and associated Professional Development, partnerships with Walker Therapeutics and Big Brother, Big Sister mentorship, the NAN project, Bay State Community Services, Hope & Comfort, and Aspire.

Mrs. Hubley asked about the partnership with Walker Therapeutics, and the availability of practitioners. Ms. Papile said that we started with two clinicians and have expanded to six clinicians. Even so, the demand is such that there are waiting lists. Ms. Papile said Walker also provides home-based services to the families that may not be able to access the program at school.

Mrs. Cahill noted that the partnership with Aspire is a good additional resource for Quincy Public Schools. Mrs. Cahill said that there is such demand for services, asked for follow up on the number of cases that are being seen through these clinical partnerships.

Mrs. Lebo said that having the curriculum map is important to document the consistent implementation of Open Parachute. Mrs. Lebo asked for information on the difference between Adjustment and Guidance counselor positions.

Mayor Koch said that the events of the last few years have presented challenges for our students, is concerned that students are prepared for the challenges of life. Ms. Papile said that the Open Parachute lessons are about teaching students resilience and how to face difficult situations and challenges and overcoming anxiety.

Mr. Bregoli asked about how many School Adjustment Counselors positions there are, Ms. Papile said there is one position at each high school and one at South~West Middle School.

Mr. Bregoli asked whether high school Guidance Counselors also work with groups of students, Ms. Papile said some have academic responsibilities (AP testing or SATs) and others have SEL responsibilities (grief group, substance abuse prevention, dropout prevention). Ms. Papile said these are fluid and evolve in response to the needs of the school population.

Mrs. Cahill asked for clarification, Open Parachute is SEL lessons for all students and supports from school staff and guidance. External partnerships and adjustment counselors work with students with higher levels of need (a subset of the population).

Curriculum Director Michael Marani and Curriculum Coordinators Kim Quinn and Bridget Vaughan presented a summary of the Professional Development for this school year and plans for next school year. Professional development is ongoing education or training designed to increase an educator’s skills or knowledge or gain new competencies. Professional development is needs-based, collaborative, provides active learning opportunities, is content-focused, uses models of effective practice, is expert-led, and provides opportunities for feedback and reflection. The Quincy Public Schools Professional Development Planning Team has twenty-four members, representing elementary, middle, and high schools; meets two to three times annually; and conducts ongoing collaborative conversations about professional development.

Professional Development highlights for core curriculum areas ELA & Reading, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies were shared, along with a preliminary plan for next year’s Professional Development, including curriculum maps and pacing guides, piloting new curriculum, exploring new technologies and platforms, preparing for new state-level assessments. There will also be optional summer Professional Development opportunities for building competencies for literacy and mathematics instruction.

Mrs. Perdios asked about the elementary school Science curriculum, the current program has leveled science topical readers which makes the content accessible. Mr. Marani said moving forward, meeting similar benchmarks for providing leveled content for our students is critical in the new curriculum as well.

Mrs. Lebo stressed the importance of involving teachers in the piloting of new curriculum. Mr. Marani agreed, there will be pilot teams formed this summer for Science and Social Studies. The first task is to develop the criteria for evaluating the piloted curriculum.

Mr. Bregoli made a motion to adjourn at 6:50 pm, seconded by Mrs. Hubley. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.

Agenda

Quincy School Committee Policy Subcommittee

Wednesday, May 15, 2024 at 6:30 pm
Coddington Building, School Committee Room

Mr. Doug Gutro, Chair
Mrs. Tina Cahill & Mrs. Emily Lebo, Subcommittee Members
**This Meeting is a Committee of the Whole**

1. School Committee Policy 10.19 - Mr. Gutro
   Concussion Policy

2. School Committee Policy 2.3.3 - Mr. Gutro
   Subcommittees of the School Committee

Members of the public can access the meeting in person or live on QATV Channel 22 or at qatv.org. The meeting will also be recorded for rebroadcast and posted on Friday, May 17, 2024 on the QPS YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@QuincyPS.

Minutes

Quincy School Committee Policy Subcommittee Meeting

A meeting of the Policy Subcommittee was held on Wednesday, May 15, 2024 at 6:50 pm in the Coddington Building. Present were Subcommittee members Mrs. Tina Cahill, Mrs. Emily Lebo, and Mr. Doug Gutro, Policy Subcommittee Chair. Also present were Mayor Thomas P. Koch, School Committee Chair and School Committee Members Mr. Paul Bregoli, Mrs. Kathryn Hubley, and Mrs. Courtney Perdios; Superintendent Kevin Mulvey, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Erin Perkins, Ms. Kim Connolly, Mr. Michael Draicchio, Ms. Andrea Huwar, Mr. Michael Marani, Ms. Maura Papile, Mr. Lawrence Taglieri; and Ms. Laura Owens, Clerk.

Health Coordinator Andrea Huwar reviewed proposed changes to another Health-related School Committee Policy: 10.19 Concussion Policy. In proposing the edits, Ms. Huwar consulted the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) Policy Book for reference, as well as the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Department of Elementary & Secondary Education, and collaborated with Director of Athletics & Wellness Kevin Mahoney, the High School Athletic Trainers, and Director of Academic Programs Larry Taglieri. The middle school health teachers have reinstated the annual Impact testing of all Grade 8 students so they have a baseline test before entering high school.

Ms. Huwar is recommending replacing the existing Policy and moving the revised version to be a protocol, documented in the Health Services Handbook, on the Quincy Public Schools website, and in the Student Rights & Responsibilities Handbook. Ms. Huwar reviewed the proposed new Policy language with School Committee noting that the details of the protocol assist school staff with working with students in middle and high school who are concussed while participating in Athletics (school-related or outside of school) or under other circumstances.

Mrs. Cahill asked how the school is notified when a student is concussed outside of school activities. Ms. Huwar said that parents are requested to notify the school (under Parent Responsibilities in the protocol). In these cases, students would need to be cleared by their own physician.

Mrs. Lebo requested to see the Concussion protocol; Ms. Owens will share with all members.

Mr. Bregoli asked about the re-entry accommodations for students returning to school, Ms. Huwar said those are developed by the student support team for individual students. Mr. Bregoli asked if this would trigger the development of a 504 Plan, Ms. Huwar said it is possible, but frequently an accommodation plan can outline the student needs. Ms. Huwar said the protocol outlines the stages of concussion recovery, incorporates the input of the student’s doctor, and parental input.

Mrs. Lebo asked for clarification, the physician’s input is the starting point of developing the accommodation plan. If a concussion happens at a school-based athletic event, the trainers have a shared document with the school nurses to share the incident so they can follow up with the family. Coaches are expected to report incidents to the Athletic Director and trainers so that follow up can occur.

Mr. Bregoli asked about the Impact testing being repeated every two years, students who are involved in Athletics would be retested prior to beginning Grade 11.

Mrs. Cahill made a motion to accept the proposed revision of School Committee Policy Book Section 10.19 Concussion Policy. Mrs. Lebo seconded the motion and on a roll call vote of the Policy Subcommittee, the ayes have it, 3-0.

For Section 2.3.3 Subcommittees of the School Committee, the current Policy and the MASC Policy were shared. Mr. Gutro reviewed that it in recent years, School Committee members have been attending all Subcommittee meetings and participating, but not voting. Mr. Gutro said that at the recent Goal-Setting Workshop meeting, MASC Field Representative Jim Hardy advised that Subcommittees must be posted as Committees of the Whole in order for all members to participate.

Mrs. Cahill suggested discussing the purpose of Subcommittees, some cities and towns have no Subcommittees and conduct all business at Regular meetings.

Mrs. Lebo said that if there were no Subcommittees, there would need to be more Regular meetings to cover all the topics.

Mrs. Cahill wants to retain the Subcommittee structure where the subset of members review the items in that Subcommittee and make recommendations to the full School Committee.

Mrs. Perdios said that if there is an opportunity to comment on items for on the Regular Meeting agenda for referral to Subcommittee, she would feel comfortable with current structure.

Mrs. Perdios suggested that some meetings could be Committees of the Whole, depending on the topic.

Mr. Bregoli agreed and suggested that the Subcommittee Chair have the discretion to decide if an item requires a meeting of the Whole.

Mr. Gutro noted that many Subcommittee meetings are not deliberative, usually the only votes are in Policy, Budget & Finance, or sometimes Facilities. Mr. Gutro noted that items moved from Subcommittee to the full School Committee can also be amended by the full School Committee.

Mayor Koch said the purpose of Subcommittees is to get the work done; some Subcommittees could be larger than three members. Mayor Koch said all members can reach out to Subcommittee chair to bring up thoughts on topics in Subcommittee.

Mrs. Lebo said that non-Subcommittee School Committee members can attend meetings but must sit in the audience.

Mrs. Perdios requested that a statement be read at the beginning of each meeting so that the public understands who are the subcommittee members.

Mrs. Perdios proposed establishing a minimum number of meetings for each Subcommittee as part of the Policy. Mrs. Lebo suggested the minimum number is one meeting per school year.

Mr. Bregoli reminded School Committee that there is an organizational meeting in September each year to review the items in Subcommittee and make additions and deletions.

Ms. Owens will draft a proposed revision of Policy Section 2.3.3 integrating the current policy language, today’s discussion, and MASC Policy for review at the next Policy Subcommittee meeting.

Mrs. Cahill made a motion to adjourn at 7:40 pm, seconded by Mrs. Lebo. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.