September 13, 2023 at 7:00 PM - Board of Education Meeting

Rationale: 
MOMENT OF SILENCE
Ruth Meusel - Grade 2 Teacher - O'Connell School - 4/7/69 - 6/22/92

MEETING NORMS
•All participants will actively participate, engage in the work of the meeting, and have an equal voice and airtime. 
• Assume positive intentions by respecting and honoring the diversity of opinions, beliefs, and perspectives. 
• Cultivate trust by being honest and focusing on ideas, practices, and the work...not people. 
• Norms will be upheld during all meetings and in all interactions outside of formal meetings.

Rationale: 
1. August 2, 2023 - Special Meeting
2. August 9, 2023 - Special Meeting - Meet & Greet
3. August 9, 2023 - Special BoE Meeting
4. August 16, 2023 - Special Meeting - Meet & Greet
5. August 16, 2023 - Special BoE Meeting
6. August 22, 2023 - Special BoE Meeting
7. September 6, 2023 - Special Meeting - Meet & Greet
8. September 6, 2023 - Special BoE Meeting
 

Rationale: 

Communication & Community Relations	Finance	Operations	Personnel	Policy Committee	Student Achievement
Maria Simmons, Chair	Dante Tagariello, Chair	Eric Carlson, Chair	Dante Tagariello, Chair	Shelby Pons, Chair	Jill Fitzsimons-Bula
Shelby Pons	Kristen Giantonio	Russell Anderson	Eric Carlson	Jill Fitzsimons-Bula	Kristen Giantonio
Russell Anderson	Eric Carlson	Jill Fitzsimons-Bula	Maria Simmons	Kristen Giantonio	Maria Simmons
Alternates:
Lorianne Osenkowski	Shelby Pons	Lorianne Osenkowski	Jill Fitzsimons-Bula	Dante Tagariello	Eric Carlson

Rationale: 
Student representatives from Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern will share activities, surveys, suggestions, and topics of interest in their respective schools.
Bristol Central                                         Bristol Eastern
Isabel Paolina - Senior*                             Rita Gao - Senior*
TBD - Junior                                               TBD - Junior                                                         

Rationale: 
Chair Dube will update the Board and the public on topics related to the Board of Education.

Rationale: 

Dr. Carbone will report/update the Board on the following topics:

1. Opening 23-24 School
2. Strategic Plan Update 2024-2030
 

Rationale: 
Sassu, Peter - BoE- Director of School Safety and Security - Effective August 30, 2023

Rationale: 
Floyd, Anthony - BEHS - Physical Education Teacher effective August 4, 2023

Rationale: 
Abreu, Debbie - BCHS - TESOL Teacher effective August 1, 2023
Bernadel, Melissa - GH - Special Education GOAL Teacher effective August 10, 2023
DeVito, Margaret - BAIMS - 6-8 Social Studies Teacher effective August 15, 2023
Ferguson-Taylor, Leisa - WB - Grade 8 Math Teacher effective August 10, 2023
Harrington, Alicia - STAF - Kindergarten Teacher effective August 25, 2023
Linnell, Kelsey - Bristol Prep - Social Studies Teacher effective July 24, 2023
Peralta-Frias, Elaine - ID - Social Worker effective August 22, 2023

Rationale: 
Colopy, Griffin - GH - Grade 8 ELA Teacher
Diaz Galindo, Yesenia - BEHS - School Counselor
DiLonardo, Rachel - CHMS - Special Education GOAL Teacher
Doyle, Micaela - GH - Special Education GOAL Teacher
Guerin, Sarah - WB - Grade 1 Teacher
Ieraci, Victoria - ID - Grade 2 Teacher
Maglio, Sarah - SSS - Kindergarten Teacher
Matos, Morgan - STAF - Kindergarten Teacher
Pogue, Kelly - BCHS - Grade 9 Math (Algebra) Teacher
Pollock, Jillian - GH - Kindergarten Teacher
Pompano, Mary Kate - STAF - Elementary Literacy Coach
Rodriguez, Jennifer - WB - Kindergarten Teacher
Toro, Jessica - STAF - Grade 5 Teacher
Trelli, Jase - BAIMS/NEMS - Grade 6-8 Wellness Teacher
Wadowski, Jonathan - CW - Technology Education Teacher
Welsh-Stephenson, Vanessa - CHMS - Grade 6 Special Education Teacher
Winoski, Alexandra - MTV/STAF - Special Education Teacher

Rationale: 
DeVito, Margaret - BAIMS - Grade 8 Team Leader effective August 15, 2023
McCane, Tara - CHMS - Purple Team Leader effective June 14, 2023
Taylor-Ferguson, Leisa - WB - Grade 8 Team Leader effective September 15, 2023

Rationale: 
DeVito, Margaret - BEHS - Head Drama Coach effective August 15, 2023

Rationale: 
DeVito, Margaret - BAIMS - Gifted Coach effective August 15, 2023
DeVito, Margaret - BAIMS/NEMS - Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator effective August 15, 2023

Rationale: 
McPartlin, Megan - WB - Grade 4 Teacher effective September 15, 2023 through November 24, 2023

Rationale:   

Name	Assignment	Transcripted Course Work	Total Credits
Aseltine, Susan	K-5 LMS, MTV	21	21
Bourke, Logan	Math Teacher, BEHS	30	30
Nadeau, Alisha	Special Education, BEHS	31	31
Stavens, John	Social Studies Teacher, BEHS	30	30

Rationale: 

Teachers trained to serve as TEAM (Teacher Education and Mentoring) mentors and cooperating teachers provide assistance and support to student teachers and first year beginning teachers in the district in areas such as lesson design and classroom management and provide feedback and support in the areas of instructional planning and student assessment. Cooperating teachers are those teachers who are trained to work with student teachers. We need to increase the number of cooperating teachers in the district in order to meet the need of student teachers. Mentors must be assigned to first-year teachers to provide mentoring and support to newly certified teachers; this program is required by the State Department of Education. Principals recruit teachers to apply to be a TEAM mentor/cooperating teachers; the applications are reviewed by the TEAM Coordinating Committee. The following teachers were approved by the TEAM Coordinating Committee and are recommended to be TEAM Mentors/cooperating teachers.  Approved teachers must attend a three day training program and update their training every three years.

 

Teacher	Assignment
Amanda Webster	Elementary Teacher, SSS

Rationale: 
At the Finance Committee meeting on September 6. 2023, the committee was presented the FY 2024 Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Grant. 

Bristol has received 2023-2024 FFVG from the CSDE for the following schools:
Bristol Arts and Innovation Magnet School
Chippens Hill Middle School
Ellen P. Hubbell School
Greene-Hills School
South Side School
Stafford School
West Bristol School

Beginning in October, we will serve students healthy fruit and vegetable servings three times weekly.
 

Rationale:   

The Bristol Alliance Grant focuses on resources to support the areas of Talent, Climate, Academics, and Operations within BPS. All positions and programs help to increase academic performance and support district climate initiatives.  Grant funding supports literacy coaching for teachers (4.75 literacy coaches) and support for students in grades K-3 who are reading below the Bristol reading benchmark (8.3)Instructional Support Teachers). In addition, we fund 13.5 kindergarten teachers, 11 Kindergarten Teaching Assistants, 8 mathematics coaches, 5.0 Library Media Specialists, 4.5  Deans, a .5 STEM Supervisor, 3 IT Specialists, a Pre-K teacher and 6 para-educator, AVID stipends, 10 SSW, a Communication and School Partnerships Director, 1 Family Liaisons,  1 Engagement Coordinator, 1 Inclusion Specialist, .75 TESOL Staff, 1 Multilingual Tutor,  translation services, 1 School Psychologist, 8 School Climate/Security Personnel, 1.6 CTE Teacher, 1 Data Analyst, a Math Intern at NEMS, 4 UCONN Interns, substitute services, consultant services, and portions of salaries in the grants office and all employee benefits associated with positions listed previously. Annually BPS submits a grant proposal to the SDE aligned to the goals of our district strategic plan and performance indicators, this year's grant award totals $9,013,623.00. which is an $1,286,721.00 increase from FY 23.

Rationale:   

Members of the public are invited to comment to the Board on any topic related to school business. Items requiring consideration by the Board must be approved as an agenda item by a 2/3ds vote of the Board members present.  Such items may be referred for further study and not necessarily acted upon at this meeting.

Anyone wishing to address the Board should adhere to the following procedures:

Before a Remote Meeting - Submitted Public Comment must be received by 4:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting.

1. Send your comments to: susaneverett@bristolk12.org
2. Be sure to put PUBLIC COMMENT - BOE in the subject line.
3. Include your name and address.
4. Direct your comments to the Board Chair.
5. Your comments will be read at the meeting by the Board Chair.
6. All comments should be written in an appropriate manner, comments regarding personnel or confidential student information shall not be discussed under public comment.
7. Any comments not adhering to the guidelines will not be read at the meeting.

During a Meeting

1. Everyone is requested to address the Chair for recognition.
2. Each speaker must state his/her name and address.
3. All speakers must observe rules of common etiquette.  Personalities are not to be injected. Anyone violating this rule will be denied the floor. Unless waived by the Chairperson or a majority of the Board,
4. Each speaker shall limit his/her remarks to three (3) minutes.
5. A speaker will not be recognized for a second time on the same topic.
6. The public may speak as agenda topics come up for discussion or information.  Anyone digressing from the topic will be ruled out of order.
7. Written statements and materials may be made available, in advance of comments, for distribution to Board members.
8. Speakers shall state their positions on the subject being discussed.
9. Board members will not respond directly to comments during the Board meeting. The Superintendent will direct the question to the appropriate staff member for follow-up

Rationale: 
Dr. Culkin will present the 2023-2024 New Teacher Hiring Overview.

Rationale: 
The ESSER/ARP Committee met last week and due to the bids being over budget, the committee voted to disband. At the Operations Committee meeting, it was voted to reallocate the 8.5M that was originally allocated to the CHMS and EPH HVAC projects and to use it to meet the needs of the facilities department. This will alleviate many project requests that would typically be on the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).

The facility needs are listed by priority: Fire Alarm Systems, Building Management Systems, Boilers and Rooftop Units

Rationale: 
At the Operations Committee, acting as the CHMS Underground Storage Tank (UST) Building Committee, the final plans and cost estimates were approved. As a state requirement, the BOE must approve them as well. These must be approved prior to the Plan Completion Review (PCR) which is scheduled for September 20th.

Rationale:  The Bristol Eastern High School Football Booster Club has received a $4,000 check. The intended purpose of these funds is to host a weekly team meal on Thursday nights throughout the season. The board will need to approve receipt of the funds.

Rationale: 
Amy Martino Director of Special Services will update the Board regarding Special Services programs and topics.

Rationale: 

 Fashion Design is a curriculum proposal to be included at BAIMS as part of our HS Art offerings.  Students will learn the basics of Fashion Illustration, fibers and textiles, construction, careers, and the business of fashion lines. The curriculum was presented at the Student Achievement Committee and Passed to move to the full board for final approval on 8/30/23  

Rationale:   

Computer skills are essential in today's world.  In this course, students get hands-on practice to produce professionally formatted documents, spreadsheets and presentations needed in their future careers or personal lives. A parallel focus is placed on reinforcing and improving keyboarding proficiency through business-related activities. A variety of software packages including Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), Google Apps (Docs, Sheets, and Slides), and other web-based softwares will be utilized in this course.  This is a course designed for students in grades 9 and 10, however this course will benefit students in all grades looking to broaden their computer software skills.

Business & Finance Concentration

• Management Pathway 

• Digital Communications Pathway

Engineering & Technical Sciences Concentration

• Information Technology Pathway

Credit: 0.5

Rationale: 

An introduction to the various pathways (Diagnostic, Therapeutic, Health Informatics, Support Services, Biotechnology Research and Development) in the field of Allied Health. Students will learn the basic structure and function of selected body systems and will practice medical skills associated with selected body systems. Students will learn medical abbreviations, and basic medical terminologies (prefix, suffix, and word roots) associated with selected body systems. Particular focus will be placed on vital signs, and skills associated with medical assisting, CNA and nursing.  Students will also learn basic communication skills and demonstrate competency in dealing with patients with a variety of backgrounds regardless of sexual orientation, religious, ethnic and racial status. This course embeds multiple hands-on (CPR training, Stop The Bleed) and virtual lab experiences (Blood Typing) to enhance their knowledge and class experience. Students will be expected to demonstrate competency in the skills that are taught.

Health and Medical Sciences Concentration

• Health Occupations Pathway

Credit: 0.5

Rationale: 

This is the second course in the Rising Educators series. Throughout the semester, students learn about the essential elements to a positive classroom environment, the role of evidence-based practice in yielding expected student outcomes, and the modes in which curriculum is used in generating teacher lesson plans. Student learning is anchored in fieldwork and observational experiences, where they observe instruction, link observations to their conceptual learning, and apply in their work with students.

Education Concentration

• Elementary Education Pathway

• Secondary Education pathway

Credit: 0.5

Rationale:   

This college level UConn course explores the profession of teaching  and the role passion for learning and for teaching plays in creating inclusive and engaging classrooms where all children are welcome and given the opportunity to learn.  Students will learn about the evolution of the teaching profession over time and work to connect their strengths and passions to the important work teachers do!   This course includes 20 hours of required internship time where students are working in district classrooms alongside experienced and passionate teachers!

Education Concentration

• Secondary Education pathway

Credit: 1.0( BPS), 3.0 (UConn)

Rationale: 
The Board will discuss any new business proper to come before the Board.

Rationale: 

Any communications/information regarding building projects:

1. Chippens Underground Storage Tank
2. BAIMS Building Update
3. NEMS Building Committee Report
4. ESSER/ARP Building Committee Update
5. Edgewood Project Update
6. Culinary Arts Project Updates
7. Athletic Fields and Site Improvements
 

Rationale: 

Commissioners will report to the Board on any groups/organizations in which they serve as Board of Education Liaisons and information pertinent to the Board.

Rationale: 
There being no other business to come before the Board, the meeting should be adjourned.