March 23, 2023 at 7:00 PM - Bethel Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale: 

• Congratulations to Unified Sports! They received the "Spirit of Life" Award from the Special Olympics Connecticut.  Bethel is the first CT school district to have an elementary, middle, and high school earn National Banner Recognition from Unified Champion Schools.
• Congratulations to Toshan Bhattacharya, BMS student, for winning first place at the Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair, Life Science Awards - 1st place - Life Sciences 8th grade - $300 & trophy, Connecticut Science Teachers Association's Marty Tafel Student Research Award - Life Sciences 8th Grade - $500 & invite to CSTA Award Banquet, Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge - nomination to compete in Thermo Fischer Scientific JIC for top selected MS winners, National Center for Inquiry Learning - Daniel & Maggie Award for Imagination - MS $100.
• On April 4th, Alejandro Chimbo will be honored at the Connecticut Association of Schools Arts Banquet on April 4th at the Aquaturf.
  
  On Saturday, March 11th, the following students were celebrated as award winners at the Brookfield Craft Center Artists on the Rise regional art show:
  
  1st Place Ceramics - Nick Adiletti  - American Classic - coil pot burger and shake
  2nd Place Ceramics - Emily Turek - Into the Hobbit Home - hobbit house slab construction
  2nd Place Photography - Alejandro Chimbo - Shadows - digital photograph
  1st Place Sculpture - Grace Vitarelli
  2nd Place Sculpture - Emzie Zalaznick
  2nd Place Painting - Lana Schneider 
  
  Several other students were successfully juried into the show as well:
  
  Petra Cirella - Cirque d’Etoiles - mixed media drawing
  Brooke Clay - Viola - sculpted and painted stylist head
  Sophia Goncalves - Melting Hue - charcoal & pastel still life drawing
  Emma Huedepohl - Christmas Farmhouse - ceramic slab house
  Alexa Jones - Ornate Snake Pot - ceramic coil pot
  Brooke Lohle - Dark Skies Over Hidden Glaciers - acrylic painting
  Jolene Ortega - Gnome Home - ceramic slab house
  Ava Real - acrylic portrait
  Lana Schneider - Mimi - acrylic painting 
  Sophia Trzyna - Night Terrors - watercolor painting
• Congratulation to the following teachers on receiving the BEF's Janice Jordan Excellence in Education Award:
  • Kerry Collins, Elementary Recipient
  • Kit Neilsen, Secondary Recipient
  • Jess McGlinchey, Elementary Recipient, 2022

Rationale:  The Month of March is Connecticut Board of Education Appreciation Month.  We would like to take this opportunity to say "thank you" to our hardworking and dedicated board members.  We thank you for the time and effort you devote to board business.

Video message from Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC17PcUhvjs

 

Rationale:  Mrs. Rutledge, Dr. Brooks, Mrs. Legnard, Ms. Soucy and I will provide the Board with an update on our work in the Science of Reading Masterclass and district work over the course of the 2022-2023 school year.  Mrs. Salerno and Mrs. Gieco both helped to develop the presentation, but will need to attend  the "Special Friends" dance at Johnson School.  It was rescheduled due to weather,  Mrs. Rutledge will also update the Board on the status of the reading pilot.  

Rationale:  (Please note:  The Board welcomes Public Participation and asks that speakers please limit their comments to 2 minutes.  Speakers may offer objective comments of school operations and programs that concern them.  The Board will not permit any expression of personal complaints or defamatory comments about Board of Education personnel and students, nor against any person connected with the Bethel Public School System.)

Rationale:  Ms. O’Brien spoke to the Board and thanked members who attended the public hearing. The Town Meeting is on April 3^rd at 7 PM at BHS and would greatly appreciate members attending it as well.  Ms. O’Brien commented on the staff tuition policy and reminded the Board it was created for the attraction and retention of staff.  It is a common practice in other districts for the same reason.  Ms. O’Brien reminded the Board and will continue to do so periodically, to always model civility, as it is a Board objective in the district’s Strategic Plan.
 

Rationale: 

• Revised Inventory of Mandates - The Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS) engaged Tom Mooney from Shipman and Goodwin to revise the list of legislative mandates for Public Schools since 2015.  The list, which is 50 pages long, comprises 125 different mandates since 2015.   While many of these mandates are well-intentioned, we can not continue to maintain the pace and cost of implementation.
• HVAC at BHS:   The BOS accepted the bid to replace ERU 2 (science unit).   We had Craig Razza from Kohler Rohnan at the meeting (virtually) to get the process moving.  Now that the bid has been approved, Jen and Bob will schedule a meeting with the contractor to get a timeline.   The second project, used with ARP funding, is the replacement and work associated with AHX1.   At the recommendation of Kohler Rohnan, we went out to bid on just the unit.  We have the bid results for that project and will be taking it to the BOS at their next meeting.   While completing the final designs and given the delay in actually obtaining the unit, they felt that if we get the unit itself on site, we could expedite the installation.  Lastly, we have not heard about the grant application yet.  I will email the Office of School Construction again today.  
• The Public Hearing on the budget is Monday, March 20th at 7:00 PM at Bethel High School.  
• The Annual Town Meeting on the budget is Monday, April 3 at 7:00 PM at Bethel High School.
• Parent-Teacher Conferences were last week.  
• The Military Ball will be Friday, March 24th.   This is the first year I have been unable to attend due to a family commitment.  Dr. Brooks will represent central office.
• Center for School Safety and Crisis Preparation did an introductory training on protocols to evaluate threat assessments.  It was attended by our administration, SROs, PPS Coordinators, and members of the Bethel Police Department.   As a next step, we are setting up more advanced training.  
• School Improvement Planning for 2023-2024 - Our Leadership Team began the process of School Improvement Planning for the 2023-2024 school year.   
• Assessment Schedules - In March we begin the spring administration of NWEA testing in Literacy and Mathematics.  Later in the spring, state testing begins.  
• Supt. Evaluation Meeting Dates
  • June 5, 2023 - BOE Special Meeting, Executive Session - Supt. Eval. Part I, 5:30-7:30 PM
  • June 19, 2023 - BOE Special Meeting, Executive Session - Supt. Eval. Part II, 5:30-7:30 PM

Rationale:  Monthly Data  -  We include in the BOE agenda the monthly data as requested by the BOE.  

Rationale: 

Key Points of the Briefing: 

• The BMS STEAM course curriculum broadens our students’ exposure to diverse content, supporting engineering and design, and utilizing a problem-based approach to teach to and reinforce the BPS Global Competencies, Computer Science Teaching Association (CSTA) standards, Engineering & Design, ISTE, and Common Core Standards. 

GRADE 6

CS -G6-STEAM-Curriculum Map

CS-G6-STEAM-Unit

 

GRADE 7

CS -G7-STEAM-Curriculum Map

CS-G7-STEAM-Unit

 

GRADE 8

CS -G8-STEAM-Curriculum Map

CS-G8-STEAM-Unit

• This STEAM course is an interdisciplinary course that blends research, inquiry, and design to present students with novel situations to apply science and math standards. Utilizing the previous year’s science and math standards, students are presented with new contexts for applying their understandings.

• This STEAM course expands the vertical alignment with the BHS pathways, incorporating elements of the arts, business, and career technical readiness. Through career-based projects and embedded problems, students gain exposure to components of professions/future courses, such as architecture, and gain insight into practical applications of the subject matter they are studying in core subjects, specifically math, and science.

• Long-term course outcomes include: 

  • Exhibit curiosity, imagination, flexibility, and perseverance in order to innovate and make valuable contributions to the community.

  • Actively seek and analyze new information and perspectives to define problems and develop solutions.

• This STEAM course is offered in 45 day (next year) UA Rotations offered in Grades 6-8

 

Rationale: 

Key Points of the Briefing: 

• The BHS French Curriculum (levels 2, 3, and 4)  addresses the ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) standards which supports communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, and communities. 

• In terms of communication, the focus is on :

  •  interpersonal communication skills: the process that we use to communicate our ideas, thoughts, and feelings to another person

  • presentational skills: the presentation of information through rehearsed written, spoken, or visual means

  • interpretive skills: listening, reading, and viewing

• French 2 Curriculum

• French 3 Curriculum

• French 4 Curriculum

• Students increase their proficiency with the language throughout the levels. Our district offers students the ability to graduate with the Seal of Biliteracy. 

Rationale: 
Job Description 6.18 - College & Career Center Associate