October 15, 2008 at 7:00 PM - Board of Education Meeting

Rationale: 

Rationale:  We were notified by the State Board of Education that Collin Beloin achieved the Advanced level on the 2008 CAPT tests in Mathematics, Reading, Writing and Science.  This accomplishment deserves recognition!

Rationale:  Mike Devine has been chosen by the Access Community Action Agency to receive recognition for his community service.  Emily Alvord, our homeless liaison and FRC instructional assistant, has also been chosen for volunteer service.  Congratulations to both of them!

Rationale:  Jim Milliard would like to inform the Board of a project that has been taken on by The Great Garage Band and the Danielson Elks for Project Graduation.  Both groups would fund raise throughout the year to provide a permanent supply of money every year to be used by each senior class.  Currently they are working on a dinner dance fundraiser during January/February and an "open class reunion" for the KHS classes of 1964-1975 to be held in Davis Park.

Rationale:  Joan Gardner will be reporting on the news going on at Killingly Central School including the 50th anniversary activities of the opening of KCS.

Rationale:  Mr. Vose will report on the key indicators measuring the effectiveness of the Freshman Academy program from the 2007-08 school year.

Rationale: 

Rationale:  The district, under the direction of Ms. Huber, is planning a celebration recognizing the 150th birthday of the school district.  The celebration will be held at KIS on Saturday, November 22, 2008 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. with many members of the school community participating.  Jan will inform the board of the plans that have already been made.

Rationale:  As you know, October 1 is the official date for establishing enrollment for all state reports, ECS aid, and projections.  Attached is a comparison of enrollment trends over the past several years, as compared to projections, by school level.  Overall, enrollment is up from last year, but lower than had been projected at the elementary and high school levels; enrollment at KIS is greater than projected. 

Rationale:  Design Partnership of Cambridge, our facilities study consultant, is preparing a draft report to present on October 21 to district-wide team for feedback.  The draft will have a number of options based on space availability and somewhat differing approaches to school organization.  The feedback from the team will help them develop the final report, to be presented to the Board mid-November. 

The final report, when issued, will just be the beginning of a year-long community conversation on reorganizing the district once the new high school opens in the Spring of 2010.  It will also provide information on code requirements and necessary facilities upgrades that will enable the Board to present a research based Capital Improvement Plan to the Town.

Rationale:  The September 30 fiscal report shows that the current year budget is on a typical expenditure trajectory with no surprises.  We will share the first quarter analysis and projection to the end of the year at the meeting.

Rationale:  The governing documents for the National Honor Society (NHS) have been amended by the Board of Directors of NASSP.  All local chapters must follow the national constitution, and thus we must change our BOE regulations governing the procedures for student selection.  The change requires that the list of students selected for membership by the faculty council be reviewed with the principal prior to student notification.

The Board does not need to take any action on this change since it is a change in regulation, not policy.  The revised regulation is attached.

Rationale:  Approval of all four out of state field trip requests is recommended.  These are all trips we have done in the past, and all benefit students in multiple ways.  The video, construction and band trips are educational and competitive, giving our students the opportunity to see how their knowledge and skills compare with peers from around the country.  The college visit, organized by vo-ag, gives our students a chance to explore exemplary college agriculture programs, increasing the probability that they will want to pursue post-secondary education.

Rationale:  There have been no substantive changes to the draft calendar shared with the Board in September.  The Curriculum Committee has met once, and scheduled items for the second meeting of the month for October and November; they will continue to review items for the remainder of the year's meetings.  The October 22 agenda includes an update on the Pyramids of Intervention at each of the schools and an update on NEASC at the high school.  The November 19 agenda includes action plan reports for both CMT/CAPT and Board performance indicators from Brad and the building principals.

Rationale:  In order to allow individuals to plan appropriately, the Board needs to appoint a member as delegate to the CABE/CAPSS Convention.  The Delegate Assembly is held the day before the convention starts.  In the past, the Board has selected an alternate as well.

Rationale:  The changes to Policy #9132 reflects Board decisions last spring to establish four standing committees - Curriculum, Fiscal, Policy, and Community Engagement.  In addition to descriptions of the charge of the committees, some language governing the general functioning of committees was altered to meet the Board's intent.

Rationale:  In response to statutory changes requiring the placement of meeting notices, agendas and minutes on websites, Policy #'s 9321, 9323, and 9326 all required changes.  In addition to referencing posting on websites, other minor language changes were made to make these policies consistent with changes made to other Board by-laws last year.

Rationale:  In response to statutory changes requiring the placement of meeting notices, agendas and minutes on websites, Policy #'s 9321, 9323, and 9326 all required changes.  In addition to referencing posting on websites, other minor language changes were made to make these policies consistent with changes made to other Board by-laws last year.

Rationale:  In response to statutory changes requiring the placement of meeting notices, agendas and minutes on websites, Policy #'s 9321, 9323, and 9326 all required changes.  In addition to referencing posting on websites, other minor language changes were made to make these policies consistent with changes made to other Board by-laws last year.

Rationale:  Last year, a question was raised by military recruiters about whether our current practices were in keeping with those required by federal law.  We discovered that we were not treating all recruiters equivalently, practices at the high school did not conform with current law, and our policy needed revision. 

After review by our attorneys, they recommended replacing our current policy with the Shipman & Goodwin model policy.  The Policy Committee forwards it on to you for Board consideration.

Rationale:  The Policy Committee recommends deletion of this policy.  Although included in the policy manual, no actual policy or organizational chart exists, and there does not seem to be a need for this policy and would be redundant with subsequent policies which describe other administrative roles.

Rationale:  A description of directory information is included in Policy #5125, making this policy unnecessary.  The Policy Committee will be undertaking a review of that policy in the future.