May 2, 2012 at 7:00 PM - Regular Board template

Rationale:  Ben Carmelich a 2nd grade student at Greene-Hills students held a 'penny wars' contest to see which classroom could raise the most money to purchase supplies for the Caring Closet that offers baby clothes, shoes, diapers, wipes and other items to low income families with young children at the Parent and Child Center.

Rationale: 

The 16^th annual CABE Student Leadership Awards Program was developed to give local boards of education the opportunity to recognize student achievement and potential.   

These students were picked from among their peers for exhibiting leadership qualities as defined by a list of criteria developed by a subcommittee of CABE’s Board of Directors. 

CABE was very impressed with the level of achievement by these students.

The following students will be recognized:

Molly Watstein - Memorial Boulevard Middle School
Jeremy Ganavage - Memorial Boulevard Middle School
Ashley Pecorelli - Bristol Central High School
Mark Winters - Bristol Central High School

Rationale:  Corinne will discuss her experience with the Outward Bound Program sponsored by CREC.

Rationale: 

The Special Olympics of Connecticut annually honors athletes for exemplifying the spirit, courage and joy of Special Olympics.  This year Anthony Cruz an 8^th grader at Chippens Hill Middle School was chosen to receive the Spirit of Life Award from CAS/CIAC.  He was recognized at the Hall of Fame Awards banquet at the Aqua Turf on March 21, 2012.

In addition, the Unified Sports Program at Chippens Hill Middle School was  recognized at the same banquet by CAS/CIAC Unified Sports Program for their exemplary work and providing opportunities for Bristol’s Special Olympic Athletes.

Rationale: 

Each year the Board of Education selects staff members who go above and beyond the expectations of their job description to be honored with a Staff Award. 

A dinner in their honor will be held on May 23, 2012 at 5:30 p.m.

AWARD RECIPIENTS:

Special Board Recognition:

Catherine Carbone – Principal – Chippens Hill Middle School 

1^st Time Awardees: 
Kara Jones – Math Chair and teacher – Bristol Eastern High School
Mariliz Fitzpatrick – Math teacher - Gr. 6 – Chippens Hill Middle School
Beth Martin – Library Clerk – Hubbell School
Shirley Preleski – Instructional Support Teacher – O’Connell School
Karen Hulbert – Grade 5 Teacher – O’Connell School
Joanne Bonino – Speech-Language Clinician – Stafford School

Rationale: 

Rationale:  Mario Marrero - Assistant Track and Field Coach - BCHS - Effective 4/16/12
Kevin Taylor - Assistant Track and Field Coach - BCHS - Effective 4/16/12

Rationale:  The Immigrant Children and Youth Education Grant Application provides local educational agencies with funds due to an unexpected increase in their student population due to immigration.  This is a 2 year grant, ending 6/30/2013.  The amount awarded is $11,402.

Rationale: 

PROCEDURES FOR PUBLIC COMMENT 

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:

1. Sign in on the Public Comment sign-in roster.
2. Wait to be recognized by the Board Chair.
3. Proceed to the speaker’s table.
4. Preface your remarks by stating your name and address.
5. Direct your comments to the Board Chairman.
6. Please try to limit your comments to three minutes.

Any comments should be made in an appropriate manner, particularly if concerning a personnel matter

Rationale:  $5,000.00 Donation received from the estate of Dorothy Ebb to be used exclusively for the South Side School Library.  Funds to be deposited into the SSS activity account.

Rationale:  Board of Education Members have asked to receive a quarterly review of enrollment figures.  These are the current enrollment figures for the fourth quarter.

Rationale:  See Attached Report

Rationale:  The Board of Education approved a budget of $105,814,058 at its March meeting. Since that time, the cost of employee health insurance increased by $188,047. Therefore, a new motion to approve an amended budget of $106,002,105 is necessary.

Rationale: 

The elementary mathematics curriculum for Grade 1 was last revised in 2002.  Grade 3 and 5 was revised in 2010. 

• Since 2010, the Connecticut State Department of Education has released new standards for mathematics, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in Connecticut.  Assessments are being developed for the 2014-2015 school year.  The curriculum needed to be revised to align with the CT Standards.
• The curriculum was written to follow the format and guidelines recently set by Bristol for developing new curriculum to guide the teaching and learning process.  

The documents attached here is based on work by the Grade 1, 3 and 5 Curriculum Committees which included Mathematics Coaches Rebecca Holden, Ann Marie Spinelli, Debra Vitale and Marlene Lovanio.  In addition, most all Grades 1, 3 and 5 teachers attended a curriculum preview meeting and were able to provide feedback. 

Rationale:  With the construction of the K-8 schools, changes were needed to our transportation policy. The walk zone for K-8 students will follow the elementary distance of one mile to avoid having an elementary grade sibling eligible for transportation and a middle school age student ineligible. Further, additional wording was added to clarify changes in transportation plans by parents/guardians with an emphasis on written notice of each child’s transportation plan.