April 6, 2016 at 7:00 PM - Regular Meeting

Rationale:  National Anthem Performed By: Chippens Hill Instrumental Group - Directed by Lisa LaDone

Rationale: 

1. MLK Award Recipient - In late January, Rachel Roloff - a seventh grader at West Bristol School was the winner of the University of Connecticut poster contest honoring Dr. Martin Luther King. Out of over 100 entries, Rachel was deemed the winner in her age group. We are very proud of her work and efforts to promote Dr. King's message!

2. Connecticut Art Education Association Elementary Art Educator of the year - South Side School art teacher Walter Lewandowski has been selected as the Connecticut Art Education Association Elementary Art Educator of the year  There will be a dinner recognizing he and a few other colleagues statewide on Sunday, May 1st in Farmington.  We are incredibly proud of his work with our students and for his contributions to art education across the entire state!

3. Best Community for Music Education - Bristol has been honored with the Best Communities for Music Education designation from the NAMM ( foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education.  Bristol joins 476 districts across the country receiving this prestigious award in 2016. 

 

Rationale:  1. March 2, 2016 - Regular Meeting

Rationale: 

Communications & Community Relations	Finance	Operations	Personnel	Student Achievement	Policy Committee
Jeff Caggiano, Chair	Karen Vibert, Chair	Karen Hintz, Chair	Thomas O’Brien, Chair	Jennifer Dube, Chair	Tina Taylor, Chair
Joseph Grabowski	Karen Hintz	Jeff Caggiano	Jeff Caggiano	Joseph Grabowski	Jennifer Dube
Tina Taylor	David Scott	Thomas O’Brien	Karen Vibert	Tina Taylor	Karen Hintz
					David Scott
Alternates:
Jennifer Dube	Joseph Grabowski	Karen Vibert	Jennifer Dube	David Scott

Rationale:  Student Representatives from Bristol Central (David Kaminski) and Bristol Eastern (Cassidy Yates) will give a monthly report to the Board.

Rationale: 

Dr. Solek will report/update the Board on district topics.

1. CCJEF Status Update - Jim Finley

Rationale:  Richard Gagliardi – BOE – Supervisor of Science, Technology & Engineering

Rationale: 

Vernessa Elder – CW – Psychologist
David Friedman – CW – Speech Language

Rationale: 

Jennifer Fitzsimmons – MTV – Grade 4 – Effective April 8, 2016
Alissa Freking – CHMS – Math, Grade 8 – Effective June 30, 2016

Rationale: 

Bristol has received a grant from the State Department of Education in the amount of $178,861.00. This grant will provide schools with classroom technology necessary to support curricular efforts to implement Connecticut Core Standards in all schools.

Rationale: 

Bristol Central High School has been awarded a grant in the amount of $100,000 from State Farm.  This grant will help support the teen driver safety program at BCHS.

Rationale:  The FRCs are pursuing a grant from the Barnes foudndation.  The P.U.S.H. (Parents Using Strategies at Home) and P.U.T (Parents/Students utilizing Technology) program is designed to give parents the tools to support their child's learning at home and make valuable connections to the classroom.  It involves replenishing the PUSH backpacks available per grade (funded last year),  each with a different learning focus (Literacy, Math, Social Studies/Science,  embededTechnology activities) and puts chrome notebook/Google Classroom technology in the hands to students, parents and teachers.

Rationale: 

West Bristol School is submitting a proposal requesting $4,500 from the Main Street Foundation General Fund.

This grant will provide Kindergarten through Second grade students an opportunity to participate in weekly social skills groups during lunch and recess, utilizing a research-based Social Emotional Learning curriculum (Second Step) to prepare students to succeed in the classroom and life. According to the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, Marc Brackett, Ph.D., Executive Director: "It's about creating an environment where a child can learn, because if a child isn't emotionally prepared to learn, he or she is not going to learn".

Rationale: 

Bristol FRCs are requesting $5,000 of funding from the Main Street Foundation General Fund.  This grant was received last FY 2015-16 and is being re-requested for 2016-17.  TOPS (Translation, Outreach, Programming and Support Services) for Spanish speaking parents/children residing in the West Bristol School district.  Grant Funds will be used to hire a per diem Spanish Speaking Outreach Worker to provide culturally competent social work services to parents/children ensuring that their educational needs and family goals are achieved (aprox. 8 hours per week).  The FRC Outreach Worker will provide translation services at PPTs, parent-teacher conferences and other needed correspondence done in Spanish. In addition,  we expect to complete at least 25 Family Assessments. The Outreach Worker will use the Family-Partnership Assessment tool which will  assist parents in identifying their needs in the following areas: education, employment, housing, transportation, support service needs, health/wellness, finances, childcare/parenting. The parents will then be connected to FRC and community services to meet their identified needs.

Rationale:  The Quality Enhancement Grant is being submitted to the Bristol School Readiness Council (BSRC) for the purpose of enhancing the services provided by the Family Resource Centers (FRC) at Greene-Hills, South Side and West Bristol Schools.  The FRCs are charged with the responsibility of providing comprehensive family support services and building a strong school-family-community partnership that strengthens healthy family living.   This grant request supports the Kith and Kin Services program.   Kith & Kin refers to families using informal childcare arrangements between or among relatives, friends and neighbors.  The Comprehensive Family Services program supports parent leadership workshops, health fair activities and the Road to Reading program which distributes free books to preschoolers enrolled in BSRC programs.  The grant funds assist in the continuation of these programs that are consistent with the basic goals of the FRCs.  The FRC has been fortunate to receive these funds, yearly for the past eleven years.

Rationale: 

BACKGROUND:   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 microphone.
4. Preface your remarks by stating your name and address.
5. Direct your comments to the Board chairman.
6. Please limit your comments to three minutes.
7. Any comments should be made in an appropriate manner, particularly if concerning a personnel matter.

 Board Policy #1120(a)

Rationale:  In April 2017 Andrea Schacht, Andrew Schacht and students will be expanding their classroom by embarking on a 9 day, educational adventure through Explorica, a tour company housed in Boston, Massachusetts.  This tour will offer our students the opportunity to visit Spain, France and Italy in 9 days.  Rather than just reading about the Prado Museum and Royal Palace in Madrid, The Colosseum and Vatican in Rome, the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame Cathedral in France, they are going to experience these historical treasures first hand.  The tour will start in Madrid, the home to the Plaza Mayor, Madrid’s main city square. Next, off to Toledo, Spain which is known as the “city of the three cultures”, behind its walls are an artistic and cultural legacy in the form of churches, palaces, fortresses, mosques and synagogues.  After flying from Madrid to Paris, the students will then explore the 17^th century French palace, Versailles, and take a guided tour of the city seeing the Arc de Triomphe, Champ de Mars, Ecole Militaire and venture on a Seine River cruise. Our tour will conclude in Italy after an overnight train brings us to Rome.  We will walk the Spanish steps, eat gelato, explore the Roman Forum, visit St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel.  The students are going to take their understanding of world history and cultures to a new level. In addition to gaining greater cultural sensitivity and an international perspective on their studies, students return home feeling more confident and independent—qualities that stay with them throughout their academic, professional and personal lives. It is anticipated that we leave on Thursday, April 13^th.  We are asking for one travel day before the onset of April vacation which commences on Friday, April 14^th.  This will allow us to return with a few days to recover from jetlag before returning to school on Monday, April 24^th. We will be traveling through Explorica; an accredited company with over 16 years of experience.

Rationale:  During the 2016-2017 school year, up to 20 BCHS students studying Italian will take part in a study abroad with a partner school in Sicily, Italy. The trip is scheduled for November 4-11, 2016. While abroad, students will live with local families, attend school, see extraordinary historical sites, and become fully immersed in the rich culture and language of the town of Taormina, Sicily. Exchange trips have seen tremendous success in recent years, and we seek permission to continue the experience in another part of Italy. Please see the proposal for further details.       

Rationale:  The Elementary Summer Enrichment Summer Program is self-sustaining and runs for four weeks. This is the district’s Summer School option for students entering Kindergarten to Sixth Grade. 

Rationale: 

Traditionally the closing day of school has been set at the April meeting along with the high school graduation date.

Promotional exercises at the middle schools take place in the morning of the last day of school, Thursday, June 9, 2016.

High school graduation will be scheduled for the evening of Thursday, June 9, 2016.

 

Summary of Closing Information to Date

School Closed:  1/5 GH only, 2/5, 2/8

Late Openings:  2/9, 2/10, 3/21, 4/4, 4/5

Early Dismissals:  9/8, 9/9, 2/23

Rationale: 

Greene-Hills School was closed on January 5, 2016 due to a building emergency while all other schools were in session. We are asking to waive one day of attendance, so that students at Greene-Hills School will begin their summer break with the rest of the district. The last day of classes for Greene Hill students will be Thursday, June 9, 2016.

This one day waiver is in accordance with CT State Statue (CGS § 10-16) which requires public schools to provide at least 180 days of actual school sessions for kindergarten through grade 12.

Teachers at Greene-Hills will work on June 10, 2016.

Rationale: 

The previously approved 2016-2017 calendar (Feb. 2015, BOE Meeting), needs to be amended to reflect Sunday, January 1, 2017 (New Year's Day) being observed on Monday, January 2, 2017.

Rationale: 

Replacement of the Ellen P. Hubbell Roof requires the BOE to approve the Plans, Specs, and Professional Cost Estimate. This is a requirement to submit with the ED042 for final approval by the state.

Rationale:  We are updating the district's Certified Resolution to reflect the new board, and affirm the signing authorities.

Rationale: 

This is an introductory college course in human geography. As a district, we have the mission of ensuring that all students will be college-ready.  This course will enable students to acquire college credit while in high school, helping the district achieve its goal of increasing the number of students who take a course that bears college credit prior to graduation. The curriculum will challenge our highest performing students through critical thinking, reading, writing, and inquiry. Students entering ninth grade will be eligible to enroll in this course, providing an early opportunity for advanced studies.

Rationale: 

AP Human Geography is a new course being offered to Bristol high school students in grades 9-12.  Human Geography:  People, Place, and Culture, A.P Edition is the text being recommended to support the curriculum.  This text aims to teach students to appreciate the diversity of people, places, and cultures, and understand the role people play in shaping the world. The goals of this edition are to provide geographic context to global, regional, national and local issues and to teach students to think geographically and critically about these issues.  The textbook aligns with the curriculum’s content and skills, supports authentic, performance-based assessments, provides test prep sample questions, and suggests numerous on-line supplements to support academic growth.

Rationale: 

Principals at the high-, middle- and elementary-school levels have requested that the regulation and supporting documents to the field trip policy be revised in the following ways:

1. In the regulation, the deadline for approval moves from 2 weeks to 4 weeks to allow more time to communicate about any health concerns;

2. In the permission slip, parents need to indicate that it is their responsibility to inform the school nurse of any allergies;

3. In the field trip request form, the teacher needs to indicate whether food will be provided and when they reviewed information about the trip with the school nurse.

Rationale:  1. Special Education Audit

Rationale: 

The Board of Education will discuss any new business proper to come before the Board.

Rationale:  Any communications received or any questions by Board members concerning items not on the agenda.

Rationale: 

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

Rationale:  1. For the purpose of discussing: Superintendent Evaluation and Self Assessment

Rationale:  There being no other business to come before the Board of Education the meeting should adjourn.