June 5, 2019 at 7:00 PM - Regular BOE Meeting

Rationale: 

National Anthem:

Northeast Band - Directed By: Sharon Vocke

Moment of Silence:

Angela Basile

Rationale: 

The 2020 Teacher of the Year for Bristol Public Schools will be announced at the June 2019 Board of Education meeting.  The Teacher of the Year Committee consisted of:  Board of Education commissioners, Karen Hintz and Jennifer Dube; Principals Scott Gaudet and Dan Sonstrom; Former teachers of the year:  Lisa Carroll, Corey Nagle, Scott Ruel, Julia Darcy, Sharon Campolo, Sharon Vocke, and Michael Reynolds.  A reception will be held in the fall to honor the Teacher of the Year.

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 was held on May 22, 2019

AWARD RECIPIENTS:

Staff Achievement Award:

Ashley Albert – Administrative Assistant, Office of Teaching and Learning

Marcy Deschaine – Grade 3 Teacher – Mountain View School

Paige Flint – School Psychologist – Mountain View School

Shawn Mirmina – School Counselor – Bristol Central High School

Robin Percival – Literacy Coach – Chippens Hill Middle School

Natalie Torres – Child and Family Advocate – Greene-Hills School – FRC

Rationale:  Students from the Chippens Hill and West Bristol sections of "Kids in the Middle" will be recognized for receiving the Youth Recognition Award.

Rationale: 

The Board of Education should vote to approve any Regular or Special Meeting Minutes:

1. May 1,  2019 – Regular Meeting Minutes

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	Kristen Giantonio	Thomas O’Brien	Karen Vibert	Tina Taylor	Karen Hintz
					Kristen Giantonio
Alternates:
Jennifer Dube	Joseph Grabowski	Karen Vibert	Jennifer Dube	Kristen Giantonio

Rationale: 

 

Chairman Wilson will update the Board and the public on:

1. CABE Collective Bargaining and Labor Relations 2019

Rationale: 

Student Representatives from Bristol Central (Katherine Funk or Abby Tijhuan Grant-Christie) and Bristol Eastern (Lori Chen or Logan Zdun) will update the board on recent activities at each of their schools.

Rationale: 

Dietter, Michael – BOE – Deputy Superintendent of Schools
Gomes, Emily – ID – Principal
Ward, Leszek – BOE – Secondary Supervisor of Humanities

Rationale: 

Prete, Corinne – NEMS – Language Arts, Grade 8 Teacher
Welch, Joan – NEMS – Special Education Teacher  

Rationale: 

Biga, Tammy – STAF – Grade 4 Teacher
Ingvertsen, Ashley – BEHS – Spanish Teacher
Martin, Jennifer – BCHS – Special Education Teacher

Rationale: 

Naples, Jessica – GH – Guidance Counselor – effective August 27, 2019
Perez, Hector – CHMS – Grade 7 Social Studies Teacher - effective May 6, 2019

Rationale:  Greene, Kristine – CHMS – Red Team Leader

Rationale: 

Aparo, Sara – BEHS – Junior Class Co-Advisor
Wernicki, Amy – BEHS – Yearbook Advisor, Circulation

Rationale:  Kristen Peck, Director of BECC has secured $6,000.00 of additional funding through the CT State Department of Education for Pre-K program quality improvement.

Rationale:  Bristol Public Schools and CCSU are collaborating to “Gear Up”. Gear Up is a program administered by BPS-CCSU to develop skills for post-secondary and college success.

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: 

Replacement of the Stafford School Roof requires the BOE to approve the project and to send it to City Council for Approval.

Rationale: 

Replacement of the Stafford School Roof requires the Education Specifications be approved by the Board of Education and then reviewed and approved by City Council. This is a state requirement.

Rationale: 

In order to receive funding from the state, the Board of Education and City Council must authorize the Board of Education to apply for the grant.

Rationale: 

The Board of Education has previously voted to participate in the Healthy Food Certification Compliance Act.

Each year the district must certify full compliance with the program which means that the Board of Education “will exclude from certification food items that do not meet the Connecticut Nutrition Standards, provided that (1) such food is sold in connection with an event occurring after the end of the regular school day or on the weekend, (2) such sale is at the location of the event, and (3) such food is not sold from a vending machine or school store.

This year, we will receive approximately $75,000 in reimbursements from the State of Connecticut as a result of our participation in this program.

Requested approval by the Board of Education is for the 2019-2020 school year.

Rationale: 

Bristol Central High School is requesting permission to travel to Italy and host Italian exchange students during the 2019-2020 school year. We have asked BEHS to participate as well so we hope to offer this as a combined opportunity. Bristol students and staff would like to maintain our 12 year partnership with the G. Nolfi classical language school in Fano, Italy.  This proposal requests that we host our sister school during the fall of 2019 and travel during the February break of 2020.  This period of time is has been chosen so to miss minimal instructional/learning time in the US and maximize learning while abroad.

We are requesting permission to offer this exchange one year in advance to ensure that students and parents have enough time to prepare for the trip. We would like to give families sufficient time both to save for travel costs as well as to help plan this educational experience. We will take the proper travel precautions when planning this trip and will follow all Board of Education policies. We will purchase additional travel insurance to insure the maximum safely coverage as well. This exchange is a once in a lifetime opportunity; with your support and approval we can facilitate an interest in and an understanding of this great culture among our students.

Rationale: 

The incredible city of Taormina is located in southern Italy, an area known for its beautiful beaches, fantastic food and enchanting ambiance. In February 2021, Bristol students and staff would like travel to Italy, where they will be housed by local families and attend an accredited language school to study art, history, language and communication. From there, students and staff will have the opportunity to learn about and visit some of the most stunning and historically rich cities in the word. Aside from language immersion the secondary goal of this opportunity is to continue to maintain a cross-discipline collaboration with the art program to help infuse art history into the language study program.

Travel will take place during the February break; therefore, students and teachers will miss minimal school hours in CT while maximize learning abroad. The lead chaperone of this trip has previously attended classes at this academy and has a working relationship with the staff and the host families to insure the integrity and quality of instruction. We are requesting permission to offer this exchange almost one year in advance to ensure that students and parents have enough time to prepare for the trip. We would like to give families sufficient time to both save for travel costs as well as help plan this educational experience. We will take the proper travel precautions when planning this trip and have inquired about travel insurance as well as travel rules and regulations. This exchange is a once in a lifetime opportunity; with your support and approval we can facilitate an interest in, and an understanding of, this great culture among our students.

Rationale:  The Board of Finance approved the Education Department budget on April 23^rd. The Joint Boards adopted a City budget on May 20^th.  This amount is significantly lower than the requested budget. Therefore, the Board of Education must vote on the new amount.

Rationale: 

The K-12 Library Media curriculum was last revised in 20012.  The Connecticut Core Standards (CCSS), International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and American Association and School Librarians (AASL) have been updated, leading to a need to revise the K-12 Library Media curriculum.  The K-5 curriculum was lasted revised in 2004. In addition, the inclusion of the Google Suite App was infused into the curriculum. 

The school library media programs of Bristol Public Schools facilitate opportunities for students and faculty to become lifelong learners who thrive in complex learning environments.  Through instructional strategies designed to infuse inquiry and technology as tools for learning, students will develop skills to interpret and develop new understandings, seek diverse perspectives, create new knowledge, and grow as ethical, digital citizens.   Through equitable access to reading and information resources, the library media programs promote lifelong reading in a safe environment conducive to learning.

Rationale:  The Connecticut adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards, along with the requirement of administration of the Connecticut Next Generation Science Assessment, necessitated a revision to our middle school science curriculum.  Bristol’s middle school curriculum encapsulates three dimensional learning that will allow students to actively engage with scientific practices and apply crosscutting concepts in order to deepen their understanding of Core Ideas in order to explain phenomena and solve problems.  Units of instruction include such relevant and interesting topics such as knowing how energy drinks impact your body’s chemistry, learning how body systems work together to heal after a sports injury, and questioning whether the wooly mammoth should be reverse bio-engineered.  Each unit has a storyline structure that is anchored with a phenomenon or design problem. Each learning sequence attends to science content, provides access to student use of the science and engineering practices and crosscutting concepts, and apples directly to the phenomenon or design task. 

Rationale:  The Policy Committee of the Board of Education is recommending approval of the attached policy revision.

Rationale:  The Policy Committee of the Board of Education is recommending approval of the attached policy and regulation revision.

Rationale:  The Policy Committee of the Board of Education is recommending approval of the attached policy and regulation revision.

Rationale:  Each year, the Bristol Board of Education will affirm that the documents included in its Manuals and online are its policies

Rationale: 

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

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