March 6, 2024 at 7:00 PM - Board of Education Meeting

Rationale: 
MOMENT OF SILENCE

1. Joseph Nicolas Basile - 8th Grade Teacher, Guidance Counselor, Administrator - Bingham, West Woods, Stafford, and Northeast - 1958 - 1994

2. Helen Lowe - Teacher - West Woods, Mountain View, and Northeast - 1967 - 1990

3. M. Eileen Inman - Elementary Teacher - Callen, Green Hills, South Side, and Hubbell - 1958 - 1998

4. Charles "Chuck" Drury - Physical Education Teacher and Coach - Citywide, Stafford and Bristol Central - 1970 - 1976

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1.  "I VOTED" Contest Winners - Michael Pinette and Samantha Ferenc - West Bristol 

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February 7, 2024 - Regular BoE Meeting

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Finance & Operations	Policy	School, Family & Community Partnership	School Safety	Student Achievement & Outcomes	Labor Relations (Ad hoc)
Eric Carlson, Chair	Shelby Pons, Chair	Maria Simmons, Chair	Lori Osenkowski, Chair	Jill Fitzsimons-Bula, Chair	Eric Carlson, Chair
Russell Anderson	Jill Fitzsimons-Bula	Shelby Pons	Russell Anderson	Kristen Giantonio	Shelby Pons
Shelby Pons	Lorianne Osenkowski	Jennifer Van Gorder	Maria Simmons	Maria Simmons	Maria Simmons
Alternates:
Jill Fitzsimons-Bula	Maria Simmons	Kristen Giantonio	Eric Carlson	Lorianne Osenkowski

Rationale: 
Student representatives from Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern will share activities, surveys, suggestions, and topics of interest in their respective schools.
Bristol Central                                         Bristol Eastern
Isabel Paolina - Senior*                             Rita Gao - Senior*
Abigail Wasta - Junior                               Peyton Troth - Junior                                                         

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Chair Tagariello will update the Board and the public on topics related to the Board of Education.

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Dr. Carbone will report/update the Board on the following topics:

1. Budget Process
2. 23-24 School Year Calendar Update

Rationale: 
Curto, Betsy - MTV - Special Education Teacher
Greene, Michael - GH - Physical Education Teacher
Lefkovich, Barbara - EDGE PreK - PreK Teacher
Paghense, Bonnie - SSS - Grade 3 Teacher
Peterson, Cynthia - WB - Physical Education Teacher

Rationale: 
Jones, Kara - BEHS - Math Teacher - Effective June 18, 2024
Pechulis, Olivia - WB - Grade 3 Teacher - Effective June 18, 2024

Rationale: 
Belanger, Emily - ID - Special Education Teacher - December 28, 2023
Silas, Jessica - GH - Special Education Teacher - February 21, 2024

Rationale: 
Jones, Kara - BEHS - Math Department Head

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Jones, Kara - BEHS - Lancer Nation Tri-Coordinator

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The Fine Arts Department has been awarded a grant, for $2,500 to help defray the cost of transportation for our 3rd-grade students to see the Nutmeg Symphony Orchestra in May. This long-time collaboration with the Nutmeg Symphony has been a valuable part of our 3rd-grade music curriculum unit, "Instruments of the Orchestra". Each year, the Nutmeg Symphony provides an educational concert that highlights the different sections of the orchestra so that our students can see and hear these instruments in person.

Rationale:   

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:

Before a Remote Meeting - Submitted Public Comment must be received by 4:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting.

1. Send your comments to: susaneverett@bristolk12.org
2. Be sure to put PUBLIC COMMENT - BOE in the subject line.
3. Include your name and address.
4. Direct your comments to the Board Chair.
5. Your comments will be shared with the Board of Education Commissioners and placed on file.
6. All comments should be written in an appropriate manner, comments regarding personnel or confidential student information shall not be discussed under public comment.
7. Any comments not adhering to the guidelines will not be read at the meeting.

During a Meeting

1. Everyone is requested to address the Chair for recognition.
2. Each speaker must state his/her name and address.
3. All speakers must observe rules of common etiquette.  Personalities are not to be injected. Anyone violating this rule will be denied the floor. Unless waived by the Chairperson or a majority of the Board,
4. Each speaker shall limit his/her remarks to three (3) minutes.
5. A speaker will not be recognized for a second time on the same topic.
6. The public may speak as agenda topics come up for discussion or information.  Anyone digressing from the topic will be ruled out of order.
7. Written statements and materials may be made available, in advance of comments, for distribution to Board members.
8. Speakers shall state their positions on the subject being discussed.
9. Board members will not respond directly to comments during the Board meeting. The Superintendent will direct the question to the appropriate staff member for follow-up

Rationale: 
The Superintendent's recommended budget of $132,431,409, a 4.29% increase, was presented at the budget workshops held on January 16, 2024, and January 23, 2024, for the Bristol Public Schools for the 2024-25 School Year. On February 14, 2024, the Finance Committee received a budget of $132,232,602, a 4.13% increase, and a reduction of $198,807 to our worker's compensation line due to a better-than-anticipated renewal. The Finance Committee has approved the budget of $132,232,602, which will be presented to the Board of Finance on Tuesday, March 26, 2024.

Approval of this motion will result in the budget as presented becoming the Board of Education's Recommended Budget. 

 

Rationale: 

The Healthy Food Certification (HFC) statute (C.G.S. Section 10-215f) requires that each local board of education or governing authority (BOE) for public schools participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) each year must certify whether all food items sold to students (separately from reimbursable meals) will or will not meet the Connecticut Nutrition Standards (CNS).  The BOE must complete a vote on the required motion language by July 1, 2024, or the BOE will not be eligible for HFC during SY 2024-25 (July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025).

The motions below must be read exactly as written. 

1. Healthy Food Options: Pursuant to C.G.S. Section 10-215f, the Bristol Board of Education certifies that all food items offered for sale to students in the schools under its jurisdiction and not exempted from the Connecticut Nutrition Standards published by the Connecticut State Department of Education will comply with the Connecticut Nutrition Standards during the period of July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025. This certification shall include all food offered for sale to students separately from reimbursable meals at all times and from all sources, including but not limited to school stores, vending machines, school cafeterias, culinary programs, and any fundraising activities on school premises sponsored by the school or non-school organizations and groups. 
 

2. Food and Beverage Exemptions: The Bristol Board of Education will allow the sale to students of food items that do not meet the Connecticut Nutrition Standards and beverages not listed in Section 10-221q of the Connecticut General Statutes provided that the following conditions are met: 1) the sale is in connection with an event occurring after the end of the regular school day or on the weekend;  2) the sale is at the location of the event; and 3) the food and beverage items are not sold from a vending machine or school store. An "event" is an occurrence that involves more than just a regularly scheduled practice, meeting, or extracurricular activity. For example, soccer games, school plays, and interscholastic debates are events, but soccer practices, play rehearsals, and debate team meetings are not. The "regular school day" is the period from midnight before, to 30 minutes after the end of the official school day. "Location" means where the event is being held and must be the same place as the food and beverage sales.

Rationale: 
Due to inclement weather, on January 10, 2024, a delayed opening was called for the elementary and K-8 schools and a full closure for BAIMS, BPA, Chippens Hill, Northeast, Bristol Central, and Bristol Eastern.

Based on Bristol Public Schools' 181 school days requirement, this closure, in addition to the other districtwide inclement weather closures, would change the tentative last day of school for BAIMS, BPA, Chippens Hill, Northeast, Bristol Central, and Bristol Eastern to Tuesday, June 18, 2024, following the completion of 181 school days.

We are requesting that the Board of Education waive the 181 school days requirement for BAIMS, BPA, Chippens Hill, Northeast, Bristol Central, and Bristol Eastern, making the tentative last day of school Monday, June 17, 2024, upon completion of 180 school days.

Rationale: 

The Presidential Primary will be held on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. Based on the 2023-2024 school year calendar, school is in session. As in the past, students and staff will not be in session while members of the public are in the school buildings to vote.

The 2023-2024 School Year calendar will need to be amended to reflect that the students and staff* will not be in session on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, due to the presidential primary. This amendment will change the tentative last day of school from Monday, June 17, 2024, to Tuesday, June 18, 2024.
 
*Staff at BAIMS, BPA, NEMS, CHMS, BCHS, and BEHS will report as a regular school day. 

Rationale: 
Rooms at the BEAL Center, previously named West Woods School, were used for pre-kindergarten and alternative programs under the direction of the Bristol Board of Education since 1984. During the past forty years, as the district no longer needed the space at the BEALS Center, the Board of Education returned the use of space to the city. At this time, the last rooms, 13, 14, 15, 16A, 21, 22, 23, and 24 used by the Board of Education have been requested to be returned to the city to address the growing needs of the Senior Center and BBHD.

Rationale: 
Dr. Culkin will present the Increasing Educator Diversity Plan for Board approval to be submitted to the Connecticut State Department of Education.

Rationale: 
Bristol Central High School has received a donation of $50,000 from the Main Street Foundation David Greenleaf Community Support Fund to build a press box at Bristol Central. The Board of Education must vote to accept the donation.

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Dr. Dietter will present the Innovate and Elevate Continuation Plan Review. We are date stamping and making clerical and directory changes as part of this review.

Rationale: 
This informational report will update the Board on the activities and accomplishments in the Fine Arts Department for the Fall.

Rationale: 
Amy Martino Director of Special Services will update the Board regarding Special Services programs and topics.

Rationale: 

AP Precalculus centers on functions modeling dynamic phenomena. This research-based exploration of functions is designed to better prepare students for college-level calculus and provide grounding for other mathematics and science courses. In this course, students study a broad spectrum of function types that are foundational for careers in mathematics, physics, biology, health science, business, social science, and data science. Furthermore, as AP Precalculus may be the last mathematics course of a student’s secondary education, the course is structured to provide a coherent capstone experience rather than exclusively focusing on preparation for future courses. 

Throughout this course, students develop and hone symbolic manipulation skills, including solving equations and manipulating expressions, for the many function types throughout the course. Students also learn that functions and their compositions, inverses, and transformations are understood through graphical, numerical, analytical, and verbal representations, which reveal different attributes of the functions and are useful for solving problems in mathematical and applied contexts. In turn, the skills learned in this course are widely applicable to situations that involve quantitative reasoning. 

AP Precalculus fosters the development of a deep conceptual understanding of functions. Students learn that a function is a mathematical relation that maps a set of input values— the domain—to a set of output values—the range—such that each input value is uniquely mapped to an output value. Students understand functions and their graphs as embodying dynamic covariation of quantities, a key idea in preparing for calculus. With each function type, students develop and validate function models based on the characteristics of a bivariate data set, characteristics of covarying quantities and their relative rates of change, or a set of characteristics such as zeros, asymptotes, and extrema. These models are used to interpolate, extrapolate, and interpret information with different degrees of accuracy for a given context or data set. Additionally, students also learn that every model is subject to assumptions and limitations related to the context. As a result of examining functions from many perspectives, students develop a conceptual understanding not only of specific function types but also of functions in general. 

1.0 credits

Rationale: 

Academic: Students start grade 7 by studying scale drawings, an  engaging geometric topic that supports the subsequent work on proportional relationships in the second and fourth units. It also makes use of grade 6 arithmetic understanding and skill, without arithmetic becoming the major focus of attention at this point. Geometry and proportional relationships are also interwoven in the third unit on circles, where the important proportional relationship between a circle's circumference and its diameter is studied. By the time students reach the fifth unit on operations with rational numbers, both positive and negative, students have had time to brush up on and solidify their understanding and skill in grade 6 arithmetic. The work on operations on rational numbers, with its emphasis on the role of the properties of operations in determining the rules for operating with negative numbers, is a natural lead-in to the work on expressions and equations in the next unit. Students then put their arithmetical and algebraic skills to work in the last two units, on angles, triangles, and prisms, and on probability and sampling.

Accelerated: This accelerated mathematics course blends the priority content of grades 7 and 8 into one course. The Bridge course is aligned with the College and Career Ready Standards for seventh grade and eighth grade. In this course students develop a coherent understanding of grade level major works and build fluency with the real number system focusing on rational numbers. Students use linear equations to analyze, represent, and solve problems related to data distributions. They apply knowledge from previous mathematics courses to work in preparation for concepts that will begin in Algebra 1. Application is emphasized.

Rationale: 
The Pre K Music Curriculum was presented at the Student Achievement Committee on 2/21/24 and passed for full consideration of the BOE. This curriculum will serve as a guide for the the music enrichment of our PreK students at the Edgewood Pre K Academy.

Rationale: 
The PreK library curriculum is aligned with the CT Early Learning and Development Standards. The units contain content that addresses four domains within the standards: Cognition, Language and Literacy, Mathematics and Science. The monthly themes are aligned with the PreK math curriculum and students will be working on skills such as describing attributes, sequence of events, making predictions and retelling stories. 

Rationale: 
Notwithstanding the provisions of Board Policies 1316, 3515, and 4218.231, and the provisions of Board Regulations 1324 and 1325, the Board of Education (the "Board") permits the consumption and possession of alcoholic beverages by persons who have attained the age of twenty-one (21 ) for BPRYCS(1) sponsored events held at the Rockwell Theater located in the Bristol Arts and Innovation Magnet School. Alcohol may only be sold and/or distributed at such events by BPRYCS - approved vendors that have obtained the licensing and/or permitting required under the law.

Employees are only permitted to attend City-sponsored and Board-permitted events held at the Rockwell Theater in their capacity as private citizens outside their contractual work hours and during non-instructional time. Adults who consume alcoholic beverages at such events are expected to drink responsibly. The excessive consumption of alcohol is prohibited at all times.

Rationale: 
Policy 5144.4 Policy Regulation was changed to reflect the following - crossing out the language "shall be adopted" to "will be shared with the BOE" and be included with this policy.

• The Superintendent of Schools shall develop an administrative regulation with detailed directions that puts this policy into practice. The regulation shall be shared with the BOE and be included with this policy. The Superintendent of Schools shall report updates pursuant to the implementation of this policy and administrative regulations to the Board in relevant Board of Education meetings.

Rationale: 
The Board will discuss any new business proper to come before the Board.

Rationale: 

Any communications/information regarding building projects:

1. Chippens Underground Storage Tank
2. BAIMS Building Update
3. NEMS Building Committee Report
4. ESSER/ARP Building Committee Update
5. Edgewood Project Update
6. Culinary Arts Project Updates
7. Athletic Fields and Site Improvements

Rationale: 

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

This month, commissioners at elementary schools will give reports.

Rationale: 
a.  Discussion concerning the Superintendent’s Contract/Employment
 

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The Board of Education should reconvene into Public Session to take any votes on matters discussed in Executive Session.

Rationale: 
There being no other business to come before the Board, the meeting should be adjourned.