December 13, 2005 at 7:00 PM - 12-13-05 Regular Board Meeting

Rationale:  Chair Boske explained the rules of Public Session.

Rationale:  PERSONNEL ACTION: Leave of Absence: Shirley LaRosa, Business Teacher (Middletown High School) employed in Middletown since August 1999, has requested a child-rearing leave of absence until August 2006. The effective date is March 23, 2006. STATUS OF CERTIFIED EMPLOYMENT: Vacancy: There is a vacancy for an Assistant Superintendent of Schools, which is being filled by an Interim.

Rationale:  Update on District Efforts to Eliminate Bullying in our Schools December 2005 Background: At their November meeting, Board members asked me to provide an overview of the district’s programs, practices, and initiatives to reduce or eliminate bullying. Coincidentally, I had just gathered information from all schools concerning our efforts in these areas: - Nutrition & health - Bullying - Character education - Sex education Therefore, while the following summarizes our efforts to reduce bullying, the attached document also includes all of the information received in response to my Oct. 6, 2005 request to principals and Physical Education and health Director. I deliberately asked each of these educators to submit information in an effort to get a more accurate picture of what was actually occurring in our schools. Not surprisingly, with so many schools, grants, and initiatives, emphasis on certain efforts – outside of our core language arts and mathematics programs – may vary. Still, as you will see, there is consistency across schools in most areas. Efforts to Eliminate or Reduce Bullying: A review of the elementary schools reveals that Second Step is the chief and common program across district. The program has been in place for years; teachers and building principals agree that it includes easily accessible and engaging lessons for students and with two exceptions, the program is perceived as having a strong or positive impact. Generally, students receive one weekly lesson (20-25 minutes); however, some teachers choose to provide longer bi-weekly lessons. Other elementary initiatives/programs that address bullying are Here’s Looking At You, Character Counts, and Effective Behavior Support (EBS). Here’s Looking At You (HLAY) includes lessons in social skills, cooperation, leadership, substance abuse, and character education. Again, the program has been well-received by students and teachers, especially in the last three years as a result of the district’s finding a new trainer who works with all knew classroom teachers. Character Counts, and Effective Behavior Support (EBS) also address bullying, and like HLAY do so in a broader context of helping students develop social, cooperation, civics and conflict resolution awareness and skills. And since neither is at this point a district-wide program – although EBS is on its way to becoming one – they should be considered initiatives. Please note also that “ROARS” is Bielefield’s version and “STARR” is Farm Hill’s version of EBS. Finally, at the elementary level, please note that programs supporting character education are also perceived by many as the same programs discouraging bullying. This seems reasonable. As we move into the middle schools, our efforts to reduce bullying and promote responsible social behaviors increase. At Keigwin, Middletown’s first EBS school, alls students participate in social skills classes that include lessons from its No Putdowns and Bully Busters units. Also note that there are staff whose chief job is to help students develop appropriate and responsible behavior. Both at Keigwin and Wilson, Rushford staff provide individual and small group instruction and counseling, oftentimes to students having anger management issues. These past two years have seen the emergence of developmental guidance program at Wilson that involves monthly lessons provided by Wilson’s guidance counselors. The one I observed this past week focused on reactive vs. proactive behaviors a part of the GO program developed by Stephen Covey, Jr., a program that builds on some of the research and concepts of EBS. Efforts at the High School to reduce bullying are an integral part of each student’s health program. Developed and delivered by the High School’s physical education/health teachers, Let’s Stop Bullying helps 9th and 11th graders consider the causes and consequences of bullying. In recent years the High School has also run the Names Can Really Hurt program, which while being a ‘one-shot’ program also delivers a very strong and lasting message. In summary, the Middletown Schools have continued to support and extend their efforts to foster positive social skills and discourage bullying in all schools. We are well aware that bullying continues to be a serious problem within and beyond our schools. The fact that our schools have devoted as much time, energy, and resources to promoting positive social behavior and decision-making attests to this awareness and to our commitment to reducing negative, anti-social behaviors like bullying. We are constantly looking for ways to improve our effectiveness. Among the most recent and promising are our outreach efforts to families and the community through the School, Family, and Community Partners, Parent Leadership Institute Training, and our many parent involvement committees.

Rationale:  Executive Summary Regarding Class Size Submitted by Robert Fontaine Principal, Middletown High School Over the past several years Middletown High School has been faced with a steady increase in enrollment. The Board of Education has historically been committed to maintaining class sizes that are educationally sound. This has been accomplished through additional staff in the core subject areas and re-locatable classrooms that provide needed instructional space. In the past three years, we have experienced tighter budgets that have impacted the hiring of additional staff and additional re-locatable classrooms. Last school year four new positions were proposed and were eliminated by the Board during the budget process. The MFT contract Article 10 section 10:2 states that at the secondary level, the preferred maximum for academic classes shall be twenty five (25) pupils and for special areas, as many pupils as sound educational practices dictates. As stated in the contract, these are preferred and not mandated levels. Further, no reference is made as to which classes are considered to be academic versus. special area. Educationally, most schools establish a preferred maximum based on level, laboratory constraints, and nature of the elective offering. We have a similar practice at Middletown High School. In core areas we strive for 12 or less in resource, 18 or less in regular level, 25 or less in college level, and 28 or less in advanced level courses. The attached study on class size vs. grades supports this concept. The philosophy of the high school has been to allow access to advanced level students entering the district (after the schedule has been created) to classes that are already at the preferred maximum. This sometimes raises enrollments to 30-33. As demonstrated in the class size versus. grade document, this does not appear to have an adverse effect on student achievement in these classes. Average class size has been slowly increasing due to increased enrollment and reduced hiring. However, as demonstrated in the attached class size document, with the exception of Spanish, the average class sizes and average teacher loads are educationally sound. The core areas in greatest need of additional staff are Spanish and social studies. Additionally, as indicated in my spring of 2005 staffing report, we are faced with significant staffing challenges in the near future. For example, we have the same number of elective staff as we did when we were a school of 850. This prevents many of our students from enrolling in the elective offerings in which they have expressed an interest. Options always exist for ensuring that we adhere to the preferred maximum twenty-five (25) students. Options include hiring additional staff, changing our master schedule, increasing the size of regular and resource level classes, not offering courses such as French V (with a current enrollment of seven students). The variation in class enrollment could be addressed by reducing our elective program. For instance, eliminating the elective program for juniors and seniors in English and implementing a core 11 and core 12 English offering would ensure more sections being offered, a greater number of students enrolled, and allow for a better balance regarding class size. Some of these solutions would obviously affect our educational program.