June 1, 2011 at 7:00 PM - Regular Board template

Rationale:  Patricia Duffy - Permanent Sub and Teacher - Various grades - 1972 to 2004
Nancy Rubano - Speech Language Pathologist - Various grades - 1974 to 2001

Rationale:  The 2012 Teacher of the Year for the Bristol Public Schools will be announced at the June 2011 Board of Education meeting. The Bristol Teacher of the Year Committee consisted of: Amy Coan, BOE Commissioner, Margaret Bonola, BOE Commissioner, Scott Gaudet, Elementary Principal, Robert Garry, Middle School Principal, Carly Fortin, Assistant Principal BEHS, Tom Moylan, 2006 Teacher of the Year, Sandra Adams, 2007 Teacher of the Year, Lori Eschner, 2008 Teacher of the Year, Amanda Robustelli-Price, 2009 Teacher of the Year, Gina Rivera, 2010 Teacher of the Year, Lisa Galske, 2011 Teacher of the Year, Denise Carabetta, Director.

Rationale:  CT Colt Award for Excellence in World Languages
CAS Elementary Level Exemplary Educator of the Year for 2011-2012
Kids Court Competition

Rationale:  Susan Iwanicki-Smith - BOE - Teaching & Learning - K-5

Rationale:  Raymond Williard – BCHS – Technology Education

Rationale:   Cynthia Chesky – BEHS – Special Education

Rationale:  Karen Guarda, ID – Grade 2

Rationale:  Sarah Brown – CHMS – Technology Education – Effective November 19, 2011 through January 27, 2012
Suzanne Kukucka – BCHS – English -  Effective November 30, 2011 through January 23, 2012
Denise Zabawa – MBMS – Music – Effective 12/19/11 through June 30, 2012

Rationale:  Timothy Barrette – Assistant Football Coach – BEHS - Effective 4/6/11

Rationale:  This Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) grant provides funds to supplement programs developed to assist students with disabilities.  The goals of the grant are to increase student achievement, improve effective instruction and provide equality of educational opportunity.  Included in the grant are salaries for special education teachers, aides and related services staff.  The grant also includes funds for consulting and evaluation services, and professional development activities.  Section 611 of IDEA provides funding for students from age 5 years to 21 years.

Rationale: 

This Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) grant provides funds to supplement programs developed to assist students with disabilities.  The goals of the grant are to increase student achievement, improve effective instruction, and provide equality of educational opportunity.  Included in the grant are salaries for teacher aides and related services staff.  Section 619 of IDEA provides funding for students from age 3 years to 5 years.

Rationale:  On April 14, 2012, Mrs. Andrea Rajotte, Mrs. Paula Cruz and students at Bristol Eastern High  School will be expanding their classroom by embarking on an eight-day, educational adventure with EF Tour to Spain, Rather than reading about the Prado Museum, the Mezquita and the fountains in the Plaza de Espana, they are going to experience these historical treasures first-hand, starting at the Prado in Madrid, visiting the heartbeat of Andalusian culture in Seville and experiencing Cordoba, the Moorish, Roman, Jewish and Christian melting pot. The students are going to take their understanding of world history and cultures to a new level. In addition to gaining greater cultural sesitivity and an international perspective on their studies, students will return home feeling more confident and independent - qualities that will stay with them throughtout their academic, professional and personal lives. We will travel with EF Educational Tour; an accredited company with 40 years of experience.

Rationale: 

Teachers trained to serve as TEAM (Teacher Education and Mentoring) mentors and cooperating teachers provide assistance and support to student teachers and first year beginning teachers in the district in areas such as lesson design and classroom management and provide feedback and support in the areas of instructional planning and student assessment. Cooperating teachers are those teachers who are trained to work with student teachers. We need to increase the number of cooperating teachers in the district in order to meet the need of student teachers. Mentors must be assigned to first-year teachers to provide mentoring and support to newly certified teachers; this program is required by the State Department of Education. Principals recruit teachers to apply to be a TEAM mentor/cooperating teachers; the applications are reviewed by the TEAM Coordinating Committee. The following teachers were approved by the TEAM Coordinating Committee and are recommended to be TEAM Mentors/cooperating teachers.  Approved teachers must attend a three day training program and update their training every three years.

 

Teacher	Assignment
Kerry Desjardins	Mounain View – Grade 1
Scott Ruel	Stafford – Grade 4
Stacia Archangelo	South Side – Physical Education
Gina Gallo Reinhard	Bristol Central – World Language
Emily McCoy Hill	Edgewood – Special Education
Sharon Jacques	Bristol Eastern – Business
Geoff Sinatro	Bristol Central – Special Education
Amanda Szmalc	Stafford - Grade 4
Ericka Coleman	Northeast - Literacy Teacher

Rationale:  A Request for Proposal was issued to solicit proposals for Transportation Software for the Board of Education.  Five proposals were received.  A committee comprised of Karen Vibert, Dr. Susan Kalt Moreau, Roger Rousseau, Greg Boulanger, Richard Gagliardi and Dennis Bieu selected three firms to interview.  The firm Transfinder Corporation was the unanimous choice of the committee.

Rationale: 

The Board of Education voted to participate in the Healthy Food Certification Compliance Act. Each year the district must certify full compliance with the program. This year, we received approximately $81,000 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 2011-2012 school year. The Food Services budget for 2011-2012 includes anticipated revenue of $81,000 from the State.

Rationale:  Teachers in the Business & Finance Department have completed curriculum work for a new class that will be part of the College Career Pathway Program with Tunxis Community College. Communication Skills for the 21^st Century 1 & 2 have been scheduled at both high schools next year. Students will earn 3 college credits for the successful completion of both classes.  These 2 new classes will replace 2 others currently taught within the department. The Student Achievement Committee met on Thursday, May 12, 2011 for a first reading of this curriculum and unanimously recommended that the curriculum be forwarded to the full board for a second reading.

Rationale: 

English Foundations II was designed a number of years ago to provide support for sophomores who needed continued assistance in developing reading and writing skills. The course was built around the Connecticut Frameworks for English and the standards embedded in the reading and writing CAPT’s. The course structure, however, allowed teachers freedom in selecting reading materials, and they struggled to find suitable materials that were not redundant with those from the students’ regular English II courses.  Teachers requested a more defined curriculum that articulated not only the reading and writing skills in particular units but also the materials with which to teach those skills. In other words, instead of a unit on “responding to literature” for quarter one, teachers wanted a unit that identified a high-interest topic through which the skills could be addressed.

Given this need for more well-defined materials, a committee of English teachers redesigned the course to incorporate units that include skills and the following topics: Quiet Heroes in Quarter 1; Choices and Consequences in Quarter 2; Overcoming Adversity in Quarter 3; and Researching Self-Generated Research Questions in Quarter 4. The first three units focus on literacy skills found in CAPT and the fourth with research skills identified in the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards. Teachers also created a repository of materials, which they will update in coming years to maintain high interest and relevance for students.

The document submitted is based on the thoughtful work of Angela DesLauriers, Sophia Gintoff, Julie Lamontagne, Julie Quinto, and Claudine Tolbert.

Rationale:  It has been a practice of the Bristol Office of Teaching and Learning to maintain the rigor and relevance of the district’s curriculum by revising it on a regular basis. Such was the case with the Spanish I curriculum, last revised in the 2005-2006 school year.  This spring, Spanish teachers from both Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern worked collaboratively to review each unit of the curriculum, their objective to infuse the type of rigor that would address the district’s heightened expectations, a Tier I goal that all students be well prepared for college. As a result, students will learn more sophisticated grammar and will gain an updated perspective of Spanish culture. This revision will also enhance the use of Spanish instruction as a vehicle for interdisciplinary literacy instruction, especially in the areas of reading for information, writing, and editing -- skills not only tested on CAPT and on the SAT but also linked to success in various academic areas. This revision will also allow teachers to better meet the needs of Bristol’s native speakers of Spanish.  

Rationale: 

The Bristol Grades K, 2 and 4 Mathematics Curriculum has been recently revised in order to align to the 2010 Common Core State Standards for Mathematics for Connecticut.  The current text, Growing with Mathematics, was chosen prior to the adoption of the 2010 Common Core State Standards for Mathematics for Connecticut and does not align well with this new curriculum. In addition, the publisher, McGraw-Hill Wright Group, does not intend to support the program by revising or updating it further.  It has become necessary to find a text that more closely matches the Bristol Mathematics Curriculum and the new mathematics curriculum standards.  Furthermore, as the needs of our students continue to change and grow, it is important to find a text that can adapt to these changing needs and expand to the increasing demands of technology as a resource for educating and enhancing instr6uction for our students. 

In order to address these issues, a committee of K-5 teachers was formed to examine two different texts to determine if either would be a stronger match to the newly adopted mathematics curriculum and support student achievement in Bristol.

The K-5 committee met over a period of six weeks to fully examine two different texts, using a rigorous evaluation form that compared the elements and design of the texts to a variety of criteria including math content and processes, instructional design and pedagogy, student engagement, and assessment opportunities.

• The two texts that were evaluated are the most current materials on the market that address mathematics education at the elementary level and contain resources appropriate for instruction.
• The two texts that were evaluated are similar in terms of approach to content, use of technology, opportunities for differentiated instruction, supplemental materials, and ease of use.

The math coaches and mathematics supervisor reviewed the newest Common Core edition of enVision Math to verify alignment with the 2010 Common Core State Standards for Mathematics for Connecticut .

The K-5 committee recommends the adoption of enVisionMATH, published by Pearson for Grades K, 2 and 4. enVisionMATH  supports student understanding by providing scaffolded instruction that begins with a significant problem-based activity at the start of each lesson. Students utilize concrete materials and then create pictorial representations of similar work, through a specific stepped-out visual model.  They then move towards the abstract, connecting the prior two experiences.  enVisionMATH was chosen for its unique, problem-based approach to mathematics content coupled with cutting-edge technology that engages students and allows for discussion surrounding key concepts and essential questions.  There is a strong alignment between enVisionMATH Common Core edition and  the Bristol Mathematics Curriculum and the 2010 Common Core State Standards for Mathematics for Connecticut.  enVisionMATH allows teachers to provide engaging, relevant, and meaningful mathematics instruction for students.  Every lesson contains ideas for differentiating instruction and homework based upon student needs and provides teachers with multiple entry points with which students may access the content. 

The follow proposal submitted here is based on work by the K-5 Textbook Adoption Committee which included: Leah Baron, Marie Conlan, Nancy Fuller, Karen Hurlbert, Debra Kligerman, Meghan Kulak, Derrick Lachance, Kathryn O’Neil, Katje Pearson, Diane Pratt, Jennifer Silva, Tania Palmieri, Ann Marie Spinelli, Debra Vitale and Marlene Lovanio.  Subsequent reviews of the Common Core version were completed by Ann Marie Spinelli, Debra Vitale, Karen Nestico and Marlene Lovanio.

Rationale: 

Bristol Eastern offers UCONN Early College Experience credit for their Calculus course if students elect.  In order to comply with this program, our instructors and materials must meet certain requirements.  Over the course of last year, it has come to our attention that our Calculus text did not meet those requirements.  The current text, Calculus by Thomas and Finney is a 2004 edition is far removed from a “current” text.  As I probed further, I found that this text does not provide sufficient practice for the AP exam, nor does it provide the range of practice problems to address all three levels of calculus that are offered in Bristol.  Due to its age, it also lacks the technological and mathematical applications that will sufficiently and relevantly challenge our students. 

In order to address these issues, a committee of Calculus teachers was formed to examine two different texts to determine if either would be best suited to meet our students’ needs.    

• The committee discussed textbooks both online and in-person several times over the course of four weeks.  The committee examined several different text recommended by the UCONN Approved Textbook list and narrowed their choices down to two.  
• The two texts that were evaluated are the most current materials on the market that address various Calculus courses and contain resources appropriate for instruction.
• The two texts that were evaluated are similar in terms of approach to content, use of technology and supplemental materials.

The Calculus Textbook Adoption committee recommends the adoption of Single Variable Calculus: Early Transcendental Functions, 5^th Edition, authored by Larson and Edwards and published by Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning.  This text provides a wealth of both print and digital supplemental materials, is straightforward in its approach and includes exercises that help students to synthesize their learning.  It includes AP preparation materials, applied problems from various STEM occupations and opportunities for students to write about their understanding.  The text is the leading resource as compared to the others.  

The follow proposal submitted here is based on work by the Calculus Textbook Adoption Committee which included: Laurie Gammons, Kelly McCabe, Benjamin Oksanen, William Kelly and Marlene Lovanio. 

Rationale: 

The Textbook Review Committee for the Accounting 1 & 2 classes is recommending the following textbook to support student learning in those classes:

Century 21 Accounting – 9^th Edition by Claudia Gilbertson, CPA & Mark Lehman, CPA

This is the first presentation of this textbook. Copies of the textbooks are available for your review in the Office of Teaching and Learning.  If you have any questions, please contact Richard Gagliardi.

Rationale: 

The curriculum committee completing work on the Communication Skills for the 21^st Century 1 & 2 classes are recommending the following textbook to support student learning in that class:

Communication Works – Tenth Edition by Teri Kwal Gamble & Michael Gamble.

This is the first presentation of this textbook. Copies of the textbooks are available for your review in the Office of Teaching and Learning.  If you have any questions, please contact Richard Gagliardi.

Rationale:  1. Student Expulsions