marlboroschool.net

Attending:  Lauren Poster – chair, Andy Reichsman – vice chair, Gussie Bartlett – Sec’y, Francie Marbury – Principal, Steven John – WCSU Superintendent, Tom Simon, Marlboro Energy Committee arrived at 7:00pm.

The meeting was called to order at 6:08 pm.

Superintendent’s Report (see below).

We attended a couple of presentations in David’s room about the class’s Cape Cod trip.  They were very well presented and highly informative.

We reviewed minutes.  9/14/09.  Lauren moved that we accept them as submitted.  Gussie seconded the motion.  The motion passed.

We reviewed minutes.  10/12/09. Lauren moved that we accept them as submitted.  Andy seconded the motion.  The motion passed.

Tom Simon gave a report regarding developments with the engineers who attended last month’s meeting.  Each had a plan to offer services at a reduced rate to help us take action.  Lauren asked Tom if the Energy Committee could review the various proposals and make a recommendation for the Board to consider.  It would also be helpful to get more information about potential grants to help finance either the studies or the work.  Tom agreed to motivate the energy committee to take on these tasks.  Gussie agreed to be the liaison between the Board and the Committee.

Lauren reminded us that we had wanted to ask the Junior High School students about the idea of dedicating the solar panels in someone’s name.

Principal’s Report (see below).

Andy moved that we approve Policy F9 Transportation as modified.  Lauren seconded the motion.  The motion passed.  It will be posted for 30 days and we will adopt it at our next meeting.

Gussie moved that we approve Policy F19 Limited English Proficiency Students. Lauren seconded the motion.  The motion passed.  It will be posted for 30 days and we will adopt it at our next meeting.

We will consider Policies F23, F24 and F27 Pupil Privacy Rights: Student Surveys at the next meeting.  Gussie will talk to Steven John about paragraph (5) in Policy F27.

There will be an H1N1 flu clinic for students at MES on November 30^th.

The meeting adjourned at 9:30 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Andy Reichsman

Pay Orders:                          #9            10/23/09            $87,450.61

Pay Orders:                          #10            11/6/09            $41,087.73

Our Guiding Principles:

Students’ will be at the center of our decision-making

We will keep to the agenda.

The chair will estimate the amount of time necessary for each item

and act as timekeeper during the meeting.

Every voice is heard as discussion goes back and forth.

Decisions will not be made hastily.

We will ask ourselves, “What other information do we need

in order to make a thoughtful decision?”

Decisions/discussion will be recapped before moving on to a new item.

Items requiring action will be identified and we will note who is responsible for each action item.

Follow through will occur before the next meeting.

We will use e-mail judiciously to communicate between meetings.

Implementation Guidelines:

Meetings will be held on the second Monday of each month with the fourth Monday

kept in reserve, if an additional meeting is needed.

The chair will send out the agenda the Thursday before the meeting.

The meetings will start at 6 pm and go no later than 9 pm

Marlboro School Board

Principal’s Report

Monday, November 9, 2009

Student Learning

Cape Cod presentations

Social Inclusion work

Poetry reading

End of trimester – report cards

Winter Workshops

Policy or Regulation Implementation

On Lauren’s agenda

Buildings and Grounds

Repair of 3^rd-4^th grade heating unit

Finance/Accounting

Enrollment/Staffing

Enrollment  84

Staffing – Spanish teacher update – health insurance request

Informational items

Kim John Payne speaks at 7pm on November 12

Coalition of Essential Schools Fall Forum – Tim and David

Superintendent’s Report for the Marlboro School Board

November 9, 2009

Note: Consideration of the FY11 Budget by the Townshend School Board obliges me to attend their meeting tonight.  If Francie lets me know that you would like me to assist with any agenda items, I will join you from 6:00 – 6:30.  These conflicts among board meeting schedules are unavoidable for the present, but I look forward to recommendations from the WCSU Governance Committee.

Student/Staff Learning

1. The administrative team of the WCSU, including all principals, met at Dover School last month.  We learned about obtaining and interpreting the Measures of Academic Progress (MAPs) student results.  Students take the MAPs tests via computer and the individual scores are available almost immediately.  Developing our principals’ and teachers’ capacity to interpret and use these assessment data effectively will be a primary goal of our professional development this year.
2. At this same meeting, we read and discussed an article on efficiency as it relates to the political process of gaining public approval for annual school budgets.   This followed on last month’s consideration of equity.  The meaning these two social ideals and our appreciation of the complexity of realizing them are critically important to school budget development, approval, and implementation.
3. The WCSU Strategic Plan, including the action steps or means to reach our goals, will be on the WCSU Board Agenda for approval Dec. 9^th.  This plan now includes suggestions from principals, teachers, and board members to clarify some details.  Although yet to be formally approved by the full WCSU Board, this Strategic Plan will continue to direct the work of my administration and all school staff.
4. The WCSU Professional Development Committee met last week at Townshend.  The committee developed a plan for the effective use of our in-service days to support the goals of the WCSU Strategic Plan.  The details will be discussed and developed further by the principals at the Admin Team Meeting (ATM) November 17^th.
5. The following mandatory policies may warrant your attention.  Gussie may be able to update and revise my records.  I have not been able to locate your draft minutes from your last meeting on 10/12/09.  D06-Substitute Teachers was warned 10/13/08.  I have no dates for warning or approving: F09-Transportation, F19-ELL, F23-Participation of Home Study Students in School Programs & Activities, F24-Hazing, F27-Pupil Privacy Rights:  Student Surveys, and G13-Animal Dissection.
6. When you receive your draft copy of the minutes of the WCSU Board Meeting last month, you will note that no business was concluded because we did not have a quorum.  A sufficient number of school districts were represented, but we lacked one voting member (14 instead of the required 15 minimum).  The Executive Committee did have a quorum and approved the WCSU compensation plan for FY11.  I understand that WCSU Board meetings that fail to make a quorum are not a new problem, however this issue should be addressed.  The eleven school district boards and WCSU Board must meet their legal obligation to govern.  As elected school district officials, all board members share this responsibility.
7. At the America’s Promise Conference on high school completion in Vermont I attended last Thursday, participants were reminded of the importance of the middle grade years (grades 5-8).  Next fall, Vermont Act 44 will require all superintendents to report the number of 6^th graders who are at risk of not graduating.

Policy/Regulation

Finance/Accounting/Operations

1. Laurie Garland has prepared a summary of the WCSU activities, initiatives and strategies funded by all the federal grants approved to date.  This information was shared at the WCSU Board Meeting October 21^st.  See email attachment.
2. Brad James from the DOE advised business managers (Frank) to budget 2/3′s of the previous small school grants and only 40% reimbursement for transportation (down from 47%).  This advice was based on preliminary discussions with legislative committees.  Brad noted that this is subject to change and would be a conservative approach to estimating tax impact.  A recent article from the Caledonian Record, 10/23/09, quotes Commissioner Vilaseca as recommending the elimination of the small schools grant for next year.  The headline for this same article is “Supervisory Unions Not Sustainable”.

Enrollment/Staffing

1. Enrollment projections for FY11 are remaining fairly steady throughout the WCSU.
2. I obtained provisional licenses for five teachers in the WCSU who are well qualified.  The application process continues for two additional teachers who are licensed, but are teaching some courses outside their field of licensure.

Informational Items

1. Last Thursday night at Wardsboro Town Hall, we honored the Journey East Chinese delegation.  Thanks to Kim Soule and the many parent and community members who made this banquet possible.  This year’s exchange performances demonstrated a high degree of creativity, the clear result of our ten-year collaboration with the Arts College of Inner Mongolia University.  They departed from L&G this Monday morning at 7:30 A.M.  Thank you Peter VanLoon, Rachel Boyden, and Kate Fleming for hosting our Chinese guests.
2. The WCSU Governance Committee Meeting will be Thurs., Nov. 19 at 5:00 P.M. at Brookline School.
3. Full WCSU Board Meeting on Wed., December 9 at 7 P.M. at Leland and Gray.
4. Public Transportation Forum on Monday, November 16 at 7 P.M. at Brattleboro Savings and Loan.

sbj-11/8/09

Grant	Focus Area	Summary
Title 1	Administration	Grant Administration
	After School Program	After School Program
	Independent School	Title 1 Services
	Literacy/Math	Title 1 Teachers and Para professionals
	Mentoring	Contracted service -mentor for new principles and new teachers
	Positive Learning	Program Coordinator -HEY Program
	Professional Development	Contracted Coordinator
Title 1 ARRA	Leadership and Planning	Contracted Service- Consultant to organize and analyze MAPS data
	Literacy/Materials	MAPS Purchases
	Other	Contracted Service-Data Entry MAPS data
	Professional Development	Differentiation Coach-PLC’s High School
	Professional Development	Differentiation Coach-PLC’s Elementary
	Remediation	Fiction and Non Fiction books
Title IIA	Administration	Grant Administration
	Leadership and Planning	Administrative Retreat and on-going leadership meetings
	Literacy , Math, Science	Stipends for teachers to work with facilitators to improve curriculum/instruction
	Literacy	Contracted Professional Development
	Literacy	Fountas and Pinnell Conference
	Math	Trailblazers Workshop
	Math	National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Conference
	Math	NSF funded “investigations” math program consultants
	Memberships	Southeast Vermont Learning Collaborative
	Technology Integration Specialist	Professional Development and Support for staff
Title IID	Administration	Grant Administration
	Technology Integration Specialist	Professional Development and Support for staff
Title IID ARRA	Informing Curriculum with Data	Technology Specialist to provide training to analyze student data
	Leadership and Planning	Technology Integration Academy-Equip and Materials
Title IV	Administration	Grant Administration
	Positive Learning Environment	Student Assistance Program Counselor
IDEAb-Base	Special Education Director	Program costs
	Special Education Admin	Salary and benefits .5
	School Psychologist	Program costs
	School Psychologist Summer	Salary and benefits .06
	Speech and Language Pathologist	Salary and benefits .5
	SLP Summer Services	Salary and benefits .05
	Professional Development	Staff conferences and Trainings
	Special Ed Explorers Camp	Staff and Activities related to Special Ed
	Technology Specialist	Support for Special Ed activities
	Sped Doc Support and Costs	Filemaker Pro, Sped Doc collaborative
	Child Find	Advertising for Special Ed
	Parentally Placed Students	Contracted Special Ed Services
IDEAb-ARRA	Special Ed Data Management	Salary and Benefits .20
	Assistive Technology Hardware	Subgranted to Schools based on Special Ed needs
	Assistive Technology Software	Subgranted to Schools based on Special Ed needs
	Assistive Technician	To assist Special Educators with programs and equipment purchases
	Assistive Tech Demo	Equip and software demos
	Professional Development (PD)	Staff conferences and Trainings includes individual PD
	Professional Development Substitutes	Substitutes to cover for Special Ed PD
	Behaviorist Licensed Social Worker	Functional Behavior Assessments
IDEAb-Preschool	Early Essential Education Coordinator	Salary and Benefits .08