marlboroschool.net

APPROVED

Attending: Lauren Poster – chair, Andy Reichsman – vice chair, Gussie Bartlett – Sec’y, Francie Marbury – Principal, Steven John

The meeting was called to order at 6:10 pm.

We reviewed the minutes of 12/14/09. Lauren moved that we approve them as submitted. Gussie seconded the motion. The motion passed.

We reviewed the minutes of 1/4/10. Lauren moved that we approve them as submitted. Gussie seconded the motion. The motion passed.

We adopted Policy F23 Participation of Home Study Students in School Programs and Activities. We also adopted Policy F24 Hazing.

Policy F5 Student Records will be posted tomorrow and we will adopt at the next regular board meeting.

Review of Policies E9 Comprehensive HIV Policy and F27 Pupil Privacy Rights: Student Surveys were postponed to next meeting.

Superintendent’s Report (see below).

Steven John left the meeting at 7: 12pm.

We set MES tuitions as follows: Elementary: $9,113.00 Junior High: $10,321.00
Kindergarten: $6,379.00

The board asked that there be a Junior High basketball fee for participants to cover uniforms and referee fees ($35 was suggested, which matches the Deerfield Youth Sports fee paid by players at the other grade levels).

We plan to invite Meetinghouse board members and Ellen Martyn to our next regular meeting to discuss pre-school options.

We spent several hours going through the budget line by line. We decided to have a special budget meeting Wednesday January 13th at 9:00am, in order to include Gail Chaine in the meeting.

Principal’s Report (see below).

We received a letter from the Marlboro Auditors requesting information for the town report in addition to what the board typically provides. Lauren will contact Auditor Andrea McAuslan to invite the auditors to our next regular meeting to discuss the request.

The meeting adjourned at 10:25 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Andy Reichsman

Pay Orders: #13 12/18/09 $ 54,930.39
#14a 1/1/10 $110,363.26

Next meetings: special budget meeting January 13th, 2010 at 9:00am, January 27th at 5:00pm, February 8th at 6:00pm

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, January 11, 2010

Student Learning
Winter Workshops
Beginning mid-year assessments of reading in the Primary and 3/4
Use of EST process for Social Inclusion work
SU ARRA funds for assistive technology
Professional Development
School Reform Initiative conference, Jan14-16
Courage and Renewal for School Leaders, Feb 5-6
MES development of continuum re writing expectations
Planning PD for remainder of year

Policy or Regulation Implementation
F23 and F24
From December minutes – We agreed that all of us would read Policy E9 Comprehensive HIV Policy for next meeting. Gussie will send it to us. We will consider Policy F27 Pupil Privacy Rights: Student Surveys at the next meeting. Gussie will talk to Steven John about paragraph (5) in Policy F27
Buildings and Grounds
Applying for round 2 of Energy Efficiency Grant
Kitchen upgrade

Finance/Accounting
Budget work
YTD High School tuition is about where we budgeted
Overruns will be in SpEd with unanticipated one-on-one
and 3/4 co-teacher instead of .75 FTE assistant

Enrollment/Staffing
Student enrollment – 85
One student withdrawn to homeschooling
New student in 5/6
Contract to sign
Jen O’Donnell here as long term sub for one-on-one

Informational items

Superintendent’s Report for the Marlboro School Board
Monday, January 11, 2010 Happy New Year to All!
Note: I am obliged to attend the Townshend Board Meeting as soon after 7 P.M. as possible.

Student/Staff Learning
1. On January11th, the WCSU Professional Development Team will attend the concluding day of a five-day training to lead and facilitate professional learning communities (PLCs) in each school. One goal for the WCSU is to have all teachers trained in this professional practice by June 2011.
2. Abby Dillon continues to host a continuing series of all day professional development sessions for special educators to improve the WCSU’s capacity to meet the needs of our students.
3. We can expect the results of our students’ performances on the NECAPs to be release next month.

Policy/Regulation
1. See the reprinted piece on Educational Transformation and recommendations before the legislature that I have added below.
2. Please take action on policies F23 and F24 as previously posted.
3. Reminder: The Board also confirmed the timeline for the superintendent’s evaluation. Each school board, administrator, and certified office staff member will complete the WCSU Superintendent Evaluation form. All evaluations must be returned to Rich Werner by Feb.1, 2010. The WCSU Board will review the results in executive session at their March meeting. The WCSU Board will appoint a committee to discuss the finding and results with the Superintendent at a later date.
4. The WCSU Governance Committee will present a recommendation to the full Board on January 27th. This long anticipated work will challenge our thinking beyond town lines.

Finance/Accounting/Operations
Once you approve a proposed FY11 Budget, the next challenge will be gaining the vote the school district meeting in March. Most people find it hard to believe that the severe cuts in proposed budgets for FY11 still result in tax rate increases.

Enrollment/Staffing
At this time many teachers and staff throughout the WCSU are anxious about their job security for the foreseeable future. This can negatively affect our school’s morale and we must take care in our public and private conversations to be sensitive to our employees’ personal feelings of insecurity and potential loss.

Informational Items
1. I attended the SE VT Regional Superintendents’ Legislative Breakfast on Monday, January 11th in Chester.
2. The WCSU Governance Committee Meeting will be January 14th at 5 P.M. at Newfane.
3. Full WCSU Board Meeting on Wed., January 27 at 7 P.M. at Wardsboro to discuss the recommendation from the WCSU Governance Committee.

Education Transformation Policy Commission Issues Report

The Education Transformation Policy Commission submitted its final report to the State Board of
Education last month. The Commission was comprised of school board members, superintendents,
principals, elected and appointed state-level education policymakers, teachers, higher education
administrators, parents and parent-advocates, one business representative, and a high school student.
The Commission’s charge was as follows:
Recommend a state policy framework that will build and enhance the capacity of schools and communities to reinvent Vermont public education so all students acquire the knowledge and skills needed for college, careers, and citizenship in the 21st century.

Notably, the Commission was not asked to frame its recommendations within any particular budgetary constraints, nor did it do so. The Commission made recommendations under the framework of “education transformation” as opposed to confining its work to school improvement. The Commission divided its recommendations into five “interdependent” sections, and what follows is a brief description of each. The Commission’s recommendations were presented to the State Board of Education at its December meeting. The full report, including expansive details and rationales for each recommendation, can be viewed here:

http://education.vermont.gov/new/pdfdoc/dept/transformation/commission/transformation_policy_commission_report_1209.pdf

Education Quality Standards
• Supplement and replace the current School Quality Standards with “Education Quality Standards” that focus on learning outcomes and processes, to be developed by an EQS commission.
• Enhance accountability via long-range education quality assessments in each public school, and utilize data to continually develop more effective practice.

Learning Expectations for a New Generation
• Personal learning plans for each student.
• Three stages of learning progression (to replace PK-12 grades), and proficiency-based advancement and graduation requirements.
• Transition from grade-level groupings to multi-age small learning communities with differentiated learning opportunities.

State-level PK-16 Partnerships
PK-16 means prekindergarten through a four-year college.
• Establish ambitious state-level educational attainment targets and strategies to achieve these targets.
• Establish state-level standards for college readiness.
• Expand access and ensuring funding for dual enrollment and other college-level learning opportunities for high school students.

Educator Quality
• Expand clinically-based learning ortunities for aspiring educators.
• Adopt a four-tier career ladder and proficiency-based licensing standards for educators.
• Expand professional development and collaborative planning time for educators.

Formation of Regional Education Districts
• Education Redistricting Commission to facilitate consolidation of all public school districts (including all public schools and technical centers) into 12 – 24 education districts, each governed by a single board of directors.
• Multi-year transition process to fully implement consolidation by 2015.
• Each public school would have a “Community School Council,” with advisory functions.