Attending: Lauren Poster – Chair, Gussie Bartlett – Vice Chair, Jen Carr – Clerk, Francie Marbury – Principal

The meeting was called to order by Lauren at 5:40pm.

Francie and the School Board review the contract and cost breakdown from Marc Balch Construction for the kitchen renovation.

The Board decided to get further information on different aspects of the contract before deciding to award the bid.

Respectfully submitted,

Jen Carr

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 first 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.

Attending: Lauren Poster – Chair, Jen Carr – Clerk, Francie Marbury – Principal

The meeting was called to order by Lauren at 5:45pm.

Francie, Lauren and Jen further reviewed the contract and cost breakdown from Marc Balch Construction for the kitchen renovation.

Lauren made a motion to accept Barc Balch’s contract for $8,200 for the kitchen renovation with a possible extra $400 for upgraded cabinetry. Jen seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Brooks Mitchell will do the plumbing work for this kitchen upgrade for $2,270.

The School Board approved up to $11,500 from the Capital Improvement Fund to be used for this kitchen renovation, in addition to the $3,500 from our Food Service Equipment Grant.

Respectfully submitted,

Jen Carr

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 first 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.

Attending: Lauren Poster – Chair, Gussie Bartlett – Vice Chair, Jen Carr – Clerk, Francie Marbury – Principal

The meeting was called to order by Lauren at 11:10am.

The Board reviewed minutes from previous meetings. Lauren made a motion to approve the meeting minutes from June 7th as corrected and the minutes from June 21st, July 13th and July 14th as submitted. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Kitchen Renovation: The Board was unable to review the contract for the kitchen renovation, as it has not been submitted. We also have not gotten the engineers OK of a wastewater permit for food service.

Lauren made a motion that we put the kitchen renovation work back out to bid. In the new bid the re-tiling of the floor will be eliminated and removal of the non-functioning heater will be included.

We will also ask Gail to coordinate with Frank Rucker to review our bids for kitchen renovation and to post our Request for Proposals more widely to generate more bids.

The Board and Francie discussed the article entitled The Principals Critical Role in Leading Instruction.

Steven John joined the meeting at 1pm.

Power School: The Marlboro School currently only uses this database program to track student enrollment. So far the program has not been more widely used because of concerns about confidentiality and the possible need to change to another system after work has been done to set up this system. Additionally, it is felt by administration that the information that can be tracked may be less relevant since we are not a K-12 system.

Steven pointed out that it is possible that in the future we could be required by the State to maintain records in a database like Power School. Steven also noted with funding from the ARRA, outside administrative help from the Supervisory Union is available now to support schools in the work of entering data into the Power School system.

Francie is going to talk with Gail Chaine about utilizing a person from the Supervisory Union to support the school with data entry into the Power School system.

Local Assessments: Francie shared the Marlboro School’s various forms of academic assessment that are used throughout the year and throughout the various grades.

Steven John spoke about some of the ways our assessment structure fits into the bigger picture of the Supervisory Union, Title One reporting, and overall Vermont Performance Standards.

The Board also discussed the ways in which the Vermont Standards for Education are used to decide curriculum in the different grades. We decided that at a future meeting – after the next year’s curriculum is developed – we will hear from Francie about how the standards are reflected in our various academic programs.

School Budget: As of June 30, 2010 the School has a $59,424 surplus.

Jen made a motion to use $6,535 of the surplus money to forgive the debt of the Marlboro After School Program. Lauren seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Gussie made a motion that we transfer $20,000 from our surplus to our Capital Improvement Fund and also transfer $32,889 from our surplus to our Future Tuition Reserve Fund. Lauren seconded the motion. Motion passed.

We will plan to review the budget with all necessary changes at our next meeting.

The Board wanted to note that Gail Chaine has done an excellent job in working to appropriately reflect fund transfers in the overall budget.

Fuel Oil Pre-Buy with Co-op Power: Francie will check with Frank about whether or not we can take part in a Co-op group for fuel oil purchase. We will ensure that we comply with statutory requirements for the bidding process, finding at least three prices before deciding on our purchase. We are inclined to join the co-op as long as this decision adheres to the requirements stated. School administration will decide on this after finding the required information.

Lauren will attend the WCSU Executive Committee meeting on August 11. The next Marlboro School Board meeting will be held September 13 at 6pm due to Labor Day.

Principal’s report attached. Please note pay orders #26 and #1-2 at bottom of minutes.

Respectfully submitted,

Jen Carr

Pay Orders: #26 6/18/10 $139,389.97
#1 7/2/10 $52,942.25
#2 7/16/10 $77,619.16

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 first 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
Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Student Learning
Marlboro Local Assessment Plan

Policy or Regulation Implementation
Power School data system
Use for student enrollment

Buildings and Grounds
Kitchen renovation

Finance/Accounting
End of year budget

Enrollment/Staffing
Student enrollment – 89
Staffing
Co-teacher in Primary – Jen O’Donnell
Special Educator – Erek Schickendanz
.5 assistant in 3rd/4th – Pam Burke
.5 assistant in 5th/6th – Celena Lundsted
one-on-one assistant – to be hired in August

Informational items

Attending: Lauren Poster – Chair, Gussie Bartlett – Vice Chair, Jen Carr – Clerk, Gail Chaine – Administrator, Francie Marbury – Principal

The meeting was called to order by Lauren at 5:40pm.

The bid for kitchen renovation was discussed. It was decided that we will not re-tile the kitchen floor except for any necessary patching and that we will most likely not need to install a new grease trap.

Gussie made a motion that we accept the bid from Marc Balch Construction for the kitchen renovation contingent upon the engineer’s OK of the wastewater permit for food service and a review of the contract from Marc Balch. Lauren seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Respectfully submitted,

Jen Carr

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 first 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.

Attending: Lauren Poster – Chair, Gussie Bartlett – Vice Chair, Jen Carr – Clerk, Gail Chaine – Administrator, Celena Lundsted – Healthy Snack Coordinator

The meeting was called to order by Lauren at 10:10am.

Gail Chaine presented the Request for Proposals and list of contractors she sent the request to for the Marlboro School kitchen renovation.

Gail, Celena and the Board discussed the most viable bid for work that was presented to the School and agreed that a few more details were needed before approving the bid.

The Board agreed to meet to meet again on Wednesday evening at 5:30pm to review the bid that was presented.

Respectfully submitted,

Jen Carr

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 first 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.

Attending: Lauren Poster – Chair, Gussie Bartlett – Vice Chair, Jen Carr – Clerk, Francie Marbury – Principal, Steven John – Superintendent, Gail Chaine – Administrator

The meeting was called to order by Lauren at 8:30am.

We discussed pre-school issues. We will go with the same budget formula we are currently using and look at possibly changing the formula in the next budget year.

Celena Lundsted joined the meeting at 9am.

Celena gave the Board information about the Healthy Snack program. The program is successful and has doubled in size. With this increased food service, our school kitchen needs to be brought up to code.

Jen made a motion to authorize Gail Chaine to work with Celena’s support on undertaking a bid process for making the necessary upgrades to the kitchen this summer. Lauren seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Lauren made a motion to authorize Gail Chaine to use up to $500 from the Capitol Improvement Reserve to move the printer station and relocate the water fountain.

Principal’s report attached.

Respectfully submitted,

Jen Carr

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 first 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, June 21, 2010

Summer maintenance projects
Kitchen renovation – up to $15000
Materials (Rob – $10,000 include new janitor’s tub)
Labor ($2800)
Down Under
Hours for reorganization
New furniture
Paint floor
Installation of presentation equipment
Printer Station in hall – $500
Browsing Book Bins for library – $3500
Paint retouch trim – Repair and Maintenance (FY09 actual 20,000; FY11
10,000)
Repair siding
Asbestos removal/penalties
3/4 door handle
leak in SpEd office ceiling

Power School
Background on WCSU plan to enter health data
Prior concerns about confidentiality (board and administration)
Another system that works for us and accomplishes the same thing
No clear need on part of WCSU
System may change (state) so let’s wait and see
At Steven’s request, Gail is entering student name and grade

Attending: Lauren Poster – Chair, Gussie Bartlett – Vice Chair, Jen Carr – Clerk, Francie Marbury – Principal, Steven John – Superintendent

The meeting was called to order by Lauren at 6:15pm.

We reviewed the 5/18/10 School Board minutes. Lauren made a motion to accept the minutes as corrected. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Principal’s report. Attached.

Lauren made a motion to authorize Francie to spend up to $5,000 on kitchen renovations contingent upon receiving a $3,500 grant from the State of Vermont. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Francie and Lauren will communicate with the Select Board about the possibility of a back-up generator for the school in case of power failures.

Abby Dillon and Judy Lang joined the meeting at 6:30pm.

Abby Dillon made a special education presentation until 7:20pm. Overall the special education budget is down from last year. Abby shared her experience of various models for special education. Judy commented on her experiences in the Primary classroom at MES.

Judy Lang left the meeting at 7:35pm.

The Marlboro School Board joined the Dover school Board at 7:35pm. Steven John and Abby Dillon were present at the joint meeting.

The Dover School Board President Rich Werner spoke about ways in which they have made changes in their special education program.

Note on Dover Elementary School structure: The Dover School is pre-K to sixth grade. No multi-age classes. There is one teacher in each class. No assistant teachers. Pre-K is half-day, five days per week. Kindergarten is a full day.

Abby Dillon left the meeting at 8pm.

Gussie spoke briefly about her participation in the recent Supervisory Union Governance Committee meeting.

The two boards spoke about commonalities in the schools. There was some interest in the possibility of shared transportation to high school. The two boards thought it could be useful to form a group that would further discuss transportation issues.

The two boards talked about ways the kids from the two schools could come together like a joint winter sports day or shared music programs/events.

Superintendent’s report was presented to both Boards. Attached.

The Marlboro School Board resumed its own meeting at 8:40pm. Steven John was present for this portion of the meeting.

Lauren made a motion that, in anticipation of school expenditure over the summer and into autumn, we authorize Gail Chaine to move $50,000 from the Future Tuition Reserve Fund into the General Fund, to be replaced automatically when revenues come back from the Town in the fall. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Steven John left the meeting at 9:15pm.

The Marlboro School Board had a brief discussion to recap the joint meetings with Abby Dillon and the Dover School Board.

In conclusion, we appreciate the opportunity to learn form other schools’ special education programs. We encouraged Francie to follow up with Abby Dillon about how we could meet students’ needs effectively in the least restrictive setting. Francie will check back with the School Board on progress.

We also agreed that a joint winter sports day with the Dover School could be a good way for our kids to get to know other children outside the school.

Meeting adjourned at 9:35pm.

Note pay orders 24-25 at bottom of minutes.

Respectfully submitted,

Jen Carr

Pay Orders: #24 5/21/10 $82,793.95
#25 6/4/10 $46,357.10

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 first 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, June 7, 2010

Student Learning
End of year assessments – local assessment plan
Gathering information for Title I Schoolwide report
Action Plan 10-11
Application to VAC for Winter Workshops supplement by request to Wolf Kahn and Emily Mason Foundation

Policy or Regulation Implementation

Buildings and Grounds
Installation of projectors and interactive white boards
Energy Efficiency Grant update
Kitchen upgrade – grant update
Power outage – generator VEM

Finance/Accounting
On target to come in close to budget

Enrollment/Staffing
Student enrollment – 85
Staffing
Co-teacher in Primary
Special Educator
.5 assistant in 3rd/4th
Emma Hallowell to Guilford
Professional development funding for Spanish teacher
Fluency Fast Teacher Training Program: http://fluencyfast.com/how-tos/how-to-teach.htm
Fluency Fast Language Class: $130.
International Forum on Language Teaching Conference (www.iflt.org): $325.
Course Total: $455
Course Total: $455.
July 24-31 in Los Alamitos, CA

Informational items

Mon-Wed, June 7-9 8th grade graduation portfolios
Tues, June 8, 7pm Consortium
Thurs, June 10, 7pm Graduation
Last day of school – Saturday, June 12, 11:45

Superintendent’s Report for the Marlboro School Board
Monday, June 7, 2010

Note: I understand this meeting will convene at 6:00 at Dover Elementary School, followed by a joint meeting with Dover School Board at 6:30 or 7:00. Apart from the first item below my report is identical to the Dover Board for this meeting.

Student/Staff Learning
1. I am meeting with Francie Tuesday morning to review all staff evaluations for this school year. This is a regular year-end activity leading to my summative evaluations of each principal’s work.
2. On June 2, the principals met to review the year-end calendar and Title I Schoolwide reporting requirements. We also presented Betty Ann Runge with a token of our appreciation for decades of service to the WCSU and to wish her all the best in her second retirement.
3. The Professional Development Team met last Thursday to plan professional learning goals and opportunities for WCSU in FY11. We will regularly schedule grade level meetings for all teachers next year. I commend the members of this committee for providing leadership for their teaching colleagues and their commitment to excellence.
4. Professional learning continues this summer with the third section of the Professional Learning Community (PLC) course. The WCSU principals meet August 18-19 with me for the annual summer retreat to revise our action steps and plans for making further progress toward the goals of the Strategic Plan. Student performance data will be analyzed to inform our deliberations.
5. August 3-5 the L&G administrative team will attend the Vermont Principals and Superintendents Annual Conference with Frank, Abby and me. This will give Dr. Dorinne Dorfman to formally collaborate and plan with her new colleagues.

Policy/Regulation
1. Governor Douglas has allowed H. 66- the Voluntary School Merger Bill to become law without his signature. I emailed his letter of explanation separately.
2. As called for by H 66 Superintendents will see their statutorily-required duties expand on July 1, 2012. These include:
· Reporting all financial operations of the supervisory union and/or its member districts;
· Hiring non-licensed staff and dismissing all staff, subject to all legal and contractual procedures;
· Nominating individual candidates for licensed positions for board approval. If the board rejects the nominee, the superintendent would bring forth another single nominee.
· Developing and implementing class size policies in conjunction with school boards
3. Each supervisory union and member school board must adopt class size policies by January 15, 2011specifying minimum and optimal class sizes. The policies may include differentiated minimum and optimum figures for various districts, courses, grade levels. The policies must be posted on the supervisory union website and messaged to the Commissioner of Education.

The Commissioner is required to develop at least two model class size policies and make them available online by August 31, 2010.
4. The existing exceptions to the requirement that collective bargaining be conducted at the supervisory union level have been repealed (i.e., there will be no exceptions). Contracts can still have district-specific terms and individual school districts must still ratify contracts.
5. Each supervisory union (SU) board is required to discuss by December 1, 2010 whether to formally explore a merger within the SU or with neighboring districts. By October of 2012, each supervisory union board must vote whether to engage in a formal merger planning analysis process. The Department of Education is required to develop a merger template to assist districts in evaluating whether a merger would be beneficial to the district or its students. The template will be made available by December 15, 2010.

Finance/Accounting/Operations
1. H. 66 targets for education savings will total $23.2 million statewide and will ask school districts collectively to cut approximately two percent from their fiscal year 2011 education spending. The formula will not assign each SU an equal dollar amount or percentage as its target. Instead, the formula must favor SUs with districts that (1) have demonstrated fiscal restraint in recent years, (2) have low per-pupil administrative costs, (3) have high student-to-staff ratios, (4) have high percentages of students in poverty or who are English-language learners, or (5) have “other unique circumstances that affect education spending.” The Commissioner of Education must notify SUs of their targets by August 1, 2010. The board of each supervisory union and each district within it must notify the Commissioner by December 15, 2010 “whether their combined budgets will be able to meet recommended reductions.”
2. The Commissioner of Education will develop and present a plan by January 15, 2011 to restrict the recipients of Small Schools Grants to districts that are deemed geographically isolated. The report will include an analysis of what amount of supplemental financial support is necessary to allow these geographically isolated districts to provide an adequate education. The plan would also include a timetable to withdraw Grants “gradually” from districts that are not geographically isolated.
3. The Commissioner of Education will develop and implement by July 1, 2011 an “integrated process for financial management and reporting that includes common accounting standards…”
4. From H. 783 (Tax Bill): The Department of Taxes must produce a “feasibility report” by July 1, 2011 regarding developing an electronic system that would allow the Department to directly administer and collect the education property tax.

Enrollment/Staffing
1. Abby Dillon and the principals of those schools affected by three special educator openings will meet to interview the most promising candidates. We hope to fill these positions by mid July if not earlier.
2. The job descriptions for all non-certified staff positions in the WCSU Office are being reviewed based on our experience this fiscal year.

Informational Items
1. Save August 11 as a possible WCSU summer retreat date (very late afternoon – dinner – evening?). Details TBA.
2. ATM Summer Retreat meets August 18-19.
3. VPA/ VSA Summer Conference will be August 3-5.

Attending: Lauren Poster – Chair, Gussie Bartlett – Vice Chair, Jen Carr – Clerk, Francie Marbury – Principal, Steven John – Superintendent

The meeting was called to order by Lauren at 6:05pm.

Steven recommended that we keep all historical copies of school board agendas and meeting minutes in perpetuity.

We will authorize Tom Simon to talk to Frank Rucker about consolidating our purchases of heating oil with other schools.

It was decided that our June 7th School Board meeting will be held in Dover. We will start our meeting at 6pm and do our business and then convene for a joint meeting at 7pm to discuss issues we may have in common. Lauren will invite Abby Dillon to join our meeting at 6:15pm.

Executive Session held at 5:25pm to discuss a personnel contract.

Executive session ended at 5:55pm.

Lauren made a motion that the School Board direct our Superintendent to settle terms for a continuing one-year contract with Francie Marbury. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Francie will work with Abby Dillon for Janie’s replacement.

Superintendent’s report. Attached.

Steven John left the meeting at 6:20pm.

We reviewed the 4/5/10 School Board minutes. Lauren made a motion to accept the minutes as submitted. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Principal’s report. Attached.

Frank is working on a unified contract for preschool. This School Board recommends basing the reimbursement to providers based on a percentage of the statewide average.

Lauren made a motion to allow Gail to transfer $37,000 from the transportation fund to the general fund to pay for our new bus. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

School Board Retreat will be held on Tuesday July 20th from 11am – 3pm. The rain date is Thursday, July 22nd.

Note pay orders 21-23 at bottom of minutes.

Meeting adjourned at 9:00pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Jen Carr

Pay Orders: #21 4/9/10 $83,024.70
#22 4/23/10 $49,532.73
#23 5/7/10 $125,902.24

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 first 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
Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Student Learning
Costa Rica
Science NECAP
End of year assessments in reading, math
Portfolio scoring calibration
Professional Learning Community work with Margaret Maclean to plan for next year
Update on preschool/WCSU contract

Policy or Regulation Implementation
Benefits Procedures
Harassment Policy F20 – pdf
WCSU Professional Development Policy

Buildings and Grounds
Bus
Energy Efficiency Grant update
Kitchen upgrade – grant update
Library – donation from Meetinghouse

Finance/Accounting
On target to come in close to budget

Enrollment/Staffing
Student enrollment – 85
Staffing
Co-teacher in Primary
Special Educator
.5 assistant in 3rd/4th
.5 assistant in 5th/6th – Celena Lundsted
one-on-one assistant
Professional development funding for Rhythms teacher
Emma to Guilford

Informational items
Wed, May 26, 6-8pm Spring Concert and Art Show
Thurs, May 27, 7pm JH Costa Rica night
Tues, June 1 Hogback Day
Thurs, June 3, 7pm at the Whittemore Theatre 3rd/4th Cabaret
Mon-Wed, June 7-9 8th grade graduation portfolios
Mon, June 7, 7pm Consortium – change to Tues, 6/8
Thurs, June 10, 7pm Graduation

Superintendent’s Report for the Marlboro School Board
Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Note: At 7:00 P.M. I intend to joint the Jamaica School Board for their regularly scheduled meeting.

Student/Staff Learning
1. I am pleased to report that all schools in the WCSU achieved adequate yearly progress (AYP) as required by NCLB. This includes Marlboro Elementary School and I commend the effort of the students, staff and Francie to meet this goal. Unfortunately, due to demographic and statistical conditions beyond our control, I anticipate that this favorable status will be particularly challenging to sustain in the future.
2. MAPs testing is scheduled this month. The results will be included in each school’s Schoolwide Title I Report for 2009-2010. Coupled with the NECAP performance scores, these will form the basis for the needs assessment required for each school’s Schoolwide Title I Plan for 2010 – 2011. The principals will submit these reports and plans to my office by June 4 and June 15 respectively. Both are required for the federal funds audit and the Title I and ARRA grants we receive.
3. On the May 28 half-day in-service all teachers will meet in small groups to compare their assessments of students’ portfolio pieces in writing and mathematics. The portfolio scores are another indicator of student growth and progress that may be included in the Schoolwide Title I Reports and needs assessment to plan for next year.
4. The group of 17 L&G students I appointed to interview candidates for the L&G Principal position served very well in fulfilling their confidential responsibilities. Dr. Dorinne Dorfman will officially begin her work July 1, but she visited the school 4/30-5/1 to meet with Brian Crego, teachers and students. She will also take part in the hiring process to fill two vacant positions— one counselor and one special educator. We have consulted extensively by phone since her appointment.
5. 27 students returned from China and performed a fabulous show on May 2 at L&G. The live music, singing, dance and gymnastics were all quite impressive. Marlboro’s Jackson B. was great. We are very proud of their accomplishments!

Policy/Regulation
1. Since the legislature adjourned late last Wednesday, I hope to receive a briefing on possible implications for our school districts and the WCSU from Jeff Francis (VSA) or John Nelson (VSBA).
2. The WCSU Governance Committee met April 27 and recommends that school boards meet with one other board to explore common interests and potential for collaboration. The committee suggested the following boards meet together: Stratton and Winhall; Dover and Marlboro; Jamaica, Wardsboro and Windham; Brookline-Newfane and Townshend. Thank you, Gussie for representing Marlboro’s views on this committee. No additional meetings are scheduled.
3. You are cordially invited to participate in the WCSU Board Member orientation and training meeting at the Cooper Hill Inn on Wed., May 19. A social hour begins at 5:00 followed by dinner at 6:00. Laura Soares will lead the workshop on board member/administrator roles and responsibilities. Laura has a wealth of experience as a school board member and board chair. She also serves as a VSBA consultant.

Finance/Accounting/Operations
1. Due by May 30, Frank is preparing the required DOE budget data collection for FY 11 for all WCSU school districts.
2. FYI: Forecasting FY 2010’s end, we are preparing to close the accounts managed by the WCSU and prepare information for the audits.
3. Frank is also preparing anticipated revenue notes for those districts that need to address their cash flow over the summer.
4. FYI: Frank has issued a request for bid for audit services for the following school districts for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010:
Brookline School District
Jamaica School District
Newfane School District
Townshend School District
Wardsboro School District
Windham School District
Leland & Gray Union High School District
Winhdam Central Supervisory Union #46
This will make for a very demanding summer in the WCSU Business Office.

Enrollment/Staffing
1. Deborah Wood was hired as our new WCSU Accounts Clerk to replace David Patterson. Ms. Wood began work Monday, May 3.
2. Hillary Newton continues to update the demographic, medical and emergency contact data for all WCSU schools in PowerSchool.
3. All professional contracts have been issued with a return deadline of May 15.
4. We have posted (on SchoolSpring and Firstclass WCSU email) the L&G school counselor and two special education teacher openings. I have granted approval of Janie Bell’s request for a one-year leave of absence. We appreciate her excellent service to Marlboro students. Applications close for the counselor on May 17 and the Sp. Ed. teacher on June 1. Interviews will follow shortly after the closing dates.

Informational Items
1. WCSU Board Meeting May 19 with a working dinner at 6:00. A social hour starting at 5:00 P.M. at the Cooper Hill Inn, Dover.
2. WCSU Board Annual Meeting May 26 at 7:00 P.M. at Jamaica Village School.
3. WCSU half-day in-service for all teachers to validate portfolio scoring on Friday, May 28th.
sbj – 5/16/10

Attending: Lauren Poster – Chair, Gussie Bartlett – Vice Chair, Jen Carr – Clerk, Francie Marbury – Principal, Ellen Martyn – kindergarten teacher

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

Ellen spoke about pre-school in Marlboro and the pros/cons of a pre-school at MES. The conversation is ongoing, but there are no plans to begin a pre-school at MES next year.

Ellen left the meeting at 6:40pm.

We reviewed the minutes of 3/8/10. Lauren moved that we approve them as corrected. Gussie seconded the motion. The motion passed.

Gussie noted that she signed minutes for Town School District meeting in March.

Principal’s report. Attached.

We revised and edited the Benefits Procedures for MES Staff 2010-2011. The revisions allow for a co-pay for medical benefits at 20%.

Jen made a motion to approve the Benefits Procedures for MES Staff 2010-2011 as corrected. Gussie seconded the motion. The motion passed.

The Board signed contracts for all Professional Staff for 2010-2011.

We noted that the School Board will review the Benefits Procedures for MES Staff every April before contracts are signed.

Superintendent’s report. Attached.

We changed the date of the May School Board Meeting from May 3rd at 7pm to May 18th at 5pm. This is a one time only change.

School Board received a letter from Twin Valley HS stating that they will give our students a discount of $900 if we increase out FTE enrollment 25%. Since we had no students at TVHS last year, Lauren is signing the letter for the 2010-2011 school year. This means the 2010-2011 tuition would be $13,600.

We noted that the State Average Announced Tuition is $11,867 for 2010-2011.

Lauren made a motion that MES would exempt our School from participating in any State or Federal Lunch Program for the 2010-2011. Gussie seconded. The motion passed.

Note pay orders 17-20 at bottom of minutes.

Meeting adjourned at 9:00pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Jen Carr

Pay Orders: #17 2/12/10 $87,389.28 #18 2/26/10 $210,126.06
#19 3/12/10 $99,017.64
#20 3/26/10 $168,264.11

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 first 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, April 5, 2010

Student Learning
Learning Fair
Action Plan – Strategic Plan
Report Cards – specials teachers
Professional Development work on Research and Report Writing skills continuum
Technology Integration

Policy or Regulation Implementation
Benefits Procedures

Buildings and Grounds
Energy Efficiency Grant received $45,000
Kitchen upgrade – applied for $3500 from Food Service Equipment Grant, Dept of Ed

Finance/Accounting

Enrollment/Staffing
Student enrollment – 86
Primary assistant to co-teacher
Medicaid carryover – make up the difference

Informational items
Learning Fair – Tuesday, April 13, 6:30-8:30
Dedication?

Superintendent’s Report for the Marlboro School Board
Monday, April 5, 2010

Note: At 4:00 P.M. I will be meeting with the Parent Group to interview a candidate for Principal at Leland and Gray. Following the parent interview I will take the candidate out for dinner before a 6:00 P.M. interview with L&G Search Committee.

Student/Staff Learning
1. This semester, twenty-five more teachers are taking the five-day Professional Learning Communities course. Nearly half of all teachers in WCSU are now trained to facilitate and participate in PLC groups in every school focused on improving student achievement.
2. I have appointed a group of 17 students to interview candidates for the L&G Principal position. They represent a broad range of student interests and have prepared an excellent list of questions for each candidate. The L&G Board will interview the final candidate(s).

Policy/Regulation
1. I appreciate your commitment to a coordinated schedule for my eleven school district meetings. I regret that my obligation to the Principal Search at L&G tonight presents a conflict for this meeting and I look forward to making the regular monthly schedule starting in May.
2. On March 25, 2010, the newly appointed WCSU Governance Committee discussed what steps may be taken to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and centralization (not consolidation) of our 11 school districts and 13 boards. Your board was well represented by Gussie at this meeting. The next meeting is April 27th.
3. At the March 31st organizational meeting the WCSU Board elected officers for this term: Emily Long, Chair; David Dezendorf, Vice Chair; and Laura Sibilia, Clerk.
4. Francie may report on our discussion concerning Marlboro’s Action Plan and School-wide Title I Report. I advise bringing these required documents as close together as possible while supporting the WCSU Strategic Plan at the same time.

Finance/Accounting/Operations
Late last Tuesday, I emailed you the news from Montpelier and the DOE regarding the “Challenge to Change” law and its projected impact on public school finance. As Jeff Francis, Executive Director of the VT Superintendents Association, advises, the specific requirements for implementing this law warrant immediate attention, careful scrutiny and quick action by all concerned. This week at the statehouse will be critical as legislators are anxious to close the FY11 budget’s projected deficit before adjourning.

Enrollment/Staffing
1. We expect to fill the vacant WCSU accounts clerk position by April 15th.
2. We have contracted the services of Hillary Domenick to update the demographic, medical and emergency contact date in our school information system (PowerSchool). Over the next month, Hillary will personally consult with the administrative assistants and nurses in all eleven WCSU schools to complete this project. This work is funded by a federal grant and is supervised by Matt Martin, WCSU Systems Administrator, working with Arlene Hanson, WCSU School Health Coordinator.
3. After personally contacting all employees who will be reduced in force (RIF), we will mail formal notifications. Contracts will be issued before April 15th in accordance with your voter approved budget plan. Your principal’s contract will follow as soon as time permits.

Informational Items
1. I intend to take four days of vacation leave during Spring Break (4/20-23). My office will remain open.
2. The ad hoc WCSU Governance Committee will meet at L&G on Tues., April 27, in the L&G Library at 7:00 P.M.
3. The WCSU Board will meet on Wed., May 19 for dinner and all member orientation. Time and location TBA.
4. WCSU Board Annual Meeting on May 26 at 7 P.M. Location TBA.

sbj-4/4/10

Attending: Lauren Poster – Chair, Gussie Bartlett – Vice Chair, Jen Carr – Clerk, Francie Marbury – Principal, Steven John – WCSU Superintendent, Andy Reichsman – member of the public

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

Reorganization of the board
Nominated and elected Chair – Lauren Poster
Nominated and elected Vice Chair – Gussie Bartlett
Nominated and elected Clerk – Jen Carr
Nominated and elected Treasurer for the school district – Linda Peters
Designated WCSU Representatives – Lauren Poster/main representative, Gussie Bartlett/first back-up, Jen Carr/second back-up
Designated WCSU Policy Committee Member – Gussie Bartlett
Designated a Paper of Record – Brattleboro Reformer
Designated Truant Officer – Marlboro Constable

Chose regular meeting date/time – 1st Monday of every month at 6pm.

Francie said she will not be here on the 1st Monday in May as she will be on the Costa Rica trip with the Junior High class.

Superintendent’s report. Attached.

Steven John recommends that Francie’s contract be renewed.

Steven John left the meeting at 7pm.

Meeting was handed over to Board Chair.

We reviewed the minutes of 2/8/10. Lauren moved that we approve them as submitted. Gussie seconded the motion. The motion passed.

We adopted Policy E9 Comprehensive HIV Policy.
We also adopted policy F27 Pupil Privacy Rights: Student Surveys.

Andy Reichsman left the meeting at 7:30pm.

Principal’s report. Attached.

Upcoming Meetings:
March 31st 7pm at L&G. WCSU Reorganization Meeting
April 5th, 6 pm next MES Board Meeting

Note pay orders 15, 16, 16a at bottom of minutes.

Meeting adjourned at 8:30pm. Jen, Lauren, Gussie stayed on to do the pay order.

Respectfully submitted,

Jen Carr

Pay Orders: #15 1/15/10 $49,694.06
#16 1/29/10 $47,000.57
#16a 1/29/10 $900.00

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 first 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, March 8, 2010

Student Learning
Student Led Conferences
Preschool
Mythic Shadow Puppet Plays, 6:30
School Social Climate

Policy or Regulation Implementation
Tuition policy

Buildings and Grounds
Waiting to hear about Energy Efficiency Grant
Kitchen upgrade (summer work)

Finance/Accounting
Requesting restraint for the rest of the year

Enrollment/Staffing
Student enrollment – 84
Two new 5th graders expected in the next week or so

Informational items
Learning Fair – Tuesday, April 13, 6:30-8:30

Superintendent’s Report for the Marlboro School Board
Monday, March 8, 2010

Note: I am obliged to attend the Townshend Board Meeting as soon after 7 P.M. as possible. I hope I can persuade one of you to switch to the second Monday of each month. If so, I could give you my full attention without being compromised by conflicting time commitments to another school board.

Student/Staff Learning
1. On Monday, March 1st, all professional staff in the WCSU met at L&G for a day-long professional development workshop to support professional learning communities in every school to improve teaching effectiveness. The day also included a wellness lunch with aerobic activities.
2. I enjoyed visiting Marlboro for Friday sing, and especially helping to lead a round of “Three Blind Mice”. I also had fun surviving the Mexican Hat Dance. Immediately following I joined a small group of parents for coffee with Francie. I commend Francie for this weekly opportunity to informally chat with parents.

Policy/Regulation
1. Marlboro now has a complete set of properly warned and adopted school district policies that meet the state’s requirements. Seven school boards have also completed this task with the remaining four hoping to do so by next month.
2. On February 18, 2010, the newly appointed WCSU Governance Committee discussed what steps may be taken to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and centralization (not consolidation) of our 11 school districts and 13 boards. Thank you Gussie for representing Marlboro’s views at this meeting.
3. I have sent the latest news on the legislature to all WCSU Board Members separately via email. A joint Senate and House Education Committees public hearing on at least two bills related to governance reform is scheduled for Wed., March 10 at 5 P.M. in Room 11 at the Statehouse in Montpelier. I plan to attend.

Finance/Accounting/Operations
1. My compliments to the Board on your presentation of the budget and responses to public questioning at “Town Meeting”. I am pleased to report that all school budgets in the WCSU passed and that most were approved by unanimous voice votes. This is a credit to all the boards and a clear vote of confidence in your leadership as Marlboro’s School Board.
2. Later this month, Matt will begin overseeing the implementation of the MAC grant to enter emergency and medical information for all students in our school information system (PowerSchool).

Enrollment/Staffing
1. David Patterson, Accounts Clerk, resigned his position effective last Friday. We will fill this position as soon as possible, but for the time being, Dana Ladd will cover David’s accounts. She is familiar with his work.
2. An article in the weekend Reformer quoted Windham County and state-wide student enrollment figures that are even lower than those I’ve been quoting (91k vs. 93k). These numbers are not good news, but they do reflect the most recent enrollment reports from Vermont’s public schools last October.

Informational Items
1. I plan to participate in the Education Committees’ Joint Public Hearing on Wed., March 10 in Montpelier.
2. I will attend the SE VT Superintendents Association Meeting on Wed., March 17th.
3. I will attend the VSA Orientation Meeting for new superintendents in Montpelier on March 25th.
4. The new WCSU Governance Committee will meet at L&G on Wed., March 16th and 25th at 7 P.M.
5. The annual reorganizational WCSU Board Meeting at L&G on Wed., March 31 at 7 P.M.

sbj-3/7/10

Attending:  Lauren Poster – chair, Andy Reichsman – vice chair, Gussie Bartlett – Sec’y, Francie Marbury – Principal, Steven John.  Members of the public: Julianne Mills, Jen Carr, Cathy Pell.

The meeting was called to order at 6:15 pm.

We had a discussion with the Meetinghouse staff about the future of pre-school in Marlboro.  It is a likelihood that Meetinghouse will not continue next year.  The numbers and research conducted by the Meetinghouse staff seem to suggest that at this time a Marlboro pre-school is not viable, even if housed at MES.

Cathy Pell and Julianne Mills left at 6:50pm.

We discussed the report from the WCSU Governance Committee, which brings up the idea of disbanding local School Boards, creating a unified School Board across the SU’s districts. A number of plusses and minuses were brought up by Steven and Lauren.

We reviewed the minutes of 1/11/09.  Lauren moved that we approve them as updated.  Gussie seconded the motion.   The motion passed.

We reviewed the minutes of 1/28/10.  Lauren moved that we approve them as updated.  Gussie seconded the motion.   The motion passed.

We reviewed the minutes of 2/2/10.  Gussie moved that we approve them as submitted.  Lauren seconded the motion.   The motion passed.

Gussie is going to send out letters to current tuition-paying students, informing them of the increase in tuition as voted on in the January meeting.

Lauren moved that we allow a preschooler to ride the bus with their Junior High sibling to attend Meetinghouse School, contingent on receiving a waver from the parents holding Marlboro harmless from any liability.

We adopted Policy F5 Student Records.

Lauren moved that we approve Policy E9 Comprehensive HIV Policy. Gussie seconded the motion.  The motion passed.  It will be posted and adopted at the next meeting.

Lauren moved that we approve Policy F27 Pupil Privacy Rights: Student Surveys. Gussie seconded the motion.  The motion passed.  It will be posted and adopted at the next meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 9:03 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Andy Reichsman

Pay Orders:                         #15            1/15/19            $  49,694.06

#16            1/29/10            $  47,000.57

Next meetings:

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, February 8, 2010

Student Learning

NECAP scores – see Principal’s Report to Town below

Winter Workshops and Workshop Showcase

Professional Development

School Reform Initiative conference, Jan14-16

Courage and Renewal for School Leaders, Feb 5-6

MES development of continuum re writing expectations

Margaret Maclean here March 15, April 16

Policy or Regulation Implementation

F27, E9  approve

F5 adopt

Preschooler on bus

Buildings and Grounds

Applying for round 2 of Energy Efficiency Grant

Kitchen upgrade (summer work)

Finance/Accounting

Enrollment/Staffing

Student enrollment – 86

New student in Primary (next year’s enrollment will be 24)

Informational items

Articles presented by Steven and Gussie

My report to town

MARLBORO SCHOOL PRINCIPAL’S

2009 ANNUAL REPORT

Marlboro School District enrollment as of January 15, 2010:

Kindergarten    9             1^st Grade    12      3^rd Grade    10        5^th Grade     5       7^th Grade    9

2^nd Grade   8                4^th Grade     12        6^th Grade     11     8^th Grade    6

High School students:

9^th Grade   9              10^th Grade   10        11^th Grade   10                   12^th Grade   11       Ungraded   3

Marlboro Realms of Learning

Communication

Problem Solving

Personal Development

Civic and Social Responsibility

Knowledge

The state of MES is good.  In the past year our student numbers have held steady when many schools are experiencing a decline in enrollment.  Despite challenging financial times, we have been able to offer a strong and varied program focused on developing the Realms of Learning listed above.

Because we have a talented and dedicated teaching staff, because we are small, because we have a well-informed and supportive school board, and because we have a community that takes pride in its school and volunteers many hours of help, we are able to meet the needs of students with flexibility and creativity.  Last spring, when it became evident that the 3^rd-4^th grade would be quite large, Emma Hallowell was hired as a co-teacher for one year.  This allows for more small group and individualized instruction as well as the opportunity to expose students to the passion and enthusiasm of this fine young teacher.

Elissa Maclean has joined us as the Spanish teacher and we have been able to expand Spanish instruction to the youngest students.  This makes a great deal of sense based on what we know about young children’s ability to learn languages.  Elissa brings both a great deal of teaching experience and a desire to continually improve her instruction.  She is using an approach know as TPRS, which involves students in generating stories with specific vocabulary and working with these stories in a variety of ways that require listening, speaking, reading, and writing.  Our current Junior High will be well prepared for their field research in Costa Rica this spring.

Last year the Hogback Conservation Committee reached out to MES to explore ways to use the Hogback property as an educational resource and to nurture our students’ sense of stewardship for the environment and especially for this special piece of land.  In June, the entire school spent a day exploring Hogback with the generous help of talented community members who led activities such as cellar hole exploration, trail building, kite flying, tracking, and poetry.  As the teachers have become more familiar with the area and the many resources available, they are incorporating Hogback studies in their curriculums.  Many thanks to Bob and Nancy Anderson and Carol Berner for making this happen.

Another focus this year is on creating a culture of kindness through the development of social and civic responsibility.  We have worked with Kim John Payne, a consultant whose “social inclusion” approach has helped us to implement new strategies for positive behavior as well as reviewing and refining what we have found to be successful.  Parents are an integral part of this work as they have expressed concerns about teasing and put-downs and are reinforcing the work being done at school in their homes.

We also know that when children have useful, authentic work and when they have the opportunity to help others in a way that makes a difference for their community, they have a sense of purpose for their schoolwork and they feel better about themselves and treat each other better, too.  Here are some highlights from the classes.

Last Town Meeting the Junior High brought a proposal for writing a grant for photovoltaic panels.  They received the grant and Gary MacArthur installed the panels over the summer.  These same students took their concern for green power to Washington, D.C. in May, speaking with Representative Peter Welch and staging a small demonstration on the Mall.  This year they are working with students from Marlboro College to learn about the ecosystems at Hogback.  They are also visiting area nursing homes where they interview residents, including Marlboro homeowner Fran Nevins, and recognize the rich stories each of these elders has.

The 5^th/6^th grade continues their community history project having now interviewed over forty citizens of Marlboro about work in our town.  These interviews will be archived at the Marlboro Historical Society.  Cape Cod was the destination for this year’s field research and parents, school board members, and teachers were impressed with the high quality of the students’ reports afterwards.  At this writing they are studying light, a unit which engages them in the scientific process as they make hypotheses and design experiments to test them, and creating shadow puppet plays of myths, which our new art teacher, Linda Whelihan, is helping with.

The 3^rd/4^th grade is studying the waste system and surveyed the school to find out where our recycling program was not up to snuff.  They then wrote a proposal to rectify the situation and presented it to me.  They are also visiting Hogback regularly.  Each student has adopted a tree and is learning about it from all angles – painting and writing a poem, as well as learning botanical characteristics.

The Primary class organized a food drive to resupply the Deerfield Valley Food Pantry shelves.  They are also studying about birds and flight and have visited Hogback to take a birding walk with Marlboro resident, Bob Engel.  This time of year is especially exciting for the youngest Primary students as their reading is improving by leaps and bounds.  If you stop by school, we’ll find a student to read a book to you!

The kindergarten provides many opportunities for all of us to help them become happy and contributing members of the school community.  Older students come down as interns and helpers.  Now these youngest students are in the midst of studying the human body.  By creating bodies with all the important systems, playing in the fantasy area set up as a hospital, and reading and discussing books, they are developing quite an in-depth knowledge of the body.  Just ask the Junior High students what they remember from this study!

As we move into the second half of the year, we are pleased to be making progress on our Action Plans goals of 1) improving math learning (see Test Scores) and 2) supporting our learning as educators and 3) improving instruction in writing by participating in a Critical Friends Group where we learn from sharing our collective expertise.

We invite you to stop by and see us in action.  Friday morning All School Sing is a great time to visit.

MARLBORO SCHOOL TEST SCORES

Below are the 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 results from the NECAP (New England Common Assessment Program), a standardized assessment which measures student learning in reading, writing, and math.  Students in 3^rd-8^th grade take these tests every October.  In October, 2009 fifty-four students participated in the assessment.  Writing scores were not available as of this writing.  The improvement in math scores is notable.

Our second graders take the Developmental Reading Assessment in May.  The number of students taking the test is too small to allow for confidential reporting of school achievement.  Individual student scores are available to parents in the office.

We are required by law to report these scores as a measure of how well our students are doing.  We invite you to attend other demonstrations of student learning that are held throughout the year.

NECAP Reading

	Level 4 Proficient with distinction	Level 3 Proficient	Level 2 Partially proficient	Level 1 Substantially below proficient
2006	25%	59%	15%	15%
2007	15%	62%	9%	15%
2008	12%	58%	12%	17%
2009	15%	59%	15%	11%

NECAP Math

	Level 4 Proficient with distinction	Level 3 Proficient	Level 2 Partially proficient	Level 1 Substantially below proficient
2006	16%	43%	23%	18%
2007	23%	51%	16%	9%
2008	17%	38%	23%	21%
2009	21%	50%	10%	19%

NECAP Writing

	Level 1 Substantially below proficient	Level 3 Proficient	Level 2 Partially proficient	Level 1 Substantially below proficient
2007	12%	44%	19%	25%
2008	19%	31%	19%	31%

Superintendent’s Report for the Marlboro School Board

Monday, February 8, 2010

Note: I am obliged to attend the Townshend Board Meeting as soon after 7 P.M. as possible.

Student/Staff Learning

1. On January 28th, the WCSU Admin. Team met at Dover’s school all day.  We appreciate the welcoming staff and excellent facilities.  I hope Francie will share copies of the article by Dr. Yong Zhao that was the focus of our professional learning community (PLC) practice.
2. Commissioner Vilaseca released student performance results on New England Comprehensive Assessment Program (NECAP) exams taken last fall.  I heard his interview on VPR that day which may be available to download.  You may review these statistical summaries by school on the VT DOE website.
3. Francie may provide the Board with some preliminary findings for Marlboro’s students.  My compliments to you and your principal, staff and parents for supporting your students’ learning and achievement.

Policy/Regulation

1. Please take action on policies F27: Pupil Privacy Rights – Student Surveys, and G13 as you deem appropriate.  These are the only two mandatory policies that remain to be adopted for Marlboro.  (Gussie may have the latest information to correct me on this.)
2. I assume you completed this task, but a reminder just in case: 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.
3. On January 2^7th, The WCSU Governance Committee recommended a “voluntary” K-12 unified union school district to the WCSU Board.  Please review the committee’s report as previously emailed to all board members.  My compliments to Allison Trowbridge, a member of the Windham School Board, on her summary of the Committee’s work.  Thank your Gussie for your dedicated work on this committee. The Board’s discussion was lively and engaging with Lauren and Gussie ably representing your district’s views.  The Reformer published an article 1/29/10 on the meeting and draft minutes will soon be available.  Rich Werner will appoint a new ad hoc committee including representation of all the WCSU school districts to further consider the issues raised by this proposal.
4. Pertaining to the issue of WCSU governance, the following bill is being considered: S.252 An act relating to creating regional school districts and no more than 16 supervisory unions

Introduced by Senator Hartwell

Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to replace existing supervisory unions with no more than 16 supervisory unions to be established by the commissioner of education and to require the merger of existing school districts into larger regional districts. It would require the commissioner to develop a governance structure for the supervisory unions and regional school districts.

5.   As all WCSU schools now have school-wide Title I programs, each principal must report to parents the percentage of classes taught by highly qualified teachers (HQT).  I am pleased to report that with the exception of L&G (90+%) all WCSU schools meet 100% HQT status.  L&G’s lower rating is entirely due to offering Chinese classes.  While I have some concerns regarding HQT requirements, my administration will continue to make every effort to see that all our teachers meet the HQT standards.

Finance/Accounting/Operations

Let Frank and me know if you need any additional information as you prepare for your Marlboro School District Annual Meeting on Tuesday, March 2, 2010.

Enrollment/Staffing

1. I am pleased to note that Marlboro students are now listed by name and grade level in PowerSchool.  Thank you Gail.  This will improve my state reporting capability and accuracy.
2. Every school in the WCSU is reducing staff to some degree for FY11.

Informational Items

1. The new governance WCSU ad hoc Committee tentatively meets at the WCSU Office on Wed., Feb. 10 at 7 P.M.
2. The first and historic Brookline-Newfane Joint School District Annual Meeting will vote on the FY11 Budget at the Newbrook Firehouse on Tues., Feb. 16 at 7 P.M.
3. I will attend the Moderators’ Town Meeting Warm-up in Montpelier on Wed., February 17^th.
4. WCSU In-service Day for all teachers at Leland and Gray on March 1^st.
5. WCSU Board Meeting on Wed., March 31 at 7 P.M.

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

The meeting was called to order at 6:05 pm.

We reviewed and finalized our submissions to the Town Report.

Francie Marbury left at 6:45pm.

Pre-Town meeting is February 23^rd at 7:00pm at the Town Office.

The meeting adjourned at 7:25 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Andy Reichsman

Next meetings:    February 8^th at 6:00pm, March 8^th 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

APPROVED

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

The meeting was called to order at 5:01 pm.

Gail MacArthur reported about her work on obtaining a bus in conjunction with the bus grant we received from the State. Gail solicited a few bids, which included a 2011 International with a 2010 engine at $83,734.56, a 2011 International with a 2007 engine at $77,734.56, a Freightliner at $75,933.00 and she is waiting on bid on a Bluebird. The Freightliner and the Bluebird buses use a technology to meet EPA requirements that Gail researched and found several concerns that strongly suggest avoiding that methodology. The board thanked Gail for all the hard work in finding quotes and researching the various competing technologies.

Andy moved that we arrange to purchase either the 2011 International with a 2007 engine at $77,734.56 or the 2011 International with a 2010 engine at $83,734.56. We would prefer the less expensive bus if that model is available. We are acting on a bus purchase at this time because of a substantial grant we received from the State. Gussie seconded the motion. The motion passed.

Gail MacArthur left at 5:30pm.

We then turned to the MES 2011 budget. We reviewed the overall budget picture and plan to continue looking at the budget at the January 11th meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 6:32 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Andy Reichsman

Future Board Meetings: Monday, January 11th at 6:00 pm.

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
Page PAGE 1

APPROVED

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

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

We reviewed the minutes from four meetings, November 9th, November 23rd, November 30th and December 4th.

Lauren moved that we accept the minutes of November 9th. Gussie seconded the motion. The motion passed.

Lauren moved that we accept the minutes of November 23rd. Andy seconded the motion. The motion passed.

Lauren moved that we accept the minutes of November 30th. Gussie seconded the motion. The motion passed.

Lauren moved that we accept the minutes of December 4th. Gussie seconded the motion. The motion passed.

We adopted Policy F9 Transportation.
We adopted Policy F19 Limited English Proficiency Students.
Principal’s Report (see below).
We approved a request by a High School student to attend the Kroka Semester Program.
Lauren moved that we approve Policy F23 Participation of Home Study Students in School Programs and Activities. Gussie seconded the motion. The motion passed. It will be posted for 30 days and we will adopt it at our next meeting.
Lauren moved that we approve Policy F24 Hazing. Gussie seconded the motion. The motion passed. It will be posted for 30 days and we will adopt it at our next meeting.
Lauren moved that we approve Policy F5 Student Records. Andy seconded the motion. The motion passed. It will be posted for 30 days and we will adopt it at our next meeting.
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.

ANDY call Abby/Frank about weighting of our ADM considering the great increase in IEPs.

Superintendent’s Report (see below).

The meeting adjourned at 8:50 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Andy Reichsman

Pay Orders: #12 12/4/09 $59,167.07

Next meeting: January 11th, 2010 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, December 14, 2009

Student Learning
Parent conferences finishing up
Social Inclusion work continues – invite Board to staff meeting for discussion of what we mean by Social Inclusion
Integration with art – Kindergarten, 5/6
3/4 Clay boats as math/science activity
JH – Evolution and Africa
Mixer for samples of student work
Winter Workshops
K-3 Art Lab, Pottery, Capoeira
4-8 Sculpture, Drumming, Puppetry

Policy or Regulation Implementation
F23, F24, F27?

Buildings and Grounds
Repair of 3rd-4th grade heating unit/temporary unit in place
Grant submitted by Energy Committee – thanks to Bob Anderson

Finance/Accounting
HS tuition for Kroka program
Work on FY11 budget

Enrollment/Staffing
Enrollment 85 new student in Primary
Staffing – substitute for Debbie Allen

Informational items
Holiday Concert, Wednesday, 6:30

Superintendent’s Report for the Marlboro School Board
December 14, 2009
Note: Consideration of the FY11 Budget by the Townshend School Board including a reduction of force obliges me to attend their meeting tonight. If Francie or Lauren 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 meeting on the 15th.

Student/Staff Learning
Last Friday, the principals met to discuss Critical Friends Groups (PLCs), teacher evaluation, the WCSU FY11 Superintendent’s Budget and school calendar.

Policy/Regulation
Your minutes indicate no action on policy warning and adoption. I will attach my spreadsheet on school policy status throughout the WCSU for your information.
Last Wednesday, the WCSU Board approved the WCSU Strategic Plan with Action Steps.
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.
The WCSU Governance Committee will present recommendation(s) to the full Board on January 28th. The Committee continues to weigh a variety of approaches to improving governance.

Finance/Accounting/Operations
On December 9, 2009 the WCSU Board approved the Superintendent’s Budget, $1,267,971 for FY11. You received hardcopies at the meeting. Thank you for representing Marlboro’s views.

Enrollment/Staffing
The state’s equalized pupil count for Marlboro is relatively stable:
FY10 – 121.07 students
FY11 – 121.61 students.

Informational Items
Next WCSU Governance Committee meeting will be December 15th at 5 P.M. at Brookline.
Next WCSU Board Meetings are:
January 27, 2010 at 7PM in Wardsboro
March 24, 2010 at 7PM in Newfane

APPROVED

Attending: Lauren Poster – chair, Andy Reichsman – vice chair, Gussie Bartlett – Sec’y, Francie Marbury – Principal. Members of the public: Saint Rosner, Suzanna Shapiro, Nate Harvey, Jen Carr, Dan MacArthur, Keeley Eastley*, Rose Watson*, Andrea McAuslan*. * = Auditors

The meeting was called to order at 6:07 pm.

Saint Rosner read a petition in support of the Poetry Program, signed by 55 people, mostly Marlboro residents. Various people also spoke in support of the program. We thanked those attending for their interest and involvement.

Andrea McAuslan and Dan MacArthur at 6:30pm.

The members of the public left at 6:40pm.

We had a discussion with the Town Auditors regarding what information to include in the town report. We devised a plan that seemed to work for all parties.

The auditors left at 8:12 pm. Dan MacArthur left at 8:30.

Gussie moved that we authorize an amount up to $1500 for an energy audit, which will enhance our chances of getting an Energy Efficiency Grant. The funds for this expenditure will come from the Capital Reserve. Lauren seconded the motion. The motion passed.

Gussie made a motion to approve the Warning. Lauren seconded the motion. The motion passed. Gussie is going to post the warning and give the original to Town Clerk Nora Wilson.

We reviewed the budget and made some changes. Lauren moved that we present to the town a budget with total expenditures of $2,048,172.99. Gussie seconded the motion. The motion passed.

The meeting adjourned at 9:55 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Andy Reichsman

Pay Orders: #15 1/15/10 $ 49,694.06

Next meetings: 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

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.

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

The meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm.

Gussie moved that we approve an application for an Energy Efficiency Retrofit Grant ($50,000.00) to upgrade the MES heating system.  Lauren seconded the motion.  The motion passed.

The meeting adjourned at 6:05 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Andy Reichsman

Pay Orders:                          #12            12/4/09            $59,167.07

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

Attending:  Lauren Poster – chair, Andy Reichsman – vice chair, Gussie Bartlett – Sec’y arrived at 4:00pm , David Holzapfel and Judy Lang.

The meeting was called to order at 3:30 pm.

We went into executive session to discuss staff contracts.

We left executive session at 4:00pm.  No action was taken.  The staff left.

Gussie entered the meeting to discuss the Energy Committee’s recommendation to apply for a grant to improve the heating and ventilation in the school building.  The board agreed to forward with the application.

The meeting adjourned at 4:20 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Andy Reichsman

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, December 14, 2009

Student Learning

Parent conferences finishing up

Social Inclusion work continues – invite Board to staff meeting for discussion of what we mean by Social Inclusion

Integration with art – Kindergarten, 5/6

3/4 Clay boats as math/science activity

JH – Evolution and Africa

Mixer for samples of student work

Winter Workshops

K-3  Art Lab, Pottery, Capoeira

4-8  Sculpture, Drumming, Puppetry

Policy or Regulation Implementation

F23, F24, F27?

Buildings and Grounds

Repair of 3^rd-4^th grade heating unit/temporary unit in place

Grant submitted by Energy Committee – thanks to Bob Anderson

Finance/Accounting

HS tuition for Kroka program

Work on FY11 budget

Enrollment/Staffing

Enrollment  85 new student in Primary

Staffing – substitute for Debbie Allen

Informational items

Holiday Concert, Wednesday, 6:30

Superintendent’s Report for the Marlboro School Board

December 14, 2009

Note: Consideration of the FY11 Budget by the Townshend School Board including a reduction of force obliges me to attend their meeting tonight.  If Francie or Lauren 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 meeting on the 15^th.

Student/Staff Learning

1. Last Friday, the principals met to discuss Critical Friends Groups (PLCs), teacher evaluation, the WCSU FY11 Superintendent’s Budget and school calendar.
   1. Your minutes indicate no action on policy warning and adoption.  I will attach my spreadsheet on school policy status throughout the WCSU for your information.
   2. Last Wednesday, the WCSU Board approved the WCSU Strategic Plan with Action Steps.
   3. 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 recommendation(s) to the full Board on January 28^th.  The Committee continues to weigh a variety of approaches to improving governance.

Policy/Regulation

Finance/Accounting/Operations

On December 9, 2009 the WCSU Board approved the Superintendent’s Budget, $1,267,971 for FY11.  You received hardcopies at the meeting.  Thank you for representing Marlboro’s views.

Enrollment/Staffing

The state’s equalized pupil count for Marlboro is relatively stable:

FY10 – 121.07 students

FY11 – 121.61 students.

Informational Items

1. Next WCSU Governance Committee meeting will be December 15^th at 5 P.M. at Brookline.
2. Next WCSU Board Meetings are:

January 27, 2010 at 7PM in Wardsboro

March 24, 2010 at 7PM in Newfane