Regular Meeting of the AMHERST School Committee

Tuesday, November 13, 2007, 7:00 p.m.

Middle School Library

Present: Andy Churchill, Chair Jere Hochman, Superintendent

Elaine Brighty Wendy Kohler, Exec. Dir. of Prog. Development

Kathleen Anderson Rob Detweiler, Director of Business & Finance

Sonia Correa Pope Paul Wiley, CF Principal

Chrystel Romero (arrived @ 7:12) Stephanie Joyce, WW Teacher

Rachmana Santorelli, WW Teacher

Press

Debbie Westmoreland, Recorder

1. Welcome 7:02 p.m. (A & B)/8:27 p.m.

A. & B. Call to Order/Agenda Review—Mr. Churchill called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. He then reviewed the agenda and welcomed everyone to the meeting.

C. Minutes—Ms. Brighty made a motion to approve the minutes of October 16, 2007. Ms. Anderson seconded and the motion passed with one abstaining.

2. Announcements and Public Comments 7:04 p.m.

There were no announcements or public comments.

3. Superintendent’s Update 8:29 p.m.

Dr. Hochman noted that a curriculum day is coming up on November 30. It is a full day of curriculum work for the elementary schools. The focus of the day’s work will be the social justice commitment. Dr. Hochman noted that he will start the day with the teachers as a group, outlining the three major thrusts of the social justice commitment. Those include 1.) the personal and professional work of the adults, 2.) the focus on student achievement, and 3.) the intentional work on social justice learning for children. The morning will continue with Principal Paul Wiley discussing why the social justice commitment is important, Principal Vernon-Jones working with the full-group on social justice pedagogy, and the group working together to dig deeper into the concept and how it connects to instruction at each grade level. Work on the topic will then continue at the building level in the afternoon.

Dr. Hochman then stated that he sent notes from the last Amherst Budget Coordinating Group (BCG) to each member of the School Committee. The notes outline the presentation made to BCG by an expert in utilizing community input in long-range budget planning.

Dr. Hochman then distributed and reviewed MCAS and AYP data for the Amherst School District and each of the Amherst elementary schools. Since Mr. Wiley was in attendance at the meeting, Dr. Hochman asked if he wanted to comment on MCAS/AYP at Crocker Farm. Mr. Wiley reported briefly on the topic, noting that Crocker Farm made AYP this year based on extensive efforts to concentrate on curriculum alignment to the standards not by “teaching to the test.” He reported that the goal is to move all of the children up, especially moving those who are still in the needs improvement category into the proficient or advanced category. Dr. Hochman then briefly reviewed an abstract of district and school improvement plan expectations for MCAS and AYP. Mr. Churchill expressed appreciation for the balance of an Amherst-style education with knowledge that our students are obtaining the skills tested on MCAS.

4. Unfinished/Continuing Business 8:05 p.m.

A. Accept Wildwood Roof Project—Mr. Detweiler reviewed the need for the School Committee to accept the Wildwood Roof Project that was completed in 2002. In order to seek state funding, the School Committee must officially vote to accept the project, which was not done in 2002. Ms. Brighty moved that the Amherst School Committee accept the Wildwood School Roof project as completed for school purposes. Mr. Churchill seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

B. FY07 and FY08 Budget Updates—Mr. Detweiler distributed and reviewed a final report on the Fiscal Year 2006-2007 budget. He noted that the Amherst School Department was able to return $122,727.00 to the Town of Amherst’s general fund. Mr. Detweiler then distributed and reviewed an update of the current status of the FY08 budget. Mr. Churchill asked if there is anything of concern at this point. Mr. Detweiler noted that the current control lines show a deficit of $80,391.00, which is nothing to worry about at this time. It does indicate that the budget is running very lean, however, so there is nothing extra at this point. Mr. Churchill thanked Mr. Detweiler for the report, noting that it is very helpful to have this information in October and he looks forward to regular updates throughout the year.

5. New Business 9:10 p.m.

A. Principal Search—Dr. Hochman reported that the posting process has begun for the Crocker Farm and Fort River principal positions for next year. He briefly reviewed the full interview and selection process, noting that the goal is to have the principals named by late February or early March.

B. Accept Gifts—Ms. Brighty made a motion to accept the following gifts: $100 and $25 donations from Sarah Wolff and Joel Ouellette to purchase teddy bears for Crocker Farm Preschool Program; $1,914.25 donation from the Marks Meadow Parent/Guardian Group to purchase library books for the Marks Meadow library; $180.14 donation from the Fort River Parent Council for the purchase of yearbook software; and $230.11 donation for Target for Fort River. Ms. Romero seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

6. Reports 7:04 p.m.

A. Language Arts Overview—Dr. Hochman stated that work has been done simultaneously on several areas of the K-12 curriculum, including evaluation of the mathematics program, completion of the new Language Arts Curriculum Guide, and work on the Science and Social Studies curriculum guides. He introduced Wendy Kohler, Wildwood first grade teacher Stephanie Joyce, and Wildwood language arts teacher Rachmana Santorelli, who made a presentation regarding the newly revised K-12 Language Arts Curriculum Guide. Dr. Kohler pointed out that all of the revised curriculum guides have been posted on the district website so they are available not only to all faculty members, but also to the public. Ms. Santorelli presented the English/Language Arts section of the curriculum guide and Ms. Joyce presented the writing/composition section. Mr. Churchill commented that the depth and breadth of the research and scholarship being conducted by our teachers is impressive and reflects well on the district. Ms. Correa-Pope asked about the structure beginning at kindergarten. Ms. Santorelli stated that a great deal of thought was put into how kindergarten students would be expected to proceed. She reported that at Wildwood they are seeing students go much more deeply into the language arts curriculum beginning in kindergarten. Ms. Joyce pointed out that teachers are doing this kind of teaching around a writing workshop model beginning in kindergarten. Ms. Romero asked if student progress is being monitored at the other schools. Ms. Santorelli stated that the language arts teachers in each building are helping to present the curriculum and are assisting teachers in developing lesson plans utilizing the revised curriculum. Ms. Anderson asked Ms. Santorelli her thoughts on the impact of housing all students at a particular grade level in one building. Ms. Santorelli said that there are advantages to both systems (grade-level schools and neighborhood schools) and she would want to have time to think about the issue. She stated that as a language arts resource teacher she finds great joy in being able to work with students across a span of grades so that she can get to know them well. Mr. Churchill asked if a new teacher coming into the district has what he or she needs to begin teaching with only the new Language Arts curriculum guide. Ms. Joyce said that was a question that was kept in mind constantly as the guide was being developed to ensure it would enable new teachers to come in and immediately know what to teach in the curriculum. She stated that a new teacher would still need support through colleagues and professional development. Ms. Santorelli stated that even long-time teachers will still have questions when they look at the curriculum, which is why having a language arts teacher in the building to work with classroom teachers is essential. Dr. Kohler distributed a list of language arts professional development opportunities currently being offered to district faculty. Dr. Hochman stated that the curriculum guides were developed with a commitment to respect the uniqueness of teachers, uniqueness of grade levels, uniqueness of schools and the developmental stages of kids. As a result, the guide needs a lot of “figuring out” so all teachers need support from other teachers as they implement the curriculum. He stated that the guide provides the “what to teach.”

7. School Committee Planning 9:14 p.m.

A. Calendar Review—Ms. Romero and Ms. Correa-Pope extended an invitation for everyone to attend the Puerto Rico potluck dinner at 6:00 p.m. in the Middle School cafeteria on Thursday.

B. Items for Upcoming Meetings

C. Sub-Committee Reports—Mr. Churchill reported that Amherst Town Meeting voted to approve the JCPC appropriation for portable buildings at Marks Meadow.

8. Adjournment 9:15 p.m.

Ms. Brighty made a motion to adjourn at 9:15 p.m. Ms. Romero seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

Respectfully submitted,

Debbie Westmoreland