Minutes for the Pelham School Committee Meeting of September 2, 2010

 

Debbie Gould, Chair                 Maria Geryk, Interim Superintendent

Kathy Weilerstein                     Rob Detweiler, Director of Finance and Operations

Nora Mouroulis                        Fred Vanderbeck, Community Member

 

A/B. Call to Order—Ms. Gould reviewed the agenda, noting that an agenda item “Accept Gifts” will

be added as a standing agenda item for future meetings. 

C. Approval of Minutes—This item was tabled. Ms. Gould will resend the minutes to be approved to the full committee. She then thanked Ms. Westmoreland for taking minutes for the Pelham School Committee meetings.

 

 

Ms. Geryk reported on the First Day Celebration that was held on the Amherst Town Common on September 1. She also noted that math and science are the curricular areas of focus this year, unless Ms. Dejarlais has other suggestions for Pelham. Ms. Weilerstein expressed her regret that she could not attend the First Day Celebration, noting that the timing was problematic for Pelham residents due to the long-standing picnic held at Pelham Elementary on the day before school opens. Ms. Geryk said it will be important to talk about this issue when planning for next year. Ms. Gould stated that the video that was shown at the All Staff opening assembly was beautifully done.   Ms. Weilerstein noted that Ms. Geryk received a standing ovation at the opening assembly yesterday and it should be celebrated. Ms. Dejarlais noted that she was able to speak at the First Night Celebration on behalf of Pelham, and she believes there will be a way to have both the Pelham Picnic and this celebration in future years. She reported that today was the first day of school and everything went very well. The only staffing change in the school is that Lennie Ware moved from working two half-days and one full day to one half-day and one-full day. Ms. Dejarlais noted that she has received the MCAS scores; however, they are embargoed. She stated that they are good, and she will be able to report on them in more depth at the next meeting. Ms. Dejarlais then reported that the new Pelham website is up and running, recognizing Nina Koch for her work on the site. The first Pelham Press will be sent home with students tomorrow. Future editions will be posted on the website and sent to families electronically unless they specifically request paper copies. Ms. Dejarlais then distributed and reviewed a revised Pelham School enrollment document, which included the number of school choice students. She noted that there is a fifth grade student currently enrolled at Wildwood who may take a choice slot at Pelham because the family is moving to Sunderland. Ms. Gould noted that the kindergarten numbers are very low and asked if it can be determined if this is a trend. Mr. Vanderbeck said the census can be checked for that information, but noted that Pelham is a costly place to move, which may account for the decrease. Ms. Geryk noted that there is a similar decline in Amherst kindergarten enrollments. Finally, Ms. Dejarlais noted that Ben Storrow will interview her tomorrow for a story in the Amherst Bulletin.

 

Ms. Gould reported that the Select Board approved the School Committee’s mission statement for the Pelham Education Visioning Committee. Ms. Gould will check with Kathy Martel, Town Clerk, to see if the members of the Visioning Committee need to be sworn in before they begin their work. After discussion, it was decided that the committee’s first meeting will be scheduled for September 23 at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Room of the Pelham Library.

Mr. Detweiler distributed and reviewed the Central Office Combined Budget Summary for FY10 and FY11, which outlines the budgetary split of Central Office costs between Amherst, Pelham and the Region. Ms. Gould noted that she has done many cost analyses and believes the way the splits are currently being determined is reasonable. She stated that, as Finance Director, Mr. Detweiler is the one who should advise the school committees about how this split should be done. Ms. Gould directed the members of the Pelham School Committee to email her with their ideas regarding agenda items for the upcoming joint Amherst/Pelham School Committee meeting.  Mr. Detweiler then distributed and reviewed a summary of the Federal Education Jobs Funding and FY11 Chapter 70 Program funding for Pelham. He included a recommendation for applying the funds to support health insurance costs in FY11, with a carry forward of $11,165 that can be used in either FY11 or FY12. 

 

Ms. Geryk distributed a draft of District Goals for the 2010-2011 school year, noting that the goals printed in color were mentioned as priorities by either the Amherst or Regional School Committees. She asked that the Pelham School Committee review them and provide her with any comments or suggestions. Ms. Weilerstein stated that the professional development work being done with the staff is critical and exciting. She believes it is timely and should be priority goal. Ms. Geryk agreed, noting that in addition to professional development, her priority goals would be response to intervention, positive behavioral support, communication and collaboration. She noted that the professional development work is being done through a very thoughtful process and is systems work. Ms. Gould stated that the district needs to focus on a couple of very meaningful systems goals this year. Ms. Weilerstein said she would like for the School Committee to hear from the staff periodically about how they are experiencing the systems professional development work this year.

 

A. Policy Subcommittee—Ms. Weilerstein reported briefly on the policy subcommittee meeting held on August 31^st. She expressed great appreciation that Elaine Brighty is willing to serve as an advisor to the subcommittee because she has extensive knowledge. Ms. Weilerstein noted that Ms. Brighty discussed the difference between policy and guidelines and she will write up the information to share with the three school committees. She reported that the subcommittee reviewed the Anti-Bullying Policy, the Attendance policy and the Approval of Handbooks policy. 

 

A. Calendar Review—joint meeting with Amherst School Committee on September 28

B. Items for Future Agendas—revote FY11 budget, discuss MCAS scores, school improvement plan, school choice, joint meeting follow-up, visioning committee update, report on home districts of school choice students

 

Ms. Weilerstein made a motion to adjourn at 8:25 p.m. Ms. Mouroulis seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Debbie Westmoreland