September 7, 2022

Brockton, Massachusetts    

Regular School Committee Meeting        
September 7, 2022
Live Stream

    The Regular Meeting of the Brockton School Committee was held this evening in the George M. Romm Little Theatre at Brockton High School, at seven o'clock.  These minutes contain a summary of the meeting and list items that were under discussion. 
     
Present:  Ms. Asack, Vice-Chair, Mrs. Ehlers, Mr. Homer, Mrs. Rivas-Mendes, Mr. Rodrigues, Mrs. Sullivan, Mr. Sullivan 
    
Also Present:  Superintendent Thomas, Ms. Wolder, Deputy Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, Cabinet Members, Mrs. Kim Gibson, BEA President 
    
Absent:  Mayor Sullivan, Chair  

Ms. Asack – Vice-Chair, called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. 
        
Ms. Asack – Vice-Chair, took a roll call to establish a quorum that was followed by a salute to the flag.

Mrs. Ehlers – Here
Mr. Sullivan – Here Mr. Rodrigues - Here
Mrs. Sullivan – Here Mr. Homer - Here
Ms. Asack, Vice-Chair – Here Mrs. Rivas-Mendes – Arrived Later     
Ms. Asack mentioned Mayor Sullivan had a prior commitment and is unable to attend.

Hearing of Visitors    There were no hearing of visitors.

Consent Agenda    

Ms. Asack explained the purpose of the Consent Agenda and asked members if they would like to remove any items for further discussion.  
Mrs. Sullivan moved the Superintendent’s recommendation to approve the Consent Agenda in its entirety, seconded by Mr. Sullivan.

Voted:  to approve the motion, unanimously.
A. Approval of Minutes:  August 30, 2022 Special School Committee Meeting                 
B. Approval of Minutes:  August 23, 2022 Regular School Committee Meeting            
C. Acceptance of Notification of Personnel Appointments:  Certified Personnel        
D. Acceptance of Notification: Personnel Actions Leaves of Absence, Resignations, Retirements
   
  Superintendent’s Report    

Superintendent Thomas asked for a moment of silence for two members of the Brockton Public Schools family, Ms. Megan McDonough, Brockton High School Guidance Counselor and Dr. James Cobbs, Deputy Superintendent of Operations both have lost a daughter recently.  Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families.                       
    
Opening of Schools Report (powerpoint)

Superintendent Thomas presented a brief powerpoint giving highlights from the First Days of School.
* Students in grade 1-12 were welcomed back on Friday, September 2, 2022
* Kindergarten began on Tuesday, September 6, 2022 at the George School (only)
* PreK and K will begin on Monday, September 12, 2022 (remainder)
* Transportation was completed in-house for the first time
* BPS welcomed 81 new teachers
* School Police and BPD provided support at high-traffic areas near our school buildings
* Food Services served 4,503 breakfasts and 7,251 lunches

Superintendent Thomas mentioned he has visited the majority of schools the past three days and would like to remind parents/guardians to expect traffic delays of up to 30 minutes both in the morning and afternoon.  He thanked School Police and the Brockton Police Department in doing a great job assisting in the morning and afternoon dismissals at schools, and mentioned safety is number one.  
    
Enrollment Report (Superintendent Thomas)

Superintendent Thomas presented and spoke about the enrollment throughout the district and reported the following.

* Barret Russell, Elementary Schools & Davis K-8 – 7,506
* Middle Schools – 3,147
* BHS and Pathways – 4,537
Grand Total – 15,190*    (*An additional 228 enrollment applications are being processed)
    
Superintendent Thomas introduced members of his cabinet to give an update on the following.

Transportation Update (Dr. Murray, Assistant Superintendent of Transportation) Dr. Murray thanked parents, students, principals, staff, drivers, and the transportation team for their patience the past few days of school.  Dr. Murray gave the following update.

* 128 vehicles are in service
* 109 drivers, with 10 more in the queue
* A dedicated staff member for each school in the office for any issues
* Principals are working directly with the Communications Department to notify families of any expected delays

    Questions/Answers/Comments

Mrs. Ehlers thanked Dr. Murray for the Transportation Update.  She asked how likely are we to getting 128 drivers versus 128 vehicles.  Dr. Murray mentioned the goal is to exceed that number of about 10% of the workforce in reserves or spares.

Ms. Asack thanked Dr. Murray for the Transportation Update and believes the communication is better this year with parents and schools.

Elementary (Dr. Spaulding, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, K-5) Dr. Spaulding gave an overview of the first days of school for elementary.  She stated, “There is no greater joy than watching an elementary student hop out of a car, break away from a parent or guardian’s hand and run towards school with a big smile on their face and lots of joy”.  “We’ve all experienced incredible joy watching that happen over the last couple days is the results of the hard work of many”.     

* What did we hear from student the first day back?
> I missed my friends!
> I missed my teachers!
> I’m going to have a great year!

* What did we hear from staff the first day back?
> Excited for a great year!
> Something about this year just feels better
> Thank you!

* Did Brockton Public Schools Show Up? Yes!
> September 2 – 80.3% in attendance (Grades 1-5)
> September 6 – 91.9% in attendance (Grades 1-5)
> September 7 – 92.6% in attendance (Grades 1-5)

Questions/Answers/Comments

    Ms. Asack thanked Dr. Spaulding for the Elementary Update.

    Superintendent Thomas commended the Teachers, Paraprofessionals, MTA’s, and Staff for their hard work getting classrooms ready prior to the opening of schools. Middle School (Dr. Conners, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning 6-12) Dr. Conners commended our teachers and leaders in our middle schools for heling us plan and develop both a new middle school schedule as well as the honors academy.  It’s very powerful  when a small team can come together and make great changes that will benefit our students.  

* North Middle School is fully open to grades 6-8
* New middle school schedules are in place (across all our middle schools) that includes a 90-minute block of math and a 90-minute block of ELA.  
* Middle School Honors Academy opened at all middle schools and the Davis with 1,100 students.

* Students are excited to be back:
> September 2 – 81.2% in attendance (Grades 6-8)
> September 6 – 91.9% in attendance (Grades 6-8)
> September 7 – 92.5% in attendance (Grades 6-8)

    Questions/Answers/Comments

Ms. Asack thanked Dr. Conners for the Middle School Update and mentioned many families and students are excited about the honors academy being offered at all middle schools.
    
    Brockton High School (Principal Burns)
    
Principal Burns echoed Superintendent Thomas led off in terms of tone it is markedly different, there is so much positivity, so much excitement.

    Enrollment
    Grade 9: 1,268
    Grade 10:  957
    Grade 11:  723
    Grade 12:  801 (170 new students registered since July 1)

    Attendance Rate:  86% (Focus area:  9th grade attendance rate) Attendance Policy is in effect.
    
    Morning entry:  New attendance system, new IDs for all students, new homeroom period.
    
Ms. Burns thanked Dr. Precious, Data Service Team in developing a new system that works with our Infinite Campus software.  Thank you to Associate Principal Copp and the team at Brockton High in designing and printing approximately 4,000 new student IDs for the opening day.    

    School-wide PBIS pilot:  Introduction to Boxer PRIDE (our school’s Core Values)
    Positive, Responsible, Inclusive Determined and Empathetic. 
    (Focus area:  responsible cell phone use)

Ms. Burns thanked Dr. Cobbs, Facilities Department and Custodians in getting the school ready to open on the first day of school, as programs ran up until the first week in August.
    
Student Voice and Leadership:  Over 80 students ran Freshman Orientation and are serving as 9th grade mentors.  Hundreds of student athletes worked out all summer with the TB12 program, several students participated in the Girls/Boys state program and Senior Juliana Gobbi was selected to represent our state at the National event in Washington, D.C.

Questions/Answers/Comments

Mr. Sullivan thanked Principal Burns for the presentation.  He asked was there any school delay with the metal detectors as last year? Ms. Burns mentioned there was no delay and thanked Lt. Jones and School Police.  The first version of the detectors used last year worked slower. School Police found an advanced version and they work with very little delays.

Mr. Rodrigues asked how do we address if a student shows up without an id and who has the responsibility of making sure that the student belongs at the high school?

Ms. Burns mentioned as students enter the building, they scan their id’s.  If they should need  one, they are directed to the IRC where staff is available to help assist. 

Mr. Rodrigues asked has a date been chosen for the Class President?

Ms. Burns mentioned an election for all class officers will take place, once we receive the student nominations, they will have time to record their speech and have an in-person voting at lunch in each building.

Ms. Asack asked for an update on the homeroom attendance.

 Ms. Burns explained all students must sign/scan in at the door upon arrival and proceed to their homeroom for a seven-minute period, attendance is taken again as another accountability factor for students.  Multiple calls were made home to parents/guardians explaining the process and information was sent to students via teams and in their handbooks.

Pathways  (Ms. Wolder, Deputy Superintendent of Teaching and Learning)

Ms. Wolder gave a brief overview of our Pathways School (formerly known as alternative schools).
    
She encouraged everyone to go and visit the Champion School, the students and adults are excited they are in a space that honors, that respect who they are, that respects the work that’s going to happen there.  Thank you to the facilities department for the great work making their school that it needed to be.

Ms. Wolder also thanked everyone involved with the Promise School that opened with 40 students in nineth grade who chose to be there and chose to wear uniforms and chose that school instead of some other schools.  It’s off to a great start listening to respecting the voices of students and families and giving them choice and voice in their learning and that’s the work that we will continue to do so that we can go from where we are right now to our 90 percent and hopefully get there before five years.

Questions/Answers/Comments

Ms. Asack mentioned that she’ll be visiting the school in the coming week.

    Facilities (Superintendent Thomas)

Superintendent Thomas gave a brief Facilities update.  On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 the MSBA Senior Team will be visiting Brockton High School at 1:00 p.m. to review our application for a new renovated Brockton High School, all are welcome to attend.

Superintendent Thomas mentioned we need to continue to work with the mayor’s office as the Downey School needs a new hvac system.  We’re working with the mayor’s office to secure the funding from the city side to get the hvac system.  We will continue to work with the architect and engineers and anticipate beginning the changeover in the spring.

Superintendent Thomas mentioned we are going to the city council on Monday, September 19, 2022 to talk about our turf field behind the Asiaf Skating Rink.  The fields would be for soccer, football, and other athletics not only for Brockton High School but for the city.  We are looking for the $1.8 million that the city bonded about three years ago to be used for the fields behind the Asiaf Skating Rink.  We will ask the city to consider turf fields for our middle schools and the four compass schools.  He will also present an update on the New Strategic Plan and the Proficiency Commitment.   

Superintendent Thomas thanked Mrs. Kim Gibson, BEA President, and her team for their cooperation and everyone working together to implement homeroom time back into the schedule at Brockton High School.
  
Staffing (Dr. Moran, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources)

Dr. Moran gave a brief update on staffing throughout the district.  We’ve brought on 81 new 
teachers this year which is very exciting.  The new teacher orientation took place on Thursday, August 25, 2022 where many district administrators talked to the new group, Mrs. Kim Gibson, BEA President brought a team to speak with them about the union.  It was an exciting day for them to introduce them to the district.  She reminded everyone that we do have openings, if anyone is looking for a position, please feel free to check our website and apply online or through school spring.

Questions/Answers/Comments

Ms. Asack welcomed the 81 new teachers to the BPS family.

Presentation:  Superintendent’s End of Cycle Evaluation (Vice-Chair Asack) 

Ms. Asack mentioned this was a type error and is on the next School Committee Agenda, Tuesday, September 20, 2022.

Items to Refer to Subcommittee      

Superintendent Thomas requested a Curriculum Subcommittee meeting
Ms. Asack requested a Facilities Subcommittee meeting

    Both chairperson(s) of each subcommittee will work with Mrs. Campbell to schedule a meeting.

    Unfinished     Business    

Mr. Sullivan asked if agenda item IV-B, is there timeline when the Superintendent’s End of Cycle

Evaluation must be done and is there a reason for the delay?
                
 Superintendent Thomas mentioned by October 1, 2022
Ms. Asack mentioned Mayor Sullivan and several School Committee members were not in attendance and felt that all members should be present for the presentation.          
        
New Business    There is no New Business

Seeing no further business, 
          

Mr. Homer motioned to adjourn, seconded by Mrs. Ehlers.
                    
The motion carried.
    
The meeting adjourned at 8:03 p.m.
        
      Respectfully submitted,
                           

     Michael P. Thomas
     Superintendent/Secretary  

     PowerPoint:  First Day Snapshot
             
     mdc