February 15, 2018 at 7:00 PM - Bethel Board of Education Regular Meeting - Budget Approval

Rationale: 

CELEBRATION OF EXCELLENCE:  

Jason Zheng is a finalist has advanced to Finalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program.  Jason is one of only 16,000 students in the nation to move forward in the prestigious program.  

The NJROTC Unit received their annual  inspection.  They received outstanding in every category.    In addition, Ameet Banala, placed very high nationally and in the state and will be getting a Gold Tier award for the Cyber Patriot Competition.  The team spent 5 competition days online for nearly 6 hours each day, breaking code and re-routing networks with remote commands. 

The Bethel High School Jazz Ensemble came in first place in the Berklee High School Jazz Festival.  Two of our students received a Judges Choice Award for excellent musicianship - Johnny Mattera and Michael Chittem.

Berry and Rockwell Schools were named "Schools of Distinction" by the State Department of Education based on the accountability ratings.  

Bethel Middle School hosted a visit from the New England League of Middle Schools (NELMS) to be continued as a "spotlight" school.  While the school will receive notification in the next few weeks, the visiting team emphasized how impressed they were with the innovative practice and welcoming school environment (from both students and staff).  They commented that they were particularly impressed with our standards based grading system, 1:1 model, SRBI, and professional learning model.  

GIFTS,GRANTS, & BEQUESTS

GIFTS:

Berry School

Wood kits for children, 4 small child size hammers, Lowes Home Improvement/Sue Witte, , CT

GRANTS:

Berry/High School

2 $500 Grants, Excellence in Education Awardees for classroom supplies, Bethel Education Foundation (Jill DeRosa and Jennie Taranovich)

High School

$2,000 Grant, BHS Capstone Fund, Bethel Education Foundation

2017-2018 Bethel Education Foundation Grants
School	Teacher/Administrator	Project Title	Grant
Bethel High School	Jessica Wismar	#BHSkind Button Making Machine	$ 586
Frank A Berry School	Danielle Legnard	Google Translate and Pixel Earbuds	$ 1,200
Frank A Berry School	Rosanne Licari & Gina McKenzie	VZ-R Ipevo Document Cameras	$ 400
Bethel Middle School	Cathy Emerick	Video Equipment	$4,673
R.M.T. Johnson School	Jen Torpey & Alana Weinberg	Items to create a Makerspace	$ 3,775
Anna H. Rockwell School	Laura Dobrindt	Osmo devices	$1,190

Rationale:  Bethel Public Schools has participated in the CT State Department of Education Healthy Food Certification Program for many years.  By participating, Bethel can only serve snacks and a la carte items that specifically have been approved by the CSDE Bureau of Health & Nutrition.  Each year we report to the CSDE each and every a la carte/snack item that we serve in our schools and it is checked against the approved list.  The CSDE has been pleased with our adherence to the law.

For participation the District receives an additional 10 cents reimbursement from the State on each meal served.  This is important as with the choices of snack items limited, the revenue has dipped. The additional 10 cents has kept us on track.

The BOE chose to renew its participation in this program for the 2017-2018 school year at their April 2017 meeting, however as CT State Department of Education requirements for the Healthy Foods Program have expanded, we would like to amend the original motion to clarify that both food and beverages are covered by this motion to renew participation in the HFC program and that both food and beverages are included in the exemption of items sold at after school events.

Rationale:  (Please note:  The Board welcomes Public Participation and asks that speakers please limit their comments to 2 minutes.  Speakers may offer objective comments of school operations and programs that concern them.  The Board will not permit any expression of personal complaints or defamatory comments about Board of Education personnel and students, nor against any person connected with the Bethel Public School System.)

Rationale: 

Topic: AP Human Geography Textbook Adoption

Key Points of the Briefing:

1. We are proposing to use the book, The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography (12th edition).  Currently, we are using the 9th edition from 2009.

2. The current AP Human Geography textbook was published in 2009 so we would like the most current examples and application of course content available to us from the newest edition.

3. We are requesting 50 copies of the textbook and e-text (we receive 2 complimentary texts).  The total cost for the textbook/e-text would be $7,764.25

$150.47  x 48 = $7,222.56 + 541.69 (S&H) = $7,7,64.25