June 11, 2014 at 7:00 PM - Regular Meeting

Rationale:  The 2015 Teacher of the Year for the Bristol Public Schools will be announced at the June 2014 Board of Education meeting. The Bristol Teacher of the Year Committee consisted of Karen Hintz, BOE Commissioner, Larry Amara, BOE Commissioner, Scott Gaudet, K-8 Principal, Dan Sonstrom, Middle School Principal,  Lori Eschner, 2008 Teacher of the Year, Lisa Galske, 2011 Teacher of the Year, Jennifer Michalek, 2012 Teacher of the Year, Lisa Carroll, 2013 Teacher of the Year, and Corey Nagle, 2014 Teacher of theYear.  A reception will be held in the fall to honor the Bristol 2015 Teacher of the Year.

Rationale:  May 7, 2014 - Regular Meeting and May 22, 2014 - Special Meeting

Rationale: 

Communication & Community Relations	Finance	Operations	Personnel	Student Achievement
Karen Vibert, Chair	Jill Fitzgerald, Chair	Karen Hintz, Chair	Genard Dolan, Chair	Jennifer Dube, Chair
Jeffrey Morgan	Genard Dolan	Karen Vibert	Thomas O’Brien	Jeffrey Morgan
Jennifer Dube	Christopher Wilson	Thomas O’Brien	Jill Fitzgerald	Karen Hintz
Alternates:
Christopher Wilson	Karen Hintz	Genard Dolan	Jennifer Dube	Jill Fitzgerald

Rationale:  Dr. Solek will report/update the Board on district topics.

Rationale:  Commissioner Vibert requested a presentation regarding the systems in place to ensure the safety of the student athletes who participate in our athletic programs.

Rationale:  Ellen Benham - BOE - Supervisor of Assessment, Evaluation & Special Programs

Rationale: 

Erika Coleman – BOE – Teacher on Special Assignment – Elementary and K-8 Literacy
Lawrence Covino – Adult Education – Supervisor of Adult Education, Alternative Education  & TESOL
Michelle LeVasseur – WB - Principal

    

Rationale:  Linda Cahill - GH - Library Media Specialist
Carol Hemming - NEMS - Social Studies

Rationale:  Jennifer Michalek - CHMS - Math - Grade 8
Zachariah Savic - SSS - Special Education - Goal

Rationale:  Marc Zimmerman - BEHS - Newpaper Co-Advisor

Rationale:  Barbara Tedesco - EPH - Technology Co-Advisor

Rationale:  Barbara Kaminski - BEHS - Grade 9 Team Leader - Effective August 25, 2014

Rationale:  Jaime Dasilva - Assistant Girls Volleyball Coach - BEHS - Effective 5/1/14
Andea Gallo - Heads Girls Swim Coach - BEHS - Effectiver 5/28/14

Rationale:  The Bristol Board of Education has received a grant from the Stocker Foundation for $23,300 to partner with the Bristol Public Library to create the WOW “Wonder of Words” Mobile a mobile library that will be used for expand the reach of the library and district to promote reading and address the preparation gap. The WOW mobile will offer a summer program at various locations throughout the city as well as provide programming in the summer to decrease the summer slump and in the fall to promote literacy. The Stocker Foundation has also awarded the Family Resource Center, the Parent and Child Center and the Bristol Early Childhood Alliance (United Way) grants for programming that focus on their mission to lessen the reading/literacy achievement gap for under-resourced Pre-K to Grade 3 public school students. The Foundation will be awarding the Board of Education another $14,000 as a result of meeting their challenge grant. Bristol has become eligible to apply for these grants because one of their family members recently relocated to this community.

Rationale:  The Bristol Adult Education Center in partnership with Rowley Spring and Stampng has developed a pilot program the Adult Education Diploma and Certificate program. This program will allow adult learners to earn a GED as well as a certificate in basic manufacturing. The program will consist of the GED program, Skills in Manufacturing class and a hands-on training component at Rowley for 10-12 adult learners. It is in response to the job opportunities available and lack of qualified individuals to fill the positions in the field of manufacturing. The program will begin in the fall of 2014.

Rationale:  This Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) grant provides funds to supplement programs developed to assist students with disabilities.  The goals of the grant are to increase student achievement, improve effective instruction and provide equality of educational opportunity.  Included in the grant are salaries for special education teachers, aides and related services staff.  The grant also includes funds for limited instructional supplies and professional development activities.  Section 611 of IDEA provides funding for students from age 5 years to 21 years.

Rationale: 

This Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) grant provides funds to supplement programs developed to assist students with disabilities.  The goals of the grant are to increase student achievement, improve effective instruction, and provide equality of educational opportunity.  Included in the grant are salaries for teacher aides and related services staff.  Section 619 of IDEA provides funding for students from age 3 years to 5 years.

Rationale: 

BACKGROUND:   Members of the public are invited to comment to the Board on any topic related to school business.

Items requiring consideration by the Board must be approved as an agenda item by a 2/3ds vote of the Board members present.  Such items may be referred for further study and not necessarily acted upon at this meeting. 

Anyone wishing to address the Board should adhere to the following procedures: 

1. Sign in on the Public Comment sign-in roster.
2. Wait to be recognized by the Board Chair.
3. Proceed to the speaker’s table.
4. Preface your remarks by stating your name and address.
5. Direct your comments to the Board chairman.
6. Please limit your comments to three minutes.
7. Any comments should be made in an appropriate manner, particularly if concerning a personnel matter.

 Board Policy #1120(a)

Rationale:  Travel abroad is one of the most rewarding experiences a person can have.  The chance to visit in person the places we study in the classroom, walk where the characters in our stories walked, live the world through their eyes, often changes a student’s perspective more profoundly than any words said in any classroom thousands of miles away from the actual site.  A chance to travel abroad while young and impressionable is a life-informing experience that makes a student a global citizen and a traveler  and a student  for the rest of his/her life.

Rationale: 

The Board of Education voted to participate in the Healthy Food Certification Compliance Act. Each year the district must certify full compliance with the program. This year, we received approximately $60,000 in reimbursements from the State of Connecticut as a result of our participation in this program.

Requested approval by the Board of Education is for the 2013-2014 school year. The Food Services budget for 2014-2015 includes anticipated revenue of $60,000 from the State. This is a decrease from prior years as a result of our declining participation. [In the first year of the program, we received approximately $90,000. The reimbursement rate has declined as well as our lunch participation rate.]

Rationale:  Teachers trained to serve as TEAM (Teacher Education and Mentoring) mentors and cooperating teachers provide assistance and support to student teachers and first year beginning teachers in the district in areas such as lesson design and classroom management and provide feedback and support in the areas of instructional planning and student assessment. Cooperating teachers are those teachers who are trained to work with student teachers. Mentors must be assigned to first-year teachers to provide mentoring and support to newly certified teachers; this program is required by the State Department of Education. Principals recruit teachers to apply to be a TEAM mentor/cooperating teachers; the applications are reviewed by the TEAM Coordinating Committee. The following teachers were approved by the TEAM Coordinating Committee and are recommended to be TEAM Mentors/cooperating teachers.  Approved teachers must attend a three day training program and update their training every three years.

Teacher	Assignment
Barbara McLean	Special Education teacher, Hubbell School
Jeffrey Fleischman	Social Studies Teacher/Department Coordinator, BEHS
Melissa Prentiss	Grade 3 teacher, Edgewood School

Rationale:  A change in the Connecticut Statutes in July 2013, changed the definition of excused and unexcused absences. A letter was sent to every family explaining these changes at the start of the 2013-14 school year. This policy revision brings our policy into compliance with state statutes.

Rationale:  The revision is proposed to clarify and create consistent policy language for the implementation of the Full Extra-Curricular and Partial Extra-Curricular eligibility policy for co-curricular and extra-curricular activities

Rationale:  The College Board has implemented a revision to AP Physics offerings beginning with the 2014-2015 school year.  High School Science teachers have recommended implementing AP Physics C in support of Calculus instruction at the high schools. This 180 day experience typically enrolls students in grades 11 and 12.

Rationale:  The College Board has implemented a revision to AP Physics offerings beginning with the 2014-2015 school year.  High School Science teachers have recommended replacing the existing accelerated class with AP Physics 1.  This 90 day experience typically enrolls students in grades 11 and 12.

Rationale:  High School Business and Finance teachers have designed and written a new course that introduces students to the world of computer programming. This curriculum provides a 45 day experience in support of the Computer Information Systems Pathway at Bristol High Schools.

Rationale:  High School Science teachers have revised and updated the high school Environmental Science class.  This 90 day experience typically enrolls students in grades 11 and 12.

Rationale:  It has been a practice of the Bristol Office of Teaching and Learning to maintain the rigor and relevance of  the district’s curriculum by revising it on a regular basis. Such was the case with the French 3 curriculum, last revised in the 2005-2006 school year.  This winter and spring, French teachers from both Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern worked collaboratively to review each unit of the curriculum, their objective to infuse the type of rigor that would address the district’s heightened expectations, a Tier I goal that all students be well prepared for college. As a result, students will learn more sophisticated grammar and will gain an updated perspective of French culture. This revision will also enhance the use of French instruction as a vehicle for interdisciplinary literacy instruction, especially in the areas of reading for information, writing, and editing -- skills not only tested on the SAT and eventually on the Smarter Balanced Assessment, but also linked to success in various academic areas.

Rationale:  It has been a practice of the Bristol Office of Teaching and Learning to maintain the rigor and relevance of  the district’s curriculum by revising it on a regular basis. Such was the case with the Spanish IV curriculum, last revised in the 2005-2006 school year.  This spring, Spanish teachers from both Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern worked collaboratively to review each unit of the curriculum, their objective to infuse the type of rigor that would address the district’s heightened expectations, a Tier I goal that all students be well prepared for college. As a result, students will learn more sophisticated grammar and will gain an updated perspective of Spanish culture. This revision will also enhance the use of Spanish instruction as a vehicle for interdisciplinary literacy instruction, especially in the areas of reading for information, writing, and editing -- skills tested on the SAT and the Smarter Balanced Assessment and linked to success in various academic areas.

Rationale:  The current need for the revision of the high school precalculus curriculum stems from changes in the K-12 mathematics curriculum to align with the Common Core Standards for mathematics.  Prior to the start of the 2013-2014, new curricula were adopted for Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II.  Precalculus is the next course in the mathematics progression that needed to be aligned.

Rationale: 

Two years ago, the College Board required the district to revise the AP Biology curriculum. In support of that revision, the College Board is now requiring the schools to upgrade the textbook for the class to meet the revised curriculum standards. After a review of several possibilities, the textbook selection committee recommends the following textbook for AP Chemistry:

 Cambell Biology in Focus by Lisa A. Urry, Michael L. Cain, Steven A. Wasserman, Peter V. Minorsky, Robert B. Jackson, and Jane B. Reece.

Rationale: 

Last year, the College Board required the district to revise the AP Chemistry curriculum. In support of that revision, the College Board is now requiring us to upgrade the textbook for AP Chemistry. After a review of several textbook options, the textbook selection committee recommends the following textbook for AP Chemistry:

Chemistry: The Central Science by Theodore E. Brown, H. Eugene H LeMay, Bruce E. Bursten, Catherine Murphy, and Patrick Woodward

Rationale: 

The College Board is discontinuing the AP Physics B course as of June 30, 2014. In response, Bristol will implement AP Physics C which will require a new textbook. The following textbook is recommended for AP Physics C:

 Fundamentals of Physics by Jearl Walker.

Rationale: 

The College Board is discontinuing the AP Physics B course as of June 30, 2014. In response, Bristol will implement AP Physics 1 to expand AP offerings for students. The following textbook is recommended for AP Physics C:

 College Physics: A Strategic Approach by Randy Knight, Brian Jones, and Stuart Field.

Rationale:  High School Science teachers have revised and updated the high school Environmental Science class. The existing textbook is 8-9 years old and needs to be updated to match new instructional standards

Rationale:  To support instruction in the Computer Programming and Video Game Design Course, curriculum committee members are recommending the adoption of the following text to facilitate reading skill development in the content area of computer programming:

Rationale: 

The French III curriculum was revised this spring as part of the district’s regular practice of updating curriculum.  As a result of the process, a committee of French teachers from both high schools determined that a current and rigorous textbook was needed to help deliver the curriculum effectively. 

The committee recommends the approval the following textbook:

• D’accord Level 3 published by Vista Higher Learning

Please read the attached documents for details about the selection process, including information regarding the alignment of the textbook with our curricula.

Rationale: 

The Spanish IV curriculum was revised this spring as part of the district’s ongoing practice of updating curricula.  As a result of the process, a committee of Spanish teachers from both high schools determined that a current and rigorous textbook was needed to help deliver the curriculum effectively. 

The committee recommends the approval the following textbook:

• Aventura Level IV, published by EMC Publishing.

Please read the attached documents for details about the selection process, including information regarding the alignment of the textbook with our curricula.

Rationale: 

Two years ago, Bristol Public Schools adopted a middle school mathematics curriculum aligned to the Common Core State Standards.  In support of that adoption, it is recommended to purchase instructional materials to meet the revised curriculum standards.  After a review of several possibilities, the textbook selection committee recommends the following textbook for middle school mathematics.

 Glencoe Math: Built to the Common Core CCSS by McGraw Hill Education

Rationale: 

The Board of Education will discuss any old business proper to come before the Board.

Rationale: 

The Board of Education will discuss any new business proper to come before the Board.

Rationale:  Any communications received or any questions by Board members concerning items not on the agenda.

Rationale:  1. Conduct Superintendent Evaluation

Rationale:  The Board of Education should reconvene into Public Session to take any votes on matters discussed in Executive Session.

Rationale:  The being no other business to come before the Board of Education the meeting should adjourn.