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A meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on Wednesday, December 11, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. in the School Committee Room at the Coddington Building.
Superintendent Kevin Mulvey called the roll and present were Mayor Thomas P. Koch, School Committee Chair and School Committee Members Mr. Paul Bregoli, Mr. Doug Gutro, Mrs. Kathryn Hubley, Mrs. Emily Lebo, Mrs. Courtney Perdios, and School Committee Vice Chair Mrs. Tina Cahill.
Also present were: Superintendent Kevin Mulvey, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Erin Perkins, Ms. Catherine Carey, Ms. Lisa Chan-Ianetta, Ms. Kim Connolly, Ms. Allison Cox, Mr. Michael Draicchio, Ms. Julie Graham, Ms. Jill Kyranis, Ms. Jennifer Leary, Mr. Michael Marani, Mr. James Mullaney, Ms. Maura Papile, Mr. Keith Segalla; QHS Student Representative Myshtee Malavia; and Ms. Laura Owens, Clerk.
Mrs. Cahill read the following statement into the record: Pursuant to the Open Meeting Law, any person may make an audio or video recording of this public meeting or may transmit the meeting through any medium. Attendees are therefore advised that such recordings or transmissions are being made whether perceived or unperceived by those present and are deemed acknowledged and permissible.
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Regular Meeting
Vice-Chair Presiding
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Ms. Kate Campbell, Ms. Thuy Leung, Ms. Shivpreet Singh, Ms. Amy Sorensen-Alawad, Mr. Frank Santoro, and Ms. Grace Young-Jae (on behalf of Citywide Parent Council) all spoke in support of Quincy Public Schools adding Lunar New Year as an observed holiday.
There were no letters submitted online for Open Forum.
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Open Forum
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Superintendent Mulvey opened his report with recognition of Senior Director of Human Resources Allison Cox, who is retiring at the end of the month. A Quincy Public Schools employee for over 30 years, Ms. Cox was a teacher at the Montclair Elementary School before becoming the Quincy Education Association President. In 2020, Ms. Cox joined the Superintendent’s Leadership Team.
Mayor Koch echoed Superintendent Mulvey’s comments, Ms. Cox’s thoughtful approach to negotiations and commitment to public education was exemplary.
Mrs. Lebo said that Ms. Cox has been a friend to the Quincy community; as HR Director, the retention rate is very high, staff feel supported through onboarding and orientation and throughout their careers.
Mr. Gutro complimented Ms. Cox, noting her professionalism, institutional memory, and collaboration, retirement is a loss to the city.
Mr. Bregoli said Ms. Cox was always a professional educator, union leader, and negotiator. Ms. Cox will be missed and difficult to replace.
Superintendent Mulvey then congratulated the winners of the annual Quincy Sun Christmas Poster Contest. The winning students were invited to ride on a float in the recent Quincy Christmas Parade and their posters are displayed in the windows of the Quincy Sun offices on Hancock Street. For Grades 1-3: Eunice Wu from Wollaston, Grade 1 (1st place); Aanav Gowda from Merrymount, Grade 3 (3rd place);for Grades 4-5: Prajna Singh from Clifford Marshall, Grade 4 (1st place); Elliot Martinez from Bernazzani, Grade 5 (2nd place); Chastity Tai from Lincoln Hancock, Grade 4 (3rd place).
The QNQ Band and Colorguard marched in the City of Quincy’s recent Christmas Parade, one of ten bands competing in three separate divisions. The QNQ band won best percussion, best music, and first place in Division 3. The students also won best overall band for the 4th year in a row with a historic score of 97.4.
The North Quincy High School team recently qualified once again to participate on WGBH’s High School Quiz Show, one of sixteen teams to emerge from the preliminary round. Additional information will be forthcoming about the broadcast schedule and shared with School Committee in the new year.
This past Saturday, Robotics Teams from all of our middle schools competed in the First Lego League Regional Qualifier. Congratulations to the Point Webster Estrella team, who finished in the top 10 and was awarded 1st place in Core Values. The team will compete again this Saturday at the First Lego League Challenge Massachusetts East Championships. We are proud of all of our students for their hard work and teamwork as well as our incredible program staff and volunteers for their dedication.
On Monday, December 16, administrators from Weymouth Public Schools, including Interim Superintendent Melanie Curtin, will visit the Early College High School program at North Quincy High School. Weymouth High School is interested in joining the Early College High School network and wanted to see firsthand how Quincy Public Schools’ collaboration with Quincy College has led to the successful implementation of the program.
Upcoming Quincy Public Schools Events include: North Quincy High School’s Drama Club is presenting Little Women on December 13 at 7:00 pm, December 14 at 2:00 and 7:00 pm, and December 15 at 2:00 pm, all in the Peter Chrisom Auditorium at North Quincy High School. Winter Concerts are now scheduled for all schools. A complete schedule was shared with School Committee in their packets and calendar invitations sent out for the evening events. There will be a Parent Academy to meet the Behavioral Health Navigator and an Aspire Health clinician from Quincy and North Quincy High School on January 7, 2025 at 6:00 pm on Zoom.
Superintendent Mulvey completed his report with special thanks to some long-time supporters of Quincy Public Schools students. Under the Consent Agenda, School Committee will be approving gifts from Uncle Sam Rounseville, who once again donated tickets for students at South~West Middle School to see a performance of A Christmas Carol and also the Seaside Stitchers, Purl Jam, the Quincy Garden Club, and individual knitters for their annual donation of hand-crafted hats, mittens, and scarves for our students. We are so thankful for the ongoing thoughtfulness of these donors and their dedication to our students year in and year out.
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Superintendent’s
Report
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Mayor Koch reviewed that School Committee received the composite Summative Evaluation form for Superintendent Mulvey for the school year 2023-2024. The Superintendent was evaluated as having Met his goals and received an overall rating of Proficient with Exemplary ratings for standards related to law, ethics, policies, and fiscal systems. Mayor Koch thanked the School Committee members for completing their individual evaluations. Superintendent Mulvey will utilize the information to finalize his goals for the 2024-25 school year. The new goals will be discussed at the January 29, 2025 Teaching & Learning Subcommittee.
Mr. Bregoli made a motion to approve the composite Summative Evaluation of Superintendent Kevin Mulvey as presented. Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion.
On the motion, Mrs. Perdios asked for a delay for the approval vote until there has been a chance to review the Summative Evaluation. There was no second for this.
On a roll call vote, the ayes have it 6-0. Mrs. Perdios abstained.
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Old Business
Superintendent’s
Summative Evaluation
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Director Julie Graham, Coordinator Jennifer Leary, and Team Administrators Catherine Carey, Lisa Chan-Ianetta, and Jill Kyranis presented the Special Education Program Improvement Plan, reviewing the educational and extracurricular opportunities provided to the over 2,000 Quincy Public Schools students receiving Special Education services in resource rooms and substantially separate classrooms across the school district. A highlight of this school year is the opening of the Dr. Rick DeCristofaro Learning Center last July for summer programming and in September, for Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 8 students.
In reflecting on last year’s goals, Special Education teachers and Guidance Chairpersons were trained on the new IEP format. This implementation will continue throughout this school year, with the additional ability to document re-evaluations through this new format in Aspen. In addition, there were program goals for the CARES/Learning Center Grades K-5 team (implementing Pivotal Response Treatment), Post-Secondary team (continued development of peer mentoring program), Language Development team (aligning CKLA program curriculum with best teaching practices for supporting students in LDC); GOALS team (added a new business/life skills course); Occupational Therapy/Physical Therapy/Speech & Language Therapy team (implemented strength-based SMART goals in student IEPs); Behavior Support Team (professional development for all paraprofessionals); RDLC Design Team (completed the application and approval to open the school with DESE). In addition, there was collaboration with the Quincy Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) to support their community events and expand parent engagement.
Looking ahead to this year, each program and the Special Education team will have individual goals, including focusing on the continued implementation of the new IEP format for Initial, Review, and Re-evaluation IEPs.
Mrs. Lebo noted that there are more students with disabilities at the elementary school level than at middle school. Ms. Graham agreed that this early identification is due to the integrated learning team process.
Mrs. Lebo noted that dyslexia is still not identified as a disability by DESE. Mrs. Lebo complimented the attendance goal for GOALS and asked for clarification, their attendance is mapped back to their home schools.
Mrs. Hubley noted that vision and hearing are not broken out individually, asked for the data.
Mr. Gutro asked about the Dyslexia Screening tool, Ms. Graham said that all students are screened through the Amplify mCLASS program, this is a Massachusetts regulation.
Mrs. Perdios complimented the plan, very thorough and detailed. Including the program descriptions was very helpful; Ms. Graham confirmed the information is available on the Quincy Public Schools website.
Mrs. Perdios asked for and received confirmation that there are 170.9 professional staff members across the school district.
Mrs. Perdios asked for additional information on the LEAP program work sites, Ms. Graham said the job placements are planned to line up with student goals.
Mrs. Perdios suggested rewording the SEPAC goal to indicate collaboration.
Mrs. Perdios asked if there is a long-term goal for percentage of students meeting their IEP goals. Ms. Graham said IEP goals are meant to be achievable in one year, the goal is always 100% completion. There could be any number of reasons a student couldn’t reach a goal, health, dysregulation, attendance, or other variable outside school control.
Mrs. Perdios asked about an elementary inclusion model, SEPAC has mentioned as a priority. Ms. Graham said that the elementary team is looking at the middle and high school model for adaptation for elementary school needs.
Mrs. Cahill thanked the passionate, professional Special Education team. A very complex set of regulations and many individual needs to be met.
Mrs. Lebo made a motion to approve the Special Education Program Improvement Plan, with the amended SEPAC goal. Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
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New Business
Special Education
Program Improvement
Plan
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Assistant Superintendent Dr. Erin Perkins and Curriculum Director Michael Marani presented an overview of the School Safety & Discipline Reporting, thanks to the assistance of Coordinators Christopher Tierney and Dan Pacho. Data is collected for each incident (that could include one or more offenses); offenses (a violation of a statute or regulation or student code of conduct which may involve one or more victims and/or one or more offenders); disciplinary action (corrective action imposed by school administration on a student who violated school rules or engaged in misconduct); and loss of instructional time (any disciplinary action that results in a student being removed from their regular educational environment.
The process of gathering data begins with school-based incidents being documented in Aspen, whether or not they end with disciplinary action. DESE analyzes specific offense categories, disciplinary actions, and student subgroups. DESE then generates reports shared in EDWIN Analytics and on the DESE website School and District Profiles. Information was shared around documenting office categories and the range of disciplinary actions. DESE will analyze data related to reportable offenses (required by regulation) regardless of the disciplinary action and any offense that leads to loss of instructional time (removal from classroom, in-building suspension, and out of building suspension).
Mr. Gutro asked for clarification, ASPEN uploads information to the DESE Dropbox every night on attendance, registration, discipline. There is an opportunity to review and correct problems with the data before it is publicly posted. The yearly reports are public, posted on the DESE website.
Mr. Gutro asked if Bullying is a pattern of incidents, Dr. Perkins said these could be individual incidents or one incident that documents multiple offenses.
Mr. Bregoli asked for clarification, Principals and Assistant Principals are the staff members who decide on discipline. Mr. Bregoli asked about the discretion to categorize offenses, Dr. Perkins said that administrators do not focus on reportable vs. non-reportable.
Mr. Bregoli asked about students spending some or all of the day in the office, Dr. Perkins said this is an in-building suspension and should be documented as such.
Mr. Bregoli asked about incidents outside of school and the impact on the school community and school participation. Dr. Perkins said that it depends on the circumstances. Dr. Perkins said if the incident causes a disruption to the school environment, actions can be taken. If a student is arraigned or charged with a felony, the school district can act.
Mrs. Perdios asked if administrators have discretion, how are we sure that there is uniform application of student discipline and reporting. Dr. Perkins said the discretion is about how the incident is coding, there is work needed to ensure consistency. If there is a statute or school rule violation, the schools are documenting that.
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New Business
SSDR Data Review
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Mr. Gutro referred the 2025-2026 School Committee Meeting Calendar to Policy Subcommittee.
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New Business
2025-2026 School
Committee Calendar
For Referral to
Subcommittee
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Mr. Gutro referred the 2025-2026 Quincy Public Schools School Year Calendar to Policy Subcommittee.
Mrs. Perdios asked if there will be multiple versions of the School Year Calendar. Superintendent Mulvey deferred to the Policy Chair Mr. Gutro.
Mr. Gutro requested an updated version of the approved calendar from last year.
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New Business
2025-2026 QPS School
Year Calendar
For Referral to
Subcommittee
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Mrs. Lebo made a motion to refer the Process for Reviewing and Selecting Curriculum Materials to Teaching & Learning Subcommittee.
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New Business
Review/Selection of
Curriculum Materials
For referral to
Subcommittee
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Mrs. Lebo made a motion to approve the item listed under the Consent Agenda: Approval of the November 13, 2024 Regular Meeting minutes; donations from Uncle Sam Rounseville & Jean Kenney and the Seaside Stitchers, Purl Jam, Quincy Garden Club, and individual knitters; grants from the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education for $50,000 for Targeted Assistance and from State Street for $150,000 for Early College High School; and Out of State/Overnight student travel for Point Webster Middle School Grade 8 students to travel to New York City, New York June 5-6.
On the motion, Mrs. Hubley thanked Health Services Coordinator Andrea Huwar for organizing the distribution of the donated items.
Mr. Bregoli seconded the motion and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 7-0.
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Consent Agenda
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Mrs. Hubley made a motion to approve the Overnight/In-State student travel of North Quincy High School students to the DECA Competition in Boston, Massachusetts on January 7 and 8, 2025. Mr. Bregoli seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
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Additional Business
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Mrs. Cahill noted that upcoming School Committee meetings will be held on January 8 & 22 and February 12, 2025 all at 6:30 pm at the Coddington Building. There will a Joint Teaching & Learning and Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Subcommittee meeting on December 16, 2024 at 6:00 pm.
Mrs. Cahill also noted that the Quincy Education Association had sent a letter thanking the Superintendent’s Leadership Team for their efforts in organizing the Professional Day of Learning held on November 5, 2024.
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Communications
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Mayor Koch reported on the October 23, 2024 Quarterly Budget & Finance Subcommittee meeting where Business Director James Mullaney presented a reconciliation of the FY2025 Staffing and an overview of the 1st quarter of the FY2025 budget expenditures and encumbrances.
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Reports of
Subcommittees
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Mayor Koch made a motion to adjourn to Executive Session for the purpose of discussing Discipline (SSDR Report) at 8:20 pm. Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it. School Committee will not return from Executive Session.
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Executive Session
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Since School Committee did not return from Executive Session, the Regular Meeting was adjourned at 8:20 pm.
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Adjournment
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