QUINCY SCHOOL COMMITTEE
JOINT TEACHING & LEARNING and EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION SUBCOMMITTEES MEETING
A joint meeting of the Teaching & Learning and Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Subcommittees was held on Monday, December 16, 2024 at 6:00 pm in the Coddington Building. Present were Teaching & Learning Subcommittee members Mr. Paul Bregoli and Mrs. Emily Lebo, Subcommittee Chair and Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Subcommittee members Mr. Paul Bregoli, Mr. Doug Gutro, and Mrs. Tina Cahill, EDI Subcommittee Chair. Also present were School Committee Member Mrs. Courtney Perdios; Superintendent Kevin Mulvey, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Erin Perkins, Ms. Kim Connolly, Mr. Michael Draicchio, Mr. Michael Marani, Ms. Maura Papile, Ms. Kimberley Quinn, Ms. Bridget Vaughan; and Ms. Laura Owens, Clerk.
Director Kim Connolly presented the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Program Improvement Plan, starting with a reflection on decline in aspiring teachers in preparation programs, a statewide issue. Quincy Public Schools is collaborating with other districts, pursuing grant funding, and creating internship opportunities. Workforce diversity is focused on developing a pipeline of new educators; it will be difficult to demonstrate short term gains as it will be several years before students complete bachelors degrees. Partners include Regis College, Laselle, and Stonehill; grant funding expanded high school internship program. Other initiatives include expanded opportunities for mentoring, collaborated on Culturally Responsive Teaching Professional Development for new educators, and anti-bias hiring with principals. All goals are continued forward for the 2024-2025 school year.
Mrs. Lebo asked about retention, Ms. Connolly said that the grants assisting with tuition are very attractive to staff members. Mrs. Lebo complimented the efforts to date in recruiting diverse staff members. Mrs. Lebo would like to hear more about the Raising Multicultural Kids program and agreed that the pipeline issues are concerning.
Mr. Bregoli asked if teachers supervising student teachers receive a stipend; Dr. Perkins said typically the college provides a course voucher. If the practicum supervisor teacher doesn’t use the voucher, it can be transferred to another educator.
Mrs. Perdios asked about retention of diverse educators, Human Resources can follow up on this with statistics. Ms. Connolly said that peer reporting is that retention is an issue nationwide.
Mrs. Perdios suggested areas for expansion would be the equity of initiatives across the district. Different schools have interesting initiatives, would like to see more schools have access to Raising Multicultural Kids, support for LGBTQ+ students, and expansion of ELPAC.
Mrs. Lebo asked about open positions. Superintendent Mulvey said there are very few professional staff openings, none for clerical or security; paraprofessional recruiting is ongoing.
Mrs. Cahill thanked Ms. Connolly for her work, she has done an amazing job to bring this all together, learn about the school system, identify ways for expanding opportunities. Mrs. Cahill asked about outreach to people changing professions, suggested using outside social media for promotion.
Mr. Bregoli made a motion to approved the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Program Improvement Plan. Mrs. Cahill seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Coordinator Kim Quinn presented the Mathematics Program Improvement Plan, reviewing that there are 11 Math Interventionists/Specialists work with elementary and middle school students identified by the schools’ Integrated Learning Teams as needing Tier 2 and 3 Interventions. During the last school year, the Mathematics team focused on improving math fluency and number sense as documented by the student growth on the MAP Assessment, which was met by all grade levels. Several mathematics parent events were held and the math educators collaborated on updating the math pacing guides.
Looking ahead, the Mathematics goals are the district goals for MCAS and MAP, plus additional resources for families for summer enrichment, and creating of a Foundations of Math course for teachers to ensure teachers understand the progression of math skills.
Mr. Bregoli noted that the Grade 5 MCAS scores are concerning, Ms. Quinn agreed that the mathematics concepts are more abstract and challenging at this level. Ms. Quinn said that the new Illustrative Mathematics curriculum has a clear progression and the Math Interventionists can assist with strengthening foundational skills.
Mrs. Cahill asked for clarification, this is the 2nd year for full implementation of the Illustrative Mathematics program.
Mrs. Perdios complimented the efforts to engage with parents about the new curriculum and the ST Math program, we will hopefully see improvement in this year’s assessments.
Mrs. Lebo complimented the MAP scores and suggested sharing the expectations for Grade 6 math to the Grades 4 and 5 math teachers. Mrs. Lebo asked about the incentive for the summer PD Math course, Dr. Perkins said the goal is for this to be eligible for PDPs and possibly a credit.
Mr. Bregoli made a motion to approved the Mathematics Program Improvement Plan. Mrs. Lebo seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Coordinator Bridget Vaughan reviewed the Literacy Program Improvement Plan, supports the development of foundational literacy skills including phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, print awareness, motivation and engagement. A wide range of targeted interventions for Tier 2 and 3 students are focused on improving student outcomes. There were goals focused on decreasing the number of students in the well-below benchmark performance measure; this was exceeded for Kindergarten and Grade 2. Grade 1 was close to the goal target and Grade 3 was not, this is definitely an area for analysis. Growth data is now available for three years, exceed national norms for reading growth in all grades. Goals for 2024-2025 are ambitious but attainable and supported by robust professional development offerings.
Mrs. Lebo asked about Cursive Writing Club, all students in Grades 3-5 received a handbook for practice of cursive writing. Ms. Vaughan noted that learning cursive writing is helpful for dyslexic students
Mrs. Lebo made a motion to approved the Literacy Program Improvement Plan. Mr. Bregoli seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Mrs. Lebo made a motion to adjourn the Joint Teaching & Learning and Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Subcommittees meeting at 7:30 pm, seconded by Mr. Bregoli. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.