08-27-18 Regular Minutes
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TRENTON BOARD OF EDUCATION 108 North Clinton Avenue Trenton, New Jersey 08609 BOARD MEETING MINUTES Monday – August 27, 2018 – 5:30 P.M. Completed September 7, 2018 Convened at 5:35 P.M. Call to Order Board President Gene Bouie called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m. Pledge of Allegiance President Bouie called for the salute to the flag. Roll Call Present: Gene Bouie Addie Daniels-Lane Fiah Kwesseu – departed prior to Executive Session Yolanda Marrero-Lopez Gerald Truehart II Lucy Vandenberg Heather Watson Superintendent of Schools – Dr. Fredrick H. McDowell Jr. - Present Business Administrator/Board Secretary – Jayne Howard - Present New Jersey Sunshine Law - Read by Board President Bouie The New Jersey Public Meetings Law was enacted to ensure the right to the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted on. On the rules of this act, the Trenton Board of Education has caused notice of this meeting by publicizing the date, time and place, therefore posted in the Central Services Building, 108 North Clinton Avenue, City Clerk’s Office, City Hall and the Times. Anyone whose name is on the mailing list should receive a notice. Formal action will take place at this meeting. Mission Statement - Read by Board President Bouie All students will graduate with a vision for their future, motivated to learn continually and prepared to succeed in their choice of college or career. 1 TRENTON BOARD OF EDUCATION 108 North Clinton Avenue Trenton, New Jersey 08609 BOARD MEETING MINUTES Monday – August 27, 2018 – 5:30 P.M. Adoption Of Agenda President Bouie noted the following changes to tonight’s agenda: There is a Finance Addendum There is a Talent Acquisition & Development (TAD) Addendum Pull all actions relative to the Therapeutic Program – noted in minutes with a double strikethrough Motion was made by Ms. Daniels-Lane and seconded by Ms. Vandenberg to adopt the agenda as amended. Agenda was adopted by all Board Members present. ROLL CALL YES NO ABSTAIN Addie Daniels-Lane X Fiah Kwesseu X Yolanda Marrero-Lopez X Gerald Truehart X Lucy Vandenberg X Heather Watson X Gene Bouie X SUPERINTENDENT’S REMARKS Transcripts: Welcome Back Message Dear Trenton School Community, Welcome Back and Happy New Year! We hope that everyone had a safe and enjoyable summer. The 2018-19 school year is about to begin and we would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to another exciting school year. Our motto is “Children come first, Los niños son primero.” The District’s goal is to create an academic environment where students have multiple opportunities to achieve at or above grade level, develop critical college and career readiness skills, and create a vision for their future. We are excited about the promise of the new school year for the City of Trenton and its ability to move forward. It is the District’s hope to work positively with all stakeholders committed to supporting students and families. As champions of public education, we value our children and seek to promote policies and practices that support the positive development of all. We celebrate the strengths, assets, and talents of our children and strive to provide high quality teaching and learning experiences. We value our colleagues and seek to demonstrate our commitment by encouraging, supporting, and developing people to achieve operational and service excellence. We fully acknowledge the incredible responsibility that all Trenton Public Schools staff have placed upon them; to support the needs of our students and truly put them first. We also acknowledge the tremendous sacrifice that our dedicated colleagues make every single day to ensure students are provided access and opportunity to achieve their dreams. We have high levels of confidence in the abilities of our colleagues to meet the challenges of today and acknowledge that collaboration is essential to meet the demands for tomorrow. It is also important to note that we value our families, because they play an important role in students’ development and overall learning. We are committed to establishing strong partnerships with families and increasing family voice and visibility in the educational process. We also value our community and will create engagement opportunities to ensure community members are able to give feedback on important issues affecting schools and students. We believe 2 TRENTON BOARD OF EDUCATION 108 North Clinton Avenue Trenton, New Jersey 08609 BOARD MEETING MINUTES Monday – August 27, 2018 – 5:30 P.M. that authentic, genuine engagement promotes a strong sense of belonging within our healthy, strong, and diverse community. Collaboration is a powerful tool that often leads to the innovations that we see taking place across classrooms throughout our District. It is important to note that collaboration requires that we work together in a positive, respectful, and productive manner even when we disagree. We are one Trenton Public Schools. Our message is simple; “We All Own the Future”. We must work together to demonstrate the improvements that we know are possible, and prioritize teaching and learning. Our continued communication to school leaders focuses on providing increased support and resources for teachers with an emphasis on growth, development, and feedback; time and attention to promoting positive academic culture; and the effective use of data to drive school-based decisions. Our message to school leaders also includes creating caring learning environments that demonstrate our commitment to helping students achieve their goals. Welcome back and we look forward to a positive and productive new school year. School Community Updates District Mission: All students will graduate with a vision for their future, motivated to learn continually and prepared to succeed in their choice of college or career. DISTRICT PRIORITIES Based on the feedback from a wide range of community stakeholders, school site visits, and data review, the District’s Priorities for 2018-19: 1. INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP 3. CULTURE a. Effective Data Culture a. Establishing Future Ready Schools b. Learning Focused Partnerships b. Empowering Parents as Partners 2. COACHING & DEVELOPMENT 4. CENTRAL OFFICE TRANSFORMATION a. Observations & Feedback a. Customer Service & Continuous b. Principal as Instructional Leader Improvement b. Networks of School Support POINTS OF PRIDE Class of 2018: Congratulations to the Trenton Public Schools Class of 2018. Graduation Ceremonies took place in June and August. Because of their hard work, perseverance, and resilience, 625 students were able to fulfill their graduation requirements and earn over $4 million in tuition and scholarships. Special thanks to all the staff members at Daylight/Twilight, West Campus, and Trenton Central Main for supporting students this year. CLASS OF 2018 VALEDICTORIANS School Student College Attending Daylight Twilight Crismary Rodriguez William Paterson University Trenton West Germalysa Ferrer Princeton University Trenton Central Alahni Gunn Rutgers University Seal of Biliteracy: The Seal of Biliteracy was an initiative started in 2008 to acknowledge and award hardworking bilingual and multilingual students. By achieving the Seal of Biliteracy, students demonstrate that they are able to speak, read, listen and write in two or more languages at a high level of proficiency. During the 2016-17 school year, 23 Trenton students achieved the seal. On June 14th, a total of 21 Trenton students earned the prestigious distinction. Our goal for 2018-19 is to ensure that at least 50 students are acknowledged through this rigorous process. 3 TRENTON BOARD OF EDUCATION 108 North Clinton Avenue Trenton, New Jersey 08609 BOARD MEETING MINUTES Monday – August 27, 2018 – 5:30 P.M. Congratulations to all the students, teachers, and Bilingual Department leaders for their commitment to multilingualism in Trenton. 6 Trenton Schools Exit Priority/Focus Status: As a result of the school’s efforts progress has been made in student outcomes, and the school was not identified for support under the new ESSA Accountability Framework. With a continued focus on improving instruction, the following schools will continue on this positive trajectory. 1. Columbus Elementary School (Priority) 2. Franklin Elementary School (Focus) 3. Grant Elementary School (Priority) 4. Washington Elementary School (Focus) 5. Hedgepeth Williams Middle School (Priority) 6. Trenton Central High School (Focus) ESSA Update: In accordance with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and aligned with New Jersey’s goal to ensure all students have access to a high-quality education, the NJ DOE is responsible for identifying schools in need of comprehensive or targeted support and improvement. The identification is based on the accountability framework in the NJ approved ESSA State Plan. The NJ DOE will provide support and resources to districts. Assistance will be differentiated, based on level of need, and will focus on building capacity at the district level to support schools. We received official notification regarding the following schools for the 2018-19 school year: 1. Comprehensive School: A school will be identified as in need of comprehensive support and improvement if overall performance is at or below the fifth percentile of Title I schools or the graduation rate is at or below 67 percent. 1. Daylight Twilight High School 2. Dunn Middle School 3. Gregory Elementary School 4. Jefferson Elementary School 5. Kilmer Middle School 6. Rivera Middle School 7. Martin Luther King Elementary School 8. PJ Hill Elementary School 9. Robbins Elementary School 2. Targeted School: A school will be identified as in need of targeted support and improvement if one of more student subgroups perform at or below the fifth percentile of Title I schools. 1. Mott Elementary School 2. Wilson Elementary School QSAC Update: The District is pleased to share some outstanding news with you today regarding QSAC. Due to the leadership from the Chief Academic Office and the hard work of the Academic Team, the District increased QSAC Scores in Curriculum & Instruction from 27% to 61%.