Kensington School Board Minutes

March 14, 2007 

 

The Kensington School Board met on March 14, 2007. In attendance were Mrs. Cheryl Camacho, Mrs. Dana Donovan, Mrs. Alice Mower, School Board  members;  Mr. Paul Flynn, Associate Superintendent of Schools; Mrs. Barbara Switzer, Principal

 

Mr. Flynn called the meeting to order at 6:12 PM. Monthly manifests were signed by the board.

 

Mrs. Mower moved to appoint Dana Donovan as Chairperson of the Kensington School Board. Mrs. Camacho seconded the motion. The vote was taken and was in the affirmative.

 

Mrs. Donovan thanked Mrs. Mower for her work on the board as chairperson.

 

The minutes of the January 10, 2007 and February 7, 2007 were unanimously approved by the board.

 

Mrs. Donovan recognized visitors Kathleen and Andy White. Mrs. White stated that she and her husband were seeking more explanation of the scores of the recently published NECAP’s, particularly with the low scores for grades 3 and 4 reading and math. After Mrs. Switzer explained how the administration handles test results in general, Mr. and Mrs. White asked whether school administration or the school board had interpreted the data from this year’s NECAP test. The School Board has not received the summary report for the NECAP’s.  Mr. Flynn noted that, historically, the SAU does not compare one SAU school to another. Mrs. Switzer stated that the Literacy Committee is looking at the Writing as well as the Reading scores. Mrs. Switzer noted that along with the NECAP tests there are the NWEA’s, the DRA’s, the Gates MacGinitie Reading Tests and Writing Samples to look at. Currently, KES does not accommodate to the test as other schools. Mrs. Switzer noted that there are 14 Curriculum Committees addressing Grade Level Equivalencies. Mrs. Switzer did note that at one time a Parent Information Night was held to discuss the results of the testing but because of low turnout it no longer occurs at KES. Mr. & Mrs. White stated that they were generally satisfied with the information provided about their daughter’s individual academic performance but would very much like to know where KES stands in regard to other schools, the analysis of the tests, sharing of the results with parents and accountability. Mrs. Switzer stated that before the end of the year KES staff would address the concerns of Mr. and Mrs. White.

 

Mrs. Donovan stated that she had learned that even with diverse academic abilities KES students perform very well when they get to CMS.

 

Mrs. Switzer gave her report as follows:

·         Fifth grader, John Teschek, is the champion of the Portsmouth area Spelling Bee and will advance to the New Hampshire State Spelling Bee on March 24^th at Memorial High School in Manchester.

·         Elizabeth Fortescue, Grade 5, will represent Kensington Elementary School at the state level of the National Geographic Bee on March 30^th at Keene state College.

·         The indoor recess guidelines were presented to the board for their perusal.

·         Enrollment figures remained the same as last month.

·         Mrs. Switzer noted that KES has eleven band members in the SAU Instrumental Band.

 

Mr. Flynn gave his report as follows:

·         Mr. Flynn gave an overview of the results of voting for School District Officers throughout the SAU as well as the result of all SAU Warrant Articles.

·         The COOP will hold a reorganizational meeting on Tuesday, March 20^th.

·         The SAU #16 Offices will be moving to the old high school premises in June.

·         Mr. Flynn presented the board with a number of SAU#16 Policies as First and Second Readings. 

 

Mrs. Mower moved to approve the following SAU polices as a Second Reading:

            IHBBA  - Limited English Proficiency Instruction

            KB -        Title I Parent Involvement in Education

            LEB -      Advanced College Placement

Cheryl   Camacho seconded the motion. A vote was taken and was in the affirmative.

 

The board unanimously approved as a First Reading the following polices with two of them being revised policies:

            BG -      Board Policy Development (Revision)

            EGA -     Appropriate and Acceptable Computer, Network, and Internet Use (Revision)

            EGAD -  Copyright Compliance

            EHAA -   Computer Security, E-Mail, and internet Communications

            KDC -      Website Publishing Policy

            KDC-R     Website Publishing Policy

 

Under Building and Grounds, Mr. Flynn noted that KES has used much oil this year.

 

·         There is a Chairs meeting scheduled for Wednesday, March 21^st.

·         Mr. Flynn stated the board would need to look at revamping the extra classroom for next school year.

 

The meeting adjourned at 7:25 PM.

 

Respectfully submitted, 

Margaret Ruggeri

School Board Secretary