Kensington School Board
Meeting Minutes October 10, 2007
(As amended November 14, 2007)
The Kensington School Board met on October 10, 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
Manifests were signed by the board.
Meeting called to order: 6:46pm
Approval of Minutes - Cheryl Camacho made a motion to accept the minutes from September 12, 2007, Alice Mower 2nd, all in favor.
Principal’s Report… Mrs. Switzer relayed that NECAP testing has gone well. Grade 4 tested first, grade 3 is testing this week, and grade 5 will test next week. Special Ed staff, classroom teachers, and Mrs. Switzer worked together in small groups to create binders for staff. The binders include pretests and topics of focus to best prepare for testing. There was also discussion at the staff meeting regarding skills, strategies, and methods for review to aide in preparation over the course of the school year. Test results will be available by the end of January. The PTO’s Fall Festival was a spectacular day. Planners worked hard for months. It was a great success. It was a true community wide event. Mrs. Switzer said she was coaxed into sitting at the Dunk tank and that she was dunked several times, particularly by 3rd and 4th grade baseball players! She said she had a fun day!
The Cross Country team has had a fun and successful year. Many students on the team finished in the top 10 of their events! All the meets were well attended by parents and staff. Jump Rope, Heart of Art, and after school Enrichment activities have begun. Student Council election will be held on 10/22. The 2nd grade will be traveling to the Kensington Town Offices for a field trip. For another year, the Kensington Elementary School has won the Blue Ribbon Award for volunteerism within the school. The award presentation will be on Monday October 15th Mrs. Switzer hopes her schedule will allow her to attend. Parents, grandparents, and friends volunteer in many positions within the school. This year has promise as another award winner due to a wonderful turnout, once again, of volunteers.
The Walking Club season has been extended due to its popularity. Mrs. Switzer feels it is a great community building group. Parents, grandparents, and families meet before school for exercise and socialization from 7:30 – 8:30. The Walking Club meets Wednesday and Friday and Jump Rope meets, also before school, on Tuesday and Thursday.
The Scholastic Book Fair, sponsored by the PTO, will be at KES the week of 10/22 – 10/26 with Family Night held on 10/26. October 26th also marks the end of the first quarter. Tuesday 10/30 at 1:50 the students will participate in a Halloween Parade through the school. Enrollment … An expected new student began today in Nancy Roffman’s 1st grade class. Curriculum Initiatives – Rachel Small has been meeting with all grade levels on weekly basis the focus has been on literacy NECAP preparation. KES has purchased the 3rd Edition of Everyday Math. This version parallels the previous edition and is similar to expected NECAP test areas. The Technology Lab has moved from the library to the room next door. More power cables are to be added within the next two weeks, allowing 5 new computers to be networked. Also within the next two weeks the scanner, headphones, and pull-down screen should be in place.
During the last in-service day, some staff participated in CPR training in the morning while others worked on Performance Pathways Training which will help them to read NECAPS. They also met with Rachel Small regarding how to interpret the tests. All staff participated in an afternoon workshop with Kathy Weise on Moodle. Students Portfolios should be in place and available on all students by November 2008. Special Education is using Case E connecting with a new program offered by the state and Susie Gilbert has been helping with that. Tomorrow Mrs. Ruggeri will receive training in Powerschool. Action teams have not met yet and need to set up a meeting in November.
Field Trips for Approval – the 2nd grade seeks approval to attend an Exeter High School play, the 4th grade seeks approval to visit Strawberry Banke and the State House, and the 5th grade seeks approval to attend The Legend of Sleepy Hollow at the Palace Theater. They will also perform this play for parents and family on Friends and Family Day. A motion was made by Alice Mower to approve the field trips, seconded by Cheryl Camacho, All in favor.
Mrs. Switzer relayed that she has not heard any additional information from Missy Ronan regarding her request to use the school
Associate/Superintendent Report -
The Chairs meeting is scheduled for October 17th.
The Joint Board meeting is scheduled for December 17th.
There are 3 districts trying to negotiate teacher’s contracts, Brentwood, Newfields, and Stratham. 2008 – 2009 is the last year of the current contract for Kensington and Kensington will begin new negotiations next year.
The Principal at the Main Street School is retiring after 21 years of service. A search will begin to fill that position. The search continues for a candidate for the Superintendent position. All 12 members of the search committee will be meeting so subcommittees can compare thoughts. Members would like to have a list of applicants for further review by 11/26/07. The job market for a superintendent position is highly competitive at this time, particularly in Maine. An enormous amount of time has been put into this search so far. A full blown national ad campaign has been launched. There have been two mailings, newspaper and internet ads, and 350 brochures sent nationwide. Alice Mower is the Kensington representative on the search panel. The committee will hold private interviews and narrow the candidate choices down. The finalist will have a final interview with a board of parents as well as a meet-and-greet at school before a final decision is made. The Committee will encourage the public, parents, and teachers to participate in forums when offered early in January. Teachers and administration will have the opportunity to meet in during the day and a public meeting will be in the evening. The SAU has spent wisely on this search and potentially could have spent much more, but due to all the volunteerism from committee members costs have been kept down.
Budget Development – There are no foreseen controversial issues on the budget this year. The funds for the kitchen are available and revenue from the kitchen should support staffing. East Kingston and Brentwood are good comparisons to use as models for Kensington. The Board should begin budget workshops by the beginning of December. In the past, the school board meeting and deliberative session have been held on the same evening.
Currently there are no Kensington students at the Charter School which is now located in Sanborn’s old high school. Exeter has 12 to 14 students attending the Charter School and Brentwood has 4 to 5. There will be an open house for the new SAU offices which are now located at the old high school. The space also houses Great Bay Learning, Adult Education and Special Ed. Offices. Tenants also include a music school and karate school
The Co-Op and the High School were both recognized for students achieving AYP. Each year the bar is raised and new goals must be met to stay of the list of schools not achieving AYP.
Building and Grounds- The building and grounds are in good shape. The new storage building makes a big difference, and if needed, can be extended further down the outside of the multipurpose room to accommodate storage space issues in the future. Mr. Wiggin provided a good price and product and everyone is please with the outcome.
Mr. Flynn emphasized the importance of moving forward with the kitchen project as soon as possible. He reminded the board that contractors/workers/vendors needed to be scheduled in advance (lining up workers, permits, inspections) and that their work calendars, needed to be taken into consideration, particularly if KES is hoping for the project to be completed prior to school opening in the fall of 2008. The food service director from the Co-Op is willing to come over and make suggestions regarding ovens etc. The board hopes to receive additional information from Steve Wilson and Frank Marinase regarding the layout of the space. It was suggested that it would be a good idea to speak with Mrs. Pierce regarding staffing and criteria that need to be met for food storage and cleaning storage. Mr. Flynn reminded the board that if more than one member attends any meeting with potential vendors, that the meeting should be posted. Mr. Flynn reiterated that time is of the essence. He agreed that they should utilize vacation weeks, but emphasized the need to move forward. The construction can primarily be done without interrupting operation of the school.
Mrs. Donovan said she would like to know exactly what the plan is by early December so they can get the job out to bid or to a contractor.
Alice Mower moved to adjourn, Cheryl Camacho seconded, all in favor.
Meeting adjourned at 7:46pm.
Respectfully Submitted, Susan M. Lalime
Kensington School Board Secretary