Present

Elizabeth Bobrick, Sally Boske, Frederick Chappelle, Daniel Filer, Lloyd Duggan, Edward McMillan, Geen Thazhampallath, and Barbara Weiss.

Also Present

Superintendent of Schools Carol Parmelee-Blancato, Associate Superintendent Richard Cormier, Assistant Superintendent John Hennelly, Director of Food Services and Transportation William Pillarella, Director of Facilities Kendall Jackson, Assistant to the Superintendent/Board of Education Secretary Kathryn Eyles, Middletown Schools Association President Kimberly Berry, NAACP Education Chair Lillie Mae Fitzpatrick, one representative from the Middletown Federation of Teachers, one representative from the Middletown Federation of Paraprofessionals, Middletown Press Reporter Laura Kennedy, and eight visitors.

Mr. Chappelle called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and the pledge of allegiance was recited.

Mr. Chappelle asked if there were any comments on the Minutes of September 12, 2000. Mr. Thazhampallath asked if the topic people spoke about during the Public Session could be included in the minutes.

MOTION Ms. Weiss made a motion, seconded by Mr. Filer and the Board VOTED with five in favor - Mr. Filer, Mr. Duggan, Mr. McMillan, Mr. Thazhampallath, and Ms. Weiss, and two abstentions -Ms. Bobrick and Ms. Boske, to approve the minutes of the September 12, 2000 regular meeting as amended.

Earl Roberts, 785 Bow Lane, expressed his displeasure over the computer purchase issue he read about in the newspaper.

NAACP Education Chair Lillie Mae Fitzpatrick, 113 Goodman Drive, requested clarification on the PROBE Evaluation.

1. Ms. Parmelee-Blancato mentioned that former MHS teacher and football coach John Skubel was being inducted into the CT High School Coaches Hall of Fame. The induction will take place on Thursday, November 16, 2000, at the Aqua Turf at 7:00 p.m. Anyone interested in attending should contact Kathryn Eyles.
2. Ms. Parmelee-Blancato read a letter from Faith Jackson, President of the Middlesex County Chapter of the NAACP, thanking the Board and staff of the school system for their ongoing support and attendance at the recent Freedom Fund Awards Banquet.
3. Ms. Parmelee-Blancato said that she attended a Steering Committee meeting for the Thomas A. Edison Magnet Middle School in Meriden last night. The building should be finished by December 2000 and the curriculum is almost complete. Dr. Hennelly's office is distributing student applications, and because of the delay, the decision was made to bring in 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th grade students for the 2001-2002 school year. A lottery system will be used to select students. Mr. Chappelle suggested that this topic be include on a future Board agenda.
4. Mr. Filer distributed copies of a memorandum, dated August 30, 2000, that he received from George P. Dowaliby, Chief of the Bureau of Special Education and Pupil Services for the CT State Department of Education, concerning Public Forums sponsored by OSEP. He questioned why this information had not been disseminated to parents of special needs children.
5. Mr. Chappelle informed the Board that Bielefield School was selected to receive a Liberty Bank Foundation Academic Grant. The presentation will be made on Thursday, November 7, 2000, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Main Office, and Mr. Chappelle encouraged Board members to attend.

MOTION Ms. Weiss made a motion, seconded by Ms. Bobrick, and the Board VOTED unanimously, to approve the following Personnel Action items:

Jennifer Leigh, Elementary teacher, Step 2 of the Bachelor's schedule, salary $35,666.

Bridget Moore, Elementary teacher, Step 1 of the Master's schedule, salary $38,464.

Christine Newton, Elementary teacher, Step 8 of the Master's schedule, salary $49,877.

Mr. Chappelle said that at a previous Board meeting Mr. Thazhampallath, referring to minutes of November 16, 1993, questioned the composition of the Budget Subcommittee. The minutes state that; "representation of two Republicans, two Democrats, and a representative of the administration" would make up the Budget Subcommittee. Mr. Chappelle said that although the minutes in question could be interpreted for that year only or from then on, he would appoint two additional Board members to the Budget Subcommittee. Mr. Chappelle appointed Republican Barbara Weiss and Democratic Edward McMillan.

Mr. Chappelle also reminded Board members to respond to Mr. Duggan with their comments on the Self Evaluation Form.

1. Financial Statement

Ms. Parmelee-Blancato said that the projected deficit in the paraprofessional salaries account is due to the need to hire additional paraprofessionals for special education students. The deficit projected for transportation is due to the need for a small bus and bus monitors for special education students. She also mentioned the projected deficit in fuel oil, diesel fuel, and out-of-district tuition. Ms. Parmelee-Blancato said that in spite of these possible deficits we would have a balanced budget.

2. Building Projects
1. Bielefield School

Mr. Jackson said that all areas of the school are now occupied, contractors are doing finish work, working on punch list items, and the mechanicals will be finished in October. The final plans and specifications for the Playscape are at City Purchasing for public bidding.

2. Lawrence School

Mr. Jackson said that there is nothing new to report at this time. The City Purchasing Department is in the process of publicly letting the architectural/engineering services Request for Qualifications/Request for Proposal.

3. Wesley School

Mr. Jackson said that there is nothing new to report at this time. The City Purchasing Department is in the process of publicly letting the architectural/engineering services Request for Qualifications/Request for Proposal.

Ms. Bobrick expressed concerns about the person the Mayor would appoint to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of an original building committee member. Mr. Jackson said that the Charter specifies the make up of the committee.

2. PROBE Evaluation

Dr. Hennelly introduced PROBE staff members Kathy Rodriguez and Marie Serra who are based at Farm Hill School and Keigwin School Principal Patricia Charles who is involved in the Talcott Mountain component of the program. Also involved in the program is Farm Hill Principal Loretta Rubin. He then introduced Dr. Phil Zarlengo, Consultant from Management Research and Marketing (MRM) Inc., hired to evaluate the PROBE Program.

Dr. Zarlengo said that based on several surveys of parents, teachers, administrators, and graduate students and compared with other Gifted Programs, Middletown's PROBE Program is highly regarded in the community. He also stressed the merits of the after school gifted/talented Talcott Mountain Program at Keigwin School. In looking at a UCONN report that was done five years ago, several recommendations were made and implemented, including working on independent study and working more with higher order of thinking skills (HOTS). Dr. Zarlengo said more work must be done training regular classroom teachers to provide better follow up and coordination in the regular classroom.

Dr. Zarlengo had high praise for the program and staff. Home/school communication is excellent, students are provided with good challenges not normally received in the regular classroom. Students in the program learn organizational and independent study skills. When surveyed, participating students in Grades 3, 4, and 5 felt they were better able to do advanced schoolwork. At Middletown High School (MHS) a randomly selected group of sixteen students who had participated in the program from 2 to 5 years were surveyed, and they felt the program influenced their life.

Dr. Zarlengo's recommendations include expanding the program to include Grades 7 and 8, working to improve access of minority students in the program, slightly de-emphasizing stress and demands of the program, improving communication with regular classroom teachers, and providing more time for PROBE students to interact socially across school lines to offset their feeling of "not being as well-liked as they wanted to be."

Mr. McMillan asked if there was any correlation between family and socio-economic status of students participating in the program from the beginning. Dr. Zarlengo said that type of analysis was not done. Ms. Weiss asked why Grade 5 teachers are so negative about the program. Dr. Zarlengo cited the fact that Grade 5 teachers may see students losing continuity with the program when they are not released from the sending school or not being released because something is happening in their school. Ms. Bobrick asked if the UCONN recommendation to provide teachers with training to meet needs of curriculum compacting was to eliminate work in the regular classroom or in their gifted program. Ms. Serra responded that it referred to the regular classroom. Ms. Bobrick questioned how regular classrooms would separate students. Dr. Zarlengo said that all students are gifted to some degree, and the idea is not to separate but to move all up as far as we can. Ms. Serra commented that there are workshops to help regular classroom teachers provide better coordination in their classroom. It was noted that stress comes from the fact that students have never done independent study, and it is a long time to maintain interest and focus on a project. Ms. Rodriguez said Grade 5 students are working in teams to diffuse some of the stress. PROBE teachers work with students from September through June, but Ms. Serra did say that they shortened the length of the independent study program so that it now ends in April instead of May. Dr. Zarlengo said that classroom teachers are harsh judges of any pullout program; however, national research shows that this type of program prevents drop outs and shut outs. Dr. Zarlengo said he was confident that the program was reaching the right students and mentioned a national trend showing that students who are not challenged leave public schools. Mr. Thazhampallath asked if curriculum in schools could be replaced with PROBE curriculum. Dr. Zarlengo said the school system would need more specialist teachers and students would have to work in small groups with a lot of guidance. Mr. Chappelle said he was concerned with the language "doing better" and "reaching the right children." Although the numbers of minority students are going up they still concern him. Ms. Bobrick commented that if the program started identifying children earlier in Kindergarten or Grade 1, they would be able to get more students not identified at an older age because older students have already been "labeled" or "tabled." On behalf of the Board, Mr. Chappelle thanked Dr. Zarlengo for a very good report.

There were no items.

1) Extended Field Trips

Ms. Parmelee-Blancato said that two additional requests were distributed to the Board. The Middletown High School Distributive Education Clubs of American trip to Anaheim, CA for the DECA Career Development Conference and the Woodrow Wilson Middle School (WWMS) Band and Chorus trip to Hershey, PA for the Music in the Parks Festival Competition.

MOTION Mr. Thazhampallath made a motion, seconded by Ms. Bobrick, and the Board VOTED unanimously to approve the following Extended Field Trip Requests. The Middletown High School (MHS) Baseball Team trip to FL for Spring Training, MHS Chamber and Concert Choirs trip to VA for the North American Music Festival's Virginia Beach Choir Competition, MHS Trip to France, Paris and Normandy, MHS DECA trip to CA for the Career Development Conference, and WWMS Band and Chorus trip to PA for the Music in the Parks Festival Competition.

2) Policy #4118.4 (a) to (c) - Acceptable use - Computers, Networks, and Email for Certified and Non-certified Staff - First Reading

Ms. Weiss said the Policy Committee discussed two policies. The Transportation Policy issue was brought forward by parents from Farm Hill School and dealt with communications. Ms. Parmelee-Blancato is recommending that the student handbook now contain information about bus routes, how to address problems that may arise, and who to contact with bus concerns. Mr. Thazhampallath asked when the handbook comes out. Ms. Parmelee-Blancato said students receive them the first day of school. Information will be put in the elementary, middle school, and high school handbooks, and in the individual school newsletters. Ms. Weiss said parents expressed the concern that bus route information was only available two weeks before school started; however, this information cannot be ready sooner due to people moving into the area and non-public schedules. Ms. Parmelee-Blancato said every effort would be made to let parents know that bus route information is available in the newspaper, on web sites, on cable access, and on the school door.

Ms. Weiss said the Policy brought to the Board tonight for first reading deals with networks and email. She said that this Policy was written with the help of Technology Coordinator Rob Callahan, and they hope to present it to staff for implementation by November 1, 2000. All staff will be asked to read the policy and sign a statement that they have read and understand the terms and conditions of this Policy.

MOTION Ms. Bobrick made a motion, seconded by Mr. McMillan, and the Board VOTED unanimously to approve the first reading of Policy #4118.4 (a) to (c) - Acceptable use - Computers, Networks, and Email for Certified and Non-certified Staff.

Ms. Parmelee-Blancato told Board members that the committee will be interviewing candidates for the high school principal vacancy October 4^th and site visits would follow on October 11^th. At this time, Board members set Wednesday, November 1, 2000, at 7:00 p.m. as the date they would interview and possibly appoint the finalists for this position.

Ms. Parmelee-Blancato said the primary topic at the October 17, 2000 Board meeting would be the Enrollment on Space Utilization Report of the high school committee and the High School Committee members will be in attendance.

Mr. Cormier distributed the Board of Education Approved Budget for 2000-2001.

With no further discussion, Mr. Chappelle adjourned the meeting.

Time: 8:33 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

 Barbara M. Weiss

Secretary/kce

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