COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL OF VERMONT

STATE EDUCATION BOARD

MINUTES

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

(Rescheduled from April 5, 2006, due to snow)

Old Stagecoach Inn - Waterbury, VT

Members Present: Dwight Davis, Blanche Kelley, David Luce & Albert Pearce

Members Absent: Richard Fraser, Don Messier & Wilma Paronto

CHSVT Administration Present: Bob Lucenti, Director - Stephan LaTulippe, Principal - Sheila Commo, Program Services Clerk

The meeting was called to order at 1:40 p.m.

The question was asked as to whether or not there was a quorum for today's meeting. It was decided that with eight regularly attending members, there is enough with a quorum for the meeting.

Bob let the board know that Commissioner Rob Hofmann would be able to attend today's meeting at 2:00 p.m. Discussion took place as to what the board might want to discuss with the Commissioner when he arrives. Bob let the board know that the application for school approval had not yet been submitted to the legislature by the Department of Education. The DOE has required the CHSVT to provide special education instruction to students at the probation and parole sites. $613,000 is the total budget for the street sites and facilities. At present, a special educator has been added to work with the St. Albans site and a plan is in the works to add special educators by region, as there are not a consistent amount of students under the age of 22 in need of services on any given day at the community campuses. This would decrease the costs of hiring new teachers, as well as, giving them a larger clientele. A question was asked as to whether or not the DOE would approve the CHSVT now, if there are special educators in the street sites. Also, do we pursue the DOE accreditation, or leave it alone, since the CHSVT is currently seeking accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges? Discussion ensued as to the pros and cons of pursuing accreditation with the DOE.

1. NEASC Application and Mission Statement

Steve handed out a copy of the NEASC accreditation application and the CHSVT's new mission statement for the board to read. He brought two items to the board's attention. Steve told the board that the estimated enrollment fee suggested by NEASC would be adjusted with the actual enrollment figures found on page two of the application. He also suggested to the board that it was important to study the governance structure and welcomed comments and questions. A lengthy discussion about the organizational chart took place.

2. Commissioner Rob Hofmann

Commissioner Hofmann arrived and introductions were made. Bob gave an overview of the discussions before his arrival about accreditation and legislation. Commissioner Hofmann feels that there should be some discussion with the DOE about the application process and where it is going since it has been pending for over two years. There was also discussion about the pros and cons to accreditation from DOE and NEASC. Steve LaTulippe handed out a copy of part of the survey results from the surveys being conducted about the quality of the school. The survey was completed by 398 students and 39 alumni. The results show that over 90 percent of the students surveyed were satisfied with the quality of assistance and schooling that they were receiving from the CHSVT. Steve will send the Commissioner a copy of the completed survey results at his request.

Commissioner Hofmann thanked the board for volunteering their time to the CHSVT. At the present time, there are over 1,400 volunteers within the department of corrections. Commissioner Hofmann commented that he had attended graduations and spoke to some of the graduates. He was overwhelmed and impressed with the positive opinions the graduates had about their lives and futures and how much appreciation they feel towards the CHSVT educators. It is a great tribute to the wonderful job that the educators, including approximately 180 adjunct teachers, do with these students on a daily basis.

Blanche commented on the wonderful job that was being done with the women in the Windsor facility with the wood working program and the gardening program at Marble Valley in Rutland. One inmate in Rutland said that when he is in working in the garden, he can almost forget that he is in jail.

There have been 91 graduates as of July, 2005. Commissioner Hofmann wanted to know how we monitor our teachers and challenge our students, not allowing them an "easy" credit. Steve explained the rigorous process in which a credit is earned, from Vermont Standards, seat hours and an approved syllabus. An average credit has 60-90 hours of seat time, and a student must receive 70 percent or above on final tests and must have at least 80 percent attendance in a class in order to earn a credit. The curriculum is consistently monitored by the CHSVT curriculum content groups, which consist of CHSVT faculty. All students must be above an eighth grade level of proficiency in literacy and math in order to graduate.

3. Review of Meeting Minutes

Blanche would like Ryan LaRocque's name to be added to the minutes of March 1, 2006 as the first recipient of the Beryle Gardner award. Sheila will make the necessary changes to the minutes. Dwight Davis made a motion to accept the meeting minutes of March 1, 2006 with the addition of Ryan's name. David Luce seconded the motion. The motion was called and it passed unanimously.

4. Report of candidacy visit with NEASC members

Bob gave a brief overview of the visit in March with the members of the NEASC committee, Rick Hilton, Sam Robinson and Erin Pike-Mayo. They visited the St. Johnsbury Facility, St. Johnsbury Community Campus and Caledonia Community Work Camp. There was a concern that at least one member of the team was more interested in the Department of Corrections and not the CHSVT. They didn't realize that the CHSVT does not have control over housing issues. Bob gave an analogy that the department of corrections is like the parent in a local school. The school does not tell the parent where the child shall live or how they should act; their only concern is to teach them the curriculum. The Career Resource Centers may eventually have some assistance with housing, but it will still be separate from the school learning process. Dwight felt that it may be helpful to present, to the committee, a copy of school policy and procedures and corrections policy and procedures so that they may understand the differences between the two.

5. Special Education

The monitoring report summary is complete and finds the facilities' special education program in compliance with Department of Education standards. Mary Koen and the special education staff deserve a lot of credit for gathering the necessary information needed to assist the monitoring team with their observations. The board requested copies of the monitoring report.

A new special education manual was distributed to the faculty at the last faculty meeting. David Luce is concerned that all students get assessed when beginning the program so that literacy does not remain a problem. Bob assured David that all students are assessed when they are enrolled. Steve explained that new pre and post assessments are being explored to better follow the student's progress.

6. Next Steps - Annual Meeting

Local advisory board members that were present at the annual meeting have requested copies of the meeting minutes. Sheila will send minutes to those who were present.

Blanche announced that there are two new members of the Rutland Local Advisory Board. She also knows a retired teacher from Boston who is volunteering her time, assisting with reading. Blanche feels this volunteer should be reimbursed for her travel expenses. Bob advised her to get in touch with Maureen and that we should consider adding her as an adjunct so that she can get paid to teach.

A former colleague of Beryle Gardner was so moved by the display that Blanche presented at the VT Retired Teacher's Association that she sent an anonymous check for $1,000 for the Beryle Gardner award. Discussion ensued as to ideas about how to invest the money in the scholarship fund.

Steve announced that there are six new members of the Chittenden local advisory board. Ron Rose and Amy McMahon will co-chair the board until the September meeting. The other new members are Ray Brault, Sue LaTulippe and Donna Sharrow.

Dwight expressed interest in attending the next Newport local advisory board meeting. Steve will contact him with the time and date.

Dave brought up for discussion, from earlier in the meeting, the possibility of adding guidance counselors to the staff at the CHSVT. Although case workers hold a position that is similar to a counselor, there was concern that their role leaned more toward probation officer, and the school could really use a separate counselor. Possible ideas were discussed such as transferring a case worker and changing their job description to better match the needs of the school.

John Gorczyk and the volunteer coordinators met recently to discuss the career resource centers. Bob, at the board's request, gave a brief overview of the current conditions of the centers, where they were located and how they worked.

7. New Business

The next meeting will be on May 3, 2006, at the Bennington Probation and Parole education site. Suggested agenda items are, update on the NEASC accreditation process, policies and procedures, a presentation from Steve, review of meeting minutes and setting of the agenda for the June meeting, which will be held at the Rutland Probation and Parole.

There was a brief discussion about whether there has been any news from the Governor's office about board appointments. The board has received a renewed appointment for Wilma Paronto.

Steve LaTulippe made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 4:10 p.m. David Luce seconded the motion. The motion was called and it passed unanimously.

Respectfully Submitted,

Sheila Commo