COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL OF VERMONT

STATE EDUCATION BOARD

MINUTES

Wednesday, May 4, 2005

Members Present: Albert Pearce, David Luce, Richard Fraser, Blanche Kelley, Dwight Davis, Donald Messier, Dave Muholland, and Wilma Paronto

CHSVT Administration Present: Bob Lucenti, Director

Stephan LaTulippe, Principal

Maureen McIntyre, Business Manager

Sheila Commo, Program Services Clerk

Guests Present: Caitlin Bisson-Hoyt

The meeting was held at the Best Western in Waterbury

The meeting was called to order at 9:30 a.m.

Chuck Pearce welcomed new Board member, David Luce. David introduced himself to the Board, and introductions were made around the table. David is an Advisory Board member on the Dale Board.

1. Review and Acceptance of Meeting Minutes and Agenda:

Dwight Davis made a motion to accept the meeting minutes of April 6, 2005. Richard Fraser Seconded the motion. Discussion followed. Dave Muholland suggested some corrections. Under section one, paragraph 10 & 13, have the typos corrected. Also under section seven, paragraph three needs to have the word "is" removed from the second to last sentence. In section eight, the "50k3" needs to be changed to "501C3". Discussion concluded. These changes have been made in the April 6, 2005 minutes. The motion was called, and it passed unanimously, as amended.

The Agenda was accepted. Blanche would like to add a discussion of the progress of new appointments to the Board and Dave Muholland wanted to add a recognition to the new business.

2. Bob Lucenti - Updates & News:

Bob explained that he, and Mo, would need to leave the meeting around 10:30 to attend a DOC Award and Recognition Ceremony. The CHSVT faculty nominated Bob for the Department's "Outstanding State Employee of the Year". Of 23 DOC employees nominated, Bob was selected to be the Department's "Outstanding Employee" by the Reward and Recognition Panel and by our Commissioner. Bob also shared that our Education Team, Barb Rintamaa, Dan King, and Kris Degenhardt, at the CHSVT Burlington street site were also nominated, and they were being recognized today also.

Bob also shared that he and Chuck Pearce attended an "Outstanding State Employee of the Year" Governor's luncheon yesterday. This was a great opportunity to have our Board represented and allowed the opportunity to invite Commissioner Hofmann to attend one of our Board meetings. They also discussed the separation of correctional and school policy and the need for DOC to allow the Board to set the school policy. This was also a great opportunity for Bob and Chuck to discuss our program with Governor Douglas. The Governor shared how pleased he is to be sending letters to our graduates and finds the student's success stories both, interesting and rewarding.

Mo shared a copy of the Nomination for Outstanding State Employee with the Board.

Bob handed out a copy of the letter written, to the Governor recommending the appointment of Betty White to fill our Member-at-Large vacancy. Ross Anderson was also recommended to serve on the Board as well. We have not heard from the Governor's office about either appointment yet.

Bob handed out a copy of a letter sent to Senator Don Collins, Chair of the Education Committee, which outlined the placement of our current Special Education instructors and the rationale of our funding request increase for fiscal year '06. Senator Collins requested this information because the Senate is considering the full funding request of $716,000 opposed to the House passage of $614,000 for Special Education. Approximately 50 percent of the students who are coming in to the CHSVT are on an IEP and only three to four percent remain on one after they enter the classroom setting. Dave Muholland had a concern about the "language" stating eligibility of Special Education. If youth are no longer eligible for Special Education, then why do we need more Special Educators? Bob explained that the Special Educators are there to make sure that the needs of these individuals are being met in the regular classroom program and to ensure compliance with Special Education rules and regulations. Dwight felt the need to add 504 plans to the IEP plans so that those individuals are not forgotten in the process of servicing needs. Bob also talked to Senator Sears about this process and is waiting to hear from the Senators regarding the progress of receiving increased funding to hire more Special Educators.

Blanche asked Bob how can we be assured that the Rutland street campus is assured the education program has adequate space. Both she and Correctional Instructor, Kathi Cassidy, have concerns regarding this issue because the new Court House is nearing completion, and the Rutland Probation and Parole offices will be moving to their new space soon. Bob suggested that the Board draft a letter to address the space issues as soon as possible so that appropriate accommodations can be made. Blanche made a motion to have a letter drafted by the Board to address the concerns for the new Rutland CCSC space. Dave Muholland offered to draft a resolution stating the Board's concerns. Steve offered to get together with Kathi Cassidy to draft a letter stating her concerns and needs for educational space. The letter will be mailed to the Board for approval.

3. Election of Officers:

Chuck opened the floor for official nominations. Dwight Davis nominated Chuck Pearce for position of Board Chair. Blanche Kelley seconded. There was a motion to close nominations. All approved. Chuck Pearce accepted.

Richard Fraser nominated Dwight Davis for position of Board Vice Chair. Don Messier seconded. There was a motion to close nominations. All approved. Dwight Davis accepted.

Blanche Kelley moved to nominate Sheila Commo or an acceptable substitute to be the permanent position as Board Secretary. Dwight Davis seconded. There was a motion to close nominations. All approved. Sheila Commo accepted.

4. By-Laws Review:

Dwight Davis moved to accept the third reading of the By-Laws as is. Don Messier seconded. The motion was called and passed unanimously. Dwight requested that Sheila present copies of the By-Laws from March 2005 to the Board as the final copy. Sheila will make copies stamped as final and will bring them to the meeting in June.

5. Liaison and Advocacy Local Boards:

Dwight reported on the organizational meeting of the Newport Local Advisory Board, which was held on April 26, 2005. Participants who are interested in serving on the Board were present, along with Chris Barton, volunteer coordinator, Sharon Smith, Assistant Superintendent, and Dwight Davis. Examples of mission statements, agendas, etc. from other local advisory boards were passed out for assistance in creating this board. Dwight feels that the board needs direction and suggested that Bob, and/or Steve be present at their first official meeting, which will be held on May 17, 2005. Bob stated that he will attend. There should be four or five members on the board by that time. They are still working on getting a full board together. Discussion continued with concerns that some board members wore "conflicting hats" and that there could be a conflict of interest on some issues that may arise. Concern was that the Local Boards need to know that they are there only for suggestions and advising the CHSVT. They need to be assured that there is continuity between facilities to allow the education program to flow seamlessly as a student moves from site to site. Blanche suggested maybe an ethical policy should be developed and signed by local advisory board members dictating concerns for conflict of interest. Don wanted to know if an adjunct/employee could serve on a local board. Dwight and Bob believe that there is nothing in writing that says you can not serve on the board if you are an adjunct or substitute teacher. Both would hope that they would abstain from voting on issues that are a conflict of interest.

Dave Muholland presented an award to Bob. This award is through Landmark College Faculty and Students. It is recognition for working toward creating and promoting equal access to public education for all Vermont students.

Dwight provided an update on the approval process with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. Steve will be taking members of the NEA around to visit sites on May 18th and 19th. The Board is looking to the Catholic Diocese as a model for approval, as they are about the same size and going through the same process here in Vermont. Steve should be able to share updates with the Board at the meeting in June.

Dwight discussed the changes taking place nationwide over SAT and ACT testing at the high school level and NCLB (No Child Left Behind) assessments in all schools. The State is in the process of getting funding for all schools to provide testing with the ACTs and phase out the SATs. Colleges are beginning to look at the ACT tests as a more accurate assessment of a student than the SAT. Blanche wondered how the faculty would respond to testing students. Steve felt that they would welcome the testing and felt the ACT would be better for our students than the SAT. Steve informed the Board that he would be administering CHSVT's first SAT to a student on June 3rd, of this year. Dwight would like to see a pilot program developed for administering the ACT and would like to get some feedback from the faculty through Steve. Also, he would like to look into a possible grant for funding the test.

6. Stephan LaTulippe - Review of Supervision/Evaluation Process:

Steve reported to the Board on the progress of teacher evaluations for this fiscal year. Steve has completed 32 of the 40 evaluations that he has to do and will be finished by July 1st. He stated that all of the teachers at CHSVT have never been evaluated in one year which is a required task. Steve has been working with Special Education Chief, Mary Koen, to revamp and consolidate the performance standards to make the evaluation process easier to conduct. The Department of Education requires Level I educators to be observed once a year and Level II educators once every two years. Observations must be done on each educator as a teacher and as a State employee, whereas other staff members only need to be observed as a State employee. Steve is currently processing performance bonuses for seven educators who have shown outstanding performance above and beyond their regular duties. We are lucky to have such wonderful staff.

Steve reviewed, with the Board, the schedule for the walk through with Mr. Bennett from the NEA on May 18th & 19th. Steve will be taking Mr. Bennett to Newport on the 18th and St. Johnsbury on the 19th. He will be observing both Correctional Facilities and Street sites.

Steve gave an update on Mary Koen's condition. She has been battling pneumonia for several months now and may possibly be having lung surgery in the near future to try to combat the lengthy illness. The CHSVT administration will keep the Board informed of her condition.

Don Messier made a motion to recommend to Bob Lucenti that Steve LaTulippe be presented with a bonus for all of his hard work getting all educators evaluated during this fiscal year. Richard Fraser seconded. Although Steve was grateful for the recommendation, he assured the Board that he was only doing his job and declined the bonus.

Blanche presented a newspaper article for the scrapbook that Wilma had found in the Springfield paper about Jane Peterson's Van De Graff Generator that her students made.

Dave Muholland presented and read the resolution he had written for the space at the Rutland CCSC. The letter was given to Sheila at the end of the meeting for typing and attachment to the May meeting minutes.

Steve and Sheila passed out directions to the Windsor facility which will be the site for the June meeting. Sheila will also rewrite to send along with the agenda in a format making it easier to read while driving.

Chuck Pearce called to end the meeting at 11:20 a.m. Richard Fraser moved to adjourn the meeting. It was seconded by Dwight Davis. The motion was called, passed unanimously.

Respectfully Submitted,

Sheila Commo

Board Secretary