Notes from Board of Education Meeting, 3/12/19

The Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, March 12 will be re-broadcast on Comcast Channel 96, Verizon FIOS Channel 12 and is available via webstream at http://www.ccboe.com/ . To view the full agenda and the various reports, please visit BoardDocs .

The below notes are my personal notes and are not intended to be all-inclusive or official minutes for the Board of Education meetings and are provided as a request from my supporters and the general public in a personal effort to be more transparent. Although I have diligently tried to make these notes as unbiased and accurate as possible, I am only human and do make mistakes.

Executive session – 12 p.m.

Call to order – 1 p.m.  Pledge of Allegiance, La Plata High School

Recognition of students for state accomplishments

Superintendent’s update - Report

Correspondence/Board Member updates

• Battle-Lockhart - Awards ceremony at St. Charles; Berry History Panel; Indian Head Read Acoss America; Diggs and Davis visit
• Brown - Stone visit; Mudd Transition School visit; Somers and Stoddert Black History Month; Read Across America; SECAC Meeting; DI COmpetition; Senior Prom; March for Education
• Lukas - Chess Tournament, Sayonora Party, Spelling Bee, Stone Basketball
• Wilson - March for Education; Sayanora; DI Awards; SECAC; Read Across America; Visit Malcom, Matula, Mitchell; Service Support Staff at all schools excellent
• Hancock - Visit Mudd transition school, DI Awards, March for Education
• Abell - Everything has been mentioned
• McGraw - Legislative Lunch in Annapolis; Westlake Jazz at the Lake; MABE Board of Directors meeting
• Be the Difference Committee - need a member; Abell

Education Association of Charles County update - Report

 American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees update - Report

Student Board Member update - Report

School discipline - Report

• New elementary behavior specialist hired and will start mid April.  Will help start the new Fresh Start Academy. (opening in September)  will start with 3 classrooms, a sensory room, and  some offices.)
• Expand a full time psychologist for each school is a top priority.
• Need to expand evening high school; at capacity
• Parent Shadowing not working as well as aniticpated.  Parents wont come in and shadow in place of suspension.
• Expand partnership with Center for Children.  But they have a hard time finding qualified staff.
• logical consequences instead of punishment; new training with principals starting tomorrow
• Expulsion of 3 students thus far this year.

School initiatives - Report

Grading policy #5132.2 - Report

Project status update - Report

Stop-arm camera: Charles County Sheriff’s Office - Report

• Abell - points? = no; 25% of buses will be equipped; Contractors are in support
• Hancock - how much of the fine goes to company 60%

Legislative update - Report

• Blueprint for Marylands Future (Kirwan recommendations) - See report

Unfinished business - None

New business

• SY 2019-20 school calendar change due to primary election
• Abell - None of the dates seem to be viable options except to shorten the snow days and then request to go past June 15th if need be at that time.
• Student - not spring break
• Hancock - Agree with abell and student
• Battle-Lockhart - Can we not do half days? = Still  counts as whole days
• Motion to approve the shortening the snow days to 3 by Abell; Second by Hancock
  Yes = Abell, Battle-Lockhart, Brown, Hancock, Lukas, Wilson; No = McGraw

Future Agenda items

• Battle-Lockhart - Parent student Town Hall
• AFSME Town Hall on April 29th 

Recognition – 4:30 p.m.

• Resolutions: 


• Month of the Young Child - J.P. Ryon Elementary School staff and students:  Jaimee Post, Prekindergarten teacher; Jennifer Hume, Kindergarten teacher; Christian Burrell, Prekindergarten student; Brianna Chetry, kindergarten student; Mackenzie Claasen- toddler playgroup participant


• National Student Leadership Week - Krisha Patel, student Board member, Westlake High School; Alexis Lepe, alternate student Board member, North Point High School; Emily Kerns, student liaison, Maurice J. McDonough High School; Katherine O’Meara, student liaison, St. Charles High School; Hannah Piazza, student liaison, La Plata High School; France Tomgambo-Kaye, student liaison, Thomas Stone High School; Christine Walker, student liaison, Henry E. Lackey High School; and; Brianna Wilson, student liaison, Westlake High School

• Students:  Lashauna Barbour, twelfth grade, Academic Achievement, Henry E. Lackey High School, Principal: Kathy Perriello; Angelica Proctor, eighth grade, Personal Responsibility, John Hanson Middle School, Principal: Ben Kohlhorst; Lilibeth Peneda-Mendez, fifth grade, Career Readiness, C. Paul Barnhart Elementary School, Principal: Brian King; Amy Costa, fifth grade, Personal Responsibility, Dr. Gustavus Brown Elementary School, Principal: Karen Lewis; Griffin Birmingham, fifth grade, Academic Achievement, T.C. Martin Elementary School, Principal: Robert Opiekun
• Employees:  Robert Castellano, ROTC instructor, Lackey; Jacob Terlecki, science teacher, Hanson; Rebecca Wheaton, teacher, Barnhart; Donna Fowler, technology facilitator, Brown; Juliana Herscher, teacher, Martin

Public Forum – 6 p.m.

• Theresa Hemming - CCPS is outdated, one size fits all approach to education.  Think about serving all students,  prodviding schools for non general population.  future leaders of america.  build schools for gifted children.
• Chelsea Helrig - Elementary school teacher; discipline - fix by more mentoring, more counselors and school psychologist; educator morale, negative impacts of technology, character education,  teachers and parents need to be united, incentive program for parents to be involved like discount graduation tickets.
• Heather Hartman Janson - Middle school teacher.  discipline.  need more counselors. optimum of 1 to every 250 students.  behavorial interventions.  Psycholoigist are 500 to 1.  community building and involvement.  expand training to staff on conferences.  Professional development on equity and diversity.
• Sean Heyl - High School teacher, discipline.  Restorative practices.  staff is not given training on implementation. not more inservices but different in services.  how to deescalate behavior.  Cultural training.  Stethem is a great asset.  Conference with teachers before ISR students return too classrooms.  Continue dialog.  
• Courtney Dowling - parent in Pt Tobacco.  daughter Amiyah in 5th grade in 2008 suffered anxiety but teacher helped her.  She went to Somers and entered AVID program in 2012.  Lackey High School.  Depression and anxiety is debilitating.  Teachers are the reason she was able to graduate.  Another daughter athletic at Lackey now. complete opposite.  Thanks to teachers..
• Allison Fatima - Parent of child.  Love the new pedestrian walkways at schools.  Thank you.

Action items

• Minutes

Motion to approve the February Board Meeting Minutes by Abell; Second by Brown

Yes = Abell, Battle-Lockhart, Brown, Hancock, Lukas, McGraw, Wilson

Motion to approve the February Executive Session Minutes by Brown; Second by Abell

Yes = Abell, Battle-Lockhart, Brown, Hancock, McGraw, Wilson; Abstain = Lukas

• Personnel

Motion to approve Personnel by Abell; Second by Brown

Yes = Abell, Battle-Lockhart, Brown, Hancock, Lukas, McGraw, Wilson

Adjournment