THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF SALT LAKE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT. Board Business Meeting and Closed Executive Session. November 3, 2009 ROLL CALL

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1 THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF SALT LAKE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT Board Business Meeting and Closed Executive Session November 3, 2009 The Board of Education of Salt Lake City School District met in a Board Business Meeting and Closed Executive Session at 5:33 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3, 2009, in the Board Room of the Administration Building, 440 East 100 South, Salt Lake City, Utah. ROLL CALL Members Present: President Kristi Swett, Vice President Heather Bennett, Mark Maxfield, Dr. Douglas Nelson, Amanda Thorderson, Alama Uluave, Laurel H. Young, and Luis Escobar, Student Member. Also Present: Superintendent McKell Withers; Janet Roberts, Business Administrator; Shauna Carl, Associate Superintendent Learning Services; Dorothy Cosgrove, Associate Superintendent School Support; Patrick Garcia, Executive Director Human Resources; Shauna Olson, Director Elementary School Support; Michael Williams, Director of Development and External Relations; Principals Donna Reid, Bonneville Elementary, Richard Aslett, Escalante Elementary, and Sandra Buendia, Jackson Elementary schools; Assistant Principal Bamba Scott, Jackson Elementary School; Leslie Castle, Utah State Board of Education; Charles Hausman, Eastern Kentucky University; Virginia Ellison, President, Salt Lake Teachers Association; Cindy Mills, representing the Salt Lake Educational Office Personnel Association; Janet Clark, representing the Child Nutrition Employees Association; Jason Olsen, Public Information Officer; Allison Sisam, Business Administration Office; and others in the audience. In accordance with the agenda prepared for the Board Business Meeting of November 3, 2009, seven motions were made. Items are reported as listed in the agenda and not necessarily in the order they were considered. The meeting was called to order by President Swett, who presided. 1. CLOSED EXECUTIVE SESSION At 5:33 p.m. a motion was made, after which members excused the audience and remained in the board room: Exhibit: A3 Board Meeting: 12/01/09

2 *(1) That the board meet in Closed Executive Session to consider litigation, negotiations, property, and personnel items. **(Young and Thorderson) Present for Closed Session were Kristi Swett, Heather Bennett, Mark Maxfield, Dr. Douglas Nelson, Amanda Thorderson, Alama Uluave, Laurel H. Young, McKell Withers, Janet Roberts, Shauna Carl, and Dorothy Cosgrove. Board members adjourned from the Closed Executive Session at 6:16 p.m. and returned to the Board Business Meeting at 6:31 p.m. 2. BOARD BUSINESS MEETING VOTE RECORD AYE NAY ABSENT BENNETT X MAXFIELD X NELSON X SWETT X THORDERSON X ULUAVE X YOUNG X A Absent N "No" Vote W Withdrawn Ab Abstention NA No Action F Failed T Tabled *Unanimous Approval **Members Making Motion President Swett welcomed everyone in the audience. She recognized the presence of Leslie Castle, Utah State Board of Education, Donna Reid, representing the Salt Lake Association of School Administrators; Virginia Ellison, President, Salt Lake Teachers Association; Cindy Mills, representing the Salt Lake Educational Office Personnel Association; and Janet Clark, representing the Child Nutrition Employees Association. Frank Langheinrich, East High School CTE teacher, led the audience in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Amanda Thorderson recognized Timothy Bailey, Escalante Elementary School 5 th grade teacher, for being named the 2009 Gilder Lehrman National History Teacher of the Year. Ms. Thorderson said her children had acquired a true love of history from being in Mr. Bailey s class. Mr. Bailey said he is dedicated to teaching students at an early age that the study of American history is not only essential but tremendously rewarding. He thanked the board for the honor, said he has had an amazing career with the district, and expressed his appreciation for the support and opportunities that have come to him. Mr. Bailey introduced his wife, mother, and principal who were present to show their support. A. CONSENT AGENDA Prior to the motion, President Swett noted that Item #A6a, Policy C-1, Parent and Community Involvement, had been removed from the Consent Agenda and placed on the Action Agenda in order to make a slight change. Page 2 of 9

3 *(2) Approval was given to the six items included in the Consent Agenda. These items are listed below. **(Bennett and Young) 1. The Purchasing/Accounting Report, which included a breakdown of items costing over and under $50,000; increases to existing purchase orders; a payment voucher report that includes travel and professional expenditures; the Budget Report for September, 2009; and the School s Financial Reports for Elementary, Middle, and High Schools and Student Body Activities for East, Highland, and West High Schools for the three months ended September 30, The Human Resources Department Report, including new contract employment for nine employees, non-contract to contract employment for two, contract changes for four, and releases for four. 3. Minutes of the Board Business Meeting held October 6, Minutes of the Board Study Session held October 20, Four Student Trip Requests from West High School: 28 West High Student Government Officers to attend a retreat at Bear Lake, Garden City, UT, January 22-23, TV West students have been invited to participate in a high school outreach program in Washington, DC, sponsored by the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, February 25-28, NJROTC students to visit naval facilities in San Diego, CA, during spring break April 5-9, NJROTC students to attend Summer Leadership Camp at Camp Williams, UT, June 8-11, Board Policies. a. Policy C-1, Parent and Community Involvement, was removed from the Consent Agenda and will be placed in the Action Agenda. b. Revisions to Policy G-3, Wellness. B. REQUESTS TO SPEAK There were no Requests to Speak. C. REPORTS 1. Highlights from School Improvement Plans: Page 3 of 9

4 a. Jackson Elementary School. Jackson Principal Sandra Buendia and SCC Chair Will Wright provided the board with a report highlighting a few of the accomplishments of Jackson Elementary School. A copy of the report has been added to the official minutes. Ms. Buendia introduced Assistant Principal Bamba Scott and Jackson faculty present. She told the board Jackson has made AYP two consecutive years and is continuing to make progress. She said Jackson has fabulous staff and parent leadership and teachers engage in informed critical conversations. She said the faculty and community council members are continually updated on school budgets, schedules, struggles, and student data and they all work together to make necessary modifications to ensure academic success for all students. Jackson has implemented grade level literacy periods, math periods, and English language development periods to ensure instructional consistency and coherence. She said time is also set aside each week for collaboration by grade level. She said other programs contributing to Jackson s success include the Utah Behavior Initiative, Jackson s music program, Adelante (a college awareness program in collaboration with the University of Utah), dual-immersion program, and class size reduction. She noted the Jackson staff and SCC made the commitment to use discretionary funds for additional personnel and an additional 5.5 FTEs are paid for with Highly Impacted, Title I, and School Improvement funds. Following the presentation, they answered questions from the board relative to the dual-immersion program, and the Utah Behavior Initiative. On behalf of the board, President Swett expressed appreciation to them for the report and thanked them for everything they are doing for the Jackson students. 2. Graduate Study Report. Dr. Charles Hausman, Eastern Kentucky University, provided the board with an Overview of Findings on Salt Lake City School District Programs and Policies. A copy of the presentation provided to board members has been added to the official minutes. Dr. Hausman told board members he was going to focus tonight s report on four studies: Comparison of Achievement Gains of Full-Day and Half-Day Kindergarten Students. Students used in the study had to be consecutively enrolled in the district for three years. He said students served in full day were identified with lower levels of readiness, with some gaps as low as 24 months. Students served in full day kindergarten made 50% higher gains in language arts and 25-30% higher gains in math. He said the good news is the gap is cut in half for those students in full day kindergarten which continues at the end of 1 st and 2 nd grade. He said the good news is there is no regression but the bad news is there is no further reduction in the gap. Page 4 of 9

5 Analysis of ESL Teacher Endorsement Effects on English Language Learners Student Achievement and English Language Acquisition. Students included in this study were identified as Level B and C students served in mainstream classrooms. He said the conclusion of this study indicates that ESL Teacher Endorsement did not account for a significant amount of variance in English Language Acquisition or Student Achievement gains. He said the on-going professional development, professional learning communities, coaching and high expectations for teachers and ELL students likely had an effect on the results, as well as the challenges of assessing ELL. He said the added value of an ESL endorsement may be seen in pull-out programs and Level A students. The Effect of Out-Of-School Suspension on the Academic Achievement of High School Students. He said the findings indicate out-of-school suspension to be a negative predictor of academic achievement, credits earned, and CRT proficiency. He said in the baseline year 9.5% of students were suspended more than 1 time, a total of 2,570 days of schools were missed, with the highest rates being freshman students. He said 40-60% of kids are no longer here 2 years after they are suspended. He said suspension rates need to come down because the consequences are tremendously negative. He said when 25% of students suspended are suspended 2 or more times in the same year, alternatives need to be considered and greater advocacy for students. Teacher Quality: The Impact of Accreditation and Institutional Quality on Teacher In-service Placement and Student Achievement. He reported the data shows that two-thirds of district teachers went to accredited institutions and one-third did not. He said when looking at year end scores, students whose teacher went to an accredited college made greater gains than those students whose teacher did not. He said there is a lot of national data that suggests students with the greatest needs are served by the least qualified teachers, but for the most part he did not find that to be the case in the district. He said in many cases, teachers from accredited institutions were more likely to be placed in Title I schools. He said a teacher has the greatest effect on student learning and what is important, is getting the right teacher with the right students. In closing, Dr. Hausman told board members he would be happy to share the results of the additional studies and to answer any questions they had. President Swett thanked him for all his efforts and extended the board s appreciation to him for all the meetings he had attended over the past two days to share the results. 3. There were no Other Reports. Page 5 of 9

6 D. DISCUSSION AGENDA Student Achievement Plan. Due to the importance of the Student Achievement Plan, board members agreed they would hear a brief overview tonight and reschedule their discussion for a future meeting. Dorothy Cosgrove and Shauna Carl briefly went through the process used, they noted the current plan was used as the basis for the plan. They highlighted the descriptions for each of the essentials and the person responsible. They told board members the three essentials of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment form the core and the other five essentials provide support. Teams for each of the essentials went through all of the input that was obtained and were asked to develop 1 or 2 goals for the year and 1 or 2 goals for year. They noted if goals are written too far in advance they become too general and said each year the teams will meet again to evaluate the goals and develop goals for the next year. They said efforts were made to make sure each committee included a broad representation of stakeholders while striving to keep the numbers manageable. Teams were asked to develop specific action steps, persons responsible, and accountability measures. President Swett thanked Ms. Cosgrove, Ms. Carl, and everyone else involved for all their efforts. 2. There were no other Discussion Items. E. ACTION AGENDA 1. Open/Closed Designation for Choice Enrollment. *(4) A motion was made to accept the Open/Closed Designations for Choice Enrollment as outlined in Exhibit E1. Approval was given to the motion with the change to the Open/Closed Designations as approved by Motion #5. **(Young and Maxfield) Prior to voting on the Open/Closed Designations for , Superintendent Withers briefly discussed how capacity and extended capacity is determined. He recommended the board add Mountain View to the list of four elementary schools closed for school choice applications. Schools originally recommended are Backman Elementary, Escalante Elementary, Highland Park Elementary, and North Star Elementary. *(5) A motion was made that Mountain View be added to the list of schools closed for school choice applications. **(Maxfield and Thorderson) Page 6 of 9

7 2. Policy P-1, Ethical Standards. Prior to the board s consideration of Policy P-1, Ethical Standards, Superintendent Withers reported the district s legal counsel reviewed the proposed policy and had recommended two changes: The first sentence of the policy be modified to read: It is the policy of the Salt Lake City School District Board of Education to require that all employees demonstrate high ethical standards, The final sentence of the policy be modified to read: Employees who violate the provisions of this policy and its associated administrative procedures, or fail to report violations by other employees, are subject to discipline. *(6) A motion was made to approve Policy P-1, Ethical Standards as outlined in Exhibit E2 with the 2 modifications recommended by Legal Counsel **(Young and Maxfield) 3. Salt Lake City Community Development Area (CDA). Prior to the motion, Superintendent Withers introduced Ben McAdams, Senior Advisor to the Mayor, and Tom Berggren, Jones, Waldo, Holbrook & McDonough, and thanked them all their work in conjunction with the CDA project. He also told board members that D.J. Baxter, Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City, would be handling all public notices for the project,.and he distributed a Notice of Hearing on Draft Project Area Plan and Notice of Hearing on Draft Project Area Plan to Taxing Entities. Copies of these have been added to the official minutes. *(3) A motion was made to approve a Resolution of the Salt Lake City School District Board of Education authorizing the Board President and Business Administrator to enter into an Interlocal Agreement with Salt Lake County, Salt Lake City, and the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City to authorize use of a portion of tax increment to support the reconstruction of the North Temple Viaduct. **(Bennett and Uluave) President Swett and Vice President Bennett expressed their appreciation for all the effort that had gone into the CDA Project. They thanked Mr. Berggren and Mr. Baxter for meeting with board members to answer questions. They said it is an important project for the city that will also provide benefits for West High School and increase accessibility between the east and west side of the city. 4. Other Action Items. Policy C-1, Parent and Community Involvement. Page 7 of 9

8 Prior to the motion, consensus was given to change the second paragraph of the policy to read: The purpose of this policy is to encourage family and community involvement in schools and in decisions impacting education and to require that district employees comply with federal and state laws and local board goals and standards. *(7) A motion was made to approve Policy C-1, Parent and Community Involvement, as outlined in the Exhibit A6a with the change noted above. **(Bennett and Maxfield) F. SUPERINTENDENT S REPORT 1. Miscellaneous Updates: State Revenue and Budgets Superintendent Withers distributed a draft of a memorandum on the Proposed Budget for FY2011 from Dr. Larry Shumway, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, to the Utah State Board of Education. A copy has been added to the official minutes. He also distributed a copy of Utah State Budget Summary and Economic Development Recommendations as prepared by the Salt Lake Chamber. Copies of these reports have also been added to the official minutes. Legislative Priorities. Superintendent Withers reported staff would move ahead with the 2010 Legislative Priorities as previously discussed. He also updated board members on a potential piece of legislation aimed at equalization that will take away local autonomy. He said the legislation would limit the board s ability to generate revenue. Grants and Partnerships. Superintendent Withers reported the district is continuing to work with Salt Lake County to resubmit a grant focused on nutrition and reducing obesity. 2. Other Superintendent Reports. Superintendent Withers distributed a copy of CTE s publication Pathways. He called the board s attention to page 3 that talks about and has a schematic of the new CTE center at the South City Campus of the Salt Lake Community College. Superintendent Withers updated board members on the H1N1 vaccine status. He said Salt Lake County has changed to a system of appointments for the vaccine. He noted all appointments for this week have already been filled. He said efforts are being undertaken to move teachers to the status of health care workers. Superintendent Withers reported Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh, Dilworth Elementary School 2 nd grade teacher, is one of five national finalists for the National Education Association Foundation Awards for Teaching Page 8 of 9

9 Excellence. It was also noted that Ms. Gallagher-Fishbaugh is running for UEA President. 3. There were no Other Brief Announcements. G. ADJOURNMENT Following a motion by Dr. Nelson, seconded by Ms. Thorderson, the meeting was adjourned at 9:15 p.m. aps Janet Roberts Business Administrator Page 9 of 9