MCCPS Board of Trustees
Minutes
Board of Trustees April 2024 Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday April 30, 2024 at 7:00 PM
Location
MCCPS
17 Lime Street 01945
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/98355446062?pwd=bVg2VzE4bEZUVXJqY0R4UlJnVmZ1dz09
Trustees Present
Carol McEnaney, Ian Hunt, James Lewis (remote), Jessica Xiarhos, Katie Holt, Kimberly Nothnagel, Lindsay Smith (remote), Nick Santoro, Paul Baker, Polly Titcomb (remote), Rodolphe Herve (remote), Stephanie Brant, William Rockwell (remote)
Trustees Absent
None
Guests Present
Bryan Burns (remote), Elizabeth Burns (remote), John Steinberg
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
Katie Holt called a meeting of the board of trustees of MCCPS Board of Trustees to order on Tuesday Apr 30, 2024 at 7:06 PM.
C.
Public Comment
- Katie thanked the members of the Board who were able to attend Saturday's fundraising event
- Katie noted that John Steinberg will join the meeting at 7:30pm to discuss results from annual surveys
II. Head of School Report
A.
April Report
- *Please see attached HOS Report for full document*
- Summary
- Fundraising
- Stephanie told the Board that the fundraiser raised over $10k for MCCPS
- Over $2,500 in ticket sales, $5,000 in auction items
- Kim noted that this money goes to the Annual Fund
- Stephanie noted the confidence and skill of MCCPS students, many of whom performed as part of the talent show
- Nick noted that given how well students did and how high participation was, it would be worth seeking out more people/students to perform next year
- Stephanie also noted the fantastic contributions of faculty and staff, who both participated in the talent show and provided "priceless" auction items
- Stephanie told the Board that the fundraiser raised over $10k for MCCPS
- Enrollment
- Enrollment has risen from 172 at the beginning of the school year to current number of 178
- Some families came to MCCPS during the school year in order to ensure spots in fifth grade class
- Stephanie noted her and Meg Upton's efforts to get more, better data on intent to return
- MCCPS will lose 11 students next SY
- Some are going to St. John's Prep, one to MVMS, others moving out of state
- Nick Santoro noted that this number (11 students lost YOY) is lower than in past years, and Stephanie agreed, saying this is testament to what's happening in school at MCCPS
- Application numbers from Swampscott are down from last year, which is believed to be a product of the opening of the new Swampscott school building
- MA steadily reducing the number of out-of-district students (Lynn, Salem, etc.) for coming school years
- SY24-25 budget is based on 190 students, and MCCPS will hold second admissions lottery, providing advertising/marketing beforehand to ensure community awareness
- Bus auction
- Stephanie and Meg will be sending proposal for pickup/drop-off bus for students from Peabody, Beverly, Danvers that would provide options for either small and/or large bus
- Stephanie noted that Meg has typically provided additional information and options for families who note the commute to MCCPS as a reason for not attending
- Stephanie and Meg will be sending proposal for pickup/drop-off bus for students from Peabody, Beverly, Danvers that would provide options for either small and/or large bus
- Enrollment has risen from 172 at the beginning of the school year to current number of 178
- Staffing
- Stephanie has let instructional assistants know that their contracts will not be renewed (because of partnerships with Endicott/SSU)
- 4 Graduate students will come to MCCPS to work as teaching fellows
- Molly Wright will be leading this program
- 4 Graduate students will come to MCCPS to work as teaching fellows
- 2 other teachers' contracts will not be renewed
- One role will be assumed by Stephanie, and MCCPS is seeking someone with additional licensure for the second
- Recent hires for teaching and special education roles
- Meghan Hale will be be Director of Teacher Learning for humanities, and is also completing licensure as ESL teacher
- Stephanie has let instructional assistants know that their contracts will not be renewed (because of partnerships with Endicott/SSU)
- DESE On Site Review of Special Ed Program
- On site review done this month and the program had no findings (meaning that MCCPS is fully compliant)
- Per Stephanie, the reviewers also complemented the school's processes
- On site review done this month and the program had no findings (meaning that MCCPS is fully compliant)
- Trainings
- Both in person and virtual sessions have been conducted in recent weeks
- Stephanie and the leadership team (Meghan, Molly, Jess) will be attending DESE conference next week
- *John Steinberg arrived at this time*
- Fundraising
III. Survey Results
A.
Review and Discussion of Annual Surveys
- John and Nick spent a moment connecting John's computer for the presentation
- John led a presentation reviewing annual surveys
- John began with VALED Survey
- Noted that Board members had lower response rate than teachers
- 30 out of 32 teachers responded to survey, 4 of 7 Board members (non teacher members) responded
- John mentioned that an important piece of this survey is ensuring that teachers, the HOS, and the Board are seeing the same things and viewing progress the same way
- Survey results were tremendously high this year, to an extent that "they can hardly get better", especially among teachers
- Teacher and Board responses were highly correlated, suggesting that perceptions of HOS/organizational performance is fairly stable across different perspectives
- Scores were very high, especially in regard to "creating an environment of learning"
- Of 6 categories (Culture of Learning, External Communities, High Standards for Student Learning, etc.), all were rated as either Proficient or Distinguished, the first time this has been the case since 2017
- John delivered series of visuals outlining results over time (from 2014-2024)
- First time average teacher satisfaction has reached "Distinguished" category
- Outlined criteria that showed room to improve that could serve as components of Head of School goals for SY24-25
- These include implementing and monitoring quality instruction (which still scored as "Proficient")
- Noted that Board members had lower response rate than teachers
- Teacher satisfaction survey
- Strong overall scores
- Lowest scored item was "Workload is adequately balanced among faculty members in the school"
- Average response was "Agree somewhat", which is a fairly solid score, though this responses to this question also had the highest standard deviation (meaning some members responded noticibly lower than "Agree somewhat")
- Highest scored items included "Head of School works to build a positive work environment for the faculty and staff" and "Head of School assured that plans for the safety and needs of the students are developed and executed"
- Several other questions scored very high
- John noted that responses to "The Head of School treats me with respect and dignity" were very high, and much higher than in past years
- John noted that these scores, regardless of HOS performance next year, will be difficult to beat/replicate given how high they are ("these numbers have nowhere to go but down")
- John and the Board enjoyed a laugh at this!
- Nick noted the important role the leadership team plays in ensuring the staff is supported, as faculty also go to them for feedback and support
- Stephanie noted how much satisfaction it brings her to see data that reflects a largely satisfied staff
- John mentioned that the Personnel Committee will review these scores during a future meeting to discuss them further and discuss how they can potentially inform next year's goals
- John began with VALED Survey
IV. Update on Legal Matters
A.
Brief status update
- Katie shared an update from Al Gray, MCCPS' attorney, regarding legal matters
- No movement on employment discrimination case (it's been passed from federal to state entities), second has had no progress
- Rudi asked whether the Board had any information regarding upcoming zoning vote in Marblehead
- Katie and Lindsay explained upcoming town vote regarding MBTA compliance (regards zoning in town, nothing to do with buildings themselves)
- Katie reminded Board members to keep on top of meeting minutes in BoardOnTrack and to provide Meg Upton at least 48hrs notice regarding meetings
V. Committee Updates
A.
Finance Committee
- Rudi provided overview of last week's FinCom meeting
- April is last month in which MCCPS will be in the black this year
- Mortgage rate will rise (5.7%) and exceeds budgeted rate hike of 5%
B.
Governance Committee
- Polly provided update on Governance Committee happenings
- Polly will bring a vote forward to the Board next month regarding revision to MCCPS Bylaws
- Committee is working on revised Board of Trustee handbook and plans to meet next month
C.
Personnel Committee
- Katie provided update on Personnel Committee
- Met last month and discussed survey results delivery
D.
Academic Excellence
- Jess X provided update on Academic Excellence Committee meeting
- Focuses were MCAS results (which will be reported in Fall) and objectives for professional improvement for SY24-25
E.
Development & Communications
- Kim mentioned that this has been largely covered based on Auction discussion
F.
DEI Committee
- Lindsay provided overview of last DEI meeting
- Chris Doyon provided presentation on how students are treated, issues are handled, etc.
VI. Public Comment
A.
Public Comment
- N/A
VII. Closing Items
A.
Recap Action Items
- Will to provide list of minutes to be approved to next Board meeting
B.
Board Comments
- N/A
C.
Adjourn Meeting
Nick Santoro made a motion to adjourn tonight's Board of Trustees meeting.
Ian Hunt seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
William Rockwell
Documents used during the meeting
- Head of School Report 4_30_2024.pdf