Quincy Citywide Parent’s Council

Minutes from January 8, 2007

Broad Meadows Middle School 

Meeting was called to order at 7:01 pm, with Sandy Arabian presiding.

Sandy introduced Richard O’Brien, the Director of the Information, Technology and Media Services for Quincy Public Schools, who was the guest speaker for the night. 

 Mr. O’Brien thanked the Council for inviting him.  He noted that he started with QPS in 1971 as an elementary school teacher and went on to become a soccer coach.  He was the Assistant Principal at Montclair until 1981 when he was laid off due to Proposition 2 ½.  He then worked at Prime Computer until he returned to QPS in 1987 as the Assistant Principal at Merrymount.  After that he was the Principal at Snug Harbor for 10 years.  In 1998 he became the Director of the Department of Information, Technology and Media Services (DITMS).

 He described the three main divisions of his department:

 Information Services handles all of the data collected by the schools.  Enrollment and demographics collected about students is entered into a database called StarBase.  The Department of Education requires that 64 pieces of data about every student is reported three times a year to the state.  Similar information about staff is also now required.  Assessment data is also managed by this division, including MCAS results, MCAS retests and appeals, MEPA, MELO-O for ESL students, DIBELS (elementary reading assessment), and other local assessments.  All schools now have assessment teams who are charged with reviewing assessment data on their students.  These teams use a database application called TestWiz which allows them to analyze the data by asking specific questions of the database.  The teams meet three times a year and then share the information with other staff at the schools.  They can identify at-risk students and use the information to inform the school improvement plans.  Information Services also provides training to staff on specific applications including StarBase, MS Office, MS Publisher, Front Page and supports School Messenger, Channel 22.  They also provide web templates for the individual school web sites.

 The QPS web site (quincypublicschools.com) was redesigned recently.  Mr. O’Brien reviewed the web site noting that there are sections designed specifically for students, parents, and educators (requires a login and password—contains templates for forms, team information, and professional development information).  Other sections contain information about the district as a whole (improvement plan) and relative to the community (School Committee, Partnership Program, new Quincy High School).  The individual school sites are maintained by the schools themselves although his department tries to provide support.

 Technical Support focuses on the 2,800 computers in the school system, School Messenger, Palm Pilot technology (used for DIBELS), and network printers.  This division also assists with the City’s network.  The schools were wired in 1998 (funded by a bond) but some of this wiring is now out-of-date.  Elementary and Middle Schools have been upgraded to Comcast modems and the High Schools have fiber connections.  Technical staff are assigned to specific schools now.  They maintain an inventory and rating of all the computers (have to report this to the state) and try to distribute them equitably.  Sometimes a department needs newer computers due to a specific application they are using.  He is aware that some PTOs have paid for computers.

 Sandy asked what applications are being used by the Special Education Department?  Mr. O’Brien said they are using E-SPED and that some assistive technology such as SmartBoards are available.  His department reviews new applications along with the staff that will be using them.  The nurses are using SNAP.

 Technical Support runs a HelpDesk function and has a database that tracks work orders (similar to the one used by the Maintenance Department)/

 Media Services handles the technical issues for the Media Department whereas the curriculum issues are handled by Colleen Roberts’ department.

 Questions:

bullet Bonnie Marcel asked about virus protection.  Mr. O’Brien said that they have a new server-based security called F-Secure.
bullet Fiona Canavan asked about problems with emails from certain ISPs not being delivered. Mr. O’Brien said that the problem should be mostly fixed (may still be a problem with aol).
bullet A parent asked if it is a goal to have a computer in every classroom?  Mr. O’Brien said that most classrooms currently have computers—although not all are new.  The goal is to have computers that are as up-to-date as possible, but technology is not always a priority in the budget.
bullet Bonnie asked what are the technology priorities over the next several years, given the budget constraints?  Mr. O’Brien said that infrastructure (virus protection, etc.), professional development, hardware, and staffing are the top priorities.
bullet Hank Brawley noted that the Policy Subcommittee of the School Committee is taking suggestions and he advocates spending more money on technology.
bullet Sandy asked whether the information collected and managed by the schools is audited?  Mr. O’Brien said that information is entered by the secretaries.  When reports are sent back by the DOE, they are reviewed and corrected if necessary.
bullet Roseanne Russell asked who is on the assessment teams?  Mr. O’Brien said that Principals recruit 3-4 teachers for the teams.  His department recommends that the team include a “tech savvy” person whenever possible since the teams use TestWiz to analyze the data.  Each classroom teacher gets a report on the students in his/her class.
bullet Roseanne also asked about the Contact Cards and noted that parents with different last names must constantly correct the information.  Mr. O’Brien said that there is a Student Records Team.  Part of the problem is that the state has changed the information required and they had to revise their systems.
bullet Kathy Brink said that she has found the web sites for the middle schools to be good, but asked what can be done about the web sites for the elementary schools?  Mr. O’Brien said that he can provide more support for the web masters (they are volunteers).
bullet Sue Sheridan asked about School Messenger.  Parents of students who are late still get an absent call even if the parent called in.  Mr. O’Brien said that the Attendance Office needs to check phone messages before School Messenger is activated.  Several other parents noted a problem at NQHS.

 Mr. O’Brien said he is available for other questions.  His email is robrien@quincy.k12.ma.us

 To begin the regular meeting, everyone was asked to introduce themselves.

The minutes from the last meeting were accepted with no changes.

In the Treasurer’s absence, Fiona noted that there had been no activity since the last report.

 School Committee Report

Hank Brawley reported back from recent School Committee meetings.  The Educational Quality Assessment (EQA) report has been received.  This was a district-wide assessment done by a state board last spring.  The overall rating was strong.  There were unsatisfactory ratings on evaluations for teachers (evals for new teachers were strong, but ongoing eval was lacking), some record-keeping procedures, and technology (outdated hardware and software due to budget constraints).

 Old Business:

bullet Teacher contracts--Fiona reported that Paul Phillips, President of the Quincy Educational Association, and speaker at last month’s meeting, has let her know that there has been no explanation for why teachers are being asked to accept a pay cut when there is a surplus in the city’s budget.  He also said he is upset about statements made in public by the Mayor about the negotiations.

 New Business:

bullet Upcoming Speaker—Sandy suggested that Joanne Morrissey, Director of Food Services, and Jane Kisielius, Coordinator of Health Services, be invited to speak.  There was some discussion of whether they should be asked to speak at the same meeting, or at different meetings.  Fiona will ask them both if there are enough issues where they overlap that they should speak together at the same meeting.  If not, then Jane will be asked to speak at the February meeting since several parents mentioned issues they would like her to address.  Parents should email Fiona questions so she can pass them on to the speakers ahead of time.
bullet Elementary to Middle School Transition—Fiona noted that Dr. DeCristofaro informed her that Janet Powell will be presenting about transitions in general (K to 1st grade, 5th to 6th, and 8th to 9th) at the February 7th School Committee meeting.  He told Fiona that all of the suggestions made by Citywide’s Transition Subcommittee were good and he hopes to implement them (with the possible exception of a joint Open House by the high schools, which has been tried before on a smaller scale and didn’t work well).  It was decided that Fiona will ask Janet Powell, Director of Pupil Personnel Services, to speak at our March meeting so that she can address any further questions about transitions as well as other issues.
bullet School Budget Deficit—It was reported that some principals have said at PTO meetings that the school budget has a $1.2m deficit, due mostly to cost overruns in the special education department.  It was also reported that the Mayor has not covered the deficit with city funds, as has been done in the past.  There was much discussion about the cause and the effect of the deficit.  Some felt that the special education department was being blamed unfairly.  Others felt that they did not have enough information to make any judgments or take immediate action.  Some parents have been told that there is a freeze on some expense line items (materials) and cuts in others (substitutes for specialists).  The Quincy Parents Advisory Council for Special Education (QPAC) will discuss the deficit at their next meeting.
bullet Traffic at North Quincy High School—There was a discussion about the changes proposed to address the traffic problem and it was noted that some of them have yet to be implemented.  The Council will continue to monitor the issue and will bring any necessary information to the School Committee.

The next meeting is scheduled for February 12th.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:55pm.