Schools
Board of Education Meeting Notes
Autism Awareness, Teacher of the Year Finalists and a Thank You To Voters
The Board of Education (BOE) Meeting on May 19 opened with a presentation on Autism Awareness by the Whisconier Middle School (WMS) Humanities Class. The sixth grade class began researching their classroom cause in November and shared with the BOE a little of what they have learned and why they wish to raise money to support Autism Speaks. The presentation explained autism and why financial support is necessary in order for diagnosed children to receive proper and prompt care. The class will be holding a Field Day Fundraiser on June 15 at WMS at 2 p.m. Admission is $5.
Chris Mattei presented the World Language Framework for grades seven through 12, covering the philosophy of the program, the use of technology, content standards and resources that will be evaluated over the next year. The program philosophy states that all students have the potential for proficiency in another language and benefit from language instruction. Critical thinking skills are enhanced, students learn to compare their cultures to others and develop a deeper awareness of the own language. The cornerstone goal of the program, according to Mattei is "to learn how, when and why to say what to whom."
Mattei mentioned how technology is being used to capture student progress as well as open up more opportunities for students to read authentic documents and presentations.
Find out what's happening in Brookfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
A short discussion followed, led by Member Victor Katz, who stated that he would like to "propose a world language to be offered at the elementary level." Board Chair Mike Fenton responded that he is "a big proponent of world language in the elementary levels." The Board will discuss this further in the coming school year.
Additional topics covered at the May 19 BOE Meeting:
Find out what's happening in Brookfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
- Center Elementary School (CES) Principal Carrie Kilian presented several young scientists to the board for recognition and gave a quick review of the CES Science Fair held earlier this month, which had a very high participation rate.
- Director of Technology and Business Art Colley will meet with parents over the coming weeks to discuss the transportation changes for the district.
- The finalists for Teacher of the Year were announced. One teacher was selected from each school. They are Megan Tembeck from CES, Barry Huber, Huckleberry Hill Elementary School (HHES) fourth grade teacher, Alison Fitzpatrick from WMS and Andrew Hill, Brookfield High School (BHS) Math teacher.
- The HHES parking lot was discussed. According to Rob Gianazza, "some major repaving is needed there." He is suggesting that the flows of water be examined and the underlying cause be addressed before paving over the existing problem. He would like to find "a more long term solution."
- Discussion about managing the traffic at WMS by adding a turn lane to help traffic flow was discussed and options reviewed.
- The BHS scoreboard repairs were discussed briefly, as efforts to fix it are ongoing.
- The CAPE Committee reviewed the summer reading program as suggested at a previous meeting and presented a review to the board. They were given a detailed look at the programs from K-12, covering details of how the books are selected and an explanation of why the options that are given have been put in place. A focus group will be formed with WMS and BHS students in the fall to go over how they felt about the reading material. The administration will come back with findings in November.
- Fenton took a moment to thank retiring teacher Richard Hunyadi for 36 years of teaching in Brookfield, saying, "We wish him well in his retirement."
- Katz suggested that the board increase their self-evaluations to quarterly rather than annually. Fenton agreed and suggested keeping the main meeting in July and then have more casual meetings for the remaining three. Gianazza pointed out that the meetings "would be considered a workshop not a public meeting."
- Fenton initiated a discussion regarding scheduling and preparation of Superintendent Bivona's upcoming evaluation stating that "it's vitally important, but it's not easy."
- The elevator panel upgrade at BHS was discussed. According to Fenton this is "an extremely important issue." They will have to determine which part of the budget to draw from for the work, with an estimated cost of $45,000. Fenton said it is "an issue that we are absolutely going to have to take care of."
- The Board and the Superintendent took a few minutes to express their appreciation to the town for approving the budget. "The community is really beginning to see that we need to invest in education," said Bivona.
This was followed by a discussion about the budget, which will be discussed in depth at the next BOE Meeting, to be held on June 2 at BHS.