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During the sixth part of the agenda known as Public Comments and Petitions, Mr. Cullen made the Board and public aware that some of the parents had made him aware that school personnel in the schools within the district he represents were not making sure that school children were washing their hands.
He told the board in a prepared statement that "...many parents believe much more can and should be done to ensure more children are washing their hands to help cut down on the potential transmission of the H1N1 virus in our schools."
He went on to express what parents have been reporting that "...hand-washing is happening scattershot. It is done well in some classes and not at all in others." He asked the Superintendent to write a policy with an emphasis on standardized implementation and compliance." He was expressing the hope that the money spent on programs like "Scrubby Bear" in K-2 not be wasted, because students either do not comply or do not have time to comply.
Mr. Cullen was calling for a policy, which would underscore both compliance and consistency, in order to help combat a very dangerous influenza season.
The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance. Dr. Ann Clark then invited the PTA Board Reps to step up to the microphone to introduce themselves. She then thanked them for the work they will do of keeping the Board informed.
Next on the agenda was the introduction of the two members of the professional superintendent search committee hired to conduct a search to replace the current superintendent. The two member team was present to report on what the chairman of the Board said were what they had done so far and what work they have to do in the coming weeks with regards to preparations to hire a new superintendent.
They then proceeded to list the process involved as they prepare background information for their search, conduct a national search, and come up with the best candidates to apply for the position of Superintendent of the Fairfield Public Schools.
They made the point that there are fewer candidates than there were even some 15 years ago. When they receive the applications, they will go through a preliminary process of culling to the semi-finalists, which will then be the core body of applicants.
Meanwhile, a full two days of community forums will take place on Nov. 9 and 10, a.m. and p.m., to collect information to create a town and school profile. These forums will be publicized on the Board's website and the time and place given to local newspapers.
Then the minutes of previous business and regular meetings were approved.
In the seventh stage of the agenda, Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, Dr. Gary Rosato provided the Board with an update of SRBI. The acronym stands for scientifically researched based intervention, which is another layer of assessment. Dr. Rosato's PowerPoint presentation detailed the three-tiered process "at a glance." While Board member Sue Brand wanted to know about "implementation time" and when the program would be in place, Board member David Weber wanted to know what part of SRBI "involved science" or scientific data. Dr. Rosato explained that the data in SBRI was that which the staff would accumulate when the program was in place.
There followed a presentation and discussion of the 2010-2011 Student Calendar by Deputy Superintendent John Boyle. After some discussions and suggestions, Boyle would take it back for fine tweaking.
Then Deputy Boyle took up policy matters and presented policies regarding electronic communications and emergency preparedness. The latter apparently involves much coordination with other agencies and Director of Operations Thomas Cullen was prompted to hold up the "thick" Town Plan to prove the point of the need to revisit the whole policy for its implementation in case of an emergency.
In a brief discussion of BOE priorities for 2009-2010, Mr. John Mitola stated that it was his strong belief that we "...find ways to save money to provide a high level of education. He went on to say, "[we] ought to look at how we do certain things to show we do our best to save money...."
To which the chairperson, Catherine Albin replied, "We were thinking of evaluating programs to make sure that programs are reaching out to those they are designed for."
There followed reports by board members involving their oversight responsibilities. Miss Sarah Finlaw representing Ludlowe HS reported on her school's activities. A student representative from Ward has yet to be selected.
In the roundtable that followed, Board member Pam Iacono reported that some parents had been reporting that some parents had found that their students couldn't read cursive writing.
Adjournment followed a brief open board discussion.
