Click here to view the agenda and packet for this meeting
The Pittsfield School Committee will have a meeting on Wednesday, January 24th at 6pm in City Hall Council Chambers (70 Allen St). The meeting will also be broadcasted on PCTV Channel 1302, PCTV’s Facebook page, and PCTV Select.
Any member of the public may wish to speak during our public comment period. Public comment is limited to 3 minutes per person and the public comment period is limited to 15 minutes unless the school committee votes to extend the public comment period. Anyone wishing to speak during the public comment period may be required to sign up before the meeting starts.
Agenda Highlights
- Approval of School Committee Representatives – Per School Committee policy at its meeting after its organizational meeting the School Committee shall appoint members to serve as representatives to various bodies and groups. The Chair is making the following recommendations for appointments:
- Berkshire Legislative Delegation: Hon. Peter Marchetti
- Berkshire Athenaeum Board of Trustees: Diana Belair
- School Building Needs Commission: William Cameron
- Berkshire Compact for Higher Education: TBD
- Berkshire Chamber of Commerce: Sara Hathaway
- City Council: William Cameron and Sara Hathaway
- School Councils: Daniel Elias
- Berkshire Educational Resources K-12: William Cameron
- Scholarships
- Acceptance of a New Scholarship Tim Connolly Scholarship – A scholarship in honor of Timothy J. Connolly. It will be an annual $500 scholarship given to “a graduating senior from Pittsfield and/or Taconic High School who will be attending college to major in journalism, English, communication or other related field and/or work as a journalist.”
- Acceptance of Criteria Amendment to the Marcia and Shane Cassavant Scholarship – An amendment to allow students who are pursuing a degree or certificate in a post secondary Career and Technical Education program, and increase the amount given to each high school to $250 per year.
- First Reading on New Textbooks – The School Committee will conduct a first reading on the following new textbooks
- Environmental Science for the AP Course – For AP Environmental Science at PHS
- Young Producers Group Complete Curriculum – For Music Production 1 and 2, Music Appreciation, Career Awareness for Young Producers
- Approval of New Tutoring Program – Ignite Tutoring Program
- Ignite! Reading is a “new approach to reading instruction that is built to teach non-readers to READ”, utilizing 15 minutes a day of 1:1 virtual tutoring.
- First Reading on Pilot Program – UFLI Foundations (Morningside)
- First Reading on New Course Pilots
- High School Playwriting & Directing (PHS)
- High School Musical Theatre Performance (PHS)
- Middle School STEM Lab (Reid)
- Middle School Personal Finance (Reid)
- Middle School Introduction to Digital Literacy (Reid)
- First Reading on Adoption of Pilot Program – TeachTown’s Meta Play
- Meta Play is a Pre-K curriculum “offers a systematic, play-based approach to fostering the development of imagination and play skills in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disabilities, developmental delays, and social and emotional disabilities.
- Annual Review of Career Vocational Technical Education Admissions Policy – Per Department of Elementary and Secondary Education regulations the school committee shall review its Career Vocational Technical Education Admissions policy once a year.
- Presentation on Paraprofessional Educational Opportunitie
- Executive Session – There will be an executive session to discuss negotiations with the United Educators of Pittsfield (teachers union), the Pittsfield Educational Administrator’s Association (educational administrators union), and non-union personnel.
Subcommittee Assignments
Per the City Charter the chair of the School Committee shall appoint members to subcommittees of the School Committee. The Chair has made the following subcommittee appointments:
AUDIT
Liaison – Assistant Superintendent for Business & Finance
William Cameron, Chair
Sara Hathaway
Approves payment of bills (2 times/week)
CURRICULUM
Liaison – Deputy Superintendent
Diana Belair, Chair
Daniel Elias
Sara Hathaway
Reviews new course proposals and adoptions, curriculum models, textbook adoptions, district assessment programs, pilot programs and costs associated with these proposals. The work of the subcommittee will also ensure a bias review occurs at the district level when any new curriculum or materials are adopted.
FINANCE & TRANSPORTATION
Liaison – Assistant Superintendent for Business & Finance
William Cameron, Chair
Daniel Elias
Dominick Sacco
Reviews preliminary budgets, state and federal funding, review of House and Senate budgets, review of contractual obligations and impact on personnel. Additionally, this committee will address any transportation issues (including costs, routes, etc.) that come before the school committee.
PERSONNEL & NEGOTIATIONS
Liaison – Director of Human Resources, Diversity & Inclusion
Daniel Elias, Chair
William Cameron
Sara Hathaway
Conducts all types of contract negotiations, hears grievances and other personnel issues and litigation. The work of the subcommittee will also support the lens of diversity and equity with regards to recruitment and hiring practices of the district.
POLICY
Liaison – Deputy Superintendent
Sara Hathaway, Chair
William Cameron
William Garrity
Works with administration on writing of new policies or amendments to current policies, making sure policies comply with the law.
SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING & SCHOOL SAFETY
Liaison – Deputy Superintendent
Dominick Sacco, Chair
Diana Belair
William Garrity
Works with administration in addressing SEL needs and identifying ways in which to fill these needs including programming and staffing. This group will also work with administration to ensure the Code of Conduct is equitable and meets the state requirements pertaining to student discipline including the use of restorative practices as outlined in the Code of Conduct. Additionally, this subcommittee works with administration in ensuring the safety of our schools including the physical safety of students and personnel.
SPECIAL EDUCATION
Liaison – Special Education Director
William Garrity, Chair
Diana Belair
Dominick Sacco
Reviews programs and mandates pertaining to special education. The committee will work with administration to ensure special education programming and staffing meets the needs of diverse learners as well as meets the guidelines as outlined by federal and state education agencies.
Upcoming Subcommittee Meetings
January 23rd @ 5:15pm Personnel and Negotiations Subcommittee at Mercer Administration Building – Executive session to discuss strategy in preparation for negotiations with non-union personnel or to conduct collective bargaining sessions with non-union personnel. (Agenda)
January 24th @ 5:15pm Personnel and Negotiations Subcommittee at City Hall – Executive session to discuss negotiations with non-union personnel. (Agenda)
Upcoming Dates
- January 22nd – February 9th – PPS Annual Family Survey(link)
- January 23rd @ 8:30am – School Resource Officer Meet and Greet at Herberg
- January 23rd @ 6pm – PPS School Safety and School Resource Officer Presentation via Zoom(link to register here)
- January 25th @ 5:30pm – PPS Facilities and School Structure Study Community Engagement Session at Conte Community School
- January 26th – Elementary Trimester 2 Progress Reports
Pittsfield Public Schools in the News
- Berkshire Eagle – Reporting an incident of bullying at Pittsfield Public Schools is now easier for families. Here’s how you do it (paywall)
- iBerkshires – Pittsfield Public Schools’ Arts Integration, Community Partnerships Programming