Minutes - February 11, 2009

New Hampshire State Board of Education
State Department of Education
101 Pleasant Street
Concord, NH 03301

Agenda Item I. Call to Order

The regular meeting of the State Board of Education was convened at 9:10 a.m. at the Department of Education in Concord, NH. John E. Lyons, Jr. presided.

Members present: John E. Lyons, Jr., Fredrick J. Bramante, Jr., Helen G. Honorow, Daphne Kenyon, Stephen R. L'Heureux, Tom Raffio, and William Walker.

Also in attendance were Lyonel B. Tracy, Commissioner of Education, and Mary S. Heath, Deputy Commissioner of Education.

Agenda Item II. Pledge of Allegiance

Tom Raffio led the pledge of allegiance.

Agenda Item III. Public Comment

Rep. Nancy Stiles reviewed the Final Report on HB 1161 Establishing a Committee to Study the Truancy Laws. Rep. Nancy Stiles also discussed HB 154 relative to truancy. This bill makes various changes to the laws on truancy.

Agenda Item IV. Open Board Discussion

A. Board members discussed HB 154 in length with Rep. Nancy Stiles. Chairman Lyons said that the Board really appreciates all that Rep. Stiles does to help children.

Motion: Fredrick Bramante made the motion, seconded by Stephen L'Heureux, that the State Board of Education send a letter to Rep. Nancy Stiles supporting HB 154.

Vote: The motion was adopted by unanimous vote of the Board present, with the Chairman voting.

Mr. Bramante discussed HB 560 relative to the use of state education funds for extended learning opportunities for certain pupils. Mr. Bramante, as a private citizen, will testify on this bill at 10:30 today. Paul Leather was present during this section and said there is a cost involved and there are other factors regarding this bill that need to be addressed. Mr. Leather will also testify today on this bill. The committee is thinking of retaining this bill for further review.

Mr. L'Heureux discussed HB 615 relative to withdrawal from a school administrative unit. Mr. L'Heureux said there is a public hearing on this bill next Thursday and that the Board still has no authority to deny any requests as long as the requests are meeting a checklist.

Motion: Fredrick Bramante made the motion, seconded by Tom Raffio, that the State Board of Education support HB 615 and support Stephen L'Heureux's testifying on this bill.

Vote: The motion was adopted by unanimous vote of the Board present, with the Chairman voting.

William Walker left the meeting at 9:50 a.m.

Mr. Raffio spoke to the Baldrige process and how it is done to improve students scores. There will be further discussion on this topic. He also visited the sixth grade class in SAU #53 to see the SAKAI program in operation and wanted to commend the school for this program. Mr. Raffio also discussed a conference he had attended recently on "Everyone Can Be A Leader."

Mr. Bramante reported on his latest trip to Iowa where he is involved with high school redesign.

Fredrick Bramante left the meeting at 10:20 a.m. to testify on HB 560.

William Walker returned to the meeting at 10:30 a.m.

Agenda Item V. Special Presentations

A. Visiting Nurses Association (VNA) Child Care and Family Resource Center - Christina Tarness presented a power point presentation. The VNA Child Care and Family Resource Center is one of the largest, nonprofit child care centers in the state. The center is licensed for just over 200 children and is full, with a waiting list for all age groups, infants to school age. The VNA Child Care Center is the only public program of its kind in the Greater Manchester Area, and one of very few throughout the state, that offers a sliding scale fee, making educational child care affordable to low income families.

B. NH Mentoring Plan for Principals - Peggy McAllister, Executive Director for the NH Association of School Principals, introduced Michael Tocci and others involved with the mentoring plan. Kathleen Sciarrapa presented a power point on the NHASP School Leaders Mentor Program. The primary goal of this program is to support new leaders, strengthen their leadership capacity, and ultimately, to improve teaching and learning in their schools. They said that research indicates mentoring strengthens skills, builds competence and confidence, reduces isolation, encourages reflection, impacts student assessment, and speeds professional actualization.

Motion: Stephen L'Heureux made the motion, seconded by Tom Raffio, that the State Board of Education support and endorse the NH Association of School Principals School Leaders Mentor Program.

Vote: The motion was adopted by unanimous vote of the Board present, with the Chairman voting.

C. Cocheco Arts and Technology Academy Charter School - Roberta Tenney introduced Jeanne Simons and Tom Julius of the Review Team and Rachel Williams, Chairman of the Cocheco Board and Christy Holmes, Executive Director of the Charter School. The Department of Education requests that the Board authorize the renewal of the charter for Cocheco Arts and Technology Academy Charter School. The renewal term is for seven years. Jeanne Simons from the Review Team presented the results of the review to the Board. This charter school was originally chartered in 2004. The school currently serves students in grades 9 through 12. The school has maintained its focus on arts education throughout its charter. Enrollment and funding are a problem for this school as it is with other charter schools. The inspection visit to the school was conducted on December 4, 2008. Inspectors collected data through parent, student, and teacher interviews, classroom observations and the review of school documents. Inspectors also interviewed the outgoing and incoming directors of the school, board members, and guidance staff. The inspection team observed 12 classes during the visit and used a common observation tool to gather evidence from the lessons. Rachel Williams, Chair of the Board for that school, and Christina Holmes, Director of the School, spoke to the Board.

Fred Bramante returned at 12:05 p.m. After a lengthy discussion where members discussed their concerns regarding this charter school, Board members took the following vote.

Motion: Tom Raffio made the motion, seconded by Fredrick Bramante, that the State Board of Education accept the reauthorization of the charter for the Cocheco Arts and Technology Academy Charter School with a proviso that there are issues to be examined and reported back to the State Board of Education in February 2011 regarding the Governing Board, Sustainability and Student Achievement.

Vote: The motion was adopted by unanimous vote of the Board present, with the Chairman voting.

D. Student/Bedford School Board - SB-FY-09-11-005 - A request for a hearing by the Board was received on November 25, 2008. The issue was relative to a hearing on appeal of an expulsion. Timothy Mayes, Superintendent of Schools, SAU #25 Bedford, was present to answer questions. The parents do not wish to pursue the matter before the Board. Board members were concerned that the school district should amend its policies to ensure that students are not suspended for longer than 10 days without first having a long-term suspension hearing, or an expulsion hearing and to encourage the parties to work together to help the student obtain access to educational services during the expulsion and to develop a plan for readmission in the next school year. Mr. Mayes assured the Board that this has happened.

Motion: Tom Raffio made the motion, seconded by Stephen L'Heureux, that the State Board of Education accepts the Hearing Officer's Report and adopts the Recommendation that the decision of the Bedford School Board be upheld.

Vote: The motion was adopted by unanimous vote of the Board present, with the Chairman voting.

E. New England Common Assessment Program 2008 NECAP Results and Trends - February 2009 - Deb Wiswell spoke to the results of the Fall 2008 NECAP for grades three through eight and high schools that were released in January. New Hampshire schools have again made strong progress in helping students meet challenging standards in reading, mathematics, and writing. This is the fourth year that New Hampshire's third through eighth grade students have taken the NECAP but it is only the second year the NECAP test has been administered at the high school level. These results show that our schools are making substantial progress at all grade levels in all three content areas when compared to the first year of each of these tests. Ms. Wiswell explained some of the charts that were included in the packet. She also distributed The New England Common Assessment Program Guide to Using the 2008 NECAP Reports.

F. Academically Focused Afterschool Programs in NH and Extended Learning Opportunities - Paul Leather introduced Arthur "Skip" Hanson as the new representative for the New England Secondary School Consortium. This consortium is funded by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to ensure that the academic performance and educational attainment of every student in Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont will be competitive with their peers worldwide. Cynthia Billings from PLUSTIME NH presented a power point on afterschool learning programs. In 2002, Governor Jeanne Shaheen brought together senior staff of public and private agencies committed to afterschool programs. She asked them, as the New Hampshire Afterschool Evaluation Task Force, to develop a reporting plan that would provide data over time on the state's afterschool programs. The afterschool program is managed by PlusTime NH and funded by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation. This program offers low-income middle school students the opportunity to attend programs explicitly tied to school subject areas and/or curriculum standards. It offers homework support and enrichment activities, and maintains regular communication with school-based staff. There is a partnership of the Department and PlusTime NH through a grant from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation to support student success through Extended Learning Opportunities. Extended Learning Opportunities allow students to gain knowledge and skills through learning that takes place outside of the traditional classroom.

G. Hearing - Student/NH Department of Education - SB-FY-09-02-013 - Chairman Lyons asked the parties if they would like this hearing held in public or nonpublic session. The parents chose public session. A request for a hearing by the Board was received on February 5, 2009. The issue was relative to an appeal of the Commissioner of Education's January 12, 2009 decision concerning the location of the student's bus stop. Jurisdiction lies with the State Board of Education pursuant to RSA 21-N:11, III. A pre-hearing conference was scheduled for February 20, 2009. The Commissioner's decision stated that there was no justification for him to overrule the decision of the Sanborn Regional School Board concerning the location of the student's bus stop and that the stop is typical of many throughout the state. The Hearing Officer's recommendation, in effect, overturns the Commissioner's decision. Ed Murdough, Keith Pfeifer, Superintendent of Schools for SAU #17, and the parents were present, and presented testimony.

Fredrick Bramante returned from testifying at 12:05 p.m.

Daphne Kenyon left at 12:45 p.m. to testify on a bill.

Agenda Item VI. Legislative Issues

Sarah Browning reported on HB 322 on developing common discipline issues.

Chairman Lyons said he had received a letter from Attorney Jerry Zelin regarding the public hearing being held on proposed amendments to Ed 1120.05 governing special education. Chairman Lyons said he indicated to Attorney Zelin that this hearing was limited to just one section.

Agenda Item VII. New Department Business

A. Rulemaking - Sarah Browning reported on this items.

1. Final Proposal - Ed 1400, Career and Technical Education - A vote is needed for the Board to approve this rule as a final proposal to be reviewed by the JLCAR. This action follows a public hearing and is necessary to meet the requirements of RSA 541-A. The Final Proposal includes changes to the initial proposal as a result of comments from the rule suggested by the staff attorneys who reviewed the rule for the JLCAR. The Final Proposal will be submitted to the JLCAR for its review. After a public hearing and approval by the JLCAR, the Board may then adopt the final rule at its next regularly scheduled meeting.

Motion: Tom Raffio made the motion, seconded by Stephen L'Heureux, that the State Board of Education approves the text of the Final Proposal for Ed 1400, Career and Technical Education.

Vote: The motion was adopted by unanimous vote of the Board present, with the Chairman voting.

Agenda Item VIII. New Board Business

A. Priorities of State Board - This item was not discussed.
B. Education Reform - This item was not discussed.

These items were not discussed at this meeting.

Agenda Item IX. Commissioner's Report

Commissioner Tracy said that the Governor would be giving his address before the House on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. and all Department Heads would be attending.

Agenda Item X. Old Business

There was no Old Business at this meeting.

Agenda Item XI. Consent Agenda

A. Minutes of January 14, 2009

Motion: Helen Honorow made the motion, seconded by Tom Raffio, that the State Board of Education approve the Minutes of January 14, 2009.

Vote: The motion was adopted by unanimous vote of the Board present, with the Chairman voting.

B. Approval of Professional Preparation Programs Saint Anselm College - On June 7, 2007, Saint Anselm College submitted a request for approval of a proposed new Physics educator preparation program. On November 5, 2007, a visiting committee reviewed the proposed new program. The committee's final report was presented to the Council for Teacher Education on February 14, 2008. The Council recommended a one-year provisional approval until March 31, 2009, with a required progress report due by December 31, 2008. A progress report was presented to the Council and discussed at the December 2008 and January 2009 Council meetings. The Council recommended a two-year full approval for the Physics professional educator preparation program at Saint Anselm College until August 31, 2011.

Motion: Tom Raffio made the motion, seconded by Helen Honorow, that the State Board of Education grant a two-year full approval of Saint Anselm College's Physics professional educator preparation program through August 31, 2011.

Vote: The motion was adopted by unanimous vote of the Board present, with the Chairman voting.

Agenda Item XII. Other Business

Fredrick Bramante mentioned the Board Retreat that is scheduled for March 27th at the Seacoast Science Center. This item will be discussed at the March 11th Board meeting.

Agenda Item XIII. Tabled Items

A. Merrimack School of Excellence Charter School

Agenda Item XIV. Nonpublic Session

The Board did not go into Nonpublic Session.

Agenda Item XV. Adjournment

Motion: Helen Honorow made the motion, seconded by William Walker, that the State Board of Education adjourn the meeting at 1:10 p.m.

Vote: The motion was adopted by unanimous vote of the Board present, with the Chairman voting.

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Secretary