Members of the Board Human Resources Committee met on Tuesday, June 20, 2000, at 7:27 p.m., in the Superintendent’s Conference Room, at the Education Center. Present were school board members: Edward Gallagher-Chairperson, Rosario Amato, Charlene Koch, Loretta Leeson, Julie Venanzi, William Heske, Lynn Glancy, and Margaret Williams. Also present were: Superintendent Thomas Doluisio; Assistant Superintendent Michele Kostem; Iris Cintron, Coordinator of Minority Affairs and State and Federal Projects; Judith Carr, Governor Wolf Elementary School Teacher; and principals Marcia Shaffer, Joseph Rahs, Mary Colon, Elizabeth Burak, Elizabeth Conard, John Roman, and David Ongiri.

The meeting of the Board Human Resources Committee was called to order by Mr. Gallagher at 7:27 p.m.

Open Forum - No items were discussed.

Class Size Reduction Initiative (CSRI) Presentation — Mrs. Kostem opened the discussion by explaining that approximately one year ago the district became aware that the U.S. Department of Education had funds available for class size reduction for the 1999-2000 school year. However, there was no promise that the money would be available in the future. The administration went to the Board and asked for approval for the district to receive funds and the Board agreed. As a recipient of the CSRI funds, the district is required to provide an annual evaluation on how student achievement has been affected by reducing class size. A committee of the principals involved in the initiative, along with Mrs. Kostem and Mrs. Cintron, worked on the results of the initiative. On behalf of the committee, Mr. Rahs, principal of Fountain Hill Elementary School, shared a Power Point presentation on the student achievement.

During the 1999-2000 school year, the district was awarded $404,235 in Federal funds to begin the Class Size Reduction Initiative. The district employed 8 additional teachers with the funds. The schools that received the additional teachers were Farmersville (Grade 1), Fountain Hill (Grades 1 and 2), Governor Wolf (Grade 1), Spring Garden (Grade 1), Calypso (Grade 2), Clearview (Grade 2), and Thomas Jefferson (Grade 2). Grade 1, comprised of 375 students, increased from 16 classes to 20 classes which impacted four schools. Grade 2, comprised of 304 students, increased from 12 classes to 16 classes which impacted four schools. The guideline of the initiative was to have classes at approximately 18 but not significantly lower than that number. The effectiveness of the Class Size Reduction needed to be reported. Two items were looked at to report on the effectiveness; Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) and the Code of Conduct comparison. The results of the DRA for Grade 1: in the Spring of 1999, 249 of the 367 students were at or above DRA level 16 (68%). In the Spring of 2000, the next Grade 1 students, 282 of 361 were at or above DRA level 16 (78%). This showed a 10% increase. For the DRA results for Grade 2, the committee took the students who were in Grade 1 last year and compared their DRA scores to this year’s Grade 1 scores where CSRI funding has been allocated. It was reported that in Grade 1, in the Spring of 1999, 153 of the 235 students were at or above DRA level 16 (65%). In the Spring of 2000, 162 of the 225 were at or above DRA level 28 (72%). This showed an increase of 7% for those students who achieved grade level proficiency. The Code of Conduct showed a substantial decrease in referrals. The decrease in referrals ranged from between 1% to 100% in both grade levels.

Judith Carr, Grade 1 teacher at Governor Wolf Elementary School, was introduced. She explained to the Board of School Directors how her classroom was affected by the lower class size. She mentioned positive aspects of CSRI funding which affected her classroom including: more quality time with the students, reduction in AST referrals and special education referrals because of the one/one contact, more space available in the classroom, better ability to meet the emotional needs of the students, and more parent contact.

Concluding the presentation, Mr. Rahs noted that the district has received funds for CSRI positions for the 2000-2001 school year in the amount of $425,353. During the 2000-2001 school year, the district will fund 9 positions. The CSRI positions will be allocated as follows: Asa Packer (Grade 1), Farmersville (Grade 1), Freemansburg (Grade 1), Lincoln (Grade 1), Miller Heights (Grade 1), Spring Garden (Grade 1), Fountain Hill (Grade 1 — 2 positions), and Governor Wolf (Grade 2).

Mrs. Williams questioned if the funds would be available for the 2001-2002 school year. Mrs. Cintron responded that the Department of Education would only give the district confirmation from year to year. However, after speaking with the representatives of the department, she felt confident that the funds would be available for approximately five years.

Mr. Glancy requested that next year the Board be given more detailed information for comparison purposes. It was agreed that this would be done.

Mrs. Kostem, along with the Board, thanked the committee for the presentation.

ACT 48 Update — This item will be discussed at the July Board Human Resources Committee meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 8:18 p.m.

Minutes prepared by: Barbara A. Clymer, Confidential Secretary to the Asst. Superintendent