Webster BOE highlights integrated co‑teaching, literacy training and facility use; appoints temporary member

The Webster Central School District Board of Education on Jan. 14 appointed a temporary board member to fill a vacancy through the district’s May 20 budget vote and heard presentations on the district’s integrated co‑teaching program, elementary literacy trainer preparations and facility‑use trends before approving several routine financial and operational measures.

Board members said the temporary appointment is intended to preserve a four‑member quorum during the busy budget season. Board member Carol Chapman moved to approve the resolution to appoint the temporary member; Michelle (last name not specified in transcript) seconded the motion and the board voted in favor.

The meeting’s core instructional discussion centered on integrated co‑teaching (ICT), a model the district’s student services leaders described as an inclusive classroom partnership between general education and special education staff. Marjorie Marble, director of student services (elementary), told the board that “Integrated co teaching really marries together general education and special education,” and that ICT in Webster is run as a shared‑responsibility model, not as separate “my students/your students” groupings. Dan Sepka, director of student services (secondary), summarized the approach as “all about shared responsibility,” and noted that state special education regulations set a maximum of 12 students with disabilities in a co‑teaching classroom; Webster’s internal target is about eight students with disabilities per ICT section.

Presenters described several high‑yield co‑teaching configurations used in the district — station teaching, parallel teaching and alternative teaching — and said teams form instructional groups using assessment data. Marble and Sepka described district professional development supports: two summer training days for each ICT team (one direct instruction day and one collaborative planning day) and release time during the school year for planning.

Kate Heslam, principal of Schlegel Road and OWL elementary, updated the board on LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) capacity building. Heslam said the district has trained an in‑house cohort of LETRS “turnkey” trainers — teachers, literacy specialists and specialists across departments — who have completed online modules and testing and are “certified now to be trainers for LETRS.” She said probationary hires will begin volume‑1 LETRS training this spring using those in‑district trainers.

Jane Lasky, director of facility usage, reported district facility usage data from the Master Library scheduling system. Lasky said the district recorded 15,431 room uses between July 1 and Dec. 31 and nearly 4,000 monthly requests in the snapshot month; she also noted a rise in weekend and after‑hours use and reported 37 food trucks were on campus between mid‑August and the end of October. Lasky emphasized the scheduling system’s cross‑district value for custodial, buildings & grounds and security staff.

Student liaisons and building principals delivered brief campus news items — including arts and athletics highlights, upcoming events and volunteer recognition — that the board listed under its instruction report.

Votes at a glance: the board approved multiple routine and contract items during the meeting, including the October 2024 treasurer’s report and quarterly revenue/expenditure report; a BOCES operations/technology consortium resolution (citing Ed Law 2‑d data/privacy requirements); an updated JPMorgan tax certiorari resolution correcting a tax year reference; extra‑class audits; the federal single audit; a multi‑year BOCES technology lease covering 7,350 Chromebooks and 1,470 iPads with associated infrastructure and support; and a settlement agreement to resolve a CVA case. Motions to approve the instruction report and the consent agenda also passed. Most motions were moved and seconded from the board; votes were taken by voice (“Aye”) as recorded in the transcript. One abstention was recorded on the CVA settlement vote (the transcript did not identify the abstaining member).

The board’s presentations emphasized inclusion and building internal capacity: the ICT leaders framed co‑teaching as a model that allows students with disabilities to access grade‑level standards alongside peers, while the LETRS initiative is presented as a district strategy to scale teacher training and maintain continuity as hires change. Administrators noted that scheduling and maintaining ICT pairs is logistically complex, particularly at the secondary level where course requests drive class generation.

The meeting concluded after approval of the consent agenda and several required motions; no public speakers were scheduled for this session.