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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-11-03 School Council - Wood End Elementary Minutes� or Town of Reading 15 Meeting Minutes Board - Committee - Commission - Council: School Council -Wood End Elementary Date: 2014 -11 -03 Time: 3:15 -- RECEIVED OWN CLERK ,DING. MASS. 101440V 12 A021 Building: School -Wood End Location: Conference Room Address: 65 Sunset Rock Lane Purpose: Monthly Meeting for November; 2014 -2015 School Year Attendees: Members - Present: Joanne King, Keri DlNapoli, Debbie Hattery, Fred Van Magness, Lynda Michel, Alana Fustolo Members - Not Present: None Others Present: None Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Lynda Michel Topics of Discussion: The second monthly meeting of the Wood End Elementary School was held In the Library of the Wood End Elementary School on November 3, 2014. Call to order: A quorum of members being present and the meeting having been duly convened at Wood End School, the Principal, Joanne King had called the meeting to order at 3:15 and proceeded with business. Review and Acceptance of Minutes: Members reviewed draft minutes from the last meeting, which was held on October 6, 2014. Mrs. King reviewed meeting minutes and focused attention to the WASH committee. She also confirmed that both Officer Muolo and Officer Savlo were willing to come to talk with School Council about safety around Wood End. Currently, Officer Savlo is working with Mrs. King on bike safety to and from the school There being no further discussion, Mrs. Hattery moved that the minutes be accepted as drafted. Mr. Van Magness seconded the motion. The members then voted unanimously to approve the minutes. Vote: Minutes Accepted 6 -0 -0 New Business: Mrs. King introduced and welcomed new member, Alana Fustolo, to the Wood End School Council. Mrs. Fustolo is representing the WASH (Wellness, Allergies, Safety & Health) committee and will serve as a liaison to the PTO and school community. Mrs. King reviewed the process of the meeting to Mrs. Fustolo before presenting the agenda. Page I r New to the agenda was a Public Comment time, allowing anyone to bring forth comments, suggestions, or concems as all School Council meetings are open meetings. Mr. Van Magness expressed the Importance of having this on the agenda and it was decided that Mrs. King will continue to Include it on each agenda going forward. School Council members Mr. Van Magness and Mrs. Hattery wanted the minutes to reflect that no persons attended for public comment. Parent Handbook Mrs. King shared the 2014 -15 Parent Handbook has been reviewed by the school district's attorney and will be posted on Edline for easy access. School Improvement Plan 2014 -2016: Mrs. King shared and reviewed, with the members, a draft copy of the School Improvement Plan. The two draft goals consist of increasing learning capacity of all staff and Implementing MTSS (Massachusetts Tiered System Support). The School Improvement Plan was reviewed by the committee. Mrs. King began by reviewing the Reading Public Schools Strategy for Improvement of Student Outcomes revised for the 2014 -15 school year by Dr. Doherty. She noted the strategic objectives and Initiatives in four areas: • Learning and Teaching • Performance Management • Investment and Development • Resource Allocation The goals for Wood End School were derived from the District goals. Mrs. King stated that Wood End's goals are as follows: 1. Over the next two years, we will Increase the leaning capacity of all staff through the effective use of non - student time, opportunities for teachers to be trained as teacher leaders, effective development of PLC's (Professional Learning Communities), use of Professional Development Committee, quality and diversity of professional development offerings, and overall learning capacity of the Leadership Team. 2. Over the next two years, we will successfully Implement the Massachusetts Tiered System of Support as measured by a decrease In the following data points: tardiness and office discipline referrals, and achievement gap for our high needs subgroup on standardized assessments and DDMs (District Determined Measures) Key Discussions for Goal 1: After Mrs. King stated the goals for Wood End, there was much conversation about the Learning capacity of staff, in particular writing instruction. Mrs. King explained the performance targets and talked about the Home Grown Writing Institutes that Reading has offered for teachers to become trained in the Writers Workshop method of instruction. The goal Is to have all teachers trained and provide continued professional development. She mentioned part of the goal is to have 100% of students publish two books focused on different types of writing (i.e. personal narrative, informational, persuasive) by the end of the school year. Mrs. DiNapoli discussed the different writing pieces - narrative, opinion, informational - and informed the committee that each student will keep a portfolio and will choose at the end of the year which pieces they would like to have published. Student will select something that has already been brought through the writing process and is meaningful to the student. Gage 12 Mrs. Hattery expressed that in the past kids felt pressured to "Just get something published" and agreed the portfolios are a good Idea. Mr. Van Magness also expressed that it sounds like the writing instruction would provide students with the skills needed to perform better on standardized tests. Mrs. Hattery asked about teacher observations as part of the writing training. Mrs. King explained that teacher observations are expected and welcomed from teachers with in the Reading School District and within the North Andover School District. Mrs. King will be meeting with teachers, within her building, and helping each to set up observations to share and Invite teachers back to their classrooms. Mrs. DlNapoli, explained how beneficial it has been to visit other classrooms, and this practice is beginning to happen across academic disciplines. To further develop excellent writing for students, Mrs. King met with middle school ELA teachers to look at the transition from elementary school to middle school. Mrs. Hattery thought this was a great start because she felt there has been a disconnect between older students and their writing. It was noted that the district Is looking across the district at best practices and sharing between schools and grade levels. Mrs. King continued the discussion, moving to reading instruction. She Informed the committee that the reading specialist was also providing building collaboration and working with teachers K -5. Mrs. King stated that she was utilizing the Leadership Team, made up of teachers and specialists, to continue the work with MTSS and Implementing the Core Values. This Is a school -wide initiative. To date the Leadership Team has begun working with student representatives including Student Council to implement the core values and plan all- school meetings focused on our core values: Be responsible, respectful, engaged, honest and safe. Members of the Leadership Team along with other teachers have been trained to facilitate the PLCs. When facilitating the PLCs, they discuss best practices and align curriculum to the standards. Mrs. Hattery asked when they met. Mrs. King informed the committee that the PLCs meet on various Wednesdays and Thursdays each month for a total of four times a month, with the goal being to use teacher time in a more meaningful way. Mrs. DlNapoli provided an example from the writing PLC of the work they have begun. The teachers are meeting and developing a binder of low, medium and high student writing samples for each grade level for the district to use as a resource. Key Discussions for Goal 2: Mrs. King outlined the weekly Grade Level Data Team meetings which are held every Wednesday morning. Each grade level, K -5, meets once every six weeks to discuss students, curriculum and instruction. Students who may need additional support are Identified using recent data and proactive intervention plans are implemented if needed. If a student requires more support or more interventlon, then the student is referred to the SST (Support Support Team). This team meets weekly to focus on a specific student using data (i.e. DIBELS scores, Benchmark Assessments, classroom assessments), to Identify research -based tiered Interventions to improve student performance. These meetings are meant to properly Identify students who need additional support vs. typical classroom accommodations. Mrs. King also Informed the committee that we are now tracking the data and SST referrals overtime for more accurate identification. Pape 1 3 As part of teacher training and to support the effective use of professional development, Mrs. DINapoli and Ms. Jacquelyn Parker attended series of classes on Challenging Behavior In the Classroom. Mrs. Hattery was excited to hear that they will present to the PTO about what they learned and strategies that can be implemented. Mrs. DiNapoli shared with the committee how the new core values and school -wide behavior expectations are the most effective ways to see negative or unexpected behaviors in children decrease. This Is happening because students are hearing the same message from every teacher in every grade. Mrs. King informed the committee that the implementation of MTSS is still a work In progress and that the District is still consulting with W EDIKO. Mrs. King shared the new office discipline guidelines currently being developed at each school to support students. New regulations from the state focus on how much time students are spending outside of the classroom. We as a district/school need to put guidelines in place so students don't lose learning time. These guidelines will be presented to staff and the Wood End community once the Leadership Team completes Its work. Mrs. King's goal is the spring of 2015. The next strategy /action step discussed was regarding para educator training. All pars educators at Wood End participated In a formal, research -based training program to improve practice and promote student confidentiality. This program was taught by Mrs. King, who is working with all para educators at the school to Inform their practice and empower them in classrooms. Finally, the last part of the discussion addressed the Open Circle curriculum. The lessons have been aligned with the school's new core values and some additional lessons were created, using mentor texts. These lessons will assist students with developing more effective social, emotional and problem solving skills. The goal is to have 100% of all classroom teachers trained and all teachers using the Open Circle curriculum with fidelity. Mr. Van Magness expressed the School Improvement Plan was well thought -out. He expressed concern about the results of the recent TELL Mass Survey as It did not seem to be fairly reflected In the Improvements that have taken place at Wood End, specifically in regard to professional development for staff. The results were used as a baseline to develop the goals which connect teaching and learning for students, staff and the community. Mr. Van Magness felt that some of the results from TELL Mass survey were not where he wanted them to be, but the draft of the School Improvement Plan does a great job In addressing the survey. The committee agreed to add a benchmark to the School Improvement Plan and use the results of the next TELL Mass Survey, scheduled for the spring of 2016, as a measurement of growth for Wood End. Mrs. Hattery suggested that parents and the community need to be made more aware of the great things that are actually happening at Wood End. One suggestion was to host a parent workshop, separate from the PTO. Mrs. Hattery feels this will alleviate some of the miscommunication that has been going on between parents and the school. Mr. Van Magness feel parents need to see /hear about the best practices and focus on the "bigger picture" at Wood End. He expressed that he always learns something new at our School Council meetings (i.e. what happens on Wednesdays in the school and district). Page 14 The committee will create a list of ideas and possible topics to communicate and inform parents. At our next meeting, we will work to set up the format for this time for parents and host an evening workshop as early as January, 2015. There being no further discussion about the School Improvement Plan, there was a motion to approve by Mr. Van Magness. Mrs. DINapoli and Mrs. Hattery seconded the motion to approve the School Improvement Plan. The members then voted unanimously to approve the plan. Vote: School Improvement Plan 2014 -2016 Accepted 6 -0 -0 Adjournment There being no further business, the School Council adjourned at 4:17 PM with plans to meet again on Monday, December 8th. Respectfully Submitted, Lynda Michel Recording Secretary Page 1 5