HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-10-01 School Council - Wood End Elementary Minutes Town of Reading _
Meeting Minutes r vii u
R C l A.
Board - Committee - Commission - Council: 2111 OCT 15 AM 10: 27
School Council -Wood End Elementary
Date: 10-1-2018 Time: 3:15 PM
Building: School - Wood End Location: Conference Room
Address: 85 Sunset Rock Lane
Purpose: Monthly Meeting for 2018-19 Year Session: General Session
Attendees: Members - Present:
Ellen Commito, Joanne King, Tara Lewis, Michelle Mini, Casey Moulton &
Jane Roberts
Members - Not Present:
Jessica Hester
Others Present:
None
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Joanne King
Topics of Discussion:
The first monthly meeting of the Wood End Elementary School Council was held in the
Conference Room of the Wood End Elementary School on October 1, 2018.
Call to order:
A quorum of members being present, and the meeting having been duly convened at Wood
End School by the Principal, Joanne King called the meeting to order at 3:15 p.m. and
proceeded with business.
Dr. King welcomed the new committee members and reviewed the Open Meeting Law
materials and Conflict of Interest information. All members provided signed certificates
which will be forwarded to Town Hall.
Tara Lewis was elected to serve as Co-Chair for this year, and Michelle Mini was elected to
serve as Secretary to record the minutes. Dr. King agreed to take the minutes for this
meeting and will provide Mrs. Mini with a laptop for future meetings.
Public Comment:
Tara Lewis expressed concerns about the parking along Fox Run and Emerson streets with
parents parking along both sides of the road. Town signage allows parking on only on side
of the street. This has become a safety hazard during drop-off and pick-up times with the
significant increase in traffic and the inability to see children between cars. In addition, cars
are parking in front of driveways and blocking the residents while also idling for extended
periods of time. Dr. King will notify Officer Mike Scouter, Reading Police Traffic & Safety
Officer to investigate the parking concerns.
Review and Acceptance of Minutes:
There were no minutes to review at this meeting.
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New Business:
FY20 Budget Update:
The budget season will soon begin with plans to establish the FY20 budget. Information will
be sent out in the Principal's weekly news blog to solicit parent volunteers to serve as
budget parents, representing Wood End, in the coming months.
It was also noted that the teachers are currently working without a contract, and
negotiations will continue through a mediation process this fall.
Class Size Update:
Wood End's current enrollment consists of 305 students in grades K-5. Class sizes consist of
22-23 students in full-day K, 8 students in half-day K, 21 students in Grade 1, 25 students
in Grade 2, 25 students in Grade 3, 22 students in Grade 4, and 22 students in Grade S.
School Improvement Plan:
All members of the committee received a copy of the 2017-18 School Improvement Plan
(revised 6.3.18) for review and information. All components of this plan were implemented
or completed with some follow-up needed, specifically relating to MCAS scores. Last year's
plan focused on two specific goals:
Goal 1: To focus our energy and effort in Identifying and implementing evidenced based instructional
practices and interventions which will close the achievement aao with our students our students in the high
needs group(i.e.special education,English Language Learners,economic-dimdvantage).
Goal 2:To Improve literacy Instruction for all students by providing teachers with time and training,timely
supervision and coaching,evidenced based Tier 2 student Interventions,grade level progressions,clear
expectations and pacing chart.
Both goals focused on teaching all students and identifying gaps in learning and academic
achievement for our high needs students, as measured by the following benchmark:
Benchmark:There will be a decrease in in the achievement gap between the general population of
students and the high needs group on state and local assessments. Use MCAS, F&P, common writing
assessments to ldertify gaps: Principal will continue to focus on specific areas during observations(i.e.
teacher talk, collaboration between students, use of support personnel(_
MCAS Spring 2018 Results:
Staff will be reviewing the recent MCAS results to identify areas for improvement. An initial
review of Wood End's results shows significant strength in Grade 3 Math in the areas of
geometry and operations & algebraic thinking with weaknesses noted in measurement and
data (analog clocks) and number and operations (fractions plotted on a number line). Grade
3 ELA showed weaknesses in reading (using information from an article to demonstrate
understanding). Results showed significant strength in Grade 4 Math for measurement and
data (angles) and number and operations (shading fractions) with weaknesses noted in
comparing fractions and lines of symmetry. Grade 4 ELA results showed significant strength,
compared to both district and state results, on integration of knowledge and ideas with
some weakness noted in identifying parts of speech. Grade 5 Math results showed
significant strength on many standards compared to both the state and district with some
variability on measurement and data (converting like measurements using Metric system).
Grade 5 ELA results showed significant strengths on several reading standards, notably
supporting details, comparison of characters from multiple texts, and analysis of texts.
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PRIDE Survey Results;
Teachers and parents took part in an online survey in May-June 2018. The purpose of the
survey was to evaluate the current school climate and each school in Reading took part in
this process. Dr. King reviewed the results of both the teacher and parent responses. A total
of 11 teachers and 43 parents responded to the survey. The results need to be considered
although the response rate was considered low (33% of teachers and 15% of families).
Indicators ranged from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (4).
Parent responses focused on "School Engagement" and showed positive results ranging
from a low of 2.8 (The principal(s) includes me in decisions about my child's education) to a
high of 3.8 (I attend parent/teacher conferences when requested) with an average score of
3.3.
Teacher responses focused on Career Intentions, School Leadership, Shared Decision
Making, Students and Learning, Teaching Experience, and School Climate. All areas showed
significantly positive results ranging from a low of 3.0 (Decision making about school
management; Classroom support for special needs) to a high of 3.9 (School Safety) with
four exceptions: Decision-Making about School Planning (1.9), Decision-Making about
Instruction Planning (2.4), Teacher Stress and Burnout (2.6), and Teacher Compensation
(2.8). Dr. King would like to know more about the teachers' concerns around "shared
decision making" and will be meeting with staff to gather more feedback. Council members
suggested a brief survey to gather this information. Dr. King will send a draft to Council
members for their review and suggestions.
Adjournment
There being no further business, the School Council adjourned at 4:25 p.m. with plans to
reconvene on November 5, 2018.
Respectfully Submitted,
Joanne King,
Recording Secretary
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