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Board - committee - commission - Council: PA O C 22 PM 2: 31
School Council -Walter S Parker Middle
Date: 2020-11-18 Time: 5:30 PM
Building: School - Parker Location:
Address: 45 Temple Street Session:
Purpose: Monthly Meeting Version: Final
Attendees: Members - Present:
Marianne Downing, Erin Gaffen, Richele Shankland, Christine Lusk, Andrew
Spinali, Sherilla Lestrade, Justin Raimo, Maya Liteplo, Kimberly Bernazzani,
Ann Ozanian
Members - Not Present:
Others Present:
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Richele Shankland
Topics of Discussion:
1. Review and vote on minutes from the October 7, 2020, meeting.
Christine Lusk moved to approve the October 7,2020, minutes and Marianne Downing
seconded the motion.
2. School Improvement Plan Goal Areas for this year
1. School Goal for 2020-2021:
a. Identifying practices/polices that need to be revised or removed because
these areas do not promote equity. What practices/policies promote
equity?
b. Equity surveys will be conducted with students following the Professional
Development of teachers—Focus is on increasing participant responses.
1. Equity survey was obtained from DESE but revised. Students will
complete the survey during HR/advisory via google document.
2. Results from the survey will be analyzed by the staff at a UDL
meeting.
c. Goal is to utilize the information obtained from the survey to develop a
long-term plan for the next few school years.
2. Strategic Objectives:
a. Are the goals too much to cover? Is it too difficult to cover during the
hybrid school year?
b. Is this goal for just for this year? How will remote learning relate to post-
pandemic school. The pandemic has increased staff awareness of
differences in educational equity.
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c. Break-out rooms has been great opportunity for students to communicate
their struggles to a smaller group rather than large classroom. Allows
students to help each other out.
d. Objective A & B: How to communicate the focus of curriculum to include
inclusive practices, equity, and anti-racism of lesson planning/unit
planning.
1. The remote learning has increased teacher awareness of how to
make classroom experience more equitable.
2. Identify the barriers such as access to a computer, a printer, quiet
environment, and differences in adult supervision.
3. When identifying lesson plans recognizing how to make the lesson
plans equitable for all students.
4. How does restorative practices fit into the strategic objectives?
5. Importance of recognizing the social/emotional needs of students.
I. Helping teachers identify which students are struggling and
how to approach them.
2. Include regular team meetings in the plan to communicate
the ways in which we are monitoring students.
3. Regular parent meetings to address concerns.
I. In lieu of meetings, can we develop a google
document for parents to share what has been
working and the challenges?
4. Encouraging students to reach out to teachers when they
require help.
5. Utilizing individual break-out rooms to build teacher-
student relationships.
• Strategic Initiatives: Identifying what resources students need for class. Making sure
that all students have devices. Using applications such as translating language in
order to speak with Non-English-speaking families.
e. Grade 6 curriculum math: reviewing whether diversity is present,type of
language used, etc.
f Grade 6 is connected with the elementary grades. How much voice does
middle school have with developing 6`h grade curriculum?
g. Should we include what curriculum will be covered this school year?
Identifying the curriculum priorities within and across grade levels. It is a
curriculum guide not mapping.
h. Including more information about what teachers are doing such as PD,
team meetings.
• Remote/Hybrid Learning
• Equity/Anti-Racism
o School Council Focus—Parker Handbook
• For equity and student friendly language
• To begin by reviewing the handbook and determine what should
remain. In smaller groups, review and revise sections.
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• To utilize a rubric in order to determine what needs to be included,
eliminated,and changes in wording.
• Analyzing the language(first person, pronouns).
• The attendance is missing from the handbook. How should it be
addressed and consequence in the handbook?
• Defining terms such as equity, diversity before reviewing the
handbook.
• Focus should shift from school handbook to community handbook.
• Should we include a community member as part of the student
council.
• Can we create a community handbook that applies across schools
within the district?
• However, schools vary significantly.
• Certain policies should be uniform across schools.
• Many problematic areas within the handbooks,particularly with
discipline.
3. Other
Meeting adjourned at 7:04 pm.
Respectfully submitted by, Kimberly Bemazzani
This meeting was held in Microsoft Teams
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