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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-01-17 School Council - Wood End Elementary Minutes - Draft*io-imittee- Town of Reading ' .ECkLV,€pMeeting Minutes N CLERK Commission - Council: MA A. U23 JAN �a Date: 2023-01-17 Time: 3:15-4:15pm Building: School -Wood End Location: Virtual (Zoom) Address: 85 Sunset Rock Lane Session: Open Session Purpose: Regular Meeting for 2022-2023 Version: Draft Attendees: Members - Present: Lindsay Baker, Mia Gaska, Maureen Habeeb, Caitlin Koehler, Nicole Schwartz, Kevin Sexton, Christine St. Hilaire, and Lindsey Tainsh Members - Not Present: Others Present: Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Lindsay Baker Topics of Discussion: The second meeting of the Wood End Elementary School Council for 2022-23 school year was held via Zoom on January 17, 2023. Call to Order: A quorum of members being present, and the meeting having been duly convened for Wood End Elementary School by Principal, Nicole Schwartz called the meeting to order at 3:17 p.m. and proceeded with business. Public Comment: Lindsay Baker shared that it has been noticeably beneficial for her third grader to be a part of a smaller class with lower student: teacher ratio and thanked the teachers and administrative energy Involved In making that accommodation possible to help with post -pandemic needs identified in this highly impacted group. Christine St. Hilaire asked what is projected to happen with dass distribution across the upper grades at Wood End going forward given the disparity of class sizes in rising grades. Principal Schwartz answered that this work is ongoing however, the projection is that the current third grade class which has been divided into three cohorts will shift down to two for their fourth grade year. Lindsay Baker asked if the Teaching Fellow Dr. King had mentioned would offset the student:teacher ratio for the current fourth grade class was realized this year. Principal Schwartz shared that Wood End did not end up getting assigned a fellow as the number of qualified candidates did not meet the demand for fellows. Instead, fourth grade received a dedicated full-time paraprofessional. Principal Schwartz has submitted the paperwork to apply for a fellow for the 2023-2024 school year at the earliest possible application date so we are hopeful that Wood End will be assigned a fellow for next year, but there are other schools participating in the program. Page 1 1 a�f Town of Reading Meeting Minutes Caitlin Koehler asked for further information on the c1J*�t 's philosophy on spelling instruction. Second grade teacher Maureen Habeeb Wired that studies have shown that memorizing spelling patterns and words for a test d i sn't help students to become a great speller. Therefore in K-2 more focus Is placed on why things are spelled the way they are. This is a primary theory behind the FUNdations curriculum the district uses, which teaches phonetic strategies rather than memorization. Fourth grade teacher Lindsey Tainsh added that in upper elementary they are seeing that students have the foundational skills which they are taught in k-2, but they are not always choosing to use them. Review and Acceptance of Minutes: Members reviewed draft minutes from the October 25, 2022 meeting. There were no corrections or additions. Vote: Minutes Accepted 8-0-0 Old Business: School Improvement Plan Follow-up and Feedback: The School Improvement Plan is actively being Implemented. Council members had the opportunity to ask questions or provide feedback. Principal Schwartz clarified that Wood End's School Improvement Plan shares commonalities with other district elementary schools but each school has customized their plan to their specific objectives and programs. Sense of Belonaino Surveys: Parallel to the School Improvement Plan, the Sense of Belonging surveys were completed by the students since the Council's last meeting. The parent members of the council learned that the Connectedness Survey is conducted In the classroom In grades K-5. The Panorama Survey is a virtual survey that consists of a bank of 5 questions completed on computers by grade 3-5 students. This was the first year Reading Public Schools (RPS) participated in the Panorama survey, however it is conducted in other districts annually and RPS may elect to repeat participation. Council teachers shared that the Connectedness Survey has been conducted annually for the past approximately 7 years and was started as part of a mentorship program In the building. One of Its primary products is helping to identify who needs support and mentorship. There was a request to include survey data Insights in the next School Council meeting agenda. Safety Around Arrival and Dismissal: As an update to the topic raised in public comment at the previous School Council meeting, Principal Schwartz shared that after consulting with the district's Elementary SRO, he doesn't believe there is a better way to navigate dismissal and arrival traffic and safety -wise at Wood End. He will assess the end of day traffic situation again if Wood End gets significant snowbanks affecting visibility. BOKS Program + SNL (after school urooram): SNL (Saturday Night Lights) has come to all RPS elementary schools with after-school enrichment in the period between the holiday break and February break. They went above and beyond to Include all students regardless of abilities and make the programming accessible to all who wished to participate. Carl McFadden of SNL noted the welcoming culture at Wood End. Caitlin Koehler spoke with Kelly Mahoney about her experience bringing the BOKS program to Wood End as a before school movement program. The program requires two people to run it by following a curriculum BOKS (program of Reebok) provides. There was a small fee charged to participating families. Principal Schwartz shared that Wood End's PE teacher, Chris Bauer, has begun to pilot a morning corn hole program inspired by a similar program started at Birch Meadow. It is currently only open to morning Extended Day Program students. However, the longterm Page 1 2 5� P y Town of Reading Meeting 4ilnutes �,,, goal is to make it accessible to everyone who wants P*jcipate before school. This could serve as a morning movement break in lieu of BOK Christine St. Hilaire raised concern about the ongoing need for extended day expansion to meet communimand and to take pressure off of working families who remain on the waitlist with no other viable options for after school child care. Administration and staff noted that staffing and space are currently restricting the extended day program from meeting the community demand. A council brainstorm asked if SNL could provide more after school extracurricular throughout the year; noted that parents and teachers have run after school activities In the past as part of "After-School Fun"; Would Sports Zone 101 or the Reading Recreation Department be able to set up programming at the school if space is available? Lindsay Baker will reach out to Reading Recreation to see if they would run a program at Wood End after school. '1 School Assemblies/Whole School Sense of Belonging Work: Sense of belonging is the primary theme this year during all school meetings. Most recently all grades read the picture book Big Al which has a strong theme of inclusion. Big questions asked across grade levels include: "What is a community?" And "how do we help others feel accepted?" Central themes are sense of belonging and the Wood End core values responsible, respectful, engaged, honest, and safe. All classes recently participated In the Tree of Peace project as part of the town's commemoration of MILK jr., which prompted them to think about how they show kindness to others or how they have done so in the past. Maureen Habeeb noted that Book Buddies has also become a much loved school-wide program that provides a way for younger and older students to meet and foster mentor/mentee relationships. This is a practical exercise in sense of belonging and community building, allowing students to share and develop pride in their work, and help each other internalize their core values through growing confidence in literacy. New Business: Kindergarten Information and Reolstration Niahts: On January 4th, RPS Elementary Principals hosted a Kindergarten Information Night. In a change from past practices, at the end of the month on 1/31 they will hold a Kindergarten Registration Night so that parents can have the reassurance of an in-person process and administration can verify real-time that all needed documents are In-hand. More information will be disseminated In March for the process of coming into individual schools. Safety Officer Pilot Program Undate: The Safety Officer Program pilot has been implemented. Fifth grade students were trained and have quickly gotten to work assisting younger students in safely departing the campus after school, particularly helping with end-of-day organization and placard pick-up. The students will be reviewing together how the available assignments have worked. Staff have noticed that it has been beneficial for the students to take responsibility and embrace the leadership roles. Both younger and older students are experiencing the benefit of building community/sense of belonging through the Safety Officer Program. Elementary Budget Implications 2023-2023: The current budget book shared at the most recent Reading School Committee meeting (totals are suggested and not yet final) revealed many positive implications for RPS Elementary Schools. The School Committee and RPS Intend to continue to reduce full-day kindergarten tuition across the district, all elementary schools are slated to get full-time assistant principals, K-8 math coaches will be hired to support implementation of new math curricula and professional development In math, Additional MILL (multi-lingual learner) teacher positions will be funded to meet increased need in the district, school adjustment counselors added this school year will be maintained with the addition of additional staff in the secondary schools, and the Team Chair for Special Education Programming position will continue to be funded as a full-time position. Page 1 3 �.� 3' Town of Reading Meeting Minutes AdjournmNnofu There beiner business, the School Council adjourned at 4:18 p.m. The next meeting will be held at 3:15 on April 11, 2023. Respectfully Submitted, Lindsay Baker, Recording Secretary Page 14