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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-01-16 School Council - Wood End Elementary Minutes - DraftTown of Reading A Meeting Minutes Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Date: 2024-01-16 _a"il"ing: School -Wood End Address: 85 Sunset Rock Lane Purpose: Regular Meeting for 2023-2024 Attendees: Members - Present: i_Lt�tvLU j i_^':Nid CLF X724 JAS 29 hN 7: 4: Time: 3:30-4:15pm Location: Virtual (Zoom) Session: Open Session Version: Draft Lindsay Baker, Kristine Crowley, Maureen Habeeb, Chris Kowaleski, Nicole Schwartz, Christine St. Hilaire, Amelia Sinha, and Lindsey Tainsh Members - Not Present: None Others Present: None Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Lindsay Baker Topics of Discussion: The second meeting of the Wood End Elementary School Council for 2022g24 school year was held via Zoom on Tuesday, January 16, 2024. 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 3:33 p.m. and proceeded with business. She noted that due to the ongoing snow storm, Maureen Habeeb would be joining the meeting shortly, once she arrived safely home. Public Comment: Lindsay Baker asked for a mid -year review from present administration and faculty of how the school year is going for students who were attending Wood End during the Covid-19 pandemic (3rd, 4th, and 5th graders). Mrs Baker shared concern for 4th and 5th graders having missed almost half of their 2020 academic year during grades when they would have been developing soft skills such as listening skills and empathy and asked for insight into whether teachers are noticing any particular academic, executive functioning, or SEL deficits as this group enters upper elementary grades with shifting demands. In response Principal Schwartz stated that she believes one of Wood End's strengths is meeting kids where they are via tiered interventions and putting customized accommodations in place to support students specific academic and social emotional needs. While many interventions are in place, these are always evolving based on students' needs. She noted that literacy and math support is strong at Wood End and shared that the field of education has evolved in recent years, preceding the pandemic, but also accelerated by the pandemic. One of the notable new approaches produced through this evolution is prioritization of students' sense of belonging. Lindsey Tainsh noted that classes are different from year to year which demands teachers to continually be learning new strategies. One of the things this year's 4th grade has needed extra support with is personal responsibility. In collaboration with the school psychologist, the faculty have implemented an organizational framework for students with three steps: get ready, do, and done. Additionally, the fourth grade team has Page 1 1 g Town of Reading Meeting Minutes noticed increased social emotional support needs. Overall, the administration and faculty could not comment on a connection to the pandemic. Christine St. Hilaire expressed thanks for improved regularity of communications from classroom teachers, noting that it greatly helps with consistent connection betwervirool and home and being able to reinforce and support weekly learning goals. Review and Acceptance of Minutes: Principal Schwartz invited council members to share any thoughts or questions about the October 2023 meeting minutes. There being no comment and a quorum present, Lindsey Tainsh made a motion to approve the minutes. Christine St. Hilaire seconded the motion and the minutes were accepted by unanimous vote. Vote: 8 - o - 0 Old Business: Undate on Early Literacy Screener: Principal Schwartz presented an update on the early literacy screener process at Wood End. DESE now requires a literacy screener for grades K - 3. Wood End is using a screener created by Amplify to meet this requirement. Students will be assessed three times a year, regardless of scores. The first screener was administered In the early Fall. An exception to this is that Kindergarten was screened slightly later to allow the children to settle Into public school routine, so their screening cycle is slightly offset. Families of any student who received scores significantly below grade level were notified of results. Reading Public Schools has established a plan for students who need support meeting grade level standards. These students follow a customized literacy plan that includes consistent progress monitoring. Wood End is actively tracking the progress of students who have demonstrated below standard literacy scores who are not already on IEPs to ensure adequate support is provided. DESE identifies Amplify's Dibels Bth Edition as an approved early literacy universal screening assessment. The Amplify screener system is dynamic, providing a trend line to show where each child should be In progress and generating tasks to work on with students depending on where they are. Christine St. Hilaire asked for further insight Into what the process looks like from the student perspective. Principal Schwartz elaborated that all screeners are administered by Stacey Forseman, Wood End's literacy specialist. Teachers do not participate in the screener. Update on School Improvement Plan Action Items: Many aspects of Wood End's district mandated school improvement plan are in process. Social Emotional Learning curriculum and accommodations, district math supports, and enhanced staff -needs -based professional development programming are action steps in progress. The school is actively pursuing its improvement plan goals. Update on Staff Professional Development Plan: Staff Professional Development Plan: Wood End has developed a professional development plan based on school and staff goals. A framework is currently in place for each scheduled professional development day (Including staff meetings), however particular topics can evolve based on what Is needed for the success of the school year. For example, Principal Schwartz shared that the professional development day that happened before the December break addressed executive functioning strategies as a need had been demonstrated through the first term. Lindsay Baker asked for clarity on the professional development opportunities available for paraprofessionals. Principal Schwartz shared that Jackie Pelusi, the new district Inclusion Specialist, has been creating professional development opportunities which all paraprofessional educators have been invited to. Wood End is also developing some internal options for building paras. Amelia Sinha shared that recently the school Speech and Language Pathologist trained Wood End paraprofessionals in using the AAC (Augmented and Alternative Communication) program on !Pads used by students who use alternative forms of communication during their school day. There was Vge 12 v & Town of 4ading AAV Meeting Minutes also an open forum Q & A with building paras during which Special Education staff answered questions and received feedback about what types of future trainings are needed. New Business: Kindergarten Information Night was held last week. Principal Schwartz recognized some current Wood End families and district -wide more t1200 people attended. Kindergarten registration night is scheduled for 1/31. In March e4eh elementary school will reach out to known families of 2024-2025 Kindergarteners with AL --plans for screening and building visits. PAW Store Onenina: The PAW store will open this week and will only accept paws as payment, which are Wood End's recognition tokens for practicing core v s. Only paws earned since the beginning of 2024 can be used in the store. It will co Izes of varying value and will be staffed by the Principal on Fridays. Lindsay Baker a store was created because students are needing more motivation to uphol es. Principal Schwartz replied that it was more a product of imagination an ate morale and help paws hold their value. One other elementary school in the di ping something similar with other schools considering it. Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Curriculum Updates: Before this school year RPS was using Open Circle as its SEL curriculum. Open Circle has gone out of business and currently all grade levels at Wood End are piloting a curriculum called Second Step this school year. Concurrently, the District Is doing a SEL deep dive to determine what SEL areas need to be targeted at each grade level (K-12). Wood End is also able to draw on building resources for meeting SEL needs. Some classes are producing "homegrown lessons" based on what teachers and specialists are noticing the whole class needs at a given time. Maureen Habeeb shared about how the Second Step pilot has been going in her second grade class. She highlighted that the curriculum has provided a framework for group lessons on how to be responsible, assertiveness, best listening practices, and positive self -talk, among others. Ms. Habeeb noted that the curriculum also provides discussion guides for talking with the students about how to implement the new skills and concepts Into their school day. Lindsay Tainsh shared that in fourth grade, the lessons have been conversation based, and the model may be more interactive in older grades. The fourth grade curriculum has focused heavily on understanding different perspectives and sharing personal stories. In general at Wood End teachers have flexibility to meet the demonstrated SEL needs In their classrooms. Principal Schwartz concluded by sharing that specialists who are in the building on Fridays (Library/Media, PE, School Psychologist, School Adjustment Counselor) join In the SEL lessons which take place 3 Fridays a month and usually on the fourth Friday All -School Meeting is held and SEL and core values reinforcement Is heavily Incorporated in the meetings. Lindsay Baker asked if the new curriculum has information sheets that are sent home to families to explain what the children learned In their SEL lessons like Open Circle did. It does not seem that it does, but classroom teachers have been noting the lessons In their weekly email newsletters to parents and guardians. Adjournment There being no further business, the School Council adjourned at 4:21 p.m. The next school council meeting is scheduled for March 19, 2024, 3:15 - 4: 15pm on Zoom. Respectfully Submitted, Lindsay Baker, Recording Secretary Page 1 3