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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-10-21 Coolidge School Council MinutesA.W. Coolidge Middle School School Council Minutes, Tuesday, October 21, 1997b, ir 4; The meeting was called to order in the Coolidge Media Center at 7:30 pm by John Doherty. Attending: John Doherty, Diane Blume, John Carpenter, Larry Chomsky, Renee Kannapell, Mary Ann Kozlowski, Marge Pacino, Marie Pink, Roy Welsch. Minutes from the September 9, 1997 meeting were presented and accepted. The Council welcomed Mary Ann Kozlowski as the new parent member. Also, due to Renee Kannapell's anticipated maternity leave, Renee and John introduced Diane Blume as the new Faculty School Council representative. Documents Distributed: • Agenda covering October 21 and October 28 meetings. • School Council Operating Guidelines Draft (9/18/97). • Implementation of Goal 6: Evaluate Improvement Initiatives Draft (9/6/97). • "EBO for Coolidge Middle School", memo from J. Doherty to Dennis Richards, 10/13/97). • CMS FY99 Budget Proposal (10/30/97). • Reading Public Schools Technology Plan Synopsis. • Blue Ribbon School Draft for Review. Discussion Items: EBOs/Professional Development John Doherty presented the EBOs for 1997/98 for the CMS staff which were discussed by the Council. The various goals are based on School and District goals, and are in line with the "Frameworks" and the "Common Core of Learning". Along with this, we reviewed the large list of professional development activities undertaken by the staff this summer MCAS Testing John brought up the MCAS testing that will be given later in the school year to grades 4, 8, and M. In January, "bridge documents" will be available for all subjects except Social Studies. These will provide question samples. The math test is of particular interest as the type and extent of the questions is not known. It is expected that this will be a difficult test and it's evaluation is uncertain. Budget Review The Council reviewed the FY99 Budget request that John will be presenting to Dr. Harutunian. (Note: Items directly listed in the budget handout will not be described here. Much of the budget discussion centered around the academic needs at Coolidge and how they are being addressed.) John noted that it is hard to get certain categories of teachers, such as foreign language, at current salaries. The Council also briefly discussed the loss of the district technology coordinator to an outside business opportunity. New textbooks are being discussed for both Science and Math. There may be a need to complete the t Chicago Math series started in the elementary schools in the 6th grade. In Language Arts, it was mentioned that Parker students may have an advantage in Humanities at the High School. To address this, Coolidge is looking to expand the "Junior Great Books" offering. In Social Studies, there is a Superintendent's directive to be using the same text at both middle schools. Parker is currently using a 1984 series geography book, while Coolidge has a 1995 series book. However, Coolidge is considering a different text approach since geography is not treated as a separate subject within the Frameworks. but is integrated within other curriculum areas. This remains to be resolved. Part of the budget deals with new furniture requests. John indicated that even though many items would ultimately be replaced within the building program, there are certain items that require immediate replacement at this time, e.g., instrument and chemical storage safety cabinets. More items would need to be added if the building project does not happen. Coolidge is expecting a broadband MediaOne connection in January. There is still a major inequity between the 2 middle schools that needs to be addressed. The Council continued with a review of the detailed budget request. The total budget is based on $185 per student (at 449 students), totaling $83, 065. Various specific line items were discussed and questions answered by John. Many of the questions related to the itemization of various amounts over several years. This had to do more with changes in accounting practices than with substantive changes in allocations. Finally, the Council reviewed a listing of "Unfunded Proposals" that the Council has historically requested. The intent of this list is to better understand some of the opportunities that may be being missed due to insufficient funding. The largest dollar amount on this list include music instruments and equipment, additional "Alpha-Smarts" and computers, and other technology equipment. An additional area of discussion dealt with the probability that there will be only one photocopy (Xerox) machine in the building next year. The primary machine rental will total approximately $11,000. The lease on the second machine currently in use will expire and not be available for renewal at the current rate, and will be too expensive to renew. Currently usage averages approximately 100,000 copies per month and the loss of a solitary machine, even for a short time, was a concern to the Council. Mid-Quarter Reports The Mid-Quar-W. reports that were recently sent hone with the students mawy not continue in the current format. The benefit of what was originally intended to be a mid-quarter warning is being weighed against an evolution into 8 report card periods. It was felt that this would entail too much work for the benefits derived, and modifications can be expected. The next meeting will be Tuesday October 28 at 7:30 pm to continue with the present agenda, including a review of the Blue Ribbon program. Diane Blume will be the recorder. (Town Meeting is expected to be Mon. Nov. 10, Thurs. Nov. 13, and Mon. Nov. 17.) The following meeting will be Tuesday November 18 at 7:30 pm.