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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-09-10 Coolidge School Council MinutesA. W. Coofidge Middle Schoof Councif Minutes, September 10, 1996 The meeting was called to order in the Coolidge Media Center at 7:30 PM by John Doherty. Attending: John Doherty, John Carpenter, Larry Chomsky, Marie Pink, Rene Sbaschnig, Marge Pacino, and Roy Welsch. As the June meeting of the Council was a dinner meeting without an agenda, no minutes were presented. Documents Distributed: • Coolidge School Improvement Plan for 1996 • Goals and Objectives (E.B.O.)for 1996-97 School Year, J. Doherty • Minutes of Middle School Restructuring Committee from July I Vh and August 7th • Inclusion Profile - CMS 1996 • CMS Council "Notes toward a Set of Operating Guidelines," - draft • Additional materials for the Life Skills Program • Mass. Division of Occupational Hygiene report re: ceiling tiles (June 96) • Mass. Curriculum Framework: Common Chapters (January 1996) • Mass. Curriculum Framework: Mathematics (January 1996) • Mass. Curriculum Framework: Science and Technology (January 1996) • School Council Budget Request Sheet Discussion Items New Members Marie Pink and Rene Sbaschnig were introduced as the new faculty representatives to the Council. Discussion of faculty terms included agreement that a two-year minimum was important for continuity and learning curve, and three years is preferred. Principal's Status Report This begins Mr. Doherty's second year as Coolidge principal. The faculty includes eight new staff, which contributes to a 45% turnover in the past two years. He sees this change as producing a constructive mix of younc%x and veteran teachers. Building changes this summer included painting of all classrooms, restoration of the library/media center to its original size, the new stage extension, and improvements the front hall. Ceiling tiles will be installed on each of seven weekends. The room in the Cafeteria that was a maintenance workroom and then a resource room is now the much-needed conference room. Mr. Doherty described the measures taken to ensure good air quality in the classrooms, including specification of formaldehyde-free tile materials. The report from the Division of Occupational Hygiene regarding tile specs and air quality was distributed. In addition, the air ventilation system will use different air filters, which will be replaced three times a year. A. W. Coolidge Middfe Sehoof Couneit Minutes, September 10, 1996 Of Coolidge's $25,000 in technology money, $20K was spent to purchase 3 Macs, 2 PCs, upgrade of the Media Center's computers, TV/VCR converters, "Alpha Smart" palmtop computers, gradebook software, and data acquisition probes for the science program. Each department now has at least one PC. Operating Guidelines John Carpenter presented the draft of the operating guidelines, which he had agreed last June to write. Requested revisions included designation of the second Tuesday of each month as the preferred meeting day, adjustments to the way members are selected, minimum 2-year first term, mention of the newsletter article as a responsibility of the meeting's secretary, and changing the cycle for the School Improvement Plan to start in Winter. These changes will be reflected in a revised version, to be distributed at the next Council meeting. School Improvement Plan Goal #l, Facilities: Mr. Doherty will meet with the townwide building committee, Coolidge building committee, Fincom, and school committee representatives to determine the next step. He has been assured that improvements to Coolidge will receive prompt attention. The feasibility study request will be presented at Spring Town Meeting. Goal #2, Diversity: Mr. Doherty distributed and reviewed this year's Inclusion Plan. Limitless Learning training will take place for the second half of the faculty and new teachers during the October early release day. Teams are starting to work. Science reports are being graded with rubrics. The effect of this initiative has been to widen the variety of learning experiences available to Coolidge students. The second half of the staff will be trained in the Understanding Handicaps ` program. Goal #3, Technology: The staff is going after a State technology grant of $30 per student ($120,000 for Reading). The $30K for Coolidge will add one computer per room. Now that teachers are using the computers for instruction and administrative work, it's frustrating to have rooms without computers. The next level of benefit [of having improved the level of technology at Coolidge] is an increase in types of instruction available to students, and innovative teaching methods. Coolidge is getting a T-1 [very high-capacity] data line to connect the library with Noble and the Internet. The Coolidge share of the technology money will be used for grading software, HyperStudio, MS Word and Works, graphing calculators, CDs, and data probes. Teachers will have the opportunity to set aside a payroll deduction to purchase discounted computers for home use. There will be seven early relea,c days this year. Half of this time will be used for technology education. Goal 94: Professional Development: Teachers are writing this year's EBOs. Teachers are coming to Mr. Doherty with written goals, and then they work out the development plan [to achieve those goals] together. EBOs are due mid-October. Cindy Conti will present a workshop later this year. Other in-service training opportunities will come from a U Mass Lowell program. Mr. Doherty distributed and discussed his own goals for the year as Coolidge Principal. Goal #5, Restructuring: Minutes of two middle school restructuring workshops (this summer) were distributed. The results will be presented to the faculty for reaction. The final report will be available by the next Council meeting. Goal #6, Effectiveness: Some discussion about the Council's monitoring role. Page 2 A, W. Coolidge iVliddde School Council Vi ft tes, September 10, 1996 The values program is ongoing, with new materials being used for the Politeness theme. Additional themes (for future years) were suggested, such as the value of learning and - participative citizenship. The suggestion was made that the theme should change every year, so that a three-year cycle would improve the materials (presentation effectiveness), but would reach a new set of students on each cycle. Budget Mr. Doherty distributed budget worksheets. The school's per-pupil materials budget will probably increase from the current $157.22 to about $165.00. This is compared to a State standard of $400 per pupil. New textbooks are in the central office budget. The emphasis this year is on improving math and science materials. Mr. Doherty requested feedback, using the budget sheets, from Council members by next meeting. Life Skills Curriculum Mr. Doherty distributed this summer's additions to the Life Skills materials. Air Quality Mr. Doherty distributed the report from the Mass. Division of Occupational Hygiene. The new ceiling tiles will be formaldehyde-free, and will meet a higher (and more expensive) specification than the school had used before. Air quality will continue to be monitored. Curriculum The State curriculum frameworks for science and math, and the "common chapters" were distributed. These are the final versions. Other subjects will be coming out soon. Principal's Goals Mr. Doherty presented and discussed his goals for the year. The goals address the following categories: 1. Curriculum and instruction 2. Transition (5-6 and 8-9) 3. Building and facilities 4. Support and promote the School Improvement Plan Next Council Meetings The r:-~xt meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 8h , 7:30 PT Y in the Media Center. The November meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 190'. The meeting was adjourned at 9:15. Respectfully submitted, John E. Carpenter Scribe du Jour Page 3 Coolidge Middle School Council Operating Guidelines September 10, 1996 Revised September 18, 1996 Meetings The meetings of the CMSC are public, and community input is encouraged. Notice and scheduling of meetings will comply with the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law. Generally, Council meetings will be held the second Tuesday of the month. Other meetings may be scheduled as needed. Membership The CMSC is composed of the CMS Principal, two CMS faculty, three parents, and at least one community member. Selection of Members The Principal's participation is mandated by the Massachusetts Education Reform Act. The Principal shall appoint the Community members. The Coolidge Faculty shall elect the Faculty Members. Parent members shall be nominated and elected through a process operated by the CMS Parent-Teacher Organization. Term of Service Members are selected for one-year terms. For continuity, it is hoped that each member will serve a two-year initial term, with the possibility of re-election for additional one-year terms. Elected parent members should serve no more than three consecutive terms, concurrent with the tenure of their children in Coolidge. - Leadership Meetings shall be chaired by each member (except the Principal) in rotation, in alphabetical order. The member who is in order to chair the following meeting acts as recording secretary for the current meeting. The recording secretary consolidates notes into minutes, and submits for distribution, the minutes along with an agenda for the meeting he/she will chair. The recording secretary is also responsible for submitting a summary of the meeting for inclusion in the Coolidge newsletter. Function As described in the Massachusetts Education Reform Act, the CMSC provides policy and priority guidance to the Pr'licipal and staff regarding the goals, improvement, investmeat, and operations of the Coolidge Middle School. Business Cycle The CMSC addresses issues as needed, but follows the following general annual cycle: • Early Fall: hearing of reports of progress, reviewing of results of the previous year, to determine the success of previous initiatives and the needs and priorities for the current year. • Late Fall/Winter: Consultation on the CMS budget, and identification of other resources to meet the identified needs. • Winter/Spring: Review and revise the CMS School Improvement Plan. Prepare Plan and progress report for the School Committee. Page 1