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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-01-30 Coolidge School Council MinutesA. W. Coolidge Middle School. Council Minutes, January 30,1996 The meeting was called to order in the Coolidge Media Center at 7:45 p.m. by Susan Redgate. Attending: John Doherty, John Carpenter, Peter Hichborn, Marge Pacino, Susan Redgate, and Roy Welsch. Absent was Larry Chomsky. The minutes from the meeting of December 12, 1995 were approved as submitted. Documents Distributed: Transition Plan (fifth to sixth grade) Minutes of the Building Subcommittee' Technology Report to the Superintendent Discussion: Joint School Council Meetings John Doherty and Susan Redgate (who attended as chair of the Coolidge School Council for the month of January) discussed what had happened at the January 25th Joint School Council Meeting. The Chairman of Town Finance Committee was there and said that the Finance Committee was working to improve communication with the School Councils. There was also relatively good budget news since the deficit for the next fiscal year was below $400,000. However, a meeting of various town boards had been held and a resolution of the deficit had not been reached. (Another such meeting will be held on February 10 at the Senior Center:) It also appears that the $500,000 proposed for school technology enhancement will be a part of the capital budget. (This will provide $75,000 to each elementary school, $150,000 to the high school,.and $50,000 for both middle schools.) The rest of the January 25 meeting concerned how to reach the 70% of the town that is not associated with the schools. It was decided that a district-wide school newspaper would be published with each school level having several pages. A meeting of the Joint School Council to work on the newspaper will be held on February 13 at 5:30 pm. Roy Welsch would normally attend as current chair. However, he could not be there until after the beginning of the meeting. He agreed to call Larry Chomsky to see if he could attend. Another meeting of the Joint School Council will beheld on February 29 and John Carpenter will attend. Building Committee John Carpenter reported on the progress of the School Building Committee. A detailed set of minutes was handed out at the meeting. Critical issues included capacity, constraints, and functionality. The next meeting is on January 31 with Dr. Delaney, principal of Parker, to discuss how Parker developed plans for the new school. John Doherty will be meeting with members of the Town Capital Outlay Committee on February 1 to further explain the needs at Coolidge and plans for the $250,000 currently scheduled for Coolidge in the capital outlay budget for FY98. John Doherty emphasized that Coolidge will not be able to compete programmatically with Parker when the reconstruction is finished there. Transition John Doherty reported on a series of actions to improve the transition from the elementary to the middle schools in Reading. These grew out of concerns that some students were not able to handle the expectations (homework, philosophy) of the middle schools or adjust to having a team of teachers rather than a single teacher. Parents also had some trouble understanding the middle school structure and helping their children with the transition. In addition, there appeared to be better communication needed between teachers in the fifth grade and sixth grade. A detailed report was handed out on the new transition process. Technology Dr. Harutunian asked each school to develop a technology plan and inventory that addresses the issues of training, technology coordinator, possible expenditures, and cost-related savings. This is in anticipation of the $500,000 in capital funds and the addition of $50,000 to the school system budget for a technology coordinator. The Coolidge plan was distributed at the meeting and briefly discussed. It was noted that maintenance is becoming an increasing problem and cost as the number of purchased and donated machines increases. Leasing was mentioned as a possibility but requires contracts that are longer than the town usually allows. Other suggestions included using vocational school students to help with repairs and maintenance. Everyone agreed that the computers are depreciating and funds are needed each year to replace and upgrade them. This should become a part of the regular school budget. Dr. Harutunian will be at the Coolidge PTO meeting on February 5 to discuss technology. Future Meetings The next few meetings of the School Council will be devoted to reviewing and updating the Coolidge School Improvement Plan. One new area to be added to the plan will concern the renewal and expansion of the physical plant to provide programmatic equivalence to the new Parker Middle School. Also there is a need to address the implementation of the new curriculum frameworks that are being created by the state. Meeting adjourned at 9:40 p.m. Next Council meetin s: Tuesday, February 13th at 7:30 pm Tuesday, March 19th at 7:30 pm.