HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-01-13 RMHS School Council MinutesReading Memorial High School
School Council Minutes
January 13th, 1997 i t. L' L~ L
READI lG, MASS.
Members Present: Mr. Orlando, Mr. Hines, Ms. Porter, Ms. McCoy, Ms. Fidele, Mr. PH 197
leharg, Mr. Capasso, Ms. Shannon, Ms. Perletz Ms. DaSilva Mr. LaabhpR 17 2 -;x ,
Recorder. Ms. McCoy
-Reviewed minutes from meeting of 12/9 - questions about money from Mr. Hal
Croft's award and McDonald's scholarship for a senior - amount?
BUDGET
-School Committee meetings - public invited - open budget meetings - Mr. Laabs
attended budget meeting on regular school day - much discussion spent on high
school - a lot of interest on what teachers are needed, why? (we need about 8.0 new
teachers for '97-'98) - also discussion about Presentations Course - questions about
clarifying it, and why we should fund it if it's not a requirement
*Mr. Orlando talked about difficulty in planning staff needs this far in advance -
course selection is not until Feb. 5th
Sped. teacher to be hired - department totally overloaded, and 15-20 more students
with I.E.P.s coming in next year, several current teachers have no free time at all to
meet with teachers, etc.
-School Committee meetings:
1/13 is on Sped. - next meeting (1/16) on maintenance/ health/ food
service/ athletics (Ms. Porter will attend)
1 / 21 general public hearing (Ms. Perletz)
1/22 joint discussion with selectmen (at Senior Center, Mr. Meharg)
-Mr. Orlando discussed class size - each period we can free one teacher helps three
oversized classes he will defend to Dr. Haruntunian any classes over the standard
size of 25 or under 15 students that need to be kept so
-$50,000 to renovate science lab for N.E.A.S.C. accredidation - discussion of impact of a
loss of accredidation on students and town - brief discussion of site and cost
possibilities of new high school - approx. 32 million to build, vs. approx. 30 million to
renovate this one - new school to be built by 2004 or 2005 in Superintendents plan -
planning landfill sale in town as help for funding - Reading's share of cost = approx. a
third of total (10 million)
-hot/cold room problem - at least cold rooms have relief for the most part, but
extreme heat is a problem now
RESTRUCTURING
schedule '97 - '98 will have directed (subject area) studies
-Staff to be added - 0.4 English to reduce class size and offer more Humanities, 0.8
1.0 science, 1.2 social studies, 1.6 Presentation Skills course (and maybe to fill in
r-_s in staffing)
-Students would have six periods scheduled and one directed study with three or four
teachers as "on-call" resources - quiet study - probably this study situation will only be
for '97-'98
-Building support How? - for budget, restructuring, etc. - surveys? - need to go to
parents also - also, support staff not surveyed last time (long block schedule) -
presentations to update parents on topics? - "Principal's Corner" in paper suggested,
gut Mr. Orlando wants to keep restructuring everyone's opinions, not just his ideas -
ggestion to go through usual channels (School Committee, P.T.O., etc.) thus
reaching many important people - League of Women Voters, "Question of Week"
feature in paper - Seniors need to be included (are least included now) - maybe cable
open meeting with call-ins CONSENSUS: We need different ways to
present/inform/get input on restructuring (and issues in general)
-Math and Science new courses being developed to offer to students who have
generally shied away from math and science
-M.E.A.P. results ours didn't compare favorably with other levels of Reading
schools - why? - possibly some things not covered in our curriculum, but that only
explains situation partially - our students not used to answering open-ended questions
(three out of four department heads said that this is a problem they have with
curriculum) - attitude students have toward test itself (not meaningful, they don't
care, teachers didn't seem to care - not all teachers were informed about it at all) - how
accurate are results when no motivation to do well? - open-ended questions (at least
one) possibly should go on every test in every course at R.M.H.S.
-February agenda will include school improvement plan and results from Mr.
Orlando's entry plan
-Next meeting Feb. 10th: Recorder - Ms. DaSilva, Snack - Ms. McCoy
(Ms. Joyce to sent copy of minutes to Mr. John Carpenter, Temp. Editor of P.T.O.
Newsletter - phone - 944-6216)