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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-11-15-CLARKE-minOVS MopNi O 1775 he (� 0 Qry - SD Jonas Clarke Middle School 3 a v APRIL I9' `FX1N61 17 Stedman Road •;• Lexington, Massachusetts 02421 Anna W. Monaco, Principal Office: (781) 861 -2450 Jennifer E. Turner, Assistant Principal Fax: (781)674 -2043 Jonathan R. Wettstone, Assistant Principal Jonas Clarke Middle School Site Council Meeting Thursday, November 15, 2012 3:15PM - Main Office Conference Room In Attendance: Mrs. Monaco, Principal; Suzanne Cherenson, Parent; Sandra Mayo, Parent; Elizabeth O'Neil, Parent; Jonathan Schechner, Teacher; Krystal Bavin, Teacher; Kelly Manor, Teacher; Tessa Clare, Guidance Counselor, Jonathan Wettstone, AP. Lorelle Yee, Parent. I. Minutes Minutes sent out via email. Any questions, comments, or changes? Minutes approved and accepted. II. Question or Feedback Parent - not clear about how this group will work. I see a conflict of interest. Parent - basic understand the function of the role, how the topics come up, and how to bring them up. What are the goals till the end of the school year? Principal - we began last meeting talking about our goals, including the school improvement plan, using that plan to make our decisions. The site council is an advisory council to the principal. We can talk about an issue, identify ways to improve our community, etc. Parent - there is training for us to go through, which explains the role of the council. Principal - we have brought up issues about homework, the policy, and what good homework looks like. Parent - we were really only receiving information last year. Principal - it terms of the goals - all school have the same two district -wide goals. The implementation of the goals is different for each school. Later in the year, we would take a closer look at the plan and would welcome your input. Assistant Principal - we need parent input and clarifying questions to better flesh out the specific goals and how they are being delivered. Principal - I look for ways to solicit feedback from parents, teachers and community members. Parent - How do people feel about a Survey Monkey? We had a parent that developed a parent survey. Site Council - do you know what it does? Do you know about the social and emotional programs? Counselor - we have a psychologist intern who would like to conduct such a survey. I think its' a great idea. Principal - important to identify the purpose, asking about that purpose in a number of ways. At Harrington, was it more focused on what you know or what you wanted to know? Parent - it was both - we were critical about every word, trying to keep the survey very short - five questions. Counselor - I think this would be a great idea. Parent - people really wanted web -based video presentations, ones they could watch at a later time as needed. Principal - I am currently using Present.me as a presentation tool to communicate with staff regarding specific events coming up. New trend in education, flipping the education model, having students listed to the teacher at home (lesson), and then doing the work with the teacher in class. Flipped Classroom. Parent - let the parents know who is on the council and what the goals are. Parent - shoot for February before vacation for roll -out. Put out in a newsletter, listserve, website. Parent - it would be great to have the presentation and /or information available to parents not able to attend the meeting. Counselor - the JCSA setup and managed the coffees and meetings. Principal - examined the SIP, clarifying the social emotional goal and the role of the JCSA, site council. etc. Principal - let's pull together an action plan for our next meeting. Teacher - is this a survey aimed at students or parents? Principal - does someone want to put something together for the JCSA newsletter? Please check out the site council website, making recommendations for a blurb. Parent - my son failed two math exams, but got a progressing progress report which was surprising? Is there a policy about contacting a parent? Principal - no specific policy. The student may be progressing based on homework, classroom and other informal assessments. Teacher - no policy. It is a case by case situation. Parent - texting and social media? Principal - working with guidance and district -wide staff to examine the need and modifying an existing survey to assess students. Parent - emotions and conversations escalate through texting, Google Plus, and Facebook. Parent - is there something we can do in -house to address these concerns? Counselor - yes, there is curriculum to address these issues. We are currently playing with the curriculum. I'm hoping that the presenter coming on Monday will help us to better role our Common Sense media. Parent - concussions - if you play a sport, you must be evaluated and go through an educational piece. I predict parents /students will have to go through a training on social media. Parent - I'd like to see a letter address the issues with social media. Counselor - I like - this is an issue in our community and we need to address the issue. Parent - messages come out of school, they connect in school and you are already working on the issue in school. I think a message from the principal would recognize the importance and efforts. III. MCAS Scores Discussion - will discuss at a later date IV. FY14 Budget Update Principal - In the final stages, verifying the staffing numbers, looking at our numbers for next year, etc. We are looking to add to our math intervention program, especially as our population and needs grown. In the elementary schools, they work towards getting math specialists into the classrooms, working with the kids in the classroom. We are looking to add a 6th grade math intervention specialist, who would provide a second dose of math for the identified students, as well as to go into the classroom to help students and teachers in the craft. Due to the class size, there will be a half -team in the 8th grade next year, but we have not made any decisions on staffing for that team. V. Goal 2 - Guidance Update / Timeline Discussed above.... Principal - Next meeting we will discuss more about the survey Counselor will get into touch with the psychologist intern. Parents will email back - and -forth regarding the site council blurb.