HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-05-16-CLARKE-minOVS MopNi
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Jonas Clarke Middle School
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`FxI N 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
Site Council Meeting
May 16, 2013
In Attendance: Anna Monaco, Principal; Kristen Rangel, Teacher, Kelly Manor, Teacher, Suzanne Cherenson,
Parent; Sandra Mayo, Parent; Lorelle Yee, Parent; Jonathan Schechner, Teacher, Krystal Bavin, Teacher,
Jonathan Wettstone, Assistant Principal
I. Approve Minutes
• April 2013 - no additions needed - minutes approved.
Parent Survey
• Parent - has this information been shared with the staff
o No - just got the results organized at this point.
• What percentage responded?
o N = 238, which is out of about 600?
• Teacher: Overlap in areas of strength and areas of weakness. As a team leader, I see the need to improve
communication with parents - perhaps by setting guidelines for teachers on the team.
o Parent - let the parents know the communication expectation as well.
• Intern - wanting notice of poor grades was a theme.
• Teacher - a number of parents stating not being aware of TeacherWeb. Perhaps more time should be
spent on communicating with parents about resources.
o Parent - perhaps sending out emails about the communication resources. Perhaps even quarterly.
Teacher - progress reports - was there any feedback?
• Intern - yes - did not like the code without the comment. Very hard to understand.
• Admin - some staff will send home a detailed report outlining all assignments. We went to the code
form to focus more on the student and less about the grades. Parents feel that it is not always
enough information. If a student is struggling, there needs to be more of an explanation.
• Parent - it can be a little confusing. It does well to highlight issues for those not doing well.
Admin - Conferences were a big issue. I already informed the 5th grade parents of the issue. The culture
here is a team approach - the teachers and parents want to be together.
• Parent - they need to know that they can contact the team to set up an alternate appointment. I did
have a lot of parents who feel like they would be bothering the team if they ask, but are not happy
with the short conferences.
• Admin - in the elementary, it is one teacher for 24 kids. The transition of going to only 10 minutes
with four teachers can be quite shocking.
• Parent - not being as involved in the school can also contribute. Along with the kid not talking
anymore as a teen.
Parent - high approval rating speaks volume.
Parent - high percentage of parents not being aware of the SIP, but also a high percentage of parents
interested in knowing. We could put out a little more information about the SIP
• Admin - perhaps offering a parent coffee to further share the SIP.
• Admin - we started with a blank sheet, collaborating with admin, dept. heads, parents and teachers.
I want people to know about it.
Parent - is the student version done?
• Admin - next week, and we are sending the data to a research organization as well. We'll conduct
the survey every two years. We can also conduct the parent survey next year, comparing the
results.
• Parent - will we share with the staff? Admin - yes.
Admin - Question 4 was very telling.
Parent - was there a place to put your name? No
Parent - have you heard directly from parents about the concerns?
o Admin - we have heard the concerns before - nothing shocking.
III. 2013 -2014 SIP
• Questions before we dive into the SIP?
• Parent - process?
• Admin - I have to present to the superintendent, then to the school committee on the 28th.
• Goal 1 - our teacher evaluation process is changing next year. We will all be learning next year.
• Parent - adding a glossary to help parents read and understand (cohort, PD, etc.,) Perhaps spelling
it out first, then using initials after.
• Other areas of goal 1 - Intervention /Enrichment, Technology, Common Assessments, and
continuing to build trust within the staff.
• Parent - is there a parent input in the vision? Yes - not sure if there is a formal way, but yes.
• Goal 2 - included items we slurped out of the survey.
• Parent - I saw concerns about guidance - was that a large group? No - small number.
• Parent - not sure if a staff member would be aware of a social issue? Is there a way to identify? I
was hoping that there would be language about addressing student social needs.
• Teacher - yes, teacher teams talk weekly about their student observations.
• Admin - does this need to be more explicitly stated in the SIP? Yes - clarifying that it is "for all
students."
• Parents - we as site council ambassadors can share with our parent community.
• Admin - we as a school have gotten so much better about identify and addressing the
social /emotional concerns.
• Parent - I've been hearing a decrease in substance abuse in the middle school.
• Parent - when you go to the step of communicating the SIP to the parents, I'd like to find a way to better
communicate.
o Admin - how about writing up a short article for the Newsletter? Perhaps including a summary of
your experiences on the site council and a brief description of the SIP.
IV. Questions / Concerns -
V. Next Meeting
TBD .