HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-02-23-Harrington-minHarrington School Site Council Meeting Notes
2/23/2016
1. Organizational items
a.' The council approved December and January meeting minutes
b. All members of the council were present
c. Mai Yang was the secretary today
2. Student Survey
a. Initial Results
i. The Council reviewed the initial results this week. Need more time next meeting
for a deep dive (30 minutes).
ii. 216 students participated in the survey —very high participation rate. Kudos to
the teachers and students given the two snow days.
iii. Only gathered basic results for numeric answers this week. Haven't parsed the
open questions.
b. Initial Impression
i. Lower grade (3rd and 4th) students felt more excited and empowered to have a
chance to voice their opinions. 5th graders were more calm and deliberate.
ii. Need to find out how kids define bullying. Percentage of kids who answered
they have been bullied is high, but majority also answered they felt safe and
comfortable.
3rd graders may have contributed to the high %. They tend to believe they are
more subject to bullying - because 3rd year is a pivotal year to learn and cope
with others.
iv. Need to look into results at grade level.
3. Understanding Difference
a. What are important characteristics for an inclusive school?
i. What aspect are we talking about inclusion? Cultural, academic... What does it
mean to Harrington? Need to know what is being taught at school around this
topic to have an effective discussion.
ii. What problems are teachers seeing? Is the pattern consistent or changing over
the years? Are there other issues from office reports on students with special
needs (learning English, disability, low income) that need to be considered?
iii. Need to focus on common themes about respecting diversity of cultural /ethnic
background, learning ability, special needs, ways of thinking ... rather than focus
on special cases
iv. The teachers did some work in the summer on inclusion of students with special
needs. The students rallied around the idea of community and helping others.
Can broaden the definition of inclusion to more than academics.
v. 5th graders are more inclusive in their thinking about helping each other
vi. Personality (introvert vs. extravert) should also be considered. Introverted kids
sometimes may be seen as not engaged.
4. Community Service
a. What role do we think service projects should play in our school community?
i. Not every topic is appropriate for school kids. Example, do we want kids to learn
how to raise money, or better let kids work at local farms? They should know it
is not the finance, but the effort that matters. This group doesn't believe fund
raising is appropriate topic for the kids.
ii. The point should be on how to be responsible citizens, how to give back, how to
express appreciation for others. The service projects should be used to foster
character building and good citizenship