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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