HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-03-07-CLARKE-minPUBLIC MEETING NOTICE
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Jonas Clarke Middle School
School Site Council Meeting
March 7,2023
7:00-8:00 AM
Main Office Conference Room,Jonas Clarke Middle School
17 Stedman Road Lexington,MA 02421
Agenda
Members present:Dane Despres,Meghan Olsson,Jon Roy,Mary Barry-Ng,
I.Call to Order,Welcome,&Public Comment
a.Review and Approve Last Meeting’s Minutes
i.approval of last meetings minutes
b.Public Comment -none
II.Parent,Staff,and Admin Check-Ins
a.Parents:
i.Parent shared that school lunch is getting worse and worse.
Students are not getting enough (amount wise)and the taste is
not good.
1.Some parents shared that the school milk is out of
date/expired
2.Other parents shared that they are very hungry when
they get home.
ii.Principal shared that students are usually leaving fruit/veggie on
the “extras”table.
1.Parent asked about what the staff eats from the cafeteria.
2.Principal shared that he has had salad and sandwiches
from the cafeteria.They are a great quality and
consistently ordered.
3.Principal shared that since the pandemic,students have
had a more difficult time picking up after themselves,
even with multiple adults (administrators)asking them.
b.Staff:
i.Staff being compensated for covering classes seems to be
working well.It is great to see when you have to call at the last
minute that there is coverage.
ii.Principal shared yes,the day before vacation we had a number
of staff out and all positions/blocks were covered.
iii.Some staff are so excited to see the staff in a different vantage
point (a class that they don’t regularly teach).
iv.Parents were signing up to sub last year.This is still occurring
at the high school.
v.Negotiations are continuing.What Dr.Hackett shares in her
newsletter is the most up to date information.
c.Admin:
i.Ski Trip reflection.A good time to take note and remind
parents/guardians and students about a few regular
occurrences they may not be used to.
1.waiting on the bus for chaperones to get things ready
2.expectation for devices (e.g.airdrop is turned off)
3.reminding students they are responsible for their items
being removed from and returned to the bus
ii.Dr.Hackett’s reminder in her newsletter to “reset”-and
the need to prioritize rather than continue to add to our plates.
III.Reviewing Clarke’s Progress on the ‘22-’24 Innovation Plan
i.Comments/Discussion regarding the innovation plan.
a.Standards Based Grading -surveys for parents and staff are ready to
go out.Additionally,we are getting feedback from 9th grade teachers
and students about SBG and their transition this year.We know going
from SBG to traditional grading is a tricky transition for some students
and we are trying to work on this.
b.Also have a committee meeting to look at a digital SBG system that will
make it easier for staff to input SBG and students/parents to
understand the SBG better.
c.Parent question -Is the survey based on pilot or is SBG set and we
just need to figure out how we can improve the system.
d.Principal -this is not about if we continue or not.SBG will continue,
but we need to improve the system for all stakeholders.Additionally,
we want to know how to communicate more effectively.
e.Principal -we are also focused on students using more appropriate
language with DEI.Next year the district will take the initiative to
ensure all students will have 4 lessons of DEI.We need students to
understand that what they see/hear on social media is not the norm.
f.Parent -reminder that parents should also be involved in the DEI
training.It is important for students to hear the same language in
school and at home.
g.Principal -Agree.This is why we have selected to go with a program
that the Boston public schools have developed.There are videos and
key talking points for parents/guardians to preview.
h.Teacher -suggest that we encourage parents and their children to view
the video together or come to school and participate in the learning
together.
i.Parent’s Academy is being held this weekend at the Lexington
Community Center.Concern about the increased use of social media
and technology.
j.Teacher -concern over AI (Chat GPT)and students accessing specific
sites to complete assignments.Completing most of this work in class
is helpful.
k.Parent -with AI it is actually generating content for you.So identifying
plagiarism is more difficult.When you don’t know the student’s voice,
this is difficult.
l.Principal -this is why providing authentic learning experiences in the
classroom is so important.
m.Parent -it is important to educate the student about what the
consequence is for students who do plagiarism.
n.Principal -yes,we do that education during an after school detention
and then redoing the essay.
o.Parent -Another area that seems to be high priority.Restorative
Justice program and discovering other ways to deal with student
behaviors that are more productive.
p.Principal -update on the new law with respect to out of school
suspension.Can’t suspend unless it has met three specific criteria.
This has not really changed our ways here at Clarke.We had this
mindset prior to the new law.We want students in school.
q.Teacher -some teachers do part of the restorative justice circles in
their classrooms.Some teachers have visited other classrooms to
participate and learn about these circles.
r.Principal -we had a second round of teachers participate in the
training earlier this year.
s.Teacher -the circles are great -but we need to be aware of over-using
this practice.
t.Principal -at some point next year we will need to start coordinating
that.By that time,we will have enough teachers trained that we will
need to be careful about the overuse of this strategy on a regular
basis.
u.Parent question about tests to “level up”at LHS.World Language and
Math both have tests that students can take to see if they can level up.
d.Link to Innovation Plan “Tracker”version
e.Site Council Members select items from the Innovation Plan for
review and discussion.
IV.Adjournment