HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-11-16-DIAMOND-minMarlon L.Davis,M.Ed.(781)861-2460
Principal mdavis@lexingtonma.org
Fax:(781)274-0174
Diamond School Council Agenda
November 16,2023 -7:00am
Attendees:Marlon Davis,Christy Bell Prasad,Amelia Brower,Joyce Dvorak,Yu Wu,Howard Wolke,Remy
Coombs,Katina Lawdis
Liz Sharp (non-voting member -note taker)
A.Welcome
B.Approval of Minutes;Oct.12,2023
C.Updates/Discussion
a.Data from trimester 1 will be in Teacherease after the second trimester starts,
so we will begin thinking about opening the portal.We created a calendar with
weekly steps.Our DLCs will help plan “walkthroughs”for parents.
b.Report card for trimester 1 will be a pdf.Parents need to be able to log in to
Teacherease to get the report card.First step,have parents check they can log
in.Second step,invite parents to view the report card.When the portal is
open,parents will see all of the grades with this same log in.
i.Will teachers be able to see how many families access the portal?
c.When we ask families about data,they tend to rely on MCAS.We are looking
at other metrics.We have invested in Renaissance screener for math and
literacy.The goal is that we will get more reading and comprehension data,
along with basic math skills.This should help us better place students and give
us information for remediation.MCAS doesn’t provide as much data as we
need.Plan is for two iterations for each testing and we then will integrate this
assessment as students enter Diamond,specifically at the sixth grade level.
i.December 11 and 18,planned for first set of testing (20 minutes each;
45 minutes total time to set up and assess)
ii.Plan would be to integrate elementary screener data,as well.
d.School Innovation Plan Review
i.District gives us the 4 Strategic Objectives
ii.We started with school based brainstorming of the list of initiatives
iii.The middle school principals built this out as an official plan
iv.Plan was to use the initiatives that were already underway,instead of
adding new initiatives.How can we improve our process in order to meet
the plan goals?
v.Project Based Learning as an example in the plan.
1.The district supported the push.
2.Then since Covid,we seemed to abandon the focus.
3.Marlon will go back to the district to see if we can get more
support to continue with.
a.Budget concerns to get it up and running again.
b.Do we want to include it again?
c.Marlon will budget the plan.Not plan the budget.
4.How much PBL is already being used in classes?
vi.It would be helpful to figure out costs before we decide what we are
going to plan for.Where are the priorities?
vii.Restorative Justice needs to be brought up as a Building Wide Initiative
to help impact our school culture.It should not just be an individual
classroom practice.
viii.Do we know what the district’s push for initiatives will be?
ix.There are two district documents that we should be using as guidelines.
1.“Superintendent-School Committee Collaborative Goals”
2.“The Executive Summary of The Strategic Plan of LPS
2091-2029”
x.We should be starting with what the staff and students are needing.
1.Marlon might put out a survey to get more information
2.Some of our initiatives are time-bound and we have no choice on
what to do.
3.Teachers want more PD on cultural proficiency,help in the
classroom.We should move our initiatives based on staff
needs/wants.
xi.Dane and I will find out from the district what initiatives are planned that
will make us change our course.
D.Meeting Adjourned:7:45 am
E.Next meeting:December 14,2023