HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-09-19-LHS-minLaura Lasa
Principal
Lexington High School
251 Waltham Street •:• Lexington, Massachusetts 02421
To: The Lexington High School Council
From: Laura J Lasa
Re: September Minutes
781- 861 -2320, x69103
lasa @sch. ci.lexim ton.ma.us
FAX: 781- 861 -2440
LHS School Site Council Meeting met on September 19, 2016 from 6:15 -7:45 PM in the Library Media
Center in the Arts and Humanities building.
Present: Laura Lasa, Suzanne Lau, Sharon Kendall, Nancy Shepard, Liz Curtin, Polly Kienle, Elise
Rowley, Dave Wininger, Walter Richardson, Elise Santiago, Alex McLaughlin, Leslie Zales, Shiv
Chandra. Guests: Christine Sullivan (teacher), Andy Baker (teacher), Matt Campos (Student
Representative to School Committee), Yasuto Takahashi (9th grade parent).
Absent: Liz Curtin, Katie Cutler, Katherine Manning
The Council members present approved allowing observing guests to speak in the meeting subject to the
discretion of the Chair.
I. June 13, 2016 minutes approved with no changes.
II. Announcements from Council members
• The principal will submit the list of Council members of this year's LHS School Council to the
Town Clerk: Members will be notified by the Town Clerk of the Open Meeting Law and
acknowledgements of receipt must be returned by October 31.
• Other Announcements
o Matt Campos shared safety concerns about the indoor congestion of students in the main
hall at dismissal. The bottleneck area near the mosaic cannot be widened due to structural
supports.
o Crowding at lunch reduced, especially with I Block and students eating outdoors.
o Preventative measures (communications, no bags or outside drinks, police presence, etc.)
taken by the school and the Booster club fostered a healthy first home football game.
Mascot will be at next home game.
o I Block culture shift
o Thanks to the staff and students for their patience with the implementation of the new
schedule. Homeroom educators will start to use software with students for scheduling next
week. Initial options are limited to support which will become more necessary with
increased academic workload and absences.
o Students reported positive impressions of I Block for student assemblies, practice
evacuations and other class activities.
o Faculty comments included the observation that there is an additional increase in teacher
contact time with I Bock; feeling a bit rushed even though class time was only reduced by
12 minutes. For teachers with different classes, I Block is an opportunity to offer support
for specific groups /classes together and should reduce the after - school first - come -first serve
process for extra help.
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III. Meeting Dates and Topics
• Meeting dates for 2016 -2017 were approved and meeting time maintained from 6:15 pm — 7:45
pm.
• Brainstorm topics for the year
o Open Forum Online Discussion for parents, community members, students, to give
feedback to school /administration on specific issues: For example, Lexington Listens
Topic: e.g., I Block. Need a Moderator to keep the online discussion productive.
o Discussion on school culture, competitive culture, school spirit, community building, and
competition across cultures — some of these topics are already in the School Improvement
Plan (SIP).
o Non - Suicidal self- injury — how do we deal with the results from YRBS?
o Homework policy update from the School Committee — feedback to and from the
Homework Task Force created by the Superintendent that will be making recommendations
at the end of the year.
o How to help students move forward positively when they feel that they have failed or
experience "failure ". How to help students manage peer and community pressure — what
additional steps can the school can take (e.g. no longer have weighted GPA or class rank,
qualitative assessments, pausing in HR to set current -year and resiliency goals)?
IV. FY 17 Budget Discussion
o With 120 more students than last year, and more growth expected, the emphasis is on
adding more educators to maintain smaller class size. Regarding physical space, science
labs are nearing capacity. Class size is still being maintained at 18 — 25 students per class,
but some classes and electives are reaching maximum capacity.
o Technology (sound systems, network etc)- possible "bring your own device" in the future.
o Expansion of the nursing office to accommodate more students.
o Security upgrades
o District is working on a coherent K -12 technology plan (iPads, computers, Googledocs,
etc.).
o College/Post- secondary staff position in the counseling department — would need to have
a unified message with the counselors working with students.
o Parking shortage
V. Emergency Procedures
• School Improvement Plan Goals
o Camera system upgrade to a digital system this year, if approved. It will offer increased
security for students, staff and the building.
o Lock system to automatically lock the exterior doors of all the buildings.
o Introduced students to the vocabulary for emergency and evacuation procedures.
• During an evacuation (actual), some students might prefer to leave the school
(with or without permission).
• Matt suggested having student participate in the process of presenting new
projects (e.g., the new emergency protocols /making a video)
• For the initial evacuation drill, students remained with class and this system was
more orderly. Administrators will wear vests so people can ask questions.
• Start of the year topics to discuss
o Grade level targets and resiliency targets
o Credit recovery /Elective issue: Could students use the online credit recovery program
(Edgenuity Software Program) to study an elective? (E.g., When a student wants to take a
class and has not been successfully enrolled through the scheduling process.)
o Parent Report: There are 20 LHS students taking the multivariable calculus class at
Harvard Extension and will receive LHS class credit.
o Evaluate the results of the homework survey by John Murray conducted last school year.
o Improve the drop off near math building in the morning, e.g. by adding cones to separate
the lanes. Traffic patterns are being evaluated to determine whether or not crossing guards
are needed to manage traffic.
VI. Adjournment
• Meeting adjourned at 7:40 pm.