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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-01-24-CLARKE-minJonas Clarke Middle School 17 Stedman Road ❖ Lexington, Massachusetts 02421 Anna W. Monaco, Principal Mary B. Barry -Ng, Assistant Principal Jonathan R. Wettstone, Assistant Principal School Site Council Meeting January 24, 2017 7:OOAM Agenda Office: (781) 861-2450 Fax: (781) 674-2043 In Attendance: Anna Monaco, Principal; Mary Barry -Ng, Assistant Principal; Jonathan Wettstone, Assistant Principal; Elizabeth Murphy, John Chamberlain, 8th Grade Teacher; Social Worker; Angela Chang, Parent; Naomi Priver, Parent; Jennifer Roney, Parent I. Welcome II. Review and approval of December 2016 Meeting Minutes Motion to approve, minutes approved III. Mid -Year check in / SIP Principal: Reminder - report cards posted yesterday Principal: We are through two quarters, and have two to go (mid -point of the year) Reviewing the SIP 1. RTI - discussion of WIN program and students going to intervention when needed, teaching students to advocate 2. Role of SRT, members of the SRT, process of the SRT, and how we are working to get students what they need • Principal: Goal is to really find other interventions and strategies other than just Special Education. Really began about 10-15 years ago, when realize not use Special Education to solve other things. • Parent: If 5-6 have moved out of Guided Learning - how many are in there? • Principal: 46 right now, and we don't simply put them in and let them go. We set goals (4-6 weeks) and monitor their work on these goals • Principal: Also have math and reading intervention so students sometimes go to these interventions to help them with specific parts of the curriculum • Teacher: (Guided Learning teacher) has a great deal of resources on his website that are useful to others - suggest using these. • Parent: I saw those and thought this would be great for my child • Asst. Principal: Guided Learning staff are piloting teaching skills to 6th grade teams (specific students) during guided study • Parent: If student has guided study - what is this in place of? • Principal: Guided Study is in place of an elective. Guidance counselors work with the teachers to try and work it out so students don't lose all electives. Learning Walkthroughs • Principal: Committee is currently looking at how to do this throughout the district. Questions they are considering: Will it be voluntary? Will the focus be the same throughout the district? Will teachers be able to request a walkthrough and feedback? (e.g. I am working on my wait time - will you come in and see how I am doing using wait time to encourage thinking and conversation?) • Principal: Most of time it is administrators in the classrooms - and we are trying to be there not simply for observations (formal) but to be present and just to walk through and be aware of what is going on daily. Math Coaching • Principal: Continue to work. Began with the elementary school (they have math and literacy coaches), but one of the best forms of professional learning we can get. This is on the spot coaching with immediate feedback to help improve instruction and student learning in real time. • Principal: Also went with a new connected math program (CMP) - focuses more on skills then it does on simply "doing math." This math involves collaborating and problem solving - to embrace the productive struggle to work through a problem. This problem also requires them to use mathematical discourse. All of this is part of the new standards and seven math practices that have been identified as the base of mathematics. • Principal: This program is very heavily language based, so some of our students on IEPs that struggle with language, we really need to differentiate and think about. IV. Project Based Learning proposal • Principal: I did send you that article about the PBL. I am really interested in bringing BPL to the district. Today, I will be presenting to all the principals about PBL and how PBL can be used to engage our words in real world problems. Not looking to turn JCMS into "high tech high" - really thinking about that this PBL philosophy o One thing that stood out to me in the film - Sir Ken Roberts - says, "We ask kids to change their brain every 40 minutes" - we don't ask adults to do this, and businesses, if they did so, would surely fail." This really leads us to the discussion that we need to evaluate and possibly change our school schedule - at the entire secondary level (middle and high school). o Some fear is that we take away the "rigor" or coverage. Reality, we are thinking about instead of covering the topic an "inch deep" - we need to allow students to productively struggle and problem solve, thus going deeper in their thinking. o Parent: Even the teamwork experience early on is vital. Some of these kids get into graduate school and don't know how to work with one another. o Teacher: Also like the idea of students presenting to outsiders (community members) not simply their teacher and peers. This increases the stakes and ownership for students. o Principal: Yes, and when I speak about structure, this is the reference to the schedule. I know it won't happen next year, this is a huge cultural shift. However, being in Lexington, we are leaders in education and we are not tied down by MCAS and improving test scores. We have the opportunity to make a change. o Parent: At the graduate school level - after a project, students often evaluate the work of their teammates. o Parent: Also, when doing group work, it is important that students stretch themselves and try to take on pieces of a project that are not their strength (e.g. writing, art, technology). o Principal: There is a professional learning institute (The Buck Institute, www„bile„or) that is the leader in PBL. I would like this institute to come here and provide professional learning and training for members throughout the district. The first year would be about creating an understanding, culture, and values that would allow for PBL to be fully implemented. o Teacher: Even just thinking about our Monday, Tuesday schedules for the whole week - just one idea. Parent: After screening Beyond Measure - Dr. C asked if anyone was interested in looking at the schedule. Has anything come from that? o Parent: LEF Grant to be used for PBL - how is that working? o Principal: My hope is to get the Buck Institute to work with some of our early adopting teachers to work with this PBL -101. o Parent: What subjects lend themselves to this? o Principal: Really the humanities, but all of these subjects with their new standards lend themselves to this. New math curriculum, the new science standards. o Principal: Speaking regularly with a trainer from the Buck Institute, she was the former principal of Scituate Middle School. o Principal: There are a number of people from the district going to visit NewVu Studio in Cambridge, MA (https://cambriid e„irriuvustudiocom). Very curious to see how this school works. You can enroll there for a trimester at NewVu and then return to your own school. We have a three-hour visit scheduled on the 30th. o Teacher: there is a women Janice Baron at the DESE and she puts on a program in Andover o Parent: Have you seen Captain Fantastic? This family that is off the grid completely and he homeschools his children in the wilderness. o Principal: Skills are essential and we need to understand that if our kids can graduate LHS with these skills, they can learn anything. V. Questions, Comments, Concerns Please let me know if you have anything would like to add to the agenda next meeting. VII. Adjourn at 8:00 a.m.