HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-10-26-CLARKE-min Jonas Clarke Middle School
School Site Council Meeting
October 26, 2017
7:OOAM
Main Office, Jonas Clarke Middle School
17 Stedman Road Lexington, MA 02421
Agenda
In Attendance: Anna Monaco, Principal; Mary Barry-Ng, Assistant Principal; Jonathan
Wettstone, Assistant Principal; Kerry Richmond, Teacher; Casey Siagel, Teacher; Anne Witti,
Teacher; Tiffany Zides, Teacher; Amy Selinger, Parent; Christina Cohen, Parent; Cathy Swan,
Parent; Angela Chang, Parent; Jennifer Roney, Parent.
I. Welcome/ Review of 9/28/17 Minutes
• Reviewed and approved.
• Discussed homework policy and YRBS last time.
II. Review of SIP 2017-2018
• Monaco - want to review SIP to ensure alignment with district and school goals. Before
going through the SIP, we want to continue to look at our social and emotional learning
for our students. Project Based Learning is not a school-wide goal, but we do have
teachers piloting the program and has become a focus.
• Monaco - We are also beginning to look at our schedule - what do we want our
students to experience here, get feedback from parents and students. Next year
- begin to explore possible schedules. For us as the council - is there something
not reflected in the SIP?
• Monaco - we have a parent in charge of parent-forums.
• Parent- wanted to begin forums around diversity, which had been started at the
elementary level, so we are visiting them to gather information and continue their
work.
• Monaco - attended a conference on Hate Speech and our response. The
conference allowed for table talk, running through multiple scenarios, challenging
us to think about the multiple perspectives and ways to respond. Is that message
affecting the learning of others? We need to identify what constitutes a
disruption, as it could trump the rights to free speech.
• Teacher- shared summer course work experiences along with legal
ramifications.
• Monaco - shared a scenario from the conference, challenging school staff to think
critically about the situation and how it affects that student, that school and that
community.
• Teacher- discussed ways she's teaching online safety, citing how a simple
Tweet can affect reputation, job employment, and well being.
o Parent- thanked staff for being aware and addressing the issue. She then asked
about "sexting."
o Teacher- stated that use of the word "sexting" is not directly used, but the topic is
addressed.
o Parent- phone use needs to be a partnership between student and parent. It
needs to be a learning experience, not just a say "no."
o Parent- we're looking at two forums
o Monaco - Dr. Englander will be visiting in November as part of our anti-bullying
work and social media
o Monaco - Social workers will have a parent forum with a focus on some of the
resilience and B.A.R.K.
o Parent- Julie Fenn will also be conducting a forum for parents later in the year
o Parent- Is there any forum that we could have parents attend with their children?
o Parent- Screenagers is one that we could do so.
o Parent- Diamond sold out their auditorium and so they are showing it again this
year at the high school
o Parent- worry about how parents walk out of these events. We don't want to
have them walk out fearful, rather to be empowered to take action and be
informed
o Teacher- It is not one person's fault, this is life today. So it is important to have
these conversations and really teach this explicitly
o Teacher- makes me think of curriculum and project based learning, this requires
us to communicate and collaborate, and be explicit about teaching these skills
o Monaco - I agree this is a real world problem. Monaco - Especially with the 1:1
component. We have had discussions about this and how do we empower
parents to know that they can take the device away. As a school, we don't have
all the answers.
o Parent- as a parent, all I am ever asking is "is this normal?" So if you don't see
what is normal - then that is what parents want to know. Teachers and
administrators at this level do have expertise in the middle school level. So we
do look to you to let us know what is normal and appropriate.
o Monaco - at the PTO forum we had parents that were concerned about what
filters are put onto the iPad and how do we control that.
o Parent(s) - perhaps a PTO sponsored one-pager with helpful hints or adding
helpful hints to the PTO newsletter would be helpful
o Parent- even adding a section to the PTO website
o Parent- suggestions about what to do if parents need to take away the iPad.
Perhaps a communication from and with the school so that parents know and are
empowered to take the device if they need to.
o Monaco - agreed, we can communicate that
o Parent- this would be a good point to communicate with parents during back to
school night, even if just one teacher per team could review this so that parents
know what to expect and what they can do.
o Parent- would be a good idea have a 6th grade parent night in the spring that
specifically deals with iPads and technology
o Monaco - yes, we intended to do this last year but other priorities took over. We
will try again this year.
III. Questions, Comments, Concerns.
V. Adjourn. Next Meeting November 30th.