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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-11-14-DIAMOND-min Johnny Cole, PhD (781) 861-2460 Interim Principal Fax: (781) 274-0174 Diamond Site Council Agenda November 14, 2024 - 7:00am Attendees: Marlon Davis, Katina Lawdis, Beth Bristol, Ramesh Kumar, Remy Coombs, Whitney Factor, Joyce Dvorak, Stephen Babbitt, Yu Wu Liz Sharp (non-voting member- note taker) A. Welcome B. Approval of Minutes: October 10, 2024 C. Updates/Discussion a. Requirement for MCAS not used as a graduation requirement. Should/does that change our preparation at the middle school? Comments from members: i. Prior to the MCAS requirement, there was a lot more tracking in middle schools. Losing this external measure could be detrimental to our middle school students. Once it was a requirement, more paid attention to this. ii. Research on standardized testing correlates to family wealth. There will still be testing and attention to standards. iii. Graduation from high school standards should be helpful for students to make sure they are learning. Although, it shouldn't impact our LHS students because parents value education. iv. Our middle school has always used the data but we have never put stress on our students for the test. What is our ideal student? Redefining success in Lexington shouldn't be focused on passing a standardized test. v. Question from parent: What percentage of LHS students do not pass MCAS? Marlon will get that data. vi. Concern if students will stop trying since it doesn't have the same weight. vii. Teachers and parents should be helping students learn how to handle the stress, not eliminate something because of the stress. viii. Standardized measures are important for many reasons. ix. Agree that it is important to have the data on understanding student skill levels. There is an undue burden for students of color and students with disabilities. b. Renaissance screener is showing that we have a number of students with basic skills deficits for reading and math. i. Diamond does a good job destressing students for MCAS testing but they knew that it had a place for the future. Now that they don't have the requirement, students are asking if they could opt-out. What should we be doing differently because our School Innovation Plan has the screener plans - what do we do for these students with the deficits before they go to the high school? 1 . How do we level the playing field at the elementary level and then at the middle school so that it doesn't matter what school they come from? ii. Parent wondering if there should be a communication from the principal so that everyone understands why there is still importance to the MCAS. 1 . Marlon will check on the messaging with CO. iii. Parent question asking how we use MCAS data and how it will change? Is this data aligned for teachers to know where the gaps are and how students are doing? 1 . Renaissance screener is used for this analysis to catch students with the gaps and skill deficits in reading and math. This is the first trimester that we are using the data and finding more and more students with these challenges. Now we need to determine how to stem that gap. It is difficult to remediate at this level while still teaching current content. Plugging the gaps is the challenge. Our school needs to determine the next steps. Is there a connection between MCAS and the screener so that we can stem the tide before they go to the high school? iv. Parent question regarding the Renaissance screener - should we be using it at the elementary level? 1 . MCLASS at the elementary level is used. We are trying to create the continuum of understanding for where students are at. 2. Communications between the levels needs to improve. v. Parent comment to be careful with too many shifts every few years. 1 . Diamond needs to focus more on data analysis which doesn't devalue teacher experiences. "What does the data tell us relative to other students?" Typically students have said they don't care about MCAS at our level. a. LPS does need to address this district wide. "Redefining success" message from CO so that we use data and not finger point at certain teachers. "What are we going to do?" c. Social and Emotional piece is also part of our Innovation Plan. If those basic needs are not met it is difficult for students to learn and retain. i. The district audit should be happening. We were told to hold off until the audit is complete to plan next steps. ii. Plan to use one WIN block per cycle to address this. We hope to investigate programs that will help our students and not be an additional ask for our teachers. iii. How can our school be more deliberate about supporting productive struggle. The WIN block on "receiving feedback" as one example to focus on a lesson. d. Restorative practices is important to build a community where everyone feels safe to learn and challenge themselves. e. Next step - communication regarding MCAS and our school's focus on "importance of the measure even though not a graduation requirement". f. Concern - more 8th graders will ask to `opt out' this year. D. Meeting Adjourned: 7:42 AM E. Next meeting: December 12, 2024