HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-10-01-CLARKE-min.pdfPUBLIC MEETING NOTICE
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Jonas Clarke Middle School
School Site Council Meeting
October 1, 2025
7:00-7:45 AM
Main Office Conference Room, Jonas Clarke Middle School
17 Stedman Road, Lexington, MA 02421
Agenda
Members present:
I. Call to Order, Welcome, Council Business & Public Comment
● Introductions of members:
i. Dane Despres, principal
ii. Tiffany Zides, Computer Science teacher
iii. Natalia Paquette, 8th-grade math, Artemis
iv. Sarah Fattal, 6th grade ELA
v. Jamie Welsh
vi. Wei Ding - new site council member this year
vii. Elizabeth Moeller - returning member
viii. Gary Van Deurse - parent of 8th grader
ix. Valerie Machinist - parent of 6th grader
● Review of the Site Council’s Mission
i. Improvement of the school/ School Innovation Plan (2-year cycle)
1. Four areas of focus, based on the district's Strategic Plan
a. Address and narrow equity gaps
b. Redefine success
c. Cultivate student agency
d. Innovate for sustainable change
● Set Meeting Dates & Times for ‘25-’26 School Year
i. First Wednesday of every month at 7:00 am
ii. Dane will send a Google Calendar invite to all members.
● Public Comment
i. No public representative present
II. Parent/Caregiver, Staff, and Admin Check-Ins: Thoughts About the Beginning
of the School Year
● Parents:
i. Valerie - enjoyed having the 6th-grade Back To School Night early in
the school year.
ii. Gary - happy to see that many of the staff members are thinking about
getting ready for high school already. Especially the standards-based
grades and how they translate to traditional grading at the high school
level. Additionally, many of the teachers are already teaching students
how to make their own study guides this year.
iii. Mr. Despres shared that each grade level this year has a focus area to
help build student skills. 8th grade’s focus is independence - and this
is one example of how they are building the skills focused on this.
iv. Elizabeth - 7th grade Back To School Night was helpful. Some pieces
were repetitive. For example, all teachers repeated that they put their
homework on Google Classroom.
v. Valerie - most of us just want to meet the teachers, see the space, and
see what our child’s days are like.
vi. Gary - The Google Classroom is not consistent between teams or
grades. Sometimes homework is on Google Classroom and sometimes
on Websites. It would be nice to have one format for all.
vii. Valerie - question about Teacher Ease. Why use Teacher Ease vs.
Aspen?
viii. J. Welsh (teacher) built more for our standards-based grading
system. Provides real-time feedback, shows students “in color” how
they are doing.
ix. Gary - The Washington D.C. trip presentation was helpful. But many
students are still not sure if they are attending. For a number of
students they are still waiting to see how many of their friends are
going.
x. Wei - believes that Clarke has done a good job. Her child has
experienced more independence at Clarke. Wei also mentors high
school students. She is a professor of computer science, and she has
shared her expertise with LHS students to create the ChatBot App for
the LHS Building Project. Happy to share this information with Clarke
and anything you would like help with.
● Staff:
i. S. Fattal - In looking at the SIP, it is amazing to reflect on how much
we have done and how much change we have made.
● Admin:
i. D.Despres - a lot of what was included in the last SIP pertained to
developing systems. In reflecting on how many people (staff,
caregivers, students) are aware of this.
III. Outlining Our Goals for ‘25-’26
● Review and track progress on the ‘24-’26 Clarke School Innovation Plan
● Our Plan & Timeline for Developing the ‘26-’28 Clarke School Innovation
Plan
IV. Adjournment