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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-04-10-CLARKE-min `O%3 MORN 1775 � r N W Z V D 3 APRIL 19TH Jonas Clarke Middle School <<`XI NG1O� 17 Stedman Road Lexington, Massachusetts 02421 Anna W. Monaco,Principal Office: (781) 861-2450 Mary B.Barry-Ng,Assistant Principal Fax: (781) 674-2043 Jonathan R.Wettstone,Assistant Principal School Site Council Meeting April 10, 2019 7:00 AM/Main Office Meeting Minutes In Attendance: Anna Monaco, Principal; Mary Barry-Ng , Assistant Principal; Jonathan Wettstone, Assistant Principal; Tiffany Zides, Teacher; Lauren Jigarjian, Teacher; Anne Witti, Teacher; Jon Roy; Teacher, Megan Kilpatrick, Teacher; Jennifer Roney, Parent; Jennifer Velis, Parent; Rucha Londhe, Parent; Amy Selinger; Parent; Michelle Motta Dardeno, Parent I. Welcome I1. Approve Minutes from March 20, 2019 a. Minutes approved I11. Review SIP and Edit for 2019-2020 school year a. Scheduling Committee did meet and will continue to meet next year. b. Idea of a break and implementing a break in the school day. i. Parent asked what it looks like ii. Principal shared we talked about a 10 minute, non-academic break. Snack and talk to friends, restroom, etc. This came out of the Superintendent's Strategic Planning process with the "Keep, Lose, Dream, Innovate"protocol that was facilitated last half-day. iii. Idea of having each grade having a 10 minute break per grade, where each grade would have their own time iv. Parent concerned if it is supervised and if it is a time that would promote bullying or social conflict in the halls. v. Principal shared, that already occurs in halls during passing, the hope is to help students learn to manage this time in an appropriate way. It might mean that students bring a snack to a specific class and have a 10 minute break in the classroom. vi. Parent shared that they think the idea of a break is great. Imagine not eating for hours and having to take a test. vii. Parent who shared they are an "allergy"parent and that there is a stress that is added to think about what you have to be careful of everything you touch. It is really important to take the time to get wipes and wipe the desk down. viii. Parent question: Is this something you would implement and it would start in September? ix. Principal - we would actually like to start in June and get it in the schedule before next year. Thinking on Tuesday, during the extended homeroom and moving that time to a later time in the morning. x. Principal shared story of Boston Public schools incident where the Assistant Superintendent of Diversity and Equity was shocked when he visited a school in Boston and saw lanes painted on the floor to have students walk in order. Reason he was shocked was due to the fact that this is what they do in prisons. (Boston Globe article). IV. Professional Growth and Development a. Going to continue with PBL and eventually the hope is for every student to have at least one experience of PBL each year. b. Looking at the staff that have been trained in PBL (project slice, PBL 101, etc.) there are a number of teachers in the building doing this. The hope is to make PBL more visible so that more people can see what it is like and what the process, benefits, and struggles with it are. We are hoping to have an"unconference" the May 6th faculty meeting to have teachers be able to learn more about it and discuss the transition to PBL. c. Parent- Is there a way that teachers could hear from students about PBL and what it is like for them to experience this type of learning. d. Principal - Last month during Admin Council - we had teachers and students share their experience with the district administrators. Most students shared that it was difficult to work in a group, yet they learned more about the other students and how to work through difficulties. The teachers that shared out also explained how they had social workers come into class and work on social group skills. e. Teacher- Shared that he has worked with a collaboration rubric as well as a timeline with the skill of prioritizing. At this point in the year, seeing the growth and development of his students, especially in self-awareness. PBL really about the whole child and it is a"process" that involves a number of skills, not simply content anymore. Shared that 6th grade poetry night is literally PBL. f. Principal - shared that this example is really how PBL is growing. It is organic and empowering. Teachers are encouraged to try it and take risks. g. Parent- Should we try to find a succinct way to express this in the SIP? h. Principal - We could easily ask a few students to come in and talk to staff during the faculty meeting. i. Teacher- I was in a classroom when they taught the social skills. They each had to roll-play being the student who did nothing, the one who took over, etc. Acknowledged that students from one of our special education programs really benefited from this as well. j. Teacher- this is also a district level goal and he appreciates the support from the district and the continued course offerings. V. Technology Integration a. Parent shared it is unclear how technology and having Chromebooks would help academic goal. b. Principal explained we have been working hard to help teachers learn to integrate technology into their instruction and assessment. Additionally the equity piece of having each student have their own device 1:1. c. Parent-the integration into learning is a part that is really linked to academic achievement. d. Parent- Is there currently good sharing around what apps teachers are using? e. Principal - Yes. This is why we have the Digital Learning Coach (DLC). So the goal for next year should be for teachers to continue to work with the DLC. f. Parent- Shared concern about technology and social media. Reminded Site Council that tonight at 7pm at LHS Social Media talk for parents. g. Parent suggest changing "Technology Integration"title to "Technology Education" and moving the bullet from the top - "Work with the building DLC to create opportunities for staff to learn and implement new technology strategies that engage all students in the classroom." Additionally a parental education piece for how the school and parents can partner. h. Parent- Is there a way to require all teachers to use Google Classroom? And how do they use Google Classroom. Consider it from a kids perspective and how it is difficult to navigate through the various sites to find their work. i. Teacher- I agree, and we try to teach kids this life skill. That they need to understand they will experience a variety of situations and need to learn this. j. Parent- I guess I am pushing back and asking- Why can't we mandate that all parents, teachers, and students use Google Classroom? k. Parent gave example of how her school mandated Haiku Learning. The benefits as well as the pitfalls. Suggest that the DLC run a parent workshop and have the parents get onto Google Classroom and navigate that platform. 1. Principal - One thing that will be mandated next year is that all teachers will have a Google Site. Google Sites has a calendar- and the homework will be posted on the calendar or on the site. So that is something that will have to occur by the beginning of the school year. m. Parent-we don't care about how beautiful the website is -just the homework posting is really what is important to us. n. Principal - we will put in i. teachers working with DLC 11. exploring ways to work with parents about technology iii. Google Sites iv. Examine the effectiveness of how Google (Sites and Classroom) is working for the students and the kids o. 6th graders will get their own Chromebooks next year. They will not be taking them home. They will be picking them up before homeroom and returning them before they leave at the end of the day. VI. Social Emotional a. Principal - this will reflect the work we have been doing with Jeffrey Benson on building relationships with students. We have been trying to pilot many ways to make relationships (greeting students at the door, classroom routines). b. Parent- I would like to hit bullying on the nose and consider an action item specific to bullying. c. Parent-Also hearing that there is some sexual harassment issues. I know some of these students don't come to you to talk about it. d. Parent- Perhaps we put in a bullet in the SIP about the effectiveness of BARK. Maybe it is about identifying current issues and having that be the "flavor" of BARK. e. Parent- suggest some sort of survey at the beginning of the year.