HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-05-24-BRIDGE-min BRIDGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
SCHOOL-BASED SITE COUNCIL
55 Middleby Road, Lexington, MA 02421
781-861-2510
MAY 24, 2019 MEETING MINUTES
APPROVED SEPTEMBER 20, 2019
Attendance: Tiffany Crooker, Kristen Gray, Kimberly Hensle Lowrance,Amy Kvaal, Zeba
McGibbon, Sejal Patel, Melanie Tanionos, and Shawn Wood.
The Bridge Elementary School School-Based Site Council held its monthly meeting on
Friday, May 24, 2019 at the Bridge Elementary School Library.
Kristen Gray led the meeting on behalf of Meg Colella.
The meeting began at 8:05 AM,with a discussion of the Site Improvement Plan. Members
provided feedback on the document, including adding a key to define acronyms, adding
parents to the membership list on page one, and adding the successful implementation of a
safe walk-to-school program for second and third graders.
Kristen defined many of the acronyms for the members and agreed to add the key. The
members discussed new screening techniques for students needing extra literacy/language
support and how it has been implemented at Bridge. Parents are notified of assessment
results as needed. Bridge's results on literacy assessments are evaluated against national
norms for planning and assessment purposes.
Students are getting assessed in a variety of ways. How does this impact the students'
confidence in test taking? Kristen explained it depends on the assessment and age. In
another assessments, for example AMES-WEB,which is completed three times a year, a
team of Bridge staff and specialists go into the classroom and perform the evaluation,the
results of which are only shared with the teachers to inform his/her approach for further
supports. MCAS, for example, has inherent stress no matter how hard the teachers and staff
tries to minimize. SBC members commented on the approach teachers have taken to
address those anxieties. They urged Bridge leadership to inform more parents that no
practice is needed for the MCAS. The only thing that would help students in taking the exam
is familiarity with computers to take the MCAS,which is now online. Do teachers feel
supported with this increased computer use? Kristen said yes, and explained the training
they go through and the available resources (including digital coaches).
Assessments are used to check-in on students, explained Zeba.An assessment can be as
simple as listening to a child count or having them reading aloud, and then it can be as
complex as MCAS,which, for some grades, is four to six separate tests.Additionally, a test
like AMES-WEB helps teachers make sure students don't fall below benchmarks, and it's
integrated in such a way that students don't perceive it as testing.
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In other news, for 2020-2021, information about redistricting will be shared with parents.
SBC members discussed that some people when moving into town are being told that there
is no guarantee at which school they will be assigned. This is completed at Central Office.
The members then approved the March 2019 Meeting Minutes.
This was our final SBC meeting of the 2018-2019 school year.
For additional information, contact Meg Colella, Principal/Co-Chair
(mcolella@lexingtonma.org), or Kimberly Hensle Lowrance, Parent Representative/ Co-
Chair (khensle@gmail.com); or visit https://Ips.lexingtonma.org/domain/481.
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