HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-06-10-LHS-minf s u Lexington High School
251 Waltham Street ❖ Lexington, Massachusetts 02421
Andrew Stephens, Ed.D. 781- 861-2320, x69103
Principal
Twitter: @LexingtonHSMa astephens@lexingtonma.org
FAX: 781-861-2440
June, 2019
To: The Lexington High School Site Council
From: Andrew Stephens
Re: June 10 Meeting
LHS School Site Council Meeting met on Monday June 10, 2019 from 6:15-7:45 PM in Room 505D in the
World Language Building.
Present: Andrew Stephens, Bryce Spalding, Ed Li, Nancy Shepard, Angela Chang, Erin Barrett, Leslie Zales,
Liz Curtin, Sheera Knecht and Katelyn Riley.
Absent: Suzanne Lau, Cathy Swan, Kate Vogelzang, Khoi Le, Shiv Chandra, Katie Cutler.
Guests: Karen Griffiths, Ling Yang, Samuel Offsey.
L Approved the May, 2019 meeting minutes
IL Welcome to new parent & student members & farewells
• New Parents: Karen Griffiths & Ling Yang
• New Student: Samuel Offsey (Grade 10)
• Departing Student: Shiv Chandra
• Departing Parents: Suzanne Lau & Leslie Zales
• Departing teacher: Bryce Spalding
o Erin Barrett continues on
o English department representative?
III. Announcements & Logistics:
• Update member contact information
• Meeting dates/times for 2019-2020
o Change time 6-7:30PM
o Change October meeting to October 7 (can't do October 21 for Andrew NEASC)
• Summer facilities work: Science & IDLC
o Science Building
■ New bio room instead of environmental science
■ Enviro moves to physics
■ Physics moves to planning area for science teachers
■ Furniture ordered, working to empty science storage room
■ Next year: increasing a chemistry space, current science skills fridge area becomes
earth science classroom
o Two IT offices in main building through first semester, then becomes two more classrooms
(probably moving health from world language building to make space for future enrollment)
o LP2 in freshmen mods becomes a SS classroom
o ILP3 in science mods becomes a math classroom
Summer Reading
o One stop shopping summer reading list for 9-1 lth - put on the website/dept pages, put in
parent newsletter, send to kids
o For seniors - Andy Baker to send out electives schedules to seniors so they know what
summer reading they need to do
o All school read - There There (Native American urban experience)
■ 9th (see below) reading one section, in fall will read more
Suggestion: also announce to that grades' teachers in other disciplines so they can read
too
■ 10th, 1 lth reading whole book over the summer
■ Work to be completed is also outlined in guide.
Speaker Series Pilot
o All school read - There There + speaker, LEF funded
o Maybe do another all school read 9-12 next year?
o Work with new diversity coordinator
o Maybe there can be a 9 -12th curriculum developed for the Speaker Series?
o This Speaker Series is different from last week's 9th grade earth science speaker which was
via Community Ed, 9/20, about climate change + walkout
• Homework Policy review update and proposed changes
o Summarized - Each month a weekend free of homework
■ Because of a lot of holidays in the fall, imbalance with the spring
■ Should homework free be tethered to the holiday
■ More predictable and symmetrical
■ List of proposed dates
■ Results in 10 fewer blackout dates
■ Tries to reduce homework loading up before and after
■ Number of fall/early holidays affects teaching AP also
o Concern: March date coincides with Q3 end. Also pushes multiple day/project days to the
same days.
o Concern: We haven't had a conversation about overall reduction of homework. Value and
use. Is the stress students feel really from homework? What about the extracurriculars? What
if students are taking too many APs? Is there data of where all the actual homework is
coming from? (Conduct a homework "audit"?) (Note: freshman scaffolding of Eng Lit seems
like a lot of work but it's actually staged to help make a big project easier.) It's a big
conversation. Agenda item for next year?
o Concern: Guidance and teaching about how technology is a distraction? 20 minutes of
homework turns into an hour?
o [Tangential concern: End of year (juniors) tons of assessments, fitting it in at the end of the
year]
o Concern: How do homework/holiday changes work with the new schedule when classes meet
less often?
o The end of the school year this year felt particularly early: Ramadan, Eid, no snow days
o Discussion: How come after an AP there is still a lot of work? Can teachers reduce then?
0 Sometimes still 6 weeks more
■ An opportunity to do different work
■ Example: after the AP bio exam, teachers have to get ecology in before MCAS
o Concern: Questioning athletics time commitment (this is normal across MIAA?), impacts
family vacation and daily homework. Then again, some kids are into athletics and really
enjoy the commitment to athletics.
o Discussion: We may have to coach kids that maybe you can't do things to an "A" level all the
time and maybe you can't do everything.
IV. Discussion 6:40
• Discussion of NEASC Collaborative Report
• Brainstorm topics to review/discuss for next year
o NEASC Decennial Visit
o Core Values & Beliefs about Learning & Vision of the Graduate
o DEI Work
o Other topics
V. Adjournment 7:45
Andrew Stephens — Principal