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Andrew Stephens, Ed.D. (781) 861-2320, ext. 69103
Principal astephens@lexingtonma.org
LHS Site Council Meeting. May 18th at 6:00- 7:30pm via Zoom
Present: Karen Griffiths, Andrew Stephens, Suzanne Lau, Erin Barrett, Ed Li, Ling Yang, Katie Cutler,
Sam Offsey, Kate Vogelzang, Liz Curtin, Nancy Shepard, Katelyn Riley, Sheera Knecht, Cathy Swan,
Khoi Li, Angela Chang
Approved the March Minutes
Remote Learning- How's It Going?
*Administration Perspective
-philosophy school has taken is spot on
-cannot recreate school day online
-different districts are doing things differently
-LHS students take more classes than other students at many other schools
-check in cannot be mandatory
-reframe office hours to be more of a face to face conversation
-we are content driven and that has needed to shift
-need to be flexible and go week to week
-gather information over the next several weeks as to what has worked well and what
hasn't
-this will help inform the fall
-everything we have done in the past for end of year (graduation, book collection, etc)
has had to change so will focus on the fall in June
*Teacher Perspective
-only had 2 weeks to shift from how we teach and learn to new system of remote
learning
-it was hard to overcome the 2 weeks the kids didn't have anything to get them back into
the swing of things
-hope there will be a set standard from the beginning in the fall
-kids have relationship with teacher not computer
-hard for some kids to engage
-need to find connection for social/emotional piece
-kids want to talk about substantive stuff
-teachers want more predictable structure so it will be more predictable for students to
be there
-are kids feeling adrift?
-do they want more structure?
-also need structure to be flexible so teachers who have kids can balance it all
-finding if everything was due on Friday they were hit with a ton of work for weekend
-have made adjustments so not everything is due on same day
-History department is trying to think about the fall so is trying different things out
*Student Perspective
-remote projects are going well
-office hours are ok
-more communication and check -ins would be better
-getting work Monday and wrapping it up by Friday is working well
-teachers are doing google meets for credit instead of writing a paper is good
-like the choice of what they do, when they do it, but there was a learning curve to figure
out schedule
-easier for some kids than others
-some need the face time with teachers and accountability
*Issues/Questions for Fall if we continue remote learning
-will issue of non mandatory attendance be addressed?
-will expectations for LHS change?
-be different from middle and elementary schools?
-Mandatory Choice?
-what if a teacher has 3 options to meet up but kids had to pick one
-make it mandatory but take into account access and schedule
-any access to professionals who do online learning?
-why reinvent the wheel?
-if we do remote learning in the fall what are the best practices?
-Adam Goldberg runs online high school in Massachusetts
-will work this summer to reframe content and pedagogy to go online
-online learning is not the simple translation from school to computer
-are there professionals who can help?
-how does all of this fit into LHS structure?
Grades and GPA
*State guidance says to err on the side of the student
*Students who have passed all four quarters: the year grade will be calculated as the average
of Quarter 1 and Quarter 2, then raised by one grade increment which is tied to state guidance/
recommendations
-For example, if a student had a B+ and a B- in Quarters 1 & 2, and a "Pass" for
Quarters 3 and 4, their Q1 and Q2 average is B, and the final course grade would be
B+
-This B+would be factored into GPA(see point below)
*students with a letter grade as a final course grade would have that grade calculated into their
GPA at half weight (For instance, a 4 credit course would have 2 credits worth of GPA impact)
*students who have a Quarter 1 & 2 passing average and earn an "F" in either (or both) Q3 or 4
do not get an incremental bump
*an F from any quarter is calculated in the final course grade as a 58
*because all Semester 2 classes are graded on a P/F basis, they will be awarded credits but will
not impact the GPA
*if a student's final course grade for a semester 2 class is an F, no credit will be awarded
2020 Graduation
*Trying to give seniors and their families some recognition of what they are going through
-sent a video
*Graduation will be 2 parts
-Sunday, June 28th will be a virtual ceremony
-yearbook company is putting together
-will have speakers
-each student's name will be called
-every student gets a slide
-can personalize it with a video or message
-Graduation Car Parade on Monday, June 29th and Tuesday, June 30th
-broken up by dean
-will receive diplomas
-wear caps and gowns and decorate cars
-teachers and community can cheer them on
-more information to follow as details are finalized
Questions
*Can we put graduation message on Worthen Rd. sign?
-had to remove letters as they had been rearranged into inappropriate message
*Are they doing the end of year issue of Musket?
-doubtful because may be too difficult to do it remotely
Meeting adjourned
Last meeting of school year is Monday, June 15th at 6:00 pm remotely