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Home My WebLink About2011-02-28-LHS-min School Council Meeting Minutes: February 28, 2011 Members Present: Natalie Cohen, Miriam Lipschutz, Ellen Hilsinger, Jean Cole, Kiki Katsarakes, Walter Richardson, Dave Wininger, Eileen Jay, Katherine Murphy, Bob Ruxin I.Approval of January 24 Minutes A.Parent Conferences - Feedback since last meeting i.Perhaps they should occur earlier for first-semester-only courses ii.Teachers: If a student is struggling, they contact parents earlier than Jan. anyway iii.Initiatives this year have been working a)efforts to contact parents earlier have helped b)improving comfort level for teachers c)role playing by department heads on how to make contact with parents d)parents who are contacted have been responsive iv. Sign-up: Need to do a better job of advertising conference sign-up v.Conclusion: We will continue to have parent conferences next year B.Minutes Approved II.New Initiatives A.Walk-throughs i.Less threatening than twice-a-year evaluations ii.Allows for conversations after walk-throughs; allows teachers to adapt iii.Formative assessments are helpful for teachers to form next steps in teaching B.Odd/Even Policy i.Team of 7 teachers have been working on developing a policy ii.Goals a)Create an equitable policy that addresses managing students stress resulting from assessments b)Foster and promote self-advocacy skills amongst the student population iii.Two Proposed Options a)Flexibility Plan  No formal testing schedule, but students with an overload may approach the teacher who has assigned the third assessment or beyond on a specific day b)Blue and Gold Days  For the last 2 weeks in the quarter, the ten school days will be divided equally into two color groups, up to five days for each color.  Blue Days: Science, History, Fine/Performing Arts, Health and PE  Gold Days: Math, English, Foreign Language iv.What about major projects, like the Science Fair? a)There can be issues with students not able to do work in other classes b)Perennial problem: Whenever there are major projects, Science Fair, AP tests, SATs and such, teachers are often approached by students about difficulty meeting other class assignments v.Student comment: a)Overload from multiple assessments is mostly a problem at the end of the quarter. During the term, students can advocate for themselves vi.More flexibility of scheduling of tests in general a)Might be sensible to do more frequent assessments through the term, such as when a unit ends, rather than relying only on bigger, high-stakes assessments C.Anti-Bullying Policy i.Protocol a)Reports of bullying incidents go to guidance or dean b)Forms are filed in principal's office c)Parents of students involved on both sides are called ii.Purpose a)Safety net so people feel there is a place to go when bullying occurs iii.Implementation a)During first few weeks there was a flurry of reports, some were actual cases of bullying th b)More bullying incidents were reported in 9 grade and earlier grades than upper grades c)Some of the most serious bullying often occurs online D.Race to Nowhere i.Race to Nowhere is a documentary film that raises issues of stress in schools ii.LHS and others are organizing several showings for Lexington community iii.Tentative dates: a)March 27 at Clarke – for LHS teachers and staff b)March 28, 10am-12pm at Cary Hall – for everyone c)March 28, 7-9pm at Cary Hall – for everyone iv.(Note: The above dates are no longer correct. Actual dates will be April 28, 29) v.Final dates to be announced at next meeting III.Open Discussion A.Hand-held Devices i.New hand-held devices, such as iPods/iPhones, raise new concerns for use in school ii.Texting on devices such as iPods/iPhones leads to the same problems that the cell phone policy tries to address – divided attention, cheating iii.Can't tell if the device is being used properly or improperly iv.Security issues regarding access to the school computer system v.Fairness issues a)Creates a have/have not divide. Those who have it gain an advantage in access to the computer network that others don't have. b)We've outlawed the cheap technology (cell phones), but now only those who can afford the expensive new devices have them and can use them. vi.Enforcement a)Technology policies are making things harder for teachers. They are busy policing and enforcing the cell phone policy. vii.Suggested agenda item to revisit these issues