HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-12-14-Harrington-min
Harrington School Council Meeting
December 14, 2010
Amy Chamberlain, Suzanne Cherenson, Judy Crocker,
Members Present:
Elaine Mead, Genevieve Ng, Susan Rosie, Liz Sheriff, Grant Smith, Susie
Lee-Snell
Michelle Dardeno
Excused:
were reviewed and approved with amendments.
1.November 16 minutes
appears to be easier to access since
2.District Stress Reduction website
last month’s meeting, according to Liz Sheriff.
was given a
3.LPS’s proposed Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan
public hearing last night. Elaine Mead and Amy Chamberlain reported that it
appeared to be well received by the parents in attendance. At tonight’s
school committee meeting, the plan goes to a vote.
, and there is much to
4.Harrington’s Fall 2010 student literacy data is in
celebrate. Elaine Mead noted that on November 8, she shared with faculty
grade1-5 student performance on the DRA (Developmental Reading
Assessment). For example, 47% of first graders have already reached or
exceeded the end-of-year first grade reading benchmark, while 73% of
second graders and 86% of third graders have similarly done so. The DRA is
used both to help identify where students are performing in reading
comprehension and fluency (summative assessment) as well as to help inform
instruction (formative assessment). The next assessment will take place in
January.
was a planned topic of discussion. Elaine
5.Harrington’s Writing Initiative
Mead reported that student writing is currently being focused on at every
level – classroom, grade, school-wide, and district-wide, resulting in children
writing more frequently. We are hoping to see the same gains in writing as
we have seen in reading.
Grant Smith and Liz Sherriff shared various positive features of the writing
program they and others are using in their classrooms. The Lucy Caulkin
writing program provides students with mini-lessons offering specific writing
techniques as well as a step-by-step writing process (procedures for
planning, drafting, revising, editing and publishing). Students learn how to
take a real experience in their own life, zoom in on it, and then write
extensively about it. In addition, they have multiple opportunities for
teacher and peer collaboration. The teachers reported that their students
are more engaged in the writing process now.
Elaine Mead noted that teachers are still using parts of the John Collins
writing program because it, too, serves a purpose. For example, teachers
continue to give their students opportunities to create Type 1 writing
responses when they want to assess how much a student already knows about
a topic that has not been introduced, and Type 2 writing responses when
they need to assess how much a student has grasped about a topic that has
been focused on.
Judy Crocker spoke positively about the nature journal writing opportunities
fifth graders are given as part of their “Big Backyard” experiences.
Suzanne Cherenson shared a Clarke Middle School grade 6 nonfiction writing
rubric along with a list of writing “pitfalls.” She also made positive mention
of the “Picturing Writing” program, a writing program where children paint
first and then write. First grade teacher Geri O’Neil piloted this program at
Harrington several years ago.
There was some discussion about the need to ensure that our increased
writing expectations for children are in line with child development norms.
While it is important to provide early intervention to those students who
need writing support, we need to be careful not to label children as needing
help when it may just be that they need more time to develop.
6. The next School Council Meeting is scheduled for January 13, 2011. Grant
Smith will facilitate. The main topics of discussion will be the December 23
Harrington pro-social teacher workshop and the resiliency article in the
January 2011 Harrington Herald.
Respectfully submitted, Amy Chamberlain