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Attendance:
Janet Bianchi, Karen
Shipston, Penny McDonnell, Lori Moore, Kate Kilmer,
Robin Gawrys, Robbie Paine, Valerie Wadsworth,
Suzanne Rayome, Amy Clark, Nancy Pearse, Judy
Brinkman, Don Germain |
1. Review of the Minutes: The minutes
from the October 29 and November 29, 2007 meetings
were reviewed and accepted as written.
2. Standing Committee Reports:
a. Class Night: Members of the staff
met with the parent representatives to the Class
Night committee to discuss a potential change in the
format and protocols for the Class Night and Awards
Ceremonies. Proposals were also presented to the 8th
grade team. Both groups accepted the idea of melding
both events into one with the caveat that
modifications would be made from past years programs
of this nature to streamline the ceremony. The date
being considered for this event will be June 20,
2008. Before the decision is finalized, feedback
from the remainder of the staff and the greater PTA
membership will be sought. A proposal for melding
the ceremonies will be developed after the first of
the year and shared with Council for review,
modification, and acceptance, if prudent.
b. Scheduling: An update on the work
of the scheduling committee was presented. The
committee is scheduled to meet on December 18, 2007
to finalize their proposal and share information
with the central office administration.
c. Committee for Academic Excellence:
A meeting of the Committee for Academic Excellence
will be scheduled for after the first of the year.
Some of the items to be addressed are honor rolls,
summer school, and other related topics.
d. Technology: The building tech.
committee will meet in January to discuss how to
spend $2000 dollars for tech. equipment,
instructional technology training, staff websites,
and future planning.
e. Health and Safety: Health and Safety issues
pertaining to the building specific were reviewed
and protocols to address these issues were
highlighted.
3. Council Membership: The discussion
on whether to amend the Council membership to add a
member representing guidance was completed.
Rationale for and against this addition was
evaluated. It was confirmed that the At Large
Membership was designed to represent this
constituency. Consensus was reached by the members
not to amend the membership at this time. It was
also pointed out as a reminder that all Council
meetings are open to anyone who has the need or
desire to attend.
4. Council Mission: The mission of the
Council was discussed in light of the Shared
Decision Making protocols of the District,
contractual obligations, the delegation of duties,
and the needs of the constituency. It was agreed
that a refinement of the Council’s objective work
has evolved over the last few years with
improvements in communication, process, and
ideologies. Its relationship with Cabinet to meld
the work of both groups has also evolved. The
philosophy and mission statements were also reviewed
to see if they support the present educational
climate and the mission of the school and district.
A more thorough look at these driving statements
needs to take place in the near future since they
have not been evaluated since 1987 and 1991
respectively.
5. RTI – Council Goal #3: The
evolution of RTI initiatives in relationship to the
development of the original building goal at
O’Rourke, as well as its impact on other District
schools was discussed in great detail. The District
has recognized a need to review the implications,
implementation, and management of RTI and Pyramid of
Intervention strategies, potentially charging a task
force to complete this work. Internally, we have
exceeded our initial charge to review and make
recommendations, getting into the building of
coalition, reorganizing the PAT structure, applying
more comprehensive applications of a pyramid of
intervention strategies, and providing professional
overviews of the model. However, we are far from
understanding or implementing a comprehensive
approach to tackling this project. Clarity of
process and practice are components of the
evaluation with staff training highlighted as key to
successful implementation of the models applied.
It was agreed by the members that:
·
Further evaluation needs to take place
from all quarters, looking at the broader scope of
this initiative.
·
Comprehensive training for staff is
essential for the successful implementation of any
initiatives of this magnitude.
·
The PAT team should evaluate their
role in the review and application of student
interventions along with their role as a guiding
coalition for support and change.
·
A staff meeting should be dedicated to
the in depth discussion of intervention policies and
practices through the PAT team.
·
A leveling process needs to take place
with the development of a documented, formal pyramid
of interventions, particularly with regard to Tier I
strategies. RTI models can provide a foundation for
these strategies because they are based on the
principles of sound researched, educational
practice. However, localized strategies should be
infused into the process and a system of
implementing these strategies and documenting their
application needs to be developed and applied
consistently by all staff.
·
It was noted that our process for
evaluating and implementing 504’s has improved
dramatically in the last two year, applying more
embedded interventions and prescribing fewer
formalized plans.
·
Our attempts over the last two years
to apply grass roots intervention strategies have
produced significant gains in the performance of
students whose averages fall in the 65-75 range,
reducing the numbers of students in those categories
who are recommended for summer school programs.
·
Things to look at for the future:
A revision of the Building Council goal, a reference
sheet of intervention strategies, a formal system of
documentation and articulation, a dialog with staff
and PAT about our progress to date and future
direction…
6. Task Force for Future Use of Hostetter
Building: A district task force to review
the use future use of the Hostetter Building was
charged by the Superintendent and presented a report
to the BOE. Information regarding this report can be
viewed on line or requested through the District
Office.
7. Task Force for the Review of
Interscholastic Athletics: This committee is
meeting regularly with the goal of presenting
recommendations to the Superintendent and BOE in the
near future. |
