Culinary Arts Dining Room/SST – 6:30 PM
Present: Victor Sokul, Ellen Cooke, Joanne Pare, Evan Mousseau, Ben Allen, Christine Coronis, Liz Faria, Holly Tisdall, Anne Plumer-Fisher, Peg Gaillard, Vicky Avery, Jennifer Kinsey, Angela Lennox, Jim Daley, Sam Bruno, Peter Stackhouse, Robin Scott
Absent: Patricia Baker, Jerry Frew, John LeSage, Rich Pratt, Bill Thompson
Guests: Carl Reigart, Adam Dolge, Jacqui Prendergast, Cynthia Clements, Karen Simas, Cathy Rickarby, Barbara Loh, Sally Oxnard, Claudia Scofield, Margaret Kilcoyne, Chares Hughes, Marshall Moore, John Hazekamp
Meeting called to order at 6:30 PM
1. Pledge of Allegiance
2. Presentation by George Edwards, Principal of Bow HS. Principal elect of the new Bedford, NH, HS. Topic was transition and high school reform. High school reform is an ongoing thing. They formed Interdisciplinary teams for teachers and looked at block scheduling. Things we are talking about today are not new. Bow was a brand new school starting from scratch.
It is a reform movement for High schools
Breaking Ranks I was released 95-96
Looked at the documentation
Took a little bit of everything and put together.
A lot of good things about Breaking Ranks - more so than any of the other reform movements. Allows people at local level to decide what works best for their schools. Gives you a toolbox. Part of that is diagnostic. Helps you determine what areas you want to move in and what are the priorities. It is not prescriptive and has a series of recommendations. A matter of what is going to work for your school.
Questions – freshman transition from grade 8 to 9 - thoughts on transition?
Critical issue is 8-9 transition. George’s view is that his schools in the past freshman are high school kids now and will have all the skills and knowledge, no recognition there is a continuum and benchmarks and students have to make strides to acquire the skill and knowledge and won’t have it on day 1. Providing a transition should begin before grade 8 and benchmarks along the way and communication between grade 8 and 9 teachers They had grade 8 teachers give exams as a readiness tool. They visit kids in grade 8 and talk with them and introduce ideas and differences between grade 8 and 9 during the 8th grade year. During the 8th grade they do different activities at the high school and see the building, etc. Need to have a day in the fall for gr 8 to come in and have a regular school day just for freshman Three days in summer one – morning hours, afternoon hours and evening hours for freshman. Upperclassmen come in and love doing it. Give tours, schedules, tour guides, parents are welcome, younger, older siblings, guidance counselors, administrator, and teachers are welcome as well.
Most important freshman are organized on interdisciplinary teams, English and social studies class, no longer differentiate for 2 periods and the other 2 are health/PE and science. Not located in any one part of building. Lots of opportunity to interact with other students not just in their grade through PE and elective classes. Freshman teams and sophomore teams work very well. Advisory – all four grades have gone to an advisory led by a staff member. 10-12 students stay with advisory for all four years. Provides another key connection between students and schedule. Advisors see students each day, keeps contact with home. Curriculum diverges for jr. and srs. They offer advisory to them but they are getting into more of their electives, etc. Leveling – They look back to their 4 pillars and want to create challenging curriculum for all students. They do not do leveling – but they still offer 9 AP courses and 12 others that carry college credit. Other than those classes they do not have levels. They are going to raise the bar for every student. They have academic support but don’t need special ed to qualify to use this support. They have the honors option which would be extra work to earn the honors option in that class. Define what challenge means – going deeper into a subject and understanding it and a better understanding of related topics. Advisories – an area they want to improve on. It is for 15 minutes and is adjacent to a 25 minute break from 9-9:40 using 15 minutes for advisors. They have assemblies/community meetings. Every club and activity in school gives 2 minute demo. They go over announcements, take attendance. Have competitions between advisory – pumpkin carving contest. Honors option – time to design – tell teacher and make appt to go over – usually after school time. Who initiates – parent, student, teacher. Have instances where teachers go to students. It is designated on report card quarter by quarter with an * It is explained in profile which goes out to colleges, etc. They have a website, evening presentation, and it is explained to students.
When they opened in 97 had a grand opening ceremony week before opening on a Saturday, invited dignitaries, representative who spoke, selectmen school board, principals, superintendents, speeches, etc. and gave tours. And ended with reception. Did a 3 week summer camp for teachers (because they were all new) and to give them planning time together to get ready.
3. Update on Nashua North HS Visit:
Vicky Avery, Bill Thompson, Joanne Pare, Liz Faria, Anne Plumer-Fisher, Rich Pratt, Ellen Cooke and Vic went to Nashua.
Opened 4 years ago - 2100 students 9-12 - 2nd year as the 2nd high school in Nashua
restructuring effort starting in 1996 - block schedule - 17 AP courses between 2 schools. Not all courses at one school so some students have to travel. Broke down traditional departments to small learning communities. Freshman seminar that is mandatory – they talk about guidance services, library, presentation skills, study skills. Senior service project, articulation agreements. Spent a lot of time establishing school identity. Took ideas from many reform models. Grade 9 academy - 125 kid teams Freshman transition program. Guidance counselors take 9 and 10th grades and then change in 11 and 12. Principal made presentation to community. They got a grant for 1 million for staff development from small learning community initiative.
They had the 4 x 4 block system 4 different courses each semester. Band and chorus were exception. They are leveled and had AP. Successful visit and helped give ideas. Their principal felt need to try not to do too much of a change – too soon – changing everything – just moving is a huge task. Joanne Pare – personal opinion – most of teachers want to stay departmentalized, thinks trend is going to small learning communities. While it is painful, if the trend is to go to interdisciplinary or small learning communities, felt we should do it when we first enter the new building and not after we are in the new building.
4. Transition Committee Tasks, committee assignments
Vic - handout – would like committee to review
Liz – combine #2 and #3 on task handout (organize faculty and organize students)
Discussion of breaking ranks – Liz Faria stated that staff weren’t trained on Breaking Ranks and would be hard to do. Angela Lennox – faculty did workshops several years ago on Breaking Ranks. Peter Stackhouse – the 2000 school year did the re-accreditation and based some of those things on Breaking Ranks. Believes you can pick and choose what works for your school within breaking ranks. Liz Faria– can we not use the Breaking Ranks name – for instance we want to have freshman seminar, etc.
Vic – look at several of reform models, they are all saying the same things. Subcommittees will choose reform they want and present to committee and then ultimately school board. Angela Lennox – looks to the move as a way to make some improvements; does not consider the high school to be broken. Vic – gave staff transition memo #1 regarding physical move
Generated list to audience for signing up for subcommittees. On the tenth Vic will have a guest come to strategize with subcommittees and organize them and then the subcommittees will meet.
5. So what is a Commons? How is EHS organized now? How does it differ from what we do now?
EHS now – discipline – students depending on their location would see the asst. principal in that area. If in a commons area there is the opportunity to have the same asst principal, same secretary, same guidance counselor while at EHS. Not a pod. Where you put your books, get detention, dismissal note is always the same place. Can organize by grade, 9, 10, 11, 12 or by alphabet, some structure to commons that would be consistent. Commons would have a name and be in the computer and then teacher would notify that administrator. Nobel and Concord high school use this model as well as Nashua. Commons can be organized by grade level. Discussion followed. Sam Bruno - will our recommendations go to the full board or a sub committee? Roy Morrisette – that hasn’t been decided yet.
6. Next meeting – November 10th
7. Roundtable
- focus on all students
Meeting Adjourned: 8:40
Respectfully submitted,
Mary E. Murphy
Below is a list of the subcommittees formed at the 10/27 committee meeting. Members who were not at the 10/27/05 meeting have been assigned to committees by Vic.
Ellen Cooke Tyler Hazekamp
Joanne Pare Claudia Scofield
Roy Morrisette Barbara Loh
Evan Mousseau Cathy Rickarby
Ben Allen Jacqui Prendergast
Liz Faria Cindy Clements
Holly Tisdall Bill Thompson
Anne Plumer-Fisher
Jim Daley
Kathy Newcomb John LeSage
Christine Coronis Jerry Frew
Peg Gaillard Patrice Baker
Angela Lennox Angela Bellantone
Peter Stackhouse
Robin Scott
Anne Plumer-Fisher
Jennifer Kinsey
Sam Bruno
Vicky Avery
Rich Pratt