Curriculum and Philosophy Committee

Minutes 2/21/06

 

Present:  Dr Hanson, Patty Lovejoy, Roy Morrissette, Kim Casey, Lucy Cushman, Tom O’Malley, Peter Stackhouse, Sally Oxnard

 

Visitors: Luke  Pickett, John Hazekamp, Carol Hazekamp

 

1)      Called to order 7:07

2)      Reviewed Committee goals - presentation by Peter Stackhouse-

a)      Implement SINI/DINI plan- continue articulation of curriculum,

                             Implementation of math, literacy labs, data analysis, offer training in 

           differentiated instruction, evaluate reading program additions at CMS,

           Evaluate Mathscape implementation.

b)      Transition Plan for new HS- in process, voted by the Board

c)      Improve personalization of educational program- continues improvement of the freshman advisory program. Implement student assistance teams- in progress.

d)      Continued implementation of high academic, civic, and social expectations. – Review EHS Mission statement before the re-accreditation process. Draft grade level expectations and rubrics – still in the future.

e)      Continue data driven decision making process – training for using and reviewing NWEA data has been implemented.

 

3)      Letter from the NEASC to the COOP Middle School- reviewed by Mr. O’Malley - much improvement and many commendations.

 

4)      Website for SAU 16 reviewed, and data presented thereon.  The website shows all grades 6 to 12 curriculum documents. Math is aligned with the NH standards. Grade 6 has 5 units with 2 enrichment units - All HS courses are aligned with the state standards.  Much statewide test score data is available.

 

5)      NWEA data- too much to grasp. Questions which remain are: a) when will we look at how EACH child did regarding his or her goal, and b) what decisions regarding curriculum are we making based on all this data.

 

6)      Literacy and math lab report - these are small groups of students who were very low in their scores, and have made great progress. That may be what we expect- when your scores are lower you make bigger jumps, when they are higher you make smaller steps.

 

7)      Update on testing- many testing dates booked and many pilots. What is the benefit and when is it too much and what choices do we have??

 

8)      6^th Grade reading list - this list has been widely circulated among the parents of CMS students. It appears to be a list of recommended reading books.  In fact it is not - it is a list which Mr. O’Malley assembled after asking the teachers what books they were using in their classrooms.  In fact we do not necessarily know what books our teachers are using. I think we should know, and should aim to have students read regularly, and read challenging literature at grade level or above, or at least on a bell curve. This list is mostly below grade level books.  Hopefully our new CMS literacy program will address this, or the SAU 16 literacy committee.

 

9)      Nonpublic session- no votes taken.

 

Respectfully submitted

Sarah C. Oxnard MD