School Board Education Committee

February 25, 2013

School Board Education Committee

Centennial Administration Building Board Room

Minutes

PRESENT:

Committee Members:Mrs. Jane Schrader Lynch, Mr. Mark B. Miller,

Mrs. Betty Huf, Mr. Charles Kleinschmidt

Staff:Dr. Jennifer Cressman, Dr. Susan Klyman,

Dr. Michael Devitt, Mrs. Kelley O’Leary, Ms. Julie

Henrich, Mr. Dennis Best

Community:Mr. Robert Shaffer

The meeting was called to order at 7:10 p.m. There was an introduction of all in attendance.

A motion was made to approve the minutes of January 7, 2013 by Mrs. Huf, seconded by Mr. Miller. A request was made to correct the minutes to read that Mrs. Huf was present. Motion carried 3-0 to approve the minutes, as corrected.

Math Highlights

Dr. Michael Devitt, Assistant Principal at DavisElementary School, spoke about the Every Day Math program. He said the program is delivered in a consistent manner in all three elementary schools for grades K-5. The elementary students have 90 minutes of mathematics instruction each day. Dr. Devitt pointed out there are assessments at the end of each unit that provide the teacher with evidence of how the students have mastered the specific skills being assessed. The Curriculum Resource Team teachers are leading the effort to make certain that the program is being delivered consistently in all three buildings. Teacher training was provided in October.

With the elementary schedule this year, there is an intervention/enrichment period. This is in addition to the 90 minutes of core time for math instruction. The intervention period is for students who need additional interventions and enrichment. It is broken into 3 segments, whole group instruction for 30 minutes, guided practice for 30 minutes, and differentiation for 30 minutes.

Dr. Devitt showed a power point and explained there are wonderful resources for parents. Mrs. Schrader Lynch asked about the turnout at the recent evening parent meetings. Dr. Devitt responded that about 15-40 parents attended each of the three meetings. Mrs. Schrader Lynch asked what resources would be available for parents if they could not attend the parent meetings. Dr. Devitt said that parent teacher conferences are one way that teachers can communicate with parents. Teachers are able to help parents this way, even in some cases inviting them into their classroom to observe. Mrs. Huf asked about attendance at the parent-teacher conferences. Dr. Devitt noted that during conference time teachers are heavily booked for every time slot. Davis has received some phone calls and emails with questions about math, but not a large volume.

Dr. Devitt showed a video of an Every Day Math class at Willow Dale. The students were using manipulatives to work on place value. In the video from McDonald, the students were using games with dice and calculators to study probability.

Mr. Miller asked if we had looked at the possibility of having a math fair or math competition on a weekend and whether this would attract more parents. Dr. Devitt responded that parents will come if their child is directly involved.

To demonstrate the different ways of doing things in Every Day Math, there was a short video clip. Stephanie Badulak, a teacher at Davis, was instructing her students how to do partial quotients using an algorithm. Dr. Cressman pointed out that teachers present the concept many different ways so the student can adopt the one that works for him or her.

Dr. Devitt reminded the group that the bottom line is what is happening with student achievement. We use StudyIsland for data collection to collect benchmark data. He showed the achievement profile from October and then again in January. The charts showed growth. Mr. Miller asked if the first and second administration was based on the same material. Dr. Devitt said it was the same math skills and content or operational skills that were being assessed both times

Dr. Devitt said the use of data is universal in all three elementary schools. Willow Dale is a little bit ahead with regard to their data collection. Mr. Michael Donnelly and Mr. Miles Roe are district leaders in the collection and use of data. Mrs. Schrader Lynch and Mr. Miller asked about the progress of data collection at the other two elementary schools. Dr. Devitt responded that at Davis they were paying attention to the building opening and team building at the beginning of the school year. The Davis data teams have met to work on this process. Willow Dale started earlier in the school year with their data teams. Dr. Cressman pointed out that the Willow Dale community is the most stable because they have been together longer as a community. The other two buildings will catch up.

For the next part of the presentation, Dr. Devitt explained a supplemental program called ST Math. This program is a resource that is radically different from Every Day Math. ST stands for spatial temporal. ST Math delivers math instruction without depending on language. This resource is good for students who do not have a strength with language or they may be visual learners. Students obtain a conceptual understanding of math. There was a short video presentation regarding solving linear equations.

Dr. Devitt explained that we have 200 ST Math licenses per elementary school. There are six classes at Davis working with ST Math. It is done in the intervention period that is built into the schedule. This is in addition to the regular 90 minutes of Every Day Math instruction. Mr. Miller asked if the data from Every Day Math coincides with the data from StudyIsland. Dr. Devitt indicated that additional analysis would have to be conducted to determine if there is a correlation. Dr. Cressman complimented Dr. Devitt on his knowledge of math and his presentation.

Program of Studies – WilliamTennentHigh School, B Track courses

Mr. Dennis Best, principal of WilliamTennentHigh School, and Ms. Julie Henrich, Assistant Principal of WilliamTennentHigh School, spoke about this topic.

Mr. Miller and Mrs. Schrader Lynch stated they wanted to hear from teachers and other administrators on this topic. Dr. Cressman explained the Dr. Mundy had conferred with her and the administrative team and it was decided that Mr. Best and Ms. Henrich would be presenting this information tonight.

Mr. Best explained the Education Committee approved changes to the Program of Studies in November. Mr. Best showed a power point and shared feedback from the Academic Council at the high school. He summarized by saying that teachers will need more training to deal with the larger range of student abilities in their classes as a result of the elimination of B track courses.

He noted he attended the Bucks County High School Principals’ Consortium last week, and found that about half of the districts at the conference had gone through the process of de-tracking. Some districts felt the process to eliminate B track courses was rushed. He explained the consortium is an information sharing group, facilitated by the BucksCountyIU and it consists of high school principals in BucksCounty. The consortium has meetings every few months.

Ms. Henrich stated there is a need for strategic and thorough professional development for teachers on this subject. Mr. Best outlined the next steps: Develop a comprehensive plan that includes openly sharing the research, articulate goals that are clear to all, distribute relevant information, and plan for progress reporting to administration, Board and community. Dr. Cressman said the Board has already approved this initiative as part of the School Improvement Plan. We are coming back to the Board to amend the Program of Studies to slow down part of the plan for this year.

Mr. Miller asked if we are missing anything as a District to make this work. Mr. Best said we have to do more work with the staff and put strategies in place so that we are ready for the implementation in 2014-2015. Mr. Miller asked if there are any concerns with the special education students without the B track classes. Mr. Best responded there are no concerns and that we will still have special education classes.

Mr. Miller asked about having this proposal come back to the committee as an implementation plan, including how it will be communicated to the students. A motion was made by Mr. Miller, seconded by Mrs. Huf to continue on the path to eliminate the B track courses, providing support for all students to have an appropriate plan on a least restrictive environment implementation, consistent with the presentation. We will eliminate Discovery Science in the 2013-14 school year as administration develops a plan for full implementation during the 2014-15 school year, subject to further approval.

Dr. Cressman suggested the following wording:

Approves an amendment to the previously approved William Tennent High School 2013-2014 Program of Studies to reflect changes to the transition to elimination of B-track courses to provide additional time for communication and professional development.

The motion passed, 3-0.

Title I Summer School Proposal

Dr. Cressman explained that we formerly offered a Summer Academy for students under Title I and Dr. Mundy has expanded the program for this summer. We are looking to apply the funding we have available in reading and math instruction. It will begin July 1 and run through August 8. We are offering two options, a full day and a half day option. The focus will be on reading and math instruction. The bulk of the academic instruction will take place in the morning. The afternoon sessions will have some recreational activities, team building, social skills and reinforcement of the academic skills. The program will be held at Willow Dale for grades K-2. Dr. Cressman stressed the importance and the role of a community worker/parent liaison.

Mrs. Schrader Lynch asked how the funding situation with the Federal government would affect this. Dr. Cressman explained that we already have the funds available and must spend it this year. Mrs. Schrader Lynch also asked if there is enough room for the WREC program to also be at Willow Dale during the summer. Dr. Cressman responded that no, there would not be enough room, but the WREC has requested to use the high school this summer. The WREC used the high school last year and have asked to use it again this summer.

Mr. Miller asked how many students can be enrolled in this program. The response is between 150-200 students. Mr. Miller asked if there will be a director and how often he or she will report to administration on the progress of the program. Dr. Cressman said yes, there will be a director and this person would probably report to administration once per week. We will post the position and follow the usual procedure for hiring. She clarified that this is a year to year position. Mrs. Schrader Lynch asked for an email clarification about benefits.

A motion was made by Mrs. Huf and seconded by Mr. Miller to approve the Title I summer program. The motion passed, 3-0.

Mrs. Schrader Lynch made an announcement that the next Education Committee meeting will be on March 20, 2013 and Mrs. Huf will be in charge. Mrs. Schrader Lynch requested an update regarding report cards.

A motion was made by Mrs. Huf and seconded by Mr. Miller to adjourn the meeting at 9:00 PM.

Respectfully submitted by,

Dr. Jennifer Cressman, Ph.D.

Superintendent

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