Secondary Schools Task Force
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
4:00
– 7:00 p.m.
I. Welcome - Superintendent O’Connor
II. Impact of
feedback from previous meeting (handout)
· Meeting was held offsite with teaming teachers.
- Dana Allen and MaryJo attended.
- Teachers were happy with outcome of meeting.
- Mary Hastings attended and presented visioning piece.
- South Portland is in first year of teaming.
III. Presentation of further work at Portland High School and Tuning Protocol -
Portland High staff
· Governance
- Action Team formed in March, 2005.
- Teachers want to be empowered with teaching and learning - this
determined through the sit process.
· Aspirations Program
- Melmack Foundation Grant
- Goal to have more students move on and enroll in post secondary
education.
- Contacted all 2005 graduates in Fall
of 2005.
- More students have the intent to move
on to post secondary, but
not all move on. In PHS 68% showed interest but only 58%
actually enrolled.
- With respect to PSAT’s, the state required all seniors to take, but PHS required all students to take. Juniors were to pay for theirs and families could work with administration about payment for this at the high school.
- In January there was a financial aid night.
- College trips for sophomores will be done in April. Students will
spend two hours at a college. The goal for this visit is to get students on campus - not to enroll.
- Over the summer the school will be contacting 2006 graduates who
say they are moving onto some kind of post secondary education.
· AP Work
- Will be adding courses.
· Whatever It Takes (chapter 3)
- Group brainstormed ideas around student support. These items
were tallied and the five most wanted are listed on the last page of
the handout.
Secondary Schools Task Force Page Two March
14, 2006
· Clarifying questions
- RE: governance - how many std on and how many proposed?
- Regarding the survey on 2005 graduates, did the survey only inquire if
they are in a college or not, or is it deeper than that, like why?
- Melmac Grant, do they interact with gear up activities in school.
- Do the Junior AP courses provide college credit?
Answer: Depends on college they have applied to. Students still won’t take
test until senior year. Theory is two years of courses will have better outcome.
- College tours: just four year or community as well?
Answer: Both - this year going to SMCC. Next year will visit both two year and
four year schools. This year there is a time limit so cannot do this year. Many schools in state are visiting colleges through this grant as well and it’s difficult to coordinate times.
- Which items are new this year on calendar?
Answer: Contacting recent grads; newsletter; open
house meeting with parents; requiring
all juniors to take PSAT; college night in fall; mailing freshman report
cards; essays for seniors and
juniors writing in class; mock admissions
assembly; mailing PSAT results
to parents; financial aid night; SAT prep –
teacher working with juniors
during study hall; college visits; senior information
sheet; step up day; survival kits to college bound seniors.
- Have you considered linking college visits with taking college courses in
high school?
Answer: Early college for me: students are allowed to take up to two
courses at
SMCC during the senior year;
many seniors are currently taking classes at USM.
- Regarding the unanimous feedback from staff, how do we reconcile the
role of the educational leader in the building and teachers making
decisions? Should this intersect with work being done with Gail Dufour
work?
Answer: This has been a struggle - this needs to be communicated.
· Feedback
- School governance: DHS struggles with this and communication. Would
be important to make the communication piece explicit. Graph showing
all groups working together would be helpful.
- SIT decision making process as it exists - is there a winner or loser?
Should we examine what it was about that lead to the decision.
- Getting college credit for taking AP classes would have dramatic impact
on students wanting to take the course.
- College visits - if students could make a choice and get credit for making
the visit, it would be more appealing.
Secondary Schools Task Force Page Three March
14, 2006
- Portland Schools will have Powerschool, a new student software. This
may positively help with work that currently needs to be done.
- MELMAC - having programs during the day is a goal. Panel is during the
school day. Would like longer time to visit schools during the day.
IV. DINNER
V. Impact of
feedback from previous meeting - Ken Kunin
· Feedback lined up with feedback from parent meeting and focus groups at
school.
· Visited Lewiston and will be visiting Poland. Spoke with York Schools
and South Portland. Asking same question, “How is this going to make
students achieve more?”
· The word ‘family’ does not appear in their documents at all. DHS has
struggled with this.
· Looking at four year developmental curriculum. Decided to keep it simple
and know more.
· Acton team will meet again and will bring the plan to school improvement
team in April then full faculty in May.
VI. Presentation
of further work at Deering High School and Tuning Protocol
· Last 2 days at DHS have been focused on student perception/experience of
treatment at Deering High School. Steve Wessler participated. Ken has
done research throughout the nation, met with NAACP. Focus groups
were held that involved 70 students in 8 different groups asking, “Have
you first hand witnessed any acts of violence and what happened - what
should happen?”
Resulted in Roll Out public meeting that first met with students then
staff then family and community. Students and Steve Wessler helped school talk with press to talk about this work.
· “Whatever It Takes”: This focuses on how we will use time
efficiently. Gives teachers opportunity to collaborate.
· Clarifying questions
- Students targeted for diverse pathways, is it mandatory?
Answer: yes in collaboration.
- How does it interface with Deering coaching?
- How will students know whether they will be in intervention or
curricular tutoring?
- Would it be curricular tutoring, intensive intervention and
counselor watch?
Secondary Schools Task Force Page Four March
14, 2006
- Student progress work will be two weeks in length. How do you
measure progress.
Answer: There will be a contract that outlines goals and a timeline.
- Is this for non special education?
- Was is the Anticipated number of students?
Answer: We don’t yet have a number and don’t know
how many we can
handle
- Is this for upper classmen only - from 8th grade?
Answer: at any recommendation with a target of
freshman first. General
idea is to
reach general level of literacy. We
want to be sure to get
students
achieving so we need to start at the freshman level.
- Is curricular tutoring one on one?
Answer: No - there will be other teachers to help
and would be study
hall.
- Purposeful collaboration - is there expectation for teachers?
How do we know what teachers are doing with this time?
Answer: Teacher leaders will supervise the work.
- Have there been conversations around this so it’s not perceived as ‘punitive’?
Answer: Have not looked at this yet as we are just
in beginning stages.
DHS is aware
that this needs to be conveyed.
· Focus group discussions:
- Be sure it’s not too long or too short.
- Will it overwhelm guidance? Doing it already, not by choice but by
design.
- Whatever is done - do it well.
- Needs to be a positive experience.
- Purposeful collaboration is too broad.
- Research for teachers.
- Have you considered working with PHS as they are doing similar work – for example, reading and math after school for all students.
- Intensive summer academy.
- Data for identifying students - needs additional pieces.
- Counselor watch - consider confidentiality.
- Curricular tutoring should be available for a wide range of students.
- Are there enough student assistant teams?
- Could there be incentives for students.
- Teacher leaders need to be more defined.
- Student mentors to do matching.
- What happens when students go to student assistant teams? It’s a big
jump. What does the action plan look like?
- Be careful not to think that it can be done all at once - set priorities.
- It’s not about labeling but giving students what they need to be successful
Secondary Schools Task Force Page Five March
14, 2006
VII. Wrap up and Homework for April meeting - Dana Allen
· There is only one more meeting. Looking at the charge, this group has
done a great job tackling the charge. Next month’s meeting will be
focused at one last charge which is to look at certain policies (attendance,
rank in class/weighted grades, graduation requirements, promotion
Tuesday, April
11th 4:00 – 7:00
p.m. Glickman Library University of
Southern Maine
retention).
Next Meeting