First City Wide PTO of
2017 and Supt. Taymore was on hand to address topics of interest to parents.
Here are some notes:
Task time vs. free time
·
History:
o
There has been
a shift in discussions around task time and social emotional learning (SEL). SEL
started with stress discussions at the HS, now being talked about at MS too. It
comes from a focus on standardized testing.
o
As the
definition of trauma expands, higher incidents are identified and accompanying
need for SEL expands.
o
In the past,
Asst. Supt. Patti White-Lambright and MAAV Director Rebecca Mooney wrote and
received a $440K STEP grant to help with the Mentors In Violence Protection
Program, etc. They just wrote and received another grant ($660K grant over the
next three years, with roll-out expected by September 1, 2017) to bring the work
down to the elementary level. They don’t have all the details yet but Ms.
Mooney is attending a conference to prepare. The previous grant was for
training, etc. and they are hoping the new grant may allow funding of a staff
member. The grant will help w/PBIS, restorative justice, anxiety, etc. It won’t
include bullying prevention.
o
The STEP grant
has spilled over into a lot of other efforts, e.g. allowing the district to do work
around LGBTQ and transgender (especially at Roosevelt and the HS.) The older
kids came to “Speak Out” sessions with younger kids in order to mentor. They’ve
also done the Mentors in Violence Prevention Program (about positive bystander
actions) where Northeastern mentors come in to train; it’s now class at the HS.
HS kids do a group scenario and they are modifying for middle school.
·
Ultimately, there
is a shift in education (more toward SEL) but no state back-off of time on
learning (task time). All districts undergo a state Coordinated Program Review (CPR)
every six months where they must account for 900 student hours of task time at
elementary and 990 hours at secondary.
·
MA is one of
four states piloting with the Collaborative for Academic and Social Emotional
Learning (CASEL), but there is concern among superintendents that the Commissioner
will want accountability on SEL.
·
In Melrose, there
is a K-2 movement break, which is structured for SEL. Typical recess is when kids
“play” and teachers watch but the movement break allows for a different, useful
structure of play.
·
Some schools
have “buddy benches” like Winthrop, but it’s hard to force kids to engage with
them. They are working on this at Roosevelt. (Responsible, respectful, helpful,
etc.) [Parent idea: next year at the K summer welcome, could this be introduced,
since when the concept is started at K, then it becomes ingrained?]
·
The “kids can
be kids” philosophy remains (establishing identity and “pecking order”). Developmentally,
it’s the “gang mentality.” When there
are incidents, they are now discussed (i.e. what did we as staff miss?). The
district would love more time during the day to do PBIS training, etc. The
Supt. doesn’t know when they can greater realize implementation of the SEL
process.
·
Parents are
concerned about combined lunch/recess and snack/school task. Challenge: kids
not eating. It’s a tough choice for kids between eating and recess. A longer
day would be great but to add 15 minutes/day = $1.8M. Some schools have a state
ELT (Extended Learning Time) grant but do kids melt down by the end of the
extended day?
·
There are
close to 800 kids in Education Stations with some kids in buildings from 7:30
a.m. - 6:00 p.m. (At the ECC, an interior designer recommended moving the
youngest children to first floor so there is less transition.) The district is trying
to build in supports during the day while meeting the regulatory requirements.
Superintendents are exchanging info on how to meet the requirements while supporting
kids.
·
MHS is
currently at 992 hours of task time, so there is no room for “incidents” since
we have to make up the time on another day. Task time for HS students means
there can’t be study halls, which came from an advisory issued following the
NEASC Accreditation. Now NEASC is backing off of that but we had already
instituted an Advisory block, which actually helps because every student is
connected with an adult. We need to balance things that must get done.
·
Important to
remember that most regulations are primarily protections for kids in
underperforming districts, and the solution from DESE is “all [districts] or
none.”
School start times
·
We are working
with teachers re: the dynamics of start times.
·
Principal Jason
Merrill is meeting with admins and teachers to talk about the HS schedule in
more fluid way. There will be no impact on athletic activities and no morning
practices due to a later start time.
·
The impact on
elementary students is minor. Concern at Roosevelt is HS students picking up
kids and that will be later. At ECC nothing changes now.
·
The science is
real and you can’t make everyone happy, but we have to work around a lot of
issues.
·
The Middlesex
League districts meet 3-4 times/year to solve common problems, share resources,
etc. For all of them, the start time window is 8-8:30 for at the secondary
level. A mini-conference for Middlesex Supts. was held and Dr. Judy Owen (the
primary author of the American Academy of Pediatrics paper on this issue)
presented. Brain science shows the “magic hours” and how a child’s circadian
rhythms shift. 11:30 is the “magic hour” to go to sleep and Dr. Owen says the
closer you can get to an 8:30 school start time, the better. She understands
reality. The evidence presents itself in reduced tardies, dismissals, and
discipline as well as improved test scores.
·
We have to
consider the fiscal realities of district in all of this. To accommodate HS
students’ later pick up of younger siblings in elementary school, we may have to
have kids wait in a common room (and potentially charge for that). We are now problem-solving
to the best of our ability. We may explore shifting ECC times as time goes on.
Staff presence at
elementary assemblies
·
Staff must be
present at assemblies that include part of the school (e.g. a grade, group of
grades, etc.).
·
All staff are
not required to attend an all-school assembly but there is language in the
contract that defines the protocol that must be in place in order to ensure
enough staff for student safety.
·
Parent idea:
parent volunteer training for each school, done by the principal.
Invitations to the
Supt. to appear at PTO meetings
Supt. Taymore is happy to
attend a meeting to speak with parents and answer questions. Roosevelt stopped
doing speakers. Q: is everyone bringing speakers to PTO? (HM hasn’t had great
turnouts. Roosevelt – teachers come in occasionally and talk for 15 mins. or
so. ECC is doing.)
PTO Rep/Bridge Info
·
MAAV vent for
parents on Monday, Feb 6th at 7:00 p.m. in the MHS Learning Commons called “Talking with Teens about
Healthy Relationships.” (The senior class will all see it together on February
9th.) MHS students will facilitate the discussion portion of the program. (http://maav.org/home/)
·
MAAV is hiring
an Admin Asst./Bookkeeper – 8-10 hours/week. More info on the web site.
·
ECC needs
substitutes so if interested, please call Director Donna Rosso.
·
Community
Reading Day: March 2nd from 8:30-9:30 a.m.
