We kicked off the first
meeting of the year with Lincoln School Principal Allison Donovan and PTO
Co-President Becky Fuentes, as they talked about social emotional learning
(including proactively teaching expectations) and the contributions that the
PTO has made in this area. They also host a number of annual events, focusing
on affordable family fun for their school community. Their next event will be
an international night that celebrates culture and diversity. The parent
English language training has been very popular (and includes many
grandparents).
Supt. Taymore spoke to
progress made on the Technology Plan. She noted that:
·
She thought
there would be slow growth in tech use, but it was very fast.
·
The goal was a
3:1 student/device ratio, but it’s fast approaching 2:1. MHS is almost 1:1
because most students have smartphones.
·
The most
important tech issue now is ensuring that h/w, bandwidth, etc. are up to speed
for testing in the spring. (All districts face this challenge.) Students are
doing online test practice now, but when it’s actually being given, tests will
be cached and downloaded.
·
Tech needs to
be used purposefully, and that’s happening in the MPS.
·
We are in a
better place than a year ago on bandwidth.
·
MHS has a
Helpdesk that is an actual class, and when students aren’t troubleshooting,
they do projects like instructional videos.
·
DESE released
their Digital Literacy and Computer Science standards in June, and this content
is embedded in all courses (not silo’d in a class because it needs to be
“fluid” for students).
Other Supt’s updates:
·
A second
district school resource officer has been appointed (middle school).
·
Interim MHS
Principal Jason Merrill has been officially appointed to the Principal position.
Dr. Heather Josephson
provided an overview of Ed Stations and Campus Kids recommending that Campus
Kids be eliminated beginning this summer. (No other programs are under
discussion for change or elimination.) The Committee asked for more information
and will continue the discussion on January 24th.
The Committee reviewed the
summary of our self-evaluations and will work to incorporate recommended
elements over the next year in order to improve our practice. We also
reaffirmed our Norms and Protocols document (an annual practice).
Next meeting is Tuesday, January 24th at
7:00 in the Aldermanic Chamber.
