Lawn Ave School Improvement Team

September 9, 2004

 

I.                SIT Business:

 

The Sit Calendar:

A.     Meeting dates have been changed for November, which was incorrectly stated.  Joint meeting of SIT Melrose and Lawn meeting will be November 4, 2004, not November 11.

B.    Welcome to new member, Patricia McLaughlin. 

C.    Notetaker for 2004/5:  Robin S. will complete the task.

D.    Martha Vigneault will also take notes when necessary.

E.     Surveyed membership list. Bruce E. will return as VP as soon as he is fit.

 

II.             Principal/Superintendent’s Comments

A.    Discussions followed concerning new Student Coordinator, Alan E.

B.    Discussion of Teen Center

C.    Grant to come, soon.  New Teen Center and may use the senior center as their space.  Money will be awarded in December and teen center to begin in January.

D.    Adult Mentor program: Logan Fund 600

E.     RI Foundation Afterchool Grant was enhanced additional money for after school program

F.     $17,000 for program towards after school programs.

1.  At Melrose

                                                              i.     After school

                                                            ii.     Art

                                                          iii.     Program

                                                          iv.     Robotics

2.  At Lawn

                                                            v.     Sports for all seasons

                                                          vi.     Writers club

                                                         vii.     Cooking and sewing

                                                       viii.     Robotic

                                                          ix.     Science Olympiad

  

 

Member Suggested:            Would like to have strong arts program.

Maybe this should be placed on the web site or as a connection to activities.

 

G.  Outstanding Grant: via Champlain Grant, asked for $100,000 for library. We will find out in January as to the award if any.

1.  Goods have been purchased for the health walk between the Lawn and Melrose school buildings.  Unfortunately, due to the forest, there is a problem with establishing/creating the health walk.

 

III.  Dean of Students (New position 2004/05)

A.Will be in charge of:

1.  Assemblies

2.  Promote a Positive student life

3.  Dean will be the First level of contact for parents and students via office.

4.  Important to have her deal with all activities.

5.  Any students who have been kicked out of class need to see Dean of Students.

 

IV.            Jamestown Strategic Plan

1.          Pressure from State ED dept.

More powerful and all encompassing and required by state and the state will be requesting formalized evidence and documentation of plan

 

B.  However,  School Improvement Plan, which is expected by the state that towns are working on it, has not been asked for by state.

1.  Less powerful and state expects that the towns are making an action plan

2.  Action Plans will be presented to School Committee tonight, 9/9/04

 

Professional Development by the teachers will be worked on this year.  It will be geared to define us as a Middle School—not drastic changes, rather subtle changes.  More changes to come.

 

V.  Strategic Plans A          nd how it was Created,

 

1.              Actions groups worked together to complete strategies in detail.  Focus was on  how to make things happen. 

2.              For Strategy A- meeting individual needs and strengths- was started this year when a letter was sent home requesting the parents input as to their own child’s individual strengths.

 

3.           Strategy D   Professional Development

a. How to provide opportunities for teachers to learn the best practices of teaching.

b. Teachers can go and visit other schools.

c. How resources are labeled.

d .Allows teachers more time to interact with each other.

e.                    Action  #13 b Looking at teaching methods in other districts during or after school day.

f.  Facilitators to assist with the follow through of the training.

1.  # 13 c  New teachers—look at mentoring program—Are new teachers getting more assistance from older?

2.  #14  Professional Development on District level

                              Theme to be carried through the year

Individual Teacher growth in professional

3.  #14b  Using the SALT Survey from teachers to assist bettering teachers. Where do teachers think they should have development?  Set time frame.

 

4.  #15  Focus on Professional Development of Differential Instruction 

                              a.  Bring trainers in or make the availability of workshop for others.

5.     #15b  Teacher in Residence: 

a.     every so many years a teacher will support and coach on a topic for the profession in some needed way within the town, state or country.

 

VI.  Strategy A Enrichment/Teacher/Coach

 

A.  We need to stay the course until we reach the ending goals. 

B.     Will not happen all at once. 

C.    This document has a great deal of “direction” guided by plan of action and language used.  This “plan” is to get us to where we should be. It is not a “done deal.” It’s a blue print.  This is a  5-year project that needs to be done in 5 years.  Superintendent monitors this plan with the staff.  Superintendent gives yearly reports to the state, which is a huge job.

 

D.  Computer glitches.  Our Full Plan for the Basic Action Plans for

E.  Schools Strategic plan is lost in computer.  Next meeting will print this up.

F.  School Improvement Action Plans.  We will do as much as we can in one year’s time.  It will be mailed out to e-mails of SIT members.

G.    Strategic Plan--Assessment Group who dealt with high school selection.

1.  Committee sent to the following schools:

Middletown, Rogers, N. Kingstown, South Kingstown, Narragansett

     2.  Facilities Committee did project Jamestown’s student population and number of students who would probably attend.

a.     Committee sent surveys, questions and requests to those schools to answer

b.     Questions were sent back to Jamestown, but not all questions were answered by each of the 5 high schools.

1.     The best  of the returned questionnaires by the High Schools, had only 50% of the work completed.

2.     The  Worst returns of the 5 questionnaires returned were only  5% answered.

 

Homework for SIT Members of Lawn Ave.

Next meeting, come in after reading through Improvement Action Plan. Be ready to discuss.  Next meeting is October 15, 2004 at Lawn Ave Library at 4:00.

 

 

Meeting Ended at 5:30