School Climate Committee Meeting Minutes
TO: Phil Brier, David
Buzzi, Sue Chickering, Jean
Dufresne, Emily Graham, Steven Grindle,
Dennis Hill, Carol Kelley, Louise Landry, Doug LaPoint,
Amy Lester, Connie Lowe, Beth McKinstry, Heather
O’Dell-Shipe, Janet Shadroui,
Barb Strong, Alicia Tosi
FROM: Jody Emerson
DATE:
CC: Cindy Donlon, Jeff Maher
Thank you to everyone who attended the March 27th meeting, our next meeting is scheduled for
Monday, April 24th @
In-School Suspension (ISS)
JE: Opened meeting with request for update on
true situation with ISS at this point in time from Cindy & Jeff
CD: Not discussing funding at this point…
PB: Funding should be guaranteed as this should
be an integral part of
TS: Agree ISS should be one piece of the
JM: Everyone supports the idea, but don’t know
about yearly funding toward – support the concept and will work, does fit under
BEST but cost of person
TS: Have been working on tightening discipline,
request for read through of draft “Buildingwide
Discipline Philosophy” and feedback
GENERAL DISCUSSION OF
FINDINGS RE: DISCIPLINE (SEE ATTACHED
CHARTS)
SC: LOFT program at U32 – loss of free time
(In response to a comment
that students could be assigned a study hall TA for short times to get work
done then be returned to their original TA placement)
PB: These messages are concerning, students
shouldn’t get so many chances (referring to students suspended 10 or more
times)
DH: That’s why we’re looking into alternatives
like ISS
CK: Some level of therapeutic component is
missing and we need to have that in place, no matter what we decide for
discipline options.
CD: With mythos we are creating more capacity for
those ED kids (many of whom have been suspended repeatedly). Kids talk about middles school detention with
the principal as a deterrent,
DH: Follow through and support
are the biggest problems that ISS programs face.
JE: Reminder of last meeting minutes re: homework requests being sent to teachers on
the day prior to ISS
SC: Need a “Jack of all trades” to cover that
supervision role
DB: Can we send to a special “TA” for support
DH: Kids in ISS would eat lunch in ISS room and
remain there for TA as well
CK: Reminder also of the idea of teachers
checking in during their prep time.
PB: Does High Schools That Work address the ISS
issue?
JM: Look at this realistically – why did it
fail? Clogged, lack of
follow through – a piece of the solution but not the only solution to our
discipline issues.
DL: Build into the plan – if a teacher isn’t able
to get work down, a CSL can help by going to those teachers to get work for
students in ISS (if pre-attempt falls through)
SC: Needs to be specific not rotating space,
consistency is key
CD: Agreement around table, we need to find an
appropriate space
CK: These are kids that are marginalized already
– lets not put them in a closet. Consider also the sanity of the person who has
to work in that room every day of the year.
DB: Reminder of cafeteria open 1,2 & 4
CD: Very noisy hard to control space, we’ll bring
back some ideas
SC: AV Room?
That has 2 exits and Library seems to have lots of room for possible
storage
PB: We need to change the thinking of both
students and faculty – with the freshman academy we have the opportunity to
create a new climate in this building over 4 years
Attendance:
DH: Attendance policy concerns, in the hope of
altering system “unburden ARB people.”
ARB works well and gives us helpful info BUT lots of time and few kids
are actually removed compared to cases heard, look at teacher driven system of
attendance, builds resentment from teachers toward ARB and administration. School board wanted accountability – daily
list of periodic absences.
TS: Not an immediate consequence doesn’t connect,
doesn’t work, computerize attendance
CD: Fall of 2007 we’ll have a new information
management system
DH: Handing folders in at the end of the block
could help
PB: Consistency needed, teachers as well as
students need to be held accountable
TS: Discussion of Friday school as another step
in the discipline ladder,
CD: Kids w/ attendance isseus
don’t start that problem here – how do Middle School’s deal with
attendance. Also, community Justice has
a new program linked to attorney general’s office, how will that system work?
DH: If school send
truancy, judge mandates that the family get involved w/community justice. Still in beginning/planning
stages.
Assignments:
Ä
CD: Follow-up
with middle school on attendance
Ä
CD/JM: Bring
list of usable spaces for ISS program
Ä
DH/TS: Create
tentative attendance suggestions
Ä
Climate Committee:
Read and provide feedback to “Buildingwide
Discipline Philosophy”
NEXT MEETING:
ISS update/discussion continued, TA
continued, Attendance continued