October 2009 Minutes
Last Updated (Tuesday, 26 January 2010 19:46) Written by Nancy Rhoads Tuesday, 26 January 2010 19:19
Minutes
Brackett School Council Meeting
October 29, 2009
Present: Stephanie Zerchykov, Roly Chaput, Allen Feinstein, Nicole Feroleto, Christie Getto-Young, Fern LaRocca, Nancy Rhoads.
Also in attendence: Mies Boet-Whittaker
ACE: Mies discussed changes to the ACE program. Currently she is at Brackett all day on Wednesdays. The 5th grade is following the former model of ACE. The new model includes:
- a 6-week, in class session co-taught by Mies and the classroom teacher for grades 3,4 & 5
- pull-out instruction for the top 2-5% of the student population
- in-class enrichment for larger groups
- mentoring opportunities
- consultation to teachers K-5
Budget: The estimated shortfall for the Town's fiscal year 2010/2011 budget is $4.7 million. Of that, $1.7 falls on the Town and $3 million falls on the school. This is the equivalent of 60 teaching positions.
MCAS: The new growth model used by the State measures the growth of the student from year to year. Brackett was 1 of 18 that scored in the highest bracket.
District Goals: Stephanie handed out the draft of the District Goals for 2009/2010.
After School Program: Nancy received feedback from teachers that they support the idea, but do not feel able to participate due to time and scheduling issues. Nancy will look into teachers' willingness to have their classrooms used by community members. Allen and Stephanie have both spoken with community members who are interesting in teaching classes after school.
Math Support: Allen followed up with Claire Blumenfeld to find out how she got the reading program started. He will contact Nadine Solomon to further discuss the possibility of having community members provide math support.
PTO: The PTO has a budget surplus and are offering to provide money for needed services. One possibility, coming from the Spring survey, is to provide teachers professional development on bullying issues. Another need is technology. There are very few computers available for student use and there is no video presentation equipment (i.e. LCD projector or Smart Boards). Stephanie recommended inviting David Good to our next meeting.
School Improvement Plan: Christie distilled Allen's draft down. School Council members are to review it and think about the top three or four issues.
The meeting adjourned at 4:15.
Respectfully submitted by Nancy Rhoads
