HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008_09_28 Board Minutes
IDAHO FALLS SCHOOL DISTRICT 91
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
BOARD MEETING
DISTRICT OFFICE BOARD ROOM
October 28, 2008
12:00 Noon
Present from the Board of Trustees: Present from the Administration:
Mary Ann Smith, Board Chair George Boland, Superintendent
David Lent, Vice Chair Guy Wangsgard, Director of Business
Jerry Wixom Gail Rochelle, Director of Secondary
Deidre Warden Karla, LaOrange, Director of Elementary
Caroline Meagher, Recording Secretary
Board Chair Mary Ann Smith called the meeting to order.
Pledge of Allegiance was led by Trina Caudle.
ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA:
David Lent motioned to adopt the agenda with the following changes. Change item a) High
School Revision Report to item b) and add item a) Report by David Lent with recommendations
from the Safety Committee Report. Jerry Wixom seconded the motion. Motion passed.
WORK SESSION
a.Safety Committee Report and recommendations: David Lent reported that he has met with
Heidi Crouch and the Safety Committee. They have been discussing what would a safe
elementary school look like? And how would it be different? From these discussions, they have
formulated a list of essential items to security and safety at the school level. The items identified
are:
1.Substantial doors
2.Re-key all entries
3.Classroom doors that lock from the inside
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4.Playgrounds should have fences
5.Maintain entries with visibility from the office
6.Safe bus and parent drop off zone
7.Parking for staff in well lit areas
8.Develop building level safety plans that will correspond with the district plan
This is the summary of what they have been working on. They are trying to get the most value
for the dollar.
b.High School Revision: Dr. Gail Rochelle, Director of Secondary Education addressed the Board of
Trustees that she will present a PowerPoint presentation of the findings of the steering
committee. Gail took a moment to thank the Steering Committee members. She recognized the
members in the audience; Ann Howell, Basil and Suzy Barna, Suzy Hersch, Wendy Cavan, Trina
Caudle, Guy Wangsgard. There have been a lot of parents (Dave Petti), teachers (Levi Owen),
and administrators (Randy Hurley) who have been active members and they have attended the
meetings faithfully, though they are not present today.
This is an opportunity for us to comply with new state board policy and to increase rigor of our
current courses of study. Our goal is to prepare students to enter college or the work force and
be competitive in the local market. Our best chance for our students to be successful is to
prepare them in high school with a rigorous course of study. Currently, only 18% of our
graduates are achieving a degree beyond high school.
The Office of the State Board of Education (OSBE) has changed our graduation requirements in
the Idaho Code rules governing thoroughness. The sections that are changing are:
105 – All students are now required to acquire 46 credits to graduate (used to be 42). Board
Policy 603.0 will have some changes associated with this change in state board rule. This policy
will be read by the Board of Trustees on November 11, December 9 and voted on January 13.
106 – all districts must offer advanced learning opportunities
107 – College entrance exams will be required for graduation.
(106) In the packet of information handed out, there is information relating to the advanced
opportunities that are offered to our students. We already offer over 20 AP (Advanced
Placement) classes and DC (Dual Credit) classes. The legislature has also appropriated money for
students to take AP and DC courses through IDLA (Idaho Digital Learning Academy) for no cost.
(107) Requirement of a college entrance exam (ACT, SAT or COMPASS) to graduate. We have
been in contact with the OSBA to get more information. There is a commitment that they will
pay for these tests, but we have not received any information about how this will be
implemented.
(107) the senior project is another new requirement. This consists of a research paper, an oral
presentation and it needs to be completed by the end of the senior year.
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The two items for the Board of Trustees to act on are 1) changes to Board Policy 603.0 and 2)
New Course adoption. Both of these items will go through three readings with the Board of
Trustees and will be available in the district office and on the district website for comments from
the community.
The graduation requirements closely mirror the requirements from the OSBE. We are also asking
for one credit in any PE class and one in any Technology class also. We are also asking to require
all students to take no less than three classes per day. The social studies requirements have
th
been decreased to 5 credits required. The Western Civilization classes in the 9 grade can still be
taken as an elective under the Humanities requirement.
It was asked why we are decreasing the Social Studies requirements? It was once believed that
this was very important for our student’s education to have 8 social studies required. The
response was that with higher math requirements, we had to decrease requirements elsewhere.
The classes that have been taken off of the requirements can still be taken as an elective.
We are also waiting to hear from the OSBE as to whether or not the requirements for alternative
high schools will be different as they have been in the past.
How can we figure out how to meet the needs of all kids?
As we know, NCLB (No Child Left Behind) has built its program around the lower achievers
(lowering our standards for all kids.) Most of our students achieve those standards and they still
do not finish college at the rates we would like. We can still increase the rigor though.
It is the job of the Education Directors to ensure engaging instruction for all students. This is
something that we have in our power to improve. We can change the structure as much as we
want, but the critical piece is the instructor and it is about practice in the classroom. This piece is
not a policy piece, this is about implementation.
We are fortunate that the teachers of district 91 all perform at high levels.
How will we measure our success? How can we tell if we are making progress? Is the assumption
that if we raise them academically that we have moved forward and achieved our goal?
We can track who moves on to college. The longer they are out of school, the harder it is to track
them. Many of our students take Professional Technical classes in high school to prepare – or
jumpstart – their college career. These classes are very popular. They are not required, and they
will count towards the three credits per day.
In the eight grade, the counselors are inviting parents in to help develop their student’s four year
plan. During this visit they are introduced to the professional technical options available to our
students.
Other items that we are discussing are the common calendar. Many parents express an interest
in having all kids on the same calendar. It this is just about having the same days off, then it will
be dealt with in the calendar committee. Our focus is on instructional delivery models and what
is best for our students—not necessarily what is most convenient for parents and teachers.
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The Instructional Delivery Model team will spend more time researching the feasibility of the
models. We would like to get the junior high schools and the high schools on the same calendar,
whether it is trimesters or semesters. There is no definitive research to prove that one is better
than the other. There are so many variables that cannot be controlled. Some classes would be
better in the trimester model with longer, 72 minute, class periods (science lab) and some do
not (math class.)
The only research that we do have is on regression. Over the summer students regress when
they are not in class. We can generalize out that argument to state that in the trimester system
when they do not have a math class, they will regress. Class time length should also be looked
at. There is a reason that tv shows are no longer than 60 minutes. We have to be sure that we
are using our instruction time effectively.
The Instructional Delivery Model committee will research all the different models like blocks,
alternating A/B, semester, trimester, etc… and present the Board of Trustees with a thorough
analysis of the pros and cons of all the systems.
Another interesting point is that the higher achievers take classes for AP courses that are already
offered for a full year – because they know that is what it takes to teach a student in-depth. On
the other end of the spectrum – the courses for the students who struggle (the essentials courses
or the fundamentals courses) are also full year courses…. The “C” students in the middle are not
required to take math all year, and they will not take more than required. This group does not
have the same advocates of parents or federal rule to help them. So perhaps we need to look at
a lot more credits for ALL kids. If we go with trimesters, we need to make our core courses year
long courses. I bet our ISATs will show growth.
We need to make this education system support scholarship for our students; but on the flip side
of that conversation, we represent our patrons. We have to make parents and students happy.
We get more complaints from unhappy parents.
A lot of those complaints are from the parents who are involved in their child’s education. As a
public education system, I feel a lot of responsibility for those who do not have the ability or the
knowledge to advocate for their children.
Another piece we are looking into is offering an advisory or mentor class for students 9-12. This
would be a credit class that will help kids work on their senior project. The board discussed
offering a senior project class. They also discussed the option to take a study hall class and earn
credits.
We are also looking into increasing awareness of our offerings for IDLA classes and perhaps have
labs in all secondary schools to accommodate these classes.
We will have three board meetings to discuss the policy pieces that will require the Board of
Trustees to vote. We are considering a blog on the district webpage with strict guidelines to
receive comments from the community.
Jerry Wixom motioned to adjourn. Deidre Warden seconded the motion. Motion passed.
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