Notes from Board Meeting, 2/19/08

The below notes are my personal notes and are not intended to be all-inclusive or official minutes for the Board of Education meetings and are provided as a request from my supporters and the general public in a personal effort to be more transparent. Although I have diligently tried to make these notes as unbiased and accurate as possible, I am only human and do make mistakes.

To view the full agenda and the various reports, please visit BoardDocs.

Superintendent - Report

• Upcoming Events
• Meeting with US Senate staff & partners from the Space Foundation
• "Go Places with Math & Science" NSWC & CSM partnership
• Staff meetings with teachers regarding testing and workloads
• New teacher breakfasts
• Residency proof required for incoming 6th & 9th grade students
• Neal Elementary work progressing. Spirit group for mascot naming being formed
• Russia and Japan partnerships

Approval of Minutes from 1/8/08 & 1/28/08

*Motion by Carrington, seconded by Wise to approve Minutes
Unanimous
PASSED

Board Members Update

• Carrington - Indian Head Elementary - 2/22 Black Saga Program
• Wise - Message to news agencies; quotes directly in paper incorrectly. DO NOT summarize and use quotes. Ensure credit is given to the appropriate board member.
• Abell - McDonough Wind Ensemble asked to performa th the Kennedy Center on Tuesday, March 4th at 6:00 p.m. in celebration of Music in Our Schools Month. Admission is free.

EACC - Update

• Roundtable discussion of teacher workload and testing results and suggestions
• Comments were forwarded to the board
• Requests one early dismissal day per week
• Prepared lesson plans for teachers and for substitutes
• BOE buy materials of instruction that have plans and lessons
• address special education paperwork issues
• Hire IEP facilitators
• IEP planning days
• Hire more speech language pathologists
• Increase mentoring efforts with formal training
• hire employees for hall/bus duty etc.
• reduce mandated paperwork and plans to be turned in
• Invite to Read Across America event @ Old Country Buffet
• Abell - requested copies of teachers comments from roundtable discussions. Board has NOT received.
• Pedersen - Big Brothers/Big Sisters

Student Board Member

• Senator Middleton and Sheriff's Office meeting regarding teen driving - more next month
• MASC legislation session at Chopticon
• MASC state convention in March in Ocean City 3/5 - 3/7
• CCAC meeting last one in April. Elections
• Freshman Seminar discussed and forwarded to staff
• food service taste test for breakfast & lunches for next year
• 2/29 Senior Prom at Jaycees "When Hollywood was Young"

Deputy Superintendent - Student Service Guidance

• See report
• Bachelor's Degree; Master degree in school counseling, 48 graduate credits and 600 hours internship
• 73 in system; 7 nationally certified
• 1 in all Elem.; 2+ in Middle; 4+ in High
• system goal is one for each grade level 6th grade and up
• 759 crisis interventions already this year
• MSDE recommends ration 1:250
• CCPS Elem = 1:434; Midd= 1:296; HS = 1:344
• Wise - appaled @ number of students counselors have to work with
• Pedersen - Where is diversity discussed in MD and HS.
• Grier - Beginning MS; HS it is not discussed due to difficulty with scheduling. Freshman Seminar it is discussed as is suicide
• Pedersen - staff support and counseling
• Grier - Yes
• Shah - Retention rate for counselor
• Grier - Not an issue
• Pedersen - work on reaching MSDE goal. How do we compare locally?
• Grier - Published throught he state of Maryland; don't have on hand

Instruction Report - Middle School Programs

• Extensive powerpoint presentation....very informative
• Wise - Geometry in 8th grade
• Estep - Transportation is busing students to HS

Supporting Services Report - CIP Update

• Neal 77% complete
• Somers - chimney restoration; Phase II of renovation
• Craik - almost done, no longer on report
• Diggs - 8 modular classrooms installed
• Bailey - Trailers at Diggs, amazing yet APFO doesn't indicate a shortage of allocations :)
• Pedersen - Retreat with commissioners...state capacity to core capacity...how did we get here? :)
• Carrington - Can't cut funding when things slow down; perservance...ridiculous :)

Finance Report - Workers Compensation Policy #3541; Rule

• No discussion. Action next month

Legislative Update - Schwartz

• HB21 - Compulsory attendance to 18 - large fiscal impact
• HB199 - Bullying
• HB546 - Bullying
• HB732 - Bullying
• SB850 - public school labor relations board - oppose
• SB96 - high truancy
• SB77 - In-county transfers
• HB169 - In-county transfers
• HB920 - transfer students of violent crimes per victims requests
• HB841 - 2 credits physical education and certain # of minutes per week
• HB1411 - Increase opportunities for disabled in athletics
• SB849 - Increase opportunities for disabled in athletics
• HB760 - Allow students who don't make an athletic team at one HS to try out for the same program at another school
• Pedersen - HB841 affects on CCPS
• Shah - compulsory attendance age - old or new?
• Schwartz - a version of this has been submitted for the last 5 - 6 years
• Bailey - # of students affected by HB21
• Cunningham - dropout rate approx 3% of all HS students. Don;t have exact #'s
• Wise - HB21...MABE voted to support with age change to 17
• Schwartz - hard to implement in some schools because of shared space gym/cafeteria

Action Items: Personnel

*Motion by Wise, seconded by Pedersen to approve Personnel
Unanimous
PASSED

Unfinished Business

• Bailey - staff development for counselors & person in charge
• Cunningham - they attend regular staff development meetings and specialized ones
• Wise - Task committee has met and will be forwarding in update for discussion at work session
• Pedersen - APFO committee - include a review every 3,5,10 years?
• Abell agreed

Future Agenda Items

• Emily Ferren - Charles County LIbrary requests time on the agenda to brief the board with opportunities available