Board of Education to meet in executive session June 3

The Board of Education will meet 3:30 p.m., Monday, June 3, at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro in executive session as permitted by the Maryland Open Meetings Act, Section 10-508(a) and Section 10-503(c) of the State Government Article to discuss: personnel matters, specifically the Superintendent's recommendations on certificated positions.

The session is being held at the Show Place Arena because the Board is attending graduation ceremonies scheduled to take place there on June 3.

Graduation information; end-of-year calendar reminders

More than 2,100 students are expected to graduate from Charles County Public Schools next month, and Charles County's six high schools are already planning graduation ceremonies. Ceremonies for Henry E. Lackey, La Plata, Maurice J. McDonough, Thomas Stone and Westlake high schools will be held at the Showplace Arena in Upper Marlboro on June 3 and 4. North Point High School will host graduation ceremonies in the school's gymnasium on June 4.

The following is the graduation schedule for Monday, June 3:

• Stone, 9 a.m.;
• McDonough, 2 p.m.; and
• Lackey, 7 p.m.

The following is the graduation schedule for Tuesday, June 4:

• La Plata, 9 a.m.;
• Westlake, 2 p.m.; and
• North Point, 7 p.m.

School schedules during graduation ceremonies are as follows:

• Stone will be closed for students on Monday, June 3;
• McDonough will be closed for students on Monday, June 3;
• Lackey will have a two-hour early dismissal on Monday, June 3;
• La Plata will be closed for students on Tuesday, June 4;
• Westlake will be closed for students on Tuesday, June 4; and
• North Point will be closed for students on Tuesday, June 4.

The Robert D. Stethem Educational Center will be closed on Monday, June 3 for those students who access transportation to Stethem from Stone, McDonough and Lackey high schools. Stethem will be open June 3 for students who access transportation to Stethem from La Plata, Westlake and North Point high schools. Stethem will be closed on Tuesday, June 4 for students who access transportation to Stethem from La Plata, Westlake and North Point high schools. Stethem will be open for students who access transportation to Stethem from Stone, McDonough and Lackey high schools.

The last day of school for Charles County Public Schools students is Friday, June 14. June 12, 13 and 14 are two-hour early dismissal days. Teachers last day is Monday, June 17. Elementary school report cards will be issued to students on June 14. Report cards for middle and high school students will be mailed on Friday, June 21.

Notes from Board of Education Meeting, 5/14/13

The Board of Education Meeting on Tuesday, May 14 will be re-broadcast on Comcast Channel 96, Verizon FIOS Channel 12 and is available via webstream at http://www.ccboe.com/ . To view the full agenda and the various reports, please visit BoardDocs.

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.

Executive session – 12 p.m.

Call to order – 1 p.m. - Pledge of Allegiance, JROTC, Maurice J. McDonough High School

Recognition of student liaisons

Recognition of student athletes - state champions

Superintendent’s update - see report

Correspondence/Board Member updates

• Bowie - Thanks to Dr. Lowrey for visiting with us; thakns to Principal Snow for presentations on Ramnation and Ms. Mazzeo's presentation, impressed with McDonough; thank you to parents coming to redistricting meetings.
• Cook - attended All County Band, very talented
• Wise - Wade has been selected as the honoree at the Salute to Excellence Luncheon for the new Nu Zeta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
• Wade - MABE updates given to board members; NSBA conference in San Diego
• Pedersen - APFO subcommittee invited to a Henson MS tour; Thank you to board members and parents who also attend the APFO subcommittee; East & West Choral Performances
• Abell - APFO Subcommittee next meeting is changed to tomorrow night at 6:00 pm open to the public; NSBA Conference, catalog available to board members and session summaries available on blog site.
• Wise - Kiwanis Tri-County Dinner; Builders Club is impressive, thank you to the Kiwanis Club.

Education Association of Charles County update - see report

• Wise - Thank you to EACC for speaking at the commissioners budget hearing
• Abell - Thank you to EACC for attending the APFO Subcommittee meeting, it was nice to see the supporting faces

Student Board Member update - see report

CIP update - see report

Educational facilities master plan - see report

Superintendent’s redistricting recommendation - see report; recommends Alternative B with modification for Block 3750

Common Core curriculum - see report; lots of great information and changes in curriculum

Unfinished business - none

New business

• Transfer of Pinefield unusable school sites to county government

Motion to transfer back to county by Pedersen; Second by Wade

Yes=Abell, Bowie, Cook, Lukas, Pedersen, Wade, Wise

 

Future agenda items - none

Recognition – 4:30 p.m.

• Students - Jake Burgess, 5^th grade, Career Readiness, Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School, Principal: Verniece Rory; Taylor Charity, 5^th grade, Personal Responsibility, Mary B. Neal Elementary School, Principal: Carol Leveillee; Joseph Perriello, 8^th grade, Academic Achievement, Mattawoman Middle School, Principal: Douglass Dolan; Christian Jones, 12^th grade, Academic Achievement, North Point High School, Acting Principal: Michael Simms
• Employees  - Pamela Wilhelm, technology facillitator, Mitchell; Catherine Curtis, instructional assistant, Neal; Patricia Changcoco, mathematic teacher, Mattawoman; Jill Bodamer, health occupations teacher, North Point
• Resolution – Washington Post Distinguished Educational Leadership award – Kimberly Hill

Public Forum – 6 p.m.

Action items

• Minutes

Motion to accept the minutes by Cook; Second by Pedersen

Yes=Abell, Bowie, Cook, Pedersen, Wade, Wise
Absent = Lukas

• Personnel

Motion to accept the personnel by Wade; Second by Abell

Yes=Abell, Bowie, Pedersen, Wade, Wise
Abstain = Cook
Absent = Lukas

• Policy 6000

Motion to accept Policy 6000 by Pedersen; Second by Wade

Yes=Abell, Bowie, Cook, Pedersen, Wade, Wise
Absent = Lukas

• Sadlier grammar workshop and SpringBoard reading and mathematics

Motion to accept Sadlier grammar workshop and Springboard reading and mathematics
by Pedersen; Second by Bowie

Yes=Abell, Bowie, Cook, Lukas, Pedersen, Wade, Wise

Adjournment

REMINDER: Board of Education Meeting, 5/14/13

The Board of Education’s next monthly meeting is Tuesday, May 14, at the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building on Radio Station Road in La Plata. The public portion of the meeting begins at 1 p.m. and student and staff recognition starts at 4:30 p.m. The meeting is televised live on Comcast Channel 96 and Verizon FiOS Channel 12 and is rebroadcast throughout the week. The meeting is also streamed live on the Charles County Public Schools Web site. Visit http://www2.ccboe.com/boe/live/ to watch the meeting.

Executive session – 12 p.m.

Call to order – 1 p.m. - Pledge of Allegiance, JROTC, Maurice J. McDonough High School

Recognition of student liaisons

Superintendent’s update

Reports of officers/boards/committees

• Correspondence/Board Member updates
• Education Association of Charles County update
• Student Board Member update
• Student athletes – state champions
• CIP update
• Educational facilities master plan
• Superintendent’s redistricting recommendation
• Credit recovery
• Common Core curriculum

Unfinished business

New business and future agenda items

• New business – transfer of Pinefield unusable school sites to county government
• Future agenda items

Recognition – 4:30 p.m.

• Students
• Employees
• Resolution – Washington Post Distinguished Educational Leadership award – Kimberly Hill

Public Forum – 6 p.m.

Action items

• Minutes
• Personnel
• Policy 6000
• Sadlier grammar workshop and SpringBoard reading and mathematics

Adjournment

Future Potential Student Impact by High School Zone

This was another document given to the School Allocation Subcommittee on 3/27/13, and that I had requested from the commissioners during a public meeting on school allocations in March.  Finally got an electronic version to post.  Please review...it will make your head spin! 

It is beyond belief that anyone in their right mind, after reviewing this document, would go ahead and grant additional school allocations BUT, that is what three of our current commissioners have done!  Shameful!

HERE

Redistricting public hearings set for April 22, 23

The Board of Education of Charles County is holding two public hearings to gather community input on the high school redistricting proposals, which will create an attendance zone for St. Charles High School and alleviate overcrowding at the county's six high schools. Complete descriptions of the proposals are located at http://www2.ccboe.com/parentscomm/transportation/hsredistricting.cfm.
Public hearings are set for 6:30 to 9 p.m., Monday, April 22 at North Point High School, and 6:30 to 9 p.m., Tuesday, April 23 at La Plata High School. The Board is limiting speakers to commenting at one of the two hearings in order to maximize speaking opportunities for the highest number of people.
In order to allow proper time for all interested speakers, the following guidelines have been established for the public hearings:

• Any person wishing to speak during the public hearings must sign the sign-in sheet in advance. The sign-up sheet will be available outside of the school auditorium beginning 45 minutes prior to the start of the hearing. No one arriving after 6:30 p.m. will be allowed to sign in or speak.
• Speakers will be issued a number and will be called to the podium by their assigned number.
• Speakers should limit their comments to the redistricting proposals.
• Comments should be concise and to the point, and speakers will be limited to three minutes. A screen showing the time provides warnings when speakers have one minute and 30 seconds left to speak. The Board chairman will ask the speaker to stop at the three-minute mark in order to provide equal opportunity to all who would like to comment.
• Engaging in active debate with the Board of Education, staff or audience members will not be allowed. All comments must be directed to the Board.
• Note cards will be available for audience members to provide questions for staff. A list of questions received and their answers will be posted on the high school redistricting page of the school system website.
• Board members are there to listen to comments and gather information for use in their decisions on redistricting. Members will not answer questions or comment to speakers during the hearing.
• Remarks must be respectful, courteous, free of name-calling and personal attacks. Inappropriate language will not be tolerated.

The Board appreciates the cooperation of community members in honoring these guidelines, and looks forward to hearing from the public.

Following the public hearings, the Superintendent will develop recommendations to the Board for each high school based on review of the plans and public comments. The Superintendent can recommend one of the proposals or modified versions. A separate public hearing on the Superintendent's recommendations will be held 6:30-9 p.m., Monday, May 20, at Westlake High School. The Board will take a final vote on the high school redistricting on June 11 at its regular monthly meeting.Residents may also mail or e-mail comments. E-mail comments to redistrict@ccboe.com or mail to Redistricting, Charles County Public Schools, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, MD 20646.  For a complete overview of redistricting, fact sheets outlining the proposals for each schools, a redistricting school locator and other information, visit http://www2.ccboe.com/parentscomm/transportation/hsredistricting.cfm.

#NSBACONF - Diane Ravitch

National School Board Association Conference 2013 - San Diego

 

Diane Ravitch

 

Diane Ravitch is a research professor of education at New York University and a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC. Internationally acclaimed for her expertise on past and present education, her most recent book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education, makes the case that public education today is in peril and offers a clear prescription for improving public schools.

 

March 14, 2013: Diane Ravitch talks with American School Board Journal
Senior Editor Lawrence Hardy.

#NSBACONF - National Best Practices STEM Curriculum to Improve STEM Literacy

National School Board Association Conference 2013 - San Diego

The practices, strategies and programming utilized within The STEM Academy (K–16 Program) were developed from identified national best practices by the National Academy of Engineering and National Science Foundation. The curriculum features dual-credit agreements with over 180+ post-secondary institutions. Instructors may earn up to nine graduate school credits through the STEM 101 professional development program.

HANDOUTS

#NSBACONF - One Voice, One Plan — Improving Results for All Students

National School Board Association Conference 2013 - San Diego

In an unprecedented move, the 12 districts in the Ingham Intermediate School District (enr. 44,541) service area made a long-term commitment to ensure each student reaches their maximum potential. Three years ago, these 12 joined forces to change the way they provided curriculum, instruction, and assessment with a focus on prevention and intervention. The boards of education and superintendents agreed to create a countywide multi-tiered system of support instead of each district operating independently. Just look at the successful data!

PRESENTATION

#NSBACONF - Getting It Right From the Start: Building and Maintaining a Successful School Board/Superintendent Partnership

National School Board Association Conference 2013 - San Diego

Learning about the process one school board undertook in gathering information about the characteristics sought for the new superintendent, about the hiring process, and how a successful partnership was formed with a new superintendent. Williamsburg-James City County (enr. 10,254) is sharing specific information and materials about the development of the school board's "Standard Operating Procedures," retreats focused on building and maintaining a strong partnership, and changes to the operation that have solidified a winning school board-superintendent team.

HANDOUTS

America's Most Challenging High Schools

According to the Challenge Index Scores as ranked by the Wasington Post's Jay Mathews .

About the challenge HERE.

DC LOCAL LISTS
I'll summarize for our Charles County High Schools.
For the complete local list click HERE.

RANK     SCHOOL
78    LaPlata
114  Westlake
119  North Point
123  Lackey
139  Thomas Stone
144  McDonough

National Ranking HERE

Bush, Obama focus on standardized testing leads to ‘opt-out’ parents’ movement

The Washington Post
Lyndsey Layton
April 14, 2013

A decade into the school accountability movement, pockets of resistance to standardized testing are sprouting up around the country, with parents and students opting out of the high-stakes tests used to evaluate schools and teachers.

From Seattle, where 600 high school students refused to take a standardized test in January, to Texas, where 86 percent of school districts say the tests are “strangling our public schools,” anti-testing groups argue that bubble exams have proliferated beyond reason, delivering more angst than benefits.

“Over the last couple of years, they’ve turned this one test into the all and everything,” said Cindy Hamilton, a 50-year-old mother of three in Florida who founded Opt Out Orlando in response to the annual Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, which starts again Monday. Her group is one of dozens of new organizations opposed to such testing.

The opt-out movement is nascent but growing, propelled by parents, students and some educators using social media to swap tips on ways to spurn the tests. They argue that the exams cause stress for young children, narrow classroom curricula, and, in the worst scenarios, have led to cheating because of the stakes involved — teacher compensation and job security.

READ MORE HERE

#NSBACONF - Engage Your Community and Generate Funds Through Your Foundation

National School Board Association Conference - San Diego

With school funding poor and getting worse, building the capacity of an educational foundation can have wide-ranging benefits, from passing referenda to raising funds. Learning how District 125 Adlai E. Stevenson High School (enr. 4,000) used a strong foundation to leverage community relationships and partnerships, and foster a sense of engagement and ownership in the district by the community. Topics include governance, best practices, hiring a director, board and organizational development, strategic planning, community engagement, and alumni relations.

HANDOUTS

#NSBACONF - Teachers Matter: How One School Division Builds Relationships Between and Among Its Teachers

National School Board Association Conference - SAn Diego

Chinook's Edge School Division (enr. 10,781) will share what has been a very successful process in their division entitled the Teachers Matter committee. The title validates the critically important role teachers play in achieving the mission and vision for their school division, hence the title, "Teachers Matter." The committee is comprised of more than thirty teachers who represent every school in the division, and their role is to participate at the committee gatherings, and communicate back with respective school staffs.

#NSBACONF - Keeping our Students and Staff Safe

National School Board Association Conference - San Diego

School safety must be a community focused effort. This requires the collaboration of federal, state, and local policymakers, those who govern and administer schools as well as law enforcement, and other emergency responders in planning and preparedness. The Missouri Center for Education Safety is a unique, public-private partnership of the Missouri Department of Public Safety, the Missouri Office of Homeland Security, and the Missouri School Boards' Association. The CES provides professional expertise and serves as a clearinghouse of resources designed to support local school districts in their efforts to ensure schools remain the safest places for their children.

(More to come)

#NSBACONF - Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson

National School Board Association Conference 2013 - San Diego

Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Educated in the public schools of New York City, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson took his passion for science to Harvard and Columbia and then went on to become one of the world’s most engaging and passionate science advocates. From PBS to NASA to Presidential Commissions, organizations have depended on Tyson’s down-to-earth approach to astrophysics. He has been a frequent guest on The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Real Time with Bill Maher, and Jeopardy! In his own words, he wants to reach “all the people who never knew how much they’d love learning about space and science.”

 

February 5, 2013: Neil deGrasse Tyson talks with American School Board Journal Senior Editor Lawrence Hardy.

#NSBACONF - BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) in the Classroom and Beyond

National Schol Board Association Conference 2013 - San Diego

Today's generation of students have been born into, and are growing up, surrounded by mobile devices. Prince William County Public Schools (enr. 83,551) has embraced the mobile device movement by implementing Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). Learning how to implement BYOD in our school district and how to avoid some of the potential pitfalls.

HANDOUTS

(didn't we just have this discussion at the last board meeting?)

#NSBACONF - Saving Money by Renovating Existing buildings to Support 21st Century Learning

National School Board Association Conference 2013 - San Diego

Times have changed and so has education, but school budgets are tighter than ever. Kids are learning differently. Technology has changed. 21st century learning is collaborative, flexible, adaptable, tech driven, and sustainable, and we are able to learn anywhere, anytime. Discovering the attributes of 21st century learning and seeing how they can work within an existing space, making the most of tight budgets and meeting changing needs for years to come.

HANDOUTS

#NSBACONF - Disappearing Ink: Moving from Textbooks to Digital Content

National School Board Association Conference 2013 - San Diego

Practical implementations have replaced theoretical conversations about the shift from print books to digital content. Imagine a high school without traditional textbooks for the past nine years; statewide collaboration to create a digital physics book by Virginia scholars; and a non-profit organization with the goal of reducing textbook costs through the OER (Open Education Resource) movement across all curriculum areas with "flexbooks."

(More to come)

#NSBACONF - Linking Compensation to Student Growth

National School Board Association Conference 2013 - San Diego

Panel discussion on enhanced compensation for staff members at the bargaining table.  Panel offering insights into the unprecedented agreement reached between the administration, teachers and support staff in Schaumburg Community Consolidated School District 54 (enr. 13,955) to enhance compensation based on rigorous student growth. Learnng about how educational reform is taking place in this large suburban school district responsible for educating pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade students in 27 schools.

HANDOUTS