High School Curriculum Notes 11-1-17

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HS has proposed a 4th course, “Civil Engineering & Architecture,” which will only cost ... prepared for college
High  School  Curriculum  Minutes   11/1/17         1. NYS  Regents  Exams     -­‐ The  High  School  team  has  considered  changing  how  much  the  Regents  exams  count  in  the  final   average,  however,  math  is  the  only  one  that  typically  hurts  our  students  (chemistry  conversion  is   also  bad,  but  test  itself  is  not  problematic).     -­‐ In  general,  the  exams  overwhelmingly  help  the  averages  of  students  in  the  district,  therefore,   curriculum  coordinators  are  reluctant  to  have  them  weigh  less  into  overall  averages.   -­‐ What  do  we  do  in  the  meantime?  District  encourages  kids  with  lower  scores  to  sit  for  retakes  to  help   improve  scores,  the  state  may  be  offering  to  include  a  statement  explaining  math  situation  for  those   students  affected  by  faulty  exams  and  scoring  scales  that  students  can  include  in  college   applications,  and  other  options  are  being  explored  as  well.  (Class  of  2019  is  the  one  that  has  been   affected  every  year  since  8th  grade,  although  each  year  has  its  issues.)     2. PLTW     -­‐ Plan  was  always  to  offer  a  4th  year  course,  as  district  likes  to  commit  to  4  year  sequence.  Last  year,   3rd  course  was  announced  as  “the  last”  at  a  meeting  and  it  wasn’t  addressed  immediately,  therefore   on  everyone’s  minds  this  year.     -­‐ HS  has  proposed  a  4th  course,  “Civil  Engineering  &  Architecture,”  which  will  only  cost  an  additional   $3000  (District  +  HS  have  spent  $80,000  for  1st  3  courses),  so  Mrs.  McLaughlin  is  hopeful  it  will  be   looked  at  favorably  in  discussions.  HS  will  cover  this  cost.   -­‐ Awaiting  BOE  approval  Dec./Jan.   -­‐ Design  and  Drawing  for  Production  (DDP)    and  Principles  of  Engineering  (POE)  are  prerequisites   for  the  4th  course.  These  first  two  are  foundation  courses,  while  CIM  (level  3)  is  more  of  a  student   driven  course.   -­‐ PLTW  pairing  with  Studio  Art  &  Life  Skills  to  design  and  create  Masonite  gingerbread  houses  to  sell   for  charity.     3. Add/Drops     -­‐ Creating  a  master  schedule  is  a  tricky  situation  because  the  district  has  a  policy  that  classes  with   enrollment  under  15  do  not  run  without  special  permission.     -­‐ Careful  consideration  is  given  to  how  many  kids  are  in  each  section  of  every  class,  so  add/drops  can   create  a  logistical  nightmare.     -­‐ Students/parents  are  given  3  opportunities  to  change  schedule  before  the  master  is  set  –  after  that,   it  becomes  an  issue  due  to  careful  balancing,  so  all  requests  must  be  weighed.  (Process:  1.  Students   pick  courses,  2.  Verification  is  sent  in  May  -­‐  best  guess  based  on  3rd  quarter  grades,  3.  Verification  is   sent  again  after  final  grades  are  entered,  4.  Master  schedule  is  built,  5.  Portal  opens,  6.  Add/Drop   begins.   -­‐ “Correction  of  Error”  form  has  vastly  simplified  and  streamlined  course  changes,  but  issues  still   arise.  If  there  is  an  unforeseen  absence  on  the  part  of  staff,  parents  need  to  understand  that   someone  (department  head,  guidance,  office)  must  still  investigate  request  before  authorizing  any   switch.  

  4. Social  &  Emotional  Wellbeing     -­‐ #Compassioniscontagious  is  the  high  school’s  tagline  this  year.     -­‐ We  have  a  new  program  called  Upstander  Ambassador  (10  students),  where  students  were  trained   to  help  with  bullying.  These  students  will  eventually  be  visiting  other  buildings,  because  peer-­‐to-­‐ peer  works.   -­‐ 21  students  participated  in  “Safe  Talk  Training”  to  learn  to  identify  someone  in  crisis.  We  will  do  this   again  in  the  spring.   -­‐ Anonymous  students  pushing  in  to  lunch  periods  to  sit  with  kids  who  are  alone.   -­‐ Peer  Educators  program:  Mental  Health  unit  is  now  called  Brain  Health  to  include  more  and  lose  any   stigma.   -­‐ HS  has  suggested  anonymous  2-­‐way  reporting  to  superintendent.   -­‐ Looking  into  options  for  devices  to  be  installed  in  bathrooms  that  could  pick  up  elevated  sounds   (yelling)  or  vape.   -­‐ HS  requesting  more  cameras  for  hallways.   -­‐ Homework  should  serve  a  purpose,  not  just  be  more  work.  Students  should  talk  to  teachers  if  they   feel  they  have  too  much  to  handle.   -­‐ Painting  the  bathroom  with  empowering  sayings  –  girls’  are  done.  Working  on  a  plan  for  the  boys.   -­‐ Empowering  students  to  advocate  for  themselves.  (See  student-­‐led  conferences  below.)   -­‐ HS  Staff  Development  :  team  building  games,  google  classroom,  flipped  classroom,  3D  printers,   teaching  strategies  to  calm  down  (through  #compassion  is  contagious)       5. Next  Generation  Learning  Standards     -­‐ Not  terribly  earth  shattering  for  the  HS   -­‐ Changes  are  minimal  in  terms  of  Math  and  English.  Often  standards  are  simply  being  moved  to  a   different  area,  not  eliminated  or  changed.   -­‐ State  claims  they  will  fix  the  tests.   -­‐ Next  Gen  Science  changes  presented  on  11/8  -­‐  a  few  slides  in  presentation  to  BOE  11/8  pertain  to   HS   -­‐ Arts  standards  have  changed  to  contain  a  media  arts  component.     6. Student-­‐Led  Conferences     -­‐ Mrs.  McLaughlin  added  this  to  agenda,  because  she  said  that  while  kids  report  being  academically   prepared  for  college  out  of  GC,  data  indicates  that  they  are  not  prepared  to  advocate  for   themselves.   -­‐ 12  students  were  chosen  by  guidance  (each  counselor  chose  1  senior  and  1  junior)  to  lead  their  own   conference  this  year.  (Parents  observe  but  don’t  speak  until  the  last  minute.)   -­‐ Students  were  prepped  on  what  to  do  and  will  be  asked  afterwards  for  feedback.   -­‐ District  hopes  to  move  towards  this  type  of  thing  going  forward  to  help  students  become  more   independent.