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Agenda/Notes August 28, 2019
Agenda
August 28, 2019 Board Culture, Climate and Learning Committee Meeting
Panorama Village Administrative Center
Meeting Room A, 10:30 a.m.
240 Villa Crest Drive
State College, PA 16801
- Call to Order
- Science Curriculum Revisions (attachment)
- Middle Level Review Update (attachment)
- Public Comment
Each individual will be limited to comments of three (3) minutes as time permits for items on this agenda or related to Board business. - Considerations for Future Agenda Planning (September 25, 2019 - 10:30 a.m.)
- Delta Admissions for 2020-2021
- Secondary Homework (Regulation for Policy 130)
- Professional Learning Communities Update
- Policy Development: Review Section 100 - Programs (consider PSBA recommendations)
- Adjournment
APPROVED
August 28, 2019 Board Culture, Climate and Learning Committee Meeting Notes
Panorama Village Administrative Center
Meeting Room A, 10:30 a.m.
240 Villa Crest Drive
State College, PA 16801
- Call to Order
Dr. Duffy called the Board Culture, Climate and Learning Committee meeting to order at 10:35 a.m.
Committee Members Present: Amy Bader, Dan Duffy, David Hutchinson, Laurel Zydney
Committee Members Absent:
Others: Deirdre Bauer, Vernon Bock, Amber Concepcion, Christine Merritt, Bob O’Donnell, Will Stout, Lynn Tressler
Guests: Debbie Anderson, Tami Nowacki
Laurel Zydney arrived at 10:45 a.m.
Amber Concepcion arrived at 11:12 a.m. - Science Curriculum Revisions
Ms. Deirdre Bauer and Ms. Christine Merritt provided an update of the K-12 science curriculum scope and sequence that was approved by the Board on May 21, 2018. In the curriculum development and unit refinement process, the curriculum staff identified the need for several revisions in the elementary and secondary curriculum. During the 2018-19 school year, they reviewed three Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) aligned resources to support our elementary science curriculum: Amplify, FOSS, and Smithsonian. As a part of the review process, they adapted a resource review rubric to reflect science teaching practices that align with the NGSS, participated in a resource review with each vendor, and consulted with Dr. Carla Zembal-Saul, PSU science education professor and Kahn Chair for STEM education throughout the process. Although each resource included several key components they were looking for on their rubric, none of the reviewed resources met enough of the indicators to recommend further consideration. Ms. Bauer provided a summary of their overall evaluation of each resource. Once the curriculum team evaluated resources and began creating content storylines, it became clear that changes to the approved curriculum scope and sequence needed to be made to reconcile it with the content storyline development process. The changes are outlined in the scope and sequence document. In general, the curriculum team removed a PA standard if it was a repeat of a NGSS standard. Ms. Bauer noted that the Next Generation Science Standards are more robust versus the PA standards. All grades have three units, usually with each unit being an earth science, life science, or physical science focus. Grade five is the only grade with two units because the district included the physical science standards with the other two units because they supported the concepts in those units and contributed to the overall content storyline. For the secondary curriculum, the revisions are due to moving a standard and revising unit titles to clarify the focus of the unit. They added the unit Hurricanes and Why Water is Special to 7th grade due to accidental omission when the scope and sequence was approved. This unit was not copied and pasted into the document as intended. The curriculum team will return to the Board with a proposal that supports professional development with the new science curriculum and content storylines. The inservice days next year will partially focus on science and will be led by the science team and PSU consultants, who will be paid through a contract that will be brought to the Board. Board members thanked the curriculum team for their hard work. Ms. Bauer noted that the curriculum team provides facilitation, but the teachers are key in developing the process. - Middle Level Review Update
Dr. Will Stout advised that he provided an overview of the Middle School Review process at the January 2019 CCL and Regular Board meetings. As discussed, the purpose of the review is to develop a vision for the future of middle level education in the State College Area School District. Dr. Stout provided a summary of the work done thus far, as well as additional work scheduled for the fall. The district has been collaborating with Mr. Thomas Murray from Future Ready Schools to help guide the work with the Steering Committee, faculty, students, parents and community. Dr. Stout noted the work with both the steering team and faculty helped formulate a vision for middle level education by engaging stakeholders in discussions focused on the most important skills we want adolescent students to possess. The middle level review steering team consists of 47 members who represent a cross section of stakeholders in the school district (students, teachers, parents, administrators, school board members, and Penn State College of Education faculty). The steering team met twice last school year as a group to engage in middle level visioning exercises. In addition, the steering team established smaller subcommittees to engage in middle level specific work in the areas of site visitations, Middle Level Research, and communication. He provided background information on the site visitations, the roles of the Research Committee and Communications Committee, and a timeline of the work that the district team would like to accomplish this fall. - Public Comment
Ms. Debbie Anderson, Ferguson Township resident, raised concern regarding the following items: language tech ed issue should be reviewed because it is a hard choice for a lot of families; more off-team math options for students in middle school; and, ROAR occuring four days of the cycle takes away from extra help--if you are a band kid, there is no time for extra help.
Ms. Tami Nowacki, Spring Creek resident, raised a concern on behalf of another parent regarding middle school courses that do not count on the high school transcript for students transferring from another district. She expressed an interest in being a member of the district’s Middle Level Review Communications Committee. A board member noted that it is already established and is a subset of the Steering Committee. Dr. O’Donnell advised there will be opportunities for parents from each of the elementary/middle schools and the public to be engaged and provide feedback. - Considerations for Future Agenda Planning
Dr. Duffy reviewed upcoming agenda items for the September 25 CCL meeting.
Delta Admissions for 2020-2021
Secondary Homework (Regulation for Policy 130)
Professional Learning Communities Update
Policy Development: Review Section 100 - Programs (consider PSBA recommendations)
If committee members have ideas for agenda development, please send to Dr. O’Donnell and Dr. Duffy to prioritize. Agenda topics need to be the consensus of this committee or a charge by the board. - Adjournment
Dr. Duffy adjourned the Board Culture, Climate and Learning Committee meeting at 11:59 a.m.
Submitted by,
Lynn Tressler
School Board Secretary