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| BOARD UPDATE DATELINE 10-19-99 TEST SCORES AND TEACHER PERFORMANCE CURRICULUM DIRECTOR, DENNIS SPINELLA, REPORTED THE 1998-1999 TEST RESULTS FOR THE ITBS AND THE PSSA. ITBS WERE BROKEN DOWN BY BUILDING BUT ADAMS WANTED TO SEE THE SCORES BROKEN DOWN BY CLASSROOM IN ORDER TO TELL THE GOOD TEACHERS FROM THE BAD. THERE SHOULD BE NO PROBLEM, ACCORDING TO ADAMS, IN HOLDING INDIVIDUAL TEACHERS ACCOUNTABLE FOR TEST SCORES. TEACHERS WHO DO BETTER, HE REASONED, MIGHT DESERVE TO BE PAID MORE. IN RELATED NEWS, THE BOARD VOTED TO APPROVE SENDING THE SUPERINTENDENT TO A PA SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION PRESENTATION ON "PERFORMANCE-BASED COMPENSATION FOR PROFESSIONAL EDUCATORS". DR. BONFIELD EXPLAINED THAT SOME BOARD MEMBERS WERE EMPHATIC ABOUT TYING PERFORMANCE TO PAY, AND SINCE NEGOTIATIONS ARE COMING UP SOON, HE THOUGHT HE SHOULD GET MORE INFORMATION ON THIS. CHAPTER 4 AND PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT THE SECOND READING OF THE NEW POLICIES TO ALIGN WITH CHAPTER 4 WILL OCCUR NEXT MEETING. THE POLICIES REGARDING REVIEW OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS AND EXEMPTION FROM INSTRUCTION SURE AREN'T PARENT OR STUDENT FRIENDLY. PARENTS CAN ONLY REVIEW THE CURRICULUM ONCE EVERY 9 WEEKS. IF PARENTS FIND ANYTHING OBJECTIONABLE, STUDENTS CAN BE EXEMPTED FROM INSTRUCTION, BUT TEACHERS ARE PROHIBITED FROM TELLING THE CHILD IT IS TIME TO LEAVE THE CLASSROOM. THE CHILD MUST MAKE THAT REQUEST (THAT'S BOUND TO WORK WELL IN KINDERGARTEN...). PARENTS, NOT TEACHERS, ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR FIGURING OUT WHAT THE CHILD WILL DO WHILE OUT OF THE CLASSROOM. COULD THE DISTRICT MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR PARENTS TO EXERCISE THEIR RIGHTS? ADAMS DOESN'T LIKE ANY OF THE POLICIES AND WANTED TO HAVE A MOTION TO AUTHORIZE SOLICITOR KING TO PREPARE A RESOLUTION OPPOSING CHAPTER 4. AFTER ALL, 30 OTHER DISTRICTS HAVE ALREADY DONE THIS. TWO NEW COMMITTEES ARE IN THE WORKS. THE FIRST IS AN INTERMEDIATE STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMITTEE. A FACILITATOR WILL BE HIRED TO HELP A COMMITTEE OF BOARD MEMBERS, PARENTS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS TIE IN THE NEW STRATEGIC PLAN WITH THE OLD. ADAMS IS CONCERNED ABOUT WHO WOULD BE ON THE COMMITTEE. REMEMBER, THOUGH, CHAPTER 4 GIVES -EVERY PARENT THE RIGHT TO BE INVOLVED IN STRATEGIC PLANNING. THE SECOND COMMITTEE IS A COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE. ROBERTS FELT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA, EVEN IF THERE WAS NO CHAPTER 4. WE'RE BEHIND THE TIMES, HE SAID. WATSON ALSO SUPPORTED THE IDEA OF INVOLVING THE COMMUNITY IN EDUCATION. SMITH WANTED TO SEE GUIDELINES AND REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COMMITTEE. GEE, PARENT AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT. WHERE HAVE I HEARD THIS BEFORE??? CORE KNOWLEDGE IS STILL ALIVE- BARELY NEXT MEETING, THE BOARD WILL VOTE TO APPROVE SENDING SPINELLA, WATSON, CHRISTMANN AND 2 TEACHERS TO THE CORE KNOWLEDGE CONFERENCE IN MARCH. SMITH WANTS TO TAKE A BUSLOAD OF TEACHERS, ADMINISTRATORS AND BOARD MEMBERS TO VISIT A CORE KNOWLEGE SCHOOL. SPINELLA SHARED THE RESULTS OF A TEACHER SURVEY REGARDING CORE KNOWLEDGE. 90 DISTRICT TEACHERS RESPONSED TO 5 QUESTIONS AND PROVIDED COMMENTS. 36 TEACHERS DON'T WANT TO ABANDON CORE KNOWLEDGE. 57 TEACHERS THINK IT SHOULD BE INCORPORATED INTO THE CURRICULUM, BUT NOT FORMALLY ADOPTED. ADAMS SAYS THEY'RE AFRAID OF ACCOUNTABILITY. YOUNGMANN SAYS THEY'RE AFRAID OF THE WORK. CHRISTMANN SAYS IT'S NOT REALLY UP TO THEM (ONLY A FEW TEACHERS DEVELOPED THE CURRICULUM ANYWAY) - IT'S THE BOARD'S DECISION. MISCELLANEOUS TIDBITS AT THE NEXT BUSINESS MEETING, THE BOARD WILL VOTE TO APPROVE THE LIST OF MENTOR TEACHERS FOR THE 99-00 SCHOOL YEAR. BONFIELD ASSURED COURTNEY THAT THE LIST HAD BEEN ALTERED SINCE LAST TIME. THE BOARD WILL VOTE ON APPROVING THE PURCHASE OF A BOMB-SNIFFING DOG. THE DOG WILL BE JOINTLY OWNED BY 6 OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND THE BUTLER COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE. APPARENTLY IT WAS HARD LAST YEAR TO FIND HUMAN VOLUNTEERS WILLING TO SEARCH THE HIGH SCHOOL FOR BOMBS. IN SECURITY RELATED NEWS, CHRISTMANN SAID HE'D BEEN IN THE HIGH SCHOOL RECENTLY AND WAS ABLE TO WALK THROUGHOUT THE BUILDING WITHOUT ANYONE CHALLENGING HIS PRESENCE. HE WAS ALSO CONCERNED THAT THERE WERE NO SIGNS ON THE DOOR TELLING VISITORS TO REGISTER AT THE OFFICE. BONFIELD ASSURED HIM THAT TEACHERS WERE ASSIGNED TO MONITOR THE HALLS. A PARENT ASKED WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT YEAR WHEN THERE WERE TWO FIRST GRADES AT HAR-MER AND NO AVAILABLE SPACE. WELL, THE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE RENOVATIONS ARE STILL GOING ON (AND ON AND ON AND ON...). ADAMS HAD MORE DRAWINGS FOR STEEL BUILDINGS. COURTNEY, YOUNGMANN, ADAMS, CESSAR AND BONFIELD VISITED A STEEL BUILDING. OTHERS PLAN TO VISIT BC3 TO SEE THEIR BUILDINGS. SOMEHOW IN THE MIDST OF THAT DISCUSSION ROBERTS TOLD ADAMS TO GO EAT ... PRUNES. IF THEY WAIT MUCH LONGER, WINTER'S GOING TO SET IN AND NO CONSTRUCTION WILL BE POSSIBLE BOARD UPDATE 10-25-99 Rumor Mongering An overflow crowd attended the Board meeting to express their concern for the lack of progress on the Har-Mer renovations. Tom Bodie, president of the Home and School Association, expressed the concerns of the community and called for an end to the "parochialism" and get this project back on track. Dr. Duryea, in an attempt to put out the fire (cover up for lack of progress) asked Dr. Watson to speak to the gathered taxpayers (voters). Dr. Watson, who apparently had many phone calls over the weekend, attempted to explain that everything the Har-Mer people had heard was just rumors and they had nothing to worry about. Har-Mer would not be short changed and everything would be ok. Yeah, right. Remember Har-Mer has had toxic water for years. But....naw, Har-Mer isn't getting short changed. On man, disgusted, disrupted the meeting yelling that all of this was "garbage" and stormed from the room. The deal is that after 21 months and 17 board meetings this board has desided to look into modular construction Bottom line? Bill Adams has a buddy who in in the Modular business. That is why we are looking at this at this late date.. After $300,000 to our architect we are now looking into Adams "new" idea to save taxpayer $. Why didn't the Board look into modular construction before now? Good question. Maybe he didn't know who he knows now! Some Board members expressed concern that the citizens at the meeting were there because Jim Roberts had told them that they would never get renovations at Har-Mer if they didn't attend. Hmmm. I don't know about that, but I do know that Roberts will be leaving the board at the end of this year. Could it be that he wants a "legacy" before he leaves? BOARD UPDATE Nov. 8, 1999 Another lively meeting regarding renovations at Har-Mer, with a few new ideas introduced. Mr. Adams came armed with plans, drawings and panels, hoping to convince the Board of the wisdom of pre-engineered buildings. Al Cuteri, architect, and Tom Gorski, engineer, stated that in August, the Board asked them to look at modular, not pre-engineered buildings. Turns out modulars aren't feasible. Now that the Board has figured out they mean steel buildings, Cuteri and Gorski were unsure about the actual savings since it will be expensive to attach the addition to the existing building. They also had concerns about acoustics, ventilation, parking, etc. They were also dismayed that earlier input from parents and faculty regarding renovations was being ignored. But Adams continued with his agenda. He made a motion to discharge Cuteri. No action was taken. Duryea, who seems quite eager to appease Mr. Adams, recommended having Roger Weaver compare Adams' propososal with that of the architect. Duryea says Weaver's report will be the last word. Weaver knows how this Board works and agreed to do so only if his ethics and integrity would not be questioned. While Adams "trusts" Weaver, he still wants the report to be verified. The report would perhaps be ready in December, maybe later. Watson wondered what happened to the motion made at the last meeting which called for a final decision to be made by the end of November. He wants to keep to the timeline for the bond issue. Gee. What a novel idea. Will Weaver's report be the final word? Guess it depends on the President. It must be hard to have to choose between satisfying a single board member's agenda and providing a quality learning environment for the little boys and girls..... Of course Mrs. Courtney did recommend the Board look into tearing down Har-Mer and putting up a new steel building. But the delays are almost over, right??? |
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