[CAS-BHS] ALL CAS - minutes on Leadership Council & Staff retreat

[cas-bhs at lists.berkeleypta.org]

Dear CAS community,

 

Below are notes from an important all day retreat, involving CAS staff and members of the Leadership Council.  We reached some agreements on course offerings and block schedule for next year.  Please read it.  You can have input to this process through the Parent Committee, the Student Leadership Committee, or the Staff Meeting.

 

Thank you.

 

Rick Ayers

 

 

CAS STAFF AND LEADERSHIP COUNCIL RETREAT MINUTES - 2-22-06

 

Morning Discussion

 

1.      Staff Culture

 

  a.. How do we create a more collaborative and accountable staff culture in order to better utilize our resources for eliminating the achievement gap?
 

  a.. Staff identified the following issues and developed action plans:
 

    a.. Group 1 -- Staff collaboration: We need paid, structured collaboration time; small group teams; reflection time.  Nothing additional planned for this school year.  Want summer retreat planned ASAP, perhaps with 1 - 2 weeks just after school is out and/or beginning of next year.  Investigate planning grant.  Integrate collaboration time into next year's schedule.  Staff consensus: We will have a summer retreat.  Need discussion on what else we can do this year.
 

    a.. Group 2 - Staff accountability:  Discussion focused on accountability for failing students; what staff needs to do to raise grades of students getting D/F's (e.g., attendance, homework, discipline); how to get info back to teachers and be accountable.  Need to pick high leverage strategies within set amount of time, then check in regularly in staff meetings about how we followed up.  Need to learn to respectfully challenge each other when don't follow up and support each other to meet goals, problem solve.  Staff consensus: We will check in regularly at the staff meetings on our commitments for the student support plan.  We will challenge each other respectfully to follow through on commitments.
 

    a.. Group 3 - Teaching and learning: We need a peer observation system to share best practices, promote collaboration about teaching and learning, see how students respond to different teaching styles.  This would not be a peer review and would not be for evaluation purposes.  Staff consensus; We want to implement a peer observation plan in March.  Mary, Alexander, and Ken will develop a proposal (anyone else interested is welcome to join in planning).
 

    a.. Group 4 - Parent communications: There are both parent and teacher issues.  On the parent side, every parent needs a copy of the CAS Values & Agreements; rubric about how to regularly check in with kids; 4-year plan checklist.  On teacher side, we need to utilize the referral process with Ben; follow up with students; cultivate more relationships with parents; participate in more parent-sponsored events.  Staff consensus:  No consensus reached.  Needs further discussion.
 

    a.. Group 5 - Shared leadership: Everyone is committed to the CAS curriculum, but we need more commitment to creating a context that makes it possible to implement it successfully, including paid collaboration time within the schedule.  Need to look more closely on how to address the limitations of our time.  Staff consensus; Consensus was already reached on Group 1's proposal, which addressed these issues.
 

2.      CAS Courses

 

·        We addressed 4 issues:

                                                   i.      12th grade course offerings

                                                 ii.      Spanish

                                                iii.      Math

                                               iv.      Block schedule (including advisory and collaboration time)

 

·        12th grade course offerings:  Consensus was reached on:

o       We will offer at least 4 courses

o       Seniors will not be in the block

o       All seniors will take Government/Econ, English, and Media (a broad course including project and internship elements) 

o       4th class to be determined after doing a survey of the juniors.  No additional cost in FTE, but we want them to buy in.  Options include a required history elective that would be part of expanded Social Justice seminar; required or elective science course; or CAS Spanish or math course if there are enough students to fill it.

o       Decision on 4th class will be made jointly by staff and LC.

 

·        Spanish: Consensus was reached on the following proposal as a way to model differentiated instruction and build community:

o       All CAS freshman will take Spanish together, regardless of prior language experience.

o       Curriculum will cover standard material from Spanish 1-2 plus extra assignments and projects for those who wish.

o       Native speakers or students who have taken Spanish in middle school may receive credit for Spanish 3-4, and must pass the 3-4 final exam in order to continue to 5-6 as sophomores.

o       This plan will enable students to AP Spanish as seniors.

 

·        Math: Consensus was reached on the following proposal as a way to detrack math:

o       All students will be placed in IMP 2 as 9th graders.  Those who would have been in IMP 1 will also have a "back-up" math course where they receive extra support (including previewing and reinforcing IMP 2 topics and homework support).  

o       All 10th graders will be placed in IMP 3 and all 11th graders in IMP 4, with no back-up in either course.  IMP curriculum may be readjusted across the various IMP levels to accommodate student levels.

o       12th graders can take a math elective, including AP Calculus.

o       The 9th grade backup class will be scheduled during the regular school day for 20 - 25 students, eliminating PE.  We will need to figure out how to address PE needs.  Students will get math credit for the course, but not separate IMP 1 credit.  We'll investigate the possibility of getting seniors to tutor in back up class for their internship.  If possible, the back-up class could include other support (e.g., science, writing, CAHSEE prep); however the priority is to support our ability to successfully detrack math.

 

 

Afternoon Discussion

 

Block Schedule Discussion:

 

3 Different Models were presented by Phil

 

  1.. 3x4
    1.. 3 Courses are given each semester.  A years worth of curriculum is done in a semester.
    2.. There would be 18 (of the 36 weeks) that a teacher would not have a prep period
    3.. The periods would be two 55 minute blocks
 

  2.. AB
    1.. Periods alternate days on which they meet.
    2.. Blocks would be two 55 minute blocks
    3.. Teachers would have some days with a prep and some days without
    4.. A year or curriculum would be done in a year.
 

  3.. 4x4
    1.. 4 courses are offered each semester.  A years worth of curriculum is done in a semester
    2.. Teachers would have a prep each day
    3.. Blocks would be unaligned with the BHS bell schedule
 

Each model would integrate a Wednesday schedule where staff time would be devoted (either in the morning or afternoon) for a meeting/collaboration time.  Every Wednesday would also incorporate an "advisory period".

 

  4.. Stephen presents a model for possible block
    1.. Period 1 (90 min)
    2.. Period 2 (90 min)
    3.. Period 3 (55 min)
    4.. Lunch
    5.. Period 4 (24 min)
    6.. Period 5 (90 min)
 

This model would allow for two passing periods to be aligned with the BHS bell schedule and keeps lunch the same for CAS and BHS students.

 

Discussion of Various Schedules
 

  1.. Teachers would need to alter their curriculum.  They would need to vary the activities presented and make sure that there were build in breaks for students.
    1.. Concerns:
                                                               i.      Teachers would be responsible for creating curriculum, but would not have a prep period for half of the year in which to do so.

                                                             ii.      Students also expressed this idea of different curriculum as a key factor for block scheduling working.

 

  2.. Students were concerned about being able to participate in other BHS activities (e.g. Jacket) if they don't match up bell schedules with BHS.
 

  3.. Teacher concerns/confirmations
 

    1.. More teaching minutes during year without additional pay
    2.. 4x4 needs shared governance and school board approval
    3.. There is only the summer to prepare huge curriculum changes
    4.. How does with affect 60% teachers 
                                                               i.      They would teach 3 courses one semester and 2 the next semester

    5.. Block schedule allows CAS necessary time to implement many of its goals
    6.. A block schedule is college prep because most college classes are longer classes
    7.. No prep period on the 3x4 schedule
    8.. We need contiguous space.  If CAS goes off of the BHS bell schedule, we will need to make sure that students are quiet in the hallways, this is much easier accomplished if CAS had contiguous space.
    9.. This is the opportunity to pilot something for the big school
    10.. Student input:  "we cannot be quiet during passing period"
                                                               i.      Is this even healthy for students to be silent during the passing period or is this a necessary release time for them.

    11.. This affects media classes because they have less days to shoot film.
    12.. How will this affect teachers who are "all in" CAS.
 

Consensus:  We agreed that we will pursue the detail of a 4x4 non-aligned block schedule (that has an aligned lunch) and collaboration time build into the Wednesday schedule.

 

12 Grade Course Offering
 

Rick informed us that science is not a requirement for their senior year to be UC eligible.

 

Consensus:  We will survey the current Junior class for their input in what they are interested in taking next year.

 

Student Support Plan, Equity Goal
 

Many student support issues are already have remedies, why aren't we using them?

 

Can we re-commit to the support plan we have (e.g. homework center.)

 

The staff felt that this puts a lot of pressure on the HW center and Ben.  We need to address the big issues as a staff.  New schedule changes would help us to do this.

 

Consensus:  We came to consensus that we would recommit to the current support plan, with the agreement that we would dedicate more meeting time to discuss the larger picture.  

 

CAS Leadership
 

Rick passed out the criteria list for lead teacher.  The vote will occur at the next staff meeting.  

 

Possible candidates:  Amy, Phil, Alexander.

 

Whip/Closure:

 

Worked Well

1.      Appreciations & Apologies

2.      Having students and parents present

3.      Having whole day retreat

4.      Having LC present streamlined the decision making process

 

Didn't work well

1.      CAS course offering discussion wasn't planned well (which cut the student support discussion short)

2.      Leave more time in agenda because we overran it

3.      Bit off more than we could chew

4.      Need another retreat because this was a two-day agenda

5.      Still not addressing equity (frustration about this)

 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.transbay.net/pipermail/cas-bhs/attachments/20060301/9ef710c3/attachment.html