Bettendorf High School Improvement Team report

Unofficial Minutes of the November 20, 2006 Special Meeting of the Board of Education (pending Board approval)

The Board of Directors of the Bettendorf Community School District, in the County of Scott, State of Iowa, met in open session according to Iowa law for a special Board meeting at Bettendorf High School, 3333 18th Street, Bettendorf, Iowa, on November 20, 2006. President Anderson called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Colleen Skolrood, Acting Board Secretary, verified that the meeting notice had been posted and mailed to the media as required by law. Members present: Directors Anderson, Crockett, Ehrmann, Justis, Mayer, Tinsman. Members absent: Director Weigle.

Other officials present: Marty Lucas, Superintendent; Dr. Carol Webb, Assistant Superintendent; Maxine McEnany, Director of Business and Financial Services; Celeste Reuter, Director of Communications; Jimmy Casas, BHS Principal; and Colleen Skolrood, acting Board Secretary.

Motion by Director Crockett, seconded by Director Tinsman, to approve the agenda as presented.

Motion carried 6-0-1. Director Weigle arrived at 5:36 p.m.

School Improvement Team Report – Bettendorf High School.

Jimmy Casas, HS Principal; Joy Kelly and David Thompson, Associate Principals; Jill Montgomery, Language Arts teacher; and Pete Bruecken, Science teacher presented their building goals and primary methods/strategies for achieving these goals.

Personalization

Advisory – RSVP

Educational Portfolios

ID Badges/Staff Pictures

Student of the Month

Welcoming Notes – to all 9th graders and new students

Restructuring of Guidance – Alpha and referral system

PR Meetings – Mr. Casas meets with the family and student in order to hold the student accountable and give it a personal feel. He has had three meetings and said they have all been wonderful.

Parent Advisory E-mail updates.

Director Weigle visited The Edison Center last week and reported it was a positive experience. She said a staff member brought it to her attention that The Edison Center is still referred to as Project Ready even though the Board approved to name the program The Edison Center several years ago. Director Weigle and the staff member feel it would give the program more credibility if it was referred to as The Edison Center. Mr. Casas said Project Ready staff members and all literature still refer to it as Project Ready.

Joy Kelly said she has met with staff at Project Ready and they do not want Project Ready to be a dumping ground. It is emphasized to students they must earn their way to Project Ready. The bottom line is it still is a BHS diploma when they graduate from Project Ready and they want to make sure the curriculum is up to par.

Tom Luton asked if the other districts involved at Project Ready provide any funding. Dave Thompson said all expenses are shared per student by district. Mr. Luton said he had a good experience substituting at Project Ready last week. He asked what the overall direction is for Project Ready.

Director Weigle does not feel Project Ready is being used as a dumping ground. She said the students who are there by choice are not filtered in with other students. She does not want The Edison Center to turn into an alternative high school with a negative connotation.

Celeste Reuter said if Project Ready is changed to The Edison Center it could be confusing, because The Edison Center houses two other programs.

Senior Academies

Transportation Tech

Health

Business – new 2006

Teacher – new 2008

Engineer – exploring

Mr. Casas noted that Bettendorf and PV are the only districts in the state of Iowa who have a partnership with businesses. The Senior Academies are a lot like an internship.

Emphasis on Rigor

Increase in AP Courses

Final Exams – common assessments, item analysis

Increase graduation requirements – math/science

Increased articulation agreements – Financial Acct., Child Care, Drafting

Director Weigle is appreciative of the comprehensive final exams. Mr. Casas said lot of work goes into writing a good quality exam and he continues to work through the challenges. He is looking at modifying the exam schedule and will bring the proposal to the Board ahead of time.

Director Tinsman asked if the students who plan to attend college are being adequately prepared in high school. Jill Montgomery said she would like to see more AP students take the AP test, which is equivalent to a college final exam. She encourages students to take the level of course work based on what the student plans to do in college. Mr. Casas said it all comes down to educating parents and students to select the right courses. He feels it would be valuable to provide more time in the selection of courses at registration.

Director Mayer said rigor in general, outside of the core curriculum, does not appear to be too rigorous and asked if there is anything being done to increase the rigor. Pete Bruecken feels the problem is motivating students to take rigorous courses. He gave an example of when Astronomy was first offered it was a popular class until the rigor was increased and then no one wanted to take the class and it was eventually dropped. There was a lot of discussion on increasing rigor and motivating students to take AP courses from their freshman year on.

Mr. Casas noted the state is now requiring three years of math and science beginning 2007/08 school year. Due to this requirement, staff will need to be increased. Approximately 40% more students will be required to take another year of math and 25% more students will be required to take another year of science. Students will have the option to take Algebra II, Pre Calculus, or statistics as their third year of math.

Director Crockett asked what the thought was on how this would all come together in terms of staffing. Mr. Casas said they will look in side the building first for making shifts and adjustments.

Special Education

Teacher Quality – implementation of co-teaching model

BD Program

Alternative Scheduling – Composite Schedule

Staff development – staff visit fall of 2006

Interest Survey – currently in discussion about year long course options. In a survey ¼ of staff said they would be interested in teaching a year long course.

Motion by Director Mayer to adjourn the meeting at 6:54 p.m.