Ideas

2-3-09  Community Council

Selective Intervention Proposal sponsored by Mr. Palmer:

1. Advisory days would be moved to Tuesday / Thursday.  Intervention days would be during lunchtime on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
2. All students will be assigned to quiet study opposite lunch 3 days per week.  Students who are requested to work with specific teachers sign out to do so.
3. Students who have completed all assessments can attend selectives — the two choices being
located in the gym and the library.  Students can also self-select study hall.

Questions:

  1. Who would be monitoring the study hall rooms?
  2. Where would the study hall rooms be?
  3. (Would there be enough manpower and space to handle both of the above?)
  4. Shouldn’t students have a choice (about whether to attend selective vs. intervention?)

Concerns:

  1. This proposal appears to make interventions punitive.
  2. Interventions should be a choice (student point of view).
  3. What happens to selectives?  Band?  Physical acivity? (studies show aerobic exercise improves brain functioning), Music Jam?  Community Council?  Other clubs that need this time to meet?

Comments:

  1. Schools need to emphasize academics and de-emphasize socializing.
  2. If you want to change the system so that kids aren’t putting everything off all the time, you have to draw the line somewhere and say that if you don’t complete something by this deadline, you will fail.
  3. Kids are being given too many chances.
  4. Students who turn a paper in 4-months late are not penalized — they complete it in Academy.  Deadlines have been “abolished.”


Selectives Discussion: 1-6-09:

Problem:
–Selectives (attendance) have deteriorated over time. Too many kids in hallways or not where they are supposed to be.
Proposed Solutions:

check-in at advisory before going to selective. sign up for selectives on weekly basis.

  • get rid of selectives
  • advisory-based selectives
  • lunchtime intervention is not essential (redundant with labs) — from student point of view
  • put question (of what to do with selectives) out to advisories for solutions
  • Need to put in more physical activity, selectives involving physical activity
  • Sustained silent reading 3 days per week
  • more activities, more choices
  • lunch intervention does seem important for some teachers and some students
  • run a selective with 4 core teachers that provides intervention assistance ;
  • do a school-wide vote for selectives vs. interventions
  • teachers form teams that divide a pool of students (activity, intervention, study hall, )
  • offer recess

Community Council Bills

Community Council Meetings & Minutes

face41.jpg