Arlington partners in education foundation

APEF officers Julie Dunn (president) Jane Culver (treasurer) and Judi Bohn (board)
Delivered a check for $275,000 raised in 6 weeks this summer. The person presenting it said she was feeling choked up, and remarked how this shows citizen commitment to the schools. $250,000 went to provide 7 reading teachers in the elementary schools, $25,000 for a part time position.

Kay Donovan introduced Elanor Faranello, newly hired director of guidance who spoke briefly about her experience and background.

Joanne Gurry presented MCAS results for last year. Overall, excellent, improved over previous year in spite of including SPED and students not entirely up to speed in English. Numbers of advanced and proficient are increasing, number of warning and failure decreasing.

Comment: Rather than compare Arlington with state averages, it might be better to look at Arlington’s performance over time. Compare ourselves to ourselves. Also that it would be useful to look at the same group of kids over time.

Question: Are we studying what we are doing right and sharing that understanding between teachers?

Answer: One way in elementary grades this year wywtem side writing sample, all teachers come together and look at that writing. How get weriging to good level? Work back to how you get that result. Whariing last year. Many elementary grade level meetings met with dept heads, prin look at prev tests. Can predict what test will look like now. Prin do a lot of work with that and twtih teadhers dept continue do that at grade level meetings we’re doing a lot right

Question: We’re focusing on testing now. Has the time taken for testing improved overall quality of education in our school?

Answer: We have improved quality, achievement, and focus. For example, state math framework sets high expectations.

In Englisn Language Arts the demands are also rigorous, calling for precision in literary analysis, to compare and contrast across genres, it asks for so much complex and deep thinking. That rigor has been completely taken in by teachers.

Comment: We all agree that it’s important to educate a child broadly as well as in a focused way. What about music, theater, art (so far as it is left), languages, a lot of that is being done by parent volunteers or being funded by fees from parents. It’s important for people to understand that it’s impossible to continue to have these results and provide a broad education without looking at funding.

Comment: are we sure that the curriculum is consistent across elementary schools, so students arrive at 6th grade with the same background.

Discussed inequity of Medicaid reimbursement.

Budget was not available, would be by end of the week.

Comment: Distress that budget is not available. Called for at last meeting as materials for discussion at this meeting. Budget discussion needs to take place at the next meeting It needs to happen. Will we have at next meeting.

Comment: the 2004 budget is different from what the School Committee voted on. What is it? That information needs to be available to the public.

There followed some discussion of why the budget information wasn’t available, staffing issues and late changes in staffing and such. General sense of frustration. [ed. I believe the decision was that the budget sub committee was to get hold of this information and report back to the committee on it in a reasonably (short) period of time.]

Minority hiring report

Field trip to Costa Rica proposed and approved.