Minutes 2-07-05

Leadership Team Minutes 2-7-05

In attendance

Rich Mozzini, Til Tribuzi (facilitator), Miguel Appleman, Ron Beall, Joyce Dickson, Martin Ortega, Catherine Bunch, Linda Farnell, Behrooz Shahvini, Kirsten Johnson, Gerry Mountain, Amy Stanley, Alison Silvestri, Michelle Casale, Linda Brockett, Jacquie McEvoy, Merriweather Mason, Nate Johnson (recorder)

Summary of Actions:

We discussed presenting the seven-period day options to the staff and faculty.

Next Meeting: March 7, 2005

Before Next Meeting

Present to the staff and faculty.

Next Meeting

Topic: To be determined (Out come from school-wide presentation)

Duration: TBA

Facilitator: Til or another

Recorder: Nate or another

Goal: bring feedback from our department, union reaction, board vote. Develop a schedule.

Product: An actual schedule to present to the faculty and staff.

Meeting After

To Be Determined

More Detailed Minutes

Til: Let’s look at the decision tree. Let’s review why we would go to 7 periods: academic core, create space in schedule for electives. Parameters: maintain at least 2 advisories, keep an hour a week, maintain a block. If we still agree, we can move down the decision tree.

Questions: do we still want brunch? Do we want to keep A/B symmetrical? Where do we want late-start? Can Miguel go through and explain some of the options?

Miguel: so first line is a throw away. This is not about times or minutiae, but about big issues. The shaded squares are schedule ideas. If we end up in a shaded box, we would be done.

Schedule Options -- See decision tree

7 periods (No Block, No Advisory): This traditional day means periods 1-7 meet every day. The periods would be too short for advisory. Approximately 50 minutes. Classes meet 5 times a week.

7 periods with 2 Block Days (A4/B3 + Adv.) This schedule allows for advisory 1 day a week, and every class would have a block once a week. Approximately 50 minutes, with one block day of approx. 90 minutes. Classes meet 4 times a week.

4 X 4 Block: Very divergent. We discussed this long ago. We put it in b/c it is relevant to the need to add periods. Students would take a year’s classes in a semester (3 or 4 classes a semester). Teachers would teach 3 classes a semester with a prep every day. Approximately 100-minute blocks. Classes meet 5 times a week.

A4/B4 (8 periods, No Advisory): Students take 3 or 4 blocks a day. Teachers teach 3 blocks per day with a prep every day. Approximately 100-minute blocks. Classes meet 3 times a week.

A4/B3 (with Daily Advisory): A-day is longer. B-day is shorter. Teachers teach 2 or 3 blocks per day with good odds for a prep every day. Approximately 90-minute blocks. Classes meet 3 times a week.

A4/B3 + Adv (with 2 Advisory per week): A-day is longer. B-day is shorter. Teachers teach 2 or 3 blocks per day with good odds for a prep every day. Approximately 95-minute blocks. Classes meet 3 times a week.

Rotating A“4”/B“4”/7 every day: 4 90-minute blocks per day with different periods at different times. 7^th period is roughly 50 mins.

A3/B3/7-every day (No Advisory): Current schedule, but no tutorial. 7^th period every day. Teachers teach 5 of 7 and odds are you have a prep each day. Approximately 100-minute blocks. 7^th period is roughly 50 mins.
A3/B3/7-every day (With Advisory): Current schedule with tutorial 4 days a week. 7^th period every day. Teachers teach 5 of 7 and odds are you have a prep each day. Approximately 90-minute blocks. 7^th period is roughly 50 mins.

Michelle: would all classes have to be offered during 7^th period?

Jacquie: yes. We have to offer it to everyone to count it for instructional minutes, and we have to count it for inst. mins.

Rich: but it would be predicated on how many kids would sign up for 7 periods.

Jacquie: the district will have to find money to pay for this. We’ll have to come up with probably about $2 million not counting the governor’s budget.

Behrooz: do you think it would make sense to decide on advisory before or after the schedule?

Miguel: I think we decide that later.

Til: we said that we wanted at least 2 tutorials. This seems to suggest certain options.

Amy: Advisory at least 2 times would give us the flexibility to do the things we need to do.

Alison: this may become a union issue. We may need to wait for the Executive Council on this. We are meeting tomorrow.

Jacquie: the board will not move ahead on Thursday unless they feel the money is there.

Catherine: That goes against Rich’s confidence in their decision.

Miguel: let’s rank these options and bring them to our colleagues. We should present to our colleagues with our input and analysis. Faculty meeting would be the obvious time.

Linda: Until we hear from the union, we shouldn’t be voting on anything. People need to understand that this depends on other issues coming together.

Til: Our whole faculty knows we have been talking about this. We have to go to them with what we have been talking about. If we present the parameters and the three viable options, then we will be informing them. We can say we don’t have all the answers.

Jacquie: I’m going into negotiations with the union next week.

Joyce: we need actual schedule.

Til: we’ve narrowed it down to 5, 6, and 9 on this sheet for schedules with advisories.

Miguel showed an option on the board.

Jacquie: so do we want to present on February 11 or February 18

Jacquie: we could go to a 7 period day as a corrective action for NCLB with or without the district. Teachers will probably want to extend the day to make up for the missing minutes lost when teachers teach 5 of the 7.

Ron: Hasn’t Aragon or some school already waived the extended day portion of the contract

Behrooz: are we presenting to the staff on 2/11 or 2/18?

Til: we need to present a schedule that most people would be o.k. with. We could present the faculty what we found to be their preferences/the parameters. We should then allow people to go back to departments and develop a specific schedule, if they want. We can then go on once people have bought in. we would want to not deal with the minutiae in great detail.

Miguel: let’s do it this Friday. We should choose here our favorite between 5 and 6; they are similar. We should present divergent models. I was thinking 6, 7, and 9. Advisory needs to be 45 minutes long. I move to delete #5 because the advisory is too short.

Linda: We should give all the options

Miguel: I would like to force a vote on 5 or 6 so we can get some product in our 10^th hour of discussion.

Rich: if we use # 7 we need a tutorial.

Kirsten: couldn’t we present # 5 and 6 together with (2-4 Advisories)

Nate: we shouldn’t have times on the options we present. That will feel more done than it is.

Behrooz: I think we can present this with more detail, but without times.

Miguel: then, let’s present some options that are fairly conceptual in nature but w/o final times. We are going to present a #5/6 combo idea, a #7 idea, a #8/9ish idea. We are going to present three options.

Nate: And let’s get some other presenters to vary the voice presenting.

Ron: I’ll volunteer.

Til: Me too.

Amy: I’ll present.

Meeting adjourned at 5:16 p.m.