Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

 

BOARD CURRICULUM COMMITTEE

MEETING MINUTES

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2006

 

 

Members of the Board Curriculum Committee met on Tuesday, January 17, 2006, at 6:00 p.m. in the Dining Room at the Education Center. Present were: Curriculum Committee Members Anthony Villani, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, and Richard Agretto, director of special education; and Board Members Joseph Craig, Judith Dexter, Dr. Craig Haytmanek, William Heske, Charlene Koch, Loretta Leeson, Diane Rowe, and Margaret Williams. Also in attendance were: Dr. Joseph A. Lewis, superintendent of schools; Robert Gross, assistant superintendent for human resources; Scott Gilliland, director of facilities and operations; Stanley Majewski, assistant to the superintendent for finance and administration; Mia Fernandes, coordinator of literacy; George VanDoren, coordinator of English language arts; and representatives of the press.

 

COURTESY OF THE FLOOR TO VISITORS (15 minutes allowed)

 

Nothing to report.

 

OPEN FORUM

 

1.     Mr. Heske noted that he has been reading information regarding diabetes which he thought the Bethlehem Area School District would be interested in. Diabetes, especially juvenile diabetes, has become a very serious problem, and he would like to see a task force formed to study how to prevent this very serious disease among our school children. Dr. Lewis noted that the district is already required by law under our Wellness Program to address this issue. The board requested a report from the Wellness Committee at the Board Curriculum Meeting in either June or July.

 

2.     Dr. Lewis polled the board in Mr. Amato’s absence on establishing a date for an opening dialogue on the architectural proposals for Broughal Middle School. The date of Monday, January 30, 2006, was agreed upon. They also asked that the architects send a representative to this meeting to answer any additional questions the board or the public may have. It was requested that courtesy of the floor to visitors be moved to the end of the meeting on that night so duplicate questions are not asked. The board also requested that members of the Broughal Community Advisory Group be invited to attend this meeting.

 

3.     Mrs. Leeson requested that a forum be set up to discuss the Sunshine Act so that members of the board can become more familiar with the rules. Dr. Lewis said he would speak to the Lehigh Valley Business Education Partnership to see is they would be interested in setting up a presentation for our board members and possibly inviting other schools’ board members who may be interested in attending. It was requested that PSBA also have a representative at this presentation along with representatives from the press and the district’s solicitor. The board selected Monday, March 27, 2006, as a possible date with the location to be determined.

 

AGENDA ITEMS FOR JANUARY 23, 2006, REGULAR BOARD MEETING

 

Mr. Gilliland and Mr. Fazil presented and discussed the following proposed agenda items which will be presented for approval at the January 23, 2006, Regular School Board Meeting:

 

A.    Liberty High School Additions and Renovations Construction Project – PlanCon I Approval

B.    Pennsylvania Department of Education Self-Certification Approvals – Various Projects

 

FIRST READING OF PROPOSED CHANGES TO BOARD POLICIES

 

Mr. Gross presented and discussed the first reading of the following proposed changes:

 

A.    Policy Number 137.1 – Extracurricular Participation by Home Education Students

B.    Policy Number 140.1 – Extracurricular Participation by Charter/Cyber Charter Students

C.    Policy Number 213 – Assessment of Student Progress

 

Dr. Lewis wanted the board to be aware that, if we approve these changes, we might be opening the district up to legal challenges. He also noted that the state would be responsible for paying for the necessary tests, not the parents. The second reading of these proposed changes was originally scheduled for the January 23, 2006, Regular Board Meeting, but it was later decided that these items would be discussed at the Human Resource Committee Meeting on February 13, 2006, and will be submitted for board approval at some time in the near future.

 

REGIONAL ACADEMIC STANDARDS ACADEMY (RASA) EVALUATION – YEAR THREE

 

Mr. Villani introduced Jill Moran, principal of the Regional Academic Standards Academy (RASA), and Judy Gehman, an outside evaluator, who presented a slide show presentation on the progress of the program in the last three years.

 

The board discussed the following:

 

Mrs. Koch said she had a concern about attendance, rules, and if students were meeting certain standards.

 

Dr. Haytmanek inquired about expanding the program to fourth and sixth graders.

 

Mrs. Williams asked how we could increase summer school participation. It was suggested that students who have attended previous summer school sessions speak to new RASA students.

 

Mrs. Dexter questioned factors that lead to the decrease in enrollment and also the impact of having the proposed alternative education program located at the same building site as RASA.

 

Mrs. Leeson presented questions sent to her by Mr. Amato (who was absent from the meeting):

1.     Mr. Amato inquired about the lack of additional reading specialists at RASA. It was noted that additional reading specialists have been requested all three years that the RASA has been in existence.

 

2.     What is the student enrollment at RASA? Ms. Moran stated that the enrollment has been 153 students for year one, 134 students for year two, 94 students for year three, and currently 77 students are enrolled. She stated the following as possible reasons for the decline in student enrollment:

--   Standardized scores remain with homeschool, thus the homeschool prefers to keep students within their own interventions

--   Rebuilding reputation from our first year

--   Disproportionate number of ‘extreme’ behavior problems

--   The possible effects of the lowering of enrollment on homeschool staff

--   Gains from a one year program are not sufficient enough for ‘long-term’ change

--   Parents & students may be hesitant in moving the child to a ‘new’ school for one year when they are now the “top dogs” in their homeschool

--   Perception/misconception of the purpose of the Academy that continues among BASD staff

--   Location- bus ride for some students may add two hours on to their school day

--   Parental choice

--   Possible continuance of the program remains on a year-to-year basis (the first three years were ‘guaranteed’)

 

3.     How many students in the RASA could use more than one year in the program? Ms. Moran estimated 60 percent could use more than one year in the program.

 

ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION TASK FORCE UPDATE

 

Mr. Villani introduced Dr. Leonard Finkelstein, consultant, and members of the Alternative Education Task Force who have worked diligently for the past 15 months on a proposal for an alternative education program. The proposal outlines two new programs and one realigned program to meet the needs of those students requiring an alternative form of education. The proposal will serve as a guide for the newly selected staff, the general staff of the district, the community, and parents of the district. Every aspect of the proposal has been designed to:

 

n     Support students who have serious learning/behavioral problems

n     Help students and staff to discover new ways to improve learning and understanding

n     Bring students and staff into areas of success by using new pathways to learn

n     Gain research-based information on predetermined indicators of success

n     Deliver different approaches for academic content, learning environments, and teaching/learning pedagogy

n     Save students who are in danger of dropping out of school either physically or mentally

n     Understand the fiscal impact of dropout students on the community

n     Encourage partnerships between parents, community members, and the established program

 

The board addressed the following items:

 

1.     If the CA/MP program is replaced with an in-house and out of school suspension program, is this taking a step backwards?

2.     The need for additional guidance personnel and additional support services.

3.     The need to address health issues.

4.     The fact that this new program would not replace the existing Student Code of Conduct.

5.     Teachers in this program would be assigned on a voluntary basis; no one would be assigned to the program who did not want to be there.

6.     The possibility of finding a different site for the proposed middle school alternative education program where it would not be located next to one of our existing school buildings.

 

It was the consensus of the board to support this program and bring it to the January 23, 2006, Regular Board Meeting for further discussion. However, the board requested that a few changes be made and brought back to them for consideration at the February 13, 2006, Curriculum Committee Meeting.

 

ANNUAL LIST OF STUDENT CONFERENCES/COMPETITIONS

 

Mr. Villani presented to the board a summary of frequently attended student conferences/ competitions that students attended over the past three years including an estimated cost per student. The purpose of this report was to give the board a reference as to the type of student conferences and/or competitions that occur annually and the short amount of time between competitions that might affect their timely submissions to the board for approval.

 

BETHLEHEM AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT’S STADIUM CONCESSION STANDS REPORT – 2005

 

Mr. Villani presented to the board for their review an agenda item for the January 23, 2006, Regular School Board Meeting regarding the Bethlehem Area School District’s Stadium Concession Stands Report for the 2005 season.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 10:25 p.m.

 

Minutes Prepared By:

 

 

Charlotte L. Zimmerman

Administrative Assistant to the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction