BOARD CURRICULUM COMMITTEE

MEETING MINUTES

MONDAY, JULY 17, 2006

 

                                       

Members of the Board Curriculum Committee met on Monday, July 17, 2006, at 6:20 p.m. in the Education Center Dining Room. Present were Curriculum Committee Members Anthony R. Villani, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction and Richard Agretto, director of special education; and Board Members Joseph Craig, Judith Dexter, Dr. Craig Haytmanek, Loretta Leeson, and Diane Rowe. Also in attendance were: Dr. Joseph A. Lewis, superintendent of schools; Robert Gross, assistant superintendent for human resources; Stanley J. Majewski, Jr., assistant to the superintendent for finance and administration; Thomas Washington, director of student services; Mia Fernandes, coordinator of literacy; Eric Smith, supervisor of science; George VanDoren, coordinator of English language arts; Julie Victory, supervisor of mathematics; Frank Arbushites, coordinator of academic computing; and representatives of the press.

 

COURTESY OF THE FLOOR TO VISITORS (15 minutes allowed)

 

1.     Mr. Stephen Antalics inquired if the district is teaching basic fundamentals in math.

 

ANNUAL STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT REPORT

 

Thomas Washington presented a 2005-2006 Code of Conduct summary report. He noted that at the elementary school level over the past five years the number of Level III infractions fell from 802 in the 2001-2002 school year to 528 in the 2005-2006 school year. Level IV infractions ranged from a high of 10 in the 2002-2003 school year to a low of 2 in the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 school years. The total number of students suspended on the elementary level ranged from a high of 225 in the 2001-2002 school year to a low of 129, which occurred in the 2005-2006 school year. Although relatively small in number, endangerment, insubordination, physical assault, and profanity/obscenity were areas of concern at this level.

 

Level III infractions at the middle school level showed a slight decline over last year. The 2005-2006 school year posted 2,132 infractions, which is 209 less than the 2004-2005 school year total of 2,341. Level IV infractions at the middle school level for the current year were 22. Over the past five years at the middle school level we averaged 440 suspensions per year, the highest occurring in the 2004-2005 school year with 446, to a low of 418 in the 2002-2003 school year. Areas of concern at this level are threats/harassment/bullying, disrespect, endangerment, insubordination, and physical assault.

 

High school infractions at Level III and Level IV revealed a sizeable increase over the last school year. Level III infractions went from 3,126 in the 2004-2005 school year to 3,586 in the 2005-2006 school year, an increase of 460 infractions. Level IV infractions also saw an upward trend that increased from 22 in the 2004-2005 school year to 34 in the 2005-2006 school year. Insubordination remains the number one infraction at this level. It is mainly due to the number of students that fail to report for detention and are moved to the next level in the code of conduct. Other areas include profanity/obscenity, disrespect, and unauthorized area.

 

Mrs. Leeson asked if the district is dealing with assaults and anger management. Mr. Washington responded that we provide training for all our staff on this subject.

 

Mrs. Dexter inquired whether all administrators are trained on the implementation of the Student Code of Conduct so all violations are coded in the same manner. Mr. Washington replied that he will look into this matter. He also noted that the district will be providing workshops in the fall which will cover the code of conduct.

 

Mrs. Leeson noted that Fountain Hill Elementary School and Donegan Elementary School are similar schools but their statistics are significantly different. Mr. Villani noted that one thing that is helping these elementary schools is a new program entitled "Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports" (PBIS). This new program has been in place at Fountain Hill for two years and was initiated last year at Donegan and the Regional Academic Standards Academy. He also noted that it will be initiated at Calypso, Thomas Jefferson, and Freemansburg Elementary Schools this year.

 

PSSA/4SIGHT TESTING UPDATE

 

Mr. Villani presented a PowerPoint presentation to make the board aware of the continuous changes that occur with the PSSA testing and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) determination. The following will remain the same:

n     Participation rate - 95 percent for each subgroup

n     Attendance - 90 percent for grades three through eight

n     Graduation rate - 80 percent for high schools

n     AYP will be determined on grades three, five, eight, and eleven

 

He also noted that this year the Bethlehem Area School District will be piloting the PSSA science assessment in grades four, eight, and eleven with testing beginning in the 2007-2008 school year.

 

Dr. Haytmanek inquired as to what incentives the district provides for students to do well in PSSA testing. Mr. Villani responded that, on the secondary level, the district is looking into including PSSA scores on students' transcripts that will be sent to colleges.

 

Mrs. Leeson noted that she recently spoke with someone from outside of the district who stated that their students who do not pass the PSSA test are required to either take the test again, or use other measures to ensure that students take the testing seriously. She inquired if our district can make it a graduation requirement that if students do not pass the PSSA test, they must retake it in their senior year.

 

Mrs. Leeson noted that the National Council of Teachers of Mathmatics recently came out with new standards that do not align with the PSSA standards. Mrs. Victory stated that she was not aware of this change and would look into it.

 

Mrs. Leeson referred to Mr. Antalics' question on long division. Mrs. Victory replied that the math portfolio assessments for grades six, seven, and eight contain both performance and skill sections. She also stated that basic fact testing begins in grade two with addition and subtraction to twelve; then in grade three addition and subtraction to eighteen; in grade four multiplication; and in grade five division. For the coming school year, middle school students will also take basic fact timed tests.

 

Mrs. Dexter asked how the formula the state uses for the graduation rate and the formula our district uses differ. Mr. Villani responded that we do a dropout report and also a graduation report to the state.

 

Mrs. Dexter asked what the graduation rate is for our two high schools. Mr. Villani responded that Freedom High School was 86 percent last year and Liberty High School was 83 percent.

 

Mrs. Leeson asked the administration for information on the calculation differential between the dropout rate and the graduation rate.

 

Mrs. Dexter inquired as to what the district does in the middle schools and the high schools for students who require tutoring but may be proficient on the PSSA test. Mr. Villani responded that the district still provides tutoring to these students and will continue to do so. Dr. Donaher, principal at Liberty High School, responded that Liberty High School provides tutoring every day from the end of the student's day to the end of the teachers' contracted day and also provides additional tutoring classes.

 

Mr. Villani then presented a PowerPoint presentation on the 4Sight testing overview. He reviewed the district's results for the 4Sight assessments which were administered to all students in grades three through eight for all districts involved in the Educational Assistance Program. Bethlehem Area School District's tests were administered in September, November, January, and May. The Success For All Foundation, creator of the 4Sight assessments, has released expected correlations between 4Sight scores and proficiency levels on the PSSA test for grades three, five, and eight. Mr. Villani's report summarized the results of the Bethlehem Area School District's students in those grades.

 

Mrs. Leeson inquired as to what the district is doing for students who scored advanced on the 4Sight assessments. Mr. Villani responded that the new reading series has a lot of enrichment activities to take students further along than what was previously available. Mrs. Victory commented that teachers are paying attention to 4Sight results and enriching students accordingly. Mrs. Leeson commented that students should also be accelerated.

 

 

 

DISCUSSION: PHYSICAL EDUCATION CREDIT THROUGH VARSITY SPORTS

 

Mr. Villani noted that at a recent meeting of the Liberty High School band parents the issue of exempting student athletes from physical education class at the high school level was brought to the floor for discussion. This has been discussed in the past and is again being brought to the board's attention to see if this is something the district should pursue. He noted that it is the opinion of the administration and the physical education departments at both high schools that the district not pursue the suggestion, but he also noted that the administration gave assurances to parents that they would present the issue to the full board for their review. The board asked that the administration contact the Pennsylvania Department of Education to inquire as to the legality of this matter before any decisions or guidelines are made.

 

Mrs. Leeson and Mrs. Dexter requested that the band parent organization be notified of any future meetings where this topic will be discussed so they can have representatives present.

 

OPEN FORUM

 

Mrs. Leeson noted that Penn State recently held a conference on school improvement, and she thought some of the sessions might have been beneficial to some of our district's administrators. She inquired as to why we did not send anyone to this conference.

 

Mrs. Dexter stated that she would like to see some of our administrators attend this conference. She felt that our district could learn from other districts who are in a similar situation. Mr. Villani responded that he and several administrators have attended and/or presented at similar conferences in the past.

 

OTHER - Nothing to report

 

The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m.

 

Minutes Prepared By:

 

 

 

 

Charlotte L. Zimmerman

Administrative Assistant to the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction