Minutes

Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment Committee (CIAC)

Date March 6, 2017 * ESC Room 112

5:30 p.m.
Meeting adjourned at 7:35 p.m.

Meeting called by David Law

Attendees: Ranae Case Evenson, Patrick Duffy, Tom Heidemann, Steve Kerr, David Law, Jeff McGonigal, Cory
McIntyre, Kim Pavlovich, Kari Rock, Jeff Simon, Mary Wolverton
Guests: Jen Clark, Brian Erlandson, Mandy Freese, Jes Lipa, Todd Mensink, John Phelps, Gwen Sherburne,
Renee Voltin, John Phelps

Absent: Marci Anderson, Cory McIntyre

Action Items

Welcome - David Law

Elementary TD Update Approval was given

Mary Wolverton, Ranae Case Evenson, Jen Clark to administer CogAT
Handout: Yes testing in grade 2.
Implementation will
There are 6 key recommendations (see board briefing notes) by Dr. Karen Rodgers. An be reviewed prior to
update was provided on recommendation 1: the student identification process through expanding.
CogAT Online

In reaching out to other districts, it was determined that 80+ districts in Minnesota use
CogAT to identify GT students. The online option for grade 2 is $11.00 per student and
an overall cost approximately $30,000. Funding would come from an existing budget.

Testing would be administered by utilizing current resources: laptops, iPads, and

Chromebooks.

Minimal professional development training is needed and can be done by webex

approximately 3-4 weeks prior to testing.

There is a level of concern over the amount of overall testing being administered to
students. MAP testing would only be in the fall and a site base decision for winter/spring
testing. Testing details (times/locations) would be worked out with building staff to have
minimal impact.

Elementary Collaboration Committee Bring back to April

Mary Wolverton, Kari Rock work session.
Handout: Yes

The committee has narrowed down the reviewed collaboration models to two
recommendations. See handout for detailed cost breakdowns, strengths and
considerations.
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Option 1:
No additional scheduling work needed
Recess still covered by paras
Elementary schools continue to struggle with filling para positions
It would eliminate the short prep day for all elementary classroom teachers
4/1 model, would allow SpED, EL and Supplemental to collaborate with teachers
The recommendation that 30 minutes would be with a tech teacher
Push out the current tech teacher staffing (4 FTE) to the 18 schools
Would create a tech teacher position in buildings, working with students and
supporting teachers.

Option 2:
A small group of principals are mapping out schedules with recess reduction
It would eliminate the short prep day for all elementary classroom teachers
Teachers would be required to provide recess supervision 2-3 days a week
4/1 model, would allow SpED, EL and Supplemental to collaborate with teachers
The recommendation that 30 minutes would be with a tech teacher
Push out the current tech teacher staffing (4 FTE) to the 18 schools
Would create a tech teacher position in buildings, working with students and
supporting teachers

Discussion centered around the budget impact since option 1 comes at a higher cost. It
was noted that the impact on para reduction with option 2 would be minimal due to
many of the positions being unfilled along with a high turn-over rate.

The committee noted that with implementation of Wonders, collaboration time for all
elementary licensed staff is even more critical in order to align the work.

It was recommended that this be brought to the April work session for approval.

David acknowledged Marys work on this committee and the good work theyve done.

Elementary ELA Update Continued update

Mary Wolverton, Ranae Case Evenson
Handout: Yes

Hiring for the Literacy Interventions Teachers is complete and going well at this time.

Collaboration with McGraw Hill continues as they focus on the technology. There will be
a Spring roundtable and more conversation in the Fall. The group will make
enhancement requests.

McGraw Hill has been very responsive to our requests to date though we continue to
problem solve tech issues routinely. The question was asked if we can video tape the
professional development and it is noted that we can tape Tim Shanahan but not the
McGraw Hill consultants per MH. Professional development continues and it was noted
that a lot of trust has been built with teachers and the consultant, Dawn.

The team has asked for 3 year trend data for ELL, Supplemental and SpEd. This detailed
information was provided in the handout.

It has been decided that WonderWorks will be the default intervention.

Secondary Math Update Pilot in the Fall.

Jeff McGonigal, Kim Pavlovich, Mandy Freese, Renee Voltin Look at block math
Handout: Yes for better results.
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The team has spent time reviewing piloted materials and conducted site visits with
Wayzata Public Schools and Spring Lake Park Public Schools. What the team learned
after classroom observations and interviewing teachers, has caused them to review the
pilot process.

The top vendors have been narrowed down to: Core Connections (CPM) and Pearson
(EnVision). Pilot teachers were trained on January 27, started piloting EnVision in middle
school classrooms, and will be wrapping up shortly. High school decided to wait with
materials piloting until Fall when Pearson materials are fully completed (2017 copyright).

It is recommended that all secondary math teachers engage in a common experience

with lesson presentations from both vendors. A concern was shared that CPM is very
different from what weve been teaching and other districts have had bumpy starts.

The committees recommended materials review process is:

April 2017 - Math teachers experience lessons from both vendors to have
common shared knowledge.
Fall 2017 Pilot CPM at the middle and high school levels.
Fall 2017 Pilot EnVision at the high school level.
Winter 2017 - Enter negotiations and the committee will make a
recommendation to the board.

It was shared with the group that the secondary math plan would eliminate the block
math at the middle schools by the 2018-19 school year. For 2017-18, AMSA will support
students who struggle with math within the grade level course. The four community
schools (CRMS, NMS, OVMS, RMS) will continue to provide 90 minutes of math
instruction: 45 minutes on grade level standards and an additional 45 minutes of pre-
teaching and review of the learning targets.

JMS will continue to support 7th and 8th grade Block Math. 6th grade will receive the same
pilot mirroring the community schools. Looking at current data, what is JMS doing
differently? One thought is that the teachers may have higher expectations. Look at Tri 1
data?

Next steps would be to do an extensive study and come up with a permanent plan to
implement in 2018-19. Look at data and bring back to CIAC.

Drones Engineering (Commercial Drone License) New Career Path

Jeff McGonigal, Kim Pavlovich, Jes Lipa, Pete Groebner
Handout:Yes

It was noted that the industry moves quicker than schools. Course in development for
2018-19: Unmanned Aerial Systems (Drones). Students will have the opportunity to earn
two different certifications:
Private Pilots Ground Hours
Remote Pilots License (Commercial Drones)

STEP is the only high school in the state that offers aviation and is associated and
approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Expansion of the program will
include implantation of drone engineering through a new partnership with Northland
Community and Technical College (see handout for current course offerings at STEP).

A few areas in how a drone engineering career will be used: inspection of high wires,
boilers, bridge inspections, etc STEP currently has a teacher qualified to sign off for a
license. Northland has agreed to share equipment.

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This has been given the green light and will be in the books next December for school
year 2018-19.

Q Comp Site Goal Update Take to next school

Jeff McGonigal, Kim Pavlovich, Gwen Sherburne, Todd Mensink, Patrick Duffy board work session.
Handout: Yes

The currently adopted district Q-Comp plan identifies one specific goal. Changes to that
plan must be voted on by the AHEM membership, then submitted to MDE for approval.
Michael Foster with MDE has noted that they cant find a public school with 2 goals and
very few charter schools with 2 goals.

Our current plan was submitted 3 years ago. We must continue to follow that plan or
resubmit to MDE for reauthorization.

It is being proposed to move secondary goals to reading rather than math for the 2017-
18 school year. This is supported by AHEM. It was noted that high school goals are very
different from elementary and middle school goals.

It was noted that 9 million is invested: 7.2 from the state and the rest for Levy. There is
concern that this is not producing student achievement results as hoped. Are Peer
Evaluators using right rubrics to access? Do rubrics need to change? What will drive that
change?

Recommend that this be brought to a board work session so all board members could
review and provide input.

Social Studies Literacy Plan Look at pilot for

Jeff McGonigal, Kim Pavlovich, Julie Scullen reading
Handout: Yes

The team shared that 3 days of department leader meetings of every content area were
represented. Student achievement data points to a need for intervention in reading at
the high school level.

It was noted that 132 classrooms were observed, Science and Social Studies, to collect
data. Whats happening? How engaging are students with reading?

The team noted that kids need adult reading experience, according to brain research. An
increase in reading occurs in the classroom when a teacher is there to guide and model.
Its recommended to start with grades 9 and 10 to directly impact grade 10 testing.
What does this mean for grades 11 and 12? According to ACT scores, 50% of students
are not college and career ready in reading.

The following are recommendations that need to be standardized across the system:
Increase the amount of reading done in the classroom, even short excerpts.
Increase the amount of student talk regarding the reading.
Decrease the amount of time students spend filling out packets, and spend that
time elsewhere.
Increase the amount of higher level questioning utilized regarding the text.
Select social studies teachers from AHS and CRHS to become the social studies/literacy
point person for their building. The plan is to have these teachers receive training from
Julie Scullen on a monthly basis. Look at bringing in Cris Tovani, author of Do I Really
Have to Teach Reading? who specializes in disciplinary literacy at the high school level.
More work to be done in regards to measuring results. Bring in Johnna and do a study?

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Next steps would be to allocate .5 FTE staffing at the secondary buildings to provide one
teacher from both AHS and CRHS release from one period a day to support the literacy
plan.

World Language Level II and III Materials Adoption Proposal Bring to Consent
Jeff McGonigal, Kim Pavlovich Agenda
Handout: Yes
The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages has recommended a
change in the delivery of instruction. Shift focus from grammar and vocabulary
memorization to use of thematic units.

Course levels 2 and 3 were looked at and Vista Higher Learning is preferred. It was
noted that EMC is better for level 1. Vista is less expensive. There was a unanimous
recommendation to go with Vista.

Next steps: Level 4 piloting for next Tri and another group next year Tri 1.

Next meeting: April 3rd, 2017

Prepared by: Karin Arnsdorf