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Asst. Principals Committee
Minutes from meeting of 10/27/2003
CAS ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS’ COMMITTEE
SUMMARY
Monday, October 27, 2003
Present: Sally Biggs, Chair; Kathy Barmak, Deborah Benoit, Jessica Blitzer, Connie Bombaci, Leila Capellini, Linda Carlson, Spencer Clapp, Stephen Donnell, Angela Guarascio, Donna Hayward, Debbie Kaprove, Jack Leonard, Linda Leyhow, Dale McCubrey, Elaine Mierzejewski, Rita Peretto, Michele Saulis, Donna Schilke, Anne Starr, Jim Wenker. Staff: Mike Buckley.
1. Focus Topic: Community Building at the Elementary, Middle, and High Schools in South Windsor
Dr. Geoffrey McCarthy-Miller, Principal of the Philip R. Smith Elementary School, described the process and products that led to the Smith School being designated a National School of Character by the Character Education Partnership in Washington D.C. His points of emphasis included:
• An initial focus on cooperative learning that, over time, elaborated to include building character.
• The importance of staff development including administration and all teachers.
• The participation of the entire faculty on standing committees (technology, climate, themes, cooperative learning, etc.).
• Multiple and flexible grouping patterns including multi-age base groups ranging in age from 4 to 11 years old. This allows for citizenship activities in which teachers and students are all working on the same things.
• The organization of instructional activities around two-year themes.
Neil Rinaldi, Assistant Principal of Timothy Edwards Middle School, described the town-wide C.A.R.E. initiative (The South Windsor Community Accepts & Respects Everyone) and the way the middle school interfaces with its purposes. The Care and Climate Committee serves as the link between the school and all other town agencies. Teachers develop objectives linked to C.A.R.E. objectives. Monthly themes drawn from the Private Wisdom program are sent to school teams who then develop appropriate activities. The block schedule that provides teachers with daily common planning time facilitates the emphasis on community. So, too, do “tools for care” such as the 2nd Step program.
South Windsor High School teachers Jennifer Neal and Kathleen Pezza described several initiatives underway designed to help personalize the high school and counter the effects of exponential student population growth. These included:
• Creation of a 9th Grade Academy built around interdisciplinary teams utilizing SWHS’s five “pillars” with student performance standards linked to essential questions.
• The Capturing Kid’s Hearts program emphasizing caring, outreach, social contracts, and rule standardization.
• The Link Crew, a freshman transition program connecting 9th graders with upperclassmen for social and academic support.
2. Kathy Barmak and Elaine Mierzejewski reported on plans for the 27th Annual Assistant Principals Conference, to be held this year on March 15, 2004, at the Sheraton in East Hartford. A keynote presenter had not yet been secured. Eight workshops were being organized including:
• Passive Alcohol Screening
• Subsidizing Budgets via Grants
• Small Learning Communities
• Creative Options forAlternative Education Programs
• So You’re Thinking of Retirement?
• Lessons from the CT Consortiuum for School Attendance
• Legal Issues with Tom Mooney
• Support for Schools Needing Improvement (NCLB)
3. Committee/Board Reports:
A. CAS Board of Directors – Sally Biggs. The CAS Board finalized a three-year strategic plan, planned a response to the 9:00 a.m. testing-start mandate, and heard an SDE presentation from the school improvement division relative to “failing” schools.
B. SABC – No report (A liaison is needed!)
C. CIAC Board of Control – Mike Buckley. A proposal to have CIAC license officials is being considered. A proposal to allow teams to play an extra game to support the foundation was approved. It is hoped this will fund the cost of catastrophic insurance coverage for all student athletes.
D. CT Association of High School Principals – Mike Buckley. Goals for the year have been finalized as well as mini-conference topics (Accreditation/NEASC, Drug and Alcohol Programs that Work, A Conversation with the New Commissioner of Education).
E. CT Association of Middle School Principals – No report.
F. CT Association of Elementary School Principals – No Report.
G. Professional Studies – Art Arpin. A profile of the CT High School Principalship will be developed via an extensive questionnaire.
