909 Cobb Street Durham, North Carolina 27707

MOREHEAD MONTESSORI 909 Cobb Street Durham, North Carolina 27707 Phone 919-560-3954 Fax-919-560-2527 Ms. Cynthia Webb, Interim Principal

School Improvement Team Meeting September 8, 2016

Call to Order- The meeting was called to order at 4:36 pm.

Members in Attendance- Cynthia Webb, Alice Dolbow, Yvette Bryant, Ben Cooke, Ken Eaton, Karen Evans, Susan Ewald, Meredith McMonigle, Deborah Murphy, Carmen Rawls, Jennifer Seelig, Sarah Wright, and Peggy Doherty

Approval- The minutes from the June and August meetings were reviewed and approved.

Review of By-Laws- The changes to the by-laws proposed at the August meeting were sent to the team via email and will be voted on at the October meeting.

Public Comment- Susan reported that she would not be able to commit to being the staff contact again for the Durham Police Athletic League at this time. She reported that the soccer season will soon be starting and that a staff contact person and coaches are needed. Meredith suggested since this is the year of outdoor play, that perhaps the PTA could provide a stipend for a staff member who volunteers their time for this position.

Principal Updates- Ms. Webb discussed the restructuring of the school committees to align with and support the School Improvement Plan. This will help ensure that the plan is reviewed monthly by the staff.

Ms. Webb also reported that our partnership with the Boys and Girls Club will continue this year. There are 15 slots reserved for Morehead students. There have been 18-20 invitations sent out to students and four have responded. The deadline may have to be extended. Alice asked if teachers were aware of the students who received invitations. This year transportation will be provided by school bus to the Boys and Girls Club.

There have been 12 families invited to participate in Literacy Night for Latino Families. This is through our partnership with Duke. The first session is on Friday, September 23rd from 5:00-7:00pm.

Ms. Webb reported that she has interviewed a very promising candidate for the part-time PE teacher position. She is waiting on references.

DPS has issued two drafts of the school calendar for the 2017-2018 school year. SIT members and staff will vote on the draft they prefer.

Meredith asked if there would be any further bell changes for next school year.

Mission Statement: Partnerships, Environment, Academics, Community, Excellence (PEACE).

Vision Statement: Morehead Montessori is a family of lifelong learners creating and supporting PEACE in a collaborative and inquiry-based environment.

MOREHEAD MONTESSORI 909 Cobb Street Durham, North Carolina 27707 Phone 919-560-3954 Fax-919-560-2527 Ms. Cynthia Webb, Interim Principal

Summer Program Updates- Ms. Webb reported that 10 of our students regularly attended the Peaceful Planet program at Watts. These students were rising 2nd and 3rd grade students. The director of the program at Watts shared a Prezi with program highlights. Ms. Webb will share the link with the team.

At Morehead, Ms. M. Jackson and Ms. Holt worked with 12 rising kindergarten and 1st grade students for two weeks. This was a full day program which focused on literacy skills. Ms. Jackson will compare these students’ mCLASS results from the end of last school year to their beginning of year results.

School Improvement Plan- The team briefly met in groups established at the retreat to work on the various parts of the plan. When the team came back together groups reported out and there was discussion regarding SMART goals and DPS expectation of double-digit growth as well as the need to access specific data from 2015-16 EOG testing. Yvette suggested placing more emphasis on primary students in the SIP and the need for assistance in planning effective activities for the Duke tutors to use when working with students. Alice asked each group to ensure that their work was entered into the google doc template.

FEMMES After School Program- Alice reported that FEMMES will be having an after school program for Upper El girls on Wednesday afternoons from 3:45-4:45pm. The dates are: Sept. 21, Sept. 28, Oct. 26, Nov. 9, Nov. 16, and Nov. 30. The program is free. Alice reported that they will need a classroom to use for the program. Ken volunteered the use of his room.

MSIT Introduction at PTA Meeting- Alice reported that the SIT members will be introduced at the September 29th PTA meeting. A short survey regarding communication preferences will be distributed and the results of the Spring 2016 Parent Survey will also be shared.

Next SIT Meeting- Thursday, October 6th at 4:30pm

Adjournment- The meeting was adjourned at 6:03pm.

Respectfully submitted by Margaret (Peggy) Doherty- [email protected]

Mission Statement: Partnerships, Environment, Academics, Community, Excellence (PEACE).

Vision Statement: Morehead Montessori is a family of lifelong learners creating and supporting PEACE in a collaborative and inquiry-based environment.