AGENDA #7 BOZEMAN SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 7 BOARD ROOM #122, WILLSON SCHOOL MONDAY November 10, 2014 – 5:30 p.m. 5:30 p.m. MEGA ISSUE 1. Early Childhood Education Discussion 6:30 p.m. CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE PRESIDING TRUSTEE’S EXPLANATION OF PROCEDURES Recognition of visitors and explanation of procedures to be followed when addressing the Board. Please turn off cell phones. MINUTES 9. Minutes of Previous Meetings RECOGNITION AND AWARDS 36. Montana Global Educator of the Year Recognition 38. 2013-14 National Speech and Debate Association Societe DE 300 Award and 2013-14 Anne Sullivan AA Debate Coach of the Year 39. Golden Gavel Award ACTION ITEMS - CONSENT Both Districts 41. Trustee Hayman Resignation 43. Revise/Restate Section 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plan 95. Personnel Actions 104. Financial Reports, Warrant Approval & Donations Elementary District 119. Chief Joseph Middle School Long Range Strategic Plan (LRSP) Report 120. Emily Dickinson Elementary School Long Range Strategic Plan (LRSP) Report 121. Hawthorne Elementary School Long Range Strategic Plan (LRSP) Report 122. Meadowlark Elementary School Long Range Strategic Plan (LRSP) Report SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT 123. Superintendent’s Report BOARD OF TRUSTEES 124. Requests, Calendar, Concerns, Reports, Future Agenda Items and Open Meeting Topics for Next Meeting PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS 127. Public Input Period: Members of the community are given an opportunity to make brief comments to the Board on any matters not included in the agenda. ACTION ITEMS – SINGULAR Both Districts 128. Fine Arts Standards (Grades K-12) – Dance and Theater Development Update and Music and Visual Arts Adoption High School District 130. Approval of London Trip 2015-16 157. Interview and Appoint High School Trustee DISCUSSION AND REPORTS 162. School District Enrollment Projections 169. Procedures for Selection of Replacement for Trustee Hayman ADJOURN Public comment can be submitted electronically to [email protected] TITLE: EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION DISCUSSION CATEGORY: MEGA ISSUE DIALOGUE ORIGINATED BY: Rob Watson, Superintendent OTHERS INVOLVED: Darren Schlepp, Whittier Elementary School Principal; Chad Berg, Director of Special Education; Marilyn King, Deputy Superintendent Instruction; Steve Johnson, Deputy Superintendent Operations DATA EXPANSION: Power Point Presentation, Early Edge Fact Sheet COST/FUND SOURCE: N/A IMPLEMENTATION ACTION: Elementary and High School District DISCUSSION November 10, 2014 DISCUSSION: Mega Issue dialogue topics are part of the District Long Range Strategic Planning (LRSP) process. Mega Issues are issues of strategic importance, which represent choices the School District will need to make in defining the ultimate direction of its long-range plan. This Early Childhood Education discussion relates to the following Mega Issue Question: What can Bozeman Public Schools do to ensure our curriculum and instruction is best-of-class and truly aligned with our goal to prepare students to succeed and positively contribute in a global community? Bozeman School District #7 is planning a pre-Kindergarten classroom at Whittier School in early 2015. The Whittier School program would provide pre-K students and their families a primary focus on the social and emotional aspect of learning, as well as early literacy and motor skills development to prepare students for a successful transition when starting kindergarten. The program will also utilize community partnerships to create comprehensive supports for young learners and their families. Our Bozeman community understands that our children are one of Montana’s greatest resources. They are the future of our state and economy; however, not all children in Bozeman are getting the start they need to be successful. Whittier’s Pre-K program will offer families and children the opportunity to receive a high quality early childhood educational experience and will support the overall benefits of Pre-K research such as: 1. Pre-K greatly increases a child’s cognitive outcome 2. Pre-K improves school readiness and improves social and emotional growth 3. Children who participate in Pre-K are less likely to repeat a grade, require special education, or drop out of high school -1- 4. Pre-K offers important social benefits, better nutrition and health care. 5. Pre-K reduces delinquency and reduces the trend of substance abuse in the teenage years Montana is one of ten states that offer no form of state funded Pre-K. Currently, some public school systems in Montana, including Great Falls, Missoula, and Hamilton, offer limited public preschool to students with and without disabilities. The advantages of preschool are measurable and long lasting. These gains reach beyond the children, who will benefit both academically and socially, and these benefits will extend into the entire Bozeman community. Investing in our children in their early years is a necessary step for ensuring a bright future. Panel members for this Mega Issue discussion include: Shannon O’Brien, Education Policy Advisor to Governor Bullock; Darren Schlepp, Whittier Elementary Principal; Chad Berg, Director of Special Education; Therese Alexander, Whittier Kindergarten Teacher; and Christine Lux, Assistant Professor Early Childhood Education & Child Services, MSU. -2- 11/6/2014 Bozeman Pre-K Program at Whittier School An Early Child Preschool Program Presented to The Board of Trustees and our Community November 10, 2014 OUR MISSION STATEMENT In a nurturing and play-based environment, our program builds a child’s self esteem and problem solving skills, while fostering respect for themselves and others. We teach the skills needed to successfully transition into kindergarten by fostering intellectual, physical, social, and emotional growth and we collaborate with community partners to support the needs of all families and children involved in our program. GREAT FALLS PROGRAM VISITATION PARTICIPANTS Darren Schlepp, Whittier Principal Terese Alexander, Kindergarten teacher Christine Lux, MSU Assistant Professor in Early Childhood Education Ken Miller, Director of Head Start Heather Grenier, Chief Operating Officer HRDC -3- 1 11/6/2014 PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT AND TEAM GOALS Attend Great Falls Preschool Visitation Establish and Create Essential Components of a high quality program for our Whittier Model Determine how to serve a specific population of Bozeman 4 year olds who currently would benefit from our Pre-K Program based on the Governor’s Early Edge Initiative. WHAT WE LEARNED IN GREAT FALLS Program housed in the Early Childhood Center including the following programs: (2 Head Start Classrooms, I private Preschool Program, 6 District Created Preschool Programs) Funding for District Pre-K is a blend of Special Education and Title I dollars ($350K allotted for programs) Students selected for the program are any 4 year old children who reside in one of the Title I Elementary’s neighborhood school boundaries. Programs serve 82 regular public education students Programs are 6 hour days with a half day option built in Teachers have an Elementary Teaching Certification (16:2 teacher/para to student ratio) MTSS Early Intervention Component (special education teacher liaison between Head Start and District Pre-K Programs for Early Intervention Support). This has significantly reduced the number of special education referrals in Kindergarten) Challenges with model is primarily regarding future funding and space issues Blended Special Education and Regular Education Model as much as possible -4- 2 11/6/2014 OUR TEAM’S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS FOR OUR WHITTIER PROGRAM “Our Pre-K Program should provide experiences that foster each child’s growth and development. This implies attention to the enhancement of skills in all areas of development—-social, physical, intellectual, creative, and emotional. Our program must create an environment where friendships are facilitated; each child learns positive concepts of him/her and others and establishes wholesome patterns for feeling compassion for others and understanding expected behaviors to transition into kindergarten in a successful, ready-to-learn way.” ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS INCLUDE: Focus on Title I neighborhood schools for student selection and particularly those who may not current have access to a preschool experience. Full Day Model (6 hours) with half day option built in Focus primarily on the following curriculum areas: Social and Emotional Growth, Early Literacy, and Motor Skills Curriculum Proposed: Creative Curriculum Child-Focused: Active Learning and 18:2 ratio which supports personalized learning and development outcomes for our Pre-K students Whole-Child Development: problem solving skills, empathy and respect, independence, language, social and emotional development, self-esteem and confidence, creativity, and family to school engagement opportunities Transparency: Be open, respectful and communicate to all members of our community and be fiscally responsible, socially aware, and environmentally conscious in all that we do. Partner with ECCC, United Way, MSU Early Childhood Education Department, Head Start, Thrive, the YMCA and others Evaluation: Formal and Informal assessments will be created to determine program effectiveness. -5- 3 11/6/2014 ????QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER???? How do we identify students for this Pre-K Pilot Program? What funds will we be using to support this Pre-K Pilot Program? How do we foresee sustainability for this program? Is there a likely possibility of being