4/28/2020 BoardDocs® Pro Tuesday, April 28, 2020 BoardConnect 1. Instruction Subject 1.1 English Electives Curriculum Timeline Meeting Apr 28, 2020 - BoardConnect Category 1. Instruction Access Public Type Information The timeline for the English electives curriculum review process is outlined below: This process is outlined in Board Policy 6141 and the Curriculum Council Bylaws (attached). June 2019 During the June 12, 2019 School Board Retreat, the Board requested administration create course outlines and book/media lists for high school English electives that were already in the Program of Studies but did not have written curriculum. July 2019 The FY20 School Board Objectives (attached) were developed and included a measured task to review curriculum and adopt reading lists for English elective courses. September 4, 2019 The School Board unanimously approved the District's Long-Term Strategic Plan (attached), which included reviewing curriculum and adopting reading lists for English elective courses. Fall 2019 The English curriculum writing team comprised of 12 English teachers, 2 librarians, and 1 ELL teacher representing 5 high schools came together to write course outlines and media lists for 11 courses currently taught in MSBSD. The team met in person for two full days in October and November. Additionally, individual team members worked on the curriculum throughout the fall. January 2020 A Stakeholder and public review process was conducted in January, 2020. Emails were sent to all English teachers and all parents of 8-12 grade students for input on the course outlines and media/book lists. Seventy-six parents responded to the public survey, and over 92% supported the course outlines and media/book lists as written. The curriculum writing team considered all input and made adjustments to course outlines and book/media lists. An update on all Board Objectives, including the English electives was provided in the January 7, 2020 Board Connect (attached). February and April 2020 The Curriculum Council reviewed documents in two rounds, made additional suggestions, and approved the English elective course outlines and book/media lists. The MSBSD Curriculum Council is comprised of 21 voting members (16 teachers, 3 principals, 1 parent, and 1 student) from 16 different schools, representing all grade levels and subject areas, as well as 5 non-voting members from the Office of Instruction. March 3, 2020 English elective course outlines for five courses (Round 1) were included in the March 3, 2020 BoardConnect (attached). Copies of all books were made available for the Board to review at the March 4 Board meeting. April 8, 2020 English elective courses from Round 1 were presented to the Board as a non-action item. During Board discussion of the English electives, Board Members asked the Office of Instruction to provide additional information on https://go.boarddocs.com/ak/matsu/Board.nsf/Private?open&login 1/6 4/28/2020 BoardDocs® Pro controversial books at the next School Board meeting. April 14, 2020 Per a Board member’s request, the Office of Instruction provided an annotated bibliography of all books on the course reading lists in the April 14, 2020 BoardConnect (attached). April 22, 2020 Round 1 English electives were presented to School Board as an action item with recommendation for approval by Administration. The Board approved English elective course outlines and an amended book list removing the New York Times Learning Network and 5 controversial books: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, Catch 22 by Joseph Heller, and The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. May 20, 2020 Six more English electives (Round 2) are tentatively scheduled to be presented to the School Board as a non-action item. Round 2 courses include: Science Fiction, Mythology, Contemporary Literature and Issues, Contemporary Alaskan Literature, Cinema as Art, and Bible within History and Literature. June 3, 2020 Round 2 English electives are tentatively scheduled to be presented to the School Board as an action item. File Attachments BP 6141.pdf (92 KB) CC Bylaws 121918.pdf (379 KB) FY20 Objectives 20191230.pdf (254 KB) MSBSD Long-Term Strategic Plan 20190904.pdf (627 KB) BoardConnect20200107.pdf (294 KB) BoardConnect20200303.pdf (301 KB) BoardConnect2020414.pdf (303 KB) Subject 1.2 Graduation Schedule Meeting Apr 28, 2020 - BoardConnect Category 1. Instruction Access Public Type Information The virtual graduation schedule with links to the ceremonies is attached. File Attachments Graduation Video Links.pdf (56 KB) 2. Business & Operations Subject 2.1 Houston Subsurface Soils Report Meeting Apr 28, 2020 - BoardConnect Category 2. Business & Operations Access Public Type Information As discussed at the April 22, 2020 School Board meeting during the action item for the Houston School Retrofit Schematic Plan (35% Design) approval, the subsurface soils investigation report for the site is attached. The report has been uploaded to the action item in BoardDocs for the April 22, 2020 meeting. https://go.boarddocs.com/ak/matsu/Board.nsf/Private?open&login 2/6 4/28/2020 BoardDocs® Pro File Attachments PRJ - Construction Projects Environmenta~ & Investigations Project 5040 Houston Junior High School Site Phase II 2151984.PDF (1,319 KB) Subject 2.2 Contract Template Update Meeting Apr 28, 2020 - BoardConnect Category 2. Business & Operations Access Public Type Information In preparing executive contracts for dissemination, the Human Resources Office noticed a planned contract provision was not included in the example provided in the March 24, 2020 BoardConnect. All executives and MLMA members as part of contract negotiations were provided a $1,200 taxable communication stipend beginning in FY 2019. The implementation of this fringe benefit occurred via letter, and was intended to be added to the executive contract terms. This provision has been included in the 2020-2021 employment contracts. 3. Information Items Subject 3.1 School Board Meeting Livestream Weekly Analytics Meeting Apr 28, 2020 - BoardConnect Category 3. Information Items Access Public Type Information Statistics for live viewership of the April 22, 2020 School Board meeting are provided below: Total Views: 269 Unique Views: 165 Total Minutes Viewed: 8,989 Average Watch Time: 00:34:42 Statistics for recorded viewership for the week of April 16-23, 2020 are provided below: Total Views: 163 Unique Views: 128 Total Minutes Viewed: 3,910 Average Watch Time: 00:26:58 4. School Visits/Community Outreach Subject 4.1 Community Outreach Meeting Apr 28, 2020 - BoardConnect Category 4. School Visits/Community Outreach Access Public Type Information Administration continues to regularly attend local Chamber, City Council, and Borough Assembly meetings. https://go.boarddocs.com/ak/matsu/Board.nsf/Private?open&login 3/6 4/28/2020 BoardDocs® Pro Dr. Goyette continues to attend teleconferences with DEED and statewide superintendents, multi-jurisdiction meetings, and teleconferences with administration and principals to discuss local plans and response to the COVID- 19 virus. She continues to communicate through the District's mass notification system (Blackboard) to keep families, stakeholders, and the community up to date on the District's COVID-19 planning and response. 5. Media Relations Subject 5.1 Purchased, Earned, and Owned Media Meeting Apr 28, 2020 - BoardConnect Category 5. Media Relations Access Public Type Information Purchased Media Facebook Ad for Extended Timeline for the Federal Programs Preschool Parent Request Survey Earned Media ”Mat-Su Teachers Create Unique, Online Graduations for 13 Schools” KTVA “ ‘We still did it’ Palmer High seniors, staff prepare for virtual graduation” Frontiersman “Unpredictable, but in the end it’s right; I hope you had the time of your life” District working on preproduction for virtual graduations” Frontiersman “Wasilla High School senior accepted into highly competitive music program at Central Washington University” Frontiersman “These books are gaining ground in an Alaskan town after a school board voted to remove them from class” CNN “Mat-Su School Board Bans 5 Books From High School Curriculum” US News “Alaska School District Votes to Ban 2 Iconic Military Books” Military.com “UPDATE: Mat-Su School Board removes 5 ‘controversial’ books from curriculum” KTUU “Community members react to banned books in Mat Su Borough” KTUU “Mat-Su school board bans 5 books from high school reading list” KTVA “The five books removed from Mat-Su English electives and why” ADN “Mat-Su school board pulls five books from English courses, including ‘Invisible Man’ and ‘Catch-22’ “ ADN “The Mat-Su school board and the urge to censor” ADN “Juneau board has no plans to follow Mat-Su’s lead on banned books” Juneau Empire “Not a full ban: School board president responds to removal of controversial books from district curriculum” Frontiersman ‘Not a full ban’: Mat-Su school board president responds to controversy over book removal” Anchorage Press “Mat-Su School Board book ban draws ire after vote with no public comments” Alaska Public Media “Inside the School District: Graduation 2020-04-21” Radio Free Palmer “InSummary: MSBSD School Board Meeting 2020-04-22” Radio Free Palmer Owned Media MSBSD Headlines Superintendent Search Process Extended Due to COVID-19. For more information www.matsuk12.us/superintendentsearch MSBSD Remote Learning Resource Page for Families: www.matsuk12.us/remote COVID-19 Information Page: www.matsuk12.us/coronavirus Social Media Facebook Posts and Twitter Feed A Message from Dr. Anne Zink: Cautious and Careful as we relax health mandates! #StopTheSpread EVENTS: 30-Minute Live Virtual Healthy Cooking Classes for all MSBSD Families! City of Wasilla Clean-Up Days – Come get your bags and help your community cleanup for spring! st MSBSD Federal Programs Preschool extends its Parent Request Survey until June 1 . www.matsuk12.us/preschool Happy Administrative Professionals Day on Wednesday, April 22 Connect With Us! School Counselor and Nurse Call Center 761-HELP (4357) https://go.boarddocs.com/ak/matsu/Board.nsf/Private?open&login 4/6 4/28/2020 BoardDocs® Pro 6.