Thursday, January 12, 2012

State of School Meeting

Well, I missed the meeting tonight, can anyone give me your notes from the meeting and what you thought?  Thanks! Valerie

14 comments:

  1. Sorry- I missed it too (worked til 7:30). Hope to hear info about it.

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  2. I went to the meeting...the presentations by the middle school kids were nice. Not too many people were there....about 30 or so. Nothing like in prior years. I thought that all of the important information could have been presented in about a half hour, not the 2+ hours the meeting lasted. Most of the rest of the meeting was spent thanking parents, teachers, administrators, etc., and of course talking about fund raising. The information I came to hear (financial, enrollment, space needs, etc.) was presented well in about 15 minutes. Other than that, there was noting presented that I didn't already know.

    There were supposed to be smaller, break-out meeting groups in the gym after the meeting but there was nothing set up for groups to meet...no tables, signs, etc. These didn't really happen except in casual conversations. Most people were too tired at 8:45 and just left.

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    1. BTW, there is a small section on the MPA website about the meeting. It is about 3 sentences that says we should be proud. That's about it. I couldn't find any summary other than that. Here are the main points of the meeting:

      MPA is financiall viable....enrollment is big enough now that we can afford to add some additional things (teachers aids, the records administrator, etc.)

      The space requirements issue: It was decided to stay in the current location and renovate the basement.

      Enrollment was projected to be about 345 next year (I think that was the number....don't hold me to it :-).

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    2. I'm sorry to hear the meeting was not more informative but I'm not surprised. I understand the need to discuss finances when parents are all together but it has backfired and now hardly anyone is showing up at the meeting because they know they are just going to get lectured on money. Did they talk about some new tardy procedure? I'd like to know about that and it should be communicated better than just at a meeting when not everyone can attend.

      The same thing is happening with the music concert. I hear the kids are being threatened that if they don't show up they will have to take some test on music. I've been disappointed in the music programs because the kids don't and won't participate and it's just seems like chaos. I know they are trying really hard to keep it running smooth but it just isn't working.

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    3. The tardy procedure was supposed to be discussed at one of the smaller break out groups in the gym after the meeting. Don't know if anyone talked about it.

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  3. Meeting materials should be posted or emailed out. But I write just to clarify. The Growth Strategy Team of parents etc. recommended (via 2-11 report) for the upcoming year to stay at St. Mels. This opens the options to deal with space to 1) do doing, 2) make accomodations to the current 1st and 2nd floor, 3) renovate the basement meeting all bldg codes for safety, air quality etc., and/or 4) use of modular classrooms. It is decided to stay at St. Mels. It is not decided which option(s) to pursue to provide additional space for programs. Although options 3 and 4 are receiving the most serious attention at present.

    I will pass along kudos to the middle school presenters.

    There is some truth that turnout for such programs is a reflection of satisfaction (higher turnout occurs when there are more issues within a community). But we also hope to use the evaluations to create a fuller survey to determine the need and if desired - the goals for such gatherings so we can be more audience centered.

    Kindly,
    CTR

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    1. When are the meeting materials going to be sent out or posted? Isn't it important for the majority of the parents who were not able to attend to know what was discussed? There are only three short sentences on the website that talk about the meeting and two of those are about fund raising and volunteering.

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  4. Thanks Carol for the info!! I'm glad to hear they are renovating the basement and that the number of kids has grown so much!! Do you know anything about the new tardy procedure?

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  5. No, my point in replying was to note it is NOT decided that MPA will renovate the basement.

    It is under serious consideration. And I don't want any families to think it is a change of course if MPA uses modular classrooms or does nothing - it is tbd yet. It is receiving serious consideration and several talented parents, as well as the admin team, have spent considerable time investing.

    CTR

    "This opens the options to deal with space to 1) do doing, 2) make accomodations to the current 1st and 2nd floor, 3) renovate the basement meeting all bldg codes for safety, air quality etc., and/or 4) use of modular classrooms. It is decided to stay at St. Mels. It is not decided which option(s) to pursue to provide additional space for programs. Although options 3 and 4 are receiving the most serious attention at present. "

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  6. Ok, sorry...my bad. Thanks for the info.

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  7. The state of the school is dire. So many parents are unhappy and concerned with the quality of the education their children are receiving. Many parents have taken their children out of the school for this exact reasons. Many other parents are considering doing the same thing, and others have already decided to remove their children at the end of this year. There are serious problems with the quality of the education at least several of the grade levels. My son scored below the 50% on numerous categories on the standardized tests last year. And this happened while he was receiving all A's at Menlo. Spelling is an issue too. And I don't really see punctuation being drilled home either. Many parents are wondering if their kids are even getting a standard education, let alone the "accelerated" education the school promotes it provide via it's website and advertising. I would like to see more parents get together and organize our concerns. We are isolated from one another.

    I would have made this a post of my own instead of putting it here, but I cannot figure out how to do it.

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  8. I have also heard of parents that are concerned and some parents who have already left and been told by their new school that there was some stuff that was skipped and the kids had to be caught up. I don't have any details, just what I heard so I can't confirm or deny but it does leave a lingering concern in my mind since I don't know what they should have and what they do have. Danny seems to be doing well, so I'm not overly concerned. I agree there should be more spelling tests. Danny's spelling is good when he has the tests but he consistently misspells words he should know how to spell. The other thing that concerns me is the lack of importance on handwriting. I know typing is the "thing" but handwriting will always be necessary no matter how technical our society is. I don't have complaints about the teachers but I'm a little concerned about the curriculum. He's in 5th grade math but it's like they went backwards and are doing things they've already done. Maybe it's more in depth but it doesn't look like it. ???

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  9. Hi Valarie, I understand your concern about wondering if your child is missing something in the curriculum. I am not sure what he is doing in 5th grade since that is not the grade my son is in, but Menlo's web site has a link on it to the Core standards that each grade level should master. That link also shows what states have adopted these standards and Ohio is one of them. You can look at that and see if what your child is doing meets that. With respect to students missing things, unfortunately you will find that in every school, gifted or not. I have found that even among grade levels in the same school. I too wish spelling and grammer were focused on earlier at Menlo, but when I look at the students I teach in both public and parochial schools, the students at Menlo are getting a huge step up. I am sorry to hear others have had a bad experience as we have had a great experience. It is such a relief to have Menlo when many other school districts are eliminating their gifted and talented programs.

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