Summary of November 30, 2006 Minnetonka School Board Meeting
Go to the Minnetonka School District Web site for continually updated Questions and Answers regarding proposals
Summarized here are the 11/30 discussions re: High Potential, MHS Health & Elementary Language Immersion
Proposal for High Potential
This is based on the information that:
- 947 students in grades 1-8 are identified as Gifted/ 546 Elementary and 401 Middle.
- That’s 22% of the Minnetonka population with national norms at 5-8%.
- Current staffing is .5 in each elementary, pull out 1/wk
- Middle staffing is approx. 200 students per .5 teacher
- Current program is 1/wk pullout to WINGS and HP teacher supervising "independent Investigations: which are run by paraprofessionals employed 7.5 hours per week.
New K-5 Model: represents approx. 90% of HP students
- Increase direct service with students including Individualized Learning Plans
- Developing academically appropriate groups for specific needs such as math and reading. Collaboration and planning with classroom staff on instructional strategies
- In-servicing of regular education teachers in deliberate clustering of identified students
- Extended extra-curriculum offerings
- Developmentally appropriate guidance for students with social/emotional needs
- One model would be to increase staff per school to 1.0 staff
Highly Gifted Model
Highly gifted represents students whose cognitive processing and memory capacity far exceeds that of an average student. The educational needs are extremely different as well.
o Process information 4x the rate of an average student
o Acquisition of knowledge is divergent and interest driven
o Assessment must be on going as the process of knowledge acquisition is more important than product development.
o Ability to detect underlying patterns and elements w/I complex relationships, ideas, and multi-faceted structures.
o Unrelenting drive for intellectual curiosity.
o Advanced development in ethics and morals.
o Unusual insight to into the human condition
Challenges:
o Identification
o Location
o Curriculum
o Staffing
Rationale:
- Based on a variety of studies full time gifted programs, such as a school within a school. Are the most effective learning environments.
- We have the students (estimate 75-100), the space, teachers, and resources to make this work.
Proposal for High School Health Education Delivery Model
- This delivery model was responsible for at least half of the people in attendance.
- The proposal is to go from 1-semester/80 hours of instruction to 80 hours over 4 years at the HS.
- This model would be delivered by health education teachers in core class periods on 12 day cycles and provide at least 12 days per year of regular health instruction.
- Because of the 6 period day and the addition of 7 minutes per class, the thought is they take one core class every 12 days and present a health unit with the health teacher and core teacher in attendance.
- English would be the first in the cycle with math second cycle and social studies during the fourth.
- Additionally there would be 4 major presentations each of the four years on health topics of great significance, or timeliness, for a total of 16 hours; and the CPR units of about 8-12 hours for each student to complete sometime during their four years. (Goal is one keynote speaker each quarter.) (Note: CPR may be offered as a full day pull out sometime during Jr/Sr. year or during a summer program)
- -Technology will be used to inform and assess students on important health issues
- Key component will be the focus on encouraging parents to become partners in the process and activities.
EXAMPLE: class of 2011
Sept: Session 1; health substituted for one English class for one period
Late Sept: Session 2; keynote speaker* substituted for one period
Early Oct: session 3; health subsituted for one science class for one period
Late Oct: Session 4; health substituted for one science class for one period
*Target Keynote Speaker for Homecoming week
Because most '07/'08 students have already completed the health requirement, this would not include them. Those who have not would still need to take the semester course.
Proposal for Language Immersion
An approach to immersion as a second language. Spanish and Chinese are being considered depending on enrollment. The model will be a “school within a school” model as to not disrupt local neighborhood schools.
- ELEMENTARY
o Total immersion starting in Kindergarten through 5th grade in one single building.
o Students in Ready Start Kindergarten would not be eligible.
o Students in all day kindergarten programs would only have one half of their day in the immersion program and the other half in tradition Kindergarten.
o Special Education and High Potential
§ Students with unique needs are eligible to participate. However, it is recommended from CARLA, that students with special education needs, primarily in language-based learning disabilities not participate.
§ An immersion program is not the same as High Potential and many Immersion programs do not include HP. (see High Potential Model)
o Movement in and out of the program
§ Students can enter if any grade level has openings and the student passes an assessment test.
§ Generally students do not leave the program once they begin and the district will request a 6-year commitment (k-5). But, they can opt out at the agreement of the family, teacher and administrator
§ Priority is given to residents of the Minnetonka School District.
- MIDDLE SCHOOL
o At grade 6, students will move to middle school where instruction in the second language will occur in the language Arts, Social Studies, and language classes. The rest of their instructions will be in English
- HIGH SCHOOL
o Only one class in their secondary language and the rest in English.
Go to the Minnetonka School District Web site for Questions and Answers regarding proposals