Board Meeting 10/24/2011

In the board meeting, previous meeting notes were approved and the financial report was approved.  The superintendent verified that all teachers in the district were "highly qualified".  The tax for the comptroller was approved.  Policy FB and DI local was approved (district policy).  The consession plan for UIL had already been put in place.  Authority for imminent domain was discussed.  It was originally mentioned to be discussed at a later time; however, the board had no problem going ahead and approving the forms without further discussion.  The superintendent gave his report reminding board members of classes that were coming up.  He noted that currently there were no reasons to do a RIF.  He discussed a tax on goods form that is currently no use to the school; however, action would need to be taken if business contained warehouses - "Goods in Transit".  The schools will be celebrating Veteran's Day with activities.  A discussion of possible "bonuses" to retain teachers.  He discussed "Equity Litigation" and how it would affect the schools.

In the board meetings, there are issues that at the level of a teacher that are not known.  I will have to research what the FB and DI local are as they are terms that I have never heard of.  I learned about Equity Litigation and how it could affect the school budget.  It amazes me how fast the topics are discussed and approved.

ARD Meeting Thoughts

On Friday October 7, 2011, I attended an ARD on one of my students.  It was an annual ARD on a student that has been diagnosed with Autism.  The principal, SPED Director, classroom teacher, SPED coordinator, and the parent were in attendance.  The SPED teacher that normally works with the student was not present.  An issue that occurred before the meeting even took place involved the coordination of the meeting.  The ARD committee members were not all notified in a timely fashion which caused a conflict for the SPED teacher to not be able to attend.  Throughout the meeting, each aspect of the IEP was discussed.  Somethings I think would have better been explained during the meeting with the SPED teachers being able to explain.  Fortunately, the parent, classroom teacher, and SPED teacher collaborated well during the year, that issues or confusion were minimal.

After speaking to the SPED coordinator that stood in for the meeting, I was informed there were questions that were asked by the SPED Director to the teacher that were unjustified.  For example, modification and accommodations in the classroom should not have been asked when a list of modifications and accommodations were provided to the SPED Director during the meeting.  During the meeting, the classroom teacher informed the committee that math grades would be given through the SPED teacher, but grades would be coordinated with the classroom teacher.  The teacher was informed that this information was not necessary by the SPED Director.  Speaking with the SPED teacher the following school day, the SPED teacher informed the teacher that this information is important to be relayed during the ARD.

As a teacher, the information that should and should not be relayed are confusing.  Further investigation from the principal will be done to clarify what is a teachers responsibility in an ARD?  What is the SPED Director allowed to ask?

FISD School Board Meeting and Thoughts

I attended my first school board meeting (9/26/11, 6:50-7:20).  They began with by going over the FIRST (Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas) report card for 2009-2010 school year.  The school was rated superior.  The meeting went on to briefly note the finance report and changing the December meeting dates.  Mr. Adams spoke about getting a waiver for 1st and 2nd grade having too many students per teacher.  The board approved based on district hardship.  The next item was discussing School Board Member elections.  They approved a 4-3-4 year term.  If state declines they will keep current terms.  They will have elections in May 2013 if proposal is approved.  The Superintendent provided his report on EOC stating they are waiting for state direction.  He then discussed some board training opportunities, then mentioned the SRO report.  The final topic was an article about schools releasing custodians and have teachers clean their rooms which board members mentioned paying for sports, paying for school transportation, etc.  Meeting was adjourned.

The meeting was very fast.  Most topics were just mentioned and the public never was informed about the details.  It was interesting to see the superintendents job dealing with the city and the county - working with elections and county boards.

Web Conference Week 5

This week on the conference call we reviewed what was to go into the Internship Document and the Principal Skills Document that are due on Friday, August 12, 2011.  We need to go in a complete the first embedded assignment sometime next week. We went over what to expect in the upcoming courses and what needs to be done during the internship portion of the program.

EDLD5306 Course Reflection

      In the EDLD5306 class, I did not really know what to expect, but the class gave me much to think about using surveys, internet safety and ethics, and how to use Web 2.0 tools. This class opened my eyes on realizing how much technology affects students today – the 21st Century student. I really enjoyed learning more about copyrights, intellectual property, and laws that I did not know existed. I enjoyed seeing issues that concern the principal and parents when technology becomes a factor in the classroom. I liked the use of the discussion boards because I can see how other school districts use technology, and I have and understanding if other teacher’s views align with what I am thinking. Some of the members of the class have giving me some different perspectives at looking at some of the issue dealing with technology.

Web Conference Week 4

During the conference call this week we discussed what was to be expected in completing week 4 assignments.  Wordle was a new concept to me this week, and I cannot wait to use it in my class this year.  We covered thing that are to be completed by next Friday - Internship Plan and the Principal's Competencies.  Next week we will go over what to expect during the next course.

E-Rate and FISD District Technololgy Plan Overview

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