North Atlanta High School General PTSA Meeting Thursday, October 15, :30pm

Transcription

1 North Atlanta High School General PTSA Meeting Thursday, October 15, :30pm Atlanta Public Schools Dr. Meria Carstarphen, Superintendent Questions from the North Atlanta High School family ** Please answer the following questions from the NAHS October PTSA meeting so that we can post these online as promised. The questions that were specific to NAHS and under the control of the NA administrative team have been removed and sent to them directly. Thank you!! ** 1. In the new charter system, will we have the freedom to carve out study hall in the day for students? In the new charter system, schools will continue to have flexibility regarding setting their school s schedules. Unfortunately, The state of Georgia does not have a designated course for study hall. To that end, study halls are not scheduled as a part of the master schedule. But Mr. Douglass explains that North Atlanta does have a Study Skills class in the approved course guide for students with IEPs. He says the school is willing to look into that option, if available; however it would require funding to place an adult in the room for supervision. 2. How can we do a better job of providing more support and resources for our gifted students? Examples: a. flexibility to design their own schedule of classes when particularly skilled in an area As a district, APS offers independent study to support students academic strengths. Additionally, teachers may personalize student learning via independent learning contracts, which provide students with the opportunity to self-select and individualize their learning. According to Mr. Douglass, North Atlanta offers a variety of classes in several academic and elective areas both traditional and online. The school has increased the number of elective pathways at NAHS based on student request and added two Science electives, Forensics and Anatomy.

2 In order to offer a course, the school needs enough students who want and qualify to take the class and funding available for a qualified, certified teacher. b. giving study hall so that homework can be completed during the school day and still participate in sports or other after school extra-curriculars As mentioned above, the State of Georgia does not provide for a Study Hall class in the approved course guide. c. giving credit for helping teachers as an aide when the student is proficient in a language, fine arts, math or even science (any of these options are better than extra PE or health courses to fill their schedule because they don't "need" more credits). * We understand that this may be a Principal Douglass question. However, along with his answer, we would like to know your thoughts.* Students may enroll in the Gifted Mentorship/Internship courses, which allow them the opportunity to hone their non-cognitive, employability skills, and identify their areas of career interests, as well as provide work-based learning experiences that integrate the content knowledge in an authentic learning environment. 3. Could you periodically meet with students for candid round table discussions? Perhaps college freshmen as one of the categories of students who could really help the system out with real life feedback about how APS prepared them for college... and what they might wish for their younger siblings to have that they did not. During Dr. Carstarphen s first year, she actually assembled a student advisory team, which met with her on a regular basis throughout the school year. And she held a candid roundtable discussion with them at the end of the school year. Many of them graduated and continued on to college, but the superintendent keeps in touch with them. Student engagement remains a key proponent of APS decision-making and school visits to ensure that student voices are always heard. 4. How closely is APS analyzing student PSAT, ACT, and SAT scores and making necessary changes to the curriculum to imporve student outcomes? Historically, the leaders of advanced placement in the Office of High Schools have used the PSAT results to identify students who have AP potential and to subsequently use the results to schedule students in AP courses (even offer AP courses in schools that were not previously offered). The Research & Evaluation team produces an annual report (will be coming out this month) with ACT and SAT results that are shared with the Board and senior leadership.

3 Beyond the scheduling of AP classes, data reported from SAT and ACT are often not detailed enough to drive within course curriculum changes. However, we are always looking for ways to cull meaningful information to inform our work with students. The district utilizes the PSAT data to build its Advanced Placement (AP) program. The AP Potential data are disaggregated and analyze by student and content to identify students who have the potential/readiness to take specific AP courses. That information is used to recruit students for the particular AP classes. In addition, although not a past practice, but going forward, the district will analyze the Summary of Answers and Skills Report and use the data to inform curricular and programmatic changes in literacy and mathematics. In regard to the SAT/ACT, the district receives data at the domain level, i.e. geometry and measurement; these data are analyzed and then triangulated with other assessment data to also inform curricular and programmatic changes in literacy and mathematics. To prepare students to take the PSAT, ACT, and/or SAT, our high schools offer prep classes via online and/or in person. This practice will continue. 5. With APS' mission to ensure all students are college and career ready, what changes will be made and resources provided to ensure improvement on these tests, which are key measures of college readiness? Some of this is answered above, but Mr. Douglass explains further that North Atlanta offered the PSAT 8/9 to all of its 9th graders this year free of charge through a grant from the NAHS Foundation. Students will receive individualized reports from the college board that will allow them to receive support through Khan Academy. North Atlanta also offers an SAT/ACT online course, and there are a group of students from Emory University that come to every week to offer additional support to students enrolled in the classes. 6. a) With APS' commitment to Early Learning and your desire to ensure equity in education, what are your plans, if any, to expand access to Pre-K in the North Atlanta Cluster? This year, APS added two Pre-K programs in the North Atlanta Cluster, one at Garden Hills Elementary and one at E. Rivers. As the district examines the needs of students across the district, it is also considering ways to provide support for students in areas where we have not had Pre-K programs in recent years. The greatest issue to consider is that of school enrollment. Where there is large enrollment, APS must consider how adding programs impacts school building capacity and growth within the area. APS will continue to look at how it serves students across the district to provide access to quality early learning experiences.

4 b) If space is an issue, have you considered offering the Pre-K Summer Transition Program at several of our elementary schools? APS has offered the Pre-K Summer Transition Programs at three sites in other regions for the past two years. This program is best housed at sites where the district currently has programs so that the classroom resources and the Pre-k program structure can be best provided as well. The Summer Transition Program has stringent income requirements and/or requires the identification of children who have been identified as needing additional support. As APS examines the needs of students, it will also determine how it can work with providers in the area to address the interest of Pre-K in the North Atlanta cluster. 7. Does APS have established timeframes for teachers to follow in grading students' work and entering the grades in infinite campus? According to Mr. Douglass, every teacher at NAHS is expected to updates their grade book every week, a minimum of one grade per week has been established for core classes. The administration monitors teachers grade books and communicates with teachers that are not in compliance. 8. Why are more than half of the busses arriving after 8:15AM and some students have missed over 40 hours of class time? How can this be improved? What is happening with repairing our busses for our cluster? According to some of the APS on-time performance analysis charts, the morning arrivaltime percentage is better than half of the buses arriving late. Our Transportation Department agrees that there are days when buses are late due to an abundance of mechanical issues or unavoidable issues such as traffic and weather. The Department fully embraces its role in the academic growth of a student, if they are late, they miss valuable class time. The Department is consistently looking to improve. One of those improvements will be the soon-to-be-launched bus tracker application for Apple and Android cell phones. This will enable parents to track their child s bus and receive push notifications on various conditions such as late, doubled or bus changes. The goal is to provide gap communication. Repairs are ongoing with the APS bus fleet. The Transportation Department supports a number of extracurricular functions that require buses to run six days a week, and sometimes, all day to support students. 9. APS financial reports show income from facility rentals of over $1 million. Does this amount include funds received from renting out the NAHS building and athletic fields?

5 Funds collected as rental/lease income include all income from schools or facilities owned by APS. These amounts include such leases as Subway in the CLL building, as well as rental of school buildings and/or facilities. CFO Robert Morales is working on a plan for fiscal year 2017 to share the receipts (originating at a school) with the principals to provide for flexibility to use such resources. At this point all such receipts are recorded as general revenues to be managed as part of the overall budget process. b) If so, does this money ever get earmarked specifically for NAHS' use. Not at this time, but as mentioned above, APS is considering changing the model for fiscal year c) What discretion does NAHS administration have in waiving any of these facility rental fees? The following fees are shown in Permit for Use of School Properties. Principals can waive #5. Rental Fee. Fees 1,2,3,4 cannot be waived. Also see itemized list below which is item 9 on the Terms and Conditions page. 1. Non-refundable Application Fee - $ Access Charge (Board Employee) Minimum 2 hours 3. Cleaning Charge (Custodian) 4. Security Fee Minimum 2 hours 5. Rental Fee (can be waived by principal) 10. What is APS doing to address our critical lack of effective math and science teachers? This problem is exacerbated by how late (relative to other districts) APS issues teacher contracts. The APS talent management strategy includes the following: Implement budget and staffing timelines to ensure the hiring process begins earlier. (January-May) Offer hired unassigned contracts for teachers in shortage areas. (December March) Offer incentives for experienced teachers to accept assignments in high needs schools/areas. Provide relevant professional development for all teachers. Provide an induction year with comprehensive supports. Enhance teacher pipelines/relationships with Teach for America, New Teacher Project, and local colleges/universities. Provide hiring for quality training for all principals.

6 Utilize screening tools to identify the talent ---Gallup TeacherInsight and HireVue-video interviews. Maintain and enhance our teacher residency program for math and science teachers with Georgia State University-Crest-ED. Next year, we will have Woodrow Wilson Fellows: math science fellows. APS will issue contracts in March in an effort to remain competitive with other districts. 11. What is APS' position on taking care of the wonderful but hard-to-care for grounds and facility that are NAHS? Specifically, how interested is APS in assisting the PTSA when there are needs that cannot be met by parents and student volunteers. (i.e. dead tree removal, erosion, pot holes, parking deck upkeep, etc). Visitors notice curb appeal. We would like to have pride in our school. Landscaping: Landscape contractors mow maintainable lawns, trim hedges, prune decorative trees, edge drives and walks, and blow entries, sidewalks and other paved areas that cutting spoils might affect. APS does not maintain the wooded areas, although it does address the nature paths. If a tree falls in the woods we allow nature to address the issue unless a portion encroaches on drives, walks, and lawns. In the event tree or debris encroach on drives, walks, and lawns the district removes to the wood line as a rule, and in some instances, remove completely if the tree creates a hazard. APS has reduced several of its landscape services over the years to support making the education focused budget work. It does not mulch beds, but does spray out weeds. When schools have flower planters they are expected to maintain and keep weeds pulled, otherwise workers spray the entire bed to rid the campus of weeds. Potholes: APS fixes potholes as we are made aware of them. If that has not been happening, our Operations Department will look into it. Parking Deck: Workers pressure wash the parking deck for Day One and periodically pressure wash the stairs in the parking deck as needed. Workers routinely pick up litter in the garage. Of course, the Operations Department will be happy to work with the PTSA to improve curb appeal.