5K Money is Doing the Heavy Lifting
PTC-funded items and programs are rolling in in 2020. The new picnic tables outside are set-up, 6th grade is getting 22 brand-new modern microscopes (goodbye old-school, hello LCD screens!), the school social has fun vendors and provides $1.50 food tickets for every student, and the math whiteboard tables are working out well.
Brainstorming Improvement
Dr. A asked the group for ideas to improve communication and the student/parent experience. Here’s a couple ideas of ideas tossed around:
Switch invite-only conferences to the spring, as parents are motivated in the fall to meet teachers and set-up expectations
Offer more info/training sessions for Parentvue, the MYP grading criteria, and Canvas, possibly later in the fall once parents have more experience with the systems
Continuing to add incentives and trainings for teachers to switch to Canvas
Have more? Email Dr. A.
Common Middle School Experience Gets Real
While the middle school boundary adjustment has dominated our local community, there’s another very important discussion happening right now, called the Common Middle School Experience, and there are some big ramifications to Cedar Park on the table.
Head to BSD’s website to watch the handy video and look through the presentations. BSD is proposing four different bell schedules for parents to review, all of which would be new to Cedar Park.
Here’s a quick FAQ summary of our discussion with Dr. A:
How would new schedules impact scores? Not sure, but science and math are losing class time minutes in all of the schedules. (Parents empathically voice deep concern over reduction of math/science)
How many schools have our current schedule (or very similar schedule)? Five of the eight.
Would teachers be able to continue with the current pace? Yes, but likely more homework, as collaboration and work time would be reduced.
What is the driver of the schedule changes? You can look online, but part of the issue is that the committee objectives and the Board objectives are difficult to merge. The middle school admins are more focused on academics, but the Board is prioritizing elective choice.
Does Cedar Park have to increase their PE minutes? Yes, we are not in compliance with the Oregon mandate that begins 2021-22. Most likely students will need PE every day.
Do any of the proposed schedules fulfill all the objectives? No.
Do any current BSD middle schools have any of these schedules? No.
Why can’t all the middle schools currently all offer Spanish, drama, art, band, and choir? Staffing is tied to the total number of enrolled students, so smaller schools aren’t allocated as many staff slots. In order to keep class size down and manageable, most middle school admins will prioritize core teachers over electives.
Does this new endeavor change that? No, staffing will still be tied to enrollment.
Which one schedule is closest to what we have now? Schedule A
Who makes the final call? Superintendent Grotting
What can parents do? Inform yourself, take the survey and email Don Grotting (don_grotting@beaverton.k12.or.us)
Boundary Adjustment Drama: How Will it End?
Oh, boy. It’s coming down to the end of this middle school boundary adjustment process. Committee has to give their recommendation by spring break. The new boundaries will start in 2021. So many factors have been at play, including walkability, free and reduced lunch rates, transportation, and projected enrollment.
It’s hard to keep up on the current maps (the ones discussed at this coffee are already outdated). Find the most current map at BSD’s website and provide public comment.
The FINAL Boundary Committee Meeting will be Thursday, 3/12 @ 6:30pm at Mountain View Middle School.
Juicy Nuggets You’d Know if You’d Been Here:
Lunchtime has been so much fun to watch, especially with our new-ish cell phone policy. CPMS used a grant to purchase more life-size games in the library, including cornhole, connect four, and jenga.
And that’s a wrap!
