[D. Decision on Expansion of Middle School Writing Curriculum, Ms. Heather Kutcher, Executive Director of Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment and Mr. Andrew Renzulli, Director of Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment, Ms. Kristine Scarry, Supervisor of English/Language Arts, Ms. Annmarie Steltzer, Assistant Supervisor of English/Language Arts and Ms. Janet Oldewurtel, Literacy Specialist Teacher]

THANK YOU. NEXT WE HAVE ITEM D DECISION AND EXPANSION OF MIDDLE SCHOOL WRITING CURRICULUM. MRS KUTCHER. AND TEAM. AND TEAM.

THIS EVENING BOARD PRESIDENT MUELLER VICE PRESIDENT SEWELL, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD SUPERINTENDENT BOLSON HERE THIS EVENING WITH OUR DIRECTOR OF CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION AND ASSESSMENT AND EVEN ZOLI. WE'RE HERE ALSO WITH OUR SUPERVISOR OF READING, ENGLISH AND LANGUAGE ARTS, CHRIS SCARY OUR ASSISTANT SUPERVISOR OF THAT OFFICE AND MARIE STELZER AND OUR LITERACY SPECIALIST FROM EDGEWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL, JANET OLDER WARDLE. AND WE'RE HERE TO CONTINUE A CONVERSATION FROM THE LAST BOARD MEETING TO REQUEST THE EXPANSION OF OUR WRITING PROGRAM. WE'D LIKE TO PROVIDE SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THAT REQUEST, AS ALSO AS WELL AS GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT STUDENT PERFORMANCE DATA AND WRITING ASSESSMENTS AND SHARE THE COST OF WHAT WE ARE REQUESTING THIS EVENING. AT THIS TIME, I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO MRS SCARY TO GIVE MORE CONTEXT, SOME BACKGROUND ON THAT WRITING EXPANSION CURRICULUM. GOOD EVENING BOARD MEMBERS. THANK YOU FOR HAVING US HERE TO DISCUSS THE MIDDLE SCHOOL WRITING PROGRAM JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND. ORIGINALLY THE UNITS OF STUDY AND WRITING WAS ADOPTED AT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS IMPLEMENTED THE PROGRAM IN 2017.

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

THE PROGRAM EXPANDED TO ALL SIXTH GRADES. ADDING CONSISTENCY IN WRITING INSTRUCTION K TO SIX WE ALSO HAD PATTERSON MILL. UM AND MAGNOLIA MIDDLE BRING ON GRADE LEVELS AS WELL. WHAT WE

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KNOW IS ESSENTIAL FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS IS A COMPREHENSIVE WRITING CURRICULUM. ONE THAT IS MORE THAN AN ADD ON OR A SUPPLEMENT. FROM A READING ANTHOLOGY. IN THE RATING UNITS OF STUDY IS A COMPREHENSIVE CURRICULUM. THAT INCLUDES EXPLICIT STANDARDS, ALIGNED DAILY INSTRUCTION. UM FOCUSED ON THE SKILLS AND THE STRATEGIES AND THE CONVENTIONS THAT WRITERS UTILIZE. IT PROVIDES MODELS. EMPHASIS, EFFECTIVE WRITING AND SCORING RUBRICS AND, UM STUDENT CHECKLISTS THAT ARE ALSO ALIGNED TO THE STANDARDS. IT WILL INCLUDE STUDENT WRITINGS, SAMPLES AND EXEMPLARS TO PROVIDE OUR STUDENTS WITH A VISION OF EXPECTATIONS. AND FOR TEACHERS TO DIFFERENTIATE INTO EXTEND INSTRUCTION. THERE WILL BE SMALL GROUPS, SUGGESTIONS AND CONFERRING SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE. ANCHOR CHARTS FOR STUDENT REPS, REFERENCING GUIDANCE ON PREVIOUS AND CURRENT LEARNING. AND WHILE WE DO RECOGNIZE THAT THERE HAVE BEEN SOME COMMUNITY COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK ABOUT CURSIVE OR HANDWRITING, CURSIVE, AND THOSE SKILLS ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE MARYLAND COLLEGE AND CAREER READY STANDARDS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL, SO HARPER COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS IS INTENTIONALLY INFUSING MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR CURSIVE WRITING AND HANDWRITING PRACTICE INTO THE FINANCIAL LITERACY PORTIONS OF OUR SOCIAL SCIENCES CURRICULUM AT BOTH THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY LEVEL. FAMILIES AND STUDENTS CAN EXPECT TO SEE THOSE SKILLS INFUSED IN THAT CURRICULUM. WE ALSO KNOW THAT A CURRICULUM GROUNDED IN RESEARCH BASED BEST PRACTICES IS ESSENTIAL. REVIEWING RESEARCH THAT HAS BEEN CONDUCTED OVER THE LAST DECADE. WE KNOW THIS WRITING CURRICULUM INCORPORATES THE FOLLOWING RESEARCH BASED PRACTICES. AN EMPHASIS ON THE WRITING PROCESS. SO PRE WRITING DRAFTING, REVISING EDITING AND EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION IN THIS PROCESS, ALONG WITH STRATEGIES AND SKILLS AND CONVENTIONS THAT WRITERS USED WRITING MODELS AND MODELING BY TEACHERS. AN AMPLE OPPORTUNITIES TIME TO APPLY AND PRACTICE THESE STRATEGIES AND SKILLS. IT INCORPORATES OPPORTUNITIES FOR WRITERS TO SELF REFLECT AND SET GOALS, AND IT PROVIDES FREQUENT FEEDBACK TO WRITERS TO HELP THEM GROW AND PROGRESS. AND GRAMMAR AND CONVENTIONS, INSTRUCTION TAUGHT IN CONTEXT. ALONG WITH CHOICE AND I THOUGHT, AUTHENTIC PURPOSES FOR WRITING. WE THINK ABOUT WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS FOR OUR STUDENTS? IF THEY'RE IN A CONSISTENT PROGRAM FROM K THROUGH GRADE SEVEN THE ROUTINES , THE STRUCTURE, THE PROGRESSIONS THE TOOLS THEY ALL BUILD FROM YEAR TO YEAR. TEACHERS CAN SEE. HOW ARE STUDENTS PROGRESSING AND CAN HAVE MORE COLLABORATION AND DISCUSSION BECAUSE THEY'RE USING THE SAME PROGRAM THE SAME RUBRICS I ALSO THINK ABOUT, UM, FOR OUR STUDENTS, HAVING, UM, A DAILY WRITING TIME THAT ALLOWS THEM TO INCORPORATE PRACTICES, UM, WITH THEIR PEERS, AS WELL AS WITH THEIR TEACHER THROUGH CONFERENCING IN SMALL GROUPS BECOME SO ESSENTIAL AND JANET'S GONNA KIND OF TAKE US INTO SOME OF OUR WRITING CLASSROOMS. UH, THROUGH SOME OF THE PICTURES THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO GATHER AS WELL AS TEACHER FEEDBACK. WHEN YOU VISIT A MIDDLE SCHOOL CLASSROOM, YOU'LL KNOW WITHIN JUST A FEW MINUTES THAT YOU ARE IN A PLACE WHERE A WRITING WORKSHOP HAPPENS. IT'S A GREAT LOOK AT DOMAIN TO WHICH IS ESTABLISHING A CULTURE FOR LEARNING IN THE PICTURE ON THE LEFT, YOU'LL NOTICE WRITING CENTERS, WHICH ALLOWS STUDENTS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO USE A VARIETY OF TOOLS TO DRAFT PLAN TO REVISE AND EDIT THEIR WORK.

AND THE ANCHOR CHARTS THAT MS STELZER HAD SPOKE OF EARLIER ARE ALL POSTED THERE WHERE THEY'LL BE SPECIFIC ANCHOR CHARGE THAT WE USE THAT WE TEACH STUDENTS HOW TO CREATE THEIR LEADS HOW TO TRANSITION FROM A CLAIM TO EVIDENCE WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING.

THESE TOOLS ARE TOOLS THAT WE CREATE TOGETHER WITH OUR STUDENTS, AND THEY MAINLY USE THEM, AND STUDENTS USE THEM FOR REFERENCE WHEN THEY'RE WRITING THEIR THEIR PIECES ON THEIR OWN.

YOU ALSO NOTICE THINGS LIKE CONFERENCING CORNERS WHERE WE HAVE TARGETED ONE ON ONE OPPORTUNITIES TO TALK WITH YOUR TEACHER AND WITH YOUR STUDENTS TO THINK ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE DOING REALLY WELL WITH THEIR WRITING, AND FOR THEM TO HAVE THOSE WRITING GOALS, UM, SHARE THIS WRITING GOALS WITH YOU, YOU CAN SPOTLIGHT STUDENT WORK, MUCH LIKE AN ARTIST SPOTLIGHTS THEIR ARTWORK AND YOU'LL SEE MENTOR TEXT. WHEN WE ARE WORKING WITH MUSIC CLASS. WE WOULD STUDY VIRTUAL STORES IN MUSIC WHEN WE'RE WORKING WITH ARTISTS AND WITH WRITERS. WE LOOK AT THE WORK THAT THEY HAVE CREATED AND PUBLISHED AND OUR STUDENTS TO EMULATE THEIR FAVORITE PIECES OF WORK. I THINK ONE OF THE BENEFITS IS ALLOWING OUR STUDENTS TO TAKE OWNERSHIP OVER THEIR LEARNING AND TO FEEL THAT SENSE OF AGENCY. SO WHEN YOU GO INTO ROOMS BEING ABLE TO SEE STUDENTS SETTING GOALS FOR THEMSELVES AS WRITING, YOU CAN GO UP AND ASK THEM. WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AS A WRITER, AND THEY CAN OFTEN ARTICULATE THEIR GOAL ? UM WHETHER IT'S SOMETHING FOR

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CRAFT OR STRUCTURE, CONVENTIONS OR DEVELOPMENT. AND THEIR GOALS ARE OFTEN ROOTED IN THE CHECKLIST. THE ANCHOR CHARTS THAT THE TEACHERS ARE ABLE TO USE AND DISPLAY FOR KIDS.

THEY'RE DOING MORE THAN JUST COMPLETING A WRITING ASSIGNMENT. THEY'VE TAKEN OWNERSHIP. AND THEY'RE BUILDING THEIR OWN CAPACITY AS A WRITER. WE SEE WRITING PARTNERS AT MIDDLE SCHOOL BEING ABLE TO SEE STUDENTS HELPING ONE ANOTHER. UM, THROUGH THEIR UNITS THROUGH THEIR REVISION THROUGH THEIR EDITING AND BEING ABLE TO CONGRATULATE AND FEEL PRIDE IN THEIR WORK. EMERY WILL SHARE A FEW MORE REFLECTIONS FROM OUR TEACHERS, AS WE'VE JUST BEGUN TRULY IMPLEMENTING THIS PROGRAM AGAIN. THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR ACROSS THE GRADE SIX FOR ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS. SO FROM OUR DISCUSSIONS AND FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE RECEIVED FROM TEACHERS OVER THE COURSE OF THE PILOT AND THE EXPANSION THESE ARE THE TOPICS BUT THEY FREQUENTLY TOUCHED UPON AND THEIR REFLECTIONS REGARDING THIS WRITING CURRICULUM. THEY OFTEN SAY THAT BECAUSE OF THE STRUCTURE OF THIS WRITING CURRICULUM THAT THEIR THEIR INSTRUCTIONAL TIME IS MORE INTENTIONAL AND FOCUSED. AND THEY OFTEN SHARE THAT THEY FEEL MORE MOTIVATED AND CONFIDENT IN THEIR TEACHING OF WRITING. TEACHING. WRITING IS HARD. AND THEY WILL. SOME WILL SAY THAT THEY FEEL THAT THIS CURRICULUM HAS MADE THEM BETTER TEACHERS OF WRITING. BECAUSE IT PROVIDES THEM WITH CONCRETE LESSONS AND EXAMPLES AND STRATEGIES TO USE WITH THEIR STUDENTS. THEY OFTEN SHARE, TOO, THAT THE CURRICULUM PROVIDES THEM WITH EXPLICIT GUIDANCE ON IDENTIFYING AREAS OF NEED AND DEVELOPMENT, AND THIS ENABLES THEM TO PROVIDE VERY SPECIFIC, UM, INDIVIDUALIZED FEEDBACK FOR THEIR STUDENTS. AND HERE. WE JUST HIGHLIGHTED A FEW COMMENTS FROM TEACHERS THAT ARE INDICATIVE OF OTHERS THAT WE'VE GATHERED. UM WITH THEIR COMMENTS REFLECT, I THINK ARE TWO THINGS. FIRST THEY APPRECIATION AND BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT A STUDENT CENTERED, STUDENT DRIVEN WRITING CURRICULUM LOOKS AND FEELS LIKE ON A DAILY BASIS. AND THEIR RECOGNITION OF THE IMPACT OF A COMPREHENSIVE WRITING CURRICULUM. WOULD IT HAS ON STUDENT GROWTH AND PROGRESS. AND THEN THEY'LL ALWAYS NOTE AS WELL . THE IMPACT THAT THIS WRITING CURRICULUM HAS ON THEIR STUDENTS . THEY OFTEN NOTE THAT BECAUSE OF THE STRUCTURE, IT PROVIDES STUDENTS WITH THE TIME NEEDED TO PRACTICE THEIR WRITING. AND WITH THIS EQUATES TO IS VOLUME AND STAMINA, AND WE HEAR THIS TIME AND AGAIN. UM AND YOU KNOW, THESE HABITS ARE ACTUALLY VERY BENEFICIAL WHEN THEY TAKE THE STATE ASSESSMENT, SO VOLUME STAMINA. UM THAT THE STUDENTS FEEL AN INCREASED PRIDE AND CONFIDENCE REGARDING THEIR WRITING. THIS IS NOT ABOUT ASSIGNING A PROMPT AND THEN THEM HANDING IT INTO THEIR TEACHER. IT'S ABOUT THEM HAVING A SAY, AND CHOICE IN WHAT THEY'RE WRITING AND DECIDING THEIR PATHWAY FORWARD, SO THEY FEEL VERY BESTED IN THEIR WRITING. UM AND THEY FEEL VERY MOTIVE. I DEBATED AND THEY CAN RECOGNIZE THE PROGRESS THEY'VE MADE AND SPEAK TO IT. HERE ARE A FEW COMMENTS. I HAD THE LUCKY OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH STUDENTS ONE ON ONE AND GET THEIR OPINIONS AND TALK TO THEM A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THEIR THOUGHTS ARE ABOUT WRITING OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS. AND ONE THING I NOTICED IS I'M LOOKING OVER. A FEW OF THESE COMMENTS IS THE LANGUAGE THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO USE. YOU'LL NOTICE THINGS LIKE ADDING DIALOGUE. TWO STORIES YOU'LL NOTICE THINGS LIKE IN THAT FIRST ONE HAVING EVIDENCE TO THEIR ESSAYS OR THINKING ABOUT CLAIMS. AND I THINK HAYLEY SUMS IT UP BEST THAT SHE USED TO JUST RIGHT AND ALL THE WORDS WOULD STILL OUT.

BUT NOW SHE WRITES WITH PURPOSE AND INTENTION, AND THAT'S THE POWER OF THE WRITING PROGRAM, AND THIS WRITING PROGRAM, IN PARTICULAR, IS TO HELP STUDENTS FIND THEIR VOICE UNDERSTAND DIFFERENT PURPOSES OF WRITING AND TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORDS TO USE TO EXPRESS THAT VOICE. HERE YOU'LL SEE OPPORTUNITIES FOR WRITING CELEBRATIONS WHICH ARE EMBEDDED IN THE PROGRAM AND A VERY IMPORTANT PART TO HAVE AN AUTHENTIC OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THE WORK THAT THEY DO BECAUSE THE STUDENTS WORK HARD WRITING IS HARD. UP HERE. YOU'LL SEE BEL AIR AND NORTH HARFORD MIDDLE SCHOOL WITH GRADE SIX, SHARING A VARIETY OF WAYS TO CELEBRATE STUDENT WORK. UM, SOMETIMES THAT'S DONE IN THE CLASSROOM. SOMETIMES THAT'S DONE ACROSS DIFFERENT CLASSROOMS OR GRADE LEVELS, AND SOMETIMES FOR OUR MORE SHY STUDENTS, THAT MIGHT BE SOME KIND OF PUBLICATION LIKE A NEWSPAPER OR LITERARY MAGAZINE OF SOME SORT, BUT THE IDEA IS THAT WE CELEBRATE THE WORK THAT WE DO. THESE ARE MY FAVORITE PICTURES FROM CELEBRATIONS. THE ONE ON THE TOP LEFT IS PATTERSON MILL. IN THIS PHOTOGRAPH. YOU'LL SEE STUDENTS WORKING TOGETHER AROUND THE CAMPFIRE. THEY'RE HAVING A PSEUDO CAMPFIRE AND CLASS, SHARING THEIR COMPANION BOOKS THAT THEY ATTRACTED AND THE OTHER PICTURES YOU'LL SEE ARE FROM AN OPEN MIC NIGHT. THIS JUST HAPPENED IN JANUARY AT

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EDGEWOOD. IT WAS ORGANIZED BY ONE OF OUR EIGHTH GRADE TEACHERS, MRS JOHNSON. AND WE HAD A STANDING ROOM ONLY TO HAVE ALL OF OUR PARENTS COME TOGETHER WITH OUR STUDENTS AND OUR TEACHERS AND JUST APPRECIATE THE WRITTEN WORD WAS A REALLY POWERFUL EVENING THAT WE HAD A GREAT SENSE OF COMMUNITY TOGETHER, AND IT WAS A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE FOR EVERYONE. WE ARE LOOKING AT PROGRAM EVALUATION, SINCE THIS IS A NEW PROGRAM IN OUR MIDDLE SCHOOLS. WE'VE SUBMITTED TEACHER SURVEY DATA IN THE 2021 SCHOOL YEAR. WE HAD LESS IMPLEMENTATION, BUT WE WANTED TO GET FEEDBACK THAT'S SO IMPORTANT TO US. AND WHAT ARE OUR TEACHERS SAYING? WHAT DO THEY NEED? WE RECOGNIZE THE CHALLENGES WHEN YOU START SOMETHING NEW, THE UNCERTAINTY UM, BUT WANTING THEM TO BE ABLE TO SAY, IS THIS SUPPORTING THEIR STUDENTS AS WRITERS? AND IS IT SUPPORTING THEM AS TEACHERS OF WRITING? IN THE 22 23 SCHOOL YEAR SINCE WE HAD BROUGHT ON ALL OF SIXTH GRADE, WE HAD MORE TEACHERS TO SURVEY AND, UM AND I SEE WHERE THERE'S A NEED FOR AREAS OF GROWTH FOR US AS A AS A DEPARTMENT TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THEM, BUT IN THE FIRST YEAR TO HAVE THE TEACHERS RESPOND. I'M REALLY PROUD OF THE COLUMN ON THE RIGHT WHERE THEY'RE SAYING THAT THIS CORRECT CURRICULUM 81% SAY THEY ARE ABLE TO WORK MORE COLLABORATIVELY PLAN MORE WITH EACH OTHER SHARE WRITING RESOURCES WITH ONE ANOTHER REFLECT ON THEIR TEACHING 75. UM, FOR BEING IN THE FIRST YEAR. AND GIVING US A DIRECTION HOW TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OUR TEACHERS AS THEY WORK WITH OUR STUDENTS AND ANOTHER WAY WE CAN EVALUATE IS LOOKING AT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT. SO AND MARIE'S GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW WE CAN COLLECT DATA ON OUR STUDENTS ACHIEVEMENT. SO THIS COMPREHENSIVE WRITING CURRICULUM INCLUDES THREE ON DEMAND PERFORMANCE TASKS THAT REFLECT THE TYPES OF WRITING STUDENTS WILL RESPOND TO ON OUR STATE ASSESSMENT AND THAT ARE REFLECTED IN OUR STANDARDS. THE TASKS ARE IMPLEMENTED PRIOR TO AND AFTER IMPLEMENTATION OF A UNIT. OFFICE THIS YEAR AS THREE SCHOOLS 3/6 GRADES FROM OUR INITIAL PILOT TO IMPLEMENT THE ON DEMAND ASSESSMENTS THIS SCHOOL YEAR, AND THEY WERE BELLAIRE, MIDDLE, EDGEWOOD, MIDDLE AND NORTH HARFORD MIDDLE SIXTH GRADE. THIS INVOLVES 12 TEACHERS AND OVER 200 STUDENTS. AND SO DURING FIRST QUARTER, THEY ADMINISTERED THIS NARRATIVE ASSESSMENT PRIOR TO TEACHING THEIR NARRATIVE UNIT. THE STUDENTS RESPONDED TO THE PROMPT IN ONE CLASS PERIOD AND USE THE CHECKLIST, UM, KNOWING AHEAD WITH THE EXPECTATIONS WOULD BE AND THEN TEACHERS USED THIS SCORING RUBRIC ALIGNED WITH THE CHECKLIST THAT THE STUDENTS RECEIVED. UM AND ENTERED THE DATA IN OUR DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM PERFORMANCE MATTERS AND SO WHAT YOU SEE, ARE THE QUALITIES ON THE LEFT THINGS LIKE EFFECTIVE LEADS AND TRANSITIONS, UM, CRAFTING SATISFYING ENDINGS AND USING STORY STRUCTURE, ELABORATING WITH DIALOGUE AND IN THEIR THINKING. UM WORD CHOICE AND FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE AND CONVENTIONS ARE IMPORTANT, AND SO STUDENTS WERE ASSESSED UNDER SPELLING ACCURACY. THE PUNCTUATION NARRATIVE IN TERMS OF DIALOGUE, FOR INSTANCE, AND THE USE OF SIMPLE AND COMPLEX SENTENCES. SO WE WERE ENCOURAGED. BY THIS DATA AND THE CURRICULUMS, ABILITY AND EFFECTIVENESS AND SUPPORTING STUDENTS GROWTH IN PROGRESSES, WRITERS SO WHAT YOU SEE IS THAT, UM PRIOR TO IMPLEMENTING THE UNIT 2.4% OF OUR STUDENTS MET OR EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS. BUT AFTER IMPLEMENTING THE UNIT 53.3% OF OUR STUDENTS HAD MET OR EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS. SO IT APPEARED THAT THE UNITS WERE IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THEM WERE HELPING OUR STUDENTS MAKE PROGRESS SO ENCOURAGED WITH THIS WE ASKED THE SAME SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS AND STUDENTS TO REPEAT THE ASSESSMENT CYCLE, THIS TIME FOR ARGUMENT, WRITING PRIOR TO AND AFTER THEIR ARGUMENT UNIT AND AGAIN IN ONE CLASS PERIOD, THE STUDENTS RESPONDED TO THE PROMPT THEY WERE GIVEN THE CHECKLIST SO THAT YOU EXPECTATIONS AND THEN THE TEACHERS AGAIN USE A SIMILAR RUBRIC WITH SIMILAR QUALITIES THROUGH AN ARGUMENT LENS. AND YOU'LL SEE ON THE LEFT THE DIFFERENT AREAS THAT STUDENTS WERE ASSESSED IN. AND THEN, UM, WE WERE FURTHER ENCOURAGED BY THIS DATA. IF YOU NOTE THE PRE ASSESSMENT DATA, MORE STUDENTS WERE PROFICIENT. GOING INTO THE UNIT, INDICATING THAT THEY WERE STARTING TO TRANSFER THEIR LEARNING FROM ONE GENRE OF WRITING TO ANOTHER. SO THIS TIME 20% OF OUR STUDENTS MET OR EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS. GOING IN. ALMOST 60% OF OUR STUDENTS HAD MET OR EXCEEDED THE ARGUMENT, WRITING EXPECTATIONS AFTER THE UNIT WAS IMPLEMENTED. THE SAME SCHOOLS ARE IMPLEMENTING NOW THE INFORMATION ON DEMAND ASSESSMENT . OUR STATE TESTING SORT OF INTERRUPTED THE CYCLE, SO I

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DON'T HAVE ENOUGH OF THAT DATA TO SHARE THIS EVENING. BUT IT IS TRENDING IN THE SAME WAY AND SHOWING, UM VERY ENCOURAGING GROWTH FOR OUR STUDENTS. SO GIVEN THE SUCCESS OF THIS PROGRAM TO DATE, OUR VISION IS TO EXTEND THE UNITS OF STUDY AND WRITING TO ALL REMAINING MIDDLE SCHOOLS FOR SEVENTH GRADE. AND WHAT THIS WILL DO FOR US AS WELL PROVIDE AN AUTHENTIC, INTENTIONAL AND TRULY COMPREHENSIVE WRITING PROGRAM AND WILL ALSO BRING ABOUT A MORE CONSISTENT AND EQUITABLE EXPERIENCE FOR OUR STUDENTS THROW ALL MIDDLE SCHOOLS. ON THIS SLIDE HERE. I'LL TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLAIN TO THE BOARD AND OUR COMMUNITY HOW THIS PROGRAM IS SITUATED IN A SCHOOL DAY FOR OUR STUDENTS. YOU SEE A SAMPLE SCHEDULE FOR TWO TEACHERS. AND THOSE STUDENTS WHO ARE NOT CURRENTLY ENGAGED IN THE UNITS OF STUDY PROGRAM ONLY EXPERIENCE 1 45 MINUTE BLOCK OF READING AND WRITING INSTRUCTION. AND THE CHALLENGE THAT OUR TEACHERS FACE WITHOUT ONE BLOCK IS THAT THEY ARE WORKING TO ADDRESS ALL OF OUR READING STANDARDS AND ALL OF OUR WRITING STANDARDS IN THAT ONE BLOCK. THROUGH MIDDLE SCHOOL INNOVATION . IN THIS REVISION TO THIS SCHEDULE, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT WE HAVE A DEDICATED READING BLOCK OF 45 MINUTES AND A DEDICATED WRITING BLACK FOR 45 MINUTES, AND IT'S WITHIN THE 45 BLACK OF TIME DEDICATED FOR WRITING WHERE THE UNITS OF STUDY PROGRAM THAT WE'RE SPEAKING TO THIS EVENING WOULD BE PLACED WITH THE EXPANSION OF THIS PROGRAM, WE BELIEVE WILL BE ABLE TO BRING ABOUT A BETTER EXPERIENCE ACROSS THE BOARD FOR ALL STUDENTS THROUGHOUT HARFORD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS AS RELATED TO THE UNITS OF STUDY PROGRAM. AND MARIE WILL NOW SHARE A SNAPSHOT TO COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE CURRENT H M H PROGRAM THAT EXISTS IN THE NON PILOT SCHOOLS WITH THE UNITS OF STUDY PROGRAMS. SO AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL, UM ARE OUR TEACHERS USING MH COLLECTIONS ANTHOLOGY? AND THERE IS VERY LITTLE GUIDANCE FEW PAGES TO SUPPORT TEACHERS WRITING. IT IS WHAT I SHARED EARLIER WITH WHERE IT'S A SUPPLEMENT. IT'S AN ADD ON UM, BY COMPARISON, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE WRITING UNITS OF STUDY, UM YOU WILL SEE THAT. THEY HAVE MULTIPLE UNITS, UM, WITH MULTIPLE SESSIONS, DAILY INSTRUCTION. THAT IS PROVIDED. YOU'LL SEE ON THAT ASSESSMENT SUPPORT WITH SOME OF THE CHECKLISTS AND RUBRICS. I SHOWED YOU, BUT ALSO GUIDANCE, YOU KNOW, AND THIS IS WHERE IT GIVES THEM GUIDANCE AS TO IF THESE PARTICULAR NEEDS OR DEVELOPMENTAL AREAS ARE SHOWING HERE YOUR NEXT STEPS, SO IT GIVES THEM VERY STRUCTURED PATHWAYS AND GUIDELINES FOR HOW TO LOSE STUDENTS FORWARD. UM THERE'S ADDITIONAL SUPPORT IN THE IF THEN CURRICULUM AS FAR AS , UM, IT'S EXACTLY WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE. IF THEN, IF STUDENTS ARE STRUGGLING IN THIS AREA WHEN YOU CONFER WITH THEM, HERE'S SOME STRATEGIES AND TAKEAWAYS THAT YOU CAN PROVIDE THEM AND YOU SEE THAT THERE AND THEN THERE'S A WEALTH OF ONLINE RESOURCES AS WELL THAT THEY ARE PROVIDED, SO IT TRULY IS A COMPREHENSIVE YEARLONG CURRICULUM. AND SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE COST TO EXPAND AND FINISHED THE UNITS OF STUDY AND WRITING IN SEVENTH GRADE FOR OUR REMAINING MIDDLE SCHOOLS AND INDIVIDUAL KIT COST $275 AND IN ORDER TO, UM, SUPPLY IT FOR THE NUMBER OF LANGUAGE ARTS TEACHERS IN EACH OF OUR BUILDINGS, UM WE WOULD BE ABLE TO COVER ALL TEACHERS WITH THESE RESOURCES THAT AMERIE JUST SPOKE OF. AND I DO THINK IT'S WORTH THIS IS THE WANT TO SHOW THIS IS OUR CURRENT TEACHERS ANTHOLOGY THAT 1/7 GRADE TEACHER WOULD GET. AND THAT ONE LITTLE SECTION THEY'RE KIND OF GIVES THEM SOME IDEAS FOR HOW TO TEACH A WHOLE TYPE OF RATING WHEN YOU PURCHASE ONE OF THESE KIDS. JUST ONE TYPE OF WRITING TO A STANDARD LIKE INFORMATIONAL. THE TEACHERS GET AN ENTIRE GUIDE FULL OF LESSONS , IDEAS, RUBRICS AND MATERIALS, AND THEY GET ONE OF THOSE FOR EVERY SINGLE TYPE OF WRITING STANDARD THAT WE HAVE VERSUS WHAT THEY WOULD GET IN JUST THEIR OWN ANTHOLOGY PROGRAM. BUT IT ISN'T ABOUT JUST PROVIDING TEACHERS WITH THREE SOURCES. IT'S ABOUT PROVIDING TEACHERS WITH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SO THAT THEY CAN CONTINUE TO GROW IN THEIR PEDAGOGY AS TEACHERS OF WRITING AND SO ALONG WITH THE UNITS OF STUDY WE THINK ABOUT HOW CAN WE, UM, PROVIDE CONSISTENT SUPPORT THROUGH OUR DEPARTMENT CHAIRS THROUGH OUR SPECIALIST GOING INTO BUILDINGS WORKING SIDE BY SIDE IN CLASSROOMS? TO SEE JANET AND ACTION GOING IN AND WORKING WITH , UM TEACHERS, DAILY AND STUDENTS. IT BECOMES A GREAT WAY TO MODEL EFFECTIVE WRITING INSTRUCTION. WE WOULD CONTINUE TO EVALUATE THE PROGRAM SINCE IT IS SO NEW 23 24 SCHOOL YEARS I WORKED WITH PHIL SNYDER AND THE OFFICE OF ACCOUNTABILITY TO TALK ABOUT HOW WE COULD CONTINUE TO EVALUATE. UM WE LOOK AT A VARIETY OF WAYS AGAIN. IT'S IMPORTANT TO ME TO HEAR FROM OUR TEACHERS AND SO TEACHERS SURVEY DATA WE CAN EXPAND THE PRE IMPOSED WRITING ASSESSMENT NOW THAT SIXTH GRADE, HAS COMPLETED THE PROGRAM FOR ONE YEAR. WE CAN LOOK AT RM CAP WRITING SUB

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SCORES BECAUSE WE DO GET SPECIFIC SCORES, UM, FOR WRITING CONVENTIONS AND EXPRESSION. WE CAN DO WALK THROUGHS ALL OF OUR MIDDLE SCHOOLS, TALK TO OUR TEACHERS AND GET COMMUNITY FEEDBACK. JANET JUST THINKING ABOUT THE STUDENTS. I THOUGHT YOU COULD INTRODUCE THEM TO MAX.

ABSOLUTELY. LET ME TAKE A MINUTE TO TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MAX. HE IS AN EIGHTH GRADE STUDENT AT EDGEWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND WHEN I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH HIM HE HAD JUST SHARED HOW? HOW MUCH HE'S FALLEN IN LOVE WITH WRITING AND WORKING WITH HIS TEACHER THIS YEAR, MRS HEATHER TO SEE AT EDGEWOOD. THIS WAS A PIECE THAT HE SHARED AT OPEN MIC NIGHT. AND IMAGINE AN EIGHTH GRADE BOY COMING TO A PLACE TO SHARE LITERATURE AND TO SHARE HIS WORD AND TO SHARE HIS POEM AND HE STOOD UP THERE AND HE SPOKE IN FRONT OF THAT ENTIRE MEDIA CENTER. THAT WAS A STANDING ROOM ONLY AND REALLY COMMANDED THE STAGE AND SHARED HIS THOUGHTS. I WANTED TO JUST SHARE THIS FIRST STANZA WITH YOU. THIS IS NO WORDS, BY MAX. I WANT TO BE A WRITER. I WANT MY WORK TO BE TAUGHT IN SCHOOL FOR YEARS, LIKE EDGAR ALLAN POE AND WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. I WANT TO BE CREATIVE AND USE LOTS OF WORDS AVAILABLE IN MANY LANGUAGES. I WANT TO BE ELOQUENT WITH MY WORDS LIKE MY GREAT GRANDFATHER , WHO WAS A GREAT PHILOSOPHER OF HIS TIME IN THE SIXTIES. BUT HERE I AM. AND I THINK AS YOU LOOK THROUGH AND READ THE REST OF THIS ON YOUR OWN, YOU'LL SEE THAT HE REALLY IS FINDING THE POWER OF HIS VOICE AND THE LOVE OF LITERATURE AND THE LOVE OF EXPRESSING HIMSELF AND THAT'S WHAT WE WANT FOR OUR STUDENTS.

AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE TODAY. I LIKE HOW HE ENDS AND SAYS, I HAVE NO WORDS. BUT HE TRULY DOES. SO IN CLOSING OUR REQUESTS THIS EVENING IS THAT WE CAN EXPAND THE UNITS OF STUDYING WRITING CURRICULUM TO SEVENTH GRADES AT ABERDEEN, MIDDLE BOSTON, MIDDLE HAVING GRACE, MIDDLE SOUTHAMPTON MIDDLE AND SWAN CREEK SCHOOL FOR THE 23 24 SCHOOL YEAR. WE'RE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY FEEDBACK OR QUESTIONS. DID YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I HAVE NO QUESTIONS. I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT MY. MY CONCERN THAT I STILL HAVE IN REFERENCE TO, UM THE USE OF THIS CAN AND HOW IT IMPACTS THE TEACHERS IN TERMS OF HAVING ENOUGH TIME TO PROCESS. ALL OF THIS. AND I GUESS ONE QUESTION I HAVE IS WHEN YOU DO THE EVALUATION IS THIS EVALUATION DONE STRICTLY BY THIS GROUP. IT'S GREAT, YOU. OR IS THIS AN OUTSIDE? ANOTHER PART OF THE 80 PS THAT DOES THE EVALUATION. YOU HAVE MULTIPLE OFFICES INVOLVED IN THAT, INCLUDING OUR OFFICE OF ACCOUNTABILITY ARE SECONDARY AT SERVICES SUPPORTS THAT AS WELL. AND THEN MEMBERS OF THE BOOKS THAT YOU SEE IN FRONT OF YOU TONIGHT. THIS IS AN UM SO. WE'LL SEE. THIS PROGRAM FOCUSES A LOT ON SMALL GROUP LEARNING. UM I'VE HEARD FROM MANY TEACHERS THAT THEY HAVE A LOT OF CONCERNS ABOUT THE SMALL GROUPS BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE A STUDENT THAT IS DISRUPTIVE, AND THAT DOESN'T DO WELL IN A SMALL GROUP SETTING, THEY WIND UP SPENDING THEIR ENTIRE TIME WORKING WITH THIS CHILD INSTEAD OF WORKING WITH OTHER CHILDREN INDIVIDUALLY. SO, UM WHAT. LIKE WHAT? WHAT SUPPORTS DO WE HAVE IN PLACE? OR WILL WE HAVE IN PLACE TO ASSIST THOSE STUDENTS AND THOSE TEACHERS IN THE STRUGGLES THAT THEY MAY FACE EVERY SINGLE DAY WITH THIS PROGRAM? I ALMOST LOOKED DOWN THE LIST BECAUSE SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTION ISN'T UNIQUE TO JUST READING ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS. THERE'S A BELIEF THAT WHEN YOU'RE TEACHING TO A WHOLE CLASS OF STUDENTS THAT YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE STUDENTS WITH A VARIETY OF NEEDS IN A VARIETY OF PLACES, IN THEIR ACHIEVEMENT AND THEIR PROGRESSION OF SKILLS , AND SO IF I ONLY TEACH THE WHOLE TIME TO THE WHOLE CLASS I MAY BE REACHING SOME OF THE KIDS . I MAY BE MISSING SOME OF THE STUDENTS. SOME MIGHT ALREADY KNOW WHAT I'M TRYING TO TEACH THE WHOLE GROUP. AND YET THEY'RE GOING TO SIT THERE IF I WAS TEACHING THE FULL 45 MINUTES, SO THIS, UM IS STRUCTURED TO DO WHOLE CLASS TEACHING THROUGH A MINI LESSON, BUT IT IS ALSO STRUCTURED TO THEN SEND STUDENTS OFF TOO, RIGHT. WE GET BETTER AND LEARN BY DOING IF YOU THINK ABOUT DRIVER'S ED, WHY DO YOU SPEND ONLY A CERTAIN NUMBER OF MINUTES IN THE ACTUAL CLASSROOM, BUT YOU HAVE TO BE OUT FOR 60 HOURS BEHIND THE WHEEL, ACTUALLY DRIVING, AND SO IF WE KEPT THE STUDENTS IN WHOLE GROUP LESSON THE ENTIRE TIME THEY WOULDN'T HAVE AS MUCH TIME TO DO THE ACTUAL APPLICATION OF WRITING WHILE THEY ARE WRITING. IT GIVES TEACHERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE LOOKED AT WHAT THEY MIGHT HAVE WRITTEN THE DAY BEFORE AND SAY,

[01:05:04]

I STILL SEE THESE FOUR STUDENTS ARE STRUGGLING WITH LEADS. EMERY HAS TAKEN OFF. ANDY HAS TAKEN OFF, BUT THESE FOUR ARE STILL STRUGGLING. HOW AM I GOING TO REACH THEM? I CAN PULL THEM ASIDE. AND I CAN WORK WITH THEM SPECIFICALLY TO TARGET THEIR NEEDS. UM I THINK OUR TEACHERS IS A MANAGEMENT STRATEGY, WHICH , AGAIN FOR NEW TEACHERS WERE CONSTANTLY TRYING TO BUILD THEIR CAPACITY TO MANAGE WHEN THEY ARE GIVING A SMALL GROUP OF STUDENTS. HOW DO YOU MAKE SURE THE REST OF THE CLASS IS ON TASK? UM, I THINK WHEN STUDENTS ARE MORE PASSIONATE AND, UM, ABOUT WHAT THEY ARE WRITING AND HAVE PURPOSE FOR IT WHEN THEY CAN TURN AND TALK TO A PARTNER.

THAT'S ANOTHER STRATEGY. IF THE STUDENT FEELS STUCK, WE ASSIGN THEM WRITING PARTNERS SO THAT THEY KNOW THEY COULD TURN MAYBE AND ASK THEIR PARTNER IF THEY SEE THEIR TEACHER WORKING, UM, WITH A SMALL GROUP. BUT IT WOULD BE THE SAME IDEA IN SCIENCE OF STUDENTS WERE NEEDING TO BREAK OFF AND BEING A SMALL GROUP OF LABS OR IN MATH. WHEN ONE GROUP IS WORKING WITH, UM, THE TEACHER WITH CERTAIN MANIPULATIVE AND THE REST OF THE CLASS IS DOING ACTIVITIES AND SO I DO AGREE WITH YOU. SMALL GROUP MANAGEMENT IS AN AREA WE CONTINUE TO WORK ON WITH TEACHERS, BUT IT IS DEFINITELY NOT UM, ONLY TWO READING LANGUAGE ARTS THAT TEACHERS NEED TO PULL SMALL GROUPS OF STUDENTS. ANDERSON ADDITIONAL SUPPORT. WE HAVE SOME VERY AMAZING INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES THAT ARE ASSIGNED AT THESE SCHOOLS WOULD BE BROUGHT ALONG THROUGH THE TRAINING PROCESS SO THAT THEY ARE FULLY EQUIPPED TO SUPPORT THE TEACHERS THAT MAY NEED SOME ADDITIONAL BEHAVIORAL SLASH CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT SUPPORT. OUR COACHES DO VERY AMAZING WORK EACH AND EVERY DAY AGAIN, NOT JUST IN. REALLY REALLY, AS MRS KARIUS POINTED OUT, BUT ACROSS OUR SUBJECT AREAS SO WE WOULD BE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE MRS HAN OF THEIR EXPERTISE AND THEIR SUPPORT OF OUR TEACHERS IN SCHOOLS WHO MAY NEED THAT EXTRA COACHING AND SUPPORT AS THIS PROGRAM IS IMPLEMENTED. OKAY I HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION. UM WHAT IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL INNOVATION THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ADDING 45 MINUTES. UM, WHAT WOULD BE WHAT WILL WE BE REMOVING FROM THEIR DAILY SCHEDULE IN ORDER TO ADD AN ADDITIONAL 45 MINUTES TO THEIR SCHEDULE? SO WHAT? IN THEIR IN THEIR DAILY SCHEDULE, ARE WE ARE WE REMOVING JIM? ARE WE REMOVING? LIKE WHAT CLASSES? ARE WE REMOVING IN ORDER TO SUPPLEMENT WITH THIS 40 EXTRA 45 MINUTE. I BELIEVE MR O'BRIEN IS AVAILABLE. VIRTUALLY MR O'BRIEN. WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO THAT QUESTION? I CAN. GOOD AFTERNOON EVENING, EVERYONE. UM THIS IS MICHAEL BRYANT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF OUR MIDDLE AND HIGHS. WE ACTUALLY HEARD REMOVING ANYTHING. UM, WE'RE MOVING TO A CONSISTENT SEVEN PERIOD SCHEDULE AMONGST ALL OF OUR MIDDLE SCHOOLS. UM CURRENTLY , THOSE SCHOOLS IN THE PILOT TEACH THE READING AND THE WRITING. UM AND, UM THEY'LL ROTATE. THE ADDITIONAL PERIOD FOR THOSE GREAT THAT DON'T HAVE THE WRITING, SO THEY'LL HAVE MORE AN EXTRA PERIOD OF MATH. AN EXTRA PERIOD OF SCIENCE, UM IN THOSE GRADES THAT DON'T HAVE THE WRITING AND THE PILOT, SO UM IT WILL BE A FULL SEVEN PERIODS AND ALL OF OUR MIDDLE SCHOOLS, INCLUDING THE WRITING. AND NOTHING IS BEING TAKEN AWAY. OKAY AND WHAT IS THE AVERAGE CLASS SIZE? FOR THIS AGE GROUP THAT WE'RE IMPLEMENTING THIS IN . THAT WOULD ALSO PROBABLY BE MR O'BRIEN QUESTION. HE KNOWS THE CLASS SIZE AT THAT MIDDLE SCHOOL . I MEAN, I WOULD SAY IT'S PROBABLY AROUND 25, BUT IT CAN BE ANYWHERE FROM 22 AT OUR PRIORITY MIDDLE SCHOOLS UP TO 30 AT OUR NON PRIORITY SCHOOLS. BUT I'D SAY 25 IS A REASONABLE AVERAGE. OKAY THANK YOU. AND I THINK ONE OF THE WHEN I ALSO THINK ABOUT WRITING INSTRUCTION FOR OUR STUDENTS THAT IT MIGHT BE BEING TAUGHT. IN A LANGUAGE ARTS BLOCK. BUT WRITING IN THE SKILLS ARE NEEDED ACROSS ALL CONTENT AREAS, AND SO THIS ACTUALLY IMPACTS ALL OF OUR CONTENT, THE BETTER READERS AND WRITERS THAT WE HAVE FOR OUR FOR OUR STUDENTS, THE BETTER THEY WILL BE ABLE TO TAKE IN THAT INFORMATION AS A READER AND A DIFFERENT CONTENT AS WELL AS THEN. TO, UM YOU KNOW, HOW DO THEY EXPRESS THEIR IDEAS ABOUT THE CONTENT? THEY'RE LEARNING IS THE WRITING AND SO AGAIN, I FEEL THERE'S A STRONG CONNECTION WITH ALL OF OUR CONTENTS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT READING AND WRITING INSTRUCTION. DR HAROLD. YES.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND THE EXPLANATIONS. I HAD A FEW OF MY QUESTIONS ANSWERED, UM THROUGH MY COLLEAGUES. QUESTIONS UM SO JUST A COMMENT AND JUST A

[01:10:01]

COMMENT BECAUSE I, UM I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I UNDERSTOOD YOU CORRECTLY THAT, UM, WE WERE GOING TO RECOMMENDATION WITH THIS PROGRAM WOULD ALLOW ADDITIONAL TIME FOR 45 MINUTE BLOCK FOR READING INSTRUCTION. 45 MINUTE BLOCK FOR WRITING INSTRUCTION. AND I THINK THE ANSWER IS YES. BASED ON THE CONVERSATION SO FAR. UM SO I REALLY LIKE THAT CHANGE. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I HAVE, UM I'VE ACTUALLY WANTED THIS YEAR. I WAS TALKING TO MY HUSBAND. UM NOT TOO LONG AGO ABOUT, UM, THE BENEFITS I THINK MY CHILD WOULD HAVE WOULD HAVE IF THAT WERE THE CASE. SO UM, I REALLY LIKE THAT . I THINK THAT THE FOCUS, UM YOU KNOW, ON WRITING AND READING TO ALLOW THE STUDENTS TO REALLY FOCUS ON AND GIVE THE TIME FOR THE TEACHER TO REALLY ALLOW THE STUDENTS TO CULTIVATE THOSE SKILLS AND A VERY FOCUSED MANNER AS IMPORTANT, SO I DO LIKE THAT CHANGE A LOT. I JUST WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT, UM YES, AND I LIKE THE WAY YOU EXPLAINED THE NEED FOR THE BEST PRACTICE THAT IS SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTION. UM IT'S NOT JUST STUDENTS, EITHER.

YOU KNOW, ADULTS LEARN. UM YOU KNOW THAT IS A BEST PRACTICE AND LEARNING ACROSS THE BOARD. IT'S ONE OF THE UNIVERSAL KIND OF TRUTH IN PEDAGOGY. RIGHT, RIGHT . LIKE LARGE GROUP INSTRUCTION SERVES ONE PURPOSE THAN SMALL GROUPS. SERVE ANOTHER PURPOSE. UM BUT THE MANAGEMENT OF THOSE ELEMENTS IS CRITICAL. SO I LIKE THE WAY THAT YOU ARTICULATED. THE ANSWER TO MISS HANS QUESTION, AND THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE, YOU KNOW, CONTINUING TO EVOLVE AND LEARNING, BECAUSE THAT'S IMPORTANT TO UM PARTICULARLY WITH OUR SPECIAL NEEDS. STUDENTS AND STUDENTS WITH I P S, UM AND YOU KNOW OUR YOU KNOW OUR SPECIAL NEEDS KIDS AS WELL. SO THANK YOU FOR THE DISCUSSION, AND THAT IS ALL. THIS IS PERRY. I AGREE WITH. ORDINANCE RECESS SO FAR AND TO HAVE THOSE SMALL CLASSROOMS BELIEVE THAT A LOT OF CHILDREN WOULD BENEFIT FROM THAT. BECAUSE THEY GET NET PERSONALIZED ATTENTION. PHILLIPS. THANKS FOR A GREAT PRESENTATION. MOST OF MY QUESTIONS THAT HAD COME UP BEFORE WERE ANSWERED IN THIS.

WONDERFUL. PRESENTATION YOU GAVE AND I THINK YOU KNOW ALL THE HIGHLIGHTS WERE GOOD. I THINK THE TWO BIGGEST SLIDES THAT YOU PRESENTED WITH THE TWO BAR GRAPHS SLIDES, WHICH SHOWED CLEARLY THAT THE RESULTS ARE THERE, YOU KNOW, SO I THINK BE NICE TO GET THESE OTHER SCHOOLS ON BOARD WITH THOSE SCHOOLS THAT ARE PARTICIPATING ALREADY, AND I THINK FOR JUST UNDER $8000, IT'S A NEGRO PRICE TO PAY FOR SUCCESS. THANK YOU. THIS BLANK. UM I THINK YOU GUYS I REALLY APPRECIATE THE THOROUGH PRESENTATION. UM I'VE BEEN IN HARVARD COUNTY STUDENT FOR MY WHOLE EDUCATION AND STARTING FROM KINDERGARTEN. I'VE HEARD IN THE CLUB. EXCUSE ME. I'VE HEARD IN THE CLASSROOM. WHY ARE WE LEARNING THIS? LIKE, WHEN ARE WE GOING TO USE THIS? I'M SURE EVERY SINGLE PERSON THAT HAS A CHILD AND DID HOMEWORK WITH THEM. THEY HAVE SAID THAT UM SO KNOWING THAT WE HAVE PEOPLE, I MEAN, YOU GUYS COMING HERE AND EXPLAINING WHY WE DO THE THINGS WE DO AND WHY THINGS ARE TAUGHT THE WAY THEY ARE IS VERY REFRESHING AND GOOD TO HEAR. UM I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS. THIS, I THINK. DOING STARTING THEM IN SIXTH GRADE. HOW THIS LOOKS WITH A SMALLER GROUPS IS VERY SIMILAR TO HOW WE LEARNED NOW AND AP LITERATURE IN SMALLER GROUPS, AND SO I THINK, SETTING PEOPLE UP OR SETTING STUDENTS UP ON A GOOD TRACK FROM A YOUNG AGE IS THE BEST THING WE CAN DO RIGHT NOW. SO I REALLY LIKE THIS. I APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MISS BLACK AND NOT JUST WORK SOMETHING TO I THINK THE STUDENT PERSPECTIVE IS REALLY HELPFUL.

MRS. BRUCE YOUR QUESTION WHILE ALL THE FOLKS UP HERE OR ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REALLY IS COORDINATING THE PROGRAM EVALUATION, IT'S STUDENT INPUT. IT'S FAMILY INPUT. IT'S TEACHER INPUT ITS PRINCIPAL INPUT. IT'S STUDENT DATA THAT WE DO COLLECT TO DETERMINE WHETHER THIS IS AN EFFECTIVE PROGRAM. SO IT'S NOT JUST THESE FOLKS. THEY'RE JUST REALLY ARE THE COORDINATION OF THAT. WE DO REALLY NEED THAT INPUT FROM VOICES LIKE THIS BLANKETS AND OUR TEACHERS. I'M NOT IN SIXTH GRADE MIDDLE SCHOOL , THOUGH, SO YOU GOTTA ASK THEM FIRST. THEY'LL TELL YOU THE REAL TRUTH, BUT I FROM 1/12 GRADER. I LIKE IT. I'M GONNA DO IT. THANK YOU AND DOCTOR HAROLD HAD MENTIONED SMALL GROUPS, THE POWER OF SMALL GROUPS WITH TEACHERS AND WITH OUR STUDENTS AND SOME OF THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCES OR TEACHERS HAVE HAD THIS YEAR HAVE REALLY BEEN IN SMALL GROUPS SITUATIONS. ONE OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS THAT WERE FEATURED THERE WAS 1/6 GRADE VISITATION OF SOUTHAMPTON TEACHERS WHO ARE NEW TO THIS PROGRAM GOING TO SEE IT FROM A TEACHER THAT'S BEEN DOING IT FOR A SECOND YEAR AT BOSTON MIDDLE SCHOOL. WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO WATCH HER TEACH TO, UM WELL PRIOR TO WATCHING HER TEACH WE TALKED ABOUT WHAT WERE SOME OF OUR STRUGGLES. WHAT WE'RE SUCCESSES AND THEN GOING AND SEEING HER

[01:15:02]

FACILITATED LESSON. FACILITATE SMALL GROUPS FIRSTHAND AND SEEING WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE AND WHAT THAT SOUNDS LIKE AND THEN COMING BACK IN DEBRIEFING AND PLANNING TOGETHER AS A GROUP, THOSE KINDS OF ACTIVITIES OR THINGS THAT WE TRY TO CATER TO SMALL GROUPS WHERE TEACHERS HAVE THE ABILITY TO FIND THEIR VOICE. TO SHARE THAT AND TO FEEL COMFORTABLE ENOUGH TO TALK ABOUT WHAT'S GOING WELL BUT ALSO WHAT THEIR STRUGGLES ARE. MR PRESIDENT. SO OKAY. UM OKAY. I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS. SOMEONE TO TRY TO UNPACK THEM. I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE GONNA ACTUALLY COME AND PACKED IN ORDER, BUT UM FIRST QUESTION I REALLY HAVE IS, YOU KNOW WE'RE UNDER A LOT OF HEAT FOR THE FOR THE READING PROGRAM. AND I'M CURIOUS HOW INTEGRATED THIS WRITING PROGRAM IS WITH THE READING PROGRAM. IS THERE ANY INTEGRATION? READING PROGRAM IS A PROGRAM THAT'S BEEN . UNDER A CRITIQUE THAT WAS REPORTED BY EDWARD PORTS FOCUSED ON THE ELEMENTARY, UM WITH THE TENANTS OF THE SCIENCE OF READING AND NOT AS MUCH ON THE WRITING PROGRAM AND NO REVIEW WAS DONE BY ED REPORTS OF THE MIDDLE SCHOOL WRITING PROGRAM. DO I THINK THAT READING AND WRITING CURRICULUMS THAT MAKE CONNECTIONS ARE REALLY STRONG. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU WANT STUDENTS TO WRITE AN ARGUMENT, THEN READING SOME ARGUMENT PAPERS, THAT'S THAT'S A MENTOR.

THAT'S A MODEL, WE WOULD SAY WE ALL DO THAT AS ADULTS THE FIRST TIME I'M GOING TO WRITE A RESUME. I'D LOVE TO READ SOME RESUMES. SEE WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE. SO I CAN, UM KIND OF RIGHT UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE MODELS THAT I'M SEEING. BUT THE WHAT WE TRY AND DO IS IF THEY ARE IN THE COLLECTIONS, CURRICULUM READING LITERATURE. WE ALSO FIND THEM MODELS SO THAT IF THEY'RE IN THE NARRATIVE UNIT THAT MATCHES NICELY IF THEY ARE IN THE INFORMATIVE WRITING UNIT , WE MAKE SURE THAT WE FOCUS ON SOME OF THE PIECES AND THE COLLECTIONS UNIT THAT ARE EXPOSITORY NONFICTION PIECES. SO WE RECOGNIZE THAT, BUT CAN YOU TEACH THE WRITING PROGRAM WITHOUT THE UNITS OF STUDY AND READING? ABSOLUTELY. SO WITH THAT, UM YOU KNOW THE READING PROGRAM. MAYBE I SHOULDN'T BE COMBINING THE STUPID. THE READING PROGRAM HAS, UH, TRANSFORMED OVER THE YEARS. LIKE PLANTED THE PHONICS, RIGHT FONTS , EXAMPLES. SO THE WRITING PROGRAM IS THAT ALSO PROGRESSING OVER TIME. HAVE YOU SEEN LIKE ANYTHING? ADDED. TO BUILD IT OUT DOESN'T HAVE ALL THE CAPABILITIES WE NEED FOR THE WRITING PROGRAM, OR DO WE NEED TO STILL PLUG IN OTHER I DON'T LIKE LIKE WITH THE READING LIKE READING. WE HAVE TO PLUG IN AND WE HAVE ALL THESE DIFFERENT THINGS WE CAN DO FOR STUDENTS THAT ARE DIFFERENT LEVELS, RIGHT. BUT ON THE WRITING SIDE OF THINGS IS THAT THE CASE OR HOW DOES THAT WORK? NO, THE WRITING PROGRAM THE ONE MATERIAL THAT WE SHARED THE IF THEN CURRICULUM. DOES PROVIDE WAYS TO DIFFERENTIATE FOUR STUDENTS, UM , IN THE DIFFERENT AREAS OF WRITING THAT THEY MAY BE HAVING STRENGTHS OR NEEDS. AND SO THERE ARE MATERIALS TO HELP TEACHERS DIFFERENTIATE, BUT I THINK WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT MR SEWELL IS THAT IN READING IF WE HAVE A STUDENT WHO, UM, WE IDENTIFIED THROUGH OUR ASSESSMENTS IS IN NEED OF A MORE STRUCTURED APPROACH. WE CAN GIVE THEM A PHONICS PROGRAM. THAT'S A DIFFERENT PROGRAM. THAT THE UNITS OF STUDYING PHONICS OR IF THEY, UM NEED A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO HOW PHONICS IS TAUGHT. WE CAN USE A DIFFERENT PROGRAM. I THINK THE DIFFERENTIATION FOR WRITING KIND OF COMES THROUGH THE MATERIALS THAT ARE IN THE PROGRAM LIKE THE IF THEN PORTION OF THE CURRICULUM. SO DID YOU SEE YOU PILE UP THIS, UH ACROSS, YOU KNOW. ROUGHLY HALF THE SCHOOLS, I GUESS HAVE THE POINT, RIGHT? AND HAVE YOU SEEN DIFFERENT RESULTS FROM, SAY, DIFFERENT SOCIO ECONOMIC AH, SCHOOL THAT TYPE OF LIKE LIKE SO GOING BACK TO THE READING PROGRAM. WE'RE SEEING CHALLENGES IN GENERAL AMONG STUDENTS THAT MAY NOT HAVE COME AS WELL PREPARED AS KINDERGARTENERS, THAT TYPE OF THING, AND THEN THEY JUST BEEN BEHIND EVER SINCE. BASICALLY, UM WHEREAS IT'S ACTUALLY DONE REALLY WELL FOR SOME STUDENTS, YOU KNOW, UM ARE YOU SEEING THE SAME THING AND THE WRITING PROGRAM AT ALL? WE ONLY HAD THE ONE FULL YEAR FOR ALL OF SIXTH GRADE. AND SO WE'RE STILL COLLECTING. WE COULD JUST AGGREGATE THAT DATA OF WHERE WE'RE SHOWING THAT WE HAVE 56% OF THE STUDENTS. WE COULD LOOK ACROSS OUR SCHOOLS AND FIND THAT , UM ARE THREE PILOT SCHOOLS WERE BELLAIRE MIDDLE EDGEWOOD, MIDDLE AND NORTH HARFORD MIDDLE I CAN HAVE A MEMORY SPEAK TO A LITTLE BIT OF THE DETAILS THERE. I WILL SAY ANOTHER FACTOR IS LOOKING. WE DO PROFESSIONAL

[01:20:01]

DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT TEACHERS . BUT I KIND OF TALKED ABOUT THE PERCENTAGE OF NON TENURED TEACHERS THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS SO OFTEN WE WORK WITH A TEACHER FOR A YEAR AND THEN IF WE LOSE THAT TEACHER, WE'RE BRINGING NEW TEACHERS ON SO IT DOES IMPACT THE IMPLEMENTATION AT SCHOOLS WHEN WE'RE CONTINUALLY KIND OF LOOKING ACROSS AND AGAIN. THAT'S WHY SMALL GROUPS WORTH WORKING WITH TEACHERS HELPS BECAUSE WE HAVE TEACHERS AT ALL DIFFERENT LEVELS OF NEED. I THINK THE BEST WAY THAT I CAN ANSWER YOUR QUESTION IS THE DATA THAT YOU WE SHOWED THIS EVENING. WAS FROM THE THREE SCHOOLS AND WE HAD SIMILAR RESULTS AT NORTH HARFORD MIDDLE EDGEWOOD, MIDDLE AND BEL AIR, MIDDLE. UM YOU KNOW IT. THE GROWTH AT EACH INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL WAS VERY SIMILAR. UM WHAT YOU SAW WAS A COMPOSITE OF ALL THREE. UM WHEN THE CURRICULUM WE SEE THAT WHEN THE CURRICULUM IS IMPLEMENTED WITH INTENTION REGARDLESS OF DEMOGRAPHIC STUDENTS SHOW GROWTH. UM AND TO RESPOND TO YOUR EARLIER QUESTION . THE WRITING CURRICULUM IS ROOTED IN BEST PRACTICES, SO THERE HAVE NOT BEEN A LOT OF REVISIONS TO IT. UM IT IS COMPREHENSIVE. IT HAS EVERYTHING THAT STUDENTS NEED. IT ADDRESSES OUR STANDARDS, AND IT HELPS OUR STUDENTS. WE BELIEVE THAT IT WILL HELP THEM BE SUCCESSFUL ON OUR STATE ASSESSMENT AS WELL BECAUSE OF ITS ALIGNMENT TO THE STANDARDS. SO WE ARE PILOTING NEW BREEDING PROGRAMS NEXT YEAR.

IN THOSE SCHOOLS THAT PILOT THE NEW READING PROGRAM. ARE WE STILL GOING TO IMPLEMENT THIS WRITING PROGRAM? WELL, ACTUALLY NO EXAMPLE COMPLETING THE TWO THINGS THAT MARINE PROGRAMS FOR ELEMENTARY AND I'M SORRY. UM, I ANSWER THAT QUESTION. UM SO. IF WE DON'T EXPAND THIS PROGRAM YOU CAN CHOOSE NOT TO EXPAND THIS PROGRAM. WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO THE SCHOOLS THAT ARE ALREADY IN THE PROGRAM. THEY WOULD NOT HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE CURRICULUM. AND THAT WOULD LEAVE THE TEACHERS WITH A WRITING PERIOD. UM AND A LACK OF RESOURCES SO THEY WOULD ACTUALLY HAVE TO SPEND MORE TIME AND YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY OUR OFFICE WOULD SUPPORT THEM. BUT UM RECREATING AND CREATING LESSONS AND RESOURCES AND FINDING THE RUBRICS AND THE ALIGNMENT TO THE CHECKLISTS AND THE GUIDANCE. UM WHEN THEY DO NEED TO IMPLEMENT CONFERENCES OR SMALL GROUPS UM, THIS IS A YEAR LONG CURRICULUM WITH DAILY LESSONS THAT THEY HAVE TO CHOOSE FROM. AND ALL THOSE OTHER PIECES THAT WE'VE DISCUSSED THIS EVENING. WELL ACTUALLY, THAT'S GOOD. I'M GLAD YOU ANSWERED THAT . BUT MY QUESTION ACTUALLY WAS IF WE DIDN'T IMPLEMENT THE EXPANSION OF IT. WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO THE SCHOOLS THAT CURRENTLY ARE? LET'S SEE. SO THE SCHOOLS THAT CURRENTLY HAVE THE UNITS OF STUDY WOULD CONTINUE TO TEACH THE UNITS OF STUDY NEXT YEAR. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO DO FOR OUR SEVENTH GRADE TEACHERS AT THE FIVE MIDDLE SCHOOLS IS TO THEM SUPPORT THEM WITH THE MATERIALS AND THE CURRICULUM AS WELL, WHICH, I THINK ALSO HELPS WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT TRANSIENCE OF STUDENTS IF YOU HAVE A MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT AT EDGEWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL, MOVED TO ABERDEEN OR LOST IN THE EDGEWOOD OR ANY OF THE SCHOOLS THAT TRANSFER THEN THE STUDENTS WOULD COME IN AND BE GETTING THE SAME PROGRAM. IF WE DON'T EXPAND IT TO THE ADDITIONAL FIVE THEY WOULD HAVE , WE WOULD NEED TO CREATE SOMETHING DIFFERENT FOR THOSE TEACHERS. UM, AS MISS STELZER SAID. WE HAVE THE H. M. H UM AS OUR ANTHOLOGY PROGRAM. TO GO TO A DAILY WRITING BLOCK, WHICH WE'VE REALLY THINK WILL BE ESSENTIAL AGAIN, I THINK WRITING SKILLS AND SUPPORTING KIDS HAS AN IMPACT IN ALL CONTENT AREAS. BUT TYPICALLY WHEN THERE'S BEEN ONLY ONE PERIOD OF LANGUAGE ARTS. YOU MIGHT IF YOU THOUGHT OF A QUARTER OF SCHOOL. THEY OFTEN READ A FULL NOVEL. THEY'LL READ SHORT STORIES IN HERE INFORMATIONAL PIECES, AND THEN AT ONE POINT DURING THAT QUARTER , THE TEACHER WILL SAY IT'S TIME TO WRITE OUR ESSAY, AND THEY MIGHT HAVE THAN TWO WEEKS BECAUSE THE TEACHER ONLY HAS ONE LESSON A DAY THAN TWO WEEKS OF WRITING LESSONS AND THEN GO ON.

TO THE NEXT. SO WHEN WE'RE NOW MOVING TO UM, DAILY WRITING LESSONS. I MEAN, THAT'S EXCITING TO ME TO THINK THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE GETTING OPPORTUNITIES EVERY DAY TO WRITE AND LEARN TO BE A WRITER BECAUSE THEY'RE TRANSFERRING THESE SKILLS. UM TO OTHER OTHER CONTENT AREAS, THE TEACHERS THE DIFFERENCES, THE TEACHERS NEED MORE LESSONS AND MORE MATERIALS IN ORDER TO TEACH BECAUSE THEY TYPICALLY MIGHT BE DOING AN ESSAY FOR TWO WEEKS AND THEN GO BACK TO READING THE NEXT NOVEL OR THE NEXT LITERATURE PIECES THAT CLARIFIES A LITTLE BIT. SO UM, WHAT OTHER WRITING PROGRAMS ARE OUT THERE? IT'S HARD TO FIND ISOLATED. WRITING PROGRAMS. UM. THERE IS A COMPANY CALLED THE CENTER FOR COLLABORATIVE CLASSROOM THAT HAS A PROGRAM CALLED BEING A WRITER, BUT IT ENDS AT FIVE. IT'S A K 25 WRITING PROGRAM. UM WE ONCE HAD A PROGRAM CALLED WRITING

[01:25:03]

FUNDAMENTALS YEARS AGO. UM, IT WAS ACTUALLY. WE HAD A LOT OF NEGATIVE FEEDBACK ABOUT THE WRITING FUNDAMENTALS, WHICH MADE US LOOK FOR WRITING PROGRAM. THAT'S HOW BACK IN 2016 WE CAME ACROSS THE UNITS OF STUDY AND WRITING AND STARTED IT IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. SO UM, OTHER THAN THAT PROGRAM AND THE UNITS OF STUDY OF WRITING, IT'S TYPICAL THAT YOU PURCHASED A READING ANTHOLOGY PROGRAM THAT HAS WRITING AS A PART OF IT, BUT NOT THE FULL PROGRAM. ARE THERE OTHER DISTRICTS AND MARYLAND USING THIS THIS GREAT ONE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT MIDDLE SCHOOL I DO KNOW THERE'S SUMMIT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LEVEL LIKE I KNOW. AND ARRUNDELL COUNTY USES UNITS OF STUDY WRITING AT ELEMENTARY, BUT I DO NOT KNOW IF THEY DO IT AT MIDDLE SCHOOL.

OFTEN IT'S TIME. I THINK, UM I'M JUST. PROUD OF THAT THOUGHT OF HAVING THE DESIGNATED TWO PERIODS. I HAD TWO CHILDREN MYSELF, WHO WENT THROUGH HARFORD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS. MY DAUGHTER ATTENDED A MIDDLE SCHOOL THAT HAD A PERIOD OF READING AND A PERIOD OF WRITING AT THAT TIME. MY SON FOUR YEARS LATER WENT TO A DIFFERENT MIDDLE SCHOOL THAT I HAD ONLY ONE PERIOD OF LANGUAGE ARTS AND FROM A PARENT'S PERSPECTIVE. I COULD DEFINITELY UM, APPRECIATE THE SKILLS THAT MY DAUGHTER WAS ABLE TO LEARN BY HAVING CONCENTRATED TIME DAILY FOR WRITING INSTRUCTION. CAN WE GO BACK TO SLIDE 19 FOR A SECOND? SO THAT'S WHERE IT TALKS ABOUT, UM. THE TEACHERS SURVEY, AND IT LOOKS LIKE YEAH. 53% OF TEACHERS FELT THAT THE UNITS OF STUDY WRITING IT AS A STUDY SUPPORTED THEIR STUDENTS GROWTH AS WRITERS. SO ROUGHLY HALF I DIDN'T THINK THAT HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO TEASE OUT WHY? IT IS INTERESTING ONE OF THE CHOICES ON THE SURVEY. I WAS UNSURE. OKAY 25% SAID, UNSURE SO IT WASN'T THAT THEY WERE DISAGREEING. AND I THINK WHEN YOU THERE'S THEY WERE STILL WHEN WE GAVE THE SURVEY IN THE FIRST YEAR. DOING THE PROGRAM. AND I KIND OF THINK THEY'RE UNSURE IS WE'RE STILL WE'RE LEARNING THIS AND TRYING TO REALLY C. IS IT HAVING YOU KNOW AN IMPACT ON THEIR THEIR GROWTH. THAT'S WHY WE CONTINUE. JUST SURVEY THEM MEMORY WORKS WITH HIM AND JANET ON A DAILY BASIS. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO SPEAK TO, UM, JUST WHAT YOU'RE HEARING FROM TEACHERS OR YOUR THOUGHTS AROUND THE SURVEY. YEAH. UM. FOR SEVERAL OF THE SURVEY QUESTIONS . THERE WAS A PERCENTAGE THAT SAID, UNSURE. AND I THINK MISCARRY IS CORRECT IN THAT. WE HAD 41. TEACHERS OF OVER 80 WHO WERE NEW TO TEACHING THIS PROGRAM, SO AT LEAST HALF OF THEM THIS WAS THEIR VERY FIRST YEAR. AND I THINK THERE'S UNCERTAINTY WITH ANY CURRICULUM THE FIRST YEAR. UM AND SO THEY WERE BEING HONEST AND I'M NOT SURE YET AND WE ADMINISTERED THIS SURVEY AND I THINK THE END OF MARCH, SO THEY WERE STILL ONLY A FEW MONTHS IN STILL WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, TOO. UM YOU KNOW TO IMPLEMENTING THE CURRICULUM. UM WE IMPLEMENT THESE SURVEYS SO THAT WE KNOW TO WHAT OUR NEXT STEPS ARE FOR SUPPORT WITH THEM. AND SO WE USED THIS DATA MOVING FORWARD TO SUPPORT THEM. I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M SEEING CONSISTENTLY WITH FEEDBACK IS THAT WRITING STAMINA HAS INCREASED DRASTICALLY WITH THEIR STUDENTS. AND SO ONCE WE CAN INCREASE THEIR ABILITY TO WRITE FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME THAT ALLOWS US TO PULL THOSE SMALL GROUPS THAT ALLOWS US TO BE INTENTIONAL, WITH NOW TAKING WHAT THEY HAVE AND THINKING. SHOULD WE WORK ON OUR LEADS? DO WE NEED TO WORK ON OUR STRUCTURE? HOW DOES THIS EVIDENCE SUPPORTS THIS PARTICULAR CLAIM AND REALLY DIG INTO THOSE DIFFERENT GENRES. EACH OF THOSE THREE BOOKS IS DESIGNATED. TO ONE OF OUR STANDARDS THAT ARE CONNECTED TO THOSE THREE GENRES FOR WRITING.

SO WHEN WE ARE SEEING THAT THE BIG OVERWHELMING FEEDBACK THAT I'M GETTING IS THAT THE REIGNING STAMINA IS INCREASING WITH THEIR STUDENTS. AND THAT'S A WONDERFUL THING BECAUSE WRITING IS HARD.

IT REALLY LOOKS LIKE THE PROGRAM HAS ONLY BEEN A ONLY BEEN TRYING TO IMPLEMENT THIS FOR A FEW YEARS, AND SOME OF THAT TIME WAS ACTUALLY DURING WINDS, MANY STUDENTS WERE STILL VIRTUAL SO IT WOULD BE REALLY DIFFICULT TO GET. GOOD FEEDBACK TO UNDERSTAND IF IT'S GOOD OR BAD, RIGHT? UM SO, UH, YEAH, I GUESS, UM. YOU TALKED ABOUT IT PRODUCED THIS. MY LAST QUESTION, BY THE WAY. SO

[01:30:04]

YOU TALKED ABOUT IT A LITTLE BIT. YOU KNOW, SUPPORTS IN PLACE FOR THOSE TEACHERS, THOSE NON TENURED TEACHERS STUDENTS THAT MAY BE MORE STRUGGLING WITH WRITING THAT TYPE OF THING. CAN YOU JUST EXPAND ON? LIKE WHAT RESOURCES WHAT THAT WOULD ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE FOR IN THE SCHOOL CLASSROOM. JANET IS DEFINITELY A SUPPORT. WE HAVE LITERACY SPECIALIST UM EDGEWOOD , MAGNOLIA AND ABERDEEN MIDDLE. THERE'S A READING, ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS LITERACY SPECIALIST, MR MARKOWSKI, WHO IS, UM, DAILY OUT IN OUR MIDDLE SCHOOLS. SHE OFTEN WORKS IN THE ONES WHERE WE DON'T HAVE AN ASSIGNED LITERACY SPECIALIST. MISS STELZER IS OUT IN CLASSROOMS. I'M OUT IN CLASSROOM FOR TALKING WITH TEACHERS. WE UM MIDDLE SCHOOL LANGUAGE ARTS TEACHERS. LIKE OTHER MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS HAVE AN EXTRA UM, OPPORTUNITY TO DO GRADE LEVEL. UM, PLANNING AND SO WE'RE ABLE TO MEET WITH THEM DURING THEIR PLANNING SESSIONS AND AGAIN. THAT'S THE BEST PD. WE MEET WITH THEM. GROUP WHERE I MIGHT HAVE 120 TEACHERS IN FRONT OF US TO DELIVER PD. WE FIND THE BEST PD SMALL GROUP GOING OUT TO THE SCHOOLS WORKING WITH THEM.

WE WORK WITH OUR DEPARTMENT CHAIRS. AT OUR SECONDARY SCHOOLS WILL PROVIDE THEM WITH SOME SPECIFIC PD THAT THEY CAN THEN WORK IN THE BUILDING. WE'VE BEEN DOING A LOT OF TAKING TEACHERS FROM ONE MIDDLE SCHOOL OVER TO ANOTHER TO SEE AND TALK WITH TEACHERS WHO HAVE TAUGHT IT TO GET THAT PERSPECTIVE AND EXPERIENCE. AND SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE WAYS WE USE COUNTY WHITE DAYS AS WELL AS SCHOOL BEAST TO SUPPORT TEACHERS, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I DO WHEN I WORK DIRECTLY WITH OUR NEW TEACHERS IS WE SIT AND WE PLAN TOGETHER. WELL PLANET LESSONS. I WILL DEMO LESSONS FOR THEM, SO I'LL GO IN WITH THEIR STUDENTS SO THEY CAN SEE IT REALLY IN IN REAL LIFE, YOU KNOW? NOTHING SCRIPTED. NOTHING REHEARSED AHEAD OF TIME WE WILL PLAN OUT TO LISTEN TOGETHER AND I'LL GO AND TEACH THAT AND WE REFLECT ON THAT. AND WE THINK INTENTIONALLY. WHAT IS IT THAT THAT WE YOU WANT TO SEE IN ACTION. DO WE WANT TO SEE OR SMOKE GROUP RIGHT NOW? DO YOU WANT TO SEE THAT MINI LESSON? UM WHERE WERE EXPLICITLY TEACHING A SPECIFIC RATING SKILL SO SOMETIMES ARE GOING IN DEMO THOSE LESSONS SOMETIMES IT'S A CO TAUGHT SITUATION AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE YEAR. I THINK THAT WHAT HAPPENS AND WHAT WE TRY TO DO IS REALLY CATER THAT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TO THE INDIVIDUAL TEACHERS. AS FAR AS WHAT WHAT IS IT THAT YOUR ADMINISTRATION SAYS THAT YOU THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE ALONG WITH WHAT DOES OUR TEACHER NEED AND SAY THAT HE OR SHE WOULD LIKE TO SEE AND TO DO SO WE HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF CATER THAT TO OUR TO OUR STUDENTS, PARTICULARLY AT SCHOOL, WHERE WE HAVE AN INSTRUCTIONAL COACH AND MYSELF. SO WE PAIR UP OFTEN TO MEET TOGETHER TO DEMO. THE LESSON WHERE THE ONE OF THE INSTRUCTIONAL CULTURAL SIT WITH THAT OTHER TEACHER AND TALK IT THROUGH LIKE, DO YOU SEE THAT PART OF THEM ANY LESSON? DO YOU SEE THIS PART? UM, DO YOU SEE HOW THEY'RE MANAGING BEHAVIOR? SO THOSE KINDS OF CONVERSATIONS THAT WE HAVE BEFORE DURING AND AFTER CAN BE VERY, VERY POWERFUL STARTING OPPORTUNITIES IN ADDITION TO PLANNING IN ADDITION TO THOSE REFLECTIVE GOAL, SETTING CONVERSATIONS, SO IT REALLY IS A VERY HANDS ON PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE, WHICH IS SUSTAINED.

THIS IS NOT A FLASH IN THE PAN TYPE OF PD SUPPORT FOR OUR TEACHERS. SO IN ADDITION TO WHAT JANET IS SHARED, OUR INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES MAKE MAKE THEMSELVES REGULARLY AVAILABLE AS NON EVALUATIVE SUPPORTS FOR OUR TEACHERS. GO IN AND SPEND A PERIOD WITH OUR TEACHERS WILL COLLECT DATA ANALYZE THAT DATA RIGHT ALONGSIDE WITH THE TEACHER TO DIAGNOSE IMPROVEMENTS AND GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES ALONG THE WAY, SO IT'S VERY MUCH A CROSS FUNCTIONAL APPROACH TO THE TYPE OF SUPPORT THAT OUR STAFF IS PROVIDED JUST TO BUILD ON THE RESPONSE THAT WAS EARLIER SHARED IN TERMS OF THE PROGRAM DATA HERE AGAIN. I JUST WANT TO REFRESH THAT THIS IS AN ONGOING COMMITMENT THAT THIS GROUP HAS TO THE PROGRAM AND ANALYZING DATA. WILL HAVE ADDITIONAL TEACHER SURVEY DATA FROM THE CURRENT SCHOOL YEAR. AND, AS MRS SCARY POINTED OUT, WILL CONTINUE TO EXAMINE OUR WRITING ASSESSMENT DATA PRE IMPOSED OR M CAP WRITING SCORES. SO AGAIN AS YOU POINTED OUT, MR SO EVEN THOUGH WE ARE VERY EARLY ON INTO THE PROCESS OF EVALUATING THIS, IT IS AN ONGOING EFFORT TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS PROGRAM IS INDEED. RESULTING IN THE TYPES OF GAINS AND STUDENT PERFORMANCE THAT WE ANTICIPATED MAKING. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. SO I ONLY HAVE ONE QUESTION. AND MY QUESTION KIND OF PIGGY BANKS ON , UM DR HAROLD MENTIONED THINGS FOR STUDENTS THERE AND SPECIAL NEEDS, OF COURSE, THE FOR BETTER WORD. THE REGULAR STUDENTS. THE AVERAGE STUDENTS. WHAT DOES THIS PROGRAM OFFERED FOR THE GIFTED STUDENTS? SO FOR THE GIFTED STUDENTS TO THIS BECOMES AN OPPORTUNITY LIKE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THE TEACHERS REPORT IS THAT, UM FOR STUDENTS WHO ALREADY ENTER A UNIT PROFICIENT OR EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS THAT THEY HAVE NOTED THAT AND I'VE SEEN THAT IT HELPS THEM REFINE THEIR SKILLS. UM AND YOU KNOW

[01:35:03]

THE TEACHERS CAN PAUL LIKE THAT HAPPENS IN THE CONFERENCING TO WHERE THEY WORK WITH THE WRITER INDIVIDUALLY ON WHAT HE WORKING IN AS A WRITER. WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD TO YOUR PIECE AND SO BECOMES THAT PIECE BECOMES INDIVIDUALIZED AND IN SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTION, THEY WILL PULL A GROUP THAT'S READY TO, UM YOU KNOW, TACKLE THE NEXT THE NEXT PIECE THAT PERHAPS THE OTHERS, UM, ARE STILL WORKING ON SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT BECAUSE SOMETIMES I THINK THOSE ARE THE STUDENTS THAT GET LOST THE MOST IN WHATEVER PROGRAMS WERE DOING SO I DO APPRECIATE THAT. DOCTOR BOLSON. YOU HAD SOME COMMENTS JUST A COUPLE OF OVERARCHING THINGS AS WELL.

THANK YOU GUYS. THAT WAS A LOT BUT VERY GOOD AND UM JUST TO ADD A LITTLE THE HISTORY SO ONE OF THE THINGS I HAD OBSERVED OVER 20 SOME ODD YEARS DOING THIS IS THAT YOU KNOW, WRITING AS A STANDALONE COURSE IT'S ACTUALLY KIND OF DISAPPEARED, AND I DON'T KNOW OF OTHER DISTRICTS THAT HAVE A WHOLE SEPARATE PERIOD FOR THIS, YOU KNOW ALL THE WAY THROUGH. AND SO IT WAS ONE OF THOSE AHA MOMENTS WHEN I CAME TO HARFORD COUNTY AND SAW EVIDENCE OF THE WRITING PROGRAM THAT HAD JUST GONE INTO PLACE IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND THE FACT THAT FRANKLY, I WAS SEEING BETTER WRITING ON THE WALLS FOR FIFTH GRADERS THAN I WAS SEEING IN MIDDLE OR HIGH SCHOOL BECAUSE OF THE DELIBERATIVE APPROACH TO TEACHING, WRITING AND SO THIS HAS GROWN OUT OF THAT NORTH STAR. ONE OF THE FIVE ELEMENTS THAT WE SAID EVERY STUDENT NEEDS TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN LIFE AND CAREERS, IS WRITING. AND WE HEAR THIS FROM EMPLOYERS THAT YOU KNOW, THEY'RE REALLY STRUGGLED TO PUT TOGETHER. YOU KNOW, WELL WRITTEN PIECES. PARTICULARLY WITH THE COMPETITION WE HAVE FROM, YOU KNOW, TEXT, LANGUAGE AND ACRONYMS THAT THAT'S CREATED AND JUST, YOU KNOW, THE SORT OF ABBREVIATED FORM OF COMMUNICATION THAT MANY STUDENTS ENGAGE IN SO GETTING BACK. THIS REALLY WAS KIND OF A BACK TO BASICS APPROACH. KNOWING THAT IT WAS SOMETHING THAT HAD BEEN LOST THAT OUR STUDENTS REALLY NEEDED AND WOULD BENEFIT FROM. I MEAN, IT'S BEEN NOTED THAT THIS IS LIKELY TO HELP WITH TEST SCORES BECAUSE ALL OF OUR STATE ASSESSMENTS INVOLVE SOME AMOUNT OF WRITING. AND WE'VE SEEN THAT STUDENTS HAVE STRUGGLED IN THE WRITING PORTION OF THAT IT IS MOSTLY BECAUSE OF THE STATEMENT OF PEACE LIKE THEY JUST DON'T WRITE ENOUGH. AND SO THE SCORES THAT THEY GET BACK REFLECTED THEIR RESPONSES WERE JUST UM, OFTEN. INADEQUATE YOU KNOW, THEY DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH INCOMPLETE AND SO AND THAT THAT COVERS NOT JUST ONE SUBJECT AND THEN THE OTHER THING THAT I THINK WE ARE ADDRESSING HERE IS, I THINK TO BECOME A GENERAL BELIEF THAT MAYBE WE ADDRESS THE SPECIFIC WRITING SKILLS WERE GOING TO SECONDARY THAT MAYBE YOU'RE ADDRESSING HIM IN THE CONTENT AREAS THAT SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHING WRITING THAT SCIENCE IS TEACHING, WRITING THAT MATH IS TEACHING RIGHT? BECAUSE, FRANKLY , THERE'S A LOT OF MATH WRITING THAT HAS TO HAPPEN IN THE ASSESSMENT. BUT REALLY, THERE'S TOO MUCH VARIANCE IN WHAT THE KIDS GET. THEY NEED THIS FOUNDATION. WE THIS IS LIKE I SAID VERY MUCH A BACK TO BASICS APPROACH. THEY NEED TO HAVE THE TIME JUST TO BE TAUGHT TO WRITE.

THEN THEY'RE GOING TO BE FAR MORE SUCCESSFUL APPLYING THAT SUCH STUDIES SCIENCE NOW EVERYTHING ELSE THEY'RE DOING. AND IN FACT, OUR IDEA OF ASSESSING THIS THROUGH NORTH STAR. UM WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS IN OTHER SETTINGS. UM, BUT REMEMBER LAST YEAR IF SOME OF YOU MAY SEEM WE HAD PICTURES OF CHICKS, LITTLE BABY CHICKENS THAT HAD BEEN HATCHED. UM IT WAS SOMETHING THAT MR RENZULLI AS THE THEN SCIENCE COORDINATOR, YOU KNOW MADE HAPPEN. BUT THAT UNIT WAS THIS FANTASTIC HANDS ON SCIENCE UNIT, BUT IT WAS ACTUALLY DONE AS A WRITING BENCHMARK. THAT OUR STUDENTS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL RIGHT? THAT WAS THE MIDDLE SCHOOL ASSESSMENT. UM EVERY MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT WOULD EXPERIENCE THE SILENCE UNIT. BUT ALONG WITH THAT THEY WOULD DO THE WRITING WORK SO THAT WE COULD MEASURE HOW ALL OF OUR STUDENTS WERE WRITING IN A SCIENCE SETTING, BUT IT CAME FROM NOT JUST DOING THE HANDS ON SCIENCE ACTIVITY, BUT ALSO A DELIBERATE FOCUS ON WRITING AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL. OUR IDEA OF ASSESSING THIS ACROSS THE CURRICULUM OR ACROSS ALL STUDENTS WILL BE IN AN ART SETTING. UM AND SO WE'RE LOOKING TO MEASURE WRITING IN DIFFERENT WAYS THROUGH EACH OF THE GRADE SPANS. BUT AGAIN, THE WHOLE IDEA WHAT HERE WAS TO GET BACK TO BASICS. HAVE A STRONG RIGHT. HAVE OUR STUDENTS ALL LEAVE WITH A STRONG ABILITY TO WRITE THAT SHOULD SHOULD BENEFIT THEM IN CAREER IN LIFE. AND, UM. AND AGAIN. WE'RE JUST NOT SEEING THAT IN OTHER PLACES. AND SO IT'S SUCH A UNIQUE, UNIQUE THING TO SEE. AND I'M REALLY HOPEFUL THAT IS THIS ARTICULATES UP THROUGH THE GRADE LEVELS. THAT YOU SEE THE STUDENTS COMING FAR MORE PREPARED. AND, UM AND THEN THE LAST PIECE IS SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN NOTED THERE AREN'T BECAUSE THIS ISN'T DONE IN MANY PLACES ARE REALLY JUST AREN'T A LOT OF CHOICES AROUND WRITING CURRICULUM. SO YOU KNOW, AS WE SAID, THIS IS A PRETTY

[01:40:05]

COMPREHENSIVE CURRICULUM, BUT AS WE FIND THINGS THAT WE WANT TO STRENGTHEN MORE. SOME STUDENTS ARE GOING TO NEED MUCH MORE FOCUSED ON JUST THE STRAIGHT UP BASICS OF GRAMMAR AGREEMENT.

PUNCTUATION. ALL THOSE DETAILS. UM AND WE CAN ADD THAT WHERE WE NEED IT. SO I. YOU KNOW, THANK YOU TO THIS. UH, THANK YOU TO THE TEAM FOR PUTTING THIS TOGETHER. UM THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS CONVERGING BECAUSE THIS IS ALSO COMING AT A TIME WHERE WE'RE ANALYZING THE WORK IN MIDDLE SCHOOLS AND TRYING TO MAKE THAT MORE CONSISTENT. YOU HEARD MASCARAS. ANECDOTE ABOUT TWO CHILDREN AT DIFFERENT TIMES IN DIFFERENT SCHOOLS. WE'VE HAD A LOT OF VARIANTS IN OUR MIDDLE SCHOOLS, AND WE'RE LOOKING TO BRING SOME CONSISTENCY TO THOSE SCHEDULES AND THE EXPERIENCES THAT STUDENTS ARE ABLE TO ACCESS. UM AND THIS IS JUST ONE PIECE ALONG THAT PATH AS WELL.

SO AGAIN. THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY . I'M I REALLY AM ENCOURAGED BY WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN TERMS OF PERFORMANCE, BUT I THINK ADDED, TOGETHER WITH ALL THE OTHER WRITING GOING ON, THIS WILL BE VERY GOOD FOR OUR STUDENTS. THANKS, GUYS. THANK YOU. SO TONIGHT. THE REQUEST IS TO EXPAND THE UNITS OF STUDY FOR THE 2023 2024 SCHOOL YEAR TO THE FOLLOWING MIDDLE SCHOOL. SEVENTH GRADE PROGRAMS. EVERDEEN MIDDLE FALLSTON, MIDDLE DEGREES MIDDLE SOUTHAMPTON, MIDDLE AND SWAN CREEK. CAN I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND? THIS IS NO. A BLANKET MOTION. WE ADOPTED CURRICULUM, THE EXPANSION THE EXPANSION OF THE CURRICULUM. I APOLOGIZE. THE SECOND. SECOND THE MOTION. THANK YOU. MR ALLEN, WOULD YOU PLEASE DO A ROLL CALL, THOUGH FOR ME? SILVERA. YES. BRUCE I AM STAYING. MISS HAN. YES. WATCH YOUR HAROLD. ZERO CAN. DOCTOR IS NOT IN THERE. SHE MAY HAVE. SHE GOT KICKED OUT A COUPLE OF TIMES. I DON'T SEE HER ON THE OKAY? MISS PERRY? YES. DR PHILLIPS. YES. MR RICCARDI OR SHE'S UPSET. I'M SORRY. LINCOLN? YES. PRESIDENT SEWELL. YES.

PRESIDENT MUELLER. YES RUSSIAN PASSES. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE WORK YOU'VE DONE. NEXT WE

[E. Presentation on Special Education Citizens Advisory Committee, Ms. Colleen Sasdelli, Director of Special Education]

HAVE ITEM E PRESENTATION AND SPECIAL EDUCATION CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE. WAS COLLEEN'S DELI.

HMM HMM. LIKE. GOOD EVENING. UM PRESIDENT MUELLER, VICE PRESIDENTS WILL DOCTOR BOTH PAULSON AND BOARD MEMBERS. I'M VERY PLEASED THIS EVENING, UM, TO OFFER PRESENTATION ON THE SPECIAL EDUCATION CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE OR WHAT WE CALL C CAC AND WITH ME THIS EVENING IS JEAN EARTHLY. SHE IS R C CATCH CHAIR PERSON. AND SHE WILL BE PROVIDING YOU TONIGHT WITH AN OVERVIEW OF OUR C CAC AND SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS SCHOOL YEAR. GOOD EVENING, DR BOLSON AND BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERS. IT IS MY PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE THE ELECTED SEACAT BOARD. OUR BOARD IS COMPRISED OF MYSELF, JEAN ERDELY, AND I'M, A PARENT OF AN 11TH GRADE STUDENT IN THE NON PUBLIC PLACEMENT. ANGELIQUE MCCOY. WHO IS THE CO CHAIR? AND PARENTS OF A OF A OF END EDGEWOOD HIGH SCHOOL JUNE 2020 TO GRADUATE. ENCOURAGE STONE. SECRETARY TREASURER WHO IS THE PARENT OF STUDENTS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. SIKA. AS STAKEHOLDERS. JUST LIKE YOU AND VERY SIMILAR ONES. OMAR MANDATES THAT THERE BE A BOARD OF EDUCATION IN HARFORD COUNTY.

JUST LIKE OMAR REGULATES EACH LOCAL SCHOOL SYSTEM TO ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN A SPECIAL EDUCATION CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE, ALSO KNOWN AS SEA. ONE THING THAT SETS US APART FROM OTHER

[01:45:08]

CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEES. IS THEIR BYLAWS. THESE BYLAWS ARE APPROVED BY MEMBERS. AS WELL AS ANY CHANGES TO THEM. ANOTHER IS THAT EVERY MEETING ECAC IS THE BRIDGE. TO HCPS. PARENTS STUDENTS, FAMILIES AS WELL AS COMMUNITY PARTNERS. EACH MEETING IS ACTIVE AND ENGAGING IN A TOPIC THAT HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED BY OUR MEMBERS. THE REAL REASON THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND SEE CAC, IS IN THE ASSEMBLED COMMUNITY, WHICH CONSISTS OF PARENTS, GUARDIANS, FAMILIES OF SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS. FOR CHILDREN, HCPS PROFESSIONALS AS WELL TO COMMUNITY PROFESSIONALS.

THIS GROUP HAS A VESTED INTEREST IN OUR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES REQUIRING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES. HARFORD COUNTY SEACOCKS HAS A PARTNERSHIP. WITH THE HCPS DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL EDUCATION. WE DISCUSSED GOALS, MEETING TOPICS AND OTHER SPECIAL EDUCATION ISSUES. IN ADDITION, SEEK I. IS A BRIDGE BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL EDUCATION.

AND FAMILIES, STUDENTS, COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND HCPS STAFF AND ADMINISTRATORS.

PROVIDES INFORMATION ON CONTACTS , RESOURCES AND SERVICES. SEACAT PROVIDES EDUCATION AND INFORMATION ON SPECIAL EDUCATION. SEEK ACT PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN THE ART OF ADVOCACY. AND EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION. ALSO PROVIDES ACCESS TO HTTPS AS AN INDEPENDENT CAN DO IT. WHEN PARENTS FAMILIES NEED EXTRA SUPPORT AND DON'T KNOW HOW TO GET THEIR CHILD'S NEEDS ADDRESSED. FURTHERMORE SEACAT WORKS CLOSELY WITH THE HCPS PARTNERS FOR SUCCESS COORDINATOR RACHEL TROVATO. HOW TO SEE CAC ACHIEVE OUR MISSION. THERE ARE A COUPLE OF MAIN APPROACHES, WHICH CONSISTS OF HOSTING MONTHLY MEETINGS. AS WELL AS PARTICIPATING IN COMMUNITY EVENTS. DURING THE 2020 2022 23 SCHOOL YEAR, SEACOCKS HAS PROVIDED MEMBERS WITH INFORMATION AND RESOURCES. THROUGH EDUCATIONAL PRESENTATIONS AT OUR MONTHLY SEACAT MEETINGS. OUR MEETINGS HAVE BEEN HELD BOTH EXCUSE ME, BOTH IN PERSON AND VIRTUALLY THIS YEAR. THE CHALLENGES COVID BROUGHT WHERE MANY, HOWEVER, CICAK REAP THE BENEFITS OF INCREASED MEMBER PARTICIPATION. DUE TO HOSTING VIRTUAL MEETINGS.

VIRTUAL MEETINGS OFFER ACCESS TO MANY MEMBERS, INCLUDING OUR HCPS, STAFF AND ADMINISTRATORS.

I HAVE TO GIVE SEEK. IT HAS TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO KAREN JANKO V AC, PROUD PRINCIPLE OF PROSPECT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WHO HAS BEEN A REGULAR AT MANY ECAC MEETINGS FROM HER OFFICE, HER HOME AND EVEN HER CAR. OUR MEETING. TOPICS HAVE INCLUDED A BACK TO SCHOOL HCPS SPECIAL EDUCATION OPEN HOUSE. SOCIAL OPPORTUNITIES IN THE COMMUNITY EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING SKILLS TO SUPPORT SELF ADVOCACY. HELP TO PREPARE FOR THE MEETING FROM TEACHER AND PARENT PERSPECTIVES SEPARATELY. TRANSITIONS THROUGHOUT THE STAGES, AS WELL AS PARENTING FOR POSITIVE MENTAL HEALTH LAST WEEK. THE MEETING. TOPICS COME FROM SUGGESTIONS THAT ARE COLLECTED FROM MEMBERS AT THE PARENT FORUM, SEEK AT MEETINGS AND THROUGH CONVERSATIONS. THE PRESENTERS INCLUDE COMMUNITY EXPERTS AND HCPS STAFF FOR A VARIETY OF PERSPECTIVES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. WE CONTINUE TO MEET OUR MISSION BY BEING IN THE COMMUNITY AND INTERACTING WITH MEMBERS. BEING OUT THERE HELPS TO BRING AWARENESS OF C CAC AND WHAT WE DO. YOU ALL UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF MEETING YOUR CONSTITUENTS. HEARING CONCERNS AND BUILDING CONNECTIONS. ECAC LOVES CONNECTIONS. WE CONTINUE TO EXPLORE OPPORTUNITIES IN THE COMMUNITY AS WELL AS WITHIN HCPS AND LOOK FORWARD TO OUR UPCOMING EVENTS AT YOUR MIND MATTERS AND MAGNOLIAS SUMMER BLOCK PARTY.

[01:50:06]

QUICK OVERVIEW OF. 2022 23 6 HIGHLIGHTS ARE WE'VE MET SEVERAL TIMES WITH THE DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL ED AND STAFF AND CONTINUE TO PARTNER TOGETHER. ECAC STARTED AN AWARENESS CAMPAIGN. ASK ABOUT HARFORD COUNTY SEE CAC, VIRTUAL MEETINGS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO OUR MEMBERS WHO ARE WORKING WITH WITH WHO ARE WORKING WITH YOUNG CHILDREN AND WITH CHILDCARE CHALLENGES, ETCETERA. ACTUALLY OUR AVERAGE VIRTUAL MEETING. PARTICIPATION IS APPROXIMATELY 32 NOT 20 PLUS SO IT'S EVEN BETTER. HOWEVER IN PERSON MEETINGS HAVE BEEN HELD TO BUILD THOSE IN PERSON IN PERSON RELATIONSHIPS THAT MEET THE NEEDS OF MEMBERS. DURING THIS OF OUR MEETINGS, WE HOLD A GIVEAWAY OF CENTURY ITEMS AS WELL AS BOOKS ON TOPICS SUCH A SPECIAL EDUCATION, DISABILITIES AND THE ART OF ADVOCACY. COMMUNITY EVENTS CONTINUE TO BE IMPORTANT IN BUILDING AWARENESS AND CONNECTIONS. AND FINALLY AT THE JUNE 1ST 2023 MEETING, SEACAT WILL HOLD BOARD OFFICER ELECTIONS AS WELL AS THE PARENT INPUT FORUM. LET'S NOT FORGET THAT WE'RE ALL IN THIS FOR THE SAKE OF THE CHILD. THE LEARNER, THE STUDENT SO ASK. WHAT CAN SEE CAC DO FOR YOU. CAT CAN BE THAT BRIDGE BETWEEN FAMILIES AND SCHOOLS. C CAT CAN PROMOTE ADVOCACY AND COMMUNICATION. AND SEE CAT CAN PROVIDE COMMUNITY INFORMATION AND RESOURCES FOR YOUR FAMILIES. AND ALSO ASK WHAT CAN YOU DO FOR C CAC? LET YOUR FAMILIES KNOW ABOUT C CAC AS WELL AS PARTNERS FOR SUCCESS. SHARE OUR INFORMATION. PROMOTE PARTICIPATION OF C CAC AND HCPS PARTNERS FOR SUCCESS IN SCHOOL EVENTS TO ELEVATE TO ELEVATE THESE IMPORTANT SPECIAL EDUCATION RESOURCES. THIS SLIDE PRESENTS HOW THE HOW TO CONNECT WITH CK. IN CLOSING SEACAT WILL CONTINUE TO PARTNER WITH THE DEPARTMENTS SPECIAL EDUCATION SHARE AND EXPAND CONNECTIONS WITH COMMUNITY RESOURCES AND REACH OUT TO PARENTS, GUARDIANS AND STUDENTS. WITH DISABILITIES , EVEN THOUGH WE ALL CONTINUE TO FACE CHALLENGES, WE ARE COMMITTED TO INCREASED COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH THE SHARING OF INFORMATION, TRAINING AND INVOLVEMENT IN THE SPECIAL EDUCATION DECISION MAKING PROCESS. WE APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT SEACAT HIGHLIGHTS AND INFORMATION TO YOU THIS EVENING. THANK YOU. SO, UM THANK YOU. YEAH, WE'LL OPEN THAT UP TO QUESTIONS. SO MANY ORDINARY BORS ABOUT C CAP. DO YOU COLLECT ANY METRICS OR TRACY ? UM, PERFORMANCE OF OUR EDUCATORS AND MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS. SO, UM WHAT'S THAT? WE DON'T PER SE. WE RECEIVE FEEDBACK AND WE'LL SEND IT OUT TO UP TO COLLEEN. HANDLE. AND THROUGH OUR DEPARTMENT THROUGH THE METRICS IN THE EVALUATIONS THAT WE HAVE, AND, FOR INSTANCE, WERE CURRENTLY UNDER OUR COMPREHENSIVE MONITORING BY AMERICAN BY MSD. SO ANY RESULTS FROM THAT WE DO SHARE WITH THE SEACAT BOARD SO THAT IT CONTRIBUTES TO, UM YOU KNOW THE WORK THAT WE DO TOGETHER TO INFORM PARENTS AND TO BRING ABOUT DIFFERENT PROGRAMMING AND RESOURCES. SO WE, YOU KNOW THAT COLLABORATION KIND OF GOES BOTH WAYS. SO ANY OF THOSE METRICS THAT WE COLLECT THROUGH OUR DEPARTMENT ARE ARE SHARED WITH C CAP FOR THAT PLANNING. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. PEOPLE.

THE PRESENTATION. AND I JUST WANT TO GIVE A MOMENT TO THANK GINA AND HER HER TEAM OF C CALCULATOR SHIP. THEY'VE JUST DONE A FANTASTIC JOB KIND OF PROMOTING THAT COLLABORATION AND

[01:55:05]

PARTNERSHIP WITH WITH OUR PARENTS AND FAMILIES OF THE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITY. THAT WE SERVED. SO BEFORE I GIVE DR BOLSON THE CHANCE TO MAKE A CLOSING STATEMENT HERE. YOU'RE NEXT IN PERSON MEETING THAT YOU INVITED US TO IS IT? HARTFORD ACADEMY. NO, IT'S AT THE MCFALLS CENTER. OKAY, SO YOU CAN'T SAY THAT IT'S NOT UNDER SLIDES. I LOOKED THANK YOU. AND WHAT TIME IS IT SEVEN OR IT WILL BE AT SEVEN. THERE WILL BE AN EMAIL COMING OUT FROM SIKA AFTER TONIGHT. SO I DO HAVE THAT IN THE WORKS, AND THAT DOES HAVE THE LOCATION MEETING. BUT YOU KNOW, IT SAID YOU INVITED US. I NEED TO KNOW WHERE I'M GOING. THANK YOU. GO AHEAD. I JUST WANTED TO CLOSE WITH ANOTHER. THANK YOU. UM ARGUABLY AND. PUBLIC EDUCATION. IN PARTICULAR , THERE'S NOTHING HARDER THAN ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS THAT I P PROCESS CAN BE BUREAUCRATIC AND VERY FRUSTRATING. AND FOR EVERYBODY ALL THE WAY AROUND THE TABLE. AND SO KNOWING THAT. YOU KNOW, IN MANY CASES ARE ARE EXPERTS WHO HAVE BEEN ADDED A LONG TIME WHO BRING A LOT OF CONTEXT AND A LOT OF SUPPORT TO THAT. AND THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE THIS GROUP THAT COMES TOGETHER. UM, BOTH AS A SUPPORT GROUP, BUT AS AN ADVOCACY GROUP IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL. UM, I'VE ENJOYED SEEING THE REPORTS. YOU KNOW, THE UPDATES THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS. BECAUSE IT REALLY IS A CRITICAL GROUP. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WHAT YOU DO WHEN WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU NEXT TIME YOU'RE HERE WITH US. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

SO BEFORE WE GO ON WITH OUR LAST TWO PRESENTATIONS, I WOULD PROPOSE A 10 MINUTE BREAK. THANK YOU. WE'LL BE BACK AT. 35 AFTER POINT OF ORDER, MADAM CHAIR. EXCUSE ME. YOU'RE IN ORDER TO TAKE A BREAK OR SUPPOSED TO HAVE EMOTION AND THEN IT SECONDED TO TAKE A BREAK. I MOVED TO TAKE A BREAK. SECOND IT IT'S ON FAVOR. HI. YES. OPPOSED, OKAY? YOU CAN'T WHAT? OKAY OUR NEXT

[F. Presentation on Proposed Revisions of Board Policy 10-0002-000 Harford County Board of Education Citizen Advisory Committees, Ms. Heather Kutcher, Executive Director of Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment and Kimberly H. Neal, Esq., General Counsel]

PRESENTATION IS ON THE PROPOSED REVISIONS SUPPORT POLICY 10 DISH 0002 DISH 000. UM HARFORD COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEES, AND THE PRESENTATION WILL BE DONE BY MS HEATHER CULTURE. HI AGAIN. GOOD. UM SO I AM HERE TO SPEAK ON SOME PROPOSED EDITS FOR THIS POLICY.

IT'S PERFECT TIMING TO FILE THEM AS EARLY AND MISSUS DELEGATES. WE ARE LOOKING AT OUR CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEES POLICY, SO THIS POLICY DOES SET FORWARD THE GUIDELINES FOR THOSE ADVISORY COMMITTEES, SPECIFICALLY THE CREATION THE SELECTION OF MEMBERS AND THE OPERATION OF THESE GROUPS. SO AS YOU KNOW, THE BOARD MAY IDENTIFY CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEES TO BE FORMED TOWARDS DESIGNATED PURPOSE. IN ADDITION, KUMAR DOES REQUIRE US TO FORM CERTAIN CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEES SUCH AS SEKAC THAT YOU SAW THIS EVENING , THE FAMILY LIFE ADVISORY COMMITTEE CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND THE GIFTED EDUCATION CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE. SO WE HAVE REVIEWED AND MADE SOME MINOR AT ITS TO THIS POLICY. IF YOU LOOK AT THE DRAFT OF CHANGES OF THE POLICY, YOU'LL SEE THERE'S SOME IN YELLOW AND SOME IN BLUE. THE OTHER ITEMS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO REMOVE THESE SPEAK MAINLY TO THE TIMING OF THE PRESENTATIONS TO THE BOARD TO GIVE GROUPS MORE FLEXIBILITY AND SCHEDULING ACROSS THE SCHOOL YEAR. THE CURRENT POLICY DOES REQUEST THAT THE PRESENTATIONS OCCUR IN THE FALL. WE WOULD LIKE TO STRIKE IN THE FALL, SO THAT PRESENTATIONS SUCH AS THAT THAT YOU SAW THIS EVENING CAN BE TIME TO CROSS THE YEAR AND MAKES SENSE AS THE GROUPS DO THE PARTICULAR WORK.

WE'VE ALSO MADE A COUPLE OTHER CHANGES IN YELLOW MAINLY TO THE LANGUAGE ASSOCIATED WITH HOW WE PROVIDE AGENDAS AND MINUTES IT DOES SPEAK ABOUT DUPLICATING AND MAILING. AND MOST OF WHAT WE DO NOW IS ELEKTRONIK. SO THE MINUTES THE MEETING DATES THAT ARE ALL POSTED ELECTRONICALLY.

BLUE CHANGES TO INDICATE PIECES THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO ADD TO THE POLICY. WE FEEL THAT THESE WOULD PROVIDE US MORE FLEXIBILITY IN MEMBERSHIP. SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE FIRST PAGE OF FIVE, WE ARE REQUESTING TO ADD A PARENT OF CURRENT HCPS STUDENT PREFER THE REPRESENTING CERTAIN CERTAIN ASSOCIATIONS. WE WOULD LIKE TO ENSURE THAT VOICES ARE AT THE TABLE, EVEN IF THEY DO NOT REPRESENT A CURRENT ASSOCIATION. SO WE WOULD LIKE TO ADD THAT LANGUAGE. THE OTHER CHANGE IN

[02:00:05]

THE BLUE DOES PROVIDE ROOM FOR THE COMMITTEE STAFF COORDINATOR TO BE A PART OF THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS FOR STUDENTS SELECTION. FOR EXAMPLE, ON THE FAMILY LIFE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE. THAT STUDENT WOULD BENEFIT FROM HAVING ALREADY COMPLETED THE HEALTH TO COURSE BEFORE PARTICIPATING IN THE COMMITTEE. WE WOULD LIKE THE EXPERTISE OF OUR COMMITTEE LEADS TO BE ABLE TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS SUCH AS THAT. THOSE ARE THE MINOR CHANGES THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO MAKE TO THIS POLICY, AND WE FEEL THAT IT DOES JUST ALLOW US TO HAVE MORE FLEXIBILITY IN PROVIDING PRESENTATIONS ACROSS THE YEAR AND ALSO OPENING UP MEMBERSHIP.

WE ALSO PROVIDED FOR THE BOARD SOME ANCILLARY PIECES THAT SUPPORT THE PROCEDURES. IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO SEE, FOR EXAMPLE, THE GENERAL TIMELINE AND PUBLIC OUTREACH THAT'S IN PLACE, INCLUDING THE PRESS RELEASE THAT WENT OUT IN MARCH AND SOME OF THE COMMUNICATION FROM OUR COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE THAT ASSISTS US AND GATHERING AS MANY APPLICANTS AS POSSIBLE FOR THESE DIFFERENT COMMITTEES. YOU ALSO COULD SEE THE LINK IN THE TIMELINE THAT INCLUDES THE ONE PAGE ON THE BOARD OF ED WEBSITE ON THE HCPS DOT ORG SITE THAT DOES POST ALL THE MINUTES AND AGENDAS OF COMING DATES AND LOCATIONS FOR MEETINGS FOR THE YEAR. THOSE ARE THE MINOR CHANGES, SO I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS OR FEEDBACK. DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? COMMENTS. WE DID SUCH A GREAT JOB. UM DO I HEAR? I'M SORRY, CAROL. I DO HAVE, UM ONE QUESTION. UM SO I LOOKED AT THE TIMELINE ON THE 3RD 3RD EXHIBIT. UM AND IT SHOWS THAT THE, UM THE COMMITTEE, UM.

APPLICANTS WILL BE PRESENTED TO THE BOARD IN MAY SO SEEING THAT THERE'S ONLY ONE MORE MEETING IN MAY ASSUME THAT WILL BE ON THE AGENDA NEXT. MEETING TO HAVE THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENTED. TO THE TO THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL. WE'LL SAY WE'RE SLIGHTLY DELAYED THIS YEAR, SO IT MIGHT BE THE JUNE 8TH MEETING. I BELIEVE IT'S THE DATE SO OUR COMMITTEE LEADS DO HAVE ALL THE APPLICATIONS.

THEY'VE SCREENED THOSE THEY HAVE THE REPORT READY FOR US TO SUBMIT TO THE SUPERINTENDENT FOR HIS RECOMMENDATION. AND THEN THE NEXT STEPS WOULD BE TO GO TO THE BOARD. SO YOU MIGHT BE JUNE 8TH.

SO THIS WAS JUST THE PRESENTATION ON IT, AND NOW IT WILL GO OUT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.

OKAY, SO WE DON'T NEED TO DO ANY FURTHER ACTION AT THIS POINT. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

[G. Superintendent's Report]