DLT Minutes

District Leadership Team
February 5, 2007
4:00 PM – Deer River High School Conference Room

1. Approve agenda
2. Approve minutes
3. Old Business
   1. Organizational Structure / Committee Discussion
4. High Student Achievement
   1. AYP/Data
   2. Curriculum
   3. Staff Development
   1. 1. Staff Development plan
      2. Best Practice update
5. Effective and Efficient Systems
   1. Systems Accountability
   2. Budget update
   3. DLT Handbook
6. Safe, Welcoming, Trusting Environment
   1. District and School Safety
7. Partnerships
   1. Communication
   2. Parent Involvement
8. Site reports
   1. North
   2. King
   3. High School
9. Parent/Community Reports
10. Student Reports
11. Administrative Reports
12. Adjourn

DLT Agendas

The meeting started with a recap of committee membership.  Jim Taylor will be called upon as needed but will not attend regularly.  The committee currently consists of three DRHS members, one elementary member, and one district wide representative.  The committee extends an open invite to additional members throughout the year.

Discussion was held and consesus was reached in regards to meeting dates/times.  The ISD 317 Data/AYP committee will meet the third Monday of each month.  Meetings will be held from 3:30-4:30 with first preference being the DRHS Media Center.  Sean will contact the group the week prior to double check for any scheduling conflicts.  As it stands the 07-08 Data/AYP committee schedule of meetings for the 07-08 school year is:

• October 15, 2007
• November 19, 2007
• December 17, 2007
• January 14, 2008 (there is no school on the 3rd Monday of January)
• February 11, 2008 (there are conferences on the 3rd Monday of February)
• March 17, 2008
• April 21, 2008
• May 19, 2008

Mr. Grose was unable to attend the meeting due to a scheduling conflict.  Members reviewed the printed AYP plan shared by Mr. Grose.  Further discussion was tabled until Mr. Grose can meet with the group to discuss the AYP planning meeting he was able to attend.

Lengthy discussions were held in regards to district testing dates and purposes.  Mrs. Moll shared the 07-08 testing calendar with stated mandated testing and times.  The group then discussed the best fit and purposes for MAP testing.  It was agreed to again run MAP tests for students in grades 3-10 to measure growth from Fall to Spring along with a few special additions.

• 2nd grade teachers will have the option of testing all/select students in the second grade.  Mr. Martinson will discuss this with 2nd grade instructional staff.
• 8th and 10th grade students will take an additional round of Reading testing during the Winter testing window (January 7-10 testing window).  This will allow the DRHS staff the time and data to target students in need of additional instructional support.
• 7th and 8th grade students will take the Spring Math portion of MAP testing a month prior to other sections (April 7-11 testing window).  Much like the 06-07 school year this will allow the Math department the opportunity to drive and tailor their instruction (prior to MCA testing) with testing data.
• The option of a Winter testing window is also available for Reading/Math/Language/Science tests for students in grades 2-10.
• Citing NWEA technical issues and current assessments in place, MAP testing for Primary students K-2 will not be offered this school year.

A list of combined testing dates (State/MAP) will be made available and added to the online district calendar as a second side.  Mr. Martinson will be adding the MAP testing windows and Mrs. Moll will be adding the mandated state test dates.

Testing proctors were also discussed.  A testing proctor will be needed for North School, King School, and preferable three proctors for the High School.  The suggestion of maintaining past practice of utilizing computer lab paras at the elementary schools was offered.  Mr. Martinson will contact DRHS Principal Brent Colligan in regards to high school proctor needs.

The final item of discussion was the 2006-2006 Annual Public Report.  The report needs to be to the School Board and approved by October 1st.  The report then needs to be made available to the public by October 15th.  The report will again be made available online at the district website: www.isd317.org.  The committee discussed the Report Checklist (PDF), and Guidelines (PDF).  The committee went line for line through the report checklist with Mr. Martinson taking notes (PDF) and identifying individuals and groups that need to be contacted and information that needs to be included in the report.

The meeting was called to a close at 4:45.

These minutes were initially prepared by Sean Martinson and shared for editing with the Data/AYP committee through Google Docs.

DLT Minutes

Members Present

• Sean Martinson
• Karen Teff
• Karen Moll
• Matt Grose
• Carol Spooner

Purpose: Review current and past AYP Plan information.

This meeting was scheduled outside the regular set of scheduled dates.  The meeting was called to discuss the 2007-2008 AYP Improvement plan.  Last year’s AYP plan was not due until February leaving only March/April to implement the plan.  The 07-08 plan is now a two year plan leaving increased time to implement the plan.

The committee reviewed the original 06-07 plan as well as items which were resubmited to the state for clarification.  The new 07-08 AYP plan template is available online to type out and return for this year’s plan.  The plan is due November 30, 2007.

The committee held discussions of current AYP issues as well as possible ayp issues.  The role of the committee in the process of writing the 07-08 AYP plan will be to review the 06-07 AYP plan and then bring feedback to the next DATA/AYP Committee meeting.

Clarification: although there is a new format for he 07-08 plan many of the questions, as well as much of the information has remained the same.  The committee will bring back feedback and information based on the old plan then decide whether we should revise all of the information or import some of the existing.  What will the district need to do to get us where we need to get?  Most of what we have in the current plan is solid but there might be some things to add to the new plan (people, new attendance stipulations, tracking (ginger king).  This will not necessarily happen on committee time.  Members will take information home, jot down notes and come back to synthesize the 07-08 plan.

Some specifics: The group should bring specific ideas for 07-08 8th grade students in reading and be prepared for discussion of current standings and past AYP placements.

Action: Committee members will take AYP info home, review, comment, and bring back to October 15 meeting for further discussion.

Handouts:

• 06-07 AYP Plan
• 06-07 AYP Plan with comments and revisions
• 07-08 Improvement Plan Template
• 07-08 Title I Planning Guide

Future DATA/AYP Meeting Dates:

• October 15, 2007
• November 19, 2007
• December 17, 2007
• January 14, 2008 (there is no school on the 3rd Monday of January)
• February 11, 2008 (there are conferences on the 3rd Monday of February)
• March 17, 2008
• April 21, 2008
• May 19, 2008

DLT Minutes

Members Present

* Sean Martinson
* Karen Teff
* Karen Moll
* Matt Grose

Purpose: Review current and past AYP Plan information and planning for 07-09 AYP Plan.

Reviewed and worked on AYP plan. Mr. Grose and Mr. Martinson will meet this week to refine the current plan to reflect the new format.

Action: Committee members will take AYP info home, review, comment, and bring back to October 19 meeting for further discussion.

Future DATA/AYP Meeting Dates:

* October 19, 2007 (added)
* October 15, 2007
* November 19, 2007
* December 17, 2007
* January 14, 2008 (there is no school on the 3rd Monday of January)
* February 11, 2008 (there are conferences on the 3rd Monday of February)
* March 17, 2008
* April 21, 2008
* May 19, 2008

DLT Minutes

District Leadership Team
Minutes for May 14 ,2007

Members Present: Linda Sirvio, Karen Teff, Matt Grose, Brent Colligan, Deanna Hron, Yvonne Wilson, Robert Bourman, Bobbi Jo Hemphill, Darren Sheldon, Sean Martinson
Members Absent: Jim Peters, Kim Dolensek, Gerald White, Janet Florine, Laura Rudquist, Lacy Davidson, Matt Carlstrom

Call to order at 3:40 at Deer River High School
Agenda was approved
Minutes from March 5th were approved.

A. Business:
Organizational Structure/Committees
Each committee reported what they have done since the last DLT meeting:

1) Data and AYP: Karen Teff, Sean Martinson
This committee has met 2 times and set some temporary goals for the 2007-2008 school year:

* Get each teacher trained on how to access and use MAP data to enhance instruction
* Increased focus on math district wide to help boost MCA scores and get students ready for high stakes GRAD test in 11th grade.

Specifics on how and when these goals will be met are not yet decided. However, Mr. Grose will contact Becky Smith about doing an in-service for teachers regarding MAP data. Also, the DATA team will make a recommendation to Mr.Grose regarding when the MAP testing windows will be open next school year. Initial MAP data for this Spring indicate very good progress and growth both in reading and math district wide.

The AYP issues were not addressed by this committee since a different group had already written and submitted the district’s AYP plan through the NE Service CO-OP. There were some minor corrections requested by the state and after those were made, the plan was submitted and accepted. The plan addresses the fact that the district, as a whole, did not make AYP for math special education.

2) School/District Safety: Mr. Colligan
This committee has met several times and made significant progress with many goals. Mr. Colligan re-wrote the committee’s charge and mission statement. Issues addressed have included:

* The woods near King and North will be brushed as the schedule permits
* There is a possibility of replacing our entrance doors with magnetic doors and key cards
* There will be added security cameras in several places, as well as motion sensors.
* There will be a visual added for lockdowns so that classrooms that cannot hear the announcement (band, shop, etc) will see a flash of light to indicate we are in lockdown.
* Battery back-up for phone systems when power is out - this already exists at the high school, but it will be looked into whether we can get it at the other sites.

3) Communication: BobbiJo Hemphill
A mission statement for this committee has been drafted. The targeted audience this group will focus on is adults without children. They are still looking for someone to attend focus groups in the area and carry our messages forward. Polly Sheppard will be spending one hour of her school day next year working on communication issues. They are looking into the possibility of getting an intern from BSU to help with some of the required duties.

4) Curriculum and Assessment: Deanna Hron reporting for Janet Florine
The math curriculum committees have met several times. The K-12 committee met with Becky Smith to discuss the IASC curriculum review cycle as well as to review state MCA scores and assess needs. The committee then broke into primary and intermediate groups. Each has been working on looking at the new state math standards and understanding the changes as well as looking at ways to have our curricula meet these new standards.

5) Staff Development: Deanna Hron
This committee has been looking at previous goals and deciding which goals still need to be addressed and whether new goals need to be added. A draft of the mission for the group was made. Best practice grants were discussed. There were some applications, with some approvals and some denials. Those denied have been asked to make changes and resubmit. It was discussed that having a staff development calender for the year would be helpful for staff. The calender would indicate what topics would be discussed at each early-start as well as at all workshop days. This idea was very well received.

B. Site Reports
North:
The week of May 21st-25th will be Environmental/Cultural week. The dance troop from Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig school will perform, there will be cultural stations for students to explore, and there will be an Artist in Residence (Drs. Ray and Mary Helen Pelton). Eagleview elementary will join the celebration.
Yvonne Wilson will be taking some of her students to the Tribal College graduation.
Students are beginning the study of the Great Lakes and fur trading. They will be taking a field trip to Duluth on May 30th.

King:
They will be meeting with Mr. Grose to discuss the budget for next year. Mr. Sheldon discussed the desire to possibly change the way King does recess to be more like North’s model.

High School/Student:
The high school site team is trying to become more goal oriented and less “day-to-day-issue” focused. Also, the 7th graders went on a field trip to see Diary of Anne Frank and are currently doing an interdisciplinary unit on The Children of Willesden Lane. There will be a project fair during the last week of school to see the student’s projects.

Parent/Community:
There were no real concerns, just a reminder that the North 50th reunion committee is working to get the reunion planned.

Next Meeting : September

Meeting adjourned @ 5:04
Respectfully submitted by Karen Teff, Secretary

DLT Minutes