Agenda for a meeting of Parents Monitoring Education May 14, 1991 -- 7:00 pm I. Background - why is this group needed? A. Purpose - To ensure that the students of this county get the best possible education in the best possible educational environment. B. Structure an independent advisory council to the Clinton County school system including the Superintendent, Principals, the school board and site based committees. Not involved with personnel recommendations or the physical structure of the school system, but with how it is administered and the quality of education it provides. C. A working group engaged in: 1. Research (gathering information) a. Speakers & discussion b. Interviews c. Library research d. Studies e. Monitoring the system 2. Reporting on findings 3. Recommending policies and actions 4. Voting on policies and actions II. Establish Bylaws - officers, committees, etc. III. Publicity, authority, approach to board of education. IV. Research guidelines, library development. V. Discussion of projects to be researched. VI. Plan next meeting, speakers, etc. Suggested projects for Parents Monitoring Education Please add to the list and rank them in order of: 1. Importance. 2. Possibilites for actual improvement. School organizational structure goals & projects supervision & follow-up Budget & Finances Student's environment buses field trips buildings rooms halls bathrooms lunchrooms food, snacks, etc. play grounds student behavior employee behavior Education class structure number of students per class ungraded education cooperation among teachers supervision of teachers cooperative learning hands on learning grades, tests, goals, course contents technology communications, reading, writing, study skills courses offered and goals of education parental involvement Teacher and other employee accountability Extracurricular activities, sports, fund raising Suggested committee and officer structure for Parents Monitoring Education Officers from voting members: Chairman Vice Chairman Secretary-Treasurer Reporting Secretary Librarian Committee Coordinator Monitoring committees from voting members: School Board committee School Administration committee Albany Elementary committee Clinton County Elementary committee Irwin 7th grade committee High School committee Subject committees from other members, school employees, the general public, and parents at large. appointed by the Chairman, Vice Chairman and Committee Coordinator from volunteers. Usually around five members Assigned to study a specific question and report to PME by a specific date. "Forward in the Fifth" may be able to help. Sample questions: Should the school year be year round? How long should the school day be? What should be the rules for school fund raising? What should be the ground rules for school field trips? What are their advantages? What are their disadvantages? Should they be encouraged or discouraged by the system? What should be the place of sports, band, choir, academic and other clubs, and other extracurricular activities in the school? What about academic teams? What are the advantages and disadvantages of all these? What should the ground rules be? In what ways should teachers be held accountable for their performance? What should be the rules for rewards for good performance? How should poor performance be handled? How should performance be evaluated? Design a set of overall goals for the school system along with methods of measuring progress toward achieving those goals. Design also sets of intermediate goals and methods of measuring progress there. How can we get parents more closely involved in the educational process? How healthful are school lunches and snacks now available? Should there be enrichment classes for gifted students? If so, how should students be chosen? What should the goals of these classes be and how can we achieve these and measure our progress? Devise a standard set of rules and enforcement for student behavior from 1st thru 12th grade. How can we best handle the disruptive student? What is needed by the schools in the way of play ground and sports facilities and equipment? How can we best integrate technology into our schools? What is the optimum number of students per class for different ages and different subjects taught? What is the place of tests and grades in the educational process? In what ways are these now being abused? What guidelines should we use? How can we monitor our performance? What will be the problems with ungraded education in the first three years? How can we handle these? What are the special problems and needs of students and their parents in the first four years of school? How can we restructure classes throughout the system to take advantage of cooperative learning, hands on education, study skills practice, and other proven teaching methods? What are the other teaching techniques and methods we should consider? How much should homework, other outside class work, summer reading programs, etc. be stressed? What are the problems and advantages of these? In what ways can the teacher's schedule be changed to allow cooperative planning among teachers and exposure by teachers to new and different teaching methods? What should be the role of the school principal? What are our needs regarding research materials and opportunities? What courses should be offered at the high school? What should be the requirements for graduation? Should there be more than one set of requirements? What should be the role of vocational type studies vs. academic studies? What are the advantages and disadvantages of departmentilization in the elementary grades? What grades benefit most? What departments should be offered?