2006-08-18 - Laserfiche WebLink

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NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CHARLOTTESVILLE CITY COUNCIL WILL BE HELD ON Friday, August 18, 2006 AT 12:00 noon IN THE Basement Conference Room. THE PROPOSED AGENDA IS AS FOLLOWS: Luncheon meeting with School Board BY ORDER OF THE MAYOR BY Jeanne Cox BASEMENT CONFERENCE ROOM – August 18, 2006 Council met in special session on this date with the following members present: Dr. Brown, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Norris. Absent: Ms. Hamilton and Mr. Taliaferro. Ms. Rosa Atkins, Superintendent of Schools, said that the topics of the meeting will be the Guides for Pacing and Standards (GPS) and the Leadership Retreat. Mr. John Rusina, Curriculum Coordinator, gave an overview of the GPS which he said provides curriculum direction. Ms. Jessica Kalagher, Curriculum Coordinator, reviewed the GPS. Ms. Terri Perkins, said that the goal is to have the GPS on-line as a public document, but it is still under construction. Responding to a question from Mr. Lynch, School staff said that the standards are coming directly from the State, but the rest of the document is open to feedback. Mr. Norris asked how teachers are being trained and introduced to the new curriculum. Ms. Perkins said there was broad participation in developing the GPS, and every teacher was introduced to it in overview and break-out sessions. Ms. Perkins said an important follow-up will be having resource teachers out in the schools. Ms. Vada Fallica, Curriculum Coordinator, said there has been a lot of discussion of the GPS at the school building level. Ms. Harley Miles, Supervisor of Assessment for City Schools, said that the format is uniform for all of the schools. Mr. Lynch said it is an impressive piece of work. He asked if there is a shorter guide that could be given to parents who do not want the level of information that the GPS has, and Ms. Gertrude Ivory, Assistant Superintendent of Schools, said yes. Mr. Norris asked to what extent the GPS adds to or alleviates the concern about “teaching to the test.” Ms. Atkins said the emphasis is on teaching students how to think rather than on the test. Dr. Brown said he thinks the GPS is very impressive. He said one of the advantages of it is it supports teachers and sets expectations of what needs to be taught. He said it addresses the problem of lower achievers who change schools, and helps have things work together. Responding to questions from Mr. Lynch, Ms. Atkins said the Flanagan test is no longer being used and other options are being discussed. She said staff want to make sure test questions are aligned with the curriculum.