Accelerated and Enriched Instruction Advisory Committee
NOTES
Thursday, October 16, 2008
7:15 – 9:15 PM, Room 127 CESC
By the end of the meeting, participants:
Shared updates and reviewed action steps
Heard about MCPS processes for monitoring and accountability of schools
Discussed and provided feedback on Policy IOA
Provided feedback and confirmed the agenda for the November 2008 AEI Advisory
meeting
Attending: Elizabeth Alcoba, Donna Graves, Ebony Langford, Jennifer Lowndes, Eric Marx,
Doug McManus, Doug Nelson, Brian Roberts, Fred Stichnoth, Susan Joyce Thomas, Mary
Walker, Ted Willard, Kay Williams
Guest: Soma Datta
Next Step
Put the next meeting date on your
calendar, November 13, 2008.
Review meeting dates: 12/11, 1/15,
2/12, 3/13, 4/16, 5/14, 6/11
If you have not, please complete the
feedback form at the end of the notes.
Provide any additional feedback on
draft of policy, Reporting and
Communication.
Provide OSP PowerPoint to
committee members.
Set up service for electronic dialogue
rather than the Blackboard.
Members agreed that the November
13 meeting would focus on Data
Monitoring and Accountability:
Collaboration with AEI and the
Office of School Performance;
Review of the Global Screening
Report, and Policy IOA revision.
Who
All
By When
All
All
October 30, 2008
All
October 11, 2008
Kay
November 13, 2008
Peter/Marty
All
In process
November 13, 2008
After welcoming all members, Kay Williams reviewed the agenda and inquired if there were any
amendments to the agenda.
Action Items Review from 9/11/08
Agenda Setting Group
Thank you to Eric, Doug, Ted, and Kay for meeting in October to revise the proposed agenda for
the year.
Electronic Forum
Blackboard notifications are not being received by all. Another service will be used instead.
September Feedback
At the September meeting, feedback indicated that hearing from all stakeholders is helpful.
Meeting will be structured so that all stakeholders have an opportunity to share. Everyone has
something important to contribute.
Feedback also indicated the need to focus on the charge of the group. The charge was revisited at
the October meeting and available for all.
Feedback suggested considering the needs and data of individual students. Time was reserved at
the October meeting to focus on accountability.
Celebrations
MSDE Update: On Thursday, October 2, 2008, the Professional Standards and Teacher
Education Board voted to recommend to the Maryland State Board of Education that it publish
the proposed regulation COMAR 13A.12.03.12 Gifted and Talented Education Specialist. The
regulation creates a specialist category, thus providing a pathway and designation for teachers
who are interested in acquiring specific expertise in the area of gifted and talented instruction. If
the Maryland State Board of Education approves publication, public comment will be taken from
December 5, 2008 to January 5, 2009.
MCPS/Towson University Partnership: A cohort of 16 teachers is participating in a program that
leads to a Masters Degree in Elementary Education with a concentration on Gifted Education.
According to Dr. Linda Emerick, Director of the M. Ed. ELED Program, all are working
enthusiastically and look forward to using their expertise to better serve all students. AEI hopes
to eventually establish a pool of teachers with GT background to serve in leadership roles at
schools to further strengthen instructional practices.
The October 22, 2008 MCCPTA Meeting was announced. It will be held at Gaithersburg HS
from 7:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Mr. Lang and Mr. Bedford will present.
Revised Calendar
The agenda setting group met again in October and revised the year long calendar to include
a discussion about groupings and two different sessions on professional development.
Data Monitoring and Accountability
Mr. Adrian Talley, MCPS community superintendent, presented Processes in Place to
Support and Monitor Student Achievement.
Mr. Talley spoke about the structure and mission of the Office of School Performance (OSP).
The mission of the OSP is to maximize student achievement by ensuring a quality education
for all students. To do this, OSP employs a system-wide collaboration to:
o Provide support, resources, and services to schools, principals, and students
o Facilitate effective and open communication between parents/community and the
school system
OSP also monitors school performance and evaluates principals.
Mr. Talley shared structures OSP uses to monitor. Examples of the elementary, middle and
high school monitoring calendars were shared. The data points drive the discussions between
community superintendents and principals.
There was a question about gathering feedback from parents. Parents surveys specific to the
highly gifted center, middle school magnet programs, and high school programs were
completed and results were shared with principals. Information gathered will help guide
program improvements at each site.
Another question focused on the regularity with which data are published and if MCPS only
publishes the “good news.” Mr. Talley responded that MCPS publishes the data as it comes
forward and that some data are not especially good news (suspension rates, for example).
Some data points are not available more than once a year due to the frequency with which the
assessment is administered.
Another question addressed the data that can be used to improve schools that have had
lacking GT Programs over time. Mr. Talley and Kay Williams explained that AEI and OSP
collaborate to review individual school data that indicates whether students identified for
accelerated services are actually receiving the services. This monitoring process has
developed over the last 3 years and helps in identifying schools needing support and
guidance. (Note: This collaborative process will be discussed at the November 13 meeting.)
A question was posed to Mr. Talley regarding the DSAC report and its reference to
inconsistency and FARMS. AEI staff will provide the document to Mr. Talley for his
response.
Mr. Talley emphasized collaboration and how OSP works with other offices to ensure the
implementation of curriculum with fidelity.
Mr. Talley also spoke about the M-Stat process which provides a framework for the
systematic and systemic monitoring of critical student achievement and performance data
that enables the district and school leadership teams to drill down to root causes, focus on
areas of need, develop action plans for improvement and document best practices for
recognition and dissemination through out the system.
There was discussion involving the publication of data and its availability on the web.
Members were asked what additional data they felt should be available to community
members that were not already available.
Policy Revision
Policy Position 2 Reporting and Communication
Edits and suggested wording were captured and will be reflected in the version of the Policy
to be reviewed at the November meeting.
Agenda Setting
Agenda topics for November 13 will include Data Monitoring and Accountability: Collaboration
with AEI and the Office of School Performance; Review of the Global Screening Report, and
Policy IOA revision.