Meeting+with+Desi+re.+proposal+for+2008_2009+school+year

THanks for getting this going Lisa:-) B My comments are bolded.
//Hi guys - my comments are in italics - thanks! Karli  /// __Hi guys - I've updated more on the questions for the parent survey. Please see my comments in italics below. Thanks! Karli :)__

//__ALP Teachers__//

 * How many spaces do we have- need omnibus updated that reflects state student count and need enrollment survey data from kelly e.
 * We propose the following:
 * Keep our class size at 50 or lower
 * Students must be enrolled in IDVA at least one year. **We will consider newly enrolled families with a child identified gifted in another school/  **//do the SE model of an Elluminate session twice a month with new families: Possibly the Information Lead will do this each month & will go over the weekly newsletter and answer questions at that time. We mandate it for new families & hopefully they'll make it. If not, they can request the recording & they must reply back with comments or questions after watching it. If they don't comply with the above, we red flag them to our leads and then do a conf. call at the end of the month. I say we leave our 4th week of the month for planning and conferencing with those who did not attend Elluminates that month (like our model was before Brandi's med. leave).//
 * **Kindergarten students are one offs who are GT or siblings**
 * Each ALP remains K-8 **(Maybe, the specific grade levels are determined in August by the numbers) I do not want you overloaded Lisa as I am thinking we are going to get a huge influx of middle school.)** //I like staying K-8 each. This way if we do have a huge middle school group of kids, Brandi & I pick up the load by managing our own class work samples (assignments) etc. Otherwise, I don't think it matters how many are on her sessions - this is a lot easier to maintain rather than all the logistics that a homeroom teacher deals with a student.//
 * K-3 = Karli
 * 4-5= Brandi
 * 6-8 = Lisa
 * 50 students will be comprised of:
 * 1. identified gt students in teacher's region
 * siblings of gt students
 * **Newly enrolled gifted students**
 * non- identified gt students with at least one year IDVA experience **(I do not want this to be an option if we have to turn away GT students)** //Sounds good!//

//ALP Middle School Model-//

 * __This year we supported our middle school students through:__**
 * Mathcounts group
 * Science Fair participation
 * Geo Bee Support
 * Spelling Bee Support
 * Online Social Network
 * Learn and Share Sessions for students
 * Parent Sessions
 * Jeopardy Games
 * Webquests
 * Multimedia History Notebook
 * Essay reviews
 * Author Chair Sessions
 * Renzulli Learning
 * Encouraging leadership with younger students
 * Middle School Project Support
 * supported individual projects: history day, invention convention, theatre, //and passion projects//

//Questions we have for parents on what they would like to see in middle school Ie: changing terminology from work samples to assignments/ grades on report cards instead of M-P-I How would you attend the house meetings? Etc.
 * __We would propose for ALP Middle School for fall 2008:__**
 * Continue as we have **AND**:
 * evaluate parent level of satisfaction and suggestions through parent survey **(How often) What about student satisfaction?**
 * stay on top of IDVA Middle School plans for IDVA
 * form a ALP middle school parent group to help with planning (**This is a wonderful idea)**
 * write a survey for alp middle school parents to see what needs are **(I would like this to be short answer, or at least space for comments after each question)**

List of people that would be good for ALP middle school group///

__**What we need to know about ALP Middle School Options:**__
 * Do we want to give letter grades **(I vote no on progress reports, although we could on projects)** //Hmm - let me think about this one a bit//
 * do we want to change work samples to assignments **(sure) I would like to see MS projects maybe 1-2 a year in place of WS** //Especially if we have a good performing student. If they aren't good at turning things in and need pushed, I think we need more assignments. I say we do this through Lisa assigning something at the end of her differentiation lesson she teaches that grade level that month. Then, Brandi & I will help in grading these for our students. I do think letter grades would be good to change to though. This will better prepare them for high school. Plus - I think kids work harder for an A rather than Proficient or Mastered.//
 * do we want to have a yearly middle school project **Yes, see above**
 * what are the increased work sample requirements going to consist of **Projects (maybe from Renzulli)** //Or, whatever you think would tie in with the webquest, learn & share, differentiation lesson Lisa did that month.//
 * what is the grading of assignments going to consist of **(an agreed upon rubric created with the students)** //I say we look at the one the middle school is completing and see if we can incorporate it. The foot work would be done then as well.//
 * how will we connect our students with house sessions for math, language, and writing if they choose to attend or need it for a specific topic //I think they can attend these on top of their ALP attendance requirement if they choose to. However, students that are not up to par and doing what they need to, will have to attend these sessions. I think we should collaborate with the middle school teachers on sending out a spreadsheet for attendance each month. See if they are willing to record attendance monthly (more teachers to be able to do this and help one another out) and then when they forward that attendance onto the rest of the Middle School teachers, they forward it to us as well. We then record this in our TV notes.//
 * what about alp kids who are middle school but not identified gt- will they have the option to stay in ALP **This one is tricky, I think if they are not acheivers they need to go to MS. If they are going to get an honor card anyway it is best for us to keep them. It just depends on the kids.** //If my class is full of GT I want them to go to the middle school model. If I don't fill up, I want to choose my good middle school, non GT kids to remain with me (hand picked).//

__**Middle School Survey for ALP parents in grades 5-8**__

Questions for monkey survey- lets use this area to collaborate on the questions we want to ask about what the needs of middle school parents/students are. let's be thoughtful in our wording but have some clear goals in mind and some direction of our own- also, be careful of putting out ideas that we cant follow through on.

2. which subject (s) has your learner needed the most support on this year?  //Which Elluminate sessions do you feel would support your student the best? Please rate these on a scale of 1-5 (4 being most useful) Math focused/ Lang focused/ exploration curriculum ie: strategic games, creative thinking, etc. / social clubs/ writing curriculum. // 3. Do you use hotmath? //Do we need this question? // 5. What support would you like to see for middle school alp students? //In what ways can we better support your middle school ALP students prepare for high school? Require higher achieving work samples/ give letter grades / give incentives for students working above grade level in the K12 curriculum/// 7. would your middle school learner and yourself benefit from more assignments and due dates? //I'd delete this question as well.// 8. what do you think of letter grades on student report cards? //I would like to hear their feedback on this though.// 9. what ideas do you have for the alp middle school model? **(Too big I think, maybe we can offer ideas an ask for opinions and then ask for additional opinions at the end.)** 10. What needs do you hope the alp will help you meet in your teaching? //I like this question.// 11. what needs do you hope the alp will help your learner meet in theri learning? //Repetitive// 12. did you find renzulli learning beneficial to your home school? //I think we already got feedback on this earlier in the year when we did our Renzulli survey. People like it, but didn't have the time. Maybe we could ask - If you had Renzulli available again next year, would you take the time to use it each month? If so, would you rather that be led by an IDVA teacher or would you rather let your student jump on the site and explore on their own?// 14. do you feel that your learner is challenged by the curriculum alone? //Are you accelerating the curriculum? Are you compacting the curriculum? If not, why?// 16 **WHat can we offer your family that we are currently not offering to make MS the best experience ever?** 23. do you think that with the current set up your learner will be prepared for success in high school? //How about just ask - How do you think the ALP team could better prepare your student for the rigor of our high school model?//

Here is the ALP- mission statement. The ALP team wants to use the survey results to help determine what needs are out there for our middle school students and teachers as we are planning what the ALP program will look like for the fall. Our goal is the success of our students and their success in high school and the future. Please be thoughtful in your responses.

IDVA meets the needs of advanced learners by advanced placement, acceleration, and self paced learning.

What other areas does your middle school student need the most support in

what role

I am thinking we can combine questions to make the survey shorter. This is comprehensive and I don't want to lose the meat of it but I am also afraid it will scare some people off and they will not take it.

//__ALP Teachers__//

 * How many spaces do we have- need omnibus updated that reflects state student count and need enrollment survey data from kelly e.
 * We propose the following:
 * Keep our class size at 50 or lower
 * Students must be enrolled in IDVA at least one year
 * Kindergarten students are one offs who are GT or siblings
 * Each ALP remains K-8
 * K-3 = Karli
 * 4-5= Brandi
 * 6-8 = Lisa
 * 50 students will be comprised of:
 * 1. identified gt students in teachers region
 * siblings of gt students
 * non- identified gt students with at least one year IDVA experience