Updates from Marcia Asdal, a Chester Representative to the

West Morris Regional Board of Education marcia.asdal@gmail.com

Note: This document is not an official record of any meeting; it is an informal dissemination of information by a private citizen.

This information is a matter of public record and any views herein are mine alone and not necessarily those of any other Board member*

or the Board as a whole.

December 2012/January 2013 Meetings

Selected Agenda Items

Approved up to 10 hours for Lei Cooley, District teacher of Chinese, to write curriculum and articulate with K-8 sending districts.

Accepted the financial audit for the year ending 6/30/12. Accepted a $50k grant from Tinkercad, to use a 3D CAD tool. Authorized establishment of Superintendent’s Council, consisting of 10 teachers for up to 6

hours each during the remainder of the ‘12-’13 school year at the curriculum rate of $40.09/hour. Council established for the purpose of facilitating communication between faculty and administration.

→ Public demand grows for teacher evaluations. → Did the Gates Foundation figure out the best teacher evaluation model? (Hint: he got Microsoft right.) → NJ union strength analyzed.

Adopted policy Student Use of Privately Owned Technology. Accepted the Strategic Development Process for 2012-2013. Elected Jim Johnston, Chester Twp. Rep, President; Joe Galayda, Washington Twp., Vice-President.

Motion carried 5-4. Marcia Asdal, Chester Twp., James Button, Mendham Twp., Joe Galayda, Washington Twp., and Don Storms, Chester Borough, voted “no”.

Approved the 2013-2014 Program of Studies.

These courses will be available to IB Diploma and non-IB Diploma

students. Each course is delivered over a two-year period. No distinction will be made on the IB diploma as to whether the course

was taken face to face or online. More information can be found at pamojaeducation.com.

The tuition fee for 2013-2014 is $1,050/year per enrollment.

Online Financial Literacy. Will fulfill the same graduation requirements as an in-school class. Nominal tuition charge. Google Apps. Students will become proficient in the Google apps suite and will be prepared for the Google Apps for Education Certification. Sports, Exercise and Health Science (IB SL). Incorporates anatomy and physiology, biomechanics, psychology and nutrition, studied in the context of sport, exercise and health.

New for 2013-2014.

Online IB courses Mandarin ab initio Spanish ab initio Economics HL Information Technology SL Information Technology HL Philosophy SL Film SL

Approved implementation of the Stronge Supervision and Evaluation system effective 2013-2014.

Marcia Asdal, Chester Twp., James Button, Mendham Twp., voted “no”.

In This Issue → Enrollment vs. budget growth: A reality check. → STEM offerings at other NJ high schools: West Morris Regional needs to do better.

Budget Increases Compared to Enrollment Growth

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Total Budget

Enrollment, MHS & CHS

2013-2014 Budget Directives, used in preparing the 2013-2014 budget. Changes from 2012-2013 marked in blue.

Proposed goals in red were not accepted by the Finance Committee.

This graph was developed from information presented at public budget committee meetings.

Program Prioritize all academic pro-

grams. (‘12-’13 goal: Maintain all

beneficial academic programs.) Evaluate all extra-curricular

programs Support staff development Implement next Technology

Plan Responsible class size Recognize & support a shift

from liberal arts electives to more STEM (science, technol-ogy, engineering, math) clas-ses

Financial Observe 2% cap in regional tax

levy Avoid waivers Further explore sources of reve-

nue Explore additional shared

services

Equalize funding per student at each high school

Restore courtesy busing

Enhance funding for higher-level STEM classes in recognition of the demand for these skills in the workplace by decreasing funding for physical education of interscholastic athletes.

Operations & Maintenance Review activities; identify

cost reductions/improved efficiencies

Explore/implement energy conservation opportunities

Capital Review/prioritize capital

improvement projects Use capital reserve funds

for approved projects

Offers research courses through Princeton University in Math, Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Computer Science

Artificial Intelligence & Robotics Honors Multivariable Calculus & Advanced Topics Genetics Meteorology Oceanography

STEM classes offered at selected NJ high schools that are not offered at Mendham or Central.

Information gathered by examining most recent Program of Studies.

Digital Multimedia Designs Intro to HTML and Web Page Design Advanced Web Page Design Computer Programming I & II in Visual

Basic Astronomy Oceanography Meteorology Aviation Science Aquatic Biology Organic Chemistry Honors Genetics Honors Biochemistry Honors Computer Science I & II Java

In partnership with Syracuse University: Honors Forensic Science

In partnership with University of Medicine & Dentistry NJ: Honors Anatomy & Physiology I & II, Sports Medicine

Honors Computer Program-ming with Java

Offers a magnet program for Math & Science at Morris Hills HS, a 4-year honors program where stu-dents conduct original research; students apply after graduation from 8th grade

Calculus 3 Computer Programming Math us-

ing Visual Basic Research based Analysis I Honors Astronomy Organic Chemistry Geology Biomedical Research Honors

Algorithms Using Visual Basic Pro-gramming

Object Oriented Programming: Java Accelerated

Cooperative Program with Princeton University in math, biology, physics, chemistry, computer science where highest level courses at high school have been exhausted

Cisco Networking Academy I and II Web Page Design

Bioethics Honors Oceanography & Atmospheric Sci-

ence Honors

Science & Engineering Specialized Learning Center at Manalapan High—4 year accelerated program in math, science, computer science and electronics, with opportunities for interaction with industry leaders and actual research in professional laboratories. 12th grade full year research project required in robotics, engineering design, laser tech, chaos theory, or artifi-cial intelligence. Medical Sciences Specialized Learning Center at Free-hold High—4 year accelerated program in laboratory biology, math, research, biochemistry, cell physiology, calculus, and human genetics. Includes articulation with medical and research facilities to prepare for a junior year research project. Students apply for these specialized centers after graduation from 8th grade with a grade of B or better in Algebra I.

Kids in Seats, 9-12

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HSCentral HS

K-8 Kids in Seats, entering Mendham HS

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Chester Boro

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Mendham Boro

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K-8 Kids in Seats, entering Central HS

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Washington Tw p.

Enrollment data as of October 2012, as presented at public budget committee meetings.

By Amber Winkler, Ph.D., Janie Scull, Dara Zeehandelaar, Ph.D. Oct 29, 2012

This study is a comprehensive analysis of American teacher unions’ strength ever conducted, ranking all 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to the power and influence of their state-level unions in these broad categories:

1. Resources and membership 2. Involvement in politics 3. Scope of bargaining 4. State policies 5. Perceived influence The study’s findings include: Teacher strikes are legal in 14 states and illegal in 37. In the 2010 election, teacher unions were one of the top 10 overall donors to candidates for governor and other

executive positions, legislature and high court in 22 of 48 states. In 21 states they were among the top 5 highest giving interest groups.

The percentage of a state’s teachers who are union members varies. The nationwide average was 74% ; in two states it was lower than 35%; in 16 states 90%+ are members.

32 states require local school boards to bargain collectively with their teachers; 14 states permit this and 5 states prohibit collective bargaining.

Read the complete report here.

Results from the 6th annual survey by Education Next-Program on Education Policy and Governance were recently released. The highlights of the survey which questions a nationally representative sample of U.S. citizens include: Strong support among the general public for using test-score information to hold teachers accountable

Lower confidence in teachers than has previously been reported • The public’s (and teachers’) growing uneasiness with teachers unions The shaky foundations of public support for increased spending Majority support for a broad range of school choice initiatives

Read the full article here.

By William Howell, Martin West and Paul Peterson.

The project examined the performance of students of the 3,000 teachers from Charlotte-Mecklenberg, Dallas, Denver, Hillsborough County, Fla., Memphis, Pittsburgh and New York City public schools who volunteered to be part of the project. Students were randomly assigned to teachers to see if teachers previ-

ously identified as more effective actually caused those students to learn more.

They studied math and English in grades 4-8, Algebra I and Biology at the high school level, and English in grade nine.

Read the full report here.

Some key findings:

More effective teachers not only caused students to perform better on state tests, but they also caused students to score higher on other, more cognitively challenging assessments in math and English.

A composite with weights between 33% and 50% assigned to state test scores demonstrated the best mix of low volatility from year to year and ability to predict student gains on multiple assessments.

Adding a second observer increases reliability significantly more than having the same observer score an additional lessons.

Estimates of teachers’ effectiveness are more stable when they combine classroom observations, student surveys and measures of student achievement gains than when they’re based solely on the latter.

View the results of a teacher-effectiveness survey given to students by an actual high school teacher participating in the

MET Project research in Memphis.

Overall conclusion? Effective teaching can be measured.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s MET Project sought to answer the question:

Are seemingly more effective teachers really better than other teachers at improving student learning, or do they simply have better

students?