SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCILMeeting Agenda

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

I. Welcome

II. Adopt November’s Meeting Minutes

III. Principal’s Report

IV. School Improvement Plan Monitoring: a. Science: PLCs and Articulation

V. Bridging the Cultural Gap Between Families & Staff

VI. Professional Study Days: Continuation Waiver

VII. Staff

VIII. Old Business / New Business

For more information please contact the SAF Team:

SAF Chair: Michelle Doletina MDolentina@aol.com 954-931-6501Vice-Chair : Dawn Read Dawn@winterfestparade.com 954 -292-6312

Stay connected 24/7/365Or visit us through the Nova High School website at

www.broward.k12.fl.us/ novahigh /

SAC Meeting Minutes- November 30, 2016

I. Welcome

5:15- Ms. Sherba calls meeting to order and welcomes Dr. Lacasse to present the

Principal’s Report

II. Principal’s Report

5:16- Dr. Lacasse thanks everyone for being at the SAC/SAF meeting and says that the

school is running fine.

5:17- Dr. Lacasse gives school updates:There is no graduation date yet, but it will be at

NSU because it solves certain organizational problems. The details will be approved by

the school board.

5:19- Dr. Lacasse explains that the Bond Flyers will be passed out by Ms. Sexton and

are subject to change. This bond project may take time because the district has multiple

projects that are currently underway.

5:20- Dr. Lacasse shares that the District surveyed high schools and found that Nova

High School is in need of weight equipment. Nova will get $100,000 to use for weights

and the gym. The current weights are as old as the school, and some are stuck into the

ground.

5:22- Dr. Lacasse gives the following personnel changes: Ms. Sanmartino accepted a

job at the Curriculum Department, and she will be downtown on Monday for her new

job. This is a loss for Nova, but it is good for the district. Also, Mr. Calamaro has taken a

job in Port St. Lucie. Mr. Whitehorn will be aiding the new coming teachers in their

transition to Nova. Ms. Duncan will fill the spot left by Ms. Wakenshaw. Mr. Augustine

will now be coaching football and sponsoring a club.

5:25- Dr. Lacasse states that tomorrow will be a PSD, with Interims going out. Also, the

Nova application window opens tomorrow, allowing students to get into Nova Schools.

Next week, Mrs. Bird presents her first play at Nova, The Crucible.

5:26- Dr. Lacasse transitions to the grim topic of Nova Debate, in which he takes

responsibility for the events that occurred last year. Dr. Lacasse gives a summation of

the events, explaining that Ms. Miller was investigated by the school board and took a

medical leave. Two newspaper articles were published, faulting Ms. Miller and Dr.

Lacasse. On Tuesday of next week, there will be a recommendation from the School

Board that Dr. Lacasse takes a five day suspension without pay. It has been the most

painful year and a half for Dr. Lacasse and administration, in which many Nova

personnel are being asked to give a statement in front of the School Board.

5:33- Dr. Lacasse transitions to Saturday Academy, in which explains to a parent that it

is from 9AM-12AM, and Dr. Cox oversees the program. Saturday Academy provides

reading, math, and test prep. It also caters to the EOC, SAT, and ACT. In the first week,

106 students participated. 156 students participated in the 2nd week, and the Saturday

Academy average turnout is 150 students, with a high of 200 students. The

transportation is free, the food is free, data shows that kids who attend do better in

school. Mr. Short handles the SAT practice.

III. Adopting Minutes

5:39- Ms. Sherba asks the group to check on the minutes of the last meeting for

accuracy.

5:41- Ms. Dolettina makes a motion for acceptance, Mr. Laverde seconds the motion.

After a unanimous vote, the motion passes.

IV. Exam Exemption Waiver

5:42- Ms. Sherba explains that administration is in the process of asking School Board

to amend the exam exemption waiver policy. Ms. Sherba gives an explanation of this

amendment, and explains how the midterms and finals factor into grades.

5:46- Ms. Kwak proposes the idea of making the midterms extra credit, to which Mr.

Laverde responds that the students would no longer try, knowing the exams do not

count.

5:50 Carter Goldman challenges the idea of removing exemptions, citing that the

student’s feeling of anxiety toward testing are not being valued. A debate pursues, in

which Mr. Harris and Mr. Laverde share their concurrent ideas, opposed by Carter

Goldman and few parents.

6:00- A motion passes to table this conversation to december

6:01- Mr. Laverde calls a point of order in which he asks Ms. Sherba to let us know if

each motion passes, after the vote.

V. School Improvement Plan Monitoring

a. Reading and English: PLCs and Articulation

6:02- Ms. Saleem, Ms. Paulison and Ms. Johnkins are called upon to speak; they share

a powerpoint with the group.

6:04- Ms. Paulison explains that the English Department has put together a plan to aid

teachers in helping students write an argumentative essay. This plan will consist of

using FSA Rubrics to grade essays. In order to ensure teachers are using the rubric

properly, an FSA Test Reader will give a training for Nova Middle School and Nova High

School Teachers. Also, teachers will use anchor papers, which show actual FSA scores

for essays written in the past.

6:07- Ms. Johnkins notes that Teen Biz, Teen 3000, and Empower are programs for

instruction used by reading teachers. Nova High School leads the district in Teen 3000

scores, which is why the Nova High School is inviting Nova Middle School teachers to

learn about the program.

6:09- Ms. Paulison explains Parent University, where the parents of kids who score low

on the FSA meet with English teachers. However, there has not been a great turnout,

despite efforts to incentivize parents to come. The idea of Parent University was to

close the gap between Students and Parents, teaching parents what is expected of their

child.

6:12- Ms. Paulison transitions to the subject of Reading Placement, where she explains

that different reading levels corresponds to different schedules. In Nova High School, a

student who maintains a level 1 will have a double-block schedule. This means they will

see their reading teacher every day. A student who achieves a level 2 will have a

single-block, seeing a reading teacher at least once every other day. Also, there are

Titan Care programs which pull students out of classes to get helped with reading. Data

shows that kids who attend Titan Care improve their scores. Nova High School is now

second in the district in learning games. For Nova Middle School, all 6th Grade

Students are required to take a reading class.

6:19- Ms. Saleem transitions to the topic of Common Planning Themes on the

powerpoint. She notes that all 9th grade teachers meet every 3rd period to grade

together, and discuss classroom objectives. The English Department as a whole has

similar standards, meeting 2 to 3 times per month. These discussions center around

writing and giving the students background knowledge. The Department has opted to

use Thematic units, which expose students to literature like The Tragedy of Macbeth, as

well as other poetry and novels. For example, Ms. Saleem’s English II Honors class is

reading a novel by John Steinbeck. Before starting to read, Ms. Saleem had students do

presentations to have background knowledge on the Great Depression. All of these

activities are geared toward the goal of having all 10th Grade Students take the FSA

Test only once. This can be achieved by exposing students to everything.

6:25- Ms. Paulison explains that Nova High School uses TASK, which combines SAT

and ACT articles with questions that mimic college rigor. This is to prepare students for

standardized testing, which is difficult. Furthermore, students do SAT practice and are

exposed to FSA questions to gauge students’ understanding. TASK grades show if a

student can read critically, and has mastery of a standard. Teachers also add points

for annotating the text, which balances out a poor grade on the TASK questions.

6:29- Ms. Johnkins states that scores have improved on the Word of the Day Test.

The average last year was 50%, and it is currently 70-80%. Every day teachers get a

new word and are tasked to make sure students learn it. Also, cornell notes can be

adapted to English. Some other tools are using MEAL, RACE and PEEL paragraphs,

which help students with writing. If these tools are exposed early on, they will ensure

results. The FSA scores of last year will be out by December 1

VI. Accreditation Self-Assessment Monitoring

6:30- Ms. Sherba explains that Nova has been accredited, and certain things need to

be done to ensure accreditation in the future. Nova High School must self-assess,

using purpose, direction, governance, leadership, teaching, assessment, resources,

support systems, and results for continuous improvement. This will be presented at

every meeting, and there are no questions.

6:33- Mr. Laverde moves to end the SAC meeting, and the motion passes.

6:34- The SAC meeting adjourns