MINUTES OF OREM ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL COMMUNITY COUNCIL
February 28, 2007
Present: Brad Davies, Jon Mohlman, Ada
Wilson, Emelie Whitehead
Not present: Youngshin Cobabe, Lynn Eyestone, Teresa Goritti, Heather
Stewart, Bunney Schmidt
Brad Davies proposed that we declare consensus
on the question of changing to the modified extended day schedule.
Jon Mohlman presented the results of the
feedback the school received:
49 Respondents
41 Supported the change to modified extended day
3 Supported either schedule
1 Supported keeping the current schedule
4 Expressed no recommendation, just concerns
Areas of concern expressed included the following:
7 Desire to keep Becky Conover (chorus and music)
6 Concern about loss of teachers/personnel
4 Desire to keep special programs like chorus and SOAR
3 Concern about the transition from specialty to core teacher
3 Concern that students are “slipping through the cracks”
within the current model
2 Concern about lack of specialties
3 Concern about ability to address teacher/student compatibility issues
Reason to support the current extended day schedule including the following:
1 Really like the core/specialty setup
Reasons to support the change to modified extended day included the
following:
29 Smaller groups at the beginning/end of each day; more individual
time and smaller class sizes;
15 More instruction time for core subjects
6 Being with one teacher through the majority of the day
4 Less time wasted in movement from one classroom to another
5 Integration of subjects in the core classrooms
3 Opportunities for team teaching and collaboration
3 Plan is better for students
DISCUSSION OF CONCERNS
Miss Conover
The Council agreed that Becky Conover has been a remarkable asset to
the school having taught music for 12 years at OES. It was reported
that she is not in a position to be able to accept a smaller contract
as the music specialist. She has decided to become a core teacher next
year, with mixed emotions. Shawna Boles, who is anticipating taking
responsibility for the chorus next year, was reported to be excited
about that opportunity, but also concerned that Miss Conover’s
feelings be considered. She would like to have the support of parents.
Support was expressed by the Council.
Loss of Faculty Members/Personnel
To this point, Brad Davies reported, there is no known loss of personnel
or faculty next year.
Chorus and SOAR
Chorus and SOAR will likely become a part of the PTA After School programs.
In this way, Ada Wilson pointed out, the PTA will be able to charge
reasonable fees that will make these programs at least self-sustaining,
and even profitable.
Specialty to Core Transition
Mr. Davies said that Professional Development training will be available
for those teachers who are teaching core for the first time. Mr. Mohlman
also pointed out that, with larger grade-level teaching teams, there
will be great support for first-year teachers.
Teacher/Student Compatibility Issues
Mr. Davies said that, as soon as the math curriculum issue is concluded,
he will finalize the proposed teaching assignments and begin the process
of taking parent requests for certain teachers. Switching teachers is
still an option, once the school year has begun, especially since there
will be more core teachers to choose from. The proposed faculty distribution
looks like this, but is subject to District approval:
Kindergarten 4 classes (2 teachers)
1st grade 4 classes
2nd grade 4 classes
3rd grade 4 classes
4th grade 3 classes
5th grade 3 classes
6th grade 3 classes
3 specialists
Other Supporting Reasons to Change to Modified
Extended Day
It was confirmed that up to 1⁄2 hour per day (1 week per year)
can be lost in moving from one classroom to another. Emilie Whitehead
discussed the positive possibilities of using Rigby, novel-based, or
National Geographic literature in integrating social studies into the
curriculum.
Final Decision on Consensus
Council members agreed to support the declaration of consensus in changing
the schedule model for Orem Elementary from standard extended day to
modified extended day. Absent members had expressed their support also,
prior to the meeting.
