By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
A grading system touted in some education circles as increasing achievement and helping students hone in more closely on learning could soon make its way to the Washington-Caldwell School District.
Superintendent Jill Saltzmann discussed a proposal to incorporate a standards-based grading system into the K-8 feeder district’s operations plan at a School Board meeting Sept. 18.
Saltzmann said the practice was discussed at length at a recent area administrators’ in-service day at Waterford Union High School.
“This is something we’d like to start investigating,” Saltzmann said.
Although interest has been piqued, Saltzmann said no specific timeline is in place. As a primer in the exploratory process, she suggested forming a committee, comprised of a cross-section of representatives, to dig more deeply into the plans.
Representatives of the committee would likely include one or two School Board members, parents and, potentially, other community members.
Further discussion is anticipated at upcoming School Board meetings.
In other business this week, Washington-Caldwell officials:
- Discussed a new flexible-seating plan being rolled out this school year in some classrooms. The pilot effort is aimed at helping students learn in an environment that best suits their needs.
The format, according to district staffers, is especially beneficial to students who need frequent movement throughout the course of a school day.
- Heard a report from Rachel Opgenorth, district bookkeeper, on Washington School’s playground overhaul.
Heavy lifting at the site is taking place in the next several weeks, and Opgenorth said orange fencing will be placed around the site on an as-needed basis with student safety in mind.
Plans call for the new playground to be in place by the first week of October.
- Confirmed several upcoming meeting dates. The district’s next regular School Board meeting will be held a week later than normal –Oct. 23 – in the hopes all lingering pieces of the 2017-18 operating budget will be in place.
The School Board is slated to act on a draft version of the district budget at the Oct. 23 meeting.
One of the largest unknowns at this time is the state’s budget and how it will impact the district. State aid is one of Washington-Caldwell’s most important revenue sources, behind the property tax levy.
A week later, on Oct. 30, the district will have its annual meeting. In addition to offering up highlights of district happenings from the past year, residents within the district’s boundaries will have an opportunity to vote on the proposed tax levy.
Additionally, the annual meeting serves as a platform for a number of procedural issues that set the stage for the next year. Residents will have an opportunity, for example, to vote on School Board members’ salaries.
- Revised the district’s bullying policy. Saltzmann said no major changes were incorporated into the document, compared to prior years.
Districts across the region have been reviewing bullying policies in recent years as societal norms have changed and evolved. Social media, for example, is a component many districts have been adding into documents.
-
-
-
-
-