Carson Elementary

Collaborative School Committee

January 17, 2017

Agenda Item / Facilitator / Notes/Follow-Up
5PM / Welcome and Introductions (Norms/Roles/Goals) / Anne Larkin /

CSC member attendees (and invited DPS personnel): Anne Larkin, Erica Vymyslicky, Julie Hemphill, Denna Kennedy, Matt Parsons, Jenny Villier, Denise Cushing, Wendi Drummond, Kip Wiles, Rebecca McKinney, Brian Eschbacher, Lee Cooper, Kim Ulery
Goals: discussion and forum for public input on projections and increase in enrollment and solutions
CSC members elected by the community (parents and staff)
Presentations and answers to questions with time following for input
Summary of comments and discussions
Decisions not to be made today

5:10PM / Presentation of 2017-2018 projections and planning process by district / Brian Eschbacher and Laurie Premer /

Each year, district level projection for students to enroll in K-12
followed by school-level projections with breakdown by grade
factors: total number enrolled and historical trends in attendance, programs that are included in the school
Discussions with each building principal/admin. team – goal to be at a number that can be agreed upon (close, but not exact)
October count – total enrolled on October 1st
sent to CDE, verified by the schools
5 years of data:
how many kinders move to 1st , etc.
patterns emerge over time
births in the neighborhood 5 years ago (based on birth records)
best estimate based off of data
63 kinder students currently
concerns for large class sizes
2 kinders, classes of 35
need for smaller classes
considerations for all types of changes: moves to DHH, ECE, HGT, boundary lines
current solution to move ECE: least disruptive, allows for time to plan for the building’s future
time to look at neighborhood trends
thoughtful planning for the future
Projections for next year:
9 additional students
K – 63
1- 80
2nd – 81
3rd – 79
4th – 87
5th – 68
total: 458

5:20PM / Presentation by HGT / Kipling Wiles and Rebecca McKinney /

flexible ability grouping proposal
grouping students by ability (within a classroom, across grade level, etc)
for HGT and students with specific talents within traditional classrooms
research supports: gifted and higher achieving students perform better when grouped together
First grade example based on 78-80 students
students leave traditional classroom to the gifted classroom for reading/math (area of strength(s), as identified by data)
teacher checklist
scales for identifying giftedness (SIGS)
achievement data (Iowa Test of Basic Skills, PARC)
would create classrooms with balanced sizes across all 1st grade rooms
4th grade example with ~80 students
same outcome as the previous example
Kip would continue to support students in the traditional classrooms
best practice, best interest of all students
students who don’t necessarily test in to the HGT program early on but show academic strengths would benefit from this model

5:30PM / CSC Discussion
- district presentations
- review questions submitted by community / CSC Members /

question about choice for Carson
Annie and Brian will discuss later on as to how many, if any seats will be offered
does not apply to neighborhood students
last year “caps” were set for grade level class sizes (kinder was set at 23)
choice seats offered for 5th grade, but zero for other grade levels at this time
students can be wait listed and pulled into classrooms if seats become available
parent concerns have been brought to Wendy re: changes to ECE programming
need for discussions for long-term solutions
3 kinders this year, grade levels moving forward?
Brian: extra kindergarten next year, 63 students divided by 3 rooms
1st grade – Kip’s proposal could best meet the needs for student needs
if class sizes continue to grow, further discussions
programs, boundaries, etc.
moving ECE least disruptive choice at this time
Matt: looking at choice/enrollment moving forward
Brian: can look at choice paperwork in March
47 families in the boundary applied last year
changes in numbers can influence enrollment
Matt: process to refine model for classroom projections? (communications with area realtors, etc?)
Brian: kinder is biggest variable, difficult to estimate
decision for next year would be made around November/December

5:45PM / Public Input / questions submitted in advance:

Given the kinder class size, will there be enough space/resources for the 1st grades? Would like to see class size capped at 28.
Kip’s flexible grouping model places 1st grades at 26-27
zero choice seats
Current and potential plans for the HGT program?
no major changes underway
focus groups district-wide to see how programming can be strengthened
flexible grouping would best meet all students’ needs
Anticipated class sizes for HGT classrooms next year?
Year to year, class sizes change (students place in later on)
preferred class size 25-26 students
class size has not been an issue in the past
Why is HGT kept separate if flexible grouping is taking place?
research supports placing HGT students with like peers
HGT is a district-wide program, must meet the needs of all students – maintain integrity of the HGT classrooms
integrated model – less likely to follow research-based/best practice
1st grade will still have 30 kids – is flexible grouping a solution?
What about the social/emotional impact of students moving between classrooms? Is there research for that? What about students who never get pulled out (won’t that make them feel bad)?
Kip – can be better to have more interaction between HGT and traditional
there has been some movement for students currently, no serious impacts observed
Rebecca – flexible grouping is a practice that is used frequently in all classrooms, but can change how it “looks”
Lee – experience with flexible grouping – less “feeling bad” – students learn that they move at different times, for different classes, at different times of the year. The more students that moved, the more “normal” it was.
Kerry Santambrogio – students get what they need, it’s communicated to each of them that they’re getting what they need – works
Flexible ability grouping would be applied to 1st grade next year?
yes.
Did Lee’s school with flexible grouping have an HGT program?
focused on differentiation for all students on the continuum of needs
How do we know that numbers moving into HGT stay the same? Isn’t it better to just have flexible grouping and not an HGT classroom?
HGT changes are district-based, and research-based
continuum of services for gifted students, highly gifted students (2-3 grade levels above their traditional peers)
HGT students can move through instruction faster (fewer repetitions, etc)
challenges for students placed in the HGT classroom to learn in a traditional setting
Should the HGT program change/leave?
HGT changes are district, research-based
Are other districts using similar models for projections?
DPS looks at precision in numbers/projections
other districts – nation-wide, have different shifts in student numbers
DPS has various shifts by region
When would flexible ability grouping be decided?
public input, then brought to School Leadership Team (SLT)
Enrollment numbers in ECE that were held back, will more students be pushed into kindergarten?
Would the HGT students move out of the classroom?
no
If flexible ability grouping isn’t approved, what is the next option?
no alternative at this point
How does flexible grouping effect the dynamics of the HGT classroom?
would not be disruptive to the classroom
push the thinking of the HGT students
As HGT class size increases (students getting older, more students testing in), does the flexible ability grouping model fade away?
kids who test in would theoretically “flex” in
older students identified later supported by Kip
Where are we in the flexible ability grouping decision process?
Carson has the ability to do the grouping, intentional in creating a “one” school community
teachers support the model because it’s in the best interest of students
staff wants to/supports cross-collaboration
If numbers for next year come back high, then what?
pause and wait
What would the impact of flexible ability grouping have on the HGT classroom?
Would there be additional paras for the larger class sizes?
budget based on student numbers – paras can be allocated if the funding can be found
How are para decisions made?
based on student need
kinder larger sizes, needs more support due to age -- has paras
hired additional paras to support student needs (eg: literacy)

6PM / Summary/Adjournment / Anne Larkin /

next step: schedule CSC meeting for March to continue discussion
meeting next Tuesday – budget