The hiring of one principal, reassignment of another at both middle schools and approval of current year pay scales dominated discussion at a special meeting of the Douglas Unified School District Governing Board on Wednesday, October 17.
 Douglas High School Folklorico Club advisor Olivia Garino congratulates Fernando Valencia who received a $500 scholarship while performing with the group at Western New Mexico University. |
The board did not provide specifics as to the reason for the change.
Watkins was not at the meeting, and according to reports, was not at the school Wednesday.
The board also hired new Ray Borane Principal Tom Cox at a rate of $64,050.
The board also approved a 5.5 percent increase for classified staff, four step increases for nurses, one step increase for certified staff and an 11 to 18 percent increase for administrators and directors.
In other action, the board:
€ Terminated, with cause, Joe Carlson aide Sergio R. Mendez, Jr.
€ Approved stipends in the amount of $1,250 each for Career & Technical Ed Student Organization sponsors; stipend in the amount of $3,301 for Albert Young for extra duties/responsibilities as CTE department chair.
€ Approved 301 performance pay plans for Lucy Rosario, Huber Middle School Counselor; and plan for Richard Acosta, DHS counselor.
€ Approved top 10- legislative priorities that the AZ School Boards Association should pursue for 2008 Legislative Session.
€ Approved revisions to "Nurse's Salary Schedule" policy.
€ Approved hiring of Ray Borane Middle School counselor Vasantha Munoz at a total salary of $44,448.
Just the Facts
What Happened at Huber?
Huber is the biggest concern for the district because it failed in the following areas:
AYP = corrective action (NCLB, Federal Law)
Huber has failed to make AYP for four consecutive years in the area of Reading for English Language Learners.
Why Did This Happen?
The school is not reclassifying ELL students as they should.
Data driven decisions haven't been implemented effectively and immediately.
Staffing issues in the areas of mathematics and ELL at the school site.
What is our plan for Huber?
Decrease management authority at the school site.
Replace low performing 7th grade reading teacher effective 10/17/07
Increase curricular support and improve the reading plan.
Rework the school improvement plan and monitor its implementation.
All teachers work additional hours to tutor all students who approached or fell far below the standard in reading on the Spring 2007 AIMS reading exam.
Change school schedule to accommodate more reading and math during the day.
What Happened at Ray Borane MS?
RBMS failed to make the % tested for two years in a row for AYP.
2006-2007: % tested was below 95% across all grade levels - proficiency made in all areas
2005-2006: Percent tested was below 95 percent across all grade levels - not adequate proficiency in the area of ELL reading.
We didn't earn any points for ELL or for AYP
We aren't seeing enough growth in reading and that lack of growth translated into an underperforming designation.
Why Did This Happen?
51 special education students at RBMS were given non-standard accommodations on the Spring 2007 AIMS examination.
Any student who is given non-standard accommodations is counted as NOT TAKING THE TEST for AYP measures.
It was impossible to meet the 95% tested requirement when 51 students were excluded from the count.
The school is not reclassifying ELL students as it should.
Our Plan for Ray Borane M.S.
Work closely with the new principal who will arrive on 10/22/07 pending board approval.
Revise and improve the school improvement plan and closely monitor its implementation.
Increase communication with the special education department.
Make changes to the reading program as needed to increase the number of readers who show growth.
What Happened at Sarah Marley?
The school is not reclassifying ELL students as they should.
In 4th and 5th grades students are not making enough growth in the area of reading. The numbers of students who FFB on AIMS increased. The number of students who M/E decreased.
Please note - third grade appears strong because all ELL students are removed from their figures. If they were left in the figures, those scores would appear lower as well.
Why Did This Happen?
4th and 5th grade teachers at Sarah Marley emphasized mathematics during the 2006-2007 school year.
Teachers struggled with reading techniques using the new Houghton Mifflin Series.
There was a lack of training using the Houghton Mifflin Series & DIBELS
Although we had a reading specialist at the site, she worked specifically with low-performing readers and not the teachers.
The focus for the year was learning to use the HM series and DIBELS, implementation began in earnest this year since teachers have accomplished some mastery of usage.
Data driven decisions hadn't been implemented effectively and immediately.
Our Plan for Sarah Marley
Mrs. Mejia and her reading specialist Mrs. Thuma are having Monday meetings with every teacher regarding their reading class data.
Mrs. Thuma is now intensely working with teachers, especially those in the 4th and 5th grades, to ensure that all lessons are appropriately implemented & based on data.
Ms. Kong has re-trained the ELL testers and is working very closely with all administrators to ensure that higher numbers of students are reclassified.
Provide intense district support to revise ASIP
What Happened at Joe Carlson?
Joe Carlson is the heartbreaker - they missed the performing determination by .1%
There are two issues at Joe Carlson:
In 5th grade there was a 9% increase in students who FFB in reading and only 4.5% increase in students who M/E.
There were not an adequate number of ELL students reclassified.
Why Did This Happen?
Teachers struggled with reading techniques using the new Houghton Mifflin Series.
There was a lack of training using the Houghton Mifflin Series.
The 1st year reading specialist at the school site was focusing on establishing rapport and "buy-in" at the school site and worked on teacher competence with DIBELS.
No fifth grade teacher last year due to a personnel issue so the students were with a long-term sub through the first semester.
Our Plan for Joe Carlson
The reading coach has intensified the reading interventions and individual time spent with each teacher. She attends PLC and planning meetings to guide reading decisions using data.
Focused tutoring using DIBELS data.
Data Driven Decision Making instruction from Ms. Gallagher.
Professional development geared to improving overall reading.
Ms. Kong has provided additional ELL testing support at the school site.
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