Mount Desert School Department
Mount Desert School Committee
Minutes
The Mount Desert School Committee held a regular meeting on Wednesday, 3 August 2008, with the following members present: Chair Heather Jones, Charlie Wray, Brian Reilly and Mia Brown.
Absent excused: Gail Marshall
Also present were Scott McFarland, Rob Liebow, Chris Downing and Sumner Rulon- Miller
CALL TO ORDER
Heather Jones called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
MOVED by Mia Brown, seconded by Charlie Wray and unanimously voted to approve the minutes of
12 August 2008, as written.
PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no public comment.
PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
Principal McFarland presented his report.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
" U98/Principal's Goals for 2008-09: Principal McFarland outlined his Principal's goals and how they support the U98 goals (see attached)
" Review of "School Pulse": Heather Jones reported that after review of the web based program, it appears to be geared more for larger school systems that require a better system of communicating with parents.
" Preparation for the Town Voting on the Reorganization Plan: The Board of Selectmen have requested a presentation from the school board on the reorganization plan - scheduled for Sept 15 at 6:30PM. It was also agreed that there should be a public forum to help inform the Mt. Desert community about the plan - agreed to schedule this meeting for October 7th at 6:30. This will be announced in the newsletter and a flyer will be handed out at the Open House.
" First Reading of Volunteer Guidelines: Superintendent Liebow presented a draft of volunteer guidelines for the board's consideration.
" Freedom of Access Act: Completion of required signatures
" Board Member Extended Absence: Laura Hendricks (former board member) has expressed interest in filling the seat vacated by Mia Brown's extended leave. Mia Brown presented her letter of resignation effective September 17th, 2008.
MOVED by Brian Reilly seconded by Heather Jones and unanimously voted to accept, with regrets, the resignation. Chair Heather Jones publically thanked Mia for her service on the school committee.
ACTION ITEMS
" Selection of High school Board Voting Members: It was agreed that Charlie Wray, Brian Reilly and Heather Jones would be the voting members at the next high school board meeting.
" Review and Approval of Clarifications to Reorganization Plan: MOVED by Brian Reilly seconded by Charlie Wray and unanimously voted to accept the clarifications of the plan.
" AOS Warrant Article for the Special Town Meeting: MOVED by Mia Brown seconded by Charlie Wray and unanimously voted to recommend the passage of the AOS Warrant Article for the Special Town Meeting.
Other Business
" Superintendent Liebow publically congratulated Principal McFarland and his staff for the honor of becoming a Blue Ribbon Award winning school.
" Heather Jones presented the committee with an update of the Board of Selectmen meeting they attended recently. During that meeting there was discussion about 1) the possibility of moving the annual town meeting to July to accommodate the summer residents, 2) the reorganization plan that the selectmen want to hear more about, and 3) the high school funding formula and the possibility that the league of towns could plan a public forum on the funding formula.
DATE, TIME AND PLACE OF NEXT MEETING
October 1, 2008 at 4:00 P.M. at Mount Desert Elementary School
Future Agenda Items
" MEA scores presentation
" Action Item: selection of high school board voting members
" Second reading of the Volunteer Guidelines
" Appointment of a board member on the High School Principal Search Committee
Adjournment
MOVED by Charlie Wray, seconded by Brian Reilly and unanimously voted to adjourned at 6:10 PM
Respectfully submitted,
Scott McFarland
Mount Desert Elementary School
Principal's Goals
For
2008-2009
1. Continue to create a school atmosphere that fosters student physical, social and emotional "wealth".
2. Continue to implement the concept of "Whatever it Takes" to the degree that every student that does not meet the standard in literacy and math is identified and appropriate strategies are planned, implemented and assessed to determine their effectiveness. Specifically, this year I plan to focus my attention on math instruction through a combination of data analysis, classroom observations, and discussions with teachers and grade span teams.
3. Support curriculum implementation and provide teacher classroom support. As a follow-up to Rob's professional plan, I have blocked out Fridays on my calendar that I am committing to working in the classroom with a different teacher/class each week.
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