Monday, June 18, 5 p.m., Orcas School Cafeteria
— from Orcas Island School District —
Orcas Island School District announces the School Board will meet in a special meeting on Monday, June 18, at 5 p.m. in the School Cafeteria. Agenda as follows:
5:00 p.m. CALL TO ORDER– School Cafeteria
1.) PUBLIC COMMENTS:
Members of the community, parents, students, staff, administrators and visitors are invited to make statements with each limited to not more than three minutes.
2.) Discuss Superintendent Webb’s recommendation for the Montessori Program (Attached)
*3.) Approve Consent Agenda (Attached)
*4.) Adopt Resolution 2018-02 Surplussing the Orcas High School Tiny House and Trailer, built by OHS CTE students.
5.) Business Manager Whitaker will present a brief budget update.
ADJOURN
*Denotes possible board action.
IMPORTANT FUTURE DATES:
- THU JUN 28, 2018 @ 5pm Regular School Board Mtg.- School Library.
- THU JUL 12, 2018 @ 5pm Special School Board Mtg/Budget Hearing #1-School Library.
- THU JUL 26, 2018 @ 5 pm Regular School Board Mtg/Budget Hearing #2-School Library.
- THU AUG 23, 2018 @ 5pm Regular School Board Mtg.-School Library.
- FIRST DAY OF 18-19 School Year – WED SEP 5, 2018 – Noon Dismissal.
Thank you OISD for submitting this news of the special session School Board meeting to Orcas Issues. I very much appreciate your extra effort to make information about the Board of Directors meetings easily accessible to the community via this popular local news site. I also appreciate the inclusion of the two Attachment links, enabling me to have more knowledge about the content of the meeting in advance.
I do plan to attend.
I applaud the efforts of Superintendent Webb and Ms. Stankevich to address the concerns from parents. The proposal put forth by Mr. Webb is a good step towards reaching a solution. I am thrilled to hear that the Montessori classroom will accept 1st graders and remain a grade 1-3 classroom for the 2018-19 school year with their support. But the devil is in the details…
I listed below some of my questions (and some answers from my interpretation of the memo and talking with others) that come to mind as I think through the transition to OASIS.
I hope that the Board and administration will think through the issues carefully, involve the parents and staff in the decision-making process, and take the time to explore all options rather than rushing down the OASIS path at the meeting today.
Q1: Will the Montessori program still be part of Orcas Island Elementary School
A: Under the current proposal, Montessori won’t be a part of the Elementary School starting in the 2019-2020 school year, but it will remain part of the District.
Q2: If the Montessori classroom is no longer part of OIES, can the classroom still access resources from OIES or participate in events such as:
• Farm to Class room program
• Monthly assemblies
• Strings
• Have access to OIEF/community funded programs like A-OK, MAG
• The Gym building / PE teacher
• ELL Support resources
• Counseling / special needs support
• The library
• School bus
• Recess/lunch time with other class rooms
• Share in events such as Field Day, Orkila swimming lessons, etc.
Q3: Given the popularity, can the program be expanded to add another grade 1-3 class? Or a 4-5 class as was discussed last year?
Q4: How strongly committed is the new Principal to the Montessori classroom, ensuring it will not just survive but really thrive?
Q5: How will the enrollment/admission process work? Will it be the same process and criteria as today or will parents need to apply with two schools? (OIES and OASIS)
A: For 2019-2020, if it moves under OASIS, Principal Bell would make the decision. Ms. Stankevich, as Principal of Orcas Island Elementary School, will not be involved.
Q6: Which principal decides student placement if the number of applicants is under or over relative to open slots for first grade slots (8)? Will there be a true lottery (e.g., every one entered gets an equal chance of admittance) if demand exceeds slots? Who decides placement for ELL and special needs students? Will there be load balancing between the 2 schools if needed?
A: For 2018-2019, it is still in the elementary school, so Principal Stankevich is involved. For 2019-2020, it would be OASIS Principal Bell. Unknown is how the ELL and special needs are allocated per class. In the elementary school, the principal and teachers make the decision together. I don’t know how OASIS makes these decisions. Is this the first physical classroom to operate under OASIS, which has been an online program?
Q7: What is the target classroom size?
Q8: How will funding change, if at all?
• Are dollars allocated the same way and in the same amount as for OIES? (eg for materials, teacher training, events, $s/student, $s/teacher)
• What if parents wanted to fundraise, say to hire a teacher’s aide for the Montessori classroom (as is the traditional Montessori method of teaching), would that be allowed?
Q9: Will parents need to pay any additional fees or will this be the same cost as if the children were attending the elementary school?
Q10: Per Ms. Stankevich, the Montessori approach covers 95% of the goals she has for her staff and goals. How will this move help bring Montessori elements, training and materials into the other Elementary classrooms?
Q11: How long is the commitment to Montessori? Is the District ready to say that it is creating an institutional commitment to Montessori? What are the standards by which Montessori, or any other program in OASIS or the elementary school, would be discontinued? What is the process for any dissolution of the any program, including the Montessori program?