|
new textbooks, K-5.
The Board congratulated the administrators and teachers on
the excellent report. Those staff members in turn praised
the efforts of Byram Hills students, and the support they
receive from parents.
Test Results
Dr. Taylor also summarized the results of State testing, presenting
the Board with a five-year trend summary, which reveals the
district's students to be performing at high levels. Discussion
also included the district's efforts to support students who
have a harder time with these tests.
Terranova tests, not required by the State, are also used
by the district to help identify student needs and potential
instructional improvements. Here, too, Dr. Taylor reviewed
trends, and the strengths and weaknesses they reveal.
Student Exemplars
Another Byram Hills practice not required by the State is
the use of "student exemplars," actual samples of
students' work taken at various different levels in several
different academic disciplines. Dr. Taylor called particular
attention to a new exemplar in 8th grade math which has interdisciplinary
aspects, and a high school math exemplar which integrates
the use of technology.
All of the State testing data, information on the Terranova
testing, and copies of the student exemplars are available
from Dr. Taylor's office. In closing out the report, she took
particular note of the continuing
|
cooperation between teachers, administrators, students,
and their parents, which contributes so much to the district's
success.
Business Agenda
The Board also approved, in the business portion of its
meeting, several consent agenda items, which appear in a box
on page 4.
Bond Vote: March 30 Updates were provided on the Classroom
and Core Facilities bond proposal which was adopted by the
Board at their February 10 meeting, and the athletic facilities
project scheduled for ground-breaking in the spring of 2004.
On the current bond proposal, discussion highlighted communications
efforts including mailings, meetings, and a video for cable
television, now in the works.
Several textbooks were approved by the Board, and an executive
session concluded the meeting.
March 9 BOE Meeting
Science Research
Science Research students now in their senior year were honored
by the Board of Education at an informal reception before
the opening of the public meeting, and with a formal presentation
of certificates during the public meeting. Students were recognized
for their commitment to the serious demands of science research
over several years in their high school careers, and those
present identified their research topics and proposals. Six
of the students have also been named semifinalists in the
National Intel Science Talent Search; two of the six are among
the nation's 40 finalists!
|
Senior Science Research Participants are:
Matthew Albert
Alex Atallah
Sean Baumann
Jemmie Cheng - Semifinalist
George Cholankeril - Semifinalist
Evan Davies
Toni Long
Alison Peyser
Silas Richelson - Finalist
Marc Sherman - Semifinalist
Julian Stauffer - Semifinalist
Jeffrey Winston
Jayne Wolfson - Finalist
Laura Woodyard
Jonathan Zemel
Science Research teachers- Dr. Robert Pavlica, Mrs. Zenaida
Bongaarts, and Mr. Ken Kaplan- were also honored for their
work with these students, and the extraordinary results achieved.
Students will formally present their research on June 9 at
7:00 p.m. at Byram Hills High School.
Unfinished Business
The Board next proceeded to unfinished business items, including
a recommendation on the seasonal alignment of the Byram Hills
Girls' Soccer program, a grant proposal from the Byram Hills
Education Foundation, an update on the Athletic Facilities
Project, and another installment of the ongoing review of
Board policy.
Girls' Soccer Program
Mr. Chambers and Athletic Director Mike Gulino presented the
Board with a recommendation for gradual transition of girls'
soccer from the spring to the fall season. The recommendation
was the result of extensive school and community interaction,
including an open forum on the topic held
|
