HiCap Parents Council
September Meeting
District Office
9/17/2024 - 10 AM - 12 Noon
In Person Attendance: Ashley W, Carson S, Holly M, Terri K, Hong Z, Jenn C, Amity B, Angie H, Elizabeth W, Jenine, Liz P, Mairead
In Person Late: Faustine
Zoom Meeting Attendance: Lyn, Elizabeth R, Veronica W, Stacey B, Alan, Nikhat, Imen, Ekta
Zoom Late: None
Secretary: Liz P.
Zoom Liaison: Holly M
Next meeting date: Wednesday, October 2, 2024
Discussion - Amity Updates
Seeking test proctors.
Training is upcoming on October 9.
Testing runs through January.
$25/hour.
Elementary and middle school test sessions do not exceed 3 hours, but typical commitment is more about 1 hour per test.
You sign up on a Google Sheet for slots. Office will reach out if there are slots that need to be filled.
Classified listing on NSD employment page: https://www.nsd.org/our-district/departments/human-resources/employment/classified-employment
Platforms
Pearson platform - NNAT3 (Note: there may be changes to using this system due to new licensing agreements)
MHS platform - Jack Naglieri has moved his tests to this platform.
This platform has the math test for the first grade students. (No more IOWA for this grade level.)
Riverside platform - Iowa tests
2nd through 5th grade skill based tests
Differentiation: what does this mean?
Universal design for learning: Giving children different ways to express that learning has happened and they have met standards
Differentiation is designing different levels and type of learning based on student needs.
I-Ready
Used for both diagnostic and can be used for lessons
Amity verbally shared data comparing gen ed, EAP, single qualified students that looks at their growth over the year. Not much difference, but we only have one year of data. (Note: Data may be shared with council at a later point)
Westhill Elementary Update
Westhill had made a statement that they would not do walk-to-math the weekend before school began
People reached out to district; district communicated with school; decision was reversed and now Westhill will be walking to math
Please remember, if the district has communicated something and the school’s rollout is not sitting with you, always say something and reach out!
Aside: Remember, we don’t want to beat the math love out of children. If you notice your child starting to hate math, it may be a good choice to take an off-ramp (ex. When entering sixth grade).
Debrief experience for Hong: Sought experience and info from Council. Thankful for Amity quickly addressing the issue.
Canyon Creek 2nd grade
Email to parents says only 2nd grade curriculum will be taught for everything except math
Will children receive enhanced instruction even at a 2nd grade level?
Curriculum night upcoming; will let us know how it went.
Council Questions/Updates
Action Items
Do we need better descriptions on our website of what the Integrated model is?
Next month Agenda
Jenn Carr: Asking teacher about this: What are the differences between the integrated ELA and the self-contained EAP class? [Will report back about this]
Budget/finance discussion?
Priorities for the year
Changes to title for elementary school reps (HiCap Vs. EAP)
