Minutes from 12/2/25 Meeting

HiCap Parents Council Meeting Notes

December 2, 2025

District office + Zoom

Attendees:

• Zoom: Nikhat, Edna Fuentes, Indhu Sivaramakrishnan, Kathy Goodwin, Liana Stein, Sean Qu

• In Person: Allen Tsao, Jen Carr, Amity Butler, Angie Hancock, Ashley Watts

Action Items:

• Action Item: Ashley to set an email reminder on the 2nd about upcoming talk with Emily Kircher and Dr. Irish’s talk

• Action Item: Ashley to let GEAC know that they can invite members of their community

• Action Item: All reps to fill out the doodle poll for the Dr. Irish talk https://doodle.com/group-poll/participate/er7O76La

Notes

• Family Engagement Taskforce - Austina suggested to have a rep apply for it. 5:30-7:30pm. Apply if interested

• Discussion Topic: NACG family tip sheet - Talking With Your Child About GIftedness

• Will share it in the newsletter 

Amity Updates

• Parent Talk with Emily Kircher 

• Link to Survey Responses

NSD Interest Form for Neurodiversity Talk (Responses)

• Will try to have a Zoom or at least a video recording of the parent session

• If anyone wants to do the survey still, here’s the link.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfeDbmQl6jLAjIeboXMipitGNRh4vFZzrYpR8qjz61DLbiqfA/viewform?usp=header

• Lake Washington GEAC has asked if we are willing to open the event up to their community.

• Action Item: Ashley to let GEAC know that they can invite members of their community

• Math trajectory conversation - implications for high school students and a list of FAQs for parents to share along with website locations for further information to share with those who need more information as parents receive their new designations

• NSD website has info for transition

https://www.nsd.org/schools/academics/subject-areas/mathematics/6th-grade-math-placement

 

• General Math Discussion

• Lots of moving pieces and discussions on math pathways in terms of the new Algebra 1 curriculum and elementary math too

• Date of Levy Bond Presentation

• Amity can do one here if the HiCap Council comes

Council Business

• Budget

• $80 deposit

• $2248.75 is the balance

• Dr. Irish has reached out for some dates and evenings for a chat with HiCap

• Doing one with Special Ed

• After January seems like the 

• Ashley sent out a doodle poll to pick the best dates

https://doodle.com/group-poll/participate/er7O76La

• Action Item: Ashley to set an email reminder on the 2nd about upcoming talk with Emily Kircher and Dr. Irish’s talk

• Include in the December newsletter with links to Emily Kircher’s resources and about her

• Levy & Bond Presentation

• The vote is in February

• An overview with Amity would have to be on January 20th to be useful for the January newsletter

• Ask for a short version from Amity

• Survey Results

• ELA shows stronger dissatisfaction with the Integrated Model

• What advocacy goals should we aim for?

• Push for grading at higher ELA standards (CBA?)

• iReady Data to see if the EAP vs Integrated classes

• What to do about schools that don’t have enough HiCap qualified kids

December Newsletter Contents

• NACG family tip sheet

• Links to Emily Kircher’s resources (book, podcast)

Minutes from 11/4/25 Meeting

 

Attendees:

• In Person: Ashley, Jen, Allen, Angie, Terri, Edna

• Online: Elizabeth, Liana, Kathy, Laura, Hong, Nikat

Action Items:

• Put together a list of things parents can ask at elementary teacher conferences for newsletter

• Action Item: Amity will visit with Sara (Maywood Teacher) and Sonia on concerns with the rift between gen Ed and HiCap kids

• Action Item: Amity will ask teachers to send out info (if they have it) for when screening is happening ahead of time.

• Action Item: Allen to look into accessing the family iReady report and see how it works

Discussion Topic: Preparing for parent teacher conferences

• Davidson Institute - Parenting Tips on Educational Advocacy

• NAGC TIP sheet - Classroom Advocacy

What info can we give to parents in NSD to help them prepare for parent teacher conferences?

• No conferences with math teachers, but always reach out if you have concerns and set up times outside of conference times

• Ask about writing skills. 

• What can “we” do to help them with writing. 

• What have you found works in the classroom.

General Discussion

Concern - Maywood Hills math. With only 10 hicap math kids split between 2 of the 3 2nd grade classes, hicap kids are getting math from a certified teacher only half time and are being taught by someone else the other 3 days (recess teacher/cert staff)

• During math time, the 10 math kids get together in a single class.

• This teacher has to split her time between the hicap and gen ed parents

• Gen ed parents are complaining because their students don't get a full teacher the whole time. So concerns they're blaming the hicap kids

• Background Information

• Maywood lost a 0.5 instructor during the start of the school year. A recess teacher was used instead. Teacher teaches content, recess teacher supervises kids during practice while teacher teaches the other group.

• Principal blaming HiCap program for the issues too (i.e. quoted as saying if there were concerns, then to ask the district to not offer HiCap services at Maywood)

• Why are there so few math HiCap students in Maywood?

• Less HiCap students at Maywood compared to previous years due to the new math test (previous IOWA test was easy to memorize answers and prep)

• Action Item: Amity will visit with Sara (Maywood Teacher) and Sonia on concerns with the rift between gen Ed and HiCap kids

Parent feedback - can 1st and 5th grader teachers be asked to give parents a heads up on their class’s screener date?

• Can always ask teachers to do that.

• Action Item: Amity will ask teachers to send info

Parent feedback - this is the first year that 4th grade (with more compacted math curriculum) is doing walk-to math. We are hearing that students are struggling, maybe more than before, esp with the loss of a few minutes of math time as they transition.

• Not the first year for all schools. A couple of elementary schools started 4th grade walk to math last year.

• Struggling depends on a lot of factors including allotted math time, transition times, etc.

Question - what happens to kids who qualify in math in 5, 6, or 7th grade? Are they placed in a more accelerated class due to qualification? Or not since that would mean missing curriculum?

• It's always parent/student decision

• Qualifying in 5th grade going into 6th = have the option skip PreAlgebra 1, but not skip PreAlgebra 2

• Can also offer a summer school if they want to

• Qualifying in 6th or 7th grade = get the designation but cannot skip PreAlgebra 2

• Qualifying in 5th grade is the last year to accelerate math

Question - lots of chatter in person and on social media about different math methods (building thinking classrooms, edgenuity, “new” curriculum, learning online). Review different math methods?

• Savaas (new Algebra 1 curriculum). District hoping to purchase Geometry + Algebra 2/Trig this year

• It is a far more challenging curriculum compared to the previous curriculum

• Previous curriculum is very old

• Needs to be shifts for students prior to Algebra 1. Will affect any new K-5 curriculum builds towards the new baseline.

• Edgenuity: Not a good option for all students

• Building Thinking Classrooms: depends on how it's implemented. Can work for some but not everyone.

Question - BSD is switching to full time walk-to Edgenuity for 5th grade. Are we concerned that NSD may go this route esp with budget concerns?

• No. This will not happen.

Council Business

Budget Updates

• $2248.75 is our balance

• Have a surplus now so consider putting on more talks

• 
  

Committee plans - Nov newsletter

• Tips for parents on preparing for conferences

• Including instructions for accessing IReady reports if parents want to beforehand

• Action Item: Allen to look into accessing the families iReady report and see if it works

• ELA guidance? (note to NSD- many parents wish they could have a conference with their kid’s math teacher too). 

• This is logistically difficult and a bargaining decision due to the extra time teachers would have to allocate for conferences.

Committee plans - brainstorm events for the school year

• Check in on prep for Jan parent ed evening with Emily Kircher Morris

• Talk by council members like we did at McMenamin’s last year?

• Parent ed talk by Austina?

• The reluctant writer talk by Austina (Elizabeth sent over email). Recording available for $25

• Presentation about the transition to middle school and Q&A

• Every school is different

• Maybe facilitate a Q&A for 5th graders and 8th graders transitioning to middle schools specific for HiCap kids

• Possibly after the middle school / high school open houses

• Social event for kids/teens?

Committee plans - discuss possible points of advocacy

• **What Matters Most evening with Dr. Irish? Ashley has reached out to try to schedule an evening event. Waiting to hear back.

• More days and locations to take SATs?

Our next meeting is December 2 from 10:00-12:00.

Minutes from 10/14/25 Meeting

 

Attendees:

• Live: Ashley, Angie, Jen, Mairead, Amity, Terri, Allen 

• Online: Laura, Elizabeth W, Liana, Gomathi, Hong, Elisa, Elizabeth R

Action Items: 

• All council members to respond if they would like to help out in other ways for the council

• Ashley to send out the slides from Spring 2025 survey for everyone to review and discuss at next meeting

• Amity to coordinate with Skyview team to come to a HiCap Parents Council Meeting to talk about science/social studies integration 

• Allen to Put together an interest form for the parent night with Emily Kircher Morris to go out in the next newsletter

Discussion Topic: 

• Neurodiversity Podcast Ep 129: Our Bright and Complex, Twice Exceptional Kids

• Emily Kircher Morris Coming Jan 5th for a parent meeting

• Can move from the board room if there’s more people would attend

• Appreciates having questions ahead of time

• Definitely want HiCap parents there

• Action Item: Council to put together an interest form for the parent night

• Interest Form - Google Form

• Need someone else 

• Jan 6th PD with Emily Kircher Morris

• Schools will be the first year of integration grades/elementary 

Amity’s Updates

• Middle School Task Force Update

• Finished 10/7/25

• Recommending having social studies and science become integrated

• Why integration?

• Scheduling is more difficult to have separate AAP 

• Helps balance those with needs to cluster and have their needs met

• Math acceleration has been an issue (whether it’s too accelerated or not). But no changes to the math track are planned or recommended.

• ELA

• Recommendation is to keep it AAP

• Writing is the biggest concern from teachers

• Need to pilot a new ELA curriculum in the next couple of years

• Data science is a new math option

• Family communication

• Any ideas from the council to better communicate with families

• Update regarding grade level meetings

• Talked about how to engage kids with math (explaining thought and not just an answer)

• Strategies for writing and small group instruction

• Possibility of having Skyview teachers talk with Council?

• To discuss integrated social studies and science classes service model

• Council agreed it would be good to have them come.

• Action Item: Amity to coordinate and schedule a time for them to come.

General Questions

• Question on Class Size

• Arrowhead = Integrated classes very large (45 students)

• Some schools can be flipped where the HiCap math classes are much smaller.

• Depends on the school decision and staffing

• Staffing will continue to be an issue for class sizes

• Can teacher recommendations be used for HiCap?

• Not all teachers understand HiCap

• Not all teachers like the HiCap program

• Would not give accurate or good recommendations

• Also impractical to read through thousands of recommendations

• Appeal process can be used for exceptions

• What happens if students max out iReady

• iReady does not allow students to move to the next tier (i.e. 5th grade students who max iReady cannot have access to the 6th grade/middle school)

• iReady Pro was launched this year for middle school (more flexibility and autonomy)

Council Business

• HiCap Parents Council board positions

• Skander has been unresponsive to email

• Motion to remove Skander as VP passed

• Motion to put Mairead as the new VP passed

• Motion to appoint Nikhat as Ruby Bridges rep passed

• Deep dive into spring survey

• 1400 responses

• Parents indicted poorer understanding and satisfaction with ELA services in the integrated model.

• Action Item: Ashley to send out the slides

• Budget update - Jen

• $2168.75 is our current balance

Next Meeting: November 4 from 10-12