Minutes from 5/14/2019 Meeting

5/15/2019 HiCap Meeting

Jen Spanton, Bonnie, Laurie, Angie, Lisa, Austina, Sylvia, Kristi, Lauren, Allison, Xiaoying, Brenae, Norma

Notifications of eligibility

• Letters sent to families
• 4300 to step 2, letters to all
• Sent at least by the 26^th, Friday in backpack mail
• All got robocall about letter
• 2 more robocalls about services for families that qualified
• If they didn’t get a letter email Surya hicap@nsd
• Only 120 families who didn’t respond to accept services
• Non responders: principals can pull who is qualified through the system, can also receive info on non-responders,
• Plan 2: sent to family liaisons to make personal phone calls to these families, cannot guarantee EAP or AAP for non-responders but will give services in-school.
• Last week all EAP and AAP classrooms were settled
• Still some space in various places for new summer move-ins
• Added a lot of classrooms
• Moorlands add 4
• BC 10
• Lockwood 4-5 classrooms
• Sunrise roll up 4^th to 5^th , maybe new BC kids move to sunrise
• Fernwood 2-3 classrooms of home school kids
• Some Fernwood families chose in-class because they didn’t want to go to BC and now want Fernwood EAP, may be able to accommodate, but maybe not
• Class size Is usually no larger than 25-26, maybe 27+ in higher grades

Feeder patterns

• Jen has Sheet with feeder patterns – can we get this? – says will be on website
• Only Woodmoor 4^th and 5^th grade students will stay (full), all other grades at Woodmoor will go to Moorlands
• If they missed the permission window it’s hard to get them into classrooms, especially the ones they want

Siblings

• File waivers to try to get siblings together. They will try to get them in same EAP schools
• No priority for siblings, capacity issue
• Waivers reviewed in August
• Possibility of one family being at multiple different schools for EAP, can we put them together?
• New kids get the priority for placement
• Siblings on bus, decisions are being made later…more like August-October
• Waiver for sibling first, then transportation will decide

Appeals process

• 10 days to submit appeals, business/calendar days issue, will reconvene MST for last few appeals.
• Met on 8^th, heard 120 appeals, read them all, looked at all data and portfolio
• MST made final decision, all families will receive letter early next week, US mail
• Some were approved
• Will try to get them the same services as all accepted on time
• General population Threshold is 98%, below that would have accepted 30% of those tested (didn’t we want 30% to qualify? Or however many we actually have?)
• The higher criteria cutoff creates the test-prep craze. Is this what we want?
• This changes the makeup of the program to a higher academic program rather than a higher IQ program
• Different thresholds for different sub-groups were set by the MST (ELL, FRL, IEP, 504)
• We don’t know who is on the MST…don’t know the qualifications of team members, don’t know their personal philosophy
• MST is made up of Building psychologist, Spec Ed, principals, admins. Group of 15 people
• Do we have the demographic breakdown of who got in? Lucy is working on that info
• Is this a change in philosophy?
• Were students notified that SBA could be used to keep them out of HiCap?
• May adjust tools we use and process next year, maybe cognitive shouldn’t be used as first step

Every year the program assessment may change based on analysis of previous year. Data will continue to be analyzed and testing tools will be re-evaluated. SBA is one of the tools that may be used to qualify or disqualify students. Portfolio process uses multiple data points.

Are there tools to bring newly qualified kids up to level over summer?

• They already qualified so they are advanced already
• When they jump into EAP later on, teachers determine where they are, compact, reduce repetition, and eventually get to EAP grade standards.
• Can they get password for online text book for what they will miss?
• Going from 5^th grade gen ed to 6^th grade AAP may skip grade levels of math and should look into IXL math and Kahn Academy

Minecraft for education, Starr, I-Ready

• 12 teachers piloting this in east region
• Some using with gen ed some with hicap qualified
• Can use it for any levels of math, specific for each student
• Starr and I-Ready are also being piloted across the district
• Assessment and instructional tools
• Not available to kids jumping over summer

Open House

• Info session on Monday 13^th at Bothell HS
• Only for newly qualified students
• Robocall to just those families, kept it under the radar
• Did not invite the HiCap Council
• EAP principals joined in facilitation
• There will be welcome back events in August and other open houses
• Historically arranged park dates, play dates in summer for new families. Council doesn’t have any way to invite them or to have them vote in the elections. How do we get these new families to sign up now?
• Can HiCap dept send out an email to new families telling them how to sign up for our mailing list? Jen says maybe not because that would be an endorsement of us, which she can’t do.
• No Parent panel, no open houses, no info night for all…so that leaves us with just the summer park dates and transition events.
• Can Jen and principals invite newly qualified EAP students to come to EAP school after school one day to tour and meet the Council rep?

High School

• Guides: Nicky and Jen working through those solidify as models then will make 2 more for other schools
• Counselors: Nicky and Jen will talk to them about Hicap enrollment, what students should register for
• Classes: All 4 have hicap courses offered, maybe separate class or separate section for ELA & Social studies 9^th grade. IF the school already had a separation for hicap/gen ed then no change

Next time

• Families leaving based on one particular EAP teacher. Can we do training, or selection
• Next meeting June ?? Austina will put together a Doodle

Council only

• Elections
  • open nominations on May 20th
  • close nominations on June 12th
  • prepare voting on June 13th
  • open voting on June 14th
  • close voting June 20th
  • announce June 21st
  • put facebook blurb telling people to sign up on website to get the nomination and ballot link
  • Austina will email regionals, etc. for continuing their term
  • Bonnie moves to hold elections as listed, Lauren seconded, unanimous vote
• Math survey
  • Lauren sent it to the group, will send again
• Facebook
  • Need qualifying questions to see who can be in group
  • What questions do we need? Do we keep people out?
• How will high school students know there are hiCap sections or classes for ELA/SS in Inglemoor and North Creek?
  • Can principals call every student? Or notify them in some way?
  • Brenae will draft email asking how communication is going to happen
• Board meeting after Memorial Day Dr. Reid will announce what EAP will do in 2020
• Should Woodmoor EAP parents put together a petition or something saying they want to go to Moorlands? Send results to Dr. Reid

Minutes from 4/16/2019 Meeting

4/16/2019 Hicap meeting

• Pre-AP
  • College board now requiring those who use pre-AP name to use their definition and curriculum
  • Current pre-AP classes are not the same as college board
  • College board version seems to be gen-ed and should be freely available for all students without barriers
  • Will we go with new Pre-AP rules or just call our current pre-ap classes something else and stay the same?
  • Inglemoor will offer 2 hicap sections each of pre-IB world history and pre-IB English
  • What about Woodinville and Bothell? Is Pre-AP more rigorous than pre-IB since hicap kids in pre-AP and in special sections for pre-IB?
• Middle school families (all except Leota)
  • Received a letter asking them to reregister for 7^th and 8^th grade again
  • Split out the challenge and gen ed classes
  • Descriptions for Challenge and gen ed are identical except one extra project for challenge history listed
  • Curriculum, content, grading (strange grading for aap kids, not attainable)
  • What’s the difference between gen ed, challenge, aap?
  • Transitions between elem, ms, hs
  • Math, Algebra readiness: understanding content of 6^th AAP and 7^th challenge (repeating 7^th grade math for half year), if they don’t test into algebra what do they do? Are gen ed 5^th graders getting scaffolding and backfilling to fill holes?
  • Understanding of learning disabilities in MS
  • Will block schedule change next year?
• High school
  • Principals saying no hicap in high school - that's illegal
  • Inequitable to have various schools offering different hicap paths and options
  • Clear plan for math triple jumpers – lack of a plan affects middle school registrations
  • Curriculum and course descriptions – how do kids know what to take
  • No way off the math train if you find you don’t want to take higher level calc. no options for sr level math other than calc except AP stats
  • Will we have blocks next year? Will the intervention time continue?

Joined by Admins, principals

• What are the possibilities for hicap kids in 9^th and 10^th grade for next year?
  • Jen will send a memo with what those possibilities may be
• Some Admins, counselors, etc. saying no hicap in the high school
  • Jen will communicate to buildings that hicap services continue into HS
  • Use different language explaining what the hicap trajectory in high school and options might be
  • Website says clustering happening, but not happening in any HS that we know of
  • Need to balance clustering with elective preference
  • Council has created a guide for high school for WHS and BHS for hicap learners. Can district use these, add for inglemoor and North Creek, and distribute to families?
• How many APs are too many?
  • Some counselors are telling hicap kids they shouldn’t take too many Aps
  • Common app will ask how many APS are available and how many did you take
  • Should have a listing of what is in the class so kids and parents can decide what is best for the kid. Syllabus should have info like – will read these books and will write this number of papers
• Kids who stretch have no way out
  • Have to take an F to laterally move to another class (not possible to move from pre-AP to gen ed version of same class without taking an F in the pre-AP class)
  • No scaffolding or help for these kids who struggle after stretching into a more challenging class
  • Is there a way to have mentor in older kids to give info to younger kids?
  • Counselors offering no help – doesn’t have a list of math tutors for example
  • If kids are automatically opted in to more challenging classes, will they be allowed to opt out after being in the class for more than 10 days?
  • Exactly what supports will be offered to kids who are “forced” to stretch?
• Differences from High School to school
  • Different class offerings
  • Different way to teach even the same class from school to school
• Math
  • Parents of girls saying they won’t put them in Algebra even if they pass the test with flying colors
  • 5^th grader in gen ed 5^th class will be missing 6, 7 and 8^th grade math to go into algebra
  • How will holes be filled?
  • Who will they be in classroom with?
  • May just choose 7/8 challenge and have half year repeat for EAP kids
  • Kids not as worried about middle school but worried about high school math trajectory. May not want 3 years of Calc. no way off the calc math train since no other math options to take except AP Stats
  • Dr Reid says district Will offer higher level calc when there are enough kids to fill the rooms
    • What is “enough” kids?
    • When will these be offered based on current numbers?
  • Kids being told they will top out in math, so maybe don’t take the higher math early
  • Need to reassure families there will be classes for the kids to take when they get there
  • When will district offer these higher-level classes? And what do we do with the kids before it’s offered district wide?
  • Is Apex available for kids now? (Dr reid says Apex is the option for current students)
  • Looking at Microsoft: using zoom differently – elementary teachers may use this for higher level math
• Confusion about pre-AP classes
  • New college board program: no decision yet whether district will use it
  • Don’t know how curriculum will compare to current curriculum
  • North creek will have all 9^th graders in pre-AP English – says will offer supports
    • Potentially have a hicap English and social studies version to go along with pre-AP. NO gen ed
    • Option to opt out – no one opted out!! (Were all families notified in native language that opting kids into pre-AP is a change from last year? Did families really have access to info on how to opt out or really know they could? Seems very odd that NO ONE opted out.)
    • Expects kids will rise to what is expected of them
    • SEL supports, (what is this?)
    • Racial disparity in who are previously enrolled
    • How do you identify struggling kids? What supports are they offered?
  • Does this mean the pre-AP classes at north creek isn’t as rigorous as the pre-AP at woodinville? If the hicap sections are needed that is implied.
  • Jen says Maybe anyone can register for hicap English 9…not just hicap kids.
  • Does the opt in versus opt out really help minorities? Did they send info and/or robocall to families explaining this is a change from last year and the process to opt out? Did they do this in the parent’s native language?
  • No safety net. No way to opt out later if you’re put into this class. Getting F tells the kid they aren’t good enough and they don’t want to take Aps in the future.
  • Need to know what these supports are, specifically

• Middle School math
  • Only using ITBS math for algebra readiness not the Orleans Hanna
  • Girls thinking of not taking Algebra spot
  • What’s the ultimate path for these kids
  • How will they fill the holes?
  • Are students marked differently in the system if they were EAP or not? – jen says yes
  • Need to communicate to families making algebra decisions now that there will be advanced math options for them when they get past Calc BC.
  • Need to tell the families how many kids are in their cohort of 5^th grade triple jumps so they know they aren’t alone
• AAP middle schools – same curriculum as challenge and gen ed
  • Different grading – impossible to get a 4 for AAP kids where challenge or gen ed kids can get 4s on same test
  • No differentiation of curriculum, same teacher, no info on how to perform at AAP level to get the 4
  • No pd for hicap teachers – teachers choose not to take the hicap pd
  • Same curriculum makes it hard to teach differently for gen ed/challenge/aap
  • Enrichment materials for hicap classes could be added in – would require springboard to be compacted
  • Maybe cross building communication and information sharing would help hicap teachers
  • Hicap middle school teachers expect hicap kids to not have 2e issues…which isn’t correct
  • Advisory was supposed to teach social emotional lessons once per week. Team has pulled back on this and realized it’s not good in a 30 minute class, better taught throughout the day. Still looking at programs to use.
  • Brain function may not be developed, keep teaching it but it may not stick. Teachers need to recognize the differences and help these kids to turn in homework and such.
  • Teachers need to know these kids develop asynchronously
• Why is there double and triple jumps in math, and single jumps in ela for eap?
  • And why is there no jump from 5-6^th grade, go back to grade standard in 6^th
  • Some 5^th grade teachers are told they can’t use 6^th grade curriculum for EAP since they will have 6^th grade again in middle school (different company, but still 6^th grade)
  • Can’t use the 6^th grade books because they will read them again next year
  • Jen will communicate to these teachers that they can use 6^th grade and higher level books
  • Piloting new ELA curriculum next year k-5
  • Using benchmark, lucy Hawkins, adding different novels in elementary EAP
  • Inconsistencies between schools – if you’re lucky enough to be in the right school
• What really is the difference between gen ed, challenge, aap?
  • Some different novels available but maybe not too many for differentiation
  • Seems there is no difference in novels and curriculum
  • All books kids read in school seem to include death. Can we have kids read something that’s not so dark?
  • Can we have a clear definition of the difference of gen ed/challenge/aap? Descriptions?
  • Jen says she will look into the course catalog descriptions for hicap classes
• Jen will update us on if hicap testing will be reopened for 8^th graders since there are now hicap sections of the ELA and history classes at some schools
• Next meeting: Doodle to determine