The board also listened to a presentation given by Maurice Hawk Principal Denise Mengani regarding the internal review portion of the ongoing Language Arts Literacy program review. Highlights include:
Continuing the commitment to the “workshop model” of teaching language arts, and working towards more consistency across grade levels and schools to this model;
Increasing time spent on language arts instruction, including during periods when other disciplines are taught;
Strengthening support for all students, especially those struggling with reading and writing, across all grade levels;
Revising report cards to better reflect the actual curriculum being taught, and revising methods by which student progress is measured;
Updating technology, library materials, and textbooks to better ensure consistency across schools and levels of study.
After Mengani presented her report, several board members thanked her and the entire committee for the thoroughness and frankness of the report, especially throughout all grade levels.
Mengani noted, “literacy and language arts proficiency does not just revolve around the language arts area of study. This report is a reminder of that.”
Johnson responded: “I agree with you. Proficiency in reading correlates into success in every subject. But how do we increase time for reading? Do we need to lengthen the school day?”
“The committee did consider that solution, which may happen one day. Right now we recommend incorporating more language arts instruction throughout other disciplines,” Mengani said.
Kaye, who served on this committee, pointed out that “this report emphasizes the importance of equity, reliability, and accessibility, and the need to formalize agreements regarding how other teachers in other disciplines, such as math, or social studies, handle reading and writing. Change is not very easy. But we can see how far we have already come. We have transformed ourselves from a system of schools into a real school system,” he added.
