The WW-P Board of Education heard presentations on the Google Chromebook pilot program and HIB (harassment, intimidation, and bullying) statistics at its meeting on October 29.
Four fifth-grade classrooms at both Village and Millstone River Schools have received Google chrome books for each of their students, as part of the district’s new technology initiative. Next year, every sixth grade student will receive a chrome book from the district (WW-P News, June 7).
Students from Marie Bresnahan and Kara Kleckner’s fifth grade class at Village School shared a video they made about the benefits of having Google Chromebooks in their classrooms. Three students also spoke about their experiences and answered questions.
Among the benefits noted by the students: motivation to read more; typing is quicker than writing; and the ability to work collaboratively with other students online — with input from teachers — both in class and at home.
Also at the meeting Assistant Superintendent Gerard Dalton presented the annual report on violence and vandalism, and harassment, intimidation, and bullying.
The number of HIB incidents declined in 2012-13, which Dalton attributed to the district having “a better understanding of what constitutes an HIB violation according to the state definition.”
“When the state first enacted the law in 2011,” Dalton explained, “it did not provide any regulations to guide districts on what behavior falls within the HIB definition, so there was a fair amount of over-reporting.”
In the 2011-’12 school year, there were 72 HIB incidents, 10 acts of violence, and nine acts of vandalism reported among district schools. In 2012-’13, there were 27 reported HIB incidents, 24 acts of violence, and 13 vandalism incidents reported.
Dalton added, though, that “just because behavior is not classified as HIB behavior does not mean that the student does not receive disciplinary measures if warranted. Behavior can be improper even if it doesn’t fall within the HIB definition.”
According to the report, the majority of HIB events occur on the playgrounds, buses, and during lunches — times when students are less supervised than in the classroom. Several incidents have also occurred on Facebook or by text message.
The report made several recommendations for the district: increase HIB training for bus drivers, aides, and coaches; continue to monitor the guidance curriculum; promote the use of responsive classrooms and pro-active programs; and hold peer-to-peer education and discussion sessions.
Staff Changes
In personnel matters, Keith Buckalew was appointed co-director of Building and Grounds, joining James Stives; and two long-time district employees retired. Both High School North physical education teacher William Mealy and Renee Williams, a special education teacher at Millstone River, retired after 26 years of service.
The board voted to accept a monetary donation in the amount of $14,142 from the Maurice Hawk Elementary School PTA to be used for the purchase of technology and literacy items for the Maurice Hawk Elementary School as follows:
15 iPad2s – $5,985
25 IPEVO Document Cameras – $2,500
iPad Literacy and Math Centers – $1,697
Designing Bridges to e-Literacy – $849
Spanish Resources – $425
Replace VHS with DVD (Media Center) – $1,186
Voices from the Land Poetry Project – $1,500.
The Board also approved numerous field trips for high school and middle school, including trips for students in the Junior Statesmen of America, Model Congress, Model United Nations, and Washington Seminar programs, as well as senior class trips to Disney World for both high schools. In addition, outdoor education programs were approved for sixth graders at both Grover and Community Middle Schools. The cost per student for the outdoor ed trips will be approximately $250.
