Curriculum Council Minutes 12/09/22
2022-2023 Ida Curriculum Council Minutes
Middle School Library
Staff and Community Representatives Present:
*Elementary School: Christina Fitzgerald
*Elementary Parent Representative: Sara Batson
*Middle School: Audrey Hamm, Ann Capling, Amy LaVigne-Benore
*Middle School Parent Representative: Amy Strimpel
*High School: Meg Alexander, Kelly Riley
*High School Parent Representative: Andrea Allen
*Administrators: Lucy Becker, Allison Bondie, David Eack, Chuck Fuller, Stacy Maynard
*Board Member: Jamie Hunter
*Chairperson: Sarah Ash
1. District
contact Jean Foster from the ISD for the virtual meeting links. Last meeting was November 21st at
3pm and the next meeting will be on December 19th at 3pm.
• The district Sexual Education Advisory Board has been meeting to review materials specifically looking
at High School content. Updated curriculum will be proposed to the superintendent and board of
education for approval later in the year. Specific lessons from the Michigan Model curriculum will be
suggested on topics such as building healthy relationships, responding to pressure, knowing the risks,
setting limits, and HIV.
• Books purchased for the library will now be reviewed by building principals, Curriculum Director,
and/or Superintendent before being purchased to review for inappropriate or explicit content. Current
books with sensitive topics and/or content will be reviewed on an individual basis.
2. K-12 Communications: High School Topics
• Leadership Update was given by Meg Alexander. Last month the group wrapped up their marijuana
initiative with students taking surveys and participating in a simulator activity during lunch. Students
are currently working on operation Christmas, making nursing home baskets, Give a Kid A Christmas,
the canned food drive, display cases throughout the school, and locker signs for sports, college
month, and other activities. Next week students will attend the IMatter summit to get additional ideas
and strategies to bring back to the high school.
• Curriculum/Assessment Changes/Needs and/or Updates
o Looking to hire a choir and music teacher
• CTE Program Update – Applications have been submitted to the ISD and state for welding and
agriculture. If approved, we would have two CTE certified programs which could help generate state
and federal funding for these classes. The teacher cadet class is continuing to run and Mr. Eack has
reached out to Monroe County Community College and Lourdes University regarding articulation
agreements for potential college credit.
• HSSIT (MTSS) – Staff meetings have been changed to allow for more curriculum and/or grade level
group work. Teams are meeting to review and discuss student concerns.
• College month went very well and many prizes were given out.
• Students had the opportunity to take the ASVAB test in November.
• A new scholarship opportunity called the Michigan Achievement Scholarship is coming. This should
help many students with college costs.
3. K-12 Communications: Middle School Topics
• Curriculum/Assessment Changes/Needs and/or Updates
• One request for an audio version of a book. Sarah Ash has contacted the Monroe County
Library to see if this is an option before purchasing an Audible version of the book.
• MTSS – Grade levels are continuing to meet during staff meetings and during PD days. Students are
making progress. Department meetings have also been taking place to share best practices and work
on curriculum alignment throughout the building.
• Some students attended Manufacturing Day in October and enjoyed the visit.
• Many activities are happening such as penny wars, canned food drive, spirit days, candy cane sales,
and an upcoming holiday dance.
4. K-12 Communications: Elementary School Topics
• Curriculum/Assessment Changes/Needs and/or Updates
o Science program update – all teachers heard presentations from two companies on November
1st, a survey was then sent out to gather feedback. Teachers currently have the ability to pilot
the programs through the online demo log in. The committee will meet again in January to
finalize the recommendation and it will then be brought to Curriculum Council.
o Special Education team will be meeting to assess curriculum and assessment needs and
current progress monitoring tools.
• MTSS team meets monthly to review academic data and tiered services. The group also started
meeting an additional day per month for behavior concerns and documentation.
• The ISD hosted a literacy junket and sent many professional books and resources to each district. The
teachers lounge has been reorganized to showcase these resources and allow teachers easy access to
borrow the materials.
5. Technology Updates
• Technology Committee update was shared by Stacy Maynard. There was a meeting in October to
discuss current needs. Ryan Kisonas is working on getting all teachers a laptop and a list of current
programs, apps, and tools that are available for teachers to use.
6. Parent Group Report
• Parent Group update was shared by Amy Strimpel and Sara Batson. Both the Elementary and Middle
School hosted very successful book fairs in October. Lunch and dinners were also provided to staff at
all buildings during conference days. Teachers and administrators were very appreciative of these
meals and thanked the parent groups for their generosity. Many special events are happening at the
elementary school such as Popcorn Fridays, Santa workshop coming later in December, holiday
grams, quarter drive to raise money for the book vending machine, the planning of 4th grade camp,
BINGO, monthly snacks for teacher appreciation, and daddy daughter/mother son events in 2023.
7. Upcoming Student Events
• Knabusch Math and Science Center is offering field trip opportunities for classes. Contact Nicole
Shaughnessy if interested.
• Quiz Bowl season is underway. We have teams in the 6th, 7th, 8th, and high school grade level groups.
In person tournaments will be held at the community college and volunteers will be needed to help
judge and be quizmasters, please watch your email if this is something you would like to help with.
The dates of the competitions are below:
o High School Tournament-Monday, February 27th
o 5th Grade Tournament-Tuesday, February 28th
o 6th Grade Tournament-Wednesday, March 1st
o 8th Grade Tournament-Thursday, March 2nd
o 7th Grade Tournament-Friday, March 3rd
• MathCounts is underway and will compete in February.
• SAT/PSAT Test Prep will be offered again in January/February – more information will be coming
8. Assessment Updates
• School and county index ratings were reviewed. These ratings take into account student growth on
state required assessments, student proficiency on state assessments, graduation rate, school quality
(attendance, advanced courses, postsecondary enrollment, access to art/PE, etc.), and student
participation on state assessments.
• NWEA/STAR Reading, K-4 will be done again in January. Current data has been submitted to the state
per state law.
• Spring 2023 Testing Information:
o 3rd Grade M-Step
▪ ELA-April 10th-May 5th
▪ Math-April 10th-May 19th
o 4th, 6th, 7th Grade M-Step
▪ ELA-April 10th-May 19th
▪ Math-April 10th-May 19th
o 5th Grade M-Step
▪ ELA-April 10th-May 19th
▪ Math-April 10th-May 19th
▪ Science-April 10th-May 19th
▪ Social Studies-April 10th-May 19th
o 8th Grade
▪ PSAT 8-April 12th
▪ Science M-Step-April 10th-May 19th
▪ Social Studies M-Step-April 10th-May 19th
o 9th Grade
▪ PSAT 9-April 12th-18th (*tentatively April 13th)
o 10th Grade
▪ PSAT 10-April 12th-18th (*tentatively April 13th)
o 11th Grade
▪ SAT-April 12th
▪ WorkKeys-April 13th
▪ Science M-Step-April 10th-May 19th
▪ Social Studies M-Step-April 10th-May 19th
9. Professional Development Opportunities
• Next district PD day is January 16th, if you have any suggestions or topics in mind, please let Sarah
Ash know. Advanced BenQ board training is tentatively on the agenda and will be a half day session.
• Educational Technology Group – next meeting will be on Thursday, February 16th from 4-6:00 p.m. at
the ISD with dinner provided
• Michigan School Testing Annual Conference-February 14th-16th in Ann Arbor
• Michigan Science Teachers Association Annual Conference-March 3rd-4th in Lansing
• Michigan Reading Association Annual Conference-March 17th-20th in Grand Rapids
• MACUL Annual Conference-March 15th-18th in Detroit
• Always available: EduPaths and Michigan Virtual online professional learning.
https://www.edupaths.org. www.michiganvirtual.org. Free, self-paced courses, SCECHs are available
for most courses.
• For all ISD PD register on the ISD course where/wisdomwhere site:
https://www.solutionwhere.com/ww/monroeisd/
10. Future Meetings
• Next meeting March 2, 2023-8:15am in the Middle School Library
Adjournment 10:15
