The Fat Lady Sings
April 2015
TAC Meeting News
Those in attendance: Roger Miller, Todd Mueller, John Heckenlively, Diana Goldenstein, Taylor Tommey, Paul Duin, Liz Rhodes, Melissa Ryan, Deb Childs, Anita O'Neill, Sharon Hanson, Theresa Huttmann, Neil Hammond, Kiley Luchsinger, Jami Ewer
Teacher Collaboration
• Teachers are hungry for collaborating, learning from each other, and growing as a staff but lack the time necessary to build those relationships.
• Common planning time will be a start for departments to be more available to each other and open those lines of communication. The administrators goal is for all departments to be building and improving common assessments, finding best instructional practices by planning together, and analyzing data to drive further instruction.
• Ultimately, we hope to build TLC's (teacher learning communities) after all departments are working more collaboratively.
Monday Mornings
Teachers and administrators liked the idea of designating Monday mornings for collaborating and planning together on an as needed basis. This would allow for more in-depth meeting times so that we don't have to solely rely on our plan time.
It was also discussed that we would would NOT schedule any students to come in on Monday mornings.
Homeroom
All present at the meeting agreed that daily homeroom was not necessary. The discussion came to a consensus that extra minutes could be added to 1st period to allow for the Pledge of Allegiance and daily announcements. Minutes could also be added to 7th hour as it is naturally shorter with early bus dismissal and pep rallies. Thursday long homeroom would still exist and be designated for club meetings. If anyone has any concerns for this change or reasons homeroom should not be eliminated, please talk to Roger, Todd, or John.
Volunteer Professional Growth Team
We are looking for anyone who would be interested in meeting once a month on Monday mornings during the 2015-2016 school year. This group will read current educational research then come together for discussion and growth and will consist of teachers and administrators. This will be a learning process as we work to build a collaborative culture and implement a teacher learning community. If you are interested in being a part of this team, please contact Melissa Ryan or Theresa Huttmann.