North Dakota Commission on Education Improvement
Commission Meeting Minutes
August 8, 2008
Dickinson Public School
The Chairman, Lieutenant Governor Jack Dalrymple, called a meeting of the North Dakota Commission on Education Improvement to order at 08:55 a.m.
Commission members in attendance included Lt. Gov. Jack Dalrymple, Rep. Rae Ann Kelsch, Sen. Tim Flakoll, Rep. David Monson, Paul Stremick, Mark Lemer, Doug Johnson, Jon Martinson, Sen. O'Connell, Greg Burns, Wayne Sanstead, Jack Maus, Martin Shock, and Scott Privratsky.
After reviewing and amending the July 7th Commission meeting minutes (see attached), Rep. Kelsch moved to accept the minutes; Sen. Flakoll seconded and the motion was carried.
The Lt. Governor started the meeting with Commission business. Lt. Governor reported the official appointment was made for the Business Manager vacancy. Scott Privratsky, the Business Manager at the Devils Lake School District will fill the position. Dates for future Commission meetings were also discussed: September 3rd meeting will be in Bismarck; October 7th meeting location TBD; November 6th meeting will be in Bismarck.
Lt. Governor started a discussion about the final draft from Picus and Associates. He asked the Commission to point out issues/facts that are meaningful to the Commission and to share observations. The Lt. Governor asked for comments on the top 10 performing schools. Doug Johnson talked about the Balanced Score Card and Professional Learning Communities (PLC). Johnson said that PLCs allows teachers to discuss educational improvement opportunities during and after school. Wayne Sanstead said Minot is really moving their PLC forward. Lt. Governor asked if the response to intervention at Victor Solheim implies tutoring? Doug Johnson said it enables services that student would receive under the IEP process. While discussing Discovery Middle School, the Commission discussed Viewpoint, a data warehouse system that allow teachers to see academic history of teachers and analyze test results by groups of students. Mark Lemer said five schools districts use Viewpoint. Lisa Feldner, State Chief Information Officer, said any district can use Viewpoint for the same price. Feldner said Viewpoint can be used to analyze test data immediately. Greg Burns commented on the Take One! Program at New Town High. Burns said it is the first step in becoming nationally board certified. Lt. Governor concluded the discussion of the top 10 performing school, by saying these themes are already in the report as a whole.
Lt. Governor commented on the definition of adequacy by Picus and Associates - opportunity to double student performance in the next 4-6 years. Lt. Governor said he had reservations about doubling student performance. Wayne Sanstead said the Commission should set actual achievement goals and set goals to align to state standards. Lt. Governor asked the Commission what they would like him to discuss with Picus and Associate since the Commission does not agree with doubling student performance. Sen. Flakoll said they need to be more specific about adequacy: does it refer to funding and/or academics? Doug Johnson and Rep. Monson said Picus needs to make clear what "doubling" means and what do we need to reach a level of proficiency. Greg Burns said doubling means reaching national standards and we need to measure ourselves against ourselves for our standards. Mark Lemer said we need to make sure all our recommendations work together and not against each other. Lt. Governor said the Commission will end up defining what adequacy is and will show a different point of view. We need to get in writing from Picus and Associates their definition of adequacy.
Lt. Governor said Elliot Regenstein is working with the Pre-K subcommittee on a pre-K study. The subcommittee will need to form an Early Learning Council in North Dakota due to federal regulations. The subcommittee will look at a pilot program for districts. Greg Burns said there is a section in the report about quality of preschool, there is a lot in the report we should keep in mind.
Lt. Governor said the Commission accepted the analysis of class size but has not come up with recommendations. The Lt. Governor said we are staffed for a different configuration for specialist teachers than what the recommendations suggest. Lt. Governor said the Commission feels the number of periods used today in N.D. schools is acceptable.
Lt. Governor said there is new information from DPI on new eligible ELL students. We will need to look to DPI for new numbers and input. The Commission needs to compare our dollars to dollars in the report for ELL students. Lt. Governor said the section of the report on extended day is not practical. For at-risk, Picus and Associates uses K-5. Paul Stremick said student in high school don't register for free and reduced. The subcommittee recommends using K-5 numbers.
Dave Wagner from Beach high school informed the Commission about the 21st Century grant. It is a regular afternoon school program that works with individual teachers and at-risk students (based on assessment). 21st Century grant is available if 40% of students are Title I.
For the summer school recommendation the Commission prefers the way they currently fund summer school. For summer school, the Commission would like to add Social Studies and Science for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Doug Johnson said the formula subcommittee should look at the summer school factor. Rep. Monson said if we increase rigor with more requirements we many have more users of summer school. Sen. Flakoll asked for a three-year trend on summer school and what course people take. He said we will need the information if we want to sell more summer school funding to the legislature. Greg Burns said some people will take summer school to get a required course out of the way to take an elective course later. Lt. Governor asked DPI for a three-year analysis of summer school classes. Wayne Sanstead said it hasn't changed in the last few years.
Lt. Governor said we want to show an increase in special education because it is a high cost area.
Rep. Monson said we don't' have teachers that are qualified for gifted and talented classes.
Lt. Governor said the Commission should recommend a percentage of total counseling staff to be a career advisors, which is a different credential - a certification from CTE. It would be easier to fund and it would initially fill the role and take pressure off of counseling staff. Greg Burns said he is not against the idea but we have a need for counselors who take care of the whole child which is more important than career advisors. Lt. Governor said the role should be filled by someone who is familiar with the private sector and familiar with the career topic. The credential must be a serious training credential. Wayne Kutzer said the career development facilitator (CDF) does specific course work to prepare. It is a rigorous credential. For the training, Kutzer said 6-10 people could give the training. He also said they don't need more staff for training, just funding. Mark Lemer asked if CDFs would be eligible to become a licensed teacher? Kutzer said no, they certify teachers in a particular trade area and he is not sure how they would get a teacher certification. Lemer asked what would be involved in a certification track to license teachers. Kutzer said he is working with DPI and within century code we could license teachers. Lt. Governor said we need to develop a curriculum for career counselors. Rep. Kelsch asked if we use CTE would skill/trade job be emphasized? Kutzer said the CDF would work under a counselor at a school. Lemer asked Kutzer to provide an outline to show an alternative certification. Lt. Governor said people don't want to delay this process.
Mark Lemer asked as a part of accreditation should we implement nursing services across the state. Schools need nursing services no matter what. Rep. Kelsch said LPN's are one option. She said schools could partner with the district health unit. Greg Burns said communities build around schools and medical facilities. We need to get medical facilities on school sites. Kelsch said we could partner with schools of nursing.
Mark Lemer said we need to have more money for Smart Boards. Lisa Feldner talked about the Class Transformation grant - schools use for Smart Boards. She asked if we should put Smart Boards in schools if teachers won't use it? Mark Lemer asked about the lifecycles of technology equipment. Feldner said projectors last 4 years and Smart Boards are too new to know their lifecycle. Rep. Kelsch said there are grants for schools to apply for to receive technology equipment.
Lt. Governor said the Commission needs to make a statement about the report. The Commission needs to create a sense of understanding and what it means to accept the report. The Commission needs to state what the report means for the Commission's work. We don't want people to come to their own conclusions. The Lt. Governor presented a statement for the Commission to review. After some changes were made the statement represented the thoughts of the Commission. Rep. Monson said the Picus and Associates report is a one size fits all and N.D. is not typical. The report does not address transportation and we have so many rural areas. Lt. Governor said in total, the state is funding what Picus and Associates is recommending. Mark Lemer said how Picus and Associates reference the appropriate spending level, they assume a level of efficiency that is impossible for us to achieve. Rep. Monson said if we are going to increase rigor the costs will go up. Rep. Kelsch asked how the Commission defines adequacy.
Lisa Feldner gave an update report on the Longitudinal Data System (LDS) (see attached). Lt. Governor said the Commission supports ETC, EduTech, and the Center for Distance Education. Jodi French said EduTech helps with implementation of PowerSchool, provides training, and has a help desk. Dan Pullen said there are two grant programs 1) classroom transformation grants and 2) teacher technology request.
The Formula subcommittee Chair, Mark Lemer reported that Jerry from DPI is working on two models 1)Dollars we have today and 2) $300 million infusion. The subcommittee is working on a model - formula restriction and weighted factors. Lt. Governor said there are a few issues the Commission is wrestling with. Property tax relief - dollar for dollar reduction and amount of mill levy reduction. The Commission needs to determine the minimum and maximum levy reduction levels.
The Assessment subcommittee Chair, Paul Stremick said it was determined that the state not fund the NWEA test directly but that districts be required to provide a formative/interim assessment reported on MISO3 or have a deduct from the formula (approx. $8/ADM). The committee agreed to require districts to take a CII either Choices (free) or PLAN ($8.50/student). No opt out provisions or deduct in formula. The subcommittee also agreed that the ACT or WorkKeys be "required" and that WY be contacted to see how they meet the "required" part of their statutory requirement (see attachment for questions and answers from WY). Lt. Governor said we can bring about a required formative test by 1) requiring it and 2) funding it. Stremick said since districts already do assessments it will not be a huge cost. Also Stremick said we should not require specific grade levels for tests but let districts use it how they determine is best. Rep. Kelsch asked if school districts give the PSAT. Stremick said he did not know. Kelsch said she met with the College Board and they informed her legislative committee about PSAT. Lt. Governor suggested the Commission develop a comprehensive list of approved formative tests for districts to choose from. Kelsch asked what is the incentive to take the test. It's free and 85% of students already take it. Kelsch suggested the test might be tied to graduation. Greg Burns asked it if was a graduation requirement and/or is it an admissions requirement? He said 30 schools have dropped requiring the ACT for admissions. Mark Lemer said a state assessment score will be needed for the LDS. Greg Burns asked what the ACT does that the state assessment does not do? Lt. Governor said the ACT has national recognition and the state assessment does not determine college readiness. Rep. Monson said the state assessment should do all those things. Monson has concerns requiring a test. Wayne Sanstead said the state assessment does everything we are trying to address. Lemer asked if we will get statewide data that will add value.
The Professional Development (PD) Sub-committee Chair, Doug Johnson, reported the subcommittee recommends two days for PD. There was also discussion about adding a contact day - 2 student contact days, 1 PD day and 1 day permission for early dismissal (4 times per year). Four days has significant budget impacts - cost for one day is $2.5 million, that is $10 million out of $100 million. The subcommittee also discussed a pilot program to look at instructional coaches. Lt. Governor said the best proposal was to add 4 early dismissal days, 1 day of Professional Development, and add 1 contact day to make up for extra PD day. Johnson said conceptually there is still a contact day, just less time than a normal day. Lt. Governor said early dismal day be counted as a day. For mentoring, Johnson said ESPB should be strongly approached. The cost would be about $2 million. The program should be directed by ESPB. Sen. O'Connell said he has been approached by teachers with concerns how the program will be set up. Lt. Governor said we will have to have buy-in and support. Max Laird said Grand Forks has a very good mentoring program. The hiring pool in the Grand Forks area are those who have been mentored. The mentor/mentee relationship is a huge benefit to a teacher's career. Grand Forks has low teacher turnover due to the mentorship program. Lt. Governor said ESPB is up to the task but needs some encouragement. Lt. Governor and Johnson will appear before the ESPB board to discuss the mentorship program. Lt. Governor discussed the $3 million for the REAs - the money could be used for instructional coaches. Jack Maus said if you want improvement in the buildings, instructional coaches are necessary.
The Curriculum Sub-Committee Chair, Sen. Flakoll reported the subcommittee created 5 incentive options. The subcommittee is still working on incentives for schools that graduate technical and academic honors, more incentive options, and money for transportation. Mark Lemer asked for information on what school districts have teachers who can teach AP courses. Doug Johnson said smaller schools rarely offer AP courses. Jack Maus said we need to increase rigor in curriculum, we owe it to the students. Greg Burns said to only focus on math is not doing students a favor. Martin Shock asked why we can't encourage rather than require additional courses? We need schools with more flexibility, what works in Bismarck may not work in Elgin. Sen. O'Connell said we will back ourselves into a corner that we can't get out of. Rep. Kelsch asked, what are our goals and why did we hire a consultant? The Commission has to decide what we want to do. Our students deserve as much of a chance as anyone else. Rep. Monson said he is not against the math requirement, just against taking it during the senior year.
A representative from the Roughrider REA said she can see how the REA can feed into the Commission's four areas that were discussed: PD, mentoring, instructional coaches and assessment. The REA could show districts what a coaching program would look like. The REA already does PD. The REA has taken components from the state mentor model and could help smaller schools match teachers.
Melanie Kathrein said the early release time is very effective. She discussed instructional coaches vs. content coaches. She said brining in coaches would be a huge help. She said coaches need to be specific to the need of the district.
The next scheduled meeting is September 3rd in Bismarck at the State Capitol.
Lt. Governor Jack Dalrymple adjourned the meeting at 3:25pm.
