Result of March 30 HSST Vote

This afternoon, March 30, the HSST convened to vote on the trimester proposal. 

Of the 21 members on the team, 19 cast ballots, with one vote cast absentee.  The vote was 19-0 in support of the trimester proposal. 

While all parents, students, administrators and faculty members participated in the voting, both School Board members abstained.  They did so to maintain the integrity of the decision-making process moving forward. If Eric Dimmitt and I recommend a move to the trimester schedule in the report that we will present to the Board in May, the full Board will need to make the final decision about this matter; they will do so after considering the feedback that they receive during their study and consideration phase. That feedback will come from faculty members, administrators, students, parents, and community members. By abstaining from voting now, the Board members on the HSST affirmed their open minds about this topic moving forward.

For your information, the text of the ballot that HSST members received today is printed below:

The trimester schedule at Homestead High School would be developed based on the following parameters/drivers:

• Students are required to enroll in at least four classes per trimester
• Teachers teach four classes per trimester
• Three-trimester courses are limited to preserve student choice, maintain financial neutrality, and manage class sizes; administrators determine the length of courses with input and feedback from instructors; music courses run for three trimesters
• Flex time is included in the schedule; the frequency, length and timing of flex periods will be determined at a later date
• Available hours beyond the DPI requirement of 1,137 are used to provide flex time in the schedule and to provide release time during final exams as available
• As a rule and not an exception, teachers are expected to provide three unique interactions with content in a given period; at least one of those interactions must require class-wide verbal participation from students
• Curricula are reviewed and revised prior to implementation of the trimester to ensure their viability in the trimester arrangement
• Teachers collaborate with peers and administrators prior to implementation of the trimester to increase alignment of outcomes and expectations for courses taught by multiple teachers
• Early release, faculty learning, and available MTAP and summer curriculum time in the summer of 2011, throughout the 2011-12 school year, and in the summer of 2012 are dedicated to curriculum, instruction and assessment review and revision.
  

As a member of the Homestead Schedule Study Team and based on the research and learning that occurred between October and March of the 2010-2011 school year, I am committed to the trimester concept as outlined above and believe that the schedule should be implemented beginning in the 2012-2013 school year.

            ______               Yes

           

            ______               No

Given the results of today's vote, the following opportunities now exist for parent/community learning and engagement about the trimester schedule proposal:

• April 12:  Parent information and feedback meeting, Egelhoff Conference Room, 1:00 p.m.
• April 12:  Parent information and feedback meeting, Homestead library, 7:00 p.m.
• April 13:  Parent information and feedback meeting, Homestead library, 7:00 p.m.
• April 18:  Working School Board meeting, Egelhoff Conference Room, time TBA
• May 16:  School Board meeting at which schedule study report will be presented, Egelhoff Conference Room, 7:00 p.m.
• June 20:  School Board meeting, Egelhoff Conference Room, 7:00 p.m.
• July 18:  School Board meeting, Egelhoff Conference Room, 7:00 p.m.