Board Meeting Recap – February 26th

The board heard two presentations at the meeting last night. First, “Jump Start” was outlined by Dr. Nic Cooper, Mr. Ben Williams and Mr. David Raft. The Jump Start program is a new idea here in Saline – it is essentially a “bridge” program for exiting 8th grade students who are in need of some academic skill support prior to entering 9th grade. The program is designed to serve around 30 students and will be led by both Middle School and High School staff.

The next presentation was an update on the High School’s schedule move to the “Trimester” format for the 2008-2009 school year. Ms. Betty Rosen-Leacher, Dr. Sean Enright, Mr. Ben Williams and Mr. Brad Beazeu all had parts to play in the presentation. As scheduling has begun, they were able to share “real data” on how the schedule is coming together. They took the board through the scheduling process, required classes, elective options and graduation implications. Ms. Rosen-Leacher also shared what the “Trimester” blog is all about.

At the end of both presentations there were questions from the board to the presenters as they sought clarification or more detail in various areas. I was pleased to see this type of interaction and thoughtful discussion.

The only action item for the night was the adoption of the “Student Representative” policy. Following the second reading the board voted unanimously to adopt the policy. This means that Mr. Ben Williams will develop the selection process to place a current junior at Saline High School on the school board for the 2008-2009 school year. This will be a non-voting position. However, the student board member will be part of the discussion agenda items.