How to Bring Our Schools Out of the 20th Century - Guilderland ...

GUILDERLAND CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT
MINUTES OF MEETING
NAME OF CABINET: FLES
DATE OF MEETING: October 17, 2006
MEMBERS PRESENT: Nancy Andress, Cathy Beadnell, Martha Beck, Lynn Cipriano, Karen
Covert-Jones, Amy Daley, Jen Karins, Barbara Fraterrigo, Al Martino,
Wendy Meola, Dianne Walshhampton, Mary K Weeks, Trish Abatto
CHAIR:
Nancy Andress & Al Martino
RECORDER:
Nancy Andress
ITEMS DISCUSSED BY TOPIC:
1. Welcome, introductions
2. Committee Goal
3. Factors influencing FLES
4. Review of Plan
5. Next Steps
RECOMMENDATIONS OR DECISIONS MADE:
1. Welcome Introductions
Nancy Andress, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction and Al Martino, Supervisor of Foreign
Language & ESL, welcomed the group. Introductions were made.
2. Committee Goal
Nancy shared the committee’s goal:
To review our FLES plan for the teaching of foreign language K-5.
Barbara Fraterrigo explained about Board of Education goals and FLES moving to the top of their
list. Nancy and Al explained that we need to review our plan for the future.
3. Factors Influencing FLES
• Length of the school day – Martha Beck reported on the School Day committee and its plan.
• Availability of teachers – Al spoke about the work of finding an appropriate teacher in a time of
shortage. But there has been a growth in some state college foreign language programs. Al
explained certification requirements.
• Teacher support - Teachers are concerned about time. Last year with testing, it would have
been too difficult to add a new program. This remains a concern.
• Concern was expressed about FLES addition versus teachers’ health insurance. Barbara
Fraterrigo addressed this and shared ideas the Board of Education is exploring regarding health
insurance. She said that the idea has not been to cut benefits. They were looking at
competitive bidding.
4. Review of Plan
• Delivery of services. The group discussed provision of services. The group discussed whether
the program should be in phases or implemented k-5.
• The group discussed partial implementation. Al explained a partial implementation from grade
5 on. Proficiency in a language depends on a long range program.
• There’s a need to help intermediate teachers understand how instruction would fit in their day.
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