PALSS Update

January 14, 2016

1.06-8th grade math update- At the first PALSS meeting of the year, there was
concern from parents and teachers regarding the district policy to not levelize
math in the middle grades. We wanted to revisit this to see how it was going.
One Weston parent said her daughter was frustrated because the pace was
moving too slow. Jen Brogan also voiced concern that the 8 th grade material
might not get covered fully since time has to be spent on reteaching to students
who have a harder time in math. Another Weston parent who is a teacher
outside of the district finds benefits in her own classroom with differentiated
instruction. As a whole group we all agreed that the rigor of Common Core was
good but there is a huge gap for those who started Common Core in the upper
grades. A teacher within our district has started working with 3 different groups
within his classroom to meet all the needs of his students. Dr. Robeson
distributed an article about the benefits of mixed ability grouping. She said the
district is looking into the possibility of hosting a Math Camp this summer.
Family Math Night for the district will be held at Ripona the 2 nd week of March.
2.0Shadow Day at Ripon High-Megan Thompson a counselor at Ripon High told
the group that there
was 31 signups so far for the Shadow Day. This is a
wonderful opportunity for students and parents to find out about the great
programs offered at Ripon High. Parents can sign up online on the RHS website
through February.
3.0Open House for 6-8th Grade Parents- PALSS has talked about the need to
market Ripon High to families earlier than 8th grade. Many families have their
minds made up where their child will attend school before 8 th grade Parent Night.
To address this Ripon High is hosting an Open House. This will take place
Thursday, January 28 at 6:30 at Ripon High. This is a night for parents wanting
to learn more about what programs and academics are offered at Ripon High.
There will be formal presentations in the gym by the core subject teachers and
then at 7:30 teachers will be available in their classrooms to discuss their
program.
4.0Other- Dr. Robeson had a handout for the Parent Institute that will be held
Saturday, February 6 from 8:30-11:45 at Park View Elementary. All RUSD parents
are invited to attend. Topics include social media safety, how to help your child
with math, importance of literacy at home, getting through the teenage years
and more! This event is free of charge and childcare is provided.
One parent had a great idea about having a Did You Know that would highlight
something about the school or district. This could be publicized on various
Facebook pages and the district and school websites. We also learned about the
new courses to be offered next year at Ripon High- World Geography, AP Human

Geography, Diesel Ag, Mobile Game Design, International Math 3, Honors Math 2
and 3, and Keyboarding.