Town Meeting 12/6/2016

Please contact Teri Doxsee if you were present at the meeting and these notes need to be amended.

Precursors

• SAB:
• Staff Meeting:

Announcements

Motions

• No homework over break
  Homework over break increases stress load over break and students should be able to choose how they spend their break.
  At other schools such as Yorktown, some assignments are given are due the day after break to get around the restrictions but overall, many teachers follow these rules. Holidays and breaks are meant for spending time with family.
  Saying teachers are absolutely not allowed to give homework over break but having dialogues between teachers and students should happen.
  Long term projects can be assigned over break but only if there is time to do them before and after. A rule like this can be hard to implement because there are certain exceptions such as assignments that can only be done on break such as family interviews and online classes. Classes such as AP classes have strict time limits and the class needs all the time it can get. Different breaks can be dealt with differently. Even though many rules have exceptions, it does not mean they should not be rules. Summer break work gives students a better understanding of the work and helps them get a head start in the class. Work over break can give some students extra help in the class. Breaks are a time to enjoy and relax without school work. Students generally don’t want work over the break but there are some exceptions that should be discussed. Teachers can give lighter work loads over breaks in classes like AP classes because they require more work. Work over the break can be due in the few days after the students get back. Doing this puts more responsibility on the students to manage their time and imposes less rules on the teachers. College students and many adults do not work over break so students should not be worked harder. If a certain teacher gives too much work over break, it can be discussed with the specific teacher rather than making a rule. Teachers should not be restricted on how they are allowed to teach and a hard and fast rule could be too restrictive. Teachers do not assign work over break with malicious intent and the work they assign has a purpose. The students have the right to do work over break to reduce their workload. If teachers respect student’s breaks, students should respect the teacher’s breaks.
• There was a vote on a revised motion encouraging teachers to not assign homework over the winter break.

Discussions

• HIVE meeting about Feb Fest
  Discussed why Feb Fest was held and how it could be done the same or differently from the previous year. It would be fun to put another few fest together. It should be more purposeful and organized. Feb Fest might not be in February which would require a name change. It needs full support from both teachers and students. It could be done in a different way than before.
• Safety pin movement? -accept other parties -accepting everyone, political?

Adjourn

• Chair: Henry
• Co Chair:Emma
• Secretary: Robby