Coral Academy of Science Las Vegas
Minutes
Academic Subcommittee Meeting
Date and Time
Monday May 9, 2022 at 10:00 AM
Location
8965 S. Eastern Avenue, Suite 280 Las Vegas, NV 89123
Coral Academy of Science Las Vegas (“CASLV”), Green Valley Library, Enterprise Library, James Gibson Library, Paseo Verde Library. Whitney Library, CASLV website at www.caslv.org, and Nevada Public Notice website at http://notice.nv.gov.
Format / Procedures / Rules: This is a notice of a public meeting held pursuant to NRS Chapter 241. Members of the public are invited to be present.
Certain items may be removed from open/public consideration if permitted or required by Nevada law. The Board may also (i) take agenda items out of order; (ii) combine two or more items for consideration; (iii) separate one item into multiple items; (iv) table an agenda item to a future meeting; and/or (v) remove an agenda item.
Reasonable efforts will be made to assist and accommodate persons with physical disabilities desiring to attend the meeting. Please contact Ms. Shepard at ashepard@coralacademylv.org at least 48 hours before the time of the meeting, if possible, so that reasonable arrangements may conveniently be made.
Please also contact Ms. Shepard if you would like a copy of the agenda and any public reference materials relating to agenda items. Those materials will also be available at the meeting location. Those materials would provide you with greater context and clarity as to the matters under discussion.
By law, no one may willfully disrupt the meeting to the extent that its orderly conduct becomes impractical.
All items are action or possible action items if denoted as such.
Directors Present
Arlene Hayman, Dr. Carryn Warren, Elizabeth Kazelskis (remote)
Directors Absent
None
Guests Present
Andrea Shepard, CASLV Executive Assistant, Carrie Hartland (remote), Claudia Salinas (remote), DJ West (remote), Diva Pullum , Dr. Ercan Aydogdu, Gretchen Pfahler, Joe Cuprak (remote), Kendra Moore (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Call the Meeting to Order
B.
Public Comment
II. Discussion/Possible Action Items
A.
K-5 Math Curriculum Recommendation - Discuss, Consider, and Recommend Taking Necessary Action on Math Curriculum Recommendation (For Possible Action)
Mr. Gunozu explained the goal of the meeting is to obtain the subcommittee's recommendation for math curriculum K-5. It was discussed that we will not continue to use Everyday Mathematics. There was overwhelming support for discontinuing this program. While it has been used in the classroom for many years, teachers have reported it is lacking in rigor, does not align well with current standards, and does not adequately provide students opportunities for productive struggle.
Mr. Selim indicated that the CASLV Nellis AFB campus has been piloting the Reveal Math program. The group discussed current math scores and noted the administration has been assessing the math curriculum. Dr. Warren asked how long we have been using the current curriculum Everyday Math and Mr. Selim confirmed since the 2017/2018 school year. Mr. Selim also gave a brief summary of how the process worked. Selim arranged sessions with Reveal Math and Ready Math company PD representatives and all teachers were invited to these trainings over Zoom. Mr. Selim shared the recordings with all schools in case teachers who missed it could still watch it. After that, department/grade level groups from each campus were asked to fill out the Math Alignment Tool from NV DoE's website and submit them all to Mr. Selim. Mr. Selim met with Central Office Instructional coaches to go over all of these forms and prepared a Pros & Cons document for both Reveal Math and Ready Math curriculum. This document has also been presented to the Academic Subcommittee.
Mr. Selim also prepared multi-year reports for K-5 MAP Math and SBAC scores. The subcommittee reviewed the math proficiency % overall. Ms. Kazelskis asked about enrichment. Mr. Selim explained we have had it in the past and that we will have it over the summer. Throughout the year there's pullout, tutoring, etc.
Ms. Pfahler, CASLV Instructional Coach discussed the Reveal Math curriculum piloting at Nellis and indicated that increasing professional development would be great. Ms. Hayman asked if Reveal offers more training, and noted that iReady professional development training is costly. Ms. Pfahler indicated an overwhelming majority of the staff at CASLV Nellis Campus would like Reveal Math to come back next year. Ms. Pfahler and Ms. Pullum, CASLV Instructional Coaches, prefer Reveal Math over iReady.
It was discussed that there are pros and cons to both programs. The group reviewed presentations during the meeting regarding both programs and asked various questions through the presentations.
After reviewing the programs, the group agrees that the Reveal Math program is better suited for CASLV teachers, the classroom environment, and the student population. It was discussed that Reveal Math gives an opportunity for students to do more. Math replay for parents is available in English and Spanish. Dr. Warren said she is wondering about the quality of the professional development from Reveal Math.
Mr. Selim said he would definitely reach out to the company to schedule in-person PD sessions before starting to use the program. Ms. Hayman commented professional development is very important to enable teachers to access all aspects of the program successfully. Ms. Kazelskis indicated iReady does incorporate social and emotional and we should check their textbooks to be sure we are not offending any parents. Mr. Gunozu said he will review the textbooks thoroughly.
The committee agrees that Reveal Math is the better option as it will be less overwhelming for teachers. Mr. Selim indicated that some of the teachers at Eastgate are requesting iReady. If Eastgate would like to stay with iReady then that is ok and we can get the data. Mr. Ercan said we can survey all campus teachers and provide the data at the June board meeting.
Ms. Hayman asked if all teachers at each campus have had a chance to review both options. Mr. Selim confirmed yes they have and the recordings were shared. It was discussed there is a benefit to having one curriculum district-wide. The survey will include verbiage that this is the way the board is leaning and it will include the reasons.
Mr. Ercan requested that the subcommittee draft questions for the survey. Dr. Warren said she will summarize the pros and cons of each program. Dr. Warren will create the survey, with subcommittee members offering input. The subcommittee will recommend their preference of curriculum at the June board meeting.
III. Public Comments (Information)
A.
No public comment.
No public comment.
No public comment.