2016‐2017 BUDGET NARRATIVE MSAD #60 EXCEL PROGRAM Presented to Superintendent Steven Connolly and the Board of Directors, MSAD #60 By Fern Brown, Director, EXCEL Program
Top: (left) Noble High School EXCEL Teacher (left) is presented her Maine Gifted and Talented Educator of the Year Award by nominator Janice Eldridge. (right) 2015 Maine National History Day medalists pose at the University of Maine NHD State Championships. Bottom: (left) EXCEL Theater Arts students paired up with the NHS Introduction to Drama class to participate in the University of New Hampshire’s Performing Arts Day. (right) EXCEL Teachers Eileen Sahagian and Laurie Bond with renowned Professor of Gifted Education Joyce VanTassel‐Baska at the New England Conference on the Gifted and Talented in Cromwell, Connecticut
OVERVIEW The MSAD #60 EXCEL Program is designed to meet the needs of advanced learners in the areas of arts and academics. It is a comprehensive program, providing services throughout the district via a highly professional staff of teachers of the gifted and talented, independent contractors who work with artistically talented students, and classroom teachers who work on a day‐to‐day basis to support high ability learners. We are focused on several areas that complement the work of MSAD #60: ● Our staff has worked cohesively to assist in our district’s literacy goal. The elementary staff meets regularly to implement programming developed as an extension of the Summer Literacy Institute attended by EXCEL teachers. Our EXCEL teachers provide literacy extensions targeted to assist high ability learners in reaching their potential. ● EXCEL teachers have taken advantage of opportunities to engage in professional development that assists them in being current in their educational practices. These include our state and New England Gifted and Talented conferences, as well as staff meetings. ● We are expanding our support of regular classroom teachers through added consultation time. This time assists teachers in differentiating for and working with high ability students and in creating more challenging units of study. ● Taking the time to look at data has allowed us to more effectively reflect on our program and identification procedures. We are currently engaged in longitudinal studies that will help us ensure equity across the district and look at what practices are most successful with students. Integration of our program into the work of the district continues to be a critical component of our program design. MSAD #60 STUDENTS AND STAFF TRULY EXCEL: ● Noble High School EXCEL Teacher Adina Hunter was named 2015 Gifted and Talented Teacher of the Year by the Maine Educators of the Gifted and Talented. ● 16 Noble Middle and Noble High School EXCEL Students won awards at the 2015 Maine State History Day at the University of Maine; eight of these students participated in the National History Day Competition at the University of Maryland. ● 7 EXCEL students won awards in the Maine Scholastic Writing Competition . ● Elementary EXCEL Students earned three awards in the annual Foster's Showcase Holiday Writing Contest . ● The North Berwick Elementary EXCEL group has begun a full recycling club ...paper, bottles and cans, plastic, metal and glass, They are collecting, weighing, and tracking for the year “would be waste' which is now being recycled.
● Students at Knowlton and NMS were visited by Washington State University's Professor Emeritus of Russian Studies and Foreign Languages , Birgitta Ingemanson. Prof. Ingemanson has studied the Lord and Pray families of Berwick. Eleanor Pray spent several decades in Vladivostok, Russia, where she and her husband owned an American goods store; a statue of her stands in Vladivostok today. Eleanor was the subject of the Professor's most recent book, "Letters from Vladivostok", from which Mrs. Sahagian and Mrs. MacKinnon's class read excerpts in preparation for her visit. The visit was made possible by retired EXCEL teacher Pat Boisvert. ● The Noble Dumpster Divers robotics team advanced to the state FIRST LEGO LEAGUE competition in Augusta from the pre‐qualifier at Middle School of the Kennebunks. ● Several NMS EXCEL students qualified to have their novels published in softcover by "Letters and Light," having written as many as 50,000 words (150 pages) during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). ● 8 EXCEL Voice students were selected for the Southern Maine Middle School Honors Festival. ● 12 EXCEL Music students were selected for the 2016 District One Honors Festival. ● 3 EXCEL Music students were selected for the 2016 All State Honors Music Festival. ● 5 EXCEL Music students were selected for the 2015 All State Honors Music Festival; one of whom received a significant scholarship to USM as a result of her exceptional ability. SECTION ONE: HIGHLIGHTS AND RATIONALE FOR PROGRAM CHANGES AND/OR PURCHASES The overall EXCEL budget shows a net reduction for the 2016‐17. We want to ensure that monies allocated for students are efficiently expended and, at the same time, meet their educational needs. Among the reductions are: Professional Development:
‐$1800; there is no New England Conference for the Gifted and Talented in 2016
Independent Contractors:
‐$909 to reflect more efficient scheduling
Tuition
‐$950 to reflect more accurate enrollment numbers
Among the increases are: Travel:
$316, reflecting a change in some line items to more accurately reflect expenses
Mileage:
$136 to reimburse teachers for travel to Saturday competitions (previously unbudgeted)
Instructional Supplies:
$1495 primarily to add materials for NMS Robotics program and help develop Challenge Boxes for Primary Students at Hanson, NBES and Hussey
Protocols (CogATs):
$47 reflects potential increase in costs by publisher
Books and Periodicals:
$63 ‐ replacement of fifth grade reading materials
Dues and Fees:
$1,031 ‐ increased participation in NMS Robotics program
Transportation:
$160 ‐ cost of bus for Robotics competition
Professional Services:
$200 ‐ speaker for Parent Meeting
Overall budget:
$43,531, decrease of $211 (0.5%)
SECTION TWO: STAFFING AND ENROLLMENT PROJECTIONS The EXCEL staff of six academic teachers and a director currently provides a total of 5.2 FTE to the district. Two staff members work part time in EXCEL and part time as Interventionists. This allows each teacher to be in one school, rather than being shared among different buildings. In addition to academic staff, a dozen independent contractors provide lessons in art, creative writing, theater, voice, and a variety of musical instruments to students in grades 6 through 12. Staffing for 2016‐17 shows a slight reduction at the Lebanon Schools to bring their teacher to student ratios more in line with the other district elementary schools, as well as a slight reduction at NBES to accomplish a similar goal, with a net reduction in staff to 4.8 FTE. Staffing Distribution
Berwick Schools
K‐5
Total Population 630
Lebanon Schools
K‐5
474
4
29
.5
North Berwick Elementary
K‐5
316
7
22
.5
Noble Middle School
6‐7
472
38
15
1.0
Noble High School
8
246
19
2
.4
Noble High School EXCEL Director
9‐12 K‐12
881
77
25
1.0 .6
School
Grades
GT ID
Informal
7
42
EXCEL Staffing .8
Total 3019 152 135 4.8 Teachers work with teachers and students in grades K‐3 prior to formal identification and may have high ability “guests” periodically join in group meetings, so caseloads extend beyond those formally identified. *11 non‐identified students on Robotics team.
Enrollment in EXCEL Programming Grade Academic Arts Total K‐2 0 0 0 3 1 0 1 4 6 1 7 5 11 0 11 6 19 20 39 7 19 24 43 8 19 33 52 9 18 37 55 10 23 23 46 11 22 19 41 12 14 20 34 Total 152 177 329 **students may be identified in both academic and arts, hence the discrepancy in enrollment numbers used for staffing (number of students) and enrollment in EXCEL (identification); 47 students are identified both in academic and arts. SECTION THREE: NEEDS, SHORT‐ AND LONG‐TERM The EXCEL Staff has identified several needs for the program. While they will require a large amount of time and commitment from the staff, the financial cost to the district should be minimal. These needs include: Professional Development – Develop additional means of providing professional development to regular education staff in the area of differentiation and the needs of gifted students. Communication – Continue to improve our communication with staff, parents and the community to assist in understanding the EXCEL program. Needs‐based programming – Ensure that services are tailored to meet student needs as ascertained through data and professional understanding, support the district literacy initiative, and encourage accomplishment at the highest levels on state and national assessments.
MSAD #60 EXCEL PROGRAM BUDGET, 2016‐17
2016‐17
2015‐16
Change
Total Prof. Development
$600
$2,400
‐$1,800
Total Travel
$1,200
$884
$316
Total Mileage
$680
$544
$136
Total Instructional Supplies
$3,145
$1,650
$1,495
Total Protocols (CogATs)
$3,332
$3,285
$47
Total Books and Periodicals
$710
$647
$63
Total Dues and Fees
$2,864
$1,833
$1,031
Total Transportation
$4,850
$4,690
$160
Total Independent Contractors
$19,300
$20,209
‐$909
Total Tuition
$6,650
$7,600
‐$950
Total Professional Services
$200
$0
$200
Overall budget
$43,531
$43,742
‐$211
Respectfully Submitted, Fern L. Brown EXCEL Director