SLT Meeting Minutes
PS 153 School Leadership Team (SLT) Meeting
Meeting Minutes
3/13/23
Opening
The PS 153 School Leadership Team (SLT) Meeting was called to order at 5:03pm on 3/13/23 on
Zoom by Assistant Principal Gidget Rivera.
Present
Gidget Rivera, Kiana Washington, Rohanie Shihab, Daniella Bellizzi, Christine Mayne, Latechia
Reddick, Monica Ealey, Lisa Perrine
Absent: Melissa Isaac, JoAnna Rhoden-Plaza, Anell Veras
Reading and Approval of Minutes
Members read the minutes from the February 13 SLT meeting. Ms. Reddick motioned to
approve the minutes and Ms. Bellizzi seconded the motion.
Sub-committee Reports:
Parent Association – Lisa Perrine (President)
Ms. Perrine thanked school staff for working with the PA on Read Across America Day. The PA
let students choose a book at the giveaway. Ms. Perrine gave an update on the new website.
The PA would have its own section of the website which would help to communicate with
parents as well as include a store where parents can purchase items and make payments for
items such as senior dues. Ms. Perrine signed the contract for the eChalk website.
The PA is moving toward becoming a 501c3 corp. Ms. Perrine mentioned that the PA is not
covered under the school’s tax-exempt number according to the Chancellor’s Regulations. At
the March 15th PA meeting, the Parent Association body will vote on whether the PA should
become a 501c3 corp. Ms. Perrine mentioned that the vote is important to make sure that
parents support becoming a 501c3 since turnover naturally occurs in a PA. The PA is currently
updating the bylaws, which will be turned in as part of the process of becoming a 501c3.
Spring Pictures will be taken on May 8th. Senior Retakes can also be taken that day.
On March 27th the PA will kick off the Read-A-Thon fundraiser. Parents can share the fundraiser
on social media and by using text and email. It will also encourage students to read. Ms. Perrine
mentioned that she plans to speak to teachers about the fundraiser after school on March 27th.
Title I PAC – Rohanie Shihab (Chair)
Ms. Shihab said the next set of workshops begin on March 21st. Ms. Shihab asked Ms.
Washington about the order from Amazon. Ms. Washington said that Ms. Alvarez put the order
in, but that they are not able to order from Amazon, they can use Staples. Shihab said there
would be journals, motivational quotes pencils, stress balls to encourage families to join
workshops. PS 153 will also host an in-person meeting for Presidents’ Council and DPAC.
Old Business Agenda Items:
CEP: Ms. Rivera mentioned that anyone who has not yet signed the updated CEP page should
do so. It is located in a binder behind Karen in the main office.
Art: Art lessons have begun for kindergarten through second grade on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Ms. Veras is also holding after-school art club on Wednesdays.
Morning, after-school, and Saturday enrichment: Ms. Washington said that after reviewing
data, students who could achieve level 3 on state tests were selected to receive extra support.
Those students will receive test prep instruction in the mornings from 7am to 8am. There will
be a similar Saturday program as well. Special education students will receive extra support
also. On Saturday students will have both test prep and enrichment. Teachers will provide 45
minutes math support, 45 minutes reading support, and 90 minutes of enrichment such as
scrapbooking, book club, soap box derby, or Lego robotics. The program will run until May.
New Business Agenda Items:
CEP and Mid-Year Assessments:
Ms. Rivera shared the 5 CEP goals and the progress so far.
For Math, the goal is: “By May 2023, 70% of students will score at or above the 41st percentile
on the MAPS Growth Math Screener.” Currently, 57% of K-5 students scored at or above the
41st percentile on the MAPS Growth Screener taken in January.
Ms. Ealey asked if the jump from 57% to 70% was realistic. Ms. Washington explained that last
year the percentage reached was 60%, and when Ms. Flinn wrote the CEP, she made the goal a
10% increase. She said the materials, resources, morning program, Saturday program, afterschool
program, action goals, and more will make the goal attainable.
Ms. Ealey asked why the mid-year number is 57% if we ended last year at 60%. Ms. Washington
answered that the entire district saw lower numbers this winter in comparison to the fall.
Factors such as preparation, test environment, are being looked at. Ms. Rivera added that the
numbers change each year as the 5th graders graduate and the new kindergarten class arrives.
For ELA, the goal for K-2 is: “By May 2023, 70% of students in grades K-2 will meet the
Acadience Benchmark.” Currently, 56% of students in K-2 met the Acadience Benchmark.
For ELA, the goal for 3-5 is: “By May 2023, 73% of students in grades 3-5 will score at or above
the 41st percentile on the MAPS Growth Reading Screener.” Currently, 65% of students in
grades 3-5 scored at or above the 41st percentile in MAPS Growth Reading.
For attendance, the goal is: “By May 2023, Chronic Absenteeism will decrease by 4%, from 19%
To 15%, as measured by state attendance data.” Currently the Chronically Absent Student rate
is 23%. Our current Year to Date Attendance Rate is 93% with a register of 468 students. Ms.
Rivera mentioned that we have systems in place such as mentors and attendance monitors to
encourage our chronically absent students to come to school.
Ms. Ealey asked if there is outreach to the parents for the chronically absent students. Ms.
Rivera confirmed that we have outreach to the parents. Ms. Ealey asked about cases in which a
student has a medical condition. Ms. Washington answered that it is called an excused absence
in the records, but if they are not in the building it does count against the attendance rate.
For Quality IEPs, the goal is: “By May 2023, the alignment of PLOPS and goals that are rigorous
and standards-based across IEPs will improve from 40% to 50% as measured by IEP reviews.”
IEPs are currently being reviewed using our in-house tool that checks to make sure IEPs are
appropriately rigorous and standards-based, but our school is also waiting for a new tool from
the district that will be used to check our progress against the Quality IEP goal.
For Supportive Environment Framework, the goal is: “By May 2023, practices related to
Social-Emotional Learning Support will improve from 67% to 77% as measured by the 22-23 Teacher
Survey.” The teacher survey is open. Teachers have engaged in PD about Culturally Responsive
Sustaining Education, DESSA, and Harmony (fka Stanford-Harmony). Teacher surveys are due
on March 31st, but the data won’t be received until the summer.
Ms. Ealey asked how we can support the students. Ms. Rivera said that is the main goal of the
SLT, to come together, look at the CEP goals, and see how we can support students and work
toward goals together. In the spring, we will look at our CEP goals for next year together.
Ms. Washington added that parent volunteers and community partners can help students after
school and during weekends. She mentioned that Zearn can help with math fluency. Parents
can encourage their children to use Zearn for 15-20 minutes/day. She also said the school will
continue to hold workshops for parents so that they feel comfortable around the curricula. We
can work together to find ways to connect with more parents.
Ms. Ealey mentioned that it would be helpful to have reports sent to parents regarding
students’ progress on Zearn. She said that if we are developing goals, we should also create
ways to reach that goal. For example, we could send out a pamphlet at the beginning of the
year that explains Zearn and how to support students using Zearn. Parents could also be
provided with professional development as well.
Ms. Rivera said it would be helpful to know what time is the most convenient for most parents
for workshops. When we use IM and EL next year, Ms. Rivera plans to ask teachers to provide a
letter for families when a new unit begins to let parents know what the new unit is about. She
also mentioned that parents can help by asking their children, “What did you learn in math?”
and “What did you learn in ELA today?” It helps when students talk and think about what they
learned. Ms. Washington mentioned that at the PA’s health fair on May 20th some of these
ideas could be incorporated.
Ms. Shihab said that a challenge that some teachers face is that students can get stuck in Zearn
when they continue to get a question wrong. Ms. Washington thanked Ms. Shihab for the
feedback and said that we can share with families that if a child is frustrated, they can stop and
send a message to the teacher.
Title I Funding
Ms. Rivera said parents have asked what the school uses their portion of Title I funding for. Ms.
Washington explained that Title I funding is about 10% of the school’s budget and often is used
to pay salaries. It is also used for professional development for teachers, supplies for students,
consultants, the hydroponics machine, Hummingbird robotics program, and the soap box derby
car. Title I funds pay for curriculum guides and books and for teacher training. Title I funds were
also used to pay for the Elevate Education workshops.
Ms. Ealey asked what percentage of the school family population turned in their school funding
forms. Ms. Washington answered that we just met the percentage required. Ms. Ealey asked
whether we would receive more funding if more families filled out the form. Ms. Washington
answered that it would depend on how many of those families had income at or below the
“Children in Need” level. Ms. Ealey said she would look up the threshold for the “Children in
Need” family income.
Calendar
3/13 Art Program begins
3/14 Color Guard Rehearsal & Pi Day, PA to bring pies for staff
3/15 Puppet Show for Prek & K; 3-5 Rewards
3/16 Color Guard Performs at BBP WHM event & Report Cards released
3/17 Wear Green, March birthdays celebrated
3/20 College and Career Readiness Week
3/22 First day of Ramadan
3/27 D11 Supt. Visits Robotics
3/28 Color Guard Performs at D11 Showcase
3/30 K-2 Boutique
4/5 Ned Show; Safety Meeting (?)
4/17 NYSESLAT Speaking begins, SLT 5pm
Additional Comments and Questions
Ms. Rivera said Mr. Kern surveyed grades 3-5 and let classes choose rewards such as extra
recess time and extra reading time instead of shopping in the bucket buck boutique. Ms.
Washington said that the 5th grade fundraisers were a success. The teachers will use the funds
to pay for two charter buses, which currently cost about $1,600-$1,700 apiece. This will help
keep the cost of the senior trip to $60 per student.
Ms. Perrine mentioned that having Ms. Gloria in the library has helped students have options at
recess and students are glad to use the library. Ms. Perrine relayed that parents have brought
up that they don’t like seeing the report card for the first time at parent-teacher conferences
again. Parents are not always able to see well on screens, especially if using a cell phone for the
meeting. Ms. Perrine asked for clarification on the May 4th “School Sponsored Parent
Engagement Night”. Ms. Rivera responded that the May 4th date is a citywide virtual parent
engagement. It is scheduled for the same day as state testing, so she will see if the date has
changed. Ms. Washington said that she would speak to Ms. Rossi to see if a multicultural day
could be part of the day of Spring Concert.
Ms. Ealey mentioned that she has reached out to the financial literacy contact, but they had not
yet connected. Ms. Ealey said that she did draft a letter to reach out to all financial institutions.
It is her goal to have things ready to move forward for next school year. Ms. Washington
recommended Ms. Ealey look into an organization called Junior Achievement. Ms. Ealey agreed
to look into it.
Closing
Motion to adjourn at 5:58pm by Monica Ealey and Christine Mayne.
