FINES AND RECOGNITIONS
James Lister announced that he is looking for help from club members for the setup and breakdown of the DCF Christmas party on 12/6.
Kathie Strout is in charge of the Angel Cards (which were all taken at the meeting). Kathie asked that we return the gifts (unwrapped) to her or at the Salvation Army by 12/9.
The club raised $756 at the meeting for the Turkey donations.
The club will have our annual joint lunch with the Beverly club so we can all support our respective football teams.
This year Beverly will be hosting the meeting at Danversport Yacht Club on Tuesday the 25th at 12 noon.
John Walsh’s daughter, Amanda, was married at the Corinthian Yacht Club on October 26th.
Brenda Smith is looking for riders for the annual YMCA spin-a-thon on 12/6. Please contact Brenda to sign up.
Victoria Davis participated as a volunteer at the Northeast Art Casino Night.
Bob Conley took 4 relaxing days in Key West with his wife.
Juli Leaderhaus took her two dogs out to California and had an early Thanksgiving with family while she was there.
Chris Casey met with exchange students sponsored by the Swampscott Rotary. Chris’ daughter will be participating in the program next year and will be studying in Ecuador.
BIRTHDAYS
Happy birthday to Dick Lutts on November 19th!
SPEAKER OF THE WEEK
The Assistant Superintendent of Salem Schools, Kate Carbone, was our speaker this week. Kate has been in her position since 2011, the same year Salem Public Schools were given a Level 4 Grade by the state, which was result of the Bentley Schools getting listed as “Under Performing.”
Kate is currently driving the Turn Around Plan initiative which started its third year this past September. The Turn Around plan is a goal that is now shared by every teacher, school leader, and is heavily supported by the City government. The plan is designed to have every party operating at a high performance level. Kate explained that their definition of “High Performance” does not just translate to improved student test scores, but also the overall culture of Salem’s academic engine. This includes restructuring of school governance and professional development of teachers.
Although this is a work in progress, several important steps have already been made to redirect the educational system. Salem replaced four principals this year and implemented in-class development and coaching for its teachers.
The classroom observation system was also improved this year by introducing more frequent and longer (unannounced) class visits. Most importantly, all of these new systems are being heavily monitored by all of the schools and consultants to ensure their effectiveness.
The Bentley School is also planning to shift to an Open System model which will allow the school to operate independently from the rest of the district. This would empower the school leaders to make key decisions based on what they are seeing day-to-day and enhance the existing strengths of specific schools.
