Cathy's+comments

**//Comments from Cathy Hodson//**

I think that the plan to shift teaching to classroom teachers will require much more of classroom teachers who will already have more responsibilities in their daily routines due to staffing cuts. I think it will not be effective because they will not be able to embrace a new program that asks them to do more with less time. I also wonder what the teacher's union will say.
 * I. Parts of the comments that I shared with Chanda, Tom and Sue:**

There is an awful lot of content material that classroom and health teachers need to learn how to present and really be comfortable with for the classes to be productive and succeed. The information presented by our expert teachers is arguably some of the most important that they learn at school, because to not learn it could mean a different outcome for their lives.

I have big concerns about the middle school and high school health teachers talking about the sensitive material involved. There may be a better way to provide the services with only one (or optimally 2) FLHS teachers if staffing cuts must be made in the program. The current teachers should be the ones to make these recommendations.

Cost saving ideas for the current model (to prevent faculty cuts from being needed):

1)If I understand correctly, the FLHS teachers take over the secondary teachers' schedules for the whole day. This means that those teachers are not teaching during that time. Maybe those teachers should be given cost -saving tasks like substitute teaching where ever needed, doing "wish list" tasks that the principals identify (from gardening to filing to ed tech help somewhere). This essentially would create 2 FTE positions of activity just by making the health teachers do something productive with that time.

2) Does the elementary FLHS have extra time that she could give to the "wish list" activities? I can't tell from looking at the responsibilities, but I know the set-up is different than secondary.

3)I think we need to have the current teachers tell us what they do with their time (like in the first week or so I'm guessing they are getting handouts ready, etc, which someone will need to do,) and we need to realize how much time just setting up the program takes. The school board needs to know this as well.

 2 FLHS teachers, spread over all grades
 * II. Please consider this Option 5:**

Goal of having sensitive topics taught by FLHS teachers and classroom teachers comfortable with a smaller portion of new teaching they will be doing. Current teachers should recommend how the content should be divided, they know which lessons are most sensitive and challenging.

-no 4th or 9th grade lessons change (9th grade should definitely be delivered by FLHS staff) -5th, 6th, and 8th grades - content shared between 2 FLHS teachers and 5th grade science teacher (or other 5th grade teacher volunteer) and middle school health teachers, -FLHS take care of permissions and info nights and provide professional development to the classroom teachers

Costs: -fewer costs in terms of material and training and disruption of current teacher's schedules -2 FLHS teacher's salary and benefits -will be some content that will not be delivered as effectively and will have a range of educational experiences for kids, but possibly in a less harmful way that if the program was watered down further.

Benefits- -FLHS staff ultimately responsible for all content delivery, less impact on content delivered -eliminates one FLHS teacher salary -classroom teacher's time could be used elsewhere in the schools


 * III. Documents**