Triton committee debates middle-school teaming and approves middle-school CTE/myCAP policy as amended
Summary
The committee received an operational report on middle-school teaming and approved a revised middle-school CTE/myCAP policy (first-and-final reading) that formalizes tours, communications and myCAP sequencing; members asked for clarifications on program placement and suggested a companion Triton tour policy in a future agenda.
Principal McCray and district administration presented a middle-school teaming status report explaining that teams create smaller learning communities to ease transitions for students from three feeder schools and enable coordinated supports. The presentation described team sizes, staffing models (four core teachers, one special-education teacher and an instructional assistant per team), and how Essentials and Reach programs are attached to teams so those educators can participate in team meetings.
Committee members pressed for clarifications about how Reach/Essentials students are assigned and whether interventions and specialist roles (math interventionists, reading supports) are shared across teams. Administrators said interventionists are shared across teams and that team leaders meet regularly; content-area teachers also convene for department collaboration. "Those meetings allow departments to coordinate assessments and instruction," a district administrator said while describing PD and coverage arrangements.
Administration moved the middle-school CTE/myCAP policy up on the agenda. The policy formalizes how middle-school students are made aware of career-and-technical options (including opportunities at Whittier, Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School and Triton High School), how tours and application timelines are communicated, and an appendix that outlines a myCAP scope and sequence by grade level. The policy-subcommittee recommended approval and administration requested the policy be adopted as a first-and-final reading.
Committee members sought a wording edit (to avoid redundancy in the name of Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School and to correct address details) and asked whether Triton should adopt a formal Triton tour policy for middle-school-to-high-school experiences; members suggested referring that idea back to the policy and advocacy subcommittee.
A member moved to approve the CTE/myCAP policy "as amended" as a first-and-final reading; the motion was seconded and the committee proceeded to a vote recorded on the agenda. Administration said the policy codifies existing practices strengthened by recent grant-funded myCAP work and clarifies communication and recordkeeping for tours and applications.
