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JFK principal proposes graduation hinge on exit portfolio performance
John F. Kennedy High School Principal Steven Bovino hopes that by placing added importance on the school's Senior Exit Portfolio, students will produce better products at the "culmination" of their English education.
Bovino said at Tuesday's Cheektowaga Sloan Board of Education meeting that certain students hadn't put forward a sufficient effort on JFK's exit portfolio, which is considered 20 percent of the student's final average and the final examination for senior English. Despite some students producing sufficient work on the portfolio, Bovino said, others have done only the minimum amount of work, knowing their other English scores allowed them to pass the course. In some cases, students plagiarized their work. Additional students had even attended summer school rather than complete the portfolio.
Thus, the principal asked the board to implement a policy of making completion of the exit portfolio a graduation requirement for all students enrolled in senior English.
"We want to make this stand alone (as a graduation requirement)," Bovino said. "They'll have to meet a very detailed rubric. We want to make sure students are literate when they leave here.
"I think it's the final step to change students not wanting to spend more time on (the exit portfolio)," the principal added. "If students don't put the time needed into this portfolio, they'll be here in summer to get it right."
The portfolio includes various papers students have written over their high school career, as well as an overview of their writing development, among others items.
In other action, members of the JFK Middle School Character Education Committee discussed various extracurricular activities they would like to put into effect for the 20062007 academic year.
Committee Head Jeff Clark, as well as members Megan O'Sullivan and Kristine Schuh, proposed the following activities for students and members of the community for the school year: candlelight vigil in remembrance of those who died in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks; family movie nights in the JFK auditorium, with students and/or their parents attending one movie per academic quarter with a suggested donation of $2 a ticket; fall festival on October 30, with "haunted hallways," bobbing for doughnuts and, as Schuh stated, "trick-or-treating in a safe environment;" Veteran's Day visitation of the VA Hospital in Buffalo; Rake-A-Thon and Shovel-AThon in the fall and winter seasons, in which students are assigned to clear area driveways for Cheektowaga and Sloan residents; visiting and working at a soup kitchen in Buffalo; Winterfest celebration in January, in which games and other events take place behind JFK; spring clothing drive in April, in which students gather unused attire; March of Dimes Walk in May, in which students walk approximately three to four miles from JFK and raise money; and an end-of-year walk and fundraiser finishing at Losson Park in June.
O'Sullivan stated the committee is interested in increasing student participation in community service.
"It increases enthusiasm in both students and staff," O'Sullivan said. "If teachers display a liveliness for these types of programs, the students will pick up on it. It's also a way of helping students get into the National Junior Honor Society. A lot of times, students will have good grades but not enough service participation.
"It gives the middle school a face," O'Sullivan added. "It makes the kids feel like they belong."
Schuh added that the committee was looking for ways to raise money
for some of the proposed programs. Ideas the committee considered included "Crazy Dress Days" in the middle school, in which students make a $1 donation to wear unusual attire as well as sports pep rallies with various donations.
Clark said the main thrust of the proposed seasonal activities was to "lighten up" the atmosphere and increase extracurricular student participation.
"The idea is to get kids involved," Clark said. "Since it's the first year we're proposing this, we might get 10-15 kids. The following year, though, kids will already have had the experience of the previous year, and maybe we get 35-40 kids."
The board also:
Announced a 10-cent raise in JFK lunch prices from $1.25 to $1.35, and a 15-cent increase in breakfast to 70 cents.
Appointed Scott Page as a teacher aid in Academic Intervention at JFK Middle School.
Appointed Elizabeth Schuh as a full-time kindergarten teacher at Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School.
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