Staff Information

Students, staff, and community members can all teach a course. ALL STUDENTS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS LEADING A COURSE MUST BE PAIRED WITH A STAFF MEMBER WHO WILL SERVE AS THE PRIMARY CONTACT. The course must support the objectives of MI and be sanctioned by the MI Committee, the Committee on Program and Procedure (CPP), and the Dresden School Board (DSB). These requirements are in place to ensure that MI offers a quality learning experience. Most courses run for four whole days, meaning 8:00 AM to 2:55 PM (2:00 PM on Wednesday), or, if paired with another course, for four partial days, meaning 8:00 to 11:00 AM or 12:00 to 2:55 PM (8:00 to 10:30 AM or 11:30 to 2:00 PM on Wednesday). Breaks for water, the restrooms, and lunch will not exceed one and one-half hours for Whole Day courses, and groups should not be dismissed early. The MI Committee can be of assistance in organizing course schedules, and it is understood that certain courses may involve excursions or deviations from this strict time schedule by leaving early and returning late, as necessary, and after notifying all students and parents/guardians and the MI Committee. It should be noted that more than one individual can be involved in teaching a course, as long as the student load is adjusted proportionally with the number of teachers. Furthermore, field trips consistent with the course objectives are encouraged.

ALL COURSES, even those proposed and/or mainly led by a student or a community member, MUST HAVE A STAFF MEMBER TO SERVE AS THE PRIMARY CONTACT FOR THE MI FACILITATOR BY E-MAIL and also for ALL FINANCIAL NEEDS who also ATTENDS ALL MI MEETINGS DURING CG. In other words, non-staff members will no longer be allowed to run meetings without a staff member present and will not be able to execute any financial decisions, and run the risk of missing critical information disseminated by the MI Committee by e-mail.

Courses are first reviewed by the MI Committee, followed by CPP, and then a final list of courses are presented to the School Board. Once approved by the board, a course catalog is created by for student registration. Final course determinations are made based on course enrollment.

In creating a MI course, please work to minimize costs in order to make the course as widely accessible as possible. Do not be afraid to create a low-cost, or even better, a $0 course. We try to subsidize as many courses down to $0 as possible!

Be sure to factor is cost of travel including mileage, any food, supplies, instructor fees, and/or registration fees.

• maintains all of the guidebooks, handbooks, forms, and so on for the MI Program.
• forms, directs, schedules, and takes minutes for the MI Committee and its meetings (in general, once per week from September through February during an Activity Period).
• maintains contact with the staff at regular intervals (without clogging Inboxes) about MI business.
• assists with fundraising, such as the MI Talent Show and bake sales.
• serves as the primary contact for the community in terms of communication and PR.
• writes thank-you letters in March/April to all significant donors of funds.
• attends two School Board meetings: one in October for course approval and one in April for program review.
• prepares surveys and summarize data.
• runs the two placement meetings and delegate student notification of course placement.
• attends one CPP meeting in October regarding course approval.
• meets regularly with Administration regarding problems that arise over the course of the year.
• currently has 0.2 FTE release time to complete MI tasks
• regularly contributes to CG announcements and Principal’s Weekly messages to communicate MI information.
• serves as a consultant for any of the courses, such as to float ideas.
• reports to the Principal.
  

The MI Facilitator does not

• make lesson plans, set up or adjust travel arrangements, obtain adult drivers to help with transportation, or do any of the nitty-gritty preparation for individual courses.
• collect money or forms for the courses.
• consistently check up on the progress of each course.
• have control over the weather of MI week, and therefore, make contingency plans for any of the individual courses.
• monitor attendance during the MI week.
• evaluate in any capacity any staff.

We will assist in finding you a new course to be a part of.

It is our philosophy that March Intensive should be a time when students can learn for learning's sake — minus the pressure of grades. That said, March Intensive will not last as a program if students (and their parents) think of this week as a vacation week. For that reason, instructors will be evaluating students based upon their level of participation, and these participation marks will be noted on students' transcripts.

“SP” = Successful Participation is assigned if a student constructively participates for all 4 days (or has an excused absence for 1 – 2 days) and completes all course requirements (e.g., related readings, projects, and/or written reflections).

“NP” = Non-participation is assigned if a student has an excused absence for 3 – 4 days or is excused from participation altogether.

“UP” = Unsuccessful Participation is assigned if a student has an unexcused absence for 1 or more days, was present but did not constructively participate, or failed to complete the course requirements (e.g., related readings, projects, and/or written reflections).

For on site courses, attendance must be reported at the start of each day to Katie Lowery in the main office.

For travel courses, attendance must be reported prior to departure.

In October, we will publish the list of MI courses with instructions for course registration. 11th and 12th graders will come into CG ready to give their top eight choices to the MI Committee via an online form; 9th and 10th graders will sign up soon thereafter. More detailed course information will always be provided so that students are able to make informed decisions. It is very important to think carefully about choosing courses, so all students have an interesting and positive experience. IT IS ALSO CRUCIAL THAT STUDENTS CLEARLY AND CAREFULLY STUDY THE DIRECTIONS REGARDING THE SIGN-UP PROCESS SO THAT THEIR PREFERENCES ARE HONORED.

The same procedure will be followed for each succeeding grade level. If a student’s first choice is already filled, the placement will continue as if the student’s second choice were actually the first, and so on. In an effort to ensure 9th and 10th graders receive one of their top choices, they will be signing up for courses after 11th and 12th graders, selecting from an updated list of available courses. The MI Committee reserves the right to make adjustments in course rosters and run wait lists as is feasible.

If a student does not express preferences before the MI Committee determines course rosters, the MI Committee will assign the student to a course. Please keep in mind that all students are required to participate.

The placement procedure is obviously weighted to benefit older students with the understanding that all students will benefit from the procedure at some time in their high school careers. We also feel that it is very important to have the March Intensive support of the older students, who set the tone and direction for the student body.

Please note that all students are expected to participate in March Intensive; exceptions are granted only at the discretion of the Administration. If a student receives an “NP” or “UP” grade for March Intensive, he/she will be placed at the bottom of his/her class lottery the following year. Moreover, students are expected to participate in the MI course(s) assigned to them. If there is a problem, please see an adult member of the MI Committee.

ALL PURCHASES MUST BE MADE WITH THE SCHOOL’S CREDIT CARD, UNLESS APPROVED AHEAD OF TIME BY THE FRONT OFFICE. ALWAYS GO THROUGH THE MAIN OFFICE FOR ANY MONETARY TRANSACTIONS.

Any amount of money by which you overspend your budget may or may not be reimbursed, at the discretion of the Principal. In general, you will be covered up to $50.00 total.

If you have money left over, please understand that cutting checks for under $100.00 each is tedious and most likely will not occur. Consider a donation to the Scholarship Fund in this case.

It is the responsibility of the MI leaders to collect money and forms from participants. The deadline for full payment and form(s) is by 2:55 PM on January

Students may be removed from course after 2:55 PM for failure to be current with payment(s) and/or form(s), at the discretion of the instructor(s).

INSTRUCTOR(S): Note that it is your responsibility to collect money as needed for your course. If you need to submit an indebtedness notice, please e-mail the Front Office immediately.

Financial aid request forms are due Monday November 26, 2018. We will process the forms and inform leaders of approved financial aid requests

When it comes to running the three MI meetings during CG prior to the MI week, to each his own in terms of flavor and taste. As with all things teaching, you might have to try a few different things to find your groove.

For the first meeting, students and you might be understandably nervous, just like the first day of school. I like to go around the room, having everyone including myself seated in a circle, and do the typical say your name, a reason why you signed up for/are excited for this course, and one interesting fact about yourself. After this activity, I might suggest discussing your expectations for the course and explaining in sufficient, but not complete, detail what the students should expect. If there is any time left, ask them to give suggestions about ideas you may (or may not) incorporate into the course. This meeting would be a good time to distribute any important paperwork and discuss any fees associated with the course, plus remind them about the need-based scholarships.

For the second meeting, play another type of name game because the amount of time between meetings surely does not help with remembering names. Ask the students to take care of any reading/reflection pieces that you deem necessary ahead of time, and possibly create an activity that involves your course and debrief it by the end of the meeting. Reminders about fees and paperwork are essential, along with the need-based scholarships.

The third and final meeting should be about tying up loose ends and possibly an activity to build excitement for the upcoming MI course.

If you need further guidance, please do not hesitate to see the MI Facilitator for more ideas.

Non-travel MI courses will operate on a shortened schedule and will not meet on a snow day. Travel trips will work with the school to determine whether or not alternate travel plans or dates can be worked out or if the travel course needs to be cancelled. If a travel course is cancelled, we will work to refund as much as we can to families, but it is unlikely that the entire amount will be refunded due to third party cancellation policies. .