For the first time in Ramaz history, a student was allowed access to the monthly meeting of the faculty and the administration.

Ramaz faculty met for their third faculty meeting this year on Wednesday, January 5th. The teachers were gathered in the back of the room until around 4:55, taking advantage of the snack cart until they were quieted down for the presentations to begin. Mr. Cannon opened by notifying the teachers with a “reward,”as he called it, for working extra hard this semester, of canceling the Professional Development day scheduled on the Tuesday after Presidents Day. He then went into his “normal meeting topic” of COVID updates. He specifically reminded teachers to help enforce mask- wearing rules. He emphasized that although the school doesn’t want mask-wearing to be seen as a punishment and create a negative atmosphere, they need to prioritize safety. 

Ms. Krupka then took over, and introduced  Joshua Todes ‘23, who was preparing to present a PowerPoint for the faculty. Todes explained that he had  hand-selected a team of technologically advanced students who desire to help teachers quickly and efficiently with their technology issues. He explained that he and his team would be available to help teachers with all kinds of technological issues. 

Rabbi Schiowitz then addressed the elevator issue. He explained that students are getting their privileges back on the condition that they stay “respectful,” but he didn’t give specific guidelines for what “respectful” meant. He explained that the school wouldn’t be proscribing a specific number of people in the elevator, but that teachers make personal decisions. Several teachers suggested that  these rules were vague,  and they expressed  doubt in their efficacy.

Ms. Krupka returned to introduce the discussion of the potential move back to a rotating schedule. She is planning to put together a committee of five or six faculty representatives across departments who will research other schools, and analyze the history of rotating schedules. This will allow them to understand all costs and benefits of a rotating schedule and decide what’s best for Ramaz. 

Ms. Krupka then quickly went over the setup for senior finals, to address confusion that had been expressed by the teachers. The last ten minutes of the meeting were reserved for a private discussion amongst the faculty.