Attendance:  
Teachers: Stacy Waskosky, John Middleton, John Mayock, Nancy Randall

Parents:  Beth Janke, Leigh Anne Adams, Dana Murdoch,Susan Heegard, Renee Radenz,  Randi Madisen, Betsy Currie, Kathy Ferry;
Administration: Brenda Lewis, Principal,  Renee Jensen, Assistant Principal; District Representatives: Sharon Freeman (SPPS executive director of elementary education for schools west of 35E), Jim Eaton (Professional Development Center)

General Procedures

A photo of site council members will be taken at the November meeting.

The minutes from the June meeting were approved. The September minutes will be amended to indicate that the June minutes were not approved at that meeting.

The agenda for the October meeting was amended to add the following public forum items: request by Kathy Ferry to discuss the switch to 6th grade self contained classrooms; parent night discussion (Leigh Anne Adams) and discussion of the order of agenda items (Renee Radenz)

 Public Forum/New Business

1.  Switch to 6th grade contained classroom: Kathy Ferry (CH parent) asked for an explanation of how /why the switch occurred. She was frustrated last year,  as the principal did not send out a parent survey as promised. Ms. Ferry noted that only one of the 6th grade teachers has the proper background to train children in advanced reading, and now 3/4 of the children will not get that training.  Dr. Lewis said that the structure of the 6th grade classrooms will not be changed this academic year, and that she would discuss the issue during her administrative report.

2.  Parent night:  Leigh Anne Adams explained how difficult it was for one parent to attend parent night if you have one elementary school student and one jr high student. She felt that the junior high open house was chaotic, and provided little opportunity to get real input from the teachers.  There was confusion about whether to bring the kids or not, and confusion about the purpose of the open house. She asked whether the process could be reexamined for next year.  Dr. Lewis said that the committee (which one?) will work on this issue for next year.

3.  Renee Radenz : suggested that parent input be placed at the beginning of the agenda in order to increase parent participation. Dana Murdoch suggested that we put information about the availability of time for parent input in the spotlight section of the school newsletter.  John Mayock also explained that historically, the centerpiece of the site council meetings has always been the administrative report, rather than committee reports. Stacy Waskosky said that she and Dana would discuss the order of the agenda.

4.  Susan Heegard asked whether there was a policy about making assignments available online, as a way of saving paper. She inquired whether it would be possible to have a more uniform policy, so that teachers would all be providing information in a consistent way. Dr. Lewis said that she is working on this issue now.

Administration Report

 Dr. Lewis informed the council that she planned to review portions of the SCIP plan at each meeting. At this meeting, she discussed  training for teachers.. She said that 100% of classroom teachers have been trained in some portion of Everyday math (1st - 7th grades) There is also   ongoing training in readers’s workshop. There is a weekly meeting of content coaches with teachers, to allow teachers to collaborate, so that they do not have to labor in isolation. Capitol Hill has a new content coach, who will be featured in Dr. Lewis’s blog this week. She will work mostly in the 6th grade and junior high. Grace Raymond will continue to work with the other grades. Content coaches are not evaluative, but provide professional development, and help teachers with lessons and content.

Dr. Lewis said that a memo has been sent to teachers that all movies shown at school must be connected to the curriculum.

Dr. Lewis also reported that she had met with Tom Vellenga, who made a presentation last year to the Site Council suggesting that the name of the school be changed. Dr. Lewis told Mr. Vellenga that the issue would be considered by the reform committee.  Sharon Freeman pointed out that the district has a specific process  that must be followed in order to change the name of a school.

Jim Eaton  spoke about the role and history of Site Councils in the SPPS.  Briefly, site councils were originally established as a method of accomplishing school improvement. The idea was that site councils would find the best practices for a school. This idea failed in application in large districts such as St. Paul, where not all schools are equal. The SPPS is therefore now moving toward a much more centralized decision making process. As a result of this shift in policy, there is some confusion over the role of site councils.  Although the parents have to be at the table somehow,  a site council is not a decision making body. Only the principal has the authority to make decisions in this school. Her decisions can be reviewed by Sharon Freeman, and up the chain of command. The site council, however, can provide input on the decisions made by the principal.  The key to the site council is to get ALL the perspectives from all the students/families at a school, not just the members of site council. It is the job of the site council to form its community, set priorities /goals and bring it all to the table.

Dana Mudoch pointed out that there are discrepancies between the by laws and what the district currently says is the role of the site council.   Mr. Eaton said that we can amend our by laws, and that he will provide model by laws for this purpose. The amendments would have to be approved by Mr. Eaton and the executive director. Mr. Eaton pointed out that the process of amending by laws can be useful, but is very time intensive.   He also said that although the site councils throughout the district are quite different from one another, he does not believe that the district will spend any time trying to develop a standard approach to the role of site councils, given the more pressing enormous budget issues. He thinks that the district has made clear, however, that the site council is not a decision making body.  Susan Freeman added that Dr. Lewis is ultimately responsible for what goes on in the building, and is accountable to parents and for student achievement.  Ms. Freeman said that the site council is intended to give input to the principal.

There was more discussion about decision making authority and responsibility, decision making culture in the SPPS,  and the role of site council in the creation of SCIP and the budget.

Jim Eaton stated that he can be contacted at any time with further questions.

Committees

Members each chose a committee on which to serve. The plan is that the regular site council meeting will end at 7 p.m., and committees can then meet from 7 - 7:30 p.m.

SCIP/ Budget:  

Communications and Outreach:  This committee will be taking up the proposal to send a parent survey. Sharon Freeman pointed out that there is a district department that can provide information about parent surveys. Dr. Lewis pointed out that content and confidentiality are key issues.

Reform:  this committee will address the proposal from last year by Tom Vellenga regarding changing the name of the school

GSAC liaison (the district wide gifted services committee) will likely by Leigh Anne Adams.

Dana Murdoch will contact the absent members regarding their committee preferences. Committees must meet and set their goals, then report to the site council.

AGENDA ITEMS for the November meeting must be sent to Stacy Waskosky and Dana Murdoch at least three days before the meeting.

Dr Lewis encouraged all to READ THE PRINCIPAL’S BLOG! It is on the school web page.

The meeting was adjourned at 7 p.m.

The next meeting is Monday November 9, 2009