September 14, 2009

The meeting was called to order by Dana Murdoch at 5:38 p.m. Members and visiting parents introduced themselves.

Attendance 

parents:  Betsy Currie, Randi Madisen, Renee Raduenz, Tracy Bibelnieks, Dinah Swain Schuster, Mary Johnson, Leigh Anne Adams, Kaoru Adachi, Beth Janke, Susan Heegaard, Dana Murdoch ; Teachers: Stacy Waskosky, John Middleton, Julie Isachsen, John Mayock, Nancy Randall; Administration: Brenda Lewis

A picture of the Site council members will be taken at the October meeting.

The minutes from the June 1, 2009 site council meeting were approved.

The agenda was amended to add a discussion/update on the 6^th grade classroom under old business.

Stacy Waskosky was nominated to be Site Council staff co-chair.

Public Forum

Ms. Waskosky  explained the rules of the public forum:  if a topic is a site council issue, this will be its first hearing. It will be considered as an agenda item at the next meeting, if the Site Council determines  it should be explored further. No issue will be resolved on first hearing.

Ms. Adams asked about district policy for showing movies as entertainment in the classroom. She  explained that she was not asking about movies used to support curriculum. Dr. Lewis explained the district policy: the movies must be rated G, and if not, then permission slips must go home to parents. Ms. Adams asked how we can make sure that the teachers follow the rules. Dr. Lewis will put this on the agenda for the next staff meeting. She has prior experience formulating school policies regarding the showing of movies.  Dr. Lewis will also put this issue on the administration report for September.

Ms. Adachi asked about changing a bus stop so that her children would not have to cross Como Avenue. She was advised to contact the transportation department and ask for a change. The number is available from the school office.

Ms. Swain Schuster tabled her request to discuss the specialist rotation until the next meeting.

 Administration Report

Dr. Lewis provided a synopsis of PBIS (positive behavior intervention support), a curriculum in which faculty and staff were trained during workshop week.  Dr. Lewis said that this is a system that will set kids up to be successful. It will be district wide. PBIS focuses on having a safe and inviting learning environment. Three simple rules have been developed to communicate to students:  be respectful, be responsible and be safe. Dr. Lewis described PBIS as the first cousin of Responsible Classroom. PBIS allows teachers to deal with behaviors that are out of the norm, where a standard redirect will not work. Dr. Lewis said that the school community will work together on a school wide basis to earn rewards. This program will be phased in. Dr. Lewis said that the Cougar Award program will be reviewed, taking into account the results of a staff survey taken last spring. She said the Cougar Award program will change, but she is not exactly sure what the changes will be. This will be discussed at the next Site Council meeting. Dr. Lewis urged us to read the Rights and Responsibilities Handbook, which precisely spells out the consequences for certain behaviors. She stressed that we will be moving away from a “gotcha” mentality to really fostering community in the school.

With regard to SPPS initiatives, Dr. Lewis discussed MONDO, a reading initiative. In essence, the MONDO initiative is bringing reader/writers workshops into the classroom. Ms. Waskosky  said that we have the curriculum materials now that support this initiative, and teachers have been trained. Teachers are currently working on how to implement MONDO at CH with SEM-R and differentiated curriculum. Ms. Bibelnieks asked if there were any initiatives in science and math. Dr. Lewis had no answers, because she is not yet sure what our science and math needs are. She needs to analyze the situation further with regard to science and math.

Ms. Waskosky reported that teachers worked a great deal over the summer coordinating curriculum with the science specialist. Teachers decided that the best way to meet science and other standards was to have 3 weeks in each specialist rotation. Mr. Mayock pointed out that we have not necessarily been compliant with the requirement that we spend 70 minutes per class.

Dr. Lewis explained her philosophy of instructional leadership. She will be in classrooms providing instant feedback to teachers via blackberry or laptop.

Dr. Lewis reported that as of today, we have 702 children in the elementary classrooms, and 342 students in the jr. high classrooms. Budget is tied to enrollment. We have a $22,000 deficit from last year, and we will therefore have to be very careful of our spending this year. We will no longer be able to overspend one year, with the idea of taking the deficit out of the next year’s budget. Dr. Lewis will show us the budget and budget process as the numbers arrive, which she hopes will be by November/December. She is already inquiring about possible cuts given the current enrollment, so there will not be any surprises. Ms. Heegard asked Dr. Lewis to be sure to clarify how different children bring in different amounts of money.

Dr. Lewis said that we are trying to fill a special education EA (Education Assistant) vacancy. She said that there are many qualified applicants. We also have an instructional coach vacancy. Dr Lewis wants someone to focus on our upper grades. An instructional coach is someone who comes in and helps teachers, in a non-evaluative capacity. The funding for this position came by re-programming money for a consultant. She was informed by the district that we were out of compliance with regard to this position, so she redirected the money.

 Committee/ Liaison reports

Ms. Murdoch explained that every member of the Site Council needs to be on a committee. Committees meet monthly, and report at Site Council. The committees are membership, SCIP/budget, communications/outreach, reform, PTO liaison, and GSAC liaison. Veteran Site council members explained the purpose of each committee.

Mr. Mayock said that Site Council members should email the co-chairs with their choice of committee.

 New Business

 Members discussed the role of Site Council. Briefly, it is advisory only, and should be a place to come and work for the good of all of the students.  Several members noted the discrepancies between the bylaws, written in 2000, and the more recent brochure published by the district regarding the role of school Site Councils. Amending the by-laws may be a topic for the reform committee to consider. 

We may invite Jim Eaton, principal on special assignment to help with site based management, to address us at the next meeting. Members should let co-chairs know what topics they would like him to address. It will not be a retreat like last year.

In response to a question by Ms. Raduenz, Mr. Mayock clarified that non-members may participate in committees but cannot vote at meetings.

Bring topics/issues to the next meeting.

Old Business

There is no School Leadership Liaison yet, because the leadership liaison team is not yet up and running. This discussion was tabled until Dr. Lewis has more information.

Ms. Waskosky suggested that one of the first items for  the SCIP committee to address is whether test data released in late June correlates with  the SCIP.

Ms. Adams summarized a presentation made last year by Tom Vellenga regarding our school name.   Dr. Lewis suggested that this might be a topic for the reform committee, and should go into a parent survey. Ms. Adams suggested that we invite Mr. Vellenga to return to the Site Council.

The possibility of adding Chinese language, presented last year by Monica Hynds, is a dead issue , due to the fact that the teacher at Ramsey got cut, and the program required quick action, classroom space and budget money.

Dr. Lewis will address the issues of the Cougar Awards and 6^th grade classroom structure in the coming months.

 The meeting was adjourned at 7:10 p.m.