Present:
Brad Royal - Admin
John Downs - Tech
Candi Fernandez – CC
Kelly Hall – L.A.
Dave Jenkins – Math
Mark Schnably – Science
Tamara Hughes – encore
Deborah Cummings - encore
Daniel Bryant – 6 th
Elizabeth Hobson – 6 th
Matt Fossa – 7 th
Jill Friesent--Secretary
Gail Frank – 8 th
Brent Atkinson – 8 th
Karen Parker – Teacher Assistant
Stephen Kottenbrock - Admin
Lisha Vannoy - guidance
John Cardarelli – S.S
Richardson/Edmonds – EC
Robin Moon – 7 th
Not present:
Janet. Fangmann- PTA
LaJoi Wilson-Moore - Admin
3) Minutes
-Motion to approve last meeting minutes?
-Karen motions, Matt seconds, all in favor
4) Tech update – Atkinson
New Classroom Solutions – One to Mr. Schnably, as he was the only other person to write a proposal for round one. One to a sixth grade social studies teacher IF district will insure equipment in the pods. If not, a 7th social studies teacher in the main building.
-Royal: Yes, they can put them in a pod, no it’s not insured. (We’re self-insured… if that money is gone or they don’t want to pay it as the school system, we’re on our own. So it’s really just a maybe. That’s the best answer he can give us.) The TV would have to be put on a rolling cart… much easier to steal. $8250… but 6th should have one.
-Downs: But, not to be against 6th grade, if it’s our money now we might should lean on the safe side. and wait till the 2012 bond to equip the PODS?
-Atkinson- Hopefully any emptied classrooms will turn into computer labs, but we won’t double up (on our own money) and put solutions in the labs.
This completes “phase one” of our tech acquisition plan. Yeah!
Phase two has been modified to fill 4 dell mini laptop carts, one for each grade level and encore before returning to solutions. (They hold 24 each)
-Fossa: I think it’s silly to decide which building the solutions go in? If someone has a better proposal, why shouldn’t they get it? Answer: Soc. St. already met about this. No one is moving rooms… we’re all the same school. Why should we be so restrictive? It will eventually force someone to take one, due to location and restrictions, as opposed to those who will really use it.
-Atkinson: They can’t be on the same team: that’s a parent issue. So it’s more a team thing, but buildings make that easier to decide.
-Downs: Another reason to do it geographically is if teams switch around in future years.
-Royal: I don’t personally care where we put them, but it does geographically make sense.
-Carderelli: I think this resoves the issue, because after this one is placed downstairs, it makes the next one open to anyone.
-Atkinson: So after this, do we want to say that it goes to the best proposal period? Since one will be close enough regardless.
-Atkinson: So we need to know… are we adamantly against putting one in 6th grade? We have to decide this in order to move forward.
-Royal: "Maybe" in Central office means no. So we need this to go to 7th grade.
-Carderelli: Motion to make the next solution downstairs in 7th grade social studies. The motion was seconded, unanimous vote that way.
5) Encore meetings – Friesen
Meeting more often than encore would like. Only want/need 2 meeting per month.
-Royal: We don’t have grade level meetings unless there is something to be discussed. We can’t know ahead of time when things will come up.
–Atkinson: how many parent meetings do you do in there too? I know it’s your lunch, but… Grades take a long time with 2-3 times the students.
Candi and Brad: out of necessity… we can’t necessarily say now that they will only be twice a month.
- Friesen: Also, can we choose events: concerts, plays, banquets, etc. Instead of having to go to all, like we have in past years. Atkinson: We’ll talk about that next time since it wasn’t on the agenda.
6) Student Agenda for 2011-2012 – Hall
Changes for gum, etc if not to be enforced
- Hall: Battle against gum is done, right?
- Royal: Not set that way, but I don’t want my administrators tied up dealing with it. Maybe when it turns into insubordination. But get it off the books… you can do something about it if you like, but not on the books.
- Hall: If it isn’t going to be supported by administration as a school rule, lets take it off the agenda, and deal with it again. Previously when a repeated offence (insubordination), we wrote it up for an ASD. I’m seeing gum everywhere. Everywhere. We need to either take it off the books or take it on. But this isn’t just about gum… it’s about rules in general.
- Royal: Gum chewing in hallways and at water fountains… how can we monitor that?
- We have never had the nasty gum mess that we have now.
- Fossa: Do not Take it off the books… so we can still enforce it in on our own… and be able to tell them to spit it out.
- Frank: Make it known that it is still a rule: some teachers are letting them chew gum.
- Atkinson: And letting them use cell phones.
- Bryant: Teachers are doing it too.
- Atkinson: Gum scraping service has to be really monitored with whatever time teachers are willing to give. Whatever you decide is your punishment and you enforce it yourself, you should see some decline. But she’s right… to be in the agenda we have to be united on it.
- Royal: How do you encourage people to be professional? That’s what this is about. How do we hold each other accountable? Single-School culture… not just walk on the sides of the halls. We have to tackle the staff first. This is more about professionalism and holding each other accountable. That is something that we as a staff next year could really improve on.
- Atkinson: In May now, we can’t send directives out right now. But since there isn’t a SIP to be done next year… we can tackle that next year straight off. Because if everybody just did what was expected of them, then this wouldn’t be an issue.
-Carderelli: I suggest we discuss this by grade level, and decide how we want to deal with it… make it a team thing, etc.
- Vannoy: But if the consequences are always different, then isn’t that confusing to kids too?
- Atkinson: Time to move on: it’s professionalism. To be dealt with next year.
7) Creation of PTA business center – Bryant
-To meet the needs to parents, to email parents, check parent assist, pay bills, etc. I think it would be helpful to provide some access to parents. Church used to be the center of the community, but it isn’t doing it anymore, so I feel like now it should be the school. Can we give value to coming in to using the doors, etc. So why couldn’t we form a PTA headquarters, in say, Mr. Messick’s old office, for parents to use if not already used?
-Atkinson: Great idea IF the resources are there. Even if only a few use it, the PTA would appreciate it.
-Royal: I’m thinking more a business professionals’ office. But I love the idea.
-Bryant: And I think it needs to be in place right at the beginning of the year, and easily accessible.
-Royal: I love this idea… how inviting is it to be so inviting the community.
-Copies may be a problem.
-Atkinson: Parking may be a problem. I think it’s time to consider making visitor parking really just for visitors (in the past we didn’t have enough, so we had to use it for employees), but we need to offer them somewhere to park.
-This would also reduce that parking in front of the building and blocking traffic.
8) PTA meetings on Thursdays – Fossa
- This goes with what Jill was saying about scheduling… but I remember SIT saying meetings only on Thursday to have long day at the end of the week, since we have to have such late days.
-Downs: I think this one was just switched due to the scheduling of the band concert.
-Kottenbrock: That may be partially my fault, because I was standing in for Brad that day, but they like that to have more audience and members.
-Atkinson: The choosing options, when I chose mine and came, only a few came.
-Frank (and others): That was really only a problem in December. And there are also problems for parking.
-Atkinson: So since the PTA meetings for next year have not been set, we can make an effort that way.
-Hall: But if there are more things a month, and we still have option, then I think it would be enjoyed, etc.
-Communication next year should be somewhat better too, because we’ll have a full-time band teacher next year. (Kottenbrock)
- And we all left that particular meeting unhappy because it was so hot, muggy, and rainy. We need some handicapped seating… that was a major problem.
-Royal: We are NOT having another meeting in the gym during the month of May.
9) D-1s for Tardies – Fossa
-Is it possible for NC Wise to handle D-1’s to handle 3rd tardy? Can Steve Blair run those reports, instead of us dealing with it because it happens so much.
-Royal: Easier for whom? How many referrals are you asking 2 administrators to write up, versus 60 people? It’s just a shift of responsibility.
-Fossa: We don’t even keep track of tardies anyways… NC WISE does. It’s an efficiency issue. If Steve Blair could even run a report and email it to us to write up, but for us to go through it… so much to scroll through. The way we do it, is hard… we can’t be consistent because they go to encore and we don’t see the slips
-Downs: Why don’t we ask Steve Blair about it, and see what’s possible?
-Cummings: Encore teachers can just give the pass back for them to take to homeroom teachers after seeing it.
-Vannoy: Maybe some teachers may need to teach others the efficiency of how to deal with it.
-Royal: I’m all about holding our kids accountable. If is kid is tardy, the kid should be disciplined. But (rhetorically) are we really disciplining the right person? We shouldn’t get so caught up in consequences for this, and remember the reasoning behind it.
-Frank: Then we need to change how it’s written in the agenda.
-If we take it out, we’ll have an increase in tardies.
-Some parents ask me to write them up… they just won’t get out of bed.
-Atkinson: The agenda at least needs to be looked at, not just last-minute-like. Royal: If you want things adjusted in there, email administration about it.
10) Short shorts – EC
- Back to the agenda issue… so let’s just focus on professionalism.
11) ISS assignment requests – EC
- Need requests in boxes sooner than morning of assignment. EC teachers get that slip the morning we walk in the door, and they can’t leave kids in the classroom, etc. Maybe email assignments?
-They can call her too. Or send kids with it to Cathy. Or Cathy does have something there to work on if just once in awhile. Cathy doesn’t mind if it’s a little late as long as they have something to do.
-Royal: In other schools I think we should schedule ISS a day in between assignments. But if the kid needs to be out… they need to be there next day.
-Atkinson- I think I’m speaking for the staff- we would not be happy if there was a lag there if the kids really needed to be out.
-Kottenbrock: And maybe if we schedule that before 11am, then it should be for the next day, but if they are scheduled after that time, maybe it should lag a day.
-And if she needs work, she often calls the room.
Vannoy: What about holey jeans? I mean, up past the thigh. –Send to add to agenda.
12) Close of school year and furlough days – Royal
-Scratched for today.
13) SIT next year – Who is replacing whom?
-Loflin replacing Atkinson as 8th rep.
-Carleen Mooney replacing Hobson
- Riddle? Replacing Hughes
-Dietrich replacing Moon
-Bryant is staying on, replacing himself.
Royal: Friday you’ll receive a close of school packet of checkout stuff. Grades will be due by 3pm Tuesday June 14th. You’ll get report cards by the 15th, first thing in the morning, and have to stuff them that day. Quick turn around. That’s all the time we’ve got.
14) MVP nominations/award: MVP TBD.
