Community Council Minutes January 4, 2017

Community Council Minutes
January 4, 2017

Meeting conducted by Naomi Trammell.
Welcome & Call to Order – Naomi
Review of previous minutes - Keri Fidler
     *No changes were requested to November’s minutes.
     *Thank you to Bonnie Wallace for posting the minutes and Council information.
School Updates – Council Members:
     *Dibels testing tomorrow
     *Choir starts on 1/23. Band will be combined with North Ogden Elem @ NOJH.
     *Fight the New Drug will be 2/1 @ WHS.
     *One Book One School is going well. Students are excited about My Side of the Mountain.
     *White Ribbon (Internet Safety) starts this week.
Review on current plan; successes and improvements - Council
     *Naomi asked how is it working?
     *Discussion about PLCs, Technology issues and concerns
Measurements:
     *How are we improving with the goals we make?
     *Kitty recently completed a teacher survey on Survey Monkey to assess the success of PLCs and CLAP time.
           -Kitty can bring the results to next meeting.
           -Every teacher loves PLCs.
           -Discussion about how does that planning/prep time improve student success.
     *Suzie North is working with a student to track student improvement from the computer portion of CLAP.
           -How can we analyze the data to see if the computer portion is helping?
                    --Kitty can get current data from Suzie.
                    --SAGE testing won’t really show how the typing is helping.
                    --Would likely be measured in improved word per minute speed.
                    --Bonnie said her class sees the results by having more teacher instruction time.
     *Marlisa stressed the importance of coming up with concrete ways of determining whether the programs we are funding are improving student success.
     *Discussion about ways we would measure each area.
          -Trust Lands wants a 3% improvement in each area.
     *Roger talked about the importance of regular checks to assess data.
           -This should be done in common formulated assessments not just summative assessments.
           -Currently being done as part of PLCs.
           -There is always room for improvement. How can we improve this process?
     *Marjean pointed out that Kitty is giving teachers time to do breakouts during PLCs.
          -Kitty paid for substitutes so teachers could work with other grades for PLCs.
          -This was the first time this year for this process, but Kitty would like to do it quarterly.
          -This improves collaboration between the teachers and grade levels.
          -Roger Bailey from the District trained on RTI (Response to Intervention)  techniques. Sixth grade is currently doing a great job with this.
Current Trust Land Spending Report:
     *Kitty prepared a current spending report. The budget for the reading aides has exceeded the plan by approximately $2,500. The school fundraiser proceeds will cover that overage.
     *Fine Arts budget is on track.
     *Technology budget was helped thanks to a generous donation from the PTA.
     *The PTA will cover $2,500 toward the least of one set of Chromebooks. Thank you PTA.
     *PTA will also be covering 2 field trips per grade for this year.
Grade Level Priority Lists:
     *Marjean presented the information on behalf of Charlotte.
     *Discussion about needs, goals, implementation and ideas for programs.
     *All grades wanted aides and technology.
     *Discussion about Chromebooks. Fourth grade currently uses the set that was purchased outright by the school. This set has issues and is not fully operational.
     *Angela shared that the reading aides do a lot of planning to help specific students improve reading. It can be hard on the aides and the classrooms when the aides are pulled to be substitutes.
     *Roger pointed out the importance of aides in reading interventions.
           -Discussion about volunteers vs. aides vs. substitutes.
           -Money is best spent on trained aides to improve student outcomes.
           -All schools are facing a major substitute shortage.
           -The budgetary formula for aides is $2,500 for 1 hour/day
           -Naomi asked the council to consider the wish list when determining funding priorities.
                       --CLAP and reading aides
                       --Technology
Rough draft of fund allotment for 2017-2018 year:
     *Anticipated approximate $45,000 funding
     *$5,000 for two sets of Chromebooks ($2,500 lease on current set, $2,500 to lease a new set)
     *$1,400 for a new computer cart
     *$38,600 for Art, Computer, and Reading Aides
     *Trust Lands prefer to have a professional development piece, so the PLC aides will cover that.

Other Items:
     *Roger asked about a large grant from the Foundation. Kitty can apply for a large school grant from the Weber School Foundation. In the past this grant has been received every three years and may be approximately $5,000.
     *Jamie asked about student fees. Elementary schools require free education and schools are not allowed to charge fees, or request/track specific donations.
     *The school is always looking for more A-C leveled readers. If anyone were able to make a donation, it would be appreciated.
Discussion about nominations for 2017-2018 council members.
     *Will elect at least 4 new parents each year.
     *Julie Simmons will take the lead on the voting process by sending an email requesting nominations and explaining the election process.
     *Nominations for parents April 10-21
     *Voting for parents April 24-May 5
     *Nominations for teachers April 12-April 19
Training Opportunity: 5th Annual Conference & Training of the Utah Association of School Community Councils (UASCC). Thursday, January 12, 2017, 4:00-8:00pm (check in 3:30-4:00). Highland High School 2166 S. 1700 E. SLC. Participants will have opportunities to receive focused training and connect with council members over a complimentary dinner. Register online: http://tinyurl.com/UASCC2017

Meeting Adjourned.

Assignments:
     *Kitty Barney:
          -Present school events/updates at next meeting.
          -Bring current year trust land spending report to next meeting.
         -Bring teacher survey results and computers assessment to next meeting.
     *Teachers:
         -Present school events/updates at next meeting.  

     *Council:
        -Present school events/updates at next meeting.
        -Julie to prepare election information.

Upcoming Community Council Meetings: March 1 @ 3:00Other meetings may be scheduled as necessary.