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Alvarado Elementary School Site Council Minutes School Year 2004-2005
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Minutes for Alvarado School Site Council Meeting April 12, 2005
In attendance: Council Members: Nick Driver, Kathleen Ribeiro, Jilma Ortiz, Ellen Little, Claire Siegel, Nancy Hawkins, David Weiner, Darcy Estes, Robert Broecker, Cecilia McDonagh, Rebecka Wright, Mary Lou Cooper
Community Members: Victoria Rock, David Morgan
A quorum of SSC members was present.
The motion was seconded. A friendly
amendment to specify the Alvarado Writer's Workshop as the recipient of
the literacy program funds was accepted.
The motion passed unanimously. Kathleen Ribeiro volunteered to help write
the job description for the new .3 Science position.
Respectfully submitted: Rebecka Wright
Minutes for Alvarado School Site Council Meeting March 15, 2005
Members Present: Nick Driver,
Robert Broecker, Mary Lou Cooper, Darcy
Estes, Nancy Hawkins, Shem Korngold, Cecilia McDonagh, Karen Mooney, Jilma
Ortiz, Melissa Serrano, Claire Siegel, Kathleen Ribeiro, David Weiner,
Rebecka Wright.
Community members present: Davide
Celoria, Jenny Chaffo, Nancy Hillan, Tim
Danison, Rosalie Simrock, Leongah Wheeler, Graciela Org, Violeta Garcia,
Marianne Nilsson, Guadalupe Xicale
1. Meeting began at 5:10. Roll call taken. Verification of quorum. Kathleen and Shem voting as alternates.
2. Nick: goal is to reach consensus on decisions made tonight at the meeting. Fall back plan will be a vote where simple majority carries. Rebecka suggests that we come up with a Plan B.
3. Robert's Rules will be followed.
4. Motion by Rebecka to move Grantwriting Committee report to after Public comment period. Seconded by Claire. Motion carries.
5. Motion by Robert to accept minutes as written. Seconded by Karen. Motion carries.
6. Public Comment Period: Davide Celoria hopes that we have a pain-free process.
7. Grantwriting Committee Report: Nancy Hillan reports: trying to form a new committee with new blood to coordinate and expand grantwriting possibilities; just re-formed last month. Barbara Schulte is chair. Four writers currently. Actively researching foundations etc. Putting together a database of contacts and funds. Plan to begin approaching organizations next month. Attached to the PTA but hope to work closely with SSC and other school committees (literacy comm., arts, etc). They hope that they can develop relationships with school communities and funding organizations. They hope that we keep Barbara informed of the decisions made tonight so that they can direct their efforts. Barbara's email: barbara@be-space.com.
8. Motion by Rebecka to table Presentation of Test Score Data to the next meeting. Motion carries.
9. Academic Plan discussion: Dave presents the thought that some sections are missing in the submissions of the Academic Plan. It is pointed out that, in the new template, some of these sections no longer exist.
Jilma presents Goal 1: Significantly
increase learning, close achievement gap in all areas. Public comment: Mr.
Danison asks where the achievement gaps occur - answer that they happens
in all areas. Davide suggests that we make sure to include ELL in the description
of the goal. Jilma presents suggested changes. Discussion about whether
to include items in 1.3 asking that ExCel staff attend staff meetings etc.
since we don't have an Alvarado staff member running ExCel.
Discussion about whether to include items funded by the PTA. David
says that we should with the stipulation "pending PTA funding." David W. suggests that we include these items next fall when we know what
the PTA budget is. Discussion about whether it is feasible for ExCel staff
to attend
staff meetings, and how many.
Addition of science resource responsibilities in 1.1 and 1.4. 1.5 addition of staff development in English language acquisition. 1.5 bullet 8: Resource staff meets twice a month to assess needs and maximize resources and programs for at-risk students.
Discussion of entire Plan. See notes on Finalized Academic Plan.
Motion to accept the Academic Plan. Motion carries.
10. Budget Discussion: Dave passed out a proposed budget and Community and Staff survey results. Public Comment: Mr. Danison advocates for maintaining a Science position. He states the need for a work force versed in technology. He also states that some students excel more in areas other than language arts, math, etc.Victoria ? advocates for a science position, stating its importance to EL students as well as students in the general population. Is there someway to begin a grassroots movement to convince the gov't to move funding for science instruction into areas of funding supported such as technology is supported. Marianne Nilsson advocates for a science position.
Dave proposes to fund: 1 class size reduction teacher, 2 reading recovery teachers, 1 tech teacher, 1 outreach consultant (SSC portion), .75 clerk typist, $2400 for translation, .625 Literacy Spec., .375 Science teacher, $18.577 to ExCel.
Karen proposes to move $566 in
LEP funds from ExCel to translation. Nick prefers that we focus on after
school support. Discussion about merits and difficulties of serving the
EL community. It was mentioned that an interpreter could be used in parent-teacher
conferences. It was pointed out that this can already be done with district
translators. Shem points out there are quantifiable figures that can be
used to estimate the costs of translation. Dave restated that he arrived at the $2400 figure by calling
other elementary schools. It is agreed that it is all estimation, no one really know how much translation will cost and how much we will need it.
Rebecka reports that the PTA may not fund the Sand Tray Coordinator.
Can we come to some consensus about how to vote or how to come to consensus? Some staff want to talk organically about all of the positions. Some staff want to vote and take some positions off of the table.
Motions made, seconded and carried to fund the following positions: Class Size Reduction English, Reading Recovery English, Reading Recovery Spanish, Technology, Clerk Typist, Outreach Consultant (SSC Portion).
Science/Literacy: Dave moves to
fund .625 Literacy Spec and .375 Science teacher to create a 1.0 position.
Discussion follows. Suggestions made to keep the positions separate because
the PTA is likely to add funding to the science position. Davide points
out that the position and the funding
for the positions can be changed in the fall. Motion fails.
Rebecka moves to fund a literacy specialist at .875, removing funding from proposed ExCel funding. Seconded. Discussion follows. Nick asks to make a friendly amendment to have a .625 literacy specialist plus keeping ExCel money. Motion fails.
Nick moves to fund translator at
3,000, fund ExCel at 18,000, fund Literacy at .625. Shem seconds. It is
now 10:00. Motion carries. Jilma moves to fund a Science position at .375 seconded by many
voices. Motion carries. Robert writes article for the newsletter! Shem makes
posting in English & Spanish.
Final Budget Decisions:
Funded Positions:
* Class Size Reduction English
* Reading Recovery English
* Reading Recovery Spanish
* Technology
* .75 Clerk Typist
* Outreach Consultant
* .625 Literacy Specialist
* .375 Science Resource Teacher
Translation/Interpretation: $3000
ExCel: $18,000
Meeting adjourns at 10:20
Minutes for Alvarado School Site Council Meeting December 14, 2004
Members Present: Nick Driver, Robert Broecker, Darcy Estes, Ellen Little, Cecilia
McDonagh, Karen Mooney, Jilma Ortiz, Kathleen Ribeiro, Claire Siegel, David
Weiner, Rebecka Wright, Karen Wiederholt, Hal Kessler
1) Approval of minutes
2) After School Programs
There is growing concern that the body of students who attends the after school
clubs is not representative of the population of the school. Out of the 95
children in the EXCEL program, 18 participate in these clubs. The feeling
is that this discrepancy exists for a few different reasons. One reason being
the suggested donation amount that is listed specifically next to each club
on the sign in sheet. Although a majority vote passed at the PTA general
assembly to suggest donations for each club, there is controversy as to whether
or not there should separate donation requests for these clubs. Rebecka felt
that if we could not offer the teachers of the clubs money then they would
not be willing to teach the classes. Some believe that this “price
tag” deters people from signing up unless they are able to comply with
the donation. There was also a thought the clubs were not marketed correctly,
and that they the marketing should be targeted towards the groups that are
least represented. Finally, it was suggested that if more sports clubs could
be offered that this would also increase interest amongst different groups.
We need to research an Accident Insurance Program if this is to be made possible.
There are new clubs starting in January and Rebecka made a motion to get Mark to really push the clubs in EXCEL to see if it makes a difference in the attendance. David made a friendly amendment to the motion to change the sign-up sheet and remove the actual dollar amounts from the center of the form and ask for a general donation in a more discreet place. This was not accepted. Dave made a motion to remove the dollar amounts from the space next to the name of each club and ask for general donations at the bottom of the form in order to see whether this makes a difference in the attendance. All donations received by the PTA would be split amongst all of the teachers. This motion passed 5-4.
It was also noted during the discussion that as it stands the donations were given directly to the teacher of the club. David insisted that the donations must go through the PTA. The fact that the clubs taught by Alvarado teachers were not listed on the form was brought up. As it stands they are not because the teachers do not feel comfortable with the suggested donations. This needs to be discussed further.
3) Alvarado Writer’s Workshop
Karen and Kristen continue to move forth in their efforts to create an after
school Writer’s Workshop for children who need help with their writing.
They have met with the fourth and fifth grade teachers and each teacher has
recommended 2 of their most needy students. There would be 16 children assisting
this pilot program. The students are all second language learners and they
are in the EXCEL program for reasons of transportation. The children have
been surveyed and have decided that they want to write about adventures.
Karen and Kristen would like to hire qualified people to work with the children for 20 weeks although their starting date is contingent upon their funding.
They have contacted Wells Fargo Bank to see about funding their program. Wells Fargo seemed very positive about providing funds, but is making no commitment as to when the funds would be available since it is the end of their fiscal year. If approved the funds could be given any time between January and March. Karen and Kristen need $5000 to pay teachers for their program for the spring semester, and would like to know if Alvarado is willing to grant them this money out of their budget.
Alvarado’s budget does not have an extra $5000 to give although there is $20,000 left over from last year’s budget in a reserve fund. The school decided to set this money aside to cover any budget cuts we may have next year. Claire suggested loaning them the money, which they would pay back when they were given their grant money. In order to pay teachers with this fund a K-resolution would need to be submitted and the teachers would not get paid until June. The Alvarado staff would also need to be part of the decision making if these funds were going to be used.
It was suggested to table discussion until January 11 when they would hopefully have more information about their grants. Alvarado will not have any more information about its budget, however, will still be able to vote on existing funds.
Karen and Kristen will continue to pursue funds, including the school’s Grant Writing Committee if they do not begin their program this spring then they will begin in the fall.
4) PTA/SSC Budget
The Arts Committee received a grant for $7000 that should have gone directly
towards the expansion of the Theater Arts Program. Instead, this money was
included in the general budget and therefore the arts committee is now $7,000
short. The funds need to come before the end of the year. Future funds could
be used to pay for the deficit but the preference would be not to take from
next year’s budget.
The two biggest expenses that the PTA has are the Nurse and the Art Teacher. Last year the nurse’s average cost was $14,000 and for the 2004-2005 year the average cost is around $16,000.When the school pays for the Nurse the district charges an average cost ($16,281) but when the PTA pays then the district charges the actual cost ($18,323). This $2000 was taken from the school budget and also needs to be replaced.
The PTA would like the site to pay for the nurse out of their budget and then pay the site back in order save the $2000 and help to offset this deficit. According to Dave this is possible by setting up a trust fund in which the PTA would deposit the money and the school could access it, however, further research needs to be done. A motion was made to make this motion contingent upon further research—motion passed.
Another way to help make up this loss would be to leave the yard supervisor position open. The number of student fractures on the structure was brought up in relation to leaving the yard supervisor position open. It was then mentioned that more fractures are happening after school.
5. 2005-2006 Academic Planning and Budget Process
The SSC writes and then monitors the Academic Plan. Last year, each staff/parent
team was assigned a part of the plan to check and see if it was being followed.
SSC members signed up in parent/staff teams to monitor each part of the Academic Plan for this year and will present their findings at subsequent meetings. They will refine any points that need to be refined after presenting to the whole group and receiving feedback.
The group doing the Academic Achievement piece is scheduled to present on March 8. This should be rescheduled since the final draft of the plan needs to be presented to the community by March 9.
There will be a SSC Training on January 22 where at least 1 teacher, 1 parent, and the Principal should be present.
We will receive our budget on January 22. The site plan and budget is due by March 18. Dave will meet with the district the first week in April. The final plan/budget changes will be made by April 11 and the final is due on April 15.
A copy of the timeline should be posted for the community and we need to decide when to hold the community meetings.
ELAC- The first ELAC meeting was held on December 3 and there were 10 people present. The group will continue to meet on Fridays. Violeta will continue to chair the meetings and Jilma is the liaison between the ELAC and the SSC. They requested a copy of the school site budget in order to see where the ESL money is going so they can make their suggestions.
7) EXCEL Student Data
There were some questions about who is attending the EXCEL program and how
the children are being serviced. There were concerns about why the students
weren’t getting their homework done and whether there should be more
academic help and less enrichment.
We were informed that the EXCEL program is funded by federal money but is administered by the state. They are required to serve 100 kids a day with general enrichment activities for 3 hours a day 95% of the year. They are required to have 1 lead teacher for every 20 kids. There are no requirements for the teachers hired.
Our program is as follows; every child who scores below the 30th percentile is recommended for the program. There are 6 kids who are in the program who do not qualify but have been recommended. We have between 65 – 70 students enrolled in our program. Our teacher to student ratio is 1:15. There is one lead teacher for 2 groups and every grade group (K/1, 2/3 etc.) has 1 teacher who teaches lessons. Our EXCEL teachers are all involved in education training programs. EXCEL tests a core group of students every year at the beginning and at the end of the year and our students’ scores always go up. The district liaison says we have one of the best EXCEL programs in the city and it received the highest rating in the district. Since the program has been in place, many underachieving students have made big jumps in their test scores. The enrichment activities that these children are getting are necessary to insure the development of the whole child. The EXCEL staff cannot meet all homework needs. There are too many kids with different needs in each group. There have been very few parent concerns about the program.
After this information was discussed there were still questions about whether we were using the EXCEL program to its potential, whether these particular children’s test scores were rising, and the feeling was that we needed to know more about the program.
In order to have more academic help after school we need to lower teacher to student ratio and increase funding. The ideas expressed were to write grants, have EXCEL write grants and look into combining the EXCEL program with AAS like they’ve done at McKinley.
There was a motion made to make up a subcommittee comprised of 1 PTA member, 1 EXCEL parent, 1 EXCEL staff person, 1 SSC member, 1ELAC member, 1 teacher, and Melissa (to possibly research the program at McKinley). This motion passed and Claire Siegel will be in charge of creating and planning the committee. She was asked to give us an update at the meeting on January 11, 2005.
Meeting was tabled at 8:22pm!
The next SSC meeting is a combination SSC/Executive Board meeting and will be held on Tuesday, January 11, 2005.
Minutes for Alvarado School Site Council Meeting October 12, 2004
Meeting Started at 6:00 P.M., chaired by Jilma Ortiz. Meeting conducted in Spanish, with translation provided by Melissa Serrano, Jilma Ortiz and Karen Mooney.
Present: Robert Broecker, Mary Lou Cooper, Darcy Estes, Karen Mooney, Jilma Ortiz, Nick Driver, Melissa Serrano, Claire Siegel, Rebecka Wright, Carmen Vasquez, Mark McLean (visitor), Violeta Garcia (visitor).
SSC roles
1. A discussion was begun on SSC roles, such as communications, outreach, events
and grant writing. No action taken.
English Learner Advisory Council
2. The English Learner Advisory Council was discussed at length. Violeta advocated
strongly for a separate ELAC, instead of the present situation in which the
SSC members are also ELAC members. She volunteered to train and help the
ELAC members, but said she could not lead it again. She stated her concerns
about the shrinking number of ELACs around the district, which in turn meant
less representation on the District ELAC.
She suggested that if there was to be an election, it had to happen by the end of October. A notice must be sent out by the end of the week, and Jilma, the head of the current ELAC, volunteered to send it out. It would also be announced at the Thursday Bueno meeting. Nominations could go into the SSC or Robert’s box.
Excel
3. Excel is the main program Alvarado has for helping struggling students with
their work. Discussion followed about ways to place more students in the
program. Mark McLean said that most students are referred by teachers, and
that the program has now reached 90+ students, and it continues to rise.
There are now 10 teachers, and the goal is always to have 2 teachers per
22 students.
Claire asked how Mark could help the neediest kids get help, as opposed to those who did not need the program for academic reasons. Mark responded that it works well to have a small minority of higher achieving students as they help the ones not doing as well.
One issue with identifying students that need help is that often, the parents do not want their students in the program. They pick them up instead. So the program is really reaching out to all students that request help.
Melissa asked if there were case studies or documentation that would show the work Excel is doing. Mark responded that 25 cases are required to be written up as part of the state grant. The 25 are tested at the beginning and end of each year.
Nick asked how the program could improve its communication with the school administration. One way Mark suggested is to cross reference the list of all English Language Learners at the school with the Excel students. Chris and Mark also serve as substitute teachers in many classes, so they know first hand about many of the lower scoring students.
Violeta proposes PTA volunteer help for students. Mark said he has tried to get PTA parents to work in the afternoon, but it remains difficult. One other issue is the tight schedule, which penalizes students whose parents come early, before the homework has been addressed. It would be great to force parents to come later to pick up their kids, but there is no way to do so.
School budget
4. There is no news of exactly how much extra – beyond the $70,000 – Alvarado
will receive. Mary Lou said the school has placed whatever extra funds it might
get in the 05-06 budget, but we can still spend it if we need to this fiscal
year.
Karen suggested that more money is needed for substitute days. Right now there is only $5,000 per year in the budget for subs, and teachers need at least three days a year to do individual assessments. They are currently taking sick days in order to do assessments, which is not a good practice. At least $9,000 is needed in order to hire subs for each classroom teacher, three times a year.
PTA President Report
5. Rebecka handed out copies of the PTA budget for this year, which shows a
higher than expected budget of $171,000. That amount is all earmarked, including
paying for a few staff positions.
Rebecka said that Alvarado has a very healthy PTA, though our discussion did focus on the areas where we need to be vigilant:
1. Balance between the needs of the whole vs. the few
2. The gray area of PTA funded instruction and supervision
3. Equity between schools in the district, state and nation
4. Exhausting the political energy of our volunteers
For the PTA to pay for unsupervised staff is a legal gray area, as there is less oversight of non-SFUSD staff. Is the PTA contributing to the inequality of the situation? Last year the PTA raised $400 per student, an amount many schools cannot come close to raising.
On the other hand, Mary Lou said that as our achievement goes up, our district money goes down, and our community is forced to raise more to keep programs healthy.
Meeting ended 7:30pm
Notes from Nick Driver
Minutes for Alvarado School Site Council Meeting September 21, 2004
Meeting began at 6:00
Members in attendance: David Weiner, Robert Broecker, Karen Mooney, Darcy Estes, Cecilia McDonagh, Mary Lou Cooper, Nancy Hawkins, Rebecca Wright, Nick Driver, Claire Siegel, Jilma Ortiz
Meeting ended at 8:00
Notes taken by Jilma Ortiz