Minutes of
C'hill Site Council Meeting
on March 1, 2006

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Representatives Present;
Administration;    Dennis Biggerstaff
Classified;    Karla Nelson
Faculty;    Don Cataldo,   Grant Conway,   Sam Arnold-Boyd,   Delia Graham Waters,   Jenifer Pleus
Parents;    none
Students;    Anna-Lee Beephan

Representatives Absent;
Polly Nelson, Faculty;   Keith Fjordbeck, Classified;   Leah Dunbar, Faculty;   Kathy Oeming, Parent;   Deon Saraceno, IHS Faculty;   Marylu Bowers, Parent;  Carla Crinklaw, Parent;  Forrest Hetzel, Student

Guests
Julia Pommert, Parent

I. Announcements:

Julia raised a communication issue around the district's filtering of several web-based email vendors. She pointed out that many parents cannot communicate with the school, and she has spoken to the district about the problem. She suggested that the district move to a system of automatically forwarding district employee mail to one of the web-providers.

II. Leadership

• Anna Lee told us that Leadership is working on a plan to codify the Student Body elections process.
• There seems to be conversation about holding fewer dances during the 2006 - 07 school year.
• One Leadership student is working on a proposed plan to reorganize and re - label the halls in CHS.

III. Reports From Sub-Committees & Meetings

1. Breaking Ranks II Conference Report

   • Don reported that one aspect of the conference he found useful was the "Pyramid of Change" concept. This process allows a school to look at three levels of change ranging from those that are simple and quick, to those that take a moderate amount of planning and collaboration, to more complex and major changes at the top of the pyramid.
   • Delia indicated that in addition to the great food, she enjoyed the camaraderie of working with our school team. She reported on a possible useful personalization strategy where schools post a list of students and staff put colored dots next to those that they know; students could also do the same. This reveals students who may be disconnected.
   • Jenifer read the book in advance of the conference and found many useful ideas. She indicated that she thought that many of the suggestions would not work well at CHS unless there were major changes and a move by administration to get all staff on board.
   • Dennis said that the conference presented a good overview of the book's 31 recommendation for high school reform. A packet of materials was provided that the Site Council can use as staff development and assessment tools.

2. Graduation Requirements Committee

   A sub-committee has been meeting regularly to work on a Churchill plan, and they have also attended district meetings on the subject. A tentative plan has been developed for the Class of 2007. The plan will be presented to staff next week, to Juniors on March 14, and mailed to parents on March 20. The committee will also be working on a more in-depth plan for students in the following years.

3. Scheduling Sub-Committee

   Jenifer Pleus reported that the committee had met once and is scheduled to meet again on March 3. At the first meeting, the group outlined pros and cons of the current schedule and looked at a variety of options from other schools. Dennis mentioned that he had forwarded a proposal for the March 3 meeting that would outline a draft interim schedule that would allow for weekly late starts and increase instructional time to meet state requirements. Jenifer mentioned that she will be proposing a look at a schedule that would allow more flex time for students and staff by providing early and late classes.

4. SLC Lead Committee

   Grant reported that SLC and I.H.S. representatives had met at Denise Gudger's house. The group looked at best practices and did an analysis of our current practice. This led to some positive discussions. On the morning of April 3, Denise will facilitate a workshop for all SLC teachers.

IV. School Improvement Plan

Grant reported that the approved 2004 - 2007 School Improvement Plan had been presented to the staff.

V. April 3 Inservice

Dennis reiterated that SLC teachers will work with Denise in the morning. He proposed a series of technology options for all teachers in the afternoon. Teachers could choose from hands - on workshops on Blackboard, personal web -pages, and library data-bases (for example). Site Council members liked the idea as it linked to our instructional practices goal.

VI. Other

1. Parent Representation

   Julia Pommert handed out copies of the Churchill Decision-making process, the OAR related to Site Councils and the district guidelines. She pointed out that since the school has combined Parent Council with United Boosters, it does not seem fair to have that body elect parent representatives to Site Council when you have to pay a 10 dollar fee to be a voting member. Dennis will discuss this at the Executive Board Booster meeting on Monday night. Site Council will make sure to outline a fair method for all parents to have a voice in the selection of parent representatives.

2. Wellness

   Julia attended the district wellness meeting and was pleased to hear high school students stating that they would like to see more access to healthy foods and snacks in school. Veggie vending machines might be an option. She complimented Mr. Horowitz for providing healthy foods to students. She asked Site Council to take a stand on the issue. Dennis indicated that it might be a good idea to have representatives from McDonald's foods and Sodexco visit the Council to discuss options.
   

Minutes submitted by Dennis Biggerstaff