The Groves Site Council Minutes
October 30, 2008
John Scrimsher facilitated the October 30, 2008 Site Council meeting. Members present were Julie McCool, Sue Younger, Amanda Young, Roberta Barnes, Nicole Thompson, Dan Smith and John Scrimsher.
A motion was made and passed to approve the September 18, 2008 Site Council minutes, with a correction to a name spelling in the minutes, and the October 30, 2008 Site Council agenda.
Roberta told the Site Council that The Groves had the highest number of students that exceeded the OAKS test in each area and at each grade level in the district. Writing test scores need to be our main focus of improvement.
Amanda told the council about the staff self-assessment survey for the PBS program. This survey is done online by both certified and classified staff once a year in the fall. The data from the survey shows that staff members think there are more areas of concern this year. Dan asked if this could have occurred because of the staff’s greater awareness and understanding of how the program works this year. It was agreed that this could have contributed to the staff’s responses.
The Council reviewed The Groves School Improvement Plan in the target areas of: reading, writing, math, science and culture/climate. There was discussion about changing the Culture/Climate Goal wording. Julie mentioned that she would like to see continued improvement in SET scores. It was agreed to change the wording on the Culture/Climate Goal to read: “The Groves intend to meet or exceed the School-wide Evaluation Tool (SET) score of 90% during ’08-‘09.” The wording for ‘Why was this goal selected?’ was changed to read “To improve the culture and climate of The Groves to benefit the education of the students.” The data from this box was moved to the end of the ‘School profile data that supports the implementation of this goal.’ One activity was also added: Use data from self-assessment survey.
The Council looked over the annual school report cards for the District, Oak Grove and Fir Grove for 2007-2008. Roberta pointed out the ‘Strong’ rating that Oak Grove received. The report card shows Oak Grove’s rating to be close to receiving a ‘Satisfactory’ rating even though our test scores are so high especially compared to the scores from other schools in the district, state, and comparable schools. Unfortunately, the ‘Strong’ rating is the published rating and it does not give a complete picture to how well the school is really performing. The Council also looked at the 2nd and 3rd grade report cards, 4th and 5th report cards and the standards for reading, math and writing. Also included with the report cards were the rubrics (scoring guide) for each standard.
Roberta stated that she would like to see the Site Council be more effective. She would like to meet once a month. She would like the Council to look at budgeting for materials and what the areas of emphasis should be. She would like to get more input on the direction to take the school. She told the Council that it is responsible to some degree for the budget and to give critical input. She wants the Council to be a part of the budget process this spring. Amanda mentioned she would like to see if it was possible to budget some funds next year for the Wordstock writing workshops.
Roberta stated that the Council needs to have a system set in place for electing members, term length for each position and making sure the terms are staggered. The School Board policy states “The council duties shall include those specified in ORS 329.704.” Roberta will get a copy of ORS 329.704 to give to members. It was agreed that each position would be a three year term. Nicole will work on a schedule of term rotations for each position.
John asked if there was any documentation on the roles and responsibilities of the different groups involved within the school such as the PTC, Site Council, certified staff, classified staff and the administrator. He said at Hewlett-Packard they use RACI diagrams. These diagrams assign groups to four responsibility types/roles: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed. Roberta asked John if he would be willing to guide us through this process at a later meeting. It was suggested to invite a PTC representative. Dan also mentioned he would like to see The Groves become more involved with the Albany Public Schools Foundation of which he is also a board member.
Next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 20, 2008 at 1:00 pm at Ray’s Community Room with Julie McCool as the facilitator.
minutes submitted by: Nicole Thompson