Stonewall Traditional Elementary School
School-Based Decision Making Council
Meeting of Tuesday, October 21, 2003

Members present:  Jane Armistead, Michelle Cohron, Janie Griggs, Andrea Guise, and Julie Pearman.  Also in attendance were Mr. Ed McCaw, Mr. Charlie Hardy and Mrs. Regina Adams.

The meeting was called to order at 5:35 PM.

  1. Agenda Item 1 – Review of Agenda

The agenda was reviewed and approved by consensus.

  1. Agenda Item 2 – Review of Minutes

September 16, 2003 – Jane Armistead requested to add, “discussion of pros and cons ensued” to Agenda Item 11.  Also, she pointed out that “is reflected” should appear under Agenda Item 8 rather than “in reflected.” 

Action:  Janie Griggs moved to accept the minutes as corrected.  Andrea Guise seconded the motion, which was approved by consensus.

September 25, 2003 – Andrea Guise moved to accept the minutes as presented.  Julie Pearman seconded, which was approved by consensus.

  1. Agenda Item 3  - Financial Report

General Fund – The Dyer family has donated $1000 to the school.

Mr. McCaw reviewed and indicated that the first page of the report is correct and pointed out the difference in SCIF funds.  The district will reduce the funds and contingency will take care of that.  Also, there’s an increase in fee waiver.  Mr. McCaw explained that several line item discrepancies are there because Central Office monies still have them listed but they are no longer used. 

SCIF - SCIF funds sheet is correct.

Action:  Janie Griggs moved to accept the financial report as presented. Jane Armistead seconded the motion, which was approved by consensus.

  1. Agenda Item 4 – Committee Reports
    1. Climate, Equity, and Guidance
    2. Curriculum
    3. Professional Development
    4. Public Relations
    5. Social
    6. Technology
    7. Writing
  1. Agenda Item 5 - Personnel

Due to the resignation of a primary assistant, two IEP assistants will be hired.  Mr. Charlie Hardy attended the meeting to provide a report from the personnel committee.  He recommended having Ms. Hayes and Ms. Vires share a position. 

Action:  a personnel action form will be completed and submitted.

  1. Agenda Item 6 – Request for Approval of Professional Leave

Mr. Engelbrecht requested professional leave in order to attend “Teaching with the Brain in Mind” in Louisville on November 3, 2003.

Action:  Janie Griggs moved to accept the request for personal leave on November 3.  Andrea Guise seconded the motion, which was approved by consensus.

  1. Request for Approval of Field Trips

The Curriculum committee devised a form, which will be utilized at the November meeting for field trip requests. 

Action:  Jane Armistead moved to accept the field trip requests as outlined in the agenda.  Julie Pearman seconded the motion, which was approved by consensus.

  1. ESS Proposal

Regina Adams provided a presentation of the procedures, which will be the same as years past.  This proposal would allow some for flexibility in meeting the needs of the students.  She also provided information on “Saturday Opportunity School” and pointed out that the budget was down from last year.  Some of “Jump Start” funds were pulled from last year’s budget and $760 are funds from the current year.

Action:  Andrea Guise moved to accept the ESS proposal as presented.  Janie Griggs seconded the motion, which was approved by consensus.  A form was signed by the council and will be submitted to Central Office.

  1. Request for transfer of funds

A check cannot be written from the present code, therefore, funds need to be transferred.  The codes will be changed from the ones on the right to the codes on the left of the report, which would move monies to the principal’s supply fund.

Action:  Julie Pearman moved to accept the budget transfers as requested.  Jane Armistead seconded the motion, which was approved by consensus.  The council signed the form for approval.

  1. By-Law Revision – 2-year terms possibility

Discussion ensued regarding the pros and cons.  Concern was expressed regarding having members serve two terms in the event their views did not reflect the overall wishes of the staff.  The benefits posed were that two-year terms would allow for continuity and many schools in the state have two-year terms presently. 

Action:  Mr. McCaw will e-mail FCPS principals for information and feedback regarding two-year terms.  Also, he will investigate the times for committee meetings from them as well.

  1. Special Election

An election for minority representation on the SBDM must take place.  It was noted it would have been beneficial if Central Office had notified the school when such representation needs to occur due to the composition of the student population.  Presently, Stonewall has a 16.5% minority representation, with a 15% minority representation last year.

Mr. McCaw reviewed the law and guidelines as it pertains to SBDM and which indicated an election is needed. 

Action:  Mr. McCaw will send a note home to recruit candidates for the parent position.  The council prior to distribution will review a draft.  If a parent is not interested in being considered, Mr. McCaw will then approach the teachers.  Mr. Maddox will be consulted to assist with the “ethnic group” definition.

                                                Order of events:

1.        Ethnicity verification

2.        Jane Armistead will draft a letter for Mr. McCaw to send home to the parents

The letter will be sent on Friday, 10/24/03

Nominations will be accepted up to 10/31/03

Candidate bios will be published in the newsletter on 11/6/03

The election will take place on 11/14.

  1. Review of testing data

A revised SRI summary was distributed, which replaced the original in the packet.  Mr. McCaw reviewed the reports reminding the council that the scores reflect an end of the year measurement.  The following items were highlighted:

                -62% are reading above grade level

                -if the score is near the 38th percentile, it is close to grade level

                -it is desired to have all students above the 50th NCE by the year’s end

                -students in the 20th percentile or below receive special instruction via an IEP or ESL

                -the scores are broken down by the students’ reported ethnicity

The STAR reports have the same standards.  The teachers are given summary reports by classroom.

KCCT scores overview

                                                -88.3 is desired

                                                -Math score – 5th grade teachers have been alerted

                                                -on page 9 – open response will be emphasized

                                                -if open response is improved, scores should also improve

-Stonewall’s open response answers reflected that many students scored “0” or “1” on Open Response Questions – those ratings indicate irrelevant or very incomplete answers.

                                                -higher level thinking skills on open-response questions are to be developed involving Bloom’s Taxonomy

                                Action:  Michelle Cohron would like to send information to the parents to allow them to discuss strategies involving the above at home with their children.  Andrea Guise will devise ideas/questions/materials, which would be included in the newsletter to assist parents in covering the process at home (which would allow students to apply the information).  Parents would also be informed of the importance of the testing.  Teachers and staff will prepare students for types of questions that will be on the test and students will receive examples of proficient answers that address higher order of thinking.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Beth Roseland

SBDM Secretary