CSSC Minutes, 2009, 1/5
OAKLAND TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL
Collaborative School Site Council Minutes
January 5, 2009, 6:00-7:30 p.m.
Oakland Tech Library
Regular Monthly Meeting
Called by:
Rollie Katz, Chair
Facilitator:
Rollie Katz
Recorder:
Richard Fairly
(By-laws require 9 for quorum)
Parents
[√] Joanna Berg (1st year)
[√] Rollie Katz (2nd year)
[√] Jodi Murphy (2nd year)
[√] Phyllis Hall (alt., 2nd year)
[ ] Parent (alt.) (vacant)
Community
[√] Lesley Johnson-Gelb (1st year)
Students
[ ] Erick Friely (1st year)
[√] Molly Katz (1st year)
[√] Devon King (1st year)
[ ] Leslie Luo (1st year)
[ ] Alexandra Grant (1st year alt.)
[ ] Le Tran (1st year alt.)
Principal
[√] Sheilagh Andujar
Classroom Teachers
[√] James Beckett (2nd year)
[√] Keith Debro (1st year)
[√] Richard Fairly (2nd year)
[√] Emmanuel Onyeador (2ndyear)
[ ] Maryann Wolfe (2nd year)
[ ] Ashlee Sherman (alt., 2nd year)
[ ] Harry Pasternak (alt., 1st year)
Other School Staff
[√] Lamar Hancock (1st year)
[√] Joshua Fuchs (2nd year)
[√] Kanika Ajanaku (alt., 1st year)
[√] Nina Jacobs (alt., 1st year)
Other: Nicholas Henderson (parent, DAC representative); Alison McDonald (High School Network Executive Officer); Philip Williams (parent).
COLLABORATIVE SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL MEETING
1. Call to Order, Welcome, Roll Call, Introductions
Meeting called to order at 6:05 p.m. by Rollie Katz. A quorum was established. All present introduced themselves.
2. Reading and approval of minutes (Katz, Fairly)
· The minutes of the December 1, 2008, meeting of the CSSC were read and approved, as amended.
· Item 8: The Next Meeting Date should have read January 5, 2009.
Motion to approve the minutes, as amended; second; carried.
NEW BUSINESS
3. Reminder about 3rd Annual SPSA Summit, January 10, 2009 (Andujar)
· Sheilagh and Richard are attending. Rollie hopes to attend.
Members can attend the Summit will make reservations no later than December 19.
4. Proposed Action Plan to address areas for growth revealed in Focus on Learning self-study (Fairly)
· Richard summarized the process by which staff and parents developed and prioritized the goals that are in the proposed Action Plan.
· The CSSC members reviewed and clarified the Action Plan, providing suggested modifications and insightful comments.
· Sheilagh is gathering data regarding the effectiveness of having designated 9th grade and 10th grade counselors. The data may indicate that the current model is effective, but if not, then another model might be considered. A model that assigns a student to a particular counselor for the four years was discussed.
· Community service is a desirable goal for every student.
· The school newspaper is being supported by SFSU, CIIJ, UC Berkeley, and the Globe.
Richard will bring suggestions to the Leadership Team and modify the Action Plan accordingly.
5. Discuss, modify, and approve the Single Plan for Student Achievement (Site Plan) for 2008-2009 (Andujar)
· There is no need for modifications at this meeting.
· Depending on the developments at the state level, the school might need to adjust the site plan significantly if funds are cut.
· Will there be funds budgeted for Parent Step-Up Nights before class registration begins?
·
6. Public Comment
· Philip Williams commented about the possibility of looking at student grades online more frequently than every 6 weeks. He had sent an email message to the parent email list and last month’s PTSA meeting seemed to express a high level of interest in this possibility. Dan Williams (parent and webmaster) has been communicating with Kirk Brown at the district about the possibility of using the Aeries Browser Interface Parent Portal this year. Philip believes that the online feature would move the school forward in its effort to intervene with students who might fall behind. He described the 6-week grading cycle as being too late to help students who need help.
· Sheilagh has been in conversation with Philip a lot about this in recent months. The district has continued to defer its implementation of the parent portal due to security and administrative concerns. The school’s Technology Committee is working on alternative options in case the district does not implement the parent portal this year. If an alternative program is chosen, it must be well-thought-out and must be compatible with Aeries. Mr. Onyeador has information about other student learning management systems, which would avoid a situation of having several different systems in use at the school.
· Joanna counseled against trying to get too much information. Aeries and Teacher-Ease seem to be two comprehensive options.
· Philip came to make his comment to the CSSC because he believes that $6,000 is a very small cost for having a system like Teacher-Ease, and the parents in PTSA would be willing to pay for it if necessary.
· Keith Debro (president of Faculty Council) shared that there are reservations among the faculty about using a grading system that has online access of parents. Teachers need to have a reasonable turn-around time for grading assignments before grades should be expected to be available online.
· Jim shared that he and other teachers have found weaknesses in the ABI gradebook, and that these weaknesses would need to be addressed if ABI is going to be used.
· Joanna observed that the implementation could be a slow-growth process. In 2009, people are communicating online, and this can be a way to allow parents to support their students in improving achievement.
· Mr. Onyeador advocated for a more comprehensive system (beyond only grading software), and observed that it would not be wise to implement it before next year.
· Rollie observed that the CSSC would not be able to approve any such expenditure at this meeting, but would advise that the item be on February agenda.
· Phyllis advocated for taking some action before the February meeting, particularly in terms of communicating with the school district.
· Sheilagh is primarily concerned that whatever system is used will not triple the workload of the teacher in getting the grading done. We don’t want to begin something that only a few teachers will use or only a few parents will use.
· Joanna suggested inviting Kirk Brown to give a demonstration of the parent portal to the PTSA next week. Several agreed that that was a very good idea.
· Devon wondered what the parents’ goals were in having access to student grades, because some points are easy to earn for in-class assignments, but other points might take a long time—like major essays. Is there a primary focus?
· Philip observed that any information would be helpful because it would show how the student is doing in several classes.
· Joanna will invite Kirk Brown to attend next week’s PTSA meeting to give a demonstration of the parent portal.
· Rollie will invite Kirk Brown to attend the February CSSC meeting to ascertain the level of commitment that the district has for implementing the parent portal this year.
7. Announcements
· Joanna announced that a parent alternate has been elected. She will send the information to Richard.
8. Next Meeting Date
· The next CSSC meeting will be held on Monday, February 2, 2009, at 6:00 p.m. in the Oakland Tech Library.
9. Adjournment
Meeting was adjourned at 7:55 p.m.
Jodi moved to adjourn; second; carried.
