Southside Elementary School

School Advisory Council Meeting

Minutes forSeptember 27, 2017

  1. Welcome and Introduction of All SAC Members

Mrs. Marlena Palmer welcomed all at 2:18PM. We then went around the table to introduce ourselves. Present members are attached.

  1. Election of Officers/Vote to add members

Mrs. Jill Williams went over ballot results and results of members for the 2017-2018 school year. There were no major appositions, so all listed candidates were voted in. A motion to accept all as members was made by Jennifer Ryals and Seconded by Robyn Melton. A re-evaluation will be made in January. As long as members continue to be a part of our meetings, they will stay on the SAC Committee. If repeatedly not in attendance, individuals will be removed. Mrs. Jill Williams also went over SAC Officers. A motion to approve Justine McCoy as SAC Chair was made by Thomas Sanders and seconded by Heather Morenc. Nora Haser made a motion to approve Thomas Sanders as SAC Treasurer, and Janice Mote seconded that motion. Robyn Melton made a motion to approve Marissa Whittier as SAC Secretary and that motion was seconded by Janice Mote. After approvals were made, a reminder was given to sign in, update email addresses, residence address, and whether a community member, parent, business partner, or school member.

  1. SAT 10 Data Analysis

Mrs. Palmer went over Stanford 10 results for the past two years. From 2015-2016 to 2016-2017, we say awesome gains in almost every area school wide. Kindergarten and first grade both increased the percentage of students at or above the 50th percentile. Second grade increased the percentage of students at or above the 50th percentile in Reading, and remained with above 90% of students scoring at or above the 50th percentile for Math. County and state results were not discussed at this time.

  1. School Improvement - Palmer
  • Goals/Barriers/Strategies

Mrs. Marlena Palmer discussed the goals, barriers, and strategies pertaining to our School Improvement Plan.

  • Goal- Our goal is to increase Reading, Math, and Science problem solving. We want to be above the 50th percentile.
  • Barrier 1-Wide Variety of Ability Levels
  • Small Group Instruction/Reading and Math-In order to help overcome the barrier, each child is being seen by the teacher each day in a small group setting. Review of previous material, teaching of current material, and previewing of new material occurs during math time. Differentiated reading groups occur based on students phonemic awareness, phonics, and comprehension abilities.
  • Leveled Readers for Science and Social Studies-

Integration of Science and Social Studies is occurring through the use of leveled readers during small and even whole group time.

  • STEAM Lab-

Our STEAM Lab, as well as after school programs such as STEAM Night, help incorporated more science.

  • Tutoring-

There are before and after school tutoring groups for intense remediation, based on student needs.

  • Barrier 2-Staff Development for Teachers
  • Collaborative Planning on Wednesday-

An early release model has taken place in order to give one hour of extra teacher planning every Wednesday.

  • Professional Development in ELA, Math, Science Standards-

In and out of school profession development occurs in order to expand knowledge in each area.

  • District and School Curriculum Mapping-

Maps are set in place to help outline materials and make sure standards are being touched upon.

  • Barrier 3-Parent Knowledge
  • Parent Nights/Parent-Teacher Conferences/Communication/Newsletters-We will continue to keep parents informed and assisted with tools needed by providing updated information through newsletters, conferences, parent nights, etc.
  • Committee Questions/Discussions-

Janice Mote had a question about Spanish speaking family help for after school programs. We do have paras to help with translations needed.

  • Vote to Approve SIP-

Ms. Justine McCoy asked for a motion to approve our School Improvement Plan. Jane Mote made a motion, and Thomas Sanders seconded that motion.

  1. Proposed School Calendar
  2. Overview of Parent Involvement Activities Scheduled Throughout the Year

Mrs. Jill Williams presented our tentative Parent Involvement Calendar. Our goal is to spread out parent nights throughout the school year. Meet and Greet begins our year in August, Volunteer Orientation and Open House follow up in September, STEAM Night, Awards Ceremony, and the kindergarten Character Parade take place during October, our Veteran’s Day Assembly comes next in November, followed by the Pirate Dash in December, as well as the Awards Ceremony, Literacy Night, and Book Fair during Bingo for Books in January. Clash of the Pirates Volleyball occurs in February, another Awards Ceremony in March, Field Day in April, and kindergarten registration in May.

  1. SAC Treasury Report

Mr. Thomas Sanders delivered our Treasury Report. Right now we have $8,401.57 in our account. There is a request to use $1,700 for peer observations. This is a time for teachers to watch peers to observe instruction while gaining knowledge, as well as ideas and strategies, during small and whole group instruction. Last year, a half day substitute was provided in order for teachers to watch/observe peers, and talk about instruction. This year, we would like to provide opportunities to go outside of school to observe. This requires a full day of substitutes and extra funds. A motion to approve $1,700 from SAC to help with professional development funds was made by Robyn Melton and second by Thomas Sanders. (The other $1,700 would be provided through Title I funds.)

  1. Other Concerns/Questions

Ms. Justine McCoy let the discussion of the month change for the Pirate Dash. It is taking place during the same month as Emma Love Hardee, but December was the only available time. We are hoping for the best.

  1. Adjourn Meeting

Ms. Justine McCoy adjourned our meeting at 2:55PM. A motion to approve was made by Janice Mote and seconded by Thomas Sanders. Next meeting date and time to be announced.

Sincerely, SAC Secretary,

Marissa Whittier