Issaquah PTSA Council 2.6 General Meeting

Issaquah PTSA Council 2.6 General Meeting

Issaquah PTSA Council 2.6 General Membership Meeting Thursday, September 15, 2016 Eagle Room, Issaquah Police Station, Issaquah 9:30am-11:30am

Call to Order

Call to order 9:48 a.m. 47 people signed in; 23 of 24 schools were represented. Proper meeting notice was given. Quorum Present.

President’s Report – Becky Gordon

• School board is studying Equity in Policy in the district. PTSA should be part of the conversation.
• Pine Lake is being rebuilt on its baseball field; then old building torn down; completion expected 2018.
• Sunset and Cougar Ridge will gain 6 new classrooms; to open in 2017.
• The PTSA was thanked recently for the K-5 Art Docent in the classroom program and the Issaquah Schools Foundation thanked for funding the programs.
• Apollo was honored for the 4th year for achieving the National PTA School of Excellence Award.
• Watch out for PTA Email Scam from Presidents or Treasurer requesting vendor payment
• Oct 31 - Standards of Affiliation Due, it was recommended to keep a separate binder with all documentation. Link for SOA contract and more information on Council web site.
• Upcoming training for Reflections and PTA & the Law on Council web site under upcoming events. One elected officer on every PTA board is required to take PTA& the Law each year.
• December council meeting; should have Advocacy session that will count for training requirement.

Business

Election of Secretary–Becky Gordon

Official resignation of Arissa Peterson was received. Leslie Kahler was appointed secretary by the Board of Directors at 9/8/16 board meeting. Nominations were open from the floor.

MOTION: Ann Taylor motioned that Leslie Kahler be nominated for the office of Secretary. The motion was seconded and passed by unanimous voice vote.

Minutes – Leslie Kahler

June 9, 2016 GM meeting minutes were distributed and reviewed; will be filed as presented.

Financial Report – Laila Collins

June 2016, July 2016, August 2016 financials were distributed and reviewed; will be filed as presented for financial review. Checks were written for supplies for Parent Wiser, Community Support funds to Gibson Ek, and ACT. July and August bank statements were reviewed by non-check signers.

Financial Review – Erin Thacker

Erin Thacker reports Financial Review was held July 13 and was satisfactory.

New Budget – Laila Collins

MOTION: Erin Eaton motioned that the 2016-17 budget be approved as presented. Motion seconded; motion carries.

Standing Rules – Becky Gordon

The following Standing Rules were amended: 3, 7, 10, 12, 14 (see attachment).

MOTION: Kirsten Allen-Bentsen motioned to accept Standing Rules as written for the 2016-17 school year. Motion seconded; motion carries.

Mission & Goals – Becky Gordon

MOTION: BertinaLoefflerSedlack motioned to accept Mission & Goals for 2016-17 school-year as presented. Motion seconded; motion carries.

Best Practices – Kym Clayton & Alisa George

Best Practices checklist was explained and month to month to-do list is featured on council web site.

Committee Reports

Advocacy – Korista Smith Barney

Register to vote to participate in upcoming national election. Legislative Assembly October 21, 22: Red Lion in Olympia. Send delegates, to vote for top 5 platform issues (Counts as approved training). PTAs not allowed to endorse a political candidate. If a political candidate is invited to speak, opposing candidate must be included. State Superintendent Candidates included in this election - 2 this year. Public forums coming up, possible to watch online. Parent contact with Legislators really makes a difference.

Art in Schools – Laurelle Graves

October 22nd art docent training at Grand Ridge. Thanks to $20,000 grant from Issaquah Schools Foundation, Art docent lessons are being re-aligned to curriculum and all kilns are being cleaned. Echo Glen Child Center needs Art Docents.

F.A.C.E. - Margarita Leas, Ina Ghangurde

New group whose goal is to welcome families new to the country and/or public school system. “What Every Parent Wants to Know About the American School System” at Issaquah Valley Elementary October 27. Divided into elementary, secondary and high school groupings.

ISD Healthy Youth Initiative – Pat Castillo, report given by Valerie Yanni

Focus on mental health, substance abuse prevention, homelessness, suicide prevention, adverse childhood experiences, and basic student needs (Tools for Schools, Hunger).Walking Into Darkness” held September 29 at Sammamish City Hall; 6:30 pm-8 pm. October 4th at Issaquah Police Station. October 29, Influence the Choice Youth Summit at PCMS to teach students to be community advocates in substance abuse and mental health.

ISF – Valerie Yanni

Robin Callahan leaving Issaquah Schools Foundation after 14 years to join the National Schools Foundation. KayLeeJaech to serve as Interim Director until permanent Director found. Thank you reception for Robin Callahan to be held September 22nd at Blakely Hall, Issaquah Highlands. ISF reps are now called ISF Ambassadors. All in for Kids in October. Dining for Kids October 5. Nourish Every Mind Luncheon May 11 at Meydenbauer Center; Breakfast – May 17, Eastridge Church.

Membership – Erin Eaton

Currently, 9,104 members. Students FTE (full time equivalent) 19,544.67. Goal for this year is to increase membership by 1.5%. Upload members to PTA Avenue. Their benefits don’t start until upload is complete. PTA membership should represent the diversity in your community. Important to explain that membership fees are due once per year, each year (not monthly payments).

Outreach – Kim Weiss

Please send your Outreach rep information to Leslie Kahler and Cindy Kelm, ASAP. Kim will communicate with Outreach contacts 1-2 times per month with updated programs and resources to be shared with your PTA membership. See the agenda notes for volunteer and donation opportunities for the Month of Concern and other Outreach programs and resources. Thank you for your donations to Month of Concern – total 26 pounds collected !

Parentwiser– Heidi Fuhs

New logo and name; changed from Parent Ed to Parentwiser; new web site launching soon. Each school needs representative for Parentwiser to be responsible for communicating these district-wide events locally at each school, and to help provide content and feedback for future events. Three High-Level keynote speakers are planned so far this year (a few more local speakers TBD):

October 17 – SCREENAGERS at Issaquah High School

February 28 - John O’Sullivan, author of “Changing the Game”,

April 25 - Jessica Lahey, author of “Gift of Failure”. Preceded by district-wide Book Club reading, date tbd.

Parentwiser is looking for Communications volunteer(s), someone to create fliers and act as social media chair.

Reflections – Yvette Blauvelt & Leah Gibson (not present)

Reflections training September 26.

STAR/Special Ed – Carrie Hipsher

"Special education Teambuilding, Advocacy and resources" - new website issaquahstar.org, FB Group, need volunteers to help at council level.

VIS – Dawn Peschek

Volunteers for Issaquah Schools runs the bond and levy campaigns in our district. ISD can only present facts and information to the community, while VIS can advocate for a Yes Vote.This is especially important because70% of people in our voting area do not have children in school. Campaigns are financed by donations and to please keep VIS as a line item on PTA budgets every year, even in non-election years. VIS is now rebuilding its finances after last year’s Bond in preparation for a possible Levy in 2018. Treasurers can use the flyer that was handed out today for documentation of donation. Acknowledgement will also be sent after donation is received. VIS thanks all PTSAs for their continued support to help pass bonds and levies in our district.

District Updates

Issaquah Education Association (IEA) President, Doug Jones

Doug Jones represents the 1200 plus certificated employees of the district. 160 new members were added this year. Major programs- Math adoptions, Full-Day K (only 19 students are 1/2 day in district) Focused on ACES (Adverse childhood events) - understanding "baggage" that students bring into the classrooms. Focused on making a diverse workforce to match the diversity of our student population. Important goal: attract and retain quality staff. Workload vs. Time one of top teacher concerns (fitting in meetings and extras, how to fit more into that short period of time). Cost of Living challenges. Issaquah teacher retention is pretty typical of other districts. IEA and the District part of McCleary Lawsuit pushing for full funding of education.

Ron Thiele - Issaquah Superintendent

Expansion & Funding Work. McCleary - District is busy fulfilling Data requests from Governor's Office & Legislature regarding levies and compensation and providing opinions about proposed fixes. The uncertainty of funding is challenging and makes it hard to plan for staffing and everything else. After Election, will have a better idea of how to approach the government funding issues. Growth continues, up 450 students from last year, will probably continue to add 300-500 each year. Almost every school grew except Beaver Lake Middle School. Liberty and Skyline High Schools are fractionally smaller this year. Opened 3 new campuses in Sept: Issaquah Middle School, Gibson Ek, and Sunny Hills. Property Acquisitions: 4 new schools, Plans can be found on capital projects page of the website. Expansion and Remodel of several other schools, including Maple Hills. Cost of living and commutes is a huge barrier to entry for teachers in our district. Substitute teachers are needed desperately. District Program Work: Full Day Kindergarten - 1,400 students, 22 New Kinder teachers hired. Equity Work in District - Changing community demographics, need to understand the families and kids that are coming to district - cultural competency, deeper dive into equity issues. Test scores may be impressive, but wanting to take a closer look and study weaknesses with certain populations (economic, special needs, ethnic, etc). PBSES - Positive behavior social and emotional, reframe expectations in the buildings, incorporate culture of kindness. Grade Reporting Work - 80 teachers participating in looking at grading practices related to homework, separating out grades (punctuality, academic). New Elementary Math Curriculum being implemented. New Middle School level Language arts curriculum: readers/writers workshop approach. 4th Mental Health Counselor added - have one at each High School and now at Issaquah Middle/Gibson Eck. National Arts and Education Week: Expressed thanks for PTA's support of Art Docents. Sept 16th is officially dubbed Robin Callahan day to thank her for her service to the district. Bell Times: this year, have a more modest proposal of moving secondary school times 35 minutes vs. 90 minutes. Survey students, staff, etc. coming soon.Committed to making decision by December 1st.

Vice Presidents – Kimberly Nocco, Alisa George, Kym Clayton, Care Maree Harper and Ina Ghangurde

Break out session by school level.

Meeting adjourned: 11:58

Submitted by:

Leslie Kahler

Secretary, Issaquah PTSA Council 2.6