REGULAR SESSION OF THE WCHS SBDM COUNCIL

August 18, 2014

5:45 p.m.

WCHS Room 113, Versailles, KY

Meeting began at 5:45 pm. Present: Rob Akers, Jennifer Forgy, Susan Carey, Patty Dawson, Alvin Flowers, David Graves, Chapie Mastin, Chuck Mix , Denise Sandman, Rob Stomberg, Scott Hundley Absent: Ms. Morford Guest: Mr. and Mrs. Templin

Item # / Agenda Topic / Presenter / Item
1. / Adoption of Agenda / R. Akers / No personnel to discuss today, so removing Item #10. Approved by Consensus
2. / Adoption of Minutes
July 31, 2014 / R. Akers / Approved by Consensus
3. / Public Participation / N/A
4. / Introduction of New Staff / R. Akers / Mr. Akers introduced some of our new teachers to the council. Devon McCormick, Economics, 1st year teacher. Elena Hitch, Special Ed, 1st year teacher. Casey Cooley, Media, 1st year teacher. Lyndsay Vance, Alg 1, Geometry and Alg II, 1st year teacher. Stephanie Maynard, English/reading strategies, 13 year teacher. Scott Ellis, Science, 16 year teacher and Steve Marionneaux, Engineering/Robotics, 18 year teacher.
5. / Set SBDM Meeting Dates for 2014-15 / R. Akers / SBDM meetings will be the third Monday of each month . A special meeting will be held on December 8 for budget discussions and April 13th for staffing discussions if necessary.
6. / Council Goals / R. Akers / Mr. Akers reminded the council that they should always focus on how we are going to help students and student achievement and to focus on what is better for the students. Our goal is to come to a consensus when discussing topics. He reminded them that his door is always open and appreciates everyone for their service on the council.
7. / Opening of School Update / R. Akers / Mr. Akers advised that our staff has really started the year on a positive note. Ms. Sandman said that with the A/B schedule, she has heard concerns about the 90 minute classes being too long. Mr. Akers said that the 1st three days were focused on the class syllabus and class expectations and probably did seem long those days. The guest in attendance, Mr. Templin, stated that they came here from a block schedule and that it really helps students prepare for college. Ms. Carey said that she loves 90 minutes but that it is hard not seeing the students every day. Both Mr. Flowers and Mr. Graves were in agreement that they liked the additional minutes in class.
8. / Review Weighted Grading Scale / R. Akers / Ms. Carey asked if the Weighted Grading Scale could be reviewed. She stated that with the new 10pt scale and weighted AP grades, a class score of 60 would get 2pts which would be a “C”. She suggested that only grades of 70 and up should be weighted. After much discussion, it was decided that a score of 60-64 would remain a “D” and would only be awarded 1 point. Consensus was reached in favor of this. Ms. Sandman asked how the AP scores were this past year. Ms. Forgy advised that the scores were very good and one big increase came in Spanish AP with a 91% pass rate.
9. / ACT Score Review / R. Akers / Mr. Akers provided a handout to review the ACT scores. He started on Page 7 which showed the Junior scores from March. He indicated that they did not do as well as they have in the past. Ms. Sandman said that the focus should be on ACT scores vs. PLAN scores since we want strong ACT scores especially for scholarships. Mr. Akers said that we need to see growth from PLAN test to the ACT. Ms. Sandman added that parents should be encouraging their students to do ACT questions, etc. to improve scores. Mr. Mix asked if there was test prep for the ACT more than one time a year and Mr. Akers stated that there are many options such as Torch Prep, Zaps and KAPLAN. Mr. Mastin suggested that maybe teachers could stay a little after school to offer specific subject test prep. Mr. Hundley said that the math strategies classes are really helping. He said that they are trying to remediate and cover things with the students to help them catch up. Mr. Akers also stated that our ACT scores continue to be above the state scores. One big improvement was the percentage of students who were college and career ready from 73.5% to just under 90%. Ms. Sandman thanked the teachers and said she was pleased that we have such a great staff here. Mr. Mix added that he is happy to know that the administration/teachers have an awareness of what is going on and addressing it. Mr. Akers said that we are very fortunate to have the staff that we have here at the high school.
10. / Personnel / Removed from agenda. No personnel to discuss.
11. / Adjourn

Faithfully Submitted, Cindy Patterson

Next Meeting: Monday, September 15, 2014 at 5:45 pm at WCHS