Superintendent’s Advisory Council on Instruction (SACI)

November 9, 2017

Minutes

DRAFT

7:02 Welcome—Mr. Kenneth Bassett, Director of Student Learning

Response to Training Substitutes and Non-Instructional Staff

Substitute Teachers: Office of Human Resources, Amy White, Director Human Resources; Christi Hetrick, Supervisor Substitutes and Temporary Employees

The process for becoming a substitute teacher starts with an application. The department of Human Resources looks for a complete application, applicant can’t have felonies, transcripts and references are reviewed, and the candidate must take the training on child abuse and neglect.

Once a candidate successfully completes the application process he/she must complete online orientation which consists of 4 training videos, 3 of which have required questions to complete at the end. The candidate must then sign off as having reviewed the handbook. They must pass a TB screening. And then come in for fingerprinting for a background check. Only after the fingerprints come back clean do candidates get a badge.

Substitutes have a choice of schools and subjects they want to teach. Substitutes are given access to the Sub Call System.

There is an optional program with additional training that is largely scenario based. There is no training budget so there is a $29 fee for participants.

HR communicates with the principals to help them give subs the support they need. Sub plans should include items such as emergencies, lessons, behaviors, allergies. A sub day is paid for 30 minutes longer than ateacher, so they can have time to orient themselves.

There are currently 2200 active substitute teachers and HR has hired 850 since last year. The challenge is having enough to meet the needs. There is a 90% fill rare. 10%of requests can’t be filled across the school year. Holidays and spring time are especially challenging.

There is a system in place is there is an issue with a substitute. Principals can identify where a sub has strengths or weaknesses (such as age groups to work with) and put them into the system in a way that they will not be called again.

Summary of Questions

  1. Is there a way that parents can identify substitutes that should be put on the trouble sub list?
  2. The best thing to do is go to administration in the school. If it is a serious concern, it will be addressed immediately. If there is general issue the principal can identify the sub as someone they don’t want to bring back into the school.
  3. If the in-person training costs extra money, what is the % of substitutes that take advantage of the extra training?
  4. The training happens at night, so they don’t lose a day of work. The class is offered 4 times a year and there are about 25 participants in each session
  5. Have you thought of videotaping the sessions?
  6. There are other videos, but we can consider this suggestion.
  7. Have you considered having an application for just substitute teachers instead of the general application that is daunting and may scare off some applicants?
  8. There is a new application that was available on October 30 that reduces question on things such as licenses. If there is ever a question, call the office and someone can help you through the questions.

Transportation: Shirley Posey, Director of Transportation; Adrian Frierson, Supervisor of BusOperations; Patricia Vance; Safety and Training Coordination

It is always a challenge to find candidates and we are always advertising. Training in PWCS exceeds the state required training of 40 hours. PWCS requires 105 hours and this training is paid. 90% come without training. The biggest draw is from other employees.

Candidates cannot have more than 2 driving violations in the last 2 years, and no DWIs or reckless driving violations. And no history of violations. They must also provide a 10-year work history. Every person must be interviewed where there are discussions on why they want to drive a bus and challenges that they might face. We are looking for a good fit who will commit to the organization.

They must be fingerprinted and pass a background check.

There is a 54-hour classroom training that includes topics such as rules, regulations, policies, and procedures, professionalism, challenges, first aid and CPR, how to be prepared for emergencies.

There is also additional training for special needs children.

Candidates must then obtain an instructional permit from the DMV and do a physical to make sure they can make the physical demands of the job.

Then they go out on the road with a certified trainer for 50 to 60 hours. They must drive 12 hours with the trainer and students.

At every step applicants can be cut. These are trained professionals.

The candidates are very diverse and represent PWC. This is an attractive position to many including parents of young children. Young children can come on the bus with the driver as young as 3 months.

Summary of Questions.

1)Comment- You are doing a fantastic job with training. A driver refused to let a special needs student on the bus even though the parents were insisting because the student did not have the appropriate equipment for the bus.

2)Concerns were expressed over bus drivers this year.

  1. Any concerns should be reported to transportation and will be addressed directly.

3)What is the substitute bus driver process?

  1. There are finite resources. Industry wide absenteeism is about 10%. There are substitute drivers bus some routes come up short. We do the best we can but some days we come up short. Some buses may take on additional stops or made a double run.

4)If there is a substitute driver how much time do they have to review the route.

  1. When we know about absences then we give information the day before, but that is not always possible. Quick adjustments sometimes need to be made and that sometimes result in delays.

5)Is there guidance given to bringing own children.

  1. Yes, there are guidelines. If there aresome specific concerns, please call.

Food Services: Adam Russo, Director of Food and Nutrition Services; Samantha Ronk, Coordinator for Guest Experience

Training for food services includes a 4-day orientation that includes topics such as food prep, serving on the line, working in the kitchen. There are also baking classes (we are the only county in VA that still bakes our own bread), entrée classes, leadership training, Serve Safe Certification, and cost control. We are expanding the classes we offer.

Summary of Questions

  1. My child loves what he eats at school, do you offer recipes?
  2. We would be happy to share, just let us know what you want.
  3. Comment- I take special needs children into the kitchen to work a couple of times a week. The operation you have is amazing. Thank you.
  4. Do you have nutritionists that come in to teach students?
  5. Yes. There are many ways that we come in to the schools to work with students. One school had a class where they planted produce and that produce was used to prepare food served in the cafeteria. We do taste tests. Managers are supposed to reach out to teachers to work through options. If you want something in your school, let us know.
  6. Is there a school with a salad bar?
  7. Yes. Every school has a salad bar that includes unlimited cold veggie options and can be topped with a protein. Self-selection has increased consumption of fruits and veggies and has reduced waste.
  8. What happens if students go into the red and owe money.
  9. School regulation requires that students can run a balance. The amount is $100 in elementary school, $75 in middle school, and $50 in high school. Efforts are made to collect the money. If they reach the max amount it is up to the principal about whether to continue to serve an alternate lunch or to provide an alternate lunch.
  10. How do you decide what makes it year to year?
  11. These decisions are data driven. We know what students choose and we know what is served and what isn’t. Decisions are then made based on the data.
  12. Is there a way to support programs to help students with the debt?
  13. Yes. There are people and organizations that donate to help pay off student’s lunch debt. You can also donate to the SPARK organization and that can be directed to pay student lunches. And if you donate to SPARK it is tax deductible.
  14. If parents have concerns about what ingredients are being used, what should they do.
  15. You can talk to the school dietitians if you have concerns and they can help. If a student has special dietary needs, they can help find way to address those needs as well.
  16. There are no longer sub lines, were those taken out.
  17. Yes. We have moved towards build you own item such as Asian bowls or Chipotle type bowls. That does slow down the lines. We want to make sure that students can get through the line, so we are always working on offerings and options.
  18. Can you transfer money between students?
  19. Yes. You can talk to the school cafeteria managers or you can request a refund on the MySchoolBucks website.

All of tonight’s guests are available on the PWCS webpage. If you have any questions or concerns, you can direct the concerns to them.

Best Practices Conference Update

The SACI meeting in January will be the Best Practices Conference for Parents. It will take place at Forest Park High School at 6:30pm. Keep an eye out for emails with more details.

There were some concerns with registration, but the issue has been corrected where you could not select more than one topic. That has been corrected. If you registered before the correction, please reregister and we will look for duplicate registrations.

If your schedule allows for it, we could use help setting up around 6pm.

We are asking that help with getting information in a sharable format. We need someone in each session to put the information on the chart that includes key information and key points of contact.

If you are interested in being a facilitator, we could use you help. Please let us know.

Work Session Topic: College and Career Readiness and High School Credit.

Attendance *As reflected on the sign in sheets*

Elementary / Nov / Dec
Alvey Elementary / x / x
Antietam Elementary / x / X
Ashland Elementary / x / x
Bel Air Elementary / x / x
Belmont Elementary / x / X
Bennett Elementary / x / x
Bristow Run Elementary
Buckland Mills Elementary / x / x
Cedar Point Elementary / x
Chris Yung Elementary / x / x
Coles Elementary
Elementary Cont.
Covington-Harper / exc / x
Dale City Elementary
Dumfries Elementary / x / x
Ellis Elementary
Enterprise Elementary
Featherstone Elementary / x
Fitzgerald Elementary / x
Glenkirk Elementary / x / x
Gravely Elementary / x
Haymarket Elementary / x / x
Henderson Elementary / x / x
Kerrydale Elementary / x
Kilby Elementary / x
King Elementary / x
Kyle Wilson Elementary / x / x
Lake Ridge Elementary / x / x
Leesylvania Elementary / x / x
Loch Lomond Elementary / x
Marshall Elementary / x / x
Marumsco Hills Elementary / x / x
Mary Williams Elementary
McAuliffe Elementary
Minnieville Elementary / x / Exc
Montclair Elementary / x / x
Mountain View Elementary / x
Mullen Elementary / x / x
Neabsco Elementary
The Nokesville School / x
Occoquan Elementary / x / x
Old Bridge Elementary / x / x
Pattie Elementary / x / x
Penn Elementary / x
Piney Branch Elementary / x / x
Potomac View Elementary
River Oaks Elementary / x
Rockledge Elementary / x
Rosa Parks Elementary / x
Signal Hill Elementary
Sinclair Elementary / x / x
Springwoods Elementary
Elementary Cont.
Sudley Elementary / x
Swans Creek Elementary / x
T. Clay Wood Elementary / x
Triangle Elementary
Tyler Elementary / x / x
Vaughan Elementary
Victory Elementary
West Gate Elementary / x
Westridge Elementary / x / x
Woodbine Preschool / x
Yorkshire Elementary
Middle
Benton Middle / x
Beville Middle / x / x
Bull Run Middle / x
Fred Lynn Middle
Gainesville Middle / x / x
Graham Park Middle / x
Hampton Middle / x
Lake Ridge Middle / x / x
Marsteller Middle / x
New Dominion School
Parkside Middle
Pennington Traditional / x / exc
Porter Traditional / x / x
Potomac Middle / x / x
Middle Cont.
Reagan Middle / x / x
Rippon Middle / x / x
Saunders Middle / x / x
Stonewall Middle / x
Woodbridge Middle / x / x
High Schools
Battlefield High / x / x
Brentsville District High / x / x
Charles Colgan Sr. High / x / x
Forest Park High / x / exc
Freedom High / x / x
High School Cont.
Gar-Field High
Governor’s School at Innovation Park / x / x
Hylton High / x
Independent Hill/SE/PACE EAST SE
New Directions
Osbourn Park High / x
PACE WEST SE
Patriot High
Potomac High / x / x
Stonewall Jackson High / x
Woodbridge High / x / x

Adjourn: 9:00pm