Site Council Minutes
10/5/17
5:30 pm-6:30 pm
Schwegler Music Room
Attendees: Jared Comfort, Amy Shellhorn, Trina Ramirez, Tricia Masenthin, Kristi Alexander, Sabrina Long
Welcome and review of minutes: seconded and approved
Elections: tabled for now, Trina is currently still vice chair and Amy is currently still secretary
Review/Revise Site Council Bylaws: It was agreed that on page 2 of bylaws under the heading “Meetings”, we will change the statement to read the following: The council shall meet two times a year at Schwegler on the 1st Thursday at 5:30 pm. Additional meetings may be called.
In the next paragraph we agreed to update to the following: 5 council members constitute a quorum that includes at least 2 parents.
Other discussion around meetings and bylaws included Trina suggesting the possibility of online forums when discussion is needed and we don’t or can’t meet physically. Others liked this idea. We discussed the importance of staying firm on 2 physical meetings at the building because of possible new members each year.
Discuss focus for Site Council for this year and beyond: Dr. Comfort gave a short review and presentation on the updates to the new accreditation process and the Kansas vision for education. He emphasized that we are moving from school based to district based accreditation and that we are due to give our school feedback to the district (using the rubric) by December 15. We looked at a couple areas from the rubric as it pertains to our building. We talked about communication and received good feedback from the group, which will be one role of site council during the year ahead. One parent shared that making sure dates are consistent in letters and communication that goes out is important and has occasionally been confusing-we have to really watch this when using an old template. Parents shared they liked the frequent communication they receive in various forms from staff and teachers. We discussed the Climate and Culture survey that we send out each year and Trina asked if we had defined those terms on the actual survey. We have not, but something to think about. Dr. Comfort also shared that the district is creating another survey. We will have to decide if we will still send out our own as well. This feedback was helpful as we look at our own role in the district’s new accreditation process.
Other: Tricia asked if we had any plans for a 60th Celebration for Schwegler. We have not discussed this yet, but agreed it would be a good idea to start brainstorming some ideas. We did discuss possibly opening up the “time capsule” from 10 years ago and then adding to it as part of the “celebration”.
Our next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 1, 2018.