Biggs Unified School District

Biggs Un= ified School District

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District Advisory Committee

March 15= , 2010 8:30 am-12:00 pm<= /o:p>

Meeting = Notes

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Welcome and Introducti= ons

Pam Sheppard asked if everyone in the DAC meeting knew and had been introduced = to our newest member Terry Lattermore. Everyone responded yes.

School Site Council Re= ports

Schools Share their Sc= hool Plan Goals

BES-Jerry discussed last = weeks SSC meeting. Jerry said they talk= ed about and planned where they want to focus on for Standards. Jerry stated the School Plan will = go to the Board in April.

RES- Jerry commented that= RES has not met in two months. Te= achers have stepped down from the committee.

BMS-Same direction as BES= and they will have another SSC meeting this Wednesday.

Areas of Focus - Jerry said the areas of focus are on raising academic scores and discipline. Bill stated collaboration time for next year is a must and that teachers are aware of this.

BHS-Sharen stated that the= y had a SSC meeting about goals. Th= is Wednesday they will finalize the goals.

Bill discussed Western Association of Schools and College (WASC) and SSC - Two Different formats. Bill comme= nted they are trying to get the same plans and goal.

Update regarding CDE B= iggs Middle School Status

Bill explained the phone message left from CDE about one of our schools being low achieving. A few days later t= his information was out in the News and Newspaper about BMS. Bill called CDE to get more inform= ation on this issue. Four different explanations were given. Bill explained that “Race to the Top” = is what the State is pushing and what caused the State to take action the way = it did. Bill stated the State did not have accurate information in determining some schools affected B= ill stated that he was very angry with the short notice and didn’t believ= e we should be on the list. Bill w= ent to the State Capital to clear BMS and had the school removed from the list. Bill has been contacting TV Statio= ns and Newspapers to correct the information reported. Chico News reported we were no lon= ger on the list. Laura explained Rac= e to the Top and NCLB. Bill explai= ned more on this also. Bill comme= nted that there is a lot of confusion on procedures for “Race to the Top” but that we are off of the State list. Pam asked if this is an annual list. Bill confirmed it was a= nd if we don’t score well and meet targets we co= uld end up back on the list. Pam sugg= ested letting schools know as an incentive. Terry commented that BES and BMS are still low performing schools and that we need to do whatever it takes to get the scores up. Terry asked what can be done to el= evate the progress for each school. Bill explained that interventions have already been put in place. Bill stated we are moving forward = and that collaboration for next year is a must.&nbs= p; Vera discussed “Race to the Top” information received fr= om a meeting she attended.

Review of LEA Plan Upd= ate 2009-11

Local Education Agency Plan (L.E.A.P) was discussed. Laura handed out sheets and discussed. Collaboration time= was mentioned in the plan. Vera n= oted the plan needs to be long term and ongoing. Bill and Vera talked about the Saf= ety Plan. Laura also discussed th= e plan and graduation from high school. Credit recovery was one of the things in the plan. LEA Plan updated for 2009-2011 was discussed by Laura and Bill. = Bill also mentioned the plan should include money to be set aside for staff development in the summer.

Review District Parent Involvement Policy

Laura handed out the Policy that was recommended by the State and she and Bill discussed with the group. Vera brought up Parent Connect being used in Chico. Karen also mentioned that Gridley = is using this system.

Bill said by next year that should be available in Biggs. Bill said we need to make sure tea= chers are fully trained and ready to use gradebook. Terry stated that training was a m= ust and asked Bill if he would make it a priority for teachers. Bill stated yes= he would. Terry asked if Data Di= rector is the same as Parent Connect. Bill explained and stated the district is working with BCOE to get things in place. Bill explained the Aer= ies Program we have in place. Ter= ry asked if Gradebook was only for BHS. Bill stated that was correct. Pam mentioned that Brigitte should be involved in Gradebook and Bill agreed. Bill stated that pare= nts need to be kept informed on student grades and attendance. Laura asked for any comments about= how we might help parents. Vera s= tated the ELAC committee handed out dictionaries to every EL parent to help them understand what their child is doing. Melissa mentioned that we need to develop a way to make parents feel welcome in a classroom. Terry commented that parents must be fingerprinted before volunteering in a classroom. Bill stated that fingerprinting is not required for one day only. Pam said if it is for a specific p= roject we need to get that information to parents. Bill stated if you know a parent t= hat wants to volunteer they would need to go through Judy Jennings first to be cleared. Bill asked if teachers have WebPages. Terry commented tha= t if they have them the pages need to be updated.&nb= sp; Bill agreed and requested to keep them updated or take them off. Laura suggested providing staff development for communication, emails and phone calls. Pam suggested guidelines to implem= ent types of communication and time levels.&nb= sp; Bill also discussed the implementation process. Laura suggested having a workshop = for parents.

Update on Parent Survey – EL Parent Survey

Pam mentioned needing help with redoing the parent survey. Laura said that there is a new par= ent survey in the works. Laura distributed parent survey samples and discussed. Laura handed out ELL parent survey= and discussed. Melissa asked when= the surveys will go out. Laura sa= id they are still in the process of finalizing. Terry stated once you do the surve= y you have to make a commitment to share it good or bad. Bill also discussed and went over procedures for surveys. Laura suggested that an Ed Connect message should go out when surveys are sent home. Terry asked if there wa= s a date this was going to happen. Laura stated there was not a date yet and mentioned we were waiting = to get the Spanish version. Meli= ssa suggested making sure the survey was more understandable for parents. Vera went over EL parent surveys a= nd stated that the EL parents would get both surveys. Melissa stated the EL parents shou= ld get both surveys.

Update on School Safety Plans/Crisis Response Procedures

Bill discussed the plan and went over site suggestions. Bill mentioned that we were having safety meetings with Gridley Police Dept. and having drills. Our last drill was on how to handl= e an intruder alert. Bill said we have had four safety meetings so far this year= and we are about 80% where we nee= d to be and that within the next couple of months we need to be at 100%. In the next few months the teacher= s will have gone through all drills. Bill stated drills will happen once or twice a month.&= nbsp; Bill said we have met with Gridley to pick a location to meet. Jerry also discussed the Safety Pl= an and went over what we were missing during the last drills. Bill also discussed the drills. Bill mentioned how old our bell sy= stem is and the need to check it often and the possibility of getting a two hour= battery backup. Bill also stated that= our Website will flash in red if there is an emergency. Jerry stressed the need to get this information out to parents and community.

ELAC/DELAC Report=

Vera distributed ELAC/DELAC minutes and Parents Surveys and discussed. Vera stated she feels it is import= ant to have a comment section on the survey. Terry noted that Vera’s Survey included parent involvement and= the other survey just says to do this. The first survey shows that we are tryin= g to communicate with the parents and are asking for ideas or suggestions. Bill stated that both surveys need= to be filled out and returned. It w= as mentioned that the cafeteria needs to be included in the survey. Pam suggested the cafeteria be tak= en off. Jerry would like feedbac= k on the cafeteria from parents. B= ill commented that Vera’s goals need to be met as far as when the surveys= are to be completed. Vera stated = April 12 is the goal to get the survey in the mail and would like them turned bac= k in by the following Friday. Laura suggested giving the parents a week to fill out the survey. Bill said we need to send out a ph= one call notifying parents the surveys are coming home. Vera discussed the ELL Survey she = wants to send out in March. Terry suggested that the surveys be turned back in to the teachers. Laura mentioned to follow up with a phone call. Vera suggested us= ing Ed Connect. Vera went over Langu= age Census and Calendar Uniform Compliant Procedure in English and Spanish. Bill discussed both items as well.= Vera explained reclassificati= on to fluent English Proficiencies and ADEPT “student score sheet” for K-8. This test is done every January and June.

Meeting Adjourned at 1= 2:00 PM