Attendance
The following representatives attended the meeting:
Millie Balsam, Suzanne Barbarasch, Walter Barry, Chloe Chen, Karen Ersted, Linda Frommer, Molly Golden, Paul Gralen, Salma Kandil, Glenn Krasner, ndrea Mone, Max Najork, indy Phillips, Jan Prehn, Mary Sarno, Maripat Wilkins
Agenda approved. Minutes approved with change to the mention of the Walk/Bike to School day being held in October instead of September.
Correspondence
There were no visits or correspondence for this Council meeting, however there was correspondence to Ms. Barbarasch from Jack Hamilton regarding his Conflict Resolution program which she shared with the Site Council since we have been considering funding it for the new year. Ms. Barbarasch had asked if Mr. Hamilton would consider working more information regarding the issues of bullying into his programs and he indicated he does not want to move away from his basic programs so respectfully declined working with Jordan this year, given our interest in making the change. Other programs are now being evaluated by the Administration and will be discussed at a later date.
There is a new Jordan Journal editor for the year, Amy Sung. Her email for any submissions is JordanJournal@PaloAltoPTA.org. There is still no traffic coordinator for this year, which is the only PTA slot left to fill.
Planned events from the PTA this month are:
10/11 Walk/Bike to School Day with signs and treats
10/12 Executive Board Meeting with the latte guy!
10/18 Libraries to be discussed at this Parent Ed Meeting
10/25 Denise Clark Pope speaks at Gunn High on adolescent stress today
Fund raising by the PTA is behind last year to October and could be significant downfall if trend continues.
The magazine drive made the same amount of money as last year. Gifts for sale were a good idea,, but not enough 8th graders sold the 13 scripts required to go on the baseball game field trip to SF. 6th grade elections will be held on 10/27 and there was a good turnout for the education meeting regarding elected positions. Members are discussing new ideas for Student Council, some want to cancel one fund raiser because all their time goes to these during their lunch hours. The Council wants to assist with other issues of the school such as the bullying issue, recycling around campus, etc. Green Citizen recyclers may work with Jordan as they did with Gunn last year, by giving some money to the school to get their familiesŐ old electronics for recycling. A new request was made by Site Council to post the names of the Student Council representatives in each classroom so that students will remember who to contact with issues and ideas. State documentation on Student Council requirements will be looked into to make sure we comply regularly.
Along with the District, Jordan administration is looking into new ways to keep school safe especially in light of the bullying issue and the recent violence in schools in the nation.
Statistics actually show violence has been cut in half in the past ten years but the media continues to dramatize those events that do occur. Cameras on campus are more acceptable than they were five years ago so they are being considered and are going out to bid which may be finished by spring '07. Keyless card swipe systems are being looked at. Interviews are being held for a campus supervisor. The high schools have them in the District but not middle schools. They would roam the campus with walkie talkies to report violence or vandalism but not to apprehend. Lock down training is being held for the staffs of the middle schools the same as any other schools in the nation goes through. Police will train and then test. Parents are to be trained as well. This is for all emergencies whether human, animal or natural disaster.
Bullying programs such as "Let's Get Real" and "Safe and Caring Schools" are being looked at and the staff will hear from Dr. K Peterson on 10/11. Staff is looking for a system that can integrate into Jordan's ongoing programs, not just a one time assembly event.
Budget issues were discussed at this time. $50,751 has been requested by L. Goldman for the Technology Budget proposal she made the prior Site Council meeting. $3,000 or slightly more may still be required afterwards. Opaque projectors were discussed as another media purchase but it is unknown now how many teachers want or would use them.
Site Council would like a teacher survey from the Technology Committee to determine what their uses of technology are and what they wish for.
A motion was made at this time, and seconded, that the current Technology proposal be accepted and the $50,751 be allocated from Site Council funds for the two laptop carts and two opaque projectors in the proposal plus one cart for the projectors. A vote was taken and unanimously approved.
It was agreed that any proposal for Site Council funds moving forward should submit at least a one paragraph written statement to the SC listing needs, benefits and how it addresses the School Plan requirements.
It was decided that Wed., Nov. 29th, from 8-12:30 the Retreat will be held in Conference Room A at the District Office on Churchill. There will be no other Site Council meeting during the month of November therefore.
It was announced that on 10/24, there will be a School Board study session on the School Improvement Plans and more information will be emailed to the SC representatives.
The Diversity Program used to be a one day event for the Staff to hear speakers and then there was no follow up. The Diversity Committee of five or six people are looking into having interactive sessions with well respected speakers regarding class and race issues such as Milton Reynolds and Katya Peterson, who have nationally recognized programs. Feb. 16th staff development day will run the program selected.
Meeting was adjourned on ten minutes early.