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September 20, 2011

Attendance:  Renouard, Balint, Sylver, Davis, Greene, Overlie, Goetz, Mann, Ames, Berlin (2014), Ratcliffe, Lee, Shafkind, Tarleton, Jones, Lee, Neilson, Linett, Ruehle, Hudson, Edelstein, Miller, Phillips (Foundation), Lynch, Bach, Harper (2013)

 

Discussion:

I.                    Introductions

II.                  Election of Chair and Secretary for 2011-2012

a.       Nominations

                                                                                                                                                               i.      Torvik—nominated and elected to secretary position

                                                                                                                                                             ii.      Renouard—nominated and elected to chair position

III.                New Chair and Secretary begin duties

IV.                Norms/Bylaws

a.       Sen Renouard asked Senate to review bylaws

b.      Sen Renouard also asked membership to bring up other process issues that need to be discussed

c.       Tarleton—sub secretary?  Usually requested by Torvik.

d.      Sen Renouard—Should we keep meeting days 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month.  Moved and passed by voice vote

V.                  Admin Report

a.       Enrollment

                                                                                                                                                               i.      Scheduled to have 1023 kids

                                                                                                                                                             ii.      Now at 1109—much higher than projected

1.       Given additional 1.0 FTE in special ed

2.       Given additional 2.0 FTE in general ed

3.       District requests that we only use the FTE that we need

4.       Tarleton—does this give us a counseling secretary?

a.       Hudson—no, need to be higher

                                                                                                                                                            iii.      Added a chem section (.2 FTE)

                                                                                                                                                           iv.      Added an algebra 2 section (.2 FTE)

                                                                                                                                                             v.      Looking to add .6 to Integrated Studies

1.       IS teachers are overloaded (over 150 students per day)

2.       Discussing different options using existing staff in the building

3.       Want to avoid having a tracked block (ie: only Algebra 2 students)

                                                                                                                                                           vi.      Adding FTE disrupts many kids’ schedules

                                                                                                                                                          vii.      Input—please talk to Hudson directly

                                                                                                                                                        viii.      Staff affected—Fraser, Erickson, MS Walker, Witt, Shin up to 1.0, possibly Kegley to 1.0 in second semester (add elective)

1.       This uses 1.3 of the 2.0 FTE

2.       Renouard—counseling not necessarily driven by master schedule—need to vote in Senate

                                                                                                                                                           ix.      Special Needs students—we could really use extra funds to support them

                                                                                                                                                             x.      Sen Miller—also overloaded in World Language

                                                                                                                                                           xi.      Sen Mann—is this hard money?

1.       Hudson—working on getting flexible funds for counseling secretary and possibly more support in main office

                                                                                                                                                          xii.      Latest data—a few other courses are overloaded

                                                                                                                                                        xiii.      Overload pay--$2 (approx) per day per student over 32 in a section or over 150 in a day

                                                                                                                                                        xiv.      Not budgeted this year

                                                                                                                                                         xv.      Renouard—Senate can decide how to use .5-.6 FTE

                                                                                                                                                        xvi.      Sen Berlin—can we use this money to cover the costs picked up by NH Foundation?

1.       Hudson already planning to use district funds for additional Spanish section—this will allow us to hold on to $$$ for Foundation

                                                                                                                                                      xvii.      Sen Balint—district has lowballed FTE for special ed—we had 1.5 FTE more last year and are only getting a new 1.0 FTE this year

1.       We have kids who are just being qualified—if these kids are qualified before Oct 1 we may be able to get the money from the district

                                                                                                                                                     xviii.      Sen Linett—wants to see funds go toward the kids with the greatest needs

                                                                                                                                                        xix.      Sen Linett—new assignment plan means our numbers will continue to be bigger

1.       Overloads hurt kids—can’t do the job as well when we are overloaded

                                                                                                                                                         xx.      Sen Berlin—how do you make sure that the kids transition well to another class?

1.       Sen Hudson—counselors are working with the kids on this

2.       Sen Hudson—just send phone message to all families about this to explain the benefits of new FTE

                                                                                                                                                        xxi.      Sen Linett—haven’t had this problem (changing schedules late in the game) in a long time

1.       How do these schedule changes impact our elective programs?

                                                                                                                                                      xxii.      Sen Ames—is there a hiring freeze?

1.       Sen Hudson--Not in special education

b.      District Homework Policy

                                                                                                                                                               i.      District Policy—HW should be clear and able to be accomplished independently.  Should be connected to curriculum.  School should have its own policies around late work, etc.

                                                                                                                                                             ii.      Sen Hudson—proposes that teachers should have their own homework policies

                                                                                                                                                            iii.      Sen Linett—thinks this is good practice

                                                                                                                                                           iv.      Sen Jones—how much HW do kids have now?

1.       Sen Lee—1-2 hours per night right now

2.       Sen Ratcliffe—if going for honors, you tend to have more

                                                                                                                                                             v.      Sen Ruehle—what does this mean exactly?

1.       Sen Renouard and Hudon—each teacher will have a clear, published policy—include in syllabus

c.       Accreditation Survey

                                                                                                                                                               i.      60+  staff members took the survey

                                                                                                                                                             ii.      Interns Bach and Harger—compiled data from staff survey—will be emailed to staff

                                                                                                                                                            iii.      Sen Hudson—these data will be used for 2 tasks—work on CSIP and Accreditation

                                                                                                                                                           iv.      Sen Linett—do we want to survey our students and families?

1.       Sen Hudson—Center for Educational Equity (?) has a better survey we could use with students and families

2.       Sen Hudson—will look into paying for this better survey when supply funds released

d.      New Detention Policy—in keeping with CES values?

                                                                                                                                                               i.      Breland running a lunch detention

                                                                                                                                                             ii.      Gives students a reflection sheet—this is a way to allow kids to make restitution

                                                                                                                                                            iii.      Detention provides an opportunity for students to feel like they have made up for their mistake

                                                                                                                                                           iv.      Sen Neilson—is it possible that kids could face the person(s) affected by an infraction?

1.       Sen Hudson—right now, kids are writing apology letters, but these are not always given to a victim.  Depends on the situation since these can sometimes lead to further victimization

2.       Sen Overlie—has good models that she can bring in

3.       Sen Hudson—kids need restitution and consequences

                                                                                                                                                             v.      Sen Renouard—is this a new issues for our building?

1.       Sen Hudson—not new—we’ve had making up time and after school detention for a long time

                                                                                                                                                           vi.      Sen Ames—is detention effective for kids?

1.       Sen Lee—if kids are just sitting and reading, this is likely not effective

2.       Sen Ratcliffe—doesn’t think the simple/silly punishments like writing sentences is going to make them stop.  Restitution might make them stop.

                                                                                                                                                          vii.      Sen Berlin—thinks that detention is a good deterrent—makes kids want to avoid detention.

                                                                                                                                                        viii.      Sen Mann—in other schools, kids assigned to pick up trash around the school

VI.                Proposal for mentorship time to be used to elect Student Union members

a.       Sen Lee--student Union is a collection of reps from each mentorship

                                                                                                                                                               i.      This year, planning to use union more often in making decisions

                                                                                                                                                             ii.      Would like to hold elections this Wednesday with first meeting on Thursday

b.      Sen Ratcliffe—Union provides opportunity for more kids to be involved in Leadership—working WITH student body instead of FOR student body

c.       Sen Hudson—could we hold elections and wait until October for the meeting?

d.      Sen Ratcliffe—would like to start earlier in order to make Homecoming work better than the first dance did

e.      Sen Edelstein—what are the powers of the student union?

                                                                                                                                                               i.      Sen Lee—serve as a general communication between students and the leadership, serve as advisors, bring ideas, communicate policies and activities, build school culture and meet at least 1 x per quarter

f.        Sen Harper—seems like a great way to involve more kids, especially those didn’t get into Leadership class

g.       Sen Renouard—need to suspend rules—Senate moved and passed to suspend rules.  Senate also moved and passed to allow voting and meeting this week.

VII.              Counseling Roundup

a.       W 9/21—Seniors who signed up for College Bound Scholarship report to PAC for session with NSCC

b.      Week of 9/26—counselors visit 11th grade to review PSAT

c.       Week of 9/26—Lauren Henry (intern) to roll out 9th grade needs assessment to be given in mentorship

d.      Th 9/28—Reflective Scholarship—Seniors H-N to commons for senior info meeting to review grad requirements, etc

e.      Week of 10/3—counselors to visit 10th grade classrooms for PSAT

f.        W 10/5—other seniors report to TBD for senior info meeting

g.       Th 10/6—last seniors to commons for senior meeting

h.      Th 10/13—altered schedule for PSAT (also Homecoming)

i.         W 11/2—mentorship activity for Beyond HS Day

j.        Th 11/3—Beyond HS Day—staff wear Alma Mater gear

VIII.            Committees

a.       Student and parent involvement is encouraged

b.      Meetings occur

                                                                                                                                                               i.      Mentorship committee—2nd Monday

                                                                                                                                                             ii.      Safety—2nd Friday

                                                                                                                                                            iii.      Professional Development—3rd Wednesday

                                                                                                                                                           iv.      Accreditation—2nd Wednesday

                                                                                                                                                             v.      Technology—need to find out

IX.                New Business

a.       Sen Anonymous—concerned about a summer carwash in which cheerleaders were wearing bikinis

b.      Sen Hudson—needs to know about these kind of things

 

Fall 2011: Notes from the Counseling Department

 

W 9/21 @ 2:30 Seniors who are signed up for College Bound Scholarship report to PAC for info session with reps from North Seattle Community College

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Week of 9/26 Counselors visit 11th grade classrooms to review PSAT

Week of 9/26  Lauren Henry (counseling intern) to roll-out 9th grade needs assessment to be given in mentorship

Th 9/28 @ 2:30  Seniors last names H-N report to Commons for senior info meeting (to review senior interview process, high school beyond plan, how to get a letter of recommendation, application process, financial aid, etc).

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Week of 10/3 Counselors visit 10th grade classrooms to review PSAT

W 10/5 @ 2:30 Seniors last names A-G report to (location TBD) for senior info meeting

Th 10/6 @ 2:30 Seniors last names O-Z report to Commons for senior info meeting

W 10/12 PSAT--Testing Schedule

Th 10/13 Altered schedule due to 10/12 PSAT

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W 11/2  Mentorship activity to prep for Beyond High School Day

Th 11/3  Beyond High School Day (adjusted bell schedule).  Staff: wear alma mater gear!