Site Council Minutes 2/6/08

Review of Old Business:

Jeanette and Jan have been working on the library page for the PTHS website.  The high school goals are posted under general information, school improvement link.

Forums- The forums are still in process.  They are a great idea, but hard to get everyone together to get them planned.  The newsletter is going out this week, so if the forums are put together at a later date, a special mailing can still go out to parents advertising them.  The Healthy Youth Coalition meets at 4:00 today.  Julie Marston will  ask that group for forum idea support also.

New Business:

Library support – Teresa Janssen and Jennifer Wilson met with Jody Glaubman at the city library.  There are continued concerns regarding the absence of a full time certified librarian at the high school.  The students are not getting the media literacy skills taught.  Jody indicated she is willing to do a class for freshmen to teach  library skills.  Two articles “Café Society” and “Revamped library lures students back to high school” were passed around which shared what other schools have done to increase energy around their school library.  The group discussed talking to the superintendent and school board about making the high school library more of a priority.  We also discussed doing a school campaign to try and get more students to use the city library.  Recently, several hundred old library books were approved for surplus.  We talked about the library budget and how decisions are made for purchasing new library materials.  Other ideas included soliciting colleges for extra copies of reference books and doing a book drive in the community.  The library committee will meet again to determine goals and volunteer possibilities to keep the library open after school.

Transition Committee- Discussed transition/orientation for the 9th graders in the fall.  Julie Marston presented information on Navigation 101 that she learned at the state conference this past week.  PTHS has begun the program this year for 9th graders.  It requires staff buy in to be fully successful, and that has been a challenge.  It also needs school wide advisory sessions to follow the Nav. 101 model.  We could bring in a Nav. 101 representative to speak to the high school teacher to better inform them about how to make Nav. 101 more successful at PTHS,

Communication- Parents communicates that there needs to be improvement in communication.  Students get some information but it seldom makes it home.  How can parents stay informed?  The school does try to put more information on their website.  There is a daily bulletin on the website if parents can remember to check it.

Technical Support – There is a need for more technical  support at the high school.  Several teachers have tech needs that have not been addressed, because there is only one tech person to serve the entire district.  Minor tech issues that have not been addressed are now major issues due to staff frustration in their computers and projectors not working.  Gina commented that she has ongoing frustration with yearbook challenges. 

Rachel’s Challenge – Teresa Janssen shared that the Rachel’s Challenge assembly (presenter and video) has the potential to have a transformative effect on the school to create a kinder, more acceptable environment.  It may be one way to increase an sense of community. 

Correspondence-  Jennifer Wilson shared her letter that she had given to the school board on Monday night.  She feels that standards are not high enough and that the district’s reputation is suffering.  Gina McMather shared her concern that some parents are also not supportive enough of high standards for their children.  It is difficult for teachers to compete for students attention when they have their I-pods and video games at school.  Parents suggested that the school establish more consistent standards across the district.  Just like the no cell phone in class policy.

Next Site Council meeting is Monday, March 3rd.