Rochelle – Co-Chair

Co-Chair Joe Banta absent

Rebecca – Treasurer

Meeting started at 6:05

There were no additions to the agenda

Reports:

Principal – Harlod Green

No report [see below for comments and report on computer lab]

Staff Report – Ken. Art/commons is happening this Friday.  Student representatives to CES came and ran an abbreviated presentation by us.  It looked good.  Planning a meeting to structure the 11/18 all school meeting.

Homework waiver policy – for when students have activities associated with Steller they can have an extra day to get the homework in.  We need to encourage participation in Steller activities and if students think that they will not be able to get their homework done, it will discourage this participation.  This policy should help.

11/18/10 meeting plan – Senior Project, parent communications, the exit survey and strategic plan.  Idea is to set up different tables so that people can rotate and give input.  Can get feedback and post it on the Flash.  All community meeting is not just teachers and parents.

Harlod – all teachers should attend

Ken – registration for intensives was on Monday and it went quickly.  There were not many complaints,  most students got their first or second choice.

Rebecca – did we implement the policy that students cannot take same intensive twice?

Rochelle – yes, that was passed.

Ken – the policy starts now – we are not looking back.  It applies to classes with multi-levels like skiing and snow boarding

Rochelle – one complaint was that there were too many choices.

Harlod – that’s good

Ken – Recommend you check out TED on internet. Author Dan Gilbert.  TED.com.

We got a grant for some socio emotional training for ½ day for staff.  We still have some stuff to flush out first.  We are building the second semester schedule right now.  By the next staff meeting we will have this finalized, at least the schedule.  We need to make room for students to do their peer taught presentations.  Will approve or not Monday, and those will then get entered into the schedule.

Harlod – We should have it all ready, so shouldn’t have to be guessing.  A few classes are new, so they have to be approved.  Three ASD entities have to approve them

Ken – Peer taught classes are usually a quarter.  A whole semester would be too much for most students.  Extensive lesson plan, detailed, and classes every day.  You should go and observe Brennan Reiger’s class – he’s doing a science class – only one Ken knows of who has done a full semester.

Rochelle – advisory group manual?

Harlod/Ken – It’s done.  It goes to new teachers so they are familiarized

Ken -  It’s too big for the Flash.

Harlod – was told it was just for teachers, but if there is an interest in seeing it I can ask and explain that some portions may be of particular interest to parents.  Harlod will find out.

The New to Steller handbook should definitely be on the website.

Harlod – Kaylin and Anna have an outline, and have power point they were working on, but not ready to present to this group yet.  There may have been a miscommunication on this but they are not ready yet.

Ken – knowing those two it will be pretty professional

Rochelle – There’s a flyer on Flash on the Creative Commons.  First night is this Friday, $2.00 admission, and food will be sold.  Good opportunity to experience performances and visual art by students.  It’s our first try and it should be fun.

Harlod – the kids have been working really hard and it is exciting.  When Alayne interviewed she had this idea and now she’s actualizing it.

Noone from Op Group present tonight.

Harlod – regarding the school action and parent involvement plan, there were three parents and 2 students working on that, and John, Linda, all the math and writing teachers.  About 10 staff working on writing and math goal, and three students worked on student part of writing goal.  That plan has been submitted so we will hear back if and when it is approved.  Many participants and it’s a pretty fine document.  It is not required that we get all goals done but we need to work towards accomplishing those goals as a school.

Treasurer – Rebecca Martin

$6,525 is the current balance for parent group

If you want to make a proposal for special project funds, fill out the form and bring it to the next meeting.  If Linda wants money for ice cream social, she needs to ask as soon as possible.

Last year we did ice cream social, continuing education to Linda, Math Counts, and CES.

Parent group has money, so let Rebecca know if you need money

Harlod – I do need to report on the new computer lab. A state grant is paying for it, not ASD.  I really think that interactive white boards would be good.  These SmartBoards cost about $6,000 each.  We have $8,800 in the technology budget.

Start up money is needed for the auction.  Probably have another five thousand dollars there.

Harlod – a white board would be put in the new computer lab with a sign up sheet to use it, and one could be in the old lab, for teachers to use.  Then we could try and bring a new white board in each year.  The technology is amazing.  My idea is that it could take some time for everyone to be trained and comfortable, but it would be so powerful to have this technology in all classrooms.

Rebecca – we cut back on tech funds from parent group because the district was providing funding.  If we got you started?

Harlod – if we have $8,000 then we’ll get the first one.  Someone could come and teach us how to use it from the university.

Harlod – the new computers are here but we are waiting on the furniture.  It should be here at the end of November -  new tables and chairs, and the color printer is here.  Still waiting for the black and white printer.

Rochelle – Ken and I have raffle tickets.  We share this with Holy Rosary.  Mazda 4×4 and cash prizes.  We get 10 out of the 20 dollars charged per ticket.

We are approved to continue as a non profit for another year.

Rochelle – Gaming permit – 2010 calendar year.  We only have a couple of months of the year left and no raffle during that time, so doing it for 2011.  2 people have to take a test and we will need to start a new account just for gaming.  Starting in 2011 we will be able to have raffles at our events.

Rochelle – reminder to use the buttons on the Flash for using Escript this holiday shopping season.  If you go through the Escript mall, we will get a portion of whatever is spent that way.  Parents can also use donations as a tax deduction.

Harlod – I do have more to report.  We have hired a person for the Secretary person – the Registrar’s position.  Her name is Jamie.  There was a parent, student, teacher and Elizabeth and Wendy on the selection committee.  She goes to District training Friday.

Rochelle – the first community café met last week.  There were parents and a couple of students at each table.  They reviewed Steller’s roots, our vision statement, how to implement it, and what could we can do to help.  There were three different discussions.  About 50 people there.  Several parents thought it was great, and good student participation.  The consensus was they’d like to do it again.  Another will be scheduled.

Harlod – Today there are a lot of alternative school choices, whereas when Steller started there were not.  You have schools within their walls that have schools like Steller, like School Within A School at East.  Lots of things are pulling kids away from coming to Steller.  We need to look at this because you have a different student base today and different skills are needed out there. The Community needs to get together to keep our vision but we need to use a different pathway to get there.  We need a whole overhaul for Steller’s philosophy.  If we get back to the roots of when Steller was created, we were the only ones with this vision.  Now there are other choices – we have to modify the delivery model to remain competitive and remain attractive to the kids.  We need a technology lab to house robotics and one for seminar.  I have asked for funding to add on, but if we don’t get it, then better relocatables like the KCC ones that are new and secure – we need more room.  Those are the kinds of things we need to be more appealing but still staying with our vision, roots.

Ken – staff at those schools don’t like those programs, like engineering program at Dimond, it’s about money, and competition and is divisive.  Viability debate going on.  How specialized do we have to get with kids at this level?  The drive here to specialize and I’m not clear that that is the way to go.  We are different from other schools and our traditional differences need to be strengthened.

Harlod -  concern here is to keep the students, the numbers needed, so we can retain our teachers.

Rebecca – regarding those whiteboards, I agree that technology is important but most kids don’t come here  because there is or isn’t technology.

Wendy – delivery is key.  What we offer here is different.  Having or not having technology does not distinguish us, I do agree that technology is important, did KCC tour – excellent program.  Kids can take bus and go there, why isn’t this promoted more on the Flash?  This is a great option for kids who are not college bound.

Helen – this school is about liberal arts – that‘s it‘s focus. And having small classes, critical thinking, the ability to be flexible.  That is what we need to focus on.  My daughter was at a very technologically conscious school but she chose to come here for these reasons.

Need to make sure liberal arts focus is continued, choices, marketing the school – people do not realize how we are different and what is really on offer here.  Kids feel ties with this school and can take classes elsewhere too.

Kids feel safe here too and that’s huge.

Jean is now in gifted membership, and she had a discussion with a girl who wanted to take ballet and get credit for it, and her school would not let her do that.  At Steller that would be not be a problem.  The flexibility at Steller that we accord kids improves their ability to get credit for different avenues. And that’s part of district dialogue about what to do to meet needs of underserved kids.

Ken – I never heard a kid say would he/she was leaving Steller because there was no whiteboard – maybe for a wider social group, but not technology. ASD can’t keep pace with what’s available at home.

Harlod – That’s not what I’m saying – the kids never came, it’s not just them leaving.

[Discussion on ideas ensued to help draw more students to Steller]

Rebecca – we need to promote carpooling too so kids feel Steller is an option that live further out.  There are some things we could do.

More school socials – Ken agrees that we need to do more to promote Steller.

Ken – there is more competition from other schools now, and we’ll never keep up with technology anyway.  We can’t even keep up with the stuff available to students at home.  It is important to have tools, but what is most important is what you do with them – the teaching. There is no magic bullet just because you have these tools.  It’s more important to sell the other aspects that we offer rather than try to compete with technology and with other specialized schools.  Flexibility, open campus, small numbers

The District has an alternative school fair and we also have Linda go out to the elementary schools with a team of students.  We do the open house in February.  The ice cream social before the march lottery deadline.  The District level alternative fair has exploded.

Harlod – I don’t want to be misconstrued – grants can be written, we can get funding, I believe we can keep up with other schools and I’m not trying to say change what makes Steller what it is.

Wendy – we are losing kids after middle school – I agree with Harlod that we need technology but it’s just a tool.  We need to communicate to entering 9th graders that HS here can meet their needs.  It happens at the end of middle school.  People don’t think that Steller has the higher level classes, which it does.

Ken – AP classes are being sold that if you don’t take them you cannot go to the college of your choice.  That’s not true.

Staff is important.  They have to support the way to sell Steller

Ken – no debate about that, we’ve had lots of discussion over the years on how best to sell it.  Our alumni are amazing, and I would love them to come back and talk about their experience at this school, that would have an  impact.

Harlod – how would having a robotics lab interfere with all of that?

Ken, Wendy, Rebecca – it wouldn’t

Rochelle – we can’t offer AP, Baccalaureate, etc.  Ours is a small, and optional school and we are able to get the things they need.  KCC, for example.  We need to let parents know about it, that the bus will take the kids, what the classes are, what the classes are at West, etc.  We managed to arrange flute lessons here because we couldn’t fit in band at West.

Harlod – parents can contact Harlod and John for options at other schools or for assistance in getting these made available.

Rebecca – this is the first time this is being offered.

Rochelle – didn’t know that anyone can coordinate with someone here to do something elsewhere.

Harlod – if I know someone is trying to do something, I can call and find out the best way to get it done, and so can John.  If you do it yourself, you’ may meet with resistance.

John – we have course numbers that allow us to say students are doing things at other schools, and we put that in the schedule.  It helps me with their credit counts.  A downside of Zangle is that I can’t access transcripts at another schools.  Get us involved in the process to help you – that will be more efficient and give you more options than you are aware of.

Rebecca – please let the advisors know.  My impression is that it’s my job to figure it out.  No one tells us to go to Harlod or John.  There are only six to eight parents in this room and so we know now but the other 270 don’t know.

John – Advisors are very possessive of schedules right now. I don’t have a clue what the kids are signing up for.  I look at the paper and I don’t know if the student is an academic or a vocational student because I haven’t been involved with the students.   I have 20 years experience to help students accomplish what they need, and that can include these ancillary things, for example, some kids wanted to be in ROTC and didn’t know and just found out about that option.

Rebecca – that is an admin problem – these matters should be discussed among staff.  If there are other options that should be offered, that information has to be disseminated to the advisors.

Harlod – at the all community meeting we can smooth things out if you want to do something at a different school.  We can facilitate and try and make it work.  At next staff meeting I can bring up that we need to let all advisors know to talk to parents about options available at other schools they should come to us first.  Harlod can call the principal and see what we can do to make classes possible.

Helen – all the options already available and tested by other students should be on the website for each of middle and HS.  We should also have credit requirements on the website and prerequisites, and more about IS and SDL.  It’s very confusing for new to Steller families.

Harlod – I can talk to the curriculum person over at other schools but you can’t leave the advisor out of the loop.  Look at your options, then if it involves another school, bring counselor and myself in for assistance

Ken – we want all the students to take introduction to SDL as seventh graders so that they know what doing a project alone would be like.  Bob is doing a really good job regarding SDL.  HS students, though, we should have options posted on the website – John could help pull that together. If you don’t know what’s on offer you don’t know what to ask – that would be another great selling point.  It’s also a great home base to go out there and come back to Steller.

Old Business

See Harlod’s report on school action and parent plan above.

New Business

Temple of the Bean (TOB) Nina is teaching the intensive with Eliza.  The students have formed a club.  Eliza is helping Nina with it.  John worked at a coffee shop and has another idea. – Junior achievement to go along with it.

John – Junior Achievement has done a lot of the leg work to get a program like this started.  The coffee shop could be our product and we could build a business economics class around it.  The District has a couple of programs in HS, like this.  It was used at KCC.  The intensive part of it is getting the training done.  If it works, you could start a business class around it.  You could bring business people in from the community.  I talked to Janet with Junior Achievement – she was very excited about this.  I didn’t want to get too far along on this yet but I do bring some background with me and in talking to Nina and Eliza it seems like something we could pursue.  If that is something we want to do then Janet could come and give us more information.  In the meantime we should go forward with intensive and then we could later build on the coffee shop for this economics class.

Does Nina have plan built yet?  Build this in?

John – at this point just thinking about it.  Have intensive, and get JA in at intro level as to what it means to run a business.  Then next semester those people could do the economics class, if the grade level is appropriate.  Maybe 20 people.  That was my thought.  No formal presentation just some thoughts.  It would be best to have Nina and Eliza here.

Harlod – will need parents in the kitchen during TOB – hot water, etc.  Adult supervision is going to be needed so must have parent volunteers.  At least one advisor and if John would step up that would be good, and depending on when TOB is open, then we will need parents in there, and can they come?  It will depend on the opening times.  It will take a concerted effort on all fronts.

Rebecca – We have enthusiastic invested people but not all together yet.  TOB is getting $1,000 seed money.  Kaladi has been out to look at the machine and is taking it to their shop to clean/epair.  Ball park figure to set us up with supplies is $1,000.

The Op group is going 1/2s with us.  So it‘s $500 each.  Another suggestion is to have a coffee maker in there, for making large amounts of coffee for big meetings. One thousand for TOB has already been approved.  We don’t need a vote, unless you want more than 1,000.

Rochelle – I’d say everything else on the Agenda can wait.

Rebecca – need to talk about the auction.

Ninth graders and parent group are taking over the auction.  We need an auction committee.  My tax season starts soon….Plenty of time until end of January to get everything in place.  We need to meet with Harlod on the budget.  If anyone has any paperwork on the auction before, we need it.  Jean and Philip did it last year.

We need an auction committee date and members.

Ken – contact Jean by email and talk to Phil for where that documentation is.  And email Susan Levy and she may help you get started and she may have some stuff.  Soliciting – you will need someone to go with the ninth graders, they cannot go alone.

Harlod – They need to have an adult with them.

Is anyone willing to be on auction committee?

Committee is:

Rebecca

Wendy

Rochelle

Will ask Linda

Will ask Nina

Need some students and teachers.  Linda will have some suggestions for students.

Wendy, Ken – we need to get some alumni to come and talk to students and parents about their experience at Steller.  Where they are now, and what Steller meant to them?

Announcements

December 1, 2010 luncheon for staff – for Ken and Leigh Ann

November 18, 2010 this month’s staff lunch.

Rest of the Agenda was tabled until next month.

Adjourn  – 7:50 p.m.