In attendance: Julie Printz, Elaine Strohfus, Craig Roen, Kathy Bigelow, Renee LaCourse, Emmett Donnelly, Kris Hageman, Ann Hobbie, Jeff Sambs, Cleva Jobe, Dorothy Slegman, Nathaniel Lindley, Sandra Yates,

The meeting commenced at 5:20 p.m. Minutes from Dec. 7 were approved with a modification (change note under first bullet of TLC section to: "There will be an informational event at the Hmong Cultural Resource Center…"). The agenda was also approved.

Principal’s Report:

• Enrollment currently stands at 416 including 51 TLC students. The immigration is slowing but Groveland is still projected to have 125 TLC students by the end of the school year but not as soon as previously thought.
• Class number four is about ready to open. Ms. Scoville will free up her current space by moving to the back of the library. Since she mostly teaches in different classrooms this solution seems to make sense.
• Class number five will be in the current ELL room.
• Dr. Jobe will be meeting with Rec Center personnel regarding a possible space sharing agreement.
• Preparation for the Language Academy is underway. Dr. Jobe passed out the Implementation Plan for the Language Academy at Groveland document.
• Dr. Jobe highlighted upcoming events sponsored by NEAT and SPPS that focus on education financing and parent advocacy. She encouraged parents to attend the statewide rally on Monday, February 28^th after school at the State Capitol building. She passed around a flyer with details for these events.
• Testing season is about to begin. Dr. Jobe has concerns whether we are teaching kids to take tests or teaching kids to think. She is unhappy with the number of days spent on test taking, the number of tests and possible duplication of testing efforts.
• The fourth graders are taking the NAEP test. Groveland was chosen randomly to participate in this federal test. It is optional for students to participate in and no names are attached to the completed tests. Some kids were randomly chosen to take certain portions of the test (i.e. the science portion). These tests are administered by outside people and tend to be unobtrusive. Parents may opt out of these tests for their child if they so choose.
• The Parent Information Fair is Saturday, January 22^nd. Thanks to Nathaniel Lindley and Kathy Bigelow for generating a temporary brochure to be handed out at the fair.
• Nathaniel also copied our promotional video onto DVD as a parent take-away at school tours and for the parent information fair.
• Dr. Jobe has been conducting the school tours and believes that she has had an impact on parents who visit (i.e. they stay over two hours and ask many questions) and that touches like the parent treats and beverages have made a real difference. Diane Larson (staff member) helps with tours when Dr. Jobe is out of the building.
• Lockers have been painted and other places have been spruced up over the December break. The kitchen is currently being worked on. Dr. Jobe also had people in to check on the uneven heating situation. They discovered some faulty valves on radiators and will be replacing them.

• Jeff Sambs and Ann Hobbie have been working on filling in the bubbles of unfinished business in the plan document. The site council will revisit the plan in a few months to assess what needs have not yet been met.

• Ann Hobbie has been attending the Hmong Odyssey Workshops. She passed out a flyer soliciting volunteers on Saturdays through April to help serve refugee families during a Saturday program for them.

Fundraising Celebration: Kris Hagemen reviewed the event details that have so far been solidified.

Technology at Groveland: Nathaniel Lindley, Groveland’s technical support person gave a report on the current status and philosophy of technology at

Groveland. He is at Groveland eight hours a week, typically on Monday afternoons and Wednesday mornings and whenever something urgent comes up. He passed out a Technology Marketing Statement rough draft for site council review and comments. When it is satisfactory he will be posting it on the Web site.

He explained that the philosophy regarding technology at Groveland is that it is used to enhance learning but learning technology is not necessarily a focus. Especially in the early grades (K through third) little or no emphasis is placed on using computers and in the intermediate grades computers are "used to integrate technology into the learning process in a more authentic and time effective model."

• One parent voiced concern that kids ought to learn some basic keyboarding skills in preparation for seventh grade where some longer papers are typed.
• Nathaniel stressed that technology isn’t just for the kids, it is also important to enhance a teacher’s ability to communicate and staff proficiency.
• In the fall of 05 all computers at Groveland will be out of warranty. Groveland would like to purchase more staff laptops (to increase the flexibility of teachers to do work at home and increase their proficiency).
• Ann Hobbie asked about getting donated used computers from the Groveland community. Nathaniel stressed the difficulty of maintaining computers older than three years once their warranties expire.
• One suggestion was made to allow parents to "buy a computer for Groveland" at the silent auction. Another suggested allowing parents to buy licenses (around $150 each) for donated used computers or asking Friends of Groveland to fund such licenses in the future.

One suggestion was to discuss the budgeting plans for kindergarten in the 05/06 school year, specifically whether or not there would be a charge for full day kindergarten (or KinderPlus). Craig Roen will explain the proposed budget for SPPS next year, once that information is public.

Meeting adjourned around 7:00 p.m. Those who were able stayed after the meeting to get legislative talking points and addresses for letter writing. Also everyone was given an opportunity to sign up for the district’s political action list.