Site Council Meeting

June 5, 2007

In attendance:  Craig Roen, Jody Murphy, Tasha Klepp, Allison Bittner, Jeff Sambs, Jessica Pihlstrom, Lisa Keitel, Kris Hageman, Ashley Cannaday, Kathy Bigelow, Anneke Krall, Annette Hansen, Emmett Donnelly, Alice Johnson, Jean Bergstrom, Kari Brennen, Betsy Kennedy, Therese Martin Rueva

Meeting commenced at 5:20.  The agenda was approved with one addition regarding gum ball machine in Park & Rec.  Minutes were approved.

Principal Search:

The position of principal was filled by Becky Pederson.  Final approval for this placement will be made at the June 17th at the SPPS Board Meeting.  Ms. Pederson is currently working as Assistant Principal at Capital Hill.  She brings to Groveland many strengths such as curriculum development and G/T experience.  At this time her start date at Groveland is unknown but a request was made by the interviewing committee to begin in August.

Principal’s Report:

The Principal’s report was presented by Ashley Cannaday due to Cleva Jobe absence.  Points addressed were:

1.         The special needs program at Groveland is going to be moved to Monroe for the 07-08 school year.  The district made this decision and the reason for this change is unclear at this time.

2.         Report from the G/T Task Force meeting:            A survey went out to staff and they met as a whole group to discuss the survey and provided feedback which was brought back to the task force.  The following are the priorities identified by the task force for the 07-08 school year:

            a) Define what giftedness truly means.

            b) A Curriculum Night for parents will be held in September to better provide                                     parents with information regarding core and enrichment curricula.

            c) Staff attend an introductory workshop the PYP/IB program in order to                                   consider this option further.  Information can be found at www.ibo.org/pyp.

            d) Refinement of school interests portfolios and discussion on how to effectively                   use them.

            e) Develop ILPs - Individual Learning Plan” for the highest functioning students.

            f) Combine curriculum map with enrichment services map.

            g) Finalize the G/T job description

            h) Develop model for flexible / ability grouping within classrooms and grade levels.

            i) Letter to go home in fall to outline changes and priorities of G/T services.

Staff will continue working on some of the above goals at the June 13th staff meeting. The goal is to have most decisions in place by the Curriculum Night next September

-A question was addressed to the decision of pullout services vs. inclusion.  Jeff Sambs commented that the Superintendent is moving towards total inclusion of services through out the district.

-A question was raised regarding the budget adjustment in the fall and whether the .5 G/T position will be changed to full time - which will have to be addressed in the fall when the budget is finalized.

Gum ball machine:

Todd Seabury-Kolod asked to come to the Site Council to address his concerns with the gum ball and other vending machines currently in the Park and Rec area.  He has talked with Park and Rec about removing them as well as writing an editorial in the Villager.  We discussed how this has been an ongoing issue with Park and Rec.  Mr. Seabury-Kolod asked parents to begin calling the Park and Rec about this issue. 

Marketing Committee:

Alice Johnson gave an update from the committee   The committee has been working on standardizing the process and well as identifying initiatives. A new CD is currently being made. They are working on a Groveland Park brochure.  The committee would like to create an overall “brand’ or “look” which will identify Groveland Park in the Community.  Alice mentioned that word of mouth is the most effective.

Playground committee:

The Star Grant was submitted and there will be an interview process as well as a bus tour scheduled.  They are waiting for the district approval.  An overall amount of $153,000 will have been collected in the end (if grant received).  The equipment has been purchased and site prep is planned for September.  The Starbucks Corporation will be contacted regarding volunteers to help with the installation plus they will donate $1,000.  The  Munderschenk family donated $10,000 as a memorial from there mother (a bench with a plaque will be placed in her honor).

Celebrate Groveland:

This year’s Celebrate Groveland was successful in raising around $12,700 dollars.  Kris Hageman thanked the sponsors and volunteers for all their work in making it successful.  Although the attendance was down from previous years, more money was raised.  Tiffany Wortman has volunteered to co-chair along with Kris Church on the planning committee for next year. 

Issues for 07-08:

Site Council discussed priorities for the coming year.  In addition to the regular business of site council, the following suggestions were made:

1.) The Library - needs to rejuvenated. Discussion on hiring a Librarian/Media Specialist.

2.) Environmental Quality Issues - Look at current recycling practices and see how it can be improved as well as reducing waste.  Address the need to educate the students             on environmental issues.

3.) Review and adjust the 07-08 SCIP once the budget is finalized.

4.) Look at the possibility of adding a fourth kindergarten session.

5.) Address a “readiness” plan for becoming more stable no matter the             budget/enrollment numbers (since both have been decreasing each year and we are place in “panic” mode).  Become more proactive vs. reactive.

6.) Organize a grant writing effort - establish contacts for grant writing and possibly hire a person to write grants.

7.) Discuss the possibility of a student council to involve students in leadership /                            participatory roles.

8.) Look at Kindergarten and 6th grade end-of-the-year “graduation” programs which were stopped this year as a request from the superintendent (districtwide, she didn’t want confusion regarding the idea of “graduation.”)

Meeting adjourned at 6:40.