MINUTES

SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL MEETING

March 3, 2004

1. Call to order—5:14 pm
2. Flag Salute
3. A quorum was confirmed.

• Members in attendance were:  Parents— Dora Cabrera, Frank Moreno, and Aurora Villon     Students—Veronica Arroyo, Maribel De Anda  Classified Staff—,  Certificated Staff—James Halley, Dawn Hughey, Manuel Cruz, Charles Collings,   Administration—Felicity Swerdlow,  ELAC—Fernando Camarena
• Members who sent regrets:  Parents—Ron Beilke, Anthony Soltero, Nellie Aguilar, Roy Arroyo, Emelda Hernandez Students—Brandon Longoria, Steven Villegas  Classified Staff—Vivian Martinez  Certificated Staff—Carol Stella, Marla Diaz, Paulina Vega   
• Visitors in attendance:  Alma Carr, Andy who came because he needed a ride

4. Minutes were approved with the following revisions
1. Students sent regrets to the February meeting, which was omitted in the February minutes.
2. Vivian Martinez was indeed present and appreciated at the February meeting; she should not have been listed as both in attendance and as sent regrets.
3. Ditto for Paulina Vega.
4. The Whittier monthly council meeting is comprised of officials from the city, the schools, and the community.  It does not include parents unless they are members of one of these other bodies.
5. It was clarified that the ERHS band will be going to Washington D.C. in 2005, not 2004, so that funds may be acquired for this trip.
5. Student Reports—
1. Winter Formal was held at Quiet Cannon

                                                               i.      All went well, except that the DJ backed out at the last minute.  The Dance Commissioner had a friend replace the missing DJ.

b.  Sadie Hawkins will be held on March 19^th.  As students were using the themes as an excuse not to attend, it was decided that there would be no theme this year.  Instead, they will use “Glow in the dark” decorations.  Safety issues were raised, but it was agreed that there would be enough light provided to ensure safety.  Mr. Cruz has ordered approximately 360 “glow in the dark” necklaces. 

6. DAC—nothing to report
7. Special Ed.—
1. College Night went well; approximately 90 people attended.  Many colleges were represented.  Claudia Garcia did a good job organizing the event.
8. Title 1—
1. On Wednesday and Thursday, a team from LACOE, along with Dr. and Mrs. Lindsey, were invited to ERHS to evaluate the growth in academic achievement as a result of the CSRD grant.  They were invited to give us an objective view of what is going on.  7 members met with teachers, students, counselors, and other staff.  The experience was very much like WASC, but without the stress.  They revealed that the strongest message they got from the students is that they feel that the teachers care about them.  They were also impressed with the hospitality with which they were met—Terri Tschinkel even made food for them.
2. They gave us 5 commendations and 6 recommendations.

                                                               i.      One thing they commended us on was that we are working on benchmark tests which will make sure that all students are receiving the same instruction, and achieving at the same level in alignment to the standards.

                                                             ii.      Recommendations included:

1.      We need to implement SDAIE practices;  for example, scaffolding

2.      All activities should be aligned toward student achievement

3.      Leadership roles need to be aligned

4.      We need to concentrate on bridging instruction to help students better make the transition from 10^th grade LANGUAGE! to 11^th grade CP

5.      All subgroups on our campus need to be analyzed for achievement

6.      The curriculum needs to be calibrated

                                                            iii.      Our next step as a school is to take action toward accomplishing these recommendations

9.  GATE—
1. Academic Decathlon placed 4^th in the county; won in their division—this is the best they’ve ever done

*  Girl’s Waterpolo made league champion and went to CIF finals; unfortunately, Temple City won 9-6

10. Administration

a.       The end of the trimester is March 12th.  This is a minimum day.

b.      March 15^th is a SIP day (no school for students).  Most of the day will revolve around curriculum sharing..

c.       One City, One Book will take place on March 11^th.  Mitch Albom, author of the five people you meet in heaven and Tuesdays with Morrie will be at the Pico Rivera Library at 3 pm, and at the Senior Center at 5 pm.  It was suggested that all members of the council read five people…by next meeting.

11. Parent Project—
1. The meeting discussed last month took place.  It went well, and they seemed impressed with the project.  They also expressed an interest in working with the schools.
2. We would like to invite Ray Chavez back for the next meeting.
3. Mrs. Swerdlow has informed Mr. Genis of these activities

• Parents are asked to inform other parents about the Parents’ Symposium.

12. Scholarship Fundraising—
1. Flyer has been made by Frank Moreno.
2. We need the parents’ help to get this trip sold.
3. Members should request that community members donate supplies for the trip.
4. An advertisement is being placed on the Don Webpage.
5. Aurora will bring doughnuts.
6. Manuel Cruz asked that everyone get back to him as soon as possible with the number of tickets he or she has sold.
7. Suggested that if someone who bought a ticket can’t go, he or she donate the ticket to be resold.
13. Single Plan for Student Achievement—
1. Watched the Content Standards video sent by the state
14. Public Comment—
1. Administrators are asked to remind coaches that students need to put academic work before sports.
2. Frank Moreno attended a budget meeting—many cuts are being made.
15. Agenda—
1. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 31^st.
16. Meeting adjourned at 6:40 p.m.