Jefferson Elementary BAAC Meeting Notes
25 Sept 2007
Attendees:Theresa Newsom, Principal (newsoty@d11.org); Mark Lambuth; Katie Hollis
Our interim President,
Mark, welcomed everyone. We hope to engage a new President at a future meeting.
BAAC REPORT (Mrs. Hollis):
Business meetings and training for DAAC and BAAC are upcoming. Mrs. Newsom is to put up flyer on parent information board.
Want to encourage more people to participate in BAAC. Mrs. Hollis to bring treats to next meeting. We also plan to experiment with the meeting time, so our next meeting will be at 8:00, right after morning assembly. We will also send out a flyer on the Monday before our next meeting and do automated phone call invitation.
DAAC is also looking for budget committee volunteer.
Ed Plutte went over NCLB.
Longitudinal data for last year was presented by Mrs. Hollis. Jefferson showed great progress from previous year. Staff is teaching to standards, not just to CSAP.
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT (Mrs. Newsom):
Our enrollment is currently 203 (preK through 5th), with 178 students in K through 5. We have lost students to Caesar Chavez Charter school. Queen Palmer has lost 72, and Edison has also lost students.
Chavez provides free child care, both before school (6:30-8:00) and after school (4:00-5:30).
Staff is working on a contingency plan in case students return to Jefferson after count day (Oct 1st).
School is using “fish philosophy” this year: want to have fun and enjoy work; staff members write notes to each other when they catch each other doing positive things; will tie special days (“hat day” and “dress up day” for example) back to instruction; will incorporate writing instruction in other activities.
Five staff members to attend PLC (professional learning community) training in Denver in October. This encourages using data to drive instruction and provides motivational, fresh thinking from around the world. Eventually, the entire staff should attend this.
The Jefferson Singing Choir (new this month) is scheduled to sing with Holmes Middle School and be accompanied by the Coronado orchestra. They will be video taped and their performance will be used by UCCS to help celebrate the opening of an all English school in Korea. It is also desired to encourage pen pals between our students and the Korean students.
The Sign Choir has two upcoming engagements.
PARENT INVOLVEMENT
We had good turn out last Friday for the sock hop and book fair.
FACILITIES:
Mark brought up issue of front stairs and poor drainage of downspouts. One front downspout drains directly down the stairs. If downspouts are not draining properly, the roof may leak again (previous roof leak caused major problem in one classroom). Mrs. Newsom to look into this.
Mrs. Newsom told us that Jefferson now has security cameras (4 in building, 6 outside) with monitor in office, and a beeper at front door when someone enters.
She also told us that there is about $3K remaining of our bond money, and that the staff last year recommended adding a keypad/buzz-in system to the front door (approximately $3700). After some discussion, we requested that someone from the staff bring us more information at our next meeting.
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN (SIP):
Written by teachers. Everyone to use Constructive Writing Prompt this year.
Working on achieving alignment from preschool through 5th grade. Once a month, goal team leaders meet to discuss and evaluate progress. BLT (building leadership team) meets twice a month.
Staff members attended writing training last week.
Multi-dimensional testing is being used for placement and interventions.
Staff members are scheduled to attend specialized GT (gifted/talented) and ELL (English language learners) training.
Plan to carefully collect and archive data on parent involvement.
Next meeting:
Tuesday, October 30, 8:00-8:30 A.M. (fifth Tuesday)
Jefferson Elementary BAAC Meeting Notes
23 Oct 2007
Attendees:Theresa Newsom, Principal (newsoty@d11.org); Mark Lambuth; Katie Hollis; Alma Ferrara (Spanish interpreter); Laura G. Montoya; Iraam Lopez; Anna Gonzales; Gloria Segura; Liliana Gonzalez
Our interim President, Mark, welcomed everyone. We hope to engage a new President at a future meeting.
DAAC REPORT (Mrs. Hollis):
Education Standards for all grades are being put on computer for all of District 11. Several Parents want to be able to access these from school if they do not have internet access at home, both before and after school. Mrs. Newsom will have Lisa set this up.
MAP testing is being used to find student academic levels and point staff towards customizing an academic approach for each student. The MAP scores for all students are to be provided at Parent-Teacher conferences.
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT (Mrs. Newsom):
TJ’s (Thomas Jefferson’s) Literacy Café is to start up again on Saturdays in November (9:00 – 11:00 A.M.). We held this during summer break and it was very popular.Morning assemblies are to change from 5 per week to 2 per week (on first and last days of school week) as per Dr. Mary Thurman.We are currently obtaining black and white clothes for all our performing groups (Sign Choir, Honor Choir, Orchestra, etc.). Thanks to a donation we have already equipped our Honor Choir for their performance this Thursday, October 25th (see last month’s BAAC notes).
Staff and administration are currently exploring the addition of an extra hour to our school day next year.
Mrs. Newsom gave us all a handout from a web site (www.hopefoundation.org) that features information on Jefferson’s innovative community involvement and student achievement activities.
She also gave us a handout on the opening of the English-only Village in Daegu, South Korea, a cooperative effort between University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and Yeungjin College. Our Honor Choir is to perform for this opening via radio and video links.
PARENT INVOLVEMENT
Parent surveys are to happen in November. We had a very good turnout at our last Literacy Night.
PTA fundraising is ongoing. They are raising money for commemorative wall tiles and playground equipment on the Secondary side of building (grades 3-5).
FACILITIES:
Anna Gonzales asked about adding a security fence, especially along the North side of the building (and playground) near the walking trail and railroad tracks.
We discussed this last year and several BAAC members were not satisfied with the District response. We still have about $3,000 of the Bond money to spend, so need to judge between several ideas.
Mrs. Newsom told us that the number of Staff members on playground duty has been doubled this year, and they are now equipped with walkie-talkies.
Mrs. Newsom will take this new fence idea to the Staff and let us know what they think.
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN (SIP):
Our SIP is currently being revised after review by District. Jefferson has been cited as an example for other Title I schools to follow when they write their SIPs.
OTHER:
Parents at our meeting suggested that for notes that go home with the students, we may not always need a full translation into Spanish. Instead, they suggested we put a short note at the bottom that parents can call or come to school if they need more information, because some parents may not be able to read Spanish and may need to talk to someone.
It was also suggested that when we send notes to parents, we call the BAAC meeting something easier to understand, such as “School Support Meeting.”
Anna Gonzalez told us that her daughter could help the school with Spanish translating. Mr. Lopez can also help with this if we need him.
NEXT MEETING:
Thursday, November 29, 8:00-8:30 A.M. (fifth Thursday)