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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-09-24 RMHS School Council MinutesT. q 5 a ` Memorandum TO: School Council Members FROM: Frank Orlando DATE: September 24, 1996 SUBJECT: School Council Minutes of Sept. 9, 1996 The meeting was called to order by Mr . Orlando at 7:10. Members present were: Mr. Orlando Principal Mrs. Baumgartner Parent Mr. Capasso Student ; Mrs. Fidele Teacher a c) -;0 r'" Mr. Laabs Parent ' r-' Ms. McCoy Teacher Mr. Meharg Community Member Mrs. Perletz Parent Ms. Shannon Student 1. A discussion of by-laws to govern policy, membership, terms of office, etc. was initiated. The by-laws of the Belmont and Newton School Councils were distributed for a review of sample guidelines. The history of the group from membership and decision making patterns was reviewed for Mr. Orlando. He asked for a consensus on the makeup (parent, teacher, student representation) of the council and whether there was an interest in expanding the number of members. No firm decision was made. Rather, the council agreed to have Mr. Orlando and Mrs. McCoy draft a set of by-laws similar to those distributed and present them at the next meeting. These by-laws will become an important part of an orientation package for new members. Other components of the package would be a membership list and the state video. 2. Restructuring - Mr. Orlando gave a brief overview of his plans for restructuring. The highlights were: A. The process would begin in September and end in January with a recommendation. B. There will be no change in the general schedule for September of 1997. C C. He is clarifying with the State DOE the guidelines on directed study. Their answer will have a >F' significant effect on the budget for 1997-98. D. His approach will begin with an outline of skills all students should have upon graduation and end with the best scheduling match. New graduation requirements will be explored, curriculum frameworks will be reviewed, and instructional patterns studied. 3. Mr. Orlando reviewed excerpts from his entry plan. At the end of the meeting he asked each member to complete a survey to be collated with other results as part of the plan. 4. Budget - The FY'97 operating budget at the high school is $188,625. The FY'98 budget will be increased to $195 per student to approximately $198,000. Final census figures will be developed on October 1. The FY'98 budget will not include new texts under the high school request. New texts will be requested through the central office. The focus this year is on math and science. Department heads will start working on their respective budgets. The final request will be reviewed by the council on October 21. 5. Future meeting dates for the council are: October 21 January 13 April 14 November 18 February 10 May 12 December 9 . March 10 June 9 All meetings will begin at 7:30. 6. A lengthy discussion of guidance programming services ensued. Mr. Orlando will be meeting with senior parents to review their concerns related to his newness to the class. He will ask all seniors to complete an *activity sheet on their work experiences, honors, interests, volunteer activities, etc. 7. The agenda for the October 21 meeting is: I. Policy Statement - By-Laws II. Orientation Packet III. Budget IV. Guidance/Activity Sheet M E M O R A N D U M To: Administrative Council From: Frank J. Orlando Date: September 24, 1996 Subject: School Advisory Councils The following is a copy of the Guidelines and Procedures for the Reading Memorial High School Improvement Council. Introduction. This policy is designed to implement the provisions of Chapter 71 of the Acts of 1993, Section 63, which requires the establishment of School Advisory Councils in all of the public schools in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Purpose of the councils. The purposes of the School Advisory Councils are to advise the Principal in: 1. Identifying the educational needs of students; 2. Reviewing the annual school budget; 3. Formulating a school improvement plan and educational goals. Membership. Each School Advisory Council is composed of the school Principal who will serve as Co-Chair; teachers elected by the teachers at the school; parents, elected by the parents of the school (the election will be conducted by the PTA in consultation with the Principal), and community persons who are not parents at that school, selected by the Principal from a pool of interested citizens; and at the High School level, student elected by the Student Council. Eligibility for Membership. The intent of the Education Reform Legislation in establishing School Advisory Councils is to attract as broad a representation from the community as possible in advising Principals on educational issues within their school. Because School Committee members already have a responsibility for policy decision making within the system, the School Committee will be ineligible to serve on School Advisory Councils. Any individual may serve on only one School Council within Reading. Terms of Office. Members of the Councils will serve terms which will be staggered to provide continuity. Teachers and parents shall be elected to terms of one or two years in such a way as to ensure that each year there will be at least one new teacher and one new parent elected to each Council. All new members will serve two year terms. Should a vacancy occur between elections, the School Advisory Council shall determine how to fill the unexpired tern. Meeting Times. Meetings will occur on a monthly basis and the annual calendar will be created during the first meeting. Meeting Procedures. At the first meeting of the Advisory Council, the other Co-Chair will be elected by the full membership of the Council. The meetings must be conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Open Meeting Law which means that the meeting must be posted in the Town Clerk's Office at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting, that an agenda is available to all members in advance of the meeting, that minutes are published for each meeting, that all meetings are held in public, and that the meeting adheres to a quorum as defined by the majority plus one more member. Decision Making. By law, the Advisory Councils should advise the Principal and serve as consultants in the formulation of educational goals for the school.