PiE Meeting 12/7/10

PIE Meeting
December 7, 2010

In attendance:
Kate Dodge (co-facilitator), Heather Way, Steve Hyde, Jenny Cianciola, (music teacher), Ann Thomas, Lisa Falcone, Bob Goodreau, Ali Douglas, Elisabeth Garvey, Alyssa Lasher, Patty Drew, Jen Prue, Kelli Brown

1. Gathering and introductions
2. Review of Agenda
o Giving Tree
o PIE open house table
o List of initiatives
o School Budget
o PIE Finance Decision process
o Communications
o Approve By Laws
o Roles filled and confirmed

3. Giving Tree: Emily (8th grader at HCS) from 6,7,8 student council spoke to group about benefit for Hinesburg children. To sign up slips are available on the HCS website and at the office. Form can be completed on-line. Dec10 information will be distributed in a confidential manner about the profile of the child (age, gender, holiday wish/need). Gifts need to be in by 12/17. Student council will be wrapping gifts and distributing them. Students benefiting from this will be kept confidential. The hope is 1-2 gifts will be gathered for each student. Please fill out forms (paper or on-line) if you are interested. A poster will be made available for the Open House to promote the project. Candy cane and candy coin sale is also going on: proceeds to benefit the Giving Tree Project. They will be delivered the day before the holiday break.

4. Open House:

• Table will be set up in the hallway to promote the group. PR board has been created. Magnets done (thanks Lindsy and Matt for the logo!!)
• Main goal of the table is to communicate to parents of the school what PIE is and ideas about how they can get involved.
• Parents will be able to sign on for initiatives that they have gifts and talents and interest in supporting.
• Patty, Elisabeth, Steve have all agreed to be available at the table during the open house.
• Bob agreed to help provide a table, 2 chairs, an easel and pens available around 4:45 pm for the PIE table(prior to the Spaghetti dinner)
• Brochure is completed, but it has not yet been printed. Patty will finish the brochure and have it available before the dinner.

5. Initiatives

• A list of proposed initiatives include:
• Completion of Playground Project
• School nutrition
• Enrichment Programs
• Math transition (Bridges)
• Staff appreciation, K-4 Drama/play
• Parenting programs
• Parent Advisory
• Four Winds
• Athletic Fields
• “Green Team”
• Welcoming committee for Kindergarten/new to HCS parents
• Parent responses will be reviewed at the next PIE meeting and point people will be identified for each group (for those initiatives with enough people to support the effort).
• Data collected from the initiative sign ups will also help drive the priorities for the following year.

6. Budget (presented by Lisa Falcone and Bob Goodreau)

• Challenge for Change number is approximately $379, 000.
• Draft handouts were distributed to showing enrollment projections and budget reductions scenarios.
• The school board has established classroom size guidelines. K-3rd grade should have an average class size of 20, and grades 4-8 should have an average class size of 25 students. These guidelines and projected student employment help project staffing needs.
• The reductions that have been presented to the board to date, have approximately $282, 000 in cuts ($100,000 short of the goal reduction).
• Sue Hoeppner has gathered the information received from the parent outreach for Challenge for Change responses into a single document. The school board has this document and is currently reviewing it.
• Any more ideas for consideration can be sent to the school board via the school’s web site.

7. PIE Financial Decision Process

• When HCS stopped having a formal PTO, the saving account check book went back to the school. Heather Way has contact numbers for Cynthia and Susan and will be getting that information for PIE to utilize re: funds available.
• At the moment, there is no active fundraising going on. Jen proposed that the group define how to raise money and how to makes these funds available.
• In the past, the PTO had a form available to teachers to request funds. Decisions were made based on the PTO members present. September’s fundraising went directly to the teachers (based on what students raised from their homeroom). Book Fair money went to the playground effort.
• Bob suggested hosting a broader conversation about the level of fund raising wanted/needed by the school community. The PIE initiative board may help share where interests lie in this area. Currently fund-raisers have been narrowed to a few school-wide efforts. Other in-house efforts (student council, etc) may occur, but are on a smaller scale and student-led.
• Creating a master fund raising calendar may be a good idea in spreading out the financial requests being made from students/parents throughout the year.
• Lisa shared that auditors (on a state level) also prefer to see a separation and protocol from PIE like organizations.
• Money revenue ideas shared included a variety show and a ½ day program (on a ½ day having a program after school to attend run with small groups run by parents).
• Action steps to address this area include:
• Collecting data/interest from the Open House (put price tags on the top initiatives)
• Look at fundraising calendar (school wide to establish school-wide bake sales and name opportunities for smaller sales throughout the year…if wanted)
• Establish goals and protocols for fundraising.

8. Next Agenda items

• Look at initiative idea information from open house night.
• Fund raising conversation
• Communication (who’s doing what in organizing blog and webpage)
• Approve by laws
• How can parent representatives share information with other grade level parents?
• Play ground: Phase 2 ($40, 000 left to go) Heather to get latest balance from the old PTO funds and will share balance at the next meeting. New playground items will attach to the main structure or be free standing.
• Next PIE meeting is slated for January 4th at 6 pm .

9. Action items

• Patty will finish the brochure and Elisabeth will set up the table for tomorrow night’s Open House.
• Heather will get financial information from outgoing PTO bank accounts. She will also ask Susan Able to gather remaining playground plans and ordering information.
• Baker for the January meeting is Jen (thank you in advance!)

HCS Book Fair

Come to The Scholastic Book Fair in the new multi-purpose room at Hinesburg Community School. Just in time for holiday shopping! The Book Fair is open to all members of our Hinesburg Community.

Set up is Nov. 29th, Monday morning and we will be open after that until 4:00 on Monday.
Tuesday Nov. 30th thru Friday Dec. 3rd we will be open 7:30 thru 4:00.
Wednesday we will have a Late Night and stay open thru 8:00.

We still need some volunteers to cashier and help the kids choose their books.
You can go to the following link to put your name and phone number on our volunteer schedule.
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/2010289

HCS BOOK FAIR

HCS is hosting a Scholastic Book Fair the week after Thanksgiving.
We are looking for volunteers to help out in 4+/- hour shifts (7:30-12:00, 12:00-4:00).

You are invited to sign up for "2010 HCS Book Fair VOLUNTEERS." Please click on the link below to view the online sign up sheet.Please call (482-2440) or email me (ginamvh@gmavt.net) if you have any questions. This sign up is protected by a password. Enter the password "BOOKS" for access. To sign up, go to: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/2010289

Thank you for your support!

Playground Renovation - Part II

click here to see a smilebox of the playgound re-build.

Playground Demolition !

CLick here to see a smilebox of the playground demolition.
Thanks to all who helped!

HCS PiE meeting 11/22/2010

HCS PiE meeting 11/22/2010

Agenda:
Review/Approve general meeting structure
Review/Approve by-laws
Fill officer roles
Discuss/Prioritize initiatives
- Generic Meeting Structure - approved
- By-Laws – tabled this as website was not updated; website is now updated.
- Playground discussion – review of plan distributed by Frank Twarog
- Scope of playground installation - main structure only, fundraising efforts will continue to update peripheral pieces
- Open House – December 8th - Fundraising opportunity to have PiE table with representation and a donation jar.
o Elizabeth Garvey will take on setting up table; will make tri-fold celebrating new playground.
o Steve Hyde will man the table. Sue Hoeppner will make photocopies of by-laws.
o Patty Drew and Jenny Prue will draft the pie blurb for flyer and a magnet.
o Matt Hay will be creative artist for layout.
o Alyssa Lasher will create magnets.
- Officers - Clarification of roles: meeting facilitator is different from chair/director (what are we calling this?)
- Nominations:
o Chairs/directors: Jen Prue, Alyssa Lasher
o Treasurer: Heather Way, Catherine Goldsmith
o Secretary: Sue Hoeppner
o Facilitator(s): Carla Wuthrich, Kate Dodge
o Communications/PR: Kelli Brown
- Initiatives: PR board at school
Questions on sustainability – how do we provide motivation for teachers/parents to get involved/stay involved? Compensation? Further discussion required.
Discussion about time and date: 1st Tuesday, 6:00pm HCS. Next meeting is December 7th

HCS Partnership in Education – 9/21/10

HCS Partnership in Education – 9/21/10 6:30-8:00pm

Agenda:

Review Draft By-Laws

Create organizational structure

Develop consistent meeting structure

Create initial work plan

Review by-laws:

Some tweaks:

Article V: Membership and Voting Rights

Change Executive Board to Steering Committee

Change Chair to Facilitator

Change co-Chair to co-Facilitator

Change HCS CPC to HCS PiE

Click here for DRAFT

Organizational Structure:

As outlined in Article V:

• ANY (and EVERY) parent, teacher, HCS staff, community member can be (is) a member.
• The Steering Committee consists of 4 officers (Chair, co-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer), two HCS parent volunteers from each of the following grade level teams: pK/K/1/2, 3/4/5, 6/7/8 (6 parents in all), an HCS administrator and an HCS school board member.
• Steering Committee members commit to attending all Steering Committee meetings for the year.
• HCS PiE encourages teacher/staff representation from the same grade level teams. Each grade level team will manage representation at its discretion. Any teachers who commit to attending all Steering Committee meetings for the year will also be considered part of the Steering Committee
• Steering committee meets once/month: (regular time TBD)

o October, November 1st Tuesday 4:30pm-5:30pm

o December, January 1st Tuesday 6:00pm-7:00pm

• 2010-2011 Steering Committee (so far)

o Pk/K/1/2 - Alyssa Lasher (teacher representative)

o Pk/K/1/2 - Lindsey Hay (parent representative)

o pK/K/1/2 – Heather Way (parent representative)

o 3/4/5 – rotating teachers

o 3/4/5 – Patty Drew (parent representative)

o 6/7/8 – rotating teachers

o 6/7/8 – Jen Prue (parent representative)

o 6/7/8 – Renee Durochia (parent representative)

o Board Member – Keith Roberts, Lisa Falcone

o Admin – Bob Goudreau

Other:

Minutes will not be emailed specifically to attendees.

Viking will remind parents and staff to check the website for minutes and agenda topics

We might want to include “highlights” in this reminder

Reminder will be emailed to “HCSALL”

Next meeting: October 5th, 2010 4:30pm

Agenda:

Elect Officers

Playground! The current playground structure will be replaced this fall.

What needs to be done to get it done?

Bring a friend!!

Discussion notes – clarify voting rights: steering committee or each member in attendance?

Attendees:

Bob Goudreau

Jeff O’Hara

Corinna Stanley

Pat O’Brien

Kate Dodge

Jen Prue

Kelli Brown

Walt Granger

Joanna D’Andrea

Robin Skiff

Elisabeth Garvey

Renee Durochia

Christine Rosner

Kate Suski-Peterson

Sue Hoeppner

Joy O’Neil

Carla Wuthrich

Alyssa Lasher

Jen Bradford

Patty Drew

Don Wheater

Heather Way

Ken Fitzgerald

Keith Roberts

Melissa Levy

Lisa Falcone

Ann Thomas

Lindsay Hay

Kickoff – HCS Partnership in Education – 9/14/10 6:30pm

Welcome/introductions – Bob Goudreau
Updates:
· Construction - moving forward; students and staff are staying positive and flexible.
· Busses – some challenges with transportation; kinks are being worked out with bus loads and scheduling.
· Bridges Math – new program is being rolled out; meeting dates to come.
· Calendar – September 28th – ½ day, October 21st and 22nd – ½ days.
· Enrollment – Looking at pre-school registration to better predict Kindergarten enrollment moving forward.
· Budget - Budget season starts this month; challenges are expected; look for notices in the Viking for school board budget meetings/forums.

New HCS Partnership in Education (PIE) Group-

Click here for 2009 Survey results

Overview: Jen Prue gave some history of group; Current initiative-looking for collaborative opportunities for conversations: parent to parent, parent to teacher, community to school…
Playground update: Susan Abell shared that (small) group has $40,000+ for replacing main structure.
Community: Frank Twarog noted that meeting minutes can be forwarded to Jeanne Wilson for further distribution.
Enrichment: Opportunities are created by Literacy and Math coordinators but need support/volunteers to effectively roll out. Enrichment is not restricted to Literacy or Math; and activity (late) bus provides opportunities for after school programs. Commitment can be short-term or long-term. Nancy Polack and Betsy Knox circulated a sign-up sheet.

Workplan Ideas Brainstorm:
Playground
Bridges Math
Parent Advisory – parents sharing burden and responsibility for standards
Elf/Hands-on Nature/4-winds
Enrichment – formalizing/connecting
School Climate/Staff Appreciation
School Nutrition
Welcome Committee
School Budget
Communications (Message boards, website, open house, Viking, Hinesburg Record)


Next meeting: Tuesday 9/21 6:30 Cafeteria
Bring a friend!!
Agenda:
Review Draft By-Laws
Create organizational structure
Develop consistent meeting structure
Create initial work plan

Attendees:
Bob Goudreau
Jeff O’Hara
Corinna Stanley
Ali Douglas
Michelle McGee
Robin Skiff
Kim Chadoff
Christine Rosner
Lisa Ayer
Alyssa Lasher
Frank Twarog
Kelli Brown
Nancy Pollack
Betsy Knox
Heather Way
Nick Fay
Kate Dodge
Patty Drew
Nancy Behun
Joan McGuire
Michelle Lass
Shawn-Marie Landers
Jen Prue
Susan Abell
Mimi Comeau
Wendy Stein
Susan Bergeron
Tammy Murray
Elisabeth Garvey
John Brien
Paul Marino
Dan Cook
Heather Burritt
Lisa Falcone
Ann Thomas
Gina Van Hook
Sue Hoeppner
Steve Hyde

Parent Steering Committee Meeting

August 11th, 2010

Steering Committee Meeting

Bob Goudreau

Patty Drew

Jen Prue

Danielle Pheeney

Kitty Frasier

Sue Hoeppner

Meri Charney

Silvie Vidrine

Lisa Falcone

Kelli Brown

Jen Pelkey

Michelle Lass

Deirdre Gladstone

Agenda:

-Review original Draft By-Laws; plan to use as a model/template.

-Consider it a document in progress moving forward.

-Discuss Work plan, action items

Draft By-laws review:

Name: Agreed on Hinesburg Partnership in Education (PIE)

Purpose: tweaked item 4 on original purpose (see Draft in progress below)

Structure: Specific structure idea: assign both a chair and chair-in-waiting, so that there is less opportunity for someone to get “stuck” in charge – smooth transitions.

Lots of discussion about “staffing” PIE – How do we maintain a representative group?

Is it reasonable to expect consistent representation from the faculty?

Discussion about existing committees in school and how this new group fits in…

As a starting point the group will:

- Invite teachers to participate – in creating a work plan, contributing on a regular basis, or occasionally as topics are relevant.

- Initially, group needs to stay flexible and fluid in order to get started.

Action item: Create invitation for teachers to participate. Kelli Brown will draft a letter to email to the staff prior to the start of school; She and Jen Prue will take a few minutes to present at first staff meeting on Tuesday September 7th.

Next meeting will be Tuesday, September 14th at 6:30. Agenda: assign officers, “define” structure, introduce discussion topics (new math program, playground), invite additional discussion items, create schedule through 2010 – meetings/agendas, continue review of draft by-laws.

Work Plan:

Need to create a Work Plan that encourages participation.

It makes sense to invite teacher input to help direct the work plan – what’s important? Prioritize.

By-Laws Draft

Article I: Name

Hinesburg Partnership in Education Hinesburg PIE

Article II: Purpose

The purpose of the Hinesburg PIE shall be:

To increase communication and collaboration among the various groups connected to Hinesburg Community School;

To build a strong and cohesive HCS community;

To enhance the educational experience of every student by helping to meet his/her academic, social, emotional, and physical needs;

To provide a forum for discussion to parents/guardians and other members of the community for discussion about school policies, procedures, curricula, budgets, and other initiatives affecting the school as a whole;

To encourage the participation of parents/guardians and other members of the community in the decision-making process by offering their expertise to this advisory board and serving the school through volunteering on one or more of its committees or activities or projects.

Article III: Office and Organizational Structure

Organizational Structure to be defined at 9/14 meeting.

Parent/Family/Community Meeting Minutes June 9th 2010

Agenda:
Parent Group:
Primary Wing Update:
2010-11 Calendar:
Playground Update:
Other:

Attendees:
Bob Goudreau
Patty Drew
Meri Charney
Heather Purintan
Tracey Gauthier
Jen Prue
Patty Downey
Lisa Falcone
Sue Hoeppner
Jill Reynolds

Parent Group:
Revised parent group is going to move forward with what we have. Keep it simple to start. Steering committee with revise By-Laws and take responsibility for defining needs of group. Folks who have stepped forward to volunteer will meet on Wednesday, August 11th at 6:30 to begin working. Bob will encourage staff representation from K-2, 3-5, 6-8.
Primary Wing Update:
Progress is being made! Wing is expected to be completely gutted by end of next week. Displaced teachers and students are working well in their new locations – they love the doors!
Bob gave a recap about some of the initiatives of the past years: Common Planning Time, sharing expertise, collaboration between teachers around kids, reconfiguration of K-2 classrooms, goal setting, professional development and cooperation, alternative middle school program.
2010-11 Calendar:
New calendar is here! Look for it in the Viking or on the website.
A question came up about ½ days in the calendar. Bob explained that ½ days are negotiated benefits. Another challenge for working parents: mid-day performances. This is good agenda item for parent teacher group.
End of Year Activities:
Discussions about school calendar.
Lots of things going on… watch for information from teachers and the Viking
Playground Update:
Main structure is scheduled to be replaced this summer.
Fund raising continues.
Committee expects to meet in the next weeks to finalize a plan.
Other:
Thom Fleury is leaving. His position will be reduced in hours, but will be filled.

HCS Steering Committee

We will have a revised HCS Parent/School Group in the fall of 2010. At this time we are looking for parent volunteers to serve on a steering committee to lead this new group. Our goal would be to have three volunteers to represent Pre-K – Grade 2, three volunteers to represent Grades 3-5, and three to represent Grades 5-8. If you would be willing to serve in this capacity it would involve attending five to six planning meetings for the organization during the course of the 2010 – 2011 academic year along with the regularly scheduled events planned by the steering committee. The steering committee would serve to design the agendas and activities of our new organization. The first meeting would occur in late August prior to the start of school next fall. If you are interested in serving contact send a short note noting your interest and contact information to HCS Steering Committee at HCS. If you would like more information contact Jen Prue Jennifer.prue@uvm.edu (482-5129) or Sue Hoeppner shoeppner@cssu.org (777-0020).
Our Parent Group meetings for June will be held on June 9 at 6:30 PM and June 10 at 8:30 AM. The agenda for these meetings will include:
· Formation of a New HCS Parent Group for 2010 - 2011
· Update on the Primary Wing Renovation
· 2010 – 2011 Calendar
· End of Year Activities
· New Playground Update

June meetings

The HCS Parent Group will meet on Wednesday, June 9th at 6:30 p.m. and also Thursday, June 10th at 8:30 a.m. Both meetings will be in the school cafeteria.

Parent Meeting Minutes 4/19/10

Parent Meeting Minutes 4/19/10

Attendance:
Bob Goudreau
Sally Kimball
Rob Gauthier
Jen Prue
Carol Smith
Patty Drew
Sharon Henry
Jill Reynolds
Diedre Gladstone
Maria McCormack
Sue Hoeppner

Parent Group Agenda April 2010
Parent Group Formation Update/Forming partnership with other community groups supporting children and families
Middle school Update 2010 – 2011 Sixth Grade moves to the Middle School
Claudine Bedell – St. Michael’s College working with Middle school Staff
Primary Grades Update for 2010 – 2011/ K Enrollment
Update on Primary Wing Renovation/Classroom assignments during construction are to be within HCS
Transportation Plans for the 2010 – 2011 academic year – Combining routes with CVU to save $$$
Charlie Fortin Day at HCS April 23, 2010
Other
Next Meetings – May 12 – 8:30 AM & May 13 – 6:30 PM

Parent Group Overview – challenge is sustainable numbers; participation in ongoing meetings continues to be low. One suggestion to consider is an “umbrella” organization that connects existing parent/family groups that are already formed.

Middle School Update: Survey regarding integration of 6th grade – results came back positive.
6th grade will move to the middle school next year. Typical learning environments might include 6th and 7th graders together and it might include 7th and 8th grade students together. It will rarely include 6th, 7th and 8th graders in the same groups. Claudine Bedell is working with the middle school teachers in terms of developing a philosophy that incorporates 6-7-8. Conversations include team of special education, Title I, support staff. Next year, 5th grade is self contained. Similar philosophy conversations will take place regarding 3-4-5.
Reconfiguration includes an alternative project based model in 6-7-8; may even be available to 3-4-5 in the future.
Next year’s numbers:
K-1-2: 157, 3-4-5: 152, 6-7-8: 152
K registration indicates 63 +/- students at this time.

Discussion of vision of school calendar: current calendar is based on agricultural society, might be antiquated; How can we better meet the needs of kids. Other possibilities looks like:
*8 weeks instruction, 2 weeks intervention/enrichment, 8 weeks instruction, 2 weeks intervention/enrichment, etc.
*Delayed opening for middle school (addressing developmental needs of adolescents),
*longer school day
*integrated instruction
*Alternative project based learning

A parent made a suggestion to provide opportunities for parents to learn about middle school models – the request was made with the idea of include parents to a greater degree in the reconfiguration journey. There was a lot of discussion about the logistics of “a day” in the middle school. Bob maintains that it depends on the needs of the kids. The point of reconfiguration is to NOT define the logistics, but to stay flexible based on the current group.

Renovation update – K-2 wing and “52 wing” (staff room and special ed). Construction schedule was optimistic. Likely we will not move back into the primary wing until November 1st.

Next year - morning bus runs will include K-12 as a cost savings. Will likely push our day 15 minutes later – closer to 8:15 start 2:50 end. Watch for updates this summer.

Charlie Fortin Day at HCS is Friday 4/23. Charlie’s birthday is 4/23 and he is retiring on 4/30.

Meeting Notes, April 13 2010

Attendance:

Bob Goudreau

Maria McCormack

Sue Hoeppner

Lisa Falcone

Kathy Beyer

Diane Barber

Patti Drew

Keith Roberts

Agenda

• Parent Group Formation Update to form partnership with other community groups supporting children and families in Hinesburg discussed. This model is based upon a similar configuration at Williston Central School. Attendees discussing various organizations within Hinesburg that might be interested in collaborating with the parent group. Discussion of objectives and mission of this group. Ideas discussed: PTO traditionally did fund-raising, HCS trying various models to re-structure PTO. Sustainability discussed. Will enough members join? Will participation be maintained? Ideas are welcomed. Please hand in ideas and suggestions to school’s Main Office.
• Next year. 6^th grade moves to the Middle School, 2010-2011. It will become a 6-8 middle school. Angela Gaylean moves to the middle school.
• Three grade 5 teachers will remain: Paul Rochelau, Kerri Wallis, and Joyce Wright.
• Reorganization to reach goal of K-2, 3-5, 6-8 school.
• Claudine Bedell from St. Michael’s College will work with Middle School staff during this transition.
• Reduction in staff at primary wing also discussed: Diane Barber will move to Kindergarten next year, and a Kindergarten position was eliminated. Self-contained classrooms and multi-age classrooms will be available in the primary wing.
• Construction begins on June 1^st in the primary wing. Discussion of temporary re-placements of classrooms and students and this project get underway. This temporary re-placement of classrooms will continue in the fall.
• Projections for incoming Kindergarten class is higher than anticipated originally.
• Discussion of how HCS delivers services to all students to provide Best First Instruction. Sharing of information between classroom teachers, special education and other support staff crucial in this process. More collaboration to share expertise so first instruction can be student-driven.
• Transportation Plans for the 2010-2011: Combining routes with CVU in an effort to save money during budgetary constraints.
• Charlie Fortin Day on April 23^rd. He is retiring after having served HCS for many years.
• Next meeting May 12^th, 8:30 am and May 13^th at 6:30pm.

April Parent/Family/Communication Meeting

Parent Group Agenda April 2010
April Dates: 13 & 19 @ 6:30 PM and 14 and 20 @ 8:30 AM
Parent Group Formation Update/Forming partnership with other community groups supporting children and families
Middle school Update 2010 – 2011 Sixth Grade moves to the Middle School
Claudine Bedell – St. Michael’s College working with Middle school Staff
Primary Grades Update for 2010 – 2011/ K Enrollment
Update on Primary Wing Renovation/Classroom assignments during construction are to be within HCS
Transportation Plans for the 2010 – 2011 academic year – Combining routes with CVU to save $$$
Charlie Fortin Day at HCS April 23, 2010
Other
Next Meetings – May 12 – 8:30 AM & May 13 – 6:30 PM

Parent/Family/Community Meeting

Parent/Family Meeting – 3/17/10 – Erin go Bragh!

Bob Goudreau
Keith Roberts
Jill Reynolds
Carol Smith

Agenda
Review of Annual Meeting
Primary Wing Renovation
Discussion of Draft by Laws for our Parent Group and next steps

Review of Annual Meeting
Thanks for the budget!
Next year will continue to challenge us.
We will look for ways to get the parents/families/community more involved – any ideas are welcome.

Primary Wing Renovation
Bob reviewed the architectural plan at a high level
Construction estimates for time continue to be developed.
Bob anticipates that we will vacate the primary wing by June 1st; it is likely that we will need to make arrangements for alternative space in the fall.
Bob and the construction team are evaluating options to minimize the effect of construction.
Bob is expecting to have a more solid construction schedule in the coming weeks.
April vacation is late this year – placement will begin sooner than later to avoid scheduling conflicts and confusion caused by the construction.

Discussion of Draft by Laws for our Parent Group and next steps
Model of parent/family/community group is similar to Williston.
Challenge of any group is making it sustainable – at this time, it is questionable that we have the numbers to create this group and make it sustainable.

Parent group might be a collaborative network including a number of established groups at its core: ELF, enrichment, playground committee, mentors, volunteer corner, Classroom Parents, Hinesburg Recreation, Hinesburg Friends of Families…and others. This group may act as a clearing house of sorts between families, classrooms, volunteers and other community resources. This represents a shift in thinking about the new group… We will continue discussions next meeting and make an effort invite/reach out to these various groups.

April meeting dates and times:
April 19 @ 6:30 PM
April 20 @ 8:30 PM
During April meeting we will review schoolwide student performance data and discuss the goal setting procedures for the HCS Action Plan.

Parent/Family March Agenda

Parent Group meetings will be held next week on the following dates and times:
• Wednesday - March 17 @ 6:30 PM
• Thursday – March 18 @ 8:30 AM
Our Agenda for these meetings will be as follows:
1. Review of Annual Meeting
2. Update on the Primary Wing Renovation
3. Discussion of Draft By-laws for our Parent Group and next steps
4. April Meeting Dates and Times:
• April 19 @ 6:30 PM
• April 20 @ 8:30 AM
During our April meeting we will review schoolwide student performance data and discuss the goal setting procedures for the HCS Action Plan.

Meeting Minutes 2/16/10

Parent/Family/Community meeting - 2/16/10

Agenda-

(1) Budget update
(2) Current 6/7/8 configuration

Bob Goudreau
Tom Darling
Paul Lasher
Lisa Falcone
Danielle Pheeney
Sue Hoeppner
Penny Grant
Sharon Henry

Town report should be in mailboxes any day.

Quick review of budget.

Middle school reconfiguration conversation review:

Current configuration includes one 6-8 team and one 7-8 team which includes project based instruction.
Future grade level configurations (vision) will likely be k-2, 3-5, 6-8.
Each grade level team will have support services.

Middle School reconfiguration survey resulted in a mixed bag of feedback, but general opinion leans towards moving all 6th graders to middle school. Look for compiled results soon.

If this occurs, likely 5th grade would be stand-alone next year. Conversations would begin about how we would combine 3-5 the following year.

Tom and Paul discussed benefits of current configuration - project opportunities, mixed ability math flexibility, mixed language arts 6-7. To this point, 6th and 8th grade students are not mixed academically.

Lisa brought up the concern that the 6-8 teams are very large. For the student who is uncomfortable in a large crowd, the morning meeting (for example) is daunting.

Danielle shared her experience with a Montessori school with 3 grade level team configurations. She compared the configuration to "life": You're new at something, you're supported by those with more experience, you learn, you practice, you gather knowledge and experience until you are the leaders.

Other conversation about children whose academics don't match their social levels. Paul and Tom assured parents that social skills are taught at middle school as part of the curriculum: how to staple papers, how to recycle, how to close the door (without banging), move a chair (versus drag), how to shake a hand, greet/meet someone, etc... Bob also said that the school continues to work on recognising students who need extra support and providing that support.

Final reconfiguration decision will not be made until after a budget is passed.

February Meeting

AGENDA PARENT/TEACHER GROUP

February 2010

MEETINGS: February 16 - 6:30 PM - CAFETERIA & February 17 - 8:30 AM - CAFETERIA

TOPICS

2010 – 2011 PROPOSED BUDGET REVIEW
DISCUSSION OF MIDDLE SCHOOL SURVEY AND PROGRESS TO DATE
QUESTIONS
MARCH MEETINGS: 3/17/2010 @6:30 PM AND 3/18/2010 @ 8:30 am

Parent/Family Community Meeting 1/13/10

Parent/Family Community Meeting 1/13/10
Meeting Minutes
Agenda:
Welcome
Introductions
Presentation on Peer Relationship Study - UVM
Budget Update – Next Budget Meeting – January 21 – 7:30 AM Wainer
Next Parent Group Meetings – February 16 @ 6:30 pm and February 17 @ 8:30

Attendance:
Bob Goudreau
Jill George
Jen Prue
Cheryl Farnum-Rendino
Lisa Falcone
Maria McCormack
Sue Hoeppner
Julie Eastman

UVM Research Opportunity:
Peer Relationships Academic Achievement
UVM grad students/assistant professor (contact is Annie-Mary Close)
Opportunity to participate in a study about relational aggression – particularly in girls
Might look at things like gossip, rumors, social exclusion, online social networking, etc.
Voluntary per students/parents, voluntary per classroom/teacher
Participation would include a number of surveys Spring 10, Fall 10, Spring 11
More information to come home about this opportunity


Budget:
This budget cycle has been particularly challenging due to the declining enrollment, economic pressures, state funding adjustments:

CVU’s budget will be 1.5% increase
*HCS will result in 7% +/- increase
Town budget is TBD

*This number included 4% increase for CLA adjustment, 2%+ changes in state fund allocation
This challenge to reduce budgets will continue for the coming years - until economy turns or enrollment increases considerably

Budget Challenges for HCS 2010-2011

BUDGET CHALLENGES FOR H.C.S. 2010 - 2011

Challenge

Our school faces challenges of controlling/reducing costs, addressing a declining student enrollment while at the same time maintaining a quality educational experience for the students of the Hinesburg Community School. With our dedicated staff, I am confident that working together we can address these issues and end the process with a quality program that is responsive to the needs of our children.

Opportunity

I view this process as an opportunity for our school community to review our program and related expenditures in each area of our annual budget with the lens of:

Is this service/program required by law, regulation or policy?
Are we in compliance with the Vermont School Quality Standards?
Are we providing this service/program in a cost effective manner compared to other schools within the Chittenden South Supervisory Union?
Is our instructional delivery model as efficient as it could be?
Do we need to develop class size parameters for classrooms with a K-3 (average less than 20)and 4-8 (average less than 25)?
Can we share any expenses/service with a partner school or the SU?
Transformation

To help build flexibility into the system, we began last year to work on transforming the culture of our school from one which is independent classrooms to one which has a team approach. In addition we are encouraging collaboration among the various programs and service providers within our school. By increasing our ability to share resources, best practice and utilizing the collective experience of the team we will enhance the learning opportunities of all of our students. Specific strategies and challenges that will have an impact on this transition include reconfiguration, integration of technology, common planning time and staff professional development.

A definition of team is anyone that works with classroom teachers to support students in achieving the goals and expectations that we have for them at the Hinesburg Community School. On most teams you would have classroom teachers, special education instructors and assistants along with specialized reading and writing staff. Other school personnel and staff may be called upon at anytime to support the team in its work.

Common Planning Time/Grade Level Teams


In my first year at HCS, teachers on a two member team might have talked about their team’s needs and about services for their kids but time was not available in the daily schedule for a broader conversation with other teachers within the building who were responsible for teaching the same curriculum for their students. I found that restrictions on common planning time might lead to duplication of services and missed opportunities for working together to improve instructional practices. Individual teams did not in most cases share kids for instructional purposes and had little time to reflect with others on the common work that they shared.

Today the creation of grade level teams and common planning time is allowing for collaboration of professionals around the needs of all their kids, sharing of resources more efficiently and will cut down on duplication of services. Kids win with this model as the initial instruction they will receive will be better aligned to their individual needs. By stretching our configuration model, staff will be better informed about curriculum expectations and outcomes and the performance of all students served by the team.


Reconfiguration

Currently, we serve kids in our EEE and K Program as independent programs while the remainder of our school is served by multi-aged teams of 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, and 7-8. In the 09 – 10 school year we will begin our transformation by having a three member 6, 7, and 8 team. As we move forward with our transformation of the school we will continue to look at teams of educators and students based on a model of K-2, 3-5, and 6-8. With a declining enrollment and a need to make efficient use of staff we are reducing the number of transitions students will make. At the same time we will avoid having an impact on services to kids. We will make decisions around configuration of teams based on student needs. It would be my hope that once our process has been completed in three to five years that a variety of learning environments would exist within our school. These might include self-contained classrooms(All students within the classroom are on the same grade level), looping classrooms(All students are at the same grade level but remain with the same teacher for two years), multi-aged classrooms(our current classroom make-up), various teaming arrangements as well as alternative programs (create classroom environments directed toward addressing students with different learning styles). Reconfiguration may also prepare teachers for change in assignments as it creates more flexible staffing resources.

Technology/21st Century Learning

Our school district is challenging us to create 21st. Century Learning Environments within HCS. How do we begin to evaluate our current practice and incorporate a focus on the skills it is believed students in the future will need? These skills include but are not limited to collaboration with others, higher order thinking, problem solving, and working with technology in different ways. This is an Information Age with our students having access to a great deal more information than any other prior generation and the challenge will be for us to teach them how to analyze and use this abundance of information.

We will continue to take advantage of opportunities that technology creates for us to increase communication and collaboration among all members of the HCS school community. Alert Now as an example has become a convenient and quick way for us to get information to parents. Our staff is able to currently share curriculum work utilizing technology and applications for students to use quality learning materials are constantly growing.

Staff Professional Development

Our staff needs to be supported as we consider budget reductions which will lead to fewer personnel and resources. We have potential re-assignment of staff which will require adapting to a different set of curriculum materials and grade level of students. It will also require following negotiated contract language and meeting licensure requirements as we reassign our staff. The complexities of these issuesadd to the challenges that we face. Any re-assignments may call for professional development and time for staff to learn and work together as we realign resources, refine our delivery of instruction and develop programs. Planning and the gift of time will allow us to meet these challenges without sacrificing a quality education for the children of Hinesburg.

Analysis

We will review the budget with the goal of preserving our existing program and becoming as efficient an operation as possible while not sacrificing quality. Each decision will have ups and downs is my guess. Areas to be reviewed would include:

NON-INSTRUCTIONAL

Transportation/Staffing

Food Service/Staffing

Non-Instructional Supplies and Equipment

Heating/Ventilation

Maintenance of Building/Staffing

Service Contracts

INSTRUCTIONAL

Enrollment Review – Class Size Guidelines

Model for Delivery of Instruction

Salary Reduction – Explore part-time schedules for staff/job share opportunities/retirement

options

Administration/Office Staff

Co-Curricular

Review Core Instructional Positions/Programs Review Federal mandated programs looking for cost savings or possible grant opportunities

Field Trips/Travel/Professional Development

January 8, 2010