February 28, 2001 Site Meeting Minutes for Farallone View School

In attendance: Mike Bachicha, Pamela Teige, Stacey Fitting, Jill McClellan, Pete Zell, Howard Hayes, Donna McCurdy, Bill Strom, Maria Murphy. Guest: Jolanda Schreurs

Principal Mike Bachicha reported that he is calling GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) parents to find a volunteer to serve as FV representative to the district GATE meetings. He is also calling ELL (English Language Learner) parents to volunteer for the Bilingual Committee.

At the request of the district, Farallone View conducted a language survey of our students and found 13 languages represented, including Russian, Greek, Dutch, and Portuguese, as well as Spanish and English. The number of ELL students is growing in both our school and the district as a whole. The district will provide a pre-K program this summer to address the needs of pre-K ELL students, and is considering implementing full-day Kindergarten programs. Mike emphasized that at Farallone View, the achievement gap for our ELL learners is the lowest in the district. The district office has requested our summary of goals for next year's site plan to be submitted by April or May instead of in the fall. Mike noted

that the district is planning to focus on the role of student writing in all subject areas. Studies have found that focusing on student's writing improved student achievement across the board, including math, social studies and science.

The state has not yet sent any API bonus money. FV has qualified for the bonus, now set at $62 per student/ADA. The teachers have prioritized their needs, starting with replacement of damaged furniture, for possible allocations of this money, when and if we receive it. Dr. Bayless may be able to cover the immediate furniture needs through district remodeling money.

Principal Bachicha will be gone March 6 & 7 for a workshop to become a "trainer of trainers". On March 14, the HMB Chamber of Commerce will be participating in "Principal for a Day". Howard Hayes, who did this last year, recommended the experience highly.

Principal Bachicha reported that Tom Ferenz, our Tech Lab teacher, still has funds to spend for this year, in addition to the funding for the multimedia projector. Mike nominated teacher Shannon Cahill for the "California Technology Assistance Program", which is a $2,000 award to be used for technology needs.

He noted that he is pursuing some alternative uses for computers no longer used at FV. These could possible be donated to the rec center at the Mobile Home Park in Moss Beach. He will contact the High School about possible volunteers to refurbish some of the equipment.

The Chess club is underway. Principal Bachicha is actively searching for parents to represent our program at the district level. Jolanda Schreurs volunteered to possibly represent Farallone View, if she's able to get another parent as representative for Cunha Middle School.

The February PTA meeting featured an excellent presentation on math curriculum, with FV teachers Donna Ashcroft and Shannon Cahill, Cunha teacher Mimi Pasternak, and HMBHS teacher Sue Milion (sp?). They reported that the much-publicized "girls' aversion to math" has abated, at least in our district, and girls are excelling at all levels in math through high school in equal numbers as boys. The teachers agreed that math homework can be tedious, but emphasized that consistent practice was important for getting the essential math facts down cold. They also noted that what can turn kids off is pushing them harder in math than they are ready for or want.

The PTA president, Mimi Correa, plans to discuss the resolution to send to the State PTA (about the state's refusal to pay for children's sick days) at the PTA Presidents Meeting, so that all the Coastside PTAs submit a joint resolution.

At the last meeting, the Ed Fund heard a proposal to create a single Ed Fund for the entire school district. The FV Ed Fund proposed starting with a districtwide fundraiser.

At the Feb. 1 meeting, Supt. Bayless discussed the Similar Schools Ranking for our district schools and how inaccurate the comparisons can be. He urged interested parties to look at the individual school demographic information on an excellent web site, www.greatschools.net.

The Master Plan for CUSD Special Education is being developed. Special Education is a huge part of the district's budget, and it is difficult to meet the state and federal requirements without accompanying funding.

Dr. Bayless presented some information on the Governor's proposed education budget, but warned that the power crisis could greatly impact the final numbers. He asked for interested parties to join the Budget Committee for the district, which will begin working on next year's budget in March. Budget planning meetings are open to the public, and parents can call the

John DiNapoli was nominated as Parent Alternate to the Site Council. Per the bylaws, a vacancy can be filled by a special election. The nomination was discussed, and he was approved by majority vote to fill the position for the remainder of the school year.

Stacey Fitting, Pamela Teige and Mike Bachicha volunteered for the Nominating Committee to set up for the election for new parent representatives held at Open House in May.

Pete Zell offered to investigate prices and information on multimedia projectors that would be appropriate for school use, and to forward any information to Tom Ferenz, the Computer Lab teacher.

Principal Bachicha presented some of the school's needs as prioritized by the teachers, with replacement furniture (desks, chairs, etc.) foremost. This may be covered by the district under remodeling funds. Some other proposals were student transportation for the upper-grade Homework Club, staff development (including subs and conferences), and expanding the chess class.

Mike cautioned that until we actually know the amount of money we'll receive, further discussion is not productive. The Council agreed to put this on the agenda for next month, in the hopes that the information will be available then.

Items for Next Meeting - to be held Wednesday, March 21 Math Action Plan, API allocations, Focus Areas for Next Year's Site Plan, Nominating Committee, Multimedia Project.