Farallone View School Site Council
Minutes for May 16, 2001
In Attendance: Mike Bachicha, Donna McCurdy, Pete Zell, Mary Balciunas,
Maria Murphy, Stacey Fitting. Guests: Vicki Laffen (president of Ed
Fund), Tom Ferenz.
Meeting called to order at 6:10 by Pete Zell, vice-president.
Quorum present.
Minutes of March 2001 were approved with minor corrections.
Principal's Report: M. Bachicha.
Principal Bachicha reported that Oceans Week was in progress and noted that
the organization, publicity and level of presentation and projects is
absolutely first class, thanks to organizer Leslie Higgins and all the
volunteers.
The last few make-up tests for the SAT-9 achievement tests are finishing up
this week.
Farallone View has received the API bonus money, based on our SAT-9 tests of
2000. All teachers and full-time employees received a bonus of $591.32
in their paycheck recently, as the first part of the money. We will also
receive $22,429, which is $52 per student (down from the original $150 per
student).
Our district will qualify for Title I funding next year, but we don't know if
Farallone View will be one of the sites to receive the funds.
There are 44 kindergarten (for next year) students fully registered, with a
total of 69 signed up. [Hatch has about 100, and El Granada about 80.]
Principal Bachicha described some of the staff changes for next year.
Third grade teacher Sarah Smith will be on sabbatical, and 4th/5th grade
teacher Shannon Cahill will be leaving to have a baby. 4th grade teacher
Linda Carroll may be teaching a “Newcomers Class” next year, for students
who have been in the district for less than a year, who are English Language
Learners assessed at a level 1 or less.
Farallone View has had great success with the number of students that
transition from Limited English Proficiency (LEP) to language fluency.
If a “Newcomers Class” is set up here, Farallone View may qualify for more
funding (from Title VII, ESL and other sources). Transportation issues
still need to be resolved, as many of the students may come from outside our
immediate busing route. Principal Bachicha noted that this program might
result in an initial dip in our overall SAT-9 score, as much as 10 - 15
points. However,
this intensive one year English immersion program, in addition to substantive
after-school tutoring and transportation, would address the needs of a number
of students in our district who otherwise might not find school success.
Principal Bachicha stressed that the MFG program will remain in place at
Farallone View, whether or not Ms. Carroll is involved.
Technology Committee: Tom Ferenz
Tom Ferenz, the computer teacher, described the pressing needs for printers.
Although it has been an extraordinary year for donations, the demand has
vastly overshadowed the supply of working printers and printer equipment.
Pete Zell proposed that this go on the agenda for next month, and that more
specific information about costs be available to make a decision.
GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) : M. Bachicha
The SOI testing is complete, but the results have not been sent back yet.
Parent Rachael Gershenson has expressed interest in chairing the committee for
next year.
PTA : S. Fitting
At the April PTA meeting, parents enjoyed a presentation by Amanda Hahn, who
has been teaching music to the K - 3 grades this year. The PTA presented
awards to the student writers for the essay contest. Stacey Fitting
proposed a committee to work on a master plan for the playgrounds, which have
lost a great deal of equipment due to safety issues in the last 5 years.
Principal Bachicha noted that there is $3,273 in the Tory Hansen Memorial
Fund, which was set up in honor of a kindergarten teacher and targeted for
playground improvements. However, there may be some costs associated
with ADA compliance (Americans with Disabilities Act).
Ed Fund: V. Laffen
The Ed Fund has created 2 new board positions, which brings their total up to
12 elected positions, in addition to a representative from PTA and Site
Council, and the principal.
The Ed Fund has approximately $30,000 over their commitments to the district
(for salaries of classroom aides, librarian and tech teacher). They will
be surveying teachers to better identify the need for aides at the beginning
and end of the school year. The aides have made a huge impact on
students, especially those struggling.
SDAC (Superintendents/District Advisory Council): S. Fitting
The SDAC meeting was canceled due to lack of quorum. The next meeting
will be Thursday, May 31 at 7 pm at the District Office in HMB.
Nominating Committee: S. Fitting
There are 2 candidates for election: Pete Zell and John DiNapoli.
Election will be at Open House on May 23. Results will be announced in
the next newsletter and the next Site meeting.
Math Action Plan: M. Bachicha
Principal Bachicha presented the Math Action Plan which is the summary of
strategies to meet the state standards in math for all grades. The goal
will be that “all students in grades K-5” will meet or exceed grade level
standards in mathematics.” The specific objective will be that “by
Spring 2002, all grades will increase their scores on the SAT 9, Noyce Math
Assessment, and other district assessments, by a range of 3 to 5 percentile
points.”
Mr. Bachicha presented these strategies in detail and noted that “the
current 2000 data indicates that the following percentages of students grades
2-5 have met or exceeded the 50th percentile on the SAT 9: 2nd = 81%, 3rd =
63%, 4th = 69%, and 5th = 74%.” This means that 81% of (last year’s)
second graders were tested to be at grade level or above. The test
scores in all grades have greatly increased in the four years of testing.
Next year will be a pilot year for math at Farallone View, when teachers will
pilot new state-approved math materials and make recommendations for adoption.
Next year Farallone View will also be piloting a new standards-based report
card, which will provide parents with more specific information about
student's skills and achievement, based on assessment. There will be 3
report cards per year, the first one after the fall parent-conferences.
Review of Allocation Priorities for 2001-2002: M. Bachicha
The council reviewed the proposed Site Council budget, based on current
information, as outlined below.
School Improvement Program (SIP) = estimated $31,604
Certificated Salaries 4,308.69
salary for computer teacher
Certificated Benefits 1,704.15
Substitute Teachers 1,800.00 to cover
teacher training
Substitute Benefits 198.00
Classified Salaries
11,165.70 salary for repro clerk
Classified Benefits 5,922.00
Supplies 1,496.66
Conference Registration fees 1,500.00
Second Language Learners Services 1,000.00
- translation services
PE specialist Services 2,008.80 -
for lower grades
Equipment Replacement 500.00
_______
$31,604.00
GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) funding restricted to use for GATE
Personal Services - non-classroom 2,339.00 after-school programs
Dues/memberships 75.00
_______
2,404.00
Library 9,914.00
restricted to use for library
K-4 Library 3,163.00 restricted to use for K-4
API award of $22,429
Certificated Salaries 3,500.00
stipends to meet Noyce
Certificated benefits 1,200.00
Foundation literacy grant
Books other than Textbooks 6,000.00
Supplies 6,000.00
Program Reserve 729.00
Equipment Replacement 5,000.00
for technology
________
22,429.00
The budget, as a work in progress, was approved by majority vote. The
allocation priorities for 2001-2002 will continue to be discussed at the June
meeting, when more information about additional funding may be available.
Bilingual Committee: M. Bachicha
All 48 of the Farallone View second-language learners will be assessed next
week by trained teachers. Principal Bachicha reported that we will have
new access to the Spanish-speaking parent community with involved bilingual
parents such as Violetta Torres.
Items for Next Meeting on Wednesday, June 13, 2001:
Results of Election, Science and Arts Action Plan, Review of Allocation
Priorities for 2001-02, Allocations for Technology.