Farallone View Site Council
Minutes of  September 19, 2001 (as approved)

Attending: Mike Bachicha, Peggy Rothenberg, Debbie Silveria, Howard Hayes, Pete Zell, Donna McCurdy, Stacey Fitting, and Bill Strom.  Guest: Lisa Beattie, candidate for Site Council. 

Call to Order at 6:10.  Quorum present.

Minutes:  The minutes for the June 13, 2001 meeting were approved as written. 

Principal’s Report: Principal Bachicha reported on the first meeting of the San Mateo County District of Education (SMCDOE) workshop on Program Quality Review (PQR).  Every school in California is required to write a new PQR (equivalent to the Site Plan) every three years.  This year is our PQR year.  A PQR is based on a state designed template, and describes a school’s educational goals, strategy to meet those goals, and plan for allocating resources to achieve the strategy.  Mike noted that our district requires an update of our Site Plan goals each year, so we will not be starting from scratch in creating the document.

   The state goals focus on Language Arts and Math.  Math is an area of strength (from K-7 grades) throughout Cabrillo Unified School District (CUSD) based on the students’ SAT-9 scores.  Our district has already chosen to focus on writing throughout the curriculum this year.  Recent studies have demonstrated that writing directly addresses the processing of information and analysis for students, even in math and science.

   There will be four more workshops to help prepare the PQR document, which teachers and parents on Site Council can also participate in.  The PQR is due in April for approval by CUSD school board before being sent to Sacramento.

  Pete Zell suggested that the Site Council work on maintaining a more complete Site Plan to include those elements not addressed by the PQR, such as science, social studies, art, etc. 

   Principal Bachicha reported that the enrollment at Farallone View is at 474 which is an increase of 25 students over last year. Teacher Marge Parker has started a choral program for 4^th and 5^th graders, held during school.    

Technology Committee: Bill Strom reported that computer teacher Tom Ferenz has bought 20 new printers as approved by the Site Council in May, which are all installed in classrooms.  The quality is high, the output is fast and teachers are delighted to find that they are virtually silent.  There have been two parent volunteers coming in on a regular basis, Kevin Whittemore and Bill Hetch, to help with maintenance of equipment.

   Bill recommended that the Site Council review the Technology Plan, which was developed several years ago and may be outdated in sections.

   He noted that the District Technician had set up strict standards for technology equipment donations, as the district does not have the funds or the manpower to deal with the maintenance or refurbishment of older equipment.  However, Farallone View has for the most part provided on-site maintenance. 

PTA Report: The first meeting has been delayed to Oct. 2.  They have launched two fundraisers: the annual Giftwrap sale, and a children’s artworks program.  The PTA will also be running a miniature golf booth at the Pumpkin Festival.

   Mike noted that the PTA will be continuing funding of a science enrichment teacher for the 4^th and 5^th grade and have hired David Pretre, who has been a classroom aide for the last 2 years.

   Debbie Silveria mentioned that the PTA has a new position, Community Services, and parent/classroom aide Jennie Dahl has taken that on.  She has already provided large bins for a canned food drive on campus, and will be coordinating our participation in the Coastside Adopt-A-Family during the holiday season. 

GATE (Gifted and Talented Education): Mike Bachicha

The results of the spring testing are in.  The GATE committee, Mike, parent Rachael Gershenson and teacher Pamela Teige, would be reviewing the results in the next few weeks.

   Several parents questioned the intent of GATE programs.  Mike described briefly the tests used to identify GATE students, which in our district is a test of abstract reasoning skills, administered in the spring to 3^rd graders and some 4^th graders.  The state provides funds based on the number of identified students, and restricts the use of these funds to specific kinds of programs.  Mike noted that at Farallone View, the programs have also been open to other interested students, though they must cover their own costs.  These enrichment  programs are held after school on Tuesdays so that they do not disrupt classroom instruction nor unnecessarily stigmatize the students involved. 

   He noted also that teachers receive training in ‘differentiation of instruction’ which means creating curriculum and teaching strategies to reach students of all abilities and skills. 

Ed Fund: The Ed Fund’s first event will be the Pancake Breakfast Saturday Sept. 22.   Donna and Bill described the e-scrip program, which raises over $25,000 for the school each year with no cost to parents.  Parents can sign up at the scrip table at school on Monday and Friday mornings, or call Donna McCurdy at 728-3905 for more information.  Only about a third of the families at Farallone View participate in the scrip program, and the Ed Fund wants to encourage more families to participate.  The program funds the classroom aides in the 4^th and 5^th grades, which have more than 30 students in each class. 

   Bill noted that the Moriarty Trust, which has provided a huge financial support in the last few years, would run out this year.

   The Ed Fund’s Silent Auction will be held at the I.D.E.S. Hall in HMB this year, together with a live auction.  The talent show will be held on a different date. 

Superintendent’s District Advisory Council (SDAC):  The next SDAC meeting will be held on Friday, Sept. 21 from 1:30 – 3:30 at the district office on Kelly Avenue in HMB.  This meeting is held for all representatives for the different groups at schools, including teachers, classified employees, special education, Site Councils, PTAs, Ed Funds, etc.  The meetings provide a forum for district wide information and the public is welcome.  The following meeting will be Nov. 1 at 7 – 9 pm. 

Open Forum:    Bill Strom noted that our web site is up to date at www.coastside.net/farview/site. 

Election of Officers & Election Committee: The election will be held at the postponed Back to School Night on Sept. 25.  There are three candidates running for the two positions (1 is an alternate position): Marian Lacey, Martha Cravens, and Lisa Beattie.

   Stacey Fitting noted that at Cunha they forego an election process if there are no more candidates than positions (that is, the candidates are automatically elected without taking votes.)  Mike said he would double check the bylaws, but that would probably be appropriate at Farallone View as well.

    The following slate of officers were nominated and approved by majority vote for the 2001 – 2001 year:  President, Pete Zell, Vice-President, John DiNapoli, and Secretary Stacey Fitting. 

Annual Calendar   After discussion, the dates and agenda items were set for the coming year:

Review of Allocations:   Principal Bachicha reviewed the allocations as approved in May.  He noted that as yet there is no Site Block Grant money coming, and API rewards will be a great deal less than last year. 

Next Meeting:  The next meeting will be October 17, 2001.  On the agenda: Introduction of new parent members, data analysis of testing and report on achieving goals, brainstorm ways to reach out to business community. 

Adjourned at 8:10 pm.                                                                          Submitted by Stacey Fitting, Secretary