Ridgeline High School

Ridgeline High School
School Community Council Minutes
Tuesday, March 13, 2018 at 7:00 a.m.
Ridgeline Conference Room

Members Present: Brittany Foster (Assist. principal, non-voting member), Emma Smith (teacher), Jerry Skidmore (teacher), Jim Crosbie (Assist. Principal, non-voting member),
Joshua Nelson (parent), Kerri Williams (parent), Maria Hunsaker (Vice Chair/parent), Michelle Israelsen (parent), Sandra Hugie (Chairperson/parent), Wendy Finley (Secretary/parent),
Members Absent: Kay Sweeten (parent), Robert Henke (principal), Jeff Neilson (parent), Bonnie Odd (teacher)
Visitors: Diane Theurer, Marcie Lyons, Tara Johnson (school counselor)

Conducting: Sandra Hugie

Agenda Item #1: Approve minutes from February 13, 2018 meeting
Discussion: Michelle Israelson made a motion to approve minutes from the February 13, 2018 meeting. Maria Hunsaker seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous to approve the minutes.

Agenda Item #2: Update on trust lands budget
Discussion: Brittany Foster reported on the latest meeting with the school-wide PLC (Professional Learning Committee) which consists of all the school department heads. The team put together the school improvement plan which is what the trust lands budget is based on. Mrs. Foster gave some of the data that has been recorded so far this year and also discussed the goals for this year and next year. Because the goals are set in the spring before the data is recorded, i.e. the ACT, the team bases their goals on last year’s data.
The ACT for Juniors last year had an average score of 21.3. The state average is 19.9. Our goal for this year was 20.8 which we met. We will increase our goal for next year to 21.4. For AP testing we had 78% of our students pass the AP tests. The state average is 68%. Utah is currently in the top 5 states for students passing AP tests. Our goal for this year was 73% and we increased our goal for next year to 79%. Ridgeline currently has nine AP courses. For CTE (career and technology classes) our goal was to have a 79% average score. We didn’t get any data from the state of Utah, so just looking at our goal for this year, which was 75%, we have increased our goal for next year to 80%. Our SAGE scores are above the district average in all areas. While going over the scores in all subject areas, Sandra Hugie asked why the scores
were so high in Physics and Chemistry? Mrs. Foster stated that Ridgeline has a very strong science department. Jim Crosbie stated that our science scores were higher than INTECH Collegiate High School. He also said we have great science teachers.
In looking at the goals set by the PLC, the date for the goals to be met is May 20, 2019.
Mrs. Foster then went over the plans for next year’s trust lands budget:
1. Hire two or more English Learning Aides for our English language learners - $16,000
2. Hire one Special Education Aide
3. Hire FLEX or Nest aide
4. Continue to pay for Success Coordinator
5. Continue to hold school wide department and PLC meetings
6. Send staff to conferences
7. Hire VISTA interns to meet with struggling students
8. Provide after-school tutoring for students.
9. Provide summer school for credit recovery.
10. Continue to send students to Diversity Days at USU.
Josh Nelson asked if digital citizenship and/or safe technology use has been focused on for the trust lands budget. Mrs. Foster explained that the trust lands funds are supposed to be used on our highest academic need, which digital citizenship and safe technology don’t fall under that category. She stated we have several free resources and also our Media Specialist is supposed to be teaching about safe technology. Jim Crosbie said as a school we are focused on the digital citizenship. Mr. Nelson stated his concerns about how much of an impact the NetSmart program is having on our students. He feels that as a society we are failing our children and would like to see something more done on the school level. Mrs. Foster explained that at some point in the future if we felt like it was a severe problem, there are other resources we can use. The problem would fall under the social, emotional, and mental category and not an academic need. Michelle Israelson asked if there was something we could do at the district level to request funding for this issue. Mrs. Foster wouldn’t suggest that option. We would be better off to find our own funding as there are several free resources. Tara Johnson stated the counselor’s office will be implementing bullying prevention curriculum for next year, which includes proper social media use. Mr. Nelson suggested a motivational speaker to make a larger impact on the students. He also recommended changing some of the policies regarding technology usage. He suggested not allowing the students access to the WiFi password. Mrs. Foster stated that the school’s WiFi has a filter that prohibits students from getting onto social media. Emma Smith commented that she feels our school is doing as much as they possibly can to keep our kids safe when it comes to technology. Maria Hunsaker asked about the current policy from the district for students having cell phones in the classroom. Mrs.
Foster stated the policy is that high school students can have a phone if the teacher allows it. Mr. Crosbie added that the school has the right to take student’s phones away from them if needed. Emma Smith stated in her physics class they were learning about radiation and x-rays. She showed them x-rays of people with what is called text neck that had a curvature of the spine and muscle pain and problems. She then explained that this was a long-term effect on your body and asked her students if it would change their use of phones. The majority of students said, no. Wendy Finley stated that we should remember that schools are for learning. If cell phone usage is keeping students from learning in the classroom, then there is a problem. And adding one more thing for teachers to squeeze into their day can be also problematic. Teacher’s classroom time is so precious and we should be careful about taking away from that time. She felt that teaching proper cell phone usage starts in the home. She agrees with Emma Smith that the schools are doing all that they are able to do. Mr. Crosbie stated that he and Mrs. Foster deal with a lot of issues outside the classroom. Also, with technology there is good and bad. He reminded us that this is a mental health issue and school wide the school is doing all that they can. Maria Hunsaker agreed with Mrs. Finley that it starts in the home and there are other venues that we can use to deal with the problem. Michelle Israelsen stated that schools are one of the best ways to reach the most people. Sandra Hugie asked Mr. Skidmore what he does in his classroom. Mr. Skidmore stated when students are in the learning process, no cell phones are allowed. But if they are working on assignments for the last 10-15 minutes of class, they can put an earbud in and listen to music on their phones. Josh Nelsen said he would like to see the policy on WiFi access reassessed until the district can do something about VPNs. He would also like to see the school disallow video games to be played at school. Mr. Crosbie stated they addressed the video game issue at their last PLC meeting. They came to the conclusion that games with gun violence needed to be shut down if teachers see students playing them.
Mr. Nelsen asked about HB239 and Mr. Crosbie stated that bill was voted on in the house and it will be changed to HB132.

Agenda Item #3: Vote on new trust lands budget for 2018-19.
Discussion: Maria Hunsaker made a motion to vote on the new trust lands budget for 2018-19 and Sandra Hugie seconded the motion. Vote was unanimous to approve the new trust lands budget for 2018-19 school year.

Agenda Item #4: Counselors Update
Discussion: Tara Johnson had to leave and was unavailable for comment. Mrs. Foster stated that tomorrow is Junior College Days. Juniors will be touring and meeting with different colleges during 1st hour, FLEX, and 2nd hour. Sandra Hugie asked about the coding certification.
Brittany explained there is a shortage of coders and there is a free program that will allow students to be certified while they are in high school. She also stated there is a parent meeting tonight at 6:00 p.m. about the program. There is also more information on the school’s Instagram site.

Agenda Item #5: Bob Henke’s meeting with Rep. Snow
Discussion: Brittany stated that Rep. Snow gave Mr. Henke some good feedback. Mr. Crosbie stated that Mr. Henke has a good reputation at the House because of all the data he has been sending to Rep. Snow. There will be more discussion about this meeting at next month’s meeting.

Next Meeting Agenda Items:
Does the council need to sign the trust lands budget approval?
We will need to replace several councilmembers as their term will have expired.
A motion was made by Wendy Finley to adjourn the meeting. Maria Hunsaker seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned.
Next meeting: Tuesday, April 10, 2018 at 7:00 a.m.

Minutes prepared by: Wendy Finley