• Ridgeline High School
    School Community Council Minutes
    Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2018, at 7:00 a.m.
    Ridgeline Conference Room

    Members Present: Sandra Hugie (Chair/parent), Tara Bindrup (parent), Heather Murphy (parent), Holly Fronk (parent), Bridget Crane (School counselor, non-voting member), Robert Henke (principal), Emma Smith (teacher), Brittany Foster (Assist. Principal, non-voting member)
    Jim Crosbie (Assist. Principal, non-voting member), Jeff Neilson (parent/school board rep.)

    Members Absent: Wendy Finley (Secretary/parent), Bonnie Odd (teacher), Maria Hunsaker (parent), Kerri Williams (parent)
    Visitors: Diane Theurer, Marcie Lyons

    Conducting: Sandra Hugie

    Agenda Item #1: New SCC members
    Discussion: Introductions were made by all those present at the meeting.

    Agenda Item #2: Elections to fill vacant positions on SCC – Chair & Vice Chair
    Discussion: It was determined there were not enough voting members to nominate and elect members to those positions.

    Agenda Item #3: Principal’s Updates: Trustland Budget, Grading for Learning, Current Legislation, 2017-18 test results.
    Discussion: We have roughly $115,000 of which all was approved last year how it would be spent. Several teachers came in during the summer and worked as teams on curriculum and common assessments. Teachers were hired to reduce class sizes. We are required to spend the budget down to 10% and last year we ended up at 11%. Those monies will also be used to take seven new or second-year teachers to an annual professional learning committee conference down in Salt Lake for training. The original budget plan was to hire two VISTA interns, but we were only able to find one intern. There is also a Student Success coordinator who goes around to students who are struggling and the aide who helps with the NEST (in-school suspension) is also paid from these funds.
    Mr. Henke reviewed what the Grading for Learning program is at the school. It is not mandatory for teachers to use the new program, but they are invited to use it. There is an
    upcoming teacher development training through the district on September 28th. The author of a book on standardized grading will be presenting. Several of our teachers already have the book and have read it. The district has purchased the book and it is available on Overdrive. Students can check the book out for their parents. Mr. Henke explained what Grading for Learning is all about. Basically, homework is used for practice and then a project or some sort of presentation is completed to show competency and knowledge in the course. Tests are also given and a grading rubric of 1, 2, 3, and 4 is used. Some parents asked how the program will benefit every student with so many different learning styles. Mr. Henke stated the student can retake the assessments until they understand the material. One parent asked about how the program would benefit a student who doesn’t take tests very well. Mr. Henke gave an example of a student who was a poor test taker and the teacher let her take the test verbally instead of having to write it down. The whole idea, Mr. Henke said, is to get away from the idea that a student has to earn a grade with points and move toward the idea of the material the student is learning and retaining.
    The council members watched a 7-minute video about the role of the council members.
    Mr. Henke then told the council members about a Trustlands training event on Wednesday, October 3rd at 6:30 pm in the Lecture Hall at Ridgeline. Sandra Hugie requested that all members make an extra effort to attend that training.
    Mr. Henke then reported on the 2017-18 school year test results. All across the state ACT composite scores went down. Our school scores went down as well as all the schools in the district. We were still .9 points ahead of the state average and had the highest ACT scores for mathematics in the state. Globally AP was 61%, Utah was 71%, and Ridgeline was 70%. We met our goal in this area. CTE test scores we had the highest in the district. We had 53% pass with a highly proficient score (4). For the SAGE testing, of the 20 schools most like us, we had the highest Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science scores. Mr. Henke credited the staff and teachers at Ridgeline for those excellent scores. He pointed out that we can improve in the progress of our students from year to year. The question was asked about SAGE for next year. Mr. Henke stated the state is moving to the ASPIRE testing instead. The teachers will focus on critical thinking and hands-on activities so students can retain the material well. The ASPIRE test will require a lot more critical thinking and the ability to retain the material studied. It is set up more like the ACT and it will give the schools a predictor of how students will do on the ACT. Only Freshman and Sophomores will take the ASPIRE test. The reason the state is moving to a new test is there were 20-40% of the districts opting out of the SAGE testing which made it difficult to get accurate data.

    Agenda Item #4: Counselor’s Updates
    Discussion: Bridget Crane updated the council on the goals set for last year regarding their data project. It focused on Latino Sophomores and Juniors. The focus of the goals was to increase the perception of students that their classes were preparing them for college, increase their knowledge on the availability of concurrent enrollment courses, and increase the total enrollment in concurrent enrollment courses. Some of the interventions were having more individual meetings with students and then had specific presentations to help students understand college courses. Overall there were 31% of our Latino students taking either concurrent enrollment or AP courses. This coming year the counseling office will focus on Latino Seniors to help them find scholarships and apply to college. Last year there was a significant drop in the number of minority students receiving scholarships. It is unclear why that happened. This year they will focus on working with them more on an individual basis.
    Ms. Crane reviewed the new Regents Scholarship requirements.
    The HOPE squad has already met once and they are using the same members as last year. The members are nominated by other students. Sandra asked if students can still join this year. Ms. Crane stated she was unclear if they would be adding more students this year.
    The ACT will be February 20th for the Juniors with ACT prep sessions during the second or third session of FLEX during the 2nd trimester.
    Agenda Item #5: Next month’s meeting topics suggestions
    Discussion: Sandra asked if there were other topics members wanted to discuss for future meetings. She also brought up the campaign idea that the council can focus on this year. She reviewed the campaign of “Push the Button” from last year. Sandra mentioned the new crosswalks painted in the parking lot. There was also some discussion regarding the Net Smart assembly happening today. Parents can attend if they would like.
    Brittany Foster reviewed the schedule for the upcoming Homecoming week. Sandra announced parent-teacher conferences on October 1st and 2nd.
    A motion was made to adjourn the meeting. Bob Henke seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned.

    Next meeting: Tuesday, October 9, 2018, at 7:00 a.m.

    Minutes prepared by: Wendy Finley