• Community Council

     

    March 14, 2022, 7am

     

    Main Office Conference Room

     

    Members in attendance: Dave Swenson, Jim Crosby, Shane Jones, Cheryl Benson, Ruth Seedall, Nicole Oksness, Monica Edelmayer, Heather Taylor ,Rachel Merkley, Shannon Walker, Rhonda Wright, Alexis Clegg, Christi Caroll, Darren Perks, Grant Calverley, Teri Rhodes (School Board Member), Debbie Brough (parent)

     

    Welcome and February Minutes: Rhonda called the meeting to order at 7:01 am and welcomed all in attendance. Heather called for a motion to approve the minutes from February, Cheryl seconded. The vote was unanimous to accept the minutes.

     

    Committee Members for next year: Cheryl and Raquel will be done on the committee. Elections generally held in April for the following year. Those interested in participating as part of the committee can submit info to Wendy.

     

    Aspire Plus testing: 9th and 10th grade testing in LA/Math/Science. The test will be given April 25-28 to be within deadline but also allowing for the curriculum to be covered beforehand. Some schools do all four hours in one day, we spread it out, an hour a day with a late start for 11th and 12th grades and shortened class schedules. A question was asked: Are the results sent home? It was unknown but then explained that the scores can be found on the Powerschool website (not app) under Student Docs.

     

    Trust Land Proposal: We have one concise goal: Decrease academic failure, increase performance on Aspire and ACT. Increase EL students to scoring proficient. It is hard to track long term because of a change in test used and COVID disrupting testing in 2020. Many high end kids opt out, not realizing that it is a pre-ACT that could give them a lot of feedback. It is not a good/accurate gauge because not all students are taking it. The plan outlines some action steps: PLC monthly meetings, FTEs to go towards smaller class sizes (main expenditure), and EL aids. Also included: Pack Hour coordinator, Testing coordinator, Latinos in Action, Software/textbooks, Summer PLC curriculum. The plan was voted on and it was passed unanimously by those in attendance. (Rachel and a few teachers had left at this point to get to class. Rachel approved it remotely and Dave was going to check with teachers.)

     

    Measuring school success: What is school success? This was touched on last month. A “Data Package” has been created that tracks a variety of data collected on the school from test scores to attendance giving a whole picture. Overall, it shows that GC is a great school! More involved students make for more involved parents which leads to school success. 84-88% GC students are involved in an extracurricular activity at Green Canyon. The question arose, how are fees paid when students cannot pay? The cost is eaten by the school, the sum cannot be passed onto other students involved, 45k last year. Teri shared that there was a 55 million dollar bill that died in session that would have covered any curricular fees for students. Utah has generally opted to keep property and income taxes low in order to keep money in the residents’ pockets unlike many other states. Education is not as funded as it should be, there is money appropriated for education that is not spent. The School Board and Superintendent are trying to come up with a plan to counter a plan to remove the education allotment and lump it with other expenditures.

     

    Other: A parent concern brought up was AP tests are given in the Lecture Hall and are interrupted by band practice and announcements. The administration is aware and taking measures to reduce the distractions. Another concern raised was students with friends that are suicidal. What can be done to help and support these teens who are figuring out how to navigate helping and supporting friends? Grant suggested the new social worker and perhaps a bi-weekly snippet shared with the students. Reach out to counselors/administrators so they know they are not in this alone and shouldering all of the responsibility for their friend’s safety. Suicide has been more prevalent this year and the administration and counseling office has responded, many lives have been saved. Some resources: the social worker, Safe UT app, Hope Squad, Question/persuade/refer

     

    Next meeting: April 11, 2022, 7am

     

    The meeting was adjourned at 8:26 a.m.