School Site Council Meeting Minutes 2/3/2010

I. Flag Salute-led by parliamentarian James Halley

II. Call to order
            Dr. Aurora Villon called to order the regular meeting at 5:05pm on 2/3/2010 in the school library

III. SSC quorum was confirmed
            SSC members in attendance:
            Parents- David Angelo, Pat Gomez, Alfredo Martinez, Dr. Aurora Villon
            Students- Bo Guillen
            Classified Staff- none
            Certificated Staff- James Halley, Mary Chapman, Juventino Gutierrez, Martin             Martinez
            Administration- Sam Genis
            Members who sent regrets- Esther Mejia
            Visitors in Attendance- Angela Aguillon, Sarita Mota

IV. Approval of minutes from last meeting
            School site council members individually read the December 2nd meeting minutes. Alfredo Martinez motioned/ James Halley 2nd the minutes be approved with minutes be approved with a correction. Motion carried and passed.

V. Students representative report- Bo Guillen reported the following:
            1)         Powder Puff, 12/10, was a success despite the rain and the seniors won
            2)         Blue Pride Day, 1/23, 300 students attended to clean the campus, classrooms and move textbooks to the new textbook room.
            3)         Academic Decathlon, 1/31, 63 schools from LA county came to el rancho to compete in the first day of competition and we wish them luck this Saturday at USC.
            4)         Winter Formal is this Saturday, 2/6, in Fountain Valley.
            5)         Mother Daughter is February 24, 2010 and the theme is Beach Bash

VI. DAC report- Dr. Villon reported the following:
            1) The group is revamping the agenda to remain on task
            2) Trying to involve all chairpersons in order to become a strong governance

VII. Special Ed- Mr. Gutierrez shared his “Up to Speed with Sped” report and took questions from the school site council. A copy of his edifying report is attached to the minutes

VIII. EIA/SCE- Mr. Genis asked for approval for the following items
            1) In order to run PIQE, he would need $80 per person in attendance (60 parents in the morning and 70 parents in the evening) for a total of $7, 000.
            2) 120 computers, one computer for every classroom totaling $34, 278.
            3) 120 monitors for a total of $11,880
Alfredo Martinez motioned/ David Angelo 2nd the approval of the above mentioned items. Motion was carried and passed

IX. Gate- no report

X. Administration- Mr. Genis reported the following:
            1) January 11th was a SIP day for El Rancho and all staff spent the day at Pio Pico listening to a presentation by Mr. Mangione. All staff was receptive and we are thinking of bringing Mr. Mangione back at the beginning of next school year for another training
            2) Day one of Academic Decathlon was held last Saturday. The LA county schools (63) were present and there are conversations about bringing day two to El Rancho next year. This year day two is at USC this Saturday, 2/6
            3) We finished the first semester last week where we included two finals days. All staff were giving finals on those days as requested by administration. The second semester began on Monday and we are off to a great start.
            4) In the Whittier Daily News it was reported that President Obama wants to revamp the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). There will be incentives and rewards for schools that are showing/reporting growth
            5) Seniors took the CHASEE on Tuesday 2/2 and Wednesday 2/3.
            6) LACOE is bringing the Migrant Education program to El Rancho. It is a web based program that will help students make up missed credits

XI. Separate Action Items

            a) SPSA
                        1) The SPSA was sent to the state and was approved.
                        2) It is a living document and we want to ensure it is an accurate representation of the school
                        3)The next step is to make copies for the staff so they can read it and make changes/additions where they feel is necessary

            b. Naviance
                        The counselors are having a conference call with the company tomorrow, 2/4, and we will hear their feedback before making any decisions. Tabled for March meeting

XII. Public Comment
            1) Mr. Halley mentioned that Mr. Ortiz will be holding a financial aid workshop this Saturday, 2/6, for students and parents
            2) Dr. Villon mentioned that she would like the vice-chair position to be filled for the remainder of the term. Mr. Angelo would like to have this position.
            3) Mr. Genis mentioned that the AVID PLC has been working on creating a school wide policy that would make every student have a three ring binder to promote organization. He is also thinking about not spending monies on student agendas but putting that money towards a binder for each student.
            4) Dr. Villon reported on behalf of school board member Mrs. Cancholla, that a company (COSTA) has been hired to find a new superintendent and they would like all stakeholders to be a part of the process.
            5) Mrs. Gomez would like El Rancho to look into a partnership with Smith Park Pool in order to expand the growing aquatics program.
            6) Mrs. Aguillion thanked Mr. Genis for taking the recommendation to bring in the Migrant Education program as well as for increasing the amount of communication with parents with the parent institute (PIQE)
            7). Mrs. Mota mentioned that Gear Up has been around for four years and is trying to reach out to the parents by creating a career coffee house. This will give parents the opportunity to collaborate with other parents and teachers.

XIII. Agenda Forcast

  1. Naviance
  2. Acting Vice Chair Position
  3. Shared Lease with Smith Park Pool

XIV. Next Meeting will be held on March 3, 2010
James Halley motioned/ Mr. Gutierrez 2nd meeting adjournment.
Dr. Villon adjourned the meeting at 6:20pm