Agenda for SSC Meeting Minutes 01/8/07

Members: Chair J Torres Rangel (JTR)

Felicia Perez (FP)

Lawana Covington (LC)

Student Tae Hwan Lee (THL)

Dr. Frank Nishimura(FN)

Roseanne Altin (RA)

Oscar Saravia, guest- interpreter

1. Actas

Minutes from previous meeting were not approved due to lack of quorum.

2. Old Business

The council still doesn’t know the name of the person who currently oversees HPSG funds downtown. The council asked Ms. Altin to, as the parliamentarian, to keep a record of to-do list along with the name of the person(s) supposed to follow up as well as a voting record.

3. New Business

Dr. Nishimura informed the council about a new grant, SB1193, for which a total of eighty-three high schools will receive one thousand dollars per student for seven years. A question arose as to who would be responsible for writing the grant proposal. Dr. Nishimura stated the SSC will take on that responsibility and if necessary request help from classroom teachers, such as Mr. Deligencia, who originally wrote the grant proposal for our HPSG grant. The purpose and focus of the grant would be to lower the counselor-student ration and the teacher-student ration (200 students per counselor and 25 students per teacher).

Teachers should be reminded of the new process and new request form for utilizing Title I and HPSG Funds for instructional materials and fieldtrips. Also, a letter should be written up to inform parents and students of the availability of funds. Mr. Nunnally informed the council he would write up a memo and box it along with the Request Form to all teachers. The council inquired as to whether there were any requests pending approval. Dr. Nishimura state he received a couple of requests for life skills courses (consumable) but that were not complete- they were missing the administrator’s signature and Ms. Anthony shared with him she would go over the request before signing it off.

If requests are not received by next week, a list can be produced and distributed to teachers informing them of the things Title I and HPSG Funds can pay for. Dr. Nishimura informed the council of the need for AP teachers to attend a workshop which will help them write a syllabus for the AP course they teach. This syllabus is mandatory in order to teach the AP Course, however, once the syllabus is written, it is good and effective for as long as the teacher continues to teach the same subject. In the case a new teacher wishes to teach an AP Course, a syllabus must be submitted for approval.

Ms. Altin asked how the ACE program, which is funded by HPSG, helps support Math/English. Dr. Nish shared that HPSG funds may be used for intervention, and the ACE Program falls under that category. Ms. Altin shared with the council that our YES program is running out of fund. Dr. Nish informed her that the program may apply for funding, but to be careful about the wording of the request and its justification so it can fall under the HPSG guidelines. As a reminded it was shared that HPSG funds are to assist with College Prep programs/classes, English and Math.

Mr. Tae Hwan Lee shared with the council that Mr. Cunningham, AP English teacher, needs supplies such as books, dictionaries and other materials to help students prepare for the AP English Exam. It was agreed that Mr. Cunningham would be asked to fill out a Request From so he can receive any supplemental materials he may need.

Ms. Altin shared with the council the need for new furniture in the community room and the main office. If available, funds should be used to purchase a new nice table with new, nice chairs to provide the school visitors with a more professional look. At the present time, funds cannot be used for purchasing furniture. However, Ms. Altin pointed that the Title I Office and the Administrator’s Office in the Dean’s Office purchased new furniture. Mr. Saravia, in response, shared with the Council that the money for the furniture had come from funding program 0A46 which was a one-time funding source made up of left over Title I Money from other schools that was assigned to LA High with a expenditure window of 4-6 weeks. During those weeks aside from ordering supplemental materials for both the math and English departments the money was used for purchasing furniture. Mr. Altin stated the council should come up with more creative ways to get the things we need. Old furniture evoke depressed feelings and we should move on from a “we don’t know how to get the funding” mentality to actually finding ways to get things done.

Dr. Nishimura shared with the council that at LACES the Parent Booster Group would raise enough money to pay for a copy machine, pay for nurse time, and other expenditures that could not be covered with available funds. Dr. Nish, however, shared with the council that he would look into the possibility of purchasing new furniture.

Mr. Nunnally presented the council with a report of our copy machine expenditures. In light of the large sum of money that is being paid due to overcharges, Mr. Nunnally suggested switching our current plan of 75k copies per month to 500k per month in order to keep up with the copy requests from teachers as well as from administrators and other offices instead enforcing a limited number of copies a month per teacher policy.

Ms. Altin suggested assigning student workers to the PE department so they can monitor locker rooms. Mr. Nunnally expressed his hesitance to let students monitor students due to safety concerns. Ms. Altin agreed and stated it is not the best solution for the need of personnel, but something needs to be done about the lack of personnel. Ms. Altin shared with the council that other schools do employ locker attendants. Dr. Nishimura stated he would look into ways to solve this problem.

2. Delivery Drop-Off Location

Mr. Mannion is requesting the Title I Office to be the official delivery drop-off location in order to ensure expensive supplies and materials are not stolen, grow legs, or disappear. Dr. Nishimura stated he would sit with Mr. Fernandez, Mr. Mannion and Mr. Nunnally to discuss it further.

3. Parent Participation

The council decided to ask our Community Reps to call SSC Parent Members to remind them SSC Meetings on a regular basis.

4. Janitorial/Cafeteria Workers on Leave

Ms. Perez shared with the council that five janitorial workers are on medical leave. Dr. Nishimura stated that a few cafeteria workers are also on medical leave. Ms. Perez wanted to know if anything can be done to get these positions filled again in order to help with the school cleanliness. Dr. Nishimura replied that if the workers have filed legitimate disability paperwork, no subs can be provided. He stated that Susan Allen is aware of this fact as well as the pertinent union representative, but because of their union contract, very little can be done to remedy this problem. Dr. Nishimura stated he would bring this up again with Susan Allen.

5. Adjournment.

The Meeting was adjourned at 6:10pm.