PAC Meeting Minutes – September 19, 2017

Agenda overview

• Introductions of PAC Officers & parents
• Civic Association representative (not present)
• School Resource Officer (Mr. Tim Koch, detective or corporal)
• General Discussions about PAC plans for the year
  • Open discussion, how can the PAC best suit the needs of the community
• Principal’s Report (Frank)

Introductions around the room Civic Association update (from Dave)

• Concerns about what happens when construction starts (spring/summer)
• More immediate concern is parking. Please do not block their driveways, fire hydrants, obey no parking signs.

Officer Koch, School Resource Officer

• 18th year in the department, started in 2000, 6th year as an SRO
• 2 years Gunston, 2 years W&L, back to Gunston for 2 years. Now based at HB with an office, and the floater to other high-schools (O’Connell, W&L, etc).
• Role in the school: Visible role = presence.   Most of the invisible police work is invisible to the community.
• CIT (Crisis Intervention Trained) instructor for dealing with physical students. All officers go through CIT training after the academy.  Officer Koch is also a police negotiator.

General DiscussionPAC Business

• Speakers we’re hoping to bring in:
  • List included in first day packet & PAC website
  • Looking for feedback if there are other things parents want to hear about
  • October 17: Panel of middle-school parents, speaking about transition to MS & answering questions about middle school & middle school at HB. Open to everyone.
    • Send topic ideas to Kia
  • November: Focus on college selection & application process. Panel: Everett Clark (HB Grad) runs a test prep company in Arlington, ACT vs SAT, how to approach standardized testing.  Randy McNight (President of AGM College Advisors, former APS teacher), speaking about college advisors, financial aid.  Sue (advisor for gap-year students).
  • January: Planning for arena scheduling. Hope to have a representative from NOVA to speak about dual-registration classes.
  • February: New building discussion. Inviting school board liaison (Reed Goldstein).
  • March: Inviting a representative from the JEDD foundation to speak about teen suicide & communicating with your child.
  • April: Drunk driving & making good choices.
  • May: Panel of parents with kids who are entering college to speak about their college search experience & advise the parents entering that process.
• Need for more people to help lobby the school board. Often, we don’t hear about issues coming up to the school board until the last minute, with no time for a full email blast.
• Kelly (treasurer): No sweat fundraiser details.
  • Each teacher gets $50, that allocation hasn’t changed in many years.
  • Moved to increase the funding to $75 per teacher. Motioned & approved with no dissenting votes.
  • Budget spreadsheet is reviewed by parents from all parts of the school, administration, and students.

Principal’s Report (Frank)

• Paying close attention to the new students (6th graders, 9th graders, and other new students). TAs and all teachers paying attention to welcoming them to HB & making sure the students have attention.
• Longer term issues:
  • Conversations in TA & TM: how will we be welcomed to the new HB Woodlawn at Wilson Blvd?
    • It will be tight (physical space), including off-campus notice of students. How will we present ourselves to the community?
  • Construction here. Already beginning in Stratford Park.  Over 140 spaces in the neighborhood.  Most on Lorcom Lane.  Lost 50 spaces in the upper parking lots.
• Shorter term issues
  • New staff members. Integrating them, answering questions.  Students
    • Carrie Goodfellow – autism program
    • Jose Hernandez – evening janitorial staff
    • Corporal Koch – SRO
    • David Koppleman – math, middle school
    • Alexis Planche – 6th grade PE (and ultimate coach)
    • Shana Soarles – ASL teacher (2 classes here). She is hearing impaired and has an interpreter (James Tyson)
    • Melanie Stole – new latin teacher, 80% at HB
    • Sam Taggart – former HB student, 7th grade science
  • No-Sweat funds allocation. Committee will meet and allocate funds, made up of students, teachers and PAC members.
  • Monday Sept 25, Kate Seche will meet with 9th grade parents about 9th “How do you use a free block?”  Will also present about Second Chance (drug & substance abuse program).
    • Second Chance will also meet with the students. Date not known off hand.
  • TBD date for Frank to meet with parents of seniors about the college process and where the students are in the process.
• Every 4th TM of the month (last of the month), is a school activity. September 26 TM is club invitation booths for students.
• October: PSAT for 10th graders
• College Fair @ Wakefield High School. Great for 10th & 11th  Good for 9th graders to be exposed to it.  Typically, 100+ colleges have booths.
• What is TM? The governing body of the school.  Details about TM:
  • A schedule change was proposed by a senior last week. To move the TM time from 1st to 2nd block, because some HILT students who take career center classes could not make it to TM.  Affects about 30 students who are disenfranchised.
    • Until the business of TM is completed, classes to do not go on.
    • New schedule was passed but without a change date.
    • Today at TM administration presented possible challenges.
    • Student offered to let the change start Sept 2018.
    • In the end TM voted against changing the schedule.
  • Dances
    • First dance will be Oct 27. Halloween time.
    • Homecoming in November. Lots of preparation for it.
  • How can kids get involved at HB?
    • Academics
    • Music
    • Theater
    • Ultimate Frisbee
    • Governance
    • Community service: National Honors Society, HIVE
  • Big things on the calendar throughout the year:
    • Academic Planning: next year and future years. Starts in December, comes home in late January with course request forms.  Early Feb meet with TAs and “finalize” the schedule.
      • Course signups go into allocation of teacher needs for next year. Students & teachers are invited to participate in the allocation process.
    • Allocation meetings happen in April. Students & teachers come and lobby.  TM happens in mid-April to decide on the actual teacher allocation.
    • Hiring process after allocation. Students involved in hiring process.  Typical hiring committees have 3x students than staff with equal votes.
  • Staffing changes. 8 out of 74 people
    • Most staff increases have come in special education in previous years.
    • When Ray retired in 2001, we had about 45 teachers. Over half had been here for over 20 years.  In Frank’s first few years as principal, losing 10-12 teachers per year to retirement.
      • Now, since 2001, numbers have teachers have been here for 16 years.
      • Sally Moss started here in 1981.
      • People come here & tend to stay. We are proud of that.
    • 29 new 9th graders this year.
    • Parent recommendations for Frank:
      • Schedule a time to look at ParentVue weekly with your child. Advises against looking too often without your kid.
      • Know where your kid is. Know when they leave school & where they are and are expected to be.
      • Volunteering for field trips. Participating in no sweat funds.
      • Keep an eye on what the School Board is doing to help protect us.