Providence Spring Elementary School
School Leadership Team
Minutes of Meeting
October 7, 2015
In attendance: Diane Adams, Julie Cho, Ken Henderson, Wendy Ikoku, Lynn Keith, Kevon Makell, Linda
O’Connor, Marlene Rosen, Dawn Weber, Aileen Westover
Mrs. Adams opened the meeting at 8:10
1) Welcome and introductions
2) Confidentiality – very important, confidentiality statements signed
3) Roles: Chair, Co-Chair, Secretary, Timekeeper
Nominations were made and consensus reached as follows:
Chair: Aileen Westover
Co-Chair: Lynn Keith
Secretary: Wendy Ikoku
TimeKeeper: Ken Henderson
4) Norms for meetings
Members will: attend meetings regularly; represent the interests of the constituent group, not just their
own; determine how to engage stakeholders in meaningful ways in school affairs; commit to working
collaboratively with the team; bring issues and concerns of the constituent group to team meetings and
communicate activities and decisions made by the School Leadership Team; accurately communicate
information from the School Leadership team to their constituent groups.
5) Minutes will be kept, meeting dates will be published online. SLT is subject to the Open Meeting law,
although today’s is closed because of Safe Schools discussion.
6) Issues Mrs. Adams outlined three large issues on our minds this year: a) Pupil assignment; b) middle
school across zone lines; c) capacity
There was discussion about current development on Ballantyne Commons Parkway, on Country Lane
and at the intersection of Kuykendall and Providence. Are neighboring schools also at capacity? Mr.
Makell asked about projections for long-term growth and future needs. Mrs. Adams will ask Scott
McCully at CMS. Mrs. Cho referred to a Guiding Principles document which reflects the need to establish
how long a zoning assignment plan can be sustained.
7) Safe Schools plan. Ms. Keith outlined the Safe Schools Plan. There was discussion about the listserv
messages sent to parents recent evacuations due to a faulty fire sensor, and the recent school
lockdown. Good messages, but not all families receive listserv messages. Three suggestions included
sending a paper note asking all parents to join the listserv; Remind recommended by the Technology
Team for bus information; Connect Ed is already an established technology. Members’ comments were
that texting is the best way to reach today’s parents – need cell phone numbers and Connect Ed includes
home phone landlines. Mrs. Cho commented that Planning Day subs need to know about safe school
procedures. Ms. Keith has prepared a video detailing these. Subs need key to the classroom. Mrs.
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Providence Spring Elementary School
School Leadership Team
Minutes of Meeting
O’Connor said that a protocol is being prepared for teachers to use to go over with parents, including a
verification checkoff and signature about their familiarity with the safe schools procedures.
Conversation with the sub will occur between 8:00 – 8:30 and planning day will begin at 8:30. Mrs.
Adams said teachers will always remain on campus on planning days.
8) School Improvement Plan
Mrs. Ikoku outlined the features of the School Improvement Plan, including Vision, Mission, shared
beliefs, testing data, demographic data, school profile, smart goals, grading procedures and waiver
request.
Mrs. Adams described the new 10-point grading scale adopted for elementary schools by CMS, and
discussed the implications of absences on grading. Mrs. Cho asked to review and discuss the School
Improvement Plan in greater detail. This was tabled for a called meeting.
9) Adjourn The meeting was adjourned at 9:30. A meeting was called for October 8 at 6:30 p.m.
October 8, 2015
In attendance: Diane Adams, Julie Cho, Ken Henderson, Wendy Ikoku, Kevon Makell, Linda O’Connor,
Marlene Rosen, Dawn Weber, Aileen Westover
Mrs. Adams opened the meeting at 6:30. This was a called meeting as there were some open items from
the regularly scheduled meeting last night.
1) Welcome
2) SLT elections: PTA School Leadership Team members were elected by secret ballot. FAC rep ran the
election of teachers to School Leadership Team following a staff meeting. Teacher Assistant SLT member
was elected from the group of Teacher Assistants.
3) Planning Day: 4th grade planning day – we had very positive reports. Mrs. Cho reported subs were
given in-depth information about lockdown and safety procedures. Mrs. O’Connor is preparing the
protocols.
4) Teacher Assistant positions: we have no further information about whether and when hiring will
occur.
5) Comments on School Improvement Plan draft: There was a question about wording of the Evidence
of Success on the Bullying Prevention section of Smart Goal 3. There was a suggestion about adding the
funding source (PTA) for the Empowering Writers training. There was a question asking for clarification
about physical activity and recess/PE. There was discussion about the grading policy relating to
absences. Mrs. Adams gave background on the state’s definition of absences (excused and unexcused)
and the need to encourage school attendance and reduce unexcused absences. The school year has 180
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Providence Spring Elementary School
School Leadership Team
Minutes of Meeting
days of collaborative learning. Other students are impacted when a teacher has to devote time to
teaching material to students who have been absent excessively. Mrs. Weber commented that the
penalty for absence can be explained in terms of its being an incentive to promote the best possible
outcome for each whole class of children as well as each individual child. Mrs. Cho commented that the
implication of the grading policy regarding absence is that it is not a punishment but rather a
consequence of unexcused absence.
6) Question: Mrs. Cho asked about achievement gaps between subgroups. Mrs. Adams responded that
we have been given the NG designation in our state achievement and growth measures, precisely
because “NG = no gaps”. The risk group that we notice is not an officially designated subgroup: our risk
group is composed of students new to our school and community.
7) Adjourn: The meeting adjourned at 7:45 pm. Next meeting will be October 29 at 6:30 pm.
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