Midvale Elementary
SCC 10.25.21
4:00 via Zoom
ATTENDEES: Lori Reynolds, Steve Brown, Heidi Sanger, Margaret McCann, Kwame Watson-Siriboe, Alyssa Ball, Maria Guizar, Carolee McKay, Haydee Franco
AGENDA
- Call Meeting to Order – Steve
- Approval of Sept. Minutes -Steve
- Margaret moved to approve the minutes; 2nd by Kwame. All approved. Motion carried.
- Welcome to Maria Guizar (Instructional Coach) – New Teacher Representative
- Maria was introduced and welcomed. Maria is an Instructional Coach at Midvale Elementary (4th year at Midvale). She shared her background.
- Receive School Safety report (Carolee Mackay) *Drill for October 8th-Lockdown
- Carolee submitted our school safety report, which outlines our emergency procedures. Every month we do an emergency drill, and every other month is an evacuation drill. Carolee displayed the evacuation map and safety plan. If it is ever unsafe to stay on grounds, we will go to the Boys and Girls Club in the City Park. The plan also includes the plan for school visitors.
- Our Lockdown Drill was on October 8, which went well. We had some substitute teachers in the building, who also did a great job. Next month is a bomb drill.
- https://www.canyonsdistrict.org/safe-schools/
- Questions to consider as we review. This is due in December- Will finalize next month. Discussed traffic/parking lot as the number one safety concern. Lori met with District personnel about some options for us to consider. One would include someone directing traffic in the west crosswalk area. Members felt that we should try it. Steve noted that it may be good to have someone directing traffic as cars merge to leave the lot on the north side of the school as well.
- Lori noted that she has added more duty stations. The District did come out and paint more signage last week; she would like them to do more arrows as well.
- Lori noted that if we can get some consistent systems in place as well as let new families know how our traffic/parking works, that will be helpful.
- Lori reviewed the District website’s safety page: https://www.canyonsdistrict.org/safe-schools/
- She noted that having kids dropped off or walking by themselves very early in the morning is also a safety concern. We do have a before-school program that starts at 7:30. We have started having them come into the school to participate in that to be able to watch them. Maria noted that it would be beneficial to share out to the whole school and then narrow it down to the families of the students who are coming early to help them problem solve. Kwame noted that it would be beneficial to get a better idea of who the kids are and gather the data and go from there. Haydee noted that it would be beneficial to be cautious about how that early option is opened up to families or we may get to the point of having many more students dropped off at 7:30 than we can manage.
- Steve noted that the District has done a good job of covering most area of safety so it does come down to those things like traffic and before school concerns.
School Principal: Lori Reynolds
SCC Chairman: Steve Brown
Date the discussion(s) took place: 10.25.21 and (future) 11.15.21
Who, besides the SCC members, participated (did you invite the SRO, school counselor, psychologist or district personnel?) In November?
Did you feel the information presented in the District School Community Council School Safety Report was helpful?
What, if any, school safety items did your SCC discuss that were not in the report?
Your SCC has been asked to determine the #1 safety concern at your school after reading the report and discussing safety topics at your school. What has your SCC determined to be the #1 safety concern for your school?
What additional items did you identify as primary concerns, if any?
Does your SCC have an action plan to help address the concerns?
- SCC Chair and Vice Chair and Secretary Voting
- Steve shared the responsibilities of the positions. He noted that the Chair does not have a vote unless there is a tie.
- Nominations for Chair:
- Margaret nominated Steve. Haydee seconded the nomination. He accepted the nomination. No other nominations. All approved. Nomination carried.
- Nominations for Vice Chair:
- Alyssa nominated Margaret. Kwame seconded. Margaret accepted the nomination. No other nominations. All approved. Nomination carried.
- Nominations for Secretary:
- Alyssa nominated Heidi. Margaret seconded nomination. Heidi accepted. All approved. Nomination carried.
- Digital Citizenship https://www.canyonsdistrict.org/safe-schools/internet-safety-and-digital-citizenship/
- Heidi shared the District Digital Citizenship information, discussing ContentKeeper and LanSchool. Lori and Maria further discussed the LEARN Platform. Heidi shared what the school did for Digital Citizenship Week last week. No questions.
- Updates: LETRS, Social Emotional Curriculum, Virtual Friday -Board Meeting last Tuesday (Lori)
- The State has mandated some literacy training for teachers grades K-3. Our District qualified for funding for this training, which is called LETRS, so that teachers have a deep understanding of the science of reading. The teachers are doing online and in-person trainings, for which they are getting a stipend; it does take a lot of time.
- The District has struggled with getting substitute teachers.
- Last week the CSD Board approved 6 Fridays for virtual learning to help support teachers this year.
- Social Emotional Learning Curriculum: This has been discussed frequently at the Board meetings. Second Step is the curriculum that we had been using. The concern has been in the secondary curriculum links; there has not been a concern noted in the elementary version. However, it has all been put on hold at this time. Lori noted that the curriculum has been intertwined into our morning meetings for years now and teachers have been upset that they haven’t been able to use it. Maria and Heidi shared the same sentiment. Alyssa asked some clarifying questions. Haydee noted that she has researched the topic and is frustrated that the District just “cancelled” it, and ultimately our kids lose out. She supports using it. Steve noted that it is a really good research-based curriculum, not just for the kids but for the families. It is giving kids ways to cope, to explain how they are feeling and what to do with those feelings. He expressed frustration that it was just cancelled and there isn’t a research-based replacement now. Please talk with Lori if you have any further questions or comments about this.
- Approval to move cell tower funds to Principal’s Discretionary Account (Did not do in last month’s meeting.)
- The school receives some money from cell tower funds. Lori is asking that those funds get moved to the Principal’s Discretionary Account so she can use it towards supporting teachers (dinner during conferences, teacher appreciation, etc.). Haydee wondered if PTA is aware of this; yes, Lori has communicated this with her. Margaret made a motion to move the cell tower funds to the Principal’s Discretionary Account. Alyssa seconded. All approved. Motion passed.
- New Logo Review
- Lori will share the logo options to the SCC and PTA in the next week to get feedback.
- Scam emails: Ignore them, please!
- Motion to adjourn by Alyssa. Adjourn until next month’s meeting, November 15.
