Hillcrest High School–School Community Council Meeting Notes
Wednesday, January 11, 2023, 5:00 pm
ACR Conference Room (A129)
Attending:
Ari Tavo
Atiya Nash
Brant Thomsen
Debbie Johnson
Elena Foley
Gregory Leavitt
Jenny Olson
R.J. Graham
Rebecca Martin
Stacey Kratz
Stacey Timmerman
Steve Brown
Not attending:
Jeremy Wright
Jessica Dalton
John Olsen
Karina Park
Guests:
Mont Millerberg (Canyons Board Member)
Previous Meeting’s Minutes
Rebecca Martin made a motion, seconded by Stacey Timmerman, to approve the minutes; they were unanimously approved
Equity Steering Committee
Members are working on individual assignments and will meet again to continue to work on surveying our community members and determining makeup of the planned larger, permanent committee.
PTSA Update/Coordination
Rebecca Martin: The PTSA student service club is doing a Valentine’s party during APP (9 a.m.) on Valentine’s Day; they will be planning this activity on Jan. 25 right after school. The student club also put together some advice for incoming freshmen who are coming to Husky Fair (SCC members reviewed it).
We will also hold a hygiene drive in February. We will be collecting shampoo, conditioner, body wash, soap, deodorant, toothpaste, and individually packaged toothbrushes.
We are doing a Valentine’s treat for teachers, a hot chocolate/tea/cider bar during the first week of February. We are also feeding the teachers a meal during parent-teacher conferences.
Southeast Parking Lot Pedestrian Concerns
Brant Thomsen: We put together a letter for the district that we hope to approve tonight; if it is approved, we will give it to Greg Leavitt, who will send it on to the district.
Greg Leavitt: I don’t think we’re doing this to facilitate drop-off/pickup by parents on 900 East. The better reason is not having any kids crossing that busy intersection with no light or street light there. It would be safer if they could come through the fence at the southeast corner, come down to the sidewalk, and cross near the school. Some of these things were included in the original design but were cut for cost savings, but we see that we need them as we’ve experienced the realities of traffic before and after school.
Multiple SCC members expressed full support for the letter and concerns with the safety issues presented in it, as well as the hope that the district will be able to make the changes suggested.
Rebecca Martin made a motion, seconded by Debbie Johnson, to approve the letter as presented at the meeting and reviewed by the SCC; the motion passed unanimously. The letter was signed by Brant Thomsen (as the SCC Chair) and given to Greg Leavitt for delivery to the District.
School Climate and Culture/TSSP
Greg Leavitt: Our main focus right now is putting together data on how many ninth graders are scoring 80% and above on their tests and how many are taking retakes., Our whole professional development drive for the next “umpteen” years should be how to get kids to pass a rigorous test, matching the scope and sequence of curriculum, the first time around. When the data sheets for the core subjects for second-quarter data are completed, I’ll bring it in to the SCC.
Steve Brown: How do you feel students are doing at this point in the school year?
Greg Leavitt: It’s a big generalization, but students who are from stable homes that are able to have structure and accountability haven’t missed a beat. Students of poverty, students coming from high mobility and high transition, and students who live in poverty are still struggling to understand they have to be there at class time, they have to turn in work, etc. All of our parents care the same, but the follow-up they’re able to do isn’t always the same. And given that 35% to 40% of our population lives within those criteria, we have a lot of kids still trying to figure out what school is all about and how to do well.
Jenny Olson: I think that’s why the focus has been so much on attendance, because it’s a crucial first step.
Greg Leavitt: We’ve moved to requiring hall passes, and it’s working out well so far; the building leadership team will meet this Friday to decide whether we require tardy students to get a note from the attendance office to go into class.
Steve Brown: Keeping the kids in the classrooms is so important; is there a way to do it short of having them go all the way back down to attendance?
RJ Graham suggested giving iPads to hall monitors, so that they could check kids in and give them a pass that way.
Atiya Nash: We can work on some more outreach with parents; if you’re concerned about your socioeconomic status, if you’re concerned about paying the bills, getting enough hours at work, keeping things afloat, you get overwhelmed and just aren’t able to devote the time you might need to to make sure your kids are in class.
Greg Leavitt: We’ve had to withdraw about 50-60 students over the last few months because they’re just not coming; they’re sometimes moving to an online format, but we’re trying to push them towards Diamond Ridge so they have some more structure and accountability.
If our students do well on their tests, do well on their end-of-year tests, we get a good school score. And we do have good things happening: our presentation room has been packed for three nights with people interested in our IB program; those are students who are serious students, and it helps float the boat across the student population.
LAND Trust Plan
Greg Leavitt: I’m already 10 teachers over my allotted FTE, and those salaries are paid with LAND Trust funds. If they disappear, I have no idea what I’d do. When I can make my math classes 28 students rather than 35, and hold reading classes that have a full-time reading teacher, things are so much better for our students. We’re the only high school with a full-time reading teacher. I’m grateful the money is there, and if the SCC has a better idea how to spend it, let’s talk about it. But for us, there aren’t many ideas better than what we’re doing.
Steve Brown: Teachers already don’t have a lot of one-on-one time with their students, and that gets worse every kid you add to a class.
Brant Thomsen: I’m not personally pushing for any change in the agenda; we just need to make sure we have something we’re all happy with and that we can defend with data.
SCC Roster
Brant Thomsen: We have to have everyone sign the roster once we pass our plans for the next school year. We have a few members on that roster who have not been attending this year, and we need to decide whether to remove them from our roster. We can do that with a vote of the SCC.
The SCC determined that several members, who know the members who have had low attendance, will contact them individually and report back at February’s meeting about what those non-attending members want to do.
Other items
RJ Graham asked about Hillcrest’s reclassification to 4A (in everything but theater).
Greg Leavitt said that we’re ecstatic about the reclassification; we’re really happy to have more central schools in our conference, and the travel we’ll have to do is much more reasonable.
He also talked about learning how important a “functioning” football team is to a school’s spirit and morale; it matters so much to a school. He said Hillcrest has been interviewing football coaches and it’s very exciting. We had 25 applicants where we never had more than three or four before, and almost all of them were viable candidates who have experience at competent programs. We selected eight to interview, and then narrowed it to four, and those four give Hillcrest a perfect opportunity to change its football outlook. We have an excellent facility, a new region we can compete in, and a new staff that we think can really bring in kids who want to play and really help them play.
Steve Brown made a motion to adjourn; RJ Graham seconded, and the SCC unanimously voted to adjourn.
The next SCC meeting will be at 5 p.m. on February 8, 2023.
