School Community Council—Hillcrest High School
February 9, 2022
In Attendance:
- Greg Leavitt
- Brant Thomsen
- Jan Hansen
- Suzanne Riches
- Nicole Huff
- Stacey Timmerman
- Jeremy Wright
- Steve Brown
- J. Graham
- Karina Park
Absent:
- Amir Zaidi
- John Olsen
- Rebecca Martin
- Stacey Kratz
Meeting Notes:
- Brant Thomsen opened the meeting.
- Vote to approve minutes from last meeting (January 12, 2022)
- Stacey Timmerman made motion to approve. Minutes were unanimously approved.
- APP Attendance and General Attendance Discussion
- Comparative data was presented for On-track graduation rates from 2020-2021 and 2021-2022.
- On-track graduation rates have slipped since COVID, with 69% On-track in 2020 to 56% in 2021-2022. At-risk students have increased from 15% to 19% of the student body in these same school years. (See posted documents.)
- Students not attending is one of the reasons for this data. The state is not currently mandating attendance and so it is difficult to get traction in this area. This should change for the next school year.
- We are also seeing a drop in Reading Inventory scores. (See posted documents.)
- We are not seeing a drop, but rather a pronounced increase, in Math Inventory skills with 45% of the students currently testing Proficient in Math, compared to 40.5% a year ago. (See posted Documents.) This tells us that what we are doing is working. Many students are doubling up on Math classes. This has made a difference.
- Students are also struggling with attendance in APP classes.
- Leavitt said that this is a “gray” area. There are cases in which students are getting very good grades in IB and AP classes, but are failing APP. Some attention is being given to this issue.
- We have also been experiencing heavy non-attendance in APP classes. If students don’t attend, teachers are expected to Fail them. APP is a PASS/FAIL class. Students must attend 85-90% of the time to receive a PASS. They receive credit for these classes.
- Teachers must decide whether students are attending and engaged.
- An SCC parent said that her son attended APP, but the teacher did not see her student as engaged. This led to an F in APP.
- SCC agreed that it would be good to receive a call or email from a teacher who is going to Fail an APP student.
- Maybe teachers could put in a simple grade of 1,2,3 for each week.
- Hillcrest is looking for solutions.
- School Safety Plan/Discussion
- Hansen reported that there is no new information from the district, so the discussion will be pushed to the next meeting.
- TSSP and Land Trust Plan
- Leavitt reviewed the TSSP Plan for 2021-2022 and noted that there are no major changes. We continue to stay on-track with our original goals. (See posted documents.)
- We are on-track to approve final plans for next year at the March 9, 2022 SCC meeting. Final approval will be needed by April 11.
- We believe that as the state normalizes attendance, we will be able to reach our goals.
(See posted documents for goals.)
- Leavitt also passed out a preliminary account of Estimated Expenditures. These numbers will be finalized and voted on at a future date. Total available funds for 2022-2023 are currently estimated at $308,164.39, with $30,164.39 being rolled over from last year. (See posted documents.)
- Our plan is working in many areas, particularly ELA. Additional staff working with students has raised our scores. Currently we are showing that 3 out of 4 are meeting benchmarks.
- COVID Updates
- Leavitt said that it will take much higher COVID-19 test numbers in the future to close a school or force it online. Next year, there will most likely be no remote days.
- Things are going well with regard to this issue.
- Other Items
- Steve Brown asked about the Land Trust Plan for next year. He said maybe it would be good to leave the plan rather general to allow for changes as we move forward. So, the plan to use additional monies might be to hire more teachers, without specifying numbers.
- Leavitt noted that we don’t normally buy new programs in high schools. What we need are more bodies to help students. Hillcrest is doing well with unity and we have clear messaging with staff. He believes that by 2023 we should be able to get back to the numbers we achieved in the past, such as an 88% graduation rate.
- Brant noted that if members of SCC notice things that could make a difference, they should contact him and the items would be put on the agenda for discussion.
- Leavitt said that the March 9, 2022 SCC meeting will be about moving forward.
- Brant said he or Mr. Leavitt will send out any needed documents before the next meeting.
- Brant noted that we should close the meeting. A motion was made and passed.
Notes prepared by Suzanne Riches.
