March 25, 2020 – Minutes

School Community Council—Hillcrest High School

March 25, 2020: Members conducted this meeting online using Google Meets.

In Attendance:

1. Greg Leavitt
2. Brant Thomsen
3. Jan Hansen
4. Suzanne Riches
5. Amir Zaidi
6. Karen Conder
7. Nicole Huff
8. RJ Graham
9. Julie Cluff
10. Stacey Timmerman
11. John Olsen
12. Jeremy Wright

Meeting Notes:

• Brant Thomsen opened the meeting.
• TSSP and Land Trust Plans
  • Brant asked if anyone needed clarification of terms: BLT, TSSP, TSSA—Teacher Student Success Act (formerly CSIP).
  • Members continued discussion on these plans from the last meeting.
  • To recap, goals based on the TSSP statement include:
    • Bring Readiness to 81% (currently at 74.3%).
    • Exceed the district average on ACT.
    • Achieve 88% Graduation rate—we are now at 85%.
  • To accomplish our goals, we will implement the following Academic Performance Goals:
    • Every teacher will administer 3 Common Formative Assessment per quarter.
    • Every teacher will administer 1 Common Summative Assessment per quarter.
    • All CFA’s may be retaken. The CSA is retaken only if the teacher agrees. The quarter end-dates make it difficult to allow for retakes on the final assessment.
    • Assessments will be passed with an 80% rate.
    • Hillcrest will increase IB, CE, AP and Bridge Classes.
  • ELA assessments may be done at home. Other assessments will be given during classes.
  • Math has been a problem for us. All 9th grade students will take two math classes—one class every day.
  • ELL students are receiving Read 180 instruction. We have about 240 ELL students.
  • Grades will be structured with 70% based on assessments and 30% on assignments.
  • SCC members were emailed a final of copy of the Land Trust Plan. See Hillcrest Land Trust Plan at the end of this document.
  • Brant asked if there are questions or discussion.
  • Leavitt assured the council that plans for ACT prep have been funded as an added line item at the end of the document.
  • Brant called for a vote on the Land Trust Funds Budget. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. (John Olsen and Jeremy Wright entered the meeting late and were not a part of this original vote, but did vote later to approve it.)
  • Leavitt asked that members sign the Land Trust form as soon as possible so that our document can be submitted by April 13th.
• School-wide Disclosure–Brant asked for discussion.
  • Leavitt asked for any questions.
  • This document will be sent to families before school starts. Parents will sign off, but a lack of signatures will not drive instruction or participation of individual students.
  • No concerns were raised. Brant called for a vote which was seconded. The voting was unanimous. (Jeremy Wright entered the meeting late and was not a part of this original vote, but did vote later to approve it.) See the disclosure statement link under the SCC on the Hillcrest web site.
• Corona Virus
  • Leavitt said that the community has been very supportive and kind about how we are trying to handle learning going forward.
  • The closure has been extended until May 1st at this point, but there is a possibility that it will last until the end of the school year. We don’t know what will happen, even graduation could be virtual.
  • Greg asked for input from members on communication, etc.
    • Stacie responded that her children are getting into the swing of this, and she appreciated the quick school response. She asked if teachers are hearing from most students. She also wanted to know how long teachers are taking to respond to students. Mr. Leavitt said that teachers should respond within 24 hours.
    • Amir said that he thought the communication has been “spot-on.” He reports that his daughter is engaged. His family has transitioned well.
  • RJ asked about how the Zoom video efforts are going. Karen responded that her daughter is engaged. She dances with the computer on the sofa as she creates her dance video.
  • Leavitt said he is most worried about our Seniors. We have cancelled all NG’s for all years for Seniors, since they will be unable to do service projects or pay for releases.
  • Leavitt said that teachers are to grade fairly and give students the benefit of the doubt. We can’t grade as strictly. He will be meeting with BLT to discuss these issues.
  • Leavitt asked what concerns members have about grading. RJ responded that he is concerned about math, especially, since students can’t attend APP. He is not as concerned about papers, research, etc.
  • Brant responded that his family is trying to get his son caught up. He voiced a common concern that parent are now working from home and computers are in demand. Leavitt responded that we currently have 180 Chrome books out, and more that students can pick up.  We have 120 hot spots on the way as well as the 90 or so that are now checked out. Students will be able to get the new ones after spring break. There is more need for computing devices than Internet access.
  • Stacie said she worries about kids who are struggling. She hopes teachers will take that into account. Her freshman was just settling in when all of this hit.
  • Amir noted that teachers should try to be somewhat creative in the projects they assign. Mr. Leavitt said that the district recently put out a web page of resources. Teachers are receiving ideas and resources. Mr. Leavitt said he hopes parents will see some of this in the instruction. He would like to receive feedback. Dr. Hansen responded that many of our classes use project-based learning anyway, so parents should be seeing work that requires creativity.
  • Stacie expressed concern about classes that require hands-on experience, such as Engine Tech. She is unsure about how the students will get experience.
  • Leavitt said that the district has now suggested 40 minutes of learning time for each class beginning with the new quarter. He asked for feedback on the current workload.
  • Stacie said that her daughter who has many advanced classes is doing about 6 hours per day. Her son in doing less, 3-4 hours.
  • RJ responded that this is a little like teaching project management skills to an 8th
  • Nicole asked if parents can follow what grades their students are getting. RJ said that the lag seems about normal to this point.
  • Leavitt said he is open to any feedback as we move forward.
  • RJ asked about kids from The Road Home. Mr. Leavitt said that administration has not been allowed in and the kids can’t come out. It is a sad and difficult situation.
• Construction and Parking
  • Leavitt said that the gym will be turned over on April 15th, and the old gym will be torn down on April 2nd.
  • On a lighter note, parking and construction concerns are drastically improved since the closing.
• Other Issues or questions?
  • RJ asked about ACT’s.
    • Leavitt responded that the ACT and ASPIRE testing will not take place this year.
    • Nicole said that the state will be giving vouchers for students to take the exam free in June or July, depending on events.
  • Brant suggested that the meeting adjourn. The motion was seconded and received a unanimous vote.

Land Trust Plan for Hillcrest High 2020-2021

2020-21 Trust Land Plan

Goal: HHS will increase the percentage of students who are on track to graduate from 68% (data point taken from 2nd quarter of 2020) to 75% by 2nd quarter of 2021. On track is defined by GPA, attendance and the # of D’s and F grades per student.

Academic Areas: Reading, Mathematics and Writing

Measurements: HHS will use the early warning systems data in Canyon District’s data dashboard to measure the number of students who are on track, off track or at risk.  This system looks at attendance, GPA, office referrals, and D’s and F’s to determine risk of students not graduating.

Action Plan Steps:

1. Increase the number of sections of reading, math, ELL support classes, writing by hiring qualified teachers, co-teaching supports. With extra sections and teacher and co-teaching supports class size will be lowered for re-teaching tier II and III students. Estimated costs $235,000
2. Academic preparation period (APP) stipends providing academic support to students with a focus on tier II instruction that includes re-teaching and reassessment. Estimated costs $15,000

2a.  Para professionals hired support students who show early signs of academic difficulty. These mentors will help as risk students with academic support, attendance tracking and parent/school communication.  Estimated costs $15,000

2b.  Stipends will be paid for instructional PD to teachers writing authentic formative and summative assessments.   Estimated cost $20,000

Expenditures

Summary of Estimated Expenditures

Funding Estimates