This meeting was well-attended by both community members and staff with approximately fifteen people sitting in the audience. It lasted slightly over an hour. The following are some of the highlights from my point of view:
1) Superintendent’s Report - Mr. Olney informed the board that the news about the state budget is positive and that according to the governor there will be an increase in funds to be allocated for education. He also updated the board regarding the installation of interactive projectors in all classrooms. Additionally, he reminded the board about the upcoming WASC visitation scheduled for early March.
2) Wendy Scott - Presented an overview of Elementary Tech Lab activities and provided the board with lots of samples of the types of work done by students in the lab. She also explained some advantages of working with Google Drive and educational applications provided by Google. Additionally, she discussed the importance of teaching coding skills to students and mentioned Scratch (scratch.mit.edu) and other resources which are available for this purpose. On top of that she provided examples of educational websites and mentioned some upcoming virtual fieldtrips.
3) Ruth Soto - Talked about the parent project and a continuing support group. Several parents who had participated in the program were present and a few of them talked positively about their experiences with the program.
4) Mark Goins - Updated the board regarding the “deconstruction” of the old elementary school buildings. He explained what was going on with tile abatement and why the project was falling a bit behind schedule. He also mentioned that an old clock dating back to the 1940s had been extracted from the office area of the old elementary and had been donated to the history house museum. Additionally, he mentioned that the gym roof repair project was out to bid.
5) Alan Tsubota - Requested that a board member volunteer to serve on the calendar committee to help set the schedule the 2015-2016 school year. Board Member Samantha MacLean volunteered to serve on the committee which will meet on the fifth of February.
6) Personnel - Diana Martin was approved as the new Cafeteria Manager. Also the daily hours for the Business Clerk position were increased to four.
7) Policies and Procedures - A first reading for four Board Policies and Administrative Regulations pertaining to Administrative and Supervisory Employees and Classified Management was conducted.
8) NEXT MEETING: Thursday, February 12, 2015