Attendees:
Mary Phalon, Maria Kopf, Linda Law, Linda Hutcherson, Patty Cochran, Kathy Frattini, Mary Nagore, Amanda Ross, Diana Conner, Janet Gay, Katherine Thomas, Deborah Arauzo, Betsey Henderson, Holly Hewes, Rebecca D’Lima, Pam Lundgren, Sharon Duart, Kim Harris, Amy Joseph, Audrey Slaughter, Mike Slaughter, Kim East, Patty Proctor, Lillian Tsai, Linda Locke, Marc MacPherson, Sonia Roscoe, Michele Ramia, Megan Trowbridge, Susan Blumer, Jody Doporto, Kirsten Cherry, Cathy Weddle, Gila Mearefi, Julia Allen, Susan Broehm, Faye Mettler, Yolanda Sangret, Janet Sheehy
Meeting was called to order at 7:03 by Mary Phalon, President of the PFA. Minutes from May 2009 meeting were reviewed and approved by Motion initiated by Didi Robollia and seconded by Kim Harris. The motion passed unanimously.
Faculty Report: Mrs. Thomas
Mrs. Thomas introduced herself and thanked all the parents for the back to school lunch, brunch and all the help with instructional and classroom materials on behalf of the entire Foothill staff. The teachers are all very impressed with the visibility of the parents as part of the Foothill team and appreciate the continued support.
Principal’s Report: Mrs. Hutcherson
Mrs. Hutcherson commented that this was the largest attendance of parents she has seen in her tenure, and hopes this much parent participation will continue throughout the year. Foothill has had a tremendous start to the year and everyone is adjusting with changes from last year. She also thanked the parent group for the continued support and wonderful Kick-off volunteering and back to school brunch held on September 2nd.
Mrs. Hutcherson discussed at length the Video-taping/police involvement incident that she had sent an email and phone message about on Monday evening to all parents/guardians of Foothill students. There was a report by a parent that someone had been seen videotaping on the first day of school, and the parent thought nothing of it until recent news of similar and unauthorized examples of videotaping at local middle schools. Once the parent made the report on Friday, Mrs. Hutcherson advised the parent to notify the Walnut Creek Police. Same was done and Detective Leonard of same was in meeting with Mrs. Hutcherson and is keeping her abreast of the investigation in to these types of events. Also to note is that there are now surveillance cameras at Foothill which were installed over the summer. The district only has approximately two week’s worth of storage capacity for the videos, so parents and students are asked to notify the office of any suspicious events/activity quickly. Mrs. Hutcherson reported that the principal’s in all local/feeder schools are communicating and feeding information through acting Superintendent Dick Nicholl so that everyone can stay informed.
Mrs. Hutcherson also noted that on Tuesday September 15, 2009, television crews were outside Foothill, in hopes of interviewing parents and/or students regarding these events-but none were completed to her knowledge. FYI: Mrs. Hutcherson would not make any statements before going through the district first.
As a result of recent activity and incidences, Mrs. Hutcherson is revisiting the safety procedures and working with police and school district to stay informed. She is planning to hold some form of Safety Awareness Assembly both for the students and the parents. Date/ Time TBA.
Mrs. Hutcherson advised that the new HomeLink computer process is up and running and teachers are all being trained. All teachers will be on the system and using it by the end of the semester. Passwords for each student can be picked up from the front office if parents have not already done so. It allows access for parents to pending assignments and grades of each student in each of their classes.
There was a Site Council meeting held on Tuesday September 15th, at which monies were appropriated for both the Psych Intern and Site Tech 4 positions this year. These positions are paid by a combination of funds including some from both the PFA and the Site Council budget.
October 5th will be photo make-ups.
Mrs. Hutcherson stated that the new math adoption is underway and students needs will be addressed based on some pre-testing that math teachers are holding. Currently all 7th graders are in Pre-Algebra and all 8th graders are in Algebra. There are some students who have already been identified for enrichment and instruction support. There is math assistance available every day after school as well. She noted that at the end of 8th grade, a test is given which determines if Foothill math department will recommend the student for Algebra placement in high school. These are only recommendations and dependent upon high school processes as well.
To finish, Mrs. Hutcherson noted that all classes are full according to the contract limits set by the district. This means that 33 is the maximum student number for CORE classes, 37 is the maximum for elective classes and 45 is the maximum for physical education classes.
Mrs. Hutcherson is committed to complete transparency and hopes that parents will keep the lines of communication open with teachers and the school administration.
PAC Update: Janet Sheehy
Janet Sheehy introduced herself and explained her position as the Parent Representative to the District on behalf of Foothill. She has held this position for a few years.
The PAC committee is working on selection of a new Superintendent for MDUSD along with the interim Superintendent, Dr. Nicholl. He has agreed to stay on until a replacement is found. There are committee information meetings to help the search team, and the public is welcome. The next one is to be held on Wednesday September 23rd at 7pm in the Dent Center on Carlotta Drive. This is an opportunity for parent’s to have some influence on the decision.
Janet noted that there is a new blog for MDUSD parents to follow- www.mdusdvoice.wordpress.com This blog can be followed online and through facebook or twitter. The MDUSD VOICE stands for “Vocal On Issues for our Children’s Education”.
Janet explained that there will be an equivalent measure on the spring 2010 ballot which will resemble Measure D which failed in spring 2009. Holly Hewes has graciously stepped up to be the contact for Foothill.
Janet noted that the Homelink program is saving MDUSD $50,000 versus other programs, so everyone is excited about the change. It was reported that the Title 1 schools in our district will be offering inoculations for the Swine Flu, however others will not. The district has requested that any children that are sick and have a fever should be kept home. Children should be fever-free for 24 hour with no drug suppression prior to returning to school.
Janet reported that MDUSD has eliminated every cent from high school athletics, and is the only district in the state to have done so. Currently at Northgate they have Fall Sports, but spring sports are still uncertain. There is a United Mt. Diablo Athletic Foundation currently holding a 5K run on 10/18/09 to raise monies which can be used for league dues, field rentals, etc. for the sports programs.
Walk Thru Committee Report Yolanda Sangret/ Audrey Slaughter
The Chairwomen from this year’s Walk-thru gave a report on the success of the day and have some wonderful ideas for improvement for next year. NEW CHAIRS ARE NEEDED FOR 2010-2011 as both current chairs are graduating. Please spread the word.
Book Fair Committee Reports: Megan Trowbridge
The Book Fair raised $5,350 in pre-tax sales for the library this year. This is the only annual fund raiser that our librarian, Diana Conner, can use for purchasing new materials for our library.
Magazine Drive Committee Report: Holly Hewes
The magazine drive will commence on 9/21/09. Last year we had 30% participation, and the chairs are eager to increase this number this year as the contracts have changed and we are no longer guaranteed a minimum income from sales. Please remind everyone that they can renew magazine subscriptions through this fundraiser, even if same is still current. There will be homeroom competitions this year and three mornings for prize give-away's to encourage participation.
Fall Social Committee Report: Susan Broehm
This is the former Pasta Feed and is now morphing in to a mini-auction. This year’s theme is the 1970’s, and the goal is to raise $5,000 per the proposed budget. There are tickets for sale, $45 per person and it is being held at the Shadelands auditorium on Ygnacio Valley Road on November 6th, 2009 at 6:30pm. The meal is catered.
President’s Report: Mary Phalon
Mary introduced herself and the new board and thanked everyone for coming. Mary also requested a motion to make the following additions to the PFA Board- Lynn Branson for the EScrip Coordinator position, and to add Michele Ramia as a Book Fair Committee Chair. The Motions was put forth by Maria Kopf and seconded by Kathy Frattini, and passed unanimously by the attendees.
Vice President’s Report: Maria Kopf
Introduced herself. Nothing to report.
Secretary’s Report: Linda Law
Introduced herself. Nothing to report.
Treasurer’s Report: Kathy Frattini
Kathy distributed and explained updated budget and advised that Education Fund donations are already at $86,000 which exceeds the projected income for the year, however we are not yet at 100% participation- so please encourage families to contribute and advise them that they can contribute at any time throughout the year. Due to all the budget cuts, we need to continue our fund raising efforts.
NEW BUSINESS
The following Motion was put forth by Linda Locke: A motion for the PFA to fund up to $20,000 to support to staff the library for a full third day a week for the 2009-2010 school year. The motion was seconded by Janet Gay. Due to budget cuts, our Foothill Library is now only open two days per week. Much discussion ensued and Mrs. Diana Conner, the current librarian, gave a presentation explaining the need for at least another day of a librarian with specifics about library usage and how it could impact the overall education of our students.
The motion was presented for a vote with 34 affirmative votes, no oppositions and 3 abstentions. The motion passed and must now be presented to the MDUSD Board as it impacts a full time employee of the district.
Another motion was put forth by Linda Locke: A motion for the PFA to fund up to $12,000 to employ an instructional aide in the library for two hours each of the five days per week for the 2009-2010 school year. This employee would be in the library during the lunch hours Monday through Friday and can supervise the volunteers and assist the librarian. The motion was seconded by Faye Mettler. Much discussion ensued about how many students use the library during lunch and need access to the computers as well as the reference materials in order to complete their assignments. The library is also used as a quieter venue for students who prefer to forego the traditional lunch-time noise and socializing.
The motion was presented for a vote with 36 affirmative votes, no oppositions and one abstention. The motion passed and will now be presented to the MDUSD Board for final approval.
PEAK: Kim Harris
An education foundation has been formed locally for a unified fund-raising effort called PEAK [Partners for Educational Achievement in K-12], and discussion regarding specifics were tabled until the October meeting due to timing. The next meeting is September 28th at 6:30 at Valle Verde MUR. For information about same, contact Foothill’s site liaison Kim Harris [harrisfamuk@aol.com]
The meeting was adjourned at 9:15. Next scheduled meeting set for Wednesday October 14th, 2009 at 7pm in Foothill Library.