Thursday, December 15, 2011

AES K-5 BAC meeting (12/08)

The Alamosa Elementary School Building Accountability Committee met on 12/8/11.

Items that were forwarded to the District Accountability Committee:
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Recommendation to discontinue purchase of bottled water for teachers and staff has been implemented.
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Using overflow parking lot for drop off/pick up of 3-5: a teacher has already been designated to this area to insure that students safely cross bus lane.
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Gravel for overflow parking lot: forwarded to school board.

New/Ongoing items:
- Lunch period: parent phone calls to others schools in SLV determined that AES serves more students in less time than any other school in SLV. Discussed possibility of additional serving lines to allow for longer "eating" time.
- Parent/teacher communication: parents not receiving (or not receiving in timely manner) information about school activities such as honor choir and science fair.
- Student handbook: AES student handbook was not available at registration in August. Was to be available online but, as of 12/8, is not. Ms. Christy provided a hard copy and stated that it would be available online soon.

Next BAC meeting is January 19, 2012 at 5:15pm.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

OMS Accountability Meeting (11/28)

OMS Accountability Meeting was on November 28. One of Alamosa School District’s goals for the district improvement plan is to have parent involvement. This article was handed out to be reviewed by committee members and questions were posed from Susie Paulson (OMS principal) to be discussed during our next meeting.

What would work for Alamosa School District?

What will work for OMS?

What is the difference between involvement and engagement?

We would love to hear your ideas or input regarding these questions. Leave a comment on this post or contact us at alamosapage@gmail.com with your ideas or input.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

District Accountability Meeting (12/5)

The District Accountability Committee meeting was held on Monday 12/5 in the Administration office. A-PAGE was given the opportunity to introduce the group and its mission to the District Accountability Committee. Rhett Jackson (A-PAGE Chair) attended the meeting and answered questions from the group regarding A-PAGE's mission.

Parent items brought forward from the K-5 Building Accountability Committee (BAC) was the concern about the backup at the student drop-off/pick-up loop in front of the school. The recommendation from the BAC was that the overflow parking lot (just east of the 3-5 building) be used for drop-off/pick-up of 3-5 students and that they'd like to see the overflow lot graveled to accommodate that. Information on parents using the overflow parking lot for 3-5 students has already been distributed in the K-5 newsletter and there is a duty teacher who will handle the crossing of the bus lanes for those students. Gravelling will continue to be pursued at the building level.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Alamosa Board of Education meeting (11/28)

The Alamosa Board of Education meeting was held on 11/28 in the Administration Office. Presentations were made by K-5 students, AHS National Honor Society and AHS FFA. The Community Garden also gave a Power Point presentation with data showing correlation between Environmental Education & standardized test scores. A continued collaboration with the District was encouraged. 

The District Accountability Committee (DAC) report included a recommendation from the AES Building Accountability Committee (BAC) to spread gravel in the overflow parking area to make it more accessible in inclement weather. Questions about A-PAGE were brought by the Board to DAC Chair, Christine Jones-Daboll. She was asked to invite A-PAGE to the DAC for more information about A-PAGE.

Response to BOE questions about A-PAGE

Why is A-PAGE Important?

We help encourage parental involvement. There is a large group of parents that for one reason or another are unable to attend School Accountability Meetings, and their only avenue for getting involved is to attend. This group is about allowing parents the opportunity to get involved at their convenience, and assist them in bringing their thoughts and concerns forward through these already established accountability meetings. Also there are many parents who are currently involved but have children in multiple schools and it is difficult for them to attend every meeting. This group can assist them by having representatives on each committee that can help bring information to and from these meetings.

How does A-PAGE represent the parent majority?

A-PAGE is open to everyone who wishes to join, and our goal is to work with parents and help support issues that are common among the majority of those who are members of A-PAGE.

Why can't A-PAGE work with already existing groups?

That is exactly what we are doing. Our second goal states: “Use existing and established district meetings to facilitate communication to the district from parents.” We have representatives on each Accountability Committee and intend to use those existing district meetings to encourage parent communication.