AES K-5 Building Accountability Committee

The first K-5 Building Accountability Committee meeting of the 2012-2013 school year was held on August 30^th. We had eight members and six guests in attendance. It is always good to see new faces/parents who want to be involved!

We discussed the TCAP results from last year and, overall, our district is showing growth and trending toward proficient. There is still work to be done and the strategies that have already been implemented, in addition to new curriculum & teaching strategies, should cause test scores to continue to improve in the future.

There is an increase of 40 students enrolled in the K-2 building to start the new school year, which led to the last minute hiring of two new teachers. Every classroom in the K-2 building is being utilized this year! Enrollment is down slightly at the 3-5 building but the numbers are right where their projections said they would be. The first week of school has been “awesome” and they are looking forward to a good year.

There are a couple of notable changes to this year’s school schedule:
1.  Lunch periods are no longer grade specific – mixed grades will decrease time students will spend in line as older students will model correct procedure for the younger students. Also, a salad bar has been added.
2. The class time for Specials (Art, Music, PE, Technology, Counseling) has been increased from 25 to 30 minutes.

Community Concerns:
1.  Cafeteria tables – tables ordered last year are in but, with increase in student population at K-2, they are in need of even more tables. The district is looking for more tables.
2.  Substitute teacher training – Ideas for getting school /district policies & procedures into the hands of substitute teachers were discussed. It was also stated that it will be a priority to not pull teachers from their classrooms for meetings this year. This topic will be discussed further at the September meeting.
3.  Overflow parking lot – no official update from the district on this project. It was stated that it has been made known to the superintendent that this project should be a priority for this school year. In the meantime, lines have been chalked & cones set up to assist parents using the overflow lot to drop off & pick up students. Also, a duty teacher is assigned to this lot to help students cross the bus lane. The use of this parking lot for drop off & pick up is helping alleviate the congestion problem.

Officers for 2012-2013:
Chair: Christine Jones-Daboll
Co-Chair: Micah Jackson
Secretary: Julie Brooks
DAC Representative: Star Quintana (Sophia Avila – alternate)

The next K-5 BAC meeting will be at 5:15pm on September 20^th in the K-2 Conference Room.