UpperMorelandHigh School H.S.A. Minutes January 7, 2008
Last month’s minutes were read and approved by Brenda and Jen.
Financial report was shared by Sulabha. We now have $371.19 in our checking account and $3,393.49 in our savings account. Although we have no official budget, most of the money we “earn” during the year is dispersed through various scholarships at the end of the year.
This year 250 families joined the HS H.S.A. We did not have more families this year than last year but our revenue from membership exceeded last year’s membership drive because we raised our dues from $7 to $8.
Principal’s report:
Dr. Eckley wanted to address some of the concerns raised at the last meeting. Dr. Eckley asked some of the staff in the guidance department what they are doing to help parents navigate though the system of college application and admission. He found that a lot of good work is being done but that it has not been communicated to families very well. We passed out a brochure that the guidance dept has put together to share what parent programs they are offering during the year. The list of meetings was impressive. Parents of juniors are also being invited in to the course selection meeting that the guidance counselors are having with each of the junior students. A parent of a sophomore said that she had asked for a meeting with a teacher and was happy to see how easily she was able to get a meeting at a time that was convenient for her in the early morning.
Dr. Eckley talked about the renovation of the school buildings. We are still in the demolition phase. We are somewhat behind schedule due in part to waiting for the appropriate permits. We are hoping to catch up with the work during the summer months.
An External Technology revue recently took place in our school district. Improving the technology of the school is one of our focuses. We want technology to improve our classroom/student interaction. Our district goal should be driven by technology and visa versa. Our school goal should be to improve our rigor, relevance and relationships. Kids need to learn how to use the internet to connect to people worldwide.
At our last meeting, a parent asked why our seniors always to Disney for their senior trip. The answer is that that is where the kids want to go. This should be a kid driven decision. Any class who wants to change the location can do that.
Midterms are coming up.
Dr. Eckley spoke to the rumor that someone was threatening to bring a gun to school. After going to the source of the rumor, it was found to have no grounds. A parent asked Dr. Eckley what the high school does about bullying. Mr. Randolph, one of the assistant principals, is one of the staff who handles these issues. There are also some counseling groups for kids. A speaker is coming to school this spring to talk to the kids about bullying. Next year a 3 day event is planned for the students to foster tolerance and empathy toward one another
College dropout is a concern. Dr. Milrod has directed Mr. Devito to do a study to access how prevalent college dropout is for Upper Moreland graduates.
Dr. Eckley remarked that teachers have been directed to be accessible to parents and to respond to emails in a timely fashion. Several parents said they have been able to easily contact their children’s teachers through email. Dr. Eckley has asked teachers to contact parents if a child is doing poorly in their class so the parents are aware before report cards go home.
Dr. Eckley said that Star Portal is being reassessed. Star Portal is one of a number of Student Management Systems that are available to schools. There are other systems that might be more beneficial to our students and parents.
One parent raised a concern that her child had taken a “quarterly” test and that when it was returned for the students to see their grades, her daughter was not able to look at it long enough to see where she had made her mistakes. The parent asked if these tests could be brought home so the student would have enough time to see what information they missed. Dr. Eckley said that these same tests were given again to other students so they could not leave the classroom. Unfortunately with the current climate in schools, teachers are put in a position to teach to the tests. It is important that we bring up our scores each year. This year there are math coaches in the middle school. We hope to have a math coach in the high school next year.
Old Business:
Our name was officially changed from the Upper Moreland High School P.S.A. to the Upper Moreland High School H.S.A.
The High School H.S.A. donated $100 to the family of Dana Erwin, a high school student who is being treated for cancer.
Becky Bouchet, a little girl who visited at our last meeting and who was being treated for cancer at CHOP is now cancer free. Her family was given this news on Christmas Eve.
The High School Guidance Dept could not attend today but a representative will come to the March 3rd meeting to give us a presentation about how they can help our students’ achievement and transition to school/programs after High School.
New Business:
Found money. The High School H.S.A.’s budget is strictly limited to what we collect from our membership dues. We’d like to have a little more money for scholarships and for some of the other requests we receive during the school year. We want to continue with the policy of not having fundraisers since many of the other HS organizations rely heavily on fundraisers and our students are involved in them already. If anyone is interested into looking into money raising ventures (ie a night out at a restaurant that will donate part of it’s earnings that night to the H.S.A.) we’d like to hear about it. One mom reported another high school made a lot of money at Barnes and Nobles because the whole school got involved in activities at Barnes and Nobles on the day of the event. This is something worth considering.
The executive committee decided that the H.S.A. should have some by-laws. We adapted the by-laws from the middle school H.S.A. for our needs. The by-laws were passed out and we went over them quickly. There were some suggestions to change some of the wording. Other than that, the bylaws were accepted by the attending members of the H.S.A.
One of the parents, Sharon Natalini, said that the Phila. Police Dept can come to schools to give a presentation to the kids about drinking and driving. This is especially important near prom night. It is a free presentation for the school and it is a very strong message.
Dr. Eckley will look into it.