Members Absent: Morgan Womble, Andrew Simpson, Lindsay Visser

Board Liaison Absent: Lisa Stuckey

Others Present: Quinn Silcox (recorder), Don Williams, Dianne Raider, Kathy Giles (supporters of Bouncing Bull Dogs)

A meeting of the School Governance Committee of Chapel Hill High School was held on Wednesday June 22, 2005 at the Media Center of Chapel Hill High School, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Mary Zimmerman acted as Chair, and called the meeting to order at 6:05.

I. Approval of Minutes of the Previous Meeting (Action)
There were not enough members of the SGC to make a quorum. The April, May, and June meeting minutes will be voted on at the meeting in September.
II. Public Presentations
Don Williams, Diane Raider and Kathy Giles came to the SGC because the service activities of the Bouncing Bull Dogs are no longer eligible for service learning hours. Diane passed along a letter she wrote to Dave Thadden and the Service learning coordinator. Bouncing Bull Dogs was taken off the approved list of service learning activities because it is a private club, they believed it benefited members on the team but not the community at large, and it was educational and entertaining, but not service. They agreed that there are parts of the Bouncing Bulldogs program that are not service based, but many things are. She feels very strongly that the outreach program of Bouncing Bull Dogs should be counted. A lot of the performances and programs they do target many service agencies that are on the approved list. They teach workshops at FPG and Scroggs Elementary at their after school program. Even if the coach can’t sign the Service learning forms the after school coordinator should be able to sign it. It is a sport, but with the obesity problems at large in our country teaching children to be active through jump rope should count as service learning.

She would like the SGC to reinstate some of the activities that are service based in service learning program. There are about 18-20 high school students involved and there are over 100 children that are serviced by this organization. There is also a discrepancy between what East and Chapel Hill High count as service learning.

III. Updates
1. Teacher updates:
Counselors have been busy getting students enrolled for summer school. The counseling department prepared grades so they could be sent out today. They are already starting to adjust schedules for next year.

Graduation was wonderful. Travis Smith did an amazing job on his speech. The year ended very well. CTE and EOC scores looked higher than they have in a few years.

2. Students:
The new students that will serve on the SGC are Morgan Womble, Andrew Simpson, and Lindsay Visser.

3. Parents:
All of students are anxiously awaiting grades. They were prepared today. Graduation was very nice. Firoza went to the annual function for the Rose Garden. She was impressed with the work Sherlock has done. It was very well attended. Because it was over Memorial weekend, some of the students were gone, but it was very well done.

4. School Board Update
There was no school board update

5. Principal’s update:
The Administrators have been developing the staff calendar for next year. This schedule was sent to the district. The one thing that was not sent was the meeting dates of the SGC for next year. A meeting night for next year needs to be developed. Teaching assignments and the school calendar have been made. The school hopes to mail class schedules to students by July 1. The state shuts down NCWise for 2 weeks starting July 1, so there is a rush to get things done before the shut down occurs. A number of new teachers have been hired. A band teacher, Drew Carter was hired. Mr. Knight the former band teacher added something tremendous to the school and he will be missed. Drew Carter was teaching Middle School at Hickory and did his student teaching at East Chapel Hill high. He is a band specialist that has a commitment to marching band. The school was fortunate enough to be able to hire a 7th counselor. More staffing will continue through the summer. CHHS has a turnover rate of about 10-15% which is about the same as the district. It is a challenge to find really qualified teachers in subject areas like Spanish, Special Services, Chemistry and Physics. Mary Gratch is the contact counselor over the summer. This is the first time in 5 years that the contact counselor will serve for the entire summer.

There will be more information coming out about delayed opening. CHHS is trying to put staff training online so parents can see when the delayed openings are and what is being accomplished during that time. There is a new teacher induction program for new teachers or teachers who are new to CHCCS. The first training is about the open house and how to manage those 10 minutes. There are also trainings on parent teacher conferences, semester exams, grading periods and similar issues.

Dr. Hardebeck was accepted into a program called the Leadership Program for future Superintendents and will be away from campus a few days a month. There are 23 principals in the program through out the state.

IV. Discussion of the previous public presentation
Presentation of Chris Bates
Mary Zimmerman: Teachers schedules are so busy and there is not a time set aside for teachers to counsel students about their schedules. It might be helpful for the SGC to hear how the counseling center processes students into classes.

The counselors developed a new registration form. It is helpful for counselors to get feedback from teachers so there is a part on the form for teacher’s recommendations. Students select their classes and have teachers sign the recommendation. Students can still be enrolled in the class if a teacher doesn’t recommend them by having a parent sign a waiver. Counselors appreciate feedback from teachers and parents. Five years ago students were required to get permission from a teacher before they could sign up for an honors class. This was seen as a barrier to students so that requirement was eliminated. Since honors and AP classes have changed to open enrollment some teachers and parents don’t feel like students are placed in the right class. The school decided to have teachers recommend students to classes, but parents and students still have the final decision. Recommendations need to be more consistent and teachers are getting ongoing training to help with this. The school does not want to shut out any student from a class. Teachers are used to seeing honors students easily get A’s and B’s and it is a change to see students in honors classes struggle to get a C, but students are growing and learning.

Students meet with counselors in small groups. There is one on one contact with each student. Teacher training is a key component in the registration process.

The faculty is trying to address all of the issues Chris Bates discussed. Once the SGC has a full quorum a letter should be sent summarizing what is being done currently and the changes in recommendations that will be in place for next year. Mary will write to the Bates family and tell them that the counselors have received their concerns and will use it to make changes for policy in recommendations. It is difficult to explain to parents the staffing restrictions that the school faces. Once schedules are set it is very difficult for students to add or drop a class because classes are so full.

Five years ago there were 300 students taking AP classes. This year there are more than 500 students taking AP at least one AP class. The school does not press students to take 3-4 AP classes. The other high school still only has 300 students taking AP classes, but students are taking more AP classes. CHHS believes that if students are going to attend college it is a good experience to take an AP class. The Newsweek polls do not measure how students do on an AP test just by the number of students that take the test. Dr. Hardebeck would not like the school to get into a race to pressure students who are not ready to take an AP class. Dr. Hardebeck feels like we are doing well as a school.

The projected school enrollment for next year will be 1820-1850.