Grady High School Go Team

Meeting Minutes

Date: January 9, 2017

Location: Parent Center, Grady High School

Attendees:Blankenship, Bockman, Brandhorst, Bray, Brewer, Damiani, Herrera, Kinard, Pilson, Styles

  1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 4:07pm.
  1. Approval of Minutes: Minutes from the November 14, 2016 meeting were not distributed. Approval tabled for February meeting.
  1. Election of New Vice Chair: Mario Herrera was nominated (Styles - motion; Brandhorst - 2nd) to fill the Vice Chair seat that came open when Janet Kinard was elected Secretary in November. His nomination was approved unanimously.
  1. Grady Principal Search – Info and Status Update: Chair Regina Brewer provided an update of the Principal Selection process to the Go Team. Atlanta Public Schools (APS) will hold a series of community meetings on Tuesday, January 10 with students, staff, and parents. The feedback will be used to develop a Leadership Profile, which will be published. The Go Team will interview the final 3-4 candidates and make a recommendation to the Superintendent, who will make the final recommendation to the school board.
  1. Initial Budget Discussion – Process and Timeline: APS has released the process and timeline for the development of the school budget. Dr. Bockman expects to see cuts from the previous school year, based on initial information. The budget will include operating expenses and staffing allocations only. Signature program funds and cluster funds are not included. The Go Team reviewed the process and timeline, which is as follows:
  2. Dr. Bockman will receive budget information from APS on Thursday, January 12.
  3. The Go Team will review and provide feedback at a public meeting on Thursday, January 19 at 4pm. This time is tentative and was set by the Go Team and provided to APS.
  4. The Go Team will meet to approve the final budget on Monday, January 30 at 4pm (time is tentative).
  1. Initial School-based Solutions (SBS) Discussion – Process and Timeline: Dr. Bockman provided a brief update regarding SBS, including conversations among the principals at cluster meetings. The Go Team briefly discussed the process for applying for SBS waivers. The Principal would develop a proposal and submit it to APS after Go Team approval. Cluster principals are currently discussing options for SBS based on cluster plan which could include ways to add professional development days. There is no particular deadline and is a rolling process. Mr. Herrera shared that the staff members are beginning to discuss and provide feedback regarding ways to use waivers to Grady’s benefit.
  1. Facilities Update: There are no updates from the district on plans for long-term building or short-term issues. The team briefly reviewed outstanding maintenance and facilities issues outlined in a 2014 report prepared by APS and review with the school’s Local School Council. At the time, the needed repairs and updates amounted to $11-12million dollars, which grew to $20.6million by 2023, if not properly addressed. The team will move forward with seating a committee. Additionally, the Go Team will submit any facilitys questions to APS for the upcoming Cluster Town Hall on February 8.
  1. Review of grade data after first semester: Dr. Bockman provided a high level review of the grades from first semester, broken down by student subgroup. The Go Team discussed the current grading policy including implications of the “Incomplete (I)” and how the school is providing required remediation to students with grades below 70. The team briefly discussed whether eliminating the “D” has created grade inflation to prevent failures, but this can provide a false sense of preparedness for end of course tests. The team requested a breakdown of the data by department, which will be provided. This information will help the team understand how to advise on structuring remediation and any possible waiver needed to support that structure. Currently, the school provides remediation through math and writing workshops, some of which are provided afterschool introducing problems with ensuring attendance. Bailey Damiani suggested the school look at providing the math and writing workshops during Advisement. Dr. Bockman will investigate this opportunity to start in February.
  1. February Meeting agenda items: The Go Team will include the following on the agenda:
  2. Facilities Review Focus - The team will invite school board and district representatives to take part in the conversation.
  3. Principal search update
  4. Further breakdown of data including grades and AP enrollment/results
  5. Any SBS updates for the 2017-18 school year
  1. Public Comment: None

The meeting adjourned at 5:10pm.

Submitted by:
Janet Kinard, Go Team Secretary