Minutes of the State Bridge Crossing Elementary (SBCE) School Governance Council

September 30, 2015

The SBCE School Governance Council met on Wednesday, September 30, 2015 at SBCE, 5530 State Bridge Road in Johns Creek, GA.

Members present:

Kathy Hogan

Amy Rice

Betsy Trawick

Mary Justice

Cheri Skop

Ashley Black

Jonathan Adel

Ed Pepper

Bridgette Marques

Member Absent: Freda Hardage

Council Chair Amy Rice called the SBCE SGC meeting to order at 7:00 AM.

Amy Rice called for a motion to approve the agenda. Betsy Trawick made the motion to approve agenda and Kathy Hogan seconded.

Amy Rice called for a motion to approve the minutes of the September 16, 2015 meeting. Jonathan Adel made the motion to approve the minutes and Cheri Skop seconded.

There was discussion among the members regarding the 2015-16 Seed Fund Application which is due at 5:00 PM on October 19, 2015. Bridgette Marques stated that it was important to look for something that would have a lasting impact on our school that would be tied to the Strategic Plan, possibly personnel with a focus on professional development. Mary Justice recommended a full time Instructional Technology person or possibly reshape that position. It was noted that this position would only be funded for 1 year. Kathy Hogan suggested capital purchases or training for staff that would be beneficial.

Ashley Black said that she felt that it was important to teach teachers how to tie the Arts into the curriculum. It would take time and collaboration to be able to see the results. To have someone work with teachers to create lesson plans for one specific unit would be helpful. It was determined that training and collaboration would be the most beneficial. Show teachers how to implement. PD sessions that become work sessions. Should we use an in-house person or use an educational consultant?

The important question is: How are we going to make this application different from last year’s application? The emphasis needs to be: 1) bring ARTS to the children and 2) integrate the ARTS into the classroom.

The possibility of bringing a PD consultant into school 3 days prior to school starting to work with the teachers regarding Arts integration was discussed. It was determined that a survey would be needed to get feedback from the teachers as to who would be willing to attend a “Pre-Preplanning”. Ms. Marques will design the survey and send to certified staff. Betsy Trawick will investigate the cost for consultants.

August 2 – 5 are pre-planning days for FY17. It was determined if the survey receives a positive response that the Seed Fund Application would include: 1) ask for Monday (Pre-preplanning), 2) pay teachers off-contract (STEAM Integration Coaching), 3) use the 2 RFF days earlier in the school year and 4) Professional Development Supplement to work with STEAM TEAM/staff.

The 2015-16 SGC Meeting Calendar was rescheduled for 7:00 AM as follows:

Wednesday, September 30th

Thursday, December 3rd (final application due December 10th)

Wednesday, January 13th

Thursday, March 3rd (vote on Budget for FY17)

Kathy Hogan made a motion to adjourn, Amy Rice seconded, and the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 AM.