Communication Council
November 7, 2013
The Cleburne Communication Council/District Site-Based Committee met on Thursday, November 7 at 3:15 pm in the CISD Boardroom. Members present included: Adams: Dana Willhite; Coleman: Sarah Sims; Cooke: Taylor Bowers, DeAnn Ash; Gerard: Chrisanne Brightwell, Lisa Waits; Irving: Karen Greenhaw; Marti:; Santa Fe:Lilly Brain, Vidalina Perez; Smith: Casey Barnes, Robert Mayes; Wheat: Janet Singleton; CHS: Sherri Bell, Alex Gonzalez; TEAM: Malea Ingram; Phoenix: ; Fulton:Jane Mayden; District: Kyle Boles; Campus: Janet Helmcamp; Paraprofessional: Cheri McCullough; Parent: Brent Shields, Amber Witte, Shanna Walker; Community:; Business: Joy McHargue, Sheryl Hudzietz
Administration: Dr. Miller, Lisa Magers, Tammy Bright, Kathy Ferrell, Chris Jackson, Kyle Boles, DK Bailey,
Meeting was called to order at 3:19 pm and adjourned at 4:47 pm
Notes: The 2014-15 calendar options were discussed. It was decided that we would provide some different options on when to use staff development days such at 5/2 and 3/2/2 and then have options for the current semester split or an evenly divided semester split.
1. What is status on iPads at all the campuses? Gerard in particular seems to be having problems
getting them to work.
Answer - All iPad carts have been configured and should be functional. I reviewed IT services with Mr. Blalock and Ms. Perry on Friday, at which time the carts were discussed. Gerard was the last campus we visited on the iPad cleanup project which may be causing some of the perception. We also have the technicians going to each of the campuses this week to review functionality and get final signoff from all teachers with carts.
2. What is the district doing about putting together a Math curriculum on the elementary and middle school level?
Answer - The district is in the process of creating our own math curriculum, but until it is ready, teachers are to continue using CSCOPE as their curriculum guide for math. Envisions Math has been purchased for grades K-2 as an additional resource. Training was provided during the August staff development mini sessions. Mission Math is a resource for grades 3 - 12 that was approved for purchase at the last board meeting. These have been installed and w webinar for training will be offered next week. This is also an adoption year for math so this will also provide additional updated resources.
Notes: Need to make sure that non title teachers get resources and passwords. Please check to see if we can remove Saturday/Sunday from Forethought.
3. Can we stop "weighting" grades in elementary.... 60% daily grades, 30% assessment grades, 10% homework? We don't typically even grade homework assignments. The weighting just doesn't work well in elementary!
Answer - The "weighting” of grade categories was a recommendation made by the grading policy revision committee in the spring of 2013. Employees and parents interested in suggestions and changes to the grading policy will be asked to attend or send input to these meetings in the spring of 2014. Homework was a topic that the committee spent a great deal of time discussing. If homework assignments are important enough to give then they are important enough to attach a grade or some type of assessment.
4. As a first-year teacher to Cleburne ISD, I am a graduate student who wants to make a long-term commitment to the district and possibly go into administration. Would the district consider giving partial or full tuition reimbursement or scholarship to educators in good personnel standing who successfully complete a certified graduate program?
Answer - Prior to the 2011-2012 school year, the district did reimburse employees for 6 hours of undergraduate coursework as an incentive for ongoing education. This incentive was removed as a result of budget constraints that the district experienced in the 2011-2012 school year following legislative cuts. Should adequate funding return to the district in years to come, this proposition will be examined.
5. As a co-sponsor of the Key Club, a recognized civic club at CleburneHigh School, I would ask the district to consider giving stipends to sponsors of clubs? Many hours goes into cosponsoring the club. They include: working with Paula Allen to create pre acquisitions for any fundraising or purchases for club; preparing minutes for meetings; publishing a schedule of club meetings, activities, and announcements; attending monthly first and third Thursday meetings during jacket-time; attending monthly first and third Wednesday officers’ meetings after-school; attending numerous events on personal time after school and/or weekends, e.g., farmers’ market or Taco Bueno; writing sales receipts for students before and/or after school; making deposits with the school bookkeeper; maintaining a communicative relationship with the local chapter of the Kiwanis; doing fundraisers; doing service projects; actively recruiting students; establishing and securing a location for regular meetings; determining what materials will be needed and what funding is available; contacting parents and keeping them regularly informed of club activities; determining what resources are available for events; determining how to publicize the club; and sending any press releases to the public information office at CISD.
Answer - Stipends for club sponsorship can be discussed as item for the 2014-2015 CISD budget. With a comprehensive list of clubs offered at the secondary level, and a list of “general duties” that all club sponsors would perform, the idea could be approached in the spring of 2014 for the next school year. Club sponsors ideally would work with their principals in preparing specific information regarding club supervision for this consideration.
6. In some districts it is against the rules to give a student a final grade of 78,79,88,89. Do you think it would be in the best interest of our district to implement/adopt that rule? It would help with parent/teacher relationship and student/teacher relationship. I also feel like if a student is trying and their behavior is fabulous then a 79 is not an appropriate grade.
Answer - Grades earned in a class are the decision of the teacher. Just as the administration cannot tell a teacher what grade to assign, the district cannot set a rule that teachers not give grades that are just below the next grade. Grades have a statistical and sometimes subjective manner associated. Administration would always advise teachers that their grades are justifiable to the parents and the student. Teachers can choose to consider a variety of factors when deciding whether or not to change borderline grades to a 70, 80, or 90. This is an individual teacher decision and cannot be mandated by the district.
7. Based on the latest UEA ranking of pay scales, what is CISD doing to make the district once again desirable? Benefits are nonexistent and pay is low compared to most other districts.
Answer - The Texas Association of Schools Boards conducted a market study for Cleburne ISD this past spring and summer of 2013. The market study took into account a comparison between 15 other school district salaries (Mansfield, Crowley, Arlington, Carroll, Joshua, Eagle Mountain-Saginaw, Fort Worth, Little Elm, Granbury, Burleson, White Settlement, Aledo, Alvarado, Azle, and Weatherford) and Cleburne ISD’s teacher salary range and other employee pay grades. The idea behind the study was to compare Cleburne salaries with the “median” salary of those combined school districts, while taking into account budget restraints for this school year’s budget. Employee pay ranges were adjusted to meet this market median based on the TASB recommendation so that the district is within 99% of the market median for all of our pay groups. Our benefit structure is also competitive with the market and our district continues to offer benefits such as local days and a sick leave bank that other districts have done away with due to budget constraints. Many of the districts that are in the UEA comparison group either did not receive the same magnitude of state cuts that Cleburne experienced over the last three years or had a fund balance at the time of the cuts to offset the cuts. Our districts has adopted a deficit budget of approximately $2.6 million over the past two budget years in order to provide compensation increases to our employee groups. The most recent compensation increase we provided for our employees cost $600,000. If employees have suggestions for where we can cut costs or raise revenue in order to provide more substantial compensation and benefit increases, please share your suggestions with Dr. Miller so that we can incorporate the ideas in to our budget planning cycle.
8. a. Why does there seem to be inequity in the way tutors, Title I teachers, Dyslexia teachers, and Reading Specialists are staffed at some of the elementary schools? It seems as though the lower socio-economic schools, schools with 80+% free/reduced lunch populations are the schools that should be the schools that receive the extra staff to help work with the students that are struggling. These are the campuses that have higher concentrations of students that do not receive help at home. Why are campuses that have the parental support, the parents that can help their child at home receiving extra staff to help work with students that are already successful but are being tutored so that the students can attain the "advanced" status on STAAR. This is not to say that we do not want those students to be ranked as advanced, but wouldn't staffing to ensure a minimum of "Met standard" be a better choice?
b. It appears that the campuses that have Pre-K are possibly using the extra staff that are paid for with that funding to tutor the upper grade students at the elementary schools.
c. Why does it appear that the larger elementary campuses have fewer tutors and Specials Teachers to work with struggling students than the smaller campuses? Squeaky Wheel syndrome?
Answer - All funds are distributed to the campuses based on student enrollment. For example, the 2013-2014 Title I allocation carries a $375.45 allocation per Title I student. Each campus receives an allocation equal to $375.45 times the number of eligible Title I students. This is in addition to their base allocation of $90 per student from local funds.
A goal in the district is to take every student to a higher level of achievement whether they have already attained the “advanced” level and need enrichment or whether they have not attained that “advanced” level. It should be a goal to always “add value” to a student no matter what level they are currently performing.
Pre-Kindergarten is funded using local funds. Title I funds are used in the summer to offer the required summer school opportunities for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students. All other expenses are funded through local funds. At this time, we are not aware of any campuses using pre-K staff in other grade levels.
Every spring in the budget process, and then again in the fall to reflect actual enrollment, special program funds are examined and matched with student enrollment. An example of this was a few years ago when the district went from 4 bilingual campuses to 3 bilingual campuses. Adams elementary lost some special programming funds because it followed the bilingual student to Cooke, Santa Fe and Irving. Special programs are continually monitored and adjusted to reflect funding allocations.
9. When will the new salary range scales be posted?
Answer - The new salary scales were posted on the CISD website on September 5, 2013. This information was included in the minutes of the October communication council meeting.
10. How much of the bond money has been spent and what was it spent on? What is the plan for the remaining money?
Answer – There has been approximately $7 million spent or encumbered on bond projects to date. Please see the Cleburne ISD web page bond tab which lists bond projects with completion dates or anticipated completion dates (). While there are many projects which are either complete or ongoing, there are several projects or purchases that will extend into the 13-14 and 14-15 school year. Some of the remaining bond expenditures include band instruments, improvements to both middle school football facilities and vehicle purchases which include buses. After the completion of all identified 2013 bond purchases and projects any remaining funds will be used for projects which were identified on the district long range strategic plan but were delayed due to priorities and lack of funding at the time.
11. a. There is a growing amount of frustration with the dress code for the staff. Many of us would greatly appreciate a review and modification of it. It almost feels as though each day we are more worried about what we wear than what we are to be teaching. Many of the staff members I have spoken to are starting to suffer from numerous back, hip, knee, feet, and etc. pain due to the new limitations of the dress code, myself included. We teach young children and are either on the floor constantly with them or are standing over their short desks working with them for most of the hours of the day. We do not sit at our desk all day long.
b. Many of the professional, upstanding, charitable, business members of our community wear jeans and dress shirts or blouses every day to their work and we along with the community think no less of them. We honor them and respect them and seek their wisdom and business. We truly see nothing wrong with wearing jeans with dress blouses or shirts.
c. The new stricter dress code has also limited the amount of fun and spirit we once had during special weeks such as Red Ribbon Week. Due to the limitations very few teachers participated because they felt very silly to dress in the theme with dress pants or a dress. It has also limited the participation in the college days. The restriction on being in dress code on field trips is a difficult rule to understand as well. We ride a bus for at least 45 minutes one way and walk all over either a museum, zoo, park, or sit in a theater in dress clothes. It makes for a very uncomfortable day.
d. Many of the staff members in CISD would like to see a modification and a lifting on the ban for jeans. We agree that we need to look professional and not sloppy but this can be accomplished with jeans as many doctors and business members do in our community each and every day. None of us think any less of a doctor or nurse when they are wearing their scrubs and comfortable shoes for we know that their line of work requires long hours on their feet and mobility in an outfit for the duties they are expected to have for the safety of their patients and themselves. We too as teachers need to have that mobility and comfort. Not in scrubs of course but a modification in our current dress code would be greatly appreciated.
e. We are under the impression, at the elementary level, there is only one spirit day allowed; jeans and spirit shirt unless approved otherwise. We have been told other campuses are able to wear jeans on college shirt day. We have also heard that some campuses have a "grade level" spirit shirt day on Thursdays (with jeans), and then a campus shirt with jeans day on Fridays. Is this decision up to the principal or is this acceptable for our campus to follow? We believe each campus in the same district should be following the same dress code. What is the dress code for field trips?
Answer: It was never the intent of the professional dress guidelines to cause frustration but rather to bring a level of professionalism to the district. The professional dress guidelines will be reviewed in the spring and suggestions are always welcome. The professional dress guidelines do allow for modifications due to medical issues, so an employee with a medical issue is encouraged to discuss his or her concern with his or her supervisor. If there are components of the guidelines that are causing widespread suffering, please share this information with a supervisor or Kyle Boles.
As educators, we are held to a higher standard. We shape and mold the future. The fact that we teach young, impressionable students is all the more reason that we should be a great role model in how we look, what we say, and what we do. We should not be content with doing what everyone else does, but rather to being a step above.
The professional dress guidelines allow for one spirit day per week. Jeans and spirit shirts can be worn on those days. If the campus wishes to have college day as well during the week, then the college shirts may be worn but jeans are not allowed to be worn. Principals have the discretion of choosing the one spirit day a week with Friday being what most campuses choose.
Jeans are not the only type of pants that can be worn with spirit shirts or college shirts. Khaki or black pants look professional with those shirts as well. When we go out into the community areas on field trips, it is important to portrayprofessionalism. It is acceptable for teachers to wear the school shirt on a field trip day. Principals currently have discretion as to what attire is allowed on field trips and are expected to match the attire with the weather and the activities that are anticipated.