Fairview Community Council

Fairview Community Council

Education Committee

Regular Monthly Meeting

GatewayLearningCenter

April 18, 2006

Minutes

Dale Myhill presented information from the Fairview Elementary Title 1 advisory meeting he attended on April 11. He saidthere was a budget listing expenditures, and there will be opportunities for making suggestions for next year. Myhill reported some astonishment upon learning that when about $40,000 was not needed for an elementary teacher to reduce class size, only $10,000 was used for teacher aides and extra help and $30,000 used for additional teaching supplies. He expressed his intention to press for use of Title 1 funds for hiring people to be student and family advocates who will use 80% of their time to be in student’s homes. This idea was presented last year by former Fairview PTA president James Apone and has been since advocated byAlaska state legislators.

Myhill reported on the draft Fairview Community Plan presented at the April 13 Community Council meeting. In the demographics section, the report says that 46% of Fairview residents are members of the Angelo minority group, but only 7% of Fairview Elementary students are Angelo. There was some discussion on the reasons for this and what might be done to make the school attractive to parents of children in all ethnic groups. Two problems to overcome seem to be the perception among some parents that Fairview academic expectations are low compared to other schools and the fear that that some Fairview students will bepassed along to Middle School even though they are not yet proficient in reading and math at the sixth grade level. Perhaps this year’s testing scores will shed light on the truth of this perception.

Dan Loring reported that there was a new Parent Involvement policy being presented soon to the School Board, and he discussed the recent “Drop Out Nation” article in Time Magazine. He characterized the attitude of local and national educators who say that the schools are doing great,as “Denial.”

Myhill said he is still hoping he can get the letters written by students to Senior Pen Pals so the students could get a return letter from interested members of the Senior Center Writing class before school ended. It is unclear what barrier remains.

The Student Council advisor at Fairview phoned Myhill this week, and Loring attended the April Student Council meeting. The students have beautification projects planned and are excited about possibly planting some perennials, bushes, or a tree that can be marked with a sign as being donated and planted by this year’s class or council. This might spark school pride, parent involvement, and community pride in the school. The Student Council is already planning to be involved in theMay 6 Clean-Up Day and has a bicycle ready to give away as a prize. The Fairview Community Council donated $100, and Alaska World Class Public Education, Inc. donated $200 toward these projects.

The Fairview PTA will be involved in purchasing and serving the hotdogs and hamburgers and other food at the May 6 Clean-Up Day at Fairview Elementary. Other important dates of educational interest are: April 25, Math Family Night at Fairview Elementary; May 4, Asian Cultural Club at the PAC with students attending; May 17, meeting at Central Lutheran Church regarding needed summer activities in West Fairview; April 19, V. F. Grace meeting regarding plans for 13th and Gambell.

The V. F. Grace meeting is important to the Education Committee because it is part of the 13th AvenueSchool-to-School Corridor. This is part of a long-standing effort by local citizens to create a safe, attractive, and easily walked corridor for adults and students from CentralMiddle School to the beautiful sculpture at Fairview Elementary where 13th Ave. ends. Efforts so far include not only the beckoning sculpture, but efforts over many years to hide junk-filled yards with fences and to replace weeds with flowers, plants, and mulching along 13th. The corner at Gambell remains an unsafe and unattractive barrier to this vision, although there has been noted improvement due to the recent moving of the bus stop and efforts by the computer service on the corner. More improvements are being planned along the route by the MoA, private organizations, and individual efforts.

The Anchorage School Board Candidate Public Forum in Fairview on March 30 was a great success. All the candidates except one attended plus about 30 community members. Ways to improve the Forum for next year were discussed.

Next scheduled meeting: May 16, 6:00 PM, GatewayLearningCenter, 801 Karluk St.

Respectfully Submitted,

Dale H. Myhill

Chair