Hamilton Academy of Music
Hamilton Academy of Music
Shared Decision Meeting 10/13/2010
Introduction of SDM Members:
Parents: Michael Bacharach, Manuel Urrutia, Tanya Heldman, Maria Filoseta, Jill Sperling, Dana Pehrson,(not in attendance) Gwen Kenneally(not in attendance) and Raykel Tolsen, Bill Ring
Teachers: Molly O'Brien, Evon Hockstein, Park Who, Lea Oliver(not in attendance), Eva Becker(not in attendance),Marlene Zuccaro
Ms. Zuccaroopened the meeting by setting the ground rules for our meetings and suggested that we conduct ourselves with respect to each other and to the staff. She requested that we at no time mention the name of a specific teacher (in a negative context) during our discussions.
We will also meet once a month on campus in Ms. Zuccaro’s office.
What should be the focus of our meetings this year?
1. Better communication with parents – how do we do this?
Action Plan:
-Input all parent emails – this is currently being done.
-Send out announcements via email when necessary
-Communicate with parents about teacher absences or issues with a class sooner rather than later. This can be done via email as well
2. Test Scores –Questions to consider are:
-How are we currently scoring?
-How do we use our scores to promote the school?
-How can we improve our test scores?
-How can we improve the testing environment and instill the seriousness of testing to the students?
We debriefed of our experiences as Proctors during the last testing period. It was identified that the environment varied in different classrooms and it was also noted that some students may have a desire to take the test, but don’t have the skills to take the test, therefore they “zone out” and give up.
Action Plan:
-Ms. Zuccaro will get the scores for us for our next meeting
-We will also further discuss how to make the testing environment more consistent and
Is it feasible to identify students who may just be lagging behind and need extra help in order to help them be prepared for testing.
Challenges facing the school and staff
Class size
-Mr. Hochstein commented that the class sizes are often unmanageable and feels that we should be aware of this as it does affect teachers keeping the classes focused and on task. Currently we have a cap of 37 students per class and Ms. Zuccaro said that we are on
target with this number in the Music Academy classes.
Rehiring teachers and funding
-Ms. Zuccaro commented that with the current LAUSD situation, we cannot rehire teachers, if we have a teacher who is out on leave or decides to leave. Most of our teachers now have 5 classes, which is the maximum.
-We have gone from 14 to 7 custodians and the campus is often messy. Ms. Zuccaro has purchased brooms for the teachers to sweep their own rooms.
-We will also be down to one clerk in January and will need parent volunteers to help in the office.
-Annual Campaign dollars are down from last year. Last year we brought in about 30k, this year we are at about 18k. We will continue to remind people to give to the annual campaign – in the meantime, we need money immediately for school supplies and paper goods for the teachers.
-Bill Ring brought to our attention the Williams Complaint lawsuit which established a model for school safety, qualified teachers and textbooks within LAUSD. The Williams Complaint can be found on the LAUSD website. He suggested the the SDM become familiar with the Williams Complaint and utilize it.
-We also discussed the magnet plan which Ms. Zuccaro put together last Spring. It would be helpful for the SDM to have a copy, so she will provide us with a copy at the
next meeting.
Action Plan:
-We will write a new letter to families with an urgent request for help- this request will be either for monetary donations or donation of goods for the teacher’s supplies. This letter should appeal to the masses i.e. ask for a smaller contribution for a specific need.
-In addition, Ms. Zuccaro will provide Jill with the names of manufacturers for Smart Boards, Document scanners, etc in order to solicit free goods from these manufacturers for our classrooms.
School Update and good news
-We are now in Partnership with LA Phil Harmonic - 20 mentors will rotate through the classes and work one on one with our students.
-Fox Mentoring Continues and has been very successful.
-Al Jarreau visited our school and interacted with the students. He was very impressed with their knowledge of music and that they knew who his music.
-We are been approved as a partial audition magnet. We will be able to audition and accept 20% of our students on instrumental auditions.
-Our target enrollment is 917 and we have 920 students.
-We are under consideration for two shows:
1. Save the Music in the Schools
2. ABC news documentary on performing arts schools
Next meeting will take place on Wednesday November 10th at 5pm in Ms. Zuccaro’s office