Konawaena High School SCC Minutes – 10/26/2006

Present: Debbie Hedemann, Bob Rossman, Lydia Woerner, Karen Heineche, Shawn Suzuki, Norma Matsumoto, Karen Harrison, Randall Yamabe, Reg Morimoto
Meeting was called to order at 4:05 PM
Minutes from 9/25/06 were reviewed with the following additions to the agenda:
- Quarterly AFP (Academic and Financial Plan) update from Shawn.
- Update on information regarding a technology person from Debbie.
Motion to approve minutes was made and seconded. Minutes accepted.
Update on personal listening device/cell phone usage policy:
Norma - Finalized policy was not able to be completed in time for the report card mail out, however, should be ready by Nov 17th when the quarterly progress reports are due. Norma passed out a Letter to Parents and Guardians (draft 9/26/06), and Proposed Language, Definitions, Violations, and Consequences (draft 9/26/06).
-Any comments/updates will need to be given to Norma by Nov 17th. Norma will review
comments with student rep. and Margaret.
-Joyce, Randy and Norma will work on the proposed language for the Student Handbook for the next school year.
Policy will include language about the ban being during class time with notice that if problems continue, a total
ban will be considered.
- Lydia noted that in the last couple of weeks, she has seen students with hand held games.
General discussion by council members of definitions and correct language of ‘communication accessories’.
Motion: To accept policy and plan as presented by the committee.
Discussion: Policy needs to be on school letterhead and signed by admin. Policy will most likely be implemented next semester. Let students know new policy through the bulletin and ask student reps. for help with disclosing policy. We need a good campaign. Norma will work with the school staff.
General discussion by council members about policy wording and order of consequences.
-Discipline should be progressive (step-up). -Procedure for teachers in dealing with the new policy (Wed. meetings). –Security should be involved with confiscation. -Wording with regards to Chapter 19.

Motion: To accept policy minus the word ‘warning’ under “Consequences may include”
Seconded and accepted by all members.
Addressing the large classes in Math Dept:
Shawn – we have actually lowered some of our class sizes and comparatively speaking, our classes are small. Typically, there are larger classes in lower math, smaller in higher math.

Randy – since our scores have gone down, we need to discuss the reasons with math teachers. Downturn in scores may not be class size, perhaps another problem.
General discussion by members. Next testing will not include higher math, and will be a more realistic test for 10th graders. We should look at this issue again in Jan/Feb when we will have a better idea from the feeder schools where the students are in math when entering KHS. Agreement by all members to look at this agenda item at the Jan. or Feb. meeting when we have more information. In the meantime, Randy will talk to the Math Dept. on behalf of the SCC.

Community College classes held during the day on our campus:

General discussion by council members about apprentice (woodshop) program, lack of woodshop teacher (we have sub), using woodshop on weekends, & getting input from CTE Dept. Norma will contact Maverick (coordinator) and check with the local community college for more information. Ideas were discussed about starting programs at the classroom level with the vision to move into apprenticeship programs. Also, partnering with the community in apprentice programs in the areas of health, autoshop, woodshop, and culinary arts, which has already had experience with the community. Could be an exciting direction for KHS.
Update on this agenda item will be discussed further at the next meeting.
Grant Writing:
Update from Shawn
- Shawn talked with Sandy Taosaka who is in touch with Robert Witt from the Castle Foundation. There is
a $5,000 grant for high school “redesign” (application deadline Nov. 30th).
- Shawn spoke with Bob Herkes. State House is updating their computer system and giving away their old computers (Pentium 3s). KHS is on the list for receiving.
- Woody recently received a grant in the amount of $2505. for the library from the Konawaena Foundation. Other available grants for teacher applicants (Good Idea Grant, Aid to Teachers Grant). These types of grants can defer teacher’s supply costs helping our overall budget.
- Woody applied and received a Fulbright Grant and will be making a trip in November to Japan with other educators.
General council discussion for the need of a complex area grant writer, the obvious benefits of grants, our advantage in offering different programs including our 9th grade houses, sustaining and expanding our programs, our academic plan. Discussion of types of grant writers and their potential fees. Debbie reported grant writer, Mary Beth Hilburn, charges a fee of 5% of the grant up front and 5% when the grant is received.
All members agree and recommend that we pursue grant writing. Debbie will contact Mary Beth Hilburn and have her contact Shawn. Debbie will also contact Isabel Vinson to see if she is interested in pursuing grants for KHS.
Security System:
Shawn update - We have the down payment ($10,000 – 15,000.) and are ready to proceed. Cost is $1500./month for 10 years, approximately 60 cameras. Discussion of grants potentially paying for a security system. Currently we are using the profits generated from the soda/water machines for the security fund.
Results of the Peer Ed class on the top ranked problems at KHS:
Report on Jean Grissim’s result of the Peer Education Class top ranked problems at KHS. There were 317 participants, which included students, staff & parent.
Top 4 ranked problems at KHS
1. Marijuana
2. Rumors
3. Teen Pregnancy
4. Violence
The majority of comments from teachers and students came from the group’s circulation of a student pledge against
bullying and violence. Discussing these issues has been instrumental in producing awareness on campus and among the participants.
Update on the AFP (Academic & Financial Plan):
Shawn passed out 2 handouts: KHS School Academic Plan SY 2006-2007 (10/26/06) and
KHS AFP Quarterly Progress Report (10/26/06) as required by Act 51.
Shawn reported:
Goal #1 (Standards-Based Education) with 5 enabling activities. 2 of them have been Completed and 3 are On-Going or On Target.
Goal # 2 (Quality Student Support) with 5 enabling activities. 2 have been Completed and
3 are On-Going or On Target.
Goal #3 (Continuous Improvement) with 3 enabling activities. None have been Completed.
Also Shawn reported that the 9th grade house program is working well on disciplinary referrals, as there are many less this year compared to previous 9th grade classes.
Update on Technology Person:
Debbie reported that she contacted Grant Yamamoto, and while he is the technology person for our complex, his expertise is in the area of fiber optics and not daily computer situations or problems. She also tried to call the PCNC at Honaunau School, Konawaena Middle and Konawaena Elem. She was able to talk with Konawaena Middle, and they are not interested in pursuing the idea of getting a computer tech to share with our complex school area. Debbie will follow up with the other school and bring the results at the next meeting.
Update on final Draft of the Attendance Policy:
Lydia reported that she and Joyce met to discuss finalizing the Attendance Policy. In analysising the draft, it became a re-hash & re-write of the old policy.
Problems with policy:
-Some attendance data is flawed (holes in record keeping),
-If there were an appeals process it would impact the time of the admin. (Already too busy)
-Students tend to give up if they think they are failing because of attendance.
After much philosophical discussion, it was concluded (again) that standard based education does not depend on ‘seat’ time. That perhaps we should take another approach and build attendance into the curriculum. Spin attendance in a positive light, not negative. Reward good attendance, give positive feedback to colleges regarding the student’s attendance, ‘excellent attendance’ certificate on the transcript etc.
Last 10 minutes of the meeting: Paul Daugherty joined in the discussion, as he has been on the Attendance Committee and has provided input on the drafts. He echoed Lydia’s report and stated: attendance policy would be a contractual violation, standard based grading does not allow for seat time, and we need to engage the students on learning and the good attendance will follow.
It was agreed by all members to continue this discussion at the next meeting.
It was also agreed by all members that we need clarification regarding speakers during the last 10 minutes of the meeting. Therefore, should there be a sub-committee person or individuals providing information on our agenda items, those parties shall be able to speak during the meeting at the appropriate time when the agenda item is presented rather than just the last 10 minutes of the meeting.
Meeting adjourned at 6:05 P.M.
Next SCC Meeting – Wednesday, November 29, 2006, 4:00 P.M.
Proposed Agenda items:
q Update on Draft of next year’s Academic Plan (3 year Strategic Plan)
q Update on Grant Writing
q Update on Attendance Policy
q Update on moving the Geographical Boundary
q Update on the Life Skills Program
q Update on Community College Information
q Update on Technology person