Mann Elementary Dream Team
August 21, 2001 Meeting Minutes
Attendees: Sally Bloom, Maureen Burton, Kim Cole,
Amanda Doyle, Karen Fine, Brian Marston, Jan O’Leary, George Wilcox
Introductions
- Pokemon
lollipops were offered but only Jan and Brian were brave enough to try
them.
Update on Mann Elementary
- Sally’s
5th year as principal
- School
has changed a lot in past 4 years.
- Around
300 children this year (515 two years ago). District trying to reduce class size.
- Most
kids come from the neighborhood. A
lot from right around Fanning.
East of Gustine assigned to another school. Go up to Gravois, and over to
Kingshighway. Stop at park.
- Almost
all kids walk to school. One bus for kids beyond 1 mile (up by Fanning).
- 3
classrooms of every grade. Not
this year.
- School
divided into 3 villages. All have
K through 5 classes. Provides
continuity of instruction and lets parents and teachers get closer
together. Increase parent
involvement. This year, missing
one grade from each village. Put
siblings in same village.
Sometimes, do looping where same teacher follows class through
multiple grades. (Much to our
horror, we discovered that one of the villages is named the “Dream Team”
so we will need to rename ourselves.
A-Team is also taken. Darn
the luck!)
- 38
staff members. 16 classrooms.
- Caring
Communities Center - pull together social services; help families stay
together; improve communities. 18%
financial cut state-wide this year - cut back to one position in the
school. On-site counselors have
been wonderful. Man in-house
suspension program.
- Caught
Doing Good program - assemblies Monday morning and Friday afternoon -
teacher chooses one child from each room, tells what they did good, prize
cabinet, photo taken, name on bulletin board.
- Peaceful
Playgrounds program - plenty of equipment for everyone to play with, gym
teacher who stays out for all 3 breaks.
- Token
program - for being quiet in lines in hall, your own teacher can't give
you one, can trade tokens for stuff for class or field trip (pizza parties,
etc.).
- Read
school rules every morning and say school pledge. Pledge of Allegiance.
- When
child gets in trouble, talk to them about making good choices.
- Difficulty
getting a hold of some parents.
Would like to give some of them free pagers. Sometimes resort to sending Caring
Communities people out to find them.
- Had
parent liaison - not this year.
One of the parents.
Supposed to get more parents into school and set up PTA meetings,
etc. Wish List - parent
coordinator with background in working with community, outreach, ways to
get people involved. Has tried
giving out tickets, prizes, etc.
Difficult to get them to meetings.
Looking for other ways to have parental involvement.
- Each
village runs a parent meeting each week.
Once a month, PTA meeting.
Great volunteer to run PTA meetings last year - enthusiasm, ideas,
ability to coordinate and run it.
Something we could do - food and babysitting for parent meetings. Oak Hill Presbyterian did twice last
year (but without babysitting).
- Students
- 85% black, 5% each white, Hispanic, Asian. Hoping to get more immigrant children this year.
- Truancy
not a problem; absenteeism more of an issue.
- 95% of
kids from Grand Oak Hill
- Only
30 or 40 take the bus
- Attendance
baseline 93% - prizes for perfect attendance - Maritz Be There program
- No air
conditioning - not on list to get it - looking to at least buy window
units, but power issues.
- Technology
infusion plan by district - giving computers to schools (Mann included).
- IBM
has adopted school. Computer
lab. E-mentoring - 5th graders
write e-mails back and forth to IBM employees.
- E-mints
- part of district's technology plan - asked for 103 computers, don't know
if will get them.
- Used
accelerated school grants funds to buy a lot of things, but doesn't help
with funding people.
- Kinko's
- had relationship, but now with another school.
- Uniforms
mandatory this year for 1st time - navy blue or black bottom and white
polo shirt (collar and sleeves).
- Teacher's
first day 8/27; kids back 8/30
How Can We Help?
- Sally
reviewed our list from the 8/7 meeting and said our ideas look great
- Big
focus - get kids reading and writing on level
- Looking
for tutors, read with kids
- After-school
programs (3:00 - 4:00 or 3:30 to 4:30) - chess club
- Last
year - had basketball (parent left school) and pom pom girls (girls
organized themselves - most gone to middle school now), jump rope club,
African dance group, reading / tutoring group
- School
based management - some control over how spend money; can be creative; can
bring in programs and try new things; not micro-managed in general
- School
wide PTO meeting at 5:30
- Any
kind of after-school thing would be wonderful
- Latch
key program - parents must sign them up and attend monthly meeting.
- Playground
- Heather & Brian working on this
-
George mentioned reading an article about a company that
provides materials and then community does as a barn raising
- Also
need parking lot
- Get
flow of Juniata changed - meetings with last 2 alderwomen (Marge and her
predecessor), neighbors signed petition saying it was okay with them;
mentioned emergency vehicle plans – nothing ever happened
- Books
to kids at Christmas
- Have 1
portable basketball net
- Treats
for teachers - donuts, coffee, food (under intense cross-examination by
attorney Kim, Sally kept her cool and said any food would be great)
- Box
Tops for Education Program - Brian “Box Tops” Marston will coordinate
- Are
signed up for HP cartridge recycling
- Have
clothes recycling bin
- Have
grant from Assistance League to provide 2 uniforms for 100+ kids
- How to
bring parents into the organizing
- Have
School Council - people from neighborhood, school, and community
businesses - meet once a month, Wed 1:30 - 2:30 - advisory group to school
- would welcome new blood - help plan strategy for school - not really
active outside meetings
- Oak
Hill Presbyterian provide dinner and babysitting early in school year to
discuss ideas with parents
- Open
House 9/26 at Mann 5:30 pm - have most parents in attendance
- Still
have kids enrolling 3rd week of school but have most by 1st week
- Better
to focus on just one village or grade or class?
- Teachers
supposed to call every parent once a month to tell them something good
about their child.
- Skit
at Open House - interactive
Sunday Sundaes Kickoff Event
- Imagine
a playground here event - 9/16, 3 to 5:00
- Survey
- Freezer
space at Oak Hill Presbyterian
- Ice
Cream Social
- Kids
must bring parents to participate
- On
school grounds
- School
has a snow cone machine
- Amanda
will investigate ice cream donations
School Tour
- Sally
took us on a tour of the school
- Brian
was attacked by a vicious stuffed bear and Karen admired the art room
- Brian
was later “caught doing good” by turning the lights off as he left each
room
To Do List
- Amanda
– solicit ice cream donations for the 9/16 shindig
- Brian
– find out more information about the Box Tops for Education Program and
how to sign Mann up for it
Next Meeting
- Wednesday,
August 29, 6:00 p.m., 38xx Juniata