SCHOOL DISTRICT OF JEFFERSON

JEFFERSON, WISCONSIN

 

MINUTES

POLICY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE

August 10, 2009

 

The Policy and Community Engagement Committee of the Board of Education of the School District of Jefferson met on Monday, August 10, 2009, in the High School Library.  Chairperson Thompson called the meeting to order at 7:38 p.m. with Committee members Buth and Pupanek present. 

 

Review of Areas of Committee Responsibility: The areas of responsibility for this committee were reviewed.  Committee members were reminded that the only action committee members can take is to forward topics on to the full board for approval. 

 

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TOPICS:

Review of Current PR Plan: The current Public Relations Plan, approved by the Board on July30, 2001, including suggested revisions was reviewed.  Discussion points included:

 

           The annual realtor/media breakfast never really got off the ground.  Committee members would like Mr. Swartz to investigate ways to include the chamber of commerce and community representatives in similar meetings.

           The goal is to change the Open Enrollment numbers to bring more students in

           Commitment to Excellence Awards – committee members would like to recognize staff members more frequently.  Mr. Swartz will gather ideas from other communities as to how they recognize their staff.

 

Update on 2009 Character Education Conference and Initiatives for the School Year: Mr. Swartz provided an update on the June 2009 Character Education conference and noted that next year’s conference may be held in a different location.  The district will continue with the Families of Character Program with minor changes in the criteria.

 

Legislative Update(s): The August 7, 2009 WASB Legislative Update was shared with committee members, including the H1N1 virus guidelines. 

 

Mr. Thompson noted that he has talked with Russ Feingold’s office regarding funding sources for new construction. 

 

Volunteers in the District: There was extensive discussion on the need for and use of volunteers in the district. Currently, there is no central location or person who coordinates volunteers and resources.  The Character Education Adopt-A-Classroom program is one way individuals or groups can provide assistance but the commitment is, at times, too large.   Schools and teachers have needs/wants throughout the year that community members could help with, but there is no communication of such needs.  Suggestions discussed included:

           District website link

           School newsletters

           Lists of classroom needs

           Mass e-mail to families

           Sun Prairie’s STEP Program

           Constantcontact.com

           Use of the Alert Now system

 

Student Recognition for 2009-10: Committee members agreed that Board recognition of students should continue as it has in the past.  The use of Alumni Associations was briefly discussed.

 

GOAL SETTING / BOARD STAFF DEVELOPMENT:

Identification of 2009-10 District/Board/Superintendent Goals: Board and Administrative Team met on July 9, 2009 in special session to begin the work of setting District/Board/Superintendent goals for 2009-10.  The minutes from this meeting do not reflect that any Board action was taken.  Committee discussion on the District, Board, and Superintendent goals for 2009-2010 was extensive. 

 

Following the discussion, the committee agreed that the administrators will provide input on goals at the next committee meeting.  It was also suggested that there would be five (5) District goals – breaking #2 into four (4) separate goals each listing one of the four (4) Strategic Plan Issues. 

 

Under Board goals, the word ‘positive’ will be added to goal #3 related to communications with the public.  Also under Board goals, a goal will be added relating to the effectiveness of the Character Education Program.

 

Mr. Swartz will revise the goals as discussed, and measurements will be added at the next committee meeting.

 

Identification of 2009-10 Board Staff Development Opportunities: Potential Board development activities discussed include:

           Professional Learning Communities

           Appropriate use of emails

           Technology issues

           Data driven decision making (Pearson Inform, Pearson Benchmark)

           Finance; how schools are funded

 

It was suggested that a board development meeting could be scheduled to take place during the day.

 

Discussion of Possible Topics for Future Meetings

Annual realtor/media breakfast

Cell phone use policy

Registration process- paper vs. online

 

A motion to adjourn was made by Mrs. Pupanek, seconded by Mr. Buth. The motion passed on a voice vote. 

 

ADJOURNMENT: 9:17 p.m.

BOARD OF EDUCATION

Secretary, Pati Fitzgerald