Jan 27th Minutes

January 27, 2010 – Parent Education Series

Topic:  Substance Abuse, Drugs and Alcohol

Presenters:  Randy Bernstein and ?

Teachers at South are using the Socratic Seminar method for teaching.  In a Socratic Seminar, a topic is chosen that is somewhat open ended.  A text is used as a basis for a collaborative discussion (not a debate) and questions are asked by participants.  Chairs are arranged in a circle for “pilots” and an outer circle of chairs is arranged for “co-pilots.”  Participants are divided into groups of three, one person being the pilot and the other two sitting in the outer circle behind their pilot.  The pilots in the inner circle discuss the questions they made up from the text and then turn to their co-pilots to discuss questions more deeply.   This format was used for the presentation this evening to discuss the topic of substance abuse, drugs and alcohol as a demonstration for parents to experience how the Socratic Seminar is used in some classes at South. 

The seminar began by giving parents a short piece of text to read.  The article, “Parents, fess up,” had a bit of a slant and invited questioning and controversy.  The article encouraged parents to talk to their kids about their own experiences with drug and alcohol use.  A question was chosen for discussion:  “If your child doesn’t have obvious signs of drug or alcohol abuse, how do you raise the question, how much should we talk about it?”

The pilots in the inner circle responded:

You can talk about your own experience, what your concerns are.  Sometimes they are oblivious.

It depends on how much they bring it up themselves.

Seize opportunities for conversation. Ask them what they know.  Talk about other kids—“Aren’t you glad you’re not making those choices.”  “I’m so glad you’re not doing that.”  “If you were at that party, what  would you have done?” Be curious.

Pilots turn and talk to co-pilots -- How do you encourage a teen who does not want to talk about these things and you do?  How do you talk to kids about your past experience?

The co-pilots in the outer circle responded:

Let them talk and be quiet.  Ask them to tell you more.

Each child in a family may be handled differently.

Both parents in a family may not want to share their experiences.  Child may sense conflict.  Won’t want to talk about drug use.  There is no one way to do it.

Say, “here’s a reason why you don’t …

If they went to a party, ask, “did anybody bring any booze?, smoke in the back room?”

My daughter is sick of people talking about drugs.

You can talk about what has happened in general – people who have used too much, too early.

We have survived our use of drugs and alcohol – we can’t tell them that it’s automatically bad.

What do you think the goal is? Never try drugs and alcohol? Is your goal for them to be open with you? What is it you hope to come out of this?

Three rules – Be safe, Be smart and Have a backup plan (call for a ride, don’t get into a car with a drunk driver).

Goal is to be realistic.  Postpone use until after college, realize the risk of use.  One attempt with meth can mean addiction.  Be relied on to talk openly.  Talk about brain development. Make sure they have a thorough understanding.

Let our kids know that we’re going to be there for them.  Their freedom and opportunities can be permanently affected.

As the meeting came to an end, Randy explained that students using the Socratic Seminar  would follow up with a writing activity.

January 27, 2010 – Parent Council Meeting

Parent Education Series meeting ended at 8 pm, but it took 10 minutes for parents to regroup for the Parent Council Business Meeting, and another 5 minutes to begin the meeting.  There were 30-40 attendees seated in the cafeteria.

At 8:15, Mark gave a summary of the meeting agenda:  What is it we can do to engage more parents?  He questioned if something can inspire parents to have a process to gather information on the School Improvement Plan, and specifically a way to approach grading.  Due to time constraints, he took an informal survey by way of a show of hands: does the group want to focus on SI and grading, or stick to the planned agenda on financial business, scrip and fundraising?  At this time, some parents raised the issue that it has traditionally been the function of Parent Council to attend to the budget and fundraising. 

Helen Beardsworth spoke:  Our budget needs to be signed sealed and delivered by March.  Scrip and budget need to be discussed now.  Mark said we don’t have time for it.  We have obligations – we’ll be here in May not being able to meet our obligations. 

Principal Randy Bernstein gave a background of Parent Council:  PC has historically served to support students and staff by fundraising and deciding how to spend funds that are raised by PC.  PC currently funds the Volunteer Coordinator, Parent Education Series expenses, School Librarian, and some classes and other things.  It has served as a forum for different people to come to meet other parents, question and answer. Things have taken a turn this year.  PC did not meet in November and December.  The September and October meetings chaired by Mark Rosen have focused on informal discussions about School Improvement.  Randy acknowledged there was some consternation in the room due to differences in opinion. 

It was proposed by parents to look at the by-laws of PC and examine how we can address School Improvement and generate ideas for Site Council.  It was agreed that we need to stay within the structure of Parent Council.  There were parents at the PC meeting for the first time who have no idea how PC is run.  Many parents cannot make it to these meetings, but they are interested in what takes place.  We cannot make decisions based on a small representation.  It was suggested that the topic of grading is inappropriate at this time.

A member of the Site Council spoke:  We appreciate getting more input.  We operate on the goals of a school board, administration and our teaching staff, not brainstorming outside of 4J. We need to consider what the teachers, school board think before we start throwing around ideas.  Why would we spend a lot of time and energy as parents on a topic that is not in our district’s goals?

Mark Rosen said, “The State wants input from parents, not just through administrators and teachers.  We should sift through ideas, that this is something that should be considered.”

Site Council member:  “Informal discussion is not getting us a broad representation.”

Mark:  “The idea is to have informal discussions about topics related to School Improvement, then possibly survey to see if there is broad support.”

Randy:  “We can form another group to discuss ideas about what’s happening that we would like to see more.  That group can share with PC.  There is no limitation on any group of parents who want to discuss a topic.”

A motion was passed:

Form a group to discuss school improvement issues that would meet before the PC business meeting in February.  That group will report at the February meeting.

Form a task force to study the PC bi-laws to report to PC.

The budget and fundraising task force, which already exists, will report at the February PC meeting.

The next Parent Council Meeting will take place in the school cafeteria.  The Parent Education Series will be 7-8 pm and the Business Meeting will be 8-9 pm.

  

Oct 28th Minutes

October Parent Education Series – October 28, 2009 – That’s so gay and other not-so-cool things to say
Jen Wyld introduced the panel:  Anastasia from Sexual Assault Support Services, Dana Zaldua-Hilkene from National Center for Lesbian Rights (dzalduahilkene@nclrights.org) and Allison Cleveland from The Gender Center in Eugene.
Anastasia is a guest speaker who goes into schools to talk to kids about harassment and sexual abuse issues.  She can be contacted at 541-484-9791.  There is a crisis/support line at 343-sass (7277)
Dana explained that the National Center for Lesbian Rights is a civil rights law firm that makes foster care and juvenile centers safe for lesbian and gay children and children being bullied or harassed because of their perceived sexual orientation.  Dana noted that a Federal bill was signed by President Obama today that protects gay, lesbian and transgender persons from hate crimes.  She said that in the last year, two 11-year-old boys took their own lives because they were being bullied at school for their perceived sexual orientation.  Every child has a right to go to school without being harassed or bullied.  A 2007 National School Climate Survey reported that 76% of students said they heard comments being made in a bullying way about sexual orientation.  When a person says, “That’s so gay,” they are putting a person down for being lame, stupid or dumb.  What you are saying is hurtful.  You never know who you are talking to.  The Gay Straight Alliance Network has a Take It Back Project for awareness of anything that makes a person feel different, including race and religion.
Allison Cleveland works for the Gender Center and 4j schools around domestic and sexual violence.  She writes policies and passed around a copy of SAFE Schools for all Youth Implementation Toolkit.  She said the 2009 Safe Schools Act is downloadable on line.  It addresses specific behaviors, remarks made about gay people and racial remarks.  She said it is important to interrupt the behavior by saying, “that’s not cool,”  “think about what you are saying,” and asking, “What do you mean by that?”  Kids will just say something without thinking.  You want to call it to their attention, ask them how they think that feels.  Allison grew up in the 50’s in a small town in Vermont where she was nicknamed “Skirtsy”.  Kids would follow her home and beat her up.  It was hard on her academic career and gave her limited social contact.  She said we can educate ourselves so we can educate others.  Be allies with kids by asking them, “What do you mean by that?”
Dana said she grew up in the Bay area where kids didn’t know that she was Latina, but they made fun of the other Hispanic girls and called them “beaners” because they couldn’t speak English.  She regrets not speaking out for them by saying, “What you just said is racist.”  People often deny that they are homophobic or racist, but will recognize that what they said is homophobic or racist.
The floor opened to parent comments.  One parent said she is a lesbian mother who had specific issues arise with her children at school.  She is grateful for the way it was handled by administrators.  One parent commented that so many people have mixed backgrounds now and use derogatory words to describe their own ethnic group, that they have ownership of that word.  We hear them in the media, music, television shows, news reports.  They have become disarmed.   Dana responded saying that kids know when they use those words that they are hateful, and that they are using them in a hateful way.  It is so important to stop it.  The word “gay” is not inherently hurtful, but it is in the way it is said, demeaning and diminutive.  One parent added that “maybe my son is gay, but that’s his issue for him to find out, not for someone to label him with it.”  Dana added that the two boys who committed suicide were of minority ethnicity.  The kids who were harassing them may have felt it was acceptable to call them gay, but they knew they would be called out on racist comments.  We want to cover every minority group.  In a recent incident at a 4j school graffiti with racist and sexual comments caused the community to stop everything and have a school-wide assembly to address the issue.  Everyone knows someone who was hurt by the comments.  Dialog is helpful to achieve a greater understanding.  There is nothing we can’t talk about.

October Parent Council Minutes, October 28, 2009
Principal’s Update--Ellen Brunson presented for Randy Bernstein.
 She said that negotiations are talking place regarding OSAA sports competitions.  At one time schools competed more locally, but a law suit forced South to go across state to play larger schools, increasing expense, travel time and time out of school for athletes.  Negotiations are now in progress for South to play more local teams.
Direct Donation Drive letters have been sent out.  This is the biggest fundraiser at South.  Last year’s donations raised $90K that paid for 5 sections of classes this year.
Technology received a big boost this year.  Almost all classrooms have ceiling mount projectors and document cameras.
Flu illnesses have increased student absences to about 15-20% per day in the last few weeks.  Normal absence rate is about 5%.  Teachers and administrators are giving a lot of thought to work through catching up.  It is hard for students to catch up, hard for teachers to teach with so many students absent.  They are trying to plan, talk and meet needs.
 Financial Update—Cindy Wright
Scrip donations are up a bit, finances are on track.
School Improvement Plan—Mark Rosen
This is the last year of the current 3-year SIP.  Site Council is developing a plan now for the next 3 years.  This is the time to give Site Council information from Parent Council.  We have an opportunity to change the face of our school.  As Chairman of Parent Council, Mark wants to act as a conduit to Site Council with information gathered from parents at Parent Council.  Mark has a personal interest in increasing motivation among SEHS students, and he handed out a list of topics for consideration which parents might like to comment on or add to.  Mark asked parents to introduce themselves and talk about why they are at the meeting, what would they like to see take place, and how we can affect change.
The floor was opened to discussion.  Parents talked about the following concerns:
Posting grades, even though just by ID No., is a problem for some kids, because everybody knows who is who on the list.
We need alternative ways to communicate other than meetings.  Not all families have a voice, they are not represented here tonight.
Some kids are not motivated to succeed, they are content just to skate by.  Some students are just getting it done.  They are not experiencing a desire to learn.
Some students are going to school just part time, they are homeschooling and doing independent studies or Credit Based on Competency (CBOP).
Maybe school shouldn’t start at 8 am.  There is evidence (parent brought Register-Guard article about sleep habits and brain function of teens) that teens do not function well early in the morning.  A later school start pushes back afterschool activities, making them too late for some families.  Ellen Brunson responded that families can request no first period if their student is experiencing difficulties.
Some students are really struggling to complete assignments.  They are doing homework late into the night and still not comprehending content.  Assignments tend to be irregular, teachers pile on homework without regard for how much other work they have to do.  Some parents would like teachers to have more flexible deadlines and allow some late assignments before lowering their grade.
One parent suggested that structural changes might help her student perform better, such as, later start, less homework and a quieter lunch room.  Some kids need quiet space during the day that enables them time to be alone and reflect.
Some students are doing well and have too much time for hanging out.  What kinds of barriers are some kids bumping into that other kids aren’t?  How do we provide different alternatives for different paths?  How can we provide a great education for all kids?  Are students empowered to bring issues to the attention of the administration?
A lively conversation continued after the meeting.