Butterfield Canyon Elementary: scc

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Seeking School Community Council Nominations for 2013-14

In accordance with district policy, a School Community Council (SCC) consisting of school employees, the school principal, and parents or guardians of students attending the school must be organized for the 2013-14 school year.

Members of the SCC participate in the development and implementation of the following:

• School Improvement Plan
• School Land Trust Plan
• Community discussions of school-related concerns
• Fundraising Activities, as needed

As we do have open positions each year, an election will be held to select representatives who will serve as a voice for the community. Therefore, Butterfield Canyon Elementary is currently seeking candidates for this year’s SCC.

Each term on the council lasts two years, and an election will take place from September 9-13 from 8:00 am-4:30 pm. Ballots will be sent to each family.

Your ideas, input and voice are valued at our school. Please complete and return the candidacy form that your student(s) will be bringing home soon if you are interested in possibly serving on the School Community Council. You could also email Jodi Stewart-Browning at jodi.stewartbrowning@jordandistrict.org. Nominations will be accepted until September 6th, 2013.

Thank you for your continued support in helping make Butterfield Canyon Elementary a great place for students to learn.

SCC Minutes

Butterfield Canyon

School Community Council Meeting

May 23, 2013

In attendance:

Alisa Didenhover

Joanne Frost

Brandon Maulis

Jodi Stewart-Browning

Rachel Shober

Heather Shay

Tanya Eagar

Minutes pending from last time.

Leader in Me: First training was held on Friday, May 7. Next meetings are May 31 and June 14. The Leader In Me Implementation meeting is scheduled for July 19, the first day the teachers are back in the school following summer break.

School Improvement Plan (SIP):

Our two-year plan was summarized. As part of the SIP, principals will be observing teachers and tracking data about effective teaching as well as engaging staff in professional development. In addition, teachers will produce workable and guaranteed curriculum for their grade/track by the beginning of each term.

Teachers will continue to meet in Professional Learning Communities as grade level teams. Teachers will be tracking information about student growth in literacy & math on a monthly basis. Those students needing additional support will be receiving additional help from support teams. This additional support will include behavior & social needs as well as academics.

Math and Language Arts Intervention Specialists have been hired. Wendy Allred will be working with the lower grades full time, and Ashley Patten will assist upper grades.

After careful inspection of our school literacy data, a gap between boys and girls in reading was detected. A conscious effort will be taken to try to close the gap. Information was gathered from surveys of students & teachers to determine which types of reading material is preferred by boys, especially in grades 3-6. More books will be ordered from this information. The school will be rewarding reading at home & school by all students. This is not just a Butterfield Canyon situation; internationally, boys trail girls in their development of language arts skills.

Mention was given to why the school doesn’t spend more time for fitness/PE. One reason is the amount of students in our school, which causes limited time in the gym. 4-6 grades participate in Presidential and National Fitness Awards. Currently many grades walk around the ‘bowl’ on a regular basis. Heather will check to see if there is a fitness program appropriate for the lower grades.

SCC Election Guidelines:

Send election notices out by Aug. 12.

Nominations: August 12-Sept. 6

Elections Sept. 9-13

Limit of 13 members on the School Community Council (9 parents/4 school employees)

Discipline of Students

Our “Big Three” program is taught at the beginning of the year on how to behave in the school. The Big Three are also explained to new students when they come to the school. In addition, teachers also have their own expectations in their classrooms that are taught to the students.

When a problem situation is reported to the office, an investigation with students is the first step. Information is gathered by having students complete a think-time sheet; it is an investigative process, problem solving approach. Each situation is handled on an individual basis with the goal of turning each problem into a learning opportunity for all students involved.

District policy AS67 was discussed. It addresses dangerous or disruptive behavior including weapons or facsimile there-of. In serious cases, the policy is prescriptive about consequences. All students have Due Process.

Information regarding student discipline is logged on the Skyward of dangerous or severely disruptive behavior.

Each SCC member was given a copy of the policy and it is also found on-line at http://policymanual.jordandistrict.org/policies/as067.html.

Other Comments:

Questions were raised about the road that would go through Ivory Homes development that would help with student walking safely to school. As has been discussed previously in SCC meetings, Herriman City isn’t putting in the road now because the area is being actively developed.

SCC Minutes

School Community Council Minutes

January 31, 2013

In attendance: Mike Day, Collette Justesen, Nick Hansen, Jodi Stewart-Browning, Heather Shay, Joanne Frost, Tanya Eagar, Rachael Shober, Alisa Didenhover, Hollie Pelch
Guests: Collette Justesen, UVU coordinator at BCE & Audra Armstrong

Meeting began at 2:02 pm.

Welcome: Mike Day thanked all in attendance.

Review of last meeting’s discussion about general school safety: Mr. Hansen answered questions regarding new security: Retractable barrier to filter visitors through office to sign in & show ID; Portables locked at all times with peepholes used before letting anyone in; All classrooms locked at all times; Lock down practices;

Suggestions:
One secretary should always stay in the office.
Another ‘instant lock down’ button will be suggested to the office.

Safe Walking Route discussion:

The Oaks subdivision problems were discussed.

Students walking from west of Butterfield Canyon Rd. along 6400 west were discussed.

Issues with non-bused students walking from the Cove area were discussed.

Plans were made to request from the city a paved walking trail from The Oaks to Rose Canyon Rd. at Blayde Dr. Currently there is a walking path, which many middle school students use on a regular basis. This would help BCE students from The Oaks, some Cove walkers and possibly all students south of Butterfield Canyon Parkway avoid the intersection at 6400 west/Butterfield Canyon. The crossing guard currently stationed at 6400 west/Butterfield Canyon would need to be repositioned at Blayde & Rose Canyon should this option be completed.

The need for sidewalks along the undeveloped land along Butterfield Canyon west of 6400 west was discussed. Mike Day, SCC co-chair & member of City Council, explained that these sidewalks will be completed when the developments are complete. Many entities, rather than one large development company own this land.

Having the city provided red flags for students to use crossing the street (similar to SLC’s flag system) was requested from the city.

Drop off procedures:

Administration & teachers on early morning duty have been using signs to let parents know when to unload students this week. This new system seems to increase the number of students getting out of their cars at the same time in the morning and is proving to reduce the time parents must wait in line to drop students off. It will be continued. BCE has a large area where parents can drop off students which has not been used to its full potential in the past; parents tend to what to drop their children off right in front of the front doors. By encouraging students to get out of the car and walk to the doors we can move more cars more efficiently.

While there are other ways of moving cars in and out of the drop off zone, which were discussed at length, the SCC felt that improving the current system with a simple change was most effective at this time.

Pick up procedures:

The administration has been timing how long it takes after the bell rings for all students to be picked up from school each day. It was found that the process takes between 5-10 minutes depending on weather and tracks, which isn’t bad considering the large number of students who are being driven home each day.

Some dangerous situations discussed include:

Parents dropping off students and attempting to pick them up without assistance in the parking lot.

Parents signaling to their children to cross the streets at a place other than crosswalks to get into their cars.

Parents blocking the crosswalks & intersections while waiting in line to pick students up. This behavior creates issues for crossing guards because it blocks the view of traffic.

Some solutions discussed include:

Requesting signs for the front parking lot indicating that it is not a drop off or pick up zone. In addition, the signs would state that parents need to park, cross at the cross walk to pick their students off and walk them across the parking lot to their cars.

Painted arrows that show the direction traffic should move through the parking lot will be requested from the District.

A request will be made for lines to be painted 1 ½ feet from the drop off/pick up curb for students to be trained to stand behind for their safety.

Communication will be sent home often which clearly explains our safety procedures.

We will request that police officers are present whenever possible to warn or even ticket drivers who are blocking intersections & crosswalks.

Idle-free zones:

A question was raised about whether the fence on the east side of the drop off/pick up zone is owned by the school or neighboring homeowners. This parent hoped that additional Idle-free Zone signs could be placed along this fence line.

The Safe Walking Plan (SNAP- Safe Neighborhood Access Plan) was drafted to meet the needs/solutions discussed. Mike Day, SCC co-chair, and Nick Hansen, BCE Principal signed the plan. It will now be sent on to city law enforcement, engineers and planners for their approval before it is submitted to the District by March 22, 2013.

Our meeting was adjourned at 3:40 pm.

SCC Agenda

School Community Council Agenda

Thursday, January 31, 2013

2:00 pm

Faculty Room

· Student Neighborhood Access Program- SNAP plan

o Safe Walking Route

o Drop off & pick up

o Outline of safety concerns

SCC Agenda

School Community Council Agenda
January 17, 2013
2:00 pm Faculty Room

School Safety
Safe Walking Route
U-CAS Reporting
Leader In Me
Community Input

Safe Passage Route

Please click the image to enlarge, or click this link for more information.

SCC Minutes

Butterfield Canyon Elementary School

School Community Council Minutes

October 25, 2012

In attendance, Members: Nick Hansen, Mike Day, Joanne Frost, Melanie Thurnau, Tanya Eagar, Laura da Silva, Hollie Pelch, Rachael Shober, Alisa Didenhover, Jodi Stewart-Browning, Heather Shober, Laura da Silva; Observer: Janet Olander

Excused: Heather Shay and Brandon Maulis

· Welcome- Principal Nick Hansen

· Review of Minutes from 10/11/12 meeting- Mr. Hansen reviewed the minutes; copies were provided via email right after meeting & again in hard copy at today’s meeting. Mr. Hansen motioned that the minutes be approved. Mrs. Frost seconded the motion. All agreed the minutes be approved and posted on the Butterfield Canyon Blog.

· School Land Trust Report 2012-2013- Copy of Land Trust goals and funding was provided for members to study. The goal is to increase student literacy by providing Tier II intervention for struggling readers and improve Tier I literacy instruction provided by classroom teachers.

How effective have the Technicians been as determined by student achievement? Mr. Hansen explained that trained paraprofessionals, ‘Techs’, work under the supervision of the classroom teacher to provide small group help with students in different areas for 30 minutes four days a week. Last year, Techs assisted with math & reading. This year students from each class, K-3, who are struggling with reading work with Techs using “My Sidewalks”, a structured, scripted, research-based program, 30 minutes four days a week. This year, students in 4^th-6^th grades who need extra support in reading, work with Techs for 30 minutes four days a week on activities taken from a Literacy Activity Menu designed by BCE’s Literacy Committee. Mrs. Frost reported that she saw good results in student achievement last school year with the students in the small Tech groups. Janet Olander also told the group that she had worked as a Tech last year using “My Sidewalks” and saw many young students move many guided reading levels during the year, due in part to the extra small reading group instruction.

· Criterion Reference Test result summary

Data was shared with the committee regarding last spring’s Criterion Reference Testing (CRT) results. The data was explained.

Members of the SCC requested that additional data be provided to the group via email. The administration agreed that such information would be sent out in the next few weeks for review.

· Budget Adjustment for Land Trust Monies- Proposed Revised Budget

Last year the funds were set aside from the School Land Trust to fund Literacy Technicians. BCE needs $38,500.00 to fund currently hired Techs instead of the $30,000.00 originally allocated. There is not a need for the $11,000.00 textbook monies set aside for the “My Sidewalks” program because the texts & supporting supplies needed were provided by the District. That leaves $11,000.00 to pay for Tech salaries needed to extend their small group literacy support through mid-April. Mr. Hansen asked that the group consider an adjusting the monies to move at least $8,500.00.

Rachael Shober, made a motion to move $11,000.00 from texts to salaries. Before it was seconded a discussion was held to only move $8,500.00 to salaries and reserve the right to spend the other $2,500.00 in a different way next year. Mr. Hansen explained that the process of moving any funds must be approved after the SCC decision to the School Board & then the State Office. A second motion to move $11,000.00 was made by Hollie Pelch. The vote was unanimous to move the full amount.

· Space Available Bus guidelines

An Interdistrict Communication listing different options approved for determining space-available bus seats was provided. In the past, space-available was given to families living the furthest away from the school. As a SCC we are now determining who will be given space in the future.

It was suggested that distance & age be considered. A discussion was held about the impact of that potential decision on families and neighborhoods.

Using distance from the school for the initial distribution of space available seats, which are allocated 15 days after D track begins, and then to fill in the space as it comes available, first come, first served was the final decision of the SCC. The point was made that it is very important the SCC members, as well as the school, communicate and educate patrons about the process.

· Dual Language Immersion possibility

Laura da Silva shared a State Office of Education video on dual language immersion. Slides with more information specific to dual language immersion were also presented.

Mike Day brought up concerns about additional funding required beyond the $10,000.00 provided by the State for implementation. He suggested that being an outlier is difficult; you don’t want to jump in on any trend too early or too late.

Mr. Day asked Mr. Hansen to speak to the implementation issues involved with dual language immersion programs. Mr. Hansen has had a great deal of experience with dual language as both schools he worked at in previous years, Herriman & Foothills, had such programs. He was part of the initial implementation phase and reported it is very difficult to get started for many reasons including finding space, finding families interested and willing to commit to multiple years, and securing qualified teachers and translated materials. While Mr. Hansen is a supporter of Dual Language, he knows that it is good for kids; he said he must respectfully decline the opportunity to begin a dual language program at this time. His biggest concern is the space required to open a class. We would need at least 55 Kindergarten students within our boundaries interested and they would need to commit to stay in the program long-term.

The application due date of November 1^st made it difficult to educate our patrons and survey the interest.

The suggestion was made to educate our patrons about the potential of a dual language program with a possible beginning in the 2014-15 year when the new elementary is opened in Herriman. There are currently options for dual language immersion in Spanish at Herriman Elementary & Chinese at Foothills; however, these programs are only by permit if space in the program is available. Melanie Thurnau made a motion to complete an application; Tanya Eager seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the majority of SCC members voted not to complete the application this year.

· Recess temperature for an inside day in winter

A discussion took place about the possible raising of the temperature wherein students would be kept inside the building during the winter months. The flyer that was sent home last year was shared. At that time the SCC had established the inside recess day temperature at less than 24 degrees. The SCC determined that the temperature established in the past would be kept the same this school year.

· Drop off & pick up safety

SCC discussed current problems with the traffic flow especially after school. There are concerns about students crossing crosswalks not manned by adult supervision, crossing through the parking lot without an adult, students being encouraged to jaywalk across various streets in front and behind the school, and cars not heeding pedestrian crossing signs on the north side of the school. Various ideas, including the way the traffic flows at Jordan Hills Elementary (which has BCE’s same footprint), were discussed. The school and SCC members will continue to educate students and patrons about safe procedures. The SCC will be working to update the Safe Walking Plan during our next meeting in January.

· Introduction to Leader in Me Program for possible implementation 2013-2014 school year

Mr. Hansen showed the Leader In Me website to the group, spoke briefly about the main purposes of the program and encouraged SCC members to look carefully at the website to educate themselves and prepare for an upcoming discussion.

· There was no additional community input at this meeting. The meeting was adjured at 3:50 pm. Our next scheduled SCC meeting is Thursday, January 17, 2013 at 2:00 pm in the school’s Faculty Room.

SCC Final Report Summary

What did the School Community Council do with the Land Trust Funds during the 2011-12 school year?

The school hired 10 instructional paraprofessionals who worked 10-17 hours per week. The paraprofessionals used the push-in model in every classroom in grades 1-5 in the school for ½ hour each day for four days weekly. The paraprofessionals worked with small groups of students on skills in areas of identified need while teachers gave struggling readers an additional level of literacy support in an extra guided reading group. The paraprofessionals were trained on specific activities in the areas of fluency instruction, word study, vocabulary, background knowledge and familiar re-read. When planning, teachers choose the activity from the menu of choices where they felt their students needed the most support.

The paraprofessionals provided math enrichment activities for sixth grade students who had mastered core concepts to enable teachers to provide additional support for struggling students.

The paraprofessionals provided literacy support to Kindergarten students by using the research-based reading program called, My Sidewalks. Small groups of students worked on letter and sound recognition, reading, and other skills.

Teacher teams visited neighboring schools to collaborate on successful RTI programs. Teachers participated in horizontal and vertical teaming to enhance the learning of all students.

What were the intended outcomes?

Improving student learning in the classroom was the intended outcome of our program. To achieve this, paraprofessionals and staff members were provided with ongoing professional development in the area of Response to Intervention (RTI).

How did it impact student learning?

Butterfield Canyon increased the number of students in the proficient range on state end-of-level assessments by 3% during the 2011-12 school year. This increase is due to paraprofessionals and teachers working together to meet the needs of all students.

SCC Minutes from October 11, 2012

Butterfield Canyon Elementary School Community Council Meeting Minutes

Thursday, October 11, 2012

In attendance: Nick Hansen, Heather Shay, Mike Day, Joanne Frost, Brandon Maulis, Melanie Thurnau, Tanya Eagar, Laura da Silva, Hollie Pelch, Rachael Shober, Alisa Didenhover, Jodi Stewart-Browning

Welcome- Heather Shay welcomed those in attendance to the first meeting of the year. She introduced our first piece of business, the new middle school boundary process

Boundary Change Presentation-

Teri Timpson & Anthony Godrey- Administrators of Schools

· Direction was given by School Board for District Administrators to meet with School Community Councils to introduce Middle School Boundary Process

· Map of all middle school boundaries was shared; The new middle school, located just east of Herriman High, will impact Butterfield Canyon patron’s middle school boundaries

· Chart was shown which included all middle school buildings’ capacity, number of portables & current enrollment

· The message from the Board & District administration is that community involvement is crucial in making decision about school boundaries

History of old Boundary Process was shared

· School Community Council chose school representatives to serve on a boundary committee

· Evening meetings were held to establish options for boundaries

· An Open House was held where community members could vote on the option of their choice

· A recommendation to Board was made

· Board made decision

Issues with old process

· Burden on parents because of number and length of meetings

· Unequal representation of neighborhoods & hard feelings between neighborhoods & neighbors

· Unequal access to the process

New Process (established ~4 years ago)

· Boundary options researched and developed by District staff & posted on JSD website

· Patron input gathered electronically

· Open houses held to answer questions

· Possible adjustments made to options

· Patron input and boundary recommendation presented to Board in open session

· Boundary approved by Board two weeks later

New Process

· Reduces burden on parents

· Equalizes access to the process

· Increases patron input

· Provides fair, consistent, and efficient means of gathering input

· Develops options that better meet the needs of students, families, and the District

Factors considered in creating boundary options

· School capacity

· Feeder system alignment

· Input from parents, students, community

· Long-term implications

· Natural boundaries

· Feasibility and functionality

· Cost

· Community partnerships

Timeline

· Board approved new middle school boundary process (Fall 2012)

· Meetings held with SCC Community Councils regarding process (Sept.- Oct. 2012)

· Initial options presented to Board of Education (mid Oct. 2012)

· Public informed of boundary process (end of Oct. 2012)

o Letter from the District

o District and school Web sites

o School Community Councils

o Newsletters

o Announcements

o Communication in every way possible! Facebook, Twitter…

· Boundary information and opportunities for input provided (Oct.- Nov. 2012)

o Boundary options and survey posted online on District website beginning in mid-October

§ Flyer will be sent home with students

· Board Review

o Board is provided information regarding patron input (Nov. 2012)

o Board holds public hearing (Nov. 2012)

o Board approves new boundary (Dec. 2012)

· New Principal will be announced in January and released from current duties before second semester

· Role of the School Community Council

o Foster awareness of the process in the community

o Act as a contact & share information

A question was raised about the ‘heat’ of the process~ High School vs. Middle School.

The Middle School issue with parents is usually related to loss of busing; students may get a permit to remain in the current middle school, but their busing was lost.

Questions discussed-

· How much ‘heat’ is expected from the community in this middle school boundary change process? How does the ‘heat’ compare between a high school & middle school boundary change? Dr. Godfrey answered that the ‘heat’ was less than expected with the opening of the High School. Students in every high school in the district were allowed permits where requested last year.

· What about the new elementary school? Are we still on a two year schedule? How can we survive the growth? What would it take to open the school sooner than two years? Bond? Teri Timpson explained that the District is working with the architects now to fit an updated version of Silvercrest’s building design on the site near the Splash Park. The District is paying for the new elementary school out of any extra funds they can find on a ‘pay as you go’ basis just like the new middle school.

· How do we decide year-round or traditional calendar? It’s based on enrollment and space available. It’s a Board decision. Board will allow traditional whenever possible until enrollment extends beyond building capacity. While the Board would like to move schools to traditional schedules as possible, growth in certain areas require the best use out of current buildings.

· Will this boundary change process be the same for the new elementary school? Absolutely. Teri Timpson committed to keep us aware of progress being made with the new elementary school.

· How does permit process work? Utah State law provides options for parents. There are established guidelines for permits. A ‘window’ opens in December for parents to fill out permit requests. Boundary students are counted first, then a percentage of permits are approved as space allows. It’s more complicated in secondary schools because of available space in different course offerings.

· How much more growth can BCE handle? With 14 portables & limited bathrooms we are stretched. BCE was able to hire additional teachers & new portables were quickly built to accommodate the classes because of the growing school population. There are still classrooms, including portables that could be added to the rotation schedule in future years to educate the new students who enroll at BCE. Teri Timpson praised the teachers, staff & administration for maintaining quality education in a calm, positive environment despite the large number of children.

· How are Utah schools funded? Funding comes from State Legislature through the weighted pupil unit. A percentage of property taxes fund schools. Bonds are raised as new buildings are needed.

· Are the class sizes staying the same? Yes, there have been no increases in class sizes since the district split. We have maintained the class size ratios, though it is still higher than the School Board & Administration would like.

· Watched Land Trust DVD – School Community Councils Touch The Future

· Meeting Protocol/Norms were established

o The SCC will loosely follow Robert’s Rules using motions, followed by a second motion & vote.

o Votes must have a majority to carry and at least seven SCC members must be present for a vote to take place.

o Issues may be discussed without appearing on the posted agenda but no vote will take place without the topic being posted on the agenda at least a week in advance of the meeting.

o Mike Day raised a motion to cap the School Community Council to 13 members; Joanne Frost seconded the motion. All members agreed 13 was a good number of members.

o Heather Shay nominated Jodi Stewart-Browning to be the secretary & Hollie Pelch seconded the nomination. That vote was unanimous.

o Heather Shay nominated Mike Day as chair, Hollie Pelch seconded. That vote was also unanimous

o Three additional members were nominated & voted onto the SCC, Jodi Stewart-Browning, Laura da Silva & Rachael Shober.

· 2012-13 BCE SCC Meetings were scheduled for Thursdays at 2:00 pm

o October 25

o January 17

o March 21

o May 23

· The meeting was adjourned at 3:40 pm.

SCC

Butterfield Canyon Elementary School

School Community Council Agenda

October 25, 2012

2:00 pm Faculty Room

· School Land Trust Report 2012-2013
· Criterion Reference Test result summary
· Budget Adjustment for Land Trust Monies- Proposed Budget
· Space Available Bus guidelines
· Dual Language Immersion possibility
· Recess temperature for inside day in winter
· Drop off & pick up safety
· Introduction to Leader in Me Program for possible implementation 2013-2014 school year
· Community Input