PRINCIPALS MEETING SEPTEMBER 15, 2010 9:00 A.M. Present were: Scott Allen Debbie Anderson Patrick Buchanan Bo Catron Melissa Caudill Andy Cox Ann Cunningham Beverley Fifer Jeff Hawkins Dixie Hunter Francine Ivery Brian Johnson Jimmy King Sherry King David Lambert Kathy Laster Janet Lester Ken Litton Beth Litz Lisa McCoy Amy Merrihue Belinda Mullins Foney Mullins Keith Perrigan Connie Phillips Susan Seymore Tamrya Spradlin Marie Stanley Jim Sullivan Chad Wallace Tammy Williams Tom Williams Barry Yost Guests: Dr. Ron Proffitt, President of Virginia Highlands Community College, Dr. Debbie Clear, Vice President of Instruction & Student Services, Virginia Highlands Community College, Travis Staton, United Way Opening: Mr. Sullivan opened the meeting by welcoming the group. He introduced Dr. Ron Proffitt and Dr. Debbie Clear from Virginia Highlands Community College. Virginia Highlands Community College: Dr. Ron Proffitt spoke to the group about the good working relationship between the schools and the community college. By working together, a great deal is accomplished. His goal is to help grow the college and to get out into the community to talk about what the community college is about. From the standpoint of cost, quality of instruction and opportunities offered students, the college is an exceptional deal. He requested that he be allowed to visit the high schools to speak to students. Dr. Proffitt also brought copies of the annual report for anyone that wanted a copy. Dr. Debbie Clear talked about the dual enrollment program between the college and the schools. This fall there are forty dual enrollment classes offered with seventy six offered during the entire year. The community college has placed career coaches in the schools which has resulted in students being better prepared for college. There are two Skill Center Programs on the community college campus. Last year the college met with all the superintendents in the service region to talk about college readiness. The college chancellor has developed a task force to look at the entire community college system to explore
how things can be done better with less funding. Development programs have been reviewed, and big changes are coming. A new test will be used that replaces the Compass test, which will show placement and diagnostic information that will indicate the areas of students weaknesses. They are looking at having nine modules for math, and they would be tailored to the student s curriculum. More resources would be available to students prior to test taking. English will be another focus. She asked them to please let them know of ways for improvement. United Way: Mr. Travis Staton spoke to the group about the United Way effort. Seven percent of contributions go towards overhead. Thanks to the generosity of several entities, none of the contributions go towards administrative costs. Ninety three percent of the funds goes to programs with a goal of one hundred percent. Last year United Way raised $950,000, and this year s goal is $1 million. He provided the group with a coordinator s guide, and he will e-mail the address for an informational video that can be shown at each school. Mr. Sullivan: Mr. Sullivan shared some positive comments about the school system. A high school student wrote a letter to the school board members concerning her experience in Washington County Schools and the people who had served as mentors to her, and from this experience she hopes to serve as an inspiration to others to encourage them to follow their dreams. A very positive article was published in a recent LRP publication which mentioned Keith Perrigan and his efforts to incorporate 21 st Century Skills into the instructional setting. He asked the principals to encourage students to participate in activities during School Days at the Fair. The schools will dismiss two hours early on Friday. He will be sending an e-mail to let employees know that if they are helping with the fair activities, they are excused from work; however, those not helping out that day will remain on the job. Volunteer efforts are welcome and encouraged. He updated them on the Superintendent Search. The Board has re-advertised the position on September 8. Applications will be accepted until October 15, and interviews will begin November 1. They anticipate filling the position by December 15. Applicants are being given the flexibility of beginning work in the spring or summer, 2011. Mr. Sullivan has agreed to continue serving as Interim Superintendent. Twenty Extra Work Day Form: Dr. Mullins said that the twenty extra work day form has been changed to reflect hours for in-service credit. He asked them to review the form and relay any questions or comments to their supervisor so that the form can be finalized and distributed. 2
Safety Video: Dr. Mullins informed them that the VSBA has made available a safety video which deals with reducing Workers Compensation claims. The video will remind staff of safety issues and how to remain safe. The video will be available online, and all staff is required to view the video. There is a mid October deadline. Early Release for Fair: Dr. Mullins asked the principals to be sure retirees clock out on Kronos when the students are dismissed two hours early on Friday. Fire Drills: Mr. Buchanan told principals that they should have a fire drill once per week during the first twenty days of school and then once per month thereafter. The Maintenance Department is in the process of bringing fire extinguishers up to date, and every Monday two schools will be inspected. Please send him a copy of the inspection form and keep one at the school. Supplemental Retirement Plan Work Time Requirement: Ms. Caudill informed them that individuals participating in the Washington County Supplemental Retirement Plan are required to work only 80% of their regular work schedule. Auditors will be closely reviewing our procedures, and a violation could result in our entire plan being disqualified. A policy will be brought to the Board that will address this issue as well as the thirty day break in service. The thirty day break in service must also be adhered to. There is a requirement that we cannot have a written or verbal agreement with employees concerning their work schedule prior to their break in service. The work schedule cannot be discussed until they return to work on August 1. A schedule will be run quarterly to monitor the employees work hours. There is a code on AESOP called Retiree Non-Working Day. If a retiree is out, do not use one of the allowed eleven day unless absolutely necessary. When a sub is scheduled, it should be entered as a Non-Working Day for Retiree. Beginning this week, an automatic lunch period will be deducted for employees working their retirement year. The target is for the employee to work 32.5 hours per week. The Kronos system will soon be sending e-mails to those employees who miss a punch. Youth Risk Survey: Ms. Mullins informed them that a Youth Risk Survey would be conducted for grades 8, 10 and 12 from September 27 through October 15. A parental permission slip will be sent home, and parents can opt their child/children out if 3
they desire. information. The survey will be online, and the ITRT s will have access Inernet Safety: Ms. Mullins asked the principals to remind the teachers to monitor students who are online in regards to safe computing. Students should not be online without supervision. Cyber Bullying: Ms. Mullins asked that the principals have someone at their school do a presentation to staff and students on cyber bullying. Calendar Committee Meeting: The first Calendar Committee meeting will be held on September 28 at 3:45 p.m. She will send an e-mail reminder to the school representatives. If anyone would like to be on the committee, let her know. Advisory Committees: Mr. Sullivan informed them that he plans to set up the Superintendent advisory committee schedules, and he asked them to be thinking about members for those committees. MANDT Training: Ms. Phillips talked to them about MANDT Training, which is a prevention program that concentrates on de-escalation and prevention techniques and restraints. It is a two day training, eight hours per day, and is the same program used by Interchange. Principals should identify one special educator from their building. Twenty people can be trained in one session. A second person can be retrained form each building in November. Trainers have to be retrained every year, and they can take the test on their own. FAPT Referrals: Ms. McCoy talked to the group about FAPT referrals and told them that she is on the FAPT Team. Before referrals are made, several things need to be taken into consideration. If it is a special ed student, it needs to be sent to the case manager for investigation. Regular and special ed teachers need to communicate. The guidance counselor may also need to be involved. She asked them to think about what has been done, what needs to be done, strategies, etc. before making a referral. Make sure the referrals are for the most needy kids. The goal is to keep the students in a community setting. If there are questions, contact Lisa or Connie. 4
K-12 Math & Science Institutes: Ms. Merrihue informed them that K-12 Math and Science institutes are being held across the state and will be done in different grade bands. This effort focuses on training the trainer. Accreditation: Ms. Merrihue announced that all schools made accreditation. Level supervisors have each school s specific report with benchmark results. If they have any questions, they should contact her. Community Drug Drop Day: Mr. Catron said he has been working with Highlands Community Services on the Community Drug Drop Day, which will occur on October 2. Principals will be asked to put up flyers, and a web notice will be sent out to make people aware. The idea is to get expired, unused or unwanted medications out of the home where it is accessible to children. This will be a community effort. Scarecrow Contest: Dr. Lester thanked everyone for participation efforts in the Scarecrow Contest. They have been a huge hit, and ribbons were awarded to the winners. Dr. Litz said that students are given bingo cards, and if they complete their card and their card is drawn as a winner, they receive prizes. Each prize bag has merchandise totaling approximately $200. Kathy Mehfoud Book: Ms. Phillips said that principals would be getting a copy of the Kathy Mehfoud book, and paraprofessional books will also be given out. Mr. Sullivan thanked the group for all they do and said he would continue to be in the schools as much as possible. 5