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SUPERINTENDENT'S STUDENT ADVISORY COUNCIL NEWS
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November SSAC Report to TUSD Board--Meeting on November 10th
The second meeting of SSAC for the 2009-2010 schoolyear was held in the Maroon Room on Monday November 2.
Meeting called to order at 9:00 and adjourned at 11:45 am.
We would like to thank the 35 students who attended. Also in attendance for part of the meeting were 6 TUSD staff including Kathy Prather, Pam Palmo, and Dr. Macklin-Isquierdo.
Kathy Prather of CTE presented on options of JTED and career pathways. She handed out a list of the different programs and the school sites they are being offered. Ms Prather showed a video using her AVATAR as narrator that informed SSAC more about the myriad of choices available to all students. The use of cutting edge technology made the presentation more engaging! A very helpful question and answer session followed. Many members are already involved with JTED and or CTE, or became interested from information shared in the presentation. SSAC members learned about the direct, positive effects that these programs have on the students learning abilities, test scores, and even job opportunities. For example polls show that 95% of the students involved with JTED and or CTE meet or exceed the reading portion of AIMS--- impressive numbers.
Kathy Prather was followed by Pam Palmo of TUSD Food Services. SSAC members were glad to hear about the nutrients that the school foods have and the fact that if a student eats at school, 1/3 of his or her nutrients of the day get supplied. A few members were surprised to hear that there were no funds from the state that were specifically designated for the Food Services program. The only funding received by Food Services is from the federal lunch program. Ms. Palmo brought up a possible "mid-morning meal" idea to provide snack break and the students didn't seem to welcome that idea much. Other questions were asked and student members were given a look at web pages for Food Services, how to access meal calendars and nutrient information as well as catering and ordering food from Food Services for school events. Some members are concerned about quality and choices foods, especially vegetarian/lactose-intolerant options. Ms Palmo said that a minimum number of servings must be ordered to make such needs viable. Finally, there was mention of BIOMETRICS system (use of index finger print recognition) to speed up food service lines. Lines are slow because students forget IDs and matriculation numbers must be entered manually.
Dr. Macklin-Isquierdo, the assistant superintendent of High Schools, attended and had a useful question and answer session with the students. Some of the discussion included a reminder of Festival of Schools event on November 7th, and a district-wide survey at high schools to figure out the areas of interest in class offerings. Members also discussed possible ways to improve student communication throughout the district, and a new, creative idea to get more students to become involved with their school and district and understand more about how the education system works.
School Reports were shared by all sites in attendance. UHS had a fabulous power point presentation that described their school to SSAC members.
Some of the highlights of events occurring at other schools include:
Pueblo- Still in search for a mascot---an on-line survey to select was hacked so… Catalina - Feather Drive (who makes the biggest turkey)
-Cholla - AMAZING new gym
-P.V.- Security cameras
-Howenstine- First dance of the year
-Rincon- Campus beautification
-Santa Rita- Make a difference (clean up day)
-Tucson- Marching band made it to state competitions
- Sabino- A very successful Blood Drive
Sahuaro- put on play by Drama class that was mentioned in the local paper
For subcommittee work time, three subcommittees were identified. It was moved, and seconded and discussed by members as to priorities. Subcommittees were then accepted by general membership. They are- Community Outreach, Student Services, and Campus Organization. SSAC members chose one of the three subcommittees that they wanted to be a part of to get more specific tasks done AND that one school member may serve on a subcommittee so that each committee represented with members of all high schools.
The Subcommittees elected chair and co-chair to conduct discussions. Each subcommittee submitted a written status and update form listing discussion notes and participating members.
The Subcommittees' focus for this school year included-
Student Services: improving communication among SSAC members through creative planning
Community Outreach: focus working with and within neighborhoods and community to make difference-Park/Green/neighborhood clean-up, helping with Thanksgiving and/or Christmas meals for needy, book/toy drive with the community groups, Step Up/Shadow Project
Campus Organization: focus on campus beautification- class gardens/trees, recycling awareness, mural projects, expression board---making campuses visually more appealing
Each month subcommittees meet to plan and revisit goals, put plans into action with responsible parties and deadlines for completing set goals. Every member will have an active role in completing tasks.
The next SSAC meeting is scheduled for Monday December 7th and will hosted at Sabino High School. Community outreach focus is a Stuffed Animal Drive with a goal of ten stuffed animals donated from each school to be given to local charity or organization for children (that would be 10 times 11 eleven schools….more than 110 toys!)
SSAC thanks all guests and presenters for their participation and discussion with members. SSAC hopes for more candid discussions and sessions with TUSD leadership.
Please check SSAC web pages at www.tusd1.org under FOR STUDENTS for all SSAC reports and the calendar of meetings and activities.
Thank you.
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