Eugene IHS Site Council Minutes

Eugene IHS Site Council Minutes January 8, 2013 Convener: Steve Smith Recorder: Peggy Farris

In attendance: Peggy Farris, Hannah Eshelman, Selena Blick, Wade Powell, Kira Wyld, Christine Pettingill, Lisa Albrich, Kyle Yamada, Rebecca Hammons, Jessica Schabtach, Janell Schoellhorn, Kaycee Schoellhorn, Jesse Formick, Kristin Brandon, Deon Saraceno, Steve Smith, and Londa Rockholz.

1. We did not have the December minutes, so we will review and approve the December and January minutes at the February 12 meeting.

2. Reports

Students will meet on Sunday and will be working on the Eugene IHS dance that will be held on February 8.

Parents will meet on January 22 and will discuss the 3x5 schedule.

Staff had a professional development day Jan. 7. Jocelyn Harley and Donn presented information from the training they have attended with Jon Saphier.

The staff also looked at the 3x5 schedule options.

Sue Martichuski retired in December and we have Melanie Namkoong joining us as the Eugene IHS secretary at South.

NAMI representatives were planning a presentation, but did not show up at the meeting. Steve will check with them to see if they would like to present at the next meeting.

3. Schedule Consideration We would like to move forward to approve a schedule as soon as possible so we can be ready to present our information at the eighth grade information nights in February.

There was a meeting of students during December where the students discussed their opinions about having an A/B schedule with a “connections” class, or an A/B/C schedule. The students, by a large percentage, preferred the A/B/C schedule. The A/B schedule with the “connections” class was later withdrawn from consideration by the staff.

We are considering a proposal with a three class rotation schedule with two variations. One variation is a three day rotation “flexible” model that will repeat every three days throughout the year, with projects being structured by grade level teams. The other variation is the “fixed” model where the schedule will be the same each week, with a 50 minute “project” class every Wednesday. Both models have problems that need to be worked out. The staff has many reservations about the proposal, but it is the best we have come up with after many, many hours of thought and work.

The method of putting projects into either variation will need to be determined. There are difficulties and concerns with both models, but we do have some ideas and will work on this over time. In the “flexible” model, the projects will be presented in the three classes and would be independent study. In the “fixed” model, there would be a “project” class every week. Either way, we will be moving away from the “Super Projects,” since it is not sustainable.

Steve called for a vote to find out if members support the three class rotation with one of the options “fixed” or “flexible” to be determined at a later date.

The Eugene IHS Site Council supports the three class rotation, but many prefer one option over the other.

Dismissed five minutes early.