14 November 2018 Meeting Minutes 1600: Meeting called to order by SAC Chairman. Fabia Reid introduced as new committee secretary; SAC Committee back to full strength. 1610: SAC Vice Chairman reviewed old business & previous minutes placing emphasis on parent questions. College night went pretty well; financial aid, among other things, was discussed. Parent Questions: 1. One grade per week policy? There is no DODEA requirement. Guidance from NMHS Principal is “timely submission of grades on Gradespeed” to provide an accurate depiction of what students’ grades are. If there is a particular concern that a parent may have, parents are encouraged to first contact their child’s teacher(s), request a conference at any time, & if necessary, contact the school Principal for final resolution.” 1b. “Part of the concern about grades referred to student athletes that travel. Reviews are completed on Tuesday, sometimes the grades aren’t reflected on Gradespeed or there is only one or a couple of grades.” The Principal offered that during a recent staff meeting, the Athletic Director specifically reviewed the eligibility requirements to identify what constitutes an eligible student at the beginning of the sport season, & what the school is required to do as far as monitoring for the next consecutive three weeks. The Athletic Director pushed to get grades “in by Friday so that they can be pulled by Tuesday because it takes a couple of hours for grades to come in.” NMHS Principal shared that “While there is some teacher responsibility, there are also responsibilities for the students to understand that work must be turned in on Friday because that is the real hard deadline. There is a little grace period on Mondays to allow teachers to grade work & upload grades into Gradespeed to reflect accurately (timely & accurate feedback piece). NMHS is working through that. If there is a situation that comes up where a student is out, and there was some issue,” the Athletic Director & Principal will be able to work with the respective teacher to come to a successful resolution. “Timeliness of grade submission hasn’t come across yet as a systemic problem, instead there have been one offs here & there with particular students & their particular situations.” NMHS Librarian offered that “grades aren’t necessarily available every week. There is a fluctuation depending on the curriculum; some weeks three grades may be available.” “Sometimes if teachers don’t have a grade to submit, Gradespeed will reflect a zero. That doesn’t mean the child earned a zero on an assignment, it just means the grade hasn’t been entered yet.” 2. Communication plan for SAC? Vice Chairman pledged to ensure communication is timely, that the SAC meetings are properly advertised & asked if the low number of attendees was reflective of the late advertisement. Veteran SAC members offered that sparse attendance is a good thing. Typically a packed house indicates serious/numerous issues/complaints. Vice Chairman expressed the importance of feedback & opined “if parents aren’t present, SAC won’t receive that feedback.” Vice Chair polled the audience to determine if the previous meeting’s minutes was posted on the SAC website or if any of them looked at the site. Chairman clarified for the audience that previous meeting minutes aren’t sent home, but are instead posted on the SAC website & although posted late, that will not be the case in the future. 3. The question pertaining to group projects and access to school was handled acceptably. Principal provided follow up. “Students in the morning are coming into the library as they request or get passes; the library is open during lunch time for both middle & high school students to come in & print projects; also open during seminar by request via the e-seminar tracker. Extensive opportunities have been provided for students to access the library for printing & working on projects.” 4. Red letters on the front of the school building aren’t changing; no need to readdress. 5. The question concerning clubs meeting during school hours was previously addressed. 6. Students being requested for seminar? Principal provided follow up. “At the last staff meeting the committee chair from the Seminar Ad-hoc Committee presented to faculty, (1) the procedures for seminar period, (2) what seminar period is used for, (3) what the expectations are of students when they enter that classroom, & (4) specifically about teachers requesting students via the seminar tracker, which is the only authorized way that students should be going to & from classes unless there is a technology breakdown. In that event, there is an old school system in place to try to handle that. The hope is there will be no more internet outages, but as a staff we all have a common understanding of seminar expectations & travel procedures to classes.” 7. Students’ ability to sign themselves in & out of school for medical appointments? Principal provided update. “As understood from the hospital, students under 16 years of age are supposed to be accompanied by their parent to the hospital.” Principal is “not opposed to a parent calling the school to request release of a student to go somewhere, but based on base policy & the hospital example that was given, will not release a middle school student to go to that. Age appropriate; no problem releasing the student.” Parent follow up question: “So are we going to get a policy stating that 16 or 17 year olds can sign themselves out to go to the doctor? Principal clarification. “Students cannot sign themselves out. Parents can call for their child, if the child is over 16 years old, s/he can meet the parent at the parent designated location. No child under 18 years old can sign him/herself out on their own.” Vice Chair recommends advertising that for students 16 & over, the parents can call & the school will release the student based on a parent sign out. Principal clarified. “Based on a parent verbal, in an appointment scenario. Primary concern of the slope of the line being that the child is released to go home during the school day & then something happens to the child.” What is base policy for children staying alone in housing? A policy that is consistent with any other base policies will be codified & put out to parents. Vice Chair stated the “exact mechanism will be determined so that if a parent calls s/he will know exactly what happens next; whether the person in the front office signs the child out & writes “per parent request” or something along those lines, or if parents must send a note. The policy will be clear & advertised on the website; & probably via the SAC minutes.” SAC Veterans clarified that an email or note is even better than a call. In the past the school has received emails which were used to release students. Parent follow up question: “Does that change when they’re 18?” Principal informed the group that at 18 students can sign themselves out without parent permission & there is nothing the school can do about it. 1616: Vice Chair concluded with an opportunity for attendees to address anything that wasn’t previously, or that was missed during the last meeting. 1616: Meeting turned over to Chairman. New Business “Concerns have been registered at the hospital from both parents & teachers; teachers in particular about vaccinations. Specifically vaccinations required for employment at DODEA & how that affects coverage at the hospital. 1. DODEA and USNH Support Agreement NMHS Nurse receives logistics support with consumable items needed to treat students as well as bio-medical equipment maintenance. There is no mention in this support agreement of treatment for DODEA staff members. 2. DODEA Personnel Vaccination Policy DHA Policy authorizes waiver for the reimbursement of vaccines, but only covers influenza during a mass vaccination event. If staff members receive their influenza vaccinations during a mass immunization exercise, they would not be charged for that vaccination. Any other immunization requirements necessary for employment is on a reimbursable basis & individual insurance plans will have to cover the charge.” Parent follow up question: “Students are required to get the flu shot; what about everyone else that works in the school? Do they have to get a flu shot by the 1st of January?” Chairman informed the audience that there is no USNH policy stating such. If there is such a policy, it would be a DODEA policy & is in the lane of the Principal to answer whether or not the shot is required for all the DODEA personnel. Principal informed the audience that DODEA’s policy is EUCOM’s policy. The same one that governs the installation & delineates the requirement for students, teachers, & people that work at the school to have the shot. However, there is an exception to that policy based on allergies, religious beliefs, etc., not only for students, but also the adults that work in the building. Parent follow up question: “So you verify that they (staff) get the shot on the 1st (Jan) as well?” Principal advised, “they are required to provide the documentation. Vaccinations are tracked and the school provides a courtesy letter. If an adult at the school or student submits a waiver, we accept the waiver & in the event of an influenza outbreak, we are required to ensure that those individuals are barred from coming into the school.” Vice Chairman follow up question: “What about the local nationals?” Principal advised group that he has no jurisdiction over local nationals & doesn’t govern the local vaccination policy. USNH, Department of Public Health will be present at the mass immunization exercise to clarify U.S. vs Italian dosage requirements/recommendations. Veteran SAC member offered that in the past when she asked about the differences in dosages, if any, she was informed that some coverage is better than no coverage at all & that there is no vaccine unique to Italy. 1624: Principal’s comments “It was an awesome first quarter! We came a million miles but we still have a million miles left to go. The changes implemented was a shock to the system but we’ve seen some positive outcomes as a result of those changes. The focus is creating a student centered school and teachers have done an amazing job this quarter of helping to meet the goals for the children. I met with 11 members of the student government earlier this year & learned that the biggest thing that we need to work on at the school is school spirit. I interpreted that to mean we all need to be on the same page, rowing the boat the same way in this learning environment. What I observed at the pep rally was an outpouring of support and an extremely positive week for students and teachers. This was spread via Facebook. I was happy that the students saw that we are able to put our past behind us & move forward in a positive way. We’re coming to some common understandings as a learning community on what we do with at risk children, the training we’re being provided, how to create some rigorous pathways, & increasing rigor through counseling, AP, & career pathways. We still have a long way to go. The community has embraced what we’re trying to do. The command has supported us and we appreciate that immensely! The administration & Overseas Federation of Teachers (OFT), the union that represents teachers, have a very good relationship which includes talking daily. The communication between staff & administration has been really positive. Our teacher leadership corps, with CDR Mateo and the other PLT leaders, are driving the talk about instructional practice & how we can affect the change in our classroom. I am very excited that we ended the first quarter in such a positive way & that we are starting this second quarter having put nine weeks of positivity behind us & not having any negative days. I am excited to see what the next quarter & the second semester bring for that change.” 1629: OFT Representative comments “I agree with what the Principal stated. I’d like to add that we have an awesome staff! We really do have some good teachers here. I believe with our support, everyone will be able to keep up the good work. I think your children would also say we have some awesome teachers. Parent suggestion: “Having made it through the stress and changes from last year, many are quick to complain but not necessarily offer positive feedback. We do have some awesome teachers here & the staff would appreciate a pat on the back every once in a while. I suggest we do a feedback box.” Principal chimed in & agreed that having some type of mechanism by which parents can drop off feedback for the teachers that would allow him to immediately be able to go directly to the recipient to congratulate & thank him/her, offer a pat on the back, would be a great tool! Framing the idea in way that seeks to provide positive feedback for all the positive & great things that are happening here so that we reinforce the ones we really like will reap dividends. The focus would not be along the lines of liking a person, but an activity or action that is positive. It’s an idea to be investigated further to figure out how it will be framed & implemented. 1634: Chairman offered praises for the improvement he’s seen in the school spirit as evidenced by the staff & teachers present at games/events, not because they had to chaperone or anything else duty related, but because they genuinely wanted to support the students! For example during the recent volleyball tournament, the football team was playing at the same time & the staff went above & beyond by setting up the projector in the weight room near the volleyball court to stream the football team playing. This way the students on the volleyball team were still able to cheer for their friends on the football team! A testament to how the school has shifted in a positive direction! 1635: School Liaison comments Traffic patter change – the crosswalk project is scheduled to continue to 23 November with LED lighting installation & work on the opposite side of the street. Teacher question: “How will we get to the teacher parking lot when they start working on the crosswalk opposite TLA?” School Liaison: A follow up with PWD is necessary. Updates will be disseminate. Installation Exercise - Thank you to the community for the participation & support during the Operational Readiness Assessment Exercise last week. IAC has requested more information/permission to conduct an integrated lock down exercise with local law enforcement (NSA security) & NMHS security. Currently we are restricted in how our law enforcement (NMHS) can participate & what that participation looks like. Right now that participation is limited. The integrated security exercise will allow NMHS security team, teachers, & students to participate; maybe around January timeframe. Internet outage – Last month the lengthy outage was brought to the attention of both DODEA & NCTS Europe. It is a multi-layered/faceted problem involving contract reviews, etc. At the next IAC, one of the due outs is evaluating alternate solution sets. Power outages will happen, which means the internet will go out, so the due out is to determine what can be done to mitigate that & limit the impact on instructional time & student progress. PA System – Still a work in progress. Has the command’s attention. DODEA Computer Acquisition Program – Rolling out soon. Principal elaborated that “467 computers will be coming between 1 December 2018 & 1 January 2019 with a plan to image & deploy them within 60 days of 1January. It is still unclear how the computers will be coming in. The priority appears to be first in – first out for incremental replacements. If they all arrive at once, the student computers will be replaced first simultaneously with the plan to deploy Career Technology Engineering (CTE; Mr. Mills’ class) replacements one-to-one with as little impact on students as possible, with the reality being that there will be some impact as the new computers are deployed. Anticipated completion date is 31 March for deployment of new computers & distribution of replacement computers to other DODEA schools since most of the computers being replaced are still under warranty & are effective.” Scholarship Night – 5 February 2019. Cyber Awareness - Over the last couple of weeks there have been lots of presentations from NCIS. Students have created an informational video to increase parental awareness and poll them on their cyber/social media knowledge. Principal took a moment to emphasize how collaborative NCIS has been. Although the collaborative effort extends throughout the command, Agent Harper (?) has really had a high profile at our school, working and talking with the children about difficult topics and really starting to get a pulse on our students. A huge “Thank you!” to them. 1649: Chairman opened the floor for any final comments. Parent question: “Is there any information on where asbestos is located in the school? There wasn’t any detail provided in the letter sent out to parents.” Principal explained the letter that was sent out is an annual requirement from DODEA to notify staff, students, & parents that there is asbestos in the school. Parents are encouraged to review the school’s Asbestos Management Plan which provides details on suspected & confirmed asbestos locations including areas that are inaccessible to staff & students.. The plan is inspected by external entities every three years. Every six months a visual inspection of the accessible spaces containing suspected/confirmed asbestos is required. The last visual inspection was completed on 11 August 2018. Librarian question: “What exactly is being done by DODEA Europe to try to fix the internet problem? The frustration is that we’re losing connectivity for days vs. hours.” School Liaison & Principal informed all attendees of the following: (1) the school is on a separate power grid with its source being looped in from Aversa, (2) DODEA is not on the same line nor has the same contract as other parts of the base, and (3) the DODEA Europe contract supports all of Europe not just Naples. These factors combined, increases the time lag between outage, identification, & restoration. The circuitous trouble ticket routing process further hinders restoration speed. Recent changes in the plan now allows the school to call in trouble tickets Monday through Sunday & includes routine maintenance to help facilitate smooth daily operation. Staff question: “Can teachers be provided access to the IT’s cell phone for faster reporting?” Principal stated that was something to think about. Parent question: “Are backup generators possible?” Librarian offered that 13 years ago the cost of backup generators was researched to be approximately $1 million. Because the option was cost prohibitive then, it may be even more so now. Principal reiterated that DODEA, Mirabella, and the command has worked hard to minimize internet problems associated with power outages. There is now a backup card & local IT diagnosis available. 1706: Chairman announced the next quarterly meeting dates; 27 February 2019 & 1 May 2019. Meeting adjourned.