Parent Advisory Council Meeting
AUGUST 09, 2018

The Parent Advisory Council Meeting was held on Thursday, August 9, 2018 at Warren County Schools Central Office.
Parent Advisory Members Present:

Bobby Ray:     Andrea Tallent
Centertown:
Dibrell:     Alan Collins, Tommy Culwell
Eastside:
Hickory Creek: 
Morrison:     
WCHS:        
WCMS:      
West:        

Mr. Cox called the meeting to order at 5:00pm and welcomed the members. 
Mr. Cox discussed the startup of the school year. Enrollment has picked up – about 74 students above last year. Online registration forms were in use and the members present stated their children had been registered online with no issues.
Mr. Cox gave a review of the new website www.warrenschools.com and showed the members where to find the board policies, school information, budgets, salaries, etc. 
Mrs. Vickie Dodd gave an update on school safety. The schools are now working to establish a quick plan flowchart for emergencies. The comprehensive plan for the state is quite large, and this would make finding what to do/who to contact faster during an emergency.
Schools still have the same SRO officers as last year. However, there is a new sheriff elected that has the authority to move them as he sees fit. The members present showed concern about moving the SRO’s that are familiar with the children, parents and school. Per Mr. Cox, the sheriff has that authority, but they may want to make their concerns known. Mr. Cox is to meet with the new sheriff and stated he would voice their concern.
Mrs. Dodd stated that grant money is being used for vestibule upgrades for safety at WCMS & WCHS. Bobby Ray and West Elementary vestibules are in upgrade building plans. Grant money  is also being used for security fencing at Bobby Ray, West, and WCMS.
Mrs. Dodd stated that there is a 3rd SRO officer being added to WCHS.
SRO officers walked all school buildings in May with Marc Martin and Jarvis Johnson looking for any security issues. There have also been some good tips sent to TEXT-A-TIP that is manned by SROs.

The next meeting is scheduled for October 18, 2018 at 5:00pm (rescheduled due to fall break).
 

The Parent Advisory Council Meeting was held on October 16, 2018 at Warren County Schools Central Office.

Parent Advisory Members Present:
 
Bobby Ray:       Andrea Tallent
Centertown:     Jenna Sullens
Dibrell:              Alan Collins, Tommy Culwell
Eastside:           Calisha Woodlee
Hickory Creek: 
Morrison:     
WCHS:              Julia Noblin    
WCMS:             Darla Seymour    
West:                Mandy Eller    
    
     
Mr. Cox called the meeting to order at 5:00pm and welcomed the members. Introductions of new members were made. 
Mr.  Cox gave a presentation which included the following information:

    •  Priority Areas: Benefits for Teachers and Staff; Building/Energy Upgrades; Improve Student Literacy County-Wide; Improve Digital Learning & Infrastructure; Work to Secure a Grant Writer County-Wide

    •  TN Value Added Assessment (TVAAS) Scores presented

    •  Chronic Absenteeism: Elementary – Approx. 95% students present daily; High School – 92% present daily; District Wide absentee rate – 14.4%

    •  Graduation Rate: In 2013, WC Schools graduation rate was 87.5% and has steadily increased to 95.9% in 2017. The state average is 87%

    •  ACT Benchmark: 13.5% hit all four college benchmarks; Composite average is 18.9 with the goal being 21. In 2017, 35.2% were eligible for Hope Scholarship

    •  CTE Program: Warren Co. Schools CTE program won a Lean Frog Contest grand championship for $5,000 to go toward the CTE Program. Mr. Cox showed a video featuring the STEM students & instructors of WCHS & Motlow, TN Commissioner of Education Candice McQueen, area industry employers and himself. The link to copy and paste into a browser for viewing is:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIyF1kJpEBQ&feature=youtu.be

Discussion:
    •  One member asked if there was any way to help control noise in the cafeterias with high ceilings and no sound absorption materials. Mr. Cox stated that he would address this and find a resolution. 

    •  Coat Donations: Mr. Cox stated that Rotary, Junior Auxiliary and WC Schools are working together to collect coats for kids. The coats will be distributed through the WC Schools Family Resource Center as well as Junior Auxiliary. 

The next meeting is scheduled for December 13, 2018 at 5:00pm. The meeting adjourned at 5:55.
 

Parent Advisory Council Meeting
DECEMBER 13, 2018

The Parent Advisory Council Meeting was held on December 13, 2018 at Warren County Schools Central Office.

Parent Advisory Members Present:
Bobby Ray:    
Centertown:     Cheryl Bratcher, Jenna Sullens
Dibrell:               Alan Collins, Tommy Culwell
Eastside:            Calisha Woodlee
Hickory Creek:  Brooke Totherow
Irving College:   Alyse Woodlee
Morrison:       
WCHS:               Julia Noblin    
WCMS:    
West:      

Mr. Cox was absent, so the meeting was called to order by Vickie Dodd at 5:00pm. 

A presentation was given by the Central Office department directors advising what each departments responsibilities are. Presentations were given by:

Autumn Turner - PreK-6 Curriculum/Instruction
Faye Taylor-School Nutrition
Robin Phillips-Equity and Legal Com
Candice Willmore-Special Education
Kim Henegar-ESL and Testing
Sonja Walker-Health Services
Shannon Railing – Coordinated School Health
Jeff Martin-Attendance
Katrina Haley-Technology (Katrina was absent. Vickie Dodd reviewed the department)
Vickie Dodd - Federal Programs
Carl Curtis-7-12 Curriculum/Instruction

The next meeting is scheduled for January 10, 2018 at 5:00 pm. The meeting adjourned at 6:50.

Parent Advisory Council Meeting - JANUARY 10, 2019

The Parent Advisory Council Meeting was held on January 10, 2019 at Warren County Schools Central Office.

Parent Advisory Members Present:
Bobby Ray:    Brian Carr                            Irving College:    
Centertown:    Cheryl Bratcher                Morrison:    
Dibrell:    Alan Collins, Tommy Culwell    WCHS:    
Eastside:    Calisha Woodlee                     WCMS:    Tina Smith
Hickory Creek:                                            West:    Trevor Galligan

 Mr. Cox began the meeting at 5:00 p.m. by having all members introduce themselves as there were some new members present.

Testing - Mr. Cox discussed the online testing difficulties from last year and the remediation plan for WCHS that is in place. WCHS will do online testing again this year, but will be in English I & II, Algebra I, II and Geometry. There will be no Science or Social Studies in 3rd-8th testing or WCHS testing. All accountability will come from English and Math. Members were shown the school website where testing resources could be found, and Mr. Cox stated that proctors are always needed for testing.

•    TN Ready Parent Resource Page:                https://www.tn.gov/education/assessment/tnready/tnready-parent-resources.html

•    For information on student assessments in TN - https://www.tn.gov/education.html

Climate Survey -Vickie Dodd, Federal Programs Director discussed the Climate Survey that closes February 1st, 2019. This survey is for teachers, students and parents and takes only about 10 minutes. Mrs. Dodd stressed the importance of the survey stating that the results are used in many ways as well as for district planning. She asked that the members take the survey and share with other parents to encourage participation. The survey can be found by going to each school website under the "parents" section (all schools are listed under "schools" on the www.warrenschools.com district website).

Open Discussion – Topics discussed by the members were:
•    Teachers having to find resources to meet standards – (6 yr. textbook adoption) 
•    Taking away recess as punishment - policies/laws 
•    Online report cards and using testing scores as part of final grades or using another type of reward system for doing well on the test – Survey will be sent out
•    Online registration completion issues

Mr. Cox adjourned the meeting at 6:01pm. The next meeting will be March 14, 2019.
 

The Parent Advisory Council Meeting was held on May 9, 2019 at Warren County Schools Central Office.

Members Present: 

Bobby Ray: Brian Carr

Dibrell: Alan Collins

Eastside: Calisha Woodlee

WCHS: Julia Noblin

WCMS: Tina Smith

Mr. Cox began the meeting at 5:00 p.m.

Suicide Training/Prevention- Mr. Cox discussed current suicide prevention and training that is continuing, including obtaining mental health counselors, Gaggle monitors on student communication, and Stop It app.

Energy Savings – Mr. Cox spoke on the energy savings that can already be seen since the ESG energy savings project began and is continuing.

Climate Survey results- will be sent to members by school.

Workbooks – one member asked about half empty workbooks and if the school system is buying books that are not needed.

Online Report Cards -Survey that was sent out about receiving online report cards was 50/50. Per Mr. Cox they will keep working toward online cards.

Chromebooks – All 8^th Grade should have Chromebooks and will begin on lower grades.

Next two schools in line for upgrades after Bobby Ray and West are WCMS and Eastside.

ACT Scores – improved. More students have scored 30+ than before. Still not at the 21 or above for all students, but that is the goal.

Testing – Testing went much better this year with no major issues.

Summer Programs – Read to be Ready – 2^nd week in June. Autumn Turner oversees this program (West Morrison, Dibrell & Centertown). Young Scholars Institute (YSI) will also be going on. School libraries will be open on certain days in the summer.

New Kindergarten Parent Meeting – will be Monday at 5:00 at Bobby Ray

District School Supply List – is being finalized. The list will be by grade level. Individual schools may have wish lists as well.

Other items discussed:

·       Some schools need more Partners in Education

·       PTO – Get together and share ideas of how to get more participation. Giving specific jobs to parents helps and having meetings along with other events helps as well.

·       Need to get the word out about who school representatives are

·       School Support Organizations can be found online.

 

 

The next meeting will be August 8, 2019.

 

Parent Advisory Meeting Minutes - August 8, 2019

The Parent Advisory Council Meeting was held on August 8, 2019 at Warren County Schools Central Office.

Parent Advisory Members Present:
Bobby Ray - Brian Carr
Eastside - Calisha Woodlee
WCMS- Tina Smith
West- Trevor Galligan

Mr. Cox began the meeting at 5:00 p.m.

There was a short discussion regarding the first day of school (August 7th). Mr. Cox also reviewed the ongoing construction at the schools.
Mr. Cox asked for suggestions on having a district-wide parent/school support organization meeting. Mr. Carr suggested having this meeting at the same time as the already scheduled School Support Organization meeting on August 26, 2019 at WCHS. The meeting begins at 6:00 and per Mr. Cox they could spend the second half of the meeting discussing how to raise money and promote parental involvement. It was also suggested by Mr. Carr that a promotional video be made to inform parents of the meeting as well as who their parent advisory representatives are.. Mr. Cox stated that he would encourage principals to attend as well.

Mr. Cox asked for meeting topic suggestions for the upcoming meetings. Some that were requested were:

1. Central Office Staff Updates
2. Testing – What parents can do to prepare their students (not just district testing information)
3. Law – What parents need to know
4. Education – People to discuss different topics
5. Mental Health

Mr. Cox discussed the new Stop It app for students in 6-12th grade. Students can log on to the app and report anything needed to administrators anonymously. This can included photos and videos. Vickie Dodd will send flyers to the members with more information on the app.

Accountability comes out from the state next week (on August 13, on state website on August 15,2019). This is for achievement, growth, absenteeism, ESL & Graduation rate. Mr. Cox will go over these results at the October meeting. District report card comes out in November.
Mr. Cox spoke about the  secure entry vestibules at the schools, fencing and that local law enforcement know the building and have maps, keys, etc. Other security measures are being reviewed as well.

The upcoming meeting dates for 2019-2020 are:

Thursday, October 17, 2019
Thursday, December 12, 2019
 Thursday, February 13, 2020
 Thursday, April 9, 2020

The meeting adjourned at 5:45
The next meeting will be Thursday, October 17, 2019.

Parent Advisory Meeting: 10/17/19

The Parent Advisory Council Meeting was held on October 17, 2019  at Warren County Schools Central Office

Parent Advisory Members Present:

Bobby Ray: Brian Carr        
Centertown: 
Dibrell:    
Eastside: Calisha Woodlee        
Hickory Creek:
Irving College:
Morrison: Erica Payne, Cindy Saldana            
WCMS: 
WCHS:        
West:     

 
Mr. Cox began the meeting at 5:00 p.m. 

The meeting began with introductions as there were two new members representing Morrison Elementary – Erica Payne & Cindy Saldana.

Accountability Results - Mr. Cox discussed accountability results from the state. TN Ready results – improved in all academic areas as a district except for English Language Arts. The district has been pushing ELA and reading. Chronic absenteeism rate was lower, but still needs improvement. Improved Ready Graduate rate as well. State Report Card comes out at the end of November.  

Parent/School Support Organizations – The School Support meeting held in August was discussed. Communication between support organizations at each school was a plus. It was mentioned that having schools communicate regarding fundraisers to diversify items being sold would be of great benefit as to not saturate the community with the same fundraiser items. Fall festivals and veterans programs would be great opportunities to initiate parental involvement. 

Safety Update – Vickie Dodd – Vickie Dodd, Safety and Federal Programs Director, discussed safety in the district. Mrs. Dodd stated that every school has a formal safety plan. There are also designated evacuation areas, and that there are annual planning meetings with law enforcement. The state requires drills throughout the year. 
Mrs. Dodd discussed the following avenues that students can use to report bullying, cyber-bulling, dangerous situations, etc.: 

•    STOP IT App for students in 6-12th grade. Students can log on to the app and report anything needed to administrators anonymously. This can include photos and videos. Also, the principal can communicate with the person and ask questions if needed through the app. Each school has a code that is posted throughout the buildings and this code is used when downloading the app. 
•    SafeTN App – TN Dept. of Safety & Homeland Security App – This is an app from the state that can be downloaded and used for reporting. Anyone can report 24/7 and it is monitored by the state. 
•    TEXT-A-TIP – 931-952-6770 – Text information concerning public safety related to any school. This tip line goes to a School Resource Officer who will investigate 

Mrs. Dodd encouraged the committee to promote and encourage others to use these resources. 

Mr. Cox discussed the vaping campaign. There are more ways of using vaporless now, and there are presentations being made at the schools to bring awareness. 

The meeting adjourned at 5:55pm.
The next meeting will be Thursday, December 12, 2019.