Call to the Audience: New Science teacher, Ashton Hartman, wanted to learn more about Sahuaro culture and what Site Council is; she stayed for the duration of the meeting.

Action Items:
1. Mr. Estrella approved minutes from May meeting; Maria second.

Discussion Items:
1. Faculty Items
a. Introduction of members – Eva Lange, facilitator, teaches English and sponsors the school newspaper (www.shsthepapercut.org) ; Stephen Long teaches Art, Michael Halfmann teaches photography, 3D Animation, and sponsors the Yearbook; Maria Saavedra has a sophomore; Christina Hernandez is new to Site Council and she has a freshman; Nelson Brown has a sophomore and a junior; Lori Emrich is the Finance Manager; Darryl Day is a local business owner; Patricia Hurley is Sahuaro’s new assistant principal in charge of instruction and operations; Mr. Estrella is the principal (others were absent).
b. Power wash stair cases – although this was not completed prior to school starting, it is now almost complete.
c. Admin/Security presence throughout year during passing and lunch
Before school: One member is located at the Vicksburg gate to the south parking lot. The remaining members are circulating on campus in the court yards by the cafeteria and auditorium.
During lunch: One member of Security is located between the 100 and 200 building and one security member is located between the 200 and 300 buildings. Both members are positioned on the west-side facing the cafeteria. Another member is located in front of McConnell Gym. The forth member is on the guard house at the entrance to the school.
After school: Security members are posted at the Vicksburg gate, in front of McConnell Gym, between building 100/200 and 200/300. We will float one of the security personnel if we feel a need in another campus location. Team members will begin the migration of students off campus and follow the crowd as they exit the school gates in the north parking lot.
Passing Period: see before school
Admin – are not anywhere specific during passing period. Admin members float to various locations at lunch in both patio areas and cafeteria. Admin team is specific to after school supervision: one at the bus bay, one in the student parking lot north (church gates), one in patio area near admin building and a floater, who moves to areas that may require additional supervision and as students are migrating to parking lot moves to the yellow gate at the entry to the north faculty lot by the admin building
d. Addressing the dress code and first period tardies – Tardies are a Level 1 Offense. This should first be addressed between student and teacher, then parent and teacher. Teachers may assign lunch or after-school detention; however, the parent must be informed prior to the detention. A teacher may opt to do this in the classroom or use the referral form (new teachers, ask front office) and submit to either: Erika, Sarah, or Gigi in the admin building with documentation of parental contact and assigned detention date. Lunch detention is served in the activities lobby, after school detention takes places in the cafeteria.
Dress code – if a student is wearing an article of clothing promoting drugs, alcohol, or violence, send them to the restroom to put the shirt inside out. If the student’s top is inappropriate, send them to Erika with a note. Any staff member can send a student to Erika for a T-shirt. We do not have shorts for students.
e. New teacher support – Mrs. Hurley is the main administrator for this. A meeting with all new Cougars will be forthcoming. Department Chairs are a good reference point as well. New teachers need to be familiarized with support staff on campus, referral process, acronyms, and how to get involved in Cougar life.
2. Principal report
a. Synergy – the rollover began last October. The transition has had a few faux pas (room numbers missing from schedule, freezing, not “talking” to other programs, clogs, etc.); however, most errors were caught early and rectified. For example, “First-day-of-school Schedule Pickups” – last year the line took some students into3rd period. This year, with Lori’s guidance, all schedules were distributed ½ way through 1st period. Parents can pick up Access Codes during Open House or in-person with a proper ID. Directions will be given out and they can access grades, attendance, etc. via phone, tablet, laptop, etc. Teachers received a crash course training starting last April. There was a ninety minute refresher training two days before school started. Teachers are still learning how to use the program, as is the rest of the staff. TUSD hopes to help students gain access to the system next week.
b. Enrollment – Sahuaro’s budget was for 1,703 students; we began the year at 1,945 students. Typically, we lose 50-75 students in 1st ten days as no-shows. After day 40, the projection is about 1830. We will get more funding to open more sections. Mr. Estrella currently sees a need for: 2 sections of 9th grade English, 1 section of STEM, 1 section of Biology, 2 sections of Algebra 1, 1 section of Honors Geometry, and one of Spanish. He said that Open Enrollment has reduced from last year, translating to we are retaining more neighborhood students. We predicted 500 freshmen; we started with 557. The no-shows are all currently being contacted.
c. Tax Credit and Grants – most of what S.C. voted on for tax credit spending was completed. A few items had to be postponed to check for compatibility. Through a grant, Sahuaro is receiving over 60 Proximas and bulbs, document cameras, and 23 COWS (30 laptops per Computer on Wheels). The goal is to get another grant next year for bandwidth.
3. Parent report
a. The PTSA’s main purpose for forming was to improve communication with parents, but because of Parentlink and The Paper Cut, that need has been mitigated. Although they are having a meeting immediately before Open House, unless a parent steps up to spearhead the committee, they will disband. Maria explained that they must have insurance and it is not cost-effective. While they do like having an EIN#, they can still do the Costco paper drive and other fundraisers for the school.
b. There is parental concern that some students go to conference to meet with a teacher, and the teacher is not present. There are instances of IEP or 504 meetings a teacher may have to attend, or another type of meeting. Teachers are on contract to be here for conference. If a teacher must go to a meeting, the teacher should leave a note on the door with a time they will be back. Teachers should not be late. There is peer tutoring in the Career Center. There will be greater effort put forth to have more students in classrooms and not loitering. MTSS will assign conference period to struggling students. Parents would like to see conference made mandatory. Admin is discussing alternatives. Expectations for conference will be discussed during Open House.
4. Student Council report (no report, no students present)
5. Community report
a. Mr. Day expressed that Open House should be enthusiastic. As a parent, he attended Open House and enjoyed a teacher’s enthusiasm for their subject. He attended some where the teacher seemed ambivalent or not happy about speaking to parents. He wishes everyone a great year.
Request for Action Item: Lori ended the meeting with a request for an Action Item. Lori would like some of the undesignated tax credit money to purchase: a remote for a Panasonic projector that was stolen over the summer, 10-20 additional graphing calculators, and headphones for a soundboard. Site Council will meet virtually on August 23 to vote for approval rather than wait a month to submit a purchase order.

Announcements: The next meeting of the Sahuaro Site Council will be September 13, 2016. The meeting adjourned at 5:42.