2004-12-17 - Laserfiche WebLink

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form partnerships with educational and community organizations to address student needs and support school division priorities; to continually engage parents in the educational process; to develop and execute a community relations plan; and to align division funds to support student needs and major initiatives needed for student achievement. Dr. Griffin said these goals will be finalized by the School Board and shared with the public. She said they do not include an implementation strategy. Ms. Smith said that the School Board has decided to lift the moratorium on out of system students. Dr. Brown asked about the current thinking about the Book Buddies program. Ms. Smith said the School Board has not had a formal discussion about the Book Buddies program. Dr. Griffen said she has not recommended cutting the Book Buddies program per se. Mr. Lynch said that last year the number of volunteers for the program was cut from 150 to 75. He said he would be okay with a different program if it is shown to be effective. Dr. Griffin said that an outside assessment of the program is needed, but she is not recommending that be done this year. Mr. Ed Gillespie, Finance Director for the Schools, said there were no personnel cuts in the Book Buddies program. Ms. Peggy Van Yahres, School Board member, said she does not think all school programs should be judged on a cost benefit analysis basis. Dr. Griffin said information on the mediation and intervention programs were given to the auditors as requested by Mr. Lynch, but they were not doing assessments on all of these. She said a status report is being done on these interventions and the School Board will prioritize which ones assessments will be done on. Mr. Lynch asked that an electronic copy be provided when available. Mr. Lynch suggested that programs be identified that have a cost avoidance component to them. He said education policies can help deal with generational poverty. Dr. Griffin said intervention programs cannot be looked at in isolation. She said we need to take time and do the assessments in the coming years. Ms. Hamilton said she has heard that the Alternative School program is not big enough to handle the need. Dr. Griffin said she would like to do an assessment of the Alternative School program, though is not recommending that it be done at this time. She said she is upset about our program. She said it needs a parent component at the front end and throughout the process. She said the space is extremely small and expensive. She said a mentoring component is also needed. She said she does not want to do anything piecemeal about the program. The meeting was adjourned. President Clerk