Venice High School

School Advisory Council

September 8th, 2003

 

 

 

The initial meeting of the Venice High School – School Advisory Council was called to order on September 8th at 6:30 p.m. by Principal, Candy Millington. The chairperson, Cheryl Bolton, was unable to attend. The following people were in attendance:  Elena Solanes, Steve Joselson, Bob Hirter, Gary Mitchell, Greg B. Miller, Lisa Callaghan, Arnall Cox, Kathleen Castellano, Leslie Bachtel, Viki Ragas, Rachel Bodi, Anne McClellan, Sue DeCosta, Kim Kindell, Peter Lear and Claudine Anderson.

 

The first order of business was a discussion of the guidelines and function of the Participatory Management Team.  This group is designed to work in concert with other representative groups such as the School Advisory Council.  After a brief discussion among the Council members, Claudine Anderson was nominated and accepted the position of the SAC/PMT representative.

 

Next, Susan DeCosta was introduced to the Council as our newest assistant principal.  It was acknowledged that SAC member, Lisa Callaghan, was a member of the AP selection committee along with Mrs. Millington.  Following her introduction, Ms. DeCosta spent a few minutes re-introducing the council membership to the guidelines and responsibilities of the VHS School Advisory Council.

 

Following a review of the tenure and open positions on the Council for 2003-2004, the following candidates for election will be voted upon by those parents and citizens who attend the September 15th VHS Open House.

 

1.                  Lisa Callaghan

2.                  Kim Kindell

3.                  Kathleen Castellano

4.                  Claudine Anderson

5.                  Sally Struble

 

Mr. Greg Miller was introduced to give a brief report on the 2003 Senior Awards Night.  This event was co-sponsored by the Rotary Futures and the National Honor Society.  He

presented highlights which included the smooth planning that permitted more seniors to receive more awards during a more expeditious presentation process.  Presenters were served a small buffet in a comfortable setting as they were readied and escorted to the podium for their presentations.  Recipients along with presenters were all photographed against a formal background in order to preserve the moment for posterity.  It was indeed an evening to remember.

 

Mrs. Millington explained the “accreditation” controversy to the membership and  answered questions from the Council.  The only negative citation was that of an inadequate music suite and that issue was being addressed by the Sarasota County School Board’s long range facilities committee.  Their report, which will be issued shortly, will result in the removal of Venice High from any further sanctions.

 

Mrs. Millington proceeded with two separate, but connected reports on the Florida A+ school report and the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) report for the 2003 school year.  A large notebook of related data was shared regarding the “B” status of Venice High School together with a discussion of strategies which will be implemented this year to hopefully reestablish Venice High as an “A” school.

 

The next discussion was an overview of the NCLB data and how Venice High stood in comparison with national expectations.  Every category of student (ESE, ESOL, ethnicity, etc.) would be analyzed and subsequent strategies would be implemented in a concerted effort to meet the anticipated standards.

 

There will be a possibility that a “think tank” of students, teachers, and parents will be formed to implement these future strategies.

 

The final topic was a reminder that the VHS Open House will be held on September 15th at 7:00 p.m.  There was also a mention of the Senior “Futures” meeting being held on the same evening at 5:45 p.m.

 

Prior to adjournment, several council members requested that future Homecomings be scheduled to avoid SAT testing conflicts which cause students to be less focused on the testing.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 p.m.