Wissahickon High School

Parent- Teacher Council Meeting

March 13, 2008

Meeting called to order by Co-President Melissa Selverian at 7:15 p.m. in the audion, with approximately 15 people in attendance.

Guest Speaker: WHS Superintendent Stan Durtan. Principal Bill Hayes was in attendance.

Dr. Durtan offered the following Five Current Topics, as potential areas for discussion and then spent the majority of his time answering audience questions.

1) Administrative Retirements and Rumors

2) PSSAs: Are they important? Yes, there are significant consequences for the school if its students do not achieve proficiency on the PSSAs.

3) Technology Initiatives: They are still evaluating “Where we go from here” and how to fund the next initiatives.

4) Rigor of High School: Showing a teaser for the documentary film on global education, "2 Million Minutes."

5) The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids - A book by Madeline Levine.

Questions focused on these topics:

QPAs - Concerns were raised about how the Quarterly Progress Assessments may be fitting poorly into student schedules considering the numerous other projects and tests students face at the end of each marking period. Concerns were also raised about the concentration of subject matter delivered to students over a short period of time to ready them for the QPAs. Parents asked whether the QPAs could be scheduled in the subsequent quarter to reduce the students' burden. They were told the QPAs were required by the state, that they would not be eliminated, and that there was limited flexibility in the dates they are scheduled. Parents asked whether the teachers could revise their curricula keeping the QPAs in mind from the beginning of the year so that tests and projects did not compete with them. They were told that discussions were under way with the curriculum director,

faculty and administration to improve the scheduling of exams and projects and the delivery of material during the QPA administration period.

New Faculty - Status update: Most are doing well, some are not, leading to a discussion of how to deal with teachers with whom there have been problems.

Graduation Projects - The program is being restructured, but this year's sophomores should follow existing guidelines for their junior year.

The Scheduling Process - The last two years' chaos was attributed to two factors: new personnel and a new software program. The administration is optimistic about next year's schedules, and student selection data has already been loaded into the software to ensure a smoother process in the '08-'09 school year.

The Guidance Department - With the myriad of tasks counselors have, are they able to advocate for the students as effectively as they should? Suggestions were made for administrators to set a clearer vision for guidance counselors, reprioritizing the counselors' work to focus more on the

individual student's needs (e.g., challenging them more specifically in their selection of coursework and co-curricular activities to align more specifically with potentially appropriate college matches); and to alleviate the counselors' administrative burden in order to give them the time to focus more specifically and intently on each student's post-secondary path.

PTC Co-Presidents’ Comments:

*Prom Committee: Parent meeting scheduled with Bill Hayes on March 26 to discuss prom scheduling to avoid conflicts with AP exams. Attendance is limited. If you have a concern/suggestion, please let Melissa know ASAP at Melissaselverianptc@comcast.net.

*Wissahickon Eats Out on Monday, April 14: Use the vouchers found in the newsletter and enjoy a meal at Uno and/or Agave Grill to raise money for the PTC.

*WHS Student Council: has asked parents to help at the April 25 Pep Rally by offering supervision and/or preparing treats.

*The Newsletter is online and will be in the mail soon. (The file has been reduced in size so it is much easier to load on the computer! Please visit http://whs.wsdweb.org/news/ptcmarch.pdf

The PTC presented the following committee reports:

*February 14, 2008 minutes approved.

*Staff Appreciation Luncheon on April 3: Please contact Terri Hutsell at jhutsell @comcast.net to help with food and service. They could use some extra hands!

*Treasurer's Report: Concessions were a great success!

*Spirit Balls: Planning to sell at graduation and when the eighth

graders visit the high school.

*Staff Spirit: The final event is Dessert Day on May 14. Don't forget to contribute a dessert!

Meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

Next meeting on Thursday, April 10, 7 p.m.

Tracey Burgoyne, Secretary