ELAC/Board Meeting Blog

This assignment was very interesting for a couple of reasons.  First of all, one of my duties this year is to oversee the English learner program which includes ELAC.  I had to develop an agenda for our first meeting and it went very well.  Since it was our first meeting, the agenda items included introductions, elections, introduction of the different sections of the ELAC binder, future dates, and a survey for upcoming discussions.  The meeting was very well attended and lasted about 45 minutes.  I was excited by the turnout and the opportunity to make our parents feel more connected to the school.
The board meeting was quite an experience.  After some pleasant presentations from the Sanger High ASB President and a gift from the Tom Flores Foundation the meeting turned pretty tense.  Some teachers in the district were pretty upset about the current observation form and some felt that they would be facing placement in our PAR program if things did not change.  Everyone's mood changed and the board and district administration asked that the issue be looked into and resolved.  Overall, it was a good meeting and a unique experience into yet another side of the education world. 

Budget Blog

The budget activity was very helpful in learning about the different funding sources at our school.  I was amazed at the amount of money we spend each year.  It was also interesting to see how we pay for our CSP's whose salary come from our EIA funding.  My school feels that this is the best way to spend our money- on people. 

Last Session

I was really impressed with Dr. Bradley's knowledge of school finances.  His discussion regarding school and district budgets was interesting as well as information on bonds and taxes.  I appreciated the background as to why California struggles to adequately fund its schools.  The Priest decision and Proposition 13 definitely changed the way California allots money to its schools.  As a leader, it is extremely important to know how to manage your school's finances and use the money to accomplish the goals set forth by your mission.  At my school, we choose to use a significant amount of money on our Curriculum Support Providers.  They assist the Assistant  Principal's with classroom walkthroughs and coaching and serve as a bridge between administration and the teachers.  Our high English learner population also requires us to properly fund our ELD and intervention programs.  Thank you for bringing in such knowledgeable leaders to share their information with us.