Friends of CAHS PTA minutes
February 5, 2008
Held at Hilltop Library
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by President Penny Winkle. Those present introduced themselves.
Principal Sherry Powell was absent.
Secretary's Report: January minutes were presented and approved.
Membership Report: Edna Reed reported we have 93 members. There will be a renewed effort to get members. There are quite a few people who joined last year who have not joined this year. These people will be contacted and asked if they'd like to join. It was also pointed out that the newly approved by-laws do not permit family memberships (according to National PTA rules). If an important vote were to come up, only one person per membership would be allowed to vote. If anyone wishes to add a membership, please contact Edna.
Treasurer's Report: Trish Geoghegan was ill and unable to attend but sent a report that we have approximately $6100.00 in our account. Some requests are:
l Mrs. Sheets requests the purchase of six biology videos with a total cost of $200.00. This purchase was approved unanimously.
l Dr. O requested the purchase of back-ordered item with a step up in quality which would cost an additional $200.00. This purchase was approved unanimously.
The profits from the Chess Tournament were $899.59. This amount will be split with the Chess Team.
Hospitality Report: Gail Sech reported that the Staff Appreciation event will be Thursday, February 14th. Goodies (with an emphasis on chocolate) are being requested for this day. Edna Reed will coordinate this since Gail will be getting married! (Poor excuse, Gail!) Congratulations!
Publicity Report: Gerry Brevoort reported that reports are in the works for the Robotics team, the PTA grant, and the academic team championship.
Grant Writing Report: Stephanie Ludwig reported that Anne Hoke and Diane Nance have a meeting scheduled with Oakland Nurseries to pursue a school partnership.
Also, Officer Williams is interested in a grant. They are also looking for grants to obtain library books and looking for leads for grants for the Chinese program.
PTA Grant Committee: Mark Hill reported that the committee met and they discussed ideas which include a focus on specific groups of students and parents, such as individual grade levels, and specific topics, such as college readiness, academic information, etc. Food will be provided. The committee will meet again.
OSU OMA Program: Herbert “Trae” Wilborn III from the OSU Office of Minority Affairs will present a program at CAHS on February 28th from 6:30-7:30 pm about how a student's high school performance can pay for his/her college education.
Concern: A parent shared that she heard through her student that many of the current freshmen did not complete the summer homework project. This concern was discussed. Some suggestions that came up were:
l Have summer meetings at area libraries.
l Get upper class students to tutor for service credit.
Dr. Harris meeting, February 6th: Julia Harrison, Chaunte Banks and Penny Winkle will ask the questions which have been formulated by the committee. Some information that Penny got from her conference call with Dr. Harris and Mrs. Powell include:
l The new freshman class will be limited to 175-180 (the size before expansion began).
l She is planning to add additional teachers
l Fifty students with a GPA of 3.0, gifted/talented, and/or high test scores will be admitted to CAHS in a pre-lottery, any who do not get in this way will be in the regular lottery. (Two chances to get in)
Credit Recovery Committee: Pat Enciso, Chuck Zalac, Anne Hoke, Lila Thigpen, and Julie Lovett volunteered to work on a committee to help find ways to improve Credit Recovery at CAHS.
Evaluation of Top Performing High Schools: Anne Hoke presented the document comparing several of the top performing schools recognized in Newsweek. They were evaluated to find what made them successful. Anne thanked those who helped to write and edit it. It will be presented to Dr. Harris at the Feb. 6th meeting.
Block Scheduling: Parent Beth Gerber presented concerns about the effects of block scheduling on the arts, foreign language and math courses. We discussed the fact that these classes are also short-changed by the shortened day. Penny will talk to Mrs. Powell about the concerns.
Scheduling Options: The group expressed concern about continuity and flexibility of classes and emphasis on arts, foreign language with enough time for humanities.
Civil Rights Trip: Anne Hoke is distributing information about trip that visits important sites, including the Underground Museum in Cincinnati, the Martin Luther King birthplace, and Selma and Birmingham. The trip is scheduled for March 25-29 and the cost is $436.00 per student. Up to six students could participate. A chaperone is needed. PTA could pay for one student.
T-Shirt Sale: We will sell black shirts with a white CAHS logo on the left front. We will sell the shirts for $7.50. Edna will check to see if there is additional cost for larger sizes. The price will be adjusted accordingly. The prepay sale will begin at the Bracelet Day Bake Sale. No deadline has been set at this time.
Alumni Association: It was reported that Ms. Thornburg and a group of students are on a project to make history come alive through a grant sponsored by the Ohio Historical Society and Ohio University. They are working to develop a history of CAHS which will include a website. They would like to work in conjunction with the Alumni Association. We would like to work with them.
Next PTA meeting is March 4th at CAHS.
Respectfully submitted,Edna Reed, Secretary
