Friends of CAHS PTA Minutes
August 5, 2008
The meeting was called to order at 6:30pm in the Third Floor Conference Room of the Main Library downtown. Ten paid members, and fifteen additional parents were present. Joining the members and parents were Amal Haji: President of the 2008-2009 Robotics Team, Dr. Dixon: CAHS Principal, and Mr. Qualls: CAHS Vice Principal. President, Anne Hoke led the meeting, and Stephanie Ludwig acted as Secretary.
Introductions: All those present introduced themselves. Dr. Dixon gave a brief summary of her history as an educator, and stated that such a big group of involved PTA parents was new to her. She had just reported to CAHS yesterday and was still getting acclimated to the school, but anticipated that there would be little to no changes. She stressed that she wanted to be involved in the PTA, and that she and both Vice Principals (Mr. Qualls and Mr. Dodrill) will be joining the PTA as well. Mr. Qualls introduced himself and said that his big project last year at Independence High School was to organize a Care Team of mental health providers for the care and ultimate success of the students. His immediate goal this year is to ready the previous “Welcome Center” space in the building for the incoming freshmen. He said that he would also be taking over the responsibilities of the Parent Assistant Module and the Robotics Team.
Robotics Program: Mr. Qualls said that he had met with Dr. O to discuss the Robotics team and had planned to take over the responsibility of leading the Robotics team. He indicated that he did not have an engineering or physics background, but had knowledge of computer technology. He was willing to devote a few hours after school and on the weekends to the team, and to attend competitions with them. He explained that CAHS could have an alliance with South High School, but each school would have its separate team to allow for more grant money. He indicated that funding was based on the number of students, and said that it was his impression that the team of seven were the only students which were interested in being on the team this year; he did not believe that there had been any reduction in team members for this year as suggested by a few of the parents present. Mr. Qualls said that he was trying to get a new computer lab at CAHS which could be used specifically for Robotics, and he assured parents that he and Dr. O would meet with the financial supporters.
Parent Assistant Module: Mr. Qualls explained the Parent Assistance Module piloted last spring by the parents of CAHS which allowed them to check grades, homework, credits and attendance online as well as correspond directly to the teachers via email. He noted that the only problem of which he was aware was the teachers’ lack of response during the pilot. Mr. Qualls indicated that he feels that the faculty at CAHS is very dedicated and work extremely long hours, and that they would be encouraged to use the new Module. He said that security features would be added in, and there were other features in the works to make it more user friendly including the addition of an icon on the CAHS website. Most likely, there will be several orientations for parents. Dr. Dixon asked the PTA to come up with a name for the new Parent Assistant Module.
Robotics Program: Dr. Dixon and Mr. Qualls left the meeting and further discussion among the parents, members, and Miss Haji concerning the Robotics program at CAHS ensued. Anne Hoke relayed to the group what she knew about the Robotics team: the reduction of the team this year, the initial vision of the team to be the hub in Columbus, the grant money possibly available, and information regarding the corporate sponsors. Miss Haji gave an overview of what the Robotics Team has done in the past two years. There was a lengthy discussion as to what was needed to support the team, and what the next step should be. It was decided that the issue will be revisited next Thursday to allow Dr. Dixon more time to fully digest the PTA’s concerns and work on possible solutions. Robotic team members and their parents will be invited to join the meeting on August 14th.
Internships: Julia Harrison explained the internship program to the new parents in which the upperclassmen participate every Wednesday for the entire length of the day. Typically, internship placements are not known by the students until September or October, and some are not placed due to a lack of available internships. Julia and Jeff Sherman have been working with other parents to find more internships for the students, and will meet with Mrs. Norton the week of the 18th to review her system, and possibly make suggestions for improvement.
Author Series: Anne Hoke explained the Author Series started last year by the PTA that brought authors and poets into the school for lectures to students and parents. Michelle Herman, who is head of the OSU Creative Writing Department and a member of the PTA, is looking for new authors, and a way to increase student attendance this year.
School Store: It was explained that Chaunte Banks, President of the Senior Class, approached the PTA last spring to request $500 in start-up money to start a school store in the building. The store would be run by the seniors, and the store profits would go to the Senior Class. The PTA agreed to lend the money to the seniors for the start-up (initial supplies) of the new school store, provided that Kim Dillard met with the students to explain and formulate a business plan with them. The students did meet to formulate a business plan, but their advisor, Mr. Matticola, decided to give the students a gift of $500 rather than borrow it from the PTA. A committee comprised of Kim Dillard and Jeff Sherman will meet to evaluate the pros and cons as to whether or not the CAHS bracelets, decals and t-shirts sold by the PTA should be sold through the school store, or continue to be only sold through the PTA.
Credit Recovery: Pat Enciso explained what Credit Recovery was, the problems with the program, and the strides that the PTA has taken in the past to improve the program. There was some discussion regarding the inconsistencies in the program from school to school.
Committee Descriptions: Chairmen of the Alumni Association Committee, the Grant Writing Committee, the Hospitality Committee, and the Publicity Committee, and the Activities Coordinator explained the purpose and efforts of those committees. Sign up sheets were passed around to sign up for committees.
New Blog: Greg Hoke provided an overview of the new PTA Blog which can be found at http://cahspta.blogspot.com
First Day of School and Pegasus Preview: The PTA has traditionally provided breakfast foods and refreshments for the parents the first day of school. Michele Sherman indicated that she would organize that this year. Additionally, the PTA generally provides ice cream for the Pegasus Preview held in August for the freshmen, but no one has approached the PTA for any assistance with the program this year.
The next meeting will be Thursday, August 14, 2008, 7:00pm at 3620 North High Street.
Respectfully submitted
Stephanie Ludwig,CAHS PTA Secretary
