Northview High School—School Governance Council Meeting
Minutes—July 31, 2014 at 3:00 pm
Meeting Type: Meeting with Public Comment
Members Present:
Ashley Ulrich, Susan Auerbach, Brian Downey (principal—non-voting), Hyejoo Jeong, Terry Lemons;
Jacqueline Royal-Bryant; Sonia Nadel, Sol Aboulafia
Not Present:
Guests Present:
Susan Walker; Amy Booms; Grant Hickey
The following items were on the agenda:
3:00-3:02 Call to Order
3:02-3:05- Approve Agenda/Approve Minutes from May meeting
3:05-3:15- Principal’s Report
3:15-3:25- Election of 2014-15 SGC officers/ Community Members
3:25-3:30- Review Strategic Plan
3:30-3:50- 2014-15 Brainstorming Session
3:50-4:00- Set 2014-15 Meeting Schedule/Announcements
4:00- Meeting Adjourned
Meeting Notes:
The meeting was called to order by Susan Auerbach at 3:05 pm.
Ulrich moved to approve the agenda; Royal-Bryant seconded. Voice vote to approve was unanimous.
Lemons moved to approve the minutes; Royal-Bryant seconded. Voice vote to approve was unanimous.
Principal’s Report
Downey welcomed the new members to the council and introduced our new assistant principal—Amy Booms.
He also addressed the building change. He addressed the new floors in the entrance and courtyard hallway
area, which will save us on upkeep costs. The doorframes have all also been painted blue, to match school
colors. Room 404 was completely remodeled to create a space for the new health sciences course. The turf is
also undergoing a replacement, and the goal is to have it completed by the first home football game. We are
currently on track for that timeline. The track will also be redone, though that process has been more involved,
and that will take a bit longer to complete. Nadel asked how the track remodeling will impact the football
season, and Downey explained that we have gotten covers to lay over the track as it is being redone, so that it
is not damaged. Access for people to walk on the track will be more limited, but that will not impact
spectators.
We’ve also had personnel updates: new principal (Downey), new AP (Booms), and about a dozen new staff
members. Our current estimate for students is for 1910, though we are projected for 1930. The Dean of
Students/ Testing Coordinator position is in the process of being finalized.
Lemons asked Downey about the transition between Brannon to Downey as principal. He addressed the
leadership meeting from earlier in the week and how the ultimate focus will be on students—their growth, the
teaching we do, and the purpose of our work with students. Aboulafia echoed that the leadership meeting was
establishing our focus on students and on making sure the right person is placed in each job. Nadel asked
Downey of his perspective on the emphasis on balance for students. Downey answered that he believes we
need more balance—in helping manage student workloads and stress levels. The Beta Club has an anti-stress
week planned for fall and spring semester, and there are proposed plans to set a “community night” where no
out-of-class assignments will be given once night a month, to let students and teachers all have a “night off.”
Royal-Bryant asked about the public response in regards to eliminating class rank. Downey stated that there
has been virtually no response, which seems to be positive.
Election of 2014-15 SGC Officers/Community Members
Downey appointed LaToya Miley as the new staff position, one of the school assistant principals. The new
community member suggested is Vicki Templet. We discussed both candidates and what they bring to the
council and agreed that they would be strong members.
Auerbach made a motion to nominate Vicki Templet; Royal-Bryant seconded. Voice vote is unanimous.
Auerbach began discussion of the officer positions—for chair, vice chair, and parliamentarian. Walker
explained the job descriptions for each position.
Royal-Bryant nominated Susan Auerbach for chair; Jeong seconded. Auerbach accepted the nomination.
Voice vote was unanimous.
Ulrich nominated Royal-Bryant for vice chair; Auerbach seconded. Royal-Bryant accepted the nomination.
Voice vote was unanimous.
Auerbach nominated Ulrich for parliamentarian; Lemons seconded. Ulrich accepted the nomination. Voice
vote was unanimous.
The student representatives will be the president of the student council and a non-elected group. Last year, we
used National Honor Society president. We will address this at the next meeting.
Review Strategic Plan
We will address the strategic plan review at the next meeting.
Brainstorming Session
Auerbach suggested we look at exempting varsity student athletes from personal fitness. Downey stated that
there might be some mixed responses with PE teachers.
Lemons suggested that we review the process for varsity letters in non-athletic activities (ie: robotics club).
Jeong encouraged us to look into adding a diversity committee to the SGC to reach out to Asian families, in
particular.
Ulrich reiterated the need to consider post-AP options for English.
Meeting Schedule/Announcements
We will plan to keep meetings on the 4th Thursday of each month at 3:45 pm in the Media Center unless
otherwise noted.
Upcoming fall dates are: Aug 28, Sept 18* (a week early), Oct 23, Nov 20, Dec 18* (a week earlier—
and moved to 1 pm because of a testing half-day).
Second semester: Jan 22, Feb 26, March 26, Apr 23, May 21* (at 1 pm because of testing half-day).
RFFs have to be posted for public comment by Nov 13, so the Nov 20th meeting would be the meeting for
public comment, if we have any proposals.
Lemons made a motion to adjourn the meeting; Auerbach seconded. A voice vote to approve was unanimous.
Meeting adjourned at 4:10 pm.