Pinney PTO General Meeting Minutes
November 21, 2013
In attendance: Troy Ehrsam, Mandy LeGros, Patty Carpenter, Lauren Barr, Jackie
Calnon, Danielle Hodge, Amy Andrews, Alice Lawler, Suzanne Kuebler, Shannon
Schmidt, Lara Abou-Chakra, Becca Wleklinski, Laura Coleman, Stacey Walmsley, Cindy
Conroy, Michelle LoParo, Missy Burkett, Julie Racan, Carrie Klingel, and Dawn Slates.
*Volunteers needed highlighted in green*
President Report – Jackie Calnon, Danielle Hodge
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Thank you to the following people:
o Laura Coleman for her work with Spirit Wear. (She needs a replacement
for next year, but is happy to help work on design and sales).
o Nicole Swecker for Fall Festival.
o Rose Neal and Alice Lawler for Dads and Donuts.
o Michelle LoParo and Carrie Franks for Reading Night.
o Missy Burkett for coordinating the room parent volunteers.
o Carolyn DuBois and Carrie Klingel for conference meals.
o April Tuza and Stephanie Pyser for the school store.
o Jen Kleinhenz for Celebration of the Arts.
o All the Safety and Security Volunteers at the Harvest Parties.
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Review/Voting of Grants:
o The PTO Executive Board met on 11.7.13 and reviewed the first round of
grants submitted. We have 2 grants that are over $500 that need approval
by the general PTO membership today.
1. The First Grade Team would like to purchase sets of the Bella and
Rosie and Jack and Daisy guided reading books. Total cost = $4,500.
Mrs. Carpenter, first grade teacher, explained the benefits of these
books to many different levels of readers. These books support
learning in regards to the common core standards that started last
year. The books also have updated pictures that kids can relate to so
they are more engaging than current books in the resource room.
§
Michelle LoParo motioned to approve. Suzanne Kuebler seconded.
All approved.
2. Lauren Barr, IST, would like to purchase sensory materials. Total cost
= $650. Her goal is to get sensory materials out into the classrooms.
For many students at Pinney, sensory items like fidgets, finger spacing
tools, seat cushions and writing guides may be what they need to focus
on their learning. Materials would be housed in the sensory room, but
teachers could check them out as needed.
§
Suzanne Kuebler motioned to approve. Lara Abou-Chakra
seconded. All approved.
o Jackie explained the grants previously approved by the PTO Executive
board. Each one was less than $500. Total of these grants = $1272.46
1. Matt DeMatteis/Jason Blair (professional conference travel
reimbursement)
2. Lisa Guzik (book series)
3. Ashlea DeChant (weighted blanket)
4. Wendy Hamby McGonagill (book set for author visit)
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Jim “Basketball” Jones:
o On December 5th, we would like to bring Jim in for an assembly. He has
different themes such as anti-bullying, importance of reading,
character education, etc., and he has been highly recommended by
other Dublin elementary schools.
o Total cost for him is $550 and we need PTO general membership
approval. We didn’t budget for this, so it will be a new budget line item.
o Mr. Ehrsam said historically we do not have assemblies such as this at
Pinney, but he feels this one is good because of the character piece.
He mentioned that we currently have an awards program for 5th
graders on the last Friday of the month to award students for
exhibiting character pillars/Pinney Practices.
o Mr. Ehrsam will meet with Jim to discuss our goals/Pinney Practices
and which ones to incorporate into his presentation.
§
Becca Wleklinski motioned to approve. Amy Andrews seconded.
All approved.
Dr. Todd Hoadley - Superintendent, Dublin City Schools
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The #1 indicator in a child’s education is parent involvement. Next is the
quality of the school district.
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Dr. Hoadley is brand new to Dublin City Schools. He spent the last 9 years
as Superintendent of the Olmsted Falls City School (4,000 students) Prior
to that he was Superintendent of Van Buren Schools (1,000 students). In
August of this year, he began his 16th year as a superintendent with 15,000
students in Dublin City Schools. He began his career as a high school math
teacher. Dr. Hoadley has 4 children: a daughter who is a freshman at OSU, a
daughter who is a sophomore at Coffman, a daughter who is in 7th grade at
Sells, and a son who goes to Indian Run. He has all four bases/levels of
education covered!
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His priorities and goals for his first year are as follows:
1. Being very visible - Attending functions like last night’s Pinney
Celebration of the Arts, booster clubs, etc.
2. Listening
3. Learning as much as he can about our schools. We have 29 buildings
and students from a wide variety of backgrounds.
v “This district did not hire me to make immediate changes in this large
successful organization. There are many great things already in place.”
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Dr. Hoadley’s primary focus is on helping students and the employees of the
district achieve success through three core philosophies/tenants:
1. Collaboration – He is a passionate believer that decision-making needs
to be collaborative with many voices involved as possible. No more top
down decision-making. “We make better decisions than me.”
2. Appreciation – taking time to express appreciation.
3. Trust – continuing to strengthen the bond between our community and
schools.
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Dr. Hoadley is passionate about technology. He is surprised with our
technological level and feels it is imperative as a district to improve. He would
like to see the district have a dedicated revenue stream for technology
expenditures. It is imperative for our children to be educated in a high tech
world.
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What questions does Pinney have for me 100 days into my tenure?
Q1: Alice Lawler: What is your vision with technology for students at the
elementary level?
Dr. Hoadley: During the first 2 weeks of school the Internet crashed
almost daily. We increased the bandwidth from 250—500. Currently, we
only have 1 pipe to the Internet so we need a secondary pipe. I want
technology to be as reliable as turning on a light switch. In 2008, we
purchased 4000 computers when the bond passed. But we have no
replacement plan. We replaced about 1000 of those in 2012, but
purchasing has largely been through bond issuing funds. I want to ensure
Internet redundancy and optimum performance, phase out old
technology, and increase training. We need foundational pieces in place
so teachers can rely on their lesson plans involving technology.
Q2: Becca Wleklinski: Are we missing a basic skill level such as typing? My
6th grader was not taught typing and I worry he missed a component that
will be expected in the work force. Cursive writing is gone, now
keyboarding is too.
Dr. Hoadley: To add keyboarding into the curriculum, something would
have to come out. We would need to create a curriculum “stop doing list.”
We can’t survive by adding more into the schedules. What should we stop
doing? What are the priorities in our district? It blows me away to see how
many courses our high schools offer. Will we be able to continue to offer
that many classes and do it well? We need to make sure our kids are
technologically current and using technology in real world applications,
not just understanding basic “apps.” Can they utilize an excel spreadsheet
in a chemistry or stats class?
Q3: Amy Andrews: Could we offer a keyboarding class in the summer as
an elective?
Dr. Hoadley: Absolutely. We would just need to find ways to offer it to all
students because of the diversity in our elementary schools.
(ex. Providing transportation for those who need it).
Q4: Danielle Hodge: You have said you would like to see PTO’s
transition out of fundraising for technology and that you intend to have a
dedicated revenue stream for technology expenditures. Could you share
where you are going to pull money from?
Dr. Hoadley: State legislature did us a favor by not taking some expected
money, so we can reallocate some money. The challenge is that all 12
elementary schools can’t raise money like Pinney PTO does. But, we need
to create a common experience for all Dublin students. I don’t want the
concept of fundraising to be a barrier for people to be in PTO or to
dominate what our PTOs have to do. We have the same challenge with
keeping up our buildings. Many of our schools were built about 20-25
years ago. So we need a dedicated revenue stream for technology and
for building maintenance. (Pinney doesn’t need this dedicated revenue
stream for building maintenance, but others do.)
Mr. Ehrsam: Question/comment about growth. Ten years ago, Pinney
had 725 students (right before the opening of Glacier Ridge Elementary).
Now we have 567 students and we are good functioning school. We are
much more diverse and transient. There is a lot of land north of Pinney
which is on our radar for future growth.
Dr. Hoadley: Jerome Village is taking off now. They are projecting 125
homes/year annually over the next 10 years. This means we will need
another elementary school. In 2008, the community passed a bond for
elementary #13. We have no immediate pressure right now and we haven’t
issued these bonds. However, we have a spot in Jerome Village for
elementary school #13 and middle school #5, but we don’t see high school
#4 any time soon. Jerome is growing by about 80 kids/year and in 10
years, it is projected that Jerome will be the biggest high school with over
2000 students. (Currently, Scioto has 1286 students, Jerome has 1386
students, and Coffman has around 2000 students.)
Q5: Laura Coleman: What year is projected to enlarge Jerome?
Dr. Hoadley: When is the community ready to pass a tax levy? We will have
to talk about a bond issue to build onto classrooms and hire teachers.
Q6: Danielle Hodge: Any redistricting in the near future with all the
growth?
Dr. Hoadley: Every year there is subtle redistricting. This next summer,
mainly Bailey and Indian Run will be the schools affected. The last thing
we want is a big redistricting and there is no massive plan on anything for
the next couple of years. But when we see enrollment of 2000, 2000 and
1200 at our high schools there will be a problem at all levels because we
need equal opportunities. So, high school redistricting is 5-6 years away.
Principal Report – Troy Ehrsam
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We are a 3rd of the way through our school year and planning is beginning for
the rest of the school year.
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Dr. Hoadley was very impressed with the Celebration of the Arts last night
and how interacted the kids were during the night. He wants to take this idea
to other elementary schools. Great job and thank you if you were here last
night.
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Pinney was also showcased with our Welcome Warehouse Adopt-A-Family
program. I am proud of our Pinney family for all of your giving.
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Thanks again for the Ipads from the 2013 Dance-a-Thon Fundraiser. I see
them in the kids’ hands which is outstanding! “Ipad carts” are coming to
Pinney soon so teachers can check out the cart for their classrooms.
Vice President Report – Amy Andrews, Alice Lawler – no report
Treasurer Report – Lara Abou-Chakra, Becca Wleklinski
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Budget Reports handed out.
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Jackie Calnon: In regards to the cash on hand of $51, 131 please keep in mind that
the major fundraiser is done for the year. And, we have lots of expenses not paid
out like $10,000 in PTO grants. The dance-a-thon monies are different.
Secretary Report – Suzanne Kuebler, Shannon Schmidt – no report
Committee Reports •
Kinder Key Caroling – 12.5. (Becca Wleklinski)
Candace Kane is asking for parents to consider forming groups in your
o
neighborhood to go caroling.
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Welcome Warehouse Adopt-A-Family Wrapping Party – 12.13 (Cindy Conroy)
o All classrooms have been assigned families. Beginning tomorrow, there will
be a box in the Pinney office for any gift cards/money. Please send all gift
cards/money to the office in an envelope marked “Welcome Warehouse”.
We don’t want these in the “Welcome Warehouse” donation boxes in the
classrooms.
Reminders •
Holiday Parties – 12.19 à The following classrooms need Holiday Party planners:
o Mrs. Oberschlake, Mr. DeMatteis, Mrs. Culp, Mrs. Marschhausen, and
Mrs. Davis
o PLEASE consider volunteering. If you are interested, please contact your
room parent or go to Sign Up Genius to sign up.
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Skate Night – 1.11.14
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Movie Night – 2.14 (exact date TBD)
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Online Directory sign-up – If you have not done so yet, please sign up.
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Next General PTO meeting – 2.20.14 at 2:00pm in the commons.
Jackie Calnon adjourned.