South Jordan Middle School Community Council
Official minutes- Monday, October 16, 2023
Present: Curtis Jenson (CJ), Jennifer Ngatuvai (JN), Stephanie Rich (SR), Lindy Christensen (LC), Marilyn Richards (MR), Jessica Tenney (JT), Lindsey Branca (LB), Kelly Graham (KG), Kami Taylor (KT)
Absent: Sara Nichols (SN), Tracy Miller (TM)
Meeting opened at 4:10 by CJ
Motion by LB to approve JT as chair for the 2023-2024 school year; 2nd by JN; approved. Motion by SR to approve JN as vice-chair for the 2023-2024 school year; 2nd by JT; approved. Motion by JN to approve SR as secretary for the 2023-2024 school year; 2nd by LB; approved.
CJ led discussion of Rules of Order and Procedure specific to SCC.
KG led a discussion on the past few weeks of school as related to the counseling offices. The counselor have been or are busy with the following;
7th grade orientation
Career lesson for all 8th graders
Empathy lesson for all 9th graders
Individual meetings for PCCRs (Plan for College and Career meetings) for 8th and 9th graders
Our three year Interim Review will be held on Dec 5
Over two thousand individual student or parent meetings for academic or mental health
Connections Group (a friendship group)
The counseling office employs 4.5 counselors, two part time social workers, and one psychologist.
Therapy Access will be advertised in several places including the weekly newsletter, the counseling website, and during the PCCRs. PCCR Nov. 8th, Dec. 6-15th, Dec. 5th we have a District visit. Data project is related to Hispanic achievement. Our Hispanic population has a 24% rate of critical academic standing. We will be working to drop that rate. LB asked how many counselors/staff are on the counseling team. LB asked what PCCR’s are. KG explained. JN asked who was in charge of College Week. KG responded she was.
JN said she has used the district’s mental health resources and talked about how great it was. Up to $800 in therapy and help getting in is available to students. LC explained the program and how the funding works. MR asked how we let parents know about the resources. KG said it can be included in PCCR information and MR added it can be sent to parents. CJ said it can be included in weekly Skyalert. CJ asked KG and LC to help him put it out. KT said to add it to the counseling webpage.
CJ led discussion of the parking lot remodel. MR said it will be her job to make sure the board knows this should be a priority. JT asked if we have had problems with students being injured. CJ said thankfully no but it will only be a matter of time. Bids are coming in November. They may be able to begin on the field portion before the summer.
CJ announced the gym will be repainted next summer to add volleyball and pickleball standards and lines.
CJ led discussion of current Land Trust plan; CJ reported a lot of money is spent on lowering class sizes and counseling ratio.SN questioned how we measure effectiveness of monies spent on goals. CJ responded with RTI and PLC data and conversations.
CJ led discussion of the TSSA plan. CJ reported there are five teachers at the PLC conference right now. JN explained the difference between the two plans. CJ said a lot of TSSA is spent on technology.
CJ led a discussion on the grading scales as a follow up to last year’s discussion. He explained the rationale to switching the school to a 4 point scale. JN said she has always been confused by the end of quarter homework deadlines. SR stated the new PROWL is really helping kids get help they need. CJ and LC reported on our panorama data showing kid’s need to belong. CJ explained the different PROWL sessions. KG said it helps with doing counseling lessons. CJ explained Kelsi’s role in the school as our new student advocate. CJ explained the new citizenship rubric and said it was a lot of change at once. LC said it has helped kids enjoy their time at school. JT reported it has made a huge difference for her daughter and learning autonomy.
JT asked what topics should be brought to the table in SCC meetings. JN answered for the room and explained we can’t know what to vote on if we don’t know what is going on in the school. JT asked who is struggling the most in the school. CJ explained the difference between average students and honors students’ performance.. JT asked if the students are doing better so far. KT explained we may not be able to tell yet. JN explained we are trying to focus on the average student and their needs. JT asked how students know about their club. Can we advertise them? JT suggested a tag a friend feature. JN and LB said that might not work well but it might be something we can look at in the future.
JN asked if we could schedule upcoming meetings: Dec. 4 @ 4:00pm; Jan 22 @ 4:00pm; March 11 @ 4:00pm
JN explained the process and procedure for the rest of the year.
JT asked for clarification on how many students are honors vs. regular. CJ responded there are 314 in honors; 746 not in honors..
LB asked what standardized tests are given in middle school. CJ responded they are RISE and Aspire. JT asked if we will get data on testing scores. CJ showed the scores to JT and LB and said he hopes PROWL will help improve scores..
Next meeting will be December 4 at 4:00.
Meeting adjourned at 5:15 with motion by JN; 2nd by JT..
–Stephanie Rich
South Jordan Middle School
SCC Secretary
