Personnel Action Team

McKeown School Strategic Planning

 

Meeting minutes

February 20, 2007

 

Members in Attendance:

                Sara Cole – co-chair, Eleanore Shaffer – co-chair, Maryann Maikish, Bryan Hensz, Kathryn Semeraro,  not present – Nilsa Pagan

 

Strategy:

“We will acquire effective staff to support our instructional programs and we will ensure that the Hampton Township School District has a safe and orderly environment.”

 

General Discussion:

 

                The group reviewed the planning material formulated at the Strategic Planning session held on 1/12 & 1/13/07, with specific attention to the strategy regarding staffing and security. It was decided that discussion of staffing issues regarding instructional programs would be deferred to a later date, pending the actions determined by the Curriculum Action Team. The present focus will be the “safe and orderly environment” component of the strategy.

Round Table:

 

1.        Building security  - Concerns were expressed regarding security of the building, especially during after-

           school events. A suggestion was made to have a security evaluation done to identify any needs and  

                          implement steps to address those needs.

 

                                A. securing all exterior entrances whenever students are present

                                B. limiting building access at after-school events

C. inviting law enforcement to make regular random patrols of the grounds and   walkthroughs of   the building, visiting with students, i.e. during lunch periods

D. practice emergency plan drills with students to familiarize them with established procedures and prevent panic in the event of an actual emergency

E. ensure that all custodial staff is required to attend any in service training regarding school security

 

2.             Schoolyard safetyThe team will assess schoolyard safety concerns, i.e. bears, dangerous  persons, etc. to determine whether there is adequate staff present when students are outside.

 

3.             Bullying/Social AggressionIt was agreed that bullying and social aggression have a serious  impact on the safety of students and needs to be addressed completely and universally. The group determined that a permanent, full time program should be instituted to provide prevention education and a strict policy for handling any reported incidents.

 

4.              

A.      provide means for students to report incidents confidentially,  i.e. mailboxes

B.       create a student task force that is given tools and training to identify and report incidents,  to discourage unwanted behavior utilizing visible peer presence and pressure

C.      examine how to extend program to include time spent on buses in transit

 

5.             Utilization of volunteers – The team will explore the possibility of establishing a regular volunteer program to provide for some additional staffing needs without having to re-allocate existing personnel or hiring additional personnel,  i.e. Parents in Education (PIE) model

 

6.             Technical support staff – The team will investigate the need for a full time technical support person to

address evolving computer technology issues

 

            

 

The next meeting of the Personnel Action Team is scheduled for Tuesday February 27, 2007