Woodrow Wilson High School

SBDM elects officers for 2008-2009

At the last meeting of the 2007-2008 school year, the WW SBDM elected the following individuals to officer positions for next year:

• Norman Alston, Chair
• Lisa Billings, Vice Chair
• Joy Brock, Secretary/Scribe
• Laura Slagle, Facilitator/Time Keeper

The position of Recorder of Volunteers went unfilled and another effort to identify someone for this position will be undertaken by the August meeting.  The election of officers at the May meeting constitutes a change made possible through bylaw revisions adopted earlier in the meeting. By electing them now, the officers for next year are in place to assist with planning or other issues that come up over the Summer.

Important May meeting and a time change.

Our last SBDM meeting of the school year will be Tuesday, May 20, 2008. As noted below, a quorum is critical, so we are moving the meeting to 5:30 pm to facilitate faculty and staff attendance. This is different from and supersedes the time listed in the first email announcement.

This is one of our most important meetings of the year as we will be accomplishing several things to facilitate our Summer and future activities.

Number one on the list is revising the bylaws.  These revisions are intended primarily to address the problems we have had obtaining a quorum and better defining the membership. BUT WE NEED A QUORUM TO ADOPT THEM. Catch 22. Everybody come, please. Copies of the proposed bylaw revisions were attached to the email announcements. We will have them posted here later his morning as we seek to edit out a couple of typos. 

Assuming the revised bylaws are adopted, we will then take nominations and elect our officers for next year, namely Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary/Scribe, Recorder of Volunteers and Facilitator/Timekeeper. This is a change from past years and its implementation is intended to have the SBDM leadership team in place going into the Summer, in preparation for the important meetings in August (membership elections) and September (Annual Meeting). Please consider helping in one of these important positions.

I look forward to seeing you all.

How do you like our start time?

As you are aware, our current arrangement is to have the Curriculum Committee meeting at 6:00 pm on the day of the general meeting, which occurs at 7:00 pm. The reason for this, as I recall, is to get as much done in a single evening as possible and to not "string out" SBDM activities. We also typically schedule our meeting the week following PTA so that folks will not have to dedicate two consecutive evenings to meetings. Sound ideas all.

I like that fact that those that typically come to the general meeting are all active and dedicated participants in SBDM. This number is small, however, and I worry a bit that we are not developing enough leadership for the future. I have also been concerned by the fact that faculty participation is down and never meets quorum requirements.

Asking around a bit, there seems to be some sentiment that the long evenings have become objectionable. This may be especially true for faculty as most do not actually live nearby. Consequently, they would have to hang around the school until the 7:00 general meeting, attend the meeting until about 8:30 then drive home, perhaps arriving about 9:00. Yep, that's a long day. So how big a problem is this?

The beauty of the blog format is that you can easily make comments and suggestions here. No only do I get to see them, but so does everyone else. Good points or ideas are easily shared. I hope you'll take a moment and let me know what you think about the start time, or if you have other ideas to make our meetings more productive or compelling.

To start, I'm thinking about bringing food in the future, too.

Items from last night's meeting

I always thought of Fall as the busy season and that there would be time to really focus during the Spring.  Turns out, what with Musical, sports playoffs, One Act Play, Spring Break, Mock Trial and a myriad of other activities, it's difficult to get everyone together. Turn out last night was a bit low. For the last two meetings we will be covering some important business, especially bylaws revisions, so I'll be working to get everybody to come out.

We have just formed a Budget Committee to assist Ms. Vail with the annual budget preparation. This is a fast moving effort that should be done in the next two weeks. My thanks to Laura Slagle who has agreed to chair that effort.

We also have a Bylaws Committee that is picking back up where we left off in the Fall. I would like to get a draft of proposed bylaws changes before the April 15 (easy day to remember) SBDM meeting so that we could comment on them during the meeting. Afterwards, I would like to try and vote on the changes at the May meeting. If we accomplish this, it will be CRITICAL that we have a good turnout in May.

Also, if one of my personal initiatives is incorporated into the new bylaws, we will also be electing some of our SBDM leadership team in May. The idea is for them to be able to start their work in an official capacity over the Summer. That will help them get up and running in the Fall. This means that we are likely to take nominations in April and actually vote on some leadership positions in May. More reason for good attendance at the next two meetings.

The program at last nights meeting featured Toni Neal of DISD Parent Services. She performed required SBDM training for us as well as making us familiar with other services offered by her department. I will be asking Ms. Neal to schedule this training again by October so that new members will have benefit of it early in the new school year.

Thanks to everyone for your efforts on behalf of Woodrow.

SBDM Meeting to include training

This months meeting, rescheduled from last week, will feature SBDM training by the DISD's Parent Services Departments. Even though it is late in the year, it is necessary to try and get this training in. Besides, it can only be beneficial in the long run.

I will probably have to miss this meeting due to business travel plans but look forward to hearing all about it upon my return.

MEETING RESCHEDULED

Due to high water around the school, high water throughout the adjoining neighborhoods and it being a generally  yucky night to go anywhere and nobody really thinking about this 2 days after Spring Break, let's move it to next Tuesday, 3/25.

Late notice, I know. Sorry.

And yes, for some of us, the Mavs-Lakers being on is just a bonus.

Reconstitution essay available

When the news broke about Woodrow being reconstituted several days ago I posted a blog piece that sought to demystify this process and shed light on the true meaning. I have had a request for a "hard copy" from an alumnus and decided to make it available here for anyone who wishes to circulate it.

It's in pdf format and contains a couple of small corrections that more accurately describe the Accountability Ratings Systems.

Download essay_regarding_reconstitution.pdf

Comments/grades from Mr. Black or Mr. McGee welcomed.

Woodrow singled out in Dallas Morning News editorial

An interesting piece has appeared about "Choose Woodrow" just as so many of the signs have disappeared. I take issue with the note about the ethnic makeup of the musical, but I think it accurately notes some things going on here.

Reconstituted? Maybe not so bad.

The story broke this morning about Woodrow being scheduled for reconstitution under the provisions of No Child Left Behind. This happens when a school is deemed Academically Unacceptable for two consecutive years. I have posted a detailed discussion of this issue on the Advocate Magazine's Back Talk blog, at the request of Advocate publisher and Woodrow parent Rick Wamre. Click here to be redirected to my post and to read my comments.

Woodrow grad and University of Texas icon Rooster Andrews has passed

I am sad to read the story and learn the news that Rooster Andrews as died in Austin at the age of 84. The story from the Dallas Morning News can be read here.