PTA/ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT SUMMARY FOR SEPT 11TH MEETING We had a great turnout after the flag raising ceremony with 30 parents and teachers in attendance. Sylvia Marston, owner of coloradoresort.net, has graciously offered to build and maintain a website for our school as well as donating the URL fee. The purpose is to provide another avenue for community involvement to send and receive information from the school and PTA as well as providing links to parent resources. The website is scheduled to be completed by the 1st of Jan. To correspond with our theme, "Respecting, Responding & Giving", the Kindness Campaign, chaired by Elsa Wolff; Pride Awards (recognition for excellence in school); and student recognition in the Raccoon were discussed. To recognize a student in the Raccoon for honors and awards in activities outside of school, contact Lori Graber or Karen Roper. Thank you to Jennifer Ricchio for heading up the Bus Safety Program and Rachel Lambden for taking on the Tar Wars program. Parents are asked to keep track of volunteer hours including PTA events, working in the classroom, etc…to monitor what we've done as well as helping us in obtaining future grants. 1st V.P., Kathi Frymier reported on research results of parent involvement which showed that students who had parents who were involved in their education achieved more regardless of their background; had higher grades and test scores; completed homework; had higher expectations and positive attitudes and behavior. 2nd V.P., Sheree McLaughlin, discussed the Opt-out option of donating $125 per family in lieu of participating in any fund raising efforts for the year. Families choosing this option will receive 1 directory and 1 yearbook. This offer is good through the end of Sept. Contact Sheree if you're interested in "opting out." The Red Rocks family recipe book is still looking for recipes. See Sheree McLaughlin to submit you family's favorite recipe! Treasurer, Lisa Miller, presented a $12,000 budget proposal. The budget was amended to include more money for Pride Award lunches to bring the new total to $12,300. We have $8,900 in expense commitments including student planners, room parties, foreign language, etc… Entertainment Book sales are up to $1300 after the first week. Proceeds go toward our annual commitments. Our fund raising efforts are needed more than ever due to district budget cuts. Red Rocks operating budget of $20,807 is used for books, classroom supplies and teacher "needs" list. PTA helps by purchasing what is not taken care of by the school budget. The Board of Education would like your input on making cuts for the 2003-2004 budget. A meeting will be held from 7 - 8:30 pm on Sept 25th at Creighton Middle School with Tori Merritts. For alternate dates call Communications Services at 303-982-6808. Mrs. Namura reported on class sizes. Kindergarten will get an additional full time educational assistant. If one more student is enrolled, then another teacher will be hired. Highlights on School Improvement Plan - Mrs. Namura discussed the importance of maintaining attendance goals, which counts towards school improvement and accreditation. Our staff continues to work together with a systemic approach, building and expanding on previous grade levels that show increased student performance. Thank you to all parents who volunteered as classroom representatives on the Accountability Committee. See Ann Nelson if you'd like to help with bringing meals for the staff during conferences. See Caroline Avey if you're interested in obtaining flyers on recognizing a good reading program, frequently asked questions about homework and information on the 24 Hours to Grow PTA Conference for parents and staff in Estes Park on Oct. 11th and 12th. PTA approved a motion to award a $100 grant to each teacher per semester and a $50 grant to part-time teachers to apply towards classroom materials. A big thank you to Kathi Frymier and Sheree McLaughlin for going through the inventory in the storage shed. Please join us for the Oct. 9th meeting at 6:30pm. Evie Hudak, Region 2 Director of PTA and State School Board Member, will be speaking. This website created by: