October 18, 2021 – Minutes

Willow Canyon School Community Council Minutes

Monday, October 18, 2021 at 6:30 pm

Attendees: Michelle Snarr (principal), Alanna Comer (teacher), Katrina VanTassell (social worker),  Alicia Patrick, Anna Hirschi, Courtnie Angeli, Amourette Bradley, and Delese Bettinson

1. Election of Vice-Chair and Secretary
2. Alanna Comer nominated Courtnie Angeli as Vice-Chair. Amourette Bradley seconded it.

The board approved the nomination unanimously.

1. Delese Bettinson nominated Amourette Bradley as Secretary. Courtnie Angeli seconded it.

The board approved the nomination unanimously.

1. Land Trust and TSSP
2. The Land Trust goal involves students increasing their reading proficiency by 4% from September and May. Evidence appears in the students’ scores from the Acadience Reading test administered in increments between September 2021 and May 2022.
3. The TSSP involves a positive climate goal. Willow Canyon seeks to decreasethe overall Early Warning System or EWS by 4%. Evidence appears in attendance, office discipline referrals, and          suspensions between September 2021 and May 2022.

III. School Safety Plan

1. PBIS or Positive Behavior Intervention Strategy
2. This involves Respect, Responsibility, and Safety Tickets or the “RRS”.
3. Pride Tickets also involve celebrating positive student behavior with the student and parents. This involves placing the student’s photo on a Wildcat Shout Out board, giving  them a prize, and calling home to celebrate the student’s achievement with parents.
4. Botvin Life Skills
5. This state approved and mandated program involves 4th, 7th, and 8thgraders. It focuses on anti-aggression, problem solving, and anti-drug messages. It exists as an eight week program that requires thirty-two to forty minutes of class time a week.
6. Willow Canyon’s 4thgrade classes began this program. Parents will receive a letter informing them of this program.
7. Digital Citizenship
8. October 18-22, 2021 is Canyon’s District Digital Citizenship Week.
9. Willow Canyon’s Digital Citizenship Week occurs in February 2022 in conjunction with the PTA. It also becomes reinforced throughout the year during class time. The school not only stresses the importance of internet safety, but also emphasizes the permanency of digital footprints. The school also stresses the importance of family involvement in teaching and           reinforcing digital citizenship and safety.
10. Melissa Winter, 4thgrade teacher, acts as the school Digital Citizenship coordinator.
11. Second Step Program

Because Canyons District School Board wishes to review the program, a temporary hold has been placed on implementing it. The board will review evidence and listen to community comments regarding this program at the board meeting tomorrow, October 19, 2021. The program is not in place at Willow Canyon Elementary.

1. Because members of the community expressed confusion regarding the program, Principal Snarr and Social Worker Katrina VanTassell reviewed the Second Step Program with the SCC. They also encouraged any parent interested in learning about the program to contact the school, and the administration would be happy to share the curriculum with him or her.
2. The program aligns with the Utah Board of Education health standards for Mental and Emotional Health.
3. The program focuses on social and emotional learning and involves four main areas. These include Skills for Learning, Empathy, Emotion Management, and Problem Solving. Friendship Skills exists as an extra unit time permitting.
4. Elementary school units are teacher led and involve a script.
5. No homework is required, but parents do receive a letter and home links if they wish to further address the topic.
6. Both Principal Snarr and Ms. VanTassell felt the program would prove valuable in the school. Principal Snarr has worked with the program for four years at Edgemont Elementary and Ms. VanTassell studied it in her Master of Social Work internship.

1. Both felt that the program offered evidenced based proof of efficacy.

1. Both felt that the program’s creation of a commonality of vocabulary in social and emotional awareness offered students an increased ability to resolve conflicts and problem solve. They based their views on the data of reduced office disciplinary referrals and unstructured time (recess) conflict reduction.  They also                                    felt the program assisted students struggling with anxiety. It increases emotional awareness, reminds them they are not alone in their feelings, offers a shared vocabulary for the parent, teacher, and student to                                                             communicate with, and provides shared methods to problem solve. The program’s efficacy would further increase if the vocabulary continued within the Morning Meeting.

1. Principal Snarr and Ms. VanTassell felt concerned regarding consequences if the program becomes removed. Since curriculum development involves two to  three years of research, focus groups, etc., the school would not possess an  approved social/ emotional curriculum to implement.
2. The board felt that we would support Canyon’s District School Board in any decision they made regarding the Second Step program at the elementary level. However, based on the evidence presented, we felt Second Steps would prove a positive program to implement in Willow Canyon.

Meeting Adjourned at 7:46 pm

The next SCC meeting will be held at 6:30 on November 15, 2021. Upcoming agenda items involve approving the October 18, 2021 minutes, reviewing the current year’s Land Trust and TSSP plans, School Safety Reports, and Digital Citizenship.