Present: Don Berger-chair, Bob Roth-parent, Denise Goodman-parent/staff member, Lori Mason-parent, John Lucy-parent.

Don Berger called meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.

The committee reviewed the most recent draft of the "Guide to Parent Involvement at Cary Academy." Suggestions were made for changes:

1. Add Alliance Auction.
2. Say specifically that "We need your help" meaning help of the parents.
3. Different pictures more appropriate for this brochure.
4. Email links need to be noted so that people reading the brochure have the actual link to a specific item in the brochure itself. These links should also be noted in the electronic version for ease of connection to more detailed information about a subject.

Also noted regarding links is that there should be a link from the external website to the Cary Academy intranet.

The committee recommended that ALL school literature printed in future have the school website noted in large, easy to read letters.

A concept was briefly discussed regarding establishment of "Berger’s Buddies". The concept would attempt to involve parents in assisting teachers with classes by using the parents as an additional resource. The concept would attempt to have parents particularly involved in subjects on which the parents had significant expertise. The idea is to avail ourselves of the significant knowledge base of CA parents while at the same time creating an opportunity for parent involvement in an area in which the parent felt comfortable and was well-versed. It was felt that if the parent was comfortable on the material they would be more likely to become involved and be willing to share not only their knowledge, but also some practical, real-life experiences in their area of expertise.

The committee continued to discuss possible ways to increase parent involvement. The idea of identifying those parents that do not access the website was mentioned. One idea for the website was to have school "Headlines" scroll across the website. The idea of having a "printable page" that would allow parents to print school information in a format without web page graphics was discussed.

The committee provided Don with ideas about how the school might improve the communication of information regarding issues such as discipline so as to minimize the spread of "gossip". The committee noted that speed to a final decision was critical to insuring that accurate incident information and disciplinary action taken as a result are communicated quickly. Dragging out decisions is not helpful. It was also noted that speed to decision would impress upon the school community that discipline issues are taken very seriously and will be dealt with promptly, while at the same time allowing all involved to move forward sooner.