Please bear with us while we work on the format of PTO meeting reports…...

Highlights:

• We passed a budget for the 2006-7 year, including increases for PTO grants to teachers for classroom use (making up for cuts from the district).
• While the budget was balanced even with conservative revenue estimates, there was broad agreement that the PTO should not scale back fundraising activities. Continued cutbacks by the district are likely to put sustained pressure on the PTO budget as we try to maintain school programming.
• This budget is the first to reflect changes to the Golden Apple grant system, with money set aside for special enrichment assemblies that have typically been funded each year. Other programs, proposed by parents and teachers, will still need to go through the application process.
• Principal Kathy Morhous made a short presentation on the school’s performance on MEAP math tests and how it reflects on the “math wars.”
  • Our children have been doing better every year on the state tests while while being taught the “Everyday Math” curriculum. Mrs Morhous noted that Ann Arbor has made its own changes to “EDM” to fill gaps and enhance its effectiveness.
  • She distributed a statement from the AAPS about the math curriculum in Ann Arbor and how it relates to the recent debates over teaching math in the US.
• Cindy Bott, of the Burns Park Foreign Language Initiative, gave a short presentation on the Spanish language program that started last March.
  • BPFLI raised enough funds to continue the program through the end of this year, and will soon begin another fundraising drive to fund the program for future years.
  • Other schools have expressed interest in our program, and we may be able to collaborate to apply for grants and negotiate with the district for financial support.