Scattergood Friends School Committee

Approved Minutes

12 November 2011

Mission Statement

Scattergood Friends School challenges students with a college-preparatory curriculum, farm experience, a shared work program, and community living in the spirit of Quaker faith.

Present: George Bergus, Rebecca Bergus, Claire Cumbie-Drake, Ruth Dawson, Debbie Galusha (clerk), Karen Greenler, Lucy Hansen, Phil Henderson, Callie Marsh, Sylvia Sanford, Dan Schlitt, Bob Winchell, Allan Winder

Absent: Russ Leckband, Lorene Ludy, Doyle Wilson

Guest: Richard Johnson

Staff Present: Christine Ashley, Margie Figgins, Shelley Hughes, Amanda Paul, Rüdiger Ruckmann, Mark Quee, Nicole Wolf-Camplin

The clerk opened the meeting at the appointed time with a time of worship. She then read the following passage:

Just as silence and the spoken word lie together at the heart of Quaker Meeting, so are the companion notions of individual voice and individual choice central to the school’s program and curriculum. Whenever students select their own books for independent or shared reading, draw on their own life experiences in composing personal narratives, carry out art assignments in an idiosyncratic manner, or choose science topics of personal interest for independent research, students are asked both to search within themselves for direction and to be present in the community as the individuals they understand themselves to be.

Regardless of whether students ever choose to speak in Meeting, it seems that the feel for an effectively delivered message – from the ability to recognize the inspiration necessary to break the silence to begin with, to the appropriate use of story and metaphor and the proper balance between the personal and the general – is developed in all of the students simply as a result of being present at settling in.

Students not only recognize that their voices will be heard, but they learn how to enter into a reflective state of being and how to express what they discover there to the greatest effect.

“Meeting for Learning in a Friends School” by Jane Fremon

Found in Readings on Quaker Pedagogy,

Ed., Irene McHenry, Jane Fremon, Nancy Starmer, and J. Harry Hammond.

Minute: We approve the minutes of our meetings held on 10 and 26 September 2011.

Minute: We give our final approval to the changes in the School Committee Handbook.

We thank Beth for our nametags.

Please fill out your travel forms. The Development office has a goal of 100% financial donations from the School Committee.

We signed three cards to thank friends of the School who are donating their time and skills.

Minute. We give initial approval to change the title of the School Committee Handbook from “Rules and Guidelines” to “Responsibilities and Guidelines.”

Minute: Debbie Galusha, clerk, is appointed to sign for the loan documents for the USDA Rural Development 514 Farm Labor housing loan.

Minute: We thank the School for the gift of new Scattergood Friends School & Farm t-shirts, water bottles, aprons, magnets and bracelets.

Minute: We appreciate that all the subcommittees met prior to this meeting. We thank the staff for their good work in writing reports for us, and getting them to us in good time before our meeting.

Minute: We approve the financial statement with the addition of the missing farm

expenditures and balance.

Minute: We approve establishing a policy for capitalizing a purchased item.  To be classified as a fixed asset, an item must cost more than $5000 and have an expected life of more than three years.

Christine Ashley’s spoke of her optimism about the state of the School. We all agree that the state of the School is encouraging. We appreciate the level of critical strategic thinking that is happening.

Evaluations of the Head will be sent out around Thanksgiving time. Please return the completed evaluation form to the Human Resources Committee before the end of the year.

An ISACS team will be here March 18. Christine asked that six School Committee members attend. We will talk about this at the January meeting.

We adjourned for brunch, and will re-convene to work on our sub-committee job descriptions. Reports are due from the subcommittees to the clerk on 3 December 2011.

We look forward to meeting again on 12 January 2011, God willing, at Scattergood.

Callie Marsh, recording clerk