SSC Officers:
Amana Harris, Co-Chair
Leslie Olrich, Co-Chair

Chabot Staff Representatives:
Jonathan Mayer, Principal
Michelle Carrow
Dan Strauss
Nathalie Torrens
Darlene Perdisatt (alternate)

Parent Representatives:
Pam Rich
Barbara Stewart
Stephanie Tabachkinoff
Lisa Walker
Veronica Hodge (alternate)

California state law requires each public school site to have an elected committee that represents school staff and the community, and is responsible for developing and reviewing an ongoing School Improvement Plan (SIP). The SSC works with the Principal to develop, review, evaluate and allocate state-awarded funds for school improvement programs.                                                                                                                                         
This program was created in the 1970s with the idea that those most closely involved with our schools and students on a day-to-day basis could make the best decisions about how schools needed to improve. In general, the School Site Council deals more with school policy and budgets than the school PTA does.                                                                                                
Under the California State Education Code, the SIP must address curricula, instructional strategies, and materials responsive to the individual educational needs and learning styles of each pupil. During the 2001-02 academic year, Chabot’s SSC developed a new three-year SIP based on input from teachers and parents. SIP state-awarded funds for the 2002-03 academic year total $28,900 (though the state funding crisis may force a 30% cut). The funds currently support:

• Kindergarten movement specialist
• Poetry specialist and oratory festival
• Part-time traffic and academic mentor
• Maintenance of the school photocopy machine
• A consultant who works with the SSC to guide and monitor effective implementation of the SIP

Other funds monitored by the SSC total $43,982 (including OUSD funds and special grants), earmarked for staff development, assemblies, parent educational events, board games for lunch-time activities, a part-time on-site school psychologist, spelling materials, student dictionaries, and library cataloging software.

New targeted objectives in Chabot’s SIP include:

• early and consistent communication between administration, faculty, and parents on school curriculum and climate issues
• hiring a part-time traffic and safety monitor to help supervise lunch-time activities, including physical education

All parents and community members are welcome to attend SSC meetings. Chabot's School Improvement Plan and the SSC meeting minutes are kept in the school office for public review.

Parents of Children of African Descent (PCAD)

PCAD, a sub-committee of the SSC, is an advocacy group of concerned parents and teachers that serves as a working body at Chabot Elementary. The primary goal of PCAD is to build community, close the achievement gap, and create a model that may be duplicated and used District-wide. PCAD receives funding from the PTA, and has successfully moved Chabot’s AYP scores up 61 points, which in turn moved the school’s scores beyond the 900 mark. The current co-chairs of PCAD are Sonia Manjon and Maria Bee.

Any concerned Chabot community member who believes in equity and diversity can join PCAD. The group meets monthly on the second Tuesday of each month from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the library. Childcare is available. For more information, contact Sonia Manjon, tel. 510-562-7922, email smanjon@cca.edu.