Advisory Committees

The school district continually seeks individuals willing to serve on district committees and task forces to study issues involving the education of Plano ISD students and to make recommendations to the Board of Trustees and District-based Improvement Committee. Descriptions follow for some of these district committees.

• Career Education
• Library/Information Services
• Health
• Diversity Advocacy
• School Based Improvement Committees
• Special Academic Services

To apply to become a member of one of the following committees, complete the Plano ISD Advisory Committee Application Form (9k) , and return it to the Office of the Superintendent, Plano Independent School District, 2700 W. 15th Street, Plano, TX 75075. Questions may be directed to the communications office at (469) 752-8150.

Career Education

The committee shall consist of 21 members. Members shall serve three-year terms with one-third of the membership appointed each year. The committee shall be composed of representatives of the general public, business, industry, and labor, one member knowledgeable of at-risk students, one member representing parents of program participants, and at least one representative from each Career Education program area offered in the District (Agriculture, Science, business & information Technology, Family & consumer Sciences, Health Science Technology, Marketing Education, Technology Education, and Trade & Industrial Education.)

The committee shall have appropriate representation of both sexes and of the racial and ethnic minorities found in the schools and community. The Career Education Advisory Committee will advise the Board concerning programs which provide students career pathways and skills necessary to pursue a career. The committee may study the advisability of adding, deleting, and changing various programs based on the needs of the community and student body of the District. The Board of Trustees or Superintendent may direct the committee to study and make recommendations on specific issues. [19 TAC 78.2(b)]

Library/Information Services

The committee shall consist of 21 members and they shall serve three-year terms with one-third of the membership appointed each year. The committee shall be composed of parents, community members and staff. Members of the committee shall be asked to study and make recommendations concerning the various components of the library and information service programs. The Board of Trustees may also direct the committee to study and make recommendations on specific issues.

Health

The committee shall include persons who represent diverse views in the community about human sexuality instruction. The majority of the committee must be parents of students enrolled in the district. Members shall serve three-year terms with one-third of the membership appointed each year. The Health Advisory Committee will advise the Board concerning any course material and instruction relating to human sexuality, sexually transmitted diseases, or human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome. The Board of Trustees may direct the committee to study and make recommendations on specific issues. [TEC 28.004(e)]

Melinda Smith (chair) Kelly Archer Jenny Birge Tamara Crawford Diane Davey Susan Davis Amanda Dunn Paula Edwards Patricia Fantini

Kaely Forbus Kristine Holsteine Karen Ippen Lauren Jones Cheryl Kool Kristy Logan Renate Ferraro Mei Lu

Pam Murray Dr. Angie Rogers Kathy Sedlet Matt Shaheen Cherie Tipsword Sharon Valeriane Alan Waligura Jacki Walsh

Diversity Advocacy

The committee shall consist of 21 members. Members shall serve three-year terms with one-third of the membership appointed each year. The committee membership shall represent, to the extent possible, the diversity of the Plano school community and staff. The committee members will focus their attention on any PISD program or current issue regarding race, religion, ethnicity and handicapping situations.

The committee may study the advisability of adding, deleting, and changing various programs based on the needs of the community and student body of the District. The Board of Trustees or Superintendent may direct the committee to study and make recommendations on specific issues. The committee will report directly to the Board since the  issues addressed do not usually fall within the purview of the District Based Improvement Council.

Yulya Bushnell (chair) Dr. May Li (chair elect) Emelia Ahmed Niyaz Ansari Harriett Bell Mark Briskman Jeanna Davis Dr. Jana Flowers

Renee Godi Courtney Gober Dr. Robert Hasley Molly Hotaling Graciela Katzer Dr. Saul Laredo Dr. Raj Menon Dawnetta Miller

Dr. Ayaz Malik Carolyn Raiser Dr. Elaine Schmidt Dr. Gene Wilkes Rabbi Stefan Weinberg Jun Melvin (PISD liaison) Dee Sampson (PISD liaison) Dollie Thomas (PISD liaison)

School Based Improvement Committees (SBIC)

Hundreds of Plano ISD parents, teachers, business and civic leaders serve on School Based Improvement Committees (SBIC) on each of the district's campuses. Committees include representatives from the business community who work with teachers and parents and other community members analyzing student test data and developing goals which will positively affect student achievement.

A large team of trained facilitators assists the committees in their work. These facilitators are teachers, principals, and district administrators who volunteer their time for extensive training in team-building and group facilitation and for working with the committees.

The district conducts annual training for facilitators and SBIC members. Training is conducted on law and local policies, the "Academic Excellence Indicator System" report from the Texas Education Agency, and in goal-setting and communication. The work of our SBICs has paid off...In recent years Plano ISD has doubled the number of exemplary schools in the state's accountability rating system. The district has no low performing schools and test scores have improved for every state-identified student group.

In addition to the school based improvement process, the District Based Improvement Committee has taken seriously the challenge of developing and refining our district improvement plan. Teams of staff members have reviewed and revised many aspects of curriculum planning and management, professional development, long-range planning and organization. The district is also continuing to study how we can ensure equity and excellence as we grow.

For more information about the SBIC process, contact your school principal or the Plano ISD Communications Office at (469) 752-8150.

Special Academic Services

The committee shall represent the following academic services: Special Education, Gifted Education, Multilingual and Dyslexia. The committee shall consist of 30 members - 6 members for each of the academic services. Members shall serve three-year terms with one-third of the membership appointed each year. Each academic service area will be represented by four citizens who, if possible, have students in the various programs and two staff members from each program. In addition, each academic service area is coordinated by an administrative staff liaison.

The committee will focus on district equity, the relationship among the programs, and the unique needs of each program. The committee may study the advisability of adding, deleting, and changing various programs based on the needs of the community and student body of the district. The Board of Trustees or Superintendent may direct the committee to study and make recommendations on specific issues.

Jayne Cantwell (chair) Kathy Bass - Multilingual Daniel Carcano - Multilingual Dario Sosa - Multilingual Claudia Yarahuan - Multilingual Vangie Cortez - Multilingual Esmer Wear - Multilingual Julie Burkman - Dyslexia Kim O'Bryon - Dyslexia Audrey Schaper - Dyslexia Efanne Strumpell - Dyslexia Christie Duke - Dyslexia Karen Lantz - Dyslexia

Jennifer Arnold - Special Education Deborah Jacobs - Special Education Julia Meyers - Special Education Marie Walls - Special Education Kelly Waterman - Special Education Linda Keesee - Special Education Lisa Long - Special Education Shena Chambers - Gifted Pam Hatridge - Gifted Shannon Kennedy - Gifted Kimberly Walters - Gifted Gabe Fain - Gifted Donna Hartman - Gifted