European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 24, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday september 24, 1985 the stars and stripes Page 9 advisory panels keep open Parent school communication by Mary Hlaoky. ,. Start writer  already Are entrenched in this year s classroom routine but now Many parents arc heading Back to these parents Are not asking teachers about student Progress or helping raise Money for school projects. In Stead they Are discussing major issues affecting their schools and giving advice to principals. Parents Are joined by an equal number of teachers As members of school advisory committees. Sacs which have four to 10 members depending on the size of the school were formed four years ago to give parents and educators a voice in what happens in their department of defense dependents schools. After a Rocky Start sacs slowly Are gaining influence Tad winning principals support. If 3rw Nave open communication Between you and your Community sacs can do nothing but help said Daniel Basarich principal of Frankfurt High school. Are now becoming sophisticated. Most people Are feeling real Good about  some still straggling yet Many still Are learning their role. While some arc functioning Well and attracting interested parents to meetings others Are struggling for members and con fused about what they should be doing. And Many parents still Don t know much about the organization even though their schools May have effective sacs. While they know it exists it is not uppermost on their minds said John Mcqueen a Sac member at Heidelberg High school. A lot of people Don t know what it  but the situation is improving said Howard Mickey professor of educational administration at Michigan state University and consultant to Dodds. It s s million percent better than year one said Hickey who recently toured Germany to advise Sac members on what their organizations should be doing. When sacs started virtually a berthing that could go wrong with sacs did go wrong he said. But we now have some of the very Best committees Here in a in Yvo however not All problems have been resolved. We Haven t done nearly As Good a Job at we could in communicating to the Community at Large about what sacs Are Anc whal they Are doing he said. And some principals still Don t like the idea of hearing advice from parents and teachers. Four years ago 50 percent of the principals did t believe in sacs. Now 80 percent do Hickey said. There still arc some Princi pals who want to be  every Dodds school has a Sac which generally meets once a month. Members can tackle any school Issue. School policies educational programs budget facilities maintenance and school meal programs All can be discussed by members. Principals and military Community officials Are encouraged to attend Sac meetings to answer questions and listen to discussions. Sac members who Aren t satisfied with a principal s or Community commander s response to a problem can take the Issue to Dodds regional administrative offices regional directors and eventually to Dodds director Beth Stephens or the advisory Council pm dependents education which meets with top Dodds officials Sev eral times a year. Sacs can Only advise and make recommendations. They Don t have the Power of a school Board but Hickey Slid they Are not designed to act As such. I Don t think it is a substitution for school boards Hickey said. It is a Way of dealing with the unique situation in the military. It s a Way to have the democratic  during his workshops Hickey said that sacs can be a big help to principals by pointing out problems recommending solutions and acting As a sounding Board for the Community. He also explained How Sac members can run meet Ings effectively what their role is and How they should work with ptas Booster clubs and other such organizations. Sacs he said should function independently of ptas or Booster clubs. While sacs Are a forum for discussion and advice ptas and Booster clubs should sponsor activities and raise funds. Sac members said this separation of responsibilities in t always understood. Rose Brandt chairwoman of the Kaiser Lautem elementary school Sac said her group understands the difference. Bat she has heard parents at other schools express confusion. There has been some confusion about the role of ptas and sacs she said. Some people say Why do we have both in a Small school it is the same people in both  Hickey urged representatives of these groups to attend each other s meetings to talk about How they can help each other and the school. Some sacs have become effective even powerful groups. At least one played a key role in getting rid of a principal parents did t like. Others have pressed for portable classrooms to alleviate overcrowding created a Field trip policy surveyed parents on what issues the Sac should address and reviewed curriculum. Buses and cafeterias provide fodder for Many Sac discussions. One Sac succeeded in getting a change of cafeteria management and better Quality food for its school cafeteria. While some Are working hard to make changes others Are floundering for an identity. For example some school personnel including administrators weren t sure the first few weeks of school if they had a Sac or who was its chairperson. Some have trouble getting Sac members and cancel meetings. No parents or teachers attend meetings to raise issues. Attendance problems apathy can be a problem even at schools where sacs have a Good track record Sac members said. Jack White a teacher at Heidelberg Middle school and Sac chairperson said his school s Sac is functioning Well. But sustaining interest is a problem he said. After the first meeting we drop Down dramatically in attendance he said. At the end of the year we re dragging in with just the  but he and others say record breaking attendance at Sac meetings in t a measure of an effective organization. Parents turn out in Force members said Only when there is a major school problem. Slim attendance they said can mean the school ii functioning Well and parents and teachers Are satisfied. If there Are 200 people at a meeting Here must be something wrong with the school said Hal Brown a Sac member at bad Hersfeldt elementary. But Hickey said a regular meeting should be attended by at least 30 to 40 people. You stand to lose the most when the process Breaks Down Hickey told principals. You show me a Community where there is apathy about the school process and the principal has t been doing his  schools update 24 Dodds seniors reach Merit scholarship semifinals Twenty four High school seniors in department of defense dependents schools have been named As semifinalists in the 31st annual National Merit scholarship Competition. Scholarship winners will be announced in the Spring of 1986, when 5.800 scholarships Worth nearly s21 million will be awarded. Nationwide 15,000 students less than one half of i percent of senior class members have been named As semifinalists. Semifinal its attending Dodds schools in Europe Are in the Atlantic Region Timothy m. Hender son Brussels american High school Belgium Jane p. Davenport Daniel m. Smith and Philip b. Young All of London Central High school in eng land and Kelly Kleifges Lakenheath american High school in England in the Germany Region Joseph e Miller. Trabach american High school Eugene c. Helm and Gregory a. Martin both of Pitburg american High school Allison j. Asch nun Frankfurt Amer ican High school Michelle l. Jennings Heidelberg american High school Suzanne m. Hill and Ste Ven c. Hohn Bath of Stuttgart american High school Paul t. Stone Gen. . Arnold High school in Wiesbaden and Polly Allred Wei Bruecken High school. In the Mediterranean Region Matthew j. Rave Torrejon american High school in Spain Allen r. Evans Zaragoza High school in Spain and Ian t. Macgregor of Naples High school in Italy. Child care association plans conference oct. 19-20 the association for Young children Europe will hold a conference oct. 19 and 20 designed for teachers caregivers health professionals and others who work with children. Registration will be held on oct. 18 from 6 to 8 . At the Wiesbaden Middle school gymnasium and again on oct. 19 before the conference opens at 9 . At Gen. . Arnold High school in wies Baden. The conference Cost is $12 for association members and $25 for non members. The keynote speaker will be Judith Lindfors of the University of Texas Early childhood depart ment a Well known researcher in the area of Lan Guage development. Additional information is available from Ginny Peters with the University of Southern California 06i34-6556. Training program scheduled for 40 school administrators a total of 40 new school administrators in the department of defense dependents schools in Ger Many will participate in a training program sept. 30 through oct. 4l v information presented to the sessions which will be held at Lindsey As in Wiesbaden win include the role of the new administrator a variety of personnel issues including management employee relations educational issues such As extracurricular activities special education and student discipline and logistics and Community relations. The course is part of a program to train new administrators Ana help them develop skills quickly. 600 by the Assoc lated press the 600 teachers who struck for 13 Days in Pawtucket. R.i., returned to work monday after ratifying a three year con tract but teachers walked out in two More Pennsylvania school districts to Idle a total of eight in that state. In All 6,125 teachers were on strike in Washington Pennsylvania Ohio Illinois and new Jersey affecting slightly More than 80,800 students. Pawtucket teachers reached agreement Friday with the school committee and ratified the contract later that Day. The new pact includes a 19.5 percent pay in crease Over three years. Teachers strikes arc illegal in Rhode Island. The Pawtucket strike which idled 8.200 students was the 10th teachers strike in the City since 1946. A judge scheduled a hearing sept. 30 on whether 53 striking teachers who were jailed will have to pay an estimated $56,000 and their Union an estimated $20,000 for defying her Back to work order. The jailed teachers were released Friday after the agreement was reached. In Pennsylvania the 600 teachers in the 9,500-student Central Bucks county District called a strike after contract talks broke Down Over salaries and benefits. Classes had already been cancelled in Case the talks failed. About 90 teachers also began striking monday in the fort Cherry school District which serves about 1,600 students from Washington and Allegheny counties. A strike scheduled to begin monday in the pen Crest schools in Crawford county was postponed while the 160-Mcmbcr teachers Union considered a revised con tract proposal produced in a bargaining session that ended at 1 30 . The District serves about 4,200 students. In the nation s largest school strike the Seattle teachers association and school Board were studying a Compromise pro posed by gov. Booth Gardner. No one would reveal details of the proposal. Monday was the 15th Day of missed classes in Seattle s 43,500-Studcnt school system which was struck sept. 3 by 3,700 teachers substitutes aides and secretaries. In new Jersey contract talks continued into the morning As 230 teachers and sup port workers entered the fifth Day of their strike against the Manalapan Englishtown regional school District. In addition to teachers on strike in two Public school districts in Ohio. 108 teach ers at Lakeland Community College at Mentor set up picket lines monday after rejecting a contract proposal said faculty association spokesman Jim Struna. Lakeland president James Catanzaro said classes were being held monday for the College s 9,000 full time and part time students because most arc taught by part time faculty members. No talks were scheduled in Illinois two school strikes monday As teachers remained on picket lines in Brown county and Winola districts keeping about 1,400 students at Home