LMS School Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes Q3 SY 25-26

Date/Location: 2 March 2026, LMS Front Office Conference Room

Meeting Start: 3:20 pm

Introduction

President – Natalie Arthaud

Vice President – Shelley Jurewicz

Secretary – Nikole Schmidt

Principal – Steven Smith

Assistant Principal – Brittany Hossain

LMS Teacher – John Testa

SLO - Sean Lauwers

LMS Student – Conner Schmidt (attending on behalf of Scouts BSA)

Goals

1. Increased stakeholder communication, including Belongingness.
2. Kindness, Respect, and Social/Cultural Awareness.

No changes to SAC Goals for this meeting.

Staffing & Demographics

1. Update on Staffing: New Staff, a counselor, arrived this week and will be getting up to speed. 9 March is the start date for the Personnel Secretary for LMS, and with that, the school will be fully staffed! 
2. Bell Schedule Update: Going smoothly, with minor adjustments, but overall, the staff and students seem to be taking to the changes nicely. 
3. Master Scheduling Update: The huge task of beginning schedule planning for next year has begun. Mr. Smith hopes that this will be drafted for staff planning around Spring Break. For student numbers and courses, they are planning on about the same staffing as what they currently have – more information to come as movements are decided and the schedule becomes solidified. 

Old Business:

Reminder: Parent feedback form is here à https://shorturl.at/HnRcV 

From previous notes, there was a HOLD from the admin on reaching out to parents with the best communication methods, until after the Stakeholder Survey. With that complete, Mr. Smith will engage on what the best way to move forward.

New Business:

1. DCAS Testing Dates: May 4-7^th, with make-ups the following week. This is for the 6^th & 7^th grade, as the 8^th grade does NAEP and PSAT testing. This exam is proctored and taken by computer, so the school has begun a campaign to help students prepare for the testing style. Using the Star Wars theme, “May the Scores be with you,” can be seen all over the school, and new example questions are posted in the cafeteria. There are weekly prize drawings for those who answer correctly. Encourage your students to participate so they have some familiarity with the question style! More to come about events that week of testing. 
2. School Improvement Goals: School Improvement Goals are steady state; LMS is approaching the end of its School Action Plan (SAP) cycle (2-year). More to come on this as a new SAP is created and leadership guidance is released.
3. Positive Behavior Plan: There has been an uptick in behavior issues, although minor, perhaps associated with the increase in stressors at home that many students are experiencing. The school is moving swiftly to put supports in place – more adult presence throughout the school during the day, especially in high student-to-teacher environments like lunch, bus pick up, and hallway passing periods. They are also bringing in programs from the MFRC and Red Cross, for example, to support students with resources. The school counselors and MFLC are available for any students who need more support. 

Behavior continues to be worse in bathrooms and on the buses. Administrators have tried several solutions for knowing who is responsible for bathroom destruction (QR code registration for passes, for example) and continue to look for ideas on encouraging better behavior and to stop wandering in the hallways. Bus behavior is a serious issue and a safety problem for the drivers. The administration has engaged the idea of monitors, but it is not available. They are trying everything they can to encourage and monitor, but their oversight does not reach the rides themselves. Parents are encouraged to address and encourage positive behavior for their students – the ride is an extension of school!

Stakeholder Feedback Survey: https://www.dodea.edu/sfs Open through March 13th, 2026. Please, respond and help our community improve!

RAFL Deployment: Awareness for affected students, see the behavior section above. The school is standing by for any students in the LMS community who have been affected and are in need. 

LMS Events

Field Trips by grade:

• 7^th: 19 March, Hamilton
• 6^th & 8^th: No plans, TBD.

Aviation Day: 17 AprilMOMC Events at LMS – Pending dates for flyovers

10 April, Purple Up Picnic (email) 11:00am-1:00pm

13 April – Spirit Week

17 April, PTO Dance

23 April, PTO Free Popcorn Day

25 April, KUDOS Event, Hangar 814 RAFM

Career Day: 24 April, Ms. Jacobson for details or assistance.

Note: There will be no traditional UK day this year. Stay tuned for Ms. Guyer and the PTO to announce something else!

Star Wars Week, before DCAS Testing

Spring Fine Arts Night: 28 May

End of Year Award Ceremony Dates, TBD

Rising 9^th Grader Events: Awards & Dance

PTO is leading the planning for this event; volunteers are always welcome! 5 June is the tentative date, will follow the same format as last year at the HS auditorium/dance in the cafeteria.

Upcoming SAC Meeting Dates

1. 2 March
2. Final Meeting May 4 – Begin taking nominations for president and secretary positions. Both members serving will hit their 2-year limit. The LMS staff position will also be up for re-election. The admin is exploring options for both nominations and voting. TBD. All positions will be voted on NLT 10 JUNE, per SAC Bylaws. 
3. Open Forum:

• Mr. Testa is still seeking community members interested in working with classroom students as a Subject Matter Expert, engaging them in hands-on and cross-curricular learning. Contact him at John.Testa@dodea.edu with interest or for more information. 

End Meeting: 4:12pm

SAC Contact: lakenheathms.sac@gmail.com