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Minutes 03-07-02MINUTES OF THE EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING HELD IN THE LIBRARY PROGRAM ROOM, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2002 AT 6:00 P.M. Present Beverly Agee, Chairperson Virginia Farace, Board Liaison Floyd Bell Jean Cairo Revia Lee (arrived approx. 6:30 p.m.) Mark Scott Judith Braswell, Alternate Denise Chamberlain, Alternate Andrea Floyd, Student Member Absent Rae Fellows I. Opening and Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag The meeting was called to order at 6:10 p.m. and the members recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. I1. Roll Call The Recording Secretary called the roll and declared that a quorum was present. II1. Minutes of February 7, 2002 The following changes were suggested to the minutes of February 7, 2002: to identify Mr. David Fellows as the speaker on page 5 under OCIP, and in the last line, page 5, change Mr. to Ms. Fellows as the person who will bring a report to the next Board meeting. Also, in item C on page 5, change Ms. Braswell to Rae Fellows as the person who would contact Galaxy Elementary School about the Heifer Project incident. The Board accepted the minutes as amended. IV. Chair's Report Chair Agee verified that all the members hed received their invitations to the Board dinner at Benvenuto Restaurant on April 3. V. City Liaison's Report 1) Delray Beach Proposal for a Middle School of the Arts at the Atlantic High School Site Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 7, 2002 Ms. Farace received a request from the Education Liaison in Delray Beach about a Delray Beach proposal to use the old Atlantic High School site as a middle school of the arts magnet. Ms. Farace suggested that the EAB learn all it could about the subject so that it could establish a position on the subject as soon as possible. If the proposed school were to be a boundary school, it might upset the recent, hard-won EAB victories for the middle school boundaries. The Board should think of whether Boynton Beach would gain by having an arts school. In any case, if the Board is proactive in the matter, it might be instrumental in the establishment of such a school in the eastern, coastal area. Ms. Farace commented that there was a large demand for arts type schools and that the School Board had gone on record as saying that this was one of the magnet schools they hoped to see replicated throughout the County. Ms. Braswell pointed out the popularity of arts schools and that the two schools in West Palm Beach, Dreyfus High School of the Arts and the Middle School of the Arts, attract more applications than any other school in the District. She also spoke of the fact that in spite of their popularity, the entire South County area lacks an arts school and that this causes students in Palm Beach County to spend more time traveling than in just being kids. She offered to find out, informally, how many Boynton Beach students are currently going to the two arts schools in West Palm Beach. Chair Agee thought that the number of applicants should be looked at also since many more students apply than are accepted. Ms. Braswell offered to be a clearinghouse for the information gathering effort and suggested that the Board members send their questions to her via email. Her email address is planteach("C,_,aol.com. Chair Agee thanked Ms. Braswell for her assistance. 2) Odyssey Middle School Donation for the Adopt-a-Scholar Program Ms. Farace reported that Odyssey has a program where students who have made the Honor Roll are taken to dinner at Benvenuto Restaurant with their parents. Many of the students cannot afford this, so the Odyssey Principal asked if the City could support some of its students from the eastern part of Boynton Beach. Chair Agee went to the Odyssey SAC meeting and told them that it would be difficult to ask the Commission to do this for one school and not for others. She brought the matter to the Board as an opportunity for those who wished to participate on an individual basis. Ms. Farace will take the request to the Chamber of Commerce's Education Board to see if they will put it in their newsletter to seek sponsors. The Board agreed that the business community might wish to underwrite these costs for students in need. Ms. Farace noted that requests come in all the time from schools and that the City was going into a budget process soon. She suggested that the Board think about whether it wanted to ask the City for money to be set aside for the EAB to entertain requests of this nature. Alternatively, they might ask the Commission to earmark a certain amount ($500 for example) for each school in the area. At this point in the meeting, Mr. Jim Kidd, Principal of South Tech High School, joined the Board and Chair Agee recognized and welcomed him. He suggested that they finish this item before he spoke. (Ms. Revia Lee arrived at the meeting at this time.) 2 Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 7, 2002 Motion Mr. Scott moved that the EAB not approach the City Commission to support one particular school or ask for money to support the schools. Ms. Chamberlain seconded the motion. The Recording Secretary polled the vote and the motion carried 8-0. VI. Public Audience None VII. Unfinished Business Jim Kidd, Principal, South Technical Community High School The Board members introduced themselves to Mr. Kidd. Mr. Kidd spoke of the District's plan to eliminate three career academy centers, including South Tech, and put them into comprehensive high schools. In two and a half to three years, the new high school, EEE, will be completed and most of South Tech will be moved to it. The planning committee meets weekly and Mr. Kidd invited interested EAB members to join them. The District's goal is to have a vocational center component at every high school in the County, eventually accommodating twenty thousand students. The District believes that this will bring vocational education to more students and eliminate the necessity of traveling long distances to attend the existing academies. Mr. Kidd was proud of the progress that they had made at South Tech, nearly doubling in size over the past two years. They now have nearly seven hundred career academy students and will graduate their first class of seniors this year. There will probably be 1600 to 1700 students enrolled in the school by the time it is slated to move to EEE. The students at South Tech have responded well to the concentrated, integrated curriculum and small class sizes. The Board expressed support for Mr. Kidd's philosophy about the importance of having an integrated curriculum, one in which mathematics skills are brought to bear on practical problems such as calculating the number of sheets of plywood that would be required for a roof deck, for example. It was definitely felt that this approach was a great contributor to the success the students at South Tech have achieved and the Board was very much in favor of seeing this philosophy extended to the new, comprehensive high school program, Mr. Kidd also expressed a belief that all high school students should be required to take a course in Employability Skills such as coming to work on time, staying sober, and working as a team member, regardless of their choice of vocation. Various people expressed a desire for a principal of a comprehensive high school to have a strong vocational background, feeling that the quality of the schools would be determined by the attitude of the administrative staff. They did not want to see the vocational programs and students suffer by having an administrator attuned only to the academic disciplines. 3 Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 7, 2002 Mr. Kidd expressed his commitment to do whatever was necessary to see that the proposed move of South Tech to the new high school did not disadvantage any of the current students, including those who will be seniors when the move is due to occur. A concerned parent and Board member, Mr. Scott, has a son in the ninth grade who would be directly affected by the proposed move and Mr. Scott did not think it would be fair to move him. Mr. Kidd reiterated that he was trying very hard to see that the South TeCh students would be able to continue in the same, or an improved, format and that no student would be negatively impacted by the proposed move. Mr. Scott offered to attend the planning sessions at the School Board with Mr. Kidd and bring a report back to the Board. The Board offered its full assistance to Mr. Kidd and he expressed appreciation, stating that he would keep the Board informed as soon as he knew something definite. Heifer Project International- Galaxy School Ms. Jean Cairo reported on the Heifer Project International, a program that' provides animals to people in developing countries so that they are able to achieve self-reliance in the matter of sustenance. The chickens provide eggs and the cows provide milk, for example. The Board decided to have the students and the teacher who were involved in a fundraising effort for this project attend the Board's April meeting so the Board could offer its approval and confirmation of their efforts. Atlantic High School Not discussed at this meeting. Boundaries - March 25, 2002 School Board Meeting Chair Agee, Ms. Cairo and Ms. Farace will go to this meeting and 1) confirm the changes the Advisory Boundary Committee already granted in Boynton Beach's favor, 2) mention the EAB's desire to have a gifted school on the east side, 3) express its pride in the magnet school, Poinciana Elementary, and 4) mention the transportation issue, expressing conviction that the School Board would be able to carry through on its commitment to transportation. Magnet Schools The Board will continue to monitor this issue. **** Legislative Action Chair Agee mentioned that budget issues were still paramount in the Legislature and the Board will continue to monitor this. 4 Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 7, 2002 Principals' Round Table The Board selected June 13 and June 20 as tentative dates for this meeting. The meeting will be at 1:00 p.m. and Ms. Lee asked Ms. Farace to contact Ms. Decker, who will survey the other principals to determine the best date. LiteracY Action Plan for "Read Together Palm Beach County" Project Ms. Farace noted that the City Commission had just passed a Proclamation making the period March 15 through April 29 "Read Together Boynton Beach" in support of the Countywide initiative. Ms. Farace told the Commissioners about the various groups that were undertaking this project and that the Education Advisory Board and the Library Advisory Board had agreed to read it and discuss it at their regular April meeting. Ms. Farace commented that she would take the Board's comments back to the larger, County group after the April diScussion and that the County group would definitely value the Board's input. She gave the members bookmarks with a website address pertinent to this project and recommended that the members visit the website before the April discussion. **** OCIP Ms. Fellows was to give a report on this issue but was not able to attend this meeting. Ms. Braswell spoke of her discussions with Mr. David Fellows about the impact of having such a program in the elementary schools and the need for a continuum between elementary, middle, and high schools. Mr. Fellows spoke with Ms. Braswell and the principals of Poinciana and Galaxy Elementary Schools about the program. Quantum was not interested in funding an elementary program. Children & Family Services expressed some interest in the program and the principals will meet to discuss a framework for an elementary program that would be split between Poinciana and Galaxy. Ms. Braswell and Mr. Fellows will collaborate on writing the program and with the support of Children & Family Services, the program could be implemented in the fall. VIII. New Business 1) EAB Goals & Directions Chair Agee was concerned that the EAB was not following the guidelines of the Ordinance that created them in all of its particulars. She did not believe, for example, that they were doing "outreach to organizations outside the schools, teachers, and Board members." Ms. Farace believed that the Ordinance, while not perfect, had sufficient latitude and language to cover the Board's activities. Chair Agee asked the members to look at the eight duties in the Ordinance to see whether they thought the Ordinance should be changed. The members were encouraged to submit their applications for reappointment to the Board and to suggest other people who might be suitable candidates. Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 7, 2002 IX. Reports 1) SAC Assignments Ms. Chamberlain reported that Galaxy Elementary is looking for people from the EAB to participate in a School Improvement Workshop to be held in April. The subject is the analysis of some software that contains data on all students in Palm Beach County, with a view towards maximizing its effectiveness. X. Next Meeting The next meeting will be on April 4, 2002. XI. Adjournment The meeting was duly adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan Collins Recording Secretary (two tapes) (3/8/02)