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Minutes 04-05-01MINUTES OF THE EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING HELD IN THE LIBRARY PROGRAM ROOM, APRIL 5, 2001 AT 6:00 P.M. BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT ALSO PRESENT Diana Tedtmann, Chairperson Judith Braswell, Alternate Rae Fellows Arlene Greenberg Dorothy Howard Virginia Farace, Educati.on Board Liaison ABSENT Concepcion Galdos Michael Hazlett Aly Gore, Student Revia Lee Rosalind Murray, Alternate Caroline Roter, Student I. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chair Diana Tedtmann called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Chair Tedtmann welcomed the representative of COBWRA, Jeff Kaufer. II. ROLL CALL The Recording Secretary called the roll and declared that a quorum was present. III. GROUND RULES/AGENDA Chair Tedtmann reviewed the Meeting Ground Rules established by the Board at a recent workshop. Those Ground Rules are: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) Everyone contributes Every person is equally valued An agenda with time constraints Individual time constraints established at each meeting Attack the problem not the person Honor the rules established Fist to five Board members who are unable to attend meetings should provide input in writing to the Chair prior to the meeting date. Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 5, 2001 Chair Tedtmann explained Fist to Five by saying that if five fingers are held up, the person is in agreement with what is being said. If four fingers are held up it indicates almost complete agreement and so on down to a fist, which meant that the Board needed to stop and address the concern(s) of that person before proceeding with the business at hand. Ms. Braswell stated that Fist to Five was a method usually used to gain consensus. She thought it would be best used as a means of gaining consensus on an item on which the Board had to reach agreement. Ms. Farace agreed and said it preceded the stage of voting. If a person indicated a hand raise with a fist, that person would be responsible for stating what the change was that would make the item acceptable. Ms. Fellows said that if a person were confused, the Fist to Five method could be used so that person could gain clarification on a particular point. Chair Tedtmann changed the agenda by adding five minutes to the 10-minute allotment for Item VII.(A), Prioritize Categories. Chair Tedtmann also mentioned Public Audience, saying that during Board meetings, the Board members had to conduct Board business, but there was a spot on the agenda for Public Audience and the public was welcome to attend and participate at the time of Public Audience. The need for a timekeeper during the meetings was also mentioned, somebody who would be willing to keep track of time and let the Chairman know if the allotted time is being exceeded. The time of the meetings was also discussed and Chair Tedtmann said it would fluctuate depending on the items on the agenda but that tonight's meeting would probably be about 90 minutes. Ms. Howard offered to be the timekeeper. It was suggested that a category entitled NEW BUSINESS should be added to the agenda. Ms. Farace commented that it was important that the Board members understood the kind of commitment that was called for to serve on this Board. If the Board members do not attend, the Board business cannot move forward. All persons who want to stay on the Board should put the Board meetings on their calendars and make a firm commitment to attend the meetings. Chair Tedtmann said this would be covered under Priorities. At the moment, the Board was short four members, which made it difficult for the rest of the Board. Chair Tedtmann encouraged the Board members to actively recruit replacements for the missing Board members. Ms. Fellows brought up the point that even if a person were absolutely unable to attend a meeting due to something unforeseen, he or she could call, write, or fax the Chairperson with their position or comments on agenda items in lieu of their direct participation. IV. CHAIR'S REPORT Chair Tedtmann reported on the recent workshop, which had been a very positive experience. The group got a lot of things done and was pleased with its efforts. Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 5, 2001 It had been a difficult year for the Board. A lot of people left the Board, some came on, and the boundary issues had taken up a huge amount of time. Chair Tedtmann communicated the results of a COBWRA meeting she had attended. One of the things that came out of it was a shared interest in what was go~ng on at Congress Middle School. The discipline issue came up at Congress Middle School and the strategies they were using to enforce it and what they might want to try. This could be a topic for a future agenda. Ms. Braswell asked Chair Tedtmann to invite the principal of Congress Middle School if the Board intended to discuss Congress Middle School and Ms. Fellows agreed. Ms. Braswell felt that, just based on what had already been said at the meeting, that the principal should have been invited. She stated that the Board needed to begin building relationships with the principals and she did not want the principals to be the last ones to know about things. Ms. Fellows wondered if someone should be responsible for inviting the principals each month? Chair Tedtmann stated that this issue would come up under the Prioritizing later in this meeting but that she understood the concerns. Chair Tedtmann distributed a newspaper article pertaining to school crime statistics in the Tri County area. Chair Tedtmann also reported on a visit she had made to Sara Williams Community Family Friends & Forum Network in the Bible Church of God. This is a very active community group in the north end of the City. Their primary concern at this meeting was Seacrest Boulevard and accidents where the road curved near Ezell Hester Center. They wanted the County to look at putting stoplights at certain places along Seacrest. The tie-in with the EAB was that students up to the canal would have to walk to Boynton Beach High School, which opens in the fall. They were concerned about those students crossing Seacrest Boulevard to get to the high school. The area concerned goes from 1- 95 to Federal Highway with Seacrest somewhere in the middle. Ms. Farace said there was a traffic light and walk signal at Gateway Boulevard and Chair Tedtmann stated that the County mentioned that. The residents, however, maintained that the children would cross the street at many other places besides this one. Their particular interest was to have a stoplight at the Rainbow Store and Ezell Hester crossings. The City is trying to work with the County to get these lights. Chair Tedtmann spoke of the forum that was held for Dr. Cornnell to talk about Boynton Beach Community High School. Dr. Cornnell brought his athletic coach, four assistant principals, the ESE Coordinator, and he provided the names of the music director and one other who could not be there. Dr. Cornnell's presentation was interesting, informative and enjoyed by the group of about 80 concerned and involved persons in attendance. Dr. Cornnell's multi-media Power Point presentation was outstanding. Chair Tedtmann stated that his school has a full camera surveillance system and there will be a gate, which will be closed during school hours. If a person wants to get into the school, they must stop at the gate, buzz, have a picture taken, and be admitted to the school. Someone will have the responsibility of watching the monitors for all the cameras. Ms. Farace said that it was interesting to note that much of what Dr. Cornnell said had been brought up in the community high school meetings. Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 5, 2001 Chair Tedtmann said that in relation to school safety, she had spoken to Richard Kabinoff, the SAC Chairman for Congress Middle School, and they had changed from having assistant principals using walkie-talkies to equipping them with earplugs and a speaker system so that the communication was more discreet. V. CITY LIAISON'S REPORT Ms. Farace distributed copies of a resignation letter from Mr. Hazlett, a long-time Board member. Ms. Farace reiterated the importance of the other Board members actively recruiting new Board members. The City Commission was in the process of making selections at this time and Talent Bank forms need to be filled out. The forms may be obtained at the City Clerk's office or in the lobby of City Hall. She also recommended seeking the most diverse group possible so that all sectors of society would be represented including males. She suggested that people who had children in the school system be given consideration and recruited if possible. VI. PUBLIC AUDIENCE Chair Tedtmann offered Mr. Jeff Kaufer from COBWRA an opportunity to speak. He spoke of his concerns as a parent, stating that he had a daughter going to Poinciana. He had gotten interested in the boundary issue and had gone to some meetings out west. He said he had a double agenda because he was part of COBWRA but was not entirely happy with it. He offered to serve as a conduit for information destined for COBWRA from the EAB. Ms. Farace observed that in spite of having a large number of young families in the west Boynton area, many of them did not feel they were fully represented by COBWRA. Mr. Kaufer stated that he, also, did not believe that COBWRA was speaking for all the western communities. He lived in one of the nine Rainbow Lakes communities who all, at one time, belonged to COBWRA. He thought his community was the only one who still belonged. He believed COBWRA spoke for the senior communities and did not have parental representation. Ms. Farace remarked that Mr. Kaufer could perform a valuable service by organizing the Rainbow Lakes area and get an education committee to represent the families. Ms. Fellows said they could come to this meeting also. Ms. Braswell expressed appreciation for Mr. Kaufer's visit to the Board. Ms. Greenberg asked if the Commission had approved the resolution about the Board working with the other groups in the area on education? Chair Tedtmann stated that the resolution had given the EAB the ability to form coalitions. They were in the process of joining a Tri City coalition with Delray Beach and Boca Raton and with the western communities by having a Greater Boynton Beach Coalition with COBWRA and the EAB. This would be discussed again later in the agenda. VII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Prioritize Categories Chair Tedtmann described the process by which the categories of concerns were chosen at the recent workshop and distributed a list of concerns generated duringin the Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 5, 2001 workshop. Ms. Braswell shared a matrix for possible use of the Board members in choosing priorities for the selected categories. The process of using the matrix was explained and the Board spent some time filling out their priorities. Chair Tedtmann was to tally and present the results at the next meeting of the EAB. B. Changes in SIP/Round Table Dates Chair Tedtmann stated that in the past, SIPs had always been due in the Spring but now that the FCAT scores were associated with them, the SIPs were delayed by having to wait for the FCAT scores, which do not come out until the end of May. She believed they had to be voted on October 1 and finalized and presented to the Board by the end of October. Ms. Farace asked when the schools would have a draft to present? Chair Tedtmann stated that schools typically started in August so maybe the schools could meet on their SIP plans in early August. Ms. Braswell .thought this would be a perfect time to review the SIP plans. Ms. Braswell also said she would be at the district office the next day and she offered to visit the proper department to try to find out if there were dates and if so, get the information to Chair Tedtmann. Ms. Braswell said that when they tried to report on the SIP at Orientation in the fall, it did not get much attention from the parents. The Board discussed having the Annual Principal's Round Table in June and the SIP in September. For the benefit of the new Board members, Chair Tedtmann explained that the Annual Principal's Round Table was a meeting that was attended by the Commissioners, School Board members, principals, the Chamber, and EAB members. The last meeting had been very productive in that the principals were able to ask questions directly of the School Board and there was a great deal of give and take discussion that was useful. A lot of information was shared. The Board decided to survey the principals to see if their schedules would accommodate a round table on June 7. Chair Tedtmann was to ask Revia Lee to do this. Chair Tedtmann hoped that input from the principals could be factored into the EAB Board's goals and priorities. Ms. Braswell stated that she was concerned about the needs assessment and what the schools actually needed. Chair Tedtmann said that could be discussed at the Round Table. C. Coalition Representation The Board chose representatives and alternates for the Tri Cities Coalition and the Greater Boynton Beach Coalition with COBWRA. The next Tri Cities meeting will be April 9 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. next to the Commission Chambers in Delray Beach at Old School Square. The Greater Boynton Beach Coalition with COBWRA was on the third Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. at Bethesda Health City. D. SAC Reports Citrus Cove Elementary Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 5, 2001 Ms. Howard reported that at the last meeting they discussed the carnival held the previous weekend. They raised $8,000 (after expenses) which was the most they had ever raised. All the teachers were involved and had their own booths and they could decide whatever they wanted to do - some had games and some had contests. There was a cake contest that was very popular. Almost every grade participated and there were tickets so the teachers could earn money for their classrooms. The vice principal was going through all the tickets to see which booths had been the most popular for help in planning future carnivals. The overcrowding was mentioned and they had quite an influx of children with the advent of the Burgatta Development on Miner Road. Uniforms are going to be the order of the day soon. They talked about the SIP in terms of staffing and the shortage of teachers, especially Special Ed. Galaxy Elementary Since Mr. Hazlett left the Board, this school is uncovered. Ms. Braswell said that the sAC meeting minutes could be obtained from the school and Rae Fellows offered to get them. Chair Tedtmann suggested that Ms. Fellows get on their mailing list. Ms. Farace hoped that with a fuller Board, this school could be covered. The Board disCussed the idea of getting the SAC minutes and decided that they would only do this in the case of the schools that were not currently covered by an EAB member. Rolling Green Elementary Chair Tedtmann reported on Rolling Green and said that school uniforms had come up and they were starting to discuss them. They were dealing with the issue of children who could not afford uniforms. They had a Literacy Night recently and every student that brought an adult with them got a free book. Ways of adults working with children to promote literacy were presented. The presentation was translated into Creole and Spanish so that everyone could learn about literacy. Chair Tedtmann had asked for a breakdown of their population because she knew there was a large ESOL population. Out of 860 students, there are approximately 200 Haitians and 200 Hispanics. Christa McAuliffe Middle School Ms. Greenberg stated that she could not attend this meeting because it had been on the first Monday of the month prior to the EAB meeting. In May, her SAC meeting follows the EAB meeting but she would attend it and report on it at the next EAB meeting. Chair Tedtmann suggested that Ms. Greenberg ask to be put on the mailing list for the SAC minutes. Santaluces High School Ms. Fellows did not attend the SAC meeting this month but had the previous month. At that time they were talking of finalizing their SIP in April. They had a beautiful video they were taking to the middle schools to recruit the middle school students. They had a speaker, David Fellows, who spoke about the OClP program and they are going to have this at their school if the funding goes through. Each of the SAC attendees were given a Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 5, 2001 packet of information pertaining to the ways they tried to make the FCAT more fun for the students. Forest Park Elementary School This school is not currently covered by an EAB member. get on their mailing list for the SAC minutes. Ms. Fellows offered to call and Poinciana Elementary School Ms. Braswell stated that a uniform dress code had come up many times and it was coming up again at the request of parents who wanted it. The parents are studying the situation and looking at Jupiter Middle School's dress code. They have four committees that report at each SAC meeting. The literacy committee talked about the successes of Family Night of Literary where 60% of the parents attended. They had 300 satisfaction surveys returned and decided that it had been a valuable experience. The technology committee reported they were working on a comprehensive plan for technology. The third grade went to NASA and got a backstage tour. The fourth graders just got back from the Museum of Science and Industry where they spent the night at the museum in Tampa. The fifth grade went to Fantasy of Flight in Lake Wales. The fourth graders will be going on a swamp buggy ride at J.W. Corbett Wildlife Center in the wetlands. Congress Middle School Ms. Farace had not been to a SAC meeting recently as their meetings coincide with the EAB meetings or with the School Board meetings. She offered to step down and the principal asked her to stay on so she said she would try to get to next week's meeting. Chair Tedtmann had spoken to Richard Kabinoff who said they were thinking of rebuilding the Congress Middle School facility. This related to safety because of the way Congress was designed. It was not real easy to see what was going on and there were a lot of secluded spots with no clear vision. Ms. Fellows stated that Mr. Meitzer was going to take his teachers through the areas in which his students lived so they would be aware of where the students were coming from. She said that Congress Middle School was an important school to Boynton Beach and they need a lot of help and support. She was glad that COBWRA was going to get involved and help the young families become involved. Chair Tedtmann related Mr. Kabinoff's comment that a lot of fights that took place at Congress did not start at Congress. The kids come from the same neighborhoods and they bring whatever is going on in the neighborhoods to the campus. She thought this should be examined and discussed by the EAB. Atlantic High School The Board said it had lost its two student members because they were taking a class that met at the same time as the EAB. Ms. Farace said that Aly Gore had attended the Tri City meeting. Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 5, 2001 South Tech High School Chair Tedtmann remarked that South Tech would probably have a freshmen class of about 400 students. The budget was put in place and it looked like it would be in pretty good shape. They were still accepting applications and probably would accept them right up to August. Boynton Beach Community High School Ms. Farace said that she had been asked to join their SAC and had been working with the principal to get business partnerships in place. VIII. NEW BUSINESS Commissioner Fisher's Request to the Board to Study School Violence Commissioner Fisher mentioned at the workshop that he was concerned about school violence and wanted to talk to the other Commissioner's about it. The issue became formalized at the City Commission meeting of April 3 when the Commissioners voted to "request the EAB to review school violence issues". Ms. Farace stated that Commissioner Black did not want to tie up the EAB with this issue since they were still busy with the boundary issues and other matters. Commissioner Fisher wants solutions and suggestions for actions the local government could take to help alleviate school violence. Chair Tedtmann suggested that the EAB members bring back to the EAB the school safety issues addressed at their SAC meetings so they could share the various ways the schools were addressing school violence issues. Ms. Braswell said that every SIP covered Literacy, Math, and School Safety and that it would be interesting to see what the other schools were doing and thinking along this line. Chair Tedtmann asked that the members forward any information to her so she could distribute it to the other Board members prior to the meeting that followed their SAC meeting. Chair Tedtmann said that Commissioner Fisher had been speaking to the lobbyist in Tallahassee on the issue and there was only one bill at present on the subject. Ms. Farace distributed the bill that Commissioner Fisher had given them, HB 1495 by Representative Carassas, "A bill to be entitled an Act Relating to School Safety .... "to all the Board members. Ms. Farace said she thought they should get the District's position on the bill they were reading. Ms. Fellows volunteered to call Mr. Vernon Crawford, the lobbyist, to try to determine the District's position. Ms. Farace also stated that she had communicated with the Commission via the City Manager, Kurt Bressner, about the Safe Schools Task Force, of which she was a member. They had just forwarded a report with their recommendations and priorities to the Superintendent of Schools. Ms. Farace distributed copies of the report to the Board members. Ms. Farace believed it would be necessary for the Board members to review the bill, the Safe Schools Task Force recommendations, and the individual school SIP plans so that Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 5, 2001 at the next meeting the Board members could come prepared with some sort of report on those three areas and let the Commission know that the review had begun. Chair Tedtmann said she would put School Violence on the next meeting's agenda. Ms. Fellows stated that there was anotr~er bill before the Senate and the House at this time regarding On Campus Intervention Programs for the prevention of suspensions and dropouts which was also related to safety. If the children were brought into counseling situations early, they would be less likely to resort to violence. Chair Tedtmann asked Ms. Fellows to try to get a copy of the bill and send it to her for distribution to the Board members. Ms. Braswell wanted a recap of the Board's responsibilities so far from this meeting and they were to 1) read the bill, 2) read the Safe Schools Task Force recommendations, and 3) bring the SIP report from assigned schools and if possible, provide the SIP reports to Chair Tedtmann prior to the next meeting for distribution to other Board members. Workshop Follow Up Ms. Fellows said that one of the things that came out of the workshop was that the Board wanted to have an agenda-setting session at every meeting so that all members could participate in setting the agendas for the meetings. Chair Tedtmann said that this would come out of the result of the priorities and that this would be discussed at their next meeting, She said that the agenda was important and that if anyone wanted something put on the agenda, they could contact her and she would take care of it. Ms. Fellows thought that this issue required more time. Ms. Fellows also thought that another workshop was needed to finalize their goals from the previous workshop. Chair Tedtmann agreed and hoped that everyone would look at their summer schedules and come to the next meeting prepared to set a date. Ms. Fellows said that if the meeting were arranged two months in advance, the members could make a commitment to come to it. Ms. Braswell asked if a thank-you note had been sent to Cheryl Baker, the facilitator for the Board's recent workshop, and it had been sent. The Board appreciated Ms. Baker's competent handling of their workshop and expressed their thanks to her for all she did to help the Board translate their thoughts into firm goals. IX. OPEN DISCUSSION Ms. Braswell and Ms. Greenberg stated that they did not receive the February minutes. Chair Tedtmann and Ms. Farace had received them. The February minutes were copied and distributed to those in attendance and would be sent to those not in attendance after the meeting. Chair Tedtmann stated that she would put the approval of the minutes of the February meeting on the next agenda. Chair Tedtmann asked for additions to the next agenda. They were going to spend more time on prioritizing and the agenda. They needed time to discuss the handouts including the Bill, the Safe Schools Task Force, and the SIP plans that the members had been able to obtain. Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 5, 2001 Ms. Greenberg asked about the Charter School and wanted to discuss it at the r~ext meeting. Ms. Farace said she knew they met every month on Mondays and that so far she had not been able to go. Ms. Fellows wanted to be advised of the next meeting. Ms. Fellows asked for an agenda item for her report on meetings with the Community Alliance for Reform in Education group. Chair Tedtmann said she would put on the Coalition representatives, the SIP and the Round Table. The next meeting date for the EAB will be May 3, 2001. Ms. Fellows asked if they wanted to approach some students from Atlantic and the new high school that may want to be on the Board? Chair Tedtmann had a student candidate from South Tech and since they could only have two, thought one should be sought from the new high school. There being no further business to come before the meeting, the meeting was duly adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan Collins Recording Secretary (two tapes) 10