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Minutes 12-05-02 MINUTES OF THE EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING HELD IN THE LIBRARY PROGRAM ROOM, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2002 AT 6:00 P.M. Present Beverly Agee, Chairperson Lillian Artis Dr. Floyd Beil Jean Cairo Rae Fellows, Alternate Virginia Farace, Board Liaison Absent Irene Latour Revia Lee Randy O'Hara .loan Pleasants, Alternate Call to Order/Pledqe of Alleqiance Chair Agee called the meeting to order at 6:25 p.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Roll Call The roll was taken and the Recording Secretary announced that a quorum was present. Ms. Revia Lee telephoned and explained that she was unavoidably detained at school. ZT[. f4inutes of November 7, 2002 Ms. Fellows wished to add I~s. L/ii/an Art/s'name on page 8 to the list of the East Coast Schools Sub-Committee members. She also wished to add to page 6, second paragraph, and first sentence: "...was more expensive due to having two professional, full-time social workers. The two could communicate w/th each other." She also wished to add in the next sentence that the funding loss for the social workers was temporary. Chair Agee asked the Recording Secretary to listen to the tape and be guided accordingly in the making of these changes. Chair Agee reminded the Board members that Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida December 5, 2002 making changes to minutes was not an opportunity to "editorialize"' or "elaborate" on what was actually said at a meeting. Nlotion Dr. Bell moved to approve the minutes as corrected. Ms. Cairo seconded the motion that carried unanimously. IV. Chair's Report Chair Agee introduced Tom Turner from the Boynton Beach Times and welcomed him to the meeting. Chair Agee mentioned that some of the agendas were returned due to incorrect e-mail addresses and asked the Board to make sure that their e-mail addresses were correct and that they were shown on the Board list. Chair Agee commented that the SAC reports prepared by the Board members were attached to the permanent record but were not distributed with the minutes. Chair Agee was pleased to learn that South Tech High School had done the videos for Delray Beach's Principal for a Day program this year and thought that they could do the same for Boynton Beach's program next fall. Chair Agee stated that none of the Board members could serve on the Attendance Boundary Committee (ABC) because the ABC and the EAB meet on the same dates. The Board is doing what it can to see that a knowledgeable person gets appointed to the ABC. One of the issues the School Board is considering is moving some of the students from Rolling Green Elementary to Freedom Shores Elementary. The students live near Freedom Shores and would be bussed to Rolling Green. V. Liaison's Report Ms. Farace explained the Board's concern with the Rolling Green/Freedom Shores move and also the Galaxy Elementary issue for the benefit of Mr. Turner. In looking for someone to represent Boynton Beach on the Attendance Boundary Committee, it was agreed that David Fellows would be an excellent candidate. Motion Ms. Cairo moved that the EAB support David Fellows' appointment to the Attendance Boundary Committee. Dr. Bell seconded the motion that carried unanimously. Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida December 5, 2002 Since Janet Meeks represents the cities on this Committee, Chair Agee asked Ms. Farace to invite her to the ]anuary EAB meeting. Ms. Farace elaborated on her meeting with Mr. Fellows in which they discussed economic diversity and its importance for the coastal schools. This idea was discussed and presented at every ABC meeting that the EAB attended during the previous year. Mr. Fellows and Ms. Farace want to meet with the Superintendent of Schools to offer all possible assistance in seeing that economic diversity is instituted as one of the District boundary guidelines. :If the District wanted to pilot the program somewhere, they would offer Boynton Beach for consideration as the pilot city. Motion Ms. Fellows moved that the EAB support the Superintendent's stand on economic diversity. Dr, Bell seconded the motion that carried unanimously. Student Membership on the EAB MS. Farace reported that she had received an application for Board membership from a student at Boynton Beach High School. The Board currently has two student vacancies and a senior will be sought from Atlantic High School for the other position. ~[f one is not available from Atlantic, they will try to get someone from South Tech Community High School. Dr. Beil discovered, through reading the minutes of the Advisory Board on Children & Youth, that the Boynton Beach High School had their own newspaper and that the Advisory Board on Children & Youth had contracted for advertising in it. He thought that the newspaper could provide a good means of communicating with the schools, possibly on the volunteer issue. The English teacher, Kathy Bogad, is the advisor for the newspaper and the contact for any publications in the newspaper. VI. Public Audience Tom Turner of the Boynton Beach Times mentioned that he was attempting to learn a little more about what was going on in education in the Boynton Beach area. He stated that the paper was short-staffed but was trying to get staff coverage that was more familiar with the local scene. The Board assured him that they were glad he was present and interested. 3 Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida December 5, 2002 VII. Report --East Coast Schools Sub-Committee Ms. Fellows reported that the Sub-Committee met on November 21. They spoke of setting up tables and having sign-up sheets for volunteers at retirement communities like Leisureville, Hunters Run, and other such places. Boynton Bay Apartments, Village Royale on the Green, and High Point were other potential locations. They will be working with the volunteer coordinators at the schools to determine their needs before contacting potential volunteers. Ms. Cairo presented a flier that the sub-committee proposed to use at the sign- up tables. The sub-committee sought the Board's input and approval for the form. They desired to make the flier non-intimidating and included the words "simple clerical tasks" to it so that people would realize that they might be asked to do such things as make copies, sharpen pencils, and other little tasks that would free the teachers to teach. This would relieve the fears on the part of the people who felt that they were not teachers and had nothing to contribute. One of the things the schools want volunteers to do is just listen to children read and give them encouragement and feedback. The Board liked the flier. Ms. Farace suggested having the Library phone number on the form but was told that the forms would be given to the prospective volunteers, filled out on the spot, and kept by the EAB representative. The sub-committee thought that getting commitments from people up front was important. Ms. Cairo is preparing a PowerPoint presentation to be given at the various sign-up sessions. Ms. Cairo had a fruitful discussion with the volunteer liaison at Forest Park, Lillian, who suggested bringing some of the students to the retirement communities, once proper clearances had been obtained. The Forest Park volunteer liaison was willing to provide training, walk the volunteers through the school, attend the meetings in the retirement communities, or whatever it would take to make the program successful. Chair Agee thought that the sign-up sessions should be held in January of 2003. The sub-committee agreed but saw this as an ongoing program that could be done more than once a year. They could not possibly get out to all five communities in January. Ms. Fellows spoke of having a "blitz" of sign-up activity in Feb/Nar, May/June, and Aug/Sept for as long as it was necessary. Ms. Fellows suggested that each time the sub-committee made a presentation, that at least four EAB members or friends and neighbors help the sub-committee members at the sign-up tables. They hoped to get at least two or three volunteers for at least an hour each week from each neighborhood to get all of their schools up to at least a "B" rating. Ns. Fellows spoke of her experience at Rolling Green Elementary where she had attended a SAC meeting and gotten a list of six volunteers signed up already. Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida December 5, 2002 The sub-committee wanted to focus on the schools in the greatest need: Galaxy, Rolling Green, and Forest Park but included Congress Middle School and Poinciana Elementary since they were in the coastal area also. Boynton Beach High School has a need also. There was agreement that the former schools had lower FCAT scores, resource problems, different cultures, and should be taken care of first. The struggling schools have students with parents who work and are not able to become involved for that reason. Ms. Fellows is working on a press release to send out to newspapers about the East Coast schools and their need for volunteers. Chair Agee indicated that the Boynton Beach Times might wish to assist in this. The sub-committee will also work on a two-line "blurb" for the next City utilities bill. Ms. Pleasants is going to contact the District office to determine the requirements for volunteer training. Ms. Fellows and Ms. Artis are going to pair up and go around to some of the rental apartments for people aged 55 and up such as Palm Shores, Pine Point Villas, and Boynton Bay Apartments. The people in this "grandparent" age group are usually very interested in helping children. Chair Agee explained, for Mr. Turner's benefit, that the FAB had a meeting with the principals of the area schools in ]une and that each and every one of them had listed volunteers as the thing that they needed the most that the FAB could help to provide. This was how volunteering became the Board's priority this year. The sub-committee discussed the desirability of having its own e-mail address such as FAB.com. It could be used on their applications, correspondence, and fliers. Ms. Farace will work with the ~-I'S systems people to do this and everyone liked the idea. The next meeting of the East Coast Schools Sub-Committee will be on December 18 at 3:30 p.m. in the Children's section of the Library. VIII. Attendance Boundary Committee - Previously discussed. IX. Other Priorities Ms. Lillian Artis reported on the United Way meeting concerning Mr. ]enkin's faith-based group, "The Peacekeepers," who made a presentation to the FAB last month. They met with Brian Edwards, a representative of United Way. He liked the idea that the FAB supported the program and agreed that there was a need for it. He will work very hard to get funds for them. He did not commit to a specific amount but agreed with the philosophy of the program. The Board Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida December 5, 2002 thanked Ms. Artis for attending the meeting and presenting the EAB's position to the United Way. X. Principal for a Day Program Chair Agee circulated a magazine from Delray Beach called N/xed Greens that had a large write-up and pictures of this event in Delray Beach from the previous year. Ms. Fellows will try to scan it and distribute it to the other Board members via e-mail. Ns. Cairo said that they were going to have to set some priorities and that she had broken them down into an action plan. At the next meeting, the tasks will be assigned to individual Board members. She thought that it would take a major commitment from each Board member because it was such a big job. Some of the tasks are mailing, communicating, preparing press releases, acquiring sponsors for office supplies, procurement of a place for a town meeting, obtaining services of a video company and a photographer, and many other tasks. Suggestions for the video service were South Tech, Boynton Beach High School, Congress Middle School, WXEL, or another non-school local video company. There are thirteen schools involved and they plan to have the program next fall at the same time as Delray Beach. The Board considered the first priority, the selection of a Principal for a Day for each school. Ms. Farace remarked that the goal was to have the actual owner, the principal executive of the business, and not just a representative for this purpose. Ms. Artis asked if it would be necessary to stay within the community for this. Ms. Farace mentioned that they were talking about the greater Boynton Beach community to include west Boynton Beach. Ms. Farace will ask Ms. Meeks to speak about this in addition to boundary issues at the January EAB meeting. XI. SAC Reports Galaxy Elementary Ms. Artis stated that their SAC was cancelled this month. Citrus Cove Elementary Dr. Beil handed out his written report. They spoke of their A+ dollars and the extra $147K they will receive from that. They are going to hire another Kindergarten teacher, finish the science lab, buy more books for the library, and give a $1500 bonus to the school employees. They also discussed the Five Star Program. 6 Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida December 5, 2002 Forest Park Elementary Ms. Cairo noted that in contrast to Citrus Cove, Forest Park had about $1,000 left to spend for the entire year and were debating whether or not to spend the $300 they needed to put a cot in the clinic. According to a written Standard to which they are held, if they are going to have a clinic in the school at all and have "X" amount of students, they had to have two cots and so they decided to allocate $300 towards this. Chair Agee noted that the FCAT system gives money to the schools that have done well and the poorest schools get nothing. Ms. Cairo stated that in addition to that, they lost a lot of students and that reduces their resources even further. Dr. Bell wondered if the schools were able to transfer money from school to school. Ms. Farace thought there was one school in Jupiter that had shared some money with another school. Chair Agee thought that this could be encouraged. South Tech Community High School Chair Agee reported that the majority of the meeting was spent on how they would go about improving their FCAT scores. They vowed that nothing would be left undone that could insure an increase in the FCAT scores. Chair Agee noted that South Tech did not receive a position for an individual to have responsibility for the in-house suspension program; however, they are using the program in their school, or at least following the same philosophy. Ms. Fellows noted that it was not the proven program but they were trying to hold the teacher and the space until the funding for the social worker is obtained. Chair Agee stated that it was obviously better to have suspension in school than out. Chair Agee spoke of the concern at South Tech about the scheduled loss of South Tech as a technological school for the south Palm Beach County area. They talked about their career academies and the splitting of resources. There will be career academies all over the county and this will bring the classes closer to the students but might be very expensive, straining resources even further than they are with the career academies assembled in one school. Technology will be split among nine schools but only one school will have electronics. The medical health and culinary programs will be in five schools. South Tech had worked very hard to build up their student body and was concerned about how it would all work; however, they would find creative ways to work with the School Board to achieve success. They will still be in operation for another year and are now recruiting for the next year. 7 Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida December 5, 2002 Boynton Beach High School Ms. Farace reported that the school had its Bylaws adopted. The Principal appointed a Chair and an election for the other officers will be held next Tuesday evening. Ms. Farace was appointed as one of the community representatives. They asked for a sum of money to pay the principals for Saturday detention. Rolling Green Elementary School Ms. Fellows reported that they had a presentation about FCAT. :It was interesting to note that this year, the third graders will be retained if they fail the FCAT. They got a certain amount of money and were talking about increasing the number of computers for each grade and using them for FCAT training. They had two FCAT nights - one for Creole parents and students and one for Spanish, and both were packed. The teachers are having their next FCAT training in writing and then in math. The Title ! coordinator was there and said that they got a grant for the non-English-speaking parents and pre-schoolers for $75K for two years. Sixteen signed up immediately. They had a carnival to raise money to send students on the safety patrol trip to Washington, D.C. They also spoke about Erase a Day awards for behavior and good citizenship. Ms. Fellows remarked that the elimination of multiple-choice answers in the FCAT reading test made it more difficult and that the amount of time allowed for a fifth grader was insufficient. Still, they are working with it. They are raising money to help with their library needs and FCAT training. Poinciana Elementary Ms. Fellows reported that Poinciana would be spending most of their money on self-assessment tools and tutorials and hoped to give everyone a bonus like they did the previous year. Since magnets are now "off grants", they do not get the cost of living raises - that comes out of their budget now. Poinciana is a very mixed school and socio-economically diverse. Congress Middle School Ms. Fellows spoke about this since the person that covers Congress was not present. Mr. Fellows also attends their SAC because Congress has the OCIP program. While there, Mr. Fellows spoke to the principal, Carol Blacharski. She was there along with a former EAB member, Richard Kabinoff. They showed the video for the school and the reports they had recently gotten on suspension. They had dramatically dropped their suspension and dropout rate in one year - to approximately 15%. Mr. Fellows gives part of the credit for this to his 8 Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida December 5, 2002 program, but does say that Ms. Blacharski is a "zero tolerance" principal, which also helped. The school is a changed place. There are no longer any fights. XlI, Adjournment The Board discussed its January 2 meeting and commitments were made to attend. To avoid a "no-quorum" meeting, the Chair will poll the members individually and let them know the results. Since there was no further business before the Board, the meeting was duly adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan Collins Recording Secretary (one tape) (120602)