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Minutes 05-05-05 MINUTES OF THE EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING HELD IN THE LIBRARY PROGRAM ROOM, 208 SOUTH SEACREST BOULEVARD, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2005 AT 6:15 P.M. Present: Jean Cairo, Chair Virginia Farace, Board Liaison Melinda Mallon Patricia Lashley Christine Moeller Marlene Ross Anthony Gaspard, Student Absent: Floyd M. Beil, Vice Chair I. Pledge II. Roll Call The meeting was called to order at 6 :30 p.m. The Recording Secretary called the roll and declared a quorum was present. Chairperson Cairo announced that Donald Bryant, who resides in Quail Ridge, would be providing a grant to Galaxy Elementary School in the amount of $10,000. After Mr. Bryant received 10 proposals from the Principal of Galaxy School, he decided to offer the grant. Mr. Bryant will be presenting the check to Mr. Simms, Sims the Principal of Galaxy Elementary School, tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. Chairperson Cairo contacted the press and they will be present. Chairperson Cairo invited all Board members to attend the presentation of the check. Mr. Simms Sims had originally prepared 19 proposals and narrowed it down to 10. Chairperson Cairo contacted Mr. Simms about the remaining 9 projects and she would Like to try to get other people involved to fund those projects as well. The 10 proposals Mr. Bryant will be funding are: ✓ Three Dell computers for the first -grade classrooms; ✓ Kindergarten through second grade writing program; ✓ Provide additional resources for teachers to effectively instruct primary students in the area of writing; ✓ Improve writing skills of kindergarten through second grade; ✓ Additional resources for teachers to instruct students in the area of writing; Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida May 5, 2005 ./ Scholastic Reading Counts Books. This is an independent reading program designed to increase students' interest in reading and improve their reading skills for the fifth grade; ./ Scholastic Reading Counts for the fourth grade; ./ Scholastic Reading Counts for the third grade; ./ National Geographic Non-fictional reading booklets for fluent readers to increase student exposure to non-fictional reading material and to improve the reading skills of Galaxy students - kindergarten through fifth grade; Mr. Bryant also requested that the School report to him twice a year on how the programs are working. Ms. Ross inquired if Galaxy School is a Title 1 School and was informed it was. Chairperson Cairo also invited Kristen Conti of Salefish Realty because she was the Principal for a Day at Galaxy Elementary School and was instrumental in Mr. Bryant's involvement with Galaxy School. Members introduced themselves to Ms. Ross and Ms. Lashley, the newest members on the Board. Ms. Lashley explained she had been present at two previous meetings on behalf of the Palm Beach County School District and decided to join the Board. Ms. Ross stated she is the Director of Community Affairs for WXEL, the PBS station located in Boynton Beach. Chairperson Cairo had cards printed for Principal for a Day that could be used to inform previous participants of the contribution received by Galaxy School and to determine if any them would be interested in supporting their schools. Chairperson Cairo would like Mr. Bryant's contribution recognized. Ms. Farace will prepare an agenda item for this purpose. Chairperson Cairo inquired if it could be ready for the next meeting and Ms. Farace will check on this. Also, Ms. Farace requested that Chairperson Cairo determine if Mr. Bryant could be present at the next Commission meeting. III. Minutes - March 3, 2005 Ms. Farace requested the following corrections be made to the minutes of March 3, 2005: ./ On page 6, in third paragraph from the bottom of the page, there was discussion regarding the Board's desire to change the by-laws. Ms. Farace wanted it stated that the City Commission was the only governing body that could change the Board's by-laws. ./ On page 7, in the first sentence, there was discussion that the Community Relations Board was drafting a brochure on what that Board was doing. Ms. Farace had intended to state she would like this Board to draft its own brochure 2 Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida May 5, 2005 outlining its projects and not be included in The Community Relations Board's brochure. ./ On page 8, the correct Web-site address for the Library's database is www.coala.orQ. Ms. Farace explained the City shares this database with the City of Delray Beach, Town of Lake Park and Village of Palm Springs. Minutes - April 7, 2005 No changes. The minutes were accepted, as amended. IV. Public Audience Juliet Hamilton introduced herself. Ms. Hamilton explained she was an educator with Tenent Health Systems for several years and has done some consulting for the School District. She was present tonight because she would like to become involved in her community and has been a volunteer for years in other communities. Ms. Farace explained the procedure on how apply for membership on a City Board. Ms. Ross inquired how many schools there were in Boynton Beach. Ms. Lashley stated her list contains 15, but not all of them serve students that reside within the City limits. Chairperson Cairo thought there were 11 schools that serve resident students, not counting charter schools. V. Chairs' Report PFAD Chairperson Cairo read an article regarding construction begins for a new Congress Middle School. The new school will have approximately the same capacity as the old school, i.e. 1,340 students. Classrooms will increase from 50 to 70. Chairperson Cairo distributed additional articles for members to read. One article dealt with the first school that shrunk its class size and a second article about the FCAT graders that are hired by the State to grade the FCA T. The Palm Beach Post reported the company hired to do the scoring has had some problems in other states. An additional article dealt with the staff at the Royal Palm School stating the school was making them sick. As a result, many of the teachers are becoming ill and the school was closed to correct the problem. Chairperson Cairo also thought there were schools in the City with the same situation and those schools should also be corrected as well. Chairperson Cairo noted there are air quality standards for workplaces, but questioned why there were no such standards for schools. With regard to Principal for a Day, they are still in need of additional business partners for November. Although the date has not been selected, it is usually held on the second 3 Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida May 5, 2005 Thursday in November. Chairperson Cairo will check on the date with Ms. Shetler at the School District. VI. City Liaison's Report "Read Boynton" Ms. Farace reported "Read Boynton" is going along well. Since the end of the school year is near, students have begun to cut back on homework. Therefore, it has yet to be determined whether the program will take place on the scheduled dates of the second and fourth Thursday or to do something altogether different, such as having more fun with reading. Alternate dates are also being considered. The program, however, will resume in the fall. Ms. Farace reported they have begun working on boundaries for the schools for the next year and only a few schools are involved. VII. Principals' Roundtable June 22 @ 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Ms. Moeller reported she spoke today with Bonnie Plucinski, who is the Instructional Team Leader for the Central District. Ms. Plucinski will be sending out the questionnaires along with the invitations to the principals in her district. This was delayed because she did not have Ms. Moeller's correct E-mail address. Ms. Farace was under the impression Carole Shetler would be handling this. Ms. Moeller responded Ms. Shetler's assistant, Dwan Ross, already sent out the invitations and questionnaires to the schools in her district and Ms. Pluncinski was in charge of the central area schools. Ms. Farace provided a packet that had been used for the previous Principals' Roundtable that should assist Ms. Moeller. Ms. Moeller requested she be furnished with a copy of the invitation, and Chairperson Cairo responded Ms. Dwan Ross was going to E-mail the principals to attend. Ms. Moeller stated she would E-mail the charter schools and provide them with the questionnaire. The principals have been notified the roundtable will take place on June 22nd from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Ms. Moeller inquired about refreshments. Ms. Farace told Ms. Moeller she should purchase the food and then provide her with the invoices. It was noted at the last meeting the refreshments would consist of coffee, juice, bagels and/or muffins. Ms. Farace will provide the paper goods. Chairperson Cairo thought there was only one school in the Central District that would be included. Schools in that District also opted out of the PFAD Program. Ms. Lashley informed the Board there are several schools Ms. Shetler does not cover, one school being Congress Middle School. 4 Meeting Minutes Education Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida May 5, 2005 Dwan Ross informed Ms. Moeller she would be inviting Boynton Beach High School, Forest Park Elementary School, Galaxy Elementary, and Poinciana Elementary. Ms. Lashley stated all other schools would be considered in the Central District. Chairperson Cairo explained only schools that have Boynton Beach students attending would be invited to participate in the Roundtable. Ms. Moeller requested she be furnished with a map in order to determine what schools would be participating. Ms. Farace explained she could provide her with a map, but this would not indicate if Boynton Beach students attended those schools. Ms. Farace reported there are maps available on the School District's Website that show the school boundaries. Chairperson Cairo offered to prepare a map for the members. The Website for the School District is palmbeachk12.fl.us. Ms. Farace will be sending invitations to the City Commission and City Manager. Chairperson Cairo requested the City Clerk's Office provide a Recording Secretary. VIII. SAC Reports (in writing if possible) SAC Assignments (attached) Ms. Moeller reported she attended the Atlantic High School SAC meeting on April 26th. Most of the discussion revolved around the new school and the moving date is June 1 st. They still need over $300,000 to sod the football field. The next SAC meeting will be at the new school. There were discussions about initiating some medical courses. Ms. Farace reported on Boynton Beach High School and noted they are still trying to get a marquee at the School. IX. New Business None Next meetings: June 2,2005 @6:15 p.m. July 7, 2005 @ 6:15 p.m. August 4, 2005 @ 6: 15 p.m. Principals' Roundtable: June 22, 2005 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. X. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting properly adjourned at 7:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted, vfí-ú~7U/t0 )¿~. þc ~ Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (May 9, 2005) 5