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Minutes 11-30-06 J'e al1neqJ MINUTES OF THE EDUCATION &. YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING HELD IN THE COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2006 AT 7:00 P.M. Present: Stephen Waldman, Chair Mary Morera, Vice Chair Susan Buchanan Pamela Camel Hattie Miller Loretta Wilkinson Christine Hogenkamp, Student Regular Voting Member Robert Chiste, Student Regular Voting Member Sherri Claude, Board Liaison Absent Melinda Mallon Alyssa Ewing, Student Regular Non-Voting Member I. Call to Order Chair Waldman called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. II. Pledge of Allegiance!Moment of Silent Reflection The members recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, led by Mr. Robert Chiste, followed by a moment on silent reflection in honor of the U.S. troops overseas. III. Approval of Minutes of October 26, 2006 Motion Ms. Buchanan moved to approve the minutes as presented. Mr. Chiste seconded the motion that passed unanimously. Moments later, Ms. Wilkinson arrived and noted that on page 4, her name had been spelled Wilkerson in two places. A change would be made to correct this. IV. Approval of Agenda Chair Waldman suggested removing Sister Cities from the agenda in the future, unless something specific came up. Motion Vice Chair Morera moved to approve the agenda as amended. Ms. Wilkinson seconded the motion that passed unanimously. V. Announcements! Presentations! Correspondence A. Guest Speaker - Kelly Daniels, School District of Palm Beach County Meeting Minutes Education &. Youth Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida November 30, 2006 Ms. Kelly Daniels, Manager of the Department of Choice Programs and School Choice for the School District of Palm Beach County, declared she oversaw all 136 programs in 52 schools. Right now, her department was operating under a Five-Year Plan of Expansion and one of the schools they wanted to expand into was Forest Park Elementary School in Boynton Beach. The program that was identified to expand into Forest Park was one of their most popular elementary programs, the International Baccalaureate (I B) Primary Years Program. She brought the board some information about this and distributed it. Ms. Daniels explained the IB program was a hugely popular program. It was a rigorous academic program based on inquiry in the elementary school and there were two schools in the School District who were implementing the program now: Morikami Park in Delray Beach and West Palm Beach. There were 618 students that were not placed last year who requested that program, so it could be seen that this was a high demand/high need program for the area. Forest Park Elementary had been identified because it was currently under utilized, which meant it was not at capacity. They had capacity to accept students from outside their boundary area, so they could bring students in from Delray Beach, and students outside their boundary area from Boynton Beach to participate in the program. They were very excited about doing this. In order to implement this program, the School District was writing a $12M grant called the Magnet Schools Assistance Program Grant and that was why Ms. Daniels was before the board. A portion of that grant called for letters of support from the community stating that, 1) Yes, the community would like to see the programs involved at that school; and 2) They would like to see Choice Programs offered. She asked for a letter of support from the board stating this. Ms. Wilkinson responded Ms. Daniels had come to the right place. This board strongly supported all the schools in the area, and a number of the board members were experienced in some of the Choice programs. Ms. Daniels asked that letters be sent to Mr. Arthur C. Johnson, PhD, Superintendent of Schools. Ms. Wilkinson asked if a letter of support from the City Commission would be helpful and Ms. Daniels responded affirmatively. The more letters of support they could amass, the more weight their application would carry when it was reviewed by the U.s. Department of Education. Ms. Buchanan suggested letters from the local Children's Museum and the Chamber of Commerce might be appropriate and she would work to obtain them. Ms. Daniels stressed the letters should state support for the expansion of Choice Programs within the City of Boynton Beach, support for the IB Primary Years program at Forest Park Elementary School, and that if there were anything the board could do to support the school, the staff, or the students, they would be willing to do so. Ms. Daniels mentioned it had been proposed last week that an Embry-Riddle Math, Science and Engineering program be placed at Boynton Beach High School. It was in the Superintendent's office now for approval and they looked forward to implementing that next fall. There were great things going on in Boynton Beach and they were excited about it. Ms. 2 Meeting Minutes Education &. Youth Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida November 30, 2006 Wilkinson had never heard of any Math, Science and Technology programs called Embry Riddle before and asked if the proposed program was different from other math, science and technology magnet programs. Ms. Daniels confirmed it was different and that it would be a partnership program with Embry-Riddle Aviation University. A question was asked about the teacher training involved in the IB program. Ms. Daniels explained it cost $4K to train each teacher for the IB program, $2K for initial training and another $2K for secondary training. Because they were implementing the IB program at so many school sites, they were working with the national IB Organization to bring training to this area. Ms. Buchanan asked how applicants were chosen. Ms. Daniels replied it was through a random lottery, race neutral, run through the School District. The procedures for the lottery were posted on the School District's Web site. Vice Chair Morera asked if there were any plans to put a new middle school in the Boynton Beach area besides Carver. Ms. Daniels responded it was not in the Five Year Plan to implement any other middle years program other than Conniston Middle School up in West Palm Beach. Ms. Kelly confirmed that anyone from Morikami or Forest Park who wanted to continue in the IB program would go to Carver. Vice Chair Morera asked if there would be room for all those children to go to Carver. Ms. Daniels stated once they got to middle school, many of the students would not choose to do this, since there were so many more opportunities available to them. Vice Chair Morera asked what the deadline was for receipt of the letters of support. Ms. Daniels responded, December 8. Vice Chair Morera offered to draft a letter and attach it to an email so other members could look at it, refine it, and have the Chair sign it and take it to Ms. Claude's office, where Ms. Daniels would pick it up. She asked Ms. Daniels if she wanted letters from parents and teachers as well, and Ms. Daniels responded that would be wonderful. Ms. Daniels' gave her fax number. Motion Ms. Wilkinson moved to send a letter from the Education & Youth Advisory Board to Dr. Arthur Johnson at the Palm Beach County School District, expressing support of Choice programs in Boynton Beach and bringing the IB program to Forest Park Elementary School. Ms. Buchanan seconded the motion that was approved unanimously. Chair Waldman commented the IB program fostered intellectual curiosity and open-mindedness. Ms. Camel asked when the program would start. Ms. Daniels replied teacher training would begin in the 2007-08 school year and they would be accepting students for the 2008-09 school year. VI. Public Audience There was no public audience. VII. Old Business A. Tennis Carnival Event Report 3 Meeting Minutes Education &. Youth Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida November 30, 2006 Vice Chair Morera reported the November 11, 2006 tennis event at the Boynton Beach Tennis Center had been very successful. Approximately 32 children had participated on four courts, one with a ball-hitting machine and the other three rotated by age every 20 minutes. The Palm Beach Post supplied t-shirts, and refreshments were served. Ms. Stern supplied free tennis rackets from Hunters Run. Ms. Jane Swotes very generously donated $100 towards the event. A thank you note should be sent to Ms. SY..opcs Swotes along with a certificate of thanks, as suggested by Ms. Stern. Chair Waldman mentioned the tennis pro from Hunters Run, David Cordray, had sent some balloons to the event and a thank you note was to be sent to him as well. Vice Chair Morera would see that the thank you notes were sent out. B. Sister Cities No discussion at this time. C. Youth Volunteer Bank/Bob Borovy Award Ms. Claude reported she was trying to obtain updated information for all the kids in the Volunteer Bank, including email addresses, since this would be a more efficient way to send them information. No date had been set for the banquet. D. Fundraising Chair Waldman mentioned they had sold Panera Bread cookies at the Oceanfront Concert recently. Panera Bread donated over 200 cookies and the sale netted $78.00 for the Education & Youth Advisory Board. After discussion, it was decided to charge 50 cents per cookie in the future, since many people had waited until the cookies went on sale before they purchased any. It was also decided to limit the "booth time" to two-hour periods, so all the members could enjoy the event with their families. All in all, this was thought to be an excellent fundraising tool and the board definitely wanted to do this again. The next Oceanfront Concert was to be held on January 19, 2007. E. Tennis Carnival (Hunters Run) Chair Waldman stated it appeared there was going to be a Golf Clinic at Hunters Run instead of another Tennis Carnival. Vice Chair Morera stated there was still some ambiguity about this. Chair Waldman liked the idea of a Golf Clinic at Hunters Run and suggested trying to have a Golf Clinic and Tennis Carnival there, in alternate years. Chair Waldman would contact Mr. Cordray at Hunters Run to discuss this. Ms. Stern offered two dates for a Golf Clinic at Hunters Run: April 21 and April 28, 2007 and Chair Waldman asked the members to decide which date would be the best. Saturday, April 28, 2007 was chosen. It was too late to get the notice into the FunFare magazine, but the event could be advertised on flyers that would be distributed around the City. Children could sign up through City Hall in the Mall. The program would be free and first-come, first served. There was normally a waiting list for the event. 4 Meeting Minutes Education &. Youth Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida November 30, 2006 F. Adopt a School Chair Waldman stated his belief the board had agreed to hold this item in abeyance. He asked Ms. Wilkinson about whether she had spoken to the Royal Palm School. Ms. Wilkinson responded she had done so and the Principal suggested she talk to individual teachers to have them make a Wish List of things under $50 they might need. One thing the Principal mentioned was an ink cartridge for printers. These were expensive and always in high demand, especially the colored ones. The teachers were paying for them out of their own pockets. The teachers were always looking for bibs, hand soaps, and laundry detergent for use in their laundry. All kinds of arts and crafts supplies were needed. The Sensory Lab needed sensory items such as things that rattled. Ms. Wilkinson had not written a letter to the teachers and would not do so unless directed to do so by the board. In discussion, Ms. Camel suggested the teachers prioritize their lists. Ms. Buchanan felt it would be helpful to present the teachers with categories of items and ask them which they would most like to have help with, rather than list everything they might want. Chair Waldman mentioned listing the top three things they wanted under a certain amount of money would be helpful. Vice Chair Morera asked if they were thinking of monetary donations. Chair Waldman was thinking if he had a list of things and went to a couple of places who might be able to provide the items, he might be able to ask for them for the school on behalf of the Education & Youth Advisory Board. Ms. Wilkinson commented that at her daughter's school, they looked for businesses to adopt a classroom, and that might be easier than adopting a school. In response to Vice Chair Morera's question about money, Ms. Wilkinson noted money could very easily get lost in the shuffle. If a check were made out to the school, it had to go through the Treasurer and be approved. The Kiwanis club had started buying gift cards. They would do something like give the Chair of a department a Costco gift card for $200, and let them do what they wanted to with it. Vice Chair Morera thought retailers might give the Education & Youth Advisory Board gift cards to be used as donations to schools to purchase what they need. Ms. Wilkinson offered to compose a letter to be sent to staff about this. There were 80 teachers, including pre-K, and the letter would say the Education and Youth Advisory Board wanted to support some of the staff, but not everyone would necessarily be given the top two things under $50 on their list. They could try to find the common items between the various lists. Ms. Camel stated they could also divide any monies collected on an equal basis. Her experience when specific classes were adopted was that the classes who had more sponsors had more privilege then those who did not. To remedy that, all the funds could be categorized by the type of donor (medical supply company, cleaning supply company, etc.) and divide it between the 85 teachers, for example. In terms of corporate sponsors, teachers could get checks cut up to $200-$300 and they could prioritize their needs - some might need Kleenex and others might need technology like headphones or individual amplifiers. The point was to be helpful. The whole giving thing could create angst on the part of the receivers. It might be possible to help a large number of people, depending on the corporate sponsors. 5 Meeting Minutes Education &. Youth Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida November 30, 2006 Ms. Buchanan asked how many departments there were in the school. It might be better to determine the department chairs and ask them the top two things they thought would be the most helpful to them. Ms. Wilkinson thought there would be about eight departments and that this approach would definitely narrow it down. Ms. Buchanan commented the department heads could then poll their staffs. This idea met with general agreement on the board. Instead of signing the letter herself, Ms. Wilkinson was going to have her supervisor sign it. Ms. Camel declared if the board wanted to help in a big way, they would have to "think big" and make a big effort. They would have to target large donors: corporate, philanthropic, or individual. Chair Waldman commented he had written a letter to the Principal of Boynton Beach High School inviting her to come to speak to the board, but he had not heard from her. Ms. Miller had spoken to Ms. Perry, the Principal at Boynton Beach High School, and she stated if someone contacted her she would definitely come. Chair Waldman mentioned his letter and offered to contact her by telephone. When Chair Waldman had written a letter to the Boynton Beach High School's Principal, he had asked her to come to a meeting to tell the board what some of the school's needs were. Ms. Wilkinson stated she thought the board had decided it did not want to be tied to a particular school, and that they would start with the Royal Palm School and then rotate between the schools as soon as they could feasibly do so, perhaps quarterly. Ms. Camel expressed the belief that when donors helped, they tended to support a specific mission of the requester. She inquired what the Education and Youth Advisory Board had as a target for schools. Chair Waldman stated they had not created a mission statement yet. He had seen organizations become bogged down for long periods about the issue of mission statements, and did not want this board to have that experience. As they looked into helping the schools, he thought it might be worthwhile to define a few things for a mission statement. He explained the idea of helping the schools had come out of a conversation in which Ms. Wilkinson brought up some of the things her school had problems with. Some kids had to have their clothing changed from 2 to 4 times a day, for example. That was what had started the idea of helping specific schools. In Chair Waldman's view, their mission was to support schools in whatever way they could. This help could also involve the acquaintances of the board members who might have special skills that could be put to use in the schools on a volunteer basis. VIII. New Business Ms. Claude mentioned the City Commission had passed a new ordinance and she would mail this to the members who were not present. Ordinance No. 06-086 supplemented State law and imposed more stringent voting and disclosure requirements on the part of City board members and the City Commission. She wanted the members to realize this ordinance applied to them. Some language was added to the existing Code and this was underlined in the material given to the board members. Ms. Camel asked for any highlights the board might need to be aware of immediately. Ms. Claude responded on page 4, they had added a third case where a person would need to abstain from voting. This was where, 'The board member is a real estate broker or real estate agent and has provided professional services for compensation in a transaction involving all or part of the real property which is the subject of the board's review." 6 Meeting Minutes Education &. Youth Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida November 30, 2006 Ms. Claude mentioned this would probably come up more often in some of the quasi-judicial boards, but the board members should still be aware of the contents of this particular ordinance. Youth Expo Chair Waldman referred to the disappointing experience at the Boynton Beach Mall for the Youth Expo this year and asked Ms. Claude for status of the follow up on the item. Ms. Claude reported the board had worked with the former Mall management for the past 10-12 years, but the new management was not as eager to work with the board to host this event and the board had to make a donation to the Simon Foundation in exchange for the use of the facilities. Ms. Claude believed the board might wish to examine whether this was an event whose usefulness had peaked and if they desired to keep it, to consider alternative venues for it. Ms. Claude mentioned the Recreation & Parks Department was a big believer in offering experiences to the community. Consideration could be given to hosting a quarterly or semi- annual activity to introduce youth to such activities as tennis, golf, art, bowling, music, or some other type of cultural experience. Ms. Claude said the board might consider having a free event from time to time that would be open to a wide range of kids and provide them with a new experience. Ms. Claude was drafting a letter for the Recreation & Parks Director to sign, addressed to the Mall management, advising them of the board's disappointment with the way things had gone with this year's Youth Expo. Ms. Wilkinson thought the Simon Foundation might be the Simon Youth Foundation and if so, Youth Expo would be a prime example of what they were meant to do. Ms. Wilkinson asked if a check had been cut for the wheelchair(s) for Sister Cities, and Ms. Claude responded it had. IX. Future Meeting Dates January 25, 2007 February 22, 2007 X. Adjournment They're being no further business to discuss, the meeting properly adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, 5;;:~~ v Susan Collins Recording Secretary (120406) 7