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Minutes 12-02-99 MINUTES OF THE EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD MEETING HELD IN THE LIBRARY PROGRAM ROOM, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON THURSDAY DECEMBER 2, 1999 AT 6:00 P.M. PRESENT ALSO PRESENT Dawn Russell, Chairperson Virginia Farace, Education Advisory Heidi DeVries, Student Board Liaison (arrived at 6:30 p.m.) Lora Edwards, Student Michael Hazlett, Voting Alternate Arthur T. Rowe Revia Lee Eddie Mitchell Diana Tedtmann, Voting Alternate ABSENT Harvey Oyer, III ALSO PRESENT Marc Baron, Palm Beach County School District David Fellows, former Board Member I. GREETINGS Chairperson Russell called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. and welcomed everyone. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Members recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag led by Chairperson Russell. III. ROLL CALL The recording secretary called the roll and a quorum was present. IV. MINUTES APPROVAL- October 7, 1999 Meeting MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA DECEMBER 2, 1999 Chairperson Russell asked if anyone had any changes to the minutes of the October 7, 1999 meeting. Hearing none, the minutes stand approved. V. CHAIR’S REPORT Chairperson Russell said she received a George Snow Scholarship Fund packet from the Mayor’s Office. The George Snow Scholarship Fund provides scholarships for students in the Palm Beach County area and the Fund will be giving out $300,000 this year for the year 2000. Ms. Farace said if any member knew of any student that might be interested to have them contact her and she will supply them with a copy. Ms. Tedtmann also suggested sending copies to the guidance counselors at the schools. Chairperson Russell also said the Mayor’s Office sent her a report from the National Education Goals Panel. This particular report has been the leader in reading achievement. The report included a state-by-state reading assessment and there were eight states that had improved their reading scores over a certain period of time. In Florida, the fourth graders have not had any significant improvement to date. Regarding the eighth grade reading tests, 21 states had higher scores than Florida. Chairperson Russell noted that they had a web site at www.negp.gov. Ms. Farace said she would make this available at the Library. Mr. Fellows inquired how the State of Texas was doing. Chairperson Russell said for fourth grade there were only two states that were higher and six states higher for eighth grade. Connecticut appears to be the leader. VI. CITY LIAISON REPORT Ms. Farace said she had contacted Marc Baron and asked him to make a presentation to the Chamber of Commerce at their Education Luncheon. Ms. Farace also asked if he could attend tonight’s Board meeting and he said he would be available. Ms. Farace requested that he make a more in depth presentation tonight and speak to the Board on how the grading takes place, as well as report on the changes being proposed in the legislature to improve the grading in the schools. VII. COMMITTEE REPORTS A. Alternative to Suspension Program Chairperson Russell asked if Mr. Fellows would like to report on this? Mr. Fellows responded that at the moment a grant proposal has been completed 2 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA DECEMBER 2, 1999 from South County Mental Health to the Quantum Foundation to fund the counseling component for an OCIP Program at Congress Middle School and Christa McAuliffe School. Both schools have space and a teacher dedicated to a drop out prevention program, which is already in place. Mr. Fellows said he went to Tallahassee a few weeks ago at the request of State Representative Frank Farkas, who is on the State Education Board. A presentation was made by a teacher from Clearwater High School and the CEO for Family Resources which provides the counseling for the program in Pinellis County. Rep. Farkas intends to create a pool of funds at the State level to which schools could apply to get funding for the counseling component of the program. A lengthier presentation will probably be made at the next legislative session. Ms. Farace requested that Mr. Fellows inform the Board members when this would take place so that letters could be sent to local legislators. Mr. Fellows said there are no local legislators on the State Education Board. However, the Chair and Vice Chair for Juvenile Justice are from Palm Beach County and they were the ones that provided the grant funding in Pinellas County. Mr. Fellows said that the OCIP Program is an alternative to alternative education. This gives the responsibility to the individual schools to provide assistance to their own students. Ms. Farace asked when Mr. Fellows would hear from the Quantum Foundation and Mr. Fellows said it should be in a month or two. Mr. Fellows said he would like to get some of the School Board members onboard the program for it to become effective. Mr. Fellows noted that a year and one-half ago Congress Middle School and Santaluces High School together suspended 1,390 students in a nine month period. B. Raising Test Scores/Parental Involvement Chairperson Russell said that she and Ms. Tedtmann met and set up some goals. The goal for parental involvement is to encourage parents to be more effective by providing information regarding tutoring sessions, parenting classes and language facilitators. To meet these goals consideration is being given to invite all parents to the SAC meetings and other parent organizations after school. The goal for raising test scores was to support the efforts of Boynton Beach schools to raise test scores and individual school ratings. Ways to increase this goal would be to increase parental awareness by sending out newsletters in Spanish and Creole. 3 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA DECEMBER 2, 1999 C. “Gathering Storm” Issues Mr. Mitchell reported that the Committee is still placing emphasis on alternatives to suspension, discipline issues and raising test scores for minority students. Mr. Mitchell stated that the Gathering Storm Committee is totally against the voucher program that has been enacted by the Governor. The Committee will be devoting its time to discourage parents from sending their children that are in F schools to private schools and instead to enroll their children in public A schools. Mr. Mitchell said that the Committee feels instead of spending money for the vouchers, the money would be better used to raise the standards of the F schools. Presentation on the State’s Grading of Public Schools by Marc Baron, Director of Research and Evaluation, Palm Beach County School District Mr. Baron arrived and was introduced to the members of the Board. Mr. Baron distributed a handout entitled “Grading Florida Public Schools” to everyone present. Mr. Baron stated that the State’s grading is mostly premised on how the children do on the State’s testing program, which is called the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test “FCAT”. The test involves the students reading passages and answering questions about the passages and performing some type of math. The responses to the questions are read and scored. Mr. Baron referred members to the first page of the handout, which indicated that the scoring is divided into five different levels of performance. Level 1 are students in most need of help. Mr. Baron reviewed the scoring graph, which is contained on page 2. The State is looking for 60% of students to perform at Level 2. Less than 60% is not o.k. and is below the minimum criteria. A school is graded on reading, writing and math. If a school is below the minimum criteria in all three areas, the school is rated an F school. Mr. Baron stated that each test has a 100 to 500 score. Also the grading of the schools takes into consideration the drop out rate, suspension rate and attendance rate. Also 90% of the students must be tested. The State has now revised the grading and members were referred to the proposed rule changes through the year 2002. Mr. Baron next discussed the public hearings that were held throughout the State on September 28, 1999, which is contained on page 7 of the handout. The issues that were discussed during the public hearings were reviewed. Also, none of the criteria will be changed until the year 2000. The test is administered in February and Mr. Baron noted that some children come into the school system during different months and the schools did not feel it was fair to hold them accountable for children that have only been in the 4 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA DECEMBER 2, 1999 schools for a very short time. The rule has been changed that a child must have been enrolled in the school by October and again in February in order for those students to be counted. Also, there were many schools that received incomplete “I”, which means they tested less than 90% of their students. This has now been rectified and any school that tested “I” has 30 days to resolve it. If it cannot be resolved within 30 days, the school will be designated an “F” school. Also, schools are now being measured on how much progress they are making. There have been complaints that the scores were not adjusted for the socio- economic level of students. The schools receiving “F” are mostly schools that have a high percentage of students who receive “free or reduced lunch”. The schools that get A are largely schools that have a very small percentage of students who receive “free or reduced lunch”. The rules are also being changed so that White, Black or Hispanic students’ performance will now be looked at as lower achieving students. Members were asked to refer to Page 8, which provides more detail on the A+ Plan. Mr. Baron pointed out that many A Schools received a great deal of money from the State. If a school receives an A or improves by a letter of grade, the school will receive recognition and a reward. Any school that receives an F for any two out of four years, the students at the school would receive an “opportunity scholarship” to attend a private school or another public school. The last page of the handout presented a three-year picture on where the State is going. Ms. Farace noted that there was no reference to the “free and reduced lunch” element and Mr. Baron said that has been removed. The State is now looking at the lowest achieving students, regardless of what group they are in. A question and answer session next took place. Chairperson Russell asked how the dropout rate was determined and how those students are handled? Chairperson Russell felt this could affect the grade of the school. Mr. Baron said it is up to each school to go into the computer and give the reason why the student withdrew and certain withdrawal codes will determine whether a student is a dropout. The dropout rate is therefore a school issue, not a State issue. Chairperson Russell felt that there was too much emphasis in the schools on the FCAT. Mr. Baron said that FCAT determines the comprehension of a student and how well they could apply what they have learned in math. Chairperson Russell asked if science would be included in the FCAT in the future and Mr. Baron said science would be included in 2003. Mr. Baron said that the 5 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA DECEMBER 2, 1999 FCAT is a very vigorous test and requires students to be good readers, writers and mathematicians and to be able to put their thoughts into words and to think through problems. Ms. Farace asked if Mr. Baron had an opportunity to look at the scores at the City’s F School, which is Forest Park? Mr. Baron said he was aware that Forest Park is an F School. Mr. Baron said that the percentage of students in the State that scored in Level 1 in fourth grade reading was about 33% and the State is going to set the bar at about 25%. Mr. Fellows asked if students in alternative programs are excluded from the FCAT and Mr. Baron said if the student is at a non-traditional school, these schools were not graded in the past. The State is now considering giving grades to all schools. Mr. Fellows asked why there were no benchmarks for attendance, discipline, dropouts and graduation rates. Mr. Baron did not know how the State set up the criteria. Ms. Farace also noted that the tests are not comparing the same students and this has been a problem. Mr. Baron said this is being addressed by the State by tracking the student from grade to grade to determine how much the student has gained. Mr. Baron asked members to refer to the last page of the handout, which addressed this. Mr. Mitchell asked Mr. Baron if he was aware of anything the Palm Beach County School District was doing to bring the F schools up to at least a C level? Mr. Mitchell said it felt like more emphasis was being placed on the A and B schools. Mr. Baron felt that a lot more focus and attention is being given to the F schools than the A and B schools. F schools traditionally receive extra money for Title 1 and there are additional resources that have gone to the F schools. Mr. Mitchell asked if it was normal for Palm Beach County to have as many F schools as it has? Mr. Mitchell noted that Martin and St. Lucie Counties have less F schools. Mr. Baron said he cannot use the word “normal”, because when you compare the percent of schools in our District to the State, Palm Beach County is a little bit higher than the State, but the District is within three percentage points of the State’s percentage of F schools. Mr. Baron pointed out that it is easy to say historically that low performing schools have high percentages of low-income children. However, this has proven not necessarily true. Mr. Baron said he believes in standards and that the student should perform to the standards. This way the student could be evaluated relative to the standards. Mr. Baron also said it is important that the schools are made safe in order to get a good performance from students and this cannot be achieved if they are in an 6 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA DECEMBER 2, 1999 environment that is continually disruptive. Schools are reaching out for more parental involvement because if the children have the opportunity to do schoolwork at home, they would more likely do better in school. Chairperson Russell asked if there is a push through the County to get more parental involvement so that there would be more understanding about the FCAT and Mr. Baron responded there is. Chairperson Russell pointed out that one of the concerns of the Education Advisory Board is for an increase in parental involvement and asked if there is any one person within the School District that has been given this task? Mr. Baron suggested that Chairperson Russell contact him and stated there are people in the School District Office that help with outreach with parents. Mr. Baron also said there is an outreach in the business community. The School Department is arranging to train volunteers who can go into the F schools to provide individual tutoring for the students that need it. Ms. Farace asked Ms. DeVries and Ms. Edwards how they felt about the FCAT. Ms. DeVries said a lot of students are afraid and are concerned that it is difficult. Ms. DeVries said that she personally is not frightened by the test. Ms. DeVries said that the teachers are instilling fear in the students. Ms. Edwards stated she gets anxious with tests. Ms. Edwards said that they have activity periods once a month, which is an extra half-hour in class to practice on worksheets. Ms. Edwards said she has not heard the same reaction from teachers as Ms. DeVries has. Mr. Ehster asked if the FCAT could be compared to other countries? Mr. Baron said that ultimately the FCAT could be designed to compare it to some international benchmark. Ms. Farace asked what this Board could do to help our schools improve the education for our students. Mr. Baron said the schools need a great deal of help. Communications with parents is important and parents need to be encouraged to become involved with their child’s education. Mr. Baron said that the teachers work very hard and don’t get much recognition and the teachers should be recognized in someway. Mr. Baron said that some schools are sending the teachers out into the community to reach the parents who cannot come to the schools. Ms. Farace thanked Mr. Baron for his presentation tonight and taking the time to address the Board. VII. COMMITTEE REPORTS (continued) 7 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA DECEMBER 2, 1999 D. Legislative Issues Mr. Oyer was not present tonight to make his report. Ms. Farace reported that Mr. Oyer handed in his goals two meetings ago. Ms. Farace asked Mr. Mitchell if he had an opportunity to write his goals. Mr. Mitchell said he would write them out before he leaves tonight. Ms. Farace said that it is intended that all the goals would be put in one document. E. SIP Presentation Mr. Hazlett said that he and Ms. DeVries need to get together and are unclear on what they need to do. Ms. Farace said that Mr. Hazlett and Ms DeVries will arrange for a open forum to take place in the evening for the schools to come to a Board meeting to make their SIP presentations. Chairperson Russell suggested that this be done in March because school is ending early this year. Ms. Farace said she would meet with them to plan the presentation. Ms. Farace reminded Board members that the City Attorney informed them at the last meeting, that if two or more Board members meet, it must be posted and the City Clerk’s Office needs to be informed. F. Principals’ Roundtable Ms. Lee had no report. G. Forest Park Mr. Ehster reported that the SAC meeting was cut short last week because there was a PTA meeting. Mr. Ehster reported that the school had another review by the School District on the status of their plans to get out of the F school category. The principal said that progress has been sufficient. They are setting up the gifted children program and discussed the type of training that would be necessary for the teachers. The funds are in place for the resources needed by the teachers and they are being ordered. Chairperson Russell inquired if this was for the reading material and Mr. Ehster said it was. He will be following up on these items. He reported that the SAC meeting was very well attended. Mr. Ehster said it appears that the school has every opportunity to get out of the F category this year. Mr. Ehster would like to see something put in the water bill or other City publication about parental involvement in the schools. Also the subject of tardiness needs to be addressed and how it is detrimental to the students when they get to school late. Forest Park has a 10% tardiness rate and a 5% absenteeism rate. The School District has ways to address absenteeism, but 8 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA DECEMBER 2, 1999 they have no way to deal with tardiness. Ms. Farace said that most schools have their own methods of dealing with tardiness. Chairperson Russell noted that Mr. Ehster’s report on Forest Park was also his SAC report. Mr. Ehster said he is still working on his goals. H. SAC Representatives Ms. DeVries said she did not attend any SAC meetings. South Technical Mr. Mitchell reported they are in the process of revising their bylaws because the school is going from a technical school to a high school. Mr. Mitchell said the transition has been going smoothly. Students who attend South Technical have to meet the same standards as in a traditional high school and have to take the necessary courses. There are now about 1200 students at the School. The School is now looking to start a sports program, as well as holding a prom. The School is no longer adult oriented. However, the fire school will remain on campus, but is under the auspices of Palm Beach Community College. Atlantic High School Chairperson Russell said she was unable to attend her SAC meeting due to a crisis at her school. Galaxy Elementary Mr. Hazlett said that the FCAT was discussed at the SAC meeting at Galaxy and they compared how Galaxy School fared with the remainder of the District and the State. Congress Middle School Mr. Rowe said that at the first meeting he attended there were only two parents present and the remainder of the participants was teachers. Elections of officers were held. Mr. Rowe thought that Mr. Melcher did a good job considering this was his first SAC meeting and that he handled the School Improvement Plan very well. Mr. Rowe said he attended a meeting with Ms. Elizabeth Decker that took place at Santaluces High School, as a representative of his SAC. Ms. Decker would like to see reading, writing, arithmetic and safety emphasized in the schools. 9 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA DECEMBER 2, 1999 VIII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Chairperson Russell suggested that members should continue to work on their goals. Also, Chairperson Russell would like the Board to try to get a message included in the City’s water bill. Mr. Rowe requested when the committee on Raising Test Scores and Parental Involvement get together, it take place in the meeting room at City Hall in the Mall. IX.NEW BUSINESS Ms. Farace asked if the Board would like to consider having Bruce Thompson speak about the volunteer program that Mr. Baron mentioned. Ms. Farace said that Mr. Thompson spoke about it at the Chamber of Commerce Education Committee meeting. Chairperson Russell announced that a group that wants to start a charter school in Boynton Beach, which would have an emphasis on computers and foreign languages, had contacted her. They would like to speak to the Education Advisory Board and Chairperson Russell was not sure if this was a topic the Board would be interested in. Mr. Ehster asked if the school would be located in the City and Chairperson Russell was not certain, but will check. Mr. Ehster felt if the school is going to be located within the City, that it would be something this Board should be interested in. It was decided to invite Mr. Thompson to the January meeting to speak and Chairperson Russell will invite the charter school person to speak at the February meeting. Mr. Mitchell pointed out that charter schools are partially under the control of the School Board and felt it would be appropriate to invite them to speak to the Board. Mr. Ehster said he would like to discuss at the next meeting that the Board consider going back to having four members as constituting a quorum as opposed to the current five member rule. Ms. Farace said the Board can make the recommendation to the City Commission. Ms. Farace requested that in the future when the Education Advisory Board Meetings are listed on the calendar that the words “ and Committee Meetings” be included. Ms. Farace requested that the Recording Secretary bring to the next meeting the handout that Assistant City Attorney Igwe distributed regarding the Sunshine Law. 10 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA DECEMBER 2, 1999 X. PUBLIC AUDIENCE None XI.ANNOUNCEMENTS Next Regular Board Meeting: January 6, 2000 at 6:00 P.M. XII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting properly adjourned at 8:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ____________________________ Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (three tapes) 11