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Minutes 10-07-99 MINUTES OF THE EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD MEETING HELD IN THE LIBRARY PROGRAM ROOM, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON THURSDAY OCTOBER 7, 1999 AT 6:30 P.M. PRESENT ALSO PRESENT Dawn Russell, Chairperson Virginia Farace, Education Advisory Harvey Oyer, III Board Liaison Revia Lee Eddie Mitchell Michael Hazlett, Voting Alternate Diana Tedtmann, Voting Alternate Lora Edwards, Student ABSENT Heidi DeVries, Student Margaret Newton Arthur T. Rowe ALSO PRESENT Ron Ehster, former Board Member I. GREETINGS Chairperson Russell called the meeting to order at 6:40 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- August 7, 1999 Planning Workshop Notes Ms. Farace said the notes from the Planning Workshop would be reviewed during the planning portion of the meeting. MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 7, 1999 V. CHAIR’S REPORT Chairperson Russell reported that the new school year is underway and many things are happening. There has been a great deal of press regarding the schools and there was an article in the Sun Sentinel regarding the students at Forest Park School. A copy of the article was distributed. Forest Park School has adopted the Marie Carbo reading program to accommodate student-reading preferences in anticipation of improving reading at the school. Forest Park is the only school in South County that received an “F”. Chairperson Russell inquired if the Board intended to hold another Principals’ Forum? If so, at some point Area Superintendent Decker should be contacted. Chairperson Russell reported that the Board’s workshop was very successful and will be addressed further in the meeting. VI. CITY LIAISON REPORT Ms. Farace distributed the Board’s Ordinance, which has been updated. The new Ordinance now allows the Student Members full voting rights. As a result, a quorum for a meeting has been changed since there are now nine voting members. A quorum would require five members. Ms. Farace noted it is now very important that members attend the meetings in order to attain a quorum. Ms. Farace announced that David Fellows resigned from the Board and therefore a vacancy now exists. Mr. Fellows indicated that he would like to continue to attend the meetings in order to report on the Alternative to Suspension Program. Ron Ehster has reapplied for Board appointment and Ms. Farace is hopeful that he will be appointed at the next meeting. VII. COMMITTEE REPORTS A. Alternative to Suspension Program No report made B. Raising Test Scores Ms. Newton was not present to make a report. C. “Gathering Storm” issues 2 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 7, 1999 No report made. D. Parental Involvement No report made E. School Concurrency Mr. Ehster said that school concurrency will happen. He announced that more than enough cities are participating. F. Administrative Area Issue Chairperson Russell briefed members that this issue pertained to having all Boynton Beach Schools fall into one administrative area. Ms. Farace stated it was felt at the workshop that the Board has gone as far as it could on this issue. It has been taken to the City Commission and they in turn sent a letter to the School Board. Nothing further has been done. Mr. Ehster felt that for now the issue should be set aside since Forest Park is an “F” School. The new Area Director spoke at the last SAC meeting and Mr. Ehster was very pleased with his presentation. Mr. Ehster thinks a great many things are going to be done at the school and did not think a change was necessary at this time. From what he heard, he thinks that the School should end up with a “C” this year. They are working very hard on reading and writing, but there is a real problem with math. The school is in need of mentors and tutors in math. If a change in area superintendents took place now, the same changes may not take place at the school. Chairperson Russell did not think that anything more would come from this suggestion in any event. G. Legislative Issues Ms. Newton was not present to make a report. H. SAC Representatives Ms. Lee asked if everyone was familiar with how the grading of schools was done and what the components were? There was a consensus among the members that how the grading took place was very vague. Ms. Lee suggested that someone from the School Department should be invited to a Board meeting to explain how the grading is actually 3 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 7, 1999 done. Ms. Lee pointed out that there is a great deal of criteria that is used in grading schools and it is not only test scores that are graded. Ms. Farace suggested that this could be included with the Principals’ Forum and could be addressed by someone of accountability. Ms. Lee feels that the public should have a clear understanding on how the grading system works. Mr. Mitchell said that outside of the test scores, the affluent schools are graded differently than the poorer schools and that many factors make up the final determination of the test scores. Mr. Mitchell felt that a lot of people throughout the State aren’t sure what is going on. Chairperson Russell pointed out that in the newspaper article it said that of the seven elementary schools that scored an “F” there is a large number of poor students and also the teachers themselves have less experience. Students leaving school before completion of the school year is also high. “A” schools are wealthier schools with more experienced teachers. Mr. Ehster had available a school plan which he presented to the members to review. He took this information off the School Board’s web site. Mr. Ehster also pointed out that most of the elementary schools in Boynton Beach are “D” schools and there are no “A” or “B” schools in the City. VII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Planning – Goal Setting Ms. Farace distributed a copy of the Boards’ Vision, Mission and Goals for 1998-99, together with a copy of the notes from the Planning Workshop of August 7, 1999. actions that the Board took during The first items discussed at the workshop were the past year as follows: ? Mission Statement ? Vision ? School Concurrency Work ? Planning Session ? OCIP Work/Pilot Awareness ? Gathering Storm involvement ? Administrative Area Resolution – adopted by Commission – sent to Board 4 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 7, 1999 ? Require Education Advisory Board members to be involved in SAC and Education Advisory Board Issues/Goals ? Voting rights for student members ? Principals’ roundtable ? SIP Presentations ? Met with City Commission ? City Liaison ? Bylaws areas that could be improved upon as follows Also discussed at the workshop were : ? Parental Involvement ? Tracking Legislation ? Raising Test Scores ? EAB member commitment ? Communication with City Commission (ask directly for what City needs) ? City Commission commitment to education ? School Board commitment Issues of Concern were as follows: ? Alternative to Suspension – Letter from City Commission to School Board re: OCIP ? Obtain liaison from School District ? Raising Scores – Track class sizes Teacher/Student Preparation for tests ? Continue support for new high school Continue SAC involvement ? Gathering Storm ? Parental Involvement ? Legislation ? Principals’ Roundtable ? SIP Presentations ? Annual Meeting with City Commission ? Business involvement ? Inform community on City school issues ? Focus on Forest Park – ? Get a gifted program ? Volunteer assistance to be sure every child tested for gifted TCS ? Recruit Forest Park as member of Education Advisory Board ? Review/discuss voucher possibility 5 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 7, 1999 Ms. Farace said that after the issues were identified, the members came up with priorities. Potential responsible board members are listed below, next to each priority. ? Raising Test Scores (Diana Tedtmann, Art Rowe and Dawn Russell) ? New High School (Virginia Farace) ? Parental Involvement/Work with Neighborhood Associations (Diana Tedtmann, Art Rowe) Chairperson Russell pointed out that Raising Test Scores and Parental Involvement should be included as one item. ? Alternative to Suspension (Dawn Russell) ? Forest Park work with Neighborhood Associations/National Board Accreditation (Ron Ehster) ? Principals’ Roundtable (Lora Edwards) ? Liaison with School District (Diana Tedtmann) ? Gathering Storm (Eddie Mitchell) Mr. Mitchell said he was willing to continue with Gathering Storm. Ms. Lee pointed out that this is now another group and that the School District has formed an entirely new program to address issues of minority students. Ms. Lee will report back on the new name for this group at the next meeting. Ms. Tedtmann announced that as a result of the Gathering Storm, all sophomores in the District would be taking the PSAT. Although the test is intended for only sophomores, juniors who pay may also take the test. ? Legislation (Harvey Oyer) ? SIP presentations (Heidi DeVries) Ms. Farace pointed out that it is important that someone take the lead on an issue. The Board must now decide what the priority issues are going to be. Ms. Farace requested that each member that has an issue prepare a goal statement on what he or she hopes to accomplish and be prepared to present it at the next meeting. Discussion ensued on whether to eliminate the Principals’ Roundtable as a goal since it is a one-time presentation. It was determined that this would be a “one time” goal and should remain on the list. The new high school will be eliminated as a goal and will be reported upon periodically. 6 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 7, 1999 Mr. Oyer agreed to take Legislation and will keep the Board informed on any legislation that would have an affect upon the City’s schools. Chairperson Russell noted that last year the Board was not very successful in tracking legislative issues. It was agreed to hold another SIP Presentation in the spring. Mr. Ehster said he would keep the Board updated on the Forest Park situation. Raising Test Scores/Parental Involvement would remain as assigned to Chairperson Russell, Mr. Rowe and Ms. Tedtmann. Mr. Oyer inquired how the voucher system works. Chairperson Russell stated that if a School is on the “F” list for two years, the vouchers go into effect. Ms. Lee said the dollar figure varies and said it is approximately between $4,000 and $5,000 per student. Mr. Ehster pointed out that the School must be on the “F” list two out of four years before the voucher system is put in place for that particular school. Mr. Hazlett will work with the student member on the SIP presentation and Ms. Lee will work with the student on the Principals’ Roundtable. Discussion took place regarding this Board’s role in bringing educational issues to the City Commission. Ms. Farace reported that Mayor Broening included educational issues on his list of priorities for the Commission’s strategic planning session. Ms. Lee said she would like to know how involved the City would like this Board to be on educational issues and what the role of this Board is. Mr. Oyer said that the City Commission is not charged with any educational issues. They can address certain areas that indirectly affect education such as general land use planning issues that would result in a community that is conducive to educating and raising children. Mr. Oyer also said business involvement is important and methods to attract more businesses to the City need to be implemented. Mr. Oyer pointed out that most businesses look for an educated labor force. In order to get an educated labor force, assistance is needed from the business community. Ms. Farace pointed out that the Chamber of Commerce has an active education committee. However, it is important that there is a liaison between the Chamber’s Education Committee and the City. Mr. Oyer pointed out that having “D” and “F” schools in the City is not going to help in its quest for All America City award. Ms. Lee felt it was important that this Board, the Chamber of Commerce and the City have some common goals to work on. Ms. Lee was of the opinion that this Board needs to determine its role in the total picture of education in the community. 7 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 7, 1999 Chairperson Russell said it is important this Board set is own goals and decide what it feels is important. As an Advisory Board to the City, the Board needs to know what the Commission would like us to work on. Ms. Farace said that this also works in reverse and that the City looks to this Board to examine issues and to bring issues to them. Ms. Lee would like this Board’s main concern to be the “D” and “F” schools that exist within the City and noted there is not a single “A” or “B” school in the City. Mr. Oyer felt that the Board needs to focus on one or two issues each year since the Board cannot accomplish all these goals in one year. Ms. Lee said that when the schools prepare their SIP Plans, one of the issues they are asked to address is parental involvement and if there was parental involvement there wouldn’t be “D” and “F” schools. Chairperson Russell noted that last year during the SIP presentations the majority of the schools indicated they had some kind of programs for parental involvement. Therefore, this Board never really addressed that issue because it was felt the schools were doing something about it themselves. Mr. Oyer stated there are a great many students in the school system whose parents are completely unaware of the system and how it functions. Many parents do not speak or write the English language and are also illiterate in their own native tongue. Therefore, these children are abandoned within the schools. Mr. Oyer said he tried to become a guardian ad litem for a neighborhood family that fell into this category, but was unable to since there is no program in place for this. Mr. Oyer suggested that some type of program should be created to address the needs of these types of families. Also, he was not successful in securing tutoring for these children through the school system, but was successful in getting some elderly church members that were former schoolteachers to volunteer to help these children after schools. Mr. Oyer indicated that there are a great deal of retired schoolteachers available who could help children. The City should set up tutoring programs because the School Board is unable to handle these kinds of requests. Also, he would like to see some type of guardian ad litem program set up, which could be done in every community. Chairperson Russell suggested going out to the Caridad Clinic on Boynton Beach Boulevard where most of the migrant workers congregate. She pointed out that it is predicated by 2015, that the Hispanics will be the largest minority group in South Florida. She also indicated that there are afterschool programs available at Congress Middle School and Santaluces High School. Ms. Lee felt that someone should be available within the school to assist these parents because they do not feel comfortable due to their inability to communicate. Also, usually there is a lack of transportation. Highland Elementary School in Lake Worth has 8 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 7, 1999 one of the highest concentrations of Guatemalan students. A bus has been purchased to transport these students to this school for afterschool tutoring, but it is only for students residing in Lake Worth. Mr. Oyer suggested that this type of program could be set up at Forest Park for afterschool and noted that the School Board hired a Guatemalan liaison. He has her telephone number if this Board wished to contact her. Mr. Mitchell pointed out that Forest Park, as well as Rolling Green have students bused in from Delray Beach. Ms. Lee pointed out that Forest Park and the schools in Delray Beach are all in Area 1. Ms. Farace said that volunteers are desperately needed at the Library in the evening to assist with the multitude of students who are present each night in the Library. Ms. Lee noted that high school students have to do community service. Chairperson Russell said that some students get credit for just doing community service. Mr. Oyer suggested that some of the internship students at FAU might also be available. Ms. Farace noted that the Teen Club which was instituted last year is now beyond capacity and there is no more room for any more children. The Club is available from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Chairperson Russell inquired if members wanted to focus on raising test scores/parental involvement and there was a consensus among the members that this would be the Board’s main focus. Ms. Tedtmann, Mr. Rowe and Chairperson Russell would be the lead persons for this priority. Ms. Farace stated that each member who has been assigned a goal should be accountable for reporting on that goal. Chairperson Russell said that Mr. Fellows would continue to come to the meetings to report on the progress to the Alternative to Suspension Program. This is a program that the Education Advisory Board will continue to support also. B. SAC Assignments Chairperson Russell stated that each member needs to select a SAC to serve on and to report back to the Board each month. Members reviewed the schools and principals and then selected the SAC committee that each wished to serve on as follows: ? Virginia Farace Congress Middle School and Santaluces High School ? Eddie Mitchell South Technical High School ? Mike Hazlett Galaxy Elementary School ? Dawn Russell Atlantic High School ? Art Rowe Congress Middle School 9 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 7, 1999 ? Revia Lee Poinciana Elementary School ? Harvey Oyer Christa McAuliffe Middle School ? Diana Tedtmann Rolling Green Elementary School ? Lora Edwards Santaluces High School ? Ron Ehster Forest Park Elementary School IX. NEW BUSINESS Members discussed either changing the date and/or time for the monthly meetings. keep the regular meeting date as the first After discussion it was decided to Thursday of the month, but the time has been changed to6:00 p.m. as opposed to 6:30 p.m. XI. ANNOUNCEMENTS at 6:00 p.m The next meeting will take place on Thursday, November 4, 1999 . There being no further business, the meeting properly adjourned at 8:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ______________________________ Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (two tapes) 10