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Minutes 03-02-00 MINUTES OF THE EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD MEETING HELD IN THE LIBRARY PROGRAM ROOM, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON THURSDAY MARCH 2, 2000 AT 6:00 P.M. PRESENT ALSO PRESENT Dawn Russell, Chairperson Virginia Farace, Education Advisory Heidi DeVries, Student Board Liaison Lora Edwards, Student (left at 7:00 p.m.) Ron Ehster (arrived at 6:30 p.m.) Revia Lee Diana Tedtmann, Voting Alternate ALSO PRESENT David Fellows, former Board Member ABSENT Michael Hazlett Dr. Leon G. Schwartz Eddie Mitchell I. GREETINGS Chairperson Russell called the meeting to order at 6:15 p.m. 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. Ms. Farace requested that the minutes reflect that Mr. Schwartz injured his knee and called to state he would not be attending tonight’s meeting. Also, Michael Hazlett is out of town. IV. MINUTES APPROVAL FEBRUARY 3, 2000 MEETING MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA March 2, 2000 Chairperson Russell asked if anyone had any changes or additions to the minutes of the February 3, 2000 meeting? Ms. Farace said she had some changes, but did not bring them with her. The minutes stand approved with reservations for future amendment. V. CHAIR’S REPORT A. Board Forum th Chairperson Russell reported that the Board Forum was held on February 19 at the Library and all Boards were in attendance except for the Senior Advisory Board. Also present from the Education Advisory Board were Michael Hazlett, Diana Tedtmann and Heidi DeVries. Chairperson Russell said she handed out the Board’s Mission and Goal Statement and reported on the Board’s progress. She also stated that the other Boards in attendance gave progress reports. Chairperson Russell said that she would like the Board to have a column published in the Visions, Views and City Newsletter. Ms. Farace said she would follow through on this. Ms. St. John, Chairperson of the Advisory Board on Children and Youth, had inquired if the Education Advisory Board would be participating in the G.A.L.A. this year. Chairperson Russell thought it wasn’t very fruitful the last time the Board had a table and did not feel the Board needed to participate. Ms. Farace inquired if the Board wanted to go on record if they wished to continue to participate in the Board Forums? Chairperson Russell said it was good to keep informed on what the other Boards are doing, but since she receives the minutes from these Boards she keeps well informed on what they are doing. Discussion ensued on whether the Board wished to continue to participate and if anything is gained from these Forums. Chairperson Russell felt that the Forums are more informational and this same information is usually contained in the minutes. Ms. Tedtmann noted that the other Boards have activities, whereas this Board has projects. Ms. DeVries felt that the Forums were very worthwhile and that she gains a great deal of information from them. It was noted that the City did not mandate the Forums, which accounts for four extra meetings per year. Discussion ensured on whether it was necessary to have the Forums that often. Ms. Farace suggested holding the Forum on a yearly basis, as opposed to quarterly. Members stated they enjoyed the Forum where the City Commission attended and felt it was very worthwhile and should be continued. 2 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA March 2, 2000 Ms. Tedtmann suggested sending a liaison to the next forum and felt a lot of the information shared at the Forum needs to be shared with the schools. Mr. Fellows stated when he was a member of this Board he participated in the Forums and felt the session with the City Commission should be done on an annual basis. Further, Mr. Fellows said the forums were not well attended and if each Board sent a liaison, there would only be four people participating. Mr. Ehster agreed that holding the Forum on a yearly basis would be adequate. Chairperson Russell suggested holding the Forum once a year, which would also include the Board’s regular meeting, as well as attending the City Commission Forum. Ms. DeVries did not think it was proper for this Board to only host one Forum a year and not attend the other three. Ms. DeVries felt that the Board should either attend all Forums or none at all. After discussion, it was felt that the Forum should be held twice a year, once in May/June with the City Commission and once in the fall. Motion Ms. Tedtmann moved that Chairperson Russell write a letter to the Board Chairpersons who participate in the Board Forums recommending two yearly Forums, one in the spring with the City Commission and another in the fall. Motion seconded by Mr. Ehster, which unanimously carried. B. Board Reappointments Chairperson Russell reported that the terms of a majority of the members on the Board would be expiring and that each member should have received a letter and application form to apply for reappointment. Chairperson Russell distributed an article from the Sun Sentinel regarding the Ezell Hester Community Center and how they are asking for assistance from the schools on teaching children skills for success. Ms. Farace also noted that there was a very informative article in the Palm Beach Post on Garfield Hamilton regarding all the volunteer time that Mr. Hamilton contributes to the children. VI. CITY LIAISON REPORT A. Youth Rally 3 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA March 2, 2000 Ms. Farace reported that General Colin Powell will be in Boca Raton on Friday, st March 31 and that groups are being invited and can have up to thirty tickets each. Ms. Farace distributed informational flyers to the members. It was noted that the Youth Council would also be attending. VII. COMMITTEE REPORTS A. Alternative to Suspension Program – Russell Mr. Fellows was present to report on the Alternative to Suspension Program. Mr. Fellows referred to a letter he received today from Mr. Joseph Speicher, the Executive Director for South County Mental Health, which will be providing the counseling services for the OCIP Program at Congress and Christa McAuliffe Middle Schools. Mr. Fellows reported that the Quantum Foundation has approved $312,000 over three years for the program, contingent upon securing a community commitment for $100,000. Mr. Fellows noted that a request for $50,000 over a three-year period would be th considered by the Boynton Beach City Commission at its Tuesday, March 7 meeting. Chief Marshall Gage has committed $16,500 from the police forfeiture funds for the first year. Mr. Fellows said he has also approached the Sheriff’s Department for $50,000 in funding over a three-year period, since the Christa McAuliffe School is in the County. The Sheriff’s Department is in the process of setting up a meeting with Dr. Selo, Ms. Decker and a representative from South County to discuss their commitment. Once those two commitments are received, the program can proceed. Chairperson Russell asked when it could be expected to have the programs in st place and Mr. Fellows anticipates a test-basis to be in place by April 1. The teachers have already been selected and there is space at the schools for the program. Chairperson Russell inquired about the program at Santaluces High School and Mr. Fellows said that everything fell apart for alternative education and Santaluces needs two OCIP because of the size of the school. Alternative education was providing the counselors, teachers and space. Principal Heyward is not in a position where he could take two teachers from the classrooms and allocate them to the program. Ms. Farace noted that the OCIP program was one of the goals of the Board and that the Board should go on record tonight to support the funding recommendation for the program, which will be before the Commission next Tuesday. Chairperson Russell requested that as many members of the Board as possible be present at the Commission meeting to show the Board’s support for the program. 4 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA March 2, 2000 Motion Ms. Tedtmann moved that this Board support the request on the Commission agenda for the OCIP. Ms. DeVries seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. Mr. Fellows said he would be inviting the Principal from Congress Middle School, Ms. Elizabeth Decker, and a representative from South County Mental Health to be present at the Commission meeting. Ms. Farace explained the new procedure for people wishing to speak at a Commission meeting. Mr. Fellows also reported that he had presented the program to all Area Superintendents of the School District. Currently there is State legislation that was introduced by Representative Frank Farkas to provide annually $5 million for the next four years as seed money for this specific alternative to education program to middle and high schools throughout the State. Senator Ron Klein will be sponsoring the bill in the Senate. The web site for the State Legislature is www.leg.st.fl.us and click on “Bills” and search for “OCIP”. The House Bill has already been assigned to two committees and he has made a presentation to both Committees. The funding should be available as of July 1, 2000. Schools that apply would receive $75,000 and must raise an additional $25,000. Chairperson Russell thanked Mr. Fellows for all his help in getting this program started. Ms. Farace stated that the City owes Mr. Fellows a great deal of gratitude and noted how hard he has worked to bring this program to fruition. Mr. Fellows stated that Commissioner Denahan was also instrumental in getting the program off the ground. B. Raising Test Scores/Parental Involvement – Russell, Rowe, Tedtmann Chairperson Russell noted that the FCAT testing is complete and next week the thth 9 and 10 graders will be taking the F-Kitty test. It is anticipated that the test scores would be available at the beginning of June. There was nothing to report under Parental Involvement. Ms. Tedtmann said that she spoke with some elementary schools and they do not have tutoring available for their students, unless a recommendation from the teacher is made. Children are often recommended to outside sources for tutoring, such as at the Hester Center, the Library or St. John’s. The times and days of tutoring at these locations were discussed. 5 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA March 2, 2000 C. “Gathering Storm” Issues – Mitchell Mr. Mitchell was not present to make a report. D. Legislative Issues Ms. Tedtmann reported that Bill 1688 allowed for public money to go to private schools and allowed school districts to give over their technical programs to the community colleges, which was at the discretion of each county. Palm Beach County is the only county that has chosen to give everything over to the community college. There is now movement underway to make this mandatory for all counties. Ms. Tedtmann felt that each county should be allowed to make their own decisions and that the State should not be forcing the schools to give up their programs to the community colleges. Ms. Farace said she had concerns on what was happening at South Tech and suggested that someone from South Tech should attend a Board meeting to explain what is happening at the school. Mr. Ehster inquired if there were still some adult programs at South Tech and Ms. Tedtmann stated there were currently some trade and industry programs, but they will be moving. Ms. Tedtmann stated that teaching positions have been eliminated from 58 teachers to 22. Also, secretarial and support staff have been cut. The registration rate at the school is slow and Ms. Tedtmann was uncertain what would happen to South Tech and said there has been talk that the school might be turned into an alternative school. Ms. Tedtmann recommended contacting Mr. Jim Kidd at the school. Chairperson Russell requested that Ms. Tedtmann speak with Mr. Kidd to determine if he would be available to attend the next Board meeting. Currently the school is offering a construction academy, an auto academy and health science academy. It is anticipated that next year computer, cosmetology and food academies will be introduced. E. SIP Presentation – Hazlett, DeVries Ms. DeVries had nothing to report, but Ms. Farace reported that Mr. Hazlett and Ms. DeVries did meet and requested her to contact Ms. Decker to set up the same type of presentation that had been offered last year. Ms. Farace said that th the May 4 regular meeting date is being scheduled for the SIP presentations. Ms. Decker will be contacting the same schools that participated last year. 6 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA March 2, 2000 F. Principals’ Roundtable – Lee, Edwards Ms. Lee said that they did not meet and would like to discuss with the Board the issues that they would like discussed at the roundtable and needed some direction. Ms. Lee would like to do a survey to see what issues the principals would like to discuss. Discussion took place on holding the roundtable sometime in the fall. G. Forest Park – Ehster Mr. Ehster reported that a SAC meeting was held on Monday. The Department of Education has granted Forest Park $1 million for reducing class size. Since the school has already reduced the class size, the money will be used to keep the class size down. Also Forest Park received a $300,000 grant from the Pew Foundation, which will be used for a Pre-K program which would include bringing in portables. Currently Forest Park does not have a Pre-K program. The criteria for the program would be children who receive free lunch. Banyan Creek will be used for the children that need special teaching. Six schools in Palm Beach County have been selected to receive the Barbara Busch Annenberg grant for literacy and it appears favorable that Forest Park will be a recipient of that grant. Further, Mr. Ehster reported that when a school gets an “F” rating, they lose their accreditation. Therefore, Forest Park is trying to link their existing accreditation with the school improvement process, so as not to destroy their accreditation. The school is also considering uniforms or a uniform dress code. In order for the gifted program to remain at the School, 24 students will be selected for testing and must pass. If less than 24 students pass, the ones that do will go to another school. Also, Ms. Lee pointed out that part-time gifted students are also allowed and thereby the program could remain at the school. Mr. Ehster reported that the construction problems with the school that he had previously reported on are being resolved. Also, the absentee rate, which was reported in the newspaper, was incorrect. The absentee rate at the school was as high as 17% for one week. H. SAC Representatives Atlantic High School – Chairperson Russell did not attend the last SAC meeting. Rolling Green – Ms. Tedtmann stated she did not have an opportunity to attend. 7 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA March 2, 2000 Poinciana Elementary – Ms. Lee stated she did not have an opportunity to attend. Congress Middle School – Ms. Farace did not attend the SAC meeting because it was the same night as this Board’s meeting. Ms. Farace said there is an issue about Congress Middle School that needs to be reported. Due to the new middle school being planned in West Boynton, there is discussion about changing the school boundaries, which will have an effect upon Congress Middle School. The first option being considered by the Boundary Committee would totally exclude any outside students applying to enter the Congress magnet program by totally overloading the school and leaving no seats for applicant magnet students. This option is viewed as not acceptable to those who supported the magnet concept at this school. There are approximately 500 students currently applying to get into Congress Middle School’s magnet program. A second option being considered would allow around 45% magnet applicants and the rest would come from within the SAC boundaries. This might be too high an applicant ratio. It is important that the City’s student population can take advantage of the school while maintaining its’ magnet status. These and other boundary options must be closely monitored in order to assure the right proportion or mix of SAC vs. applicant students. Mr. Ehster inquired when the new middle school would be operational and was informed it should ready in approximately one and one-half years. VIII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Discussion of Charter Schools Chairperson Russell reported that Mr. Hazlett met with the Owens to discuss the charter school and they are making progress. Ms. Farace stated she was instructed at the last meeting to place this issue on this agenda under Unfinished Business. Mr. Ehster said he requested that it be placed on the agenda because in the past this Board has generally been opposed to charter schools and he would like to know how the Board feels about charter schools. Mr. Ehster felt this could affect Forest Park. Chairperson Russell noted that charter schools are becoming a reality, whether or not this Board favors them, and if they can help the children in the communities, she would not be against them. Ms. Lee did not feel that this Board should take a position one way or another on charter schools because this Board is about public education. 8 MEETING MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA March 2, 2000 IX. NEW BUSINESS None X. PUBLIC AUDIENCE None XI. ANNOUNCEMENTS The Next Regular Board Meeting is scheduled for th Thursday, April 6 at 6:00 p.m. XII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting properly adjourned at 7:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ____________________________ Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (two tapes) 9