Loading...
Minutes 10-25-95 MINUTES OF THE EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD HELD IN THE COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1995, AT 6:30 P.M. PRESENT Anne Centi, Chairperson Beth Bailey, Public Information Officer Muslima Lewis Irving Sechter Renee Stern Rhona Schneider Nellie Denahan, Alternate Ben Demaline, Student ABSENT Margaret Newton, Vice Chairperson Kenneth Blair Daniel Winters, Alternate I. GREETINGS Chairperson Centi called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. and welcomed Ms. Bailey and Roland Williams to the meeting. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was recited. III. ROLL CALL The Recording Secretary called the roll. IV. MINUTES APPROVAL Ms. Schneider made a correction to the minutes of the September 27, 1995 meeting. It was her understanding that she and Ms. Stern were assigned to the Crystal Lakes and Hagen Road Elementary School SACs, not to Rolling Green. Motion Ms. Denahan moved to approve the minutes of the September 27, 1995 meeting as amended. Ms. Schneider seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. V. AGENDA APPROVAL Motion Mr. Demaline moved to approve the agenda. Ms. Denahan seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. VI. PUBLIC AUDIENCE A. Speaker: Roland Williams, Member of the OCR Monitor Board (Palm Beach) and the Delray Beach Education Advisory Board Mr. Williams was with IBM Corporation for 24 1/2 years. He spent 18 of those years in management and education development. He left IBM 2 1/2 years ago and developed his own consulting firm, Williams Institute of Learning. He is still focusing on education, trying to get people to work together better as teams and do strategic planning and achieve objectives. Mr. Williams advised that the Delray Beach Education Advisory Board has a variety of goals for next year. They are trying to influence people to see things differently. Mr. Williams felt we need to focus on student achievement. He felt decisions are being made inappropriately to achieve the goals that are necessary for the achievement of the students in Palm Beach County. Some of the Delray Beach EAB goals have not been accepted yet because they are still being finalized with the Commission in Delray Beach. The goals for the remainder of this year and next year are as follows: (1) Enhance the public's perception of the schools in Delray Beach. (2) Improve communications with Delray Beach city officials, the School Board, parents, and students. The Delray Beach EAB is determined not to make decisions in a vacuum. They want everybody involved in making decisions. Each member of the Delray Beach Education Advisory Board is assigned one or more schools as a liaison and is required to report on the needs and wants of those schools. (3) Encourage more community involvement and developing a South MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 25, 1995 County Alliance. The Delray Beach EAB believes there is strength in numbers. (4) Challenge the School Board to build schools in the areas where they are absolutely necessary so the students will not be bused too far. The Delray Beach EAB knows there will probably still be some busing, but they want equity in the process. (5) Create a strike force to identify and prioritize improvements of the physical plan. (How schools look from the outside.) These goals will be finalized by the end of next month and presented to the City. The Network Compliance Committee is still on track. Mr. Williams has heard that some decisions are about to be made. He was not sure whether our focus is in the right place. He developed his own list of strategies for success. It starts off with a vision of what we are trying to accomplish. He did not believe very much can be accomplished unless you have a vision first. Then you develop a mission. After that comes goals, objectives, tasks, and guidelines. He advised that the members of this Board may call upon him as their representative on the Network Compliance Committee and the Monitoring Committee to help their cause also. He said there may be some things he is not aware of that may affect Boynton Beach. If the Boynton Beach EAB lets him know about them, he can bring them to the table and let everybody else know about them. He said we need to adopt some kind of vision for what we are trying to accomplish. His visions are as follows: The Palm Beach County Educational Arena is vital and flourishing, and recognized for its world class educational achievement. The Palm Beach County School System is vital and flourishing, and internationally recognized for excellence in education. He believed we should focus on excellence in education and student achievement. He believed that the Palm Beach County School System should start cleaning up its own house. He felt we should not put all of the strategy down on paper and wait to give it to the new school administrator. He believed that when this person comes aboard, we should help that person to develop this strategy. He was not sure whether we are looking for a manager to come into the 3 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 25, 1995 system. He said managers maintain the status quo; however, leaders lead people into a different direction. He felt that whenever you put something together and give it to someone and say this is your charter, you are doing that new person a disservice. He felt we should bring this person on and do that together. He advised that in the past, we have been doing so many things in a vacuum. He felt we should speak with the people who are involved and develop the strategies and techniques that are necessary to achieve. We need to build a high performance team and start focusing on what needs to be achieved. He felt that every one of us should challenge ourselves to some kind of performance standard. We challenge the students that they must make a certain grade. Why not challenge ourselves for a certain grade. We need to focus much earlier on student achievement. This is not about busing, low income, gated communities, the percentage of minorities in the schools, overcrowded schools, etc. A lot of these issues are just contributors to the whole piece, and we have not gotten to the root cause. This is about equity in education. We are trying to get students to achieve. This is about the future of Palm Beach County, its students, and our contribution to this State and to our nation. That is what our focus should be. We need to develop a vision for the future. We need to put some kind of strategy together. We need a 5 to 10 year strategic plan. Goals and specific objectives must have time lines and they must have some responsibility and accountability toward those. There also must be a willingness to step up poor performance of Board members, principals, staff members, teachers, students. Mr. Williams was not sure we need an administrator who is academically inclined. He felt we need a leader, a CEO type person for the school system. This person should be able to lead people and hold people accountable for their piece of the action. He said Dr. Uhlhorn failed because the Board failed. The Board set the arena and when one person fails, we all fail in this process. We all need to work together to make this happen. One person can go no farther than their resources will allow them to. When everyone is involved, we have unlimited resources. We cannot point fingers at just one person. We must move from blame to justification to absolute ownership. Too often we have blamed others for what is happening. Too often we have justified where we are by 4 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 25, 1995 looking at what someone has done. It is time to step up to ownership. We own this process. This is our County. This is our City. If you have an alliance or a thousand people wanting change, it will occur. However, one, two, or three people will do a lot of good. Therefore, he is lobbying for a South County Alliance, and hopes to have a Palm Beach County Alliance. He felt we need to get everyone involved in this process, including the students. Chairperson Centi asked Mr. Williams how Boynton Beach is doing with regard to racially balanced schools. Mr. Williams believed Boynton Beach is all right in that area. However, he did not think this was about racial balance. He knows of schools that are predominantly white and schools that are predominantly black, and they are doing extremely well. It is about equity in education. Chairperson Centi said she read in the minutes of the Santaluces High School SAC meeting about the possibility of the Palm Beach County grading scale being lowered to match those of other school districts. Mr. Williams was not in favor of lowering our grading scale. He said if we want to be the best, we must set our standards high. He advised that 13 schools in the County are failing because we allow it to happen. He felt we need to hold people to their tasks. Chairperson Centi asked who would be responsible for lowering the grading scale. Mr. Williams said the School Board would have to accept that. He thought the new School Board members would have been more like a business and hold people to their tasks. From his experience, he found there is very little difference between the public and private sector. He felt there is a lot of crime, etc., in our City and County because we are not properly educating our students. Ms. Lewis pointed out that even schools that are racially balanced do not necessarily provide equity in education. She advised that when a magnet program is brought into a school in a predominantly African-American community, virtually 90 percent of the students in the magnet program are white. The African-American students are excluded since they cannot go into a magnet from out of district because they will mess up the balance. 5 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 25, 1995 Mr. Williams felt magnet schools are good. He would like for every school in Palm Beach County to become the caliber of a magnet school. Once you have that, you have equity in education. Ms. Stern stated that parent involvement causes changes in the schools. Mr. Demaline is a senior in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program at Atlantic. He said one problem with this magnet program is that the students in this program feel separate from the rest of the school. He has one class that is not in IB. It is an honors class. There is a huge difference in the way the students are taught in IB and the way they are taught in the honors class. In IB, the students are taught according to international standards. He said if we can model all of our schools the way they do internationally, then we can make ourselves known. Mr. Williams said we should be talking to people like Mr. Demaline. Chairperson Centi thanked Mr. Williams for his presentation. At this time, Chairperson Centi advised that Motorola has a robotics laboratory and will accept small groups of middle and high school students who meet certain criteria to visit the lab. The schools can contact Carol Gibson at (407) 739-2230 if they are interested. VII. OLD BUSINESS A. Christa McAuliffe Wish List Mrs. Newton is the liaison to Christa McAuliffe Middle School. Chairperson Centi advised that the Education Advisory Board has some money in its fund that was donated. She wondered how much it would cost to purchase a sign to hang on the fence around the track at Christa McAuliffe to show the Board's support. Ms. Denahan suggested tabling this item until next month so that Mrs. Newton can inform the Board how the school has progressed with their wish list. 6 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 25, 1995 Motion Ms. Schneider moved to wait until we can discuss this with Mrs. Newton. Ms. Stern seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. B. Delray EAB suggestion of three City boards working on community and educational issues (Boca - Delray - Boynton) Chairperson Centi reminded the members of the Board that the Delray Beach Education Advisory Board is interested in forming a tri-City board consisting of Delray Beach, Boca Raton, and Boynton Beach, to work on community issues. She wondered if the City Commission would be in favor of this. Mr. Sechter said he attended one of the Delray Beach Education Advisory Board meetings at which eight or ten principals were present. Every one of them said their schools are wonderful. However, the next day he read in the Palm Beach Post how bad some of the schools are. Some of them are under construction while the children are going there. Mr. Sechter is an advocate of neighborhood schooling. He read an article in the newspaper about a child travelling seven hours a day to go to a magnet school. He felt this was ludicrous. He felt Mr. William's time estimate of bringing Palm Beach County Schools up to snuff in three to five years without any plans is not reasonable. He did not sound to him like we are on track or attempting to do anything. He pointed out that there is no money to do anything. Mrs. Lewis asked about the purpose of forming a tri-City board. She felt it would be helpful to hear from the person who is spearheading it so we would get an idea of how the three cities would work together. Ms. Stern felt it was a good idea to share knowledge with one another. However, she felt goals should be set within our own community because we may have different needs than other communities. She said we would have to find out the common needs of all three cities and work toward those goals, which means that other needs that we have are going to fall by the wayside. 7 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 25, 1995 Mr. Demaline agreed with Mr. Williams that there is strength in numbers. He pointed out that we have some of the same needs as Boca Raton and Delray Beach. He felt a new high school in Boynton Beach would take some pressure off of Atlantic High School. Chairperson Centi advised that Ms. Denahan and she attended a goal setting meeting in Delray Beach. They are combatting the negative image of their schools. They also mentioned that Delray Beach would like a new high school. Ms. Denahan believes that as a tri-City alliance, we could approach the School Board with strength in numbers. Mr. Demaline felt that by joining this tri-City alliance, we would make a name for the Boynton Beach Education Advisory Board, and people will come to our meetings. It was the consensus of the Board to participate in the tri-City alliance for the purpose of communication. Ms. Bailey will ask Mr. Hawkins to contact Chairperson Centi about the City's position on this alliance. C. Position of School Board reference Boynton School and high school - Should we recommend a lobbyist for high school to get priority action? Ms. Denahan suggested starting at a lower level and contacting Larry Zabak, the Assistant Superintendent in charge of building construction. Ms. Stern would like to see the School Board's budget to see how the money is spent. She pointed out that you cannot lobby for or against something unless you know how money is being spent. She felt every EAB should have a copy of the School Board's budget. She said we have to know what we are fighting for, how much money there is, and where the money is going. She stated that the people need to attend the School Board budget hearings and be vocal. Ms. Schneider suggested contacting someone from Motorola for support. Chairperson Centi advised that John Armon, Director of Education, was scheduled to speak to the 8 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 25, 1995 Board this evening. However, he was unable to attend this evening. He will speak to the Board at another time, perhaps in November or December. Ms. Bailey believes the Chamber of Commerce has an Education Committee. She suggested the Board contact them. Ms. Stern advised that the school she represents would like community leaders on their School Advisory Committee. At Ms. Bailey's suggestion, she will contact the Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Denahan suggested that each member of the board call two different Commissioners. Mrs. Lewis suggested following those calls up with a letter. Motion Ms. Schneider moved that a letter be sent to all the Commissioners regarding our interest in having a high school in Boynton Beach, and then to follow that up with a telephone call to each Commissioner. Ms. Denahan seconded the motion. Mrs. Lewis would like to find out more information before calling the Commissioners. Mr. Demaline suggested that someone from the board read the letter at a City Commission meeting. Amended Motion The motion was amended to present the letter to the Commission at a Commission meeting. The motion carried unanimously. Chairperson Centi and Mrs. Lewis will draft the letter. The letter will be presented at the November 21 Commission meeting. D. Success of Decision '95 - My Vote Counts Chairperson Centi advised that this event was very successful. Everyone enjoyed it, and it was well done. She commended the Community Relations Board and the City for this event. 9 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 25, 1995 E. Sales Tax Alternative - Miami Herald editorial suggested taxing cable TV users Chairperson Centi referred to an article in the Miami Herald which stated that in lieu of a sales tax, it was suggested that cable TV users be taxed. This information was conveyed to Bob Hayes, who said that the School Board could not act on this. It would have to be acted on by the Legislature. F. Committee Reports Ms. Schneider reported that Crystal Lakes was disappointed that they were not invited to participate in Decision '95. Ms. Centi advised that the selection process was done through the City Manager's Office. She spoke to Vice Mayor Matthew Bradley, who informed her that they are planning to include more schools next year. Ms. Schneider reported that the SAC meeting was well attended. They are trying to get parents to join the SAC. They cannot get parents from certain areas in their district involved. They discussed community concerns and advanced math needs. They feel that many of the children who are very capable in math are bored because they are not given anything more than what the teachers offer in the general class. They are also concerned that some of the K through 2 special needs are not being recognized. Children are going into third grade and cannot do third grade work. Staff was very concerned about security. Several of the portables have been robbed. Televisions and VCRs have been stolen. The portables at Christa McAuliffe have also been robbed. Ms. Schneider also reported that Crystal Lakes was upset that the Southern Association was not going to give them accreditation this year. In order to be accredited, Crystal Lakes must have one and a half guidance counselors on campus at all times. They only have one, and the district will not pay for another one. Mrs. Lewis reported that at the Atlantic High SAC meeting, the approval of the Seacrest property project was discussed. The school decided not to go forward because at the previous School Board meeting, it was apparent that it was not going to be adopted at the time. The proposal was revised for phasing. The first phase is the purchase of the 10 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 25, 1995 property. The City and the County are purchasing the property. The second phase will be the improvement of the property. Also discussed at the SAC meeting was the election of the School Improvement Committee. Mrs. Lewis was elected to that Committee. Mr. Demaline was interested in joining this Committee. Mrs. Lewis reported that the plan from last year was distributed and some officers were elected. SIC will meet an hour prior to every SAC meeting. Ms. Schneider asked if there is a time line for improving the Seacrest property. Mrs. Lewis advised that the details of the proposal were not presented. The problem is getting the property. It is a prime piece of property and it is unusual for that type of property to become available in such a developed area. It is right across the street from the school. It was clear that the School Board was not going to approve the entire project because of funding, so they took it off the agenda. If it is purchased, some of the existing structures, which are eyesores and attract a bad element, can be demolished. Ms. Stern reported that the Hagen Road SAC meeting was held at 2:15 p.m. and very few parents attended. At the meeting, the School Improvement Plan was reviewed. They have five year goals, intermediate goals, long term goals, and short term goals. Many of the students at Hagen Road have migrant parents and have very low reading skills. One of the school's goals is to raise the children's reading skills. They also set up certain things within the school to bring the parents in and have special days. They want community representation. They asked her if she could get a CEO from Motorola to sit in on their meetings. Ms. Stern felt that more parents would attend if the meetings were not held at 2:15 p.m. Ms. Denahan reported on the Forest Park Elementary School SAC meeting, which also meets during the day. She advised that this school has an excellent PTA, and the SAC usually consists of a small group of people. They have five year goals and short term goals. The principal distributed copies of Blueprint 2000 at the meeting. The biggest concern at Forest Park is heading the construction and getting the project approved. Bids have been put in and have been denied because they were higher than the allocated resources. 11 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 25, 1995 Ms. Denahan also reported on Poinciana Elementary School. Construction is also of concern to them. Their biggest concern is adopting bylaws because the school is only in its second year. The School Improvement Plan, Mission Statement, and their five year vision take up the entire agenda. Chairperson Centi reported on Santaluces. She did not attend the meeting, but she obtained a copy of the minutes. There are 2,815 students enrolled at Santaluces High. They said there is a possibility that Palm Beach County grading scale will be lowered to match those of other districts. Jim Kelly, the School Board Director of Security, was going to address the Board about crime in Boynton Beach schools. However, he reports to the School Board on Wednesday nights and was unable to attend this meeting. Mr. Kelly presented a package of money for after school activities to the School Board. Bob Hayes voted against that, but it passed. Mr. Hayes felt that this money should be used for teachers and classrooms. Chairperson Centi said she received a call from Plumosa School. The head of their SAC, Mark Scott, would like one of the members of this board to join the Plumosa SAC. However, she pointed out that we have not covered all the schools on our list. Ms. Schneider would like to make sure that all our Boynton Beach schools are thoroughly covered on a monthly basis before giving our time to another City's school. Ms. Stern suggested that one of the members of this board go to their SAC meetings, and one of the members of the Plumosa SAC attend our meetings. Chairperson Centi felt that was a wonderful idea. VIII. NEW BUSINESS A. Should we try to change meeting night (Bob Hayes suggestion) so we can meet with School Board members more often and readily? This item was tabled until Mr. Hawkins' input can be obtained. B. Anti-gang campaign TAG - Do we want to send small donation and 12 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 25, 1995 give Boynton EAB support? Chairperson Centi advised that she received a telephone call from the gang campaign TAG. They wanted to know if we would like to support them. They are collecting money for the medical bills of a boy who was victimized. She advised that the Boynton Beach Education Advisory Board has a balance of $135. Motion Ms. Denahan moved to contribute $25 to TAG for the medical bills of this particular boy. Ms. Stern seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. IX. CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS A. Let's Build a Playground Benefit Barbecue - Friday, November 3, 1995 - 4:00 until ?? Ms. Denahan stated that a playground is going to be built in Boynton Beach by volunteers. Tickets are being sold for a barbecue on November 3 to raise funds to build this playground. Tickets cost $10 for adults; $5 for children. Tickets must be purchased by October 31. She also asked for volunteers for the various committees involved in building this playground. The playground is scheduled to be built in six days (from February 27 through March 3). B. House Bill #107 Prepared by Representative John Rayson of Pompano Beach - Lotto Accountability Act of 1996 Chairperson Centi reminded the Board that Bob Hayes said that very little of the lotto money goes to the schools. Bill #107, which was prepared by Rep. John Rayson of Pompano Beach, is currently being presented in Tallahassee to guarantee more money from the lotto to go to schools and for specific areas. She asked if the Board would like to recommend to the City Commission and all City boards that they support this bill to appropriate more money to the schools. Ms. Stern suggested presenting a copy of that bill to the SACs to get a campaign of 13 MINUTES EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 25, 1995 letter writing to the PTAs. Motion Ms. Schneider moved to proceed and get the bill to be read as soon as possible so that we can proceed, if we agree, to push for it. Ms. Stern seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. C. Former Mayor Arlene Weiner has announced she will be running for the Palm Beach County School Board District I Chairperson Centi made this announcement. D. Promoting the EAB Ms. Schneider wondered how we can advertise or promote the EAB so we can get an audience. She felt it would be very interesting to get some feedback from our community. Mr. Sechter suggested putting flyers in the schools. Chairperson Centi suggested getting a dynamic speaker to make a presentation at one of the meetings. X. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 8:05 p.m. Eve Eubanks Recording Secretary (One Tape) 14