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Minutes 04-23-09 MINUTES OF THE EDUCATION AND YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2009, AT 7:00 P.M. IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT: Stephen Waldman, Chair Mary Morera, Vice Chair Carol Lundquist Hattie Miller Loretta Wilkinson Robert Chiste, Student Regular Voting Member Sherri Claude, Board Liaison ABSENT: Paulette Ford Lesha Roundtree Jose M. De la Torre III, Alternate Lisa Pierre, Student Regular Voting Member I. Call to Order Chair Waldman called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. II. Pledge of Allegiance/Moment of Silent Reflection Ms. Wilkinson led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, followed by a moment of silent reflection for our troops in harms way. III. Approval of Minutes of March 26, 2009 Ms. Wilkinson noted the minutes reflected she was bringing items to the Sister Cities event that she did not bring. She brought water for the event. Ms. Lundquist was also present. Motion Mr. Chiste moved approval of the minutes with the change. Ms. Lundquist seconded the motion that unanimously passed. Ms. Wilkinson left the dais at 7:06 p.m. IV. Approval of Agenda 1 Meeting Minutes Education and Youth Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 23, 2009 Motion Mr. Chiste moved to approve the agenda. Ms. Morera seconded the motion that unanimously passed. Chair Waldman announced Jose De la Torre, the new Board Alternate, could not attend the meeting. V. Announcements/Presentations/Correspondence Sherri Claude, Board Liaison, announced Commissioner Rodriguez donated $1,000 from his Community Investment Funds for the Bob Borovy Award and Youth Volunteer Bank. She prepared a thank-you letter for the Chair's signature. Chair Waldman reported the Sister Cities event was worth attending. Commissioner Rodriguez was there and they discussed discretionary funds. Chair Waldman indicated they were most appreciative of the donation. He inquired if he could send emails to other Commissioners. Ms. Claude agreed to forward the email addresses of the Commissioners to Chair Waldman. Ms. Wilkinson returned to the dais at 7:09 p.m. Ms. Miller advised at a recent City Commission meeting, the Girls' Basketball Team from Lake Worth Christian School was honored. It had been 50 years since they had won the State Championship. Ms. Miller's granddaughter was involved and was named Player of the Year. She also signed with West Virginia on a scholarship. Ms. Miller commented it was a nice ceremony and great the City recognized them. Chair Waldman and his wife attended the Boynton Beach High School production of "High School Musical." He reported the show was great and the students should be congratulated. VI. Public Audience Gloria Gibson, Aftercare Director, and Sue Baillie, Technology teacher from Poinciana Elementary School attended an art show hosted at the Boynton Beach City Library. Discussion at that event pointed them to the Education and Youth Advisory Board who may be able to offer financial assistance regarding two programs they feel showcase the school and Boynton Beach. The two clubs Ms. Gibson highlighted were the Odyssey of the Mind and the FIRST Lego League. The Odyssey of the Mind program pertained to creative problem solving. The program was an international program where students applied their knowledge of various subjects. There are short and long-term problems for teams of up to seven students to solve. Each team is supervised by an adult coach and the categories of the long-term problems were vehicles; technical; the classics; structures; and humorous. Students are 2 Meeting Minutes Education and Youth Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 23, 2009 judged on the creativity of their solutions and the methods in which they solved the problem. Poinciana has sent at least one team to the State competition. In the past 10 years, they sent eight teams to the world competition. In 2007, Poinciana was the World Champion. In 2008, they were repeat World Champions. They went on to win the Ranatra Fusca Award - the highest award that could be achieved, which recognized exceptional creativity, and was an incentive for risk-taking and out-of-the box thinking. The cost for one team to compete on the State level was $1,710. Their goal was to send all four teams to the competition, or at least two teams at a minimum. The second program was the FIRST Lego League, which is a global program, similar to the Odyssey of the Mind program. Teams are given an open-ended problem that is comprised of a project and a robot game. The students must analyze, research, and invent a solution for a given assignment and develop a presentation about their solution to perform in front of a panel of judges. Additionally, the robot must complete pre- designed missions within two and a half minutes. Poinciana Elementary School's claim to fame was they are an elementary school and have fourth and fifth graders competing against higher-grade levels. In 2008 they took first place in the Teamwork category, and in 2009, they took first place in qualifying tournaments in the Technical, Team Spirit, and Research categories; first place in 2009 in the regional tournament in Research and Teamwork, and third place in the Teamwork category in the 2009 State tournament. The skill set involved science, engineering and technology. The budget for one year for the robotics and computers was $1,675. The students recycle and scavenge as much material as possible and teachers try to obtain materials as well. The program was funded through fundraising events, but with the economy, their efforts have raised less and less money. Ms. Morera, an engineer, was very impressed. Discussion followed the teams needed to become more sophisticated in their building skills. The First Lego League did not involve only legos; it stands for "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology" (FIRST). They were looking for any support they could receive. It was suggested the teachers contact the Secretary of Education, Art Duncan, in Washington D.C. and provide him with the information, as they like to showcase schools. There was a tremendous emphasis on science and technology, and Chair Waldman thought they may contact the school. If efforts to gain assistance from Secretary Duncan were unsuccessful, Chair Waldman requested they contact him again as he thought there was another avenue they could pursue. Ms. Gibson and Ms. Baillie invited the Board to stop by the school and visit the science lab. Chair Waldman suggested they publicize themselves more, perhaps by attending a City Commission meeting to demonstrate one of their robots. The school superintendent had been to the labs and presented the students with a plaque twice for outstanding achievements. Although invited, the newspapers did not cover their activities. The 3 Meeting Minutes Education and Youth Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 23, 2009 Boynton Times was their number one fan. They contacted Channel 5 News and WXEL to no avail. Chair Waldman advised he would make a call on their behalf. The Board congratulated the teachers and the school for their accomplishments. VII. New Business A. Requests for Contributions The Board discussed donation amounts. In the past, the Board donated $200 for a student who needed two lungs, and they purchased a $50 program ad. The members noted they were increasingly receiving requests for donations, and having guidelines was suggested. With the exception of the student who was sick, the requests were for sports or academic clubs. The Board had donated $800 to the Boynton Beach High School for white boards and also donated wheelchairs to the Sister Cities. When the Board donated to the high school basketball team, they tried to cover the cost of team jerseys. Motion Ms. Wilkinson moved to donate $135 to the FIRST Lego League and $135 to the Odyssey of the Mind project at Poinciana Elementary School. Ms. Morera seconded the motion. The members discussed the donation was a fair amount but it was tempting to donate more because the accomplishments were so impressive. It was discussed the donation needs to be specific and earmarked for a project. After much discussion it was decided the Board would donate $220 to the Odyssey of the Mind program to cover the cost of the school and team registration. The team registration for the Legos would be $200. Chair Waldman indicated he would personally donate $20 to the Lego League to make the donations equal. Further discussion followed regarding how many programs the Board could fund each year. In this fiscal year, the Board should determine how many times they were approached for donations and what the average donation amount would be. In this manner they could predict what they could be asked for in the future and determine a budget. Due to Commissioner Rodriguez's recent donation, it was thought the amount was a reasonable donation. Motion Ms. Lundquist moved to amend the original motion to reflect the donation be $200 to the Lego Project and $220 to the Odyssey project respectively. Ms. Miller seconded the motion that unanimously passed. 4 Meeting Minutes Education and Youth Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 23, 2009 Ms. Claude clarified the Board had discussed a procedure for donations and requested that process be formalized. There was agreement the members did not want to discuss the issue in front of the applicants or individuals making the presentation and there appeared to be consensus to have the discussion as the last item on the agenda. VIII. Old Business A. Sister Cities Chair Waldman announced he received a thank-you note from Jeanne Heavilin and the Sister Cities organization for the Board's help. He recognized Ms. Wilkinson, Ms. Morera and Ms. Ford, and others for their assistance with the certificates and indicated it was good to know there were reliable members available to help. B. Youth Volunteer Bank Ms. Claude reported 13 students turned in hours and recommended not holding a banquet for that amount of people. She suggested sending a letter and certificate, along with a small gift card from Target, or other department store instead. It was decided the gift cards would be for $10. It was also suggested the Board push the initiative next year. It was hoped there would be enough participation to hold a banquet then. C. Bob Borovy Award Ms. Claude announced there were nine applications for the Borovy Award and the results were tabulated. Ms. Claude prepared an agenda item request to make a presentation to the winner and runner-up at the May 19, 2009 City Commission meeting. It was also suggested presenting the certificates to the volunteers who turned in hours for the Youth Volunteer Bank at the same City Commission meeting. Discussion ensued the Borovy Award was for $1,000, and it would be good for the students receiving the certificates from the youth volunteer bank to see there was a bigger picture. Ms. Claude would put together the agenda request for that item as well. The winner of the Borovy Award was Samantha Lee Rivera, a student who attends South Tech Academy. Her volunteerism encompassed work at Forest Park Beacon Center, aftercare at the Arts Center, and the Girl Scouts at her church. She was also involved in the County Criminal Justice Commission multi-cultural process. The runner up was Cassandra Rosa, from Lake Worth Christian School. She was in the National Honor Society, and was a Pathfinder nominee. As the runner-up, Ms. Rosa would receive $300. Emily Borovy would be invited to the City Commission meeting. 5 Meeting Minutes Education and Youth Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 23, 2009 D. Fundraising This item was not addressed, but it was reiterated Commissioner Rodriguez had donated the $1,000. IX. Future Meeting Dates: May 28,2009 June 25, 2009 Ms. Wilkinson would be out of town on June 25, 2009. Chair Waldman invited all the members to attend the May 19,2009 City Commission meeting. X. Adjournment There being no further business to discuss, the meeting properly adjourned at 7:58 p.m. ~Aii~'vJ-L'-~ __ Catherine Cherry . ([ Recording Secretary 040409 6