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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes EAB 020905EDUCATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE February 9, 2005 Minutes The Education Advisory Committee met on February 9, 2005. The meeting was called to order at 6:01 PM in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Complex, located at 10500 North Military Trail, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and opened with the Pledge of Allegiance. I. ROLL CALL Members Present: Wayne Anderson, Mark Falasca, Ed Gruvman, Percy Kavasmaneck, Ava Sugar, and Ron Sadaka. Members Absent: Ilene Gerber Also Present: Charlotte Presensky, Staff Liaison and Recreation Director, Jennifer Holdt, Volunteer Coordinator, Laura Shepard, Student Liaison, Charles Wu, Growth Management Administrator, Richard Marrero, Planning Intern, Sergeant Jack Schnur, and Pam Zeugin, Director of the City's Youth Enrichment Center. H. ITEMS BY STAFF LIAISON 1) Alternate Staff Liaison Charlotte explained to the Board that Jennifer Holdt, the City's Volunteer Coordinator, will be taking Debbie Andrea's place as Alternate Staff Liaison. 2) Presentation Growth Management Charlotte introduced Charles Wu, the City's Growth Management Administrator. Charles gave the Board a presentation on the housing trends in the City and how many school age children are living in the City's new developments. The presentation incorporated a description of each new housing project, including how many homes are in the development, the average price of the homes, the builder, and the projected build -out date. The twelve projects that were discussed in the presentation were: • Borland Center • Donald Ross Village • Evergreen • Frenchman's Reserve • Gables @ North Lake • Harbour Oaks • Legends @ The Gardens • The Landmark • Magnolia Bay • Mirasol • Old Palm • Paloma Charles also discussed each individual school in the City including their capacity and the percentage of utilization. 3) Police Program Presentation Sergeant Schnur presented a new program about bullying at school that the Police Department is now teaching at the city schools. This program will take the place of the DARE Program. The program consists of ten (10) 45 minute sessions. As of this meeting, there were 3 schools already participating. The program focuses on 2nd and 3`d grade students. Ava Sugar asked Sergeant Schnur how the success of the program will be tracked. Sergeant Schnur explained that the school guidance counselors will be tracking the number of reported bullying incidents. 4) Palm Beach Gardens Youth Enrichment Program Pam Zeugin, Director of the City's Youth Enrichment Center, gave a presentation about the City's Youth Enrichment Center. Pam explained the different programs that are offered for various age groups that attend. She said the program has become so popular that there is generally a wait list for most age groups. There is also an Aftercare Program which includes after - school pickup. They are currently servicing 6 schools. She also discussed tuition pricing and the hours of the center. She stated that 80% of the students attending are residents of Palm Beach Gardens. Non- residents pay 30% higher tuition and have to wait until the resident registration dates are complete before registering. III. OLD BUSINESS A) School SAC Reports Jennifer Holdt opened the floor for the Board to give SAC reports from the schools the Board members represent. The following is a brief description of the schools that were reported on: Allamanda Elementary — Reported on by Wayne Anderson Wayne stated Allamanda is loosing their 6th grade and they are looking for the Pre -K program to make up for the students they are loosing. Grove Park Elementary — Reported on by Wayne Anderson The school is trying to get more ESOL parents involved in the school. They are setting up programs that are geared toward different cultures in an effort to help parents get involved in the school. Palm Beach Gardens Elementary — Reported on by Wayne Anderson Population of the school has been going down. They would like to take some students from Timber Trace Elementary because Timber Trace is so over crowded. Timber Trace Elementary — Reported on by Wayne Anderson The SAC is very concerned about the population in the City. The school is very overcrowded. They are going through the list of students in an effort to weed out students that are not really zoned for that school. Duncan Middle School — Report on by Ed Gruvman The school has a new principal. They are starting a new ESE program for autistic children. Summer Camp will be held at Duncan because of the ongoing construction at Timber Trace Elementary. Dreyfoos School of the Arts — Reported on by Ron Sadaka Ron Sadaka gave some background of the Magnet School Program. He stated that the Dreyfoos School of the Arts is having major financial difficulties. They are in danger of loosing their 70' hour. The school counts on the 7'h hour to teach the students the art major, such as dance, theater, communications and music that they have come to this school specifically to learn. They are currently asking parents to contribute over $400.00 per child to try and save the 7`h hour. There are many students that live in Palm Beach Gardens that attend the Dreyfoos School of the Arts. Suncoast High School — Reported on by Laura Shepard Laura stated that Suncoast also has many students from Palm Beach Gardens. She said they are also in jeopardy of loosing the fh hour. For Suncoast the 7h hour is usually a math or science class. Secondary Education — Reported on by Percy Kavasmaneck Percy stated that he is in the first stage of making a connection with the local colleges. He would like to find out their mission and see how the City can work together with these schools. He hopes to have a full report by the April meeting. Mark Falsaca asked the Board to explain how school principals are measured and rated. Wayne Anderson stated that principals are rated by the schools FCAT scores. He will try and get more specific information to bring to another meeting. B. C. Q Palm Beach County Days Charlotte reported that as of this meeting date she does not have any information on scheduling or legislative action. She will try and have this information for the next meeting. Adult Education Charlotte presented the Board with a draft of the Adult Education Survey that the Board would like to include in the City's next newsletter. The board made some suggestions for the survey and asked if it could also be put on the City's web site. Awards Program The Board reiterated their decision from the last meeting that they are going to recognize students and teachers that have all ready been chosen by the schools as outstanding. There was also a suggestion to add school volunteers to the recognition. They will bring the recipients to a council meeting, serve coffee and cake, and recognize them in front of council. IV. COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD Ron Sadaka: He is very excited about the pre - school program. He said he is proud that the City offers such a great program. Percy Kavasmaneck: Percy would like to see the City recognized as a place of great education. Ed Gruvman: Ed stated that he is concerned about teens and children being abused. This was prompted by a luncheon he had recently attended. He suggested sending out a survey seeing if residents are aware of what to do, and who to go to if they are abused. Laura Shepard added that she didn't think a survey would be taken seriously by teenagers. Ava Sugar: Ava talked about the "No Child Left Behind Act ". She stated that the program is falling through the cracks and she would like the City to be made aware of this and see what they can do to help. Wayne Anderson stated that he knows some schools are working on this program and that if the schools don't meet the standards they will begin to loose students. Mark Falasca: Mark stated he would like the Board to consider doing fundraising to support a scholarship fund. He feels corporations would be willing to work with the City and give money toward this cause. Charlotte stated she feels it would be very feasible for the board to recommend activities that could help raise money for a scholarship fund. She would like to come back to the board with an estimate of what it would cost to run certain activities to see if the board would like to recommend any of the activities. Laura Shepard: Laura recommended that the City offer a scholarship for Palm Beach Gardens residents. She stated that Wellington and Royal Palm Beach have scholarship funds and would like to see the City participate in this. V. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:07 PM. Submitted by: C Sus")Bell Public Information/ Recording Coordinator