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