Educational Excellence
School Advisory Council

7141 Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School

Verified EESAC Meeting Minutes for:    09/06/2006  02:45 PM

Please contact the school for a formatted hard copy of these minutes.

Recording Secretary:    Ruth Smith

Location of meeting:    Information Center

Was a quorum established?    Yes

Was the meeting advertised?    Yes,  07/01/2006

Attendance:

Members Present:

Welker, Matthew J (Principal)
Baglos, Dawn (Alternate Principal)
Beightol, Shawn (Union Steward)
Buncher, David (Teacher)
Gold, Rita (Teacher)
Page, Mary Ann (Teacher)
Rosenfield, Jean (Teacher)
Smith, Ruth (Teacher)
Delgado, M (Parent)
Fertig, Roni (Parent)
Hodson, Karen (Parent)
Meister, Talya (Parent)
Akinin, David (Student)
Mantel, Esther (Business/Community Representative)
Martinez, Sandra (Business/Community Representative)




Members Absent (Excused):

Kypriss, Michael (Alternate Teacher/Paraprofessional)
Lopez, Grace (Educational Support Employee)
Anderson, Judy (Alternate Educational Support)
Kupferberg, Susie (Alternate Parent)
Ludmir, Nicole (Alternate Student)
Johnson, Michael (Business/Community Representative)
Urbαez Weinberg, Luz (Business/Community Representative)

Members Absent (Unexcused):

No one had an unexcused absence.

Others Present:

Xandra Lilavois
Alina Feldman
Bernadette Pierre
Elissa Rubinowitz
Marcela Tironi
Fred Napolitano

Topics Covered:

The meeting was called to order at 2:50 p.m. by chairperson, Jean Rosenfield. New members were recognized and each member introduced themselves.

• The first order of business was announcements by Dr. David Buncher. There will be an important meeting of the Honor Society tomorrow, September 7, 2006, after school. There are numerous local and national science competitions coming up in the near future.

• The Science FCAT will be a requirement for graduation the first time during the 2006-2007 school year. Our students are well prepared due to the hard work and dedication of the Science Department and its teachers.

• Dr. Michael M. Krop was 49 points away from an A school rating last year. We are making every effort to achieve this status during the 2006-2007 school year.

• Dr. Michael M. Krop participated in a Reading Plus Program this summer that yielded remarkable gains for many students throughout the District. Our school achieved the most reading gains of any high school and the highest number of students passing the FCAT after a two week session with this program. The Reading Plus program is a visual tracking and eye therapy process. This program targets vocabulary development with emphasis on reading comprehension skills. Ms. Karen Hodson, one of our PTSA parents, shared her personal experience with this remarkable reading process. She has found great success with this computer based program for over five years and highly endorses its procedures and practices.

• We were all reminded that the web portal remains a great source of information concerning school operations, functions and events.

• The PTSA announced that there will be a mock testing session for the SAT and the ACT on a Saturday, at 8:00 a.m. The exact date is pending.

• Our school is in the process of leveling classes in order to meet the class size amendment; as a result we are processing as many as 800 schedule changes within the next few weeks. Our current enrollment is 3,720, which exceeds capacity by 185 percent.

• Dr. Welker agreed to bring additional information on the impact and ramifications of the 49 points needed to achieve an A status in school grading.

• Dr. Welker announced that our school has received additional money in our discretionary funds and each department chairperson will be asked to survey their department and assess the needs. A list of materials and or supplies needed to enhance the learning environment in the classrooms will be compiled. Another recommendation was that a list of items and cost may be submitted by the PTSA and community, as long as items are related to the instructional process.

• Our Union Steward, Shawn Beightol expressed a wealth of gratitude to Dr. Welker for his sensitivity to the referral process. At a previous faculty meeting, Dr. Welker announced that a disruptive student could be removed from class and sent to the office without the company of a written referral. Dr. Welker recently attended a meeting with Superintendent Rudy Crew. The topic of discussion was the numerous referrals and out door suspensions in the District. It was reported that there is a disproportionate amount of suspensions among black males in comparison to their counterparts. A decision was made to formulate Ad Hoc subcommittees to chair discipline situations work behind the scenes in order to address the needs of EESAC.

• The current grading policy is under scrutiny and concerns are mounting regarding the new rubric of A+ thru F-.

• Our new “NO CELL PHONE” policy has been met with positive results by most. Parents expressed that they would like to have been involved in the decision making process as well as receive some prior notification to this new rule. Parents however, are in total agreement and support this initiative.

• Our next EESAC meeting will address our School Improvement Plan. Consensus to adjourn was 4:15 p.m. The next EESAC meeting is scheduled for October 4, 2006.