Educational Excellence
School Advisory Council

7541 North Miami Beach Senior High School

Verified EESAC Meeting Minutes for:    10/28/2008  04:00 PM

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

Recording Secretary:    Ashley Toussaint

Location of meeting:    Media Center

Was a quorum established?    Yes

Was the meeting advertised?    Yes,  10/28/2008

Attendance:

Members Present:

FONTANA, RAYMOND L (Principal)

Clerizier, Edma (Educational Support Employee)
Gottfried, Mark (Teacher)
Martin, Veronica (Teacher)
Montesino, Marina (Alternate Teacher/Paraprofessional)
Poitier, Corey (Teacher)
Tisdahl, Douglas (Union Steward)
Toussaint, Ashley (Teacher)

Kienzle, Carmen (Parent)
Lazarre, Geraldine (Parent)
Parker, Alexis (Parent)
Stauffer, Patti (Business/Community Representative)

Cyprien, Christina (Student)
Taylor, Janielle (Student)
Wright, Jana (Student)
Yee, Sandra (Student)
Ward, Reann (Alternate Student)






Members Absent (Excused):

Milliken, Randy A (Alternate Principal)
Pratt, Julie (Teacher)
Rountree, Michael (Alternate Educational Support)

Harrigan, Joyce (Parent)
Kienzle, Stephanie (Parent)

Members Absent (Unexcused):

No one had an unexcused absence.

Others Present:

Charlene Olicker (guest/ Assistant Principal)

Topics Covered:

SAC Minutes October 28, 2008

I. Welcome and Introduction
P. Stauffer convened the meeting at 4:00pm

II. Approval of October 28, 2008 minutes
No corrections were made.
• R. Fontana motioned to approve the minutes.
• M. Gottfried seconded.
• Minutes were approved.

III. Special Recognition: Dr. Charlene Olicker
R. Fontana publically recogized Dr. Olicker for her work to improve school
security and establish an improved learning environment for the students
and faculty/staff. C. Poitier expressed gratitude from the teachers. P.
Stauffer added on behalf of the entire SAC, thank you to Dr. Olicker and
the entire security staff.

IV. Old Business

1. R. Fontana stated that funding per student will be less this
year. As soon as the appropriate changes are made we will have the
accurate allocations.

2. A. Parker PTA President introduced the new SAC parent
representatives: Carmen Kienzle, Gerri Lazarre and Stephanie
Kienzle. Joyce Harrigan was elected as the alternate. P. Stauffer
indicated that there remains one open parent slot. It was suggested
that Ms. Harrigan be moved from alternate to full representative and
then another alternate be named. A. Parker agreed to speak with Ms.
Harrigan and PTA would elect another representative at their next
meeting. Currently, Hispanics and males are under-represented on the
NMB SAC roster. P. Stauffer reminded the group of the importance of
keeping SAC composition reflective of the school population.

3. Election of Officers

a. Nomination for Chair
• M. Gottfried Motioned the nomination of Ms. Stauffer
• V. Martin seconded
• Motion was approved.

b. Nomination for Vice Chair
• M. Montessino motioned the nomination of Ms. Parker
• M. Gottried seconded.
• Motion was approved.

c. Nomination for Secretary
• A. Toussaint was unanimously selected

4. Student Improvement Plan

• The student improvement plan is a standard part of the SAC meeting. Dr. Olicker spoke about the ongoing process of unwrapping our benchmarks and working towards improving on our weaknesses.

• P. Stauffer had some questions about the SIP process. She suggested that we look at establishing a timeline/plan of action in order to be pro-active for next year's plan. Most of the SIP reflects achievement on the FCAT and unfortuantely those results do not come back until the summer. Other parts of the plan, namely community involvement, however can be addressed ahead of time. The time frame would tentatively be set for February 2009; this point will be revisited.

• R. Fontana spoke about the history of SIP, the growth of the region and how it has affected North Miami Beach, and also how it has affected our flexibility. We are still accountable for meeting our benchmarks. The SIP is still in place and is constantly moving.

• C. Kienzle suggested that the current SIP be distributed to all SAC members prior to the next meeting.

V. New Business

1. Funding Requests

a. Robotics Club- C. Kienzle spoke on behalf the club requesting
$10,000 for FRC requirements of the initial event and Kit of
Parts. Discussion ensued as to the value of the program, the
overall budget and the status of other grants to fully fund the
program.

• R. Fontana motioned to grant $6500.
• M. Gottfried seconded.
• Motion was approved with P. Stauffer and C. Kienzle
abstaining due to conflict of interest.

b. 2011 Picnic- J. Wright requested $2000 to give the
sophomores “something to look forward to after the FCAT.” There was
much discussion about the value of such incentives to students for
FCAT achievement and the circumstances in which SAC should allocate
money to that purpose. Members agreed that any reward should be for
those who actually do well and there should be incentives for 9th
graders as well. Because of the limited SAC funds, R. Fontana
thought these types of activities would be better funded through
Title I.

• R. Fontana motioned to allocate funding from Title I.
• M. Gottfried seconded.
• Motioned was approved by consensus.

2. Alumni Project

a. P. Stauffer suggested the formation of a sub-committee to implement
V. Martin's idea of an alumni outreach project.

b. V. Martin had already accumulated a lot of information related to
the establishment of a website that would be low in cost. One of the
concerns is that it would require high hours of maintenance and
operation. V. Martin agreed to chair the subcommittee and G.
Lazarre agreed to participate.

3. Reports
a. Parents
• C. Kienzle was concerned about school boundaries and the effect
it has had on the students at NMB.

• R. Fontana mentioned that the proposed new boundaries for QQQ
were drawn to alleviate overcrowding at Krop Sr and will not
draw many kids from the NMB service area. As soon as the new
boundaries are distributed, all NMB parents will get a letter
and have the opportunity to participate in the public meeting
to discuss any concerns. P. Stauffer and R. Fontana assured
the SAC they would be given ample notice of that meeting.
Active participation was encouraged.

• Ms. Parker was impressed by the attendance at the last PTA
meeting and the Parent/Senior night was a success.

b. Faculty and Staff

• V. Martin presented a request for $500 from Ms. Sanz related
to funding refreshments and printed materials for a planned
December 12th event to help transition for families with
children with disabilities. Local social service agencies
serving this population will be available in one location
to distribute information and answer questions.

Dr. Olicker suggested that students print out materials in
class to cut on costs. J. Taylor suggested using SGA to
provide food and refreshments.

- Mr. Fontana motioned to approve expenditure up to
$500 for the event.
- C. Krienzle seconded.
- Motion approved.

• V. Martin reminded the group of the NMB Second Hand Store
where free clothing items are made available for students and
families. Contributions to the cause are always welcome.

c. Administrators
No questions, comments or concerns at this time.

d. Students
No questions, comment or concerns at this time.

VI. Next Meeting/SAC Meeting Schedule

• Accommodating parents and students is always a priority. The SAC is
respectful of all the members and their time issues. It was agreed that
NMB SAC will generally meet the 3rd Thursday of each month at 3pm with a
few evening meetings TBD)

• Next meeting will be Thursday, November 20th at 3pm in the NMB Media Ctr.

Adjournment

• Mr. Fontana motioned to adjourn at 5:50 p.m.
• P. Stauffer seconded.
• Motion approved- meeting adjourned.