Verified EESAC Meeting Minutes

Recording Secretary: Thorpe

Location of meeting: Arvida Middle School

Was a quorum established? Yes

Was the meeting advertised? Yes, 08/11/2005

Attendance

Topics Covered

Arvida Middle School

Educational Excellence School Advisory Council



August 18, 2005

7:45 AM

Media Center



The meeting was called to order at 7:55 AM by chairperson, Larry Wagstaff



Roll call and round robin was used to introduce new members to EESAC



Elections of new officers:

Chairperson: Larry Wagstaff

Co-Chairperson: Kimberly Thorp



E. Dawson announced that she will be taking an absence from Arvida Middle School for a time frame of one-year. She expressed that she will be leaving as of Friday, August 19, 2005 and has enjoyed her time serving on the EESAC.



Principal Welcome:

· H. Koross announced that Arvida is once again an “A” school.

· He articulated that although the FCAT is a valuable tool and holds schools accountable, Arvida does not gear their curriculum around it.



Old Business:



Workshop: Worksheets don’t grow dendrites

Presenter: Marcia Tate

Saturday, August 6, 2005/Dadeland Marriott/8:30 – 3:30



Topic: 20 Best practices for teachers



Cost: $2800.00

· Room set-up fee ($375.00)

· Lunch (2205.75)

· Valet Parking ($345.00)

· Food Service Charge ($441.15)

· $500.00 was paid towards the affair by PTSA

· The remaining balance of $2866.90 will be paid by EESAC



Attendance/Participation: All but four staff members were in attendance



Request: In addition to the $2999.00, EESAC is being asked to pay the cost of the speaker of $2800.00.



Result: EESAC reached consensus to pay the speaker fee.



Reflection: Many members of the EESAC agreed that as a result of the workshop, the environment and attitude of the staff and students have changed for the positive. Students are enjoying the learning process and teachers are experiencing fewer discipline problems.



Security Cameras

· Forty-eight cameras will be installed inside/outside the school campus.

· Digital set-up

· 24 hours

· Filming will be stored for up to thirty days

· Each administrator will have access from their offices to view the cameras

· Main hub will be set up in the office with an assigned staff member to view the cameras.

· Estimated implementation time is set for Spring 2006











New addition (600 Building)

· Television’s have been installed

· Telephones are in every room

· Question: Are there plans in the future to put in a sidewalk leading to the building to alleviate the problems with tracking mud inside? Yes. In the meantime, we will be placing flat stones to create a walking path.



Computer Lab (Room 69 & 72)

· Wiring for the network is in the process of being completed



Grade book

· We are presently having troubleshooting problems with the grade book. Our system is now being controlled by the district which is causing several problems. They have assured us that they are working on it.



New Business



New staff members:



Alcazar – Spanish

Bannerman, K. – Computers

Carroll, K. – Reading/Social Studies

Harris, A. – Reading

Kotake – Japanese

Lalah – Math

Lewis – Social Studies

Mijares – Language Arts

Pestaina – Social Studies



Raymond – Graphic Arts (Until September)

Thorp, K. – Band

Woodward – Science



Reading Plus Program

· All students that have scored a level 1 or 2 on the FCAT are required to take a Reading elective.

· All level 1’s will be given two tests (GATES and San Diego Quick Test)

· Any students that fall below 2 or more grade levels will be required to take a 2nd Reading elective.

· Those students will receive one class period of Reading and a second class period on decoding skills. This will be instructed by their Reading teachers in consecutive periods.

· Has this affected the Arts? No. Mr. Koross expressed his opinion of being a big advocate for the arts and stated that is has been proven that music has a large impact on math skills.



Budget:

· 2005-2006 Budget is still in the works.

· All no show students will be removed from the system by the end of this week

· Once a final count is received, we will be able to determine our needs. It is likely that we will need to hire hourly teachers for Science and Social Studies.



Jessica Lunsford Act:

Because of the Jessica Lunsford Act, any person who enters the building who is not a MDCPS employee is required to obtain a level 2 background screening and must be escorted and monitored during their time in the building when students are present.

Mr. Koross will be sending a list to the district of all personnel that he uses that are not M-DCPS employees. The district will in return send them a letter stating that they are required to get fingerprinted and background checks before they are allowed to return to our school.





Freedom Tower:



September 22, 2005 the Commissioner office will be voting on future building of condominiums. Many citizens are concerned about taking away the value and hiding the view of the Freedom tower. R. Mazzarella’s classes are working on events to hopefully stop this from happening.



Technology Department:

The technology department presented Mrs. Belaval with a wish list of items they need. This list was presented and discussed with the EESAC.

It was suggested by L. Wagstaff to connect the headphones to the computers with a clip in order to prevent theft.







United Teachers of Dade:

A new contract was ratified and teachers are making more money

New stewards and alternate stewards were elected. They are:

Stewards: L. Wagstaff and J. Palmer

Alternate Stewards: D. Banks-Massie and D. Cubenas



Concern:

L. Wagstaff asked those members that were attending the EESAC meeting to encourage their colleagues to feel welcome to attend the meetings and present their needs to EESAC. All departments have equal opportunity and have the right to ask the EESAC to assist with their financial needs.



Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 AM