Verified EESAC Meeting Minutes

Approval of minutes: Mrs. Robledo called the meeting to order at 8:18 a.m. The minutes from May 8, 2007, were reviewed and approved. Mrs. Robledo indicated that the first order of business was the election of this year’s EESAC chairperson. She was nominated and reelected chairperson.

Principal’s message: Mrs. Stroleny spoke in the absence of Mrs. Gonzalez (who arrived shortly) about the process of developing and writing the school’s 2007-2008 School Improvement Plan (SIP). There will be little change from last year’s plan because things are going well and students have made incredible learning gains. Still, we are looking for places to improve. The District and Regional Center IV usually guides us on what our objectives will be. At Carver, the departments make the greatest impact with developing, writing, and implementing strategies and therefore the strategies are developed and written by the affected departments. The greatest weakness of last year’s plan was that some strategies we implemented, although we deemed them beneficial, it was difficult to prove that they had actually raised scores. We will continue with these good activities, but in the SIP we need to keep strategies that we can track and show that they are directly related to improving school achievement. Carver has never been a school that focuses on teaching to the FCAT; the focus remains on our comprehensive, high quality curriculum.
This year, the District is providing interim writing exams, so we can track scores using an official writing prompt. In the past we have done teacher-generated essays, which will continue, but in addition we will have official district interim prompts to help monitor progress of students. In reading, District exams will correlate more closely than in past years. To enhance this, all grades will use the Jamestown series to test reading benchmarks and help track progress. All students in ESOL and reading classes have been administered the Gates exam. We want to be extra cautious and place students without data in reading classes. The Gates test helped show who should be in reading classes and some proficient students already have been moved to other electives.
FCAT tutorials during homeroom assist students in need of additional support in math. Three teachers are working with students who need help in reading and math during homeroom. Miss Quintana asked about the ability to measure progress in the FCAT classes. Mrs. Stroleny said teachers have been told that it is important to track student progress. Many students involved in tutoring last year went up one or two levels. Mrs. Fernandez worked with students last year and said it made a tremendous difference in raising scores. Most students improved at least one level. Mrs. Gonzalez explained that students only get one elective and therefore cannot take two remedial classes. Reading is our first priority and math comes second and therefore the additional instruction for those students has to be in homeroom. Therefore, we have no course code and no grade for this class. Mrs. Gonzalez explained the change for high school credits and forgiveness of poor grades. In the past, students could drop low grades in credit courses. Now that grade will remain on their transcript. Students may still replace the course by retaking the class. Because of this, we are providing extra support with morning algebra tutoring. Mrs. Stack asked for clarification about forgiveness. Mrs. Stroleny explained that the grade will remain on the student’s transcript but will not count toward the GPA if replaced by a higher score. Students can only retake a course with a grade of C or lower. Mrs. Stack asked if credit courses in seventh grade also count and Mrs. Gonzalez confirmed this. She said only students with necessary skills are selected for advanced seventh-grade classes. Foreign language courses are crucial here because they also count for high school credit and may affect parent preference for staying at Carver. Some parents force children to stay here even though their child hates foreign language and may be struggling in the course.
Mrs. Stroleny said FCAT tutoring continues in writing with Mr. Hudson using eighth-grade students identified by seventh-grade English teachers. This worked extremely well the last two years. Now Mrs. Small is doing homeroom tutoring in science. FCAT math scores were used to identify those who need help in science because of the correlation between the two subjects. The master schedule is set, pending minor changes in a few of the foreign language classes. We are planning FCAT parent workshops. Roxanne Hurtado of Flare will again make the FCAT reading presentation. Mrs. Baker asked if FCAT workshops are just for parents of Carver students. Mrs. Gonzalez replied that all parents are welcome to attend regardless of their child’s school.
Mr. Sejeck is dealing with attendance and this summer visited incoming fifth-graders with attendance concerns. He made about 150 home visits, which were supportive and not punitive. We are really implementing the attendance plan; one absence equals two absences in the block schedule. The clinic will also be stressed as an asset for students who don’t feel well but may not need to go home and miss more class time. Teachers will continue with professional development involving brain research. Seven teachers attended a summer institute with Mrs. Corzo to help implement the plan. Teacher training will occur on the two professional development days and four early-release days. Mrs. Vazquez has a project to “go green” at Carver and will attend a workshop this Saturday to see how the school can implement strategies. Carver is again the No. 1 middle school in the state based on FCAT scores, but Mrs. Gonzalez stressed that “we don’t teach to the FCAT; we teach our curriculum.” The FCAT-related classes enable us to avoid diluting curriculum in the regular classes. Teachers do an incredible job delivering a rigorous, and not just teaching to the test.
The uniform policy will be enforced strictly. This helps develop an environment that shows we are here to learn. Traditional polos are required. Every teacher, student, and administrator must help enforce the policy. Mrs. Gonzalez thanked Dr. Garcia for his summer work on the outdoor classroom, the first of its kind in the state. Mr. Strauss donated plants for garden. Dr. Garcia has been working on this project for three years. Badia Spices gave $10,000 toward the project. The gym will be closed after Christmas break to remove and replace the roof. Construction will start in January. Indoor activities will be done in PE before January. We expect that construction will take longer than June to finish. On rainy days, the PE classes will use the auditorium. Sports teams will play road games and will have to practice outside. Dances will be with combined grades.

Budget business: We begin the year with roughly $9,000 in EESAC funds. Technology requires a big chunk of the funds. We need more LCD projectors. We also need to replenish classroom reading libraries and some of that cost can come from FCAT funds. Mrs. Gramling asked about sound equipment for auditorium and Mrs. Gonzalez said that can by paid from other funds. A motion to spend the funds on technology needs was approved.

Open forum: Miss Gurnani asked about the homeroom reading libraries and the possibility of a book donation drive. Mrs. Gonzalez said there is no need because the school has enough funds for this need. She also explained that required reading books are donated to needy students. Carver again earned recognition money for schools making the greatest learning gains under the No Child Left Behind Act. Carver earned this recognition as the top middle school for Region IV.

Adjournment: Mrs. Robledo adjourned the meeting at 9 a.m.