Verified EESAC Meeting Minutes

G. W. CARVER MIDDLE SCHOOL
Educational Excellence School Advisory Council
Ingrid Robledo, Chairperson

E.E.S.A.C. MEETING November 12, 2014

Council members in attendance:
Ingrid Robledo (chairperson)
Shelley Stroleny
Shelton Rivers
Shannon Sejeck
Annette Daniels
Cheli Fernández
Guillermo Garcia
Richard Hudson
Brigitte Kavanaugh
Maria Alvarado
Richard Smithies

Council members absent:
Elvia Brathwaite
Suzie Prudhomme
Ana Hernandez
Pierre Apollon
Laura Weinfeld
Flavia Verde
Natalia Lopez
Natalia Torres
Annie Baker
Thomas Harley
Tom Kernan
Melissa Nobles

Guests
Osi Agramonte
Maria de los Angeles-Fernandez

Approval of minutes: Mrs. Robledo called the meeting to order at 8:25 a.m. The minutes from October 3, 2014, were reviewed and approved.

SIP Review: The EESAC is the sole body responsible for the approval and implementation of the School Improvement Plan (SIP). Mrs. Stroleny presented the school’s writing data from the new argumentative format: in grade 6, 59.75 % of students scored proficient, in grade 7, 57.25 % scored proficient, and in grade 8, 67.94 % scored proficient. This is a new assessment with a new rubric and is significantly different from what the state had in the past but we are pleased with these results. On Nov. 24 and 25, students from all three grade levels will complete the informative writing assessment. Mr. Rivers said the SIP was approved by the District on Oct. 17. Morning tutoring has begun; the schedule is as follows: Science on Mondays in Room 305 with Mrs. Valdes, Language Arts on Tuesdays in Room 22S with Mr. Redmond, Mathematics on Wednesdays with Mrs. Troubady in Room 9, and Civics on Wednesdays with Mrs. Bonifazio in Room 303. The EESAC roster was verified by the Principal and Chairperson on Oct 13. Mr. Rivers reported that District interim assessments have “taken a new face.” In the past, we did baseline and interim assessments. The Mid-Year Assessment window is as follows: English-Language Arts and Mathematics, including Algebra and Geometry (Nov. 17 - Dec. 12). Science, Biology, United States History, and Civics (Jan. 26 - Feb. 13). All Mathematics Mid-Year Assessments will be revised to reflect full coverage of the on the pacing guides through November 17. English-Language Arts Mid-Year Assessment will reflect coverage of the Florida Standards, while Science and Social Studies will reflect full coverage of the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards.

Principal’s Message: Mrs. Stroleny said the school experienced successful professional development on the Oct. 9 early release day and on the Nov. 4 professional development day, with many positive comments from teachers. She cited Mr. Rivers for his work with the professional development. We enjoyed two presentations about best practices using technology, and Mr. Rivers presented about multicultural awareness. Later teachers met by department to address the new Florida Standards. On Oct. 22, mathematics and language arts presented a workshop with more than 100 parents attending. On Nov. 6, we presented a cybercrime parent workshop that included a PTSA spaghetti dinner. The Fall Social on Oct. 31 went well. Sixth-graders enjoyed Spike-It-Up on Nov. 7. Mrs. Szmulewicz retired on Oct. 31 and her math classes have been taken over by Mrs. Miyares. Mrs. Maria Toledo has been hired as our new technology teacher and is in Room 25. On Nov 14, a delegation from Baltimore County Public Schools and Rowan-Salisbury School District will visit Carver. Science Fair week is Nov. 17-21 with parent night on Nov. 19. Sixth-graders will attend the safe childhood presentation on Nov. 24. On Nov 25, Richard Kerns will be here to make presentations to students. Kick-It-Up for seventh-graders and the eighth-grade field trip to Coral Gables High School both are on Nov. 26; we are hoping to be able to use the athletic field by then. The eighth-grade field trip is on Dec. 5. On Dec. 9, Mrs. Harmon’s students will present an Evening of Romantic Music. The PTSA Family Picnic is on Dec. 13. Hoop-It-Up for eighth-graders is on Dec. 19.

Official Business: The distribution plan for the A+ monies was approved unanimously by the committee. Mr. Rivers asked the council to approve this year’s EESAC funding of $4,713.45 for technology. Mrs. Stroleny said, “We have a lot of little (technology) needs.” Dr. Garcia said he has a corporate connection that would like to donate some computers to the school. A motion was made to use the funds for technology and it passed unanimously.

Open Forum: Mrs. Daniels reported that cross country season has ended with girls’ varsity and junior varsity teams both finishing third in county and boys’ junior varsity finishing second. Both boys’ and girls’ volleyball teams are off to good starts. We are still waiting approval to get on the new athletic field. Mrs. Robledo said that she attended an AP workshop on the professional development day and is presenting a workshop on Nov. 26 for students taking the AP exam. Mrs. Kavanaugh said the French department is sending her and Mrs. Jourdaa to Montreal for a three-day seminar in February; the professional development trip is sponsored by FIPA. Mrs. Robledo commended the support of the parent organization in funding the trip. Mrs. Fernandez said the Math Counts team will participate in its first competition this year on Nov. 22 at Ferguson; we will be represented by a sixth-grade team and another team of seventh- and eighth-graders in a rigorous competition without calculators. Dr. Garcia reported that former student Linus Freyer, now a ninth-grader at Coral Reef High School, was a top 30 finalist in the country with the Broadcom Science Fair in Washington, D.C. He received an award and was able to designate $1,000 toward Carver. He had the honor of having a planet named after him, as did Dr. Garcia. Dr. Garcia also reported that Carver’s Science Fair is in progress and the science department book study is going very well.

Adjournment: Mrs. Robledo adjourned the meeting at 8:48 a.m.