Verified EESAC Meeting Minutes

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

E.E.S.A.C. MEETING February 6, 2018

Council members in attendance:
Ingrid Robledo (chairperson)
Shelley Stroleny
Shelton Rivers
Annette Daniels
Cheli Fernández
Guillermo Garcia
Richard Hudson
Maria Toledo
Lorena Moglia
Teresa Palma-Gonzalez
Ariadna Torras
John A. Garcia

Council members absent:
Brigette Hirson-Troubody
Zoila Gari
Vilma Gonzalez
Margie Aragon
Ivette Mora
Barbara Sans
Iris Reijnen-Steele
Florentine Bullrich
Kenza Iddir
Tom Kernan
Melissa Nobles

Guests
Maria de los Angeles-Fernandez
Jenny Murphy

Approval of minutes: Mrs. Robledo called the meeting to order at 8:25 a.m. The minutes from January 9, 2018, were reviewed and approved.

SIP Review: The EESAC is the sole body responsible for the approval and implementation of the School Improvement Plan (SIP). Mr. Rivers reported on the 2018-2019 School Improvement Plan (SIP) Waivers: NO CONTRACT WAIVER(S) was requested; NO Alternate Supplement Model Waiver (ASM) was requested. Additionally, the staff voted to continue our Block Schedule. The result of the vote was 98 percent. The requests [no contract waiver(s) and no ASM waiver] were approved by the EESAC. He also said that Mrs. Gari has replaced Mrs. Alvarado who recently retired as a council member.

Principal’s Message: Mrs. Stroleny reported on recent and upcoming events. On Jan. 13, Spanish students took a field trip to St. Augustine. Mrs. Stroleny thanked Mrs. Noa, other teachers and chaperones, along with Mr. Rivers, for their work with this trip. On Jan. 19, eighth-graders took a field trip to Islands of Adventure, coordinated by Mrs. Robledo and Mrs. Small.
The Sunshine Club holiday party for faculty took place on Jan. 20 at Mr. Hudson’s home. On Jan. 22, the Literacy Team met with the focus on building literacy school-wide. On Jan. 25, the District Teacher of the Year recognition event took place; Carver Teacher of the Year Mr. Gonzalez and Rookie Teacher of the Year Mrs. Vo. attended with Mrs. Stroleny and Mrs. Robledo, along with Mrs. Hudson, who is Teacher of the Year at Carver Elementary. Seventh-graders took a field trip to Dave and Busters on Jan. 26. On Jan. 31, students presented sonnets and scenes at the Shakespeare Showcase organized by Mrs. Vo and Mrs. Byrd. Mrs. Fletcher is teaching a Writing Boot Camp for all grade levels on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays before school and attendance has been great. We plan to set up similar morning programs for math and science to prepare for state testing. Feb. 2 was Take Your Child to Work Day and the Black History Luncheon; also Mrs. Basso conducted IS testing for more than 200 prospective students. The Scholastic Book Fair conducted by the PTSA is Feb. 5-9. On Feb. 7, randomly selected students will participate in the NAEP exams. On Feb. 7, Mrs. Rojas, school board member, will hold a Town Hall meeting at Ponce de Leon Middle School and Mrs. Harmon's music students are performing. The Spanish Talent Show coordinated by Mrs. Noa is on Feb. 8. The GOB Kick off Meeting for bond renovation projects is on Feb. 9. The STEAM EXPO at the Miami-Dade North Dade campus is on Feb. 10. The Valentine Social is on Feb. 14. Advanced Placement pilot testing is on Feb. 15 for German and on Feb. 16 for French and Spanish. The Presidents Day holiday is Feb. 19.Feb. 23 is Alumni Day. Feb. 24 is the FIPA Circus Gala
Feb. 28 is the Adenau visit in which visiting German students are partnered with a Carver German student. We have been invited to submit the Blue Ribbon application this year and Mr. Hudson is working to complete it.

Official Business: The EESAC voted unanimously to approve the measure to maintain block scheduling and the alternate supplement waiver.

Open Forum: Mrs. Fernandez reported that we are sending a “very good team” to compete in the Math Counts competition on Feb. 25 at Miami-Dade Community College. Mrs. Robledo urged all members to contact their state legislators today to regarding HB 7055, a bill that could impact public education. Dr. Garcia reported that he has acquired various items from the Museum of Science’s old location. He and a group of parents transported items to Carver, including a 14-foot xylophone, robotics items and sifters for the outdoor classroom. He also said that 14 students will participate in the upcoming Science Expo, including Robotic Hand and Mousetrap Car competitions. Additionally, 32 teams involving more than 90 students are competing in eCYBERMISSION, a web-based STEM competition. Mrs. Robledo reported that former Carver student Jason Chohonis, who is currently a Social Studies teacher at Cutler Bay, is one of 12 public school teachers selected to take part in “Dimensions of China Empowering American Public Schools Teachers to Transform Social Studies Curriculum in Secondary Classrooms.” He will travel to China for the program this summer. Mrs. Daniels reported that both boys’ and girls’ track teams will compete in the district finals on Feb. 10. Girls’ flag football season is ongoing. Boys’ and girls’ basketball tryouts are this week. On Jan 28, eight students ran the final 1.2 miles in the student competition as part of the Miami Marathon. Dr. Garcia said the girls’ bowling team took third place at the Youth Fair Invitational. Mrs. Toledo reported that technology students are working toward Microsoft Office Specialist certification this year. She also said the program is expecting new technology including a 3D printer, 30 new computers and rolling desks with chairs.

Adjournment: Mrs. Robledo adjourned the meeting at 8:52 a.m.