Verified EESAC Meeting Minutes

E.E.S.A.C. MEETING May 22, 2019

Council members in attendance:
Shelley Stroleny
Shelton Rivers
Ingrid Robledo (chairperson)
Annette Daniels
Cheli Fernández
Brigette Hirson-Troubody
Zoila Gari
Jenny Murphy
Teresa Palma-Gonzalez
Barbara Sans
Isabella Delgado

Council members absent:
Guillermo Garcia
Richard Hudson
Maria Toledo
Damina Nocete
Lorena Moglia
Margarita Garcia Fanta
Iris Reijnen-Steele
Lucia Moglia
Camila Saporta
John A. Garcia
Tom Kernan
Melissa Nobles

Guests
Maria de los Angeles Fernández

Approval of minutes: Mrs. Robledo called the meeting to order at 8:20 a.m. The minutes from March 12, 2019, were reviewed and approved.

SIP Review: The EESAC is the sole body responsible for the approval and implementation of the School Improvement Process (SIP). Mr. Rivers said the SIP requires us to reflect upon the academic and school culture and to examine the practices that we felt were our strengths and which need improvement. Predictions for next school year are based upon the strengths and weaknesses. The SIP – Phase IV was approved by the EESAC. The 2018-2019 PD Needs Assessment Survey for School Improvement was completed by faculty/staff as required by the district. The 2018-2018 EOY Assurance Checklist was reviewed and completed. The 2018-2019 End-Of-Year (EOY) Continuous Improvement Reflection Assurances was reviewed and completed. EESAC composition waiver request was reviewed. However, we are not requesting a change in the composition for the 2019-2020 school year. The EESAC by-laws were reviewed/updated. At a faculty meeting on May 21, the staff voted to maintain the same EESAC members next year. The PTSA met and new members were selected for the EESAC.

Principal’s Message: Mrs. Stroleny gave kudos to Ms. Castillo and her team for a smooth month of testing: FSA, FCAT, EOC, and Advanced Placement. Intricate and complicated testing schedules were developed to minimize impact on instruction. Carver teachers worked diligently to prepare the students for these challenging tests. Mrs. Stroleny publicly thanked teachers, who helped by taking on additional duties to ensure that students had a positive testing experience, and those teachers who worked with Ms. Castillo. Mrs. Stroleny thanked Mr. Rivers for working diligently behind the scene on the School Improvement Process, closing of the 2018-2019 school year, and his work on next year’s School Improvement Process. He has done a great job. He gets the teachers’ input and puts it together for the district. Mr. Rivers is also part of the team that will represent G. W. Carver Middle at summer’s Synergy; Ms. Stroleny, Mr. Gonzalez, Mrs. Lindo, and Mrs. Castro are also part of the Synergy Team. Mrs. Stroleny recognized Mrs. Castro for her work on school attendance. She works with students and parents to minimize absences. She keeps up an average of 98 percent attendance daily. The block schedule means one day of absence is two days’ worth of work. If students are not in school, they cannot master the necessary content. She also thanked Mrs. Basso for her work on student enrollment. She processed 1,700 to 1,800 applications from around the world. She conducts the orientations for incoming sixth-graders. Mr. Gonzalez, Ms. Castro, Mr. Rivers, and Dr. Flores assisted with the orientations. Today is the last orientation bringing in the full sixth-grade class of about 350 students. After today we will be in a stable state, but over the summer there may be some admissions. Mrs. Stroleny expressed her appreciation to Dr Flores, who took the place of Mrs. Coto-Gonzalez and has taken charge of the master schedule. It is a big job and she will be working on it during the summer. Mrs. Stroleny also gave a thank you (gracias, merci, danke, and grazie) to the PTSA for their amazing job with recent events like the grab-and-go lunch and breakfast and the formal luncheon for teachers tomorrow. She also cited the beautification project and service day and said the piazza is turning out spectacularly. Mrs. Stroleny gave dates for upcoming events. Today we have the Sandy Hook Assembly. There will be a Mathematics/Algebra workshop on May 24. The Carver Middle High School reunion organized by Mr. Sands is on May 28. The Spanish Show organized by Mrs. Mustelier also is on May 28. The Awards Ceremony organized by Mr. Rivers is on May 30. Mrs. Robledo and Mrs. Small and the PTSA have worked hard to create a phenomenal experience with the eighth-grade banquet on May 31. The Francophone celebration is on June 4. Spanish IS certificates will be distributed to eighth-grade students on June 5. Eco Summit organized by Mrs. Jourdaa is on June 6.

Open Forum: Mrs. Daniels informed that all athletic events concluded in April, and that we had an awesome year. Mrs. Robledo shared her appreciation to teachers who gave their time to help during the testing period. She also shared the results of the referendum regarding the monies to go to charter schools. It did not pass, so this year no additional monies will go to charter schools. She thanked the PTSA for their participation and emails. Mrs. Maria Fernandez was appreciated for her participation in EESAC although not an official member. Parent members shared their appreciation for making this a caring and great environment for their children. Mrs. Stroleny also thanked the parents for their support.
Adjournment: Mrs. Robledo adjourned the meeting at 8:55 a.m.