Verified EESAC Meeting Minutes

Approval of Previous Minutes: Ingrid Robledo, chairwoman, called the E.E.S.A.C. meeting to order at 8:25 a.m. The April 5th E.E.S.A.C. minutes were reviewed. The necessary corrections were made and the minutes were approved.

Principal’s Message: The principal’s message was given by Shelley Stroleny. The Tuesday and Thursday morning department meetings are being used to revise and complete the curriculum templates that were written at the beginning of the year. On May 2nd Mr. Hudson, Mrs. Bullard, and Ms. Stroleny presented Carver’s curriculum templates to other schools in the feeder pattern and reviewed the curriculum templates from a variety of other schools. Besides a few minor additions, Carver’s curriculum templates are a very solid product and ahead of other schools. The 3rd quarter social studies and science exams were given in March and have provided data that will be used to drive instruction. The 8th grade FCAT writing scores have been received. Carver earned a combined writing score of 4.3 from the 4.4 expository and 4.2 persuasive scores. 97% of the students scored at level 3.5 or above. Last year, Carver earned a 4.6 combined writing score with 100 % of the students scoring at level 3 or above. Individualized scores have not been received. Curriculum and strategies will be revised to address Carver’s FCAT weaknesses. Non-mastery concerns about 16 students out of a class of 330. The AP Exams have been administered. The French AP exam was given on Monday, May 2nd. The Spanish AP exam will be given on Wednesday, May 4th. The German AP exam will be given on Thursday, May 5th. Students feel very confident. The 8th grade banquet will be May 27th. The SECME team is going to the national competition for bridges. Mrs. Fernandez was honored on Thursday, April 28th as a nominee for district math teacher of the year. Mrs. Stroleny, Mrs. Basso, Mrs. Fernandez, Miss Rivero, Miss Driggs, and Mrs. Sanchez attended the Middle School Reform conference in Davie. It included workshops about “life” in middle school emphasizing that middle school students need to feel attached to their schools to avoid associations with negative influences outside of the schools. Middle school students have needs, potentials, and talents and that schools need to foster them as total human beings. Academics are important in Middle School, but should not be the only concern. The workshop reaffirmed that Carver is working in a positive direction. The continuous improvement in our school is wonderful. Teacher appreciation week was made possible by the PTSA. Mrs. Stroleny thanked the PTSA for their generous and delicious luncheon as well as for the small gifts that teachers received. Carver participated in the city-wide language competition at Miami Senior High on Saturday April 9th. The Spanish students won 1st place. The French students won 1st place. The language competition is open to all public and private middle and high school students. The German students would have won 1st place if the competition gave that award. German students went to the German State Competition in Orlando and received the 1st place award. Mrs. Stroleny thanked Carver’s foreign language teachers for their hard work. On behalf of Mrs. Gonzalez, Mrs. Stroleny thanked the EESAC members for their dedication to the EESAC committee and wished everyone a happy summer.

Open Forum: The decline in the 8th grade FCAT scores was discussed. Mr. Stringfellow suggested that it might be the result of the 6th grade language arts year where there were three different teachers. A few members suggested that FCAT skills should be targeted earlier than 8th grade. Mrs. Robledo reiterated that the social studies and science quarterly exams were not district requirements. Mrs. Gramling announced her students did very well at the State Odyssey of the Mind Competition. The Vehicle team won 3rd place in the spontaneous category and the Classics team won 6th place in the long-term problem Mrs. Daniels announced that the cross country team was first in the county. Melissa Edmonson won 1st place in the golf competition. Mrs. Basso announced that the awards ceremony will be held on Friday, May 13th. May 10th will be the student articulation meeting. Uniforms were voted in by a huge majority of the parents. The changes discussed last meeting will be instituted. Mrs. Robledo said that Mr. Hudson will be the temporary EESAC replacement for Mrs. Troup who will be on a leave of absence next year. Three parents have been nominated for EESAC. If there are more nominations then there will be an election. The three parents will replace Mr. Stingfellow, Mrs. Arboleda, and Mr. Dubey, who will not be returning to EESAC next year as their students will be graduating from Carver. Attendance will be checked to determine if members have been meeting their EESAC attendance requirements. Mrs. Robledo urged all members to be aware of the education issues in politics. Mr. Sands announced that the student council elections will be held on Thursday, May 12th and Friday, May 13th. Tuesday, May 31st is the 8th grade field trip to Sea World. 300 students will attend.

Adjournment: Mrs. Robledo adjourned the meeting at 8:55 a.m.