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2018-11-01 EAB MEETING MINUTESEDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2018 MIAMI SHORES VILLAGE HALL CONFERENCE ROOM 6:00 PM The meeting was called to order at 6:03 pm with the following members present: Tiffany Anderson Antonio Netto Dana Vignale Patricia Walker Sylvie Duerkop Absent: Cristina Crespi , Leslie Fraser, and Doug Garber Also present: Ysabely Rodriguez, Village Clerk and Ms. Brenda Swain, MSE principal 1. Public Comments No public comments were offered. 2. Approval of Minutes: Ms. Vignale moved to approved the Oct. 18, 2018 minutes, Ms. Anderson seconded and the minutes were approved. 3. Discussion of Business: The Board members introduced themselves to Ms. Swain who stated that she felt the survey was excellent and liked that it was brief but asked the correct questions. Mr. Netto asked if a survey like this one had been done in the past, and Ms. Swain said that the surveys done at the school are the School Climate Surveys that are designed by MDCPS. Ms. Vignale gave the background of our survey and stated that one of the components of the Education Compact is communication and this will help address that issue. Ms. Duerkop thanked Ms. Swain for hosting the visit to MSE. The pilot survey was discussed, and Ms. Duerkop said that she got 10 results. Ms. Vignale said that she received feedback regarding 3 sections: Question 6 should add Open House and School Visits, and Question 7 should add Curriculum and Planning. In the section that asked how the respondent thinks Miami Shores should be rated, some people who took the survey felt the wording was not asking about perception. It was agreed that the wording would be changed to: “Based on your observations, experiences, and/or what you have heard, what is your perception of Miami Shores Elementary School?” Ms. Vignale will revise the survey and send it to Ms. Rodriguez, who will have it printed and ready to be picked up on Friday. The members agreed we should print 250 and make sure we cover at least the first 2 – 3 hours of Green Day at the MSE PTSA booth. The survey will be made available to anyone wishing to complete it. Ms. Swain shared her Wish List with the Board. She described projects which have been funded by the Bond, including the playground and resurfacing the court. The roof of the cafeteria needs repairing or replacing and there was been discussion of a stand alone building where older students can have lunch. Ms. Swain stated that the school is at 95.67% capacity. Ms. Duerkop questioned whether the boundaries could be changed but it was agreed that would not be within in the scope of this Board. Ms. Swain stated that the school had considered becoming a Math Science Technology magnet but that is not possible with the high enrollment. Ms. Vignale will try to find out why the school was not able to get Choice approval. Ms. Swain shared that the school received the Bronze STEM designation after completing an arduous process. Some of the equipment in the lab was acquired when Miami Edison’s iTech program was divesting of the equipment. Going forward, money will be needed to keep the equipment current and to replace the consumable materials. Laptop carts have been financed through the PTSA and Title I money in the past. There are also 35 desktops which are 9 years old. To make sure all grade 3 to 5 students have laptops, they would need to purchase 200 laptops, and in order to provide desktop labs for the younger students, 100 desktops would be required. Ms. Vignale will research pricing using approved procurement vendors. Also needed is a new audio system for the cafeteria. The new music teacher has plans for many wonderful productions but the equipment is needed to support those plans. Mr. Netto inquired as to the state of the safety/security of the school and Ms. Swain said they have made much progress in that area. It was suggested that a plant barrier on the inside of the fence would do much to create a privacy screen on certain parts of the field. At this point there is no irrigation system so that would need to be considered. Mr. Netto asked if there is a way to see what the retention is once a student is in the Pre-K 4 class. Where do the students go from there? Ms. Vignale will see what statistics she can obtain. The Board decided it was not necessary to provide a Spanish language survey at Green Day and since there was little time before the event we will just provide English surveys. Before we post on line we will have a Spanish version. The next meeting is November 28 at 6:30pm. Ms. Walker moved to adjourn, Ms. Anderson seconded, and the meeting was adjourned at 7:26pm. Next meeting: November 28, 2018, at 6:30pm.