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2023-04-20 EAB Minutes1 EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES April 20, 2023 9900 NE 2nd Avenue 6:00 PM The meeting was called to order with the following members present: Ms. Kristen Feuer Ms. Dana Vignale Mr. Antonio Netto Mr. Michael Weber Ms. Sylvia Duerkop Also present: Ms. Ysabely Rodriguez: Village Clerk Mayor George Burch: Mayor of Miami Shores Village Mr. Douglas Clark: Supervisor at the Office of Inter-Governmental Affairs and Family and Community Engagement Ms. Brenda Swain: Regional Director Ms. Sarah Vahan: MSES PTA President Mr. Daniel Diaz: MSES Principal 1. CALL TO ORDER: 6:09PM. Quorum Established. 2. ROLL CALL: See above 3. PUBLIC COMMENTS: None at this time. See below. 4. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: Motion by Mr. Weber, Seconded by Ms. Duerkop. Minutes approved 5-0 voice vote. 5. CONSIDERATIONS: a. MSES UPDATE PROVIDED BY ADMINISTRATION - Mr. Diaz stated after last meeting a meeting took place with Mr. Perez and Ms. Duerkop regarding an after school French program paid by parents. It is something that is doable and something that should be executed by the next school year. A Spanish club is also up and running now. Cambridge night is this coming Tuesday and will include a pasta dinner. There is a mandatory 5th grade meeting and the Frost Museum is coming out to do lab with the students from 6-6:30PM. There will be a scavenger hunt with Ms. Alice Burch and Ms. Mary Benton from Bound by Beauty taking place by the school’s native plants. This year at Cambridge night Earth day projects will be displayed. Construction is in the final stages, they are currently working on the punch list. All the inspections still need to be finalized. Ceremony date TBD. - Ms. Vignale discussed a visit to a school site where she met with the principal whose daughter goes to MSES and loves the school and was so happy about the recycling project. - Ms. Duerkop stated the Spanish club is up and running and there is a lot of demand. 2 - Ms. Feuer inquired about the grade levels. Mr. Diaz stated they began with 2nd and 3rd graders. - Ms. Vignale discussed the after-school program at IPREP which was approximately $160 per month and parents could opt into additional enrichment activities for a fee. The board discussed assessing parent interest at MSES. Mr. Diaz stated he has interviewed the teachers already to gauge some interest in specific areas. Ms. Vignale offered to help identify vendors. Ms. Feuer suggested Ricky Cox who teaches debate and music at the Miami Shores Community School. b. CAMBRIDGE BUDGET - Mr. Netto directed the conversation toward the Cambridge program and the Miami Shores Village budget. Ms. Rodriguez stated the staff has a deadline next week for the budget. Mr. Diaz stated he would review the funds. There were funds last year that rolled over. c. COMMUNITY ALLIANCE GRANT d. Ms. Rodriguez addressed the Community Alliance grant application due on April 30, 2023, and inquired about the specific school needs to be included on the application. Mr. Diaz stated the school and PTA are working to create a garden and the grant could off-set the costs for PTA. The last grant was $600. Ms. Vignale made a motion to apply for the grant for $600 for the opening of the school year and a teacher morale booster. Motion passed. (Motion later withdrawn and passed as amended). Ms. Feuer inquired about the number of teachers and staff to determine how far the requested $600 will reach. Mr. Diaz stated there is roughly between 60 to 70 staff members including teachers and other staff. The board discussed asking for more grant money. Ms. Duerkop suggested using grant money for marketing, specifically a re-opening communication video. Ms. Vaughn discussed this years’ teacher appreciation week and the planned activities. Mayor Burch advised the board that we should ask for an amount of money that we really want. After input from Mayor Burch, Mr. Weber made a motion to apply for the grant and request $6,000. Seconded by Mr. Netto. Motion passed. - e. ACTION PLAN FOR 2022-2023 PRIORITIES: f. BOARD VACANCIES - Ms. Rodriguez gave an update on the number of board members and after a discussion with the attorney, since the PTA member is not a voting member, the board is short one member. Ms. Rodriguez will advertise the board vacancy. g. NEW BUSINESS - Ms. Vignale opened a discussion on the relationship between MSES and Doctor’s Charter where Miami Shores residents have priority. Ms. Vignale met with the Education Director from Doctors Charter School who is eager to work with the community and with Mr. Diaz to shore up the K-12 pipeline for Miami Shores residents. Although Doctor’s Charter is not included in the educational compact, it is a municipal school and an argument can be made that it should 3 be incorporated into the compact. Ms. Vignale will continue conversations with DC. The board discussed the possibility of the Cambridge Program at DC. Ms. Alice Burch gave some background on the inception of the EAB and at the time there were two members representing Doctors Charter School. Ms. Burch stated the Council at the time took an allusive view of the compact since it encompassed Miami Shores students and public schools and there was a synergy between the two schools. Ms. Burch encouraged the EAB to create that synergy again since MSES is a feeder school. Ms. Vignale stated that If we align the pipeline and shore up the two schools, the relationship would strengthen the feeder pattern which would strengthen the student performance at both schools. The Cambridge Program could tie the two schools together. The board discussed the impact on Horace Mann and possible district challenges. 6. ADJOURNMENT 7:10PM.