Education Advisory Committee

Approved: March 16, 2015 M&C Nagro Gardiner Higgins Approved Minutes Education Advisory Committee February 9, 2015 City Hall Attendees Members Present Absent Brian Bertges, Dist 1 ______ __X___ Tricia Homer, Dist 1 ______ __X___ Charlene Mahoney, Dist 2 __X___ ______ Cory Sanders, Dist 2 ______ __X___ Maia Sheppard, Dist 2 ______ __X___ Melissa Day, Dist 3 __X___ ______ Carolyn Bernache, Dist 4 __X___ ______ Doris Ellis, Dist 4 __X___ ______ Peggy Wilson, UMD __X___ ______ Also Present: Peggy Higgins, Staff Liaison and Laura Salers, Recording Secretary Call to Order Dr. Bernache called the meeting to order at 7:33 PM. Agenda Items Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes Dr. Bernache asked the committee to review the December meeting minutes. After a brief discussion of the Grants Review section, Ms. Wilson motioned to approve the minutes as written. The motion was seconded by Ms. Day and the minutes were approved. Amended Agenda Ms. Higgins asked Dr. Bernache to add FY 16 Budget Review and UMD Scholarships to the agenda. Old Business Feedback from Preschool Fair: Ms. Day reported that the Preschool Fair was not well attended. The committee discussed possible explanations including lack of interest due to local preschools hosting open houses and public schools offering free preschool programs. Ms. Day said that the College Park Nursery School offered their list-serve to advertise next year. Mr. Sanders, Ms. Day and Dr. Bernache attended the fair and Ms. Homer donated craft items. As an alternative to hosting a future fair, Ms. Higgins suggested using the funds to purchase an ad, listing the available preschools and their contact information. A decision regarding hosting a fair is tabled until fall. Fulbright Scholars Reception: Ms. Wilson reminded the Committee that the University of Maryland has discontinued their Fulbright Scholars Program. New Business UMCP Camp Scholarships: Ms. Higgins reported there are changes to the registration process at the University of Maryland camps which bring challenges to the scholarship recipients and the committee. Among the 26 available camps, the majority will require electronic registration, a valid email address and payment at the time of registration. Pat Henderson has been contacting the camps and requesting an option for the committee to pay the fee for its scholarship awardees. Several of the camps have agreed to this. Ms. Henderson will prepare a list of camps that insist on payment with registration. The committee discussed challenges for families. A lack of internet access, valid email address and financial difficulties will prevent scholarship winners from successfully registering for camp. The committee will add language to the applications so families are aware of the requirements and make computers available at the Youth and Family Services center. The committee will provide 15-20 applications to Hollywood Elementary and Paint Branch Elementary. There will be copies available at the EAC office. The scholarships will be advertised in the Municipal Scene and on the city website. Information will be mailed to previous applicants and recipients. Deadline for applications is March 13th and will be reviewed by the committee March 16th. When reviewing applications, the committee will be mindful of the March 20 deadline for the Stepping Stones to Your Future camp. The committee will not be offering a scholarship for the IEngineer camp due to its March 13 deadline. The priority for awarding camp scholarships will be for first time applicants and secondly, applicants who previously attended camp with a scholarship. It was decided that if an applicant applies for two camps, the committee will award the scholarship at the lower cost, thus allowing the committee to award more scholarships. The committee acknowledged that waiting for a teacher recommendation can cause a student to miss the deadline. Although this is not the fault of the student, the committee finds the recommendations helpful in evaluating the applications. Ms. Mahoney pointed out that if the requirement for a teacher recommendation is dropped, the committee may not select the student with the greatest need. The committee discussed sibling applications and suggested placing a $500 to $750 cap on each family. Dr. Bernache suggested having the list of applicants and awardees from previous years on hand when reviewing the applications. Ms. Wilson suggested that first time applicants get their first choice, and repeat applicants get their second or third choice, provided sufficient funding is available. The committee’s priority will be on first time applicants followed by applicants who applied previously but were not awarded a scholarship. Ms. Wilson suggested placing a line of text on the application stating that priority will be given to students who have not previously received a scholarship. The committee agreed. The EAC has approximately $15,000 to award this year. This is made up of $6,600 budgeted for Scholarships, $5,900 budgeted for Additional Education Initiatives and roughly $2,500 from the Competitive Grants remaining balance. Ms. Higgins believes this is less than last year. FY 16 Budget Review: Ms. Higgins distributed a copy of the FY15 Budget and asked if there were suggestions for changes. After a brief discussion of the line items, it was agreed that there would be no changes for next year, with one exception. If Ms. Higgins finds out that the committee spent over $1,200 on publicity in FY 15, she will reallocate funding to increase publicity. New Initiatives: The committee will develop initiatives to replace the Fulbright Scholars reception and possibly the preschool fair. The principal’s luncheon may be replaced with an awards presentation during a PTA meeting because participation has been a struggle. Ms. Wilson believes the scholarships are filling a need in the community, due to increased participation in the program. The committee will discuss new initiatives in depth at a future meeting. Dr. Bernache asked Ms. Higgins if her office would once again provide the committee with a matrix of scholarship applicants. The committee found it very helpful when reviewing the applications. Closing remarks and Adjournment Dr. Bernache would like an updated EAC member list distributed to the committee. She reminded everyone that meetings are held the third Monday of the month, unless there is a holiday. The next meeting is Monday March 16th. Meeting adjourned at 8:59 pm by consensus. Minutes prepared by Laura Salers