Education Advisory Committee

Approved: 12/16/15 M&C Somers Gardiner Minutes - APPROVED Education Advisory Committee October 19, 2015 City Hall Attendees Members Present Absent Tricia Homer, Dist 1 X ______ Charlene Mahoney, Dist 2 X ______ Cory Sanders, Dist 1 __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; Laura Salers, Contract Secretary; Andrew Fellows, Mayor Call to Order Ms. Bernache called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm. Update on New Grant Recommendations Ms. Bernache introduced College Park Mayor Andrew Fellows who shared his appreciation for the EAC’s grant recommendations. Mayor Fellows went on to explain that the City Council has requested input from the College Park City University Partnership regarding the $80,000 which is available in part because of the vacant Directors position at the College Park Academy. Their recommendations for spending the funds will be brought back to the EAC for review and final EAC recommendations will be presented to the City Council. If the timetable does not allow for this to be reviewed by the current City Council, Mayor Fellows does not see a problem with it being presented to the new Council in February. Mayor Fellows shared his vision of the civic associations of College Park adopting their elementary, middle and high schools and forming school clusters which are actively supported by their neighborhood community. Mayor Fellows thanked the EAC for its hard work and left the meeting. Approval of Minutes Ms. Bernache asked the EAC to review the minutes from the September 21, 2015 meeting. While reviewing the minutes, it was suggested that next year, the EAC could reach out to bilingual high school students to assist parents with camp registrations and they could earn service hours. Ms. Homer made a motion to approve the minutes with corrections. The motion was seconded by Ms. Ellis and unanimously approved. It was noted that Maia Sheppard has withdrawn from the EAC. 2015-2016 Grant Review Regarding the $80,000 in educational support, the EAC contacted each school and shared the grant recommendations. The school leadership was excited and grateful for the proposed support for Data Wise initiatives, technology and staff development. Several of the schools also shared their desire to use the funds to help establish computer labs, implement literacy projects and update equipment. Ms. Higgins has informed the schools that the City Council has not yet made a decision regarding these proposed grants. The EAC members felt that talking with school staff was a valuable experience and would like to visit the schools again to see the impact of the grant funds. The committee will also consider asking the grant recipients to announce the grant on their school’s website or newsletter and may provide a press release to each school. The EAC reviewed the 2015-2016 grant applications from ten local schools. After a brief discussion and noting the improved quality of the grant applications this year, Ms. Wilson made a motion to fund each application in the amount of $2,500. The motion was seconded by Ms. Day and unanimously approved. Survey Initiative: Ms. Bernache attended a meeting regarding the master plan for rehabbing schools and construction. The topic of surveying parents for feedback was discussed and it was suggested that the EAC help implement it. The purpose of the survey is not clear at this time. Ms. Bernache will keep the EAC updated. Email from Councilman Brennan: Councilman Brennan proposed that the EAC gather PTA leadership from University Park, Paint Branch and Hollywood Elementary schools and facilitate a meeting to talk about their role in shaping the future of the public elementary schools. The EAC would like to see all of the elementary schools in College Park included. A proposed agenda would be to bring in successful PTA leadership to share strategies for success and tips to increase parental involvement. The Committee tabled the discussion until the next meeting to discuss it further. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 8:58 pm.