School Community Relations Committee

City of Coral Gables 405 Biltmore Way Coral Gables, FL 33134 www.coralgables.com Meeting Minutes Friday, January 15, 2021 8:30 AM Public Participation via Zoom Virtual Discussion Workshop via Zoom School Community Relations Committee Chairperson Ariel Fernandez Vice Chairperson Sam Joseph Board Member Erin Anding Board Member Winnie Chang Board Member Sandy Dimitris Board Member Carmen Manrara Cartaya Board Member Cecilia D. Slesnick Board Member Mary Snow Board Member Sharon Watson School Community Relations Meeting Minutes January 15, 2021 Committee The School Community Relations Committee will be holding a discussion workshop on Friday, January 15, 2021 VIRTUALLY, commencing 8:30 a.m., where in all interested persons may be heard via Zoom platform used by the City for live remote comments. Members of the public may join the meeting via Zoom at (https://zoom.us/j/99234805372). In addition, a dedicated phone line will be available so that any individual who does not wish (or is unable) to use Zoom may listen to and participate in the meeting by dialing: (929) 205-6099 Meeting ID: 992 3480 5372. To speak on an Agenda Item, please "Raise your Hand" or send a message to one of the meeting hosts using the Zoom Platform. If you joined the meeting via telephone you can "Raise your Hand" by pressing *9. City of Coral Gables Page 1 School Community Relations Meeting Minutes January 15, 2021 Committee CALL TO ORDER Workshop called to order at 8:37 a.m. ROLL CALL Attachments: List of Virtual Attendees.docx A. PUBLIC HEARING Estelle Lockhart, G.W. Carver Elementary PTA President - G.W. Carver Elementary still does not have a school nurse on the premises. They are the only school within Gables boundaries that does not have one. B. NEW BUSINESS B-1 Miami-Dade Public Schools Personnel Update (Facilitated by Naomi Levi Garcia, Staff Liaison) Iraida Mendez-Cartaya has left MDCPS. Martha Montaner, Administrative Director for the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and Compliance will be the new point of contact for the SCRC. City of Coral Gables Page 2 School Community Relations Meeting Minutes January 15, 2021 Committee B-2 School Board 2021 Legislative Priorities (Facilitated by Martha Montaner) Legislative program was approved by the School Board in November. District hired Damian Jaine as a lobbyist. There are strict COVID protocols at the Capitol this year. Legislative Committee meetings have started. There is no budget yet by Governor. March 2nd – Lobbyists will start the work of the school board. The top tier of goals is funding. Protecting operational funds due to lost students, approximately 8,000 lost. District is in essence asking to be held harmless in light of the pandemic. District to continue the funding compression – supplement to districts if they fall below the state average. Miami-Dade is typically a donor district for the state of Florida. They are asking for no punitive measures because of the pandemic and aiming to keep funding level. District is advocating for funding for extended school day for those students who are not progressing or have fallen behind. This is an effort to address the learning loss. Other top priorities include: •Accountability and Assessment – District wants to use test results as a baseline, without any punitive measures. From what they learned at prior week’s school board meeting. There is an 89.6% graduation rate. Examinations have been suspended. This is a 4% increase from previous years. •Governance – Use the superintendent’s authority •Capital Funding – School board is in favor of state fully funding charter schools capital outlay. They are asking that the state give an allocation to the charter schools from the State budget. •Teacher Retention – District is having issues retaining teachers in large urban districts. Many teachers are requesting ADA accommodations. •District has a robust website. There is a request for graduation rate for Coral Gables Senior High – 93.3%; Last year – 89.7% Updates on teachers getting vaccines - Superintendent is prioritizing having teachers and personnel to receive the vaccines. Attachments: MDCPS 2021 State Legislative Priorties.pdf B-3 Discussion on School Board Meeting Item H-10 (Facilitated by Sam Joseph, Vice Chair) Recognition of Ms. Ashley Vangates who was named the 2021 Central Region Teach of the Year. Ms. Vangates is a teacher at George Washington Carver Elementary and had previously been awarded the 2019 Teacher of the Year award. Question was asked about using the funds that had been set aside for history tours for Teacher of the Year recognitions this year. Naomi Levi Garcia, Staff Liaison will look into the request. Attachments: School Board Item H-10 City of Coral Gables Page 3 School Community Relations Meeting Minutes January 15, 2021 Committee B-4 Discussion on School Board Meeting Item H-6 and how Coral Gables schools such as the G.W Carver campuses can be added to the list (Facilitated by Sam Joseph, Vice Chair) Brief discussion is had and request is made to have Public Works staff attend a future SCRC meeting to further discuss the process and history of Carver specifically. Attachments: School Board Item H-6 B-5 Discussion on School Board Item H-8 (Facilitated by Sam Joseph, Vice Chair) Brief discussion is had and request is made to bring this item back in March. Attachments: School Board Item H-8 C. OLD BUSINESS C-1 Review of 2021 School Community Relations Committee Meeting dates (Facilitated by Solanch Lopez, Secretary) D. ONGOING BUSINESS D-1 Update on nurses at Coral Gables schools (Facilitated by Martha Montaner) G.W. Carver Elementary School is the only remaining school within the City of Coral Gables that does not have a nurse. Training is taking place and the spot should be filled shortly. School Board Member Rojas has visited all the schools in District 6. We have nurses or EMTs to cover each of the schools within the district. She thought this was handled and finds Carver not having a nurse unacceptable and is following up with District. There is an interest on behalf of the City Fire Department to assist and assure there is coverage of a school nurse at Carver Elementary School. City Staff is working on logistics. Previous agreement expired December 2020, and new agreement is being considered. D-2 General Updates (Facilitated by Solanch Lopez, Secretary & Naomi Levi Garcia, Staff Liaison) MDCPS Updates Provided by School Board Member Rojas: Teacher retention – This year has taken a toll on the recruitment of the teaching profession. Many have resigned due to the pandemic. We have numerous initiatives to handle brick and mortar and virtual learning. Dealing with vaccines – School board has been addressing need to vaccine teachers and personnel. A letter was sent by the Superintendent to address these concerns. City of Coral Gables Page 4 School Community Relations Meeting Minutes January 15, 2021 Committee D-3 Notice Pursuant to Resolution No. 2020-245 (Facilitated by Naomi Levi Garcia, Staff Liaison) Coral Gables Country Club is doing work on Blue Road. West Lab is within the notice boundary. Explanation of the work is shared with SCRC and everyone in attendance including School Board Member Rojas. Mailed notification of application should be received very shortly by the District. Attachments: Riviera Country Club - Applicant Submittal E. ANNOUNCEMENTS Next SCRC Meeting - Friday, February 20, 2021 Questions/Comments: scrc@coralgables.com ADJOURNMENT Workshop adjourned at 9:58 a.m. City of Coral Gables Page 5 School Community Relations Meeting Minutes January 15, 2021 Committee NOTE City of Coral Gables Page 6