Education Committee

Village of Wellington 12300 Forest Hill Blvd Wellington, FL 33414 Action Summary Tuesday, March 7, 2017 6:30 PM Village Hall Education Committee John Webber, Chair Shelly Albright, Vice Chair Donna Baxter Beth Gillespie Marcia Hayden Francine Nelson Ruthann Retterbush Education Committee Action Summary March 7, 2017 I Call to Order Meeting was called to order at 6:35 pm II Pledge of Allegiance III Roll Call Members Donna Baxter, Jay Webber, Beth Gillespie and Shelly Albright were present. Members Francine Nelson and Ruthann Retterbush were absent. Marcia Hayden was absent at the start of the meeting but arrived later at 6:45pm. IV Opening Comments Jay Webber recognized Dr. Evangeline Aguirre who had recently been named the Palm Beach County School District Teacher of the Year. Donna Baxter recognized the new Wellington Kuwanis Club, noting that Wellington's Assistant City Manager, Jim Barnes was a founding member. The Club was also lending their assistance to Wellington's schools. They met on Wednesday evenings beginning at 6:00 pm at the new Community Center. V Approval of Agenda Donna Baxter called for a motion to approve the agenda. Jay Webber made the motion, seconded by Beth Gillespie. Motion passed 5-0 with Francine Nelson and Ruthann Retterbush absent. VI Approval of Minutes A. EC-046 MINUTES OF THE DECEMBER 6, 2016 EDUCATION COMMITTEE MEETING Beth Gillespie stated that she had advised staff via email prior to the meeting of a correction to the minutes. Under roman numeral 6A she asked that a revision be made indicating that she herself had made the comment at the last meeting to correct the October minutes. Donna Baxter then called for a motion to approve the minutes as amended. Beth Gillespie made the motion, seconded by Shelly Albright. Motion passed 5-0. Ruthann Retterbush and Francine Nelson were absent. VII Old Business There was no old business. VIII New Business Ed De La Vega introduced Paulette Edwards, Wellington's new Community Services Director. Ms. Edwards would be serve as the liaision for the Village of Wellington Page 1 Education Committee Action Summary March 7, 2017 Education Committee as well as the Senior Advisory Committee and the Public Safety Committee. She would also handle the Keely Spinelli grants. Ms. Edwards provided information on the Community Services Department including upcoming events. Ms. Edwards introduced Edilia De La Vega, new principal at Panther Run Elementary School. Ms. De La Vega introduced her Assistant, Vivian Green as well as Risa Suarez, Assistant Principal, Geoff McKee, and Palm Beach Central High School Principal Darren Edgecomb. She spoke briefly about upcoming events at Panther Run. Ms. Suarez and Mr. Edgecomb also addressed the committee. Mr. De La Vega spoke about the Waste Management Scholarships that would be coming up for review and award in late summer. He suggested that the June 6th regular meeting be moved up to May 2nd in order to have time prior to the end of school to review the scholarship essays. Ms. Hayden had been the point person last year. Ms. Edwards stated that Waste Management had reached out to Community Services and indicated that they would also be reaching out to the principals at Wellington High School and Palm Beach Central. Ms. Baxter stated that she would follow up with the principals. Ms. Baxter agreed with the suggestion to move the June meeting up to May. She called for a motion to approve. Mr. Webber made a motion to move the June 6th meeting to May 2nd, Ms. Albright seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. The Committee agreed to leave the September meeting date as is. A. EC-047 DISCUSSION OF FLORIDA HIGH IMPACT TEACHERS AWARD Mr. De La Vega provided a list of Wellington schools and the teachers selected to receive the High Impact Teacher Award at each school. The Committee indicated that they wanted to come up with a way to recognize those teachers. There was suggestion of a letter to each teacher, possibly along with a plaque. Ms. Edwards suggested one plaque per school to be placed in an administrative area. She committed Wellington to purchasing the plaques. Mr. Webber stated that he also wanted a letter to go to each teacher. Ms. Edwards responded that Wellington would provide a letter signed by Council for each teacher along with a plaque for each school. Ms. Hayden stated that they would present the letters and plaques at the May 2nd meeting. Ms. Albright stated that they would like to invite Council to attend the meeting Village of Wellington Page 2 Education Committee Action Summary March 7, 2017 as well. Ms. Edwards stated that Council would be invited and arrangements would be made for a group photo for each school along with the letter and plaque presentations. The Committee agreed that the letters would be from the Committee and that teachers and principals from each school would be invited to attend the meeting. IX Public Comments Mr. Edgecomb, Palm Beach Central High School principal, reported that ESOL reading teacher Ms. Evangeline Aguirre had been selected as Teacher of the Year. He also provided updates on recognitions, events and programs at Palm Beach Central High School. Dr. Frank Rodriguez, Regional Superintendent, introduced and welcomed Ms. Vivian Green, Instructional Superintendent and Dr. Geoff McKee, Secondary Instructional Superintendent. He commended the Committee for their recognition of the High Impact Teacher Award recipients in Wellington. He thanked the Committee for their support. X Staff Report Ms. Edwards provided imformation outlining upcoming events being provided through the Community Services Department as well as information and updates on the various programs being provided including youth services, spring break events, the CDBG grant and an internship program being funded by the grant and coordinated with Interfaith, Wellington High School and Palm Beach Central High School. The program was slated to take place during summer break. She also noted that Ms. Albright had made a presentation at the recent Senior Advisory Committee meeting on her pilot mentoring program. Ms. Albright spoke briefly about the mentoring program and asked for volunteers. Ms. Baxter offered her assistance and stated that perhaps the Committee could hear from the interns in the fall about their experiences with the internship program. Ms. Edwards responded that she would invite the interns to the September meeting. XI Closing Comments Mr. Webber encouraged everyone to get involved with the student mentoring program. He also asked Dr. Rodgriguez to provide an update at the next meeting on plans for use of the 1 cent sales tax. Ms. Albright asked how many members of the Committee also served on other boards or committees. Village of Wellington Page 3 Education Committee Action Summary March 7, 2017 Ms. Hayden stated that in past years, Committee members had each selected two SAC meetings that they would regularly attend and then report back. She suggested that they revisit those roles for the next school year. Mr. De La Vega stated that, as they had brought up Ms. Aguirre a number of times, perhaps she could be included in the recognition at a Council meeting. The Committee agreed. Mr. De La Vega stated that he would discuss it with the Village Manager and report back to the Committee. XII Adjournment Meeting adjourned at 7:35 pm Approved and Adopted: ______________________________________________________________ Marcia Hayden, Chairperson Date ______________________________________________________________ Laura A. Aldrich, Recording Secretary Date Village of Wellington Page 4