School Advisory Council: Minutes

10/15/09, 5:00pm



Bay Haven Charter Academy
School Advisory Council
October 15, 2009

Welcome
Chairman, Scott Reeve called the meeting to order at 5:10 PM. All attendees were asked to sign in and take a copy of the agenda and minutes from the last meeting.

Agenda
The agenda was reviewed for any additions or amendments. Motion to approve by Bill Henry; seconded by Randy Wolfe. Agenda was unanimously approved.

Pledge and Prayer
Scott Reeve led the Pledge of Allegiance. Dr. Kitts opened the meeting with a prayer.

New Attendees
Introduction of new attendees: Brianne Bittle, 8th grade student; Eli Martinez, 4th grade parent representative; Daniel Ward, 8th grade parent representative; Kelly Lovett, 5th grade teacher representative; Alice Miller, 4th grade teacher representative; Jennifer McArthur, 1st grade teacher representative; and Amy Martin, 3rd grade teacher representative.

Prior Minutes
The minutes from the September 17, 2009 meeting were reviewed. Under Agenda, CiCi Farmer should read CiCi Farner. On page 2, where it states “Every teacher receives 2 formal evaluations, remove formal. Motion to approve as amended by Billy Packer, seconded by Gina Farkas. Minutes unanimously approved as amended.

Treasurer’s Report
Scott Reeve presented the Treasurer’s Report. There is a correction to the budget presented at the last meeting; there is one less student for a total budget of $5,340. Also the request for Middle School Science approved at September’s meeting was amended to include one less teacher than originally requested. The correction will be reflected on the Treasurer’s Report at the November meeting.

Old Business
Officer Nominations President - Scott Reeve, Vice President – Currently Open, Secretary - Anne Manfredi, Treasurer – Daisy Labee. Motion to approve officers as listed by Heather Ward, seconded by Billy Packer. Vice President will remain unfilled at this time and will be pended until the next meeting.

New Business
A+ Recognition Funds
There was a special SAC meeting held on Tuesday to vote on the A+ recognition funds process. This is done every year as BHCA is an “A” school. Teachers vote on how to utilize these funds. This year the teachers elected to use the funds as teacher bonuses. SAC is required to approve that the state guidelines for this process were followed correctly. Margaret Gamble presided over the process and explained how the A+ process worked.

Teacher Funding Requests
Currently there is one request to be voted on by SAC.

1.) FETC (Florida Education Technology Conference) – Margaret Gamble. This conference is the same request as was approved for Mike last meeting. Mike does the Hardware and equipment for BHCA. Margaret does the Software and Innovative ideas side. The conference will help bring new ideas to integrate into learning. It will help keep students plugged in and interested. The total request is for $520.00. Margaret will present all she learns to the faculty in the monthly tech tool workshop she teaches. This is to help teachers take the tools she learns back into the classroom. Also Margaret is working with teachers in the classroom for the portable computer workstations to enable the students to have computer time in school. One of the SIT goals this year is building the technology program. SIT met this week to write up the curriculum to help achieve these goals, and this conference will go a long way to helping fulfill that goal.

Motion to approve by Cindy Brown, seconded by Ms. Weeks. Request was unanimously approved.

Principal’s Report
Thanks to Cindy Brown for providing dinner.

Mother’s Tea – This was hosted today at 3 p.m. for approximately 40 room moms. They gathered to discuss what is going on in the classrooms, fall festival, and how to improve communications with parents.

Upcoming Events
Fall Festival - Will be held Saturday, November 7th. All proceeds will go to the PTSP. Gala - Will be held May 1st at Edgewater. A “Big Name” entertainer will be coming in. The Golf Tournament is also coming up soon.

Handouts
Laura Swindler put together a schematic to show the different drives available on the BHCA system. The O: Drive is for students. The I: Drive is for teachers/staff and is also a public drive, the Foundation information is also included on the I: Drive. PTSP Meeting Agendas, Minutes, Financials, etc. can also be found on the I: Drive. The I: Drive can only be accessed via BHCA. (The meeting agendas, minutes, and abbreviated financials can also be found on the website. Also listed there are the documentation for the Boosters. SAC and SIT will be added soon.) The H: Drive is for each individual teacher and is restricted to their control.

8th Grade Project
This was instituted to instill better work ethic and to have the students give something back to the school. The 8th grade theme last year was a project for 5th graders about how to survive Middle School. The 8th graders did a combination of videos, plays, etc. This year in the leadership class, 8th graders are learning the ethics of leadership, qualities of leadership, etc. They will study this curriculum for the 1st 5 weeks of the course. The last 4 weeks of the course will be spent working in the lower grade levels as aides to teachers. The goal is to teach them to be responsible, good citizens of the world. Starting by being a good citizen at school. The leadership staff is trying to get speakers to come in to speak about leadership and its qualities to the students. BHCA started this off by having author and motivational speaker, John Rosemont, come in. The next speaker will be talking about work ethic, values of life, citizenship, responsibility and accountability. Dr. Kitts is visiting with different classes and discussing work ethics with the students and relating stories to help stay involved with the kids. Speakers will address value based situations and how to react in life.

New School
Dr. Kitts has prepared 3 new applications for 3 new charter schools. One each for K-5, 6-8, and 9-12. The new school will have no management company. BHCA is a stand alone school unlike most charter schools. BHCA started with a management company but then took over the management for themselves after a couple of years. Dr. Kitts assists other charter schools to apply to the state and actually wrote the state template for the charter application. He doesn’t anticipate any problems getting all 3 charter applications passed. Waiting on a development company to come up with the building, land and money to finance. When that happens, BCHA is ready to step in and go with the school. There is also a 2nd development company willing to give BHCA the old airport and 18 acres for $1.00; just need the financing to build the new school. Development companies are not able to build a subdivision without putting a school in to service students. Bay District schools is unable to build any more schools due to debt and so any new school would have to be built by a charter school. There is a 3rd option: BHCA currently owns 27 acres on Hwy 22 next to the Callaway baseball field. If nothing else happens by 01/01/10, the board can approve and build a new school there. BHCA will be hiring in December for the new school’s principal, secretary, guidance counselor, and core department heads to start recruiting. If the school built is the 9-12, it will be a high school of the future. Focusing on career paths, i.e. Homeland Security, and preparing students for the careers of the future. 600 students are projected for a high school and the possibility of having an athletic department will depend on which option/developer comes through with the funding.

FCAT Testing/Phasing Out Schedule
A handout was given to show the phasing out of the FCAT and Sunshine State standards to start moving towards the Next Generation Standards (NGS). Also showing the adoption of new curriculum for each grade level.

Comments, Criticisms, Concerns?
If you have any comments, criticisms or concerns about what BHCA is doing or not doing, please contact Dr. Kitts. He welcomes your input; this is your school too.

Cell Phone Policy
BHCA’s cell phone policy is that students may bring them to school (due to a Florida state law that states students must be allowed), but they must be turned off and stored in their lockers during the school day. Students may retrieve their cell phones at the end of the day.

Open Discussion
Next meeting will be held on November 19th at 5 p.m. in the Media Center.

Motion to adjourn by Patsy Mount, seconded by Greg Carroll. Meeting adjourned at 6:25 p.m.



Scott Reeve, SAC Chairperson
Heather L. Ward, Acting Secretary




Bay Haven Charter Academy
2501 Hawks Landing Blvd.
Panama City, FL 32405
Located at Mosley Drive and Hwy 389
Phone: (850) 248-3500

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