MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
BENTON HARBOR AREA SCHOOLS
JULY 5, 2005

President Ken Woltman called the July Work Session of the Board of Education to order at 6:01 p.m. at the Benton Harbor High School, Student Commons.

Present:  Mr. Ken Woltman, Mrs. J. Allene Smith, Dr. Perry Davis (6:05), Mr. Robert L. Bowman and Mr. Dan McGinnis

Absent:  Mr. Anthony Henry and Mrs. Carolyn Fort

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Central Administration
Superintendent Paula Dawning reported that Board action would be requested at the regular meeting to approve District policy revisions.  The Policy Committee has made a recommendation to revise the following policies:

Superintendent Dawning reported that Board action would be requested at the regular meeting to approve the Marketing Partners, Inc., News Bureau and Publications contract renewal for the 2005-2006 school year.  The Benton Harbor Area Schools must maintain active communication with its publics to achieve the goals outlined in its five-year strategic plan.  Budget restraints preclude an internal public relations and communication function.  Outside assistance is needed to continue regular publications to communicate with and inform various publics about the Benton Harbor Area Schools goals, vision and activities.  These communication vehicles are foundational to the strategic plan.  The overarching objective is to communicate Benton Harbor Area Schools messages and goals effectively to target audiences to encourage agreement and support to: 1) provide a news bureau clearinghouse for news and information, 2) determine what items are newsworthy and for which audiences and, 3) prepare publications and media releases tailored to audience interests and needs.  The 2004-2005 contract for Marketing Partners, Inc., included 11 issues of Progress, 12 issues of Vision, 4 issues of Community Partnerships and 3 press releases per month.  Marketing Partners, Inc., offers to continue the contract for the 2005-2006 school year at a cost of $93,100.00. 

Superintendent Dawning reported that Board action would be requested at the regular meeting to approve an Adult Education Cooperative Agreement Proposal.  On August 13, 1996, the Benton Harbor Area Schools Board of Education approved the participation in the North Berrien Adult Education Consortium.

Effective at the end of the 2004-2005 school year, the Benton Harbor Area Schools Board of Education dissolved the Cooperative Agreement between the Benton Harbor Area Schools and the North Berrien Adult Education Consortium.

Niles Community Schools (NCS) has proposed to partner with the Benton Harbor Area Schools (BHAS) to provide, but not limited to, high school completion, GED preparation and Adult Basic Education for the 2005-2006 school year.  It is agreed upon that the education, administration, management and the finances of the program operated by the NCS within the Benton Harbor Area School District will be administered by NCS.  NCS will receive state aide allowances, grants program fees and other revenue generated by the BHAS adult education program service area.  NCS will also maintain all financial records for expenses and revenues incurred, and will maintain the records for each student, including attendance and will be responsible for the input of all required data into the MAERS system.

Operations/Facilities
Group Director for Operations/Facilities Stephen Mitchell reported that Board action would be requested at the regular meeting to approve the sale of Sterne Brunson School property.  The Board of Education has declared the Sterne Brunson School as surplus property.  Two bids were received and opened on July 29, 2005, with the Board placing a minimum asking price of $65,000.00.  Star Development and Financial Corporation made an offer of $81,000.00 for the property.  Star Development representatives were present and discussed their proposal to create a luxury-style development consisting of eleven (11) one and two-bedroom apartments and twenty-eight (28) three-bedroom units within fourteen (14) brownstones.  Residents of both the apartments and brownstones would have access to an outdoor swimming pool and children’s play area.  The Star Development Corporation has requested a special use permit from the City of Benton Harbor to undergo the development of the project.  The proposal is contingent on Benton Harbor City ordinances and any environmental issues.

Instruction
Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education Virginia Maxwell reported that Board action would be requested at the regular meeting to approve the Student Assessment System License Agreement Extension.  On October 12, 2004, the Board of Education awarded a one-year software license agreement to Enthusiastic Software for the District’s Student Assessment System.  The agreement calls for a possible extension up to two additional one-year agreements.  The 2005-2006 software license agreement with Enthusiastic Software is at a cost of $12,500.00.

As informational items, updates will be given at the regular meeting on the Freedom Program and the Reading First Program.

As an informational item, Benton Harbor High School teacher Deborah Turner presented year-end results on the BHHS Credit Assistance Program for Success (CAPS).  By implementing CompassLearning “Odyssey” it allowed the District to provide a platform for students to regain credits needed to place them back on track for timely graduation.  The program was available for students who:

OR

Twenty - three (23) BHHS students enrolled 2nd semester of the 2004-2005 school year in the CAPS program with 21 students successfully completing the program for credit.  Thirteen (13) BHHS seniors did graduate with their class due to completing the CAPS program.

As an informational item, Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education Dr. J. Leonard Wright presented information on the End Of Course (EOC) Exam.  The EOC Exam is an end-of-course exam given to students to determine if the students are learning the curriculum and if the teachers are teaching the curriculum.  The EOC was piloted in the middle schools and the District is looking to implement the EOC Exam at the high school level.  The information received will be used to find the weakness and strengths in the learning environment and to determine proficiency.  District consultants developed the EOC Exam via the Michigan curriculum framework.

As an informational item, teacher Don Pearson and students in the McCord Travelers were present, and showed pictures and shared their experiences from their recent trip to Canada.

Superintendent Dawning reported that Board action would be requested at the regular meeting to approve the Johns Hopkins University Talent Development High Schools, Program Participation Agreement for the 2005-2006 school year at a cost of $49,500.00.

BHHS staff has spent the current school year in study and research of best practices for improving student achievement and how to enhance faculty effectiveness.  The team has identified a model developed by Johns Hopkins University called the Talent Development High Schools (TDHS).  This model has autonomous components that would support the improvements identified by the team and needed by the District.  The goal of the team is to re-design the high school into a safe, secure, intellectual challenging and high achieving environment that provides academic rigor, meaningful faculty student engagement with relevance to daily lives of the students both now and into the future.

The components of the TDHS are a ninth grade academy, multiple career academies and an alternative program called the twilight academy.  This is a multi-year implementation with the freshman and twilight academies to be implemented for the 2005-2006 academic year and the career academies in 2006-2007.

As an informational item, Dr. J. Leonard Wright and the Board of Education discussed the Fair Plain Middle School Annual Report.  The Board of Education expressed their concerns with Fair Plain Middle School statistics and the lack of student progress for the last three years.

Human Resources/Labor Relations
Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources/Labor Relations Nora Jefferson reported that Board action would be requested at the regular meeting to approve the following:

Consent
Board action will be requested at the regular meeting to accept the following donations/grants to the Benton Harbor Area Schools:

Other
Two Benton Harbor High School graduates, Audrey Thomas and Brianna Clabin, have been chosen as recipients of the Tiscornia Scholarship Fund.

Superintendent’s Update
Benton Harbor Area Schools along with Grand Rapids, Lansing and Flint Districts were participants in a 3-year study to develop a model for leadership for principals.  BHAS has 4 schools participating BHHS, Hull, Martindale and Boynton.  This is a major opportunity for the District that is funded by the Wallace Foundation and also a major initiative in the State lead by Western Michigan University.  They are also partnering with Eastern, Central and Northern Universities.  Additionally, MASB, the Michigan Foundation for Educational Leadership (MFEL) and a parent focus organization are other partners in this effort.  The Michigan Department of Education and the Governor’s Office are both collaborators.

Two House Bills of interest are being proposed in the Michigan Legislation 1) to require background and criminal checks for volunteers and special education aides prior to hiring, and 2) a bill to mandate at least inflationary increases to education each year.

Michigan State University hosted a Superintendent’s Conference last week where the focus was global education/learning and preparing kindergarten students for global needs.  A long-term direction is needed to compete globally.  Intermediate School Districts are looking to see what direction K-12 public schools should be headed regarding future opportunities for students.

Public Participation
Mrs. Marian Tripplett addressed the Board of Education questioning the EOC Exam and what the District proposes if results show problems are with teachers not teaching.  She questioned if the proposed Benton Harbor housing developers are working with the District.  Mrs. Tripplett also questioned the Fair Plain Middle School Annual Report and what solutions/suggestions are being provided by the State for plans that did not work.

Board Comments
Trustee Davis discussed on the proposed sale of Sterne Brunson and the anticipated housing development on that site.  Dr. Davis acknowledged that the District does have challenges and stressed the importance of overcoming those challenges.

Trustee Smith commented the District’s low-test scores and that in addition to professional development – parental involvement is needed.

There being no further business, the July work session was adjourned at 7:51 p.m.