Here are the meeting notes as a .pdf file:  SWCC Education Committee Minutes 2017-10-25 .pdf

The Education Committee of the SW Common Council

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

6:30 to 8:00 pm at

Arnett Branch Library, 310 Arnett Boulevard

Minutes Posted on: www.locationSW.org/group/sw-education-forum

Attendance:

Pamela Bollar        19th Ward/Aenon, 527-0799, bollarpam@gmail.com

John Boutet           SWCC Education Committee Chair, 328-4271, jboutet@frontiernet.net

Rodney Brown       Southwest Tribune Newspaper, southwesttribunenewspaper@gmail.com

Eleanor Coleman    ProsperRochester, Inc., 224-5119, eleanor.coleman@gmail.com

Kevin Holman         Roxie Sinkler Rec Ctr Director, 428-7827, kevin.holman@cityofrochester.gov

John Laing             19th Ward Schools Committee Chair, 235-5236, jlang1@rochester.rr.com

Jennifer Lenio        Rochester Public Libraries (South District), 428-8272, jlenio@libraryweb.org

Library news

• Sat 10/28 - 11am-1pm, Friends Teaching Friends, No Bake Desserts; 11/4, 11am-1pm, Gift Wrapping; 11/18, 11an-1pm, Writers Grammar Check

• 10/28, 1pm, celebration for donor of mural project on Arnett building! • 11/16, 5:30-6:30 - Intro to Patent and Trademark Center

• Branch Facility Master Plan beginning; looking at 10 branch libraries to determine state of buildings, are they meeting community needs, what services are needed, etc.; Branch Planning Advisory Committee will include members and stakeholders to solicit input.

Path Forward Highlights

• SWCC hosted RCSD October 19^th “Path Forward” meeting.

• Great turnout of about 50 participants.

• Video of meeting is at: https://youtu.be/OPTdM-gsnJs

• Nice cross section of attendees

• Good to see City of Rochester as an integral partner in this effort

• Seemed strange that “Parent Involvement” wasn’t listed as a separate topic since it has such a strong impact on student success.

• Appreciated being able to provide input on transportation; general sense - parents shouldn’t have to choose between their neighborhood and a good school program.

• Racial Equity was a very open and frank discussion.

• It will be interesting to see how this information is distilled. School Board has charged Superintendent with providing the recommendations by the beginning of December.

• How do we acknowledge where we are now with the information we’ve collected and move forward making positive changes?

• Community should have an opportunity to receive and engage in the findings, not just receive them as a report.

• Is there a way to attract kids to the school before it is opened to get them walking there for sports, etc., so that walking to school is a regular thing? Rec programming creates an instant demand when school ends; it will take planning to orchestrate. Need to identify the children who live in the community for effective planning.

School 10 - Update

• Mary Adams is a parent at School #10. Principal has been engaging the school community around the structural plans for the school. Good parent discussion around the Path Forward planning.

• Swing space will be Marshall.

School 16 - Update

• City Recreation is awaiting word in regards to the possibility of providing programming.

• No deviation from the 2018 timeline at this point.

School #29 Update - Joe Baldino

• School has a map of the walking routes to the school. Are these available for other schools?

School 44 Update

• School is staying open. Path Forward decisions by Superintendent will determine will determine future. Would be good to promote Roxie Sinkler Center and School 16 Community Center at this school and vice versa.

Wilson Commencement Update

• Holiday Happening at Wilson Commencement is November 4^th. 19WCA Schools Committee and SWCC Education Committee will have table there.

OACES (Office of Adult Career & Education Services)

• Narlene Ragans had a conflict for this meeting but presented SWCC with options for taking a tour of OACES to learn more about the education/workforce preparation that is offered: following are the dates offered:

  • Tuesday, 11/14 at 11 a.m. or 1 p.m.

  • Thursday, 11/16 at 11 a.m. or 1 p.m.

• Two OACES students were recognized as Students of the Year for NYACCE (NY Association for Continuing/Community Education) last week and attended a ceremony in Albany. Students were also given a tour of the Capitol.

• Six OACES staff attended the Toyota NCFL (National Center for Families Learning) Conference; one speaker was Magic Johnson, a strong supporter of family literacy. Staff bringing new ideas back to OACES setting.

• Three OACES staff are being trained to staff the NEDP (National External Diploma Program) that OACES will offer as another alternative to earning a High School Equivalency. NEDP is an applied performance assessment system that assesses the high school level skills of adults and out-of-school youth. The NEDP evaluates the reading, writing, math and workforce readiness skills of participants in life and work contexts.

Walk-in Items

• Mary announced the plight of a Rochester father who was deported to Haiti recently despite a strong community contingency to reverse the decision, which was based on one altercation in 1999. Reggie Castel has been a hard worker and good father. The School Board took a unanimous position to support Mr. Castel and a request has been made to Cuomo to reverse the decision. There will be a fundraiser on 11/11; more information on FB at “Lets Bring Reggie Castel Home” or you can contact Mary Adams.

• ProsperRochester is hosting their 4th RocSOUP micro-funding event on 12/2 from 4-7pm at the 1872 Cafe. The last event awarded $750; the fundraising goal for this event is $1,000. Detailed information about RocSOUP and applications are available at the Cafe or online at www.prosperrochesterinc.org.

• 19th Ward Schools Committee now meets on the 1st Tuesday of the month @ 7pm at the Association Office on Thurston.

Scribe Services: Eleanor Coleman, ProsperRochester Inc., 224-5119, eleanor.coleman@gmail.com