MS 54 Booker T. Washington Middle School

PTA GENERAL MEETING - DRAFT

January 12, 2006

Meeting called to order at 7:05 pm Juanita Douglas, PTA Co-President, Presiding

Welcome; Announcements

· Auction Committee meeting Wednesday, January 18 at 8:30 am in Anne Pejovich’s office. Parents are encouraged to attend and help out!

· International Dinner set for 3/23 6-8:30 pm

· Auction May 5 – mark your calendars!

Minutes from previous meetings (12/8/05, 11/17/05) approved with corrections

Principal’s Report; Dr. Elana Elster

· ELA tests next week: 6^th grade: Tues, Weds, Thurs; 7 & 8^th grade: Tues, Weds. Makeup Friday.

· ID cards have been distributed. Library bar code on back. Concern brought up about children wearing ID tags outside of school with names visible; security issue. Dr. Elster will speak with teachers. Children can purchase a BTW lanyard.

· Report cards. School will be accelerating the processing of report cards so that parents can review prior to parent teachers conferences. Looking in to ways to improve parent teacher process. Suggestions can be sent to Joe Gurvets (jgurvets@gmail.com) and Dr. Elster (eelster@nycboe.net).

· Parent Teacher conferences in February

· Graduation: based on feedback from parents, will be the same as last year. Ceremony at Riverside Church 6/15, 5:30 pm. Total dues for students is $85.00, which will include cap & gown, pictures, t-shirt and awards. Senior trip not planned yet. There are 330 graduates. Dance tentatively set for 6/16.

· Outdoor lunch: no change for year. The auditorium is available for 7^th & 8^th graders on inclement days.

· Uniforms: no further discussion at SLT as yet.

· Tile work: work is going smoothly. Have only needed swing room once so far.

· Implementation of new teacher contract/ change in school day. There will be a reduction in the school day for those children meeting standards (3&4 on standardized tests): 6^th grade dismissed at 2:05, 7 & 8^th grade dismissed at 2;40 starting February 6^th. Those students in need of remediation (scoring 1 or 2 on standardized tests) will stay for additional small-group class time. 405 students, approximately 40% of BTW population, is in need of remediation. Additional class time will be either TWTH or MTWTH depending on teachers, who must vote.

- Parents are encouraged to voice their opinion on this change; contact Joel Klein jklein@nycboe.net

- A NYT reporter wants to hear from parents on how this change is affecting them; contact Larry Wood if you wish to be interviewed.

- Suggestion that rather than have classes at end of day, those children in need of remediation come in at the current start time; those students not receiving additional class time should start at a later time.

- After school starts at 3:30; the school cannot supervise children from dismissal until the start of afterschool. This may severely impact attendance.

- For those children qualifying for additional classtime, attendance is mandatory.

Treasurer’s Report

Financial report distributed. We have reached goal for capital drive. Congratulations! We still want full participation from parents – please send your donation in. Everything we raise goes directly to enhancing our children’s education. This is the earliest date in the school year that we have met our goal!

Committee Reports

School Leadership Team. Liz Goldfarb reporting. SLT meetings 2^nd Wednesday of the Month at 7:20 am. Parents are welcome to attend. There is now a bulletin board in hallway that will have SLT minutes, agendas and schedules posted. Looking for parent volunteers to participate on subcommittees: technology, communication, calendar, transitioning, special education, ELL/ESL, building. Working on updating addendum to CEP.

· Grants. Anne Pejovich reporting. The committee is about to submit a grant application to Mr. Hollands’ Opus for $5,000 for instrument repair. Several parents will be going to the Center School to look at their greenhouse space. VH1 grant in progress. Ruth Miller is working on a packet for teachers regarding Donors Choice. Anne Pejovich is applying for a grant through Donors Choice. One of our teachers was able to get 10 scientific calculators donated through this program. Request for any parents who have contacts with our politicians. Now is the time to request funding.

Technology. Liz Goldfarb reports that parents, teachers and administrators met recently. A needs assessment has been conducted with teachers. This will be used to set goals and vision for technology.
Auction. Anne Pejovich reports next meeting will be Wednesday, 1/18 at 8:30 am. Date of auction (5/5) is firm, we have committed to space. Flyer going home to parents on Friday. Our goal is two donations per family.
Graduation: Betsy Lind & Juanita Douglas chairing. Meeting with Columbia 1/26 to review space and costs. 6/16 tentative date for dance. Current pricing from Columbia is $500 space rental, then $30/person. Last year they charged $1400 and it was pot luck. Parent volunteers will be needed – 7^th grade parents needed to chaperone dance on 6/16.
International Dinner. Set for 3/23 6-8:30 pm. Juanita Douglas to chair. Flyer is in works. Will need volunteers; contact Juanita. This is a potluck, family event. We hope whole community can join us.
Student dances. Custodian waiting to hear from CSA about space availability. TENTATIVE dates: 2/10 – 8th grade, 4-6 pm; 3/10 7^th grade, 4-6 pm; 3/17 6^th grade 3:30-6 pm.

Old/New Business

The Interschool Orchestra of New York will be performing at school on 2/17 for all the students.

RAFFLE FOR Box of Chocolates (raffle for attendees of PTA meeting): Winner was Mark Diller

DID YOU MISS A PTA MEETING BUT WANT TO FIND OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING? GREAT NEWS! YOU CAN READ THE MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS ON THE WEBSITE: