Loading...
HAAB Minutes 11/18/1999 Minutes Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board Meeting November 18, 1999 II"'. I/#Cbez- ?~. HISPANIC AFFAIRS ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES OF MEETING of November 18, 1999 at the Golden Gate Community Center Golden Gate City, Florida PRESENT: ABSENT: /David Correa, HAAB Member Maria Grimaldo, HAAB Member Frank Loney, HAAB Member Pete Cade, HAAB Member Faye Reddick, HAAB Member Andrew J. Fox, HAAB Member /Christopher Bent, HAAB Member Dora Vidaurri, HAAB Member Ramiro Manalich, Chief Assistant County Attorney and HAAB Staff Liaison Member Forrest Cotten, HAAB Liaison from County Administrator's Office Also Present: Heriberto Hartnack, Citizen Emelina Hartnack, Habitat for Humanity Beth Thompson, Collier County School Board Santo H. Pino, Manatee Middle School Principal Michael Lasiewicki, Manatee Middle School Counselor Rosario Medina, Manatee Elementary School Counselor The meeting of the Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board of Collier County (HAAB) for November 18, 1999 commenced at approximately 7:05 P.M. A quorum of seven (7) members was present. David Correa, Chairman, stated that Ina Kelly could not be here this evening. She had to attend a school board meeting. Chris Bent moved to approve the October 27, 1999 meeting minutes. The motion was seconded by Frank Loney. The minutes were approved unanimously by the Board. David Correa stated that while Ina Kelly could not be here, she has submitted a proposal for a cultural diversity grant. The grant would be used to instruct health students about multi-cultural communication. He stated that she wants the Board to be a business partner. As a business partner, one Board member would attend Walker Institute to speak about cultural diversity. He asked if there was a motion for the Board to be a business partner. He explained that the funding received by the Institute would be used to obtain CD-ROMs and other materials to teach the course. Dora Vidaurri inquired as to how many times the chosen Board member would need to be available to speak to the students. Would it be one time only, or perhaps once a month? David Correa clarified that it would be for one time only. Ramiro Manalich stated that it would be advisable for the Board to clarify the term., "business partner" so as not to be misinterpreted as the Board "going into business" with the Walker Institute. Chris Bent said that Ramiro's point was a good one. He added that "business partner" is somewhat misleading in this context, and perhaps even unnecessary. Chris Bent moved to accept the Walker Institute's proposal with the clarification that the Board is only agreeing to speak to their class, and is not "going into business" with the Institute. The motion was seconded by Dora Vidaurri, and approved unanimously by the Board. David Correa stated that he would personally contact Ina Kelly to inform her that HAAB will send a representative to speak to their class. He added that Beth Thompson, Collier County School Board, was in attendance and asked her what can HAAB do to bring up the test scores of Hispanic students in Immokalee and East Naples. Beth Thompson stated that getting parents involved in the education process was the first step in accomplishing this task. She stated that parents must read to their children. She added that in East Naples, Manatee Elementary has a resource teacher that works with students and targets first and second graders. She stated that this lowers the class size and provides a class with two instructors, which lowers the student/teacher ratio to 10 or 11 to 1. Manatee Elementary has a morning language-tutoring program. She stated that Manatee Elementary has applied for a HOST mentoring grant from the State of Florida She mentioned that Manatee Elementary has received $15,000 from a local foundation to purchase non-fiction books for kids. Finally, she added that Avalon Elementary is working on getting parent reading nights implemented at community parks. Frank Loney commented that the diversity in Collier County is not made up of permanent residents. Rather, these are transient residents, and he inquired as to whether we have the necessary capabilities to help these kids and their parents. Santo Pino, Manatee Middle School Principal, stated that these residents are not as transient as they used to be. They are staying longer, and the parents are transitioning from the farming industry to the hotel industry for their employment. He added that since the charter school kids left his school that test scores are up 240 percent. He said that many people do not realize that Manatee Middle is a "C," almost "B" school. However, Manatee Elementary is rated "F," primarily because the kids there simply don't speak English. He stated that by the eighth grade, he usually has the kids in his school "OK." He mentioned that the elementary school kids come to his school primarily from Manatee Elementary. Mr. Pino commented that Manatee Middle School's free and reduced lunch program has expanded rapidly, and that his school is receiving Title I funds from the Federal Government. He stated that there was no comparison between Manatee Middle, and his former school, Pine Ridge Middle School. He noted that in schools with high migrant populations, you need more funding. Dora Vidaurri asked if what was needed was more parental involvement. Beth Thompson responded that Collier County schools have "Parent Nights." Dora Vidaurri inquired if each school was implementing the literacy programs in place individually. Beth Thompson responded that it started at Manatee Elementary and has expanded from there. Frank Loney inquired as to what about the language barrier. Dora Vidaurri asked if there were any incentives for teachers to involve themselves with these extra programs. Santo Pino stated that there were not. He added that every elementary, middle, and high school gets the same fund allocation. He asserted that we need to acknowledge the differences between schools, and we need a new funding formula. Faye Reddick commented that it has been said that educators pay "lip service" to parental involvement. She stated that it has been said that the academic community has an attitude of tolerance to parents. Because there is such "disaffection" between educators and parents, helps to explain the evolution of the charter schools phenomenon. She noted that the system would fail if educators make excuses instead of addressing parental issues. It's a daunting task, she stated. She said that we must educate parents as well as children, otherwise we will fail. She asked the educators in attendance if they envisioned a role for community services to assist in this effort. Santo Pino responded that there is funding, but it needs to be reexamined and redistributed. He noted that Manatee Middle School has obtained three grants to enhance their programs. He added that Manatee Elementary does get parent volunteers, but Manatee Middle has only had two parent volunteers in the past five years. Faye Reddick asked what the schools are doing to address this. Michael Lasiewicki, Manatee Middle School Counselor, stated that he visits homes to work with parents and kids. He commented that often times, parents say ... "I'm making my money, I'm building my home in Mexico, then I'm gone." As a result, parents don't push their kids to do better than themselves. Parents aren't making their kids do their homework. Frank Loney commented that he is from Costa Rica and his kid is 6 years old and loves to read. He said that we're dealing with culture shock - our schools have Hispanic and Haitian children in them. He noted that from the perspective of a Costa Rican, that we push our kids. Michael Lasiewicki acknowledged that there are cultural differences. He noted that kids need structure. There are kids that are failing miserably, and he tries to find out what is. , wrong. Chris Bent commented that the Board is hearing passion and caring from the school representatives that are in attendance. He said that he keeps hearing that it is the parents that are at fault, and that we need to hear the success stories in order to emphasize what is going right. Other families need to learn about it, so they can learn how to do it. Rosario Medina stated that she felt we shouldn't generalize the issue. Rather, we should ask how we could make it better. She noted that there is a lack of education amongst parents, and we should ask how we could help them. She said that she has some ideas, but that first and foremost, parents must become more involved in their children's education. She noted that many parents work two or more jobs and they say, "What can we do?" "I need to provide food and shelter for my children." Dora Vidaurri inquired as to whether counselors in all schools make home visits. Santo Pino responded that this practice was more common in elementary schools, less common in middle schools. Dora Vidaurri asked about Immokalee specifically. Beth Thompson stated that every school has a home school liaison that may be shared amongst a couple of schools, but that every school has their own counselor. David Correa stated that many Hispanic parents work two or three jobs, but that they still love their kids. Santo Pino mentioned that he grew up in Little Italy in Pittsburgh. He stated that his grandmother took care of him. He added that "grandma" is the glue in the black community. However, he acknowledged that those are things of the past. "We don't have that anymore," he said. He discussed the problem with high school dropouts and the need for vocational training and public transportation. Forrest Cotten stated that there would be a transit operations kick-off meeting tomorrow at the Collier County Government complex. Santo Pino commented that we need to look at the growing number of children in our community. He specifically mentioned the Golden Gate area in just the last four years. Dora Vidaurri asked if this phenomenon has been made known to the School Board. Beth Thompson responded that the School Board looks at staff numbers and ratios every year. She stated that there is additional funding going toward two "F" schools in the County . -, Dora Vidaurri stated that she has learned that Title I moneys are being used to train teachers how to handle kids, and she questioned the appropriateness of this. Beth Thompson responded that teachers need constant staff development and training just like any other profession. Chris Bent noted that he would like to see what "model parents" are doing. Michael Lasiewicki conveyed the story of a Mexican family and that the parents made a point to attend "Parent Night." He stated that this sent a clear message to their child that they are watching. Chris Bent commented that we need to make these success stories more visible. F aye Reddick noted that it needs to be in their language. Rosario Medina mentioned that we need more Hispanic professionals in Collier County Schools. Chris Bent commented that we need to find a way to recognize students and parents. Michael Lasiewicki stated that he goes out to homes, but still can't get the parents into the school to participate. David Correa noted that it is hard to get Hispanic parents out for a number of reasons. Santo Pino stated that we need to grow our own. He wants kids to get their degree, and give back to the community. He commented that we are losing our kids, they're leaving us. Frank Loney noted that we don't give them an incentive to stay. He said we don't recruit from the inside, and he doesn't know why. We went outside for an administrator for Collier County. Dora Vidaurri said that she has noticed that we need an after work program for translating homework, etc. Santo Pino responded that there is a "homework hotline" in place. When someone calls in, they leave a message, and someone calls them back and helps them with their homework. Rosario Medina mentioned that they are doing a "homework club" at Manatee Elementary. She stated that the Learning Connection has helped them with the program. She offered that they need more resources in order to expand the program, and that meeting transportation needs is key to having a successful afterschool program. Santo Pino mentioned that at Manatee Middle School, they are going into the neighborhoods to teach after school so that the kids can walk home afterwards. This helps solve the transportation problem. Dora Vidaurri inquired about opening a room in the respective neighborhoods with 1 resources. Beth Thompson stated that the "Anchor Project" provides a means of tracking those children that are on the travel circuit. This is important because when they return, we know how they have been doing while they were gone. Rosario Medina added that the children have a computer at home so they communicate while they are away. Santo Pino mentioned the "Harmony Project" as a successful program where the curriculum is actually being written to include the migrant and immigrant experience. This came as a result of the "Anchor Project." He stated that they hope to obtain a $200,000 grant to move this project along. The kids will have a "portfolio" they can carry with them as they move around. Beth Thompson commented that the School Board is looking at bilingual education and teaching all children from kindergarten to eighth grade the Spanish language. She said they are looking at a variety of teaching models. Frank Loney stated that he understood that program. He said most Latinos learn at least two languages in their schools. Barbara Brown, Collier County Outreach Coordinator for the Department of Children and Families, stated that matching funds were needed from the County for the "Healthy Kids" program. She stated that Collier County was one of only three counties in the state that doesn't support the program. She said she would like to see the County Commission support the program, and make a decision to fund it by January 2000. David Correa inquired if she was asking the HAAB to ask the County Commission for matching funds. Barbara Brown added that the hospital supplies some money, but that more is needed. A motion was made by David Correa, and seconded by Chris Bent, for a letter to be sent to Pamela S. Mac'Kie, Chairwoman, Board of County Commissioners (BCC), by the HAAB asking the BCC to endorse matching funds from the County for the "HealthyKids" program. Copies of the letter are to be sent Senator Saunders, Representative Goodlette, and Representative Rojas. A unanimous vote in favor of the motion occurred. At this time, Santo Pino and Beth Thompson were excused from the meeting. Emelina Hartnack, Habitat for Humanity (HFH), brought up the issue of housing and stated that HFH is building 80 homes in Naples and another 187 homes in Immokalee. She added that 80% of the homeowners are of Hispanic origin. David Correa reminded Ms. Hartnack that the focus of tonight's meeting was educational issues. However, he added that the HAAB would have her back for the January or February meeting when the focus would be on housing issues. Chris Bent stated that those were astonishing numbers, in terms of what HFH is doing for the Hispanic community. Frank Loney mentioned that HFH is a nationwide organization that has had a presence in Naples for the past six years. Dora Vidaurri asked if HFH is informing the community of their presence. Emelina Hartnack responded that the community has been made well aware of HFH's presence, and that HFH has too many applications and a waiting list. David Correa reminded the Board that there will be a future meeting to discuss housing issues. Chris Bent added that the HAAB appreciates HFH's efforts to improve housing in this area for the Hispanic community. Forrest Cotten provided a brief report on the library hours at the lmmokalee and East Naples branches. Ramiro Manalich passed around copies of a positive article about the HAAB that appeared in a recent edition of the Naples Daily News. He mentioned that the Board ought to take advantage of the momentum that they have at present. He commented that the Board needs to provide a report of its activities to the BCC at some point in the near future. He also stated that the HAAB needs to address some outstanding attendance issues at its next meeting. David Correa informed the Board that he has been communicating with a disc jockey from WXLO Radio. The radio station has said they will announce future meetings of the HAAB in Spanish. It was agreed that there would be no December meeting and that the January meeting would be held at the Golden Gate Community Center. Faye Reddick read from a memo that she distributed to the Board. She said she has . coordinated a number of speakers for the January and February meetings of the HAAB. The February speaker (Dr. Lascheid) is only available to speak on either February 15 or 16. The Board agreed that there would be no December meeting. The January meeting will be held on Monday, January 17,2000. Health issues will be discussed. The February meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 16, 2000. Both meetings will be held at the Golden Gate Community Center. The March meeting will be held in Immokalee on the third Wednesday in March. The meeting was then adjourned. Prepared by: Forrest E. Cotten, Liaison v{" .JJ 2~o I . Approved by the Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board on the~day of January 2900. ~\QIQ~ David Correa, Chairman Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board