Berea City School District

Berea City School District

Business Advisory Council

Meeting Notes, May 10, 2013, Crowne Plaza

Present: Vicki Adams-Cook, Ben Baldwin, Nancy Braford, Mary Brown, Daniel Demby-Myers, Becky Elder, Cori Farris, Karen Frimel, Sarah Gaultier, Ryan Gorczyca, Jeff Grosse, Melissa Haskins-Berger, Amy Jambor, Lucy Kaber, Linda Kinsey, Linda Kramer, Wendy Mainardi, Emily McGreevy, Doug Miller, Paul Kish, Phil Kish, Jason Niedermeyer, Vincenzo Ruggiero, Jacqueline Muhammad, Lynne Stark, Rosalind Strickland, Tara Vozar, Sheri Williams

Wendy welcomed everyone to the meeting, and introduced Sheri Williams and Amy Jambor, who presented an overview of the Flat Classroom project. In addition to the Council members sitting in on the meeting and in the virtual classroom through their tablets, laptops or smart phones, Julie Lindsay, Director and Co-Founder of the Flat Classroom participated from Australia; as well as Lisa Durff, Flat Classroom moderator. Two students who were at Midpark, Alyssa and Erica, along with Council member Ben Baldwin, also shared their perspectives. Sheri and Amy described the Flat Classroom process, which includes using Ning.com as the environment where students introduce themselves. They collaborate on their projects through Wikis, and at the end they come together in a Student Summit, when they can see each other face to face online. Amy and Sheri expressed their appreciation for the continued strong support from district administration, and Karen Frimel noted that a major reason for their success has been the teachers’ own commitment and leadership. Sue Miller, instructional technology coach for the district, described a similar project she has been working on with elementary students, and Digiteen is used with the middle school.

As Mike Sheppard was out of town, Nancy reported that there is a lot of activity across the district, as we are approaching the end of the year, as well as much activity in Curriculum and the IT department related to the transition. She reminded everyone that there will be an open house at Roehm on Sunday, May 19, from 2 – 4 p.m., paying tribute to the history of the school; a similar open house at Berea High on Saturday, May 25, from 12 – 3 p.m., and a closing ceremony at Roehm on the last day of school, May 30, at 8:30 a.m., and a Last Bell tribute at Midpark that day at 11:30. Everyone is welcome to attend. She also mentioned that several high school students and teachers have already begun planning for a big Titan Day at Berea-Midpark the first week of school, which will have many activities designed to bring the students together to learn more about each other and set the tone for the school year.

Mary Brown reported that there are several buildings coming down in Berea, including the KFC and a house in Ward 1, which is one of the gateway areas to the city. This will provide more green space, and they will work with contractors on rebuilding some of the structures. Mary was also involved in a meeting at the Recreation Center to look at ways of expanding social activities for “tween-ers” (kids 11-16).

Wendy congratulated the Midpark team that won First Place in the annual J. A. Titan Competition this year, and thanked all the volunteers who had taught J.A. in the district this year – 69 classes. She also announced that she is retiring as President of Junior Achievement of Greater Cleveland, after 23 years, and that she would therefore also be stepping down as Co-Chair of the Council. She also announced that Tara Vozar had agreed to take over as Co-Chair, so we will be in good hands. Council members expressed their appreciation to Wendy for her leadership and many years of service to the group.

Items from the Go-Around

· Berea Rotary ink recycling project – they will put bins in businesses, schools, and collect them once a month for recycling – contact Linda Kramer if you would like to participate;

· The Cleveland Airport System will be making the TSA precheck available for frequent flyers; their annual Plane Pull will take place in July, with proceeds going to Special Olympics; check their website for details;

· Check Southwest General’s website to see progress through a construction cam and for open houses offered through the Southwest General Foundation to tour a mock-up of new rooms that are being built;

· Cuyahoga County libraries are celebrating their 90th anniversary; they have a tribute to Midpark in their display case at the Middleburg Heights branch;

· Remember to check Cleveland.com for news, they hosted their first Live Chat this week on prom safety; many changes are coming as the PD goes to a three-day home delivery; News Sun will remain once-a-week delivery on Thursdays;

· Friends of MH Library will have a used book sale June 20-23, coinciding with the Summer in the City; new email for Cori is

· Dash for Dignity will have 275 runners and will also include a Bone Marrow Drive, which will also be available at Brookview

· Polaris Culinary Team won the State Competition and placed 8th in the National Competition; their Technology Team placed 2nd in their National Competition

· Cleveland Clinic will have 135 summer interns starting soon, including Rachel Lambert, who was on our Council and is now at Ohio University; they are also partnering with NASA and will have 35 high school interns this summer; there will also be a two week program this summer (for the first time) with students leaving middle school on health care;

Please mark your calendars for next year’s BAC meeting schedule: September 13, November 8, January 24, March 14, and May 9 – 8 – 9:30 a.m. Contact Nancy if you would like to host a meeting.