Meeting Minutes Of

Meeting Minutes of

ABSS Automotive

Advisory Committee

February 4, 2014

Meeting Date: February 4, 2014

Location: Western Alamance High School

1731 North NC 87

Elon, NC 27244

Members Present:

Marshall Zimmerman – Dick Shirley Chevrolet, Cadillac & Mazda

Don Smith – Retired Automotive Instructor

Daniel Johnson – Pureflow/ Johnson Classic Motor Cars

Dennis Frye – ABSS CTE Director

Stephanie Mitchener – WAHS Career Development Cordinator

Rebecca Marsh – WAHS CTE Assistance Principle

Duane Norris – Metric Motor Sports

Terry Drummond – CTEC Auto Instructor

Douglas Neese – CTEC Auto Instructor

Eric Stone – Western Alamance Auto Instructor

Kayli Wolford – WAHS Current Student/Minute Taker

New Members Present:

Brandon Williams – Former Student/Diesel Technician

Members Absent:

Jerry Yates – Alamance Community College Auto Instructor

Joe Sakowski - Snap-On Tools

Marc Hunter - Alamance Community College Auto Instructor

Troy O’Shields – Westcott Buick

Dr. Dace Lewis Jr - Consumer

Tony Holland – Crenshaw Hyundai

Chris Dubbs – Carolina Nissan

Hunter Duff – O’Reilly Auto Parts

Jimmy Lewis – The Tire Center

Randy Minor – O’Reilly Auto Parts

Bill Crabtree - Alamance Community College Auto Instructor

Steve Childres – The Tire Center

Guests Present:

Jim Pressley – NC DPI Automotive Consultant

The Western Alamance High School Automotive Advisory Committee convened at 6: 30 PM in the WAHS Agriculture/Horticulture classroom # ( Tech 1) to allow adequate room to serve dinner to the advisees . Mr. Stone welcomed the committee and thanked them for taking time from their busy schedules to meet with us. Mr. Stone asked Stephanie Mitchener to bring the invocation and members were served dinner catered by the Culinary Arts Department from ABSS Career & Technical Education Center.

Meeting commences at 7:29 pm in the WAHS Automotive Classroom # (Tech 5)

Mr. Stone welcomes the committee to Western Alamance High School. WAHS is up for recertification and the accreditation expires in June of this year. Due to the lack of complete filing from the previous instructors, Mr. Stone has decided to “start from scratch” and apply for an initial certification. He shows the Employer and Advisory Committee Survey and asks that the committee complete it. The survey includes a grading scale that rates the tools and safety means setup within the shop. He announces the switch to the MLR (Maintenance and Light Repair) curriculum. He then proceeds to allow the committee to view his teaching competency and credibility. He begins to speak of his reason for teaching. Introduces Brandon Williams and Kayli Wolford; they are his “success stories”. Highlights the pertinence of offering the students of WAHS more internship programs and asks the employers of the committee (rhetorically), “What do you look for?”. Thanks the committee for attending because without them, these programs are impossible.

Mrs. Mitchener announces her job title as the WAHS Career Development Cordinator. She begins by comparing the shop at WAHS now to the quality of it previously. Mr. Stone’s time was well spent and the shop is now in great condition. She relates back to Mr. Stone’s mention of the WAHS Internship Program. This is a great opportunity and experience for the students. An internship is important as it determines whether the student will love or hate the career. The program here at WAHS is successful as, on average, there are 40 internships per semester. Mrs. Mitchener discusses details of the internship program: minimum of 10-12 hours a week, time sheets must be completed, and the student must have at least 135 hours per semester. There are both paid and unpaid internships in which the student can earn money as they learn or they relate the internship to an alternative classroom. Announce the possibilities of possible internships with fellow advisees. One day, these interns could be their employees. Asks the committee if there are any questions, and there are none.

Mr. Stone shows the advisees his NATEF application, which requires 540 hours of teaching. Then shows the self-evaluation form he completed in which each standard is graded 1-5 based on the competency of the instructor (1 being incompetent and 5 being fully competent). Mentions that there are 10 standards and some of them are difficult to cover when there is a piece of equipment needed (i.e. a hybrid vehicle). Mr. Stone and the advisory committee give the automotive program an average of four on the self-evaluation.

Mr. Drummond introduces himself as he begins to elaborate on NATEF. NATEF is great for schools and they do not wish to see anything less than a four on the self-evaluation form. This form is usually requested by NATEF when an instructor is applying for recertification. After the application is sent to NATEF, it takes 30-60 days to grant the ETL (evaluation team leader). He advises the committee to view Mr. Stone’s competency. NATEF now operates on the new July 2013 Standards.

Daniel Johnson, while completing the Employer and Advisory Committee Survey, asks what “efficiency” means when pertaining to the curriculum.

Mr. Drummond explains that “efficiency” is the sufficient qualities of the curriculum, which there are. The curriculum focuses on MLR rather than a particular system. The question is also asking if Mr. Stone is doing a good job teaching the curriculum.

Daniel Johnson asks if there is a definite curriculum.

Mr. Stone proceeds to show the curriculum as he pulls up Today’s Class (today class.com) and logs in to the teacher account. There are many different classes available through Today’s Class and he shows an example through the Engine curriculum. The animations in the webpage in combination with hands-on work are great for students. The diagrams on Today’s Class make it easier to explain how something works. Safety is also part of the class taught through Today’s Class.

Mr. Drummond mentions that Today’s Class also provides tasks that the students complete in “task sheets”.

Mr. Stone shows an example of a student portfolio that includes the task sheets for the class the student took. An example of a task may be to bench bleed a master cylinder. The teacher then grades the students’ capability of performing this task through a rating system. The scale goes from 1-4, 1 meaning “Student has mastered task”, 2 meaning “Student can perform task with assistance”, 3 meaning “Student cannot perform task”, and 4 meaning “Student not exposed to task”. Each class has its own tasks and/or task sheets. Each student has a portfolio that shows his or her grades and accomplishments. This portfolio can be shown to a potential employer.

Mr. Drummond says that these task sheets are also cross-referenced with the teacher’s accomplishments and NATEF uses these to scale the requirements of a teacher.

Mr. Stone explains that some of these tasks are hard to accomplish without the proper equipment and these are not counted against the student. He reiterates his credibility information and survey being available to the advisees. He then lays out a form from NATEF requiring signatures from advisees that believe Mr. Stone is credible.

Mr. Drummond states that he is proud of NATEF and introduces Dennis Frye (New ABSS CTEC Director). To increase the program, they hope to advance the curriculum and test structure: to strive to better.

Mr. Stone formally introduces all present members (see list on page 2).

Committee members spoke amongst themselves regarding equipment that could be added to the shop at WAHS.

Mr. Stone asked for final questions.

Mr. Frye asked if there is a way for the business industry to keep in touch with Mr. Stone throughout the year, even informal contact. Mr. Frye asked the group to send the business industry professionals to WAHS that could help to benefit the Automotive Department at WAHS.

Mr. Drummond stated that the Advisory Committee must meet at least twice a year. A separate page of Advisory Committee news is available on the CTEC (Career and Technical Education Center) website. Mr. Drummond assures the committee that the automotive department is taking and using the committee’s suggestions. He thanks the group for their help and support.

Mr. Presley (from DPI in Raleigh) states that he attended a meeting earlier today and there are some changes coming between DPI and NATEF. He also mentions that internships are important for the students.

Marshall Zimmerman asked how many students are in Mr. Stone’s classes.

Mr. Stone said that there is a maximum of 20 students allowed in the classroom due to space (and there are only 20 laptops), but there has been as many as 26 students in the past. The laptop ratio needs to be 1:1 using Today’s Class because there are periodical quizzes the student must take.

Mr. Neese (automotive instructor at ABSS CTEC) stated that their main focus is the kids and they want to “help students find a way in life after high school”. They want to turn out the best product (the students) for the business industry.

The committee is advised to visit the shop and is thanked for attending. It is recommended to stay in contact through email.

Lastly, the tire balancer donated from Mr. Neese is spoken of; it requires 220 volts and it needs wiring (there is not a proper outlet within reach). Mr. Frye took some notes on this matter and said he would look into getting the ABSS maintenance department to properly wire the shops electrical system to accommodate the tire balancer.

Mr. Stone then asked again if anyone else had any questions or comments, no one respond.

Mr. Neese once again thanked everyone for their time and adjourned the meeting after a brief summary of the topics of discussion.

Meeting adjourned at 8:34 pm on the Tuesday of February 4, 2014