WALTERS STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

MID-EAST TENNESSEE REGIONAL P-16 COUNCIL MEETING

MEETING THEMEà  P-16: Springing into Action

Minutes Summary

DATE:                         April 10, 2008

TIME:                          9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

PLACE:                       Walters State Community College,

Duggins Foundation Room, Morristown Campus

ATTENDANCE:          47 attendees

ORDER OF DISCUSSION:

SUBJECT:                    Welcome & Opening Remarks                                              Dean Linda Roberts

HIGHLIGHTS:             Linda Roberts welcomed members to the Mid-East TN Regional P-16 Council April meeting.

SUBJECT:                    Updates – Review of February Minutes                                  Dean Linda Roberts

HIGHLIGHTS:             Minutes from the February meeting were distributed to each council member present.  The minutes were reviewed and approved by the council with a motion to approve by Michael Collins and seconded by Gary Seal.

SUBJECT:                    Updates – Math Workshop Review                             Dr. John LaPrise

HIGHLIGHTS:             Dr. John LaPrise, Dean of Mathematics, Walters State Community College, reported a successful math initiative.  The Math Bowl Competition scheduled for April 24, 2008 will be held at Walters State Community College hosting 350 (6^th – 8^th grade) middle school students.

SUBJECT:                    Updates – International Festival Review                    Amanda McClure

HIGHLIGHTS:             Amanda McClure updated the council on international activities.  The International Festival was a success and this year’s attendance increased by 15% with representation of 15 countries.  The International Club is planning several upcoming events such as the Day of Dance, the International Festival 2008 in the fall with an International Accelerated Greek Performance, a Holocaust survivor, an Ecuadorian group, a spring event, and more.  Spanish translations were completed for admissions documents, study tips, financial aid.

SUBJECT:                    Updates – TN P-16 Network Meeting Update             Dean Linda Roberts

HIGHLIGHTS:             Linda Roberts and Cathy Woods attended the TN P-16 Network Meeting in Nashville. Dr. Steven Portch, Chancellor Emeritus of the Georgia Board of Regent and the person responsible for the vision of P-16, and the Teacher Quality Award, spoke at this meeting as well as several other noted speakers.

SUBJECT:                    PC459 Dual Credit                                                     Ms. Cathy Woods

HIGHLIGHTS:             With the advent of the PC459 legislation Cathy Woods discussed how Walters State intended to address the legislation to create dual credit courses within academic areas.  The academic area of dual credit included humanities, science and math, but also was expanded to include the many current dual credit AAS programs within the technical areas of the college.  Dual credit by definition was cited by Ms. Woods as “– a postsecondary course that is taught at the high school by high school faculty for high school credit.  Students are able to receive postsecondary credit by successfully completing the course, plus passing the assessment developed and/or recognized by the granting postsecondary institution.  The institution will post the credit upon enrollment of the student.   Ms. Woods stated these courses were scheduled to roll out during the 2008-9 school year.

SUBJECT:                    Math Initiative:  Closing the Loop                            Ms. Tanya Morgan                                                                                                                             Ms. Nancy Brawley

HIGHLIGHTS:             P-16 gives the opportunity to share with parents and community leaders how we can close the loop from educated citizens to a healthy economy.  The efforts of P-16 have made a difference by providing math workshops and meeting the goals of freshman students. 

                                    Tanya Morgan spoke along with a successful student, Veronica Crebbs, describing the activities in which Tanya has been able to provide success results in Sevier County as a result of her participating in the workshops. Tanya discussed how to improve ACT scores.  A committee was formed under the direction of Dr. Debra Cline to look at the strengths and weaknesses of the preparation for ACT testing.   A “Problem of the day” was instituted similar to ACT. Together they formed a Test Prep class of 2 groups of students switching between Ms. Morgan and another teacher, which created a successful approach to ACT improvement.  After working with this initiative, student Veronica Crebbs retook the ACT and raised her composite score by 4 points.

                                    Nancy Brawley, a Cocke County Schools teacher, spoke and advised the group to “tell the truth” to students.  She admitted that she is frustrated and that something is wrong with education.  She asked for surprise visits to her classroom for assistance and suggestions for improvement in her classroom.  She discussed technology in the classroom and ACT tutoring.

SUBJECT:                    Best Practices Springing TN Forward                                   Mr. Jim Hageman

                                                                                                                        Mr. Eli Matijevich

                                                                                                                        Mr. Edwin Jarnagin

                                                                                                                        Mr. James Atkins

HIGHLIGHTS:             Mr. Jim Hageman, Hawkins County Supervisor, discussed the TN Diploma Project and major concerns in Tennessee.  He suggested aligning the curriculum, teaching what the students need to know, teaching standards, and preparing students in depth rather than teaching more

Mr. Eli Matijevich, Jefferson County, shared the vision of the task force in Jefferson County. He discussed the 6 key initiatives that Jefferson County identified that needs to be addressed for a healthier county. Several of these initiatives are areas aligned to the goals of P-16.

Mr. Edwin Jarnagin and Mr. James Atkins, Grainger County, awed the council with a slide show of the new Grainger County High School.

SUBJECT:                    P-16 Councils: A Community Effort                            Mr. Steve Hill

HIGHLIGHTS:             Mr. Hill emphasized the value of P-16 to both the educational system and to the community. He focused his discussion on the prior presentations and how they best represented what a local council P-16 council could bring to a community.  He further volunteered his services in assisting others in forming a local council.  Mr. Hill brought to the group the vision of the local P-16 council in Union County, with higher education for their high school graduates a targeted initiative for their council.

SUBJECT:                    Local Council Updates –                                            Ms. Lynn Elkins

Hamblen, Claiborne, Union Counties                          Mr. Sam McCollough

                                                                                    Mr. Wayne Goforth

HIGHLIGHTS:             Council updates were provided by each P-16 council present.

SUBJECT:                    Action Items / Announcements

HIGHLIGHTS:             The following announcements were made:

·         LITA Conference (Technology Focus), Morristown, WSCC – April 16, 2008

·         Math Bowl Competition, WSCC - April 24, 2008

·         2^nd Annual Literacy Institute, Greeneville – June 16-20, 2008 (Robbie Mitchell, Director of Professional Development Center, Greeneville City Schools) 

·         Next P-16 Council Meeting Morristown, WSCC,– September 11, 2008

The meeting adjourned at 12:45 p.m.

Special Thanks to Phillips Food Service for lunch.

Respectfully submitted by Tammy Wells