Hollywood United Neighborhood Council

HOLLYWOOD UNITED NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL
EDUCATION & YOUTH COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2006
5:30-6:30PM
Teachers’ Lounge – CHEREMOYA AVE. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
6017 Franklin Av. Los Angeles, CA

1. Welcome – Meeting called to order at 5:35pm.
5 Stakeholders present – Gary Slossberg (Committee Chair, Board of Directors), Erin Dabbs, Jennifer Christie, Jim McQuiston, Lucy Grigorian

2. Approval of Minutes from 7/12/06 Committee Meeting – Minutes approved.

3. Public Comment: Items not on the Agenda
Jim McQuiston – Jim spoke about the City of LA Commission for Children, Youth, and their Families and specifically about the Child Safety Taskforce, which meets once a month. It’s a very active group that promotes the use of the “Watch the Road” signs. Jim recommended that the committee work with Cheremoya to see what direction traffic goes in the morning to find appropriate placement of these signs. The Commission has put together a TV campaign to try to encourage safe crossing of the streets as well as safe driving, in light of the high number of child traffic fatalities. The Commission is also sponsoring a series of workshops in October to promote traffic safety. Their website is www.safetynkids.org.

4. Old Business
A. School/Youth Involvement in October Mayor’s Day of Service - The committee decided that it would be good idea to get students’ input into what projects they would like for the Day of Service. To aid them in the process, the committee will provide students with a list of possible projects and ask them to circle their favorites. Students can also write-in projects not already listed on the sheet. Jennifer agreed to begin a brainstormed list of possible projects. The committee said it would also be nice to involve youth in community projects, not just ones for school.
B. School/Youth Involvement in Firefighter Festival – The festival is on Saturday, Oct. 7. Jennifer will send Gary information about the festival to make a flyer to send to local schools to get youth involvement in the event. Nicole Lynch was recommended as a good contact at Immaculate Heart. The committee also will conduct its 2nd annual essay and art contest, asking students write or make artwork about firefighters as heroes in the community.

5. New Business
A. Newsletter with Articles Written By Students To Raise Funds For Area Schools – Gary brought up the idea of developing a newsletter in which students can write articles about their school and community and HUNC can provide the operational costs. The newsletter could be received by stakeholders on a subscription basis to raise money on schools. Jim raised a number of questions about the legality of selling subscriptions. Another idea would be to leave copies of the newsletters at locations in the community to save on postage costs or to send it out as an E-newsletter. Idea tabled to a future meeting.
B. October/November Event to Promote Nonviolence – The committee approved a weeklong program to promote nonviolence in schools. Students will wear ribbons and teachers will be provided with bios of famous figures in history who have used nonviolent methods to resolve conflicts (i.e., MLK, Gandhi). The class that has the highest percentage of students wearing ribbons throughout the week will get a grant for a classroom party. Jennifer recommended getting a student from a local at-risk school to speak to elementary students about the “wrong turns” in their life through using violence. The committee approved bringing a motion to the next Board meeting to approve money for the ribbons and for the classroom grants.
C. Selection of Committee Co-Chair – Gary Slossberg recommended Erin Dabbs to be nominated as Co-Chair of the committee and was unanimously approved by the committee.
D. Education and Youth Committee Goals for 2006-2007 School Year – tabled to next meeting
E. List of Field Trip Ideas – Jennifer will begin a list of possible field trips as well as logistical info for teachers to plan field trips and to get help from HUNC in securing buses and funding from the Council office.
F. School Wish List – Jennifer will create a draft wishlist form to be approved by Committee Co-chairs and then to be approved by school for distribution to teachers and staff

Meeting adjourned at 6:53pm.