Present: Cynthia Black, Rhonda Burnett, Rosa James, Pattie Mansur, Bonnie McKelvy, George Postma, Kay Postma, Bobbie Radford, Helen Ragsdale, Linda Ransom, Susan Rice, Curt Roberts, Reginald Taylor, Linda Williams

The meeting was called to order at 12:05 p.m. by Mrs. Ragsdale.

Opening Remarks: Mrs. Ragsdale expressed her appreciation for the cooperation she has received from the LCPA Task Force members & the community. Part of the purpose of the Task Force is to assure that parents understand what�s going on in the District and the community. She restated her long-term commitment to LCPA. Mrs. Postma expressed gratitude to Mrs. Ragsdale for her continuing support. Dr. Postma remarked on the favorable press coverage LCPA has been receiving for high academic achievement and expressed appreciation for the good education students receive at LCPA. The minutes from the January 9 Task Force meeting were reviewed and approved.

Update from Lincoln Prep., Middle School: Mrs. Black, Vice Principal, reported that not only was Alicia Glover District Student of the Month for November, but Sam Cordes was District Student of the Month for February. The middle school National Academic League (NAL) has won the District competition and will participate in the NAL National Tournament. Also, a team of 13 students from the middle school placed 1st in the Knowledge Master Open in the Kansas City metropolitan area, 2nd out of 37 middle schools in Missouri and 68th out of 928 middle school in the nation. In addition, middle school students participated in the Thinking Cap Quiz for the first time this year. LCPA middle school placed 1st in Missouri in the 8th grade category, competing with 48 8th grade teams. The students also placed 1st in the 7th & 8th grade category, competing against 71 teams. Finally, LCPA middle & high school teams placed 4th in their divisions in the regional Science Olympiad tournament and will participate in the state competition. Jahna Riley, a middle school student, participated in the Jackson County Spelling Bee in March.

Recruitment for the middle school seems to be going well. Visits have been made to 33 elementary schools & Knotts Elementary 5th grade students have visited the middle school. Currently 111 6th grade students are enrolled for the next school year. The 6th grade student capacity is currently set at 171. Ms. Scholes, Associate Principal, is placing phone calls to eligible middle school students encouraging them to enroll in LCPA. Two additional standardized testing sessions were held on Feb. 16 & Mar. 3 with 179 students testing during these sessions.

High School: Ms. Williams, Vice Principal, reported that a picture of the Lincoln High School graduating class of 1909 has been given to the school. The staff and students are busily preparing for MAP testing and completing scholarship applications. A new Counselor has begun at the high school to work with upper level students in the college application process.

The courses and schedule for next school year and summer school is currently being designed. The possibility of arranging the Computer curriculum to eliminate Word Processing as a high school Practical Arts requirement was discussed. The location for summer school classes for LCPA students has not been determined. The middle & high school buildings will be under renovation this summer. Ms. Williams noted that student usage of after-school tutor is increasing. Ms. Williams stated that the Senior Computer Lab is currently available to any students as long as they have adult supervision. Renovation plans include relocating the Library/Media Center to the ground floor. The possibility of offering additional standardized testing sessions for potential high school students who need higher test scores to meet the entrance requirements was discussed. Students returning to the District from charter schools need only apply through the Admissions Office as their test scores are already on record. Ms. McKelvy outlined the mechanism for state revenue following the students as they transfer into and out of District schools.

Committee Reports:
School Advisory Committee (SAC): Mrs. Postma reported that the March SAC meeting has been rescheduled for Thursday, Mar. 15, due to inclement weather. Mrs. Postma discussed efforts to seek input from parents regarding proposals to change the bell/start time beginning next year. Parents expressed their concerns regarding the early bus pick-up times, lengthy bus rides for students, safety factors regarding students waiting at bus stops in the dark, early morning hours, and studies which have shown that teenagers biological clocks cause difficulty with functioning at peak performance following awakening early. Concerns were also expressed regarding timing after-school activities such as athletics, tutoring and extra-curricular events when the dismissal time is delayed due to later start times.

Alumni - Historical Designation: Mr. Taylor reported that a hearing date before the Landmarks Commission for the historic designation for the high school building has been set for March 23 in the Council Chamber on the 26th Floor of City Hall, 414 E. 12th St., KCMO 64106. The session convenes at 8:30 a.m. Mr. Taylor outlined the process of the hearing. He is encouraging people to either attend the hearing and speak in favor of the application to receive historic designation or to send letter of support to the Landmarks Commission at the address given above. Publicity plans were outlined which included information on the radio and in newspapers. One benefit to having a historic designation is to preserve the ethnic history that the high school represents as it was the first secondary school in Kansas City for African-American students and initially the only school built for African-American students. Another benefit would be to protect the building from surrounding redevelopment. A historic designation for the high school building would require that future plans for exterior renovations receive a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Landmarks Commission to assure that the overall integrity of the building be maintained and that building materials be reused in the renovation to the extent possible. If national designation as a historic landmark is received, some funds may be available to assist with renovations. Mrs. Ragsdale noted that four capital improvement proposals for interior renovation, exterior doors and windows, site work and pool renovation have been approved by the Finance & Audit Committee of the Board to be forwarded to the School Board for approval at the March 20 meeting. Mrs. Ragsdale outlined plans to submit a proposed resolution to the School Board to support the application efforts.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:05 p.m.

The next Task Force meeting will be:
Tuesday, May 8, at 12:00 noon in the LCPA high school building

Submitted by:
Kay Postma