Advisory Board Meeting

Thursday, May 26, 2016, 12:00 pm

Attendees: Mr. Elijah Cannon, Ms. Carmen Davis, Mr. Kadeem Dunwell, Ms. Ersa Hall, Mrs.
Victoria Haley, Mr. Cortez Harris, Dr. Anthony Rutledge, Mrs. Barbara Sims, Mrs. Tashina
White & Mrs. Lucy Wright
The meeting was called to order at 12:15 and the agenda overview provided by Lucy
Wright. Ms. White welcomed participants and facilitated introductions of members. Ms. Davis
gave an overview of the industry certification process and the expected role of the advisory
board members. Teachers provided updates within their respective areas. The following is a
summary of the items discussed during the meeting.
The group discussed how pathways help to prepare students for college plus introduce
and begin to prepare them for their desired career path. We also discussed the concern with End
of Pathway Assessments not being as successful as desired. Issues specific to Lithonia High
School were identified which included
(a) Ninth grader students not being mature enough or academically prepared to
begin a pathway compounded in this particular case by Lithonia Middle not having a
career tech program so the students have not been taught any computer basics or
applications when they arrive at high school.
(b) In some cases, students are not taking courses in order making it difficult to
understand the concepts in the next level. Ms. Hall said that the counselor make every
effort to schedule them in order when possible. Sometimes scheduling becomes an issue
when students come from other schools or it does not fit into other core requirements.
(c) Frequently, there are 1-2 semesters between the different course levels and
students do not retain the information therefore, face difficulty when taking the second

and third level courses. Mrs. White also pointed out that the beginning of Legal
Environment of Business requires that students have a handle on US History in order to
understand some of the law principles.
Another topic discussed was the lack of opportunities for student college/university tours
and opportunities for job shadowing and exposure to real work environments. Some of the
reasons cited were lack of funding, transportation and lack of parental involvement. The work
base learning program was discussed as an opportunity for some students but not for all
particularly when it came to association with pathways. Mr. Dunwell suggested that perhaps the
school could support an effort that is underway with Dekalb County to provide transportation to
preplanned and scheduled events to engage students afterschool.
Mr. Harris posed the question of How can we help? to which teacher in essence
responded, help with understanding what current industry requirement are and assist with
making opportunities available to students. Come into classrooms and share employability skills
and what specific job requirements are with students. Help students learn life skills and
understand expectations from job sites and from colleges. This discussion continued for several
minutes before the meeting was adjourned at 1:10 pm.

Advisory Board Meeting Agenda

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Call to Order

Mrs. Lucy Wright

Welcome & Introductions

Mrs. Tashina White

Industry Certification Process

Ms. Carmen Davis

Career Tech Program Updates

Career Tech Teachers

Comments & Input

All Members

Lunch
Remarks
Adjournment

Dr. Rutledge, AP