A Little Worm On a Big Hook
02 February 2005 ~14:00hrs
I thanked the stars that I have such good friends and co-workers that would be concerned about my well being enough that they would let me borrow their car, so that I could attend the third institutionalization meeting of the Prometheus Project dry. I was ahead of schedule until I ran into the aftermath of a horrible accident on the Econlockhatchee Trail Bridge that had the road blocked off completely. The detour directed traffic all the way down to Dean Road. I had grabbed my lunch, a spicy salmon roll from Whole Foods, on the way, but I was coming to the realization that I wasn’t going to get there in time to eat it before the meeting. Upon my arrival to Valencia Community College’s East Campus, I was almost immediately lost—the building was not where I thought it was. I finally found the location of the meeting, I could tell that I was in the right place because the oaken-oval table was surrounded by suits, ties, and impeccably pressed blouses—I was feeling really glad that I had decided to dress-up; the wannabe consulting-anthropologist must look the part. The meeting had already started, but a gentleman with kind features pointed me to a chair and I had a seat. Wishing to be a fly-on-the-wall, I sat at a chair along the wall away from the table, but the attendees insisted that I sit among them. The introductions were swift enough to make my head spin and my pen scribble, but I knew I was among Valencia’s executive-cadre.
Attendees included: Dr. Joyce Romano, Interim Vice-President of Student Affairs; Dr. John Scolaro, Prometheus Project Program Director and Humanities Professor; Dr. Daniel Dutkofski, Dean of the Humanities Department and Professor of Humanities; Ann Puyana, Assistant Vice-President of Curriculum Development, Teaching, and Learning, and Advisory Committee Member; Jeff Davis, Resources Development Specialist and Advisory Committee Member; Elizabeth Eschbach, Professor of Humanities and Advisory Committee Member; and Ida Diaz. With all of these honchos sitting at the table, I knew it would be wise to listen to the voice of my mom in this case—ears open; mouth shut. But I did manage to get two words out during the meeting, though it wasn’t on purpose, more like a knee-jerk reaction. Dr. Scolaro was trying to figure out the name of the document he had received for press purposes, and without thinking I blurted-out: Press Release. I stared at the agenda trying to figure out how I could contribute to a project that had some of Valencia’s best and brightest at the helm—ears open, son.
First matter of business on the agenda was to go over current enrollment status. It was mentioned that the ideal class-size for this course was about twenty students: enrollment for the course taught on Monday nights at the Coalition for the Homeless peaked out at thirty-five students; enrollment for the course taught on Thursday afternoons at the Center for Drug-Free Living topped-out at thirteen. It was discussed that students not enrolled in the course are still authorized to attend a class to get a taste of what it is all about.
Next on the agenda was the confirmation of the class dates and hours. The subject of honorariums for tutors came up, Dr. Dutkofski proposed looking in to work-study because that route may be beneficial to tutors receiving financial aid.
Next up was an overview of the course syllabus. It was discussed that in order to met the required fourty-five hours of classroom time, this course would be taught as a hybrid course, meaning that there are thirty hours of contact-time scheduled, and there will be fifteen hours reserved for off-site events and weekend activities. Some of the off-site possibilities include: attending events in the Shakespeare Festival, attending a movie at the Enzian, and writing labs to assist students in honing their writing skills. The actually course name and roster number were discussed, the course will be considered an upper-level humanities course—Special Topics in the Humanities: The Prometheus Project. Dr. Romano stated that she would assign the class a roster number (CRN). She then stated something to the effect that Valencia’s “Start Right” initiative will be implemented in this course like any other, meaning that if the student misses the first class then they will not be enrolled in the course—this is a student-centered initiative—because we want to make sure the students start the course right; on-task and on-time.
Last-minute needs and concerns were addressed next, such as the issues of books, transportation, etc. There is an issue with transportation. A representative from the Center for Drug-Free Living expressed a concern for the students’ transportation after the course ends. It was brought up that this is a safety and liability concern. Dr. Scolaro said that he would provide transportation “informally”. Dr. Romano advised against this notion because if anything happened it wouldn’t be just John Scolaro mentioned in the news, but rather Doctor John Scolaro, faculty member of Valencia Community College in Orlando, Florida . . . . It was decided that the Prometheus Project cannot assume liability; the solution was to acquire money to get the students a cab or a bus pass.
Perhaps the most important part of the meeting was covered next. The Prometheus Project, as of 01 February 2005, is now the proud recipient of the Florida Humanities Council (FHC) Grant, but with this honor comes additional responsibilities for the organization. Mr. Davis distributed the proposed budget for the grant year and explained that in order to keep receiving the grant, the Project needed to meet certain obligations. The following are key-obligations that must be completed throughout the year: After Action Review- a summary report must be conducted on a yearly-basis by an external evaluator; Dr. Robert Flick has elected to fulfill this obligation. All promotional items need to be consulted on by FHC’s media representative and there must be emphasis on the pivotal role the FHC played in the Project. Also, the team had to devise and present at least two or three times on the Project every quarter.
The final topic on the agenda was a brief synopsis on plans for the future. I jotted down that I could help in assembling a presentation and present it if authorized (I figured that this would be especially helpful, and it would give me rationalization-ammo to get Apple’s KeyNote software). Ms. Puyana asked if, logistically, the project looked like a go. The room fell silent for a heartbeat as everyone present felt the intensity of the question. Dr. Romano answered enthusiastically, “YES—it looks like a go! I will handle the registration once the applications are completed.” This brought up a quandary that I knew all too well. Some of the applications were incomplete for lack of proper residency information, which would seem like a no-brainer, but if we want the state of Florida to subsidize two-thirds of our students’ tuition costs, we have to prove to the state that said student is a Florida resident—this proves extremely problematic when working with the homeless—because they don’t have a residence to help them prove to the state that they are resident.
The meeting concluded with smiles and handshakes; this was a big moment for the project, and even if I was just a little worm on a big hook only there taking notes, I still felt proud to be a part of it. I let my mind wander into the abyss of problem-solving and what it would be like compiling a presentation on the project; I poked at my warm sushi in the rain, and thought of how many laws I would have to break if I was to make it to Dr. Tavernier’s class on time. Overall, I was excited and looked forward to the first FHC grant-funded class to kick off next week.
I thanked the stars that I have such good friends and co-workers that would be concerned about my well being enough that they would let me borrow their car, so that I could attend the third institutionalization meeting of the Prometheus Project dry. I was ahead of schedule until I ran into the aftermath of a horrible accident on the Econlockhatchee Trail Bridge that had the road blocked off completely. The detour directed traffic all the way down to Dean Road. I had grabbed my lunch, a spicy salmon roll from Whole Foods, on the way, but I was coming to the realization that I wasn’t going to get there in time to eat it before the meeting. Upon my arrival to Valencia Community College’s East Campus, I was almost immediately lost—the building was not where I thought it was. I finally found the location of the meeting, I could tell that I was in the right place because the oaken-oval table was surrounded by suits, ties, and impeccably pressed blouses—I was feeling really glad that I had decided to dress-up; the wannabe consulting-anthropologist must look the part. The meeting had already started, but a gentleman with kind features pointed me to a chair and I had a seat. Wishing to be a fly-on-the-wall, I sat at a chair along the wall away from the table, but the attendees insisted that I sit among them. The introductions were swift enough to make my head spin and my pen scribble, but I knew I was among Valencia’s executive-cadre.
Attendees included: Dr. Joyce Romano, Interim Vice-President of Student Affairs; Dr. John Scolaro, Prometheus Project Program Director and Humanities Professor; Dr. Daniel Dutkofski, Dean of the Humanities Department and Professor of Humanities; Ann Puyana, Assistant Vice-President of Curriculum Development, Teaching, and Learning, and Advisory Committee Member; Jeff Davis, Resources Development Specialist and Advisory Committee Member; Elizabeth Eschbach, Professor of Humanities and Advisory Committee Member; and Ida Diaz. With all of these honchos sitting at the table, I knew it would be wise to listen to the voice of my mom in this case—ears open; mouth shut. But I did manage to get two words out during the meeting, though it wasn’t on purpose, more like a knee-jerk reaction. Dr. Scolaro was trying to figure out the name of the document he had received for press purposes, and without thinking I blurted-out: Press Release. I stared at the agenda trying to figure out how I could contribute to a project that had some of Valencia’s best and brightest at the helm—ears open, son.
First matter of business on the agenda was to go over current enrollment status. It was mentioned that the ideal class-size for this course was about twenty students: enrollment for the course taught on Monday nights at the Coalition for the Homeless peaked out at thirty-five students; enrollment for the course taught on Thursday afternoons at the Center for Drug-Free Living topped-out at thirteen. It was discussed that students not enrolled in the course are still authorized to attend a class to get a taste of what it is all about.
Next on the agenda was the confirmation of the class dates and hours. The subject of honorariums for tutors came up, Dr. Dutkofski proposed looking in to work-study because that route may be beneficial to tutors receiving financial aid.
Next up was an overview of the course syllabus. It was discussed that in order to met the required fourty-five hours of classroom time, this course would be taught as a hybrid course, meaning that there are thirty hours of contact-time scheduled, and there will be fifteen hours reserved for off-site events and weekend activities. Some of the off-site possibilities include: attending events in the Shakespeare Festival, attending a movie at the Enzian, and writing labs to assist students in honing their writing skills. The actually course name and roster number were discussed, the course will be considered an upper-level humanities course—Special Topics in the Humanities: The Prometheus Project. Dr. Romano stated that she would assign the class a roster number (CRN). She then stated something to the effect that Valencia’s “Start Right” initiative will be implemented in this course like any other, meaning that if the student misses the first class then they will not be enrolled in the course—this is a student-centered initiative—because we want to make sure the students start the course right; on-task and on-time.
Last-minute needs and concerns were addressed next, such as the issues of books, transportation, etc. There is an issue with transportation. A representative from the Center for Drug-Free Living expressed a concern for the students’ transportation after the course ends. It was brought up that this is a safety and liability concern. Dr. Scolaro said that he would provide transportation “informally”. Dr. Romano advised against this notion because if anything happened it wouldn’t be just John Scolaro mentioned in the news, but rather Doctor John Scolaro, faculty member of Valencia Community College in Orlando, Florida . . . . It was decided that the Prometheus Project cannot assume liability; the solution was to acquire money to get the students a cab or a bus pass.
Perhaps the most important part of the meeting was covered next. The Prometheus Project, as of 01 February 2005, is now the proud recipient of the Florida Humanities Council (FHC) Grant, but with this honor comes additional responsibilities for the organization. Mr. Davis distributed the proposed budget for the grant year and explained that in order to keep receiving the grant, the Project needed to meet certain obligations. The following are key-obligations that must be completed throughout the year: After Action Review- a summary report must be conducted on a yearly-basis by an external evaluator; Dr. Robert Flick has elected to fulfill this obligation. All promotional items need to be consulted on by FHC’s media representative and there must be emphasis on the pivotal role the FHC played in the Project. Also, the team had to devise and present at least two or three times on the Project every quarter.
The final topic on the agenda was a brief synopsis on plans for the future. I jotted down that I could help in assembling a presentation and present it if authorized (I figured that this would be especially helpful, and it would give me rationalization-ammo to get Apple’s KeyNote software). Ms. Puyana asked if, logistically, the project looked like a go. The room fell silent for a heartbeat as everyone present felt the intensity of the question. Dr. Romano answered enthusiastically, “YES—it looks like a go! I will handle the registration once the applications are completed.” This brought up a quandary that I knew all too well. Some of the applications were incomplete for lack of proper residency information, which would seem like a no-brainer, but if we want the state of Florida to subsidize two-thirds of our students’ tuition costs, we have to prove to the state that said student is a Florida resident—this proves extremely problematic when working with the homeless—because they don’t have a residence to help them prove to the state that they are resident.
The meeting concluded with smiles and handshakes; this was a big moment for the project, and even if I was just a little worm on a big hook only there taking notes, I still felt proud to be a part of it. I let my mind wander into the abyss of problem-solving and what it would be like compiling a presentation on the project; I poked at my warm sushi in the rain, and thought of how many laws I would have to break if I was to make it to Dr. Tavernier’s class on time. Overall, I was excited and looked forward to the first FHC grant-funded class to kick off next week.
posted by TechNutz at 10:45 AM
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