Berea City School District
Business Advisory Council
Meeting Notes, January 18, 2013
Middleburg Heights Library
Present: Vicki Adams-Cook, Jay Albert, Ben Baldwin, Chuck Bichara, Nancy
Braford, Curtis Carnes, Tony Crea, Cori Farris, Ryan Gorczyca, Jeff Grosse, Sarah
Gualtier, Melissa Haskins-Berger, Linda Kramer, Lucy Kaber, Linda Kinsey, Paul
Kish, Wendy Mainardi, Theresa Meli, Doug Miller, Jacqueline Muhammad, Jason
Niedermeyer, Neal Postel, Rachel Rauscher, Brandon Soeder-Penner, Vincenzo
Ruggiero, Mohammad-Saad Siddiqui, Michelle Sales, Lynne Stark, Rosalind
Strickland, Emily Truong, Tara Vozar, Matt Watts, Brianna Zahir, Cindy Zbaeren
Wendy welcomed everyone to the meeting and asked Jeff Grosse to give the
Superintendent’s Update, since Mike Sheppard was not able to attend the meeting.
Jeff gave everyone an overview of the work of the district’s Safety and Security
Committee, since this is a topic on everyone’s mind right now
 Committee, composed of police & fire departments of all three cities,
principals, and community members, meets three times a year, and our
Security Plan is revised every three years.
 This year we added an additional step: 3 police chiefs, 3 fire chiefs, County
reps and FBI met to conduct a tabletop security exercise this fall at Berea
High. This was a drill based on an “active shooter” scenario, and we wanted
to make sure all communications were what they needed to be. This was a
very valuable exercise, as we found several communication gaps.
 In the spring we will do exercises in all three cities, only we will go beyond
“tabletop” and involve appropriate people to simulate what would happen.
The following spring we will do a full practice and include students.
 Based on the history and research of the events that have occurred, we have
begun training staff on ALICE procedures (Alert Lockdown Inform Counter
Evacuate), which are different than our previous lockdown procedures. Police
officers from all three cities worked with our staff on a 4-hour in-service, and
we will also be working with the Cleveland Clinic, whose program is very
similar (“Code Silver”). This can be included in our online staff development.
 Jeff also gave an update on the consolidation process: 200 new band uniforms
ordered; Junior High and High School schedule planners printed (with the
new Titans logo); it’s exciting to see how much more these students are being
offered than before. We’re also working on new athletic uniforms. Our
football workouts have begun for next year – these would usually involve
about 30 students, but this year 175 students are participating.
Rosalind Strickland gave a brief overview of the Cleveland Clinic summer
internship program, which started in 2005 with 41 students who were selected
for this nine-week, full-time, paid internship, and has grown to 170 students this
summer. They are now gearing up for next year’s program. In addition to the
internships, Rosalind noted that there is an eXpressions Program that combines
the science with art, literature, and math: where creativity and research meet.
This program adds new dimensions to the body of work. For the past five years,
they have partnered with the Great Lakes Science Center to display the winning
entries for eXpressions, but she was delighted to announce that this year the
work will be displayed at the Cleveland Museum of Art, from February 1
through the end of March.
Midpark students Saad Siddiqui, Theresa Meli, and Michelle Sales reviewed
their internship projects (Saad had a science internship in the orthopedic unit of
Lutheran Hospital; Theresa had a pharmacy internship studying acetaminophen
overdose; Michelle had a nursing internship on health literacy levels and the
correlation to age). Berea High student Emily Truong, who had a Creative
Learning internship, showed examples of her two main projects, which were to
communicate to prospective science interns to encourage participation, and mRi
(My Research Illuminated), which showcased three of the research projects in
creative videos. Finally, Berea high student Brianna Zahir showed examples of
the art she has done through the eXpressions Program each year from her
freshman year. She has won awards for her art all four years of high school, and
the program has led to awards in other areas, including a Gold Key Award at
Scholastic Art, and having her art displayed at the Cleveland Airport.
Reports: Chuck Bichara
 Two major construction projects – Southwest General Health Center and
MetroHealth, are on track and making good progress;
 5 Guys Burgers & Fries is going in at the old Denny’s location and should
be opening at the end of January/first of February;
 Two new tenants at Southland – Tuesday Morning and Cleveland
Furniture Bank
 The combined Chambers BizFest will take place January 31 at the
Crowne Plaza this year, 5 – 7 p.m. There are 120 exhibitors so far.
Wendy Mainardi: We now have 64 JA programs scheduled in the district, and
many Council members are already signed up as volunteers. The cost to provide
these classes is $26 per student, so JA has to raise the funds to support the
materials. Their big fundraiser, the Bowl-A-Thon, is coming up on March 2 at 7
different bowling centers (start times of 9 a.m., 12 noon, and 3 p.m.). If you or your
business is interested in getting a team together, please contact Wendy. This event
raises almost a third of their budget each year. This year’s goal is $325,000, and the
theme is “Show Your Spirit.” Wendy thanked the district, which always
participates to support JA.
Next Meeting: Friday, March 8, 8-9:30 a.m., Polaris Career Center.