BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
WEDNESDAY, June 18, 2008
Reports
SECRETARY’S REPORT – Arlene Miguel
Minutes of the Meeting of the Executive Board April 23, 2008
Members present: Norma Cole, Stewart Armstrong, Arlene Miguel, Denise Boule, Lois Short, Nancy Nettik, Colleen Limoges, Janice Mowry, Gerry Foley, Michele Humbryd, Bob Mitchell, Joanne Valk, Dan Kelley, Madeline Perrault, J. Pelletier, John Golden, Joe Millitello, Bill Fasano, Deb Zepp
Members absent: Joseph Crowley, Richard Lepore, Catherine Oneppo, Linda Succi, Roy Seitsinger, S. Ruscito
Meeting called to order by: Denise Boule at 4:20 p.m.
I. Secretary’s Report (A. Miguel)
Motion made to accept the Minutes of the Executive Board
by Stewart Armstrong, seconded by Bob Mitchell. Motion passed.
II. Treasurer’s Report: (D. Boule)
See report.
Report accepted, Dan Kelly; seconded by Stewart Armstrong.
III. President’s Report (J. Crowley)
No report.
IV. Executive Director’s Report (J. Golden)
See Executive Director’s Report.
Highlights: A letter will be sent to the Board of Regents on behalf of the RIASP board in regards to the ProJo editorial asking for the Commissioner’s firing. RIASP expressed support for the commissioner, but the letter was never published by either ProJo or local papers.
The Governor is about to take control of education and may propose that state testing be counted one third toward graduation proficiency. The Regents are clearly divided on this. Regents will vote on regs on May 15.
A question was asked as to whether it would help if parents expressed their support for graduation by proficiency…perhaps an email campaign to the judge. John will send out information about this.
V. NAESP Report (N. Nettik)
See report.
(a) Ten principals attended the conference in Nashville. The focus of the conference was on Vision 2021. NAESP leadership and board are very involved in decision-making. It is important that people know what we do and why we do it. Tara and Nancy have attended several workshops about this.
(b) Be sure to vote in the NAESP election.
VI. NASSP Report (L. Short)
See report. Highlights:
(a) Need more information on eligibility requirements for election to the board.
(b) It was unanimous to NOT have NASSP Board present during the Board of Nominators meeting.
(c) Requested more education on the election process.
(d) Requested more publicity about the governance process.
(e) Suggested having the state coordinator involved in the counting of ballots.
VII. RIASP Committee Reports
Professional Development (D. Kelley, J. Valk)
The location for the summer conference has been finalized at Johnson & Wales. There are three parts: program development, assessments, and re-culturing schools.
State and Federal Relations (C. Limoges)
Colleen completed the Federal Relations training. Legislators need stories and numbers. Three handouts were given to board, ESEA, congressional leaders and investing in education and what principals can do.
Retirees (M. Perrault, R. Lepore)
See report.
May 29—retirement meeting in Bldg #6 at 4:30 PM. The pension system is being targeted. Change probably won’t happen this year.
Assistant Principals’ Network (J. Pelletier)
No report.
Newsletter
Send articles to Madeleine Perreault.
Membership
Membership is up in secondary, down in elementary, but overall the same. There may be fewer members next year due to building closings, etc.
VIII. Other Committee Reports
RIIL/RIPCA Athletics (D. Boule)
No report.
RIDE (R. Seitsinger)
Sent thank you’s to principals via John Golden. Workshops being offered by RIDE on social studies standards on May 23,24,25,26,27.
STATE CERTIFICATION- (S. Ruscito)
This may be an inactive group at this point.
RIMLE (C. Blanchette)
See report. Add one item: RIMLE is co-hosting with NELMS a teaming institute on August 12-13.
Also, notice the section regarding the RIDE MAP—Method for Analyzing Progress. RIDE is looking for input on this. Info will be taken from SALT survey regarding socioeconomic condition, data, and outcomes. RIDE may be discontinuing the SALT survey.
URBAN (C. Oneppo)
No report.
IX. Old Business
None.
X. New Business
1. Attendance at the last general membership meeting was only 42 people. There is no charge and people don’t show up. A raffle is suggested to draw more people or make the sessions more interactive.
2. Checkbook: we need to change the way we write checks. Susan does the paperwork and then it is mailed to the treasurer. This is not efficient. It is recommended that the treasurer provide oversight and explain the balance sheets. Give Susan the right to sign checks: provide at least two signatures. Motion: Change the checkbook signatures to three signatures, two required. The motion was made by Michele Humbyrd, seconded by Nancy Nettik. Motion passed. Motion: Create a line for Federal Relations travel. He motion was made by Lois Short, seconded by Nancy Nettik. Motion passed.
3. A review of the proposed Slate of Officers was conducted. Motion: Accept the Slate of Officers as proposed by the Committee. The motion was made by Madeleine Perreault, seconded by Dan Kelly. Motion passed.
4. Next board meeting is June 18.
5. Posting for Executive Director: Is there a need to post this job in the newspaper? Should it be someone who knows RI? We can use all the education lists to post it. It will be advertised in ProJo and on list-serves.
6. Elementary Principal of the Year: A motion was made to accept the committee recommendation by Stewart Armstrong, seconded by Joanne Valk. Motion passed.
XI. Closing Motion –
All motions, amendments, and action by the Executive Board of RIASP to date are reaffirmed and ratified.
XI. Adjournment – at 5:50 PM
Respectfully submitted,
Arlene Miguel
RIASP PRESIDENT’S REPORT – Norma Cole
I am very excited about my new role as President of RIASP. I appreciate and value the commitment and support of this organization for school leaders. As principals, we are facing an increasing number of issues that interfere with our role as leaders of curriculum and instruction. The impact of budget cuts and other political and legislative issues on the state and federal level affect the climate and capacity of our ability to develop and sustain true professional communities.
We are fortunate to have a strong leader in John who has represented us well through his advocacy, knowledge and commitment to RIASP and its members. As we begin our transition to a new Executive Director, we also must continue to tackle the challenges of being school leaders in a political climate that is often threatening. It is imperative that we continue to grow RIASP as an organization whose presence and voice has an impact on decisions that are made in public education. We must also provide the support and advocacy that assists our members in continuing the “real work” of being a school leader.
I look forward to working with John, our Board, and our new Executive Director and we move the vision of RIASP.
Respectfully submitted;
Norma Cole,
President
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – John Golden
The following are some of what has happened in the RIASP office since the last Board meeting:
- Although in my opinion the program was not as strong as it had be in previous years, the Executive Directors Conference in beautiful Vancouver from May 14th through the 18th provided me with some helpful materials dealing with non-profit board operations. I plan to share that information with the Board at our August meeting.
- We continue to move ahead with our planning for the summer conference as the receipt of registration forms from attendees and vendors is starting to pick up.
- The recent revival of the “Glucagon” bill in the General Assembly following an article in the Pro Jo by Bob Kerr is latest example of how unpredictable the legislative process is in RI.
- During the week of June 23rd, I will be working with the administrative team from Central Falls as part of the Title II Grant given to RIASP, Rhode Island College and the district. The work to this point has gone well, and we are all looking forward to an exciting, but challenging, week.
- The Learning First Alliance/Rhode Island continues to meet, and is currently planning for the “What Works” Conference in November (postponed from March) as well as the possibility of taking a stance on the question of a statewide common curriculum. Our next meeting will be a dinner meeting on Monday, June 23rd.
- Now that the work on the Rhode Island Leadership Standards based on the new ILLSLC Standards has been finished, I will be joining the Rhode Island Leadership System Steering Committee, with the responsibility of developing a comprehensive leadership system in the state, to play a role in that work.
- As reported earlier, throughout 2007-08 I have been participating in a series of one-day seminars sponsored by Brown University on the topic of diversity. The last of those seminars will be held on Thursday, June 19th.
- On a similar note, I participated in a “Cultural Learning Exchange” at the Roger Williams Park Casino on the evening of June 4th.
- I have a luncheon meeting on Tuesday, June 17th, with representatives of Horace Mann Insurance about possible ways that they can offer sponsorship support to RIASP.
- After being invited to join the committee that is working on the first revision of the BEP in 20 years, I attended my first working meeting last week. We have a loooong way to go!
- The Bob McGovern Scholarship Committee, chaired by Joe Militello, has finished its work by awarding $500 scholarships to students from LaSalle, Smithfield and Chariho. Of the $1500 needed to fund the awards, $1000 will come from Jostens and $500 from RIASP.
- I have met again with RIC Dean Roger Eldridge about some joint initiative that would use the RIASP Leadership modules as part of a RIC Leadership Program. Much more work remains to be done before this possibility becomes reality.
- On May 28th, I attended a New England Symposium on Performance Assessment that featured a number of Rhode Island high schools, all of which did a great job.
- On May 20th, I was the guest of RIMLE at a very nice dinner honoring top middle school students.
- The Governor’s Mathematics Summit on May 21st was little more than a rehashing of things that we have been talking about for months – if not years.
NAESP REPORT – Tara McAuliffe
[Tara is just coming on board as the NAESP Representative and has yet to begin her work.]
NASSP REPORT – Lois Short
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT – JoAnn Valk & Dan Kelley
[See information on the Summer Conference in the Executive Director's report.]
STATE AND FEDERAL RELATIONS/LEGISLATIVE REPORT – John Haidemenos and Colleen Limoges
[As the General Assembly ends its work for the 2008 session, RIASP can look back with pride at our stepped-up efforts to keep members informed about legislative happenings, but the passage of a number of bills that do not serve the best interests of our members or our schools is a reminder that there is still a lot of work to do.]
RIASP RETIREE’S COMMITTEE REPORT – Madeline Perreault and Sylvia Natale
ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS’ NETWORK – Joanne Pelletier
We have a tentative breakfast meeting set for Tuesday, September 16th at 7:00 a.m. at RIC Bldg #6. Please pencil it in on your calendars.
CERTIFICATION ADVISORY BOARD – Steve Ruscito
RIMLE LIAISON – Bill Fasano
To bring an update since our last meeting:
- We continue to be engaged in the conversations around the work of Leadership Standards for Rhode Island.
- The regulation work has not been completed as of yet and at the meeting held last week, the Regents continued to tackle the issue of the graduation requirements and how they are to be counted. At this meeting the directive was given for RIDE to present language that represented the work of the past three sessions so that they could move the document forward for approval. The next session is planned for the August meeting.
- The Middle and High School Principal breakfast was well received with a presentation Varsity Athletes Against Substance Abuse (VASSA: a Peer Leadership Program). RIMLE looks forward to the continuation of these breakfasts next year as the dialogue for both levels is important.
- The Scholar Leader Dinner was held on May 20th and was a tribute to the work of the teachers and parents of the students that were honored.
- The Teaming Course was completed this past month and proved to be highly successful. This opportunity is also available for high school leaders looking for an opportunity to study successful teaming implementation
- The work of Learning First Alliance/Rhode Island continues with the forthcoming conference in November.
- RIMLE’s professional development activities will continue throughout the summer with a new advisory course and a teaming institute which will be co-sponsored with NELMS.
- I will be representing RIMLE at the RIASP Summer Institute
- Finally, the RIMLE board Retreat is scheduled for August 7 and 8.
URBAN RELATIONS – Catherine Oneppo
The district is in the process of transitioning from Superintendent Dr. Donnie Evans to Superintendent Tom Brady. Providence is also in the process of offering summer workshops in literacy and numeracy that will be implemented in schools under restructuring or corrective action. The district recently received a new commissioner’s order that will continue to support Hope HS but also support all schools in Providence. All teachers are being required to complete 39 hours of professional development with some of those hours designated to mathematics.
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