NNER Governing Council Meeting
October 4, 2007
Charleston, West Virginia
Attended: Josefina Tinajero, Dan Lowry, Cindi Chance, Betty Lou Whitford, Mary Ellen Finch, Leslie Wilson, Gayla Holmgren, Jeanne Gerlach, Jennifer Robinson, Ann Foster, Greg Bernhardt, Carol Wilson, Robert Hoffert, Gene Edgar, Deb Shanley, Steve Baugh, Jim Lowham, Marijke Kehrhahn, Jean Eagle, Nick Michelli, JoNancy Warren, Sarah Steel, Dennis Potthoff, Jonatha Vare [Guests: Sam Hausfather, Ken Jones, Tom Clark, Van Dempsey]
- Election of Governing Council Chair 2007-2009:
Greg Bernhardt agreed to stand for reelection and was reelected unanimously.
In accepting the role, Greg reflected on the past and future, and noted that we need to address the research agenda clearly as an area that has not been successfully addressed in the previous two-year term of office.
- Not for Profit Status Update:
End of the year report from Paula McMannon included a Fund Balance of $324,608.02.
- Budget:
A four-month budget (September 1 through December 31, 2007) was proposed based on the current budget. This budget will cover the transition to the new fiscal year (attached PDF document). A motion to adopt the four-month budget (attached PDF document) was made by Jim Lowham and seconded by Dan Lowry. The motion passed unanimously.
A twelve-month budget January 1 through December 31, 2008 (attached) based on the current annual budget of $128,000 was proposed. This budget included the contracted services with the IEI, website and newsletter support, and bookkeeping as well as ongoing costs for salary, meetings, and travel. Motion to pass the twelve-month budget was made by Dan Lowry and seconded by Mary Ellen Finch. The motion passed unanimously.
- Conferences:
2008 Conference—Jeanne Gerlach presented preliminary plans for the 2008 conference to be held in Arlington, Texas, October 2-5, 2008. The theme will be “Looking to the Past to Inform the Future.” A question had been raised regarding a reduced fee for students. A motion was made by Deb Shanley to have the hosting setting and planning group look into possible reduced fees for students for 2008. This was seconded by Cindi Chance. The motion passed unanimously.
2009 Conference—Greg Bernhardt proposed that the 2009 conference be held in Seattle, Washington. This will be the 10 year anniversary of In Praise of Education and there was general support for this location. Gene Edgar, representing the University of Washington setting, said that the College of Education (UW) would provide leadership for the planning. This offer was enthusiastically accepted by the governing council.
- Tripartite Council Report:
Chairs Jean Eagle and Nick Michelli noted that it was a positive meeting with good suggestions, and with a good opportunity to participate. Role-alike conversation included: accreditation and highly qualified teachers; A&S passion for content and teaching; P-12 representatives examined the AED as it supports the partnership; NCLB and what access and equity look like in schools—growth vs. gaps and the reality of a punitive vs. reward context; and that A&S support is needed for P-12 educators. Notes from the tripartite chairs are attached.
Equity Self-Study—Ken Jones and Julie Canniff reported on USM’s work providing a thorough follow-up from their two years of piloting the equity self-study. The need to move to the critical friends process was addressed. It was suggested at the Governing Council meeting that the NNER use the conference as an intermediate step in this process, and develop a forum for small groups (a few settings) to explore specific topics related to the equity work. Betty Lou Whitford cited an example of a tool that would help with this process.
Next steps: Greg and Ann will work with Jennifer Robinson and Jeanne Gerlach to infuse this into the 2008 conference.
A&S Engagement—We need to continue to find ways to fully engage A&S; it was noted that there was a low number of A&S participants at this year’s tripartite meeting. The online journal is moving forward and John Anderson presented the work to date. John Skillings contributed $10,000 as seed funds to get the project started. There will be a meeting at Miami University this winter to develop the structure.
Discussion on Policy Influence—NNER can inform policy but not lobby. Examples could come from the Governing Council. Carol Wilson will add this to the next Executive Board agenda. One example of how a nonprofit can engage with policy is to use research to inform and promote conversation. The discussion on informing vs. advocacy included suggestions to gather groups to engage in conversation rather than advocate for positions; individuals can write op ed pieces that inform the public on specific issues. The executive board and executive director were charged with researching what can done within the nonprofit guidelines and requirements and will bring the information to the next Governing Council meeting.
Annual Report Feedback from the Tripartite Council—The Tripartite Council members bring an abbreviated or bulleted version outlining the setting’s annual report to the meeting. This would allow more engagement with the concepts and less time reading a detailed report and the setting can submit the final report after the meeting. It was also suggested that within the Tripartite Council meeting time, using an abbreviated report format there could be more exchange rather than the three setting conversation tables now used. - iNET/NNER Collaboration Update:
Nick Michelli and Tom Clark proposed a co-sponsored international policy symposium by the NNER, CUNY, and iNET. The international policy symposium is proposed to include the US, UK and Australia.
The Governing Council agreed to proceed on the planning and the modest financial investment ($750) in the symposium. The planning group is holding the following dates: Thursday, Friday and Saturday before AERA; examples of possible topics are teacher shortages, and leadership as conceptualized in the different cultures. There was a possibility that the dates and location of this symposium might be altered as the planning moved forward during the next couple of days at the NNER conference. Finally, a clear link between the work of the NNER and the Agenda for Education in a Democracy is essential in the planning and the event itself.
- Summer Symposium 2007:
There was agreement that the format works well for initial leadership development related to the NNER and AED and that we should continue to sponsor this symposium. We need to set the dates soon. We will look at mid-July again.
This year the symposium had 33 participants. With the executive board’s volunteered time, we realized a $17,000 profit. We will look into ways to invest this into setting support.
A discussion followed. How do we measure success? Feedback from participants, interest, and follow-up at the settings would help with this measurement, and the NNER might consider tracking the leadership development in the settings. It was estimated that the next meeting would most likely be in held around the middle of July as in 2007 and 2006.
- LTPS: This year’s principal group is full; there were many strong candidates. The teacher leader group will select participants within the next two weeks. The June 25-27, 2008, culminating session is intended to include teams from the university, central administration, and partner schools. There are a limited number of scholarships available. For those who do not receive scholarships, the fee is $300. Feedback from past participants suggests that the time provides good opportunities for teams to learn each others’ perspectives and roles as well as learn more about the possibilities of partner school work. Check the NNER website for more information or contact Ann Foster.
- CSEE: This work initiated by Jon Cohen defines and measures school climate. There is a strong possibility that there will be funding to do this work and that the NNER districts can receive support to participate in the measurement process.
- 10.McGraw-Hill:Twelve books are underway to be published next year, and there are still opportunities to publish. Contact Nick Michelli for more information if interested.
- High Flying Schools: Georgia Southern sponsors this recognition. The nomination process and details on the conference are on the NNER web page.
- Technology: Web use proposal by Ken Jones—he received compelling teachers’ stories and has not found a publisher. The proposal is to use the NNER website to post the stories of democratic practices, and connections of practice with the AED. There was support from the Governing Council to make this work. Numalinda Florence was suggested as a possible partner for this. Ken will send the overview to Greg and Ann. Among the logistics to address is a committee to review the work. Other considerations are soliciting and getting approval to post the stories and having a function that allows interaction and learning from the stories.
- Comments by John Goodlad: John joined the group and offered his suggestions as we move forward, reminding the group that it has always been his hope that the NNER would grow into an independent organization that stays focused on the AED and its application in the day-to-day work in our institutions. He also noted the importance of including community within our partner work toward educational renewal.
- Adjournment: It should be noted that there were several items related to technology and membership recruitment that were not covered due to a lack of time.
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