2017 Summer Board Meeting Minutes (draft)

Board Meeting Minutes for June 24, 2017

Chicago, Marriott Hotel

Present:
Martha Bruckner, President
Eric King, President-elect (IA)
David Berliner, Director (AZ)
Carol Choye, Director (NJ)
Jim Harvey, Director (WA)
Lisa Parady, Director (AK)
Kevin Riley (NE)
Jack McKay, Executive Director (WA)

Meeting called together at 8:30 am.

Activities and Actions:

Minutes Approved:

Motion by Carol Choye, seconded by Lisa Parady, to approve the minutes for the March 2, 2017 Winter Board meeting and the March 3, 2017 Annual meeting be approved.  Passed.

Topics Reviewed: (See 2017 Summer Board meeting agenda for details)

  1. Fiscal and membership reports
  2. Corporate partnership.
  3. Federal and state compliance.
  4. Update on communications with members.

Discussions

  1. Membership Engagement: Discussed strategies for improved engagement with representatives from each state.

Approved:  To identify one person in each state to act as a liaison for feedback on (a) state issues, (b) identify state leaders in education, (3) email addresses to expand HML Post readership, (4) potential future members of the League.  Targeted groups:  Professors of Ed. Ad, Aspiring Ed. Ad. Students, Public school leaders in each state.

  1. State Visibility: Discussion on increasing HML awareness by working with state administrator associations with state executives. Brent Clark and Lisa Parady initiate activities.
  2. Communications about Public Education: (See Bagin’s notes below.)
  3. Discussion with Rich Bagin about via video conferencing.

Combat the negative.

  • Saving accounts
  • Opportunity accounts
  • Vouchers
    • Do’s:
      Great public schools
      Shouldn’t be left to chance
      Neighborhood schools
      Vouchers are not accountable
      Serving 90% – only 10% other
      Vouchers weaken public schools
      Serious about what works
    • Many ways to improve
      Public schools the best
      Well qualified teachers
      Wide range of curriculum
    • Vouchers – giving a few more options for the 10%
      The need to do more about public education – how do we help?”

Tool kit for superintendents

  • Content messaging
  • Keep it alive – give them content
  • Use of social media
  • Ability to localize
  • “See for yourself” campaign – Patrons’ Tour
  • Has to be easy for the busy superintendent
  • Most be lasting – regularity- consistency
  • At the local level
  • Sample letters and Op. Eds.
  • Letter to the editor for Supt, Board Member, Teacher, Parent,
  • Op Ed article for use by the above.
  • Letter to state legislator.
  1. Where is the data to support the particular reform effort? e.g., testing
  • Keep it as simple as possible
  • Does it play locally?
  • What is our saying or message?
  • Is it the truth?  Does the truth provide meaning?
  • Establish a network, e.g., Key Communicators
  • Network for reaching the movers and shakers of the community
  • Is there a sustaining message?
  • Strategies for combating the myths, e.g.,
  • Does the research matter?
  • Keep on the message.  We do wonderful things for kids..
  • Public education – the greatest investment for their kids

For the Horace Mann League

  1. What are they doing to promote the importance of quality public education?
  2. After finding out what others are doing, what do we like that they are doing?
  3. What resources do these other association have that we can use?
    The teacher is the best presenter of how good their school is. “Instead of grading papers, maybe it would be better to attend the local service club and refute the myths and lies.”

4.     Proficiency Project

A project led by James Harvey dealing with the fallacies of making conclusions based on proficiency tests and data.  Current international proficiency tests, e.g., PISA, have artificially set levels of so called proficiency.  Only 30% of the world’s 15 year olds are proficient in math.

Approved: The HML Board agreed to support the project.

More information will be available at the winter meeting.

  1. HML Post
    Agreed that the HML might improve readership if it were delivered on Tuesday, instead of Monday. Will start Tuesday delivery in August.
  2. Discussion on Nominations
  •             Selected for Vice President:  Lisa Parady

Reappointed to the Board:

  •                         Jeff Charbonneau (WA)
  •                         Linda Darling-Hammond (CA)
  •                         Stan Olson (ID)

Nominated to be contacted:

Dr. Talisa L. Dixon, Superintendent, Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District.

Dr. Marty Brooks, Executive Director of the Tri- State Consortium,

  1. Awards
    1. Outstanding Friend of Public Education: Carol Burris
      Executive Director of the Network for Public Education.
    2. Outstanding Public Educator : Kevin Welner, NEPC Director and Bill Mathis, NEPC Managing Director
    3. Outstanding Friend of the HML: Jay Goldman (AASA)

Meeting adjourned at 2:45 pm.

Rich Bagin’s Notes:

Voucher & Voucher Spinoff
Talking Points

DO: Emphasize the cost of taking scarce resources from neighborhood public schools.

  • We have a responsibility to provide great public schools for every student in America. Improving public schools requires more money, not less, and public money should only be used to help public schools.
  • A child’s opportunity for success should not be left to chance, betting on receiving a private school voucher or even being able to afford tuition if you get one is a risky proposition with no assurances. What every child needs is a quality, well-equipped school right in his neighborhood where he can learn, be inspired, and thrive.
  • Vouchers take scarce funding away from public schools and give it to private schools that are unaccountable to the public.
  • We should focus on investing public schools, where 90 percent of children go, not diverting money from them for the 10 percent who go to private schools.
  • Vouchers only weaken our public schools, and even with vouchers, most parents still wouldn’t have the money to pay for private schools.

DO: Emphasize that there are higher priorities for improving public schools .

  • If we’re serious about every child’s future, let’s get serious about doing what works. This means resourcing our neighborhood public schools so that students have inviting classrooms, a well-rounded curriculum, class sizes that are small enough for one-on-one attention, and support services such as health care, nutrition, and after-school programs for students who need them.
  • There are many, proven ways to improve schools, such as reducing class sizes so that teachers can provide more one-on-one attention, offering a well-rounded curriculum, and increasing parental involvement. That’s how taxpayer funds should be spent.
  • Resourced neighborhood public schools that are desirable places to be and to learn, where students’ natural curiosity is inspired, are our best bet for setting every student in America off toward a great future.
  • Take a look at our best public schools and here’s what you’ll see: [a band; teachers who are certified to teach physics and calculus; counselors to help students make life-altering choices; caring and supportive staff who welcome families into the school; theater class; girls’ volleyball; a chemistry lab; classes that offer college credit; debate; robotics, foreign languages; music;] and much more. Rather than vouchers, we should support these programs because they unlock students’ potential and cultivate a lifelong love of learning.