December 28, 2005 ACE Board Meeting
9:00 A. M. @ Billings Hotel and Convention Center
Board Members Present were: Les Cabot, Al Sipes, Dave Huether, Mark Brajcich, Tim Dolphay, and Bob Barnes. Guests Present were: Gail Richardson, Josh Middleton and Brenda Koch. Jerry Scott was also present for the whole meeting.
- Call to order, introduce guests:
Jerry Scott called the meeting to order at 9:14 A.M. and had the group introduce themselves.
- Approval of November 30, 2005 minutes
Al Sipes moved to approve the November 30, 2005 minutes as printed. Les Cabot seconded the motion which passed 5 - 0
- Approval of finance report
After review, David Huether moved to approve the December finance report. Tim Dolphay seconded the motion which passed 5 - 0
- Shirts for the Ace board
Jerry presented each of the board members, Gail Richardson and himself a red shirt with the ACE logo and individual names on them. Mark Brajcich moved to have ACE pay for the shirts after reviewing the billing. Dave Huether seconded the motion and it passed 5 – 0.
- Status of Busby and Deer Lodge
Jerry reported that he received the signed contract s and the payments from both Busby and Lame Deer. He is having materials printed for each of the schools. Jerry and Gail will deliver the materials and do a workshop for Busby on the afternoon of January 12 and all day for Lame Deer on January 13th.
Present Bob Barnes arrived at this time and took over the meeting.
- March 6, 2006 PIR day report and review 2006 – 2007 plans
Jerry said Jerry Mills is set to do an all day workshop for ACE in Laurel on March 6. He has not received a contract yet, but Mr. Mills assured viva e-mail that he will be there. Jerry will visit with the Laurel principal, Doug Neiheart, to make arrangements for the day.
The board discussed the first Monday after Labor Day and the first Monday in March PIR dates. Jerry had received a message asking if these dates were “set in stone” or could be changed because the September date means two 4 day weeks in a row for schools. The board said that ACE schools now know the PIR dates and stated they wanted to leave them as is.
Jerry presented a list of possible presenters for future PIR days. He also reviewed the survey results where about 50% responding said they wanted one national speaker and 50% said they wanted a variety of offerings. Those present discussed various speakers that ACE could bring in for the PIR days. Splitting the day with a speaker and a choice of workshops, perhaps even at two locations, was also discussed. Les Cabot and Al Sipes both stated that their staff liked to have choices. The growing number of professional development opportunities throughout the state was also discussed. Al Sipes moved to have Dr. Lavine for the September 11, 2006 PIR day and have a number of choices offered for the March 5, 2007 PIR day. Les Cabot seconded the motion which passed 6 – 0.
- Report on December 8th Math review and iAnalyze workshops.
Gail reported that a group of 15 Junior High Math teachers worked very hard to produce stands that align to specific math subject areas. She will produce a hard copy and a disk with the results. Gail said she would like to have the elementary math teachers work on stands on January 19 from 9 – 4 at DJ’s in Laurel. The strands will allow the teachers and schools to see continued growth of individual students. Les Cabot said this was a good idea and Al Sipes suggested ACE look at it for high school as well because of MontCast. Tim Dolphay said the Saxton math series and experienced staff has helped his school do well on the tests. The group said OPI has some good references on its web site including math vocabulary.
Jerry said there were about 35 people who took the iAnalyze workshop on the afternoon on December 8 using the computer lab at the Laurel Junior High. The evaluations were very positive with the group appreciating being able to have time to explore their own schools data on line. Jerry said he was going to do another iAnalyze workshop in Huntley on January 4 and January 11th.
- Report on ACE technology grant
Jerry went over the technology training he attended on December 9 & 10 in Helena as well ad the December 14 Shepherd training. Jerry also reviewed the December15 & 16 OPTIC visits that he and Andy Begger helped TEST with. January’s grant training in Shepherd will be on the 11th. TEST is very willing to help in any way they can with technology problems and workshops. A number of those present commented on how TEST was helping their schools.
- Report on ACSD conference in Chicago April 1 – 3, 2006
Jerry said the registration had been sent in and plane tickets were reserved for the group going to the National ACSD conference. He has contacted a travel agent in Roberts to help with the details including rooms.
- MASCD Textbook Exhibitor Fairs
The MASCD book fairs will be Jan 26 in Missoula and Jan 30 in Bozeman. This is a good opportunity for schools to check out a number of sources for any text books they may be looking at in the future.
- Next meeting will be on January 25 at 9:00 A.M. at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center. The meeting was adjourned by president Bob Barnes at 10:15 AM.