February 25, 2009 ACE Board Meeting
9:00 A. M. @ Billings Hotel and Convention Center
Present were ACE board members Al Sipes, Tim Dolphay and Stephanie Long. Guests present were Chad Johnson, Tobin Novasio, Brenda Koch, and Mike Lee. Gail Richardson and Jerry Scott were also present.
- President Al Sipes called the meeting to order at 9:15 am
- Tim Dolphay moved to approve the January 28, 2009 minutes. Stephanie Long seconded the motion which passed on a 3 - 0 vote.
- The financial report was reviewed. Al Sipes asked what the end of the year-estimated balance might be. Jerry thought the balance would be some where between $40,000 and $50,000. He stated that the only large bills that remain to be paid would be the expenses for the March 2 PIR day.
- There are now 6 ACE member schools that have indicated they are interested in starting MAP testing for the 2009 – 2010 school year. As mentioned at the January ACE board meeting, the main savings would be in the shared cost for training as well as the minimum fee per student tested. ACE would have to act as the fiscal agent and set up any meetings and/or training. The board instructed Jerry to go ahead with the arrangements with Northwest Evaluations and notify the schools when all plans are made.
- All of the arrangements for 8 ACE members to attend the ASCD National Conference in Orlando have been made. The group will leave on March 12 and return on March 18.
- The March 2nd ACE PIR Day presentations, room reservations and food are set to go. Box lunches are being provided so the 300 + attendees can finish within the hour scheduled. Information has been given to all schools and posted on the ACE web site for some time now. It continues to be difficult to get schools to complete registrations. Jerry reminded the board that they are invited to join him and Jane Pollock for supper on Sunday evening.
- Gail Richardson reported that the next curriculum review is scheduled to take place in Laurel on March 26 for world languages and drivers education. She agreed that it continues to be difficult to get member schools to tell if they plan to participate. Gail said that the driver’s education curriculum is set by the state but the group will review it as well as share how they implement the curriculum in their own schools. Gail also reported that she is still trying to obtain RTI information from the ACE schools. She said she will work on updating the on line textbook survey. The group agreed that it is useful to be able to see what schools are using which textbooks.
- Jim Staab suggest that the ACE board schedule a follow-up in order to finalize the information from the board retreat. The board agreed that such a session is necessary in order to set priorities and timelines. Jerry was instructed to arrange a date with Jim and let the board know.
- Next Ace board meeting was scheduled for March 25, 2009 at 9 AM at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center.