February 23, 2011 ACE Board Meeting
9:00 A. M. @ Billings Hotel and Convention Center
Present were ACE board members Al Sipes, Tim Dolphay, Josh Middleton, Andy Begger, Brenda Koch, Mark Brajcich, and Jennifer Hickok.
Guests present were Steven Schwartz, and Trent Windsor. Gail Richardson and Jerry Scott were also present.
- Call to order, introductions
Al called the meeting to order at 9:00 making sure everyone knew one another.
- Approval of January 26, 2011 minutes
After review, Brenda moved to approve the January 26 minutes. Mark seconded the motion which passed 7 - 0.
- Financial report
After review of the report Jerry said there were still two outstanding bills due to ACE. He sent another billing two weeks ago after phoning the schools to make sure of the proper contact person. One of the bills is for about $5,000 for MAP testing. Andy moved to assess a $100 interest due fee on the bill if it is not paid. Brenda seconded the motion which carried 7 - 0.
- Information and motions concerning February 16 special board meeting Al reviewed the meeting with the group going over the items that will be reported in the minutes of that meeting. Those minutes will be posted on the mtace.org web site along with the other ACE agendas and minutes.
- Gail Richardson … curriculum review
Gail said all of the reviews for the 2010 - 2011 school year have now been completed and are on the ACE web site. She will be working on the updates for the textbook survey and the K - 6 curriculum booklets.
- ACE March 7, 2011 and September 12, 2011 PIR days
The March 7 PIR day is set to be held at the Crown Plaza in Billings. Jerry will email information and handouts to the ACE members by the end of the week. He will meet with the speakers for supper on Sunday, March 6 around 7 pm and invited the board to join them if they wish.
Although no speakers are contracted yet for the September 12, 2011 ACE PIR day, the board said the format will be to have a half day session for elementary and a half day session for the high school. The other half-day will be an offering of sectionals. The ACE PIR days will continue to follow the schedule of being held the first Monday after Labor Day and the first Monday in March.
- Technology train the trainer
Trent reviewed the progress of the technology consortium stating that software that includes ACE curriculum and benchmarks is being developed. The 10 trainers will met last week and plan to come up with specific curricular areas to work with other including UbD, assessment and other scientific proven techniques that involve pedagogy and not just technology. Trent said he now has a technology consortium formed in the Butte area. He thanked ACE for its involvement and support. Al asked Trent to send Jerry the list of trainers so he can post it on the ACE web site and let schools know they are available to help in their own districts.
- 6 + 1 Writing train the trainer workshop proposal and workshop evaluations Evaluations from the last 6 + 1 Trait Writing training were reviewed. All were very positive and indicated the traini9ng was very valuable. Discussion on the multiple day training where one day is spent at the workshop, the participants go to their classroom to try the material and return at a later date to discuss what works and what does not work and to get additional training is the best format for professional development. The board would like to continue this in upcoming school years. Jerry distributed information on the 6 + 1 Trait Writing Institute for Trait Presenters on June 20 - 22, 2011 in Gleneden Beach, Oregon. After discussion Andy moved to pay for Jeri Heard, Kay Faust, and Lorrie Koski to attend the conference. Josh seconded the motion that carried 7- 0. Jerry will notify the three and make arrangements for them to attend.
- National ASCD conference … March 25 - 27, 2011, San Francisco
All of the arrangements for Andrea and Jerry to attend the conference have now been made.
- Next ACE board meeting … March 30, 2011 at 9:00 A.M. at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center. The meeting was adjourned at 10:00.