NNER Governing Council Meeting Agenda Minutes
February 7, 2008 (1:00 – 4:00 p.m.)
AACTE Conference
Hilton Riverside Hotel—Windsor Room
Governing council or governing council representatives attending: Greg Bernhardt, Ann Foster, Beth Pateman, Josie Tinajero, Nick Michelli, Steven Baugh, Deb Summers, Dan Lowry, Pat Graham, Sarah Steel, Jean Eagle, Cindi Chance, Carol Sue Marshall, Deb Shanley, Jeanne Gerlach, Gayla Holmgren, Jennifer Robinson, Deborah Curtis, JoNancy Warren, Yuhang Roug. Other attendees: Jennie Rakestraw, Maggie Payne, Carol Sue Marshall, Jill Fox, Bryan Bergin, Bruce Field, and Tom Bellamy.
- The 2008 NNER Annual Report will be available online, and additional hard copies are available as well. Excellent summaries of the work in settings related to the AED, and in particular good information on local efforts related to the equity self-study can be used to determine a critical friend for the equity self-study process. The executive director’s report provides a detailed update on the current initiatives and the year’s work. It was suggested that settings use the report to support grant work and learn where connections might be made with other settings.
- Follow-up from the 2007 NNER Annual Conference including Financial Information and Evaluation Feedback (Bryan Burgin and Bruce Field; evaluation included)
There was a $3,440.61 net revenue realized from the West Virginia conference. Sponsorship is critical to the financial success of the conference. This varies from setting to setting. It was suggested that perhaps we develop a conversation process for getting feedback to increase information.
- Update on the 2008 NNER Annual Conference (Jeanne Gerlach and Bryan Burgin)
Arlington, Texas, will host the 2008 conference. Please note the date change: the conference will be held September 18-21, 2008.
Further Updates:- Future conference conversation; and
- Seattle will be the site of the 2009 NNER conference which will be a ten-year anniversary of the In Praise of Education conference, and the Illinois setting will host the 2010 conference in the Chicago area
- Budget Review and Call for Approval (document included)
The proposed 2008 fiscal year budget is $130,000. It was noted that this exceeds the $120,000 annual income from dues and that the additional $10,000 will come from other sources including additional income that may become available from the conference, summer symposium, other events, or from the reserve. The increase from $128,000 includes a 7% salary increase for the executive director.
It was noted that the $3,486 line item for contingency is included for two reasons:
The budget is itemized so that the governing council has a clear picture of the areas of expenditures and as this is the first year of the NNER’s independent not-for-profit status, the specific line items related to taxes, licensures, and various contract services are estimates and may require additional funds.It was noted that the separate section of the budget for NNER potential work and initiatives is one-time funding that comes from the reserve previously approved by the governing council to support new initiatives.
Discussion:
One suggestion was to build in contingency to line items rather than separate it out so that it can be accounted for.
Include revenues from the past year in the document in addition to the dues (i.e. next year’s budget will include $3440.61 net income from the 2007 conference).
There was discussion related to why the NNER has such a large reserve. Historically we have saved funds and currently the executive board advice is that the NNER be conservative to plan for the future; unknowns such as rent, increased number of employees, and taxes will need to be provided for.
It was suggested that potential funds needs to be included in the yearly operating budget. (Note that those funds were previously approved to be used from reserve and are not part of the operating budget approval process.) Perhaps an explanation for the reserve funds should be included. What are the organizational values that need to be considered in relation to the amount of reserves?
Budget committee should be in place. The executive board appointed Dennis Potthoff and Gary Callahan to begin this process. Additional members could be added to this committee.
Greg explained the possibility of the University of Washington housing the NNER with support from Pat Wasley. As more information is available, this will be discussed by the governing council.
Dan Lowry moved to pass the 2008 operating budget of $130,000. Cindi Chance seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
- Bylaw review and amendment update from the executive board (see bylaw exhibit document (PDF) on Minutes and Reports page.):
p. 10 in this document—Article VII Section 2 strike the first phrase as the organization that successfully developed the NNER—begin with “The Institute…(highlighted in bylaws)
p. 12 in this document—in this document Section 2 (highlighted in bylaws)
p. 12 in this document—Section 5—check in to bond—insurance policy; bylaw does not change but employee bonding process will be completed (highlighted in bylaws)Ann will summarize the D and O insurance so the board knows what is covered
p. 12 in this document—Article XI Section 2 proposed change follows: “Nonpartisan Nature of Activities. The NNER shall be nonpartisan and shall not participate in any political campaigns or support any elected officials or candidates for office; the NNER shall take positions on policy and/or legislation relevant to the NNER’s goals and may respond to invitations to provide expert opinion and testimony.” (highlighted in bylaws)
Greg asked that the governing council review the proposed changes. The group supported that the changes be made and the executive board will act on them in the upcoming executive board meeting.
- Membership Recruitment Options
Dennis Potthoff produced a set of themes and questions for governing council consideration. Dennis was unable to attend and the following discussion will be used by him and others as the NNER continues to explore membership options and issues.
Discussion:
Questions include how big does the NNER want to get? There was a plan in the early years to have at least one setting in each state. (Note that there is also now one Canadian setting.)
We do need growth and diversity to sustain and renew the AED; expansion of the laboratory that we are committed to being to apply the AED.
Affiliate membership discussion included different perspectives on the connotation of the word affiliate.
Possible Affiliate Options: Use as a first step for settings or institutions interested in membership but in early stages of development, the affiliate stage with a time limit could serve as a mentoring process where individuals from current settings work with beginning new members as needed and as requested to support their specific needs.
How are we mentoring each other was raised as another consideration.
Don’t need a hierarchy of members but do need nurturing and enculturation.
Member Benefits: We need to be clear and state clearly what the membership benefits are, update this and share this with potential members.
Scaffolded Fee Structure: We could study this using other organizations’ fee structures and study geographic balance. Our network is unique, complicated by size and multiple institution settings. We will need to be thoughtful in any budget adjustments or revisions to support the complex web that forms the NNER.
Direct a working group to study this perhaps as part of a long-term budget planning process that focuses our resource allocation on long-term needs, values, and goals for the organization.
Is there any discussion on expanding the settings to include community-based organizations?
- Summer Symposium to be held July 14-17, 2008, in Seattle
A new structure will be used this year. The Summer Symposium sessions will start early on Monday and will end on Thursday afternoon. This will reduce travel expenses, and to further support attendance the registration fee will be reduced from $1000 to $750. There will be an online component this year prior to the session.
Members of the governing council asked for examples of the democracy walk. Ann will send this out. It was suggested that the conference planning group include sessions in Arlington by past summer symposium participants and a democracy walk within the conference. Ann will get the 2008 summer symposium information out to settings next week.
- NNER/iNET Policy Symposium Update (Nick Michelli and Cindi Chance)
The plan is to include elected leaders from education organizations from UK, USA, and Australia come together to learn from one another regarding policies that affect our mission and enact change. The NNER focus for the symposium is to promote policies and practices that advance democratic purposes of education while learning from other democracies. Dates will be determined.
As planning continues, we need to bring together the resources that exist in the NNER to support this, and Jeanne Gerlach, as an example, noted the International Teachers of English organization.
- Goodlad Institute Update (Tom Bellamy; document included)
Tom updated the group on the progress since the October update with John Goodlad toward initiating the Institute. It will be housed at the University of Washington across three campuses. The formalities are moving along; launching in April. Start-up funding from John Goodlad and funds raised by Tom Bellamy will allow the Institute to bring people together to design initiatives that are of interest to and advance the NNER mission. Tom raised the issues of collaborative and local work and the need to have conversations on how and when best to do collaborative initiatives. The Institute will house the next generation of work that has been done by the IEI in the past. The new structure will support long-term stability and allow the NNER to connect with others as we advance and apply AED to our work. Because in the past the NNER was a subset of the IEI, the funds, topics, and organization of initiatives were initiated at the IEI. With the NNER’s separate not-for-profit status, each collaborative project will require agreements among the entities that will participate.
- NNER Research and Evaluation Center Proposal ( link: document included )
Ann presented the proposal which is to initiate a research and evaluation function within the NNER to be led by Brian Cobb, a researcher from the CoPER setting and Ann Foster patterned it after the center that Brain and Ann co directed in Colorado. The NNER center would be available for settings and/or institutions within settings to contract with it for external evaluations as support for research projects, technical assistance. The work would use theory of action built on the AED and would then allow the NNER to build a research base to study our impact.
- Online Journal Update (Greg Bernhardt and Ann Foster)—Miami University is supporting this and an initial group has been selected.
- LTPS Update—Summer Session June 25-27, 2008
Scholarships from the NNER for the registration will be available. Contact Ann Foster for details. The conference information is on the NNER web page. This is an opportunity for partner school colleagues—principals, teachers, central administrators, and university personnel—to work together and with other partner school leaders to develop, renew, or enrich their partner school work.
- Critical Friend Visit Proposal
Five $1000 stipends will be available to support the equity task force work of settings ready to engage in the critical friend process. The process will be posted online.
- iNET School Pilot Proposal (Greg Bernhardt and Ann Foster)
Greg explained and distributed the iNET school pilot process and asked that people distribute the information. The NNER will support seven NNER school memberships (one of which will be paid for by iNET). Ann will send the information out electronically to the governing council. Participants will be asked to give the NNER information regarding the benefits related to democracy, democratic practices in schools and what students can learn about engagement in democratic processes. The pilot proposal will be sent out electronically.
- Teacher Case Stories; Web Posting (Ann Foster)
The group was encouraged to use the stories in their work and encourage people to submit stories. Initial reviews have been very positive including that the stories have multiple uses in schools, and university course work as well as local leadership associates work. Cindi will work with Ann on using these in the iNET connection.
Meeting adjourned 4:00 p.m.
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