The
December 20, 2004 HEA Faculty Council Meeting in the High School Library was
called to order 3:30 p.m. by President Nikki Van Ess.
A motion to accept the minutes of the November 15, 2004 Faculty Council Meeting was presented by Vida Story and carried by unanimous vote.
OFFICER’S REPORTS
Treasurer. Lorelei Kaminsky presented the Treasurer’s Report. A motion to accept the report as corrected was made by Vida Story and was carried by unanimous vote.
Corresponding Secretary. Betty Meeks Manning requested return of the plastic mailing envelopes. Betty also passed out flyers regarding the BCEA in-service seminar, “Strategies to Overcome Identity Theft,” to be held on January 12 at the Hasbrouck Heights Hilton Hotel. It was requested that the building representatives post the flyers in each school. There will also be a BCEA seminar on January 21 dealing with Student Behavior. This seminar will require spending an overnight at the Hasbrouck Heights Hilton Hotel.
Recording Secretary.
The Recording Secretary had no report.
BCEA Representative. Elaine Williamson discussed the BCEA Minutes. The topics included Social Security Reform, the Individuals with Disabilities Act, the CAP Law (S1701), and the Commissioner’s Report on the Policy on Educational Reform. Elaine also reported that the 2005 NJEA Conventions dates were approved for November 10-12. Paul Daniele (BCEA Government Relations State Committee Report) requested members begin planning their campaign to pass their district’s budget in April 2005. The BCEA has endorsed the following candidates for NJEA office: Joyce Powell (President), Barbara Keshishian (Vice-President), and Joseph Cheff (Secretary-Treasurer).
Vice President. Fran Borg stated there are some T.A.L.C. reports that have not yet been received by her.
President. Nikki Van Ess discussed teacher assistants’ issues regarding the requirements of being “highly qualified.” The types of assessments that can be done to meet the requirements are: earning an associate degree or 48 credits, passing a practice test, or a portfolio assessment with a point system that includes personal readings, journals, and in-service seminars. It was also noted that 5% of all Title I funds are earmarked for teacher assistant training. Vice President Fran Borg spoke about teachers’ Professional Hours Validation Forms. Workshop certificates may still be sent in but a supervisor must sign off on the hours in order for them to be counted.
School Reports. Individual school reports were discussed.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Membership. Betty Meeks Manning reminded new teachers to fill out their membership forms.
Election. There was no Election Committee Report.
Social. There was no Social Committee Report.
Negotiations. Louis Ferrante is the new Negotiations Committee Chairperson. Please contact him if you are interested in working on the Negotiations Committee.
Legislative. Vida Story noted that as a result of the successful letter-writing campaign, almost 60 letters were mailed. A Legislative Committee meeting will be held in the beginning of January 2005.
Professional Rights and Responsibilities. Vice President Fran Borg emphasized the importance of calling her immediately to report any concerns because it is much more difficult to address a grievance after a long amount of time has passed.
Teacher Education. Ron Durso reported that Bergen Community College is offering five different professional development courses for a fee of $30 per course. Course topics include identifying gang violence and identifying sexual assault. Over 73 people have taken in-service courses to date. Please submit ideas to Ron for future course offerings.
T.A.L.C. There was no T.A.L.C. Committee report.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION. There were no recommendations.
OLD BUSINESS. There was no old business.
NEW BUSINESS. There was no new business.
ANNOUNCEMENTS. Members of the Board of Education will be wearing the HEA T-shirts at the meeting on Tuesday, December 21, 2004.
ADJOURNMENT. On motion by Vida Story, with no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Melanie Stagg
Recording Secretary