MINUTES OF THE MCCPTA DELEGATE ASSEMBLY

Tuesday, January 24, 2006 at the Carver Educational Services Center

(This summary includes motions and resolutions passed at the January meeting.)

The minutes from the November 22, 2005 meeting were amended as follows:

Approval of Minutes:

The minutes from the November 22, 2005 Delegate Assembly were reviewed. The heading “Program” was changed to “Legislative Committee and MCCPTA-EPI Guest Speakers”, and the safety committee report to, “Pam will wait on her report until January.” The minutes stand approved as amended.

Treasurer’s Report:

The treasurer’s report was filed.

Business Items:

Directory Resolution:

Two proposed alternative language choices for the end of this resolution were distributed in delegate packets and shown on the overhead transparency.

(1) BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the MCCPTA Delegates oppose the use of student directories for any purpose not in accordance with the objectives and mission of PTA, or by organizations not expressly authorized by the local PTA to use the student directory.

(2) BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the MCCPTA Delegates oppose the use of student directories by any group other than the PTA.

A delegate made a motion to remove from the Directory Resolution Now Be It Therefore Resolved that the MCCPTA Delegates oppose the use of student directories for any purposes not expressly approved by the local PTA/PTSA; and Be It Further Resolved that the MCCPTA Delegates expressly oppose the use of the student directories by non-PTA/PTSA sanctioned organizations for any purpose. It was seconded. It passed on a voice vote.

Diane McHale made a motion to use the first alternative language option, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the MCCPTA Delegates oppose the use of student directories for any purpose not in accordance with the objectives and mission of PTA, or by organizations not expressly authorized by the local PTA to use the student directory, to replace the omitted sections. It was seconded. It passed on a voice vote.

(3) Delegate made a motion to not use the second alternative language option, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the MCCPTA Delegates oppose the use of student directories by any group other than the PTA. It was seconded and passed on a voice vote.

May Delegate Assembly Date:

Delegates had previously voted to add a May Delegate Assembly. The date proposed by the executive board is May 23, 2006.

A delegate made a motion that May 23, 2006 be the date for the May Delegate Assembly. It was seconded and passed on a voice vote.

Delegate Lechner Resolution:

Delegate Lechner made a motion to allow for 10 minutes of discussion of his resolution. It was seconded and passed on a voice vote.

A delegate made a motion to remove the original Lechner resolution and insert the new one. It was seconded. It passed on a voice vote.

A delegate made a motion to delay the new Lechner resolution to the February Delegate assembly for a formal vote. It was seconded and passed on a voice vote.

Grading and Reporting Resolution:
Delegates voted to allow 10 minutes for discussion of grading and reporting. 

A delegate moved to continue the discussion on grading and reporting 
for 2 more minutes beyond the original 10 minutes allotted. It was 
seconded and passed on a voice vote.

A delegate called the question and a standing vote favored it.

The amendment to the Grading and Reporting resolution that MCPS share the 
results of what the Community Superintendents finds passed by a voice vote. 
The Resolution from MCCPTA Regarding Grading and Reporting now reads: 

WHEREAS MCPS has specifically adopted grading and reporting procedures 
for grades 6-12 which govern reteaching/reassessment, homework and 
grading; and 
 WHEREAS these procedures indicate that they "will be applied 
consistently within and among schools"; and 
 WHEREAS the MCCPTA is aware that there have been several instances 
where these procedures were incorrectly applied in a secondary class 
such as, for example, where students were only permitted to take a 
reassessment if they earned below a 70% on the original task or where 
students' grades on a reassessment were capped at 85%; and 
WHEREAS we cannot necessarily equate the small number of complaints 
that MCPS has received from parents with a conclusion that the grading 
and reporting policy has been implemented successfully; and 
 WHEREAS the MCCPTA believes that in the interest of fairness to all 
students, MCPS needs to be more proactive in monitoring compliance with 
the grading and reporting procedures; 
 BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that MCCPTA requests that Montgomery County 
Public Schools (MCPS) immediately require that Community 
Superintendents working with local school principals review school 
wide, department wide and course specific grading practices to ensure 
that they are in accordance with MCPS procedures and to ensure the 
immediate correction of any practices that contradict the stated 
procedures; and 
BE IT THEREFORE FURTHER RESOLVED that MCCPTA respectfully requests that 
MCPS share the results of this monitoring with our organization in a 
timely fashion. 

Delegate Wechstein Resolution:

WHEREAS,

The teaching methodologies used in magnet programs, and in particular the use of sustained student inquiry into real-world matters, would benefit all students and have been shown to result in major boosts in achievement across all student groups and to correspond to both adult intellectual achievement and the way the human brain builds new knowledge.

MCCPTA RESOLVES,

That MCPS should establish and implement a plan for ensuring that the pervasive use of sustained student inquiry into real-world matters through projects and other methodologies used in magnet programs for the highly gifted not be limited to the students selected for the limited seats in those programs but instead be provided to all students in MCPS.

The delegate from Takoma Park Elementary School made a motion to amend the resolution to add “including adequate professional development for teachers ”, so that it reads, “MCCPTA RESOLVES…That MCPS should establish and implement a plan, including adequate professional development for teachers, for ensuring…” It was seconded. The amendment was passed on a voice vote.

Diane McHale made a motion to adopt the resolution as amended. It was seconded and passed on a voice vote.

New Business Item:

A delegate made a motion that this body, the delegates, would like to recommend that the executive board change their standing rules to remove the requirement that our members have to resign to run for an elected position. It was seconded. The question was called. The motion failed on a standing vote.

A Delegate made a motion to allow the two members who are candidates for the Board of Education to continue in MCCPTA until the next executive board meeting where discussion will take place for action to be brought back to the delegates. It was seconded and passed on a voice vote.

Rosanne Hurwitz Resolution:

Roseanne Hurwitz made a motion to adopt the following resolution:

Notification of Filing for Countywide Elective Office

Whereas: MCCPTA officers, directors, and PTA members may be considering countywide elected office, the following notice to MCCPTA leadership is requested:

Resolved: Within 30 days of filing and establishment of a campaign finance committee through the Maryland Board of Elections, a current MCCPTA officer, board member, committee chair, MCCPTA delegate, or PTA President will notify the MCCPTA President and Area Vice President serving the geographic area in which the filer resides; and

Resolved: Within 3 days of filing for candidacy with the Montgomery County Board of Elections, the MCCPTA officer, board member, committee chair, MCCPTA delegate or PTA President will notify the MCCPTA President, Area Vice President, and Cluster Coordinator serving the geographic area in which the candidate resides.

It was seconded. It passed on a voice vote.

Diane McHale made a motion to amend the resolution to add a new sentence that the committee chair will notify their co-chair (if they have one), the Vice President that oversees their committee and the president of MCCPTA. The motion was seconded. It failed on a voice vote.

New Bylaws:

The delegate assembly made the motion to approve the bylaws in their entirety. It was seconded and passed on a voice vote.

Update on Academic Ineligibility Work Group/Policy, Advocacy Priorities: 

A voice vote was taken and passed in favor of 5 minutes of discussion 
on academic ineligibility. 

A voice vote was taken and passed to extend the discussion time by two minutes. 

Shirley Brandman offered the following resolution: 
WHEREAS the Board of Education will review Policy IQD, "Academic 
Eligibility for Extracurricular Activities", at its upcoming February 
14, 2006 meeting; and 
WHEREAS we, as parents, are critically concerned that more than 20% of 
MCPS students in grades 9-12 are academically ineligible with 26% of 
our 9th grade students academically ineligible; and 
WHEREAS research establishes that participation in extracurricular 
activities contributes to improved academic achievement as well as 
desirable outcomes including reduced drop out rates and absentee rates 
as well as positive social behavior; and 
WHEREAS for many students, participation in extracurricular activities 
may be the only "hook" or incentive that motivates students to seek out 
and avail themselves of academic support; and 
WHEREAS the high rate of academic ineligibility among student 
populations most vulnerable to gang recruitment also requires us to 
re-examine the policies which bar the most vulnerable from meaningful 
participation in extracurricular activities with access to role models 
and mentors and academic supports; and 
BE IT NOW THEREFORE: 
RESOLVED that MCCPTA strongly supports the proposed amendments which 
provide that "[i]t is the obligation of the school system to provide 
students with supports for maintaining academic performance and 
academic eligibility"; and be it further 
RESOLVED that MCCPTA urges the Board of Education to amend Policy IQD 
which, as currently applied, offers no flexibility, to permit some 
opportunity for "provisional eligibility" under limited circumstances 
to support students who are sincerely striving to stay eligible. 
It was seconded and passed by a standing vote. 

Operating Budget:

Jane de Winter asked for a voice vote in favor of the Operating Budget Compact with the change noted tonight. A voice vote passed it.

Policy FAA- RA work group and CIP:

A delegate made a motion for approval of the Policy FAA-RA workgroup paper. It was seconded.

It was approved by a voice vote.

Delegates unanimously voted by voice in favor of our position remaining that the modernization schedule to stay on track as planned in the CIP.