Minutes MCCPTA Delegates Assembly

April 25, 2006

Carver Educational Services Center

Annual Meeting

Call to Order: President Cindy Kerr called the meeting to order at 7:40 PM.

Pledge: Sharon St. Pierre, Vice President Educational Issues

PTA Mission: Victor Salazar, Vice President Administration

Agenda: Elections will be first following the minutes and treasurer’s report, not after new motions and resolutions as printed on the agenda.

Approval of Minutes:

The minutes from the March 28, 2006 Delegate Assembly were reviewed. The minutes stand approved as written.

Treasurer’s Report:

Treasurer Juan Johnson presented the treasurer’s report of March 29 through April 25, 2006 and the balance sheet as of April 25, 2006. Report copies were shown on the overhead transparencies and written copies were available for those who wanted them. The balance sheet shows $41,000 in the bank, which includes approximately $25,000 held in reserve for insurance payments for next year, and $16,000 for operating expenses. The presidents and principals dinner expenses are not shown, yet. One adjustment was made to community outreach. Spending is on target. This is our last year of deficit spending. The treasurer’s report will be filed for audit.

New Business Item:

Annual Election:

Liz Crosby (a past president of MD PTA), Ginger Halvorsen (MD PTA Bylaws Chair) and Corrine Pat (MD PTA Vice President for Legislation) from MD PTA were introduced by Cindy Kerr. They assisted with the elections by Liz serving as parliamentarian and Ginger and Corrine helping with tellers.

Victor Salazar, Vice President, Administration, reviewed our voting procedures by using a projected copy of our bylaws (Articles XII – sections 1, 2 and 3; VIII section 3; and XIII sections 5 and 6) to explain who the voting body is and the privilege to participate in this meeting.

Article XII: General Membership (Voting Body)

Section 1.The general membership (voting body) of MCCPTA shall consist of the board of

directors, the presidents of each local PTA or their alternates, and delegates from each local

PTA or their alternates as specified in Section 2 of this article.

Section 2. In addition to the local PTA president, each local PTA shall be entitled to be

represented by two delegates or their alternates, selected by the local PTA according to its

own bylaws.

Section 3. Individuals are entitled to one vote, even though they may be serving in more

than one position.

Article VIII: Board of Directors

Section 3. The members of the board of directors shall be elected officers, area vice presidents,

cluster coordinators, chairs of committees, immediate past president of MCCPTA, and members

of the Maryland PTA board of directors residing in Montgomery County.

Article XIII: Meetings

Section 5. Meetings of MCCPTA shall be open to all members of the local PTAs holding

membership in the council, but the privilege of introducing motions and voting shall be limited to

the voting body as defined in Article XII, Section 1.

Section 6. Delegates from local PTAs whose dues or assessments to MCCPTA are in arrears shall

not participate in the business meetings of MCCPTA.

Vicki Rafel, Bylaws Committee Chair, further explained our elections procedures, including: a report from the nominating committee, nominations from the floor, voice voting, rising vote by area and cluster with voting cards, ballot voting and sequence of voting (officers, area vice presidents and cluster coordinators). MCCPTA uses alternates, not proxies. Each local PTA may have up to three votes – the PTA president and two delegates. Delegate was defined.

President Kerr noted that Tom Hearn, delegate, had found some inconsistencies between the MD PTA bylaws template used by MCCPTA and our articles of incorporation. He brought his concerns to the last Board of Directors meeting. His concerns have been given to the president of MD PTA who in turn passed them to the National PTA. While we await their decision we are abiding by our bylaws. The ruling of MD PTA will be shared with delegates when it is received. Vicki Rafel, Bylaws Chair, is interested in having an open meeting of the Bylaws Committee to go through the bylaws. His other concern was our procedure for removal of officers and committee chairs. In response to a question from Roseanne Hurwitz, Area 4 Vice President, regarding state law, corporate law and articles of incorporation, Liz Crosby, the designated parliamentarian from MD PTA, stated that we are required to follow the direction of the National PTA until a ruling is made and that it may take several months for these issues to be resolved.

Chris Barclay, Nominating Committee Chair, gave his committee report of the nominees as distributed to the delegates.

Victor Salazar made a motion that if a name was misspelled that it would not invalidate the ballot. The motion was seconded and passed by a voice vote.

Sharon St. Pierre explained the procedure for ballot voting including two minutes given to each candidate to speak. Tellers were used to tabulate and report the results of ballots.

Elections were held for officers, area vice presidents and cluster coordinators. The results are listed below:

Officers: (All officers were nominated by the nominating committee, and all votes were uncontested.)

President Jane de Winter

Vice President: Educational Issues Sharon St. Pierre

Vice President: Administration Cassandra Abdelmeguid

Vice President: Programs April Keys

Vice President: Legislation Victor Salazar

Recording Secretary Liz Wheeler

Recording Secretary Kay Romero

Treasurer: Juan Johnson

Area Vice Presidents: (Asterisk [*] indicates AVP nominated from the floor instead of from the nominating committee. Pound [#] sign indicates a contested position elected by ballot.)

Sherwood Deborah Stevens-Panzer

Northeast Consortium Phil Kaufman

(Blake, Paint Branch, Springbrook)

Churchill, Richard Montgomery, Kate Savage

Rockville, Wootton

Blair, Einstein, Kennedy Sally Taber

Northwood

B-CC, Walter Johnson, Liz Brennan

Whitman, Wheaton

Damascus, Gaithersburg, Allyson Morrison*#

Magruder, Watkins Mill (defeated Ted Willard*; 25 ballots total -18 Morrison and 7 Willard)

Northwest, Poolesville, Jim Keenan

Quince Orchard, Seneca Valley

Cluster Coordinators: (Asterisk [*] indicates cluster coordinator nominated from the floor instead of from the nominating committee. Pound [#] sign indicates a contested position elected by ballot.)

Sherwood Deborah Stevens-Panzer*

Paint Branch Shari Argue* and Doreen Doherty*

Blake Maura McMullen* and Dawn Dolan*

Springbrook Melissa Rosenberg* and Mary Thorngren*

Northwest Lauren Haven and Bob Weishaar, Jr.

Poolesville

Quince Orchard Jud Ashman, Paul Morrison* and Gerry Jackson*

Seneca Valley Juan Johnson and Julie Lucas

Churchill Liza Durant*#, Jinhee Wilde*# and Livleen Gill*#

(defeated Dianne Fine* and Brenda Willett*; Suzanne Weiss* withdrew; 28

ballots cast – Durant 26; Wilde 24; Gill 20; Fine 9 and Willett 3)

Richard Montgomery John Hall*, Liz Wheeler and Elizabeth Enders*

(Nominees Wendy Williams and Lori Merrill withdrew and nominated John Hall and Elizabeth Enders.)

Rockville Caitlin Hendel and Steve Crowley

Wootton Rich Edelman and Andrea Bernardo*

Damascus Leslie Cuneo* and Kristin Trible*

Gaithersburg Steve Augustino* and Carroll Lovelace*

Magruder Linda Kuserk*, Dawn Trahern* and Ted Willard*

Watkins Mill Susan Young*, Lon Hamann* and Brenda Szceszny*

Bethesda-Chevy Chase Terri Salus, Deborah Missal and Jack Hayes

Walter Johnson Ellen Paul and Pam Moomau

Wheaton Deanne Marino and Karen Smith*

Whitman Deborah DeMille-Wagman, Carly Lee and

Paula Robinson

Blair Pete Lafen

Einstein Kay Romero*

Kennedy Ricky Ford and Susan Thomas

Northwood Pam Megna, Patrick Herendeen and Jaime Todaro*

Juan Johnson made a motion to destroy the ballots. It was seconded and passed by a voice vote.

Business Items: Presentations of Pending Resolutions/Motions

A delegate made a motion to allow five minutes for discussion of the resolution presented by

by the Gifted Child Committee. It was seconded and passed by a voice vote.

Resolution proposed by the MCCPTA Gifted Child Committee Recommending Development of a Gifted and Talented Curriculum:

WHEREAS, a Montgomery County Public Schools (“MCPS”) Middle School Reform Steering

Committee (the “Steering Committee”) has been charged to formulate a comprehensive plan (the “Plan”) that will produce a rigorous and challenging middle school education program that improves teaching and learning, promotes continuous improvement in all middle schools, and ensures that all students are prepared for rigorous high school standards; and

WHEREAS, Policy IOA, recognizing that gifted and talented students require instructional and curricular adjustments that can create a better match between their identified needs and the educational services they typically receive, provides that MCPS will prepare a scope and sequence of objectives and activities as well as materials that accelerate and enrich the regular curriculum in Pre-kindergarten-8, in mathematics, reading/language arts, science, and social studies; and

WHEREAS, the National Association for Gifted Children’s Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Program Standards (with which the components of the MCPS gifted and talented program are to be aligned) require as a minimum standard that instruction objectives and strategies provided to gifted learners must be systematically differentiated from those in the regular classroom; and

WHEREAS, Policy IFA requires that curricula promote continuity and cumulative acquisition and application of skills and knowledge and allow teachers and students to understand what is expected and required of them; and

WHEREAS, this Committee finds that the middle school MCPS Curriculum Guides provide extensions and enhancements for optional and periodic use in enriching gifted and talented education, but that such extensions and enhancements neither sequentially and systematically ground the acceleration of gifted and talented education, nor allow teachers and students to understand what is expected and required of them; and

WHEREAS, as a part of a multiyear plan for development of strong local gifted and talented programs, MCPS has determined to strengthen differentiation in the instructional guides;

BE IT RESOLVED, that this Committee recommends to the Steering Committee that there be included in the Plan the recommendation that MCPS add as soon as possible to the middle school Curriculum Guides sequenced and systematic higher level gifted and talented curricula, in mathematics, reading/language arts, science and social studies.

Diane McHale and Fred Stichnoth presented the resolution on behalf of the committee. It had been presented to delegates at the last delegate assembly.

The delegate from Piney Branch Elementary School made an amendment to the resolution to replace all references to “gifted and talented” with the word “advanced”; to eliminate the third whereas; to eliminate “the acceleration of gifted and talented” in the fifth whereas and replace it with “advanced levels of” and in the be it resolved to eliminate “gifted and talented” and replace it with “curriculum activities that foster and expand advanced levels of proficiency.” It was seconded. The amendment failed by a counted standing vote.

Discussion of the proposed amendment included: tracking or separation of students; not liking the term ‘gifted and talented”; trading GT for advanced loses the affect of the policy; alternative views; systems standards; MCPS, federal and state policy; and curriculum needs.

The original resolution as originally presented by the Gifted Child Committee passed by a standing vote.

Resolution Concerning MCPS Media Regulation:

A delegate made a motion that we allow a five minute time limit of discussion for this resolution. It was seconded and passed by a show of hands.

Rosanne Hurwitz (AVP for area 4) and Wendy Williams (Richard Montgomery cluster coordinator) introduced the resolution as adopted by the Richard Montgomery High School (RMHS) PTSA.

Resolution Concerning MCPS Media Regulation: As adopted by the Richard Montgomery HS PTSA March 13, 2006

WHEREAS, MCPS recently revised Regulation IIB-RA to ban the showing of R-rated movies as

well as excerpts from these movies in high school classrooms throughout the county, and

WHEREAS, this regulation has the effect of blanket censorship which undermines many high

school subjects, including but not limited to history, English, foreign language and film classes,

without regard to the educational assessment of the usefulness of the motion pictures relative to

the classroom objectives, and

WHEREAS, Regulation IIB-RA adversely impacts the quality of student instruction, therefore,

RESOLVED, that MCCPTA requests that the Board of Education immediately rescind Regulation

IIB-RA, section four, and

RESOLVED, that the replacement regulation incorporate a system for exceptions, whereby

teachers apply or request to have certain films exempted from the policy for educational purposes,

and

RESOLVED, that teachers who request materials that are R-rated or un-rated for classroom use

should provide information to parents to form their own assessment, and that a system of signed

permissions from parents should constitute sufficient authorization to permit the use of R-rated or

un-rated motion pictures, either as excerpt or in their entirety, in high school classrooms.

Discussion of the resolution included MPAA ratings, teacher discretion, and the age of high school freshmen and young teachers.

Rich Edelman made an amendment to the resolution (continuing resolves) that:

1. no films be shown in the classroom for or during class time for entertainment, babysitting or any other non-educational purposes

2. to the extent that a school may show films during non-class time, the school will notify parents of the films that may be shown

3. entire films shall not be shown except in film class

The motion to amend was seconded. It failed by a standing vote.

Ted Willard made a motion to extend the time of discussion by two minutes. It was seconded and passed by a voice vote.

Discussion of the amendment included delegates saying that the third point of not showing entire films was too restrictive.

The original resolution as presented by the Richard Montgomery PTSA passed by a counted standing vote.

Resolution on the Use of Films in Schools:

Ted Willard made a motion to accept the resolution drafted by members of the Curriculum Committee to provide more specific guidance on how and when films should be used in schools.

It was seconded.

 
Motion on the Use of Films in Schools
 
Whereas the administration of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)
revised its regulation on the Evaluation and Selection on Instructional
Materials and Library Books (Reg. IIB-RA) in the fall of 2005
 
And Whereas as a result of these revisions, all or part of R-rated films
could no longer be shown to any students, all or part of PG-13-rated films
could no longer be shown in Elementary Schools and Middle Schools, and all
or part of PG-rated films could no longer be shown in Elementary schools
 
And Whereas many parents, students, and teachers consider the regulation as
currently implemented to unnecessarily restrict the use of media in the
classroom in a way that has a negative impact on the learning process.
 
And Whereas MCPS has convened a workgroup to develop guidelines and make
recommendations for the implementation of Regulation IIB-RA.
 
Now therefore be it
 
Resolved, MCCPTA urges MCPS to implement the following ten recommendations.
 
1. Films (or other motion media) should be used when their educational value
merits the class time devoted to viewing them. They should not be used when
the purpose is primarily for entertainment or to keep students occupied.
 
2. Elementary School students should not be shown all or part of films with
a MPAA rating of PG, PG-13, or R except as noted below.
 
3. Middle School students should not be shown all or part of films with a
MPAA rating of PG-13 or R except as noted below.
 
4. High School students should not be shown all or part of films with a MPAA
rating of R except as noted below.
 
5. When a film does not have a rating, educators should use their
professional judgment to determine its appropriateness for the students at a
particular level and then treat it accordingly.
 
6. Educators may show clips or other excerpts of a film whose rating would
preclude its use provided that, in the educators' professional judgment, the
clips do not contain content that earned the film its MPAA rating.
 
7. The MCPS Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programs should develop
guidelines for school-based educators to use when they determine whether the
content of a film clip is appropriate for students at a particular grade
level.
 
8. Educators may show part of a film or an entire film that has a rating
that would preclude its use provided that the educators have previously
informed parents that the film will be shown and received written permission
from parents for their children to view the film.
 
9. Students who are seventeen years or older may grant themselves permission
to view an R-rated film, and they may also choose not to view the film.
 
10. Students whose parents do not choose to permit them to view a film (or
students who are seventeen years old and do not wish to view it) should not
suffer any negative academic consequences due to their not seeing the film.
 
A delegate made a motion to allow five minutes for discussion of this resolution.
It was seconded and passed by a voice vote.
 
Discussion included: delegates speaking in favor of the resolution because it was more specific and included elementary, middle and high schools; a friendly amendment to add excerpts of films to point number eight was added as language with the consent of the maker; teacher’s time burden of reviewing films for judgment; and opposition based upon lack of input from media specialists. 
 The media resolution as presented by the curriculum committee passed by a standing vote.
 
MCCPTA dues increase motion:
 Juan Johnson made a motion to increase the MCCPTA membership dues from $.75 to $1.00. It  
 was seconded and passed by a standing vote. 
 
President’s Report:
Cindy Kerr noted that MCPS is seeking public comment on the new community involvement policy. The policy removes all mention community groups, including the PTA, by name. It refers instead to including those groups who have been historically underrepresented. The new policy is more general and sanitized, and moves from the local level to the Board and Carver. Cindy asked for permission to respond in the interest of the PTA by working together with groups like the NAACP, Hispanic, Asian American, and special education parents to put language back into the policy designating community groups and local level partnerships. Comments on behalf of MCCPTA would be shared with the delegates.
 A delegate made a motion to allow Cindy Kerr to respond, on behalf of MCCPTA, to the 
 request for input on the community involvement policy, to make it more user friendly and 
 reinstate some of the original language. It was seconded and passed unanimously by a voice 
 vote.
 

Committee Reports:

Training Committee: Following the election of officers, the training committee presented a skit, “Animal Farm Elementary School PTA”, to encourage participation in the spring training session to be held on June 7 at Rockville High School from 6:30 to 9 PM.

Adjournment:

The business meeting was adjourned at 9:50 PM.