MINUTES OF THE MCCPTA DELEGATE ASSEMBLY
Tuesday, January 24,
2006 at the Carver Educational
(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.