CSTA BOARD MINUTES
June 6, 2009
Ayres Hotel & Suites, Costa Mesa, CA
Attendance and Quorum
The following board members were present: Jeff Bradbury, Margaret
Burke, Deborah Farkas, Dean Gilbert, Jim Jones, Heather Marshall,
Rick Pomeroy, Susan Pritchard, Donna Ross, Greg Schultz, Bill
Straits, Diana Takenaga, Jenny Wade, Tim Williamson, and Karen
Withey-Smith. A quorum was present. Also in attendance were
newly-elected board members Michelle French, Marian Murphy-Shaw,
and Bonny Ralston, executive director Christine Bertrand,
and CTA liaison Lisa Marroquin. Sue Pritchard served as Chair,
and Jenny Wade served as Secretary.
Notice
The Chair called the meeting to order at 9:33 a.m. and announced
that the meeting was held pursuant to written notice to all
members of the Board of Directors of the Corporation. A copy
of the notice was ordered entered into the minutes book following
the minutes of the meeting.
Approval of Agenda
The agenda was amended and approved as amended.
Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the March 7, 2009 meeting were approved as
amended.
Old Business
Recognition of Zack Taylor
Dean Gilbert reported that the executive/awards committee
considered options for recognizing the contributions of Zack
Taylor to the association and recommend dedicating the 2009
conference to Zack. Dean moved that
CSTA dedicate the 2009 California Science Education Conference
to Zack Taylor, in recognition of his many contributions
to CSTA.
Seconded by Jeff Bradbury; motion carried.
CABAP Project
Christine Bertrand reported that she had a conversation with
Francis Eberle, NSTA executive director, to get answers to
the board's questions about taking on CABAP. Christine reported
that NSTA is in the process of restructuring the Building
a Presence program, renaming it "Science Counts"
and allowing teachers to sign up on their own without going
through the state coordinators. She reported that there is
no funding available to sustain the database, but that CSTA
can use the database; there will be no attempt to maintain
a point of contact in each school or key leaders, but that
would not be discouraged if a state wanted to continue that
model. The board suggested that the membership committee study
this as part of a long-range plan, work on it at the retreat,
and recommend a plan to address CABAP.
Programs
2009 Science Education Conference
Jim Jones reported on the work of the conference committee,
reporting that the registration numbers are down in all areas.
Jim described the networking activities that will occur during
the conference and indicated that online registration has
not been available due to a change in providers, which may
be one cause of lower registrations. He indicated that the
early-bird registration deadline would be extended because
of this. Jim urged the board to get the word out through other
organizations' websites such as the California Academy of
Sciences and others.
Awards Committee Report and Approval of Nominations
Sue Pritchard announced the recommendations of the awards
committee. Tim Williamson moved that
Bill Ritz be awarded the Margaret Nicholson Distinguished
Service Award for 2009, and Bernice Lepowsky be awarded
the Future Science Teacher Award for 2009.
Motion seconded by Diana Takenaga; motion carried.
CCS Articles and Deadlines
Christine Bertrand circulated the assignment chart for upcoming
issues of California Classroom Science and asked that board
members volunteer for the columns they'd like to write.
Policy and Organizational Issues
Committee Appointments
Sue Pritchard and Tim Williamson presented the recommendations
for committee appointments for the coming year. Sue indicated
that those who ran for office but were not elected were asked
to serve on various committees in order to keep these individuals
involved with CSTA. After discussion, Meg Burke moved that
the Grants Committee be dissolved and the responsibilities
be delegated to other committees as needed.
Motion seconded by Greg Schultz; motion carried. Tim Williamson
moved that
the committee appointments as amended without the grants
committee be accepted.
Motion seconded by Donna Ross; motion carried.
Legislative Update
Christine Bertrand provided a handout with updated information
and mentioned that, with regard to the framework revision,
there appears to be a general misunderstanding that the standards
are being revised. She advised that this misconception needs
to be corrected whenever it is voiced.
Policy on Climate Change Education
Christine Bertrand reported that the Climate Change Education
organization had asked for assistance in developing a policy
or position statement on climate change education, as they
have been approached by the undersecretary of education to
develop one as a national policy. Discussion followed about
environmental stewardship as a local action versus climate
change education, which is more global. It was suggested that,
rather than wordsmith Christine's draft, more time be devoted
to deciding what our position should be.
Process to Fill Vacancies on Board
Sue Pritchard announced that two positions on the board have
not yet been filled: Two-year college director and region
1 director. She indicated that the process for filling vacancies
is to have board members recruit interested CSTA members and
have them send a letter of interest and their resume to the
CSTA office, after which the executive committee would make
the recommendation of who to appoint to the positions. Sue
encouraged board members to seek members to submit letters
of interest and resumes and established a deadline date of
June 30 to have the necessary papers to the CSTA office, so
that the board could appoint the members in time for the board
retreat in September.
Reports
President’s Report
Sue Pritchard distributed her report.
Treasurer's Report
Greg Schultz referred to the last page of the budget included
in the board packet. He reported that we had budgeted a larger
loss than we have actually experienced so far and that revenue
is down in new/renewal memberships and interest. The board
discussed the expense of the conference registration brochure
and the possibility of mailing only a postcard that directs
registrants to the website. The board discussed other opportunities
to reduce the budget for the conference in order to save on
expenses and requested that the treasurer and executive committee
develop a conference savings plan with benchmark dates.
Executive Director’s Report
Christine Bertrand referred to her report in the board packet
and added that staff expects go live this Tuesday for conference
registration.
Directors’ Reports
Meg Burke reported that the AAAS Pacific Division has an annual
conference August 14-19 at SFSU and that the Cal Academy is
a sponsor. She also reported on her attendance at a planning
meeting and that she will be a panelist on project-based learning.
Meg reported on Cal Academy's launching of a program initiative
on science professional development for grades 3 - 5 for 30
teachers each year; she indicated that the Academy had 84
applicants this year.
Deb Farkas reported that the Council of Math Science Educators
of San Mateo County (CMSESMC) is ready to plan its fall conference
and resource fair, and she will be involved. Deb reported
that she is part of a focus group for the Education and the
Environment Initiative (EEI).
Jenny Wade reported that all the earth science teachers have
been laid off in the Stockton district and teachers have been
told by administration to reduce science instruction.
Heather Marshall reported that health teachers will be teaching
earth science in her district and class sizes are approximately
45; there is a concern about safety. She questioned if CSTA
should have a position statement on science safety and class
size.
Bill Straits reported that a gender equity and leadership
conference will be held August 1-3 at the Marriott Hotel,
Manhattan Beach, and that the organizers are still accepting
proposals for presentations.
Jeff Bradbury said that it has been an honor to serve with
CSTA; the creativity and ideas are abundant. He expressed
appreciation to Dean and Sue for their leadership and thanks
to Christine as executive director. He encouraged the board
to determine a holistic five-year plan and focus on it.
Greg Schultz reported that he is giving a number of teacher
workshops and that there will be a national math and science
initiative conference on preparing teachers of science.
Jim Jones reported that he was to present at the California
League of Middle Schools (CLMS) conference, but no one showed
up for his session. He reported on his activities related
to the CSTA conference and encouraged board members to sign
up to host events.
Karen Withey-Smith reported that earth science is being pushed
out in her district also, and students are being pushed toward
chemistry and physics instead. She said that their virtual
high school is thriving.
Tim Williamson announced that the board retreat in September
will be on the Queen Mary. Local board members are asked to
commute rather than stay overnight, to keep the costs down.
He reported that he will represent CSTA at the National Congress
of Science Education in July and will chair a committee on
mandatory elementary science.
Rick Pomeroy reported on the activities in region 1, including
the California Science Project in Redwood, Inland North, and
Delta Sierra, Apollo 13 events, NSF summer institute at Davis
on bioinformatics and biophotonics. He reported that there
will be an addiction research institute also at Davis, a Climate
Status Institute, and Amatis Project for supervising middle
school teachers and mentoring for a three-year program. He
indicated that all the events are posted on the CSTA website.
Donna Ross reported that she presented at the CLMS conference.
She reported on the success of the San Diego Science Festival,
held free in Balboa Park, which had 50,000 participants.
Dean Gilbert reported that he presented at the CLMS conference.
He reported on a new informal science center in Downey, which
will focus on space exploration and how informals can assist
teachers in science education. Dean suggested that regional
directors have a conference call about ways to be more active
in membership recruitment and to develop a strategic plan.
He reported that he is working with Laura Henriques on a grant
to train master teachers to create a more consistent experience
for preservice teachers.
Diana Takenaga bid farewell to the board after 12 years of
service and reflected on the many changes she's seen the association
go through, including the use of email and internet, policy-making,
and advocacy which have led to many changes. She said that
CSTA is recognized and is contacted now from Sacramento, and
she feels we have accomplished a lot. Diana indicated she
will still will teach preservice teachers and present for
CSTA, and thanked the board for a wonderful 12 years.
Committee Reports
Laura Henriques sent a report on the CSULB student chapter.
Other Business
Thank-you gifts were given to those going off the board: Bill
Straits, Jeff Bradbury, Jenny Wade, and Diana Takenaga. Tim
Williamson offered congratulations and thanks to Sue Pritchard;
Sue thanked everyone for their support.
Adjournment
Rick Pomeroy moved to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Tim
Williamson. Motion carried.
Meeting adjourned at 2:33 p.m.
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