MINUTES OF MEETING
State Board of Education
April 14-15, 2005
The April meeting of the
Board of Education was held at the West Des Moines Marriott, West Des Moines in
conjunction with the annual meeting of the AEA Governing Boards. Board members Gene Vincent, Sally Frudden,
Jim Billings, Sister Jude Fitzpatrick, Rosie Hussey, Wayne Kobberdahl, and Mary
Jean Montgomery were present. Also
present were Department Director Judy Jeffrey and staff members Gail Sullivan,
Carol Greta, Lee Tack, Pam Pfitzenmaier, Janice Friedel, Kathi Slaughter, Jeff
Berger, Jim Reese, Lana Michelson, LauraBelle Sherman-Proehl and Beverlee
Adams. Also in attendance were Arlan
Thorson and Terry Frisch of Iowa Learning On-line.
President Vincent called the
meeting to order at 12:30 p.m.
It was moved by Wayne
Kobberdahl and seconded by Jim Billings to approve the agenda as written.
There was no public comment.
Sister Jude Fitzpatrick stated the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving Task Force
responsibilities would soon be completed with one meeting remaining. She indicated the proposed recommendations
had been provided for public comment and the recommendations would be submitted
to the Board of Regents for final action.
Fitzpatrick reported she had
joined Judy Jeffrey in attendance at several high school visits and felt that
high school graduation requirements were being exceeded by most students. She commented that increasing requirements
for math and science courses would likely cause difficulty for obtaining
adequate teachers with the teacher shortage in those areas. Fitzpatrick also stated a common issue at
the meetings was the student rigor during the senior year.
Sister Jude Fitzpatrick said
she was asked to relay a concern of local school districts that the Department
of Education continues to deal with staff reductions and they have many more
expectations and demands with less staff.
Sally Frudden indicated she had attended a high school visit at
New Hampton. She also attended a
Community Conversation with Pam Pfitzenmaier at Charles City. The school districts appreciated the fact
that they were being heard and were pleased Department staff and State Board
members were going out and giving them an opportunity to discuss their
thoughts.
Frudden also discussed the
Iowa Business Council news release in support of early childhood
education. The Iowa Business Council
was putting together two conferences addressing the early childhood education
issues and she felt that it was a strong message to have business and education
working together on the early childhood initiative.
She reported that Charles
City had passed their instructional support levy.
Wayne Kobberdahl reported he had attended Community Conversations in
Whiting and Urbandale. The conversation
at the rural setting had concerns about why these meetings were being held and
the urban setting discussion expressed a great deal of interest in a seamless
transition to community colleges or higher education institutions. Kobberdahl said he had attended several
high school visits with Director Jeffrey and appreciated the open conversations
among the districts.
Mr. Kobberdahl told the
Board he had visited with the superintendent of the Council Bluffs Community
School District about budgeting and school finance. He also had visited with the AEA 13 administrator about the role
and responsibilities of area education agencies.
Rosie Hussey stated she had attended a legislative forum in Mason
City. Two local superintendents were
also in attendance. Hussey reported she
had also gone to a local empowerment meeting to gather more information.
Mrs. Hussey discussed the
by-law changes recommended for the Post High School Coordinating Council. The by-law change was to reduce the number
of members currently serving on the Council.
She indicated she was seeking a position from the Board that she and
Sister Jude Fitzpatrick could take to the Council for recommendation before an
official vote was taken. The Board expressed
a concern about the limited number of State Board/Department of Education
voices represented for the responsibility and dollars provided to the Council
by the Department. It was felt that
voting representation needed to remain on the Council for K-12 and community
colleges. It was recommended that a
document be krafted stating the Board’s position on the Post High School
Coordinating Council by-law change on membership. It was suggested that Board members could contact appropriate
Council persons with their concerns about reducing the Council membership.
Jim Billings said he had also attended high school visits and
felt this effort was extremely worthwhile in providing information both for the
school districts and Department of Education.
He complimented Director Jeffrey with an outstanding job. Billings indicated the problems certainly
varied throughout the state. He
reported the high school visits provided a good concept of what is happening in
the education environment in Iowa.
Mary Jean Montgomery – No report.
Gene Vincent stated he had also attended high school visits and
also visited a kindergarten and preschool program in Waukee Community School
District. Vincent also expressed the
appreciation of the State Board for the magnificent effort put forth by
Director Jeffrey in the rigor of the high school visits across the state.
Director Judy Jeffrey reported on the following items:
develop a path
to reform that teacher education experience.
Jeff Berger, Legislative
Liaison, presented an overview and responded to questions regarding the
legislative activities affecting education.
The State Board joined the AEA Conference to hear presentations on Future Issues Facing AEAs and The Future of High Schools In Iowa.
The minutes of the March
17-18, 2005 State Board of Education meeting were approved.
Chapter 2, “Agency Procedure
for Rulemaking and Petitions for Rulemaking” were approved for adoption.
Pam Pfitzenmaier,
Administrator, Division of Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education
reviewed the status on area education agencies. She reported the Department and AEA system had been engaged in
efforts to improve student achievement in Iowa. Each AEA must report on the state indicators for their system and
establish goals related to the needs of the LEAs. Other efforts have focused on the implementation of No Child Left
Behind, assistance to schools and districts in need of assistance, professional
development of teachers, and reducing student achievement gaps. Pfitzenmaier indicated that the AEAs have
also been working with the Department and other educational partners to support
the Focus on High Schools tasks.
Lee Tack, Administrator,
Division of Financial and Information Services, discussed the amendments being
proposed for Chapter 96. He indicated
the amendments were intended to implement the provisions of Senate File 445,
2003 Iowa Acts, related to the certificate of need. The changes establish standards for the certificate of need
required of school districts to expend funds received from the supplemental
school infrastructure amount. Tack
said the public hearing had been held and comments were reflected in the rule
changes and it was recommended the proposed rule amendments be approved.
Motion: It was moved by Jim Billings and seconded by
Mary Jean Montgomery that the Chapter 96 rules “Local Option Sales and Services
Tax for School Infrastructure” be approved.
Vote: The
motion carried unanimously.
The State Board joined the
AEA Governing Boards and gave a presentation related to the priority areas of
high school reform and leadership development.
A discussion followed the presentation.
Pam Pfitzenmaier,
Administrator, Division of Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education
introduced Arlan Thorson and Terry Frisch, Iowa Learning Online. They provided information on update plans to
expand online learning opportunities in Iowa.
Bureau Chief, Lana Michelson
and Consultant LauraBelle Sherman-Proehl, Bureau of Children, Family and
Community Services provided information for this agenda item. The Early Childhood Interagency Team had
developed quality standards for preschool programs. Michelson said the Department was in the process of working
across agencies to inform them of such standards.
Sherman-Proehl reported that
during the 2003-04 school year, the Iowa Department of Education’s (DE) Early
Learning Work Team was given the charge to develop standards for Iowa’s early
care and education programs linked to the Department of Education. The standards would be developed for
preschool programs operated by local school districts and programs where
preschoolers’ IEPs were being implemented.
Michelson explained that the Early Learning Work Team had developed the
Iowa Quality Preschool Program Standards (IQPPS) based on all ten of the
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) program
standards and 45 percent of the NAEYC program criteria. In addition, the Work Team had developed a
Self-Assessment, using the NAEYC program criteria that programs could use as a
pre-and post-test assessment.
The State Board had identified
Board Development as a priority area at the 2004 Board Retreat. This work session was an opportunity for
Board members to discuss how best to meet their needs for Board development.
Director Judy Jeffrey handed
out the proposed topics for the May 12-13, 2005 State Board meeting.
President Gene Vincent
adjourned the meeting.
__________________ ________________________
Gene E. Vincent Judy A. Jeffrey, Director
President and Executive Director