State Board of Education
September 8-9, 2005
The September meeting of the
Board of Education was held in the State Board Conference Room, Grimes State
Office Building, Des Moines. Board
members Gene Vincent, Sally Frudden, Charlie Edwards, Sister Jude Fitzpatrick,
Rosie Hussey, Wayne Kobberdahl, Greg McClain, Mary Jean Montgomery and Tara
Richards were present. Also present
were Department Director Judy Jeffrey and staff members Gail Sullivan, Carol
Greta, Lee Tack, Pam Pfitzenmaier, Jeff Berger, Kathi Slaughter, Dee Gethmann,
Beverly Bunker, Arlie Willems, Tom Cooley, Sharon Hawthorne, Kathy McKee, Roger
Stirler, Ken McQuire, Tom Andersen, and Beverlee Adams. Also in attendance were Kay Forsythe and
Connie Johnson, Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency; Dwayne Ferguson and Robin
Madison, Legislative Fiscal Agency; Tom Glenn, Linda Nelson, Brad Hudson, Iowa
State Education Association; Jon Narcisse, State of Iowa Black Initiative; Dick
Vande Kieft, Cedar Falls, Charla Schmid, Red Oak Community Schools, Margaret
Buckton, Iowa Association of School Boards; Michael Helle, Knoxville Community
Schools; Jon Ericson; Chris Green; Merrill Knight, Saydel Community Schools;
Cal Woods and Luke Evans, Fox 17 News; Darwin Danielson, Radio Iowa; Gail Moorman
Behrens and Janet Kehe, University of Upper Iowa, Troyce Fisher, Wallace Grant
Project; Kris Bell, Office of the Governor, Shanell Wagler, Department of
Management; Greg Robinson, Urbandale Community Schools; Ernest Schiller, Iowa
Teacher of the Year; Todd Dorman, Lee Newspapers; Lynn Campbell, Des Moines Register,
and Pat Curtis, WHO Radio.
President Vincent called the
meeting to order at 11:30 a.m.
It was moved by Sally
Frudden and seconded by Mary Jean Montgomery to approve the agenda as written. The motion was approved unanimously. It was determined that persons requesting to
speak to the athletic eligibility agenda item would be allowed to address the
Board at approximately 1:45 p.m. Other
public comments would be welcomed at the regularly scheduled public comment
time.
Dee Gethmann, Department of
Education Consultant and Shanell Wagler, Facilitator, Department of Management
was available for presentation of this agenda item.
Ms. Wagler indicated that
empowerment legislation had passed in 1998 to create state and local
partnerships. The Iowa Empowerment
Board established a process to empower individuals and their communities to
achieve desired results to improve the quality of life for children ages birth
– 5 years and their families. She
felt the legislation was innovative in bringing all partners to the table to
build an early care, health and education system to allow state and communities
to work together.
Dee Gethmann, Consultant,
Early Childhood Development reviewed the community empowerment structure. She identified the following as the purpose
of community empowerment :
Gethmann addressed the role
of the state empowerment team. She
indicated they would provide assistance and support community empowerment areas
by 1) disseminating information statewide; 2) promoting community capacity and
leadership; 3) providing guidance on system building and 4) providing
connections or linkages. Support for
low-income families would be available through various programs in the local
community empowerment areas.
Mary Jean Montgomery stated
her concern for the equality throughout the programs and Greg McClain asked
about available data.
No comments for this portion
of the agenda.
Director Judy Jeffrey
reported on the following items:
on Fall
Beds
The minutes of the August
11-12, 2005 State Board of Education meeting were approved.
Chapter 96, “Local Option
Sales and Services Tax for School Infrastructure” rules were approved for
Notice of Intended Action.
Chapter 12, “General
Accreditation Standards” were approved for Notice of Intended Action.
Administrative Law Judge,
Carol Greta, reviewed the appeal decision In re Closing of Roosevelt and
Northwood Elementary Buildings.
She indicated the Appellants were the parents of students who attended
the closed elementary buildings in the district. It was felt that
although Appellants were unhappy with the decision to close the elementary
buildings, the local board had substantially complied with the rules and
regulations. It was also found that the
board members and the public fully understood that a decision to approve the
budget would result in the closure of the elementary schools.
Greta also stated that based
on Chapter 19 rules, the State Board review was very circumscribed. The Board can only review the process; it
cannot reconsider the substantive decision itself.
Motion: It was moved
by Wayne Kobberdahl and seconded by Sally Frudden that the decision of the
Board of Directors of the Ames Community School District be affirmed.
Vote: The motion
carried unanimously.
Carol Greta, Administrative
Law Judge, reviewed the appeal decision In re Dismissal from National
Honor Society. She indicated
the Appellant was seeking reversal of the decision of the Jefferson-Scranton
Community School District Board of Directors made on May 18, 2005. The Appellant had participated in a
school-sponsored trip of the high school’s band to Minnesota during which she
and other students consumed alcohol.
She did not self-report her violation and as a result of an investigation,
the Appellant received a short-term suspension from both curricular and
extracurricular activities (not appealed) and was dismissed from the National
Honor Society, which is the subject of this appeal.
The Appellant argued the
dismissal was an excessive penalty for a first-time offender. The District decision-makers determined that
dismissal was the most appropriate punishment for this case.
Motion: Sister Jude
Fitzpatrick moved that the decision of the Board of Directors of the
Jefferson-Scranton Community School District, made on May 18, 2005, be
affirmed. The motion was seconded by
Sally Frudden.
Vote: The motion
carried unanimously.
Carol Greta, Administrative
Law Judge, outlined the decision In re Transportation Services. She identified the parent of a student with
a disability that receives transportation services between home and school and
was appealing the decision by the local board to sell the student
transportation fleet to a private company.
Greta said that all statutory requirements had been met by the district
and there was no proof of inappropriate action by the local board in signing
the agreement.
Motion: Charlie
Edwards moved that the decision of the Board of Directors of the Ankeny
Community School District made on April 25, 2005, be affirmed. The motion was seconded by Wayne Kobberdahl.
Vote: The motion
carried unanimously.
President Gene Vincent said
that the Board would receive public comment for athletic eligibility. The following individuals spoke to the
athletic eligibility agenda item: Tom
Glenn – self (Des Moines), Linda Nelson
– Iowa State Education Association, Jonathan Narcisse – State of Iowa Black
Initiative, Dick Vande Kieft – Cedar Falls Community School District, Michael
Helle – self (Knoxville), Chris Green – community activist (Des Moines), Charla
Schmid – Red Oak Community School Board and Legislative Resolutions Committee
for Iowa School Board Association, and Jon Ericson – self (Des Moines).
Athletic Eligibility
President Vincent asked
Carol Greta, legal counsel, to review the background of this agenda item. Greta responded by highlighting the
tentative timeline for Iowa Administrative Code rule changes. She also provided the current rule for
review and a document showing the legal authority of the State Board of
Education.
Charlie Edwards provided
the following recommendation for the State Board on athletic eligibility:
It is recommended that the Board direct agency staff
to initiate the formal rulemaking process to amend Rule 36.15(2) consistent
with incorporation of the following key points:
Motion: Charles Edwards offered the
above statement as a motion. Mary Jean
Montgomery seconded the motion.
Tara
Richards explained her handout which included collected responses from a
crosscut of students in the state regarding athletic eligibility.
Greg
McClain indicated the Waterloo Courier had conducted an online poll of
their readers on the proposed change to the athletic eligibility rules. He reported this unscientific poll favored
raising the state eligibility standards for high school athletes. McClain also reported on the results of his
participation in a NASBE Study Group on Athletic Eligibility.
Charlie
called the motion to question.
Vote: A
roll call vote Aye: Edwards, Fitzpatrick, McClain, Montgomery
and Kobberdahl. Nay: Hussey, Frudden, and Vincent. The motion passed.
Charles
Edwards indicated his appreciation to the persons involved in the process of
this recommendation.
Mary
Jean Montgomery said she appreciated the public comment presented on this item.
Wayne
Kobberdahl indicated he had visited some school districts and discussed
athletic eligibility. He felt they were
appreciative of state board members’ interest to take the time to seek
information from them.
Greg
McClain reported he was somewhat satisfied with the decision of “passing all”
but felt that there was still a great deal to be accomplished.
Principal Evaluation
Standards and Criteria
Troyce Fisher, Project
Director, State Action for Educational Leadership Partnership (SAELP II)
reviewed the standards and criteria for this project.
She stated the initiative
had begun with the State Board establishing a priority of improving educational
leadership. The State Board emphasis
had resulted in the adoption of the Iowa Standards for School Leaders, a change
in principal licensing requirements, and rule changes for State Board approval
of administrator preparation programs.
Various school leadership efforts were supported by receiving SAELP
grants funded by the Wallace Foundation.
The second round of grant funding for a leadership policy and practices
initiative, was used to build on the Iowa Standards for School Leaders as
evaluation standards and criteria for principals. Fisher noted the standards and criteria were intended to parallel
the Iowa Teaching Standards.
The information provided
reflected recent provisions of the criteria to be included under each of the
Iowa Standards for School Leaders. A
large group of principals and superintendents that had worked with Dr. Tim
Waters from the mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning (MCREL) were
responsible for these revisions. MCREL
staff and Dr. Waters had examined research detailing the 21 leadership
behaviors in principals that would have the most powerful positive effects on
student achievement. Troyce Fisher
indicated these 21 leadership behaviors were used to develop the criteria under
each of the Iowa standards.
Ms. Fisher stated the next
steps in this process would include implementation of the standards and
criteria as well as development of supports that could be provided to superintendents
as they evaluate principals.
State Board members
discussed the progress of the school leadership initiative and priority and
endorsed the Principal Evaluation Standards and Criteria that were presented.
Area Education Agency 8
Accreditation
Sharon Hawthorne, Special
Education Consultant and Tom Cooley, School Improvement Consultant presented
the Area Education Agency (AEA) 8 accreditation agenda item.
Ms. Hawthorne stated that
Chapter 273.9 of the Code of Iowa provided authority for the State Board of
Education to set standards and procedures for the accreditation of AEAs. She reviewed the corrective actions
implemented by AEA 8 as a result of conditional accreditation that had been
granted in September 2004. The
following actions are listed below:
1. Submitted a Corrective Action Plan for Site Visit
Concerns to the DE on December 1, 2004.
2. A letter outlining concerns with the Corrective Action
Plan was sent to the agency on January 15, 2005 and a teleconference was held
to review issues identified regarding the proposed corrective actions.
3. Submitted a Revised Corrective Action Plan for Site
Visit Concerns to the DE on February 13, 2005.
4. Jeff Berger met at AEA 8 on February 18, 2005 to
review the revised plan and approval of the plan was granted by the Department.
5. Kay Forsythe met with Sharon Hawthorne and Tom Cooley
at AEA 8 on May 20, 2005 to share progress with the corrective action plan.
6. Sharon Hawthorne and Tom Cooley visited the agency’s
Cylinder office on August 22, 2005 to review evidence regarding implementation
of the corrective action plan.
Cooley and Hawthorne
reviewed the summary of findings and recommended AEA 8 for full accreditation.
Motion: It was moved
by Sally Frudden and seconded by Mary Jean Montgomery that the State Board
grant approval to Area Education Agency 8 for full accreditation.
Vote: The motion
carried unanimously.
Area Education Agencies
4, 9 and 11
Sharon Hawthorne, Special
Education Consultant and Tom Cooley, School Improvement Consultant presented
this Area Education Agency (AEA) accreditation agenda item.
It was noted the main
purpose of the accreditation visit was to help AEAs improve the quality and
focus of their services, which will in turn assist schools and school districts
to improve learning for students.
Iowa’s AEAs are a critical part of the support structure for
schools. Maintaining high standards and
quality in programs and services is a top priority.
Area Education Agencies 4,
9, and 11 received an on-site visit during the spring/summer of 2005. Ms. Hawthorne and Mr. Cooley noted the
strengths identified in each AEA as well as the suggested areas of
improvement. Area Education Agencies 4,
9 and 11 were recommended for accreditation.
Motion: It was moved
by Sister Jude Fitzpatrick and seconded by Charlie Edwards to approve Area
Education Agencies 4, 9 and 11 for accreditation.
Vote: The motion
carried unanimously.
Practitioner Preparation
Program – University of Iowa
Arlie Willems,
Administrative Consultant, Practitioner Preparation reviewed site visit
findings. The team examined six general
areas: Governance and Resources, Diversity, Faculty Performance and
Development, Clinical Practice, Assessment of Candidate Knowledge and
Assessment of the Unit. Willems
identified the areas of strength and noted areas of concern found in the
review.
Board members expressed
concern that the content specific courses did not appear to be based on
national standards. The faculty
shortage was also discussed. After a
discussion about the content courses and faculty shortages, it was felt that
additional information needed to be provided regarding improvement in this area
before approval could be granted.
Motion: It was moved
by Mary Jean Montgomery and seconded by Sister Jude Fitzpatrick that the
practitioner preparation program be tabled.
The approval would be brought back at a later date with updated material
from the University of Iowa to address the practitioner preparation program
concerns.
Vote: The motion
carried unanimously.
Master of Education
Degree – Upper Iowa University
Administrative Consultant,
Arlie Willems, indicated a team had reviewed the application for the Master of
Education program submitted by Upper Iowa University.
Willems outlined the
strengths. She also identified the
areas that would require continued
attention during the program implementation.
The team commended Upper Iowa University for providing opportunities for
continued professional growth to practicing teachers. The Master of Education program was recommended for approval.
Motion: Sally Frudden moved and Rosie Hussey seconded that
the Upper Iowa University Master of Education program be approved through the
next scheduled full accreditation visit.
Vote: The motion
carried unanimously.
Iowa Public Charter
Schools: Approval for Charter Status
Pam Pfitzenmaier,
Administrator, Division of Early Childhood, Elementary & Secondary
Education reported that the Northwest Iowa High School Charter School would be
a school within the Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn (HMS) Community School
District. The charter would be open to
all junior and senior high school students.
The Charter involved a partnership between North Iowa Community College
and Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School.
The partnership would allow for expanded student opportunities to enroll
in dual credit courses. Pfitzenmaier
indicated that the hope of the charter was to provide a wider range of rigorous
courses for students in the area. The
charter had been unanimously approved by the HMS Board of Education and the
teachers in March of 2005. The parents
granted approval in February 2005. The
proposed Northwest Iowa Charter High School was recommended for approval.
Motion: It was moved
by Mary Jean Montgomery that the charter school application for Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn
Community School District (Northwest Iowa Charter High School) be
approved. Wayne Kobberdahl seconded the
motion.
Vote: The motion
carried unanimously.
Policy
Development/Leadership Agenda and Master Calendar
Gail Sullivan, Chief of
Staff, commented that at the State Board Retreat in June, Board members had
identified priorities for their Policy Development/Leadership Agenda for
2005-06. She described the identified
priorities and a proposal for addressing them.
The priorities the Board had identified were 1) Early Childhood
Education - providing voluntary access
to quality preschools for all four-year old children; 2) High School
Reinvention / Transition – increasing the rigor, relevance and relationships
within Iowa’s High Schools; 3) Providing adequate funding to support Department
and State Board responsibilities and activities.
Gail Sullivan described the
plan for addressing the priorities. The
Master Calendar had been developed to incorporate the priorities into State
Board meeting agendas.
Board members discussed the
proposed plan for the leadership agenda and made suggested changes.
Greg McClain had a concern
about the availability of GPA data.
Director Jeffrey explained that this data was not available in a useful
context. Lee Tack provided information
in response to ITED and ACT correlation of data.
Gene Vincent appointed Mary
Jean Montgomery and Tara Richards to serve on the Model Core Curriculum Project
Lead Team.
Ambassador for Education
Report
Ernest Schiller, 2004
Teacher of the Year, reported to the Board on his year as Ambassador for
Education.
He summarized his major
activities, including visits to schools area education agencies and community
colleges, conference and workshop presentations, and appearances before
community organizations. Schiller
identified several high points of his year to be 1) guest of President and
First Lady Bush for the National Teacher of the Year Recognition; 2)
International Space Camp with all of the State Teachers of the Year and 70
International teachers; and 3) recognition from family, fellow teachers, the
local community and statewide leaders.
Mr. Schiller expressed concern about the lack of adequate
supplies, insufficient working conditions, and overloaded classes. He also encouraged continued support for the
Iowa Teacher of the Year program. He
stated his appreciation for the wonderful opportunity to serve as Ambassador
for Education and the many opportunities it had afforded him.
Offers for FY 07
Dr. Lee Tack, Administrator
and Roger Stirler, Chief of the Division of Financial and Information Services
were present for this agenda item.
Lee Tack stated that all
state agencies were required by Iowa Code to submit to the Department of
Management and Governor’s Office an appropriation request for the following
fiscal year by October 1. In 2004 a
new approach to budget requests, “Purchasing Results” was implemented. This approach required departments to
develop “offers” which are then presented to “buying” teams.
Tack and Stirler reviewed
the following offers for FY07:
§
Educator Quality
§
Universal Access to
Prekindergarten
§
High School Reform
§
State Aid to School
Districts and Area Education Agencies
§
Administration of the
Department of Education
§
Iowa Communications
Network Part III Leases and Maintenance
§
Iowa Jobs for America’s
Graduates (I-JAG)
§
USDA Child Nutrition
Programs (Required Match for Federal Funds)
§
State Aid for Children
in Nonpublic Schools
§
Regional Intermediary
System to Connect Students to the Workplace
§
Community College State
General Aid
§
Vocational Education
Secondary – Federal Match
State Board members
discussed the new budgeting process.
Tack indicated the offers were in draft status and a follow-up report
would come to the Board.
Board Reports
Greg McClain – No report
Rosie Hussey reported she had attended the Area Education Agency
267 meeting. The agenda led to
discussions regarding rigor and relevance and athletic eligibility rules.
Sally Frudden – No report
Tara Richards – No report
Sister Jude Fitzpatrick indicated she had attended the Regents’ Iowa Braille
and Sight Saving Task Force meeting .
Mary Jean Montgomery said she had attended 3 Iowa Public Television
meetings. Discussions included
designing the FY 07 budget request offers and activities concerning school
readiness and educating tomorrow’s students for a “flat world”. Other discussions included the conversion
progress to digital television for all IPTV towers.
Montgomery also reported
she had received an invitation to the Wingspread Conference in Racine,
Wisconsin. It was a three-day
conference entitled “Preparing, Retaining and Supporting a High Quality Teacher
Workforce: A National Conversation with Key Stakeholders.”
Gene Vincent reported on the rewards of his visit to a second
grade classroom.
President Gene Vincent
adjourned the meeting at 10:10 a.m.
State Board Work Session
Gail Sullivan, Chief of
Staff and Jeff Berger, Legislative Liaison were present to conduct the work
session. The work session focused on
the following two issues:
§
The State Board’s
Legislative Agenda for 2006
§
Continued work on the
State Board’s Operating Guidelines
____________________ ___________________
Gene E. Vincent Judy A. Jeffrey, Director
President and Executive Officer