Meeting Notes: Closing Session — Summer 2003
July 22-23, 2003
Washington, DC
Opening Remarks
Standing Committee Progress Reports- NESAC
Standing Committee Progress Reports- PPI
Standing Committee Progress Reports- TD&C
Guidelines for Data Quality Task Force
Education Performance Indicators Task Force
School Facility Data Elements Task Force
Basic Finance Data Elements Task Force
Student Privacy Guidelines Task Force
Election of New Officers
2002-2003 Forum Officers Recognition
Adjourn
Opening Remarks
Raymond Yeagley began the closing session with a motion to extend an invitation to new Forum participants to become associate members with SIF. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Bethann Canada will extend the invitation.
Standing Committee Progress Reports- NESAC
Bill Smith, SD, reviewed the discussions in the NESAC meetings. Presentations were given by task force chairs Patty Murphy of the Facilities Handbook Task Force, Linda Champion of the Finance Task Force, and Steve King of the Performance Indicators Task Force. The CCSSO and NCES also gave reports on the projects they are working on in relation to the Forum. Judith Thompson, CT, Christine Selk, WI, and David Burnett, SC reported on their state task orders. Other issues discussed included ways Forum members communicate through roundtable discussions and the list serve. The definition of “highly qualified teacher” was given as an example of where increased communication would help Forum members.
Standing Committee Progress Reports- PPI
Gerald Hottinger, PA, reviewed the discussions in the PPI meetings. Ellen Campbell discussed pupil rights and the ability to have and protect data. Dennis Powell, IL, told PPI that he is waiting on the new race/ethnicity definitions to continue the task force. A Title II report on teacher quality concluded that it is up to the states to decide the definition of “highly qualified teacher” and site visits will help the process. Gerald also mentioned a list of frequently asked questions on contracts is posted on the NCES website. He went on to emphasize the importance of sending an official address to LaShawn Pettaway when getting a wire transfer. There was also a SIF initiative report and a Kentucky enterprise report.
Standing Committee Progress Reports- TD&C
Roger Young, MA, reviewed the discussions in the TD&C meetings. The Data Quality Task Force reported that it hopes to be finished in the next ix months. The Forum has already distributed 25,000 paper copies of 2002-2003 publications and had 80,000 downloads of Forum publications during the past two years. The Forum online survey has been updated and will be posted shortly. Roger also stated that TD&C is updating four Forum publications by creating a single theme. The project will be completed in six months and will be available on the web. There were also reports from the CCSSO and Hawaii. The committee also decided a poll of Forum members will be taken to gather opinions on the Forum booth.
Guidelines for Data Quality Task Force
Blair Loudat, OR, stated the data quality document is more streamlined from the earlier academic version. She believes the group will have a publication in a short period of time.
Education Performance Indicators Task Force
Steven King, WY, stated that Tom Szuba is the contractor for the project. The project focus shifted to performance indicators and supporting indicators. Steve believes the project will be finished in April/May 2004 so the Forum can vote on it in June.
School Facility Data Elements Task Force
Patricia Murphy, UT, enthusiastically discussed her task force’s new publication, Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local Education Associations. The publication is available in hard copy and on the web. Patty states the publication is very comprehensive incorporating the current events, such as Columbine, into the information.
Basic Finance Data Elements Task Force
Linda Champion, FL, discussed the two documents her group is working on. The accounting manual only has one technical review and should be available on the web by the end of August. The core finance data elements publication is also in progress.
Student Privacy Guidelines Task Force
Dennis Powell, IL, stated Oona Chung was hired as the contractor. The group is looking to have a leaner document for the MIS conference in February.
Election of New Officers
Raymond captured the crowd with his farewell “swan song” graphics and thanked everyone for allowing him to lead the Forum. A proposed slate of new officers was received by the steering committee. No one opposed voting on a single slate. The slate included: Bethann Canada, VA, Forum Chair; Blair Loudat, OR, Forum Vice-chair; Bill Smith, SD, NESCA Chair; Brad James, VT, NESAC Vice-chair; Gerald Hottinger, PA, PPI Chair; Nancy Resch, NJ, PPI Vice-chair; Thomas Purwin, NJ, TD&C Chair; and Madalyn Quinlan, MT, TD&C Vice-chair. There was a unanimous vote of approval for the slate.
Bethann took the floor as the new Forum Chair by thanking everyone. Bethann presented a list of challenges to the Forum members, stressing the importance of promoting the Forum and building communication between Forum members. She proposed a “members toolkit” be created to help Forum members share ideas. Bethann closed by expressing her excitement for the February MIS conference to be held in her home state of Virginia.
2002-2003 Forum Officers Recognition
Lee Hoffman presented certificates of appreciation to Raymond Yeagley and Bethann Canada. Certificates of appreciation were also presented to Levan Dukes, FL; William Smith, SD; Patricia Murphy, UT; Gerald Hottinger, PA; Roger Young, MA; and Thomas Purwin, NJ. The Forum members gave a special round of applause to Ghedam Bairu for her wonderful work with the Forum.
 Meeting Notes |
