Minutes of the School Board Meeting

Date: December 12th, 2005
Time: 4:30 p.m.
Place: AIS/D Library

Meeting called by: David Renz

Meeting Type: Regular

Attendees: Bonnie Carlson-Phillips, Michel De Knoop, Jonathan Dunn, Susan Ellison-McGee, Ann Gauvin Walton, Michelle (Miki) Jones, Beth Paige, Michael Popinchalk, David Renz

Others present: Julia Alden, Karl Andreasson, Bob Bieniek, Brian Brumsickle, Karrie Dietz, John Hollenbach, Raquibul Husain, Thomas Pado, Benedicte De Knoop, Stacie Rissman-Joyce, Cory Scott, Lance Witte

Absentees: Grant James Gaskin

Scribe: Elaine Johnson

Opening
Action Items
Information Items
Executive Session
Adjournment

• Student Council Report: The Winter Clothing Bazaar was a success. The council will contact other organizations regarding scheduling conflicts before selecting the date for next year’s bazaar. The money raised by the bazaar will go to selected charities, mainly earthquake relief.
  
• PTA Report The Halloween Carnival raised 10,000 Tk more than last year’s carnival. The PTA will receive 10% of the profits made from the Book Fair.
  
• Superintendent’s and Administrators’ Reports: Superintendent highlighted the very useful Unit Design Handbook created by members of the faculty and opened the floor for questions. The following is a summary of the information presented:

  The Modern Language Committee updated the Board on its progress. At the latest PTA meeting, parents suggested that Bangla be the language taught in the Elementary School since it is the host country language. However, the committee stated that Bangla would be a challenge for students that transfer to other international schools. It is very unlikely that those students would be able to continue with the language. Additionally, the Middle School and especially the High School would not be able to sustain the language—the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) does not offer Bangla. The committee will hold one more meeting in December 2005 and present its recommendation to the Board in January 2006.
  
  The Curriculum Center is established. Twelve Rubicon Atlas resource people are trained and ready for the January inservice. Fifteen teachers are completing the Understanding by Design (UbD) online course. The center continues to offer brown-bag events and opportunities to log in to the UbD Exchange. The IB application and budget have been submitted to the IBO. A Creativity, Action and Service (CAS) Coordinator has been selected and trained. The center has also provided a manifesto and is now proceeding to the next level: What do the mission and manifesto mean in subject areas? Standards and Benchmarks are being reviewed. Assessment will be worked on after December 2005. In April, teachers will share information learned from the NESA Conference.



• Enrollment Status (December, 2005): Twenty to 25 students will withdraw from AIS/D at the end of first semester. Based on the number of applicants these vacancies will be filled. The school population is not expected to grow as year progresses, but this may change.
  
• Monthly Financial Review: The Operational and Capital budget expenses are in line with the current forecast. No recommendations were made at this time.
• Program Committee Minutes: The committee will meet on Jan 18th to discuss the Modern Language Committee’s proposal. A replacement Facilities Consultant will be hired depending on the overall need. Mr. Zaman’s staff oversees over 50 apartments and the campus facility.
  
  Middle School access to campus on evenings and weekends will be evaluated with a student focus group.
  
  The committee supports the Guidance Counseling proposal to move toward a counseling approach—going away from defining the job as tasks and making it programmatic. The Board is requested to send comments regarding the proposal to the committee before the Jan. 18th meeting. Feedback from the 2006 Parent Survey will be used to help define the program at the end of the year.



• Policy Committee Minutes: Notes from the last meeting were presented. For IB graduation requirements, Katherine Anderson presented revisions for the Extended Essay component to replace the Senior Project requirement and revision of the Fine Arts and PE requirements. The IB co-coordinators will rework the language of the revisions and present a draft to the Board in January.


Student Support Services tutoring guidelines for tutors to follow will be part of Student Services Handbook. Analysis of current population using Student Support Services is being conducted. A report will be presented to the Board during the second semester.Dr. Proops is working on the healthcare handbook to be distributed after the Winter Break. Dr. Proops is also evaluating the roles of the health professionals at the school. A Nurse Practitioner is being studied as a future possibility with a focus toward health and wellness vs. urgent/in-school care.

A Board insurance policy is currently in place, but its scope is being evaluated by a second party.

Executive Session

• 2006-07 Proposed Budget
• Class Trips
• Staffing/Recruitment Forecast Update (Presented at Session)
• Superintendent Search Committee Updates