Members Present:  Charles Skipper, Ron Vair, Tony Horton, Erick Bosworth, Neal Bosworth, Martha Counsil, Elsa Lamb, Sherry Miller, Scott MacLauchlan, Glenn Jones, Ettie Zilber, Jean Lamb, Martha Maristany, Adolfo Gonzalez, Larue Goldfinch, Robert Trent, Jack Bimrose, Linda Niehaus

Members Absent: Michael Farr, Liliana Jenkins, Chester Stemp

Guests:         Jacqueline Wiese, Crossroads Christian Academy, Panama
                         Patricia Ortiz, Colegio Maya, El Salvador
                         Alegría Lores, Pan American School, Costa Rica

1. Introductions and welcome to first time members and guests

2. Agenda

The agenda was reviewed. Added under other items were Business Managers’ Report, Directors’ meeting for 2008 and Middle School Choir.  The agenda was approved as amended.

3. Principals’ Report

·        Gloria Doll from CDS represented the principals and presented their report.  She reported that the meeting was successful and that 16 principals attended. They shared best practices in accordance with the decision made by the Directors at the 2006 meeting.  The principals agreed that it was an effective approach and worked very well, especially given that they would like to increase communication among the group.

·        The principals’ group elected officers for the coming year. 

President - Joseph Azmeh, American School of Nicaragua

Vice President – Maribel Maldonado, Colegio Maya, Guatemala

          They also agreed to create the position of Secretary.  The Secretary will be the Principal of the host school and will coordinate the logisitics for the meeting.

·        They discussed the recommendations of the Athletic Directors but did not necessarily accept them.  They did agree that the AD of the host school represent the AD’s at the principals’ meetings when necessary.

Actions on Principals’ Recommendations

# 5 Knowledge bowl. 

            The principals recommend that sufficient questions be supplied to avoid repeating questions, that questions be opened immediately prior to each round, and that a minimum of four games per team be offered to maximize participation.

# 6  Music Event

            The principals recommend that a structured format be adopted for the music event.  The American School of Tegucigalpa will provide a model for consideration.

Sherry Miller moved to accept these two recommendations.  Elsa Lamb seconded and they were accepted unanimously.

# 10 The principals recommend that schools be required to send representatives to the Principals’ meeting or the Directors’ meeting. 

The Directors’ discussed this recommendation, but the consensus was that participation could not be required.  There are a variety of factors that sometimes make participation difficult or impossible at a particular event.  The recommendation was tabled.

The other recommendations were reserved for later debate

The Calendar of Events for 2007 – 2008 was discussed. 

·        There was a question about the Media Specialists/Technology conference event scheduled for September 2007.  There were few participants the last time this event was held and it was canceled. The consensus was that the timing was complicated as it was only a month before the Tri-Association conference and many schools thought that it was of limited interest because of varying levels of technology and interest among the schools.

Sherry moved to take it off the calendar for 2007 and re-evaluate it in the future.  The motion carried unanimously.

·        There was a discussion of the dates for the Leadership Conference. Larue moved to change the dates to 14-16 September.  The motion was defeated 15 to 2.

·        There was discussion about the dates for the small school volleyball and soccer tournaments.  It is difficult for small schools to have the two tournaments only a month apart. The volleyball tournament was moved to 17-21 October. 

·        There was discussion about the principals’ meeting and if it should be hosted by Mazapan School two years in a row and if the timing was convenient so close to the Large School Volleyball tournament.  Large schools were not bothered by the closeness of the dates.  Also the meeting this year was a success at least partly because the principals were all together and not able to easily leave the group.  It was decided 16 to 1 to continue at Mazapan for 2008.

·        Due to some conflicts at tournaments, it was decided to have a meeting of Athletic Directors in September 2007 in place of the technology conference.  This will be considered an extraordinary meeting and will not permanently alter the established rotation.  AD’s should discuss event security, sportsmanship and the implementation of the members’ new directives for sporting events. 

The calendar was unanimously approved as amended.

Calendar of Events for 2007-2008

Leadership Conference                           6-9 September 2007
American School of El Salvador

Athletic Directors                                   28-30 September 2007
American School of Nicaragua 

Tri-Association Conference                     10-14 October 2007
Puerta Vallarta, Mexico

Small School Volleyball                          17 – 21 October 2007
Country Day School

Invitational Basketball Tournament           24-28 October 2007
American School of Tegucigalpa

Knowledge Bowl                                    8-11 November 2007
The Lincoln School

Drama Festival                                       31 January – 3 February 2008
The International School of Panama

Large School Soccer                              27 February – 2 March 2008
American Nicaraguan School

Small School Soccer                              5-9 March 2008
Panamerican School of San Salvador

Middle School Choir                               April 2008

Principals’ Meeting                                 11-14 April 2008
Mazapan School

Large School Volleyball                          16-20 April 2008
American School of El Salvador

Directors’ Conference                             2-5 May 2008
Colegio Maya, Guatemala 

• The principals also noted that EBSCO is a potentially valuable resource, but that most schools do not take adequate advantage of it.  It is generally underused.
• The principals recommended that the American School of El Salvador receive the community service award this year. The recommendation was accepted unanimously.  Other directors expressed interest in participating next year.
• Gloria reported that the principals were all very professional and discussed some difficult and sensitive issues without rancor.

Sherry moved to congratulate the principals and the Mazapan School for a very successful event and all agreed. 

4. Minutes from the May 2006 meeting

 Elsa Lamb moved to approve the minutes from last year’s meeting.  Martha Council seconded the motion and the minutes were approved unanimously.

5. Treasurer’s Report

Linda reported that there was a bill pending to the Tri-Association for $53,838 for the 20 AASCA member schools.  Three schools have dues still outstanding for the current year.  There is approximately $5,000 of outstanding bills to be paid including $1,000 for the Directors’ meeting, $215 for the Middle School Choir, $4,284 for small school soccer and $503.45 for the Business Managers’ meeting.

This leaves the Association with a balance of between $33,000 and $35,000 after paying the Tri-Association and outstanding bills.

Most events have deficits and host schools often assume the extra cost.  Sometimes schools ask for help if they cannot absorb the extra costs.  AASCA then supports the events to the extent that the host school is unable to cover additional costs. It has always been on the honor system and has not generally been a problem.

The executive committee met during the past year to review by-laws and procedures, but they were unable to get to the dues structure. They will meet to review dues structure for next year’s meeting.

6. Professional Development

AASCA has not organized an association-wide professional development effort for several years. The Association does not have a long term plan or vision. The discussion included the idea of having a theme each year and several possibilities were reviewed. Sherry suggested that we continue to share best practices and make better use of one another as resources.

Elsa Lamb moved that the 2008 Directors’ meeting be extended one day to include time for strategic planning; the logistics and options for a facilitator to be determined by the executive committee.  Martha Council seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

7. Dues

There was a discussion of how much money really needs to be in the bank.  Jack Bimrose moved that the dues remain US $3,500 for 2008 pending an evaluation by the executive committee and the strategic planning meeting next year.  The motion was accepted unanimously.

8. Community Service Award

There was only nominee, the American School of El Salvador.  There was a discussion of why there had been so little participation.  Many directors were unaware of how to apply and the guidelines. Sherry advised that there were guidelines on the website.  There are two awards – one school wide award and one for a group project. A discussion of the purposes of the award led to the conclusion that more definition is needed and it will be part of the upcoming session on the vision and planning the future of the Association.

Sherry moved to give one award this year to American School of El Salvador. Elsa seconded and the motion was adopted unanimously.

9. By-Laws

Some redactions in the by-laws were reviewed. They had been sent to the members before the meeting.

Elsa moved to approve the by-laws as amended. Linda seconded and the new by-laws were approved unanimously.

Charlie will talk to Mary Virginia to clarify AASCA’s legal status and confirm if any further action is necessary.

10. Application for new membership

There was a discussion about the criteria to apply for membership and the differences between voting and non-voting members. No decision was reached about classes of memberships and no changes were made.  This topic will also be reviewed after next year’s strategic planning meeting.

Charlie presented an information sheet and an application form for the consideration of the members.

Tony moved to accept the application form as amended. Linda seconded and it was adopted unanimously.

11. AASCA Policy Manual

There was a review of some proposed redactions in the AASCA Policy Manual and event guidelines. All of the event guidelines had not been reviewed.

In light of some recent issues concerning nationalistic behavior and poor sportsmanship, there was a discussion about the policy of playing all six national anthems and displaying flags at sporting events. No change in the policy was made and the issue was left for future review.

Sherry moved to accept the redactions that had been completed and ask the principals to review the pending sections.  They should be revised and standardized for next year. Elsa seconded and the motion was carried unanimously.

12. Athletic Issues

Proposals:

1. Non-students will not be allowed to be part of cheer squads.
2. There will be additional security to keep fans off the field or court, especially if the host school is in the final.
3. Continue the ban on noisemakers but remove the penalty shot punishment. Fans will be permitted to yell or whistle, but anyone with artificial noisemakers will be removed.
4. Large schools should send a non-AD administrator to tournaments.
5. Develop a code of conduct for parents and educate them about the rules.  Make announcements at the beginning of the game about rules and expectations.
6. A proposal for the formalization of a protest process will be circulated by Charlie before the September AD meeting.
7. Schools will be expected to participate fully in all elements of the event unless they communicate formally with the Director of the host school.
8. The host school will designate site directors if multiple sites are used for the tournament.
9. All AD’s should attend the final to help as needed.
10. Ron Vair will work on a proposal for AD training. The regular cycle will not be altered though.  Charlie will attend the meeting to present the issues and recommendations for the AD’s.
11. The draw will be done two weeks before and sent out to participating schools. The draw will be done by the officials of the host school, but the principals’ recommendation of having witnesses from other schools is not considered to be necessary.
12. The Association will continue to support invitational events.  Invitations will go out to all schools and participation will be on a first-come first-served basis.
13. The Association supports the idea of individual events for student athletes and exchanges in other sports.  These are considered to be on an ad hoc basis and are not official events and will not be added to the calendar as such. Any school is free to host an event in another sport and invite schools to participate however.
14. The large schools accepted the increased size of teams.  Small-school teams will remain with the same numbers.

Jack moved to accept the principals’ recommendations as amended and outlined above.  Martha seconded and they were accepted unanimously.

Elsa moved to raise the fee to $400 per event for large and small schools. Martha seconded and the proposal was passed.

Five of thirteen teams did not attend the closing ceremonies of the large school tournaments.  There has been a recurring problem with sportsmanship and behavior at large school basketball and soccer tournaments. Parents have also been an issue as crowd control has been a problem.

Various consequences were discussed including clearing the gym or field, suspending the offending school from the event the following year, having parents sign behavior contracts, educating parents and AD’s.  There is also the security issue presented by armed parents and bodyguards at some events.

Charlie left the session and Sherry led a discussion about the awards from the large school basketball tournament that are still an issue. Individual medals and certificates will be awarded, but the sportsmanship trophies are pending, boys for CAG and girls for Decroly. There had been a lack of sportsmanship in general at the large school tournament and this has been an acknowledged problem. Several members felt that the lack of sportsmanship in general meant that the sportsmanship trophies should not be awarded this year.  Ettie felt that this would penalize the student athletes for a problem that centered more on the behavior of the crowd.  Martha Maristany said that her AD decided not to attend the final ceremony because the Decroly team had been provoked.

Jack moved that the two sportsmanship trophies for the large school basketball tournament not be awarded this year. This should be taken not as directed at a particular school but as a statement by the Directors about the general lack of sportsmanship at the tournament.

Adolfo seconded and the motion was passed by a vote of 10 to 5.

13. Various

• Jack announced that Frank Winstead would be speaking at Lincoln.  He will send information to other directors who may be interested in this presentation, “Wayside Teaching.”

• Business managers’ Report.  This is one of the three rotating meetings and the minutes of the meeting were given to each member present.  The meeting was successful and important in supporting these important people in our schools.

• Small school volleyball will be at CDS from Oct 17-21.

• EBSCO – several schools are making extensive use of this valuable resource. According to the principals, it is an important but underutilized resource.  A way needs to be found to make better use of this and train our faculties, students and parents about it.

• Middle School Choir – The program didn’t come to fruition last year, but Ettie continues to feel that it is important to have an event for Middle School. It is also collaborative and not competitive which distinguishes it from many other AASCA events.  Eleven schools had originally intended to participate, but in the end only 5 or 6 were going to attend. Ettie wondered what had happened.  Larue said that they had a group for the music festival, but AIS didn’t have enough kinds to do both.  The timing conflict with the music festival made preparation and travel difficult as they were many of the same students.  The consensus was that the timing was difficult and there had been a conflict with the music festival, but that it is a worthwhile event. Sherry and Ettie will make an effort to organize it again for 2008 and send information to all members.  It is tentatively scheduled for April 2008.

• Ettie asked about which schools used the Stanford Achievement Tests.  Some use the test but in different grades. She will be in touch with schools to compile a report about which tests are used by which schools in which grades so that we can share information and results in the future.

15. New Members

Colegio Maya in San Salvador and Crossroads Christian Academy in Panama have applied for membership.

Elsa moved that CCA and Colegio Maya, El Salvador be accepted as non-voting members for the coming year.  It was approved unanimously.

They will be allowed to participate in all AASCA and Tri-Association events.  Charlie will organize visits and reports so that they can become voting members in 2008.

The meeting ended with some sharing of best practices and reading. The following books were recommended by members.

Hard Facts, Half Truths and Total Nonsense

19 Seconds

Smart Goals

What is the What

Reading for Meaning

It’s So Much Work to be your Friend

How Full is Your Bucket?

Family Matters

The Kindergarten Wars

The Price of Privilege

The Last Child in the Woods