Present |
Called
In |
Caroline Allen |
James Gearity |
John Augustine |
Kent McGuire |
Terry Blue |
Mark Holman |
Patrick Browne |
Ivory Nelson |
Jane Bray |
Richard Kneedler |
Ronald Cowell |
Donna Piekarski |
Nancy Bunt |
Alan Lesgold |
Heather D’Angelo |
Harris Sokoloff |
Colleen Dorsey |
Clythera Hornung for D. Surra |
Michele Fabrizi with Elaine
Frombach |
James Turner |
Carolyn Dumaresq |
Robert Feir |
David Gilbert |
Elizabeth Useem |
James Fogarty |
Sarah Coon |
Rita Jones |
Stephen Pavlak |
Peter Garland |
Michelle Tarlecki |
Ted Kirsch with Pat Halpin-Murphy |
|
Dr. Kneedler called the meeting to order at 10:45 a.m.
Dr. Fogarty moved that the Minutes of the May 19 meeting be approved.
It was seconded by Mr. Turner, and the minutes were unanimously approved.
Dr. Feir then made a few procedural comments about the report and
the meeting today. On May 25, a second draft of the Commission report
was sent to all Commissioners. Dr. Feir said he hoped the discussion
and comments at the May 19 meeting were reflected in this new draft.
Any editorial changes to that draft of the report submitted prior
to the meeting will be incorporated in the final report. A list of
proposed substantive changes was sent to Commissioners on June 5
as the basis for discussion at this meeting. That document is attached
to these Minutes.
The meeting format will follow the list of submitted changes. After
each proposed change, the Commission will vote on the change. Once
the decisions are made, Dr. Feir will make the changes to the report
and prepare it to be delivered to the Governor.
Public Comments
There were no public comments.
Discussion and Adoption of Proposed Changes in Draft Report
Based on a roll call by Ms. Tarlecki, Dr. Kneedler determined that
there was a quorum of Commissioners present at the meeting. There
were 23 of 40 Commissioners present when the meeting began, and eventually
there were 26.
Dr. Feir pointed out that the order of some of the recommendations
had been changed and that others had been consolidated – without
changing the content of those recommendations – as reflected
on pages 1-2 of the June 5 “Proposed Changes” document.
Commissioners expressed no concerns about these revisions.
The first proposed change – in the structure of the Executive
Summary – was presented by Dr. Sokoloff, who made a motion
to approve the proposed change. The motion was seconded by Dr. Gearity.
Dr. Feir began by explaining that the shorthand version of the recommendations
would be removed from the Executive Summary. Several Commissioners
believed it would seem as if there were two sets of recommendations
in the report otherwise. The change would replace the shorthand recommendations
with summaries of the four key areas of recommendations.
Commissioners agreed that point # 8 should more closely mirror the
actual recommendations and that point # 10 should include more specificity
based upon language in the report.
Dr. Sokoloff’s motion, as revised by Commission discussion,
was adopted unanimously.
The next proposed change was to recommendation 1(f). Dr. Sokoloff
initially proposed changing “”improving” to “effecting.” Following
discussion, Dr. Lesgold moved that “improving” be changed
to “promotion of,” and Dr. Bunt seconded the motion.
After further discussion on the issue, the Commission agreed that
Dr. Feir would find a suitable word and that a motion was not needed.
Dr. Lesgold and Dr. Bunt withdrew their motion.
The next suggested substantive change was to recommendation 6(b).
This change was suggested by Dr. Sokoloff and Dr. Stroup. Dr. Sokoloff
said he believed each university should be able to have its own unique
program for training cooperating teachers and that a set of standards
should be created rather than a single program. This would make the
recommendation less prescriptive. Dr. Sokoloff moved the adoption
of the suggested change, and it was seconded by Dr. D’Angelo.
Commissioners discussed the current requirement for cooperating
teacher training in Chapter 354, but the reality is that it is not
uniformly implemented or enforced. Dr. Bunt proposed that the Commission
ask PDE to create a set of standards that encompass all elements
of effective teaching, including those found in Form 430. Dr. Sokoloff
restated his motion to reflect this discussion, and Dr. D’Angelo
seconded it. The Commission voted unanimously in favor of the motion.
The next proposed change was to recommendation 9, and it was made
by Dr. Sokoloff. He explained that the Commission should be more
specific about the elements of high-quality induction. He moved the
proposed change, and Dr. Lesgold seconded it. Commissioners voted
unanimously in favor of the proposed revision.
The next change was proposed by Mr. Hanna, but he was not present
at the meeting. Dr. Feir explained that this is an addition to recommendation
17(b). It was not complete before the last draft of the report was
circulated. The addition is to specify necessary funding. Dr. Lesgold
made a motion to accept the change, and Dr. McGuire seconded it.
There was no discussion, and it was adopted unanimously.
The last issue discussed was recommendation 21 and two proposed
changes to it. Dr. Dumaresq began with her proposed change that the
provisions on contract abandonment apply to all professional employees,
not just teachers. She also proposed reducing the suggested penalty
to a written censure by the Professional Standards and Practices
Commission.
The other proposed change was by Dr. Hornung. She suggested strengthening
the draft by adding the word “meaningful” to “penalty” in
the recommendation, but she agreed with Dr. Dumaresq’s statement
about applying it to all professional employees.
Following considerable discussion indicating a significant lack
of consensus, Dr. Lesgold made the point that this recommendation
will not have an impact on the amount of highly qualified teachers
in Pennsylvania and that is what the Governor wanted the Commission
to look at. He made a motion to delete the recommendation. It was
seconded by Dr. Nelson.
Dr. Bunt suggested that this recommendation not simply be deleted
but be reframed to suggest further discussion of the problem. She
suggested that this recommendation be incorporated into the recommendation
on recruitment and retention.
Dr. Lesgold amended his motion to include Dr. Bunt’s suggestion,
and Dr. Nelson seconded it. The Commission voted 23 to 3 in favor
of the motion, with Dr. Useem, Dr. Blue, and Ms. Piekarski voting
against the motion.
Adoption of Final Report
Dr. Bray moved that the Commission adopt the final report as amended
and authorize the Executive Director to incorporate changes and make
necessary editorial revisions. The motion was seconded by Dr. Fogarty.
It was unanimously agreed upon.
Dr. Nelson moved that the Commission authorize the Commission Chair
to transmit the report to the Governor. The motion was seconded by
Mr. Holman. It was adopted unanimously.
Dr. Nelson moved that the Commission authorize the Commission Chair
to approve and post the June 9 minutes on behalf of the Commission.
The motion was seconded by Mr. Augustine and adopted unanimously.
Dr. Kneedler noted the contributions of all three staff members – Michelle
Tarlecki for her organizational skills and helpfulness in arranging
the Commission’s considerable workload, Sarah Coon for her
thorough and cogent research upon which the Commission’s work
and final report were based, and Robert Feir for his consistent leadership
in getting the Commission to fulfill its assignment.
At the Chairman’s request, Dr. Fogarty moved that the Commission
recognize the staff of the Commission on a job well done. The motion
was seconded by Dr. Gearity and adopted unanimously.
Final Comments
Dr. Feir thanked everyone for their commitment in following through
with the Commission’s significant assignment in a relatively
short time frame. He informed the Commission that the Governor’s
Office will be arranging an official presentation to transmit the
final report this summer. This action speaks to the likelihood that
the report will be taken seriously. The staff will let Commissioners
know when the presentation will take place.
Dr. Kneedler acknowledged his colleagues on the Commission. He said
the Commission can be proud of its work, which will have a significant
effect on education in Pennsylvania and elsewhere in the years to
come.
There being no further business, the Commission’s final meeting
was adjourned at 12:15 p.m.
Proposed Changes in May 25th Draft Report
