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Minutes from MDEC Meetings |
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Minutes from MDEC Meetings |
In attendance: Sharon Gilbert, Martie Kendrick, Sandy Doctoroff and Karen McClure-Richard
1. Minutes from last meeting: Motion made by Sandy to accept. Karen seconded. All members in favor to accept.
2. Sharon shared that her term as MDEC president is coming to an end. Martie Kendrick will be president for upcoming year.
3. Sharon announced that she has accepted a new position in Virginia and will be moving this summer.
4. ACCESS: Sharon has been in contact with Patti Wooley. The two discussed the potential use of the ATM system in the future for the ACCESS meetings.
5. Fundraising: Lorraine Spenciner worked on T-shirts and had them available at the 1st annual MDEC Conference. Prices are $15 for 1 shirt or $25 for 2. $250 worth was sold at the conference. Money was sent to Deb Rainey and deposited in account. Current account balance is approximately $602. Center for Community Inclusion paid for the t-shirts. MDEC owes this money to CCI (approximately $460 for the t-shirts). Whatever is sold from now on is a profit. Preparing the magnets cost $53. These have been used for a giveaway. They have not been for sale. Sharon will mark boxes with remaining T-shirts as “MDEC,” for another member to keep track after she moves to VA. The t-shirts are available for sale. Please contact an MDEC member to learn more.
6. MDEC Conference: 75 participants were in attendance which raised $1500 in registration fees. $1000 was spent on food and other materials. Overall about $511 was made in profit. This money has not yet been deposited. Sharon shared pictures from the conference. Conference was a success. Lori Levesque and Shelby Dineen said that the evaluations reflected that there was too much time in between the session, but that all other feedback was positive. The vendors reported that it was profitable for them as well. Martie inquired as to whether or not any other students have slated the conference as their grad projects for next year. Sharon and Sandy reported that this is not the case as of now, but it could change. Sandy suggested developing a conference committee.
7. Sharon shared the Maine Association for the Education of Young Children (MAEYC) minutes recently illustrated that group’s interest in holding a spring conference. Sharon suggested a collaborative effort between the two groups. The co-presidents are Jodell Austin and Betsy Lesage. Sharon suggested that we contact them as soon as possible. The more time to prepare a conference, the better. Their website is www.maineaeyc.org.
8. Jobs in MDEC: Ellie Libby has volunteered to be the membership chair and will call members to remind them of meetings and also call others who may be interested in joining and/or attending MDEC meetings. Tina Cannon has agreed to be the listserve moderator and will type minutes from meetings. Sharon will put out an E-mail to TOP asking for new additions to the listserve. Sandy Doctoroff agreed to serve as the Webmaster with support from Sharon. Basic skills and tasks were discussed.
9. CDS Cuts: Update on CDS budget cuts. Directors are in a meeting today. Will report to listserve.
10. Autism Conference: Lots of interest has been generated. Sandy reported that if it continues at this pace, it will sell out. Pamphlets have been mailed out to students and agencies as well as any other potentially interested participants/groups.
11. Sandy shared information about the concerns with Chapter 115 changes. The concerns are in regards to changes to certification endorsement. As it currently states, 24 credits of any special education coursework is enough for a 282 endorsement in any of the age groups. There is a concern that this seemed to happen very quietly. Discussed Praxis tests regarding certification. Would like to discuss more at the next meeting. Sandy mentioned that the Department of Education web page has a link to a site that lists education options for people who need a 282 endorsement.
12. Year End Report: Sharon contacted DEC office regarding the year end report. Martie will be the new president. Suggestion to have Vice President be the President-elect. Discussed potential nominations for this role. Deb Rainey has been treasurer and will be asked if she’ll continue to be. Tina Cannon has agreed to be the secretary. Discussed the following questions and discussed answers.
a. How can DEC Executive Office help this subdivision?
i. Money
ii. Find out what they can do
iii. We appreciate policy updates and IDEA updates
iv. Membership dues are expensive, which is prohibitive. Should continue discussions with CEC regarding DEC membership options and dues. Also discussed the idea of DEC becoming a subdivision of another organization.
b. How can DEC executive office make things more efficient?
i. Martie shared that she does not believe that there is an understanding of what is happening in Maine. Someone should attend one of our meetings per year by conference call. Sandy suggested that this connection could occur at the National Conference.
13. Scheduled meeting dates for next year. After discussing all of the options, it was decided that we would have some night meetings. ATM will continue to be used. Next meeting is September 19, 2005 from 6-9pm. November date will be November 18, 2005 from 10-2pm. January, March and May 2005 meetings to be planned at 11/18/05 meeting.
14. Suggestions for next year discussed. List includes: article discussions, planning conference, professional development, discuss advocacy issues we would like to look at for the upcoming year, identify someone who can keep information available to us on changes in CDS. Get a new Child Advocacy Network (CAN) Coordinator.
15. MDEC is now 5 years old. Reviewed the minutes from MDEC’s first meeting which was held in March of 2000. 19 people attended. MDEC had 46 members then, and it has 47 now. MDEC had no budget then but has money in the bank now. Discussed having a conference and a newsletter. We have now successfully held the first MDEC conference. It was decided today that the website offers the same information a newsletter would offer. Discussed enhancing our website and linking it to other organizations as well as advertising our website in other agency’s newsletters i.e. Maine Parent Federation, Center for Community Inclusion, Advocates for Children, etc…
16. Meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Karen McClure-Richard
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