February+24,+2009

Nashwaaksis Middle School, Room 101 February 24, 2009 @ 4:00 p.m.** Present: Jeff Whipple (PD Chair), Rachel Hefling (Ed. Centre, Autism & P.E. Mentors, & NBTA District Office Staff), Geri Kilburn (Connaught), Lise Martin-Keilty (George), Sharyn Pope (South Devon Alternate)), Melissa Walker (Leo Hayes), Michelle White (Leo Hayes), Ashley Woods (South Devon), Dawn Gallow (Barker’s Point), Cathy Denovan (Royal Road),, Nan Chisholm (Montgomery Street).
 * NBTA Branch 1826 PD Meeting

Welcome

Feedback on Nov. 21st school-based PD – People appreciate school-based PD. Comments indicated that it was well attended and very well-received; it enabled schools to tailor their PD to the specific needs of the school. It was suggested that it would be nice, with PLCs, to collaborate PD with other schools. Jeff stressed that, while team-building is great, schools need to understand that PD has to be student-focused – that is, the guiding question should be “What is this doing for my students directly?”

Funding Support for School-Based PD – The $10 F.T.E. is intended to fund the two Branch 1826 PD days – Nov. 21st and April 30th. The monies may be used for food, activities, guest speakers, etc. There were no restrictions put on it and no receipts required. You are on the “honour system” to use the funding appropriately.

Rachel reported that the non-school-based mentors were not able to get the funding because there is no place to write the cheques to. Jeff will check into this further.

April 30th Branch or School-based? – The general consensus of the meeting was that teachers prefer a school-based approach to PD. Be sure to complete the PD Planning Template on the 1826pd wiki space. Jeff has compiled all of the submitted PD Plans to date as a way to track the funding. It also is very informative of what sorts of things other schools are doing. There were no objections to sharing the plans on-line, thereby, making it public information. However, Lise cautioned that a more general description of specific topics might be advisable at times to avoid possible controversy.

Suggestions for PD on Monday afternoon May 4th [following our Branch Annual General Meeting in the morning] – several suggestions included a tour of the NB Portal or an in-service on Global Learning opportunities. Ask your staff for their suggestions to forward to the NBTA Branch.

Jeff is considering a new funding/application procedure and criteria review to better track the money as well as the activities being pursued. It would all be accessible on the 1826pd wiki. He asked for feedback concerning the possibility of PD funding for teachers who are willing to offer workshops for fellow teachers and just want some funding to cover supply costs. This was acceptable to the members in attendance since it would encourage teachers who are willing to take that initiative. Jeff will pursue setting criteria for these initiatives – i.e., cap it for supplies, open to all teachers, etc. It was noted that this funding should not take away from the teacher’s eligibility for a $250 annual conference grant.

Coverage of Supply Days – Should we be paying for supply days from PD monies? NBTA has specifically said that their grant money will not cover supply days. This has a long history and, in recent years, the District has been very supportive, however, there are still instances where, if we do not cover the supply days, the teacher does not go. The feeling is that we should support teachers to get valuable PD. If we don’t pay for their supply, who would?

MOTION: It was moved by Lise Martin and seconded by Michelle White, that we ask Branch 1826 Executive to approve that the $250 of District PD monies can be used for supply days. Carried.

PD Grant Budget Update – Our request for an additional $10 000 to be added to the 1826 PD Grant Funds was approved. There is $6 000 to $7 000 left. This information will be forthcoming from Marilyn Kaufman, President of NBTA Branch 1826. Jeff will send out an update. Lise noted that PD applications are down this year and suggested that perhaps not receiving a paper copy of the NBTA News may be a contributing factor. Many teachers are not accessing the information on-line and may be unaware of PD opportunities as a result. Jeff will ask Lee Dickison, Manager of District 18 Information Systems, for suggestions on how to access the membership electronically to disseminate union information. It may have to be done through the Department of Education.

Meeting adjourned at 5:00 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Sharyn Pope Barkers Point PD Alternate