FALL DISTRICT MEETINGS
READY FOR BIG SCHOOL

Are you Getting Kindergartners Ready for Big School? If you don’t know whether your kindergarten teachers communicate with preschool teachers or if your dropouts are the same students who struggled even before first grade, perhaps it’s time for a little collaboration. AASB’s Aug. 23-Sept. 16 Fall District Meetings will peel back the layers on quality pre-kindergarten education and its impact on school readiness. You’ll learn how communities are coming together to discuss, support, create and expand pre-K programs even in these challenging economic times. Register Now...

• Learn How Alabama Communities Take Action to Ensure Kids Start School Ready to Learn
  
  

WEBINAR/TELECONFERENCE
SEPT. 8, PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE

What message does your school board send? Does your school board exhibit the best practices of effective meetings and an expert use of parliamentary procedure? When used effectively, parliamentary procedure helps a board improve debate, discussion and ultimately decision making. Join Zenda Bowie, director of field services for the Georgia Association of School Boards, and LuAnn Bird, AASB’s director of board development, as they present Effective Meetings Using Parliamentary Procedure. The webinar will cover school board member decorum using Robert’s Rules of Order to guide discussion and engage your school board. Register Now...

OCTOBER ACADEMY CONFERENCE
LEADERSHIP, ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

The AASB School Board Member Academy presents its core course on Leadership for Academic Achievement Oct. 3-4 at The Renaissance Hotel in Montgomery. Attend and learn about Rigor and Relevance for All Students, Linking Educator Effectiveness to Student Achievement, how the entire education community can come together to Raise the Bar for all children and how one school system made 21st Century Classrooms a reality. For more, download the brochure or visit conference details.

DISTRICT DIRECTOR ELECTIONS
VOTE IN AASB DISTRICTS 1, 3, 5, 7 & 9

If you are interested in serving a two-year term as an AASB District Director, now is your chance. Nominations for AASB’s odd-numbered districts must be received in writing and postmarked or received by the executive director no later than Sept. 1. Each school board will receive a ballot to vote on during its October school board meeting. Ballots must be returned to AASB by Oct. 31. District 1 Director Stephanie Walker of Brewton, District 3 Director Roxie Kitchens of Troy and District 9 Director Dr. Jennie Robinson of Huntsville are eligible for re-election. New directors will be chosen in districts 5 and 7. A director completing a full term is eligible for another.

Nominations thus far: Stephanie Walker of Brewton for District 1, Kim Benos of Vestavia Hills for District 5, Tracy Estes of Winfield for District 7, Roxie Kitchens for District 3 and Dr. Jennie Robinson for District 9.

• Download the nomination form and details about the election process.
• District Director Candidate Brochure
  
  

STATE BOARD NEWS
EXPECT OCT. CHECKS FROM ED JOBS FUND

Alabama’s application is in for $149 million of the $10 billion Congressionally approved Education Jobs Fund. Approval is expected in the coming weeks, and money should be available to schools by October. Local K-12 education agencies get 100 percent of the funding and may use it for the 2011 and/or 2012 school years. The federal dollars – distributed at $3,079 per unit based on the state’s Foundation Program formula – must be used by Sept. 30, 2012. Read More...

COURT REPORT
FAIR DISMISSAL ACT/NONPROBATIONARY

Fair Dismissal Act/Nonprobationary Status Franks v. Jordan, --- So.3d ---, 2010 WL 2663099 (Ala.Civ.App. Jul. 2, 2010), cert. denied (Aug. 6, 2010). We first reported on this case in the April 2010 edition of Court Report. After multiple requests for rehearing, the Court of Civil Appeals issued a final decision on July 2, 2010 in favor of the college, a decision which was virtually identical to its April 2010 decision. The employee appealed to the Alabama Supreme Court, but the court declined to review the case on Aug. 6, 2010, and the decision will stand. Read More...

AASB ART COMPETITION
AND THE WINNERS ARE...

Students from across the state submitted 68 creative entries. The winners will be officially recognized Dec. 4 during the 8:30-10:30 a.m. closing general session of AASB’s Annual Convention at The Wynfrey Hotel in Birmingham. To view the entire gallery of entries, click here.