OFFICIAL MINUTES FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING OF THE

ARKANSAS SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND

ARKANSAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF

           

The Board of Trustees for the Arkansas School for the Blind and the Arkansas School for the Deaf met for their monthly meeting on April 15, 2008.

 

Present: Henrietta Williams, Chairperson; Beth Gray, Secretary; Andrew Tolbert, Board Member; Johnny McGehee, Parent Representative; Jim Hill, A.S.B. Superintendent; Dr. Marcella Dalla Rosa, A.S.D. Superintendent; Katie Becker, Zania Musteen, Interpreters; Amy Ford, Office of the Attorney General; Members of the Deaf Community; Members of the Blind Community

 

Absent:  Dr. Doug Watson, Pam Hyneman

 

Call to Order

 

Ms. Williams called the meeting to order at 4:00 p .m. The next board meeting will be May 30, 2008 and will follow A.S.B. Graduation at 2:00 p.m.

 

04-J-005 Motion to Approve Consent Items

 

Ms. Williams asked for a motion to approve the Consent Items. Ms. Gray made the motion and Mr. Tolbert seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

 

Action Items

None

 

Discussion Items

A.S.B. Parent Representative – Johnny McGehee

 

Mr. McGehee said the Spring Concert was on March 20 and gave credit to Mr. Hill for one of the best concerts he has seen, and he said the choir was particularly good. Mr. McGehee told the board that the seniors had a fundraiser at El Chico last week and everyone had a good time.

 

A.S.D. Parent Representative – vacant

 

Ms. Williams asked about a parent representative for A.S.D. Amy Ford, Office of the Attorney General, said the governor’s office handles that. Ms. Williams said she will contact the governor’s office and check on the appointment.

 

 

 

Board of Trustees Meeting

Joint Session

April 15, 2008

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Presentation

A.S.D. Science Fair Projects

 

Dr. Dalla Rosa introduced the high school science teacher, Donna VanDevender, and Tiffany Lambert and Nathan Burleson students who competed in the national science fair competition. Ms. VanDevender thanked the school’s administration and the board for giving her and the students the opportunity to attend the National Science Fair for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, which was held at the campus of RIT in Rochester, New York and is hosted by the National Technical Institute for the Deaf and their Outreach office. Ms. VanDevender said she was confident in the amount of work the two students had put into their projects and the projects were on level and very competitive with all of the other projects at the fair, which boosted their confidence. She said she was proud of the professional manner in which the two students handled themselves and they represented the school with distinction. Ms. VanDevender said she was pleased to report that Nathan won second place in the Senior Individuals Division and received an award and a $300 stipend. She then introduced Tiffany Lambert, who explained her project to the board.

 

Tiffany’s explained her project of decamping carbohydrates in detail and explained how she arrived at her conclusions about carbohydrates. She said going to NTID was a wonderful experience and talked about new and different experiences she encountered in New York. She thanked the board for the opportunity to attend the fair.

 

After Tiffany’s report Nathan Burleson presented his project, the wind turbine, and explained the project in detail and how he arrived at his conclusions. Nathan said his experience of going to the National Technology Institute for the Deaf was so wonderful. He stated he wanted to visit the institute before he went to college and this was his chance to see the sights. He won 2nd place out of 4-6 places, which was exciting for him. He said it was also exciting going to Niagara Falls. Nathan thanked the board for the experience and said he hopes other students at the Deaf School will become fascinated with things like this and be given the opportunity to attend. The board members thanked both students on their accomplishments.    

 

Academic Bowl Report

 

Katie Northup, who is a first year high school math teacher at A.S.D., gave a report on the Academic Bowl. This is her second year coaching the students, known as the Whiz Kids, in the Academic Bowl. She said this was an after-school activity the first year the school was involved and explained about the many topics included in the bowl. She said it is a big challenge for the students and the students rose to the challenge. She said the team started with her mom, Barbara Northup, who is a long term English and Literature teacher. For health reason her mom had to leave and at that time Katie started substitute 

 

 

 

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April 15, 2008

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Teaching and directing the Academic Bowl as well. The Galludet Academic Bowl was held at Texas School for the Deaf. The school has had two more opportunities to go to the Indiana School for the Deaf and to the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf for two different competitions. Ms. Northup introduced Brandon Williams, who was the captain of last year’s team.

 

Brandon is a senior at the School for the Deaf and he said this is his second year to be involved in the Academic Bowl. He said Katie really kept the students studying every day for the Academic Bowl which they needed since they did not know what to expect at the competition. He said they went to the Texas School for the Deaf for their first Galludet College Academic Bowl and were very nervous but they won their first game and got wonderful exposure throughout the game. They studied harder the next year and were more prepared for the next bowl. He said they beat Minnesota North Star Academy, which is a very strong mainstream public school. At the Greater Plains School for the Deaf Academic Bowl competition, they earned 2nd place and they were happy to show their school that they are even with other schools around the country. He said the students owe a lot to Katie because they would not be as successful as they have been without her help and encouragement. He thanked the board for the opportunity to participate in the Academic Bowl.

 

Joshua Lopez introduced himself and said he has been at A.S.D. for two years and involved with the Academic Bowl for two years. He said he wanted to mention the teamwork of the team because alone you cannot get the information, you cannot learn it all, and it felt like they were on an equal playing field. He said his first year of participation was very awkward and he was behind because his family moved around a lot. He felt that the Academic Bowl was the one place he could catch up and be on the same level playing field as his peers. He said by participating in the Academic Bowl they became role models at A.S.D.

 

Nathan Burleson said this is second year to be involved in the Academic Bowl. He said at first he thought it would be a challenge to get into Academic Bowl but he went ahead and accepted the challenge. He said everyone encouraged the team and they learned so much, and at the same time it was difficult. He also said it provided a help for homework and study habits and that prior to being a part of the Academic Bowl he would only read the Sports section of the newspaper. After joining the Academic Bowl he has been reading different sections of the newspaper every day. Nathan went on to explain how the Academic Bowl worked.  Katie Northup said that the Academic Bowl students have had 20 successes. There are five seniors and two sophomores on her team and all of the seniors have been accepted to major colleges for the deaf, with three of the seniors being accepted to Galludet University. She said Nathan has been accepted to NTID and will major in computer engineering technology. She also said that all of her students have been involved with being first in the national football team, being first in the Greater Plains School for the Deaf Cheerleading Competition, being second GPSD basketball

 

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competition and she mentioned other successes for the students who have participated in the Academic Bowl. She said this shows that after all the students have done and all that she has required them to do, they have met and exceeded their expectations and this is because of opportunities the students have been given, such as Academic Bowl and National Science Fair. Ms. Northup thanked the board for the opportunities and she hopes this will continue in the future.

 

Ms. Williams said this speaks very well for the school. Dr. Dalla Rosa said they are very proud of the students and appreciates the work of the two teachers who were involved with the two activities.

 

There being no further business of a Joint nature, the meeting moved to the Agenda for the Arkansas School for the Blind.

 

 

 

 

 

                                                            _____________________________________

                                                            Henrietta Williams, Chairperson

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                            ____________________________________

                                                            Beth Gray, Secretary

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Board of Trustees Meeting

Joint Session

April 15, 2008

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