My First School Board Meeting

Families and friends welcome to Montgomery Village Middle School 8th grade promotional ceremony. Today we embark on a new chapter of our lives as we end our middle school careers. We’ve spent the past three years of our lives in this wonderful place. We were given the opportunity to grow and learn. Our teachers, one of our biggest supporters, the ones we have built relationships with. Our teachers have seen us grow. They have been our guiding hands throughout our middle school career. The teachers in this school deserve the world. They motivate us each and every one of us each day. Most of us were able to mature throughout middle careers. We’ve grown aware of our surroundings. We’re all well aware of what’s to come as we open the next chapter

The twenty-five stories that are contained in the book, My First Year As A Teacher, are about real teachers and their experiences during the first year of teaching. Each story is different. Some are about memorable students while other stories are about some of the hardships that are encountered as a novice teacher. The diverse sampling of stories in this book gives insight of what kind of problems one might encounter as a teacher, yet they also describe how rewarding the profession can be. I found it rather difficult to choose only ten stories as my favorite but after much consideration and rereading I decided on the following stories because in many ways I could relate to the students as well as the teachers that are given life in these stories.

The agenda was precise and followed routine procedures regarding presentation of information. As usual the local school board of Cullman City Schools was very clear and methodical in the presentation of the agenda and maintained a strong sense of professionalism throughout the meeting. The groups that asked questions and had concerns seemed to very pleased with the responses that they received from the school board. The information that was provided to the various groups and parents helped the various groups gain a better understanding of the school board’s position on specific topics all while providing a clear understanding of the overall outcome that the school is wishing to achieve. The announcement of another special called board meeting on October 9th, 2015, at 9:30 a.m. was made. This announcement was made to inform all individuals who wish to attend, the opportunity to once again be a part of the ongoing discussion and search for the next superintendent of Cullman City

On April 26, 2017 I was made eighth grade secretary. Last year Mrs. Trimble, our advisor, just had us in her advisory. Thirty minutes a week to organize immense school functions for a little over one-thousand students wasn’t enough time, imagine that. This year we have student council as an elective class, so we are allowed more time to do what we need to. This is extremely nice because we have a lot to do as a board. Student council positions in high school can open up opportunities to apply for scholarships and prepare you for future jobs. Soon enough, I’ll start thinking about those possibilities, but all the worry is worth

The Hallsville Independent School District board meeting was very conductive. An agenda was handed out to everyone present, and it had every point to be made at the meeting neat and organized for everyone to follow. The meeting is mostly open to the public which provides a great way for everyone to feel up to date with what is going on in the school district, and be able to help in any way they can when problems arise. Once the superintendent had finished speaking about who was being recognized, the updated itinerary, and the HISD Education Foundation Report, he closed the meeting from the public. School board meetings benefit the community by letting the people not associated with a job through the school know what is going on in the district.

The Board President called the meeting to order, and the board secretary did the roll call. The agenda was comprised of various reports and the secretary would go though each agenda item, beginning with the board secretary’s report, finance, personnel, listing of approvals for salaries that included names of staff/faculty, retirements, leave of absences, bills, travel, field trips, etc.

All board members/trustees, Interim superintendent, assistant superintendents, executive assistant, and the principals were in attendance. Although, the vice principal for Sunny Hills was proxy for the principal and the student board member was not present at the meeting.

The formality of honoring both new members of the board and newly hired teachers was surprising to me. Swearing in three new board members, the electies proudly posed for a picture with their family members. Afterwards, the meeting turned to honoring the new county teachers. I was surprised that

Time, place of meeting, and environment - The school board meeting is held at Jones Magnet Middle School, 1819 Nickerson Blvd. at 6:30 p.m. The meeting is held in the auditorium and it is open to the public. The members of the board sat next to one another on stage while the visitors sat t in the audience. There was a clear distinction between the members and visitors. The environment is very structured and the members of the Board were task orientated. There was a great sense of group cohesiveness among the members and I could see there was a great deal of respect.

The school board meeting I attended was the Norris School District. The meeting was located at Norris Middle School in the Mary Louise Robinson Library. The address was 6940 Calloway Dr. at seven PM. The Norris school district contains four elementary schools and one middle school. Total number of elected board members are five. The board president is Cy Silver. They meet once a month on the second Wednesday. The board is required to address the reports from superintendent and staff. Such as enrollment, district proposition 39 California clean energy job acts funding, district cafeteria report, local control accountability plan progress report. They also discuss new business such as approving budgets and achievements. The general format of the meeting is the board members sit in the front of the general attendees and the president sits in the middle of all the board members. Staff members sit to the right and left of the board members. The atmosphere was very welcoming, and they spoke of the business like they actually cared.

One is Mr. Dan Aaker mentioning our sports teams. Another good thing is the fact that Mr. Aaker took time out of his announcements to talk about our fine arts, such and band and choir. He didn’t need to do this, but I am happy he did because I feel like the band and choir don’t get recognized by the school as much as they should. I think Mike Calhoon is very good at his job. He speaks clear enough to hear, impartial, and let discussions happen without putting his own input in too much. The board did as much as they could have in the time allowed, because they passed every single motion that was implemented. They also worked quick enough to end the meeting

Every school district has board meetings throughout the school year. Unfortunately, many parents, community members, & school personnel do not attend such important meetings because they don’t realize or understand the importance of such board meetings or how informative they can be. According to Kankakee School District (2017), the Kankakee School District Board of Education is composed of seven elected members, who were elected by the citizens of Kankakee to serve a four-year term that do not receive no salary for they services, are committed to ensuring a quality of educational excellence that will enhance the opportunities and challenges facing today’s student and additional responsibilities that board members include are selection of the District superintendent, developing general polices according to wishes of the community and requirements of law, hiring school personnel based upon recommendation of the Superintendent and the Assistant Superintendent of Personnel, adopts salary schedules, approves funds to finance school operations, must adopt and review the annual operating budget for the District, and setting the property tax levy to produce adequate funds to meet the District’s financial needs ranks among the responsibilities of the Board of Education (Retrieved from https://www.ksd111.org/domain/68). For this paper, the Kankakee School District board meeting will be used, information learned from board meeting, use of

I have gained an extensive amount of knowledge during my time as a student school board member. Prior to my time on the board, I had little insight into the amount of work that goes into running a school. I didn’t consider who hired the teachers that were such a vital part of my education or who coordinated sporting events. Although the board is not directly involved in every aspect of running the school, it has the ultimate oversight. Managing a school is a big job that requires a lot of decision making, and it is impossible to please everyone with these decisions. It was difficult for me to see upset community members at the first few board meetings I attended. I didn’t like seeing anyone unhappy with the decisions I played a part in making.

On Monday,October 14, 2013 at 7:00 P.M., I attended the Bradford Area School District school board meeting at Floyd C. Fretz Middle School in the large group instruction room. This meeting was important for the teachers, students, and the schools in the district. It provided information that correlated to the material in class and a perspective on what situations as a future teacher I may experience.

The night before my first day as a teacher I was scared. It was something totally different for me; it was something I had never done before. Yes, I have made some microteachings at the university, but that was not the same as been in an actual classroom with kids observing you and waiting for you to teach them something. In my head, there were questions such as What am I going to do? What should I tell to the kids? Is this how it is supposed to be done?