Faculty and Staff Meeting and Workshop Minutes

Spanish-American Institute

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Schedule: The Faculty and Staff Meeting started at 10:30 am. The Workshop convened at 11:00 am. and ended at 12:15 pm. Mr. Ferraro invited attendees to lunch at Becco’s.

Attendance: T. Bobrysheva, Z. Batchaeva, F.A. Bush, M. Chalek, D. Compaore, V. Covic, A.M. Diaz, G. Diaz, L. Fallarme, D.V. Ferraro, J. Gaylan, L. Grajo, L. Hernandez, A. Lisitsyn, E. Manliclic, Z. Matiychyk, M. Nisimov, N. Panganiban, C. Prager, E. Ramos, K. Rodriquez, I. Rymer, T. Schwenke, S. Sergeeva, S. Shcheglova, N. Tomskikh, A.Tuldanes.

President’s Report: Mr. Ferraro welcomed everyone.

1. ACICS Reaccreditation: ACICS has reaccredited the Institute. Mr. Ferraro thanked everyone for their assistance during the reaccreditation process.
2. State Education Department License: The State Education Department has also renewed the school’s license.
3. New aDSL2 Line: The school’s has installed a new aDSL2 line to increase download bandwith. This will provide download speeds of up to 15 megs per second. The old T-1 provided speeds of us to 1.5 mps. There should be a very noticeable difference which is better suited to the much faster Apple iMac computers in the Library and Computer Room.
4. Facebook: The Student Club has over 1000 Facebook “friends” @ www.facebook.com/studentclub. This communication capability is being used to promote student participation in cultural and educational events which were previously available only on the Student Club bulletin boards and in its Newsletter as well as to provide peer support for student through activities such as the e-Book Exchange and room or apartment listing ability.
5. Donations: Mr. Ferraro thanked faculty and Friends of the Institute who have initiated thoughtful hardware, media, and instrument donations
6. Attendance Entry for Students Leaving Early: Faculty should advise their classes that enter students leaving class early will be recorded as “A”bsent rather than “P”resent.
7. Cell Phone Use: Faculty members are encouraged to get students into the habit of turning off cell phones as soon as they enter the classroom.
8. Founders “English through the Arts” Special Events Center: Faculty are encouraged to use the Center for class events and to promote its use (as well as the use of the new Special Exhibit Gallery along the west corridor) for student exhibits as part of the “English Through the Arts” Series;
9. Faculty “Captains” Needed for Student Bike Club. A very popular school activity needs faculty leaders for weekend bike trips. Faculty and students can use one of the Institute’s 10 bikes or bring their own.

Chair and Other Faculty Reports

L. Hernandez, Business Chair: L. Hernandez stated that many accounting students need to learn Quikbooks using Accounting area PCs.

L. Grajo, English Chair: L. Grajo stated that ESL faculty have noticed an increase in students coming to class without books and asked for ideas about how to address this.

Academic Dean's Report

1. New Faculty Member Introductions.
2. TIAA-CREF: Institute faculty and staff may participate in this pension plan though voluntary before-tax deductions. Contributions to the plan are property of the individual employee and belong to the faculty member when leaving the Institute.
3. Housekeeping:

• clean blackboards before leaving each class
• ask students to dispose of their trash at the end of a class.
• a mop is available in the utility closet between the Rest Rooms,
• a large trash bin is located in the utility closet near the reception desk,
• paper towels to clean smaller spills are available in the bookstore and in many teacher classroom desks
• larger plastic bags for excess trash are available in Room One

4. Public Library Education (handout): Students from other countries may not be aware of their communities’ free public library resources. The Institute asks faculty to educate students about using the public library system and applying for public library cards.
5. Reporting Missing or Damaged Instructional Resources or Requesting Additional Material: Please report missing or damaged CDs, teacher manuals, and other instructional resources to the Bookstore attendant and/or Dr. Prager so that they can be replaced or repaired. Requests for additional material should be submitted to Mr. Ferraro or Dean Prager.

Workshop: “What Have We Learned From NorthStar?”

During the workshop, faculty and staff shared strategies for implementing NorthStar units.

Time Spent on Unit Foundation Activities: Several faculty members stated that they have increased the time spent on each unit’s beginning foundation activities like “Predicting” (at least one class period} and “Vocabulary for Comprehension” (one or more class periods integrating the four language skills).

Implementing Final Unit Research/Fieldwork Activity: Students welcome the opportunity. to apply everything they have learned in a unit in this independent activity. Several faculty members have used the Founders Special Events Center for student presentations. Presentations have included storytelling, fashion shows, native dress, food from different cultures, multiple intelligence exhibits, and other presentations illustrating NorthStar and WorldView topics.