The SCCTM Advisory Assembly

April 2005 Meeting Report

The SCCTM Advisory Assembly met on April 16, 2005 at the Ramada Inn in Columbia, SC.  The advisory Assembly is comprised of teachers of mathematics from each of eight regions of the state. Each region has members representing the elementary, middle, secondary and post-secondary level. The purpose of the Advisory Assembly is to provide guidance and make recommendations to the SCCTM Executive Board concerning services that the organization provides to its members.

Sixteen members of the Assembly, along with twelve members of the executive board were present.  The morning agenda included an update on the new regions of representation for the selection of Assembly members, a report on progress made toward Assembly suggestions during the last year, and reports from the President and State Department of Education representatives. The afternoon was dedicated to members meeting with their school-level Vice Presidents and discussing issues and make recommendations to the executive board.

Susan Hall, the President of SCCTM, greeted the members and discussed the progress of several SCCTM programs. She briefed the assembly on professional development grants that were awarded recently, the plans for the coming fall conference, the monthly electronic newsletter she has implemented and the proper contact information for various programs supported by the organization. She also stressed the desire to increase membership and participation from across the state.

Bill Gillam, President-elect, described the new assembly membership structure based on eight regions of the state. The assembly had previously been selected from thirteen regions. The presentation included an update on the progress the board had made toward the Assembly’s suggestions from last year. He also relayed a request for increased collaboration from the South Carolina Science Council. Bill finished his presentation by outlining the objectives for the rest of the meeting.

The two representatives from the State Department of Education who serve on the executive board were present and reported on recent events at the SDE. Marjorie Claytor  spoke on the Presidential Award program, announcing this year’s mathematics winner, Joyce Dodd. Lane Peeler discussed a recent meeting where stakeholders were able to relay their thoughts and suggestions for improvements concerning the state’s testing programs.

The afternoon of the meeting was devoted to teams of teachers meeting with the Vice Presidents for their grade level to evaluate the current activities of SCCTM, voice concerns, and offer suggestions as to what they wanted the organization to do over the next few years.

The elementary group used their meeting time to judge the posters sent in for the SCCTM elementary poster contest. They discussed implementing multiple categories and grade levels in next year’s contest. They made several other suggestions concerning the rules and requirements of the contest. An unrelated suggestion was to move the Fall Advisory Assembly meeting to breakfast on Friday at the annual conference.

The middle school group expressed the desire to see more articles in the MathMate focusing on classroom instruction and activities. Specifically, they wanted to see student responses to activities and teacher notes on how the activities went when they were implemented in the classroom. The middle group also suggested a breakfast meeting for the Advisory Assembly at the fall conference, and for region names to be printed on their conference nametags.

Other suggestions from the middle group related to the SCCTM website. Speaker notes from the conference, e-mail addresses of national board certified teachers willing to help others seeking certification and a list of professional development opportunities available throughout the school year were three specific items that the group suggested the organization post on its website.

The secondary group also expressed the need for more information concerning state-wide and national contacts. They suggested creating a network of teachers who could disseminate data throughout the state. The high school group suggested SCCTM facilitate the spread of information throughout the state and work with other organizations to provide more opportunities for teachers to come together to discuss issues that affect teaching in South Carolina.

The secondary school group voiced its support for collaborating with the science organization, The South Carolina Science Council. A particular suggestion was to invite their members to present at our conference and to encourage our members ask to present at theirs.  The group also suggested recruitment strategies and workshops to help with addressing the skills on the “new” SAT.

The Post-secondary group asked that we have planned meetings for South Carolina participants at regional and national meetings. They asked that the board ensure there are some college-level book representatives at our fall conference. They also supported a Friday morning meeting of the Advisory Assembly.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:00 after all groups had reported the results of their discussions.