Constitution of the Wyoming School-University Partnership
Introduction
The University of Wyoming, Wyoming public schools, and Wyoming’s community colleges have mutual interests and responsibilities that overlap in areas such as teacher and administrator preparation, curriculum development, assessment, evaluation, and research, entrance requirements, and student guidance. The joining of ideas and mutual interests between schools, the university, and the community colleges, promotes collaboration to achieve, together, educational goals that cannot be achieved alone.
Governing Values
The activities of the Wyoming School-University Partnership (hereafter, Partnership) are driven by its values. These basic values are fundamental:
1)We value students, preschool/kindergarten through graduate (PK-20), and want each to reach his or her full learning potential.
2)We value teachers and administrators and desire to prepare each to be capable of delivering to students the quality of education, which will permit each to reach his/her full learning potential.
3)We value collaboration--working together to solve problems in order that quality education can be raised to the highest possible level.
Statement of Purpose
The mission of the Partnership is to implement the collaborative efforts of its member organizations in carrying out simultaneously the restructuring of teacher education and the renewal of public schools.
The National Network of Educational Renewal (NNER) calls this work and approach “simultaneous educational renewal”. Renewal is guided by the NNER’s Agenda for Education in a Democracy. Four guiding principles compose the Agenda for Education in a Democracy: 1) enculturating the young into a social and political democracy; 2) providing access to knowledge for all children and youths; 3) practicing nurturing pedagogy with respect to the art and science of teaching; and 4) ensuring responsible stewardship of schools. Guided by the moral and practical guidance of the Agenda for Education in a Democracy, Partnership members share resources to promote close cooperation between and among members. Supporting partner districts in such activities related to simultaneous renewal will be a major component in accomplishing this mission.
The intent is to create a process and an accompanying structure through which an equal party to a collaborative agreement will seek to draw on the complementary strengths of the other equal parties in advancing its interests. The Partnership is a means to this end. Within this structure, the Partnership will establish and maintain connecting linkages with the NNER for purposes of giving help to and receiving help from other network partnerships. The Partnership will continue to be a member of the NNER so long as this membership meets its interests and so long as the Partnership continues to meet the criteria for membership in the NNER.
Governing Board
The Partnership is governed by a board composed of member school district superintendents, the dean of the College of Education, the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the state superintendent for public instruction, the executive director of the Wyoming Education Association (WEA), and a representative of the Wyoming community college academic vice-presidents, or their designees. Each member of the board is entitled to one vote. In addition, the Governing Board will include such ex officio, non-voting members as may be considered necessary (e.g., the Partnership executive director, the College of Education associate dean for undergraduate education, a representative of the Wyoming Community College Commission). If and when new member institutions are added to the Partnership, their superintendent or administrative head will become a member of the governing board. The governing board will make all policy decisions, oversee financial affairs, employ an executive director, create agendas, monitor projects, and continually facilitate the introduction of new approved programs in the Partnership.
Membership
The Partnership consists of school districts, the College of Arts & Sciences and College of Education at the University of Wyoming, the Wyoming State Department of Education, the Wyoming community colleges, and the Wyoming Education Association. Additional members may be invited to join upon their written request and upon the unanimous approval of a quorum of the Partnership Governing Board.
Executive Committee and Governing Board Officers
Executive Committee
The executive committee will be composed of the board chairperson, chair-elect, past chair, the College of Education representative, the College of Arts & Sciences representative, and the Partnership’s representatives to the NNER’s governing council and tripartite council.
The role of the executive committee is three-fold. The executive committee a) conducts a yearly performance evaluation of the executive director and makes recommendations to the Governing Board; b) participates in formal meetings and related activities of the NNER; and c) advises the executive director.
Board Chairperson
The Governing Board will elect a chairperson from its membership who is responsible for convening the board quarterly or as needed, setting the agenda for the meetings, and managing the affairs of the Partnership office with the assistance of the executive director. The chairperson will serve a two-year term, effective at the July or summer quarter meeting.
Chair Elect
The Governing Board will elect a chair-elect, two years prior to the candidate taking office.
Past-chair
The immediate past-chair will serve on the executive committee for a two-year term.
Office of the Partnership
Determination of the office location shall be made by the Governing Board, with recommendations from the executive committee. The business of the Partnership will be facilitated by an executive director and secretarial/clerical services.
Executive Director
An executive director will be employed by the Governing Board. Qualifications, salary and related benefits, job description, and other conditions of employment will be established by the Governing Board and monitored by the executive committee. The executive director will report directly to the Governing Board for all aspects of the job description, serve as an ex officio member of the board (without vote), follow-up on appropriate action items, and in other ways facilitate the work of the board. Re-appointment of the executive director shall take place at the July or summer quarterly meeting, following an annual performance evaluation that occurs at or following the April or spring meeting.
Task Forces
Task forces charged with developing plans and strategies for addressing the most critical and most calcified problems of improving schools and the education of educators may be established by the Governing Board. Each group will be staffed with appropriate representation of school, college, and university faculty, administrators, Wyoming State Department of Education consultants, and community members. In addition, the Governing Board may create work groups and committees that fully endorse the values, mission and agenda of the Partnership.
Budget
The Governing Board will, in April, establish an annual operating budget. The fiscal year shall run from July 1 to June 30. The operating budget consists of yearly dues from member institutions. In kind contributions may support Partnership work. In addition to the operating budget, specific project budgets may be established to support the work of the Partnership for designated initiatives. Effort to secure additional funds from external funding sources will be made by the executive director and Governing Board members.
Responsibilities of Member Institutions
As members of the Partnership, each institution will participate in the formulation of Partnership policies and practices. In addition, each member will have the opportunity to be involved in all Partnership activities, to have access to all publications, reports, and other materials developed. In order to qualify for membership, each member agrees to support the Partnership by:
1)Committing to the active involvement in the Partnership.
2)Securing the district superintendent’s commitment to serve on the Governing Board and to attend scheduled meetings of this body. The University of Wyoming and Wyoming community college presidents commit to supporting the Partnership and the deans from the College of Education and College of Arts & Sciences agreeing to serve on the Governing Board and to attend scheduled meetings.
3)Releasing staff to attend appropriate Partnership meetings and to give leadership to designated programs of the Partnership.
4)Clarifying of establishing internal procedures in order to facilitate the participation of staff of the district, the university, or the community colleges, to promote communications, harmony, and support of the Partnership activities.
5)Exchanging consultants, staff, data, and co-hosting meetings with other NNER members.
6)Engaging in a process of critical inquiry directed at crucial problems.
7)Seeking the use of all types of knowledge to address identified school/university/community college and community educational needs.
Amending the Constitution
This constitution may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the Governing Board.
Revised 11/12/87
Revised 3/23/88
Revised 7/22/91
Revised 11/21/91
Revised 5/12/94
Revised 5/18/95
Revised 10/24/96
Revised 11/20/97
Revised 5/4/01
Revised 4/8/10
Revision Notes: Context Information and Clarifications
A revision sub-committee convened by Governing Board Chair Dave Barker included Michelle Hoffman, Kevin Mitchell, and Audrey Kleinsasser. They met twice by conference call prior to the January 28 governing board meeting and shared revisions via email. Ann foster, NNER Executive Director, examined a copy of the 5-4-01 constitution and offered several suggestions for the current revision. Following the January 28, 2010 board meeting, the sub-committee convened by conference call to make the final revisions presented at the April 8, 2010 board meeting.
A note about capitalization: Audrey consulted a professional editor at UW and used the university’s style guide on writing to finalize usage decisions, capitalization in particular. Except for the Governing Board, you will see a limited number of capitalizations.
Clarification and Committee Comments, by Page
Page 1
Introduction
Changes to the introduction reaffirm the Partnership’s commitment to simultaneous educational renewal guided by the NNER’s Agenda for Education in a Democracy.
Governing Values
- Do we value children or do we value students? Students is more inclusive, PK-20.
The organization seems to be larger than the text in the document reflects.
Statement of Purpose
- National Network for Educational Renewal is written out for clarity.
- We identify the Partnership’s connection to teacher education.
Page 2
Governing Board
The revision committee spent considerable time talking about the pros/cons of substitutes to meetings as well as designees. Text about substitutes was deleted and designees was rewritten for clarity.
Membership
Stratified membership--full, associate, and affiliate--was an inclusion strategy in the mid-1990s as an incentive for all Wyoming school districts to join. Do we need multiple levels? If so, what distinguishes the levels and how would we implement differentiated services? Membership is a key issue and deserves a thorough discussion. The revision committee recommended deleting affiliate membership and saw some purpose in two membership levels. At the January 28, 2010 meeting, those presented recommended a single, full membership category.
Page 3
Executive Committee and Governing Board Officers
Each of the roles is more fully explained, as is the role of the executive committee. The executive committee is of considerable help to the director in between governing board meetings and serves in advisory and supervisory roles. The current constitution is silent on the role of an executive committee.
Office of the Partnership; Executive Director
Several revisions detail current procedures that make the annual performance evaluation more transparent.
Task Forces
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the work of the Partnership occurred through task forces such as teacher education, principal preparation, and technology. The task forces have not been in operation for nearly 10 years. The sub-committee felt it might be appropriate to convene task forces in the future and recommended keeping the section.
Budget
The language “in kind” is struck as it is unclear what that means. However, another sentence is included to reflect the significant in kind contribution the College of Education currently makes supporting the 9 month director’s salary/benefits and ¼ of the office associate’s salary/benefits, along with office space at UW.
Page 4
Responsibilities of members
- We spent a fair bit of time on this section during both conference calls. The sub-committee viewed it important for the full board to discuss this section face-to-face during the January 28, 2010 meeting.
- We also talked about the unforgiving (and impossible) language related to attendance. The sub-committee suggested softening the language to reflect reality.
Page 5
Delete the paragraph about affiliate membership to match earlier deletion (page 3, lines 4-7) as per the revision committee’s recommendation.
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