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Meeting Minutes from June 16, 2008
The text of the presentation to attendees appears below. Results of the nominations and elections also appear within the text of the presentation.

Introduction:
The Kingston Education Foundation is not affiliated in any way with the Kingston School Committees, the PTO or the school administration.

It’s clear that education is important to so many of us.  Tonight, I would like to discuss the short and long term needs, a proposed solution for meeting those needs, in the Education Foundation, and some fund raising ideas.  We need to move forward by nominating and electing a Board.  Then, I would like to discuss some of the proposed committees and get some input from all of you.  We’ll have plenty of opportunity for Q&A along the way. 

I think it is very important to maintain constant communication with all members via email newsletters.  So, I’d greatly appreciate it if you would sign up with your name, phone number and email address, printing as legibly as you can of course.  At the end, we also have several sign up sheets up here on the stage for people to volunteer on specific committees.

Short Term Needs:
In a nutshell, we need roughly 140 PCs at KES and KIS. 

The Department of education has issued standards for K-12 Technology Literacy and what students should be able to do by grades 2, 5, 8 and 12.  In order to meet those standards, students need access to technology and computers.  Teachers also need access to reliable computers.  In the Fall of this year, every student in the school system will have an account on MassOne, which is a secured website where students can upload and download their projects; teachers and administrators can communicate with parents, and parents can track their child’s work.  MassOne is not mandatory for teachers, but it is free and every student will have an account.  Teachers will be more likely to use it If they have reliable computers on their desks.

The Department of Education has also issued guidelines for local school departments for their technology plans.  They suggest no more than 5 students per internet connected accessible computer.  That is what they suggest to begin with.  They further define the gold standard as a one to one ratio where every student has a dedicated computing device, preferably a laptop.  This is a lofty goal, but one that has been proven in schools across the country.

The Department has also suggested that we have a refresh rate of no more than 5 years.  Businesses typically refresh no longer than 3 years, but let’s use 5 years as a standard here.

At KES:  If we remove the PCs older than 6 years old and also don’t count PCs used by administration, we are at 16 kids per computer.  If we go further and decide that a PC on the teachers desk is not accessible to students, then we are at 36 kids per computer. 

At KIS: The same assumptions will yield us 15 students per computer and 37 students per computer.

Many sources, including the Federal and State DOE, suggest that a minimum of 5% of the current school budgets be spent on technology.  Although I am not sure of the exact amount that is spent on technology, it is no where near 5%.  With the budgets the way they are, there is no way to increase spending to 5% without cutting other programs.  There really is not any room to cut, so that leaves increasing the budget.  With the economy the way it is right now, our budgets are not going to go up without overrides.  Our kids are not going to wait for the economy to improve.  They will keep going to school and continuing to learn.  They need computers now. 

Long Term Needs:

As I mentioned earlier, students learn through a variety of formats.  Our children’s diverse needs and the proliferation of technology won’t wait for the Feds State and Towns to react.  In classrooms across the country and around the globe, educators are using Smart Boards, software and other technology to teach not only math and science, but also art, music, reading, history and social studies.  Children can collaborate with classrooms in Japan, Australia, or even Michigan to expand their cultural horizons.  We need to promote and foster the imagination and creativity of both the students and their educators.  Again, budgets are the major roadblock.  We need to ensure that the Town and State help fund a long term plan that incorporates technology.  Where the Government is deficient or will not step up to the plate, parents and the community can step in.  Other towns have education foundations whose mission is to improve science and technology in their own school districts.   By organizing and working together with all levels of government and the private industry, I think that we can do quite a bit.  Things like

  • Grants to teachers, administrators and students
  • Staff development grants
  • Sponsor public information sessions
  • Award scholarships to students pursuing science, technology and/or education
  • Recognize volunteers and organizations in the community that help out our schools.

I think that most important, we can show businesses that we as a community value education and that we all need to work together especially when the economy is not thriving.

Fundraising Ideas:

I’ve been involved in the KYSO Golf Tournament for the past few years and that has turned into a very successful enterprise.  The money raised for the youth sports in this town is really quite staggering.  I think we can do the same thing for the schools.  You can see some of the ideas that have been presented to me by other people.  If anyone else has ideas, please let me know, but first, I just want to read through these..

  • Casino night - I believe Pembroke did this to raise money for their schools and it was very successful.
  • Raffle ticket sales – Combine with a casino night or other events, or even just by itself.  Recruiting donations from local businesses and individuals, we could raffle off a few large items or several smaller items.  Volunteers would sell tickets at grocery stores, the transfer station, or the mall.  This is a good money maker.
  • Silent and live auctions – This can be combined with a casino night or dinner.  If we get a good number of items, an auction, along with a good MC can bring in a good chunk of money.
  • Dinner event (combined with auctions)
  • Kingston dinner nights – Volunteers host dinners at their homes and invite as many people as they would like.  Attendees contribute $40 to $100 to attend.  Duxbury uses this as one of their primary fundraisers from what I understand.
  • Adopt-a-PC
  • Other?
  • Suggestions from attendees:
    • Brockton Rox - They donate a substantial amount of money from ticket sales and give us a hospitality tent.
    • Taste of Kingston - They do this in Weymouth and they make roughly 20K. Local restaurants feature their food. Stop & Shop donates desserts. Cost is $35 per person.
    • Road Race
    • WalMart matching funds for fundraisers
    • Other companies match funds at fundraisers.
    • Penny Drop - work with room mothers to have kids bring their pennies for cause. Class with biggest donations gets a pizza party. (this may be more appropriate for PTO?)

Board Nominations and Election

I would like to read a brief description of each board member position.  If you would like to volunteer or to nominate someone for any one of these positions, please raise you hand after I have read through these.

  • President – Chief executive officer of the foundation and shall have general supervision of its business.  President shall preside over meetings and provide an agenda.
  • Vice President – Fill in for president when not in attendance.  Other duties assigned from time to time.
  • Treasurer – Have general charge of the financial affairs and shall have custody of all funds and valuable documents of the Foundation.  Shall keep accurate books of account which shall remain property of the Foundation.  Present financial report at all Board Meetings.
  • Clerk & Secretary – Shall keep record of all proceedings of the members and make available to all members.

The Board will be responsible for working with legal counsel and to formally organize and file with the state as well as attain nonprofit status.  Meetings will most likely be once a month for the Board.  Committees may meet more often.  Committee chairs will likely need to attend their committee meetings as well as Board meetings. 

Nominations?  Please stand up, state your full name and state the full name of the person you would like to nominate or yourself if you are volunteering.  Please do not hesitate to volunteer or nominate just because someone else has already volunteered.  Choices are good in a democracy.  I’d rather have 10 people run than none.

President - Several attendees nominated Eric Crone. No other nominations. Unanimous votes in the affirmative

VP - Eric Haas was nominated by Melissa Haas and Jane Crone. No other nominations. Unanimous votes in the affirmative

Treasurer - Jane Crone nominated John Manning. No other nominations. Unanimous votes in the affirmative

Secretary - Julie Haley volunteered and accepted nomination. No other nominations. Unanimous votes in the affirmative

Initial Committees:

There are some committees that I envisioned.  They are:

  • Fundraising
  • Corporate sponsorships & partnerships – Working with businesses
  • Town government liaison – Responsible for following town boards and committee activities that affect the Public K-6 system in Kingston (School Committee, Finance Committee, Board of Selectmen).
  • State government liaison – Work with state legislators, Governor’s offices, and DOE to identify and apply for grants to enhance science and technology
  • Federal government liaison – Work with federal legislative and executive branch agencies to identify and apply for grants to enhance science and technology.  I went to high school with the former director of the office of technology in the US Department of Education.  She wrote the Department’s technology plan in 2006 which highlights eLearning.  By working with local, state and federal agencies, we are more likely to get into early adopter programs and receive substantial grant money to cover start up costs.  These agencies need to know who Kingston is.  The school administration does a good job with grants, but we as parents and community members can do quite a bit in helping to identify these programs and showing that we are committed.
  • Grants
  • PR & Communication
  • Other?

Before you leave tonight, please sign up and indicate any preferences for specific committees.  Feel free to sign up for more than one.  If you are unsure, just leave your email address and we will let you know via email when specific meetings are.

Next Steps

  • First Board meeting
  • Incorporate
  • Attain nonprofit status
  • Committee meetings
  • Buy some PCs

General Q&A