San Diego, Calif. • April 1, 2004
Submitted by Susan Hathaway Tantillo, secretary

• Regional Directors agreed to ask their State Directors to find information for the missing states regarding whether certification is required to teach journalism. States we know require journalism certification are Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Texas, Arkansas, Indiana.
• Regional directors agreed to find how states are defining a “highly qualified journalism teacher” in the context of No Child Left Behind.
• Wilson reported he has found a person at North Carolina State to put our database on line behind a password-protected area. The expected completion date is July 1. Wilson’s goals include working on a way to conduct informal polls and surveys on the JEA Web site, updating the front page every two weeks and putting more curriculum on the Web site.
• Yearbook Adviser of the Year Committee members are Kennedy, Hall, Matson and Puntney. The committee has a goal of finding more income to support this program because the money behind it has not increased since it began in 1996. The budget we approved calls for $10,000 in income to support this award.
• Board reorganization summer meeting will include all voting board members plus Julie Dodd, Candace Bowen and Joe Nations.
• Visser asked board members to indicate in writing their interest in serving on one specific task force subcommittee: Growing Membership, Attracting Younger Members, Multicultural Initiative, Board Operations/Structure. Once Visser assigns members and a chair to each task force committee, e-conversations need to take place among committee members before the summer meeting. The purpose of the summer meeting is to set long-range goals for each of the four areas and establish whatever needs to be established for the board to accomplish those goals.
• Summer meeting dates: Fly in to Kansas City before noon on June 30 (Wednesday). Fly out of Kansas City late on July 2 (Friday). That schedule allows for meeting Wednesday afternoon/evening and all day Thursday and Thursday evening with wrap-up Friday morning.
• Nations, Bair, Kneese and Ad Hoc Board Member Teddi Johnson, CJE, will attend UNITY ’04, Aug. 4-8 in Washington, D.C. as official representatives of JEA. They will make contacts with specific minority journalism groups and report back in Atlanta.
• NCLB Committee members are Kennedy, Roberts, Gorsuch, Bair, Nations, Visser, Patrick. Kennedy asked for board direction.
• From Blystone: Define highly qualified journalism teacher.
• From Matson: Be proactive and publicize our definition to the states.
• From Blystone: And to the federal Department of Education.
• From Kennedy: Assess the effect of backlash against NCLB in individual states, e.g. Utah.
• From Oglesbee: Texas and Arkansas are interpreting NCLB as saying only core courses — English, math, science, social studies — are to be taught and electives are to be cut.   Under this interpretation, will we even exist?
• From Kennedy: Consider working with or through NEA or other national organizations with power.
• From Kennedy: Work with other academic areas in danger of being cut though these vary from state to state, e.g., drama, agriculture, family living.
• From Honda: The federal government has rejected NCTE suggestions.
• From Patrick: JEA’s Certification Program may fit with state rubrics for “highly qualified.”
• From C. Bowen: This is a federal program implemented at the state level so we may be able to make a difference most significantly at the state level.
• From Dodd: Have a progress report from the committee at the summer meeting and a session on the program in Atlanta to update advisers on what our committee has found.
• The committee should get feedback from Regional Directors and State Directors about NCLB impacts in their specific states.
• Executive Committee will attend NASSP in February 2005.
• Visser appointed Hall as parliamentarian for board meetings.
• Visser presented each board member with a custom-designed journalism-related card and encouraged members to use them to send a note to someone who has done something positive for JEA.
• Kennedy announced his intention to create new Scholastic Press Week materials and to post materials on the JEA Web site.
• May 15 is absolute deadline for material for Annual Report.