Using for the first time a new process for adopting positions on timely education issues, ASCD's Board of Directors approved new positions on teacher certification and curriculum design (see box).
The Board's action is another key step in the transition toward a new process for identifying important education issues, developing ASCD's positions on those issues, and then implementing action plans on those positions. The Resolutions process, which ASCD had used from its inception until last year, had been hampered in recent years by a lack of focus and low levels of member participation. Under the new Issues process, the Board adopts no more than two positions in any given year, allowing ASCD to better focus its resources and energies. Further, special efforts have been made to increase member participation in the new Issues process.
"I think we have made tremendous strides toward involving more of our constituency," said Maurice Howard, chair of the transition issues committee, which provided leadership to the new Issues process. More than 8,000 ASCD members responded to a survey last fall seeking their input on important education issues, he pointed out, and some 300 members participated in two "town meetings" on the issues at the Annual Conference.
Under the new Issues process, action plans outlining what steps ASCD will take to support the new positions will be drafted. "The real proof [of the success of the Issues process] will be how the Executive Council, working with staff, is able to devise actions to drive us through the next two to three years," Howard said.
In other action at the Board of Directors meeting, the Board approved the addition of two new affiliates: Curaçao ASCD and Spain ASCD. The additions bring the total number of ASCD affiliates to 66.
ASCD Board Adopts Two New Positions
At the Annual Conference in Chicago, ASCD's Board of Directors adopted the following two issues (with their accompanying positions in italics):
Teacher certification and continued professional development. Teacher certification and staff development programs should be restructured to ensure that all learners are taught by professionals with demonstrated talent and ability. These programs should ensure that persons entering the teaching profession can demonstrate that they have the knowledge, skills, and values to be effective instructors in a teaching and learning community. Continued employment should be dependent on demonstrated teaching ability and professional growth. To bring this about, ASCD will collaborate with other associations and with institutions of higher education.
Flexible curriculum addressing the needs of a diverse society. Curriculum design should be systemic, congruent with the other components of the system, standards-based, authentic, integrated, diverse, and flexible. To bring this about, ASCD will lead in the design of new curriculums that: (1) emphasize problem solving, reasoning, conceptualization, and analysis; (2) are developmentally appropriate; (3) are grounded in authentic experiences meaningful to learners; (4) result in redefined bodies of knowledge that are integrated, connected, and supported by standards; and (5) result in performance standards that support these curriculums and drive assessments.
