ASSOCIATION OF COLOMBIAN AND CARIBBEAN AMERICAN SCHOOLS (ACCAS)

EVENT:                                 Annual Meeting

PLACE:                                 Belmont D (Level M, Magnolia Section)
                                   Gaylord Opryland Hotel
                                   Nashville, Tennessee

DATE:                                    Tuesday, December 2, 2003

TIME:                        

MEMBER SCHOOLS

IN ATTENDANCE, OUT OF A TOTAL OF 20 MEMBERS:                

                                                                American School of Santo
                                                Domingo, Dominican Republic
                                                Carol Morgan School,
                                                Dominican Republic
                                                Colegio Albania, Colombia
                                                Colegio Bolivar, Colombia
                                                Colegio Dominico-Americano,
                                                Dominican Republic
                                                Colegio Granadino, Colombia
                                                Colegio Nueva Granada,
                                                Colombia
                                                Colegio Panamericano,
                                                Colombia
                                                Columbus School, Colombia
                                                Gimnasio Ingles, Colombia
                                                International School of
                                                Sosua, Dominican Republic
                                                MC School, Dominican
                                                Republic
                                                Saint Joseph School,
                                                Dominican Republic
                                                St. Michael’s School    

AGENDA:                            

1.  Call to Order
2.  Minutes
3.  Treasurer's Report: Dues and EBSCO fees
4.  Messages from Tri-Association
5.  Paul G. Orr Award
6.  Upcoming Events
7.  Leadership for Change: OSAC project
8. Request for ACCAS membership
9. Election of a New Treasurer
10. Other Business
11. Adjournment

1.  Call to Order

The Meeting was called to order at 4:50 p.m. by President Jack Delman. 

2.  Minutes

The minutes from the previous annual meeting had been made available to members on the ACCAS website.  

3.  Treasurer's Report: Dues and EBSCO fees

Dr. John Schober presented the Treasurer's Report and confirmed that the Association finished the 2002-2003 fiscal year with a positive fund balance. The 11/01/02-10/31/03 financial report was distributed to billed member schools for the service. Two schools have apparently dropped out of ACCAS membership. The 11/02/02-10/31/03 financial report was distributed to the members present.  Dr. Schober distributed billing statements to several schools that had not paid their dues. Mr. Delman reminded the group that membership in ACCAS requires payment of EBSCO dues, based on the ACCAS members’ unanimous decision at last year’s meeting. One of the member schools requested to be exempted from the consortium with EBSCO, because their board will not approve payment of the fee. An extensive discussion followed, in which Mary Virginia Sanchez participated. Dr. Schober made a motion to consolidate the annual payments and suggested a fee structure that includes payment of the EBSCO fee, as opposed to separate billing. The receipt would show the three separate items. The motion was seconded by Dr. McCombs and unanimously approved.

4.  Messages from Tri-Association

Mr. Delman requested members to review information from Mary Virginia.

5.  Paul G. Orr Award

Mr. Delman requested that directors forward their nominations for the Paul G. Orr award to him.

6. Upcoming Events

• Michael Thompson (Author, Raising Cain, about raising boys) – stop in Guatemala and Santo Domingo in March
• Renee Soulis (substance abuse) – in region April
• Janie Pollock will be in Medellin on January 23-24. Tri-Association pays for her honorarium and travel.
• Mr. Delman repeated Mary Viriginia’s request for papers for the next Tri-Association conference. The director, who must be able to vouch for the quality of the presentation, must recommend presenters. There is a special need for presenters in Spanish. The conference theme will be announced at a later date.

 7. Leadership for Change: OSAC project

 Mr. Delman (Carol Morgan School), Michael Adams (Colegio Granadino) and Susan Jaramillo (Columbus School) presented a project at the Tri-Association regarding the ten best practices for change as implemented in numerous Tri-Association  schools. The presentation includes an interactive CD-rom video that Mr. Delman will make available to all interested members in Dominican Republic. Michael and Susan will distribute copies to members in Colombia. 

8. Request for ACCAS Membership

The Good Hope School in the Virgin Islands has requested membership in ACCAS.  Mr. Delman expressed concern about the fact that none of the current members have first-hand knowledge about the school. Also, the school is not and will not become a member of SACS. Since the school is Middle States accredited, this is not an obstacle; however, it will be difficult to have as a member a school whose director will not be able to attend the annual meeting. After some discussion, Mr. Delman suggested tabling the request pending further discussions with James De Sebastian, director.

9. Election of a New Treasurer

Due to Dr. Schober’s impending retirement, his responsibilities as Treasurer need to be transferred to a new officer. Dr. Schober will be responsible for finding the original signatories and the original titleholders. Mr. Delman suggested that the executive board stay in close contact during the transferal process. Mr. Delman asked for a nomination for the office of treasurer. Dr. McCombs nominated Dr. Joseph Nagy (Colegio Bolivar, Cali). Mr. Delman asked for further nominations; there were no further nominations. Dr. Nagy was unanimously elected.

10. Other Business

Arrangements for a Wednesday night ACCAS dinner were made. The group will meet at 7 pm in the Magnolia lobby.

Dr. Nagy distributed a copy of his final report regarding the 1^st Annual Colombian ACCAS Schools Conference held at Colegio Bolivar on September 26-27, 2003.

Mr. Delman asked members to introduce themselves for the benefit of new members.

Dr. Schober suggested that the members share information about the IOWA Tests of Basic Schools results in our schools.

Mr. Delman asked schools to keep him informed about changes in addresses and other information so that the ACCAS website can be kept up to date.

11. Adjournment

A motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting.  The meeting ended at 5:50 p.m.