ESSAA's Executive Board met in Niagara Falls, Canada, October 23 through 25, 2003. ESSAA President John Sullivan kicked off the series of two day workshops by noting that our organization has grown from a 1700 member group 8 years ago, to approximately 2600 members in 167 Districts Statewide today. In addition, President Sullivan reported on Strategic Planning, Scheduling, and Statewide Legal Workshops, gave an update on the Directory and Newsletter, and spoke about expanding our data base.
President Sullivan stated that ESSAA continues to represent line administrators only: building principals, assistant principals, guidance directors, and other administration-certified school officials. ESSAA does not represent district office administrators such as superintendents, assistant superintendents, and other "Confidential" school officials, and is not affiliated with any labor union.
PAC Fund efforts under Vice President Janet Mulvey's direction, and recruitment of new members under Vice President Ed Keeler's, are developing areas of interest. Improved communications and information alerts are also being explored with renewed attention to updating the ESSAA web site and expanding our quarterly Journal; Yearly regional issues of The Journal, such as this one, will be published.
At the Exec Bd meeting, Chuck Mitchell also updated members on Project Save " how to report violent incidents to the proper officials " and what protocol should be followed on both the local and state level. Vice Presidents Tom Vasiloff and Ed Keeler showcased their new CD Recruitment Power Point presentation which outlines both the history of ESSAA's formation in 1996, and the benefits it provides for its members.
One of the other highlights of the meeting was Research and Development specialist Jan Yablow's report on "The Teach At Home Movement" - especially under the current No Child Left Behind legislation - and its impact on school administrators across the state and nation (see upcoming feature in the January Journal).
There were also updates from regional organizations: Vice President Jerry Spicer, representing CAPSA (Capital District), President John Sullivan, RASA (Westchester and Rockland), and Vice President Tom Vasiloff, NYSCR (Central New York).
As always, ESSAA representatives were most interested in legislative initiatives and legal services, which were discussed by ESSAA attorney Kevin Martin (look for his upcoming column in the Statewide Journal in January). Herb Dickson spoke promisingly about our progress in increasing member insurance benefits; Robert Unger, Esq., our lobbyist in Albany, gave an upbeat report, and David Wagner spoke on SED/ Regents. Bob Darcangelo and Chuck Smith reported on efforts as Secretary and Treasurer respectively.
And in other news from Niagara Falls, the Maid of the Mist stopped running for the season, but not until it safely deposited ESSAA members and their chosen companions on the Canadian shore!