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Once upon a time, the school year began in September . . . Now, alas, it creeps forward earlier and earlier until it is now sometime around mid-August. And so it is in an August newsletter that we send good wishes to our teachers who are beginning a new school year. It is a fitting time for each chapter to recognize and honor those who are returning to their classrooms to continue to build a better world for their students and ultimately for all of us.
I was recently told that remarks about how the education demands have changed and how difficult it now is to teach, and relieved some are to be retired may be heard as being personally negative to some educators, as recognition of the situation by others, and as praise and admiration for doing the job by still others. Please, consider how your remarks may be perceived by the working teachers. Furthermore, consider how the negative remarks about your teaching experience and present demands may be heard by those outside of our profession. It is our duty to present ourselves and our responsibilities in a professional manner as we wish to be thought of as professionals. Recognize, with gratitude, the opportunities that you are afforded each day and throughout the day in classrooms.
As you begin this school year, Delta Kappa Gamma salutes you and we fervently wish for you . . .
the wisdom to teach,
the guidance to lead,
the strength to endure,
and the hope to believe that you are indeed
creating a better world.
Meier
International President Carolyn Pittman
and Ohio President Meier Bauer
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MONEY MATTER$
By Diana Haskell, Treasurer
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"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it!
Boldness has genius, magic, and power in it."
Goethe
How does your chapter invite members to recommit to your chapter and Delta Kappa Gamma? Some provide incentives when a member's check arrives by a specific date. Those incentives include gift cards, a door prize, goody bags and many more clever ideas. I like the idea that chapters are inviting a recommitment rather than approaching this as just a monetary transaction. Often times it is the approach that makes for a positive outcome!
"Without involvement, there is no commitment. Mark it down, asterisk it, circle it, underline it." --Stephen Covey
Chapter Form 18 and membership packet from International will be sent to chapter treasurers in mid to late August. If your chapter packet does not arrive by the end of August please contact Tracey Wilson via email at [email protected].
For most chapters, dues are collected from August - October 31. Chapter treasurers are encouraged to seek the assistance of both Membership and Finance Teams to invite members to recommit to your chapter and DKG. I would love to harvest your good ideas to share with others.
Diana
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>>> Mark your Calendars <<<
October 31
Member dues and scholarship fees are due
to Chapter treasurer
Chapter dues and fees, Form 18 and 18A are to be
postmarked to State Treasurer
November 15
Deadline for filing 990-N with IRS (We suggest you do this when you submit Form 15.) You must not miss this deadline!
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Treasurers are to send chapter dues and fees, Form 18 and 18A to Alpha Delta State Treasurer:
Diana Haskell
8726 Redcloud Court
Cincinnati, OH 45249
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LET'S GET CONNECTED
By Ann Todd
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Members of Alpha Delta State are encouraged to get connected! Simply go towww.dkg.org and complete your personal profile. This is just one more benefit of membership. There are a multitude of resources and ways to interact with other members of the Society. Blogs, book clubs, surveys, and more are available.
To complete this task, you must have your membership number and the password of dkg2014society (you are able to change your password if you choose). Also, by completing your profile, your contact information is updated. This allows no delay in your receiving communications from International Headquarters as well as Alpha Delta State.
As education continues to evolve, so does organizational membership. Utilize your membership and participate in the electronic tools provided. Update your member profile, today!
Ann M. Todd, Chairman
Communications/Publicity Committee
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LEGISLATIVE HIGHLIGHTS
By Pamela Henney
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Educational Budget Items on Governor's Veto List
By Pamela Henney (Lambda Chapter),
Alpha Delta State Legislative/UN Liaison
Passing the budget keeps the Ohio legislators focused this week as they continue to review and consider rebuttal options to Gov. Kasich's vetoed line items in Amended Substitute HB 49. Once reviewed in a House conference committee, each vetoed item - 47 in all - is reconsidered in a vote to accept or reject the Governor's recommendations. Of those, a dozen or so directly impact education, we'll look at a few of them:
■ Item 6: Exempting State Testing and Graduation Requirements for Selected Schools -
This would have allowed chartered non-public schools with 75% or more students with disabilities who receive special education to be exempt from state assessments and graduation requirements. Kasich reasoned that the standards should not depend on the type of school one attends and that this move could create lower expectations throughout these schools.
■Item 7: Progress Weighting for Community School Sponsor Evaluations -
When evaluating a school's academic performance, this item would have increased the weight of the Progress score category to 60 percent for community schools while leaving it at 20 percent for public schools. Kasich argues that would hold community schools to a different level of performance than their public counterparts.
■ Item 8: Educational Service Center Community Schools Sponsor Requirements -
Currently, schools may only sponsor community schools within contiguous counties. This measure would open sponsorship to any location in the state. Keeping the limited arrangement, according to Kasich, would eliminate high performance incentives and weaken "efforts to build a robust community school sector" (p. 933)
■ Item 9: Community School Sponsor Authority Revocation Exception -
Under this item, Community School Sponsors failing in 2015-2016 evaluations to renew sponsorship for 2017-2018 if they earned 3 or 4 out of 4 in Academic Performance and had no zeroes in Quality Practice and Compliance. Kasich argues these to be "narrow exceptions" which undermine the state's efforts to improve the quality of education in Ohio.
■Item 10: Elimination of Ohio Resident Educator Program -
The ORE program is the mentoring program for new teachers for the first four years (residential license) of their careers before applying for a professional license. In addition to eliminating the path to a professional license,
Kasich argues:
One-on-one mentoring support, instructional guidance and detailed, objective feedback on classroom performance help new teachers drive improved student learning and achievement. Having a program that provides feedback and support to teachers in their first years of teaching is critical for student success and for retaining teachers (p. 935).
On July 24, the Ohio House agreed without objection to leave these and other line item vetoes pending and possibly were up for discussion in the scheduled committee meeting this week. Check the Statehouse Journals for each session's activities at
https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/session/session-journals
for any full House session progress.
Ohio House of Representatives Journal. Journal of the Senate and House of Representatives. 6 July 2017.
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Biennial Seminar---2017
Were you there when Lolly the Trolley pulled up to the Crowne Plaza in Independence and the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad pulled out of the Rockside Station? If not, you missed a terrific DKG experience. If you were there, you will probably agree that our trolley drivers/guides knew more about Cleveland than Cleveland knows about itself. Navigating the streets and thoroughfares of Cleveland was a breeze for those ladies!
If you were among the Alpha Delta sisters who journeyed in and around Cleveland, I thank you. Biennial seminars are designed to offer a learning experience and some genuine fellowship. Both were accomplished due to those of you who took advantage of this offering. New friendships were made and old ones renewed. From our first stop in Lakeview Cemetery to see the Garfield Monument, the Wade Chapel with its Tiffany window to leaving our chartered coach on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad our journey was made memorial because of those of you who went along for the ride and the professional, friendly vendors who provided the ride. The hotel staff, the waitresses at Nidia Italia in Little Italy, our guides at the Art Museum, and on the train cannot be praised enough. In this day and age, you don't always encounter people so ready to serve and please.
As we close the books on the 2017 Biennial Seminar, I want to thank all of you who had a part in making this event a huge success! First of all, I thank God for the beautiful weather and all the wonderful people who were part of our days in Cleveland! A special thank you goes to Pat Cermak for her guidance and hospitality, to Marilyn Slusser for volunteering to be our registrar, and to our treasurer, Diana Haskell for all of her expertise and guidance! A special THANK YOU goes to my chapter members for all their support especially Charlotte Ellis, Judy Ruen, and Carol Schortgen.
One last parting word---
Don't miss the
2019 Biennial Seminar!
Tammy Schroeder, Beta Eta
Biennial Seminar Coordinator for 2017
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A CHANGE IN THE AIR THIS BIENNIUM
By Diana Kirkpatrick, Membership Committee Chairman
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Change is in the Air...
Do you feel it? The anticipation...the hope...the excitement...that something magical is about to happen this biennium. As you are probably well aware, President Meier Bauer has challenged me...you...us...Alpha Delta State..."to dream, to dare, to do." Since hearing her challenge at state convention this spring and having attended the Northeast Regional Conference, I have had some pretty "wild" dreams about how to tackle our membership "woes" which, by the way, will most certainly involve a need for change.
I am reminded of a Tony Robbins quote, "If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten." As human beings, most of us get so comfortable doing the same thing over and over again that we don't want to think about CHANGE or CHANGING. If we avoid change in our daily/work lives as well as chapter business, we can and do get stuck in our "sameness." It is my fear Alpha Delta State is literately stuck in our own "sameness." Think about it...since 2011 we have lost 19% of our state membership (through dropped membership and member deaths) from 5,260 to 4,259 members...we currently have 90 chapters...a loss of 11 chapters since 2011. Oh my goodness...what are we to do? It is obvious to me (and hopefully to you, too) that what we have been entrusted to do is no longer working for our state organization and need desperately to implement a new mind-set to nurture and grow our state membership. Yes, we must be the change that will ensure that DKG is alive and well beyond our eighty-six years. However, it cannot be left to the sole responsibility of one individual or to a state membership committee to get the job done. No indeed...we will need all members to help...each and everyone to be the agents of change...to make the new changes that you desire and want to see in your chapters.
We, the membership committee, are ready to "hit the ground running" so in the weeks and months to come, through Constant Contact, we will be soliciting responses from you to help us better serve your chapter needs. We also would love to hear from all 90 chapters...drop us a line and tell us your successes/what is working or what, if any, struggles your chapter is currently facing. It will be our pleasure to assist in any way we can...know we are here to help!
Membership Committee,
Diana L. Kirkpatrick, Chairman, Alpha Delta
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ALPHA DELTA STATE OHIO
EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION
By Dr. Norma Kirby, Chairman
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Alpha Delta State Ohio Educational Foundation
Seven directors for the Alpha Delta State Ohio Educational Foundation were elected during the General Session at the 2017 ADS Convention. The elected directors include Dr. Norma Kirby, Kathy (Mary Kathryn) McClendon, Jane Meese, Elizabeth (Betty) Monahan, Donna Myers, Marilyn Slusser, and Jackie Thase-Burch. Also serving are Meier Bauer, ADS President; Patricia Cermak, Immediate Past ADS President; and Diana Haskell, ADS Treasurer. All directors are active chapter members.
The following officers were elected at the initial ADSOEF meeting held in April: Dr. Norma Kirby, chairman; Betty Monahan, vice-chairman; and Donna Myers, secretary. The ADS treasurer Diana Haskell will serve as ADSOEF treasurer.
Watch for more information about the work of ADSOEF in subsequent issues of The Voice and on the ADS website. Directors are available for presentations at chapter meetings to share the exciting news and work of ADSOEF!
Dr. Norma Kirby, Alpha Delta, Chairman
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HELP ARRIVED FROM INTERNATIONAL
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DKG Help
Marcia Barnhart, Beta Eta, recently requested an Emergency Fund gift from International to help with clean up of her finished basement as a result of torrential rainfall and flooding on July 10th.
Within one week
A check was sent along with note reminding Marcia that, "In this difficult time for you, please know that you have the support of Society members around the world."
Marcia, we are so glad that DKG could be of assistance to you.
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NORTH EAST REGIONAL CONFERENCE (NERC)
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What I Learned At the North East Regional Conference
Diana Kirkpatrick:
- Looking for new members? Look at the recruitment plan on the International website....it works! Many chapters and state organizations are singing its praises!
- Chapters need a new mind-set to nurture and grow our membership. Clinging to past practices does not work for today's young educators.
- Beware of unintentional climate and gestures at your chapter meetings...what is the message you want to convey to your new members? We are teachers...nurturers by nature...take care of those who seem to be by themselves.
Diana Haskell:
- Membership drives Dues which drives Programs which drives Membership, etc.
- Annie Webb Blanton had a dream, she dared to do!
- Invite chapters to write how a member or group had a dream then dared to make the dream a reality. Publish a story each month in The Voice.
- Encourage each member to verify and update personal information by visiting MY DKG tab at www.DKG.org
Eileen McNally:
- A lot of interest was shown in all aspects of social media
- Membership is a concern to everyone
- Use of the many apps offered by Google is high and growing
- Copyright continues to be an issue
- Websites, Facebook and Newsletters play vital roles in the organization
- Communication at all levels is seen as extremely vital
- Getting members to update their information on My DKG is a very high priority
N E R C
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YOUR ALPHA DELTA CALENDAR
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Mark Your Calendar
Fall Executive Board Meetings at Trinity United Methodist Church, Columbus
- October 14, 2017
- October 20, 2018
Alpha Delta State Conventions at Columbus Polaris Hilton
- April 13-15, 2018
- April 5 - 7 2019
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ALPHA DELTA STATE LEADERSHIP TEAM
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ALPHA DELTA STATE 2017- 2019 LEADERSHIP TEAM
Meier Bauer, President - Gamma Phi- 465 Woodlands Ridge Drive Cincinnati, OH 45238 (513) 941-4461, Email Meier
Diana Kirkpatrick, First Vice - President Alpha Delta- 554 Washington Avenue Washington CH, OH 43160-2048 (740) 335-2593, Email Diana K.
Debby Canter, Second Vice-President - Delta Epsilon P.O. Box 143 Oak Hill, OH 45656 (740)-688-1604, Email Debby
Diana Haskell, Treasurer - Gamma Phi 8726 Redcloud Court Cincinnati, OH 45249-2317 Home: (513) 489-4069 Cell: (513) 607-3212, Email Diana H.
Karen S. Dombrowski, Recording Secretary - Alpha Nu - 684 Manchester Circle N Pickerington, OH 43147 (614) 837-0891 (614) 563 -0495, Email Karen
Ann M. Todd, Corresponding Secretary Zeta - 3621 Butler Rd. Wakeman, OH 44889 (440)839-2069 (440) 577-5228,
Email Ann
Joyce Jones-Weinkam, Parliamentarian - Gamma Xi - E-mail: Email Joyce
Patricia Cermak, Immediate Past President - Gamma Rho - 9504 Greenhaven Parkway Brecksville, OH 44141-1607 (440) 526-8934, Email Patricia
Eileen McNally, Webmaster - Beta Delta - E-Mail: Email Eileen
Margaret Archangel, Editor - Gamma Phi 4754 Hirth Hill Rd. W Grove City, OH 43123
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All the best to all of you,
Margaret Archangel, Editor
Please contribute.
The aim is to send
The Voice directly to every member's email. The chapter president is responsible for providing
The Voice to any member without email and to members who do not receive the mass email.
Please help us update our membership email lists by sending the chapter name, member name and corrected/changed email addresses to [email protected]. I
will update the email address. It is our hope that we will have corrected email addresses in the next few months.
Please help us achieve that!
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Our Alpha Delta State website
Pages are being reviewed and updated.Your patience is appreciated. If you encounter a bad link or a typo or any issue, please contact the webmaster so the it can be corrected.
[email protected]
Did you know ADS has a new Facebook page? Make sure you visit and "Like" us so that you are notified when new items are posted. Every time an important post is made on the website, a posting is put on the Facebook page announcing it. https://www.facebook.com/ADSOhio/
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