This page last modified -- October 1, 2000 (tca)
Minutes of Quarterly Meeting
Date
June 16, 2000
Location
80 F St. NW, Room 100
Washington, DC 20208-7564
Members Present
Kenji Hakuta, Chair
James E. Bottoms
Jomills H. Braddock
Ann Clark
Edmund Gordon
Glenda Lappan
Robert Marley
Alba Ortiz
Claire Pelton
E. Lea Schelke
Members Absent
Patricia Ann Baltz
John Bruer
Paul Goren
Sharon Lynn Kagan
Joyce Muhlestein
Ex Officio Members Present
C. Kent McGuire, OERI
Bonnie Kalberer, delegate, NIH
Bruce Fuchs, delegate, NIH
Designated Federal Official
Thelma Leenhouts
Board Staff Present
Eve M. Bither
Mary Grace Lucier
OERI Staff Present
Sue Betka, Barbara Lieb, Fritz Moser, Peirce Hammond,
Harold Himmelfarb, Michael Ross, Ron Pedone, Sue Klein,
Lisa Ward, James Griffin, Eileen O'Brien
U. S. Department of Education Staff Present
Cindy Stewart, Office of the General Counsel
Helen Chang, Office of the Chief Financial Officer
Isadora Binder, Contracts and Purchasing Operations
Members of the Public Present
Emerson Elliott
Michael Feuer, National Academy of Science/National
Research Council
Rich Hershman, NEKIA
William Morrill
Lisa Towne, OSTP
David Hess, COSSA
Lara Frumkin, APA
Denise McKeon, NEA
Chairman Hakuta called the meeting to order at 9:09 a.m. and reviewed the meeting agenda.
The Board heard the following reports:
Report of the Chair
Chairman Hakuta reported that he and Robert Marley (along with OERI staff) had participated in an expert panel at the American Indian/Alaska Native Research Agenda Conference, which was convened pursuant to Executive Order 13096. The meeting was held May 30-June 1 in Albuquerque, NM.
Mr. Marley gave observations and reflections on the meeting and the goals for this population: improving reading and mathematics; increasing high school completion and postsecondary attendance; reducing the influence of factors that impede educational performance, such as poverty and substance abuse; creating safe and drug-free school environments; improving science education; and expanding access to educational technology.
The chair indicated that these issues should be of continuing interest to the Board, and announced an upcoming seminar in the fall that would explore the connections between student achievement and poverty. The seminar is a collaboration between the Student Achievement Institute and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
The chair announced that the Search Committee had begun reviewing applications for the position of executive director. The following members are serving on the Search Committee:
Kenji Hakuta, chair; Alba Ortiz, Jomills Braddock, Edmund Gordon, Paul Goren, Claire Pelton, and Lea Schelke.
He announced the formation of two new ad hoc committees, the Committee on Policy Document Development and Dissemination. Its charge is to develop for full Board approval a policy document that will (1) communicate a vision for educational research; (2) articulate the guiding principles of focus, i.e., priorities, quality, and continuity in pursuing this vision; and (3) characterize the past and on-going work of OERI and the Board in the context of the changing administrative and legislative environment. The Committee will address the structural issues in coordinating the Board's priorities with the agency's budget and programs. The Committee will also develop strategies for disseminating this information to Congress and the new administration. The following members are serving on this committee: Gene Bottoms, chair; John Bruer, Ann Clark, Joyce Muhlestein, and Lea Schelke.
The Committee on Work with the National Academy of Sciences is charged with providing guidance to the contents of the Board's contract with the National Academy of Sciences. The purpose of this work is to develop Board recommendations on the organization of educational research. The work has two phases: (1) an open phase with considerable involvement with the Board in looking at and synthesizing evidence on optimal organization of research for improvement and dissemination, and (2) a more closed phase that would develop recommendations on the organization of federal research and development in education. The Committee will participate actively in the first phase and provide input into the second phase, and will report back to the full Board on the nature of these activities. The Committee will further make recommendations on the uses by the Board of the reports and recommendations from the Academy. The following members are serving on this committee: Alba Ortiz, chair; Edmund Gordon, Paul Goren, Lynn Kagan, and Robert Marley.
Report on Phase II Standards Study
William Morrill discussed the results of a survey of the expert panels, applicants, and staff and a draft of recommendations to the Board. Final recommendations will be presented at the September meeting.
Report of the Assistant Secretary
Assistant Secretary C. Kent McGuire gave a progress report on the panels (reading study group and mathematics group) convened by the RAND Corporation, the Strategic Education Research Program of the National Academy of Sciences, continuation decisions with respect to the research and development centers, the statement of work for the regional educational laboratory competition, and the field-initiated studies.
Report of the Executive Director
Ms. Bither offered valedictory comments on the work of the Board over the past four years and how it might be marshaled into the reauthorization of OERI and shared with a larger audience. She expressed her thanks to the chair for his leadership and cooperation, as well as to Board members and staff for their hard work and dedication.
Action Items
The Board approved the minutes of the quarterly meeting on March 16, 2000.
The Board voted to approve, following a favorable review of the performance of the executive director, Eve Bither, and following the recommendation of the Executive Committee, that she be given a cash award in the maximum amount allowable, as per previous years.
The Board reviewed and approved an extension of its 1999 policy paper, Investing in Learning.
The Board discussed with Michael Feuer, director of the Center for Education at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), a statement of work (SOW) for a proposed sole-source contract to develop recommendations on the framework for federally funded educational research. They further clarified the mode of operations at the NAS. A sole source justification and notice of intent to contract with NAS had been published in the Commerce Business Daily some 45 days previously. The Board approved moving forward with the contract.
The Board passed, by unanimous consent and with a standing ovation, a resolution of appreciation for the outstanding leadership and advocacy of educational research by its departing executive director, Eve M. Bither, and wished her a happy and fulfilling retirement.
The meeting adjourned at 3:46 p.m.
This page last modified -- October 1, 2000 (tca)