Florida EAP Consortium - Bylaws

EAP Consortium Home

I.   NAME AND PURPOSE

Section 1.   The Florida English for Academic Purposes (EAP)
Consortium is a group of professionals involved in EAP programs in the state college system .

Section 2.  The Consortium was created to align Florida EAP programs including placement, curricula, and assessment.

II.  MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the EAP Consortium is to afford practitioners and administrators a venue for collaboration and to provide leadership and advocacy in statewide EAP issues.

III.   REPRESENTATION

Section 1.  Representation in the Consortium shall be open to any college that offers an EAP program.  Two representatives are selected by each participating institution. Each representative shall have 1 vote.

Section 2. Terms: Each representative shall serve a minimum two-year term. If a representative is unable to actively participate, the institution shall select/assign a new representative.

IV.  MEETINGS

Section 1.  Membership shall meet at least twice annually. Additional calls for meetings may be made by the Chair as deemed necessary.
     1a.  There will be one meeting in the Fall and one in the Spring.
     1b.  Meeting locations will be scheduled on a rotating basis as set by the Secretary.

Section 2.  An agenda will be distributed to the members by the Chair fourteen days in advance.

Section 3.  Meetings will be conducted in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order
3a. Quorum is defined as fifty percent of member institutions plus one.

V.  LEADERSHIP

Section 1.  The leadership of the Consortium will include:  Chair, Chair-elect, and Secretary.

Section 2.  The Chair shall preside at all meetings, establish ad hoc committees, appoint leaders of ad hoc and standing committees, and have general responsibility for conducting the business of the Consortium. The chair shall prepare the agenda and deliver a report at each meeting.  Additionally, the chair shall serve as a liaison to the FLDOE, TESOL, and any other professional forum. The Chair shall be elected by a majority vote of the Representatives and shall serve a two-year term.

Section 3.  The Chair-elect shall be principally responsible for making all arrangements in connection with meetings and assist the Chair in his/her duties.  In addition, the Chair-elect shall preside in the absence of the Chair. The Chair-elect shall serve a two-year term and succeed the Chair for an additional two-year term.

Section 4.  The Secretary shall schedule meetings and be responsible for recording and distributing the minutes from all meetings and conducting other activities as deemed necessary. The Secretary shall serve a minimum two-year term and be eligible for re-election.

VII.  ELECTIONS

Section 1.  The Secretary shall call for nominations from the membership prior to the spring meeting. Nominations will be submitted to the Secretary, who will prepare an electronic ballot which will be cast 30 days prior to the spring meeting.

Section 2.  Result of elections shall be announced at the spring business meeting. New officers begin their terms at the spring meeting.

VIII. STANDING COMMITTEES

Section 1.  Standing committees shall include:  Web, Assessment, and Learning Outcomes.

Section 2.  The standing committee leaders shall be appointed by the Chair. Leaders shall assign committee members as necessary.

Section 3.  The duties of the standing committees:

3a.  The Web committee shall develop, revise, and maintain the Consortium website and coordinate online access to meetings.

3b.  The Assessment committee shall study placement/assessment instruments.

3c.  The Learning Outcomes committee shall establish curricular goals for each level and skill in order to support effective scope and sequence.

IX.  AMENDMENTS

Proposed amendments of these bylaws must first be submitted to the officers in a petition signed by a minimum of 51% of the membership at least 30 days before the next business meeting.  To become effective, the proposed amendment must be discussed at the meeting and approved by electronic ballot by 51 % of the members.

Download the PDF Here for the SSTESOL Outstanding Educator Award

Due Date: April 12th 2012 (Extended deadline!)

Purpose: To honor TESOL/Bilingual Education professionals considered outstanding by their colleagues.

Who’s Eligible: Professional educators, administrators, or support staff with at least 5 years of experience in the field of ESOL in Florida.

Award: $500.00 USD each to (1) K-12 & (1) higher ed professional

Nomination Process:  A nominator will write a one page letter of nomination which describes the accomplishments of the nominee, especially highlighting achievements which show the nominee to be the kind of ESOL professional who should be recognized for excellence.  Additional information should be included to provide evidence of the criteria listed below:

• Ability to motivate and inspire students as well as other professionals in the field,
• A talent for engaging others in learning,
• Exceptional professional service outside the classroom,
• Involvement with professional colleagues/organizations, and
• Continuing professional development.

Recommendation Letter:  One additional letter of recommendation (one page maximum) will be submitted, providing information relevant to the factors above.

Supporting documentation: The nominee will send a vita or resume and a written statement (500 words max) focusing on:

• Reasons for becoming an ESOL professional
• Professional philosophy
• Plans for further education and other creative endeavors, or activities that will enhance your role in the field of language education

Send nominations and all documentation to:  apsgrant@bellsouth.net by midnight, 4/12/12

If you are paying for your conference registration with a P.O., you can do this in one of two ways

1) mail the P.O. to:

Sunshine State TESOL
7220 Rue Notre Dame
Miami Beach, FL 33141-2665

2) Send the P.O. Digitally

If you would prefer to send your P.O. digitally rather than through the mail, use the form below. A return return receipt will be sent to the email address you provide. If you do not receive the receipt, we have not received your attached PDF.

***Please be sure the attachment is a PDF***

All Proposals have been reviewed and responses have been sent. If you have not received a response from the Program Chair, please contact her at proposalchair@sstesol.org

Participants will be notified of their specific date/time of presentation by August 18th.

Download the Call For Candidates Application Here

Call for Candidates for the 2012 Sunshine State TESOL Executive Board Elections for consideration by the nominating committee

The Nominating Committee is accepting applications from SSTESOL members who wish to run for a board member position. For the upcoming year the following positions will become open effective July 1^st:

Treasurer Elect

Responsibilities: The treasurer elect will be trained to replace the treasure who is responsible for collecting and dispensing all funds of the association and keeping records of such transactions.  The treasurer elect will also learn to  file legal/tax forms as required by state and federal governments.  The treasurer elect will work with the treasurer to present a written financial report at each regular board meetings as well as at the annual business meeting of the membership.

Members at Large

Responsibilities: chair and serve on standing and ad hoc committees. They participate in advocacy, professional development, and organizational activities related to the SSTESOL strategic planning process. They take active roles in planning, promoting, and conducting the annual conference. They contribute to work with general membership and conference registrants. Members at Large are expected to attend all board meetings.

 Qualifications for prospective candidates:

• strong professional background in language education
• commitment to serve for 3 years
• member of TESOL and/or a local affiliate
• effective service as a leader or active participant in TESOL groups or organizational projects/events, within the past 3 years
• experience on a governing board or in a leadership role within another educational institution, community organization, service organization, and/or business organization
• live in Florida

The slate that the Nominating Committee chooses will have candidates representing diverse TESOL professions and diverse regions in Florida. The slate of candidates will balance board needs for addressing advocacy, professional development, and organizational functions.

Download the Call For Candidates Application Here

Please submit your information by using this link