Dear colleagues,

We had an informative and intimate meeting on Friday afternoon with Fred Storti, MESPA's Executive Director, and Steven Geis, our NAESP rep and the newly-elected Zone 7 Director. Look for information coming soon on our next meeting tentatively scheduled for June 12, 11:30-1:00.

Our President, Yeu Vang, welcomed us all and began the meeting. She introduced me as the President-elect seeking new candidates for some open positions on our Leadership Team. I will be looking for a President-elect
to partner with me for the next two years. We also need EPAC and Membership reps. If you have a strong desire to take a leadership role in our division, please let Yeu or me know. The Leadership Conference in September
provides on-the-job training and a great chance to network with colleagues from across the state.

Next year we hope to meet more frequently. Jayne will reconvene the PLC, but under a new name that signifies a problem-solving and networking session.  We are actively seeking topics or presenters for our meetings next year. Suggestions included principal performance pay, legislative updates, referendum help, legal advice, and resource development. If you have others, please let us know. We also hope to bring in some fun!

We had updates from committee chairs. Membership received renewals for all active principals. They are submitted and waiting for the new fiscal year in the Business Office. Other membership category (retirement, associate, aspiring, etc) will need to submit their own form. Educational Advisory is actively working to plan a great Institute next year. The focus will be Math, STEM, and RTI (or MTSS). School of Excellence reported that there were no Saint Paul submissions out of the 27 from across the state, but there are great hopes for next year!

Fred provided an update on the the Division news and thanked all of the principals in leadership roles for their support. Steven gave us an overview of the Zone 7 Directorship, his hopes for his work at the national level, as well as encouraging us to take advantage of the resources and materials provided by the national office! He also shared an invitation for principals to attend a reading summit on June 25 sponsored by Scholastic in Minneapolis. It is $99 for the principal and $49 for an additional attendee. For more information, visit www.scholastic.com/bookfairs/

See you in June!

Jim Litwin