January 6, 2004

Dear SFAEYC members,

This is an opportunity for new beginnings and what better way to start off your new year than by attending an SFAEYC meeting?

OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE HELD ON WEDNESDAY JANUARY 14, 2004, AT THE PRESIDIO CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER AT 5:30 PM. At this meeting we will begin our committee work. Beginning in March the general meetings will be held on the first Wednesday of every other month (March 3rd, 2004).

Please remember that this is a volunteer organization and without participating members this organization fails. A small group of members worked hard to make sure that we remained a viable organization and made it through the NAEYC reaffiliation process, but we need other members to come forward to support various committees for which they have passion, interest and/or skills to contribute. I understand that we are all busy and have many things going on in our lives, but the more members that come forward to support the organization, the more we can divide up the responsibilities and tasks. We are looking for and need members to volunteer to work on the following committees. Each and every one of these committees is vital to the organization. Some of them may not be as fun as others, but all are quite important!

Membership

Responsible for expanding the SFAEYC membership base. This committee is committed to promoting inclusiveness of those in the field of early childhood education in our area. The committee will identify gaps and work to promote membership in those areas that we are not currently reaching.

Current Members: Candace Lee, Zaida Rodriquez, Susie Shimizu, Jans Wan

Accreditation

Responsible for obtaining information on the accreditation process to various centers in San Francisco. Committee members should have an understanding of the accreditation process and its importance.

Members who have expressed interest: Robin Lee-Dandridge, Jan Christensen, Caroline Bankhead. This is a committee that needs to be finalized and have a chair person.

Nominations

Responsible for working with the Board in the selection of candidates for SFAEYC's Governing Board. This committee identifies and nurtures potential members to receive information about serving on the  Governing Board.

Current Members: Marie Salgado

Public Policy

Responsible for distributing information to the membership about policies, bills or topics that would be of interest to Early Childhood Educators.

Current Members: Carol Husbands, Kerrie Welsh, Liz Winograd, Katherine Murphy

Communications

Responsible for conveying important information to the membership via email and other communication methods. Members on this committee will also post important information on the upcoming affiliates section of the CAEYC web site (www.caeyc.org).

Current Members: Betty Rose Allen, Mark Mabry

Governance

Responsible for working with the Board of Directors to refine the policies and procedures of the organization.

Current Member: Mary Lou Larsen

Events and Special Programs

Responsible for working with Board of Directors to organize and sponsor events and programs for increasing the organizations membership. These events would be in keeping with the mission and values of SFAEYC.

Current Members: Manuel Wong, Margaret Jerene, Lidia Larin, Nancy Record, Melanie Westfield, Kerri Dukas, Meryl Glass

If you can not make this meeting and would like to work on one of the committees, please email me at sosborn@muse.sfusd.edu or call me at 561-5822 and let me know what committee you are interested in and I will forward this information on to the committee chair or members. Committees will meet every other month starting in February (time and place TBA), and then, beginning in March, the General Meetings will meet on the first Wednesday of every other month.

I believe that San Francisco has a long history of supporting young children and quality Early Childhood Education. In these trying economic and social times we need to continue the fight. The Board of Directors can't do it without the membership. We need you to get involved. I thank you in advance for supporting SFAEYC and helping to guide the direction in which we need to go.
 

Sandy Osborne
SFAEYC President