NAREA Membership Committee Report
June 2007
The Membership Committee continues to work towards goals stated in the
November 2006 Membership Report. The following information includes progress
updates on each committee goal and action items completed or in progress.
The current Membership Committee consists of Jennifer Kesselring (Co-Chair),
Judy Abrams (Co-Chair), Sarah Majors (Committee Member) and Ellen Hall
(Advisor)
Committee Goal: Explore Membership Options
Program Membership:
The NAREA Board voted to approve the Program Membership level during the
November 2006 Board meeting to be introduced as a new membership level for
2008. The Membership Committee has benefited from the discussions that have
taken place since the November Board meeting. Input and suggestions from
Board members and Cheryl Rapaport helped us define and clarify the best way
to move forward. The Membership Committee will work closely with Cheryl, Judy
K. (Innovations) and the Communications Committee during the transition to the
new membership level.
Program Membership fee structure will be as follows:
Lead Program Membership @ $155: 2 Innovations subscriptions and 2 DVD/CD
benefits and conference discounts
Unlimited Memberships @ $45: DVD/CD benefit and conference discounts-does
not include Innovations


Program Membership Level will be for a full year only (no half year) and
will be the same for U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Memberships will not be transferable within an organization: once a
program submits or a person joins as an associate of the organization,
membership would be for one year regardless of their tenure within the
program.
Action item: The Membership Committee is preparing a flyer for the NAREA
summer conference announcing the new program membership level. (Jennifer)
Action item: The Membership Committee is preparing a draft of text for the next
brochure printing describing the new program membership level. Brochures
announcing the new program level membership will be available during the
NAEYC conference in Chicago 2007. (Jennifer)
Gold/Silver Memberships
The Membership Committee recommends the elimination of Silver and Gold
membership levels in the next brochure printing.
Committee Goal: Seek Membership Coordinators in states or regions not
already represented
The Membership Committee is currently participating in an outreach initiative
designed to contact individual Membership Coordinators to support their role
within NAREA and to identify and connect regional networks.
The committee has divided the list of 64 Membership Coordinators and
connected with individual coordinators requesting a 20 minute phone call or
series of email exchanges. The information gathered from the exchanges will be
organized into a document that will be distributed at the end of the summer to
Membership Coordinators and board members.
An additional outcome of the outreach initiative will be an updated list of
Membership Coordinators and information about gaps that still exist in states or
regions.
Action item: Complete Membership Coordinator Outreach Initiative calls and
email exchanges April-July
(All Committee Members)
Action Item: Correct and update list of Membership Coordinators after the
committee’s outreach initiative is completed and forward to Cheryl and the
webmaster (Judy)
Committee Goal: Organize meetings of Membership Coordinators during
initiatives such as NAEYC and the annual summer conference
A Membership Coordinator’s meeting was held in Atlanta during the NAEYC
conference and was attended by 23 Membership Coordinators. A Membership
Coordinator’s meeting will be scheduled during the summer conference. A recent
communication was sent to Membership Coordinators requesting an RSVP
regarding conference attendance. The Membership Committee hopes to
organize smaller regional meetings or discussions during the conference and will
be able to determine the type of meeting as responses are received.
Action item: Compile RSVP’s from Membership Coordinator’s to determine
summer conference participation and contact conference organizers for available
meeting space. Meeting day and time will be announced during the conference.
(Judy)
Committee Goal: Gather and develop ideas for annual membership benefit
DVD/CD
The 2008 membership benefit DVD takes inspiration from the summer
conference focus and will be titled “Documentation II: Teachers, Children and
Families as Co-Researchers.” A letter requesting mini-stories in images,
conversations and/or reflections, is in the final draft stage. The committee plans
to distribute an email request letter to Board Members, Membership Coordinators
and Members-at-Large in June. The committee would also like to have the
request letter posted on the website in July. Deadline for submission will be
September 14, 2007.
Action item: Complete DVD/CD membership benefit request letter for mini-stories
with release forms attached and send to Cheryl for email distribution. (Judy)
Committee Goal: Map of Contexts
The Membership Committee proposes that the next brochure printing include a
way for a Lead Program Membership to indicate if they would like to have their
program information included in the map of contexts. The information that has
been collected over the past two years is outdated and the process of updating
could be simplified when programs participate in the new membership level.
In addition, the recent Membership Coordinator Outreach initiative will also
provide information about existing contexts for the website electronic map.
Action item: Connect with Communications Committee to determine next steps.
(Jennifer)
Committee Goal: Organize Membership Tables during annual NAEYC
Conference and assist with the development and communication of the list
of Reggio-inspired workshop sessions at NAEYC
The Membership Committee has proposed that we begin the task of organizing
Reggio-inspired NAEYC workshops during the summer conference. Our
committee will develop a flyer for summer conference participants to complete if
they are interested in being part of the NAREA at NAEYC list of Reggio-inspired
presentations. The flyer will also include a request from the Membership
Committee to have a NAREA membership table at the workshop session.
Action item: Create a flyer for the summer conference for participants presenting
Reggio-inspired workshop sessions at NAEYC. (Sarah)