Board of Directors

Linda Gavanda, Mathematics teacher, has a BA in Mathematics and an Urban Teachers Degree from Metropolitan State University and a BA in Visual Arts from Bethel University. Linda has several years experience teaching in both traditional and charter public schools.

—

Emily Hanrahan, Language Arts teacher, has a BA in English Literature and Teaching Communication, Arts and Literature from the University of Minnesota, Duluth. In addition to Language Arts, Emily has experience teaching American Sign Language during her tenures at Coon Rapids and Bemidji High Schools.

—

Ann Moore, 9^th Grade Parent (Alyssa), is Director of Operations for the Domestic Abuse Project (DAP), which delivers a five part advocacy and service program promoting safe and healthy family relationships.  In addition to her operational experience, Ann has a background in accounting.

—

Sandra Smith  (Community at large)

I am the sixth child of fifth teen children (ten girls and five boys), born to Lawrence and Geraldine Smith. Our ancestry includes American Indian, West Indies, Afro-American, and Caucasian. We started our life in Chicago, Illinois. The post office moved us to Minneapolis, Minnesota in January 1961. As my father was the payroll director for a five state region, that was to be based at Fort Snelling.

I attended catholic and public schools, graduating for high school in June 1963. I attended the University of Iowa as a Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar majoring in Business Administration and Accounting for 3 1/3 years. I then changed to Mercy School of Nursing and became a LPN with meds.

I moved to Toledo, Ohio and married in 1984. My husband, Gerald (deceased), and I adopted four children, two girls and two boys (one boy deceased). I have eleven grandchildren and I’m raising my granddaughter, Jonea, 10 years old, who attends Field Community School in the fifth grade.

I am presently working as a volunteer for Senior Corps in the capacity of a Senior Companion and a Foster Grandparent. I co-chair the Field Community School PTA. I am the Secretary on the Hale-Field Foundation Board of Directors. I sit on the Field-Regina-Northrop Neighborhood Group (FRNNG) as the second Vice President, also chairing the Parks Committee plus supervising the office staff and volunteers. I am the Resource Coordinator for the Keewaydin Service Unit of the Girls Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys, a division of the Girl Scouts USA.

I presently live in Regina Neighborhood, in the same house that I was raised in. I am deeply committed to my community and especially to our young people.

Overseeing school policy is a primary governance function of the board. To better address and communicate this responsibility, we are documenting both a philosophy and operating procedures for policy development, adoption, and implementation. Given the clear obligations to our community, the board would like to take this opportunity to invite our student, parent/guardian, and faculty stakeholders to observe and participate in the commitment to goals and guidelines for creating and sustaining the best school possible and the quality of education that we demand for our students. 

 To view a copy of the draft of this board oprational policy under consideration please click this link ->DEVELOPMENT, ADOPTION, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF POLICIES

To help engage your participation and generate discussion in  the site/relocation portion of the evening, a preliminary on-line survey is now available  at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=pHdSOQ9_2bFomyGGGCiG99xw_3d_3d

Introductory Remarks (Endel Kallas)

Greetings to all and welcome to our regular board meeting for October.  Present today are incoming and outgoing board members, current parents, faculty and staff, and interested parties representing the broader educational and social community we serve.  Many of us wear multiple hats.  In board work, this can be both a significant asset and a notable challenge; perhaps more so than in other forums with more specific focus

We are the embodiment of the school at its highest level, that of leadership. We reflect the school and the school reflects us. The boardroom echoes the classroom and the classroom echoes the boardroom. Like the students of Watershed, we serve as new, on-going, and transitioning members, in a community of  life-long learning and ever evolving self-awareness.  We do so hoping to leave the experience we share with our students better off than when we entered it.

As a chairperson at this meeting, I view my task as ensuring that the unique role and purpose of this charter school board is understood and fulfilled. This includes helping to set the tone for responsibility, accountability, transparency, and innovative problem solving while conveying and continuing to improve the processes and structures of Watershed High School. I ask everyone to help me fulfill our mission by engaging themselves with reverence, and respect, and open, inquisitive minds. Let us both engage our experience and perspectives and at the same stand apart from them with objectivity and the broader interests of building a sustainable and exceptional school.  

The agenda is an ambitious one and more time than usual is allocated to address numerous essential matters. I would like to note that non-board members cannot vote and may be invited to have the floor at selected moments. I would appreciate if most comments could be reserved for the open floor opportunity near the end of the meeting. This is not intended as a constraint as much as recognition of the importance of respecting the ambition and purpose of board meetings as well as other forums and opportunities for participation outside of the board meeting as we move these critical issues forward.

As a charter school, Watershed functions much like a free-standing School District and is governed by its own Board of Directors. The Board is made up of faculty and non-faculty members, and operates in accord with its Bylaws, which provide that directors will be elected for two year terms, by the community of the school - the faculty, staff, and families of the students. The Director terms are staggered, which means that about half of the terms expire each year. The open seats then must be filled by a yearly election, either by incumbents who wish to continue to serve, or by new Directors. In accord with both the Bylaws and state law, more than half the seats must be filled by faculty, so each election will involve both faculty and non-faculty positions.

This year’s election will run from Wednesday October 8th, 2008 to Wednesday October 21st, 2008. Voting will be by either electronic or paper ballot with a slate of two faculty and one non-faculty (community) seat. Ballots, instructions and information on the nominees are available at the school office. If you would like to vote by electronic ballot via the internet and have not eceived instructions and materials please contact Endel Kallas at 612–724-8467 or eakallas@gmail.com.

This year’s election commences Monday August 27,2007. All ballots must be submitted by Friday September 14, 2007. Eligible voters include the current school faculty, staff, and families of the students. 

Ballots may be submitted as paper copy or on-line. They are available at the school front desk or online at:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=gUYYOMwx_2fQ6FhDYNKvEbwQ_3d_3d

Watershed, as a charter school, is governed by a Board of Directors, and functions much like a free standing School District.   The Board is made up of faculty and non faculty, and operates in accord with its Bylaws, which provide that directors will be elected for two year terms, by the community of the school - the faculty, staff, and families of the students.  The Director terms are staggered, which means that about half of them expire each year.  The open seats then must be filled by a yearly election, either by incumbents who wish to continue to serve, or by new Directors.  In accord with the Bylaws, and state law, more than half the seats must be filled by faculty, so each election will involve both faculty and non faculty positions.
 
In addition, the Board has a number of Committees, for Finance, Long Range Planning, Development, and the like.  Committee members need not be Board members.
 
This year’s election runs from  Monday August 27,2007 to Friday September 14, 2007.  There are a number of open positions, and there is great need for interested members of the school community to be involved, and to bring their interest, expertise, and energy to the Board and the Committees of the Board.  No outside resource performs any of this important work for Watershed; not the State, not the Minneapolis School District, or anyone else.   We are on our own, and our success and our direction depend on the efforts of the school community.
 
We urge you to please consider participating in the Board or its Committees.  The time commitment is not unreasonable, the close involvement with the school and its faculty is extremely rewarding, and the future of Watershed is very dependent on the talent and efforts of those interested in enjoying this sort of contribution to their children’s education.
 
If you would like to learn more, or have an active interest in being involved, please call  Keith Dunder at 763-797-0019 or dunde001@umn.edu.

Some time soon, minutes of board meetings will be posted here.