Guild of IB Schools of the Northeast

Dear Colleagues,

On behalf of our Board of Directors, I send along good wishes for a successful beginning to your school year. As we prepare for this new academic year, I wanted to share some things to think about and some exciting news for GIBS.

Back in January, I attended the annual meeting of the IB Americas Regional Associations in Bethesda, MD. One of the wonderful new ideas that we were introduced to was the IB Employee Profile, a set of aspirational qualities that adapt the IB Learner Profile for professionals. I believe that these qualities are important not only for IB staff members but for all IB schools. They act to inspire and motivate teachers, administrators, and support personnel by providing a statement of aims and values that, combined, paint a picture of what an IB professional should look like.

• Passion for the IB mission
• Impact and influence
• International-mindedness
• Managing and Developing Self and Others
• Decision making
• Driving to improve
• Delivering results
• Stakeholder focus
• Teamwork
• Organizational development

As you launch into the new school year, consider how you might incorporate these qualities into your personal and professional work with colleagues and stakeholders. Below this message, I’ve included the complete list of profiles with full descriptions, I recommend posting the attributes in and around the school to remind everyone that we are always learning and working together to grow and improve.

The GIBS Board has been putting the qualities of the Employee Profile to work to ameliorate service to our schools. We met recently to restructure our business and transition to a new team of staff that will help the organization builds its capacity for growth and renewal in the upcoming years. To this end, we need some additional feedback from our member schools, please complete our newest member survey to share your thoughts and ideas with the GIBS board.

Here are some highlights of our most recent changes:

New Address
Please inform your business office of our new address:
GIBS
PO Box 2615
Binghamton, NY 13902-2615

Upcoming Events
We are thrilled to announce two exciting events in the coming season. On October 22, 2011, GIBS will be offering an Orientation Seminar at The Connecticut IB Academy in East Hartford, CT. Orientation Seminars are one-day sessions that are designed for school officials and leaders who are investigating the feasibility of bringing the IB to their schools. We are especially excited to include a special session on the IB Career-related Certificate, the IB’s new vocational program. If you or any local colleagues are interested in attending this event, please visit our website for registration details at www.gibsib.org. We encourage you to share this opportunity widely within your local community.

The second event that we would like to share is the Annual GIBS Meeting and Conference at the Doubletree Hotel in Times Square, January 6 & 7, 2012. The 2012 conference is going to be our best yet. We have an exciting addition to our schedule, a full-day pre-conference session with Dr Lynn Ericson. Lynn is an international education consultant and a recognized presenter in the areas of concept-based curriculum design, teaching for deep understanding, and standards alignment. Please check out the GIBS website for additional information and registration at www.gibsib.org.

Position Changes
Our longtime Treasurer and Conference Chair, Sal Sinito, has retired from his post, we wish him well in his retirement. In lieu of filling Sal’s very large shoes, we have separated his role into two positions: Treasurer, and Professional Development Coordinator. Our new Treasurer, Robert (Bob) Gazda, will handle anything that has to do with money, so expect to hear from him soon about your membership dues. Bob is the Director of Curriculum and Instruction coordinating, Math, Science and Technology as well as the IBCC Coordinator for Binghamton High School. Dr. Patty Gazda-Grace (Bob’s sister) has assumed the new post of Professional Development Coordinator. Patty recently retired from the Binghamton City School District as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Binghamton City School District coordinating English, Reading and History, as well as the IB Diploma Coordinator for Binghamton High School. In this new role, Patty will be reviewing and enhancing our roundtables and bringing best practices in the field of professional development to all GIBS events.

Anthony Foster who has single-handedly assumed all responsibility for connecting us through the GIBS website has accepted a new role on the board as our GIBS Historian. The Board agreed that it is time to upgrade the website so that it will provide our membership with access to important information and also serve to connect our community. To respond to this need, we’ve hired Daniel Paccione, as our new Director of Communications focusing on the website, membership outreach and communication. Daniel is also the International Educational Programs Manager for EF Education First; prior to this role he was the Development and Outreach Services Manager at IB Americas. We hope to launch our new website in the end of September.

Additionally, we would like to wish warm congratulations to David Weiss, Past-President and Co-Founder of GIBS for his recent appointment to Superintendent of Long Beach School District on Long Island.

In conclusion, in Howard Gardner’s book, Good Work: When Excellence and Ethics Meet (2001), he describes good work as that which is excellent, ethical, and energizing. For me, the IB brings together all these elements and leaves me feeling, at the end of the day, that I have not only executed my duties expertly, but I have “worked the work,” as we say, thoughtfully and responsibly. This is what the IB does for me, and why is gives me such great pleasure to work with all of you who share this passion. I hope you have a smooth start to the opening of school, and I hope that you will take part in many of the wonderful events that we have planned for the fall semester. I look forward to seeing you soon.

Cheers!

Cathy Battaglia
President, Board of Directors

P.S. Please don’t forget to complete the GIBS Member Survey.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dGRYbnZKUTRfc2pqX1dYaVZGVWU2Zmc6MA#gid=0

The Attributes of the Employee Profile:

• Passion for the IB mission - Aligning behavior to the needs, priorities and goals of the IB and inspiring passion for the IB mission.
• International-mindedness- Culturally aware and respectful, having a global outlook, identifying opportunities for global working.
• Decision making- Exploring and identifying the best and most ethical approach, taking personal responsibility, meeting challenges and resolving problems.
• Delivering results- Having accountability for work and managing time and resources effectively, delivering results to a high standard and taking responsibility for own actions.
• Teamwork- Working to support and develop collaboration within and across teams through leadership.
• Impact and influence- Communicating with understanding, confidence, clarity and effectiveness and having a positive impact on others.
• Managing and Developing Self and Others- Managing and developing self, supporting or managing the performance, development and well-being of others to achieve organizational goals and support the IB community.
• Driving to improve- Having the courage, forethought and independence of spirit to use change and/or continuous development to drive organizational improvements and organizational learning in a socially responsible manner.
• Stakeholder focus-Always acting to discover, meet and exceed the needs of the IB’s current and future internal and external stakeholders.
• Organizational development- Developing and/or implementing the IB’s strategic plan to meet the medium and long term needs, mission and values of the organization.