The next School Board meeting will take place on

Monday, January 25, 2010, at 18:00 in the School Boardroom

Agenda for January 25, 2010

Minutes of School Board Meeting, December 14, 2009

 School Board
The AIS School Board comprises seven representatives, four of whom are required by the by-laws to be affiliated with the US Embassy. The School Board meets each month and has general policy-making authority, with very specific responsibilities for the financial planning for the school.

The School Board is elected by the parents each year at the annual general meeting held in April. Board members serve staggered, two-year terms. The by-laws require that the outgoing Board nominate (to the parents) individuals for membership on the Board. The by-laws also provide a very simple procedure by which any school parent can be recommended for membership and stand for the annual elections. The relevant section of the by-laws is distributed to all the parents each year, one month prior to the annual general meeting.

The School Board meets monthly to conduct business in open session. Such meetings are announced beforehand in the school’s newsletter. Parents are welcome to attend. Minutes of all open meetings are available for examination in the Superintendent’s office. Confidential matters regarding personnel and contract issues are addressed in private executive session. 

The roles of the School Board and of the Superintendent have been established as policy. The School Board's major responsibility is in the areas of finances and planning. The Board approves a detailed budget each year and must approve thereafter any budget modifications. The School Board hires the Superintendent, and takes a major role in negotiating the teachers' contract. The Board also plays a primary role in the planning and conception of all major capital improvements in the school. In accordance with its by-laws, the School Board delegates major responsibility for educational policy making and administrative actions to the Superintendent.

The Superintendent has the authority and discretion to make most of the strictly educational decisions with respect to curriculum, staffing, student regulations and activities, and special services. Overall responsibility relating to the hiring and retention of school personnel has been given to the Superintendent.

Each year the Superintendent presents to the Board an outline of the major new objectives, directions or changes that will be pursued in the coming year. The Board gives its general approval to these goals and objectives, with suggestions and modifications. Then, over the course of the year, the Superintendent reports back to the Board with respect to progress in each of these areas.During the course of the year, the Superintendent brings to the School Board educational matters that he feels are critical to the school's success, of strong community interest, or of major concern from the point of view of public and community relations.

Within this general frame of operation, the School Board may and does, at any time its members feel appropriate, raise issues regarding any and all aspects of the school's operations and policies. For many years the school board has maintained a consistent policy whereby any parent may bring concerns, suggestions or ideas to the board at its regular monthly meeting. The procedure is a simple one: parents need only contact the Superintendent no later than two days prior to the board meeting, indicating the matter to be discussed and arranging a time to appear before the board.

The board strongly encourages parents at all times to bring concerns, problems, or situations that trouble them directly to the staff or administration of AIS for resolution. Should parents wish further consideration of any matter that is decided by the staff or the administration, they may bring that matter directly to the board. Or, parents may at any time bring such situations directly to the Parent/Teacher Association.

School Board Members

School Board Member Biographies

Corporate Board

The members of the Corporation shall be the members of the School Board and the Ambassador, Counselor for Public Affairs, and Consul General of the Embassy of the United States of America in Israel, or their designees.   In addition, distinguished persons of the local community and others may be selected by resolution of the Corporation for specific terms.  The officers of the School Board shall also serve as the officers of the Corporation.  Membership in the Corporation of members of the School Board shall expire at the conclusion of their term on the School Board.  A majority of the members of the Corporation including four members of the School Board represent a quorum.  Voting may be by proxy or by correspondence. (Extract from By-Laws)

Corporate Board Members

Name	Phone # Work	E-Mail
Ambassador James B. Cunningham	03 519 7583 03 510 8093 (fax)	This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Virginia Baldwin)
Andrew Parker Consul General US Embassy, TA	03 519-7671 03 516 0315 (fax)	This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Andrew Koss Counselor for Public Affairs, U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv	03-5103821/89650 03-5103832 (fax)	This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Eysar Horesh	09-950-9502 054 560 0480	This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Amiram Fleisher	Tel: (972.3)  6. 241. 241 Mobile: (972.505) 250. 215	This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Bambi Betts	No telephone	This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Benjamin Rettig	054-636-2840 050-8397258 (fax)	This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Biographies of Corporate Board Members

Ambassador James B. Cunningham arrived in Israel on August 18, 2008. Before arriving in Tel Aviv, Ambassador Cunningham was U.S. Consul General in Hong Kong, responsible for the Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions of China. Prior to Hong Kong, he was Ambassador and Deputy U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations (1999-2004) and Acting Permanent Representative from January to September 2001. Ambassador Cunningham holds the rank of Career Minister in the Foreign Service.

Ambassador Cunningham has spent much of his career working on European and security affairs, with broad experience in multilateral diplomacy. After early tours in Stockholm, Washington, Rome and the U.S. Mission to NATO, he served as Chief of Staff to NATO Secretary General Manfred Woerner. He advised the Secretary General on all NATO issues in the context of the unification of Germany and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union, and on the management of the 1,200 member international staff.

Just after Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, Ambassador Cunningham became Deputy Political Counselor at the U.S. Mission to the UN. From 1993 to 1995, he served as Director of the State Department's Office of European Security and Political Affairs, with responsibility for many aspects of U.S. policy toward Europe. He served as Deputy Chief of the U.S. Embassy in Rome from 1996 to 1999.

Ambassador Cunningham was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania and graduated magna cum laude from Syracuse University, with degrees in political science and psychology. He speaks Italian, French and Spanish. Ambassador Cunningham is the recipient of the Department's Superior, Merit and Performance awards; the National Performance Review's Hammer Award for innovation in government management; and the President's Meritorious Service Award. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Asia Society.

Released on August 28, 2008

Bambi Betts is the Director of the Principals’ Training Center for International School Leadership and has been actively involved with the PTC since it's inception as a course developer, trainer, and co-trainer for the PTC's Essential Skills courses.  Bambi is also the CEO of the Academy for International School Heads (AISH).  She has held positions as Director of Escuela Campo Alegre, Deputy Superintendent and middle school Principal in Caracas, and also a senior school head in Portugal.  Bambi is a leading consultant on a wide range of topics in international schools and conducts on-site training modules related to the effective int’l school. She has written many articles on practical ways to improve international schools and authors a regular column on the PTC pages of The International Educator (TIE).   

Amiram Fleisher, Managing Partner and Executive Office of Fleisher Communications and Public Relations. Amiram is the moving force of Fleisher Communications and steers the firm’s media and customer relations performance. Twenty five years of intensive media activity have provided him with profound familiarity of all facets of the industry, establishing him as an expert in his field. Prior to founding Fleisher Communications, Amiram served as spokesman for Israel’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, delivering the message of the economy stabilizing program and the procedures implemented within the framework of the government’s emergency plan. Preceding this appointment, he held, for nine years, the position of Senior Economic Correspondent at “Ma’ariv,” a leading Israeli daily Newspaper, covering the financial and economic markets as well as the institutional banking system, the capital market and more. Amiram served as the economic reporter at Galei Zahal – the IDF radio station. Amiram holds academic degrees from Tel Aviv University and B.Y.U. 

Eysar Horesh served on the AIS school board as member and Chairperson for seven years as a representative of the community. Prior to her board involvement, Eysar's commitment to the school included an active role in the PTA where she served as room mother, secretary and president. Eysar is a graduate of the American Community School in Tehran and continued her studies at the University of California in San Diego where she received a Bachelor's degree in psychology and philosophy. She is fluent in English, French, Arabic, Persian and Hebrew. Before forfeiting her career to raise a family, Eysar worked as a journalist and radio/TV news broadcaster in Iran. Her personal interests include reading, art, travel and in particular issues relating to child welfare. Eysar is married to George Horesh and the mother of Andrew and Roxanne, both graduates of AIS.  Eysar has been on the Corporate Board since 2004. 

Benjamin Rettig: President & Cofounder of Total Project Development Ltd., Mr. Rettig has been involved in property development throughout his life. Projects include the complete construction and or renovation of over 25 estates throughout the world and the construction of an orphanage in Romania with the American Deputy Undersecretary of Navy. In addition, he has been actively involved in sales and marketing for over ten years with Qwest Telecommunications and other American telecommunication companies.  In 2006, he founded Total Project Development Ltd. It is now the leading luxury real estate company in Caesarea, Israel. TPD Ltd., also provides a suite of comprehensive construction management services to a broad international clientele.Mr. Rettig graduated with Honors, St. Johns College Annapolis MD with a BA- Western Philosophy and History of Science and Mathematics, Minor in Linguistics. He is also a first Lieutenant in the Israeli Special Forces (reserve.)