MAAECA

Mission:The Madison Area Association of Accredited Early Childhood Care and Education

Programs (hereafter referred to as the “Association”) shall be a collaborative membership

organization of accredited early childhood education programs. The Association serves

to enhance the cohesiveness of the early childhood community and to speak with one

voice on issues pertaining to early care and education; and works to improve program

quality, fiscal and program stability of member organizations for the ultimate benefit of

the children and families served and the community at large.Membership:

Membership shall be open to any early education and care program that is accredited by

the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the National

Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC), the City of Madison and/or meets Head

Start Performance Standards

Members shall pay an annual membership fee of $25.00, due January 15th, of each year.

First year membership dues shall be paid on January 22, 2004.

The Association shall strive to have a diverse membership with representation from

center and family based programs.Structure:

All members shall have one representative to the membership group for the purpose of

voting.

Members will elect a Board of Directors comprised of 11 members (including the

Executive Committee).

The Board of Directors will elect an Executive Committee to serve the Association

membership. The Board of Directors shall:

• Create by-laws for the Association and act upon said bylaws; to be ratified by the

membership by a 2/3 vote of those present.

• The 4 members of the executive committee and 2 randomly chosen at-large

members would serve 2-year terms. The remaining 5 board members would serve

one year terms. In subsequent years, new members would be elected to two-year

terms. Terms begin January 22, 2004.

(Chair in absence of President), Secretary (records minutes and accepts

nominations for Executive Committee) and Treasurer (manages association dues).

• For the first year, the Board of Directors shall consist of founding members of the

Association. Nominations for the first year slate may be sent by email to Becky

Van Houten or Sara Dill by January 15, 2004, for preparation of a slate for voting

purposes. Voting will occur on January 22, 2004 and every January thereafter for

subsequent years.

The Association shall hold a minimum of one annual meeting each year in January.

Board members shall be voted on at this time.

The Executive Committee may call additional Board meetings as deemed necessary.

Members may refer issues for discussion to the Executive Committee for placement on a

meeting agenda, e-mail announcements or other action.

Activities:

First year activities shall focus on:

• Developing a collaborative proposal/plan for the implementation four-year-old

kindergarten programming for the Madison community within high quality early

education and care programs in Dane County.

• Successful negotiation with Madison Metropolitan School District to initiate such

programming, taking steps to ensure that Association members receive adequate

reimbursement for services once state-aid is available; that Association members

are ensured ongoing provision of 4-K services; and that Association members

maintain individual programming options within the context of national and city

certification standards.

• The Association Executive Committee shall designate representatives to negotiate

an agreement with the School District. The agreement shall be subject to review

and ratification by the entire Board of Directors

• Representatives shall be knowledgeable about school and child care finance, and

have experience in negotiating contracts.

• Provision of services by the City of Madison to the childcare community.

• Other issues as deemed a priority by the members.

The Board of Directors shall put forth a proposal to MMSD for the provision of 4-K

programming (including rates of reimbursement, curriculum, staff training, etc) and shall

negotiate with MMSD on behalf of the Association members. Ultimately, Association

members shall be bound by the agreement negotiated by the Association. This agreement

shall establish a framework for the provision of collaborative 4 year old kindergarten,

including rates of payment for services, longevity of the collaborative agreement and

conditions under which the services/contracts will continue. Other arrangements which

are particular to a program or service area shall be the responsibility of individual

members to work out with appropriate school district personnel, with the support of the

association.

Other Tasks: The Association may undertake other tasks to fulfill its basic mission as

directed by its Board of Directors.