Happy Retirement Dear Friend!

It is with mixed emotions that I am announcing the retirement of our executive director, Christine Bertrand, effective March 31, 2011. As president of CSTA I don’t know what we are going to do without her! She has been with us for just over 15 years! Needless to say, she will be missed. Most of you know her and have seen her at our state conferences, but maybe you don’t know just how much she has done for our organization. She has had a myriad of responsibilities, too many to mention, that have impacted CSTA in a memorable and meaningful way. What follows barely scratches the surface of all that Christine has done over the years, but bear with me as I make mention of some of them.

As executive director she served as the chief executive officer of the California Science Teachers Association, she was responsible to the executive committee and board of directors for the effective conduct of the affairs of the association.  She recommended and participated in board formulation of association mission, goals, and objectives and related policies. Within that framework she, planned, organized, coordinated, and directed the programs, activities, and staff of the CSTA, including but not limited to…

• Formulating and recommending basic policies and programs, including financial and budgeting programs, for approval by the board of directors; participating in development of CSTA’s mission, goals, and objectives.
• Creating an appropriate image for CSTA by providing leadership to members and staff, developing and communicating the mission and philosophy of the association, and conveying a clear sense of its goals and objectives; representing the association and leadership at meetings and conferences.
• Developing and maintaining an appropriate budgetary procedure in concert with the treasurer and finance committee; planning, recommending for approval, and operating within an annual budget; overseeing the authorized and proper expenditure of funds; pursuing financial benefits to CSTA by soliciting grants to fund programs; executing bylaws provisions with respect to audits and financial reporting.
• Researching and tracking legislation and state policies that affect science education in the state; advocating for CSTA’s positions with state policymakers and legislators.
• Promoting interest and active participation in activities among the membership, and encouraging proper communication of activities of the board and committees.
• Organizing and providing for the election of the board of directors.
• Overseeing the California Classroom Science (CCS), the California Journal of Science Education, and other CSTA publications, and supervising future member service programs as approved by the board of directors; writing for, soliciting content for, and editing CCS, the Journal and other publications; preparing electronic formats for publications.
• Overseeing the California Science Education Conference as well as participating in the planning and execution of the conference.
• Providing liaison and staff support to the executive committee and other committees and chairs, to help them properly fulfill their functions; seeing that committee decisions and recommendations are submitted to the board of directors for approval.
• Developing board and executive committee meeting agendas for approval by the president; planning meetings of the executive committee and board of directors, ensuring continuity of actions of the board by analyzing minutes of each meeting to determine suggested courses of action for executive committee, board, association, and staff.
• Ensuring the legal integrity of CSTA, compliance with non-profit corporation’s laws, and conformance with generally accepted principles of association management.
• Keeping the board of directors and executive committee fully informed on the conditions and operations of the association and on all important factors influencing them.
• Serving as the CSTA liaison to NSTA and other state and national groups.

As I listed these tasks I was once again overwhelmed by the enormity of them. Is it really possible for one person to accomplish all of them? Christine showed us that it was possible and she excelled in all of them! In addition to all of her job responsibilities as executive director, Christine led the way and played an integral role in all of CSTA’s successes in the past decade including:

• In 2002, the revision of the Integrated Science test to a more useful format for districts, so that the State Board of Education would not eliminate it from the testing scheme.
• In 2004, playing an integral role in getting the state to change the science criteria that would be used to evaluate textbooks and other instructional materials from no more than 25% to at least 25% hands-on.
• In 2005 and 2006, closely following the science textbook adoption to try to ensure the integrity of the process. Our ongoing observations of Curriculum Commission meetings were invaluable in overturning or preventing several egregious irregularities in the process.

Thank you Christine for bringing CSTA to where it is today and for your unwavering efforts to bring science education to the forefront.

The CSTA board of directors was very fortunate in hiring Jessica Sawko as our new executive director. Jessica has been our conference manager and has worked closely with Christine for the last four years. Your board has total confidence in her ability to fill this vacancy and excel in its duties. Connie Morrill, our present administrative coordinator, has been promoted to manager of programs and member services. She will continue to work with Jessica in keeping CSTA running smoothly. We welcome both of them to their new positions.

In closing I took the liberty of writing a retirement good-bye to Christine from all of her “CSTA Family”:

Dear Christine,

Please accept our best wishes on your retirement from the position of  executive director of the California Science Teachers Association. It is with utmost dedication and poise that you have performed over the past 15 years. You have tackled problems, big and small, with tenacity and a determination second to none. You have been the face of CSTA over the years and represented us with style and grace. You are well respected by your colleagues, legislators, publishers, and state and national science educators.

It has been wonderful working with you and getting to learn from your valuable expertise, work ethic, and commitment. We have shared all the ups and downs of the science education system together, but with you as our director we felt we could face any problems with strength and confidence. We have learned from you that “Happiness is the consequence of personal effort.” You fight for it, strive for it, and insist upon it – always!

Christine, you have left a remarkable legacy behind; one which will remain with us for years to come. You are leaving CSTA a better place than when you found it, and that in itself, will remain a lasting tribute to your professionalism. We will miss you, our colleague, a consummate professional, a confidant, a friend, a wise counselor, a shoulder to lean on, a visionary, a leader, and indeed a lady of note.

We are sure you are not going to sit idle. We hope you enjoy spending a good deal of your free time with your husband Bob and playing with your two Weimaraners. Enjoy your time in the Bahamas and best of luck to you and your husband as you work to complete the beach home you are building there. Remember us fondly and may the years that lie ahead be filled with laughter, happiness, and even more dreams achieved.

This is our wish for you as we say “farewell” but not goodbye.

Sincerely,

Your “Family” at CSTA

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Written by Tim Williamson

Tim Williamson is a science methods instructor at CSU Long Beach and is past-president of CSTA.