VTRID E-Letter Archives: Winter 2006

In this issue:

*March, June, September Meeting date/time/location *

*Website*

*EIPA Information*

*December Meeting Minutes*

*Doug Bowen Bailey Workshop*

*Scholarship Information*

*VTRID Gossip*

*Region One conference Registration Form*

*NU ASL Festival*

*NU Interpreter Education Center Newsletter*

*Library Holdings List* also available at www.vtrid.org

*Membership Form* also available at www.vtrid.org

*Scholarship Application...$ available!!! * Also available at www.vtrid.org

Join us for the March General Membership meeting

Saturday, March 18th

2:30-4:30 pm at VT Hall Conference Room on the Austine School Campus in Brattleboro

Meeting will immediately follow Doug Bowen-Baileys workshop

If you have items for the agenda, please send them to

Kristal at kristalhaynes@hotmail.com

Members will be able to call in to this meeting using a conference call system (all calls are toll calls). Here are the details on how to participate in the meeting through the telephone.

Call this number: (641)297-7250. Your PIN (or passcode): 702462

The PIN is the same for all participants except for the meeting leader. It is used by the system to connect you to the correct meeting. That's it. Very simple to connect to the meeting. Now, here are the rules:

Rule #1: during the meeting, IDENTIFY yourself before you speak so that others (especially those who are deaf) know who is speaking at the moment. For example, my name is Suezlee. So, everytime I say something, I will state, "This is Suezlee. (blah blah blah)..."

That's Rule #1 and that's all.

Very simple concept, very simple implementation, and very simple operation.

VTRID June General membership meeting Saturday June 24that David Krueger's house on the lake in St. Albans - Fun in the Sun

Potluck BBQ at noon, meeting at 1pm, FUN ALL DAY!! Bring your swimming wear, beach towel, sunblock, and wet shoes. Theme of the day: BE DEAF. How do you "be deaf"? Simple: Do not leave immediately after the meeting. Stay and socialize like any other deaf person! Contact David for directions. See you there!

VTRID September General membership meeting Monday September 18th-Lianne Moccia's house

5 pm Potluck; 5:30-7:30 Meeting

VTRID's website is up and running!

This website has been a year in the making and VTRID is thrilled to add an on-line component to our organization. Online viewers now have access to officer and committee chair contact information, meeting dates and locations, workshops being offered, lending library information, and a downloadable membership form. Please check the website often for updates and announcements! If you have information that you would like to add to the website, send Cory Brunner an email at cory_brunner@yahoo.com

EIPA- Educational Interpreters Performance Assessment

Our Region One representative has asked each Affiliate chapter to have a discussion about IEPA and has asked each president to submit a position paper reflecting the views of the membership. Please read the following article and come the March meeting with your thoughts on this topic. Thanks.

RID Discussing Partnership with EIPA

By Clay Nettles, RID Executive Director

RID has been holding talks with officials of the Educational Interpreters Performance Assessment (EIPA) in order to determine if there is the feasibility of engaging in a partnership that would not only be of benefit to both organizations but also to the profession of interpreting as well. As is the case with the successful program that made NAD certified interpreters a part of the RID Certification Maintenance Program (CMP) and Ethical Practices System (EPS), RID is investigating whether there exists a way to make EIPA evaluated interpreters a part of the association. The thoughts and philosophies adopted in the National Council on Interpreting through the years have been instrumental in the discussions and RID will be working through the joint NAD-RID National Council on Interpreting (NCI) as we continue working on this exciting endeavor.

For members who may not be fully aware of many aspects of the EIPA, information can be found at www.classroominterpreting.org. The EIPA instrument is being recognized in an increasing number of states every year. Over 60% of the states recognize the EIPA in certification, have legislation pending which will recognize the EIPA in certification or utilize the tool in some fashion.

There are many possible benefits of such a partnership. The following lists but a few of those:
1) RID needs to better represent all aspects of the interpreting profession. Educational interpreting is an area in which we are sorely underrepresented. EIPA interpreters would bring much more of the K-12 segment of the field into RID.

2) If the EIPA test is determined, as we believe it to be from the information we have studied to date, to be psychometrically sound, valid and reliable, then it makes sense that those who could be deemed to psychometrically pass at a level in keeping with RID's or NAD and RID's (NIC) current tests measures should gain recognition as certified members of RID.

As all RID certified and NAD certified members know, a test is only the first step in the certification process, just as a marriage or civil ceremony is but the first official step in a legal relationship. The hard work continues as one deals with the requirements of maintaining that certification through the CMP and EPS. EIPA interpreters deemed to be at a level that granted them certification would be required to be full participants in those programs, which means they would have to be committed to life-long learning and protection of consumer rights in order to maintain the certification.

3) The EIPA has contacts in the state education departments and in other state agencies that RID does not currently have. This would increase RID's ability to interact with said officials and to have an affect on proposed measures that come up in the states. Access to state officials could be of great importance as we attempt to come up with an integrated legislative strategy that would have an impact on all areas of interpreting. 4) Involvement of EIPA interpreters in all aspects of RID would hopefully increase the exposure of members in other areas of the profession to the difficulty of the educational interpreter's job and hopefully raise the respect level of all for each other.

5) For several years RID has been viewed by many as an organization that mainly focuses on the wants and needs of interpreters who work out in the community with adult consumers. During the past decade RID has made strides to change this perception and to actively support interpreters in the educational setting and the developmental approach to educational interpreting. We still have a long way to go in this area.

6) The EIPA reaches higher proportions of minority interpreters. Despite exceptional efforts in recent years by the Cultural Diversity in Leadership Committee and others working in this area, we remain woefully underrepresented by ethnic minority members. EIPA membership could increase this area substantially.

7) We all know organizations that have not adapted to the changes in the business market. Remember Swiss watches? Look at what is currently happening with Amtrak. The same applies to membership organizations. It is often noted that, in business, that the only constant is change. By not adapting to the changing market, we could become like those companies, slowly losing membership and going into a long, slow and quite painful nosedive. RID must represent more of the profession. At the national level, the hard work of the board, the chapters, the committees and the national office result in a net gain each year of 500, 700, to maybe even 1,000 in a great year. Yet, we are not representing even 20% of our market. We must change. By making this move, we would be illustrating our understanding of the need, in the business world, to embrace change, and growing stronger for it. It is clear that one area where we must change is in our efforts to attract more interpreters in the K-12 setting.

8) There exists large potential for new and exciting publications in the field from many in the K-12 portion of the field. This would bring in additional publications to RID and expand the knowledge base in the field.

9) Should we do the aforementioned, and grow in numbers and represent more of the profession, we will subsequently strengthen our position in the marketplace and in the deafness and non-deafness communities. In short, we would do no less than strengthen our overall organization. When we work apart, we dilute the strength of each organization even more. Together, we are, as the saying goes, stronger than the sum of the parts.

10) We would be joining with Boys Town, a large organization with a long, rich and positive history. We would be building another strong partnership with another strong organization.

11) Teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing also have a vested interest in having highly qualified educational interpreters working with deaf and hard of hearing students. A partnership between RID and the EIPA could well be the first step in elevating educational interpreters to a more professional level. Enabling educational interpreters who have achieved an EIPA 4 or 5 to hold a national certification could have the effect of increasing salary levels.

12) Increased levels of members also correspondingly increases the chances that membership dues will be kept at current levels a bit longer.

13) One of the current goals of the leadership for our organization includes having a more concentrated effort on designing benefits specifically for interpreters in the K-12 setting and actively recruiting those interpreters.

14) This effort would go a long way toward recognizing the important contribution that K-12 interpreters make in the field.

15) RID has had three staff members and three specialist consultant organizations who have worked to get grants for the association. In most cases, the efforts were not successful. Developing a partnership with Boy's Town, who has been successful in program development, could possibly mean an increased ability to attract grant funding to further program development for both organizations, especially those linked to creating national programs related to the education of interpreters. Boys Town has a substantial grant-writing history, with many related to the National Institutes of Health awards. Additionally, the founders of the EIPA, Dr. Brenda Schick and Kevin Williams, were able to obtain awards from the Department of Education for the EIPA.

16) We hope that the net result of strengthening both organizations would be that we would see an increase in the quality of interpreting for children who are deaf.

17) And finally, but importantly, increased levels of members, and consequently revenues, means increased services. Money is just a means to an end. It is not an end unto itself. RID needs increased resources, including revenues, if we are to have the staff, the equipment, the means to provide increased services to you, the members, and to the public. We need resources to do our job right and to do it better. The increased revenues from new members can fund various new staff to do the things we want and need to do.

Think of what RID could do when we grow our membership in more than small increments. At some point, RID hopes to employ a top-level lobbyist (consultant or staff member) who can work with the various chapters on the issues of licensure as well as pay, etc. This person could work with the legislatures and departments of education in the various states as well. Beyond that, we could also conduct surveys and compile information on pay which, while we would have to be very careful not to step into areas of antitrust issues, could be used by state and local interpreters to determine if pay is being granted at an equitable rate. We could get highly-qualified persons to concentrate on development and grant opportunities, and more support staff. We could get new equipment, come up with new services for you, the membership, all in an effort to serve you faster, and better. We could also provide more public relations initiatives in order to serve not only the profession better, but to serve the public better as well.

As members know, part of RID's mission statement is to provide an organizational structure which facilitates the continued growth and development of the professions of interpretation and transliteration of American Sign Language and English. Hopefully, there will be times that we are on the cutting edge in looking at other testing instruments, other agencies, other groups that can possibly help in that effort to grow. It is our job to bring these to the attention of the rest of the profession in order to ascertain whether these instruments and agencies will be instrumental in positive growth for the profession and the association. It is our job to initiate a dialogue with the membership to examine these possibilities.

RID and the national office is well prepared for growth. The senior level staff has regular ongoing strategic planning sessions, as does the board. They know what they will propose to do at various levels of growth and they will be able to do so quickly.

Obviously, there are concerns that RID has with the EIPA and vice-versa, but RID and the EIPA would not be talking if we felt there was not room for agreement and partnership. RID would require psychometricians (the same used by the NCI in the development of the new NIC test) to take a close look at the EIPA instrument in order to determine if there is comparability on the constructs of the two tests that would allow such an approach to work. Our efforts are aimed not toward diluting RID, NAD, or NIC certification, but to engage in actions and activities which will result in strengthening RID, NAD, and NIC certification and strengthening the recognition of RID, NAD, and NIC interpreters around the nation.

While this initiative may seem new to many members, RID has been talking with the leadership of the EIPA for over a year. We had many questions as you may have at this point. Over the year, we have been able to answer virtually all of the questions, the reservations and the concerns. As a result, RID is anxious to make this possibility, if feasible for all parties, a reality in the very near future. We have asked that representatives of the EIPA present at a plenary session at the upcoming conference in San Antonio to inform members further about the instrument.

The RID Board of Directors has the legal and functional authority, as was the case with the NAD agreement, to bring about a program that would recognize EIPA evaluated interpreters at appropriate levels in RID. The board would love to hear your comments on such a program prior to making a decision. Please send your comments soon to me, Clay Nettles, at admin@rid.org. Those will all be forwarded to the board for review.

I extend my thanks to the leaders of RID and NAD who responded to a draft of this article. Their input has made it a much better communication to all members and hopefully will answer many of the questions members may have.

VTIRD Meeting December 3, 2005
12:45pm
Nora's House
Attendants: Kristal, Elizabeth, Amy, Nora, Karen Mueller-Harder, Otis

Reports
Pres. Report-Kristal:
*Mikeal Beckley wrote to Lianne about VRITD writing a supporting letter for the VR interpreting rate to be increased, following suit with other state rates. Support Letter was sent by Kristal.

*Carrie Foster has space for VTRID rep. Those meetings are the 3rd Thursday of the month during the day, and held via VIT. There is no stipend for this position. Kristal is unable, but Lianne might cover the Dec one. The position could be a rotating one. If any one is interested in being the rep, please let Kristal know

*Cheryle's brother recently passed away suddenly. K sent sympathy card for VTRID

*Email from gal from Wyoming inquiring about interpreting. It's on VTRID list-serve, so any one can respond.

*Email from someone regarding VTRID's lifetime membership category. We do not have one. Maybe should think about the cost and criteria of establishing one.

*Kristal has the membership forms. Will give them to David.

*Rachel Copelli's (Region 1 Rep) term is up, but will run again. Needs signatures from voting members in good standing. K has signature form. Thought about inviting Rachel to one of our meetings.

Treasurer's Report - David: *Submitted after the meeting
Balances as of 11/30/05
Savings = $5,289.04
Checking = $5,157.74 (General: $4,507.74; Scholarship: $650)
FY06 Membership (as of 11/30/05) = 24 people

Mentorship-Karen M.:
(No report from Lisa, so Karen gave us blurb about the kick-off).

*Kick-off was really good. Modest turnout compared to other years (only 6 mentees this time), Stephanie C, Carrie Foster, and Suzanne Gardner were there to present. Topics discussed: teaming & voicing. Wondering if the low turnout was due to the dates. Not many have registered for the program, either.

*The Mentorship Workshop Schedule has some conflicts with other events. Nora will talk with Lisa about the conflicts. Conflicts: Feb = MLK weekend, March = Austine wksp, May = Maine RID conference.

Scholarship-Elizabeth:
*No new requests. No activity since the summer. $650 in our pot. Guidelines are now on the web.

VIRS:
*No report.

Library:
*No report
*EB brought up a video that Lynette knew about from Signs of Sobriety - "Silent Sufferings". Seems like a good addition to the library. Purchase was authorized. EB will purchase.

Professional Development-Kristal:
*No report.
*No workshops in the pipeline

. Region 1 Conference - Elizabeth:
*Awards committee is working hard.

Website:
*Nothing new.

CEUs -Kristal:
*Still getting requests.

Old Business *There is apathy all over the region, not just in VT, towards attending meetings.

*Conference calling... some don't like the idea (unfortunately, majority of our members could not participate in this discussion since only five members were present at the meeting). Kristal is not willing to run meetings that way. VIT might be a possibility. But not thru phone. Phone can be pricey if wrong choices are made. VIT cost? Worth trying VIT but limited access throughout state. This topic will be put to the March agenda. March agenda is the last time to keep this on the agenda.

** David, Kristal, and Elizabeth met briefly after the meeting to discuss this. David is a big proponent for teleconferencing access due to available, usable, and inexpensive technology. David really wanted more members to have the option to fully participate in meetings without requiring them to travel long distances for short meetings (note: this meeting ran 54 minutes). It was agreed to make the March meeting available via conference call. Point of order: the meeting will not be 100% teleconference. The meeting will proceed as planned with some members assembling at specific location at predetermined date and time. Other members who can't be physically present now have the option to participate by calling into the meeting. March meeting will be held in Brattleboro. Look for meeting announcment at top of e-letter for info on how to call in. To make VTRID a stronger organization, please call in if you can't be present. **

Upcoming Meeting Schedule:
March 18th in Brattleboro at Austine School. Meeting to coincide with Doug Bowen-Bailey's wksp. June in St. Albans at David's place on the lake. Date TBD.
September 18th At Lianne's House? (Kristal will check with Lianne).

New Business
Reg 1 Rep: Rachel Copelli needs signatures for becoming the rep again.

Web Links: Cory wants to know about our site...who should be allowed to put a link?
*Someone wants to put on a blog. Nope. We want to keep it professional. All agreed.

Deaf Interpreters in VT: No info from David.
*** latebreaking news: VTRID is providing a forum on May 13 in Burlington from 10a - 3p to discuss this topic in depth with deaf community. PLEASE MAKE PLANS TO ATTEND AND GIVE YOUR INPUT!! ***

CEU Requests-Kristal: Processing the requests requires a lot of copying. Can K get $50/year to cover her costs? Approved. K will tell David.

Announcements
*Region 1 Conference: July 21-23, 2006 in Rhode Island. You can pre-register now. K will send out the website.

Adjourned: 1:39pm

Doug Bowen Bailey Workshop at Austine School

Please click here to view info regarding this workshop.

Scholarship Committee Information

Are you interested in giving away money that isn't yours?

Being the bearer of Great news?

Being a part of the overall improvement and professional development of interpreters in Vermont?

If so, you could be the newest member of the Scholarship Committee!

If this is something that interests you, contact Elizabeth Bjerke at apuddlejumper@yahoo.com

For Scholarship Application and Guidelines see our website www.vtrid.org

VTRID "Gossip"

Congratulations to members Amy and Joe Loga and Joan Pellerin (and Rene) who are expecting a second child and a first grandchild, respectively. Apparently there are quite a few ladies walking around with buns in the oven. Is there something in the water?

I'd love for you to include a note to the community that my hypothesis was right: not working is fabulous. We are here in Sydney, Australia PLAYING for the next 5 months and it's GREAT!!!

Smiles and love to all my pals, LB

If you have any gossip you'd like to share with VTRID members, please send it on to Janice at Janice.L.Wightman@Dartmouth.EDU

REGISTRATION FORM Region I 2006 Conference
Reuniting Interpreters in Rhode Island
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND - JULY 21 -23

For a registration for please go to http://www.ridregion1.org/ri3/registration.htm

ASL Festival at Northeastern University April 7-8, 2006

The Northeastern University Regional Interpreter Education Center (NURIEC)

Has posted an E-Newsletter with the following information:
* Creating a Collaborative Network
* How to Find Out about Upcoming Events
* In the Works
* How to Request Workshop Funding
* Can You Name 16 Interpreter Education Programs in Our Region?
* Position Openings with the NURIEC
* Want to Read More About the NURIEC?

Visit our homepage at http://www.asl.neu.edu/riec and click on "click here."