2024-2025 Iowa Merit Council Award Checklist

Posted: June 6, 2024

Each Reading Council must meet the following required items and ten (10) optional items between the dates of May 1, 2024 and April 30, 2025 to become an IOWA MERIT COUNCIL.

(All information in parentheses is to help with clarification of the guidelines for Merit Council.)

[All items in brackets show which items are similar to the National Honor Council Guidelines. You may disregard anything in brackets if you are completing only Iowa Merit Council Guidelines.]

REQUIRED ITEMS:

  1. Attendance by at least one council member at state, zone, or local leadership training conference. (Submit name(s), date, location)
  2. Attendance by at least one council member at the State Delegate Assembly. (Submit names(s))
  3. Prepare the year’s council program and distribute to local members. (Include one copy of the program.) [Part 1 G]
  4. Conduct at least four local council meetings between May 1, 2024 and April 30, 2025. Of the four meetings, one may be an executive board meeting or building rep meeting. (Document by including any flyers, announcements, and/or photographs.) [Part 1 C]
  5. Prepare and distribute a list of duties for officers, building reps, and committee chairs. (These may be adaptations of the International Charges and Responsibilities, but may not be limited to them.)
  6. A minimum of one council officer (president, president-elect, vice-president, secretary, treasurer) must be a member in good standing with the Iowa and International Literacy Associations. (Submit a copy of online Officer Report Form found on ILA’s website OR copy your council officer page from the state directory distributed by the state coordinator.) [For Honor Councils only: complete by June 30, 2024- Part 3 A,B]

OPTIONAL ITEMS

COMPLETE AT LEAST TEN (10) OF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS. CHECK COMPLETED ITEMS AND INCLUDE DOCUMENTATION SUCH AS NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS, PHOTOS, EMAILS, HANDOUTS AND/OR WRITTEN DESCRIPTIONS.

MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

  1. Have at least 5% of total membership attending the Reading Conference in Ames, June, 2024. (Submit names and total membership as of May 1, 2024.)
  2. Verify increase in council membership since January of the previous year. Attach January, 2024 council membership list and report the level of increase from the previous year (number of members from January 2023.) [Part 1 A]
  3. Have 15% of total membership participate in a book study for 2024-2025. (Submit names and total membership as of October 1, 2024.) [Part 1 I]
  4. Have an attendance of 40% of total membership at each local council meeting. For each meeting submit the following:
    1. meeting date
    2. attendance figures
    3. total current membership as per meeting date (to account for fluctuating numbers)
    4. percentage of attendance per meeting.
  5. Distribute regular communication/newsletter to members. (Submit a minimum of 4.)
  6. Review and update local council by-laws. (Submit names of reviewing committee members, meeting dates, and changes, if any.)
  7. Develop and carry out a plan to involve school administrators, librarians, parents, or other special groups within your council area in your local meetings and activities. (Describe procedure and provide documentation showing the procedure was implemented.)
  8. Encourage maximum involvement of all schools in the council area. (Describe procedure and provide documentation showing the procedure was implemented.)
  9. Provide special services, other than regular meetings, to local council members—idea sharing, workshops, handouts of reading websites, updated summaries in research or similar materials. (Describe two such services and submit documentation.)
  10. Have active local committees—membership, program, public relations, families in reading, nominations, Iowa Merit Council, International Literacy Association (ILA) Honor Council, etc. (Submit committee titles, names of committee members, and a description of activities conducted by these committees—minimum of three committees.)
  11. Encourage the development of a professional library in each school within your council area. (Describe procedure.)

LOCAL COUNCIL PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES

  1. Presentation of a program by a local council member at your own or another local council meeting. (Submit name, date, and description of the presentation.)
  2. Present a program, or serve as a host/ hostess for a region, state, national or international meeting.
  3. Sponsor a program where you share a speaker with one or more council. (Describe program) or use the recommendation of another council regarding a speaker to have that speaker at your council (Submit name of speaker, name of referring council and contact person, and the date you had the speaker at your council meeting).
  4. Submit documentation (written description and/or photos or news article of an innovative local council project involving one of these areas:
    1. children
    2. homeless
    3. elderly
    4. handicapped
    5. any special need of our area. (Describe need and how council met the need.)
    6. disaster relief
  5. Sponsor an author at a local school(s). (Submit author’s name, date, name of school(s). Include a photo if available.)
  6. Develop an image brochure (paper or electronic) that reflects the council mission, benefits of membership and highlights affiliation with ILA and the Iowa Reading Association. [Part 1 D]
  7. Provide financial support for a council member to attend a convention, conference, leadership workshop or another professional event sponsored by the Iowa Reading Association or ILA. Attach a description of the kind of support provided, including to whom, for what and how much.
    [Part 3H]
  8. Have 2 or more members bring their student teacher or any education major student in college to a local meeting or state conference.
  9. Provide a list of political leaders (i.e. governor, state representative, congressional representatives, etc.) and their phone numbers and/or email addresses to local council members so they may contact those political leaders regarding educational issues. This may be completed in a newsletter.

SUPPORT OF THE IOWA READING ASSOCIATION

  1. Submit an application for any Iowa Reading Association grant or scholarship. (Submit a completed copy of the application.)
  2. Nominate at least one person for any Iowa Reading Association award—Teacher of the Year, Administrator of the Year, Celebrate Literacy, etc. (Submit a completed copy of the nomination.) [Part 2 A]
  3. Participate as a council in Iowa Reading Association’s Writing and/or Poetry Contest. (Submit a written description and include any documentation.) [Part 2 E]
  4. Participate in Newspaper in Education Week. (Submit a written description and documentation.)
  5. Sign up to work on a committee or help with Summer Conference, 2024.
    (Submit names/committee or job.
  6. Serve on a state council, ad hoc, or standing committee. (Submit names/committees.)
  7. Submit an article to the Iowa Reading Newsletter on teaching ideas, local council program or activities, etc. (Submit a copy of the article.)
  8. Have a state officer, regional director, or committee chairperson attend one of your meetings. (Submit name, date and title of office held.)[Part 2 F]
  9. Have 10% of your membership follow Iowa Reading Association on Twitter (#IowaReads). Complete anytime during the year.

SUPPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL LITERACY ASSOCIATION

  1. Actively encourage membership in ILA. (Describe methods used.)
    [Part 3 C]
  2. Participate in an International Literacy Association Project.
    (For example: Have at least 2 members implement International Literacy Day on September 8 in their school. Go to ILA website for more details.) Include documentation—pictures, news clipping, etc. [Part 4 A]
  3. Become involved in a local, state, or international reading project to support reading in an underdeveloped country. Include documentation.[Part 4 D]

You will be asked to submit your Local Council Name, President’s name and email address along with the name and email of person completing the Merit Book.

Return this checklist with your completed booklet of council materials postmarked on or before May 1, 2025 to:

Heidi Stangl

  • 615 Perrin Council Bluffs, IA 51503
  • hstangl@cbcsd.org
  • 712-314-1543

Wendy Matson

  • 22082 RD L34 Underwood, IA 51576
  • wmatson@tctrojans.org
  • 712-325-9660

Merit Books will be reviewed by May 30, 2025.

If you have any additional questions, please contact Heidi or Wendy using the contact information listed above.

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