Open Forum

Does anyone hold elections for drama club officers?  I am looking for a way for the students to elect their board without it turning into a popularity contest (something I think is hard to avoid in high school). 

I have any interested student fill out an application which asks them what office they want, why they're qualified and their goals for the organization. Once I've received the applications, I type each one up replacing the name with a code then post the applications on a bulletin board. Kids vote for ideas not people. ------------------------------ Cindy Henry Teacher USD 461 Neodesha KS ------------------------------
Original Message: Sent: 04-19-2015 10:49 From: Ken Ruffalo Subject: Electing Officers Does anyone hold elections for drama club officers? I am looking for a way for the students to elect their board without it turning into a popularity contest (something I think is hard to avoid in high school).

First of all, do you differentiate between Drama Club and Thespian Troupe Officers? I do not so these are the criteria I give them:

1. They must be an inducted Thespian (for at least one year- this typically requires them to be an upperclassmen) OR are a sophomore or junior who will be inducted this year and have demonstrated exemplary dedication to the Thespian Troupe (this caveat was created for those kids who come into theatre late, moved to your school, etc).

2. They must acquire a recommendation signature from 2 teachers or faculty members in the building other than myself. I send out an e-mail to teachers asking them to ask the student why they want to be an officer. I tell them if they cannot give you an answer you want to hear, please don't sign.

3. They must acquire a recommendation signature from 1 current officer. Again, the officers are coached on asking them questions and making sure they are willing to articulate their desire. If they are being inducted that year as a sophomore or junior they must acquire 2 signatures from current thespian officers.

4. They must have a 3.0 GPA. This has fluctuated over the years. I generally use the troupe average as the minimum required GPA.

5. They must be enrolled in at least one theatre class for the year they wish to serve. 

6. They must commit to every show we produce in some way in their year of service.

7. They complete an interview with the current officers and myself. If they pass the interview they are given a speech prompt and give a speech during our drama club meeting.

Other things I do:

- Only current Thespians may vote in elections. 

- Candidates do not run for a specific position, just for a spot on the board. If they are elected I select their position for them based on the strengths they have demonstrated/ I know them to have. If I am struggling with what position to give them I typically confer with my senior officers as it is their legacy being left behind.

This typically prevents people from being elected solely based off of popularity. They are typically hard working and highly dedicated. I've yet to have a problem with who gets elected given this format.

------------------------------
Victoria Kesling Councill
Chapter Director - VA EdTA/ Virginia Thespians
Theatre Director- Fine & Performing Arts Department NKHS
Artistic Director - NKHS Trojan Theatre
Artistic Director - Kent England Exchange Production
Virginia Commonwealth University BFA Theatre Education, BFA Art Education '08
University of Houston - MA in Theatre Candidate '16

"Love the art in yourself and not yourself in the art." - Konstantin Stanislavski
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-19-2015 10:49
From: Ken Ruffalo
Subject: Electing Officers

Does anyone hold elections for drama club officers?  I am looking for a way for the students to elect their board without it turning into a popularity contest (something I think is hard to avoid in high school). 

More steps helps us reduce the "Popularity contest" element.  Make 'em work for it.  Interviews, teacher recommendation forms, pre-written speeches, make them talk about improvement loop things, and spread it out some - so they can't shoot from the hip.

break a leg... 

------------------------------
Daniel Stowell
Teacher / Director
Dublin OH
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-19-2015 10:49
From: Ken Ruffalo
Subject: Electing Officers

Does anyone hold elections for drama club officers?  I am looking for a way for the students to elect their board without it turning into a popularity contest (something I think is hard to avoid in high school). 

We have an application also, along with the requirement of doing a "Potential Officer Project." The student must run a fundraiser, house manage a show, etc. to show their leadership skills. They partner with a current officer, who can report in on how the PO Project went. They have to outline how they are going to run their event in the applcation. This year, we added a rubric of what makes someone a good candidate for officer. We've had a couple officers with F's a lot of the year, which makes them ineligible (based on the bylaws we created to align with school policies) and we know one of the students thinks she is going to be an officer again next year. The rubric must be completed by the student themselves, and the officer team. This way, we can rule out candidates we don't feel are strong enough, even if they are popular. I'll attach the rubric and application later--not working with the ipad. ------------------------------ Debbie MacKinney Theatre Teacher, CTE Technical Theater, Troupe 7334 Advisor Tanque Verde Unified School District Tucson AZ ------------------------------
Original Message: Sent: 04-19-2015 10:49 From: Ken Ruffalo Subject: Electing Officers Does anyone hold elections for drama club officers? I am looking for a way for the students to elect their board without it turning into a popularity contest (something I think is hard to avoid in high school).

So glad I didn't respond already, some really excellent ideas...In particular I shall be stealing Victoria's answer lock, stock and barrel.

 It's my second year, so my first year with officers, and we did it 'well, if you want to do it, sure.' This doesn't work so well. I do feel that there is something to be said to making the kids work for it; you sort the wheat from the chaff pretty quickly and see who actually follows through.

Not sure how a vote would even work without it still boiling down to popularity/charisma...I think with the outlined steps given in above responses, you should find the need for a vote drastically eliminated.

Great help, everyone! Thank you!

------------------------------
Phillip Goodchild
Ruskin FL
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-20-2015 08:34
From: Debbie MacKinney
Subject: Electing Officers

We have an application also, along with the requirement of doing a "Potential Officer Project." The student must run a fundraiser, house manage a show, etc. to show their leadership skills. They partner with a current officer, who can report in on how the PO Project went. They have to outline how they are going to run their event in the applcation.

This year, we added a rubric of what makes someone a good candidate for officer. We've had a couple officers with F's a lot of the year, which makes them ineligible (based on the bylaws we created to align with school policies) and we know one of the students thinks she is going to be an officer again next year. The rubric must be completed by the student themselves, and the officer team. This way, we can rule out candidates we don't feel are strong enough, even if they are popular.

I'll attach the rubric and application later--not working with the ipad.

------------------------------
Debbie MacKinney
Theatre Teacher, CTE Technical Theater, Troupe 7334 Advisor
Tanque Verde Unified School District
Tucson AZ
------------------------------

Our student complete applications also. They do not run for a specific position. Then, our outgoing senior officers will interview the applicants. Seniors take this seriously as they want to leave what they created in good hands. Seniors then make their recommendations to me. In most cases I agree. To date, it has removed the popularity factor and has created a solid executive board. ------------------------------ Shawna Marquis Chandler Unified School district Gilbert AZ ------------------------------
Original Message: Sent: 04-19-2015 10:49 From: Ken Ruffalo Subject: Electing Officers Does anyone hold elections for drama club officers? I am looking for a way for the students to elect their board without it turning into a popularity contest (something I think is hard to avoid in high school).

Our high school is small with only 250 students. 

We hold elections in May for the next year. The students running for office have to prepare a 1 min. speech stating their experience and why they think they'd make a good officer. Only inducted sophomores, juniors, or seniors can run for office. I invite rising 9th graders and other interested students that have participated in at least two productions at school to be in our troupe for the following year and I allow them and present members to all vote.

------------------------------
Gail Bartell
Altamonte Springs FL
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-19-2015 10:49
From: Ken Ruffalo
Subject: Electing Officers

Does anyone hold elections for drama club officers?  I am looking for a way for the students to elect their board without it turning into a popularity contest (something I think is hard to avoid in high school). 

There is no way popularity can be totally avoided but here is what I do.  About a month in advance of elections, I post ona wall in my room and email the duties of all of the offices for anyone who is thinking of running to read. Students are required to turn in a letter a week before elections and I post the letters on the wall in my room for all to read. Most voting member read them and I think most take them seriously. This is their only campaign opportunity -- no flyers or banners or clever speeches. On the day of the elections, all eligible voting members are given a ballot and they have to go into a dressing room to vote, one person at a time.  It's a very private thing so that people don't have to vote for their best friend if they feel someone else will do a better job.

A couple of weeks before this is the application for President.  This is an appointed position. Students apply with a letter. They are interviewed with a series of questions that they get a copy of before the interview.  The outgoing senior officers and I conduct the interviews and make the decision as a group. The constitution gives me the right to override if I feel that the decision is being made solely based on popularity. This is done before the rest of the elections so that any candidates for the position who don't get it can run for other offices.

 Another position that is appointed is the Treasurer.  According to the constitution, that position is appointed by me. It also requires a letter and an interview. Often I have the outgoing Treasurer or the incoming president with me for that interview but the final decision is mine.  This position is determined after all of the other positions have been filled and elected.

 I mentioned eligible members. One has to have attended at least 2/3 of our Playmakers meetings throughout the year in order to be eligible to vote. We have meetings during lunch on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month. I do let outgoing seniors vote. The new officers are "sworn in" at the Awards Night in late May.

I hope this helps.

------------------------------
Helen Dixon
Oakley CA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-19-2015 10:49
From: Ken Ruffalo
Subject: Electing Officers

Does anyone hold elections for drama club officers?  I am looking for a way for the students to elect their board without it turning into a popularity contest (something I think is hard to avoid in high school). 

We elect the following officers every spring for the following year:  President, VP, Secretary, Treasurer, Historian, and 2 sophomore reps.  The requirements are as follows:

1. You must be an inducted Thespian for one year.  In the case of the Sophomore Reps, you have to be getting inducted at the banquet that spring you are running.

2.  Fill out an online (Google Doc) application.  They answer questions about why they are running, what they want to do to improve the program, what their other obligations are, etc.  I even ask them to identify a weakness of theirs and how they see that potentially affecting their job in the office if they are elected. I then print those out for everyone at the elections to read (got the idea for this from the EdTA election mailings that we get).

 3.  They must sign a form with the parent saying that they are allowing their child to participate and that they will support this.

 Students then give a 3 minute speech, answer questions, and then we vote. 

The Sophomore reps idea was new this year because the officers wanted to get more younger voices to be heard and to hopefully help with retention.  We also elect in the fall two freshmen reps in October once things have gotten started.  Obviously they are the only ones who do not have to be inducted because they literally can't. 

 I agree that it is near impossible to get the popularity contest out of things, but I impress upon them that they need to elect the best people to fill the posts.  Our constitution provides for the directors to override the voting (it's a secret ballot) if we feel that the results could harm the program next year.  However, in the 11 years I've been doing this, we've never had to use that option.

 Here is a link to our officer election page on our website:

 https://sites.google.com/a/lcscmail.com/lcdrama/officer-application

------------------------------
Raymond Palasz
Schererville IN
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-20-2015 16:05
From: Helen Dixon
Subject: Electing Officers

There is no way popularity can be totally avoided but here is what I do.  About a month in advance of elections, I post ona wall in my room and email the duties of all of the offices for anyone who is thinking of running to read. Students are required to turn in a letter a week before elections and I post the letters on the wall in my room for all to read. Most voting member read them and I think most take them seriously. This is their only campaign opportunity -- no flyers or banners or clever speeches. On the day of the elections, all eligible voting members are given a ballot and they have to go into a dressing room to vote, one person at a time.  It's a very private thing so that people don't have to vote for their best friend if they feel someone else will do a better job.

A couple of weeks before this is the application for President.  This is an appointed position. Students apply with a letter. They are interviewed with a series of questions that they get a copy of before the interview.  The outgoing senior officers and I conduct the interviews and make the decision as a group. The constitution gives me the right to override if I feel that the decision is being made solely based on popularity. This is done before the rest of the elections so that any candidates for the position who don't get it can run for other offices.

 Another position that is appointed is the Treasurer.  According to the constitution, that position is appointed by me. It also requires a letter and an interview. Often I have the outgoing Treasurer or the incoming president with me for that interview but the final decision is mine.  This position is determined after all of the other positions have been filled and elected.

 I mentioned eligible members. One has to have attended at least 2/3 of our Playmakers meetings throughout the year in order to be eligible to vote. We have meetings during lunch on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month. I do let outgoing seniors vote. The new officers are "sworn in" at the Awards Night in late May.

I hope this helps.

------------------------------
Helen Dixon
Oakley CA
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-19-2015 10:49
From: Ken Ruffalo
Subject: Electing Officers

Does anyone hold elections for drama club officers?  I am looking for a way for the students to elect their board without it turning into a popularity contest (something I think is hard to avoid in high school). 

Helen, would you be willing to share your "swearing in" verbiage? I like the idea of doing this at our awards show. We also do the speech part at our troupe meeting, and only inducted thespians vote. I do want to add that we are a small but growing school. (We were under 400 when I started, now close to 600) . Our students have a bit higher credit requirement than some of the ore public schools in our area. I have had officers in the past who just couldn't fit a theatre class into their schedule, but we're still active in the troupe. Depending on your school's needs, this could be an option. They were still excellent officers! ------------------------------ Debbie MacKinney Theatre Teacher, CTE Technical Theater, Troupe 7334 Advisor Tanque Verde Unified School District Tucson AZ ------------------------------
Original Message: Sent: 04-20-2015 16:05 From: Helen Dixon Subject: Electing Officers There is no way popularity can be totally avoided but here is what I do. About a month in advance of elections, I post ona wall in my room and email the duties of all of the offices for anyone who is thinking of running to read. Students are required to turn in a letter a week before elections and I post the letters on the wall in my room for all to read. Most voting member read them and I think most take them seriously. This is their only campaign opportunity -- no flyers or banners or clever speeches. On the day of the elections, all eligible voting members are given a ballot and they have to go into a dressing room to vote, one person at a time. It's a very private thing so that people don't have to vote for their best friend if they feel someone else will do a better job. A couple of weeks before this is the application for President. This is an appointed position. Students apply with a letter. They are interviewed with a series of questions that they get a copy of before the interview. The outgoing senior officers and I conduct the interviews and make the decision as a group. The constitution gives me the right to override if I feel that the decision is being made solely based on popularity. This is done before the rest of the elections so that any candidates for the position who don't get it can run for other offices. Another position that is appointed is the Treasurer. According to the constitution, that position is appointed by me. It also requires a letter and an interview. Often I have the outgoing Treasurer or the incoming president with me for that interview but the final decision is mine. This position is determined after all of the other positions have been filled and elected. I mentioned eligible members. One has to have attended at least 2/3 of our Playmakers meetings throughout the year in order to be eligible to vote. We have meetings during lunch on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month. I do let outgoing seniors vote. The new officers are "sworn in" at the Awards Night in late May. I hope this helps. ------------------------------ Helen Dixon Oakley CA ------------------------------
Original Message: Sent: 04-19-2015 10:49 From: Ken Ruffalo Subject: Electing Officers Does anyone hold elections for drama club officers? I am looking for a way for the students to elect their board without it turning into a popularity contest (something I think is hard to avoid in high school).

Thank you for all the great ideas.  This definitely helps me generate better ideas.  If anyone is willing to share an application form, that would be great.  My contact information is kruffalo@sd129.org.

Thank you again everyone.

I would love to see a copy of an application form. Perhaps this is something that could be shared to the library for others to see. Having some an example application would be very helpful as we're in the process of developing one for our program! My email is tmoore@lps.org. 

------------------------------
Tara Moore
Lincoln NE
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-27-2015 12:42
From: Ken Ruffalo
Subject: Electing Officers

Thank you for all the great ideas.  This definitely helps me generate better ideas.  If anyone is willing to share an application form, that would be great.  My contact information is kruffalo@sd129.org.

 

Thank you again everyone.

Here are some of the forms we use for current and potential officers.  

With the rubric, we have the student rate themselves, then after they submit the paperwork the other officers and I sit down and rate them, making specific notes.  For example, I have a student who was an officer this year but has been on probation all semester due to grades.  We discussed that we will consider letting her run again, but with the clear understanding that if she doesn't meet the expectation, she will not continue being an officer.  (She tended to rate herself higher in all areas than we thought she earned, so I have "talking points" to bring up with her.)  

 Once the president and I sit down and discuss with her, I think I have to create a new form that she signs saying she understands these concerns!  It's hard to know when to give someone a second chance or not, but I always err on the side of grace.  

 Always covering all bases, and always a work in progress.....

------------------------------
Debbie MacKinney
Theatre Teacher, CTE Technical Theater, Troupe 7334 Advisor
Tanque Verde Unified School District
Tucson AZ
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-19-2015 10:49
From: Ken Ruffalo
Subject: Electing Officers

Does anyone hold elections for drama club officers?  I am looking for a way for the students to elect their board without it turning into a popularity contest (something I think is hard to avoid in high school).