Bienvenido a AATSP-NJ

President: Sybil Sánchez

Vicepresident: Elaine Davis

Treasurer: María Papaleo

Poster Contest: Ligia Morales

SHH Represenative: Scott Saks

Webmaster & Communications: Paula Olarte

Board Member At-Large: Gonzalo del Real

Chapter Collaborators: Reina Viruet, Karla Giron

 The AATSP offers numerous programs that foster professional development for both new and experienced teachers.

AATSP Annual Conference
Our annual conference alternates between a domestic site and an international setting (2023 - Salamanca, Spain) and features workshops, excursions, featured authors & speakers, sessions on all aspects of teaching Spanish & Portuguese including literature, cultures, and linguistics, and language and culture immersion opportunities. 

 ARTICLE I:  NAME
The name of this association shall be The New Jersey Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.

ARTICLE II: PURPOSE
The purpose of the Chapter shall be to advance the study of the Hispanic languages, cultures, and literatures (Spanish, Spanish-American, Portuguese, and Brazilian) and the professional status of teaching Spanish and Portuguese through such means as may tend to promote a sympathetic knowledge and understanding of the Hispanic cultures, languages and literatures.

ARTICLE III:OFFICERS
Section 1. The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Chapter. He/She shall preside at all meetings of the Chapter and shall have supervision and control of the affairs of the Chapter, subject to the supervision of the Executive Board, and shall exercise such other powers as may from time to time be conferred on him/her by the Executive Board.

Section 2. The terms of office of the President, the Vice President, the Secretary and the Treasurer shall be three years. The term of office of the President-Elect shall be one year, the last year of the sitting President's term. The installation of these offices shall take place at the Fall Meeting, following the Spring Gala.

Section 3. If a vacancy in any office should occur, the President shall name an interim appointment until the next regular meeting, at which time a special election shall be held for this position.

Section 4. Officers shall be nominated by a Nominating Committee, which shall present the slate of officers at the Spring Gala. Additional nominations may be made and seconded from the floor at that time.

Section 5. If there are more than three candidates for an office, for which no one candidate receives a majority, a run-off election shall be held by means of a mail-in ballot immediately following the Spring Gala.

ARTICLE IV: DUTIES OF OFFICERS
Section 1. The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Chapter. He/She shall preside at all meetings of the Chapter and shall have supervision and control of the affairs of the Chapter, subject to the supervision of the Executive Board, and shall exercise such other powers as may from time to time be conferred on him/her by the Executive Board.

Section 2. The President-Elect shall preside at meetings in the absence of the President. This officer shall assist the President and shall take office as the President after the term of the sitting President has expired, and shall then serve for three years.

Section 3. The Vice President shall exercise the duties of the President in the absence of that officer. He/She shall be the Chairperson ex-officio of all committees as the liaison to the President, and coordinator of activities (NSE).

Section 4. The Secretary shall preserve the minutes of the meetings, and shall send notices to each member of the date of the regular meeting, and shall handle all correspondence of the Chapter. In the absence of the President, the President-Elect and the Vice President, the Secretary shall preside at the meeting.

Section 5. The Treasurer shall maintain the Chapter's bank account and a detailed accounting of all financial transactions of the Chapter, and provide a report of all monies received and disbursed at the Executive Board meetings and at regularly scheduled Chapter meetings.

Section 6. The elected Officers of the Chapter shall constitute the Executive Board, which shall have charge of all business of the Chapter. The Executive Board shall pass upon the accounts of the Treasurer and shall authorize disbursements to be made by the Chapter and authorize, by a three-quarter vote in regular meeting assembled, the Treasurer to make such disbursements. The Executive Board shall include other members-at-large from the General Membership to be nominated by the President and with the consent of the Executive Board.

ARTICLE V: COMMITTEES
Committees shall be formed as necessary. The Chairperson shall be appointed by the Executive Board.

ARTICLE VI: MEMBERSHIP
The qualifications for membership shall be active membership in the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. Membership is open to all persons interested in the Spanish and Portuguese languages, cultures, or literatures.

ARTICLE VII: DUES
Members shall forward to the national association the required dues. Chapter dues for each member shall be forwarded to the State Chapter by the national association. Dues shall be subject to the national association's Executive Council's directive.

ARTICLE VIII: MEETINGS
Regular meetings of the Chapter shall be held at a time fixed by the Executive Board, which shall not be less than once in the spring and once in the fall. Executive Board meetings shall take place prior to the regular meetings.

ARTICLE IX: QUORUM
(A quorum is the members of a body that when duly assembled is legally competent to transact business.)
A quorum shall consist of those members present at a Chapter meeting.

ARTICLE X: AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION
This constitution is subject to amendment by two-thirds vote of the regular members present at any regular meeting under the following procedure: Proposed amendment shall be placed in the hands of the Secretary in writing, and shall be presented to the Executive Board, which in turn shall notify the membership of the agenda for the next meeting. The amendment shall be voted upon by the attending members of the Chapter at the next regular meeting.

Adopted in 2004