ALABAMA ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL BOARDS
July 27-30, 2008 Alabama Council of School Board Attorneys, July 28-29
Perdido Beach Resort Orange Beach, Alabama Join your colleagues from across the state for a program packed with fun, timely topics and must-have training at this year’s Summer Conference. Your host, the Alabama Association of School Boards, is planning a program full of motivational speakers, practical clinics loaded with ready-to-use ideas and plenty opportunities to network with hundreds of other school board members, superintendents and education leaders.
Registration is Fast and Easy! Register online at www.AlabamaSchoolBoards.org/ ConferenceInformation.htm OR Check your mail soon for conference information and a registration brochure. Fill out the registration forms and fax them back to AASB.
Inside
Motivating Students of Color: THE NO EXCUSES PHILOSOPHY SPRING 2008 Vol. 29, No. 2
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www.AlabamaSchoolBoards.org
10 FACE TO FACE Mary Ann McDonald visits with Rep. H. ”Mac” Gipson
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STUDENTS ENTER A NEW WORLD THROUGH ‘ACCESS’
FEATURES 8 SPRING CONFERENCE FOCUSED ON BUILDING A HIGHLY EFFECTIVE STAFF School board members and other education leaders gathered for AASB’s annual spring conference
PUBLICATION POLICY Alabama School Boards is published by the Alabama Association of School Boards as a service to its members. The articles published in each issue represent the ideas or beliefs of the writers and are not necessarily the views of the Alabama Association of School Boards. Subscriptions sent to members of school boards are included in membership dues, and complimentary copies are sent to public school principals throughout the state. Additional subscriptions can be obtained by contacting AASB. Entered as third-class mail at Montgomery, AL. Permit No. 34. Alabama School Boards is designed by J. Durham Design, L.L.C., Montgomery, AL. Address all editorial and advertising inquiries to: Alabama School Boards, Editor, P.O. Drawer 230488, Montgomery, AL 36123-0488. Phone: 334/277-9700 or e-mail info@AlabamaSchoolBoards.org.
11 10 QUESTIONS Alabama Board of Education member Stephanie Bell discusses middle school
14 REIMAGINE CAREER TECH 16 Clusters: Pathways to Today's Careers
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The Urban School's Challenge: MORE WITH LESS 16 COVER STORY Alabama advances its diploma options
22 SAFETY ACCREDITATION Generating confidence for parents and the public
IN EVERY ISSUE 3 UP FRONT 6 EDUCATION & THE LAW 27 CALENDAR 15 HELP 28 PEOPLE & SCHOOLS 31 AT THE TABLE
OFFICERS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PRESIDENT Sue Helms Madison City
DISTRICT 1 Patsy Black Monroe County
PRESIDENT-ELECT Florence Bellamy Phenix City
DISTRICT 2 Bill Minor Dallas County
VICE PRESIDENT Steve Foster Lowndes County
DISTRICT 3 Jeff Bailey Covington County
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Jim Methvin Alabama School of Fine Arts
DISTRICT 4 Katy S. Campbell Macon County
STAFF
DISTRICT 5 Jennifer Parsons Jefferson County
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Sally Brewer Howell, J.D.
DISTRICT 6 Sue Jones Jacksonville
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Ken Roberts, C.P.A. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS Denise L. Berkhalter DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS Lissa Astilla Tucker DIRECTOR OF BOARD DEVELOPMENT LuAnn Bird EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Tammy Wright ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANTS Debora Hendricks Donna Norris BOOKKEEPER Kay Shaw
DISTRICT 7 Susan Harris Winfield DISTRICT 8 Pam Doyle Muscle Shoals DISTRICT 9 Laura Casey Albertville STATE BOARD Sandra Ray Tuscaloosa
RECEPTIONIST Lashana Summerlin CLERICAL ASSISTANTS Shannon Hendricks Kristi Martin
ON THE COVER: photo/artwork©istockPhoto.com
Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008 3
UPFRONT
Trends, Research&Dates SERVING SCHOOL BOARDS FOR 60 YEARS
In 2009, AASB will celebrate 60 years of representing the state’s local school boards. AASB serves more than 850 education leaders, supports local decision-making in public education and works to strengthen boardmanship through training, research and risk-management programs.
EDGY K-12 TECHNOLOGY Want to know the latest in educational technology? Check out “Digital Directions” online at www.digitaldirections.org. This free monthly newsletter by Education Week offers updates on news developments, trends and practical advice. The publication is also available in print. Learn more at www.ed.gov/teacherinitiative.
STATE TREND Though child nutritionists may still dare you to find a healthy meal cheaper than those sold in Alabama’s school cafeterias, there have been a number of price increases reported in the news. Dothan Board of Education hasn’t increased food prices for 11 years. However, the rising costs of providing breakfast and lunch at school — food, milk, fuel, labor and other expenses — are forcing school boards to raise prices. Dothan bumped up employee and student meal prices by 25 cents this year. The Albertville school board voted for a food price increase after the system’s costs jumped 26 percent. In the last couple years the price of According to Standard and cafeteria fare has also Poor’s SchoolDataDirect, 40.9 increased at schools in Bessemer, Hoover, percent of the nation’s K-12 students Homewood, Jefferreceived free- and reduced price-lunch in son County and Ves2006. Also, the Center for Public Education tavia Hills, to name a reports 19 percent of schools routinely use few. The U.S. Department of Agriculture common areas, such as cafeterias and sets the charge for gymnasiums, as classrooms. reduced-price meals.
CHEW ON THIS!
4 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008
11.4%
DID YOU KNOW?
In Alabama, 11.4 percent of the public school class of 2007 took at least one advanced placement exam in high school, according to the College Board.
$500,000 Earmarked for Dual Enrollment in Technical Programs The Alabama Community College System has earmarked $500,000 for dual enrollment in technical programs at two-year colleges. Through dual enrollment, high school students can earn both college and high school credits. “Dual enrollment is a means by which we can give our young people the skills they need to earn a good living and at the same time respond to the work force demands of both new and existing industries,” said system Chancellor Bradley Byrne. The funds will target high-demand technical fields, such as industrial technologies, avionics, aviation maintenance, electronics and welding, explained Dr. Matthew Hughes, director of the Governor’s Office of Work Force Development.
Newsweek and Washington Post rank Top Alabama High Schools Ten Alabama public high schools made the Newsweek and Washington Post 2008 Challenge Index, which measures a public high school’s effort to challenge its students. Six of the 10 Alabama high schools have made the rankings in previous years and three Alabama schools – Auburn, Virgil Grissom and Mountain Brook high schools – have made the list every year. The state’s ranked high schools include: Mountain Brook High School, Mountain Brook Board of Education; Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School, Montgomery County Board of Education; Auburn High School, Auburn Board of Education; Homewood High School, Homewood Board of Education; Virgil Grissom High School, Huntsville Board of Education; Oak Mountain High School, Shelby County Board of Education; Spain Park High School and Hoover High School, Hoover Board of Education; Alabama School of Mathematics and Science; and Bob Jones High School, Madison Board of Education. The index includes nearly 1,400 public schools that encourage students to take Advance Placement, International Baccalaureate or Cambridge tests.
SAY WHAT? “I always tell kids who are about to enter freshman year: Go and take a broad range of courses. Take courses that are hard for you, which teach you the discipline of doing something perhaps you’re not as good at. ... Take a broad enough set of courses that you might just find something you’re really passionate about. ... And if you’re going to do that, you can’t let anybody else define who you are. ... Set your own horizon, and let it be limitless.” — Excerpt from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s interview with Phillip Rawls of the Associated Press’ Montgomery Bureau. In April, the Birmingham native received the first honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the Air University on Maxwell Air Force Base.
TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS IMPACTS STUDENT SUCCESS Studies show teacher effectiveness has as much influence on a student’s academic success as race, family income or home environment, according to “Teaching and Learning: Meeting the Challenge of High Standards in Alabama.” The report was genInfluence of Teacher Qualifications erated by the Alabama Task Force on on Student Achievement Teaching and Student Achievement. If increased student achievement is the goal, the task force says the state must strengthen its efforts to recruit, train and support teachers. Read the report at www.bestpracticescenter.org.
AASB Needs Your Snapshots of Success At AASB’s annual convention, the association launched its “I Believe” campaign. AASB President Sue Helms asked all school boards to send in photographs that tell a positive story about public schools to display during convention. Please label each photograph with the board’s name, school’s name and a caption indicating the success and send by e-mail to info@AlabamaSchoolBoards.org or by mail to Denise L. Berkhalter, Attention: Snapshots of Success, P.O. Drawer 230488, Montgomery, AL 36123-0488.
What is Scientifically Based Reading Research? Funding for Reading First was cut 64 percent in the 2008 budget, even though the program has been deemed effective, reports the Association of American Educators in the February 2008 edition of its Education Matters newsletter. The federal reading initiative, which targeted poor students in low-performing elementary schools, had been funded at $1 billion per year. Reading First was born of the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act and uses scientifically based research to guide reading instruction. To meet the initiative’s “scientifically based” standard, the reading research must address achievement in one or more skills in reading, examine the effectiveness of an instructional approach in comparison with others, be of general use for large student populations and be reviewed by field scholars who consider it high quality. The Association of American Educators also outline five key areas that scientifically based reading research has identified as essential to effective early reading instruction. Those include: Phonemic Awareness — Understanding individual sounds of spoken language work together to make words. Phonics— Understanding the relationship between the sounds of spoken language and the letters representing those sounds in written language. Vocabulary — The ability to store information about the meaning and pronunciation of words through listening, speaking, reading and writing. Fluency — The skill of reading texts accurately and quickly. Reading Comprehension — Understanding, remembering and communicating with others about what has been read. Download the newsletter at http://www.aaeteachers.org. Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008 5
EDUCATION & THE LAW
NCLB Changes May Include National Graduation Rate Formula, Relaxed Accountability Standards
U.S.
Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and Alabama Gov. Bob Riley recently hosted an education policy roundtable with state legislators, educators and business leaders at the Alabama State House in Montgomery. At the event, Spellings discussed how the federal government can partner with the state and school systems to support innovation and get every child on grade level or better. Spellings commended the state for its student achievement and for having such a high percentage, 83 percent, of its schools make adequate yearly progress. There are opportunities for improvement in this state, Spellings noted. She would like to see a higher graduation rate and more Alabama students take Advanced Placement exams. Alabama has made strides toward those goals with its recent revisions to graduation requirements and the landmark $13.2 million grant the state received from the National Math and Science Initiative in late 2007 to expand Advanced Placement programs in the state’s public schools.
Relaxed NCLB Standards
Soon after her visit to Alabama, Spellings announced plans to back a national standard for calculating graduation rates and relaxed accountability standards for selected states as part of No Child Left Behind. NCLB targets grade-level reading and math skills for all students by 2013-14 and sanctions schools that consistently fall short of reaching accountability goals. The 2002 law signed by President George W. Bush was up for reauthorization last year, but efforts to rewrite the law have stalled in Congress. The plan to relax NCLB provisions for up to 10 states is called the Differentiated Accountability Pilot Program. States can develop more nuanced ways of evaluating and reforming underperforming schools while intervening less forcefully in schools that are raising most students’ test scores but struggling with one subgroup. As states apply, Spellings said, priority will be given to those in which at least 20 percent of public schools receiving federal aid to poor children have been labeled as “in need of improvement.” 6 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008
One Graduation Rate Formula
Spellings also supports a standard method of calculating how many students graduate from high school on time and how many drop out. Under the proposal, all states would use the uniform method for calculating high school graduation rates by 2012-13. Endorsed by the National Governors Association, the method calculates how many students graduate in four years by tracking individual students’ progress through high school and taking into account transfers and dropouts. In 2005, the governors of all 50 states signed NGA’s Compact on State High School Graduation Data and agreed to adopt the common graduation rate formula. Some states, including Mississippi and Florida, have already implemented the formula. Others are phasing in the new method. Alabama and Georgia plan to begin using the national measure in 2009. Graduation rates at Alabama’s high schools are used as an accountability measure under No Child Left Behind. Under Spellings’ plan, states and school systems would have to disaggregate their graduation rates by subgroups as early as 2008-09. Schools would have to disaggregate graduation data for reporting purposes until 2012-13, but by that same year schools would also have to use disaggregated graduation data for determining adequate yearly progress. The disaggregated data would be made public, Spellings said, allowing for national comparisons based on race, background and income level. “Fortunately, the need for more accurate graduation rates and greater accountability is an issue of strong consensus,” she said. “Disaggregated data is a powerful motivator for
THE COMPACT FORMULA Graduation Rate = [ Students graduating within four years with a regular or advanced diploma ] ÷ [ (first-time entering ninth graders four years earlier) + (transfers in - transfers out)]
change and improvement, and especially for closing the achievement gap between poor and minority students and their peers.” There is more to Spellings’ proposed changes to NCLB in regard to accountability, school choice and supplemental educational services. These include: On accountability: Require schools in restructuring to use interventions that are “significantly more rigorous” than interventions implemented under the schools’ corrective action plans. Prohibit states and school systems from identifying schools for improvement based on the same subgroup failing to make AYP in the same subject or academic indicator for two consecutive years. Require states to justify the measures they use for statistical reliability.
Photo: Charles Creel
On school choice and Supplemental Educational Services: Require systems to provide notice to parents of their public school choice at least 14 calendar days before the start of school.
(Left to right) Alabama Governor Bob Riley, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and state Superintendent of Education Dr. Joe Morton participated in a roundtable discussion on education and No Child Left Behind in Montgomery .
During U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings’ recent visit to Montgomery, she discussed a new tool recently released by the U.S. Department of Education. “Mapping Alabama’s Educational Progress 2008” provides a comparative look at the state’s key No Child Left Behind indicators. Alabama is making gains, Spellings told a group of state education leaders and policymakers, with an increasing number of students proficient in math in grades 3-8. She pointed to the recent Nation’s Report Card produced by the National Assessment of Educational Progress, shows Alabama’s fourth graders posted their highest gains ever in math and reading and eighth graders achieved their highest math scores in NAEP history. The state is one of only nine to reduce the white-Hispanic achievement gap in math across grades three through eight and high school. Spellings visited the state as part of her traveling dialogue on No Child Left Behind and priorities for 2008. — Alabama Governor’s Office
Before systems can release unspent set-aside funds for choice and supplemental educational services (such as tutoring), they must demonstrate that they have: 1. Partnered with community organizations to inform students and parents of choice; 2. Allowed eligible students to sign up for SES throughout the school year; and 3. Ensured that SES providers are given equal access to school facilities as available to other groups, etc. If systems are unable to show evidence of these activities, they must carry over unspent set-asides to next year. Require systems to publish on their Web site the number of students eligible for and participating in choice and SES; a list of approved SES providers and schools available for choice. Allow systems to count costs for providing outreach to parents on choice and SES toward the 20 percent setasides, capping at 0.2 percent of the system’s Title I, Part A allocation. The National School Boards Association has posted its official position on the proposed regulations on www.nsba.org because the association is concerned the proposal provides little relief for schools and school systems struggling to implement what it calls a flawed accountability system and burdensome administrative requirements associated with the current No Child Left Behind Act. “We are, however, pleased that the proposed regulations address some needed concessions regarding use of multiple assessment measures and growth models to track individual progress and determine AYP,” said NSBA Associate Executive Director Michael A. Resnick. “In relation to all that needs to be done, these proposed regulations fall short of the accountability system that needs to be in effect and adds a number of requirements that are both questionable and objectionable.” The U.S. Department of Education is accepting comments on the proposal until June 23. The department is also conducting a series of regional planning meetings to collect additional comments. Final regulations are expected this fall. NSBA sees a piecemeal approach to changing NCLB as an inadequate substitute for reauthorization and encourages Alabama's school boards to submit testimony. In six years, NCLB has identified 9,000 of the nation’s 90,000 public schools as “in need of improvement,” and experts predict that those numbers could multiply in coming years. NSBA reports the rising number of schools labeled as underperforming is overwhelming states’ capacities to turn them around. This article contains excerpts from Alabama Governor's Office, National School Boards Association and U.S. Department of Education reports. (See related articles on pages 8, 11 and 16.) Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008 7
By Denise L. Berkhalter
H
undreds of school board members and other education leaders gathered in Hoover for the Alabama Association of School Boards’ annual spring conference recently.
The event addressed how student achievement is impacted by a school system’s ability to recruit, hire, keep and support competent, effective professionals. AASB gathered together speakers who could discuss the skills necessary to provide the best possible “Leadership for Developing a Highly Effective Staff.” Speakers included Air University Commander Lt. Gen. Stephen Lorenz, who wowed the audience with his talk on creating a culture of high expectations. Dr. John Draper, executive director of the Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools, also garnered ovations with his address on getting the right people in the right positions. Conference attendees were privileged to have a sneak peek at Alabama Take 20 survey findings. Eric Hirsch of the University of California-Santa Cruz’s New Teacher Center reported findings from the state’s first study of the teaching and learning conditions in its schools.
Above: (Left to right) Board member Bobbie Morgan of Greene County, Superintendent Jeff Wooten of Muscle Shoals and AASB District 8 Director Pam Doyle of Muscle Shoals. AASB President-elect Florence Bellamy thanks Lt. Gen. Stephen Lorenz for his inspirational keynote address.
Above: Charles Shoulders of Limestone County (left) participates in group disccussion. Left: Selma Board Member Kirit Chapatwala and Verdell Lawson discover how technology can help develop a highly effective staff. 8 Alabama School Boards •Spring 2008
(Left to right) Immediate Past President Jim Methvin, President Sue Helms and President-elect Florence Bellamy were among the AASB members and officers attending the NSBA 68th Annual Conference in Orlando this spring.
T
CLAS Executive Director John Draper discusses “Irresistable Leadership” at AASB’s spring conference.
Conference early birds heard from Dr. Melinda Maddox, the state Department of Education’s director of technology initiatives, in a pre-conference workshop on “Connecting with 21st Century Learners.” AASB Executive Director Sally Howell described the conference, part of AASB’s School Board Member Academy, as a success. “The academy is a regular source of training for those interested in strengthening their governance teams and enhancing their boardmanship skills,” she said. “I was happy to see so many board members take advantage of this opportunity to learn how the school board drives employee performance and how effective staffs drive student achievement.”
Surf The WAVE OF SUCCESS AASB’s next academy conference is July 27-30 in Orange Beach and features the theme “Surf the Wave of Success,” an opportunity to not only gain skills that enhance student achievement but to also celebrate school successes. School board members who attend will earn School Board Member Academy credit. Visit www.AlabamaSchoolBoards.org/ConferenceInformation.htm.
he Alabama Association of School Boards was well represented at the National School Boards Association’s 68th Annual Conference this spring in Orlando. AASB President Sue Helms, also AASB Vice President Steve Foster (left) joins AASB Executive Director Sally Howell (right) in greeting president of the Madison school board, retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor attended along with the association’s during the NSBA conference. Executive Director Sally Howell, President-elect Florence Bellamy of Phenix City, Immediate Past President Jim Methvin of the Alabama School of Fine Arts and Vice President Steve Foster of Lowndes County. They were among an estimated 13,000 attendees. NSBA President Norman Wooten described the event as important for modern-day school boards. “As the job of a school board member has become more complex,” he explained, “it has become even more important for us to obtain training.” The event was a plethora of educational sessions, covering such topics as school safety, the obesity epidemic among children, school vouchers and the rise in gang activities in schools. Keynote addresses were given by retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor; Oscar-winning actor, director and author Sidney Poitier; television journalist Jim Lehrer; and radio host, storyteller and author Garrison Keillor. In addition, leaders from school systems across the nation discussed their outstanding programs and initiatives during the conference’s Sharing the Success clinics. Two Alabama school systems presented clinics. Madison school system discussed “Creating Section 504 Experts in Your System,” which was moderated by Superintendent Dee Fowler and included Director of Instruction Mary Long, Board President Helms and School Board Attorney Rod Lewis. Madison also presented “Increased National Board Certification Equals Increased Student Achievement,” moderated by Fowler and that included Long, Helms and Curriculum Specialist Sue Hall. Vestavia Hills’ Sharing the Success clinic was about “Turning Dreams into Reality: How to Put Theory into Practice to Create a Positive Learning Environment.” That clinic was moderated by Superintendent Jamie Blair and included Jim Methvin in mock Board President Suzie Burdette, Board Vice President American School Board Journal magazine cover. John Cooper and board member Kim Benos. Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008 9
FACE TO FACE By Mary Ann McDonald
Rep. H. “Mac” Gipson
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his face-to-face interview with Rep. Mac Gipson, ranking minority member of the House Education Appropriations Committee, is the latest installment in a series of features recapping one-onone conversations between members of the Alabama Association of School Boards’ grassroots Leader to Leader program and key state leaders in government and education. Here’s the recent conversation between Gipson and Elmore County school board member Mary Ann McDonald. McDonald: I’m so glad you could meet with me today. Tell me, what brought you to public service? Gipson: Basically, I was brought up in the business community in Prattville and felt I needed to give back to the community. So, I got involved in the chamber of commerce. I held all positions in the chamber during my involvement with them. I was recruited to defeat an incumbent. I had never been in politics in my life. After I was elected, I found that being in the Legislature was very similar to the business I was in, the automobile repairs and tire business — solving people’s problems. I found that I really enjoy serving the people. McDonald: You serve on a critical committee for K-12 — crafting the education budget. Tell us about the role you play on the House Education Appropriations Committee. Gipson: My position is ranking minority member. By definition, minority member means I don’t have as much input as the majority does. But I try to work with the leadership of the majority party to craft a budget that I think is best for the state of Alabama and my district. I will work hard to do that. It’s going to be a hard, difficult financial time we will be facing. You have to remember this budget will follow a record high budget. There are a lot of things in the ‘08 budget that we will not be able to sustain in this budget — wonderful, wonderful things. My job is to prevent the cutting of those and to prevent your OCE from getting cut even to the point of cutting some programs. I would rather see that happen before I see you all have to go through what you went through in ’01. (Editor’s note: OCE refers to the state education budget line for Other Current Expense, which is used primarily for schools’ maintenance and operations. In 2001, local school systems suffered severe educa-
10 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008
tion budget cuts. The education budget will be determined in a special legislative session.) McDonald: What education accomplishment has been your greatest joy? Gipson: It’s been most fulfilling to me being on the money committee since 1998 and appropriating money for the reading programs and math programs; especially the reading because it is the basis of all education. In 2007, we saw the national reading scores for Alabama move. That did me more good than anything because I have been waiting patiently for the Alabama Reading Initiative to work up through the grades. Finally, those students starting out with ARI took the fourth-grade national assessment test and moved the numbers and moved them terrifically. That About Rep. H. “Mac” Gipson: fulfilled me more than any A lifelong resident of Autauga other accomplishment in the County; graduate of Starke Military education realm. I hope to School; U.S. Army veteran; see the same thing in the attended Troy State University eighth grade when they do Montgomery; retired CEO of the assessment test and also Gipson’s Auto Tire, Inc.; past in mathematics when we get Prattville Area Chamber of Commerce president; Children’s AMSTI (Alabama Math, Science First Board vice president; grandand Technology Initiative) father of six; married to Mary Lee; more involved in the schools. and father of four children: Mary, I like the national assessment H.M. III, Robert and Jo Ella. tests. These children will be What he does: Serving a third competing in the nation and term in the Alabama House of world, and these scores reflect Representatives and is the who they will be competing ranking minority member with rather than the local, state on the House Education curriculum. Appropriations Committee. McDonald: What are the biggest challenges facing the Legislature today? Gipson: To try to keep funding (Continued on page 27)
Committees: Education Appropriations and Tourism and Travel committees. Contact him: 334/365-9529
10 QUESTIONS
By Denise L. Berkhalter
Stephanie W. Bell, State Board of Education
S
Stephanie Bell
we’re dealing with some of the same problems. Actually, tephanie W. Bell of Montgomery has some of the states had more problems than Alabama. represented the Alabama State Board of Education's third district since 1995. Q. What are some of those issues regarding middle school and high school reform? She is also the state's representative on the A. Trying to identify the children who are considered to be atNational Association of State Boards of risk at earlier points and the maturity level of students are Education study group examining the topic two issues. Some of the behavioral things we used to deal "Early Secondary Education: A Precursor to with in high school, we’re having to deal with in middle High School Reform." schools. Discipline is something we’re dealing with, as well
Brenda Welburn, NASBE’s executive director, has said high school graduation rates can’t be expected to improve without a comprehensive analysis of the role of middle schools in providing a rigorous curriculum as an academic foundation for high school success. So NASBE appointed Bell and 20 others to serve on the year-long task force to formulate state policies on middle school reform. The study group is charged with meeting other state policymakers, middle school leaders and education reform experts to learn about state strategies for improving the middle school experience. Recently, Bell and her fellow state board members voted to appoint a committee to develop a Middle School Initiative for Alabama. Bell took a moment to speak with Alabama School Boards about the national study of reform issues — such as curriculum, teacher preparation, assessment and evaluation, middle school organization and high school integration — that have policy implications for state boards of education. Q. What can you tell us about your study group? A. We often refer to ourselves as the middle school study group. The group was actually appointed at the end of December 2007, and our first meeting was Jan. 25-26. We had another meeting in March. We have a pretty good cross section in terms of representation and a positive working relationship with the U.S. Department of Education, Johns Hopkins University and the American Institutes for Research. We have members from Georgia, Utah, Maryland, Missouri, one from Florida, and others from Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, West Virginia, Illinois, Arizona, Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan, Vermont, Connecticut, Kansas, Delaware and Kentucky. The things we’re discussing here in our state, they’re discussing in their states, which to me is so interesting. No matter how large or small the population,
as just trying to keep students interested in school. It’s difficult to find that connection that will keep students in school. Q. How is our state helping at-risk students in the higher grades feel connected to school? A. One of the positive things we are doing in Alabama — and some members of my study group have expressed interest in this idea — is we have coaches who work with students who are at risk of not graduating. That connection makes a big difference. Q. Do other states have graduation coaches who work closely with at-risk students? A. Well, the committee at this point is interested in looking at the coaching aspect of the program we have here. There are a few other states represented in our committee that provide that opportunity, though each of their programs is somewhat different. Q. What’s the next step for your study group? A. Our next meeting will be in June, and we’ll have representatives of successful school models come and talk to our group. At this point, we’re formulating a proposal that we would then present to Congress and individually in our state and also to teacher colleges in our states. The teacher colleges are important because they are training the kinds of teachers and administrators we would like to hire. We also want to keep the best teachers and administrators at the middle school level who have a gift and want to work with young people in that age group. Q. When do students tend to hit roadblocks as they transition through school? A. Among our discussions, we have found there are significant stages. The third- and fourth-grade transition is extremely important, as well as the fifth- and sixth-grade transition. (Continued on page 15) Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008 11
By John H. Heard III, Superintendent, Perry County Board of Education
ACCESS, Alabama’s distance learning initiative, means just that to my students in Perry County — access. Before ACCESS, our students didn’t have access to any Advance Placement courses; did not have access to two foreign languages taught by highly qualified instructors; and did not have access to many of the higher level math and science courses that improve students’ chances of success in college. photo©istockPhoto.com
12 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008
P
erry County schools have been involved in ACCESS for three years. Our students have embraced both the online and the interactive videoconferencing, or IVC, courses. Initially, some of our students struggled with the delivery method because they weren’t accustomed to pacing themselves without the constant prompting of a teacher. The instructors went the extra mile to assist our students in getting acclimated to the online delivery method.
“I try to encourage every student to take at least one online course because former students say taking the online courses helped them to be better prepared for college work. My daughter has taken an IVC (interactive videoconferencing) or online course every year and loves it.”
“The distance learning program is an excellent opportunity to communicate with students all over our state. Without this program, we would not be able to branch from our everyday school environment. The program is a great learning experience.”
— Bettie Hodges, lab facilitator, Marion High School
— Bethany Taylor, a student at West End High School.
John H. Heard III is superintendent of the Perry County Board of Education. This is an excerpt from his recent presentation to the state Board of Education.
One ACCESS instructor, Barry Barnett, voluntarily drove from Bob Jones High School in north Alabama to Robert C. Hatch High School in central Alabama to personally assist some of our students who were having difficulty grasping some Algebra II concepts. The instructors of both the IVC courses and the online courses have gone the extra mile to help students be successful. Our students have gotten quite accustomed to this delivery method. They are members of the IPOD and Gameboy generation and seem to be motivated and quite comfortable with the ACCESS delivery method. You walk into the lab, and they are engaged the entire 96 minutes.
deserved. If a student fell behind in credits, it either meant larger classes or the student having to take an available course rather than the course he or she wanted. ACCESS gives us the opportunity to meet the needs of three students, for example, who want Advanced Placement calculus, the four students who want Spanish II and the 12 students who want English 110. At one school, our students enrolled in nine different online or IVC courses this year! We simply could not address the needs of these small groups of students with inhouse teachers. ACCESS has been the system that has helped us close that gap and provide more equity in our course offerings.
Distant Classmates
Economic Development
One benefit of the IVC courses that we hadn’t anticipated is our students’ confidence and motivation have been enhanced because of their interaction with students from different backgrounds and cultures. They’ve found that they have a lot more in common with other students from around the state than differences. When they discovered that the students at Spain Park High School in Hoover were asking the same questions they were asking, it encouraged them to try harder to achieve together. These students in the IVC classes interact and bond so well together that in some cases it becomes like one big classroom. For instance, the sociology class at Francis Marion High School is planning a field trip to Etowah County’s West End High School in Walnut Grove, Ala., just to meet their “classmates.” I am surprised at how much our students have grown in confidence as a result of these interactions with diverse student populations.
As we try to attract new industry to our community, ACCESS has become one of our selling points. We can now assure a potential business that our students — and their employees’ children — will have access to the high-level courses necessary to succeed in the workplace and in postsecondary. The opportunity to grow professionally as a result of teaching IVC courses has also helped us retain at least one outstanding teacher. The advanced technology and prospect of being able to teach a diverse group of students across the state enhances our ability to recruit highly qualified high school teachers to rural Perry County. ACCESS is not the wave of the future. It is a solution for today.
Opportunities and Equity When it came to accessing Advanced Placement courses and high-level academic electives, there was a huge gap in this state between children who attend schools in high poverty school systems and children who attend schools in more affluent systems. This has been an equity issue that has always concerned me. Before ACCESS, we simply didn’t have the means to offer our gifted high school students the challenging courses they
By the Way ACCESS is the state’s $20.3 million distance learning
program that serves more than 23,000 students in 170 high schools across the state. The acronym stands for Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators and Students Statewide, and the initiative provides opportunities and options for Alabama public high school students who wouldn’t otherwise have access to advanced placement, electives and other courses. For more information about ACCESS, which has been featured in eSchool News and Converge magazines, contact the state Department of Education at 334/242-9594.
Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008 13
Reimagine CAREER TECH By Sherry A. Key
16 CLUSTERS: Pathways to Today’s Careers There are 16 broad career areas students can explore in a particular field as they consider their career options. These career clusters include:
griculture, Food and Natural Resources rchitecture and Construction rts, A/V Technology and Communications usiness, Management and Administration ducation and Training inance overnment and Public Administration ealth Science ospitality and Tourism uman Services nformation Technology aw, Public Safety, Corrections and Security anufacturing arketing, Sales and Service cience, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics ransportation, Distribution and Logistics For more info, visit the States’ Career Clusters Initiative online at www.careerclusters.org. 14 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the words “career and technical education?” Did you think about ... Hollywood? Students working on animation design projects at G. W. Carver High School in Birmingham took a “trip to Hollywood”— thanks to distance learning — and received tips from top animation professionals at ACME Network. Hovercraft? Students in the Auburn Training Connection program designed, built and demonstrated hovercraft in a parade. Race cars and Moon buggies? Students at the Haleyville Center for Technology built a racing car, and students at the Huntsville Center for Technology designed, manufactured and demonstrated a moon buggy in a NASA competition. Nurses? There are “high school” practical nursing programs in Arab, Boaz and Marshall County. Today’s new and exciting career and technical education course offerings are based on 16 national clusters. The curriculum is exciting, engaging and relevant for students who are going to compete in today’s global economy. Each cluster leads to a business and industry recognized certificate, credential and/or degree. There are more than 300 courses local education systems can choose from to prepare the future and emerging work force with the knowledge and skills needed for careers and continued learning in the 21st century. Students participate in work-based learning experiences that include high school apprentice programs, cooperative education, clinical lab experiences and job shadowing. Career and Technical Student Organizations provide Alabama students opportunities to develop and implement leadership skills, obtain business and industry recognized credentials and to be engaged in community and charitable services. The new career and technical education is for every student that ever plans to have a career. The new framework provides for exploration courses in middle and high school and courses that provide for advanced placement, articulated courses, dual enrollment and early college enrollment credit while in high school. By completing a sequence of three courses in a cluster, students can receive the Alabama High School Diploma with a career and technical education endorsement. By successfully completing Algebra II with Trigonometry, that endorsement becomes the advanced career and technical endorsement. These endorsements prepare students for college and career and are recognized by business and industry. Just imagine a student who receives a diploma with the advanced health sciencenursing endorsement, completes the local community college’s summer program, passes the National Council Licensure Examination for nursing and begins his new job as a licensed practical nurse in the fall. The opportunities are limitless. Sherry A. Key is director of Career and Technical Education at the state Department of Education. She may be contacted at skey@alsde.edu.
10 Questions: Stephanie W. Bell Continued from page 11
When students get to the eighth and ninth grades, it is almost too late to encourage them in terms of academics and in terms of participation in extracurricular activities. And these extracurricular activities, such as the arts and athletics, might be the connection some students need to keep them anchored in school. Those foundational years are crucial in establishing a pattern of success. They must know how to read. They must have the tools and skills to build that foundation, and we can’t wait until high school, not even until that transition from sixth to seventh grade to make sure they have that foundation in place. That’s why the earlier years, even the third- and fourth-grade years, are so crucial in terms of later success of a child. We’re also finding that the emotional health of a child is just as crucial, and there are going to be certain limits in terms of what we’re going to be able to provide in a school setting. In the past, we overloaded school counselors. Here in our state’s pilot schools, we have coaches come in and help students establish goals and intervening when necessary — during a difficult time or when a student doesn’t have the benefit of a close connection with family. Another element of a successful school is family support. We’re looking at student health, welfare and safety and seeking guidance and support through school partnerships that provide two things: a shared vision, as well as a safe environment. Our ultimate goal is to have learning facilities where there is active learning and where academics become the primary focus. At the top of the pyramid should be high expectations and a relevant, challenging curriculum. It all goes back to that adult advocate or coaches or whatever a state may call them. These coaches seem to be helpful in settings where students feel challenged academically. The research we’re seeing shows that many of these barriers that I’ve discussed may still be in place, but they can be overcome. Our committee has tried to identify those barriers, and our next step is to address them. Q. If there is truly to be middle school reform as a precursor to high school reform, where should the focus be? A. There are some key areas to focus on now. We need to look at the determining factors. In other words, how do we identify these students? Every state’s assessments are structured differently, so how do we use those assessments without making them uniform nationwide. There is a cost for state assessments, and they have been approved by No Child Left Behind. Another means of identification is looking at those who are on free and reduced lunches. As we look at other determining factors, we should also provide challenging opportunities to students who are gifted academically — not just on the high school level but on the middle school level, as well. Q. Is the study group’s work making a difference? A. Well, we are focusing on how to keep students in school and working to identify and minimize the other problems, such as bullying, that become significant in the middle school setting.
According to those on staff at NASBE who are helping us with this committee, as well as the experts who have made presentations to us, there have been very few studies in this area of middle school reform as a precursor to high school reform. They said they know of very few organizations other than those specific to middle schools that are actually trying to look at this problem and that are really focusing on middle schools. Q. Was there a presentation that really resonated with you? A. The support we have had from presenters has been encouraging. One presentation was given by Dr. David Osher of the American Institutes for Research. He made an excellent presentation. He had actually studied individual schools in various states that are dealing with problems of adolescents. He looked at special education, at social and academic failure, when grades began to drop, when students began to have less interest in school and poor attendance and some of the other obvious issues of lower self confidence and antisocial behavior. It was interesting to see the connections the schools were able to make and some of the solutions offered to help their students. Some of what he presented, we already knew, but what was interesting is how he tied the social, behavioral aspects to the academic aspect. It helped explain how students who were doing well academically in the earlier grades all of sudden undergo a dramatic change and end up dropping out. Q. What other information do you plan to contribute to this national study group? A. We are now looking at situations within our states that are working and looking at the empirical data and trying to change a situation that didn’t just start yesterday and one that is certainly ongoing with certain characteristics such as a large number of students on free and reduced lunches and the dropout rate among students in middle class families, for example. Within the state, I will be visiting several middle schools that are actually implementing some of the pilot programs that we have here. I will provide that information to my fellow (Continued on page 31)
Help. Q. A.
Is a competitive bid necessary when hiring a school board attorney? Not according to state law. The Competitive Bid Law does not apply when you’re contracting the services of an attorney, architect, accountant or any other highly skilled professional whose personality may be considered in the decision to hire. (See Section 4116-51(a)(3) of the Alabama Code.) — Denise L. Berkhalter Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008 15
By Denise L. Berkhalter Alabama’s most rigorous diploma is now the standard for most students. State Department of Education officials call it Alabama’s “First Choice” diploma. It’s not new. About 39 percent of the state’s graduates in 2006 opted to pursue the state’s Alabama High School Diploma with the advanced academic endorsement, which requires a computer applications half-credit, two foreign language credits and Algebra II with trigonometry. Most other students had automatically worked toward the standard Alabama High School Diploma — which could be pursued with or without endorsement — while many students with disabilities sought the occupational diploma option. The state Board of Education voted in May to change its graduation requirements and have high school students, with a couple of exceptions, earn a diploma endorsed as “advanced academic.” Alabama joins 18 states with advanced diplomas as the standard, including seven states that have made the advanced diploma mandatory. The high school students who won’t pursue the advanced academic track are those opted out by a parent or for individualized education program reasons. Eleven other states offer such an opt-out measure.
16 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008
Class of 2008 Gets New Options At an emotionally charged K-12 meeting, the state Board of Education unanimously voted to revise Alabama’s graduation requirements, which included creating a credit-based endorsement to the Alabama High School Diploma. To receive the endorsement, general education students and those with disabilities need to complete the required core curriculum credits and earn one additional career/technical education credit. These students have to take the graduation exam each time it’s offered through 12th grade and must pass the reading, math and one other section of the five-section Alabama High School Graduation Exam. This endorsement replaces the old Alabama Alternate Adult Diploma option, which was available to eligible GED students. Adding the credit-based endorsement to the diploma could impact the class of 2008. Seniors who weren’t likely to graduate because they hadn’t passed the entire Alabama High School Graduation Exam may well join their class in pomp and circumstance if they meet the criteria. And, that’s just one reason the board’s decision was a big deal. Alabama puts its graduation rate, which is an accountability measure under No Child Left Behind, at about 82 percent. The goal rate schools strive for is 90 percent. National rankings also use graduation rates, based on a variety of formulas, to compare states. Alabama frequently ranks near the bottom. Until the National Governors Association introduced its method, there was no national formula for calculating graduation rates. Now the NGA formula could be adopted by the U.S. Department of Education for use by all states for accountability purposes. Alabama goes to the NGA method of counting graduates in 2009.
Grad Rules Get Facelift The existing Alabama High School Diploma — with or without its variety of endorsements — and the Alabama Occupational Diploma are now the state’s two diplomas. Other than the credit-based endorsement, all other versions of the Alabama High School Diploma require students to pass all five sections of the standards-based graduation exam, which 92 percent of seniors do. The exam is aligned to 11th-grade standards and is administered beginning in 10th grade. Also, Alabama’s graduation standards are considered stringent by many accounts because every diploma option requires four years of English, mathematics, science and social studies. Even with the changes, local boards can still add honors, international baccalaureate and other special diploma endorsements above and beyond the 24-credit “first choice” diploma. Two Alabama High School Diploma endorsements — career technical and advanced career technical — remain in place. Also under the new rules, credit recovery for students who need to master a portion of a course they failed and academic flexibility for those who can demonstrate content or skill mastery are now allowed but not mandated. These alternatives to the traditional 140-hour classroom instruction model are available to school systems now. Schools in Huntsville, Ozark, Talladega County and Trussville have already piloted credit recovery programs. Another change approved by the state board is all students must now pass at least one online/technologyenhanced course in high school.
Seniors Get Second Chance The rules change is expected to be up and going by 2009-10, though some systems may actually put them in place this fall. Schools facing extenuating circumstances could request a oneyear delay in implementing the requirements. Dallas County civil rights activist Rose Sanders is just pleased to know some seniors who may not have graduated this summer will get that chance and that standards have been raised for all students. At the May state board meeting, she and several parents spoke in favor of the revised graduation and diploma rules. Parents described how their children, some with mild learning disabilities and others who have been accepted into
colleges, took one section of the grad exam six and seven times. One father’s story moved some listeners to tears. Echoing the sentiments of a parent who testified, state board member Betty Peters explained how the grad exam provides a score but doesn’t provide feedback a student could use to improve or seek tutoring — an issue state Superintendent of Education Dr. Joe Morton said he will ask staff to address. Sanders said the changes are a result of a “progressive Alabama on the move” that is working “to bring about true quality, excellent education for every child in Alabama.” Sanders also asked the board to make the credit-based diploma retroactive, which Morton said would be unmanageable. Morton said the credit-based endorsement offers hope for an estimated 3 percent of the 8 percent of the state’s seniors who can’t seem to hurdle the grad exam. “What happened today,” Morton explained at the state board meeting, “will help increase the graduation rate, and it will help reduce the dropout rate. It is a plan that really speaks to raising the rigor of coursework, but also targeting assistance to students who need it.” Board members Dr. Ethel Hall and Ella Bell commended Morton and his staff for developing the First Choice Graduation Plan. “Dropping out should just not be an option,” Bell said. “We have too much industry coming in for our children not to be able to meet that need.” (Continued on page 18)
photo/ artwork©istockPhoto.com
Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008 17
Alabama Advances Its Diploma Options Continued from page 17
Though ex-officio state board President Gov. Bob Riley couldn’t attend the meeting, a statement from him supported Bell’s sentiments. Riley said First Choice is additional mortar on a foundation that has taken several years to build — one that includes the Alabama Reading Initiative, the Math, Science and Technology Initiative, ACCESS distance learning program and the budding First Class pre-kindergarten effort. On that foundation, Riley said, the state is working to “establish a world-class education system that will prepare our students to compete in the global economy” and attract industries from across the nation and the world. “By raising the bar and providing increased support to high school students across the spectrum,” Riley said, “we will increase the strength of our work force and provide our children with a better future.”
18 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008
5 COMPONENTS OF FIRST CHOICE The Alabama Board of Education approved the First Choice Graduation Plan in May to improve the state’s graduation rate, reduce Alabama’s dropout rate and enhance work force and college readiness. Any local board of education may request a one-year delay in implementing any or all aspects of First Choice with ample justification. Advanced Academic Endorsement for all students with an opt-out provision for any student who gets parental permission is expected to improve the state’s 39 percent success rate of students earning a diploma with advanced academic endorsement to an estimated 49 percent or 59 percent. Starts: With ninth-grade class of 2009-2010. Credit-Based Endorsement is a new option for students who cannot pass all five sections of the Alabama High School Graduation Exam — now at about 8 percent of Alabama’s seniors. Starts: With graduating class of 2007-2008. Online Course Requirement means every high school graduate beginning with the senior class of 2013 will earn at least one credit through some form of online learning. Starts: With ninth-grade class of 2009-2010. Credit Recovery consists of teacher-led remediation in the areas of non-mastery in a high school course. Instead of making a student repeat an entire year-long course because the second six weeks was weak and the semester average was an F, the student can redo the failed part, pass the test and stay on track to graduate. Starts: Voluntarily in summer 2008. Academic Flexibility means that instead of requiring 140 hours of actual in-the-seat classroom time, students will be able to pursue course credits outside the classroom as long as the tests for the course are passed. Starts: Voluntarily in summer 2008. — Source: Alabama Department of Education
Road to Change Gets Rocky The road to modifying requirements in a way that increases graduation rates and raises the bar was a rocky one. After concerns that the changes — discussed at every state board work session this year — were being pushed too rapidly, a provision was added to allow systems to test-drive the new graduation rules before they must be in place by fall ’09. And, for approved reasons, a system could also defer implementation of the new graduation rules for a year. There were concerns about the difficulty finding and funding more foreign language teachers, especially in poor, rural and fast-growing systems. The state Department of Education solution is the state’s distance learning program that offers five language courses to students. Some eduation watchdogs questioned whether the graduation standards were being “watered down,” particularly with the credit-based endorsement. Russell County Superintendent Dr. Yvette Richardson disagreed with sentiments that the credit-based endorsement lowers standards. “It’s allowing people who normally would not do well to graduate. We must realize everyone does not test well. This does give them another alternative,” Richardson told a WTVM television reporter. Somehow the original issues were surmounted, and the state board has approved a First Choice committee to work through any other kinks. Once appointed, the committee will develop guidelines for implementing and communicating the new graduation and diploma rules and will report to the state board in September. Another committee approved by the board will create the
ON THE WEB
Southern Education Foundation report, “High School Dropouts: Alabama’s Number One Education and Economic Problem,” www.sefatl.org
framework for a statewide Middle School Initiative and report to the board in November. The Middle School Initiative, which will look at ways to help atrisk students before they transition into high school, joins several existing programs. Last year, graduation coaches were placed in 25 pilot high schools, and 38 Preparing Alabama Students for Success sites began using grant money to prevent at-risk students from dropping out of school. Students, as they make their way through the pipeline to graduation, also have the Alabama Reading Initiative, which has expanded to all K-3 schools. In addition, online courses are available in all high schools. “The Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative will be in 40 percent of all schools, K-12, by August 2008, and the distance learning initiative is in 43 percent of all high schools,” Morton wrote in a column for the Montgomery Advertiser. Today, Morton said, is the right time to prepare students for the next critically important stage of their lives. And, time will tell if concerns voiced along the way were with merit or unfounded. Until then, the First Choice committee will go about its work — developing guidelines; sample class schedules built around credit recovery, academic flexibility and online coursework; a communication plan for informing parents/ communities; and training sessions for school personnel. It won’t likely be a perfect transition, as state board member Randy McKinney told the Huntsville Times. “It’s going to have some hiccups,” he said, “but it’s the right direction.”
Medicaid Safety Net Bill Passes the House AASB responded to the National School Boards Association’s call of action and contacted the state’s Congressmen in an effort to gather support for protecting the Medicaid safety net that benefits eligible students. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protecting Medicaid Safety Net Act, by a veto-proof margin of 342-62. The bill would impose moratoria on a number of Medicaid regulations, including the rule to eliminate federal reimbursement to schools for the costs of administrative activities and transportation services. Those costs to school systems are expected to total $3.6 billion over the next five years. U.S. Reps. Spencer Bachus, Robert Aderholt, Jo Bonner, Artur Davis, Terry Everett and Mike Rogers voted yes on the measure. The measure was amended to a military spending bill, approved by the Senate, and is pending in the House. AASB and NSBA are asking school board members to continue to urge their Congressmen to help extend the current moratorium on the school-based rule, which will expire on June 30. If Congress approves, the new moratorium would be until April 2009. Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008 19
By Darrell “Coach D” Andrews Many of us recite the cliché, ‘Never judge a book by its cover.’ Too few of us recite or even remember the rest — that you absolutely must first read the book!
M
ost people refuse to read the book and allow the cover to become their only blueprint for interacting with minority kids. By accepting this paradigm, and allowing it to shape classroom expectations, educators are missing an opportunity to close the achievement gap and many other challenges associated with educating minority youth.
Read the Whole Book, Not Just the Dust Cover. By actually ‘reading the book’ one begins to fully grasp how minority kids not only have ambitions and dreams just like other students, but that minority youth are motivated to achieve their dreams by people who relate to them on a personal level. In our Helping Youth Pursue Excellence (HYPE) Program, my team and I have interacted with thousands of minority and at-risk youth. Over the years, we have engaged in conversations with an increasing number of minority students who have truly big dreams. They desire to grow up and become doctors, 20 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008
photo©istockPhoto.com
authors, teachers, artists, lawyers and business owners. By gaining an understanding of the world in which they live, you begin to uncover some of the societal and interpersonal challenges minority students face that hinder their growth potential. This should be a top priority of any educator. After achieving this understanding, you can finally identify what can be done to reverse the tide of academic failure.
Challenges by Any Other Names Are Still Challenges. Kids from challenged backgrounds or from urban communities have a myriad of burdens that hinder their ability to effectively communicate the dreams that have become buried deep inside of them. These challenges are no excuse for failure; how-
ever, they do point to areas of concern that successful educators understand and analyze. These educators have made their goal helping their students navigate through challenges in order to succeed in the classroom. Common problems students face are: Demonization of Youth — This term, used by Dr. Debra Prothrow-Stith of Harvard University, sheds light on the proliferation of negative images of minority youth by the media and other influencers that shape perceptions many people have of minority kids. I have personally found that while many students may dress a certain way due to clothing trends, this often has no bearing on the students themselves. How they dress does not mean they are bad kids with apathetic mindsets. Oppositional Identity — A term created by the late Dr. John Ogbu, a former cultural anthropologist out of the University of California-Berkley. His research highlights various minorities and the challenges faced by involuntary immigrants (AfricanAmericans, Native Americans and Chicano’ peoples who came to this country through slavery or conquest). He points out that many minorities in this category have created a “counter culture” to the majority culture of the population, reaction that is due to years of limited opportunities and denial of assimilation into the American system. The eventual result of this development is that individuals are often considered “sell-outs” if they go against the identity of their culture. Cultural Sensitivity — A majority of minorities do not see any significance in the American school system, because they do not see many people like themselves succeeding in it. Their parents and grandparents struggled to make it in this county and continue to struggle to this day. Minority students are often only shown images of successful people in history who do not look like them. Secondly, different styles of communication are not often valued in the classroom. For an easy example of how African-Americans often communicate with passion and receive from people who teach in the same manner, just visit any local African-American church to experience this way of connecting. After being raised in such vivacious cultures, is it any wonder minority students have difficulty in the classroom? Yet we expect them to learn after sitting in a room hearing lectures that are monotone in nature when their culture learns and interacts in a high energy way.
Moving From Challenges to Motivation. Kids are not committed to programs, kids are committed to people. This philosophy is a career motto of mine. After nearly twenty years of analyzing and motivating minority youth, I have witnessed over and over again that minority students do not care what your skin color is. If you care about them, they will respond to you. In schools that have successfully implemented innovative strategies to connect with students of color ...
• Educators related student-connectedness to academic outcomes. They simultaneously built student academic outcomes into their relationship building initiatives. • Based upon the student’s input, they immediately engaged key community stakeholders. Organizations like community groups and churches became role models and supporters for the “No-Excuses” philosophy. • They had accountability across the board. From classroom teachers to school administrators, to parents and the students themselves, everyone was accountable for success. • The school leaders made this philosophy a priority. It was not another feel good initiative. It was a core part of the school success plan. • Schools encouraged and supported the dreams of students and connected these dreams back to their educational experience. This is one of the best ways to help minority students see the significance of their dreams. • Schools made a “big deal” out of their student’s future. If schools make a big deal of it, so will the students. • Students visualized outcomes. By keeping a picture of the possibilities in front of the students and helping them take ownership of the vision, you begin to see the unlimited possibilities in the students. • Administration recognized that schools need to have a definable goal. They set a goal that the students and staff can shoot for. • Students were taught to reach beyond any self-perceived limitation. • Established goals were analyzed and discussed frequently. This keeps the goals alive and well. • Educators understood that when you connect goals to academic achievement, academic achievement becomes a quest instead of a routine. Leadership was the driving force behind the success of these schools and their minority students. Educators and administrators can successfully use these strategies and their own innovative strategies with confidence, purely because one leader with courage is a majority. These methods will first and foremost improve minority student relations, which is directly connected to improving test scores and a host of other academic expectations. Let me emphasize again that kids are not committed to programs, kids are committed to people. All it takes is one school leader who breaks the societal limitations placed on students of color and who inspires all stakeholders to take ownership of the dream of minority student success, and schools can and will see improvement. An effective school leader sees the potential in their minority students and allows this vision to be the driving force behind their expectation of success! Darrell “Coach D” Andrews is an educational consultant, has been a motivational speaker for numbers of national events and conferences and is the author of the book, Believing the HYPE-Seven Keys to Motivating Students of Color. Reach him toll free at 866/426-2243 ext 108 or by e-mail at info@coachdspeaks.com. (See related article on page 24.) Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008 21
Safety Accreditation By Dr. Larry E. DiChiara
T
ragic incidents and crises that have occurred in schools across America, including the unthinkable shooting at Columbine High School, have parents asking school officials a common question: “What are ya’ll doing to ensure the safety of my child?” Obviously, school officials want all chilDr. Larry E. DiChiara dren to be safe. They often make gallant efforts to prepare for the unimaginable. Unfortunately, this emergency crisis preparation information is not made public and is often hidden from public view. Sadly, the only time that the spotlight shines on these preventative/reactive measures is after a tragic incident occurs and people are screaming for accountability and answers. School officials, emergency personnel and health care providers attempt to keep children and adults safe in our schools, and I believe teachers, parents, students, administrators and the community-at-large need to be made aware of those efforts. If this information is articulated in a responsible and clear way, parents’ anxiety levels will diminish while confidence levels rise. Knowledge is power, and the more parents are made aware of the safety steps schools take, the happier and more confident they will be. That’s why I believe we can significantly impact the safety levels of our schools in Alabama and, at the same time, influence public perception and confidence if all schools that have gone through a safety accreditation process similar to the SACS accreditation process. Currently, the general public understands the SACS accreditation process: Professionals/experts visit a school or school system, examine all facets of it and establish if a predetermined standard of academic excellence is met. If so, the school or system is accredited, the achievement is celebrated, and letterhead is embossed with the SACS logo. The idea here is to generate the same level of confidence from parents and the general public by putting schools through a similar process to measure safety standards. If Alabama’s schools meet safety standards, they would receive a “Safety Accreditation.” Accredited schools that complete the comprehensive safety accreditation process could then say, “we can guarantee that we have put forth a 100 percent effort to make this school safer.” In essence, a group of safety experts will come into a school, do an orientation with the administrators and staff, conduct a comprehensive safety audit of the school and its safety procedures, do a table-top computer simulation of a crisis situation with several members of the staff and law enforcement, conduct a live drill with students, teachers and administrators, do a follow-up debriefing with all parties, provide school officials with 22 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008
a written document of their findings and develop a corrective action plan with the administrators. The safety experts will determine whether the school met a certain safety level according to standards and award accreditation if met. The entire process would take about three to five days depending on the size of the school. Earlier this year, Phenix City’s South Girard Junior High School was the first school in the state to go through this formal process. The accrediting body was Emergency Response Training Systems of Salem, Ala. Safety standards were examined in the following areas: facilities, technology and equipment, emergency response, and policies and procedures. There was also staff certification and training. The process was well received by all and has had a very positive response from the Phenix City community. I have no doubt that safety is parents’ No. 1 concern when their children enter school. They want to know not only that their children will be safe but school officials will do everything possible to keep them safe. Safety accreditation for schools is an idea that is bold, yet overdue; different yet familiar; and that raises questions, yet makes perfect sense. I cannot think of a better time to explore the possibility and potential of safety accreditation in our schools. Dr. Larry E. DiChiara is superintendent of Phenix City Schools and has published numerous articles pertaining to school safety issues.
Alabama Association of School Boards
Professional Sustaining Members
A Partnership That Works! AASB appreciates these professional members for supporting association activities and you all year long. • Aho Architects LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hoover, AL
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• Alabama Supercomputer Authority . Montgomery, AL
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• KHAFRA Engineers, Architects . . . . . . . Birmingham, AL and Construction Managers
• Almon Associates Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tuscaloosa, AL
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• Barganier Davis Sims Architects . . . . . Montgomery, AL
• Lathan Associates Architects PC . . . . . Birmingham, AL
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• BlueCross BlueShield of Alabama . . . Birmingham, AL
• McCauley Associates Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . Birmingham, AL
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• McKee & Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Montgomery, AL Architecture and Design
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• Payne & Associates Architects . . . . . . . Montgomery, AL
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Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008 23
By Dr. Deborah L. Voltz articularly within the climate established by No Child Left Behind, urban systems are under the gun to bring all students to proficiency in a relatively short period of time. While all systems have this same challenge, there are often greater gaps to close in urban systems between where their students are and where they will need to be in order to meet proficiency standards. Compounding this challenge is the reality that urban systems also often find that they have fewer resources to work with in closing these gaps than do more affluent suburban systems.
P
These trends are evident nationally as well as locally. According to the Council of the Great City School’s report, “Beating the Odds: An Analysis of Student Performance and Achievement Gaps on State Assessments (2007),” more than 75 percent of our nation’s inner city schools report proficiency scores below their states’ averages. On the local front, despite system gains in achievement, significant gaps persist between proficiency scores of urban systems, such as Birmingham, and those of the state as a whole. For example, the 200506 State Report Card indicated that 69 percent of Birmingham’s fifth graders performed at or above proficiency in mathematics, in contrast to 77 percent of fifth graders at the state level. The gap was widest between Birmingham and the state at the sixth- and seventh-grade levels in mathematics, where 17 percentage points separated the math proficiency scores of Birmingham and those of the state. Similar trends existed with respect to other high-poverty systems in the greater Birmingham area.
24 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008
photo©istockPhoto.com
Although urban systems often are challenged to close larger proficiency gaps, these systems also frequently find that they have fewer resources to do so. The U.S. Department of Education’s report, “The Condition of Education (2007),” indicated that lowpoverty systems across our nation spend an average of about $500 more per student than high-poverty systems do. This pattern is reflected locally when analyzing the contrast between per pupil expenditures in systems such as Birmingham, which in 2005-06 spent about $7,800 per student, in comparison to Homewood, a neighboring suburb, which spent close to $10,000. Declining enrollments in urban systems also have a considerable impact in this area. In Birmingham, approximately 45 percent of 2005-06 total revenue came from state funds. For Homewood, this figure was 28 percent. Of course, money is not the only important resource. It also is important to consider the distribution of highly qualified teachers. In 2005-06, Birmingham reported that about 22 percent of its teachers were not highly qualified according to state guidelines. This figure stood at about 12 percent for the state as a whole. For affluent systems surrounding Birmingham, this figure was much lower — in some cases as low as 1 percent. In addition to the task of having to do more with less, urban systems also have to do so in a context that is sometimes fraught with political complexity. The dynamics between various factions — city governance and school boards, elected board members and their constituents, teacher unions and school systems, school systems and the media — can distract school board members and school personnel from their focus on student needs. Likewise, large administrative structures within urban systems themselves can increase political complexity. A climate of dwindling resources and increasing demands — a climate that often characterizes urban systems — works against collaboration and can breed distrust. Necessary school closings or reductions in force due to declining enrollments can create angst and feelings of instability or uncertainty. Financial crises and frequent leadership or policy changes often exacerbate these feelings. Meanwhile, public opinion of urban systems declines as negative images in the media mount. These factors take a disproportionate amount of time, energy and effort from urban educators and urban school boards. Although all systems must deal with these issues to some extent, this kind of background noise is often greater for urban systems. Despite the significant challenges that many urban systems face, there is reason to be optimistic about the future. Urban school system proficiency scores are on the rise nationally as well as locally. For example, in 2006, Birmingham’s proficiency score gains outstripped state gains in both reading and mathematics in the majority of the grade levels tested. This shows that gaps are being narrowed and progress is being made. Likewise, the system reported that more than 75 percent of Birmingham’s class of 2007 went to institutions of higher education upon graduation. This is an important accomplishment to be celebrated. Although each school system context is unique with its own set of factors that facilitate and hinder success, urban school boards should network with each other to share the strategies that
they believe are linked to their successes. School boards also should work to ensure that these successes are known to the broader community. This may help to favorably shape the public image of the system. Another promising trend is increasing public interest in urban schools. There seems to be greater recognition that the fate of urban systems impacts the entire metropolitan area. With this recognition comes more broad-based community interest in the success of urban schools. Examples of this can be seen in grassroots efforts, such as the Community Foundation’s “Yes We Can Birmingham” Campaign, which brings together business and community leaders in mobilizing support for city schools. Likewise, the newly established University of Alabama at Birmingham Center for Urban Education brings together the university community, along with other members of the local and national education community, in promoting the success of urban schools. Efforts such as these reflect the genuine interest of the broader community in the success of urban systems.
There seems to be greater recognition that the fate of urban systems impacts the entire metropolitan area. With this recognition comes more broad-based community interest in the success of urban schools. Because increasing public interest can be a doubled-edged sword, school boards should work to capitalize on this interest by helping to guide new partners with respect to system needs. This is not to suggest that school boards shouldn’t be open to the perspectives of others concerning these needs, but rather that school board members should be proactive in these discussions. School boards should be aware of the strengths of collaborators and how those strengths might be utilized to address the needs of the system. For example, in the instance of school system collaboration with university partners, a potentially useful strength of universities is their capacity to conduct research. School boards can consider initiating conversations with universities around systemidentified research needs. The same proactive strategies can be considered with respect to addressing system needs for highly qualified teachers who have the skills and dispositions needed to promote the academic achievement of urban students. Despite challenges that urban systems may face, I am optimistic about the future of these systems. There is energy and excitement around them, and there are many successes upon which to build. Urban school boards and educators within these systems, together with their collaborators, have the capacity to achieve the highest levels of excellence in education. Deborah L. Voltz, Ed.D., is the director of University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Center for Urban Education. (See related article on page 20.) Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008 25
BOARDMANSHIP BASICS By Mark Van Clay
GOOD DATA FOR GOOD BOARD DECISIONS: A Superintendent’s Perspective School boards need good data by which to make good decisions. Yet data used the wrong way can become a beguiling siren’s song for board micromanagement. Here are nine guidelines I use to sort through this increasingly common issue. When followed, they usually result in good data for good board decisions.
Intended Uses 1. Measure the important things. When data are tied to school system goals or a strategic plan, the shared information focuses a board on what it has defined as most important. This is when board data can be most productive. Good board data don’t define board goals — they validate or fail to validate goals that already have been determined. 2. Know the intended use for the data. The reality is that a board can see whatever data it wants to see, but board members should understand that what they do with that data needs to align with system or strategic goals. I find six questions by Edie Holcomb, author of Getting Excited About Data, are helpful in defining good data use: • What questions are the data trying to answer? • What do the data tell us? • What do the data not tell? • What else do we want to know? • What can we celebrate? • Where are there opportunities for improvement? 3. Stick to your role when identifying data needs. The board’s proper role is a strategic one. It sets organizational vision, targets and long-term goals. The strategic role doesn’t make change happen. It sets targets that school system staff must reach to make change happen. This differs from the administration’s tactical role — the planning and timing of change — and the teacher’s operational role — the implementation of change in classrooms. A board micromanages, for example, when it attempts to perform tactical or operational functions. 4. Understand the reality of data use at all levels. Data should cascade through the organization across all three roles. Though it won’t be the same data, all cascading data must be aligned. Because different data are necessary at tactical and operational levels, a classroom will be focused on individual student data while administration will be focused on school- or grade-level data that derive from the individual student data. Likewise, both must be aligned to the strategic data that drive the school system — usually system-level data and benchmarking comparisons to other school systems. 5. Identify role-appropriate indicators. Bad data for a board are data that cause a board to dive into tactical or operational func26 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008
tions. Data that publicly identify students or staff members, data that are classroom based or data that lead to board micromanagement or universal board judgments about staff performances should not be provided to a board. Good data are information that has the board focused on the entire system, the long-term directions of the school system and the strategic goals it wants to reach. The indicators a board chooses — the kind of data it wants to see to gauge attainment of its strategic goals (particular test scores, attendance data, financial projections, perception survey results, etc.) — will usually determine whether the resulting data are strategically good or bad.
Proper Interpretation 6. Align resources to achieve results. There’s no point in collecting and analyzing data unless they are used to both celebrate successes and promote change. The limited resources of time, people, training and money should be directed toward attaining predetermined desired outcomes. This calls for aligning budgeting to strategic goals. It is equally important to align strategic goals to leadership evaluation tools that have measurable outcomes, so leaders are held accountable for results. For superintendents, this has the advantage of having clear goals before the board early in the process. Evaluations by boards thus become more objectively data-based and less subjective. 7. Interpret data correctly. Boards need to understand it is as important to determine what data do not say as it is what data do say. Any single set of data is incomplete in and of itself. If a board acknowledges this basic reality up front, it will interpret the data it sees from both directions — what data mean and what they don’t mean. 8. Share information wisely and widely. A commitment to sharing data widely increases that data’s power. When the entire system at all levels and the public are all focusing on aligned data linked to strategic goals and targets, the conversations and the expectations from all directions become common. At that point, they are within reach for everyone and all feel committed at their level to reaching the goals and hitting the targets. 9. Carefully watch what you share. Sharing data widely doesn’t mean sharing all data widely with everyone. It means sharing only the data that are appropriate to share with those in a particular role. Reproduced with permission from the American Association of School Administrators. This article was written by Mark Van Clay, superintendent of the La Grange Elementary School System 102 in La Grange Park, Ill. E-mail: vanclayma@ dist102.k12.il.us.
Face-to-Face: Rep. H. “Mac” Gipson Continued from page 10
in place for the ARI, AMSTI and the ACCESS (distance learning) programs. These are the programs that will keep Alabama first in the Southern Region and the Southern Region first in the nation. We need to try to keep that. But, the challenge with this budget is being able to do that and prevent some of the other things from happening. I hate to cut programs, but I’ll do that before I let the basic classroom suffer. By the way — back to moving our reading scores to the best in the nation — the movement in test scores happened because teachers and principals embraced the theory behind ARI, AMSTI and ACCESS. They are making it happen with their hard work, and the leadership of the boards is making it happen. McDonald: What is your goal for our state? Gipson: My goal for the state is pretty simple: to move Alabama to the top of the Southern Region, which will move Alabama among the leaders of the nation. We can do it. We have proved we can move the numbers. Let’s move them some more and get there. McDonald: In the K-12 education world, local school boards struggle for every dollar they can as they strive to help our students achieve and succeed and to address the many needs in our schools. How can they juggle the costs of unfunded mandates with the very real needs of children in the classroom? Gipson: With nine years on the Education Appropriation Committee, I think that we have greatly reduced unfunded mandates. They are not near as bad as what they were when I first came in. I think what needs to happen is the local school boards need to communicate with the local communities to involve them in education. I think we have a weakness in Alabama from all of the money going to the state from income tax and sales tax and there being a disconnect as that money flows with strings attached to the local LEAs (school systems) with strings attached from the state Department of Education. We don’t rely enough on local funds. We will never be like other states to rely on local funds to a greater degree than state funds. What we need is to involve local people. I know my most successful campaign was the first one when I didn’t have any money, and I involved a lot of people. This is what school boards need to do — get local people involved. There is a world of talent out there that could come right into the classroom to help the school system out by telling the children how to deal with real world problems. McDonald: Tell us about the Southern Regional Education Board and the role you play with that organization. Gipson: I joined SREB in 1998. It has done more to develop me, the citizen legislator who came from the business community, and help me understand more about education. SREB is a regional compact that was created in 1948. Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “The biggest problem that the nation has is the South.” So, a group of governors got together and decided to form this compact dealing with regional education, and out of that came policies and suggestions that have been implemented throughout the regions. I am past Legislative Advisory Council president. There is a legisla-
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MARK YOUR CALENDAR JULY 15 Primary Runoff Election 20-22 NSBA/Southern Region New Orleans, La.
27-30 AASB Summer Conference Perdido Beach Resort, Orange Beach
31-Aug. 1 AASB Leadership I Perdido Beach Resort, Orange Beach
SEPTEMBER 15-Oct. 2 AASB District Meetings
OCTOBER 19 Board of Directors Meeting Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa, Montgomery
19-20 AASB Academy Core Conference “Leadership for Community Engagement” Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa, Montgomery
DECEMBER 4 Board of Directors Meeting Wynfrey Hotel, Hoover
4-6 AASB Annual Convention Wynfrey Hotel, Hoover Wynfrey Hotel, Hoover
JANUARY 2009 12-Feb. 9 AASB District Meetings
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(Continued on page 31) Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008 27
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People Schools Roy Hudson
Roy Hudson, who teachers theater arts at Jefferson County’s Shades Valley High School, is the state’s first arts educator to become the state’s top teacher. The 2008-2009 Alabama Teacher of the Year was among two secondary teachers and four total finalists for the honor.
Regina Everett Regina Everett, the alternate winner, is also recognized as the Alabama Elementary Teacher of the Year. Everett teaches fourth grade at Saraland Elementary in Mobile County. The other finalists announced by the state Department of Education were secondary teacher Jeanne Welt, who teaches seventhand eighth-grade honors language arts at Madison city’s Liberty Middle School; and Amber Trantham, who teaches third grade at Alexandria Elementary School in Calhoun County.
Dr. Tommy Bice The state Board of Education voted to replace deputy state superintendent Dr. Ruth Ash, who retired March 31, with Alexander City Superintendent Dr. Tommy Bice. On June 1, Bice will assume his duties as the state Department of Education’s new deputy superintendent of education for instructional services. He has served Alabama public schools as a teacher, psychometrist, regional director for Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, adjunct professor, career and technical education director and principal.
Barbara S. Allen Barbara S. Allen, chief of staff to the superintendent since 2002, was named interim superintendent of the Birmingham city school system in early April, replacing Stan L. Mims, who resigned April 2. She is a graduate of a Birmingham high school and of Alabama A&M University. She earned her education specialist degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Dr. David Stiles Dr. David Stiles, a former Mountain Brook schools principal and administrator, has been named the first official superintendent of the new Saraland school system. Appointed by the Saraland Board of Education, Stiles most recently worked as a Morgan Keegan & Co. financial adviser in Birmingham. Saraland split from the Mobile County system in 2006. Stiles, a doctoral graduate of the University of Georgia, began his new position in late March. 28 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008
AASB Welcomes New Staff Member LuAnn Bird has been named AASB’s director of board development. Bird is charged with linking school board member training with student achievement, coordinating meeting planning and overseeing AASB’s School Board Member Academy. She knows firsthand what school board service entails. Bird, who is relocating to Montgomery after serving as board governance consultant for the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, served on the Oshkosh School Board. Her expertise includes governance training, team building, facilitating board retreats, strategic planning, goal setting and Iowa Lighthouse training. She began her new job May 5.
Dot Smith Dot Smith, former member and president of the Tuscaloosa County Board of Education, has a namesake. The school board recently approved naming the Duncanville Middle School Media Center in her honor. Smith was elected to three terms that spanned 1986 to 2004. Now under construction, Duncanville Middle School is slated to open in August.
Stephanie Walker Stephanie Walker has been named to the BankTrust of Brewton Advisory Board. The company’s advisory board consists of eight members and three emeritus directors. A graduate of Louisiana Tech University, Walker serves as chairman of the Brewton school board and is director of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Preschool. She has also served on the Jefferson Davis Community College President’s Advisory Board and in 1995 was named Brewton’s Citizen of the Year. (Continued on page 30)
McKee & Associates awarded $500 attendance prizes at AASBs’ March 2008 Conference to the school boards of the Rev. Winston Williams of Selma (pictured at left with McKee's Don Murphy) and Kathy Sherrill of Etowah County (not pictured).
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People Schools
Continued from page 28
AASB 2008-09 Committees & Members
ON THE MOVE Carla Craft, a Maynard Cooper & Gale attorney, will resign from the city library board in June to serve on the Vestavia Hills school board. She was appointed to a five-year term and will replace Suzie Burdette. Julene Delaine began serving as a member of the Sumter County school board in March. Dr. Steve Nowlin, formerly interim superintendent, has been officially named superintendent of the Lee County Board of Education. Earl Cooper, a longtime Alabama Power Co. employee, was recently appointed to the Hoover school board. He begins serving in June. George E. Turner, a former Fairfield City Council member, will replace Sebastian Carillo on the Fairfield school board in June. Gary Quick, who had served as administrative assistant to the interim superintendent, was recently appointed superintendent of the Barbour County schools. Katie Gillis, who completed an unexpired term, has been appointed to a full term on the Fort Payne school board.
OF NOTE Wanda Bain of the Russellville Board of Education won free registration for either the upcoming October 2008 or March 2009 AASB School Board Member Academy conferences. Her name was chosen among those who completed AASB evaluation forms at the March conference. The Madison County Board of Education will receive a $999,974 Teaching American History grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Alabama was well represented among the 2007-08 Siemen’s Award winners recognized for Advanced Placement course achievements and spotlighted in USA Today. The state teacher winner was Teresa Tarter of Bob Jones High School in Madison, and the state high school winner was Oak Mountain High School in Birmingham. They were honored with grant awards to support math and science. Whit Wright, a senior at Tuscaloosa County’s Hillcrest High School, was chosen to appear on MTV’s reality show “Once Upon A Prom.” The 18-year-old basketball, baseball and football player escorted country music superstar Taylor Swift to the Hillcrest prom. The episode airs June 12th. Send news of appointments, elections, promotions, retirements, honors and deaths to Attn: People & Schools Editor, Alabama School Boards magazine, P.O. Drawer 230488, Montgomery, AL 36123-0488 or info@AlabamaSchoolBoards.org. 30 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008
Left to right: AASB Executive Director Sally Howell poses with the Rev. Preston Nix, April Williams and Leo Branch following the 2008-09 AASB Multicultural Committee’s recent meeting.
Academy Advisory Committee — Florence Bellamy, Phenix City, chairman; Susan Harris, Winfield, vice chairman; Ophelia Chandler, Guntersville; the Rev. Coley Chestnut, Selma; Matilda Woodyard-Hamilton, Tallapoosa County; Johnny Register, Geneva County. Budget and Finance — Jeff Bailey, Covington County, chairman; Jim Methvin, Alabama School of Fine Arts, vice chairman; Karen Duke, Decatur; Dr. Jane Ellis, Alabama School of Math and Science; Ollie Evans, Hale County; Joe Hare, Talladega; Dr. Judy McCrary, Scottsboro; Mike Oakley, Bibb County; and Darlene Perkins, Bessemer. Bylaws — Sue Jones, Jacksonville, chairman; Bill Minor, Dallas County, vice chairman; Andrew Betterton, Florence; John Hinton, Tuscaloosa County; Alphonso Johnson, Russell County; Rothel Moody, Opp; Lisa Spence, Albertville; Phyllis Wyne, Birmingham; and Stephanie Walker, Brewton. Executive/Legislative — Sue Helms, Madison, chairman; Florence Bellamy, Phenix City, vice chairman; Steve Foster, Lowndes County; Jim Methvin, Alabama School of Fine Arts; and Laura Casey, Albertville. Leader to Leader — Select members will serve along with chairman Jennifer Parsons, Jefferson County, and vice chairman Laura Casey, Albertville. Multicultural Committee — Steve Foster, Lowndes County, chairman; Robert A. Lane, Lowndes County, vice chairman; Patsy Black, Monroe County; Leo Branch, Greene County; Rufus Jordan, Russell County; Bill McSween, Dale County; Dr. Willie Maye, Birmingham; Dr. Shelia Nash-Stevenson, Madison; the Rev. Preston Nix, Attalla; Dr. Beth McCulloch Vinson, Lawrence County; and the Rev. Preston Nix, ex-officio member, President Alabama Caucus of Black School Board Members. Resolutions — Katy Campbell, Macon County, chairman; Pam Doyle, Muscle Shoals, vice chairman; Gayle Glenn, Trussville; Isaac Atkins, Greene County; Tracy Roberts, Baldwin County; Willie B. Smith, Crenshaw County; Tammy Starnes, Autauga County; Cindy Tidwell, Oneonta; and Lori Tippets, Jacksonville.
AT THE TABLE
10 Questions: Stephanie W. Bell Continued from page 15
Inspiration Making a difference. I’m trying to make my hometown a better place to live by staying active with local civic groups.
committee members. Nationwide, I would like to see us examine successful schools that have a track record that is not short-term. We should study these successful models where we have seen real success to the point where students actually graduated and have gone on to some type of postsecondary education. That is the real goal of this committee. Our goal is not just to gear students up for the changing job market, but it is to gear students up for success. If we can help them improve their quality of life, then that helps everyone. So, we’ll look at successful models at our next meeting and then determine how we make that information part of our report. As I mentioned, it was encouraging to hear that board members in other states actually face the same challenges we do, but at the same time what may work in one community may not work in another community. Also, No Child Left Behind has been at the heart of some of the things that we have discussed because every state
Motto as a Board Member The kids come first.
Face-to-Face: Rep. Gipson
Paul Stamp
School Board Phenix City Board of Education Hometown Phenix City A Board Member for 18 months
Walter Mitty Fantasy To have a perfect school system. Advice to New Board Members Keep important issues as a first priority and be able to work well with fellow board members. Greatest Accomplishment as a Board Member To be a part of such a fast growing school system that has not resorted to the use of portable classrooms. Pet Peeve as a Board Member Fortunately, I’m on a school board that works well together, so I don’t have one. Reason I Like Being an AASB Member AASB works for the betterment of our school systems. My Epitaph A man of honesty and integrity.
Continued from page 27
tor or two from every state on the board, and we have input to the board on policies and decisions. I think it is highly important to our region and has been. McDonald: What do you hope to accomplish during your tenure in the Legislature? Gipson: My tenure is up in 2010, and I am going to take a self-imposed retirement. So, I guess I’ve pretty well done what I feel like I’m going to do at this point. I’m satisfied with the changes that have taken place throughout the state and my district of Autauga and Elmore counties since 1994. There’s the progress that we’ve made in schools and the new additional classrooms we’ve had to build because of the growth. In my 14 years, we’ve had two bond issues
has to work with those requirements. It’s likely that some of the recommendations we’ll make will be for changes in NCLB that are geared toward middle school. At this point, we’re still in the process of determining what recommendations will be made. We already know that our study group report will be issued nationwide to policymakers as well as those in colleges of education, which are equipping teachers. We will release the report at our annual conference in October, but we plan to officially send it out in January. So, I would appreciate any contact from local school board members or anyone at the local level who would like to make a contribution of information that could ultimately become part of the study group report. I’m interested in the problems they’ve faced with the middle and high school levels and ways they’ve overcome those problems. 10 Questions spotlights education, political, civic and other leaders in Alabama. These 10 questions were asked by ASB Editor Denise L. Berkhalter. If you would like to interview a key leader in your area, send your suggestion to info@AlabamaSchoolBoards.org. (See related articles on pages 6 and 16.) that exceeded $2 billion in construction work that has helped all the schools of Alabama. Our expenditure per pupil is higher, and we have increased our teachers’ pay. And, we have done everything I think that we could do in the 14 years that I have been here.We have done it through not raising taxes, but through economic development by bringing jobs to Alabama. We are doing a good job in that, and I hope we continue for my last two years. McDonald: Tell me what local school boards can do for you to help make your job easier. Gipson: Let legislators voice their opinions on what they think school boards need to do. Go back and interview your constituents, your customers of your school system, and see what they want. McDonald: Thank you. Alabama School Boards • Spring 2008 31
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