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Inside
20 PRE-K POINTERS The role of the board in ensuring quality preschool experiences for all students
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2008 Vol. 29, No. 4
www.AlabamaSchoolBoards.org
12 IT’S NOT YOUR GRANDPA’S CIVIC CLASS
8
GRANT HELPS AASB GROW PRE-K AWARENESS
FEATURES 5 2007-08 PRESIDENT'S AWARD WINNERS At District Meetings, AASB honored 43 school boards with strong board participation in 2007-08 Academy events.
Civic engagement has long addressed public concerns and the common good. Civic engagement today is so much more!
13 10 ATTITUDES FOR EFFECTIVE 21st CENTURY LEADERS 14 2008 MEDIA HONOR ROLL School boards honor 73 media professionals and organizations for fair and balanced coverage of K-12 education.
16 COVER STORY Pre-K Push: Budget woes aside, the call for a statewide public pre-K program is gaining support.
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.
PRESIDENT Sue Helms Madison City PRESIDENT-ELECT Florence Bellamy Phenix City VICE PRESIDENT Steve Foster Lowndes County IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Jim Methvin Alabama School of Fine Arts
10 FACE TO FACE Sen. Quinton T. Ross Jr. serves on the Senate Education Committee and the Finance and Taxation, Education Committee.
OFFICERS
24
ADVANCING BY RETREATING Board retreats bring tremendous bang for the buck
26 10 QUESTIONS Author Calvin K. Clemons discusses his no-nonsense guide to quality board service.
IN EVERY ISSUE 4 UP FRONT 6 EDUCATION & THE LAW 15 HELP 27 CALENDAR 28 PEOPLE & SCHOOLS 31 AT THE TABLE ON THE COVER: photo©istockPhoto.com
STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Sally Brewer Howell, J.D. 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 MEETING/MARKETING COORDINATOR Mandy Fernandez MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR Debora Hendricks EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Tammy Wright ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANTS Donna Norris BOOKKEEPER Kay Shaw
BOARD OF DIRECTORS DISTRICT 1 Patsy Black Monroe County DISTRICT 2 Bill Minor Dallas County DISTRICT 3 Jeff Bailey Covington County DISTRICT 4 Katy S. Campbell Macon County DISTRICT 5 Jennifer Parsons Jefferson County DISTRICT 6 Sue Jones Jacksonville DISTRICT 7 Susan Harris Winfield DISTRICT 8 Pam Doyle Muscle Shoals DISTRICT 9 Laura Casey Albertville STATE BOARD Sandra Ray Tuscaloosa
STAFF ASSISTANT Lashana Summerlin CLERICAL ASSISTANT Paulina Woods Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008 3
UPFRONT
Trends, Research&Dates Compiled by Denise Berkhalter
Decatur Students Take 7 Steps to Success Decatur’s 12 elementary schools regularly incorporate lessons on the “7 Habits of a Highly Effective People”in the school day to teach students respect and responsibility. The lessons are based on the best-selling book written by Dr. Stephen R. Covey. The FranklinCovey company chose Decatur City Schools as the model school system to pilot its seven habits program. The company trains businesspeople to exercise the seven steps — be proactive, begin with the end in mind, put first things first, think win-win, seek first to understand, synergize and sharpen the saw (physical and mental self renewal). The Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce is also partnering in the $300,000 effort. FranklinCovey plans to expand the program to 50 other elementary schools worldwide.
STATE TREND: ROUNDABOUT SAFETY Cities across the state — such as Montgomery, Huntsville and Athens — are installing roundabouts to control hightraffic intersections. Roundabouts raise a question of pedestrian safety and the need to educate walkers and bikers, including students, on how to safely traverse roundabouts. Roundabouts: Another Safe Intersection is a book created by an Oregon city that targets students in grades 3-5. Download your copy at http://www. ci.bend.or.us/roundabouts/docs/Activity—book.pdf.
TAXES AND SCHOOLS
148 BY THE NUMBERS
Alabama’s average scale score of 148 on the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress writing assessment for eighth-grade reflected a six-point gain. The Nation’s Report Card reported the national average in ’07 was 154.
SAY WHAT? “We have to do something about education. You just can't get the jobs without it. ... Sometimes when I look at Alabamians, I see them trying to wish their problems away instead of rolling up their sleeves and making it happen, making the painful changes. People say, ‘That’s the way it’s always been.’ But that's not the way it always has to be.” — Dr. David G. Bronner, CEO of Retirement Systems of Alabama in a Montgomery Living magazine interview
CONGRATULATIONS!
■ Constitutional Amendment 3 - On Nov. 4, voters statewide gave Madison
city permission to collect 10.5-mills in property tax from annexed residents in Limestone County. It passed with 50.4 percent voting yes. ■ Question No. 2 - Residents in unincorporated areas of Lee County defeated Question No. 2 Nov. 4 by 65 percent. The sales tax will not be raised by a penny to 8 cents on the dollar outside the corporate limits of Auburn, Opelika, Phenix City and Smiths Station. The money would’ve been used to enhance school safety. ■ Voters in Hale County rejected a 15-mill ad valorem tax that would’ve provided for issuing bonds to support general education needs. There were 2,663 “no”votes cast and 1,866 yes votes in the September election. 4 Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008
Jennifer Parsons
Brett Whitehead
Roxie Kitchens
Dr. Sheila Nash-Stevenson
Congratulations to the newly elected directors in AASB’s odd-numbered districts. Stephanie Walker of Brewton has been elected District 1 director and will replace Patsy Black. Brett Whitehead of Tuscaloosa County is the new District 7 director and will succeed Susan Harris. Laura Casey will turn over the District 9 director reins to Dr. Shelia Nash-Stevenson of Madison City. Jennifer Parsons of Jefferson County has been re-elected as District 5 director, and Troy school board member Roxie Kitchens will be the District 3 director since there was no opposition. Each director’s two-year term will begin at the close of ■ AASB’s convention Dec. 6.
43
School Boards Earn AASB President’s Award
Forty-three boards received the prestigious President’s Award during the Alabama Association of School Boards’ Sept. 15Oct. 2 regional meetings. In addition to a discussion of “Cyberspace in Our Schools: Student Issues in a Digital Environment,” the fall district meetings agenda included award presentations in the nine AASB districts to boards dedicated to improving their boardmanship skills. District directors and AASB President Sue Helms of Madison presented plaques to the honored boards. At least 60 percent of the boards’ members have attended three or more AASB School Board Member Academy courses in the 2007-08 academy year that ended June 30.
The 2007-08 President’s Award Winners include: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
■
District 1: Brewton, Mobile County, Monroe County and Thomasville school boards. District 2: Butler County, Demopolis, Lowndes County, Perry County and Selma school boards. District 3: Enterprise and Geneva County school boards. District 4: Auburn, Bullock County, Elmore County, Macon County, Montgomery County, Phenix City and Russell County school boards. District 5: Bessemer, Birmingham, Fairfield, Midfield, Shelby County and Tarrant school boards. District 6: Cherokee County, Etowah County, Pell City, Sylacauga, Talladega and Talladega County school boards. District 7: Greene County, Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa County and Winfield school boards. District 8: Lauderdale County, Lawrence County, Limestone County, Morgan County, Muscle Shoals, Russellville and Winston County school boards. District 9: Jackson County and Scottsboro school boards.
Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008 5
EDUCATION & THE LAW
Don't Delete that Document — Until You Read This! By JoClaudia Moore, Balch & Bingham LLP
B
oards of education need policies addressing the obligation to preserve all electronic materials that could be relevant to pending or anticipated lawsuits and to retrieve and produce these materials in the course of such litigation. Failure to meet these obligations — which apply to boards and their schools — may subject the board and/or the individuals involved to sanctions and liability. Policies regarding electronic record preservation and production should apply to the board’s businessrelated electronic information wherever it is stored — at a board or school work station, on any laptop or PDA and even at an employee’s home. The information at issue includes all forms of electronic communications and records, such as e-mail, word processing, calendars, voice messages, videos, photographs and other digital information.
Special Preservation of Records When a lawsuit is filed — or reasonably anticipated — the board has a duty to take special precautions to prevent the loss of potentially relevant electronic data. Unless circumstances require a different approach, the following protocol should be followed to comply with these legal obligations.
photo©istockPhoto.com
1. Document Preservation Plan
When it comes to the preservation and production of electronic records, court decisions and rules have placed substantial obligations on public and private organizations.
6 Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008
When a lawsuit is commenced against the board — or information is received such that a lawsuit is reasonably anticipated — the board, superintendent or a designee should develop a preservation plan outlining the immediate steps that need to be taken. The plan should generally include some or all of the following basic steps: a. Identify the operating department and individuals who might possess electronic data. b. Send a “litigation hold” — meant to ensure that relevant data or documents are not destroyed — to the appropriate individuals, which shall define and identify records to be preserved and direct that the records be preserved and how to do so.
c. Designate a specific person to coordinate and serve as a contact.
2. Duties of Persons Receiving a Litigation Hold A person receiving a litigation hold has a duty to preserve all records in the person’s possession or scope of responsibility that are identified in the litigation hold. This duty is effective immediately. In particular, the person must: a. Suspend any board or divisional policies or procedures that might call for the routine destruction of electronic records under the recipient’s control. b. Discontinue personal practices regarding the destruction of electronic records. For example, the deletion of possibly relevant e-mails, voice mails, drafts of documents and the like must also be suspended. c. Disable any “janitorial” functions, such as the automatic deletion of e-mails or other electronic records. The designated computer support person should be immediately contacted if assistance is required to disable such functions. d. Protect and preserve all electronic records in their original electronic form, so that all information within it, whether visible or not, is available for inspection. In other words, electronic records must be preserved, regardless of whether they have been reduced to a hard copy or whether a hard copy already exists. e. Protect and preserve any hard copies of electronic records. f. Protect and preserve any new information that is generated or received that may be relevant to the litigation after receipt of a litigation hold. g. Advise the designated information technology representative of any personal information that may potentially be affected by the litigation hold.
3. Ending Preservation Responsibilities When the litigation, or the threat of litigation, that prompted the litigation hold has ended, the person issuing the litigation hold will inform those who received the notice that they are no longer under any special obligations to preserve the identified categories of materials. At that point, only the board’s normal retention schedules will apply to the records.
Retrieval of Electronic Records for Discovery After a lawsuit is filed and when the board receives a request from an opposing party for production, or “discovery,” of electronic records, the board’s counsel and the
board, superintendent or a designee will determine the best approach to take in order to efficiently produce a complete and accurate response. The response may consist of any or all of the following: (1.) supplying the requested information; (2.) attempting to obtain a modification of the request (e.g., by narrowing the request’s scope or obtaining agreement as to specific search terms); or (3.) declining to provide some or all of the requested data based upon expense of production or other basis.
1. Records Retrieval Where some or all of the requested records must be retrieved, reviewed and potentially disclosed, the following options should be considered to select the best approach to the specific request: a. Relying on the Computer User: In many instances, it is reasonable and sufficient to simply ask the computer user to identify, copy and provide potentiallyresponsive electronic records and to certify that these steps have been taken. In these instances, the production of electronic data resembles the typical production of physical documents. b. Enlisting Board Technical Support: Sometimes particular concerns about an individual user’s time, skill or dependability in identifying the universe of responsive records will warrant the direct involvement of the relevant system administrator or other board technical support personnel. c. Using Outside Consultants: Where identification or recovery of records requires technical expertise beyond that readily available from internal resources, an outside firm may be called upon for some or all of the work.
2. Post-Retrieval Review As potentially-responsive electronic records are gathered, board attorneys will review the retrieved data for legal relevance and privilege or other protected status and will handle all formal and informal responses to the discovery requests.
3. Post-Production Duties The duty to preserve and produce information related to a lawsuit does not end with an initial production of records. Relevant information and records generated after the litigation hold must be preserved for future retrieval as the lawsuit progresses. ■ JoClaudia Moore is an attorney with Balch & Bingham LLP of Montgomery. She may be contacted at jmoore@balch.com. Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008 7
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S PERSPECTIVE By Sally Howell, J.D., AASB Executive Director
Pew Grant Helps AASB Grow Pre-K Awareness The Alabama Association of School Boards has long been a proponent of preschool education — a fact scribed in our bylaws.
I
’m pleased to announce that AASB has an opportunity to broaden its pre-K support thanks to a $447,000 Pew Charitable Trusts grant awarded to the National School Boards Association and the Center for Public Education. The funding allows our association to join the center’s Pre-K Network, a two-year effort to build support for high quality, voluntary pre-K education among school board members in select states. Alabama and Kentucky are the only two state associations entering the second phase of the network. Kansas and Texas, which will also advance into phase 2, participated in the first phase of funding along with Ohio. In these states, the grant helped inform local school board members, state policymakers and the general public about the benefits of pre-K education and effective pre-K policies and programs.
8 Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008
NSBA’s Executive Director Anne Bryant tells us she is delighted to continue the partnership with the Pew Charitable Trusts and is especially glad to have us participate in this important work. She also said the last two years have shown that school boards will back pre-K because of its proven link to narrowing achievement gaps and increasing student success. Not only is AASB honored to be chosen for the pre-K network, but we are very proud of Alabama’s national accolades for high quality pre-kindergarten programs. We look forward to working with local school boards and with other champions of children to inspire creative ways to expand quality pre-K education to many more 4-year-olds in this state. This is collaborative work, so please share with us your experiences in the pre-K arena. We want to know what the successes, challenges and hopes are, and we want to collect examples of best practices that operate pre-K as a pathway to increased school readiness. Expect more from us on this issue in the months to come. ■
photo©istockPhoto.com
COMING SOON:
ACADEMY DATES TO REMEMBER:
AASB DISTRICT MEETINGS
December 4-6, 2008 . . . 2008 Annual Convention The Wynfrey Hotel, Hoover December 4, 2008 . . . . . 2008 AASB Leadership II The Wynfrey Hotel, Hoover March 13, 2009 . . . . . . . . 2009 AASB "Early Bird" Workshop The Wynfrey Hotel, Hoover March 13-14, 2009 . . . . 2009 AASB Academy Core Conference The Wynfrey Hotel, Hoover July 25-26, 2009 . . . . . . . 2009 AASB Leadership I Perdido Beach Resort, Orange Beach July 26-28, 2009 . . . . . . . 2009 AASB Summer Conference Perdido Beach Resort, Orange Beach December 3-5, 2009 . . . 2009 Annual Convention The Wynfrey Hotel, Hoover
Mark your calendar for AASB’s winter 2009 district meetings. Ken Roberts, AASB chief operations officer and director of research, will present a School Finance Tip Sheet to help boards better understand financial forecasting and how to read financial statements. The dinner meetings will be Jan. 12-Feb. 9 in each of AASB’s nine district. Attendees earn one hour of School Board Member Academy credit. For more information, contact AASB at 800/562-0601.
Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008 9
FACE TO FACE By Eleanor Dawkins
Sen. Quinton Ross
S
en. Quinton T. Ross Jr. is a mover and shaker in the Alabama Senate, serving on the Education Committee and the Finance and Taxation, Education Committee. Montgomery County Board of Education member Eleanor Dawkins sat down with Ross for a faceto-face interview. Their candid conversation is Sen. Quinton Ross the latest installment in a series of features recapping discussions between members of the Alabama Association of School Boards' grassroots Leader to Leader program and key state leaders in government and education. ▲ Dawkins: Thanks for being here. Thanks for what you do for education. Tell us just a little bit about yourself and how you came to be in the state Senate. ◆ Ross: I was born in Mobile, Ala., and raised in Pontiac, Mich. My dad is from Opelika. My mom is from Mobile. I am a graduate of Alabama State University. I was a political science major and minored in English, but I ended up getting my secondary education English master’s. So, I started teaching in 1995 at McIntyre Junior High School. I later received an administrative certification and was administrative assistant at Goodwyn Junior High School. Then I went on to become assistant principal at Booker T. Washington Magnet High School, where I later became principal. I’ve always been involved in politics. I was a member of the Alabama Democratic Conference, and I worked for the Alabama Democratic Party. So, there was always this connection with politics and education. ▲ Dawkins: You’ve been extremely instrumental in helping public education, and I’m sure that is a result of your public education experience and education committee service. ◆ Ross: I tell people all the time that I have the best of both worlds. Having been a classroom teacher, as well as an administrator, I’m able to look at it from a very wide range — understanding the needs of a classroom teacher, but also understanding the fiscal constraints that many of the superintendents and principals are under when it comes down to educational budgeting. I have to make sure we provide the very best opportunity for our children and couple that with good fiscal responsibility. That’s the bottom line. 10 Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008
When you see evidence of individuals who really don’t understand education creeping in and trying to make particular cuts or trying to raid the Education Trust Fund, then that’s when you have to make the decisions and take the stand that you’re not going to let that happen to the children. ▲ Dawkins: That’s why you end up being our hero in more ways than one, which is what my next question is about. You were such a supporter and a hero to us when the tourism and summer camp industries were trying to set a school start date statewide. Do you think that issue will come back again? ◆ Ross: It probably will. As a matter of fact, I can remember just this summer getting an article that was sent out by a member of the House of Representatives pointing to the fact that yet another state had gone to a uniform start date. So, I’m confident that the issue will come back again. But, I am just as adamant as I was before that I will fight to make sure that there is continuous local control amongst the boards to be able to make that decision for the communities that they serve. When you talk about the diverse communities throughout the state, I really think that it’s a local issue. It definitely should be left to the local boards to determine their school start dates. ▲ Dawkins: What has been your greatest challenge as it relates to education issues? What has been your greatest joy?
ABOUT SEN. QUINTON T. ROSS JR. A Montgomery resident; graduate of Alabama State University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s in education; a doctoral degree candidate in education leadership, policy and law; a member of Hutchinson Missionary Baptist Church in Montgomery and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity; and married to J. Kelley Ross, father of Quinmari T. Ross. What he does: Serving a second term in the Alabama Senate and is director of the Adult Education Consortium of H. Trenholm State Technical College. Committees: Education; Finance and Taxation, Education; Constitution, Campaign Finance, Ethics and Elections; Energy and Natural Resources; Governmental Affairs; Health; Rules; Tourism and Marketing; Veterans and Military Affairs; and chairs Commerce, Transportation and Utilities. Contact him: 334/242-7880
and just don’t see it getting any better — the challenge is going to be how we are going to deal with it come this next legislative session for the future budgets. The fiscal is always going to be the issue.
“I have to make sure we provide the very best opportunity for our children and couple that with good fiscal responsibility. That's the bottom line.” — Sen. Quinton Ross speaking with Montgomery County Board Education member Eleanor Dawkins.
◆ Ross: The greatest challenge has been to ensure that we garner as much fiscal support for education as we possibly can, considering the fiscal restraints that we’ve been under. Of course, we’ve taken precautions legislatively to try to soften the blow in the event that proration is around the corner. We’ve done things with the constitutional Rainy Day Account and the statutory Proration Prevention Account — again, to try to soften the blow. I think setting up those accounts have helped, but they are not the “catch all” solution. It has been a major challenge just to try to make sure we have as much fiscal support for public education as we possibly can. The joy has been in times when the budgets have been robust and we’ve been able to use those funds to build on the many programs that we have in our schools — the distance learning programs, the technology, the reading initiative. Of course, we’re talked about across the country in terms of our reading initiative. Those types of things make me feel wonderful about what we do for public education in the state. It’s a double-edged sword because just as soon as you provide the funding for those types of programs the economy can dictate that now you have to go back and cut. But, I think many of us have taken the position that we’ll do everything that we can to protect public education. ▲ Dawkins: What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the state Legislature? ◆ Ross: Without question it’s going to be the budgets. We just made it by this past budget year in doing what we consider level funding. The real test will be dealing with the fiscal year to come. Of course — as we see that the receipts have not been good in the state in terms of percentage growth
▲ Dawkins: Now, local school boards struggle for every dollar and strive to help our students achieve and succeed and to address the many needs of the schools. How can we better juggle the funds or the costs of the unfunded mandates with the very, very real needs of our children in the classroom? ◆ Ross: I’m working on my dissertation for my doctorate in educational leadership, policy and law, and the subject that I’m writing on is the perception of No Child Left Behind by members of the state Senate. A lot of times when those mandates are passed down by the federal government, there is no real connection or communication with state legislators in terms of what could come out of them passing mandates that they don’t necessarily send money with. Though some states buck the system against No Child Left Behind with lawsuits and things of that nature, they ultimately end up kind of conforming to the mandate because they couldn’t do without the money that is attached. As a state, we’ve done well — considering — dealing with mandates versus how much we have locally. In times of great financial distress, it becomes really burdensome. What we’re going to have to do is slow down and take a closer look. We get a lot of Title I funding. We get a lot of at-risk funding that can be taken away. They start these programs and expect the local school systems and the state to continue these programs. If there is more collaboration between our Congressional delegation and our state delegation, then we can kind of find a happy medium to work with some of these unfunded mandates. It really calls for us to work together. ▲ Dawkins: Is local lay control — school boards’ ability to locally make decisions on behalf of their schools and communities — at risk in your view? ◆ Ross: As long as we have strong school boards, as long as we have strong advocacy organizations, I don’t see that. And as long as I’m standing in the Legislature, I won’t allow there to be a takeover of local control. ▲ Dawkins: What overall grade do you give the local, state and federal governments for their support of Alabama’s public education? ◆ Ross: You know Alabama is ranked last or close-to-last in a lot of things, and education happens to be one of them. But, we do well in a lot of things. So, to put a letter grade on it from all those different levels is really a difficult challenge. Locally, we’ve done a good job with our school board working collectively with our local elected officials in trying to provide the necessary resources for K-12. From Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008 11
PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE By Sue Helms, AASB President
Not Your Grandpa’s Civics Class When I first heard the term “civic engagement,” I wanted to know more. So, I set out on a journey. Google, as I expected, returned more then I asked for, which led me to do some additional research to narrow things down a bit. What I discovered changed me. The very definition of civic engagement — actions that address public concerns and are for the common good — sent me back in time to the civics class of old. Back then, students read the Preamble of the Constitution, rattled off the presidents, recited portions of the Bill of Rights and were introduced to the responsibilities of U.S. citizenship.
Well, this is not your grandpa’s civics class? Civic engagement today is so much more! I can’t put it any better than San Francisco State University President Robert A. Corrigan, who once asked his faculty: “Is it not our responsibility ... to make every effort to produce a more decent and educated electorate, a more humble and sincere political leadership, a morally alert and concerned citizenry?” I ask you the same question. I also wonder if I had asked you before you read this column to describe your school system’s civic mission, if you would have silently stared at me. Would you have told me about your school’s mock elections or semi-annual civics bee? Then again, you may have mentioned programs already in place that you haven’t thought to call civic engagement. Many of you, for example, have character education classes, peer helper programs and community outreach efforts. Some of you may actually teach civic engagement. But, let’s think broader for a moment. How many of you have student representatives on your board? How many of you have students on your policy committees? Do any of your students’ class projects benefit a charity? In other words, do your students — across the spectrum of the curriculum — learn through service to others and their community? (Continued on page 31)
ON THE WEB
■ The Education Commission of the States, www.ecs.org, features articles on “Renewing the Civic Mission of Schools” and “Service - Learning Policies and Practices.” ■ The Center for Civic Education, www.civiced.org, provides curricular and other resources. ■ The Alabama Center for Law and Civic Education, www.aclce.org, offers a correlation guide, as well as the Project Citizen middle school curriculum on public policy. ■ America’s National Service Learning Clearinghouse, www.servicelearning.org, has a K-12 section that shows interested schools how to start service learning. photo©istockPhoto.com
12 Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008
By Jane L. Sigford and Robert J. Ostlund Isn’t leadership the same whether it is in the 20th or 21st century? In the United States or in Zimbabwe? In an industrial world or in a “flat”world? The answer is no, in all instances. We have to understand what is different now compared to even 20 years ago. Three key points come to mind. First, the speed of exchange of information has increased in geometric proportions. With a push of the “send” button, any information can go around the world in a matter of seconds. Second, because of that connectedness, isolation disappears. We are as close as a personal computer screen to anyone in the world owning a PC. Third, the possibility of change explodes as the speed of access to information increases. Therefore, it is hard to describe a discrete set of necessary leadership skills. So, what makes a leader different in a flat world is attitude.
KEY ATTRIBUTES In the late-night style of David Letterman, we now list the top 10 attributes that contribute to an effective leader in a global society.
No. 10: Looks forward, not backward. To quote the prolific Classical Age writer Anonymous: “If you continue to do what you’ve always done, you’ll continue to get what you’ve always gotten.” The past should be a foundation, not an anchor. A global leader must look outward toward the future to the land of the possible.
No. 9: Uses the new 3 R’s — Relationships, relationships, relationships. A global leader is collaborative, which can only happen in the context of relationships. Therefore, a leader must be interested in others, who they are, what they believe and what they need.
photo©bigstockphoto.com
No. 8: Understands paradox. A leader who has power is the leader who gives that power to others. Much of leadership is ruled by such paradoxical concepts.
No. 7: Is comfortable with ambiguity. Life is messy. Change is messy. The world of absolutes is disappearing.
ORGANIC CHANGE No. 6: Sees change as a fractal. Change is not a linear process; it’s more like broccoli. On a stalk of broccoli, many florets are joined to a stem, which transports food and water back and forth from the roots. The photosynthesis that is occurring in one floret is isolated from another until the food joins at the stalk and descends to the roots. Change is like that. Different initiatives occur at different locations. When the change is united into a stalk and information is conveyed to the roots, then the change affects the entire organism. What causes change to occur is the information that is shared and internalized through the relationships within the organization. Change needs strong roots, a strong stalk and many different ideas before it looks recognizable. Change brings new absolutes. Like broccoli, when mature, change goes to seed and new ideas can spring forth.
No. 5: Isn’t afraid of fear. A leader in a flat world definitely experiences fear. If a leader does not take risks or closes off options because of fear, missed growth opportunities are likely. No. 4: Embraces travel experiences. A leader in a flat world needs to travel in order to get out of the normal comfort zone. It is difficult to lead in a global society if one has not had an array of experiences. Sadly, only about 30 percent of Americans have been outside of the United States. Traveling within the United States or outside of its borders is important because it makes one richer and wiser. (Continued on page 30) Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008 13
AASB Congratulates the 2008 Media Honor Roll winners listed by name and/or news organization and the nominating school board. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Justin Schuver ...............The Andalusia Star-News Andalusia Board of Education Rebecca Beasley .....................The Clayton Record Barbour County Board of Education Tiffany Woo ............................The Eufaula Tribune Barbour County Board of Education Rahkia Nance ....................The Birmingham News Bessemer Board of Education Beecher Hyde....................................WAVU Radio Boaz Board of Education Elizabeth Summer ..The Sand Mountain Reporter Boaz Board of Education Kerry Yencer ............................The Gadsden Times Boaz Board of Education Peggie Haney....................................WAVU Radio Boaz Board of Education Lisa Tindell..........................The Brewton Standard Brewton Board of Education Ashley Vansant ................The Greenville Advocate Butler County Board of Education Bobby Skipper.....................South Alabama News Butler County Board of Education Robert Williamson...........................WGYV Radio Butler County Board of Education Rosco Miller.......................................WKXN Radio Butler County Board of Education The Choctaw Sun Advocate Choctaw County Board of Education Gary Downs .......................................WPPG Radio Conecuh County Board of Education Lee Peacock ........................The Evergreen Courant Conecuh County Board of Education Lisa Rahn ...................................The Southern Star Dale County Board of Education George McDonald..................................WAKA TV Dallas County Board of Education Jeff Harrison............................................WSFA TV Dallas County Board of Education Jim Cook......................................The Dothan Eagle Dothan Board of Education Comcast Cablevision Dothan Board of Education Fox 34 TV Dothan Board of Education HIS Radio Dothan Board of Education Knology Television Dothan Board of Education
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
The Dothan Eagle Dothan Board of Education The Dothan Progress Dothan Board of Education WDHN TV Dothan Board of Education WJJN Radio Dothan Board of Education WOOF Radio Dothan Board of Education WTVY TV Dothan Board of Education WWNT Radio Dothan Board of Education The Eclectic Observer Elmore County Board of Education The Millbrook Independent Elmore County Board of Education The Millbrook Progress Elmore County Board of Education The Montgomery Advertiser Elmore County Board of Education The Prattville Progress Elmore County Board of Education The Wetumpka Herald Elmore County Board of Education The Wetumpka Progress Elmore County Board of Education WAKA TV Elmore County Board of Education WSFA TV Elmore County Board of Education Janet Cooper ............................The Tri-City Ledger Escambia County Board of Education Lavale Mills ...............................The Red Bay News Franklin County Board of Education Eddie Dodd ............................The Abbeville Herald Henry County Board of Education Lisa Terry........................................Headland Voice Henry County Board of Education Terry Grimes..........................The Abbeville Herald Henry County Board of Education Pat Newcomb........................The Huntsville Times Huntsville Board of Education Steve Campbell.....................The Huntsville Times Huntsville Board of Education Newschannel 19 Huntsville Board of Education
14 Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
James Phillips ...............The Daily Mountain Eagle Jasper Board of Education Melissa Bonds...............The Daily Mountain Eagle Jasper Board of Education Wayne Martin ...................The Birmingham News Jefferson County Board of Education Regina Grayson......................The Lowndes Signal Lowndes County Board of Education Mike Quails.............................The Monroe Journal Monroe County Board of Education WSFA TV Montgomery County Board of Education WVAS Radio Montgomery County Board of Education Amy Bowers ....................................The Opp News Opp Board of Education Doris Wismer...................................The Opp News Opp Board of Education Jeremy Henderson........The Andalusia Star-News Opp Board of Education Robert Boothe..................................WOPP Radio Opp Board of Education Ebony Horton.............................The Dothan Eagle Ozark Board of Education Sarah Gilbert.............................The Southern Star Ozark Board of Education Mark Clark ..................The Citizen of East Alabama Phenix City Board of Education Belinda Copeland...........................Phenix Citizen Russell County Board of Education Greg Funderberg ..................................WTVM TV Russell County Board of Education Gary Hanner ....................................St. Clair Times St. Clair County Board of Education Brandon Fincher ..........................The Daily Home Talladega County Board of Education Anita Debro........................The Birmingham News Trussville Board of Education Meredith McCay..............................St. Clair Times Trussville Board of Education Kimberly Rankin .....................................WIAT TV Tuscaloosa City Board of Education Bill Singleton.....................The Birmingham News Vestavia Hills Board of Education Progessive Era Wilcox County Board of Education WYVC Radio Wilcox County Board of Education
Face to Face: Sen. Quinton Ross Continued from page 10
the local level, I would give Montgomery an A because, as you and I know, for a long time the idea of ‘entities working together’ did not exist. But, that has happened. If you talk about the state Legislature listening to the needs and working with the state Department of Education — with the exception of just having the money to fund everything that they ask for — I would really say that working relationship would be graded as an A. Now, on the federal side because of the many quirks with No Child Left Behind, I would probably give them a C because of the way that it was set out. ‘No Child Left Behind’ is a very catchy name that speaks to the emotion of everyone and promises to be something great. But, when you look at it closely and look at its heart — particularly with its school choice and its voucher programs — to me there is a direct connection to eating at the very fiber of public education as it is today. ▲ Dawkins: Do you see the role of public K-12 changing? ◆ Ross: It’s forever changing because our communities and the young children that we serve are ever changing. We’re in a different world than we were 40 years ago, and we’re going to have to adapt to that. When you talk about the state and looking at curriculum and when you talk about the local boards, we’re really going to have to take a hard look at the practices that we have now and really begin to try to adapt to where we are in society today. One case in point is when we look at career technical education. Years ago that was the path that a lot of our young people were able to take and later get wonderful jobs. Then we took this turn in the whole academia, and everybody was going to go to college. Well, there’s not a one-shoe-fits-all. ▲ Dawkins: How do you see the school board’s role changing? ◆ Ross: The school board will serve as that catalyst because you represent a constituency and are familiar with the ongoing changes. You’ll have those superintendents come in and want to think outside the box, which means it’s your responsibility to allow him to think outside of the box and to not be so rigid. It’s going to take creativity. Your role is to be forever changing. You can’t have the same type of ideas. It’s going to be a critical role. You’re going to need to go out and make those connections with those communities and be able to articulate the visions of change to your constituency. ▲ Dawkins: What do you hope to accomplish during your tenure as state Senator? What are your future aspirations? ◆ Ross: What I wake up to accomplish every day as a state legislator is something good for not only my constituency but for the state. That’s my goal — whether it is ensuring that we have the proper funding for education or ensuring that the state Department of Education has the ability to offer certain
licensure or certificates. Anything I can do that is going to benefit the district and the state of Alabama — that’s what I’m for. I don’t ever want to be in a situation where it’s selfserving. I want to be what they call a servant leader. In terms of any aspirations, I just tell people I always want to be good where I am. If there is an opportunity to do something in the future and the people who I serve deem it necessary, I’ll have to pray about it and see if I accept the calling. ▲ Dawkins: Finally, is there a message that you would like to send to the local school board members across the state? ◆ Ross: First of all, thank you school boards, and a ‘thank you’ to all of the employees and members of the education community. People don’t understand that our children can spend the majority of their childhood in front of a teacher. We mold and shape great minds, and we have to give honor and thanks to those people who work in that arena every day. And so, I would just like to say thank you. I’d like to say also, while sometimes it looks bleak for education, we just have to continue to be faithful, to continue to work from the grassroots level and stay engaged. What helps me is when they allow their voices to be heard. You know — engage their legislators, engage the process. Don’t just take ‘no’ for an answer. For them to consistently be engaged in the process is a great help, I think, for any legislator. You see, I’m only as strong as the people who sent me here. And so, if I can hear from my board members or I can hear from the parents and the community, it makes me strong and able to stay steadfast in decisions I have to make down here. ▲ Dawkins: Thank you.
■
Help. Q. A.
We have 17-year-old seniors who want to work full-time. Do they require work permits? Yes. Alabama law requires all minors under the age of 18 to have work permits. The law also authorizes all county and city boards of education and most high schools to issue work permits. A written monthly report along with a copy of each work permit issued must be submitted to the Alabama Department of Labor. There are certain job and hour restrictions for 14- to 15-year-olds and 16to 18-year-olds who are enrolled in high school. For more information on the state’s Child Labor Law and reporting requirements, call 334/353-1761. —Denise L. Berkhalter
Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008 15
By Denise L. Berkhalter Alabama’s 4-year-olds number 59,000, yet less than 13,000 of them will receive pre-kindergarten education through statefunded, federal Head Start or special education preschool programs. Fewer still — about 3,384 pre-K students — are in the state-funded pre-K classrooms, including the 87 public school sites able to provide appropriate facilities, teachers and programming.
That could change.
16 Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008
S
ome powerful early education advocates in Alabama, including the governor, want all 4-year-olds to at least have the opportunity to participate in age-appropriate pre-kindergarten programs that prepare them for “big school.” It’s a lingering request that has made inroads. Alabama even leads the nation, along with North Carolina, in preschool quality. In 2006 and 2007, Alabama met all 10 of the National Institute for Early Education Research’s quality benchmarks — ranging from teacher credentials and training to class size and early learning standards.
Expanding Pre-K Access The birth of the Alabama Office of School Readiness within the state Department of Children’s Affairs in 1999 marked the official jumpstart of state-funded pre-kindergarten. The Legislature established the office — using state, federal and local matching dollars — to oversee a coordinated effort to educate all 4-year-old children. High quality was the target from the outset, and in its first program year, the Office of School Readiness funded eight pilot programs. As the years went on, access to the state’s pre-K program seemed stagnant at 2 percent. Even when the Legislature appropriated $5.4 million for pre-K two years ago, the 400-percent funding boost over 1999 did little to reach significantly more children. The state funded early education for 1,062 students — including 522 public school students — using a variety of
photo©istockPhoto.com
delivery methods. These “delivery methods” included statefunded slots for students in Head Start classrooms, as well as for students in private, faith-based, college and university laboratory pre-K programs and housing authority programs. It was in 2007 that Gov. Bob Riley unveiled “First Class: Alabama’s Voluntary Pre-K Initiative,” putting the national universal pre-K movement into high gear in Alabama. First Class provides funding for children who are age 4 on or before Sept. 1 of the enrollment year. Last year the Legislature nearly doubled state pre-K funding to spend $5,056 per student. That $10 million enabled the Office of School Readiness to expand its program to 4 percent of 4-year-olds. The doubling continued for the 2008-2009 fiscal year. The Legislature approved $20 million in funding for state-funded pre-K, adding 1,926 pre-K students to the First Class roll. Now the state serves 3,384 students or 5.5 percent of 4-year-olds. Earlier this year at a private preschool in Prattville, Gov. Bob Riley met with the media to celebrate expansion of the state’s First Class program. The new state dollars for First Class programs this school year funded 107 additional pre-K classrooms. Thanks to increasing investments in early education, NIEER now ranks Alabama ninth in the nation for its pre-K support.
“We want to enhance the quality of their work, and these grants are one apparatus for doing that,” Davis said. “When we send money to a site, we have a list of quality standards, including research-based curriculum, teachers, playgrounds, classroom size. There should be dental, vision and hearing screenings. We also have a group of experts who go out and provide support for these classrooms.” The state’s pre-K calendar includes 180 program days — each with at least 6 1/2 hours of instruction — and seven teacher training days. The calendar is modeled after the public school’s academic calendar, but Davis emphasizes that pre-K doesn’t mean mini-kindergarten. “These 4-year-olds shouldn’t be sitting at desks raising their hands for long periods of time,” she said. “Any program has to address the developmental domains, emergent literacy and numeracy, but these programs should also be developmentally appropriate.”
Facing the Challenges Even with Alabama’s apparent willingness to invest in early education to improve school readiness, there are challenges. NIEER applauds the state for its high pre-kindergarten teacher standards. Yet, finding, retaining and paying teachers isn’t easy. According to the Mobile Press-Register, just 13 percent of the state’s 3,700 education graduates leave higher education each year with the early childhood certification necessary to teach pre-K.
Looking Toward Tomorrow In another move to strengthen pre-K, Riley recently promoted Office of School Readiness Director Dr. Marquita Davis to commissioner of the state children’s affairs department. Davis said she’s rolling up her sleeves and getting to work. Alabama’s No. 1 NIEER ranking last year and this year, she said, doesn’t mean it’s time for complacency. “Yes, we’re No. 1 in the nation for quality,” she said, “but, we just don’t serve enough children.” Riley, too, has said he wants to reach more of Alabama’s preschool-age children. He sees pre-K as an investment in the future of Alabama. “High quality, voluntary pre-K,” he said, “will improve our K-12 system and also our children’s opportunities for success. We know without doubt today that children who receive prekindergarten education are more likely to graduate high school. They’re less likely to end up on welfare, and they will earn higher incomes as adults.” Davis said the state’s investment in pre-K last year provided 85 full grants and 44 incentive and emergent grants, which are small one-year grants given to sites to help them bring up the quality of their preschool programs.
Announcing “FIRST CLASS: Alabama’s Voluntary Pre-K” Program were, left to right, state Sen. Wendell Mitchell, state Superintendent of Education Dr. Joe Morton, Gov. Bob Riley, Commissioner Dr. Marquita Davis, state Department of Postsecondary Education Chancellor Bradley Byrne, Prattville Mayor Jim Byard Jr., and members of the state Board of Education, including Stephanie Bell.
The national shortage of highly educated pre-K teachers — some lured away by schools and industry with better benefits and higher pay — is such a problem that Teach for America has begun sending top-tier college graduates to teach in community-based preschool programs nationwide. (Continued on page 18) Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008 17
Pre-K Push: Voluntary Preschool for All Gains Momentum Continued from page 17
QUALITY STANDARDS CHECKLIST
Alabama’s high standards do come with pay meant to elevate the pre-K teacher’s position. “In a First Class classroom,” Commissioner Davis explained, “we like to have two teachers to 18 children. We require teacher pay that is somewhat higher than what is paid in day care. Pay, in some respects, is how you measure the value of a person’s work. This is valuable work.” Each public school pre-K classroom must have a certified lead teacher who has at least a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education. However, teacher qualifications differ for private, faith-based and other preschool programs that receive state funding. Teachers in these settings must have a degree in early childhood or in child development. Assistant teachers must have a child development credential or equivalent and 12 hours of training in early childhood coursework. Beyond the teacher shortage, there is the constant fight for funding exacerbated now by today’s weak economy. Revenue for K-12 education funding is way down. Deep across-theboard budget cuts in the near future are likely. The climate for new funding for many important educational endeavors is harsh, and it will take more dollars to reach more 4-year-olds. As it stands, NIEER ranks Alabama near the bottom — 38th in the nation — for pre-K access. In addition, few preschool-age children in rural, poor communities can actually enjoy the benefits of high-quality, pre-K programs. Obstacles in these communities are many, including few if any preschool providers, the cost of transportation and nutrition programs, a lack of qualified teachers and few dollars for adequate pay and facilities.
In 2006 and 2007, Alabama has met, and in some areas exceeded, all 10 of the National Institute for Early Education Research’s quality standards.
✔ Comprehensive early learning standards ✔ Teacher degree ✔ Teacher specialized in pre-K ✔ Assistant teacher degree ✔ Teacher in-service ✔ Maximum class size ✔ Staff-child ratio of 1:10 or better (Alabama at 1:9) ✔ Screening/vision, hearing, health, and support services ✔ Meals ✔ Site visits and monitoring Source: NIEER.org
“We must, even in these times of economic turmoil, find fiscally responsible ways to expand access to pre-K programs while maintaining our nationally recognized quality,” said Sally Howell, AASB’s executive director. “Obviously, we can’t rob Peter to pay Paul. Our K-12 education dollar is stretched quite thin, and there are so many unfunded needs,” Howell explained. “Yet, we cannot ignore the benefits of preparing children socially, emotionally, physically, mentally and academically for kindergarten. This is absolutely a school readiness and student success issue.”
Building Awareness
The Alabama Association of School Boards, which has long and prudently supported quality preschool opportunities for children, will do its part to expand access thanks to a Pew Foundation Grant that adds AASB to the Center for Public Education’s Pre-K Network — under the auspices of the National School Boards Association. The network began with school board associations in Texas, Kansas and Ohio. Kentucky is also new to the network % % this year. AASB will focus its efforts on % building awareness and support — especially among school board members — for highquality, voluntary pre-K experi2001-2002 2002-2003 2003-2004 ences for 4-year-olds. Source: Pre-K Now and Alabama Office of School Readiness
Percent of Alabama’s 4-Year-Old Population Enrolled in Pre-K 2
2
2%
2%
5.5% 4% 2%
1
18 Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008
2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-2008
Getting Ready for Big School Several statewide polls conducted in Alabama found that voters also see enhanced pre-kindergarten as a means of improving education. A December 2006 poll found that three-quarters of voters believe the state should fund voluntary pre-K for all children, reports child advocacy group VOICES for Alabama Children. And, 64 percent would rather invest in pre-kindergarten than pay for remedial and special education for children who weren’t ready for school. Most respondents, 87 percent, say children who have attended a pre-K program have an advantage over those who have not. Of the kindergarten teachers surveyed in Alabama two years ago on the pre-K issue, 44 percent said a quality preschool experience would help children transition into kindergarten. National surveys show similar results. Pre-K Now leads the national universal pre-K effort and recently announced findings that 7 in 10 voters want state and local governments to provide voluntary pre-K for all children. In addition, 56 percent of voters said local, state and federal governments do too little to ensure all children have access to affordable pre-K programs.
Turning the Tide If the state Department of Children’s Affairs commissioner has a say, the tide will turn. An Illinois transplant living in Alabama since 1989, Davis dreams big for this state. Politics, she said, may be one reason why pre-K hasn’t received its due. K-12 education, higher education and other entities jostle annually for the thinly stretched education dollar. And there are the critics who question pre-K’s impact on school readiness and those who say early education is the parents’ sole responsibility. Nevertheless, Davis said she doesn’t see the need for political play when it comes to the future of the state’s youngest students.
ON THE WEB
■ First Class: Alabama's Voluntary Pre-K Program http://www.dca.state.al.us/Default.aspx?catid=12 ■ Economics of Pre-K in Alabama: Results and Analysis http://www. governorpress.alabama.gov/documents/pre-KDeravi_ study.pdf ■ Enriching Children, Enriching the Nation, Alabama Summary http://www.epi.org/books/enriching/states/al.pdf ■ A Science-Based Framework for Early Childhood Policy - http://www. nccanet.org/Portals/0/A%20Science%20Based%20Framework.pdf ■ School Readiness: Closing Racial and Ethnic Gaps http://www.futureofchildren.org/usr_doc/Volume_15_No_1.pdf ■ National School Readiness Indicators Initiative Report http://www. gettingready.org/matriarch/
Alabama’s Annual Pre-K Spending Year
Total
Per Child Enrolled
2007
$5,369,898
$5,056
2006
$4,326,050
$4,216
2005
$3,291,050
$3,386
2004
$4,584,500
$3,638
2003
$2,400,000
$3,175
Source: Pre-K Now and Alabama Office of School Readiness
“It’s not political for me,” she explained. “Really, this is about how remarkable we can be as a state at the forefront of the pre-K movement. The train is moving. Now is the time. We need to be able to write our own history and define who we want to be in this nation as it relates to quality education for young children.”
AASB “supports preschool programs for non-school-aged children” and “supports completion of kindergarten before entering first grade.” — Alabama Association of School Boards Bylaws, 2007 Davis believes Alabama has the potential to impact student success early enough that students who enter the education pipeline finally exit as graduates. Just talking about the possibilities excites her. “Listen,” she said, her voice an octave higher, “we are already ranked No. 1 in the nation. Imagine if these young children across the state had the ability to walk into school ready to learn and loving to learn. Isn’t that what we should want for every child in this state?” Gov. Riley echoes her hopes. “We’ve come a long way,” he has told Alabama’s citizens. “We’ve laid the foundation for success, but we can’t stop here. Education is not only the key to the success of our children, it is the key to a successful future for our state. That’s why we now have to embrace pre-kindergarten in Alabama like we never have before.” ■ Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008 19
The Role of the Board With the increased number of school systems offering voluntary preschool options for 4-year-old children, questions continue to surface about the role of the school board in ensuring quality early learning experiences for their youngest students. ◗ What are the roles of the board in ensuring quality preschool? ◗ What are key actions boards must take around those important roles? ◗ What do school system leaders need to know about early childhood education to successfully support and monitor programs to ensure preschools deliver on the promise of improved school readiness and success in school? To help answer these questions, information from K-12 research on the important roles boards play in improving student achievement has been summarized with research from early childhood education. The sections in this article provide guidance for school leaders on the actions boards must take to ensure quality preschool education.
20 Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008
photo©istockPhoto.com photo©bigstockphoto.com
for Ensuring Quality Preschool Five Key Roles of the Board for Ensuring Quality Preschool ocal research on school governance reveals school boards play important roles in improving student achievement. Reports from the Iowa School Boards Foundation’s Lighthouse studies (1998-2007) describe actions related to five key roles for school board members to ensure students in grades K-12 learn at high levels: setting clear expectations; creating conditions for success; holding the system accountable to the expectations; building collective will; and learning together as a board team.
L
1. Set Clear Expectations Insist on a “pre-K through 12” mindset that recognizes preschool as an integral part of the school system’s learning continuum — one that does not consider preschool as an “add-on” component to the K-12 system no matter where the program is housed. Boards must: ◗ Focus on student learning pre-K through 12. Teaching and learning are a vital part of a quality preschool classroom, just as they are in any other grade level. ◗ Ensure the preschool program is included in the school’s focus for improvement and the focus for improvement is based on student and program needs. ◗ Set clear expectations for both the student learning outcomes and the learning environment. Boards must expect high-quality early childhood education from preschools that meet national preschool program standards and hold themselves accountable to rigorous early childhood learning standards. Starting earlier by investing in preschool won’t make a difference in children’s learning if programs are not high-quality. Boards must: ◗ Have a clear understanding of the current performance and needs of their youngest students. ◗ Believe more is possible and communicate high expectations that young children have a great capacity to learn. ◗ Hold themselves accountable to rigorous child learning standards. ◗ Ensure the preschool program meets national preschool program accreditation standards — such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children Early Childhood Program Standards.
2. Create Conditions for Success Provide the support necessary for the implementation of a research-based, high-quality preschool program. Listed below are key areas where board support is needed. Leadership: ◗ Provide the necessary support to ensure the preschool program administrators are knowledgeable about early childhood education. ◗ Create and support a distributed system of leadership for pre-K through 12. Developing and supporting leadership at all levels of the system to guide and protect the work to improve student learning. Quality Teaching and Learning: ◗ Provide adequate resources for highly-qualified preschool teachers with a degree in early childhood education. ◗ Provide for an amount of instructional time that is consistent with research-based best practices — 12.5 or more hours of instruction per week associated with short and long-term benefits for children. ◗ Approve and monitor a rigorous, evidence-based and developmentally appropriate curriculum for preschoolers aligned to early learning standards. ◗ Approve and monitor a rigorous, evidence-based and developmentally appropriate assessment of student performance, aligned to early learning standards. ◗ Provide the necessary support to ensure instructional practices are aligned with the curriculum and assessments being used. ◗ Provide the necessary support to ensure preschool teachers participate in quality, ongoing professional development aligned with the learning needs of preschool students, consistent with the state’s preschool professional development model and linked to the professional development of the K-3 teachers. ◗ Approve and monitor the implementation of quality preschool program standards that describe a rich learning environment appropriate for preschoolers. Alignment and Transition: ◗ Provide the necessary support to ensure the alignment of curriculum, assessment and instruction between preschool and the K-3 grades in order to create a coherent continuum of learning. (Continued on page 22) Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008 21
Ensuring Quality Preschool Continued from page 22
◗ Provide the necessary support to ensure smooth transitions for children and their families as they move from preschool into kindergarten, whether it’s the academic/social/emotional adjustment of children or connecting parents to the school.
◗ Provide support to take corrective action when progress toward the outcomes is not sufficient. ◗ Make judgments about the costs and benefits for students over time as part of the overall program evaluation.
◗
Comprehensive Services: ◗ Collaborate with appropriate community partners to provide additional supports such as transportation; extended-day child care; vision, hearing and other health screenings and parent education services, etc. ◗ Collaborate with community partners to streamline efforts, maximize resources and reduce costs for preschool programming. Funding: ◗ Collaborate with appropriate community partners to blend funding streams and increase resources for quality programming. ◗ Provide supports that allow children from different backgrounds, income levels and ability levels to be served in the same classroom setting.
3. Hold the System Accountable to Expectations Monitor the impact of the preschool program, using both formative and sumative assessment processes. Ongoing assessment of student learning and an appropriate evaluation process that focuses both on the child learning outcomes and implementation of the preschool program standards are critical aspects of quality preschool programming. To hold the system accountable to expectations boards must: ◗ Provide support for ongoing collection and use of appropriate assessments and data related to student progress. ◗ Establish policy for program evaluation that includes various methods to monitor program effectiveness — taking the burden off of the 4-year-olds and making adults accountable for student learning. ◗ Review data regularly and reference data in decision-making and problem solving.
◗
◗
◗
through their conversations at the board table and in the community, and through their decisions and actions as a board. Understand what’s at stake for students and communicate a sense of urgency to staff and the community about the student, family and learning environment needs. Confront their own beliefs and the beliefs of others about what’s possible to expect and what the school has the capacity to impact in terms of student learning. Communicate high expectations for all students and a belief that students who come to school with less can learn and achieve as well as most students. Talk about the current needs based on data and reliable information.
5. Learn Together as a Board Team
ENSURING QUALITY PRESCHOOL: ◗
Setting clear expectations ◗ Creating conditions for success ◗ Holding the system accountable to expectations ◗ Building collective will ◗ Learning together as a board team 4. Build Collective Will Create awareness of the importance of quality preschool. Achievement gaps begin early. The achievement gaps commonly seen in later years are obvious at kindergarten entry. To create awareness of the need for quality preschool the board must: ◗ Value and communicate the importance of community stakeholders as partners in providing quality preschool programs for all interested families. ◗ Demonstrate their commitment to early childhood education consistently
22 Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008
Establish learning time that encourages the board/superintendent team to study issues together and talk to one another through extensive board conversations. To build the commitment for quality preschool through shared information and productive discussions the board must: ◗ Know the characteristics of a high-quality preschool program and recognize the similarities and the unique differences between preschool and K-12. ◗ Learn the needs of the children and families within the community. ◗ Know who is providing early care and education for families with young children. ◗ Understand the community, identify needs and available services, note gaps and work with community partners to ensure all children have quality early childhood education experiences. ◗ Collaborate with other partners to provide quality preschool programs that meet the needs of children (quality programs) and families (transportation, extended-day child care, etc.). ■ Permission granted to copy and distribute from the Iowa School Boards Foundation (c) 2008. The full report and resources are available through The Iowa School Boards Foundation, the research affiliate of the Iowa Association of School Boards (www.ia-sb.org).
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 Alabama Beverage Association . . . . . Montgomery, AL Alabama Gas Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . Birmingham, AL Alabama Supercomputer Authority . Montgomery, AL Almon Associates Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tuscaloosa, AL American Fidelity Assurance . . . . . . . . Birmingham, AL
• • • •
Barganier Davis Sims Architects . . . . . Montgomery, AL BlueCross BlueShield of Alabama . . . Birmingham, AL Christian Testing Labs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Montgomery, AL Council of Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Birmingham, AL Coca-Cola Bottlers Inc.
205/313-6345
• KPS Group Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Birmingham, AL
205/458-3245
334/263-6621
• Krebs Architecture & Engineering . . . Birmingham, AL
205/987-7411
205/326-8425
• Lathan Associates Architects PC . . . . . Birmingham, AL
205/879-9110
334/832-2405
• M.B. Kahn Construction Co. Inc. . . . . . . . Huntsville, AL
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251/432-6735
Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008 23
Many school systems around the country, along with other nonprofit and public organizations, have found that involving their boards, superintendents and senior administrators in a retreat can produce powerful results.
By Doug Eadie
The term “retreat” is typically described as a special work session lasting at least a full day and often 1 1/2 to two days — anything less than a day is a meeting, not a retreat — and that is held away from the office to focus on accomplishing work that cannot feasibly be done in regular board meetings. Because the normal “rules of the game” are suspended at retreats, you are able to do such extraordinary jobs as updating system values and vision statements, identifying critical issues facing your system, brainstorming possible change targets to address the identified issues, thinking through improvements in school board structure and process to strengthen governing performance, and coming up with ways to enhance the board-superintendent working partnership, to name a few powerful outcomes that retreats can produce.
24 Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008
photo©istockPhoto.com
▲ A RISKY BUSINESS
▲ ACTIVE PARTICIPATION
However, if retreats are potentially powerful vehicles for producing critical results for your school system, they are also highrisk endeavors, primarily because of the involvement of your board in a far less structured session than your typical board meeting. Everyone can come up with at least one “retreat from hell” story that proves the point: from everyone’s being bored to tears to far more damaging outcomes, such as visceral debate that ends up fracturing — rather than cementing — consensus and that produces oodles of bad feelings to boot. Experience has taught me that if you don’t take steps to minimize the risk, you’d be better off skipping the retreat. Fortunately, there are five practical steps that you can take to ensure that your retreat produces powerful results with minimum risk for everyone involved: (1.) make sure your school board is actively involved in designing the retreat; (2.) set precise objectives; (3.) build in active participation; (4.) program in systematic follow-through; and (5.) meet away from the office.
Commitment to following through on the results of a retreat heavily depends on the ownership that participants — especially school board members — feel for the results. Feeling like an owner comes from participating actively in producing the results. One of the best ways to achieve participation is to use breakout groups led by board members to generate information and ideas in your retreat. For example, one school system used nine different breakout groups led by board members at one of its retreats, including groups titled “vision;” “values/culture;” “strategic issues;” and “characteristics of a sound board-superintendent partnership.” Of course, breakout groups can bomb badly if they aren’t meticulously designed to produce specific results through well-defined methodology and if the board members who lead them aren’t well prepared to play the facilitator role.
▲ INVOLVE YOUR BOARD IN DESIGN
Spending only a day or two together dealing with really complex, high-stakes matters isn’t enough time to come up with final answers about anything, and if you try, the whole thing is likely to come unraveled by the next Monday, when you return to the proverbial salt mine. Many school systems have reached agreement as part of the retreat design process on how follow-through will be handled. One system, for example, required that the professional facilitator it retained for the retreat prepare a detailed set of action recommendations, and created a steering committee for the expressed purpose of reviewing the recommendations and taking them to the full board for decision-making. Without building in such follow-through, your school system’s return on its investment in a retreat is likely to be paltry.
There are two very important reasons for involving board members in designing the retreat: having the benefit of their experience and wisdom and building board ownership of the upcoming retreat. A very simple approach that I’ve seen work well countless times is to create an “ad hoc retreat design committee” involving board leadership and the superintendent to put together a detailed design for the retreat: its objectives, structure and the blow-by-blow agenda. If you employ a professional facilitator, this is the group she or he would work directly with in preparing for the retreat. The board of a mid-size suburban system in the midwest, for example, involved their board president, vice president, secretary/treasurer and chair of the Policy and Planning Committee, along with the superintendent in their retreat design committee. This ad hoc committee not only worked out a detailed retreat design, but also signed the six-page retreat description that was sent to all participants three weeks before the retreat.
▲ PRECISE OBJECTIVES Of course, there’s no way you can come up with a workable structure and process for your retreat if you don’t specify what you want the event to achieve. This is one of the key responsibilities of your ad hoc retreat design committee. For example, among the retreat objectives set by the design committee mentioned above were: “to clarify our system’s strategic framework — its values, vision and strategic directions; to understand the implications for our system of national, state and local conditions and trends; to identify strategic issues facing our system.” And the retreat objectives of another system I worked with a few years ago included: “to fashion a detailed board leadership mission; to flesh out the roles, responsibilities, workplans and operating procedures of our new standing committees; to identify practical ways to strengthen the board as a human resource; to clarify the board-superintendent partnership and identify ways to enhance it.”
▲ FORMAL FOLLOW-THROUGH
▲ GET AWAY FROM THE OFFICE It’s really important that you hold your retreat in a comfortable setting as far away from system headquarters as feasible, since a different location will help participants rise above the “business-asusual” mentality, freeing their minds for “out-of-the-box” work. You don’t need a luxurious resort, although an attractive resort location would be an asset. I’ve seen modestly priced, nearby hotel meeting rooms work well, and you might even be able to arrange for donated space, such as the board room of a local corporation. The point is to avoid holding a “suspend the rules” meeting in your boardroom, where the rules come all too easily to mind.
▲ DO IT — BUT DO IT RIGHT Retreats are probably the best way to involve your board creatively in generating critical products that can’t be handled in regular board meetings, so if you haven’t made use of retreats as a board involvement tool, you’re well advised to. Just make sure you keep the above tips in mind as you put your retreat together. ■ Doug Eadie is president & CEO of Doug Eadie & Company, a firm specializing in building strong board-superintendent partnerships. You can reach him at Doug@DougEadie.com or 800/209-7652. Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008 25
10 QUESTIONS By Denise L. Berkhalter
Calvin K. Clemons, author of ‘The Perfect Board’
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alvin K. Clemons, president and CEO of Clemons & Associates Inc., penned a practical guide to board service titled The Perfect Board. It’s a quick, easy read that takes full advantage of Clemons’ 30-plus years experience as an association management executive. Calvin K. Clemons It matters not if you’re an aspiring board member or seasoned pro or if you want to become an effective member of a board of directors or board of education — the advice is all the same. Clemons took a moment to speak with Alabama School Boards by phone from Maryland to discuss this nuts-andbolts handbook, now in its second edition.
Q. Why did you write this ‘perfect’ little guidebook? A. I thought it would be a wonderful thing to try to achieve, knowing how most people are imperfect. Sure, it would be great to have a board where everyone knew exactly what they were supposed to do and what their responsibilities and duties were. That would be a wonderful world. It’s a great little primmer that helps new board members understand what their role is and be a little more educated about what the responsibilities are. It’s also good for the seasoned board member, too. Seasoned board members may not know everything.
Q. Does that wonderful world of perfect boardmanship not exist?
A. Thirty-one years of working with boards and being the CEO of 16 different boards showed me that there were a lot of people who just didn’t know what board service is all about. They believe it is kind of an honor for them to be on a board, recognized by their peers and business associates. They see it as a great opportunity and think if they serve on a board, they get all kinds of benefits and don’t have to do anything.
Q. Is that not true? A. That’s what we call the biggest lie in the board industry. 26 Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008
Q. I agree. I think veteran school board members would agree, too. So, how did your association correct this misconception about board service?
A. We kind of solved that by having a commitment form. It could be just a simple paragraph or as complex as people want it to be, but basically the commitment says: ‘We appointed or elected you to the board, and here is what the responsibilities are — from meetings and trips to whatever makes up a term of office.’
Q. Did people sign that? A. If they said they agreed, they signed it. We expected them not to say they didn’t know what was involved in board service or how much time it would take or what was expected. I think boards look at those kinds of instruments.
Q. Does this guidebook apply to school boards? A. There are legal requirements when you’re on a board in most cases, unless it’s an advisory board. So sure, they apply. A lot of school boards are elected and a lot are appointed. You have both. Same here in Maryland. Same thing holds true. When you’re elected, it’s even more imperative you understand what your duties and responsibilities are. Those running for office have an idea of what a time commitment serving on a board can be.
Q. What tips in your book are the most important?
A. One of the things I’ve felt is the most important for any board member is integrity. You’ve got to be honest. Honesty comes back and pays dividends. When you have integrity, people see it. You want to be the kind of person people know and trust and respect. I already talked about understanding the commitment. Show up and be prepared. Whether you’re elected or appointed, you still represent the people from your
LEARN MORE Author of “The Perfect Board,” Calvin K. Clemons is president and CEO of Clemons & Associates Inc., and has more than 30 years experience as an association management executive. Find more info at www.theperfect board.com.
constituency. They are expecting you to do the job and represent them well. How can you do that if you don’t show up?
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MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Q. What other responsibility should our boards take seriously?
A. In line with that would be the ability to accept responsibility and to understand the rules you’re serving under and that you have duties to perform. There are two others I like.
Q. What are they? A. One is the person is independent, and the other thing is they should stand up for what’s right. A lot of people just go along and get on the train. I like people who are decisive and make decisions. When the board would study something like the color of stationery for 18 months, it would drive me nuts. Make a decision. You have to be careful and cognizant of the implications of the decisions you make, but you shouldn’t delay decisions. Delaying decisions is just as harmful as making wrong decisions, maybe worse. You’re keeping people in limbo. They don’t know what’s going on. School boards may have it tougher, I would think, because a lot of people are looking over your shoulders at curriculum and discipline and instruction. But, we want transparency. We want people to come look in and see what’s going on. I think in the past, nationally, some things were done behind closed doors, and now we’re all the beneficiaries of some of the laws and practices going on.
Q. What is your advice to new school board members? A. You may not be aware of all the problems and situations that exist on the board unless you have gone in and done extensive study or served on a committee. The barrage of work that has to be done might catch you off guard. Get Roberts’ Rules of Order and understand the basic rules most organizations follow. Look at the past minutes of the organization and become familiar with those. Become familiar with not only issues and positions but the people. You can learn quite a bit from minutes. If there are many extensive issues, study those as well. The important thing is, you have to learn sooner rather than later. Also, understand that public scrutiny is the same thing as transparency and that it’s important for a board to make a decision and move forward. That gets us back to the point of being independent and standing up for what’s right. If you’re a board member who stood up for what you thought was right and lost, then you still have to stand with the board. If the community disagrees, you have to know they sometimes won’t have all the knowledge the board had. Not everything a board does will everyone agree with, but the board is supposed to act with unity. Once the board does make a decision, you shouldn’t go out and bad-mouth members of the board or go to the press. I’m not discounting dissent at all, but dissent should happen in the meeting, not in the parking lot. ■
JANUARY 2009 12-Feb. 9 AASB District Meetings 30-Feb. 2 NSBA Leadership Conference Washington, DC
FEBRUARY 2009 1-3 NSBA Federal Relations Network Conference Washington, DC
3
Legislature Convenes in Regular Session
MARCH 2009 13
“Early Bird”Workshop Wynfrey Hotel, Hoover
13
Board of Directors’ Meeting Wynfrey Hotel, Hoover
13-14 AASB Academy Core Conference Wynfrey Hotel, Hoover
APRIL 2009 4-7 NSBA Annual Conference and Exposition San Diego, California
MAY 2009 18
Regular Legislative Session Ends
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Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008 27
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People Schools AASB Welcomes Your News Send news of appointments, elections, promotions, retirements, honors, births and deaths to Attn: People & Schools Editor, Alabama School Boards Magazine, P.O. Drawer 230488, Montgomery, AL 36123-0488 or info@AlabamaSchoolBoards.org.
Florence Bellamy Alabama Association of School Boards President-elect Florence Bellamy of Phenix City was chosen by the Southern Region as an alternate member of the National School Boards Association Nominating Committee.
ON THE MOVE ■
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Florence Bellamy
Steve Foster
Mandy Fernandez
Steve Foster
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AASB Vice President Steve Foster of Lowndes County was chosen by the Southern Region as an alternate member to the NSBA National Resolutions Committee.
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Mandy Fernandez Mandy Fernandez joined the AASB staff this year as meeting/marketing coordinator. She is the former marketing/communications coordinator for Smoothie King Franchises and is a magna cum laude graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University. She is responsible for helping to develop and execute plans for AASB’s events and for assisting with targeted marketing efforts.
Shayla A. Crenshaw Shayla A. Crenshaw, a Selma native and juris doctor candidate at Vermont Law School in South Royalton, is completing a legal internship at AASB. The former teacher attended public schools Shayla A. in Selma, earned a master’s degree in education at Alabama Crenshaw State University and has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Tuskegee University. The AASB Caucus of Black School Board Members presented long-time officer Henry Spears with a service award upon the occasion of his retirement from the Montgomery County school board.
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Sonia Ward is a new face on the Walker County school board. Robbie Copenhaver has started his term on the Scottsboro school board. Dothan’s school board has been joined by Franklin Jones. Allison Gray is now a member of the St. Clair County school board. Joey Holley of Elmore County is now a member of his local school board. Sharon Buford is the newest member of the Thomasville school board. Dr. Suzanne Lacey has been named superintendent of Talladega County. Dr. Doyle Miller has been chosen as Gadsden’s superintendent. Welcome Ryan Hollingsworth, the new superintendent of Marion County. Dr. Austin Obasohan has been named superintendent of Selma city schools. Opp’s new superintendent is Michael Smithart.
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Congratulations are in order for Debora Hendricks, who was recently promoted as AASB membership coordinator/administrative assistant. Hendricks joined the association’s staff in 2000 as a membership services and governmental relations administrative assistant. Kudos to AASB’s Lashana Summerlin, who has been promoted to staff assistant with special office-technology duties. Summerlin has served as the association’s receptionist since September 2001. Paulina Woods joined AASB as a clerical assistant. She comes to the association through her school’s business opportunity cooperative program. She is a senior at Jeff Davis High School. AASB Public Relations Director Denise L. Berkhalter has been chosen to co-chair (Continued on page 30)
28 Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008
Continued from page 28
the Learning First Alliance of Alabama along with Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools Executive Director Earl Franks. ■
As a thank-you for completing AASB’s Membership Survey, Cindy Railey of Tallapoosa, Dr. Udo F. Ufomadu of Selma and Maria Bladorn of Saraland won a free registration each to an AASB training event.
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Winners of drawings for customized, facilitated full-board training chosen at fall AASB District Meetings were Monroe County of District 1, Selma of District 2, Ozark of District 3, Tallapoosa County of District 4, Birmingham of District 5, Oxford of District 6, Sumter County of District 7, Morgan County of District 8 and Huntsville of District 9. AASB will conduct a new research-based, full-board workshop for free in the winning districts.
Photo Credit: Charles V. Creel
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People Schools
The state Board of Education presented a resolution in recognition of Demopolis High School in Demopolis as a 2008 No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon of Excellence School. Of the 320 blue ribbon schools named by the U.S. Department of Education for outstanding achievement, five are in Alabama. The others are: Spain Park High School in Hoover; Wrights Mills Elementary in Auburn; Leon Sheffield Magnet Elementary in Decatur; and George Hall Elementary in Mobile. ■
T.S. Morris Elementary School Math Teacher Stephanie Glover of Montgomery County is Alabama’s only 2008 Milken Educator Award recipient. Known in some circles as the “Education Oscar,” the award comes with an unrestricted $25,000 financial reward and an all-expenses-paid trip to next year’s Milken National Education Conference.
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Eleven schools earned the 2008 Alabama Safe Schools Award of Excellence presented by Attorney General Troy King. They were: Forest Avenue Academic Magnet Elementary in Montgomery County; Prattville Junior High School and Prattville High School in Autauga County; Bryan Elementary School in Jefferson County; Greenville High School in Butler County; Opelika Middle School in Opelika; Brookhaven Middle School and Cedar Ridge Middle School in Decatur; Girard Middle School in Dothan; Pleasant Home School in Andalusia; John E. Bryan Elementary School in Jefferson County; and Southside Elementary School in Etowah County. ■
Madison Schools Named National Technology Leadership Network Site The Madison Board of Education placed third in the medium category of the national Digital District Survey. The National School Boards Association partnered with the Center for Digital Education to look at how school boards across the nation use technology to serve better and connect with their communities. Systems from 21 states were reviewed in three size groupings based on enrollment: large or more than 15,000 students; medium or 2,501 to 15,000; and small with 2,500 or fewer students. The ranked school systems were recognized at NSBA’s T+L (Technology Plus Learning) conference in Seattle. The Madison Board of Education has also been named a 2009 NSBA Technology Leadership Network Site. Education and technology leaders from across the nation will visit the school system March 25-27 to observe the use of technology in instruction. To register for the site visit or read more about Madison schools, visit http://www.nsba.org/SecondaryMenu/TLN/SiteVisits.aspx.
No. 1: Sees joy in little things. There is much to be
sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” A leader in a flat world knows that smiles and joy are portable, recognizable in any society and wherever one leads. Shel Silverstein, the poet, says it well in his poem “Put Something In:” Draw a crazy picture, Write a nutty poem, Sing a mumble-gumble song, Whistle through your comb. Do a loony-goony dance ‘Cross the kitchen floor, Put something silly in the world ■ That ain’t been there before.
said about the simple value of enjoying a sunset, rejoicing in the first smile of a child or being excited when a child learns something new. Thich Nhat Han, a Buddhist philosopher, said, “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but
Reprinted with permission from the August 2008 issue of The School Administrator magazine. Jane Sigford is executive director of curriculum and instruction in the Wayzata Public Schools in Wayzata, Minn. E-mail: jane.sigford@wayzata.k12.mn.us. Robert Ostlund is superintendent of Wayzata Public Schools.
10 Attitudes for Effective 21st Century Leaders Continued from page 13
FINDING JOY No. 3: Likes differences. A leader in a flat world likes different types of music, art, books, literature, theater and people. Differences are the source of creativity. No. 2: Enjoys a challenge. A leader in the flat world is energized by a challenge and recognizes that mistakes are growth opportunities. A flat world leader recognizes the truth in Nietzche’s quote, “What does not kill me, makes me stronger.”
30 Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008
Not your Grandpa’s Civics Class
AT THE TABLE
Leo Branch School Board Greene County Board of Education Hometown Forkland A Board Member for 5-plus years Books at Bedside The Death of a Fat Man by Sen. Hank Sanders Inspiration As a board member, I just love to see young people learn. Motto as a Board Member Be prepared for the unexpected. Walter Mitty Fantasy To see everybody saved. Advice to New Board Members Go to these conferences and learn all you can about being a board member. If you don’t have the background and don’t know what a good board member’s objectives should be, you’re not going to succeed. What I initially thought it was to be a board member is entirely different than what it is in actuality. Every decision you make should focus on the students. Greatest Accomplishment as a Board Member When I first became a board member, our school system was under state intervention, and we were over $1 million in the hole. Our system is free of that. To be able to make our own decisions is a good feeling. It was a joint effort. The whole community came together. Pet Peeve as a Board Member When board members behave as if they’re acting on their own and they forget that we are only a board when we’re all together in session. It bothers me when people want to run the board as if it’s their own personal business. There, again, board member training is important. Reason I Like Being an AASB Member It gives me the opportunity to help my students by being the best board member I can be. I can exchange ideas and discuss problems with other board members from all over the state and find out what works and doesn’t work for them and their students. My Epitaph Here lies a believer in God — a good father, good husband and good friend. ■
Continued from page 12
A primary method for accomplishing these all-tooimportant lessons in civic engagement is service learning. Teachers use this technique to help students apply their academic skills and knowledge in a way that addresses real-life problems and needs in their communities. Service learning teaches students civic participation skills and develops in them a service ethic and sense of civic responsibility. This method increases motivation and retention of academic skills because classroom goals are tied to community needs. The added bonus is students provide valuable services to schools and communities. Can you imagine a more compelling reason to learn than applied education that actually makes a difference? Public schools were founded on the premise of preparing young people to become informed, engaged and ethical citizens in our democracy. We strive to graduate students of good character who are intellectually prepared, civically engaged and compassionate members of the community. Schools help produce young people with strong civic character and who value and demonstrate honesty, personal integrity and respect for others. These children grow into citizens who constructively resolve differences, are empathetic and caring and effectively manage their emotions and behavior. They are enlightened. They are responsible. They participate in the political process and democratic institutions that shape public policy. What can school boards do? I encourage each of you to: • Look deeper into the civic engagement component of education and ask questions. • Have dialogue with your fellow board members on how you are promoting civic engagement in your schools. • Indentify ways in which your schools are using service learning as a teaching tool. Civic engagement and service learning complete the circle that starts with education and revolves back to the community. You, too, are a part of that circle. You can help those in your school systems and your communities understand that through civic engagement and service learning: • Education becomes more relevant to students. • The community experiences the significance of what students learn. • The sense of community grows. • The community’s support for schools increases. Every part of the circle grows stronger. Will you do your part? ■ Alabama School Boards • October/November 2008 31
Alabama Association of School Boards Post Office Drawer 230488 Montgomery, Alabama 36123-0488
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