Vol. 15 No. 1 • Fall 2019 • $9.95
principal
Navigator the magazine of the Ohio Association of Elementary School Administrators
back to school & ready to
COLLABORATE
(DON’T TRY THIS ALONE!)
READING SUMMIT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH Join OAESA for an exploration of creating strong reading communities with an emphasis on family engagement. Enjoy breakout sessions geared toward principals, teachers, reading specialists, intervention specialists, and literacy coaches. The day will be topped off with a Scholastic Book Fair and an exciting keynote by Sharon Draper. Get ready for a full day of inspirational, literacy-based learning!
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Executive Director’s Exchange: DON’T TRY THIS ALONE!
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love this theme for our magazine, Collaborate: Don’t Try This Alone! That advice (warning?!) resonates with me as I reflect on my many years as an educator. From my first year as a third grade teacher to my current role as the OAESA Executive Director, I have learned that the synergy of collaboration almost always yields a better end result! On the flip side, I learned the hard way that things often got rough when I decided to go solo. Your colleagues share various ways to leverage the benefits of collaboration. One theme throughout the articles reflected Julie Lather’s quote: “What one person can do alone is multiplied exponentially when a group of people gather together to effectively tackle a question or problem.” The efficacy of the effort is broadened through collaboration. Naim Sanders believes that in the absence of collaboration, one is at a great risk of experiencing burnout and frustration. Sanders shares lessons learned from other professions’ experiences leveraging collaboration for improved outcomes. Dr. Mary Crabtree reflects on the supportive and sustaining role collaboration can play as we deal with the effects that trauma has on all those impacted. Laura Schnebelen writes about a comprehensive collaborative approach to social-emotional learning while Dr. Jim LaRiccia asks, “Whatever Happened to Kindergarten Being the Transition Year?” Several authors suggest that effective collaboration has a purpose, a problem to solve, or a solution to find. Meeting just to meet is, well, just a meeting. But meeting with a purpose can be transformative. Melinda Falconi’s dream of the Altogether Book Club was the direct result of her concern around several areas of literacy within her school. A collaborative solution to her concerns included home, school, community, and parent/child partnerships, and now the Altogether Book Club has been a success for six years!
between in and out of school care for our students. Our teachers and the Y teachers reinforced student learning, shared resources, had joint programs and events for students. I quickly learned that the Y teachers knew our Y students’ parents or caregivers better than many of us at school because they had the chance to daily interact at morning drop-off and evening pick up. We helped each other reinforce academic and behavior plans for students, which hopefully provided consistency for our kids. I am forever grateful for all that she taught me, as it profoundly impacted the rest of my career. Both Matt Bradley and Felecia Evans refer to the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Matt reflects on the value and necessity of having a wonderful, competent, and supportive office team. He analyzes their team’s success and strong culture through the framework of three factors: relationships, alignment, and shared responsibility. Read his article for practical ideas to make your own office team even stronger. Evans shares how their professional learning community is, in essence, their village. Read how they have restructured their building level teams into instructional level teams with a renewed focus on teacher leadership, teacher voice and teacher ownership. She provides concrete examples and guiding questions which may serve you as you work with the teams within your own school or district.
“Throughout my career I have learned that the synergy of collaboration almost always yields a better end result.”
Dr. Kimberly Cockley and Michael Sedlak write about their team’s collaborative approach to the transition between elementary school to middle school. I love how they started their improved transition planning by spending time in “deliberate conversations with students, families and staff.” How often we forget that important first step of listening because we are too busy jumping right into the doing. I really respect how Cockley and Sedlak honor the student voice. You may already have a great transition plan in place, but these two colleagues offer you some new ideas and events to think about. Another daily transition for many of our students is that between school care and afterschool care. How can we be proactive and have supportive systems for our students? Dr. Paul Young shares research and practical ideas for leveraging partnerships for student success between both spaces. My first principal job was in a large, brand new elementary school in the SouthWestern City School District. We had before and after school childcare provided by the YMCA in our building, and their amazing program director, Becky Ciminillo, schooled me in how collaboration should, and could, be
OAESA Board Member Katie Nowak’s article speaks to the collaborative nature of OAESA membership. OAESA’s mission is to intentionally connect, effectively develop, and passionately advocate. Katie shares many ways for you to maximize your membership to connect with colleagues, resources, and information.
One of my goals when I began as your Executive Director in 2008 was to lead OAESA to become even more member-led and driven by member needs. I believe we have done that and continue to strive towards that goal. And, we have done that by collaborating. I have the privilege of working with amazing servant leaders who are our board members, country representatives, district liaisons, and members. The board purposefully collapsed 18 discrete committees into 6 high-functioning service teams focused on serving our members. We have connected with generous corporate partners who fund many projects and events for our members. We have a terrific, competent, and fun staff who make me look good and bring my brainstorms and ideas to life. I meet monthly with Superintendent Paolo DeMaria, his staff, and other education association leaders. You see, I have learned that the synergy of collaboration almost always yields a better end result—and I hope you have learned the same!
Julie Davis, Ed.D. OAESA Executive Director fall 2019
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back to school & ready to
COLLABORATE (DON’T TRY THIS ALONE!)
In this issue
Get on the Bus Event Preview
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Don’t Do This Work Alone
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The Altogether Book Club for Children and Parents
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Learn more about OAESA’s October 29 tour of three award-winning Central Ohio Schools The power of intentionally connecting Katie Nowak
A story of one district’s success by engaging families with a book club Melinda B. Falconi
The Next Level 22
Taking your PLCs to the next level with the power of collective efficacy Felecia Evans
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School + Afterschool 24 Why schools shouldn’t do it alone Paul G. Young, Ph.D.
We Can Do This Together 28
A team approach to transitioning from elementary school to middle school Kimberly Cockley, Ph.D., and Michael Sedlak
It Takes a Village 32
Collaboration amongst the administrative team is crucial in leading Highland Middle School Matt Bradley
School Improvement in the Era of ESSA 34 A collaborative approach Laura M. Schnebelen
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School Collaboration is Calling You! 36
No matter what issue you are facing, collaboration can help you find the solution Mary L. Crabtree, Ph.D.
Five Essentials for Collaboration 38
With the correct essentials, collaboration can move an organization forward Julie L. Lather
Six Elements for Successful Collaboration 40 School collaboration is an opportunity for change Naim Q. Sanders
What Happened to Kingergarten Being a Transition Year? 42
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Kindergarten must be a positive early education experience for students Jim LaRiccia, Ed.D. principal navigator
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In every issue
ABOUT THE PRINCIPAL NAVIGATOR
table of contents
EDITORIAL SERVICE TEAM & READERS Natalie Buchanan, Cambridge City Schools Julie Kenney, South-Western City Schools Nick Neiderhouse, Ed.D., Maumee City Schools Katie Nowak, New Albany Plain Local Schools Cathryn Rice, Xenia Community Schools Dan Sebring, Bay Village City Schools Jeromey Sheets, Ed.D., Lancaster City Schools Erin Storer, Forest Hills Schools Tammy Elchert, Ed.D., Carey Exempted Village Schools Paul Young, Ph.D., retired Stephen Zinser, retired
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Executive Director’s Exchange
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OAESA Board of Directors
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Highlighting an OAESA Hero
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SAIL for Education
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From the Desk of our Associate Executive Director
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The Magic of Why: Stories of Purpose
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Health Matters
COLLABORATE: Don’t try this alone! Dr. Julie Davis Our 2019-2020 Board
Ryan McGraw, 2019-2020 Zone 1 Director
Connecting the schoolhouse and the statehouse Mark Jones
Photos from OAESA’s 2019 annual professional conference
School nurses supporting a collaborative approach to health and learning Angela Norton
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Legal Report
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Legislative Update
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OAESA/SAIL STAFF Julie Davis, Ed.D., Executive Director Mark Jones, Associate Executive Director Nancy Abrams, Business Manager Michelle Burke, Executive Administrative Specialist Melissa Butsko, Graduate Program Specialist Rebecca Hornberger, Ph.D., Department Chair, SAIL for Education KT Hughes Crandall, Communications and Project Manager Mary Mitton-Sanchez, Editor, Principal Navigator, and Multimedia Specialist
Paying it forward: The power of principal mentorship Dr. Rebecca Hornberger
EDITORIAL POLICY Unless otherwise noted, all articles published in the Principal Navigator become the property of OAESA and may not be reprinted without permission from OAESA. The articles published in the Principal Navigator represent the ideas and/or beliefs of the authors and do not necessarily express the views of OAESA.
Binding arbitration, over the R.C. 3319.16 proceedings, in termination cases Dennis Pergram Education policy and the state budget bill Barbara Shaner
Advertising inquiries should be directed to OAESA by phone at 614.547.8087 or by emailing info@oaesa.org.
The Chalkboard News from the Association
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We’re Booked
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Welcome OAESA’s New Members!
The Principal Navigator (ISSN 1088-078X) is published three times per school year by OAESA, 445 Hutchinson Ave., Suite 700, Columbus, Ohio, 43235. Subscriptions are available only as part of membership. Periodical postage paid at Columbus, Ohio, and additional mailing offices.
Members’ reviews of the latest, greatest books for principals and students
OAESA is affiliated with the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP).
INTENTIONALLY C
NNECT
EFFECTIVELY DEVEL PASSIONATELY
P
DVOCATE
Look for these symbols by each article to denote the aspect of our mission that the article reinforces.
POSTMASTER Send address changes to: Principal Navigator 445 Hutchinson Ave., Suite 700 Columbus, Ohio 43235
fall 2019
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OAESA’s 2019-2020
Board of Directors Executive Board
PRESIDENT
PAST PRESIDENT
NAESP REP
FEDERAL RELATIONS
Gretchen Liggens
Erin Simpson
Cathryn Rice
Aretha Paydock
Walton Pre-K–8 School Cleveland Metropolitan Schools gretchen.liggens@clevelandmetroschools.org
Overlook Elementary Wadsworth City Schools esimpson@wadsworthschools.org
ZONE 1 DIRECTOR
ZONE 2 DIRECTOR
Ryan McGraw
Tecumseh Elementary Xenia Community Schools cpettic@gmail.com
Zone Directors ZONE 3 DIRECTOR
Minford Elementary Minford Local Schools rmcgraw@minfordfalcons.net
Danielle Wallace
Winton Woods Primary South Winton Woods City Schools wallace.danielle@wintonwoods.org
Sue Brackenhoff, Ed.D
ZONE 6 DIRECTOR
ZONE 7 DIRECTOR
ZONE 8 DIRECTOR
Kesh Boodheshwar
Abbey Bolton
Susanne Waltman
Huntington Elementary Brunswick City Schools
kboodheshwar@bcsoh.org
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Davey Elementary Kent City Schools abolton@kentschools.net
Office of Curriculum & Instruction Fairborn City Schools sbrackenhoff@fairborn.k12.oh.us
Strausser Elementary Jackson Local Schools sew2jc@jackson.sparcc.org
ZONE 4 DIRECTOR
ZONE 5 DIRECTOR
Jane Myers
Tammy Elchert, Ed.D.
ZONE 9 DIRECTOR
ZONE 10 DIRECTOR
Defiance Elementary Defiance City Schools jmyers@defcity.org
Natalie Buchanan
Garfield Administrative Center Cambridge City Schools
natalie.buchanan@cambridgecityschools.org
Carey Elementary Carey Exempted Village Schools telchert@careyevs.org
Katie Nowak
New Albany Intermediate School New Albany-Plain Local Schools nowak.3@napls.us
OAESA needs county representatives and district liaisons. Is your district represented?
Zone Map
Contact your zone director or email info@oaesa.org to find out more information about this opportunity. Sign up to be a district liaison online: oaesa.org. membership/ district-liaison
Board Representatives CENTRAL OFFICE
ASST. PRINCIPAL
MINORITY
Bob Buck
Joy O’Brien
Felecia Evans
Office of Teaching and Learning Forest Hills Local Schools bobbuck@foresthills.edu
Mercer Elementary Forest Hills Local Schools joyobrien@foresthills.edu
Lander Elementary Mayfield City Schools fevans@mayfieldschools.org
MIDDLE SCHOOL
CLEVELAND DIST.
COLUMBUS DIST.
Audrey Staton
Andrew Smith
Carrie Sanchez
Port Clinton Middle School Port Clinton City Schools csanchez@pccsd-k12.net
Warner Girls’ Leadership Academy Cleveland Metropolitan Schools audrey.staton-thompson@ clevelandmetroschools.org
Valley Forge Elementary Columbus City Schools ansmith@columbus.k12.oh.us
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Working for the Greater Good a conversation with OAESA Zone 1 Director and Board Member
Rya n M c G ra w by Mary Mitton-Sanchez
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AESA’s Zone 1 Director, Ryan McGraw, has a unique role as principal of Minford Elementary in Minford, Ohio. As a graduate of the district, he knows the culture of the small, rural community. He knows the families, he knows what is important to the people he serves, and he knows how to connect to resources for his school and students. Even though it can sometimes feel like everybody knows everyone and everything, he ultimately knows it’s an advantage. McGraw has been in education for 12 years: six as a teacher, two as a high school assistant principal, and four as the elementary principal. “I taught high school math for six years before I went into administration,” McGraw said. “My wife is an elementary teacher, and
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we had many conversations about what it was like to be in an elementary building. Every building and grade level has challenges, but I enjoy being around kids who enjoy being at school. They’re happy to be there. That’s a great feeling, and it helps motivate me.” McGraw takes pride in the fact that his school culture is one of positivity and care, even though some of his students face serious difficulties at home. “Our kids who face challenges generally love being at school, because our teachers embrace the idea that school is a safe place,” McGraw said. “We try to take care of their basic needs before we try to teach them anything. We do all we can to get them clothes, food, or shoes.” McGraw’s school was featured recently in a
New York Times article entitled, “Inside the Elementary School Where Drug Addiction Sets the Curriculum.” The piece detailed all that McGraw and his staff have done to help students survive, cope, and thrive while serving a community that has been devastated by the opioid crisis. McGraw knew that putting their story out there was a risk, but that it was a story that needed to be told to the world at large. “We’ve received an overwhelming amount of positive response from around the country,” McGraw said. “People say that they appreciate what we’re doing, and they offer support. You can see the reach of social media in this type of case, and it’s important for people to know about it. We will see the effects of this crisis for a long time.”
McGraw does everything he can to make sure students know that he is present and available for students, even serving as a foster parent to two boys for nearly a year.
our area, and a regional meeting is a great opportunity to network and get PD. If people are going to leave their buildings, it has to be worth it.”
“Try to stay active and involved in the classrooms, and I try not to be in my office too much,” McGraw said. “We work on PBIS, and I try to be involved in the building through classroom visits. I set goals on visits, and I work to get 10,000 steps every day so I’m out and moving around the building. I want to be involved, whether that’s through reading books or just being present.”
McGraw feels lucky to connect with those across the state, in his region, and even in his own building. For him, collaboration is key to doing the best for Ohio’s students.
McGraw said he hoped his staff would describe him as “passionate, energetic, positive, and caring.” “At Minford, we put kids first,” he said. “They are the basis of all of our decisions.”
“I am blessed in my district to have a curriculum coordinator, a school psychologist, and an assistant principal (shared with the middle school), and I have a lot of teachers who want to work to make a difference,” McGraw said. “I have a really great team, and we are all on the same page of what we want to accomplish. Even if they aren’t formal meetings, we talk about decisions every day, we are always bouncing ideas off each other, and we are all willing to make changes.”
McGraw wanted to be involved in OAESA as a way to stay connected to others, despite working in a small, rural district. He’s beginning his fourth year as Zone 1 Director, which includes Athens, Gallia, Hocking, Jackson, Lawrence, Meigs, Pike, Ross, Scioto, and Vinton Counties.
McGraw thinks the key to collaboration is keeping an open mind. It’s also the greatest challenge.
“It’s an opportunity to talk to people around the state, talk to people locally, and bounce ideas off of each other,” McGraw said. “It designates times to make those connections and ensure that it doesn’t get skipped.”
Ultimately, McGraw feels thankful for his role in his community.
“A lot of Zone 1 members are from our area originally, so there are a lot of familiar faces,” he continued. “A lot of us are looking for things that we can provide in
“We are going to do things a little differently here, and for the most part people have grabbed hold of that,” he said.
“Being an administrator is a great way to impact things on a broader scale,” McGraw said. “Sometimes, people don’t want to leave the classroom because they’re comfortable, it’s rewarding, and they love it. But if you can see that impact across a whole building, to me, that’s even more rewarding.”
“We work to take care of their basic needs before we try to teach them anything. We do all we can to get them clothes, food, or shoes.”
Highlighting an OAESA Hero! THE BASICS FAMILY MEMBERS? My wife of 15 years is a second grade teacher in a school district that is nearby. Together, we have three kids who are in 6th, 4th, 2nd grades. PETS? Star, a Goldendoodle puppy, YEARS IN THE CLASSROOM? YEARS IN ADMINISTRATION? 6 in the classroom, 6 as an administrator EMERGENCY DESK FOOD? I drink A LOT of coffee. There’s always a pot of coffee on PERSONAL MANTRA? They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. FAVORITE DOWNTIME ACTIVITIES? Golf, working out (stress relief), coaching kids’ sports teams WHAT WERE YOU LIKE AS A STUDENT? Goal-oriented. I liked to get whatever was in front of me done and move on to the next thing. FAVORITE OAESA EVENT? Professional Conference
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Paying it Forward: The Power of Principal Mentorship BY DR. REBECCA HORNBERGER
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n this two-part series, we will explore the profound impact principal mentorship has on growing strong and effective future building leaders. In this issue, we will examine mentorship research and hear from voices in the field. In the upcoming winter issue, we will delve into how mentoring can elevate not only the mentee’s practice, but also that of the principal mentor. As educational leaders, principals are often called upon to serve as mentors to aspiring leaders. This mentorship might take place as the culmination of a principal preparation program or as part of a structured program to support principals who have just taken on new roles as building leaders. Regardless, it is critical that principal mentors understand the power they have to influence the career trajectories, and leadership practices of their mentees. Further, by utilizing specific strategies and methods, mentors have the opportunity to not only develop the mentee, but also to nurture their own professional growth. THE IMPORTANCE OF MENTORSHIP The role of the principal has grown significantly, with a shift toward viewing instructional leadership as a key factor for school and student success. However, more traditional responsibilities of the principalship are still expectations as well (discipline, scheduling, budget, etc.). Thus, it is critical that aspiring leaders have support and direction as they learn to function effectively in all of these roles. Scott (n.d.) advocates for mentorship because it “enhances
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performance and increases retention” of new principals in the following ways: • Mentoring helps principals learn how to reflect on how they do their job and understand their leadership style and development needs. • Mentored principals are better able to develop instructional focus, clear missions, and increased collaboration that can lead to improved student performance. Further, the Southern Regional Education Board (2007) emphasized the importance of high-quality principal preparation that includes mentorship. They stated, “Schools constantly need strong leaders adept at strategies that motivate people and elevate achievement for all groups of students. Today’s new principals need to hit the halls running, ready to lead their staff to accelerate the improvement of teaching and learning.” WHAT HIGH-QUALITY MENTORSHIP LOOKS LIKE Research shows that good mentors provide an opportunity for highquality experiences within a school-based setting in which aspiring leaders tackle authentic challenges to student achievement. They should have the opportunity to lead real change in teaching and learning. Further, constant feedback and coaching from mentors as mentees conduct this work is critical to the growth and success of the aspiring leader (Southern Regional Education Board, 2007).
Scott (n.d.) shared that high-quality mentoring programs bring unique contributions to principal preparation and development. Specifically, mentoring programs provide aspiring leaders with strategies that are individualized to address the distinct needs of their school environment. Further, high-quality mentoring programs provide the mentee with valuable mentor expertise that accelerates their development as leaders. In addition, the content shared with aspiring leaders during the mentoring program is individualized to the strengths and growth areas of mentees. The mentoring program is also flexible and responsive to the unique needs of aspiring leaders. Finally, high-quality mentorship is not just beneficial to the mentee – it also benefits the mentor in numerous ways. Parylo, Zepeda, and Bengston (2012) found that mentoring is a reciprocal process that proves beneficial for all who are involved. Mentors often describe their roles as being very rewarding, informative, and gratifying. Mentors find the experience to be a learning opportunity that reduces the feeling of isolation that is often felt by building leaders. Parylo, Zepeda, and Bengston (2012) explained that mentoring “not only benefitted all leaders involved, but also promoted networking and sharing.” VOICES FROM THE FIELD To provide you with a more in-depth perspective on the power of principal mentorship, we asked several experts from the field to weigh in on their experiences mentoring aspiring leaders: WHAT IS THE MOST POWERFUL ASPECT OF PRINCIPAL MENTORSHIP?
program is the time given to reflection. Students must reflect on leadership behaviors and compare and contrast these observations with research and best practices. It is through this reflection that students have time to understand others and more importantly, have time to understand their own personal beliefs and values. Scott Burton (SB): The most powerful aspect of being a mentor is when the mentee is able to take on the perspective of the mentor. So much of the time teachers are not able to put themselves in the shoes of the administrator until they have the opportunity to experience it. With the several whom I have had the privilege of working, it is always the case at some point they say, “I had no idea.” When I hear this I know there is growth taking place which is the most important aspect. WHAT SPECIFIC STRATEGIES ARE KEY TO DEVELOPING ASPIRING LEADERS? HK: It is critical to include the mentees in as many ways as possible. This includes all of the tasks. It is so important to allow them to have as many unique and different experiences as possible. It is also important to ensure they have an opportunity to take the lead on some of the events and experiences as well. They are able to learn and grow with the support of their mentor.
“It is critical that principal mentors understand the power they have to influence the career tra jectories and leadership practices of their mentees.”
Heidi Kegley (HK): I believe the most powerful aspect of the principal mentorship is enabling the mentee the opportunity to experience the various aspects of the principalship before actually assuming the role. The principalship includes so many aspects and the day-to-day activities are what provide real learning opportunities. The mentorship also allows the mentee to experience a real picture of the various learning opportunities to occur daily even for veteran principals. Lucy Ozvat (LO): Prospective school administrators must make the “shift” from viewing the teaching and learning process from the narrow view of the classroom to the broader view of leading a community of individuals. The year-long internship program provides the time needed for prospective school administrators to experience interactions with the many and varied stakeholder groups who make up this educational community. Another powerful aspect of the principal mentorship program is the growth students make in understanding the role of the principal is more than management. Students experience first-hand the many different situations and personalities effective leaders must manage in schools. The third powerful aspect of the principal mentorship
LO: Aspiring leaders need many opportunities to interact with the various stakeholder groups and build those necessary relationships with these individuals.
Aspiring leaders also need many opportunities to lead adults. Most prospective school leaders are coming from the classroom where they have been very successful in working with students. But many of them have never led a team of adults. This experience is crucial. Aspiring leaders must be able to create a vision based on data and create an action plan to implement their vision. In addition, these individuals must have opportunities to create a monitoring and evaluation system to ensure their plan continues to work toward the desired goals. Aspiring leaders need time to interact with their building mentor and reflect on those conversations using the state and national leadership standards as benchmarks. Aspiring leaders must be able to use data regarding student performance and improved teaching and instruction. Aspiring leaders need to be able to evaluate teacher effectiveness. Aspiring leaders need strong management skills and must be able to fall 2019
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understand how technology is used to support the school mission and vision. SB: The specific strategies are easy to list and hard to accomplish. The first is to build trust. I look at trust with three components: character, competence, and connection. Your character is what you do—not what you say—and it can even be something small like showing up on time. Competence is the skill piece of your job. And, connection is what you have to do first - build positive connections. SHARE AN EXAMPLE WHERE YOU SAW MENTORSHIP POSITIVELY IMPACT A MENTEE’S SCHOOL OR PRACTICE. HK: I have had the opportunity to work with many mentees over the years, and there are so many positive impacts! One year, two mentees were able to work together and they planned a family information night to help families understand the importance of logging on and using the parent portal for student attendance and grades. It was so wonderful to see them lead in a way that was different from their classroom teaching. The feedback on the presentation was phenomenal and the mentees were able to see the value in identifying a need and creating a solution to meet that specific need. LO: Throughout the years I have seen how the mentee’s focus on the five-step process has drastically improved the effectiveness of Teacher Based Teams. I have seen how principals have grown in their practice with the mentee emphasis on instructional leadership. Mentees have led pilot projects that were so successful, a schoolwide implementation for the project was planned for the following school year. Statewide initiatives such as Response to Intervention (RTI) and Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (PBIS) have been successfully implemented or improved. Since mentees lead and monitor school improvement initiatives aligned to the goals of the school, students, parents, teachers, and the community have all benefitted in some way. SB: There are a number, but the first one that comes to mind was when we were starting a new after-school program and needed someone to organize and plan all the aspects of the program. This was completed and has been a great service to our students and families.
continued growth for all involved. I am so grateful for the SAIL program and all it does to develop aspiring principals and meeting with the mentee, mentor, and supervisor. LO: Seeing individuals grow from a strong teacher to a strong leader is one of the most thrilling and satisfying experiences I have had throughout my years in education. I continually share with others (especially the educational naysayers) that the future of our schools will be in excellent hands with our future leaders. I have learned that individuals acquire the skills needed to become an effective administrator at their own developmental level. Some individuals are ready to make the “shift” to the broader view of school leadership and some need more time. I have also learned individuals leave the mentorship program ready to lead at some level—whether that might be a Teacher Based Team or a school. SB: I believe reflection is always good but something it seems there is never enough time for. When I have been a mentor and we had our conversations and reviewed work, it allowed me to think about the important aspects of being a leader in the school and not get caught in the weeds. It has also been rewarding to watch the teachers involved in a program grow professionally. That is part of our responsibility: grow our teachers so they can be more effective. Scott Burton is the Interim Head of School at Marburn Academy. He initiated his tenure at Marburn Academy 34 years ago as a Middle School History/ Science teacher, then moved into Admission, Dean of Students, and Associate Head of School. He started his teaching career in Cambridge, Ohio and has also served in Rolling Hills School District and Pleasant City. Heidi Kegley is the Superintendent for Delaware City Schools. Prior to becoming the Superintendent, she served as an Assistant Superintendent, was Principal at Willis Intermediate School for 15 years, was a teacher at Smith Elementary, and started her teaching career in Fairborn City Schools. She is a Past President of OAESA. Lucy Ozvat is currently an Adjunct Professor in Leadership at Concordia University Chicago. She has many years of leadership experiences at the district level, the Ohio Department of Education, and at the Ohio Association of Elementary School Administrators (OAESA). References: Parylo, O., Zepeda, S.J., & Bengston, E. (2012). The different faces of principal mentorship. International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, 1(2), 120-135.
HOW HAS MENTORING ASPIRING LEADERS POSITIVELY IMPACTED YOUR OWN PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE?
Scott, L.M. (n.d.). Enhancing principals’ skills through sustainable mentoring programs [Webinar]. Retrieved from https://www.naesp.org/sites/default/files/ EnhancingPrincipalsSkillsThroughSustainableMentoringPrograms060712. pdf
HK: Each and every time I was able to work with a mentee, I learned so much. As educators, we are always learning and when we have the opportunity to collaborate and work together it allows
Southern Regional Education Board (2007). Good principals aren’t born – They’re mentored. Retrieved from https://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledgecenter/Documents/Good-Principals-Arent-Born-Theyre-Mentored.pdf
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FROM THE DESK OF OAESA’S
Associate Executive Director Connecting the Schoolhouse and the Statehouse Don’t Miss the Chance to Collaborate with Your Legislator
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BY MARK JONES
here are many leadership qualities necessary for you to be successful in your role as a building-level or central office administrator. You’ll need to have enough technical expertise to perform in your capacity as a leader. You must have already mastered the “soft skills” that allow you to effectively manage not only the people under your supervision, but also all the other daily interactions you have with parents, colleagues, and community members in a positive way. You definitely will need to tap into the well of tenacity and perseverance that can carry you through a task when the work becomes inevitably challenging. And you’ll need to possess both the self-confidence to know that you can do the job, as well as the appropriate amounts of humility and selfreflection to recognize when you have fallen short. But if you truly want to succeed at the very highest level, there is one other essential skill you need more than ever—the ability to build collaborative relationships. As any great principal will admit, you simply cannot do this job alone!
this mystery stakeholder? We at OAESA believe it is imperative for every school leader to reach out to your legislative representatives in an effort to build positive and productive relationships between our schoolhouses and our statehouse. In a recent survey of principals from across Ohio this spring, we found that less than 20% had taken the opportunity to invite a state Senator or member of the House into their building this year. Now, just think about this for a moment. These are the people who are responsible for providing nearly half of the revenue that your school uses to operate each day. These are the people who regularly pass laws that govern how our schools operate, including everything from what should be taught, to how we assess our success. These are the people who hear from business and industry about how good of a job we are doing in preparing the workforce of tomorrow. And, for many of these people, their perception of what school is like today is based upon their own personal school experience...from twenty or thirty years ago!
“We at OAESA believe it is imperative for every school leader to reach out to your legislative representatives in an effort to build positive and productive relationships between our schoolhouses and our statehouse.”
So, let’s consider with whom you typically collaborate. For building-level administrators, your first response will probably be your teaching staff, or perhaps the other support staff in your school with whom you coordinate all the daily operations that keep your programs running smoothly. Next you might mention your colleagues in the other schools across your district, or those at the central office level who assist you in various aspects of your role. You might even think about your relationships with corporate or community partners, or with parent groups, that add to what your school can offer students in your care. Those are all natural stakeholders that a school leader would obviously need to collaborate with on a regular basis. However, we urge you to consider making a specific effort to develop a collaborative partnership with yet another key stakeholder this school year, for it is one that can potentially be a game-changer for education. Who is
If you believe that the pressures we face today are very different from those of a few decades ago, and if you recognize the pivotal role our legislators play in both funding and governing our schools, why would we even hesitate to engage with the people who are so critical to our work? Toward that end, OAESA is committed to increasing the level of engagement between our members and Ohio’s legislators. We have developed a toolkit, available on our website, which will assist you in extending an invitation to your legislator to come and be part of your school. Ultimately, we would like to see every single school visited at least once each year by their state Senator or House member. We encourage you to check out our Principals Advocating with Legislators (PAL) toolkit, and begin planning to build a new collaborative partnership with your local legislator today! fall 2019
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EVENT PREVIEW Join fellow administrators October 29 to tour three awardwinning Central Ohio schools in this full day of inspiration, dedication, and celebration of all that’s right with public education! The cost includes tour bus transportation and lunch.
STOP #1:
STOP #2:
Worthington City Schools Principal Patti Schlaegel
Pickerington Local Schools Principal Kara Jackson
GRANBY ELEMENTARY
TOLL GATE MIDDLE
School of the 2019 Ohio NAESP National Distinguished Principal and an OAESA Hall of Fame School
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ranby Elementary School is one of 11 elementary schools within the Worthington School District and is home to nearly 500 kindergarten through sixth grade Gators. As a 2014 OAESA Hall of Fame Award winner, Granby prides itself on “going the extra mile” to educate the whole child, working diligently to meet the academic, physical, and social-emotional needs of their students. Granby “Edugators” consistently go above and beyond to create a culture where students, staff, and families feel connected and valued, students are at the center of everything they do, all are encouraged to be creative and take risks, and school is a fun place to learn.
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A National Blue Ribbon School and OAESA Hall of Fame School Granby is honored to be a stop on the “Get on the Bus” School Tour as the staff, students, and administration are proud to share what makes their school special. They invite you to come see some of the ways they meet students’ social-emotional needs throughout the school day, connect with trusted adults and other students, and provide unique learning spaces and opportunities to maximize student engagement to make learning FUN! They hope you will “Get on the Bus” and join them on October 29 and leave with some inspiration and ideas to implement at your own school.
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oll Gate Middle School is home to approximately 600 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students. Toll Gate is located in the Pickerington Local School District, which is located about 30 minutes east of Columbus. Since 2009, the school has been recognized as a 2014 OAESA Hall of Fame School Award Winner, 2017 National Blue Ribbon School Award Winner, 2017 Ohio School Counselor Association Award Winner, 2018 Ohio Department of Education Overall A Award Winner, and 2016, 2017, and 2018 Ohio Department of Education Momentum Award Winner.
Granby Elementary in Worthington.
Toll Gate Middle in Pickerington.
J.W. Reason Elementary in Hilliard.
STOP #3:
J.W. REASON ELEMENTARY Hilliard City Schools Principal Jacki Prati
A 2019 OAESA Hall of Fame School
Toll Gate is unique because of the amazing students, staff, and school community. First and foremost, the school has a kind and welcoming environment that puts kids first. At Toll Gate, students experience personalized learning through the grid method, blended learning stations, and virtual reality. Additionally, students learn through movement with a sensory walk and a Lu Interactive Playground. Finally, Toll Gate has implemented a school-withina-school model to meet the needs of our most cognitively gifted students. We would love to see you October 29!
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.W. Reason Elementary School is a K-5 building that is home to 500 children. With a focus on academics, interests and mindset, we have created programming to ensure that all of our children are “Ready for Tomorrow.” At our school we “count the skippers” as we look for happy children skipping from place to place, and we believe that love is an intervention. We also have created J.W. YOUniversity, time in which children spend an hour per week exploring potential interests. With a strong focus on culture, we implement R Factor as our staff and students work to win the moment by choosing “above the line” responses to events.
Our student population is diverse, and we strive to meet the needs of our 100 EL students in our co-taught classrooms, we serve our gifted population in gifted cluster classrooms, and use our One2One iPads as tools to redefine learning and help students create digital portfolios. J.W. Reason is an exciting place with staff and students who are proud of the work they do each day! We hope you will “get on the bus” October 29 and join us for a wonderful day of learning, inspiration, and fun!
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editor’s note
It’s back to school, so you’ve got to be ready to
COLLABORATE (DON’T TRY THIS ALONE!)
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ven though sometimes it can feel like you’re alone on Principal Island, it doesn’t have to be that way. You owe it to yourself—and your students—to seek out, forge, cultivate, and maintain collaborative relationships that enrich your life and your school community. In the articles that follow, you’ll see that there are a myriad of options when it comes to collaborative partners in your administrative role. Whether it is with your closest colleagues in the office or around the state, your staff or your school families, your community or your elected representatives, find a way to intentionally connect with others who also want to make a difference in the lives of students. It’s the start of the new year, and now is the perfect time to establish your team, put your heads together, and work to do the best you can for your students.
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Don’t Do This Work Alone The power of intentionally connecting. BY KATIE NOWAK
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’m getting ready to start year 16 in education, and one of the most impactful lessons I’ve learned along my journey is the power of intentionally connecting with others in the field. As educators we never stop learning, and my growth over time has been in part to working with great teams, mentors, ideas from other practitioners, and, above all, building a support and professional learning network. If you are new to the role of principal (and like many elementary administrators), you might feel as if you are on an island, and wonder how do I even connect or get started building a professional network? OAESA is a great starting place to intentionally connect and build a professional learning network. REGIONAL MEETINGS
successful initiatives and wonderful ideas to implement in your own building through collaborating with others, you also gain contacts you can reach out to when you need a colleague to serve as a sounding board. TWITTER If you aren’t currently on Twitter, you really are missing out on an amazing opportunity for professional learning and intentionally connecting with other educators from across the country. OAESA hosts monthly Twitter Chats on the first Tuesday of the month at 8pm using the hashtag #ohprinchat. The chats revolve around a variety of topics like PBIS, supporting gifted learners, managing behaviors, and preventing summer slide to name a few from this past year. Some of the best ideas I’ve implemented in my own building, I have taken off of Twitter from following educators, principals, and superintendents from across the state and country. One of the best additions to my building this past year was a Wall of Fame for Students through a positive office referral. Students nominated by any staff member for their success can sign our wall, ring a bell, take a selfie with the principal, and then make a positive phone call home to their parent. Where did I get this wonderful idea? By connecting with another principal at a conference and following them on Twitter. This is just one of many ideas I have found by connecting with other administrators on Twitter. If you’re wondering who to follow, two of the keynote speakers from the 2019 OAESA professional conference in June are a great place to start: Principal Todd Nesloney (@TechNinjaTodd) and Superintendent Dr. Joe Sanfelippo (@Joe_Sanfelippo). Speaking of which, the OAESA Professional Conference and other professional opportunities such as OILA are also great places to intentionally connect and collaborate.
“Intentionally connecting and collaborating with practitioners allows us to be better together for kids.”
Have you attended a zone meeting for your region? Every fall and spring, OAESA’s Zone Directors host no-cost events for you to connect with other administrators in your area. You can connect with colleagues in your area for food, networking, and discussions about the issues you face on the job. It’s a great way to recharge and learn about the successes and initiatives at other schools. It’s also a great way to de-stress, connect, and have some fun. For more information check out the OAESA website, oaesa.org/events for upcoming dates and locations. SERVICE TEAMS Giving back to your profession, while intentionally connecting with other principals from across the state, is another wonderful opportunity through OAESA Service Teams. There are six service teams: Advocacy, Communication, Membership, Professional Learning, Professional Conference, and Recognition. At face-toface and virtual meetings, you connect with other practitioners to do the important work of our organization. Not only do you learn of
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PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCE Every summer OAESA holds its annual Professional Conference. This past year’s theme, “The Magic of Why: Stories of Purpose” did not disappoint from the inspiring keynotes, awesome clinics, ample networking, and plenty of fun-filled evening events (After an action-packed day of learning, who doesn’t love a game of giant Jenga?). This event is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on your practice, rejuvenate your purpose, and, most importantly, intentionally connect with other educators from across the state. Through collaboration, conversation, and connecting around some fun, you realize you are not in this alone, and you begin to build that professional network. Next year’s theme, “CELEBRATE: You’re Unstoppable!” is June 15-17, 2020 and promises to be just as amazing, featuring a keynote from principal and author Hamish Brewer, whose new book Relentless just came out. He’s another great educator to connect with on Twitter under his handle, @Brewerhm. OHIO INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP ACADEMY OAESA offers a variety of institutes, conferences, and other professional development opportunities throughout the year, but one that has had a lasting impact on me personally is the Ohio Instructional Leadership Academy (OILA). This opportunity consists of a cohort of school teams from across the state comprised of an administrator and a teacher leader. They focus on developing a culture of shared leadership as part of
a school’s continuous improvement efforts under the guidance and facilitation of Dr. Anthony Muhammad, an amazing teacher, writer, and speaker. The coursework focuses on improvement processes and building culture at the school level. Not only have I attended with our math instructional coach, but one of my assistant principals has also attended with our literacy coach. I found this cohort to improve communication, build trust, and increase shared decision making within my school building leadership team, and I highly recommend taking advantage of this professional development opportunity if possible. BETTER TOGETHER Intentionally connecting and collaborating with practitioners allows us to be better together for kids. The challenges we face as administrators can be daunting at times, but you don’t have to do this important work alone. Connecting with others brings support, growth, and gratitude for the challenging yet rewarding work that we do. I believe Helen Keller said it best, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Katie Nowak has served as an administrator at the elementary and middle school level. She is the principal at New Albany Intermediate School and serves as the OAESA Zone 10 Director. She has presented at conferences at the state and national level, and is an Ohio NAESP National Distinguished Principal. Nowak can be contacted via email at nowak.3@napls.us and via Twitter at @KatherineRNowak.
Creating Successful Readers in Ohio Build foundational reading skills for students of all abilities in grades pre-K–5 in Ohio.
www.lexialearning.com/ohio
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Personalized, data-driven learning
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Explicit, systematic instruction
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Research-proven methodology
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The Altogether Book Club for Children and Parents Family collaboration isn’t as easy as the ABCs, but one district found success by engaging families with books. BY MELINDA B. FALCONI, M.ED. The Altogether Book Club (ABC) in Olmsted Falls was designed to foster the home/school/community and parent/child partnerships that are vital for children’s success in school. ABC grew out of a collaboration between the Olmsted Falls Branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library and the Olmsted Falls Early Childhood Center (ECC), the preschool and kindergarten building of the Olmsted Falls City School District. Not content to limit our activities to then Children’s Librarian Michelle Todd’s involvement in the ECC’s Family Literacy Night and Right To Read Week activities and our students’ field trips to the library, I pitched an idea to Michelle that I’d been contemplating for a long time: a parent/child book club.
In the six years since its inception, the logistics and format of the ABC have settled into a comfortable and successful place. The 20182019 session was full with 12 adult/child dyads. All 8 meetings, which are held monthly from October through May from 7:00 - 8:00 PM on Thursdays at the library, were well-attended in spite of the winter’s inclement weather.
The dream of a book club in which parents (or grandparents) and their young children are equal participants was inspired by several issues that concerned me in my role as the administrator of a school in which learning to listen, speak, read, and write is a major focus: • A lack of challenging programming in our preschool/ kindergarten building to meet the needs of early readers • The discomfort of some parents, even those who are avid readers themselves, with knowing how to share books, especially nonfiction books (to which many young children are particularly drawn) with their children • The misguided thinking of some parents that children who are able to read no longer need to be read to and have outgrown beautifully written and thematically rich picture books • Finally, the community debate surrounding the Common Core State Standards that was becoming increasingly contentious at that time illuminated the need for parent education about the district’s English/ Language Arts curriculum.
Planning for ABC begins in August, when Sue and I meet to choose the books for the year. Keeping in mind the kindergarten ELA standards we hope to teach throughout the session, we choose a variety of books, including one: • in which the illustrations are integral to understanding the story (The Wednesday Surprise by Eve Bunting) • that is useful for a study of character development (Mother Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins) • that is rich in unfamiliar vocabulary that could be used to practice techniques for determining the meaning of unknown words (Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas by Lynne Cox) • that is historical and lends itself to the use of a timeline (Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine) • that involves some scientific phenomenon or the scientific method (Ice Boy by David Ezra Stein or Charlotte the Scientist is Squished by Camille Andros) • nonfiction book that includes a variety of text features (Meerkats, National Geographic Kids Super Readers: Level 1)
A couple of years into the project, Sue Grame, the current children’s librarian, replaced Michelle Todd at the Olmsted Falls Branch. With her, Sue brought a wealth of experience planning family programming.
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The ABC is “advertised” in the Library’s Calendar of Events, available online and in hard copy format, and it is open to preschoolers and kindergartners who do not attend the ECC. In addition, personal invitations are sent to ECC teacher-recommended early readers as well as families who have expressed an interest in fostering reading at home and are searching for activities in which they can participate with their children. Session One serves to introduce the Club members and state our objectives—Sue’s and mine, as well as each participant’s. The format of the book discussion itself sets the stage for the subsequent six meetings: • Identifying the book’s title, author, and illustrator. • Noticing other “points of interest” that are contained in the parts of the book some people don’t bother to read, for example, the dedication, appendix, or author bio. (I confess to the ABC members that I am a “book geek” who reads every single word of our books, including what kind of paper they were printed on.) • Discussing the actual book itself, highlighting a particular ELA standard or topic for which the book was chosen. For example, the “lesson” for the first meeting involves the use of visualization while reading and ties to the importance of illustrations to the process of connecting to and understanding a story. For the past couple of years, we’ve opened the year’s session by reading A Moon of My Own by Jennifer Rustgi, illustrated by Ashley White. • Sharing our thoughts and opinions about the book and the experience of reading it. Sue and I teach the participants how to “Think, Pair, Share.” ABC members are encouraged to verbalize their opinions and return to the text to share their “evidence,” understanding that much of what we think we learned from a piece of fiction was read “between the lines” and in the illustrations (It is important that parents understand that “just looking at the pictures” is an early step in literacy learning). We explain that oftentimes in discussions about good literature, there is no “right” answer, more than one “right” answer or, sometimes, no answer at all. • Participating as adult/child partnerships to complete a craft or some kind of task. For A Moon of My Own, each dyad is given Oreo cookies and asked to separate each and alter the icing to create the phases of the moon as pictured in the book’s appendix.
the book that we will read together for our next meeting. She works closely with the Circulation Department to gather enough copies of each selection and to allow ABC members to borrow books for four weeks instead of the usual three. The final session of the school year culminates in a special project that is inspired by the final selection the ABC reads together. For example, in the May meeting of the 2017-2018 ABC, each participant designed and painted an 8x8 inch tile to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the ECC. The tiles were installed on the wall at the ECC that is directly across from the library, appropriately enough. The project was inspired by Theresa Howell’s Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood.
“The dream of a book club in which families and their young children are equal participants was inspired by several issues that concerned me in my role as the administrator of a school.”
At the close of each session, Sue invites the ABC members to peruse the books that she’s gathered on the same topic as the evening’s selection (for example, astronomy and space travel) and introduces
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During this year’s last session, we read and discussed Prickly Hedgehogs by Jane McGuinness. Afterward, we met a live hedgehog and asked questions of her owner, and each dyad wrote and illustrated a fictional story about a hedgehog that they presented to the other ABC members and Lindsay Ward, the children’s author/ illustrator of It’s Show and Tell, Dexter! Sue and I invited Lindsay to visit during our final ABC meeting to describe the process of creating a book from start to finish. This was in response to a personal objective of one of our ABC members who wanted to learn “how we get books.”
The ABC has received a great deal of positive feedback from Sue’s colleagues and superiors in the Cuyahoga County Public Library. It was featured in Mary Schreiber’s Partnering with Parents: Boosting Literacy for All Ages. However, the most important accolades are those we receive, both formally and informally, from ABC members themselves over the course of the year and on a survey that is administered at the last meeting. One success story was self-reported by Tommy, one of the kindergartners at the ECC, whose mother signed them up because Tommy adamantly told her that he didn’t want to learn how to read. When asked after our last session together how he felt about reading now that ABC was over, he admitted that he liked reading “a little bit.” Mission accomplished. Melinda B. Falconi, M.Ed., principal of the Olmsted Falls Early Childhood Center for eight years, has been a special educator for 40 years. Twenty-five of those years have been spent in early childhood education, where she has sought out opportunities for community collaboration and parent education. One of Falconi’s greatest joys is celebrating children’s development with their caregivers and teachers. Her current crusade is mobilizing the village to help promote children’s mental health at home, at school, and in the community. The author can be reached via email at Melindabee3456@gmail.com.
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A Year in the Altogether Book Club 1. Sue and the kids launch their rockets after discussing Camille Andros’ Charlotte the Scientist is Squished. 2. The Altogether Book Club, a collaborative community of readers and writers. 3. Book club dyads collaborate to create the phases of the moon from Oreos after our discussion of A Moon of My Own by Jennifer Rustgi. 4. Kindergartner and his mom reading their hedgehog adventure to book club. 5. Club members create a mural together after discussing Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell. 6. Sue demonstrates the construction of a meerkat following our discussion about a fiction and a nonfiction book about meerkats. 7. Club members paint like Kandinsky after discussing Barb Rosenstock’s The Noisy Paintbox.
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THE NEXT LEVEL
Taking your PLCs to the next level with the Power of Collective Efficacy BY FELECIA EVANS
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here is an African proverb that states, “It takes a village to raise a child.” As educators, we are fortunate to be a part of the village that raises and educates young children every day. We provide them with a foundation of love, guidance, direction, skills, knowledge, and so much more. Often times we spend more waking hours during the week with our students than our own children at home. In high functioning schools, our village is our professional learning community (PLC). The notion that PLCs can support school reform efforts, increase student performance, and aid in teacher retention is widely recognized; in fact you would be hard pressed to find an educator who has not heard the term. A few years ago in the Mayfield City Schools, rather than start a new initiative, we recommitted to making PLCs a priority. Most recently we restructured our building leadership teams (BLT) into instructional leadership teams (ILT). Our ILT at Lander Elementary School includes a teacher leader representative from each of our six grade levels, as well as a representative from our specials team. Our ILT guides the work of our professional learning communities and provides much needed teacher leadership, teacher voice, and teacher ownership into our school. We also carved out time each Monday by creatively scheduling a silent reading time in every classroom and combined this with contractual staff meeting time. Two Mondays a month our teachers have an hour of collaborative time, and two Mondays a month they have a two hour block of collaborative time in addition to their weekly contractual planning time. The model of sit and get staff meetings has been transformed into time for teachers to collaborate, reflect, and plan instruction. In the Mayfield City Schools, we ask our teams to focus
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their PLC conversations on the following essential questions: 1. What do we want students to know, to be able to do, and to deeply understand? 2. How will we know students are learning? What evidence of student learning will we review? 3. What will we do differently when students are not learning? Do not understand? Cannot transfer? 4. What do we do for students that have mastered content? To extend learning? Develop talents? These guiding questions and this dedicated time allow us to advance our district mission and priorities. Many schools have successfully implemented similar PLC structures. So once you have dedicated the time for professional learning communities, you have set up a teacher leadership model to support the work of your teams, and you have provided them with a road map of how to best use this time, how do you take people to the next level? As a school leader, you must intentionally cultivate a shared positive belief that they can make a difference. This is the intersection at which John Hattie’s research collides with Robert Marzano and Richard DuFour’s research on PLCs. Hattie has conducted several large-scale, meta-analysis studies on the factors that impact student achievement; his most recent research from 2018 includes 252 factors. Of these factors he found that collective teacher efficacy (CTE) has a positive effect size of 1.57, which is the largest impact of all of the factors that he studied. In fact, collective teacher efficacy is three times more impactful than prior student achievement, classroom management, and socioeconomic status. According to Hattie, he defines CTE on his Visible Learning website as, “the collective belief of the staff of the school/faculty in their
ability to positively affect students. CTE has been found to be strongly, positively correlated with student achievement. A school staff that believes it can collectively accomplish great things is vital for the health of a school and if they believe they can make a positive difference then they very likely will.” The notion that we have to believe in our own shared ability to make a difference seems simple, but as school leaders we must be very intentional in ensuring that this is the type of culture that is built. At Lander, we go about ensuring collective efficacy in several ways. First, we set up a system of support that challenges all students to learn and grow, often called a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS). Teachers know that if they have a student who may be struggling, there is a team of their colleagues who are available to help them design and deliver interventions to support both their academic growth and social-emotional well-being. This type of collegiality builds a sense of team spirit that can diminish feelings of isolation and frustration, which lead to teacher burnout and negative associations. Second, as leaders we have to be careful in the language that is used in our school and redirect negative statements into positive ones. For example, the use of the word “yet” is quite powerful. We have to reinforce the fact that our students might not be able to do something yet, but through our collaborative efforts they will be able to eventually. This is also very much supported by the idea of a growth mindset. We have to be observant of the power of our words and help support our teacher leaders in redirecting negative language. Lastly, we have to be specific in using data to show the positive impact of our teams’ efforts. While I will surely line up as the first principal to tell you that our students are more than a test score, our current system of accountability unfairly disenfranchises our
most vulnerable populations, and our current system unfairly labels schools as failing—which is much more of a direct correlation to the wealth of the children who walk through the doors, rather than their ability to perform well on a standardized test. Nevertheless, I will also advocate that we have the responsibility to analyze our internal data points to show that our teams’ efforts are making a positive impact on our students. For example, we use a program called Lexia in our school which allows us to drill down to small measurable data points on our students who use the program frequently. Another example is sight words. Our Kindergarten students may have started at 10% mastery of sight words, but as a team we selected sight words as a focus area. Now, 85% of our students are successful with sight words, and we attribute this success directly back to the efforts of our staff. These intentional, positive connections between this type of measureable student achievement data and the efforts of our PLCs is how you build CTE. The examples of successful teams and, quite frankly, unsuccessful teams, exists in everything from sports to politics. In our schools, we must begin by creating PLCs focused on improving outcomes for all students, and as school leaders we must cultivate environments that allow those teams to believe in the positive power of their collective efforts. I challenge you to find those moments, tell the stories where success is happening, celebrate those together with your teams, and watch your PLCs grow to the next level. Felecia Evans is currently serving in her sixth year as the principal of Lander Elementary School in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. Evans is also the OAESA Board of Directors Minority Rep. The author can be reached via email at fevans@mayfieldschools.org and via Twitter at @eduleadinglady.
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School + Afterschool:
Schools Shouldn’t Do It Alone BY PAUL G. YOUNG, PH.D.
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ant to put a good idea into action this year?
Your school community can offer the equivalent of 70+ days of expanded learning time for your students by providing an afterschool program.1 Already have one? Make it better with improved collaboration. Don’t have one yet, but interested? You don’t need to feel that adding an afterschool program will become another responsibility to your already full plate. The most effective afterschool programs are collaborative partnerships that improve schools by sharing responsibility for success. THE ORIGIN OF 21ST CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS (21ST CCLC) Historically, afterschool programming has been provided by community organizations such as the YMCA, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, 4-H, and various forms of communitybased for-and-nonprofit organizations. However, in the mid1990s, new research demonstrated the benefits of afterschool programs. With increased numbers of parents working outside of the home, the issue of afterschool care was brought to the attention of federal policymakers. The initial funding for what became known as the 21st Century Community Learning Centers was folded into The Improving America’s Schools Act, the 1994 reauthorization of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary
Education Act (ESEA), later called the No Child Left Behind Act and now known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).2 Today, federal 21st CCLC multi-year grants are awarded to schools and community-based organizations via state regulatory agencies. DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE COLLABORATION MODELS As a result of expanded resources, many new school-based afterschool programs have been developed in the past 10-15 years. In those targeted places where 21st CCLC funding was made available, some flourished, others did not. According to surveys, the most significant reason for failure was lack of administrative (principal) support. In many cases, principals found themselves appointed to schools without awareness of the grant requirements or simply did not buy-in. Feedback also showed that principals were overwhelmed with regular day-today responsibilities and could not devote their time and energy to organizing, managing, and supervising the afterschool program. Principals should never have to shoulder full responsibility for administering afterschool programs. However, to best meet the needs of kids, afterschool programs do need some amount of a principals’ time, attention, and support. Each setting is unique. The most effective models
The number is estimated using a 6-hour instructional day (minus lunch/recess, etc.), 2.5 hours expanded learning after school, approx. 180 days/year. https://afterschoolalliance.org/afterschoolsnack/A-Brief-History-of-21st-Century-Community-Learning-Centers_06-25-2012.cfm. The first federal allocation in 1994 was $750,000. Today, 21st CCLC funding exceeds 1.2 billion. 1 2
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share responsibility for success by allocating adequate space, determining responsibilities, aligning the curriculum, and establishing effective communications between school and afterschool. COLLABORATION BETWEEN NAESP AND NAA In recognition of the expansion of afterschool programs within schools, the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) published Leading After-School Learning Communities: What Principals Should Know and Be Able to Do in 2006.3 A copy of the book was mailed to each of the 30,000+ members, but it later became a must-read among those responsible for administering afterschool programs—the site leaders—who desperately sought insights about how to engage principals in discussion and gain their support. In 2009, NAESP and the National Afterschool Association (NAA) scheduled a joint national convention in New Orleans to engage principals and afterschool professionals in that important conversation and to showcase effective school and school-community program models. WHAT HAS BEEN LEARNED
• shared vision, • consistency with student discipline expectations and consequences, • program variety – principals did not want afterschool programming to be more of what students experienced during the school day, • confidence and empowerment to handle day-to-day issues, • flexibility, and • administrator mindset.4 IMPLICATIONS FOR PRINCIPALS
“The most effective afterschool programs are collaborative partnerships that improve schools by sharing responsibility for success.”
Following that 2009 convention, feedback from surveys from subsequent trainings in most states indicated what afterschool program leaders wanted most from principals. The most prevalent responses included: • an understanding of what quality looks like in afterschool programs, • help establishing and clarifying the program vision, • communication of program needs to school-day staff, • a strong connection between school and afterschool, • open-mindedness, • visibility in the afterschool program, • designation of program space and elimination of turf issues, • regular meetings with program leaders, • shared authority, and • help with recruiting and hiring staff.
Likewise, when asked what principals wanted most from afterschool program leaders, the results were:
If you are new to afterschool, you don’t have to recreate the wheel to develop a high-quality program. There are numerous training venues and consultants within the state that can support your effort. Programs succeed when principals show evidence of support, maintain visibility, communicate regularly with program staff, insist on quality, and work to align student learning between school and afterschool. TOOLS FOR BOOSTING COLLABORATION
Many tools that support school and afterschool collaboration emerged from the NAESP/NAA trainings. Most beneficial were a Responsibility Checklist5 and a weekly 20-Minute Meeting Agenda Template to be shared by program leaders and principals. Both can be obtained from the Ohio AfterSchool Network (or contact me directly). My book, Principal Matters: 101 Tips for Creating Collaborative Relationships Between After-School Programs and School Leaders (2009), was designed to help new afterschool program leaders understand the tenets of leadership, initiate important conversations, and recognize why a principal may or may not be able to address every issue to their satisfaction. Additionally, model templates of Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), quality standards, core competencies for staff, and curriculum models were shared to affirm decisions, address concerns, and guide practices for sharing people, places, programs, problems, and progress. THE WEST AFTER SCHOOL CENTER (LANCASTER) My venture into the afterschool realm of education came during my final principalship at West School in Lancaster (1996-2005). The school was one of the district’s most challenged. The staff
https://www.naesp.org/sites/default/files/docs/leading-after-school-learning-communities-executive-summary.pdf Source: NAESP/NAA trainings with state affiliate organizations 5 Adapted from Leading After-School Communities: What Principals Should Know and Be Able to Do, National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), 2006, pp. 44-45, and Beyond the Bell: A Principal’s Guide to Effective Afterschool Programs, Learning Point Associates, 2005, pp. 26-27. 3 4
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and I recognized that there wasn’t enough time during the school day for many kids to learn everything they needed to know and be able to do. That awareness led to the welcoming of community volunteers to tutor and provide homework assistance for dozens of our most needy students in the neighboring Sixth Avenue United Methodist Church from 3:30-5:00 p.m. after school. The initial program was totally managed and staffed by volunteers. Despite tremendous enthusiasm, it became obvious that it would be very difficult to rely upon the volunteers to sustain the program. Grant funding helped provide paid staff, but my experience with substantial grants such as the 21st CCLC was that programs became unsustainable once the grant ended. Our best and most lasting decision was to form a 501 (C)(3) nonprofit organization which enabled community leaders to interact and support the West School initiative while being separate and different from what sometimes were constraints of the public school.
and more. His books for principals and afterschool professionals can be found on Amazon.com. He has led training workshops throughout the country for school and afterschool leaders and is a frequent presenter at the OAESA Professional Conference. He can be contacted via email at paulyoungohio@gmail.com or Twitter @paulyoungohio.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both school-based and community-based afterschool programs. As Jamie Volmer, author of Schools Cannot Do It Alone, writes, “We cannot touch the system without touching the culture of the surrounding town; everything that goes on in a school is tied to local attitudes, values, traditions, and beliefs.” As the leader of your school, you must work in harmony with others to establish what works best for you and your afterschool professionals in your unique setting.
Hansen, M. (2009). Collaboration: How Leaders Avoid the Traps, Create Unity, and Reap Big Results. Boston: Harvard Business Press.
How do I know that school-afterschool programming works? Within a few short years of our sustained collaborative planning and work, prior to my tenure as NAESP president, West School students and staff from grades 1, 4, and 6, with support of community volunteers from the West After School Center, earned the highest district reading scores!
Web Resources Afterschool Alliance (afterschoolalliance.org): The Alliance works to ensure that all youth have access to affordable, quality afterschool programs by engaging public will to increase public and private investment in afterschool program initiatives at the national, state, and local levels.
Were there obstacles? Certainly. But with a clear vision, strong commitment, determination, and sustained support from community leaders, the West After School Center is poised to celebrate its 20th year of existence and has expanded services to all district elementary and middle schools. Our fledgling volunteer initiative flourished because of a strong, shared vision, intentional connections with afterschool experts, commitment from countless school and community leaders with heads working together, and a principal who was wise enough, fortunately, to say yes much more often than no. Dr. Paul G. Young, a past-president of OAESA, also served as President of both the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and the National AfterSchool Association (NAA). He most recently retired as an adjunct professor of music and education classes at Ohio University-Lancaster. He has written extensively on topics of school leadership, school and afterschool alignment, teacher preparation,
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Recommended Reading Bodilly, S. & Beckett, M. (2005). Making Out-of-School-Time Matter: Evidence for an Action Agenda. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation (for the Wallace Foundation). National Association of Elementary School Principals. (2006). Leading After-School Learning Communities: What Principals Should Know and Be Able to Do. Alexandria, VA: NAESP. National Institute on Out-of-School Time (2011). Connecting School and Afterschool: 15 Ways to Improve Partnerships. (www.niost.org)
Vollmer, J. (2010). Schools Cannot Do It Alone. Fairfield, IA: Enlightenment Press. Young, P. (2009). Principal Matters: 101 Tips for Creating Collaborative Relationships Between After-School Programs and School Leaders. Lewisville, NC: Gryphon House/ExtendED Notes.
The 50 State Afterschool Network (statewideafterschoolnetworks.net): The 50 State Afterschool Network fosters partnerships and policies to develop, support, and sustain high-quality opportunities for children and youth. Ohio AfterSchool Network (ohioafterschoolnetwork.org): The Ohio Afterschool Network (OAN) is an organization of stakeholders working together throughout the state to help children and youth succeed. National AfterSchool Association (naaweb.org): NAA is the membership association for professionals who work with children and youth in diverse school and community-based settings to provide a wide variety of extended learning opportunities and care during out-of-school hours. National Association of Elementary School Principals (afterschool.naesp.org): NAESP has collected and vetted a variety of resources to help principals and other school leaders expand quality afterschool and summer learning programs.
Crowdfunding best practices for K-12 public schools Public schools have long used donations to enrich students’ academic experience and fund materials that budgets cannot always afford. Crowdfunding is becoming a viable funding source, filling resource gaps and providing strategic acceleration for academic programs. However, because the practice may be misunderstood, it may result in unexpected liabilities without the proper partners and safeguards in place. Horace Mann is a national sponsor of DonorsChoose.org, an organization that connects teachers in need of classroom resources with donors who want to help. Schools served by Horace Mann representatives have received more than $486 million in classroom funding through DonorsChoose.org. Horace Mann can help you learn how to implement crowdfunding best practices like these in your schools. • Crowdfunding guidance and which sites to trust • Financial accountability • Controls over materials and supplies • Safety and privacy
Horace Mann can host no-cost workshops to help your teachers understand how DonorsChoose.org works, how to set up a project and how to help make it a success. To learn more, contact your local Horace Mann representative. Matt Kliewer 6142023597 matt.kliewer@horacemann.com AM-C04382 (Jan. 19)
horacemann.com
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We Can Do This Together A team approach to transitioning from elementary school to middle school
W
BY KIMBERLY COCKLEY, PH.D., AND MICHAEL J. SEDLAK hat if I forget my locker combination? What’s it like having so many teachers? Will I see my friends? What if I get lost? How do I find my bus?
When students transition from elementary to middle school, they have many questions about what it will be like and how to navigate their day. Through research, conversations, and experience, we know that the more we can prepare students with knowledge and experiences to help address their questions, the more comfortable they’ll feel. WHERE WE STARTED Students in our school district are used to transitioning from building to building. With four separate elementary buildings configured by grade level (K-1, 2, 3, and 4-5), changing schools for our students is nothing new. However, the change from elementary school to middle school is still significantly different for both our students and their parents. Like most schools, we prepared our students for the middle school transition in various ways: • Teaming structure in grades 4-5, for students to experience “teams” for the first time (K-3 students are in self-contained classrooms, while 4-5 students are on a team of 2 teachers.) • Presentations by the elementary school counselor in each 5th grade homeroom, to share with students about the middle school and answer their questions • Meetings between middle school counselor and elementary teachers to learn about students’ needs including academic and social support • Meetings between middle school special education teachers and elementary special education teachers to learn about students’ needs and strengths • Tours of the middle school, led by the middle school counselor, for each elementary homeroom • Parent Orientation Night, led by the middle school, to welcome incoming families, introduce middle school concepts, and address common questions.
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THE WHY While the practices we had in place were beneficial, we knew we needed to do even more for our students. To focus our transition planning, we spent time in deliberate conversations with students, familes, and staff. ELEMENTARY STUDENTS At the elementary school, we met with small groups of 5th graders to understand their questions, worries, and anticipations. TOP FIVE WORRIES 1. What if I forget my locker combination? 2. What if we get lost or are late to a class? 3. How do we keep track of homework from so many teachers? 4. At lunch, where do we sit? Is the food good? Do we have recess? 5. Do we get to choose any of our specials classes? MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS At the middle school, we met with Student Council and our Advisory Groups to learn their advice and words of wisdom for incoming 6th grade students. Additionally, we asked them what they wish they had known when they first entered the middle school. TOP FIVE WORDS OF WISDOM 1. The teachers are really nice, and they will teach you how to use the resources here. 2. There is more independence—which is scary, but better. 3. You will learn how to navigate your schedule and find your way around the building in a day or two. 4. You won’t have as much homework as you’d think, but keep a to-do list that is organized. 5. You will still get to see your old friends. It’s also important to get to know new people. TEACHERS We met with teachers at both buildings to understand their questions and uncertainties about the structure and students’ experiences in the opposite building.
TOP FIVE WONDERINGS 1. What does the schedule look like for our students? 2. How do students keep organized with so many teachers (e.g., supplies, lockers, homework)? 3. How do specials and electives work? 4. How do students navigate through the halls? 5. Is homework aligned between buildings? Is there too much? Too little? PARENTS We met 5th grade parents to learn their questions and worries about the middle school and how we could support them. TOP FIVE WORRIES 1. How do I support my child with grades for the first time, when they have only ever had Standards Based Grading? 2. Do kids feel “lost” when there are so many students in such a big building? 3. Should I monitor my child’s homework and classwork completion or let them figure it out on their own? 4. Are 8th graders in the halls with 6th graders? Are they nice? 5. Are 6th grade teachers understanding if students are late to class in the beginning of the year? To further research the transition experience of middle school students, we read numerous articles. Two of our favorite articles were “Transitioning Young Adolescents from Elementary to Middle School” (Gilewski and Nunn, AMLE, 2016) and “Movin’ Up to the Middle” (Wormeli, Educational Leadership, 2011). From our research, we began to gather ideas that would help address the questions we’d been hearing from students, parents, and staff.
in student-led tours of the school, participate in a student-facilitated question/answer panel, and learn from the 6th grade counselor and principal about topics of interest, based on the students’ input. LIFE AT HMS VIDEOS A team of staff and students designed a two-part video, titled “Life at HMS,” that was directed and recorded by middle school students. These engaging videos center on the questions posed by elementary students and the advice shared by middle school students. Part 1 is shown in elementary classroom presentations by the school counselor, while part 2 is shown at the middle school during the showcase event. STAFF SHADOW DAYS One fundamental focus was understanding the experiences of our students at both buildings, to help our staff make connections vertically. Shadow Days were organized for 5th and 6th grade teacher representatives to learn about a day in the life of students from the alternate building, and to share what they learned with their colleagues. The teachers shadowed a student for the full day, focusing on what the students experienced throughout their day. These teachers then met with the guidance and administration teams from both buildings to discuss their experiences, from a student-centered lens, in an effort to continuously improve the transition process.
“Through research, conversations, and experience, we know that the more we can prepare students with knowledge and experiences to help address their questions, the more comfortable they’ll feel.”
WHERE WE ARE NOW With this depth of information, we developed enhancements to our transition plan to help address questions and to improve the overall experience for our students and their families. These enhancements are still in place today, as part of our overall goal of meeting students’ needs and helping them feel comfortable in our middle school.
MIDDLE SCHOOL SHOWCASE In the spring, the middle school welcomes all 5th grade students and teachers to the Middle School Showcase. This visit to the middle school helps our rising 6th graders learn about their electives options, through performances and presentations by electives teachers and students. While at the middle school, the 5th graders also take part
PARENT ORIENTATION NIGHT At the Parent Orientation Night, the content of the presentation is tailored to specifically address the questions parents shared with us. We also now include a section called “Words of Wisdom” based on the results of a survey given to current 6th grade students. The survey is designed to understand students’ transition to the middle school, how they’ve grown during their 6th grade year, and what advice they would like to share with incoming 6th grade parents. This “Words of Wisdom” section is one of the highlights at the Parent Orientation Night! ALL ABOUT HMS Throughout our conversations with students, parents, and teachers, we consistently received questions about terms and titles used at the middle school (e.g., “What is Advisory?” or “What does FOCUS stand for?”). In place of our typical school profile section on our middle school website, we chose to create an “All About HMS” document. In it, we describe aspects of the middle school that are central to our school structure and philosophy yet may be new ideas and terms for others. A link to the “All About HMS” document is also included fall 2019
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in our middle school newsletter that is sent to all middle school families in August, welcoming them to the new school year. OPEN BUILDING In August, before the first day of school, our middle school holds open building hours for several days. This flexible time allows students to visit the school, with parents or friends, to walk through their daily schedule, to locate and set up their locker, and to begin to feel at home in the building. Middle school student volunteers, wearing brightly colored Event Staff shirts, are available in the hallways to help guide students who have questions or need directions and to actively demonstrate our culture of care and support. 6TH GRADE ORIENTATION For the first two days of 6th grade, our students are welcomed to the middle school through a two-day orientation. Our 6th grade teaching teams facilitate a combination of relationship-building activities and middle school introductory activities, including many how-to’s (e.g., joining Google Classrooms, navigating the lunchroom, using and caring for a 1:1 device, checking out books in the media center, visiting the Guidance Office, tracking assignments through Google Calendar.) These initial days provide our new students with an immediate sense of comfort and camaraderie. As educators, we regularly reflect on our students’ experiences and
how best to support them, and we will continue enhancing the transition process based on the needs of our students, parents, and staff. Our hope is that we’ve attended to students’ questions and worries, so that they can begin middle school with a sense of excitement and hope. So, if you’re visiting our elementary school and observe 5th graders intently practicing combinations on a bank of lockers with practice locks, or if you see students walking into the middle school with their friends before school even starts, you’ll know this is all part of a larger, intentional plan to help each student feel supported and at ease when they enter the middle school. Dr. Kimberly Cockley is the principal of Hudson Middle School in Hudson, Ohio. She earned a Ph.D. in K-12 Leadership from Kent State University, focusing her research on middle level leadership. Her goal is always to help teachers and staff meet the needs of all students. She loves what she does and is sincerely grateful to work with students every day. You can contact the author via email at cockleyk@hudson.edu and Twitter at @DrKimCockley. Michael J. Sedlak is the principal of East Woods Elementary School in Hudson, Ohio. Building relationships has been a focus of his career starting as a middle school Reading and Language Arts teacher. After 3 years as assistant principal of Chardon High School, and 2 years as assistant principal of Hudson Middle School, Sedlak was named principal at East Woods. His focus on the importance of building strong relationships will continue to be a priority each and every day. You can contact the author via email at sedlakm@ hudson.edu and Twitter at @MJSedlak.
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Ohio: Melissa Martinsen • MMartinsen@cainc.com • (440) 715-5866 | Southern Ohio: Morgan Bennett King • MBennett@cainc.com • (614) 296-2356 principal navigator 28Northern
Learn more about i-Ready at i-Ready.com/Empower
INTENTIONALLY CONNECT
2019 FALL
REGIONAL MEETINGS Meet other administrators in your area for food, networking, and discussions about the issues you face on the job. It’s a great way to recharge and learn about the successes and ini�a�ves at other schools, and best of all, it’s completely free! You are welcome at any zone mee�ng, regardless of where you live or work, and nonmembers are welcome, so bring a friend.
MARK YOUR
CALENDAR! ZONE ONE
Oct. 16, 9:00 am�Noon OSU Endeavor Center 1862 Shyville Rd. Piketon, OH 45661
ZONE TH THREE
Sept. 10, 4:30� 4:30�6:30 pm Bravo! Cucina Italiana 2731 Faireld Com Commons Blvd. Beavercreek, OH 45431
ZONE FOUR/FIVE Oct. 3, 4:30�6:30 pm SamB’s 163 S. Main St. Bowling Green, OH 43402
ZONE SIX/EIGHT Oct. 23, 4:30�6:30 pm Samantha’s Restaurant 4954 Portage St. NW North Canton, OH 44720
ZONE SIX
Oct. 16, 4:30�6:30 pm Market Garden Brewery 1947 West 25th St. Cleveland, OH 44113
ZONE NINE
Oct. 23, 4:30�6:30 pm Theo’s Restaurant 632 Wheeling Ave. Cambridge, OH 43725
ZONE TWO
Sept. 26, 5:00�7:00 pm Old Spaghe� Factory 6320 S. Gilmore Rd. Faireld, OH 45014
ZONE SEVEN
Oct. 10, 5:00�7:00 pm Buffalo Wild Wings 176 E. Main St. Kent, OH 44240
ZONE TEN Sept. 19, 4:30�6:30 pm Roosters 1500 Stonecreek Dr. Pickerington, OH 43147 -ANDOct. 2, 4:30�6:30 pm Eddie George Grille 775 Yard St., #100 Columbus, OH 43212
Region meetings are FREE thanks to the generosity of OAESA’s corporate partners Regional AXA, AX Curriculum Associates, Horace Mann, Lexia Learning, and Renaissance. fall 2019
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feature story
It Takes a Village
Collaboration amongst the administrative team is crucial in leading Highland Middle School BY MATT BRADLEY
I
t takes a village. Certainly this applies to raising a child, but I also believe it rings true in regards to leading a school building. The job of building leader or administrator is complex and heavy; it simply cannot be a one-person job. Thankfully, at Highland Middle School, I have a wonderful office team that help create the learning environment where all students are known and can be successful. At HMS, our office staff consists of a secretary, school counselor, dean of students, and principal. We are extremely fortunate that our curriculum director is housed in the middle school office as well. Few, if any, decisions are made without the input of our team. As the saying goes, “The smartest person in the room is the room.” I rely heavily on their experiences and opinions to make important decisions. There are countless ways and reasons that our office staff culture is so strong, but three stand out: Relationships, Alignment, and Shared Responsibility. RELATIONSHIPS “It is clear you care about each other a great deal.” - Interview candidate Positive, trusting relationships do not just happen. They are created through work, time, and compassion. When I moved into the role of principal at HMS in 2015, I was new to the building. I relied heavily on our secretary and dean of students to learn about the school. I
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asked questions. I listened. I learned. When a new counselor joined our team in 2017, he relied on our team in the same way. Our team meets daily to discuss all things happening in the school. The layout of the office allows the counselor, dean of students, and myself to move between offices. On many occasions, the doors to all of our offices are open to the others. When this happens, ideas are bounced back and forth, conversations with students are a collaborative effort, and communication is a constant stream. Over time we established a relationship amongst our team of genuine care and concern for each other, our staff, and our students. Emotions and feelings are contagious, and I believe that our positive outlook toward each other and our students “rubs off ” on those that enter the office. In his moving and powerful speech, former basketball coach Jim Valvano said “There are three things everyone should do every day. Number one is laugh. Number two is think—spend some time in thought. Number three, you should have your emotions move you to tears. If you laugh, think, and cry, that’s a heck of a day.” Collectively, this describes nearly every day in our office! ALIGNMENT “You know more about students than other administrators I’ve worked with!” - New school counselor
TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK (above): The administrative team at Highland Middle School works together to make things run seamlessly for students. Pictured left to right: Matt Bradley, principal; Lynn Thompson, Dean of Students; Amber Clay-Mowry, curriculum director; Shawn Morgan, School Counselor. Photo courtesy of Matt Bradley.
In his book Above the Line, former Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer states that “in order to achieve elite performance, alignment is essential. When a team is aligned, everyone understands and is fully committed to the team’s purpose, culture, and strategy.” At HMS, four core beliefs guide everything we do, and every action or decision is made with these beliefs in mind. Our office staff believes in and is fully committed to carrying out these beliefs. We will certainly discuss what these beliefs look like; but because we know our core beliefs, we confidently move toward the common goals. There are times when we disagree and have difficult conversations. However, because of our solid relationship foundation, we are able to have them. These conversations always take place behind closed doors, and “in public” we are a united front. As a result, the entire office team is confident that our decision making is consistent because of our shared common goals. SHARED RESPONSIBILITY “I think very highly of your school. Your students are lucky to have such caring office staff!” -Parent
When I began my administration journey, I was an assistant principal. Family and friends would make comments like, “Oh, you get to be the bad guy, and you’ll only see the kids that are in trouble,” or “Do you only deal with discipline and attendance?” Fortunately, my building principal was a believer in shared responsibilities, and I was able to be a part of all aspects of building leadership. This belief is how we operate at HMS as well. The decisions made in our building are nearly always collaborative, whether about instructional practices, disciplinary action, counseling, or managerial items. Because we value each other so highly, we would be crazy not to utilize the input and expertise of one another! We hope to model what a true team can look like. Woody Hayes famously said, “You win with people.” Because of the people in our office, we are winning at Highland Middle School! Matt Bradley is the principal at Highland Middle School in Morrow County. Prior to his principal position, Matt was the assistant principal at Highland Elementary School for two years and taught middle level language arts with Wapakoneta City Schools and Mount Vernon City Schools, respectively, for nine years. You can contact the author via email at matt_b@hlsd.us and via Twitter at @MrBradleyHMS.
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feature story
School Improvement in the Era of ESSA: A collaborative approach BY LAURA M. SCHNEBELEN
T
HE ACCOUNTABILITY MOVEMENT AND SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
When the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was reauthorized in 2001 to be known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), significant changes were made to the ways districts could access federal education funds. Schools receiving federal funds were required to assess students in grades three through eight once per year in reading and math. If achievement did not continue to increase, punitive consequences, such as loss of federal funding and school reorganization were possible. As a result, school improvement strategies focused teacher development and student success based solely on academic measures. Also prior to NCLB, state and federal agencies recognized the impact of non-academic barriers on child development. This was in response to the 1983 report, “A Nation At Risk.” As a response to the report’s findings, school-wide social-emotional supports were funded and researched. Support grew for adequate funding of school support professionals and community-based programs to reduce the impact of living in poverty. Since child social-emotional well-being was not included in NCLB, funding of these programs and support for continued research dwindled at the federal and state level. As a result, between 2001 and 2015, very little research supported student social-emotional growth and well-being. The early years of the 21st century also saw a massive increase in the prevalence of school violence. Hundreds of school shootings have occurred since NCLB was signed, not including acts of bullying and student aggression. Suicide continues to be pervasive in adolescents, and NCLB provided no federal dollars to support a clearly urgent need. ESSA AND SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT In December 2015, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was reauthorized, now recognized as Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The 2015 version provides federal funds to support social-emotional learning (SEL), train school staff in SEL practices, and support states in developing curriculum to build resilience and problem-solving. In Ohio, the funding change has impacted our state strategic education plan by prioritizing academic success and SEL development equally. A COMPREHENSIVE IMPROVEMENT
APPROACH
TO
SCHOOL
Prior to the age of accountability, comprehensive models for school improvement were researched and developed across the state. Joseph Zins, a researcher at the University of Cincinnati, was particularly
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noteworthy for alternate model research within the state. In their article, “Moving Prevention from the Fringes into the Fabric of School Improvement,” Adelman and Taylor proposed a systemic approach to school improvement that tiers student academic supports and student enabling supports. In education, we refer to this as socialemotional learning. The authors also note the importance of communitybased supports. As of 2000 and still today, those supports are often disconnected with the institution of education. In their article, “Enhancing School-Based Prevention and Youth Development Through Coordinated Social, Emotional, and Academic Learning,” Greenberg et al. make the case for coordinated and integrated social-emotional and academic learning. The Ohio Department of Education has adopted a strategic plan that equalizes the four components of a well-rounded education. These four components are reflective of Greenberg’s model. In the graphic on the next page, supports and expertise noted in the SEAL model are aligned to the tiered response to intervention (RTI) framework. Tier 1 addresses school-wide practices, tier 2 addresses needs to a specifically-identified group, and tier 3 represents individualized practices. Adelman and Taylor represent these tiers of support as systems of prevention (1), systems of early intervention (2), and systems of care (3). SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT IN THE ERA OF ESSA With federal and state funds now available to support student enabling practices, we have the opportunity, as school leaders, to promote those practices as an integral component of the school improvement process. A collaborative approach to SEL within the school would provide school counselors and social workers opportunities to build collaborative practices with classroom teachers. Likewise, collaboration would help school staff to appropriately identify those students who need additional skills in problem-solving and managing the non-academic barriers that impact their academic success. Confidentiality defines the role of mental health professionals currently funded by mental health boards, private insurance, and prevention grants. A collaborative approach to school improvement could establish an agreement to guarantee open communication between the school and the mental health professional. As Ohio refines and adopts SEL standards, this process could serve as an impetus to move beyond the current school improvement model and work to improve schools through a collaborative approach, which
SEAL: social, emotional and academic learning "Comprehensive school reform models that improve social, health, and academic outcomes; educational policies that demand accountability for fostering children’s full development; professional development that prepares and supports educators to implement programs effectively; and systematic monitoring and evaluation to guide school improvement." (Greenberg et al., 2003 p. 466) Student Academic Supports
delivery method funding
delivery method funding
Student Enabling Supports (Adelman and Taylor, 2000)
Health Teacher/ School FK & WRC- content standards, LRCounselor tier 1 instruction (SEL content standards standards in development 2019)
State Assessment
Community-Based Supports
SEL-tier 1 content/programs Systems of Prevention/ Tier 1
district general, state general
district general, state general, Title
FK & WRC- tier 2 group interventions, LR- tier 2 group interventions
Social worker/ school counselortier 2 group interventions
district general, state general, Title, SiG
district general, state general, Title
district and state general, county BHAs, preventative care grants/private funding
FK & WRC- tier 3 interventions, LR- tier 3 interventions
Social worker, behaviorist-tier 3 interventions
SEL-school SW counseling, schoolbased SEL counseling
IDEA
district general, state general, Title, IDEA
AIR/ ACT/ EOC exams
None
delivery method funding
School-Based Systems (Adelman and Taylor, 2000)
district general, state general, Title, SiG
Systems of Early Intervention/ Tier 2
Systems of Care/ Tier 3
SEL- school-based SEL groups, community agency SEL groups
district and state general, Title, county BHAs, private insurance
Ohio Department of Education Strategic Plan Foundational Knowledge & Skills-Literacy, numeracy and technology (FK) Well-Rounded Content- Social studies, sciences, languages, arts, health, physical education, etc. (WRC) Leadership & Reasoning- Problem-solving, design thinking, creativity, information analytics (LR) Social-Emotional Learning- Self-awareness & management, social awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision-making (SEL)
resource/ expertise gap allocation gap funding concerns
includes delivery of SEL curriculum, focused skill-building supports, and meaningful collaboration with healthcare providers. This approach would serve students, teachers, and school-based support staff to reflect Ohio’s strategic plan and, more importantly, provide students instruction and support in physical and emotional management and problem-solving. This collaborative school improvement model would acknowledge growth and achievement beyond the purely academic measures that currently exist. Laura Schnebelen has served as principal of Burroughs Elementary, Columbus City Schools, for seven years. A school-wide focus on instructional practice has built staff capacity through professional development and professional dialogue focused on continual growth. As advocates for school-based, direct service support by healthcare professions, the staff at Burroughs continues to collaborate within the school and with service providers to meet student academic and non-academic needs. You can contact the author via email at lschnebe@columbus.k12.oh.us. References Adelman, H. S., & Taylor, L. (2000). Moving prevention from the fringes into the fabric. Journal of Educational & Psychological Consultation, 11(1), 7-36. Epstein, J. L. (2005). A case study of the partnership schools comprehensive school reform (csr) model, The Elementary School Journal, 106(2), 151-170. Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, P.L. 114-95 U.S.C. § 1177 (2015).
Greenberg, M. T., Weissberg, R. P., O’Brien, M. U., Zins, J. E., Fredericks, L., Resnik, H., & Elias, M. J. (2003). Enhancing School-Based Prevention and Youth Development Through Coordinated Social, Emotional, and Academic Learning. American Psychologist, 58(6–7), 466–474. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003066X.58.6-7.466 Jimerson S.R., Burns M.K., Van Der Heyden A.M. (2007) Response to Intervention at School: The Science and Practice of Assessment and Intervention. In: Jimerson S.R., Burns M.K., VanDerHeyden A.M. (eds) Handbook of Response to Intervention. Springer, Boston, M No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, P.L. 107-110, 20 U.S.C. § 6319 (2002). OSEP Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (2017). Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports [Website]. Retrieved from www.pbis.org. United States. National Commission on Excellence in Education. (1983). A nation at risk: the imperative for educational reform : a report to the Nation and the Secretary of Education, United States Department of Education. Washington, D.C.: The Commission : [Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O. distributor], United States, Ohio Department of Education. (2019). Each Child Our Future (pp. 1-36). Columbus, OH: Ohio Department of Education. Retrieved March 17, 2019, from https://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/About/Ohios-StrategicPlan-for-Education/Final-Strategic-Plan-Board-Approved.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US fall 2019
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Collaboration is Calling YOU! BY MARY L. CRABTREE, PH.D.
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rauma…the word brings up so much emotion! As a teacher, I think about how it affects my students, the things from which they have suffered, and the baggage it has left behind. I recognize what it has done to the psyche, and how that then leads to classroom behavior, school performance, and relationship issues both in and out of school. And sometimes, I’ll be honest, I even feel a bit traumatized by the trauma of my students! Their lives are hard, their stories are devastating, and their recovery incomplete. It not only makes me sad, but I also feel a sense of suffering for them. The question is, how do I help myself so I can help them? Where do I find the resources I need to be “well,” while at the same time using resources that are available to help my students on their journey to wellness, and balance all of that with the idea that I’m supposed to be teaching content to these same students? The answer, maybe not surprisingly, is through collaboration. I do not think this is just something a teacher can do; I think it is applicable to administrators, too. One of the most important collaborators in my life is the co-teacher who works with me in our classroom. This person has provided many opportunities for me to watch how interactions with traumatized students can begin as contentious and end in a productive outcome for the student, without compromising on the basic principles of the teacher or disrupting classes. By modeling the idea that the student’s needs come first and reminding me that teacher “wants” are secondary, the co-teacher regularly shows how to deescalate a situation, creating a safe space for all students, a peaceful transition from a difficult situation, and a productive outcome in terms of learning. I can’t say enough about the idea of co-teaching as a model for collaboration, because it is through that collaboration that I have learned how to better support the students who have experienced trauma, how to understand and meet their needs, and how to teach content, all while still providing an emotionally supportive environment. Principals may not have co-teachers, but they have a variety of support staff around them. Some of them even have assistant principals. Support staff know the people and students who the principal must work with, and they often can offer insights to the
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principal to better assist with making and maintaining relationships. In a supportive, collaborative relationship, the principal can gain and use this information to provide the best support for staff, and more importantly, understand issues that might prevent them from doing their best work. Additionally, these support staff often have insights into student issues, are members of the community and have community knowledge that is useful, and are informed about a variety of issues that can highlight solutions that might not be considered if collaboration is not sought. Principals do not have to operate on their own. If they build collaborative relationships with the people who support them, they have a whole team to help support the work they do. Another important collaboration is my work with our guidance counselor. This person has a much more intimate view of our students and additional insight into their lives because of the kind of work she does with them. While I do have relationships with students, they tend to share more details with her, and this can be invaluable when they are experiencing difficult times that manifest themselves as behaviors in my classroom. During these times, my first call is always to our counselor, to determine if there are traumarelated issues that I need to understand, to gain better insight into the student’s life, to determine the best way to manage the behavior, and to make inroads toward positive behavior changes. The counselor, knowing that I want this information also keeps me informed when student issues arise, thus helping me to head off potential classroom problems even before they arise. I am sure every principal knows just how much of a collaboration asset a guidance counselor can be. From scheduling to discipline, from support to a parent and student advocate, the guidance counselor can be the principal’s best asset in managing student behavior, aiding staff in discipline decisions, and connecting and communicating with parents. Looking at the guidance counselor as a collaborator can provide a much-needed ally with even the most difficult student decisions that arise.
“No matter what the position, teacher or principal, no matter what the problem, issue, or student that you are facing, collaboration can aid in finding just the right solution.”
The final collaboration that can’t be overlooked is that of colleagues. As a teacher, I rely on other teachers to be a sounding board for my wacky new ideas. I love to brainstorm with them, think of the most inventive things, and then sound out how they might go to determine if they will really work. There are many things I think sound amazing, but after discussing them with colleagues, I modify them, to make them more classroom-friendly. These discussions are always beneficial and create a collaboration that not only benefits me, but they allow my colleagues to take away ideas that might work in their classrooms as well. Colleagues are also great collaborators when it comes to solving problems with students. Let’s face it, not every student acts the same in every class. If I have a student that is not responding well in my class, but I see them working well in another colleague’s class, I want to know what they do. I want to know how they manage that behavior, so I can try to move that student forward in my class. Talking with colleagues and learning their techniques can help me see how I can apply those things in my classroom to improve student learning opportunities.
have a team of support staff, and perhaps an assistant principal, no one in the building is in the same position as they are. It is important for these principals to build a collaborative team of principals upon whom they can lean on when they have questions, need a little guidance, or just need to talk through a situation. These colleagues can come from within the district where the principal works or from joining a group like OAESA, where principals are easily within reach to share ideas, collaborate, and find solutions to problems. No matter what the position, teacher or principal, no matter what the problem, issue, or student that you are facing, collaboration can aid in finding just the right solution. Some people might say that if you have to collaborate with others, you are not as competent in your job as you should be; however, it is my experience that only the most competent are confident enough to reach out to collaborators and learn. Dr. Mary Crabtree teaches 7th grade English/Language Arts and is an avid reader. She also provides adjunct teaching services for Concordia University and serves on several dissertation committees.
As the only one who is in charge, principals often feel isolated and alone in a building trying to make things work. And even though they fall 2019
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Five Essentials for Collaboration BY JULIE L. LATHER
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hat one person can do alone is multiplied exponentially when a group of people gather together to effectively tackle a question or problem. With the correct essentials, collaboration can move an organization forward. FIVE ESSENTIALS OF COLLABORATION INCLUDE ESTABLISHING: 1. Norms and values of how the group will operate 2. A framework/agenda/outline to maintain focus 3. An opportunity for group members to share ideas 4. A method of turning ideas into actionable steps 5. A summary tool that includes outcomes for each action step STEP 1: NORMS AND VALUES Norms and values allow a team to agree on what will guide daily work. Guidance statements such as, “we will start on time,” and “everyone will have a voice,” give group members clear expectations for operating. Begin establishing norms by having each individual write on a sticky note or index card what they want and do not want to happen in team meetings. Examples are: “I want our time to be productive,” or “I do not want to talk about things that are not focused on students.” Next, group the statements into categories such as statements related to time and statements related to the work. Narrow the categories down to three to five groups. Then, write a one-sentence statement that captures the collective sentiment of the team. In the end, you should have a minimum of three sentences and a maximum of five sentences that reveal the how you will operate. These norms should be at the top of every agenda at every meeting. Values state what a team believes. Look for answers to the following questions: What are we about every day? What does our team want to strive for? What is most important to our students? What is most important to us? Use the answers to these questions to create a Team Mission Statement. For example, “Our team agrees to put students first, set high expectations for all, and respect diversity.
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STEP 2: FRAMEWORK FOR FOCUS After norms and values are established, then teams need to discuss a framework for focus that will outline the meeting roles and parts. Choosing a format will be necessary. What format do we want for our meetings? One format example could be a literature circle model. Each person takes on different roles such as Note Taker, Discussion Director, Time Keeper, Data Technician, and Accountant. Another format example is the traditional model of a Team Leader facilitating an agenda that is shared prior to the meeting and followed during the meeting. At the end of the meeting, the agenda is completed by setting the future meeting date, articulating the steps that will be taken between meetings, and specifying what that needs to be accomplished for next time. STEP 3: SHARING IDEAS Everyone’s voice must be heard for all members to be engaged in the work. It is helpful for team members to have one or two minutes to reflect individually, then three or four minutes to reflect in a small group, and finally five to six minutes for small groups to share out with the larger group. When ensuring that everyone speaks, use an item such as a tennis ball, stuffed animal, or marker for the speaker to hold. If a team member is holding the item, then he or she has the floor. If a team member is not holding the item, then he or she does not have the floor. The conversation must be related to the topic. It is easy to wander from the focus. An effective leader is able to guide discussion using questions and gentle guidance. The Team Leader or Discussion Director will need to be assertive but kind. If there is a Time Keeper, then he or she must hold team members to time limits for sharing.
One stumbling block to sharing ideas is for team members to personalize their ideas. Then, he or she is offended when his or her idea is not chosen or revised from its original form. It is imperative that ideas are put on the table and belong to all. When all of the ideas belong to everyone, no one feels slighted. STEP 4: ACTIONABLE STEPS When establishing short-term and long-term goals, everyone should know the goals, objectives, and benchmarks. These should be visited at every team meeting.
Here are some scenarios that divide the work as so: • One to two individuals work on the mini lesson and one to two individuals work on the small guided groups. • One to two individuals work on creating or gathering the materials needed and one to two individuals arrange the technology to be implemented. • One to two individuals work on differentiation for high, middle and low learners and one to two individuals create pre and post assessments. STEP 5: SUMMARY
Goals should be based on all available data and aligned to a strategic plan. They should have a clear purpose, be measurable, and be in our control. Goals should focus on improving teaching and learning for the benefit of students.
Each time the team meets, progress on the goal should be recorded based on the measures that were established. Reflection can be the most important piece in moving the team forward toward meeting goals.
Ask the following questions: • What are we using to measure our goals? • What is our action plan? • What professional resources are we going to use to help us achieve our goals? • What is our timeline? • How will we support each other?
Additionally, team members need to consider what factors caused the goal to be met, partially met, or not met. Sometimes it is difficult to identify just one factor that is responsible. Analyzing the conditions that helped create success allows a team to repeat what works. Albert Einstein said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Do not let yourself and your team fall into this trap!
As previously mentioned, all available data should be considered. Examples of data could include, but are not limited to classroom data, report cards, progress reports, student surveys, parent surveys, students’ past standardized test data, and a teacher’s past standardized test data. Demographic data is also important but should not be used as an excuse for students not learning. All children can learn.
The team also needs to make decisions about what to do if students falter or what to do if they succeed. Both decisions are crucial. When students falter, then the team needs to consider if different instruction, another instructor, or a new assessment is needed. The last consideration should be the students themselves. If students display lack of effort or motivation, then it needs to be noted, because we need to discover why effort and motivation are lacking based on the instruction. When students are interested in what we are teaching, then they are motivated to participate. The secret to good teaching is making students feel like they are learning without knowing it.
The action plan should include steps that we are going to take to meet the goals. These steps should include “doing” verbs that allow a deep dive into the data. It may include a list of question prompts that aim at discovering observations and conclusions beyond the surface. Next, we need to consider the professional resources we are going to use to help us achieve our goals. Examples of resources are colleagues in the building, other teams in the building, other teams across the district, central office personnel, and colleagues outside the district. Other examples include professional texts, current research, and professional organizations such as the Ohio Association for Elementary School Administrators (OAESA), Association of Curriculum and Development (ASCD), International Reading Association (IRA), National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), and National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). Setting smaller deadlines keeps the team on track for achieving identified goals. Intervals of time between checkpoints should be set, and teams should be held accountable for meeting these. A grand plan will fall short if deadlines are not met. Finally, we need to find and implement ways to support one another. For example, dividing the work of planning based on team members’ strengths and team members’ weaknesses is essential for success.
Finally, if teams succeed and students achieve at high levels, CELEBRATE! Take time to intentionally recognize and value the efforts of the team. This short-term win can create an ever bigger long-term win. If you are looking to create effective teams that successfully collaborate, then begin with the 5 essentials identified in this article. Next, step back and watch your staff members shine for students. Julie Lather is the Principal at Oak Creek Elementary School in Olentangy Local Schools. She welcomes over 600 Kindergarten through fifth grade students each school year. Julie has served as the OAESA representative on the Educator Standards Board for the last 2 years and was recently nominated to another 2-year term. Julie has been a teacher, curriculum supervisor, assistant principal and principal for the past 31 years. She currently serves as the Vice President of the Olentangy Lion’s Club and belongs to the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development. Julie strongly believes she has the best job in the world as an elementary principal. She works with amazing students, staff and parents that teach her new things every day. You can contact the author via email at julie_lather@olsd.us. fall 2019
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Six Elements for Successful Collaboration BY NAIM Q. SANDERS
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ne of the many wonderful opportunities I have as a principal, is being able to collaborate with the teachers and staff members in my building. Collaboration has assisted me in creating a healthy school environment, meeting the needs of students and serving families. Collaboration is the ultimate key to success in schools for increasing student achievement, creating a culture of excellence, improving instructional practices, and removing barriers that impede on closing the achievement gap. When collaboration is not occurring in schools, teachers, leaders, and staff members are forced to work in isolation and are left to their own devices when serving students. In the absence of collaboration, educators can experience burnout at a more rapid pace and become easily frustrated with everyday challenges. Collaboration is not a new concept in the professional setting. Medical doctors collaborate about patients and what’s in their best interest. It is not unfamiliar for law enforcement agencies to work together in solving criminal cases or searching for those who have committed crimes. Lawyers often work together to win cases, and construction workers come together to build homes and communities. It is also not uncommon to see successful professional sports team who are not the most talented as individuals, but work together to win championships. Educators should not be any different in their efforts to collaborate to achieve a common purpose and do what is best for students. When a team of educators are working together for the betterment of students, they will always achieve more than individuals who work alone. In my professional experiences, I have found six elements to be essential for successful collaboration: 1. GET THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN THE GROUP It’s important to get the right people involved in your efforts to collaborate. This entails working with individuals who have an interest in working together to solve a problem, develop an idea, or maximize an opportunity that benefits students. Whatever the
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purpose, getting the right people in the room to work toward a common goal makes all of the difference and will save a lot of energy. It is imperative that you know your team and understand their strengths, weaknesses, interests, and willingness to collaborate. We all have something that we can contribute to a team in order to build successful schools and increase student learning, but not every person may be rightfully invested in all areas. 2. HAVE A COMMON PURPOSE You need to have a common purpose for the collaboration. Share the purpose of the collaboration with the group prior to the meeting. If not, you will squander valuable time, and what should be a productive conversation may turn into a bickering session, gossiping, or unfocused conversation. Be sure to keep the intended goal front and center while writing it in a place where everyone can see. Designate a person to be responsible for keeping the group on task and the conversation focused. I cannot stress the importance of clearly communicating the collaboration topics and goals. You should provide as much detailed information as possible in order for the collaborations to be laser-focused and to remove any assumptions. 3. LISTEN ACTIVELY Listen to the input from the individuals in the groups, and make sure that you are physically AND mentally present. If you have to assign seats to prevent side conversations between participants who can distract one another, then do so. If you are anything like me and find it challenging to take detailed notes and listen at the same time, then ask someone to take notes for the group. That way you can listen actively and ask engaging questions. Remove outside distractions if possible. This includes sharing with others outside of the group that the meeting is not to be interrupted unless it is something of extreme importance. You may want to consider hosting the meeting in a location that does not have a high traffic
IN SYNC (left): The fourth grade team at Stiles Elementary makes it a priority to collaborate over the summer, working on both team building and instructional collaboration for the year ahead. Photo courtesy of Tammy Masa.
volume with people coming in and out of the meeting and serving as a distraction. 4. RESPECT AND VALUE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES Respect the viewpoints of everyone in the group. There is a reason that you chose these individuals to come together for the purpose of collaborating. Although their opinions and perspectives may be different than yours, it does not mean that there isn’t any value in what they offer to the group. One of the reasons collaboration is so powerful is the fact that you can get multiple people together to focus on the same topic, and they will each offer different perspectives based on their thoughts, knowledge, and experiences. You can have an idea that isn’t completely right, but still has good points to it. Just the same, you can have ideas that appear to be ineffective; however, through collaboration, you can build from certain components of the ideas and make them beneficial to the purpose of the group. 5. LEAVE WITH A PLAN Have a plan in place for when the collaboration is completed— even if the plan is to collaborate again because the group needs more time. It is normal for everything to not get resolved in one meeting, so do not hesitate to set future meeting dates to give the group additional time. If there is a list of items that needs to be completed, ensure that everyone knows their responsibilities and what needs to be done. Collaboration is similar to building a home. Once the plans have been discussed and laid out, the work still needs to be done and is never completed in one day. You may very well need on-going collaboration to complete the job. 6. REFLECT ON THE COLLABORATION
Most of the time people cannot recall the entire conversation during the collaboration, and this is when you want to refer to the notes that were taken. For good reflection, you should refer back to the notes from the discussion and review key points that were made. Allow people time to think so they can either expand on previous thoughts or potentially reconsider their point of views or ideas. This also allows you to reevaluate the efforts of the group and its effectiveness. The team will also be given additional opportunities to reflect and consider the strengths and weaknesses of the collaboration to determine if any changes need to be made for the next meeting. As I reflect over my years as a principal and consider my successes and failures, I am confident that many of the successes stem from collaboration with teachers and staff members. Having the opportunity to listen to ideas, hear solutions, and receive feedback on initiatives has been of great service to students and families. I firmly believe that individuals accomplish little by themselves, but a collaborative team of individuals who are working together can accomplish the impossible. Successful collaboration requires being driven by a common purpose, hard work, rigorous focus, and respect of different viewpoints. Each collaboration opportunity is unique, and so is the reason behind the efforts to work together. However, with the six elements for essential collaboration, any team that is working together for a common purpose of serving students can be successful. Naim Q. Sanders has 20 years experience in education as a elementary school teacher and principal. He has worked as an Education Consultant with the Ohio Department of Education and served as an adjunct professor with Notre Dame College (OH). He is currently working on his doctorate degree in Organizational Leadership. You can contact the author via email at naimsanders@gmail.com and via Twitter at @naimsanders.
It is important to reflect on the collaboration. This can be done alone or as a group. Taking notes will be important for this purpose. fall 2019
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Whatever Happened to Kindergarten Being the Transition Year?
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BY JIM LARICCIA, ED.D.
othing is more exciting than the first day of kindergarten, and nothing can be more disheartening than a depressed 5-year-old not wanting to go to school. Can this change happen within a 3-month period? Yes, it can and when it does, it is devastating to the parents, the teachers, and most of all, the child. What happens to the eagerness, the enthusiasm, and the fervor to go to school to meet new friends and learn new things? I believe it is more than a dopamine letdown.
our country. The days of the kindergarten’s principal and teachers waiting to see who walks through the door on the first day school are long gone. Transition strategies must be data-driven, cooperative, proactive, and communal.
The kindergarten letdown can range from not getting what was wanted for Christmas to jumping in a pool for the first time and the water is expectantly very cold. What parents haven’t told their children how much fun kindergarten will be? The days leading up to the first day of kindergarten include new clothes, new book bag, new pencils, and new crayons. The excitement seems to build and build. Why? Because many of those same parents had a positive kindergarten experience, and they remember the excitement of getting ready for kindergarten and what ensued that school year. So, there is puzzlement on the parents’ faces when Billy and Suzy don’t want to go to school anymore and want to stay home. As compared to today one thing is different from years ago when Billy’s and Suzy’s parents attended kindergarten—kindergarten is not the same kindergarten. Only in name is it the same. How has kindergarten changed? Let’s start with the length of day. Most school districts have gone to a full day kindergarten. Instead of being there for half day, they are in school a full day from kindergarten all the way through senior year in high school. The structure of the school day is different. Daily schedules include transitions for breakfast, lunch, recess, nap time, computer lab, library, change of class (specials), and instruction. Billy’s and Suzy’s parents’ kindergarten classes were different. Once centered on how to be good listeners to the teachers and learning how to play together and share with peers, there was more time for social interaction between students and staff. Socialization was a lesson in the lesson plan book. Billy’s and Suzy’s parents were encouraged to be creative with toys and manipulatives. This leads to the difference in academics of the school day. Billy and Suzy’s parents were immune to today’s highpressure testing trickle-down effect. Today’s kindergarten students are expected to read by the end of their first school year.
Entry Age: Research suggests older kindergarten entrants scored significantly higher academically than younger kindergarten entrants (Wiechiel, 1988). Kindergarten multilevel models show that the youngest students have consistently lower scores than the oldest students (Huang & Invernizzi, 2012). Studies suggest that children who entered at a later chronological age scored consistently higher on cognitive and non-cognitive skill sets than their younger classmates (Lubotsky & Kaestner, 2016). A recent study concluded that students entering kindergarten turning five after August 1 were as high as 63% more likely to be unsuccessful on MAPs testing (LaRiccia, 2018).
Kindergarten is no longer the transitional year for first grade as it was intended to be. Will it ever come back? I doubt it. But for now, school districts can help create transition strategies to help the students in
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Data Driven: Research suggests that there are red flags for students entering kindergarten. Each flag can be better explained as at-risk factors.
No Preschool Experience: Preschool provides cognitive and social development advantageous for kindergarten and beyond (Pianta, Barnett, Burchinai, & Thornburg, 2009). Preschool experience is a prerequisite to kindergarten success (Furlong & Quirk, 2011). Children who attend preschool are more likely to exhibit positive social interaction skills in kindergarten (Goble et al., 2017). No Early Interventions: The earlier a child is identified with a disability, the earlier the disability can be addressed. Waiting for the child to be tested for a disability in kindergarten is a double whammy. Research shows early detection will lead to early results and students with learning disabilities having support services in place when starting kindergarten will adjust quicker to the rigor of kindergarten than unidentified students with disabilities. Another topic at our meetings is mental health. Concerns include depression (quiet, uninvolved, little motivation, “I don’t care”); anger (obstinate, attention seeking, oppositional, meltdowns); disoriented (unable to follow two-step directions, poor short-term memory); and unsocial (no self-space, hands on others, interrupting, not sharing or waiting for turn). Common triggers causing red flags are separated families, traumatic illnesses or deaths, parents in prison, and parental drug addiction. Clinical counseling before starting kindergarten may help lighten the burden of at-risk students in kindergarten.
Exposure to Kindergarten Rigor: Twenty years ago, if there was a kindergarten report card, the words read or reading were absent. Today’s report cards include the following: • Prints own first name • Prints own last name • Reads kindergarten sight words • Reads and blends consonant-vowel-consonant words • Reads grade-level text • Identifies the beginning sound of the word • Identifies the number of syllables in word • Provides a rhyming word for a given word • Can identify rhyming words Cooperative: The new best friends of kindergarten principals and teachers are the preschool staff. In my district, we created the Early Childhood Transitional Team which developed effective strategies for students, staff, and parents to prepare incoming kindergarten students. The team is comprised of preschool staff, kindergarten staff, community resource staff, parents, and the principal. We meet for breakfast twice a year to team build and develop relationships which opens the door to frank discussion and suggestions to better prepare 4- and 5-year-olds for kindergarten. Meeting sites vary to provide opportunities for area preschools to host. Preschool staffs are encouraged to use our district to offer a variety of preschool special education services. Proactive: Each preschool has a designated Kindergarten Investigation Day in the spring. Investigation Day includes students and parents riding a school bus to school. The parents and students are separated for approximately two hours. The students are dropped off into a welcoming, well prepared, predetermined kindergarten classroom. They are buddied with kindergarten students and partake in activities including art, music, and physical education. The parents spend the morning meeting with me, kindergarten staff, lunch staff, and community resources. The morning ends with the kindergarten class and their buddies enjoying snacks in the cafeteria. Parents meet them in the café and return back to their preschool by school bus. Communal: Any school district which hosts kindergarten needs to address the change in kindergarten expectations from yesteryear’s expectations. My district is in discussion to create and produce Northwest Local Schools’ sponsored Early Childhood Transition gatherings for area preschools and parents of children between the ages of 3 and 5. Topics not limited to, but may include: • 21st Century kindergarten expectations • Identifying atypical development • Grandparents raising children • Internet safety • Advantages of preschool • When is counseling necessary? • Setting standards at home • What you should expect from your school district • Is it okay to wait to send your child to kindergarten? • Home schooling is an option The school district has the responsibility to help assimilate young children into the academic-laden machine called kindergarten. As
addressed earlier, we may all have been created equal but not all children entering kindergarten are equally prepared for the challenges that await their young minds and bodies. In the attempt to address data-driven expectations, what about the following suggestions? • Adopt a district policy to have the kindergarten entry cutoff date for August 1st instead of September 30th. • Adopt a policy for students turning five after August 1st and/ or having no legitimate preschool experience to attend half day kindergarten the first semester. • Create a Kindergarten Transitional Class of 20 students or fewer with an aide. Common characteristics of class members would include students without legitimate preschool experience, turned 5 after August 1st, scored below average on screener, and were identified by preschool as being at risk for kindergarten. As educators and parents, we must accept the fact that kindergarten has changed over the years. To debate the change would be futile, but to embrace the change is necessary to advocate for the child. Nothing can be more exciting than the first day of kindergarten, but nothing can be more disheartening than a depressed 5-year-old not wanting to go to school. Failing to plan is planning to fail. Working together to meet the needs of our youngest is in everyone’s best interest. Dr. Jim LaRiccia has served 41 years in education. He spent 21 years as a principal and 20 years as a teacher. He started at Northwest Primary in 2001. He was an administrator in public, private, and charter schools. He lives in Austintown, Ohio with his wife, Betsy. She serves at Heartland Christian School as the elementary principal. He received all his degrees from Youngstown State University including his doctorate in Educational Leadership in May 2018. You can contact the author via email at dr.lariccia@yahoo.com and via Twitter at @ laricciaj. References • Furlong, M., & Quirk, M. (2011). The relative effects of chronological age on hispanic students’ school readiness and grade 2 academic achievement. Contemporary School Psychology, 15, 81-92. • Goble, P., Eggum-Wilkens, N. D., Bryce, C. I., Foster, S. A., Hanish, L. D., Martin, C. L., & Fabes, R. A. (2017). The transition from preschool. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 49, 55–67. • Huang, F., & Invernizzi, M. (2012). The association of kindergarten entry age with early literacy outcomes. Journal of Educational Research, 105(6), 431-441. • LaRiccia, J. A. (2018). A quantitative study on the relationship between kindergarten enrollment age and kindergarten students on reading improvement monitoring plans (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). The University of Akron, Akron, OH. • Lubotsky, D., & Kaestner, R. (2016). Do skills beget skills? Evidence on the effect of kindergarten entrance age on the evolution of cognitive and non-cognitive skill gaps in childhood. Economics of Education Review, 53, 194-206. • Pianta, R. C., Barnett, W. S., Burchinal, M., & Thornburg, K. R. (2009). The effects of preschool education. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 10(2) 49–88. • Wiechiel, J. M. (1988). An exploratory study: Academic readiness based on age of entry at kindergarten.
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Purposeful Magic
The Magic of Why: Stories of Purpose OAESA’S 62ND ANNUAL CONFERENCE
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ore than 350 education professionals gathered June 12-14 at the Hilton Columbus at Easton for OAESA’s 62nd annual professional conference. Wednesday, we had record attendance at our Edcamp, and we celebrated our OAESA presidents past, present, and future at a Presidents’ Reception. Thursday, we hosted an outstanding trade show with over 60 vendors. Popular keynotes Todd Nesloney,
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Sara Holbrook, Michael Salinger, and Dr. Joe Sanfelippo engaged participants with their speeches. We had dozens of clinics designed to develop and connect attendees with crucial information and resources. The conference, from start to finish, gave educators the spark they need to go back to their schools and make magic for kids. Join us in June 2020 for CELEBRATE: You’re Unstoppable! (more information on back cover).
Want to see more #oaesamagic2019 photos? Scan the QR Code to see our conference recap video. fall 2019
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Secretary of the Year, Eileen Ramus Ayersville Elementary, Ayersville Local Schools
Secretary of the Year, Eileen Ramus Ramus with her nominating principal, Beth Hench
C o n g r a t D. Richard Murray Service Award, Dr. Lucy Ozvat Ozvat with colleagues Dr. Julie Davis and Zana Vincent
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D. Richard Murray Service Award, Dr. Lucy Ozvat Professor, SAIL for Education/Concordia University Chicago (presented by Superintendent DeMaria, D. Richard Murray, and Dr. Julie Davis)
Ohio NAESP National Distinguished Principal, Patti Schlaegel Schlaegel with her friends, family, and colleagues
u l a t i o n s 2019 OAESA Awards presented by OAESA Executive Director Dr. Julie Davis and Ohio’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, Paolo DeMaria
Outstanding Assistant Principal, Scott Astey Astey with his Twinsburg City Schools colleagues
Ohio NAESP National Distinguished Principal, Patti Schlaegel (presented by Valic) Granby Elementary, Worthington City Schools
Outstanding Assistant Principal, Scott Astey Wilcox Primary, Twinsburg City Schools
fall 2019
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Hall of Fame School, Lincoln Elementary Principal Steven Brady with his Wadsworth City Schools colleagues
Hall of Fame School, Lincoln Elementary Lincoln staff watch with pride during the ceremony.
C o n g r a t A standing ovation for Ohio NAESP National Distinguished Principal, Patti Schlaegel
Hall of Fame School, J.W. Reason Elementary Principal Jacki Prati with her Hilliard City Schools colleague principal navigator
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Hall of Fame School, Kirtland Elementary Principal Chad VanArnhem with his Kirtland Local Schools colleagues
Hall of Fame Schools, Heritage Hill Elementary and Springdale Elementary HHES Principal Shari Hoskins and SES Principal Lisa Tenbarge with their Princeton City Schools colleagues
u l a t i o n s 2019 OAESA Awards
Hall of Fame School, Fort Loramie Elementary Principal Scott Rodeheffer, Fort Loramie Local Schools
Lunch Remarks by David Wick, NAESP President-Elect
Hall of Fame School, Prairie Lincoln Elementary Principal Julie Kenney with her South-Western City Schools colleagues fall 2019
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H E A LT H
matters
SCHOOL NURSES SUPPORTING A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO HEALTH AND LEARNING BY ANGELA NORTON
O
“
hio can only reach success by meeting the needs of the whole child. The time a child spends in school is precious and should ensure all aspects of a child’s well-being are addressed, including the physical, social, emotional, and intellectual aspects.” This is one of the foundational tenants of the Ohio Department of Education’s (ODE) “Each Child, Our Future” Strategic Plan for Education. Much attention has been focused on viewing students through a more comprehensive lens. This wholistic approach to meeting the educational needs of Ohio’s students uncovers many variables that affect a child’s ability to learn. Over time, educators have realized that children come to school carrying physical, social, and emotional issues that don’t disappear when the school bell rings. These nonacademic barriers often prevent a child from being ready and able to learn. The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) Model promoted by ASCD and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offer strategies to help school lessen some of these barriers. This whole child approach is in part being adopted by ODE and incorporated into the new strategic plan. A review of the plan reveals that the whole child model is reflected in priority strategy seven: Work together with parents, caregivers and community partners to help schools meet the needs of the whole child. Through “Each Child, Our Future,” ODE aims to support aspects of the whole-child approach that would include the following: • Healthy: Each student enters school healthy and learns about and practices a healthy lifestyle • Safe (physically and emotionally): Each student learns in an environment that is physically and emotionally safe • Engaged: Each student is engaged in learning and is connected to the school and broader community • Supported: Each student has access to personalized learning,
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along with other necessary resources, and is supported by qualified, caring, and committed adults • Challenged: Each student is challenged academically and prepared Collaboration is the basis of the entire strategy. In addition to families and schools, there are many community partners who have a lot to offer in making a positive impact on the education of Ohio’s youth. The WSCC model is about collaboration and working as a team to effectively help students achieve their highest potential in school and throughout life. This type of collaboration is common practice for the licensed professional school nurse working in the school setting. Care coordination is foundational to meeting the health needs of students. Understanding the whole child and how external variables can affect a student’s health and their ability to learn is a basic skill used by school nurses. The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice provides guidance for the practicing school nurse on how to support student health and academic success by contributing to a healthy and safe school environment. The tenants of this framework also closely align with the WSCC Model promoted by ASCD and the CDC by supporting the collaborative approach to learning. This framework emphasizes care coordination, quality improvement, community/public health, leadership, and standards of nursing practice in collaboration with the family and school community to support students who are healthy, safe, ready to learn. School nurses are an integral part of the educational team. Their ability to assess students’ physical and emotional health needs is an important function in providing a safe and supportive environment. ODE has a description of the roles and responsibilities of the School Nurse on their website, which includes general information about
school nurses, their education and their training. I encourage you to review this 14-point list of school nurse skills as a reminder of the multiple supports they can provide to students, staff, families, and the school community. Be sure to watch the accompanying video to see an Ohio school nurse talk about her experience working with her school and community colleagues to improve health and outcomes for the students at her school (education.ohio.gov/Topics/SpecialEducation/Related-Services/School-Nurse). School nurses play a pivotal role in maintaining a healthy and safe student population. Each day school nurses ensure that basic health and safety needs of students are met. However, utilizing the WSCC Model means addressing more than physical health alone. The 2017 Ohio Department of Health Survey of Health Services in Ohio schools revealed that almost 40 percent of the state’s student population is diagnosed with mental health conditions, including ADD/ADHD. Often school nurses are seen by students as a trusted, caring adult in the school setting. This enables students to feel supported and safe, which provides opportunities for the school nurse to offer help and make referrals for those students who present themselves with mental and/or physical issues. School nursing is recognized as a specialty practice of the nursing profession that was started in New York City public schools in late 1902. Lina Rogers was placed in a school for a one-month trial in order to provide nursing care to the students. In that month, Rogers examined nearly 900 students and made more than 130 home visits. Her nursing care of students with a variety of illnesses enabled
students to stay in school and/or return to school quicker. Through her work she was able to keep students in school while they were receiving treatment, allowing learning to continue. Rogers was so successful in that month that additional school nurses were hired for the other schools in subsequent years. Exclusion for illnesses plummeted, and attendance increased dramatically in those schools. Over the years, the role of the school nurse has adapted and evolved to meet the diverse needs of student health in an everchanging social landscape. Difficult and high-risk behaviors such as homelessness, substance use, and sexually transmitted diseases can be addressed effectively by the school nurse. School nurses are leaders in the school health arena, and they are familiar with the community resources needed to reduce and remove the nonacademic obstacles that are impeding a student’s ability to learn. The school nurse, a trained health care professional, frequently has a pulse on what is happening in the school community. As school administrators begin to develop educational plans that incorporate a whole child approach to learning, the school nurse can be an invaluable partner within the interdisciplinary team. Be sure to include your school nurse in these activities so your students and school community can benefit from the nurse’s expertise. Angela Norton is a Program Administrator for the Women and Family Health Services Section of the Ohio Department of Health. She can be contacted via phone at 614-466-6039.
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LEGAL
report
WHY I WOULD PREFER BINDING ARBITRATION, AS OPPOSED TO THE R.C. 3319.16 PROCEEDINGS, IN TERMINATION CASES BY DENNIS PERGRAM
U
nder Ohio law, termination cases are governed by R.C. 3319.16 unless there is a collective bargaining agreement providing for arbitration or the educator and the school board have agreed in a contract to have the termination matter resolved through binding arbitration. I have yet to see a principal’s contract or, for that matter, a contract of a superintendent, treasurer, or other administrator which provides for binding arbitration in a contract termination case in place of the procedure under R.C. 3319.16. It is my belief that school boards prefer R.C. 3319.16 proceedings as opposed to binding arbitration for several reasons, which I will discuss in this article.
of Public Instruction but is compensated by the school board. The referee conducts a termination hearing and makes a written report and a recommendation to the school board as to whether the school board proved at the termination hearing good and just cause to terminate the educator’s contract. Unfortunately, the referee’s recommendation is just that—a recommendation.
Under R.C. 3319.16, the school board initiates the termination by providing the educator with a specification of the grounds for termination. Under the current version of R.C. 3319.16, the only ground for termination is “other good and just cause.” The prior version of R.C. 3319.16 provided for termination in the event of gross inefficiency, immorality, willful and persistent violation of reasonable board of education rules, or other good and just cause. There are those who argue that the legislative change was intended by the legislature to make it easier for a school board to terminate an educator’s contract.
The matter then goes to the school board to consider the referee’s report and to decide whether to accept or reject the referee’s recommendation as to the termination of the educator’s contract. The Supreme Court of Ohio has held that a school board must, with respect to factual findings by the referee, give “due deference” to the findings or, in other words, must accept the factual findings of the referee unless they are against the greater weight of the evidence. Graziano v. Amherst Exempted Village Bd. of Edn., 32 Ohio St.3d 289 (1987). What often happens, however, is that a school board does not contest the factual findings of the referee but, rather, differs with the conclusion reached by the referee and then rejects the referee’s recommendation. So, in other words, the school board initiates the termination matter by issuing charges against the educator, it presents evidence at the termination hearing in support of the termination, and it then is permitted to accept or reject the referee’s recommendation.
Once the educator receives a specification of the grounds along with the notice of intent to terminate, the educator has a right to request a referee hearing and a referee is appointed by the State Superintendent
The recourse for the educator who receives determination from the school board that it has rejected a referee’s recommendation in favor of the educator is to appeal to the common pleas court in the county
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in which the school district is located. The appeal to the common pleas court is not a new trial or hearing but, rather, the common pleas court is required to examine the transcript of the termination hearing and may, but rarely does, hold additional hearings if it feels the same are necessary. The common pleas court may only reverse the order of termination made by a board of education if it finds that the termination order is not supported by or is against the manifest weight of the evidence and the “burden” rests with the educator to prove the same. If either the educator or the school board is dissatisfied with the decision of the common pleas court, an appeal may be taken to the court of appeals; however, the review by the court of appeals is even more limited. The standard for review by a court of appeals is to determine whether the common pleas court has abused its discretion. The party taking the appeal has the burden of proving an abuse of discretion, which is very hard to prove. The procedure under R.C. 3319.16 has been attacked on the basis that the educator’s due process rights are being violated under R.C. 3319.16 because the school board ultimately makes the decision and it is, obviously, not an impartial decisionmaker. Unfortunately, the courts have held that R.C. 3319.16 satisfies the due process requirements of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Hortonville Joint School Dist. v. Hortonville Education Asso., 426 U.S. 42 (1976) and Whitser v. Southwest Local School Dist., 484 F.2d 1222 (6th Cir. 1973).
an order vacating the award upon the application of any party to the arbitration if: (A) The award was procured by corruption, fraud, or undue means. (B) There was evident partiality or corruption on the part of the arbitrators, or any of them. (C) The arbitrators were guilty of misconduct in refusing to postpone the hearing, upon sufficient cause shown, or in refusing to hear evidence pertinent and material to the controversy; or of any other misbehavior by which the rights of any party have been prejudiced. (D) The arbitrators exceeded their powers, or so imperfectly executed them that a mutual, final, and definite award upon the subject matter submitted was not made.
DID YOU KNOW? Your OAESA membership entitles you to one free hour of work-related legal consultation with OAESA legal counsel, Dennis Pergram, every year.
The R.C. 3319.16 process of the referee issuing a recommendation and the school board accepting or rejecting it differs from the binding arbitration process. In a binding arbitration, the arbitrator, like the referee, conducts an evidentiary hearing where both sides can present witnesses and documents and cross-examine the other party’s witnesses. The major difference is that after the hearing, the arbitrator issues an “award” which states whether the school board has proven good and just cause for termination. That “award” (sometimes referred to as a decision) is final and binding on both the educator and the school board and may only be vacated in very limited circumstances as R.C. 2711.10 provides as follows: In any of the following cases, the court of common pleas shall make
If an award is vacated and the time within which the agreement required the award to be made has not expired, the court may direct a rehearing by the arbitrators. My preference for binding arbitration and why a school board would be opposed to the same are obvious. If we win the referee hearing and get a favorable referee recommendation, the school board can still reject the recommendation. After rejecting the favorable recommendation, the school board can then pass a resolution to terminate the educator’s employment and issue an order of termination. That leaves us with an uphill battle in common pleas court. On the other hand, if we win the binding arbitration hearing, the favorable arbitrator’s award is final and binding on the school board unless one of the very limited reasons to vacate exists.
I understand that educators are presented with contract provisions that are most often not negotiable and are placed in a position of “take it or leave it.” If, however, there is any opportunity to negotiate a “binding arbitration clause” in an employment contract, it is my opinion that such a provision would be very beneficial to an educator who later is facing a possible termination. Dennis Pergram, legal counsel to OAESA, is a partner in the law firm of Manos, Martin & Pergram Co., LPA. He is a former chairperson of the Ohio State Bar Association School Law Committee and has practiced school law for over 30 years.
fall 2019
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LEGISLATIVE
update
EDUCATION POLICY AND THE STATE BUDGET BILL BY BARBARA SHANER
W
hen this issue of the Navigator went to print, the Ohio General Assembly was still in the process of finalizing the 2-year state budget bill for Fiscal Years (FY) 2020 and 2021, House Bill (HB) 166. For OAESA members, the important thing to know is that FY translates into “school year.” In other words, state funding for Ohio schools is distributed to districts on a school year basis beginning on July 1 every year. The deadline for the new 2-year budget is June 30 in the second year of a current budget. This time, the House and Senate had trouble agreeing on the bill’s provisions, and had to utilize the authority to extend the June 30 deadline.
when the state budget is debated, there is little time to stay informed about legislation. However, it may come as a surprise that increasingly, the legislature has been using the biennial budget bill to enact education policy changes that could affect the education of students and the operation of your school building. It is much easier to adopt new laws for education policy through a massive budget bill than it is to pass a single subject bill. Lawmakers who might not support an individual law change may still be inclined to approve a budget bill. And, the bill is so big that some lawmakers may not know about everything contained in its pages.
“The social and emotional needs of students may well be the concern of the larger community; not just the leaders responsible for their educational success.”
That’s right, every two years districts don’t know for sure how much money they’ll receive from the state until a few days before the school year starts. This school year, that deadline was postponed so the school year started with some financial uncertainty for school districts. Fortunately, even though lawmakers in the House and Senate had a hard time agreeing on the state budget as a whole, they weren’t far apart in their views about school funding. In fact, throughout the budget process (which began on March 15th), the school funding provisions in the bill didn’t change much. As a school administrator you may be thinking how fortunate that the state budget process isn’t something you need to follow closely. For the most part, there are others in your district whose responsibility it is to follow those proceedings. Given the many challenges administrators face, particularly during the months
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education topics considered.
In the most recent budget bill, a range of education policy changes were debated. Everything from report card changes to new restrictions on decisions by the Ohio High School Athletic Association could be found within its pages. New school breakfast requirements, testing changes, and graduation requirement changes are all among the many
Perhaps the topic of most interest to OAESA members is both funding and policy related. In March, Governor DeWine proposed through HB 166, funds to be used to address the noneducation barriers for kids in poverty called Student Wellness and Success Funds (SWSFs). This is one portion of the budget bill on which both the House and the Senate could agree and the governor’s proposal remained intact.
The social, emotional needs of students were a theme the governor heard from educators since before he was elected in November 2018. It’s also been a theme addressed in various professional development events hosted by OAESA. There seems to be broad agreement that the challenge in helping many students succeed are related to events and opportunities (or the lack thereof) students experience outside the classroom. School leaders and educators have made the case for the need of assistance to address these challenges. HB 166 provides some resources for school districts to address the non-educational barriers for students. The funding for each district is based on a formula that relies on its percent of residents that live in poverty using census data. The “catch” for districts’ use of these funds is a requirement for collaboration with at least one local agency to develop a plan (a list of potential organizations/agencies is contained in the bill). The plan must follow a prescribed list of areas the new funds can be used for. The plan will be submitted to the state, and then a report filed at the end of the year as to how the funds were spent. Some may view the requirement to collaborate with a local agency to jointly determine the use of the SWSFs as another mandate from the state. Yet as the common thread of this Navigator issue bears out, more can be accomplished with collaboration. Further, the social and emotional needs of students may well be the concern of the larger community; not just the leaders responsible for their educational success.
OAESA commends members for identifying the need for resources to address Student Wellness and Success, as this message has clearly reached the governor’s office. The challenge now will be to make sure the school administrator’s voice becomes part of collaborative efforts in the use of the new SWSFs. OAESA members have the knowledge and experience on the front lines to make the most of these new resources. Even though following the state’s budget bill may not be high on members’ priority list, collaboration can be utilized in that effort, too. Stay in touch with others in your district who may already be following the proceedings, making sure they know you’re interested. The more people talking about pending legislation, the easier it will be to be informed. You’ll be better prepared to make that legislative contact when it’s needed. If you’re ready to start building relationships with your legislative representatives, OAESA has tools for you on its website—a link to the new “Principals Advocating with Legislators” (PAL) toolkit is right there on the homepage for easy access. You can utilize the toolkit on your own, or in collaboration with others in your district or from neighboring districts. The next time there’s a bill or a state budget proposal, you’ll be better prepared to influence the outcome. Barbara Shaner is OAESA’s Advocacy Specialist. If you need more information, contact the author at barbaracshaner@gmail.com.
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Even better than sliced bread AXA Equitable is proud to be a strategic partner of OAESA. Visit axa.com/teachers or contact us at (866) 401-3030, Option 3.
* LIMRA, Not-for-Profit Survey, Q4, 2017, based on 403(b) plan assets, participants and contributions. 403(b) retirement plans are funded with an annuity issued by AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company (NY, NY) and co-distributed by affiliates, AXA Advisors, LLC and AXA Distributors, LLC (members FINRA, SIPC). “AXA” is the brand name of AXA Equitable Financial Services, LLC and its family of companies, including AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company (NY, NY); AXA Advisors, LLC; and AXA Distributors, LLC. GE-134295c (6/19) (Exp. 6/21) | G505350
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NATIONAL FORUM SCHOOL TO WATCH
OAESA’s Middle School Representative Carrie Sanchez hosted middle level principals and educators at her building, Port Clinton Middle School, which recently earned re-designation as a National Forum School to watch. The May 28 visit was an opportunity for OAESA members to learn about and observe outstanding co-teaching practices, experience the unique rotating master schedule, and hear presentations from National Forum Executive Director Ericka Uskali and Sanchez on how to grow and develop a school into a National School to Watch. Sanchez said, “It was an awesome day of collaboration. There is no better way to gain new ideas and new perspectives than to spend quality time with people who do the same job you do! The role of the school administrator is often performed in isolation. Having the opportunity to see other schools in action is priceless!” If anyone is interested in hosting a site visit for middle school leaders in their area next school year, please contact Carrie Sanchez via email at csanchez@pccsd-k12.net.
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know? didyou news from the association OCTOBER IS OHIO PRINCIPALS MONTH! After 6 years of effort and persistence, Ohio legislators have passed into law that October is Ohio Principals Month! OAESA has lots of exciting ways to celebrate in store.
CALL FOR ARTICLES
REP. ASSEMBLY General membership, district liaisons, and county representatives were invited to witness the governance of the association in action and enjoy lunch April 27 at Smith and Wollensky in Columbus.
TEAM UP!
Submit your article for our winter issue themed, ELEVATE: Educators on the Rise. Submissions are due November 1, 2019. Email navigator@oaesa.org for more information on this opportunity!
Want to be more involved in your association? OAESA is always seeking members to fill vacancies on our service teams. Email info@oaesa.org for more information.
PD AT THE CLICK OF A BUTTON
360 DEGREE VIEW
OAESA presents monthly webinars that are accessible to you with your membership. Visit OAESA.org/ events to learn about upcoming topics and presentations!
If you want to gain more perspective on yourself as a leader, consider adding OAESA’s 360 Feedback Tool to your membership. You selfevaluate, and we’ll help you do the rest!
out&about withOAESA
T W E E T Y O U R HEART OUT Log in to Twitter and follow our hashtag, #ohprinchat during our fall Twitter chats. It’s a great way to get new ideas and inspiration on the fly from the comfort of your own office.
September Date: Tuesday, September 3 Time: 8PM-9PM Topic: Let’s Be PALs! (Principals Advocating with Legislators)
October
Date: Tuesday, October 1 Time: 8PM-9PM Topic: Alternatives to Student Discipline
November YOU CAN IN SPOKANE: (top) OAESA Board Members Katie Nowak and April Knight, along with 2019 OAESA National Distinguished Principal Patti Schlaegel, traveled with the OAESA contingency to the NAESP Conference in Spokane, Washington, July 10-12. They are pictured here with Hamish Brewer, author of Relentless and keynote speaker at OAESA’s 2020 professional conference. CLASS OF 2019: (bottom left) Congratulations to our May SAIL/ CUC graduates. SCHOOL TO WATCH: (bottom right) OAESA Middle Level Rep Carrie Sanchez hosted a group of educators at her school May 28 so they could learn about the National Forum School to Watch process.
Date: Tuesday, November 5 Time: 8PM-9PM Topic: How to Enhance Building Culture
join the conversation
#ohprinchat fall 2019
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e’re booked
ESSENTIAL TRUTHS FOR PRINCIPALS
in the lives of students. Through the format of the book alone, the authors have provided busy principals with an excellent tool to keep on our desks for the moments when we need to refocus on not only our “how,” but also our “why.”
BY Danny Steele & Todd Whitaker REVIEW BY Joy Houchen Principal, Cuyahoga Heights Elementary School Cuyahoga Heights Schools
D
r. Danny Steele and Dr. Todd Whitaker understand that the role of a principal is multi-faceted, with pressure coming from all sides. Excellent principals strive to be effective instructional leaders, but the daily challenges include the minutiae of management tasks and questions from students, teachers, parents, central office administrators, community members, and other stakeholders. In their latest book, Essential Truths for Principals, these authors seek to inspire us to remember our greater purpose amidst the chaos of the daily work. Essential Truths for Principals is written in a manner that allows the reader to devour it in one sitting or to digest each chapter as a 5-minute preface to a busy day or week. Each chapter focuses on one essential truth—something that the authors believe will have the greatest impact on making a difference
Throughout the book, the authors provide principals with strategies for positively influencing school culture through daily interactions. We are reminded that we often get caught up in the “big ideas” or “programs” that claim to improve culture and climate, when in reality we just need to remember that it is our daily interactions that make the biggest difference. Steele and Whitaker remind us, “You change culture through relationships…one conversation at a time.” Sometimes these are easy conversations in which we are recognizing positive achievements, asking about a staff member’s family, or encouraging innovative practices. Other times these are difficult conversations. The key is to remember that effective principals have both types of conversations, because “...every challenging conversation is an opportunity to remind staff of our true purpose. Doing what is best for students.” Another essential truth for principals is to empower staff members to positively influence school culture. This is another reminder that we do not have to have all of the answers. It is the job of the principal to ask good questions, provide teachers with the tools they need to be successful, provide opportunities for collaboration, and have confidence in the staff we have in place to do what is best for students. If you are looking for a fast-paced book that will positively impact your practice and remind you why you do what you do, Essential Truths for Principals is a must-read.
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e’ve included six books from the Scholastic Book Fairs’ Kindness collection for the start of the year.
All Are Welcome
Because of the Rabbit BY Cynthia Lord (appeals to grades 4-6)
WORDS & ART BY Yuyi Morales
Welcoming. Diversity. Encouragement. Support. Inclusive. Celebration.
Possibility. Friendship. Sensitivity. Difference. Care. Acceptance.
Story. Family. Migrancy. Hope. Love. Language.
WORDS BY Alexandra Penfold ART BY Suzanne Kaufman
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Dreamers
BOOK REVIEWS FOR THE PRINCIPAL LIBRARY & THE SCHOOL LIBRARY
THE BEAUTIFUL STRUGGLES OF TEACHING
BY Naim Q. Sanders, OAESA Member Principal, Stiles Elementary School South-Western City Schools REVIEW BY Beth Hench Principal, Ayersville Elementary School Ayersville Local Schools
T
he Beautiful Struggles of Teaching is an easy summer read, perfect for end of summer motivation that can help teachers get into the right mindframe to tackle another year in the classroom. Every educator will be able to identify with the stories and profit from the advice author Naim Sanders provides throughout the book. Chapters such as “Peaks & Valleys,” “Don’t Take It Personally,” and “Find the Humor” draw upon experiences that all educators have encountered and offer tips on how to reignite your passion for education.
The Beautiful Struggles of Teaching is a product of the lessons learned by Sanders while serving in various educational roles throughout his 19 year career. The story is told in short chapters surrounding small bits of advice that is applicable to any educator. Each chapter opens with a thought provoking quote which is followed by relevant advice and real-life anecdotes that could be pulled from any educator’s classroom. For example, the chapter “Body Language Says A Lot” begins with Allen Ruddock’s quote, “Your body communicates as well as your mouth. Don’t contradict yourself.” followed by Sanders’ elaboration on the statement through examples of nonverbal communication within the classroom and the different positive and negative effects it can have on students. At the end of the book, blank lined pages are provided for each chapter for easy note taking or potential use during a staff book study! Sanders has served in a variety of roles during his tenure in education. In addition to being a teacher, professor, and administrator, Sanders has worked as a consultant with the Ohio Department of Education and has conducted numerous professional development workshops and presentations at conferences across the state. Because of the variety in these roles, Sanders is able to provide a unique perspective on the daily grind of a classroom teacher and offer sincere gratitude for educators around the world.
Each title is accompanied by a six-word book talk that lets you know the themes you’ll find in that text.
I’ll Wait, Mr. Panda
This Is Me
WORDS & ART BY Steve Antony
WORDS BY Jamie Lee Curtis ART BY Laura Cornell
Curiosity. Fun. Patience. Gratitude. Manners. Doughnuts.
Immigration. Imagination. Interactive. Conversational. Rhyming. Acceptance.
What Does It Mean To Be Kind? WORDS BY Rana DiOrio ART BY Stéphane Jorisch
Kindness. Responsibility. Students. Communities. Examples. Inclusive. fall 2019
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I T ' S A NE W DA Y A T A ne w yea r m e ans a r ef r e shed fo c u s ! C h e c k ou t o u r b r a n d n e w p r o fe s s i o na l d e ve lo pme nt e ven ts b as ed o n t he s k ills me mb e r s t e ll u s t h ey n e e d t o b e t h e b e s t p o s s i b l e a dm i n is t r a t o rs f o r t he ir s c ho o l s and t he st ud en ts t he y s e r v e .
BE GIN N ING A DMI NIST RATO RS ACAD E MY
HILTON COL UMBUS AT EAST ON, COLUMBUS
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Whether you're a Dean of Students, Assistant Principal, or any type of administrative intern, the "Second-in-Command" position is a diverse role with unique challenges. Explore the essential practices for school leadership, and make meaningful connections with colleagues from across the state in similar roles. Each one-day institute offers independent programming...come to one or both!
P RE -SUMMI T DIN N ER WI T H PRO J ECT LIT
NATIONWIDE H OT E L & CONFER ENCE C ENTE R , L EWIS CENT ER O AE SA ' s R e a di n g S u mm i t k ic ks o f f e ar l y w it h d i n n e r a n d p r o g r a mm i ng . Jo in y o ur co l le a g u es a n d P r o j e c t L IT ' s J a rre d Am at o t o d is c us s c o m b ati ng "b o o k d es e rt s " w i t h li te r ac y i n i t ia t iv e s t h a t g o b e yo n d t h e s c h o o l d ay.
OA ESA REA DIN G SUMMI T
NATIONWIDE H OT E L & CONFER ENCE C ENTE R , L EWIS CENT ER J oi n u s f o r a n e x p l o r at i o n o f c re a t in g st r on g re a di n g c o m m un i t i es w i t h an e m p has i s o n f ami l y e n g ag em e n t. En j o y br e ak o ut se s s i on s g e a r e d t o w ar d p ri nc i p al s , te a c h e r s , re a d i n g sp e c i al is t s , i n t e r ve n t io n s pe c i al i st s, a nd li t e r ac y c o ac he s . Th e d a y wi l l f ea tu re a Sc h o l as t i c B o o k F ai r a nd e x c i t i n g k e ynot e s b y a w ar d - wi n n i n g a u t h o r Sh a ro n M. D ra p e r an d c o - au t h o r of F r o m St r iving t o Th rivin g, A nni e W a rd . G e t re a dy f o r a f u l l d ay o f i n s pi ra t io n al , l it e r ac y- b as e d le a rni ng!
GET ON THE B US SCHOO L TO UR 2019 THR OUG H OUT CE NT RAL OH IO
C l i mb ab o a r d! J o i n fe l l o w ad mi n s t o t o u r th r e e aw a rd - wi n ni n g sc ho o l s i n t hi s f ul l da y o f i n sp i r at i o n , d e di c at i o n, an d c e l e b ra t io n . Lu n c h pr o vi d e d .
OA ESA SECRET ARIES CON FE RE N CE
D OUBL E T RE E H OT E L , COLUMBUS- WOR T HI NGT ON Reward and develop your essential office staff! This practical, hands-on event is designed to help your secretary — and school — go to the next level with topics from time management and organization, to technology skills, office management, and legal updates.
BU IL DIN G CUL TU RE
NATIONWIDE H OT E L & CONFER ENCE C ENTE R , L EWIS CENT ER H e al t h y s c h o o l c u l tu r e i s bu i l t f ro m th e g ro u n d u p . F r o m P BIS and re st o r at i ve j u s ti c e , t o d ig it a l c i ti z e n s h i p , t o s a f e ty , ri gh t d o w n t o t h e n i t t y -g r i t t y d e t a il s o f y our sc h o o l h a n d b o o k , t h i s OA ES A le a d e r sh i p i n s t i tu t e o ff e r s c o nc re t e st ra t e g ie s a nd t h e t o o l s yo u n e e d to t ake o n yo u r c u l tu r e - b u i l d in g c h al l e ng e .
ELEV ATE: WO MEN ON T HE RI SE EMBASSY SUI T E S, DUBL IN
Women and men are invited to attend OAESA’s first conference celebrating, developing, and elevating women in educational leadership. Featuring keynote speakers humorist Christine Cashen, Deb Delisle, former US Deputy Secretary of Education, Dr. Lisa Hinkelman, Founder & Executive Director of Ruling Our Experiences (ROX), and Diana Patton, social justice and advocacy coach, author & attorney, prepare for an event focused on connection, inspiration, strategy, and learning!
P REPA RI NG TO L EAD
OAE SA CONFE RE NCE R OOM, C OLUMBUS- WOR T H INGTON H a v e a n as p i ri n g a d mi n i s t ra t o r in yo u r b u i l di n g, o r j u s t g e t t i n g y o u r ow n p ri nc i pa l’ s l i ce ns e ? W e ’ l l c o v er t h e i n - d e p t h t o p ic s n e w ad m in s n e e d f o r a su c ce ss f ul s t a rt : i n te rv i e w in g t ec h n i q u e s, m an e u ve r in g th r o ug h t he h i ri n g p r o c e ss , ad m i nist r a t iv e co nt ra c t s, an d r e al - l i fe c a se s tu d i e s fr om t h e fi e l d.
CELEBRATE: YOU'RE UNSTOPPABLE! OAESA ANNUAL PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCE HILTON C OL UMBUS AT E AST ON, COL UMBUS
N e xt -g e n ad mi n s h av e a m o n um e n t al t as k, b u t to g e t he r we ' r e u p t o t he chal le ng e ! C e l e br a t e a l l t h at 's ri g h t w it h e d u c at i o n , b o o st yo u r s u c c e s s e s, a n d e nha nce yo ur b es t p ra c t i c e s wi t h c o ll e ag u e s fr o m a c ro s s Oh i o. H e a r f ro m e d u c at io n's l e ad ing v o i ce s , i n c l u d i n g po we r f u l k e yn o t e s b y H a m i s h B re w e r (R e l e nt l e ss) and Ji mm y W ayne (P a pe r A ng e l s ) .
Register online at www.OAESA.org or mail this form with payment made out to SAIL for Education 445 Hutchinson Ave., Suite 700, Columbus, OH 43235 Fax: 614.547.8089 Member / Nonmember Rate (circle 1)
Beginning Administrators Academy BAA Parts 1 and 2
$430 / $630
BAA Part 1 Only
$245 / $345
BAA Part 2 Only
$245 / $345
Second-in-Command Institute 1
$175 / $275
Second-in-Command Institute 2
$175 / $275
Pre-Summit Dinner with Project LIT
$175 / $275
ELEVATE: Women on the Rise
$245 / $345
Preparing to Lead
$175 / $275
Get on the Bus School Tour 2019
$175 / $275
Annual Professional Conference Full Conference
$170
Day 2 Only
$170
Day 1 Only
$199
Day 2 Only
$199
Retired Member
$249
Purchase order number: _________________________________________ � Visa
� MasterCard
$349 / $624
$270
Day 1 Only
Credit Card:
$175
CELEBRATE: You're Unstoppable!
$49
OAESA Reading Summit Secretaries Conference Full Conference
Building Culture: OAESA Leadership Institute
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Amount: $ ____________ Expiration Date: __________
Cardholder Name: ________________________________________________
Card Number:________________________________________
Name: ____________________________________________________________
Title: _________________________________________________
School: ___________________________________________________________
District: ______________________________________________
Cell Phone:________________________________________________________
Email:________________________________________________
W
elcome
ZONE 1
Krista Conley Kassandra Mosher Leah Unger
ZONE 2
Anita Eshleman Rebecca Forse Michael Gray Anita Hughes Kasi Jordan Julie Mock Christine Moorman Walter (Trey) Rischmann Joycelyn Senter Christopher Specht Samantha Tincher Erin Truesdell
ZONE 3
Laura Back Pamela Bergman Jennifer Couch Casey Enochs Jenna Hodge Megan Hopkins Teresa McCalister Roy Ohr Akisha Shehee Hannah Stewart Hayley Venturino
ZONE 4
Denise Chandler Valerie Dreier Tanika Greisiger Brittany Kahle Lindsey Krontz Jill Nagle Brittany Robbins Rebecca Szczepanik Pat Turpening Keith Utendorf Mandy Wilburn Anna Wilhelm Aufwiedersehen Winfield
OAESA’s New Members ZONE 5
Jamie Barrows Danielle Blust Zachary Burns Ayako Hampton Justin Hershberger Erin Holzhauer Maci Payne Kyle Rall Beth Schwartz Kathryn Spaniel Joseph Strader Corey Taylor Elizabeth Taylor Patricia Tresey Dorothy Wolanin Jennifer Zierden
ZONE 6
Rita Basalla Alisha Bausone Jacqueline Black Renee Cerny David Chordas Brooke Clark Carrie Cofer Cathleen Collins Shannon Cooney Tonya Davis John Fullerman Kelsey Gordon Kia Grant Shannon Hunkele Silvia Kruger Sabrin Najjar Allison Pallija Nathaniel Pink Amal Saleh Jerina Smith Kimberly Smith Michael Stringer Michael Strohl Tim Velotta Timothy Vojta Zachary Weagley Lyndsey Wisniewski
ZONE 7
Kathryn Antal Susan Bowan Crystal Bryski Cari Conaway Rachel Engle Amy Gallagher Jacqueline Hoynes Mark Lias Michael Majzun Jamie Martin Gina McAllister Nicole McGrath Stephanie Oyster Rebecca Phillips Candace Platt Dawn Puryear Douglas Sangregorio Triana Szep Natasha Walski
ZONE 8
Catherine Brookes Meredith Buck Heather Butzer Randy Claes Sheila Doerschuk Jason Dotson Katelyn Dovin Stephanie Garren Adam Hall Judson Hartman Nick Huskins Portia Johnson Natalie Kern Jonathan Nester Charity Patterson Tauja Patterson Troy Russell Crystal Sabik Corey Street Gary Trbovich, Jr
ZONE 9
Joel Fox Chad Kiser Shantel Zwick
ZONE 10
Brad Barboza Roxanne Beard Leslie Buford Sheri Chaffin Aileen Clark Annie Clark Ted Dille Tanya Featherstone Karen Fiedler Sarah Fulton Tiffany Genton Tammy Hanby David Hayward Joseph Huber Susan Jones Suzie Kim Kaylin Lumbard Nancy Moore Shelisa Morgan Kaitlyn Nelson Alexis Owen Nick Powell Sarah Sandrock Chad Schulte Mary Schultz Frank Scutella Lisa Sullivan Maureen Sullivan Nancy Thomas Erica Tucker Kari Ward April Weese Sarah Jean Won
OUT OF STATE Jill Hollander
member reminder Retired members are a major asset to our association. As a token of our appreciation, your first year of retired membership is FREE! Email membership@oaesa.org to update your information and to let us know who now holds your position.
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ohio association of elementary school administrators serving all administrators pre-k through 8
membership form Tell Us About Yourself! Name
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For membership definitions, please view back side. For $100, your professional, aspiring, or associate membership can be upgraded to a PLUS membership allowing 12-month access to the OAESA 360 Feedback Tool.
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Dues paid to OAESA are NOT deductible as charitable contributions. Make check payable to OAESA for both OAESA and NAESP membership dues. Annual membership dues are nonrefundable. How did you hear about us? ___Email __ Website ___Brochure ___Monthly e-newsletter ___Colleague __ Social media ___Mailing/Flyer ___Magazine
Ohio Association of Elementary School Administrators ● 445 Hutchinson Avenue, Suite 700 ● Columbus, OH 43235 ● oaesa.org
445 Hutchinson Ave. Suite 700 Columbus, OH 43235
