INSIGHT — Fall 2016 by Texas Association of School Administrators

TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS PROFESSIONAL JOURNAL

FALL 2016

INSIGHT

How do we best prepare administrators to lead 21st century schools?

Titanium

Diamond

Platinum

Gold

Silver

Bronze Boynton Williams & Associates Architects

FAL 2016 Volume 31 No. 3

INSIGHT FEATURED ARTICLES

Cover Story ➤

EDUCATORS OF THE FUTURE

Preparing tomorrow’s educators requires K-12, postsecondary collaboration

John Egan LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

School Law Section bestows top honor upon TASA’s Neal Adams

LEGAL INSIGHT

Video surveillance in special education settings

Ramiro Canales A ‘RATHER’ INNOVATIVE IDEA

Austin ISD’s Eastside Memorial High School wins inaugural Rather Prize, launches STEP Up program

Martin Rather and Daisy Gray TECH TAKE

Technology offers opportunities for writing instruction

Diana Benner and Alexis Carroll Cline BOOK REVIEWS

What Texas school administrators are reading

SCHOLAR PROFILES

cover image © Christopher Futcher

TASA checks in with the 2015 recipients of the Johnny L. Veselka Scholarship

TSPRA Voice ➤

BUILDING YOUR BRAND

School public relations is more than writing a press release

Jessika Leal Higher Education Trends ➤

60x30TX 33 How will your district support this statewide goal?

Gary Bigham Small Schools Perspective ➤

ETHICS IN BUDGETARY DECISIONS

Superintendents are the stewards of community trust

Eric J. Cederstrom with Jennifer T. Butcher contributing

FALL 2016

INSIGHT

OFFICERS Kevin Brown, President, Alamo Heights ISD Buck Gilcrease, President-Elect, Alvin ISD

DEPARTMENTS

Gayle Stinson, Vice President, Lake Dallas ISD Karen G. Rue, Past President

TASA Professional Learning Calendar

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

President’s Message

Daniel Treviño, Jr., Mercedes ISD, 1

Executive Director’s View

Troy Mircovich, Ingleside ISD, 2 Jeanette Winn, Karnes City ISD, 3 Greg Smith, Clear Creek ISD, 4 Shannon Holmes, Hardin-Jefferson ISD, 5 Clark C. Ealy, College Station ISD, 6 Vacant, 7 Rex Burks, Simms ISD, 8 Kevin L. Dyes, Holliday ISD, 9 Alfred Ray, Duncanville ISD, 10

INSIGHT EDITORIAL STAFF

David Belding, Aubrey ISD, 11 Judi Whitis, Valley Mills ISD, 12

Executive Director

Johnny L. Veselka

Assistant Executive Director, Services and Systems Administration

Ann M. Halstead

Amy Francisco

Director, Communications and Media Relations

Design/Production Anne Harpe

Editorial Director

Katie Ford

INSIGHT is published quarterly by the Texas Association of School Administrators, 406 East 11th Street, Austin, Texas, 78701-2617. Subscription is included in TASA membership dues. © 2016 by TASA. All rights reserved.TASA members may reprint articles in limited quantities for in-house educational use. Articles in INSIGHT are expressions of the author or interviewee and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of TASA. Advertisements do not necessarily carry the endorsement of the Texas Association of School Administrators. INSIGHT is printed by 360 Press Solutions, Cedar Park, Texas.

Douglas Killian, Hutto ISD, 13 Joey Light, Wylie ISD, 14 Aaron Hood, Robert Lee ISD, 15 Steve Post, Tulia ISD, 16 Keith Bryant, Lubbock-Cooper ISD, 17 Andrew Peters, Marfa ISD, 18 Jose G. Franco, Fort Hancock ISD, 19 Brian T. Woods, Northside ISD, 20

AT-LARGE MEMBERS Elizabeth Clark, Birdville ISD Pauline Dow, North East ISD Gonzalo Salazar, Los Fresnos CISD Doug Williams, Sunnyvale ISD

EDITORIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE Gayle Stinson, Lake Dallas ISD, Chair Steve Flores, Round Rock ISD George Kazanas, Midway ISD Michael McFarland, Lancaster ISD Dawson Orr, Southern Methodist University Jill M. Siler, Gunter ISD Greg Smith, Clear Creek ISD Kevin Worthy, Royse City ISD

INSIGHT

TASA Professional Learning Calendar: October 2016–January 2017 For details on our professional development events, please visit us at www.tasanet.org or call the TASA office at 512.477.6361 or 800.725.TASA (8272)

Date

Event

Presenter Location

October October 3–4

Academy for Transformational Leadership Schlechty Center Region 10 ESC – Session 1

Region 10 Education Service Center Richardson, TX

October 4–6

Curriculum Management Audit Training Susan Townsend Level I

TASA Headquarters Austin, TX

October 5–6

Central Office Academy – Various Session 1

Sheraton Georgetown Texas Hotel & Conference Center

October 10–11

Academy for Transformational Leadership Schlechty Center Georgetown – Session 1

Sheraton Georgetown Texas Hotel & Conference Center

October 12–13

First-time Superintendents Academy – Various Session 2

Austin Marriott North Round Rock, TX

October 12–13

FTSA2: Engaging in Leadership – Various Session 1

Austin Marriott North Round Rock, TX

October 25–26

Academy for Transformational Leadership Schlechty Center Klein ISD – Session 2

Klein Multipurpose Center Klein, TX

October 26–28

Harnessing Human Energy for STEM Success: Various A Texas STEM Summit

Space Center Houston Houston, TX

November November 2–3 Engaging the Net Generation Schlechty Center

Sheraton Georgetown Texas Hotel & Conference Center

November 7–8

Academy for Transformational Leadership Schlechty Center Georgetown – Session 2

Sheraton Georgetown Texas Hotel & Conference Center

November 9–10

Academy for Transformational Leadership Schlechty Center Region 10 ESC – Session 2

Region 10 Education Service Center Richardson, TX

November 15–17

Curriculum Management Audit Training Susan Townsend Level II

TASA Headquarters Austin, TX

November 16–17

First-time Superintendents Academy – Various Session 3

Austin Marriott North Round Rock, TX

November 30– December 1

Central Office Academy – Various Session 2

Sheraton Georgetown Texas Hotel & Conference Center

November 30 Assessment Summit NWEA, Various

Sheraton Georgetown Texas Hotel & Conference Center

December December 5–6

Academy for Transformational Leadership Schlechty Center Georgetown – Session 3

Sheraton Georgetown Texas Hotel & Conference Center

December 7–8

Academy for Transformational Leadership Schlechty Center Region 10 ESC – Session 3

Region 10 Education Service Center Richardson, TX

January 9–10

Academy for Transformational Leadership Schlechty Center Region 10 ESC – Session 4

Region 10 Education Service Center Richardson, TX

January 23–24

Academy for Transformational Leadership Schlechty Center Georgetown – Session 4

Sheraton Georgetown Texas Hotel & Conference Center

January 25–26

Academy for Transformational Leadership Schlechty Center Klein ISD – Session 3

Klein Multipurpose Center Klein, TX

January

January 29– TASA Midwinter Conference February 1

Austin Convention Center Austin, TX

Tackle tomorrow's education with today's leaders at SXSWedu!

save o t 1 2 ber o rate t c p u O k y l b R e g i s te r wa e h t ff more than 35% o

M IT IE S

RIA

Influential Keynote Speakers

DY N

Hands-On Learning

T US

Policy Forum Programming

Launch Startup Competition

One-On-One Mentoring

Collaborative Sessions & Workshops

Meet Ups, Mixers & Socials

Visit sxswedu.com/savings

BACK TO THE FUTURE

y grandmother attended and eventually taught in a one-room schoolhouse in rural Kansas, and she spoke fondly of both experiences.

Realizing the importance of education, people in small, rural communities in those days often would come together and build a one-room schoolhouse for their children. Countless school districts across Texas began in a similar fashion, including my district,Alamo Heights ISD, which opened a one-room schoolhouse in 1909.

Kevin Brown

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE As our society moves toward customization, it is unfortunate that our state continues to emphasize standardization in schools.

The way my grandmother told it, her father would take his horse and buggy each day — lovingly called “the kid wagon,” a precursor to the modern school bus — and pick up children along the way to school.Though they didn’t have much money or resources, the people in these communities believed strongly that they needed to hire a great teacher, knowing that the teacher was the key.The community would work together to find a great teacher and then give him or her the necessary support to get the job done. My grandmother had an insatiable love of learning and was one of the most intellectual people I have known — evidence that profound learning could take place in this environment. Even though I wasn’t alive back then, there is something nostalgic about it, especially in today’s environment of state and federal bureaucracy and high-stakes testing.Think about it: An engaged community and a strong teacher constitute a pretty good start to a great education.The teacher was a respected member of the community, and the community realized it had a shared responsibility to educate children. Students worked in multi-age groups at their own pace, helped one another to learn, and felt connected to their school and community in a profound way.Teachers had freedom and flexibility to work with children in a manner they saw fit, and schools had tremendous local control.They were able to customize an educational experience to meet the needs of each child. I am not suggesting we go back a century in time in public education. Clearly, there were many shortcomings to a one-room schoolhouse that I won’t go into here.The point is this:You really need a great teacher and supportive community to get the job done. In the early 20th century, the one-room schoolhouse was replaced by the factory model, which essentially still exists in schools today. Schools became more like factories — bell schedules, students progressing in the same age groups from year to year, subjects taught in isolation, and standardization of nearly everything.This worked quite well for our society and economy at the time; it allowed schools to educate large numbers of children efficiently. In 1909, when Henry Ford rolled out the first Model T, he told his management team,“Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants, so long as it is black.” The assembly line changed the way America worked, and it changed the way schools work. In the 21st century, though, we are moving away from standardization. We customize nearly every product we buy, and our economy requires a workforce that has a very different skill set — especially soft skills, such as creativity, grit, entrepreneurship and leadership. As our society moves toward customization, it is unfortunate that our state continues to emphasize standardization in schools.The growth in high-stakes standardized tests, while well-intended, has gotten

President’s Message continues on page 8

FALL 2016

President’s Message continued from page 7

out of hand. The Texas Education Code has increased by more than 1,100 pages since 1975, a reflection of how local control and flexibility have eroded. It is time for the pendulum to swing away from standardization and state control toward customization and local control. We should be serving the unique strengths of each student through creative, challenging instruction and experiences that inspire learning for life. Schools of the 21st century need flexibility to customize an experience for children that prepares them for a very different world than what the factory model did in the 20th century. Critical thinking,

INSIGHT

creativity, collaboration and communication should be embedded in all that we do. Many of the skills needed in the 21st century can’t be tested, and they get lost when high-stakes testing becomes the focus.

state will allow for greater innovation in our schools.

This is an exciting time in Texas.We have an important calling to serve our children, our communities and our democratic way TASA’s vision provides direction for all of life.Thank you for everything you do to of us regarding what the future of public ensure every child’s unique dreams come education in Texas can be, and it calls for a true. more balanced relationship between state and local control. Much of the work we need to do to prepare our children for the future we can actually do ourselves. There is a lot of exciting work occurring in schools across our state.We should celebrate those many successes and tell those stories. More flexibility from our

NEXT-GENERATION ACCOUNTABILITY:

SETTING ASIDE A-F IS A LEGISLATIVE IMPERATIVE!

W Johnny L. Veselka

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S VIEW A single letter grade, based predominantly on standardized test scores, cannot bring clarity to educational accountability because of the nature and complexity of public education.

hen the 84th Texas Legislature passed House Bill 2804 in May 2015, legislators created the Texas Commission on Next-Generation Assessments and Accountability to develop and recommend new systems of student assessment and public school accountability.The charge to commission members included “policy changes necessary to establish a student assessment and public school accountability system that meets state goals, is community based, promotes parent and community involvement, and reflects the unique needs of each community.” As part of its deliberations, the commission was also required to consider the recommendations of the Texas High Performance Schools Consortium (THPSC) related to innovative, next-generation learning standards and assessment and accountability systems.While some aspects of the commission’s report reflect the THPSC’s ongoing work to transform the state’s assessment and accountability systems, the report falls far short in failing to address the A-F accountability ratings that are scheduled to be implemented for the 2017-2018 school year. In HB 2804, the Legislature also postponed the requirement for the commissioner to assign A, B, C, D or F grades to districts and campuses beyond the upcoming legislative session. One might conclude that, perhaps, before finally adopting the A-F rating system, they wanted to gain further insight regarding issues associated with A-F ratings and possible “next-generation” alternatives that might be advanced by the commission. Since Florida launched its test-based A-F system at the urging of Gov. Jeb Bush in 1999, 17 states have adopted some form of this system. While advocates of A-F argue that it is “simple and transparent” and can be easily understood, nothing could be further from the truth. A single letter grade, based predominantly on standardized test scores, cannot bring clarity to educational accountability because of the nature and complexity within each public school.When that complexity is reduced to a single grade, it may represent some components accurately by chance, but it will undoubtedly misrepresent a good many others, if not most of them. An A-F system fails to account for the presence of socioeconomic conditions that in turn influence performance.Wealthy schools are not automatically good schools, and poor schools are not automatically bad schools, and yet A-F grading systems tend to reward schools accordingly. Rather than help each improve according to its needs, the system tends to punish poor schools for being poor while telling rich schools they are doing fine.That leaves poorer schools even further behind, because the most likely means to achieve a higher grade in an A-F system is to change the demographic of the school. Most poor schools accomplish a great deal in regard to their students, and with the right information they can accomplish even more. A-F systems instead frequently suggest poor schools are bad schools and insist upon changes without any sense of what those changes might be. John Tanner, a passionate advocate for excellence in schools, author of “The Pitfalls of Reform,” and a consultant to TASA and local school districts, poses the following question: Do high or rising scores from the state test on a few core subjects signal that a worthwhile benefit has been provided? The answer is no. Any A-F system fails as a meaningful indicator of educational performance, creating more confusion than clarity, while damaging schools striving to prepare their students for college and career. Executive Director’s Message continues on page 11

FALL 2016

march 2–4, 2017 • new orleans, la

visionary leadership on thought-provoking topics FEATURED SESSIONS: Thursday, March 2 9am Redesigning Professional Development Systems — Leadership, Feedback and Impact

3:45pm

Friday, March 3 10:45am Leading Adaptive Change: A Systems Approachto Improving Instructional Effectiveness

Community Schools: Cultivating Opportunity, Equity and Agency Innovative Strategies to Close the Homework Gap Beyond Principal Supervision, Building a System of Support for Principal Success

For a fu ll list of Though t Leade r speaker s and content www.aa , visit sa.org/n ce

Executive Director’s Message continued from page 9

In a recent study commissioned by the Oklahoma State Department of Education, researchers at the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University found that student achievement had not improved under the A-F system:“Not only have test scores stagnated or declined generally, performance drops have been most severe among low-income students.” The study also found that schools with lower grades tended to do better with subpopulation groups than higher graded schools, and that schools with similar test score patterns received very different grades.What grades mean in such an environment is impossible to know. Even more confusing is that they provide no sense of what any school must do to improve. Contrary to testimony presented before the commission by advocates of the

Florida system, the significant growth in Florida’s student performance (the number of schools receiving A’s nearly tripled in the first two years of implementation) was largely associated with changes in state policy and rules rather than actual improvement. A-F system rules are frequently adjusted so the results match public expectation, meaning that the systems are seen operating properly when the results conform to some preconceived bias. It seems that at the heart of A-F systems is the desire to confirm a hypothesis that some schools are good and some are bad, a fact every educator already recognizes. What educators need are high-quality tools designed to support improvement. A-F systems were designed to do something else entirely. Recognizing the numerous issues with such systems, the state of Virginia wisely repealed its A-F school rating system in 2015.

Texas has a unique opportunity, when the 85th Legislature convenes in January, to draw on the experiences of these states and replace our A-F system with something better. Texas schools need a next-generation accountability program that is not overly reliant on high-stakes testing, but is well-balanced and instructionally sensitive, coupled with a defensible system of assessment focused on high-priority learning standards. Such a system will hold value for students, parents, teachers and policy makers. It would value what each community holds as uniquely important, support high-quality instruction and provide a clear process for community input.

Our Texas Clients Have Saved Over $358 Million Through Cenergistic’s Energy Management Program For three decades, Cenergistic has revolutionized our clients’ approach to energy — with remarkable results. Learn how you can: • Cut energy costs by 25 percent or more • Get advanced engineering and systems training for facilities staff

• Eliminate all financial risk with savings guaranteed to exceed any investment • Do all this without having to invest in capital projects to replace equipment

You shape the educational future for thousands of children each year. Shape their energy future as well.

www.cenergistic.com

® ®

FALL 2016

EDUCATORS OF THE FUTURE “We can’t wait, in my opinion, for the federal government or the

Preparing tomorrow’s educators requires K-12, postsecondary collaboration by John Egan

state government to change policy before we change practice. I think they need to happen at the same time.” —Denise Collier, education consultant

K-12 leaders and postsecondary leaders might not see eye-to-eye on everything, but they do agree on at least one thing: Collaboration is critical. In a 2009 survey conducted by edBridge Partners and Peter D. Hart Research Associates, 90 percent of school district superintendents and 80 percent of college leaders rated collaboration as extremely or very important. However, only one-third of the leaders said their collaborative efforts were extremely or very effective. In the seven years since that survey was taken, opinions about collaboration between K-12 and postsecondary leaders almost certainly have shifted, for better or for worse.And in one key area of collaboration — preparing K-12 leaders, through postsecondary instruction, to lead future-ready schools — plenty of work remains to be done. Texas education consultant Denise Collier says fully transforming college and university programs so that they’re producing future-ready educators “has not yet been achieved.” Acknowledging that such collaboration is not a natural byproduct of the K-12 and higher education sectors, Collier says she believes it is incumbent upon professionals in those two fields to share “authentic” accountability in designing future-ready programs for educators. Throughout Texas, the future-ready movement is gaining momentum at public and private colleges and universities. At schools like Dallas Baptist University (DBU), Sam Houston University in Huntsville, The University of Texas at Austin and Texas State University in San Marcos, initiatives are underway to position K-12 teachers and administrators to lead the schools of the future, not the schools of the present. “We need to create schools that work for all children, and that starts with great teachers,” says Neil Dugger, dean of DBU’s Bush College of Education.“It also requires campus and district-level leadership that enables teachers to perform at the highest levels, using various outcomes to determine success.” Dugger says training of teachers at DBU’s College of Education involves, among other things, working in public school classrooms in each of the four years of their program and absorbing in-depth knowledge about technology. Future K-12 administrators also undergo rigorous instruction at DBU, according to Dugger.Whether a student is pursuing a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree in education, he or she must meet high standards to be admitted to one of DBU’s programs, Dugger says. As DBU and other schools around the state are forging ahead with future-ready initiatives, future-ready collaboration is happening more broadly in Texas.

INSIGHT

For instance, the Center for Research, Evaluation and Advancement of Teacher Education (CREATE) at the University of Houston’s College of Education, founded in 2004, is striving to “advance the quality and effectiveness” of teacher preparation programs at colleges and universities in Texas. In all, 56 public and private schools that train teachers belong to the research consortium. “Our cur rent efforts are focused on designing, developing and delivering strategic, data-driven analyses about Texas teachers and their preparation, particularly university-based teacher preparation,” says Catherine Horn, executive director of CREATE.

CREATE’s work takes on even greater significance in light of one of the consortium’s research findings. Horn says CREATE’s research shows a “tremendous teacher shortage” in high-need areas in Texas, as well as a “huge exodus” from the teaching ranks. CREATE’s study of firsttime teachers entering classrooms in the fall of 2009 revealed that five years later, 38 percent of those teachers had left the education field, according to Horn. Although there isn’t a severe shortage of qualified K-12 building administrators in Texas,“we do see similar attrition patterns,” she says. “Principals and assistant principals aren’t staying in the roles.”

As CREATE, theTexas High Performance Schools Consortium, the Texas Association of School Administrators’ MISSION: School Transformation initiative and other projects take on the colossal task of preparing K-12 teachers and administrators to lead the schools of tomorrow, Collier urges supporters of future-ready education For years, CREATE has been cranking to advocate for policy changes in state and federal legislative bodies, as well as within out data for two projects: communities and school districts. n Performance Assessment for Colleges of Education (PACE). This data tool “We can’t wait, in my opinion, for the helps improve the quality of teacher federal government or the state governpreparation programs at colleges and ment to change policy before we change universities in Texas. practice. I think they need to happen at n Data Reporting Tool for Schools the same time,” says Collier, who also lec(DaRTS). DaRTS is a reporting system tures at Texas State University. that provides information to school districts about employment, assign- For example, school board members, ment and retention trends of district superintendents, principals and other eduteachers. cation leaders must communicate with their local colleges and universities about Most recently, CREATE received a grant the future-ready knowledge and skills from the National Science Foundation they need in K-12 educators who will be to lead an eight-institution study of K-12 graduating from those schools, Collier says. teacher and student outcomes tied to the foundation’s Robert Noyce Teacher “I hope that higher education can stay Scholarship Program, which seeks to connected to the [K-12] field and conboost the number of STEM teachers in tinue to partner with school districts so high-need school districts. that we continue to help aspiring leaders,” says Julie Combs, director of the Center for Research and Doctoral Studies in

Educational Leadership at Sam Houston State University. Additionally, experts say, students planning to study education should do their homework before enrolling at a college or university. Collier recommends approaching this process just like a “thoughtful” consumer would, making sure the curriculum is up to snuff. Furthermore, Collier says, the student should provide honest feedback about what’s working and what’s not working in his or her chosen program. “One must have a passion to serve to be successful in this field. It is not about getting a position of authority, but getting a position where you serve the best,” Dugger adds. Horn of CREATE shares that sentiment. “To take on the role of an educator is to commit to being serious about changing the future of our state and our country for the better. It is a grueling job full of privilege, promise and stewardship,” she says. While experts acknowledge the need to surmount any number of obstacles in preparing K-12 educators in Texas, they’re optimistic about what the future holds. “My biggest hope is that the efforts to prepare future and current teachers and administrators will become an integrated part of preparing strong K-12 graduates,” Horn says. “The more the boundaries between K-12 and higher education become intentionally and thoughtfully blurry — in setting and aligning expectations, for example — the better served are all of our K-16 students and, ultimately, the state.” John Egan is a freelance writer and former editor of the Austin Business Journal.

FALL 2016

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD School Law Section bestows top honor on TASA’s Neal Adams The School Law Section of the Texas State Bar has bestowed upon school law attorney Neal Adams the 2016 Kelly Frels Lifetime Achievement Award. Adams, who has served as TASA’s outside general counsel since 1987, received the top honor during the School Law Section’s annual summer retreat in Galveston in July.

dams, a founding principal at Adams, Lynch & Loftin P.C., says his thoughts turn to the people he has worked with over the years when he considers what “lifetime achievement” means to him. He became involved with the School Law Section in the early 1980s, not long after its inception.The lawyer-led organization was created to improve educational and networking opportunities for school law attorneys in Texas. Adams chaired the organization for the 1999-2000 term. “When you practice law for 46 years and almost 30 of those years practicing school law, you don’t even think about the time as it flies by,” Adams says. “The first thing that came to mind was that in accepting a lifetime achievement award, it is not just about your accomplishments. It is about the people who have stood with you and by you through your career, such as the lawyers with whom I practice in our law firm, as well as our legal assistants, paralegals and staff who share this award. “You don’t receive a lifetime achievement award in anything unless you have someone like my wife, Sonja, for 48 years standing by you. She is a retired third-grade teacher,” Adams continues.“I have been truly blessed to have people who have worked with me in representing the school superintendents who have made it possible to even be in a position to receive such a blessed award as this one.” Adams, who earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Texas A&M University in 1968 and his juris doctor from Baylor University in 1970, began a lifelong career of advocating for Texas public schools when he was appointed to the Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD Board of Trustees in 1979. He quickly became involved with the Texas Association of School Boards and National Association of School Boards and made it a habit to attend the continuing legal education programs for school lawyers.

INSIGHT

Adams spent much of the 1980s rolling up his sleeves and serving on TASB’s legislative and budget and finance committees. His breadth of knowledge and strong work ethic caught the attention of TASA Executive Director JohnnyVeselka.

In reflecting on the field of school law during his career, Adams cites the growth of the School Law Section — from a little more than 100 lawyers in the late 1980s to more than 900 lawyers today — as “an indication of the number of issues and the complexity of those issues facing school “In May of 1987, Dr.Veselka, along with districts today.” TASA officers John Horn, Jack Johnson and Lee Myers, came to my office and “The state of Texas is very unique, asked if my law firm and I would con- compared to other states where I have sider becoming outside general counsel of represented superintendents, because TASA and represent the school superin- of the significant involvement of TASA tendents of Texas,”Adams recalls.“Neither and TASB in addressing those complex TASA nor the superintendents had had issues that have grown over the years, both a lawyer who specifically concentrated legislatively and practically,” he says. “I his school law practice on representing believe that through the years, TASA has the school superintendents and other made great strides to pass legislation that administrators of the state. That meeting clearly delineates the legal, statutory role of began an almost 30-year blessed relation- superintendents versus the legal, statutory ship with TASA and the superintendents role of individual board members and the of Texas.” school board.” Throughout his career, Adams has consistently offered his time and expertise to hospitals, foundations, nonprofits and schools in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford area. He also has held national posts with NASB and statewide posts with TASB, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the College for All Texans Foundation.

Adams goes on to say that TASA has been a “huge asset” to aspiring superintendents through programs like the First-time Superintendents Academy, which educates novice administrators on the legal, practical and political implications of being a school superintendent in Texas.

Looking ahead, Adams says he is most excited about the addition of three lawyers in his law firm who also represent TASA and Texas school superintendents: Rick Hill,Allan Graves and Cory Hartsfield. “This means as I begin to move into the twilight of my career, I have confidence that there are three gentlemen who have the knowledge, experience and passion to assure that the men and women who aspire to — and do — become superintendents are represented in an appropriate manner.” Adams says he feels blessed to represent school superintendents “because of what they represent in providing leadership to independent school districts of this state.” “(Their leadership) makes such a difference in the opportunities that young people have to better themselves to become productive citizens in their communities, our state and nation,” he says. “It has truly been a privilege to represent these fine men and women who always think of others, and not themselves, in n leading their districts.”

FALL 2016

Texas Reads One Book Once again, we are proud to offer this unique opportunity in Texas...

Jason Garrett

Head Coach of the Dallas Cowboys

leads the charge with a huge Texas style kick-off this coming spring as

Texas Reads One Book!

Coach Garrett reads the first chapter via exclusive video cast - then each of the families in your district reads a chapter each night.

Jason Garrett

Head Coach of the Dallas Cowboys

KICKOFF : April 3, 2017

FALL SPECIAL

Choose one title for your custom One District, One Book® reading event in the fall or winter… then read The Lemonade War for Texas Reads One Book in the spring - all for $8.95. General registration continues through March 1st. You’ll receive books for every student as well as in-school activities, assembly ideas, teacher resources, and family engagement tools. Tens of thousands of families across the state will read together in this celebration of literacy.

TASA TASA

Send an e-mail to sign up your district! texasreads@readtothem.org

Texas Association of School Texas Association ofAdministrators School Administrators

® Creating a Culture of Literacy in Every Home

LEGAL INSIGHT Video surveillance in special education settings by Ramiro Canales

Video surveillance in special education

uring the 84th Texas Legislature, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 507.The bill requires video surveillance of special education classrooms in school districts and open-enrollment charter schools.The bill granted the Texas Education Agency (TEA) the authority to adopt rules to implement the new law.After Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill into law, questions arose as to whether video cameras were required in all classrooms or only in special education classrooms.The language in SB 507 is not clear.

settings likely will continue to be a topic of interest during the 85th Texas Legislature.

On March 11, Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath requested an expedited opinion from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton regarding the intent and statutory construction of SB 507. Specifically, Morath sought legal guidance on the following questions: (1) whether a request for video surveillance is limited to one self-contained, instructional setting, (2) whether parents can limit their requests to one or more specific instructional settings, (3) whether the term “staff member” applies to campus employees only or campus employees with supervisory authority, and (4) whether video surveillance can be terminated after circumstances have substantially changed. The request remains pending. TEA released proposed rules after Morath requested an opinion from the attorney general. Public comments on the proposed rules were accepted between April 8 and May 9. A public hearing was held on May 19.After reviewing the public comments and testimony from the hearing,TEA made changes to the proposed rules.The final rules went into effect on August 15. Any opinion issued by the attorney general may result in changes to the final rules.

Key definitions A “parent” means in part “a person ... whose child receives special education and related services for at least 50 percent of the instruction day in the self-contained classroom or other special education setting.” The term also means “a student who receives special education and related services for at least 50 percent of the instructional day in the self-contained classroom or other special education setting and who is 18 years of age or older or whose disabilities of minority have been removed for general purposes ... unless the student has been determined to be incompetent or the student’s rights have been otherwise restricted by a court order.” A “staff member” is defined as “a teacher, related service provider, paraprofessional or educational aide assigned to work in the self-contained classroom or other special education setting. The term also includes “the principal or an assistant principal of the campus at which the self-contained classroom or other special education setting is located.” A “self-contained classroom” means “a classroom on a regular school campus (i.e., a campus that serves students in general education and students in special education) of a school district or an

Legal Insight continues on page 18

FALL 2016

Legal Insight continued from page 17

open-enrollment charter school in which a majority of the students in regular attendance are provided special education and related services and have one of the following instructional arrangements/settings described in the student attendance accounting handbook ... : (a) self-contained (mild/moderate/severe) campus; (b) full-time early childhood (preschool program for children with disabilities) special education setting; (c) residential care and treatment facility – self-contained (mild/moderate/severe) regular campus; (d) residential care and treatment facility – full-time early childhood special education setting; (e) off home campus – self-contained (mild/moderate/severe) regular campus; or (f) off home campus – full-time early childhood special education setting.” The rules also define “other special education setting” as “a classroom on a separate campus (i.e., a campus that serves only students who receive special education and related services) of a school district or open-enrollment charter school in which a majority of the students in regular attendance are provided special education and related services and have one of the following instructional arrangements/settings described in the student attendance accounting handbook ... : (a) residential care and treatment facility – separate campus; or (b) off home campus – separate campus.”

of a student by another student; and (b) allegedly occurred in a self-contained classroom or other special education setting in which video surveillance … is conducted.”

Applicability Video surveillance is required during the school year and during extended school year services.

Exclusions A nonpublic school and campus of another district or charter school is not eligible to receive video equipment from a school district or open-enrollment charter school that is required to provide it.

Funding IDEA funds and state public education funds cannot be used to purchase video equipment or conduct surveillance. School districts and open-enrollment charter schools may solicit for and accept gifts, grants and donations.

Complaints regarding noncompliance

The district’s or charter school’s local grievance procedures — or other dispute resolution processes — must be used to address complaints alleging that the video surveillance requirements have been vio“Incident” means “an event or circum- lated. The federal procedures to resolve stance that (a) involves alleged ‘abuse’ or special education disputes do not apply. ‘neglect,’ as those terms are described in Texas Family Code §261.001, or a stu- Adopting policies and dent by an employee of the school district procedures or charter school or alleged ‘physical abuse’ or ‘sexual abuse,’ as those terms are School boards and governing bodies of described in Texas Family Code §261.410, open-enrollment charter schools must

INSIGHT

adopt written policies relating to video surveillance. The TEA rules provide that, at a minimum, the policies must include 13 statements, procedures or requirements. Four of the minimal requirements are (1) “the procedures for requesting video surveillance and the procedures for responding to a request for video surveillance,” (2) “the procedures for providing advanced written notice to the campus staff and the parents of the students assigned to a self-contained classroom or other special education setting that video and audio surveillance will be conducted in the classroom or setting,” (3) “a statement regarding the personnel who will have access to video equipment or video recordings for purposes of operating and maintaining the equipment or recordings,” and (4) “the procedures for reporting a complaint alleging that an incident occurred in a self-contained classroom or other special education setting in which video surveillance … is conducted.”

Confidentiality, reporting and reviewing Video recordings are confidential and may only be viewed by (1) a staff member or other employee of a school district or charter school, (2) a parent of a student involved in an incident, (3) personnel from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services who are conducting an investigation, (4) a peace officer, school nurse, administrator or a human resources staff member, or (5) TEA or State Board for Educator Certification personnel who are conducting an investigation. A person who has cause to believe that a video recording has documented possible abuse or neglect of a child is required to submit a report to the Texas Department

of Family and Protective Services. A person who believes a video recording violates a school district’s or charter school’s policy may allow legal and human resources personnel to view it. Lastly, a video recording that documents a possible violation of a policy may be used against school district or charter school personnel in a disciplinary action. Moreover, an employee who is the subject of a disciplinary action may request and view the video recording of the alleged violation at issue. Also, upon a parent’s

request, the video recording must be in legislative changes to clarify the intent released in a legal proceeding. The TEA and scope of the law. rules do not limit a parent’s right to a student’s record under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 or Ramiro Canales is an attorney and any other law. the assistant executive director of governmental relations at TASA. Video surveillance in special education settings likely will continue to be a topic of interest during the 85th Texas Legislature. Revisions to SB 507 are possible in Disclaimer: School districts that have questions light of the concerns that school districts regarding the applicability and implementation and stakeholders have raised. An opinion of SB 507 and the TEA rules should consult from the attorney general also may result with their legal counsel.

Safety.

It’s Our Favorite Subject At United Heartland, we’re specialists in handling the workers’ compensation needs of schools and educational systems. We partner with you to help improve the safety of your operations, reduce your claim costs and get your employees back to work as quickly as possible. We’re also experts in managing risks related to food service operations, environmental services, student and staff transportation, health services and security. Discover how your organization can benefit from UH’s service-oriented approach to underwriting, claims and loss control as we design an insurance program focused on lowering your cost of risk. Call 1-800-2582667 or visit UnitedHeartland.com to learn more and find an agent near you.

FALL 2016

Is your DISTRICT struggling with employee ABSENCES? We can help. We recruit, hire, train, place, and manage thousands of qualified substitutes to meet our partner district’s daily needs.

HIGHLIGHTS OF YOUR DISTRICT’S CUSTOMIZED PROGRAM:

•

Highly qualified substitute teachers, paraprofessionals, & support staff

•

All-inclusive technology – absence tracking and time & attendance

• •

Increased fill rates

• • • •

100% compliance

•

Elimination of all headaches associated with ACA Payroll and insurance savings

Customized recruiting & marketing Extensive onsite training programs Dedicated district management team

After successful growth across the Eastern United States we are excited to expand our services to Texas for the 2016/17 school year.

Contact Fred Bentsen today, learn how we can help your district stop the absentee struggle. 832.244.5015 I FBentsen@Source4Teachers.com Source4Teachers.com | Source4Teachers is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE).

A ‘RATHER’ INNOVATIVE IDEA Austin ISD’s Eastside Memorial High School wins inaugural Rather Prize, launches STEP Up program by Martin Rather and Daisy Gray

astside Memorial High School is no stranger to challenges. Predominantly serving students from low-income families in East Austin, the former Johnston High School became Eastside Memorial while facing closure eight years ago. Under new leadership since 2011, the school has seen its graduation rate jump from 69 percent to 96 percent in the past three years, and it continues to meet state standards on STAAR tests. Thanks to health sciences teacher Sanford Jeames’ proposed STEP Up Challenge program, the school now looks beyond high school graduation.The program aims to increase mentorship and college access for Eastside students. At SXSWedu 2016 this past spring, Dan and Martin Rather announced that Jeames’ program won the inaugural Rather Prize, which recognizes the best idea to improve education in Texas.

Under new leadership since 2011, the school has seen its graduation rate jump from 69 percent to 96 percent in the past three years, and it continues to meet state standards on STAAR tests.

Over the summer, the Rather Prize, in partnership with Rice University’s Center for Civic Leadership, under the supervision of Caroline Quenemoen, hired four Rice students to implement Jeames’ winning idea. One of Eastside’s project specialists, Harry Brooks, explains:“We’re starting to build a positive relationship with the community.That’s huge for students’ success. If it means something to the adult, it will mean something to the student.”

A dynamic approach Jeames’ idea aims to put college in reach of more Eastside students or make college aspirations normative among Eastside students. For many of these students, the idea of pursuing a college education seems out of reach. Many have indicated a lack of confidence in their knowledge of the college admissions process, particularly financial aid. For students working part-time jobs to support their families, the hefty price tag of a college education seems an insurmountable obstacle. Brooks attributes problems like these to the limited resources available to students. “They don’t have the benefit of knowing someone, having someone in their family telling them how to do it,” he says. This disconnect between students and resources is evident in Eastside’s college enrollment statistics. While the school graduates 96 percent of its students — a noteworthy accomplishment — it sends only 15 percent to college.At a school where students are surpassing expectations on standardized tests, more can be done. That’s where the STEP Up Challenge enters the picture. Jeames, a teacher renowned within the school for his engaging lectures and hands-on approach, had his students’ best — and long-term — interests in mind when he came up with the idea. With attention on mentoring, Jeames has connected his A ‘Rather’ Innovative Idea continues on page 22

FALL 2016

A ‘Rather’ Innovative Idea continued from page 21

health sciences students with local hospitals, providing them with the opportunity to explore potential careers and learn from experts. To increase matriculation of Eastside students to universities, Jeames’ program will partner with universities and local businesses to provide guidance for high school students to close his students’ comparative knowledge gap. Only months after winning the Rather Prize, Jeames’ proposal is well underway. In April, state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez hosted a private event at the Texas Capitol in Eastside’s honor. Rodriguez’s event included a Capitol tour and reception that allowed Eastside students to interact with community leaders and political insiders in the Capitol Members’ Lounge. This past summer, Jeames and Brooks began a Summer Leadership Institute, geared toward college readiness and professional skills for Eastside’s top-performing students. Despite these students’ hesitation when it came to college applications, they expressed confidence in more interactive skills. Many students felt comfortable in interviews. And, when encouraged by Rather Prize interns during a business skills lesson, the Eastside students delivered elevator pitches and practiced leaving professional voicemails with confidence.Weekly, students had the opportunity to visit colleges throughout Texas.The institute culminated in a trip to Rice University, where students sat in on college classes and heard from representatives of admissions, financial aid and senior university leadership.

and business preparation lessons as most young men at the university. This school year, Eastside is shifting the mentoring beneficial to them moving forward. focus from tutoring to college readiness. Jeames says he is proud of the progress Mentors will spend more time sharing the students have made. He continues to personal stories of getting into college and look toward the future, noting, “It would assisting students with applications and be ideal if these students would begin to financial aid. mentor underclassmen at EMHS.” Richard Reddick, advisor to the Texas Winning the Rather Prize has affected Blazers, says that despite the socioeconomic disadvantages of many Eastside morale at the school. students, they have the skills needed for “You have a lot of excitement,” Brookes college. He says they simply need mensays. “There are now kids seeing and tors to help them access the tools for their believing that there are people who genu- academic and professional growth. inely care about where they will go and In addition to the support of the Texas how they will get there.” Blazers, Eastside will forge relationships Adds Jeames: “Students immediately rec- with mentors in the Austin business ognized that outsiders viewed their school community. These mentors will connect as a more positive atmosphere and institu- Eastside students with career resources and tion. Many of the students felt a sense of introduce them to the business world. pride in their teachers and administration upon learning of their extended commit- “The overall theme of our concept is for students to be more competitive in their ment to their future.” development of goals,” Jeames says. “This Haley Del Rio, a senior at Eastside, speaks begins with enhanced exposure to options, which currently are limited to only what of the program’s influence. is seen in immediate surroundings.” “We’ll get to see college life and talk to real college students,” she says. “A lot of With the Rather Prize and community times, I don’t see a lot of minorities. It will investment, Eastside students are getting definitely help me to see minorities in big the support they deserve. places, because that’s where I’m going.” The Rather Prize is now open to submisAustin ISD Superintendent Paul Cruz sions for the 2017 year. Submissions for the calls the award-winning program “a next best idea in Texas education are open to students, teachers and administrators game-changer.” in Texas. The person behind the winning “For Eastside Memorial, students have idea receives a $10,000 educational grant new opportunities to learn and grow, and and $10,000 in institutional support from I know it will be a great learning experi- Rice University’s Center for Civic Leadership to implement the winning proposal. ence for them,” he says. Visit www.ratherprize.org to submit.

When surveyed on their last day at the institute, 73 percent of students expressed confidence in filling out a financial aid form — more than double the number Mentoring in action at the start of the program. Likewise, the majority of leadership institute students Before the Rather Prize, Eastside had stated they knew what schools they could mentors through the UT-Austin Texas and should apply to, citing campus visits Blazers program, a service organization for 22

INSIGHT

Martin Rather is the founder and operational director of the Rather Prize. Daisy Gray is a research assistant at the Rather Prize.

TECH TAKE Technology offers opportunities for writing instruction by Diana Benner and Alexis Carroll Cline

esearch has shown us time and again that the most valued skill in the U.S. workforce is communication, and a 2015 Pew Research poll confirms this belief: 94 percent of college-educated Americans ranked communication as the most important factor in workplace success. As educators who manage large classes of students and enjoy very little time for one-on-one teaching and learning, the onus is daunting. How can we prepare our students to communicate effectively when our time communicating with those students is so limited? What must we do, and what tools are available to aid in this essential instruction?

Offering specific feedback that includes constructive criticism and recognition of successful elements is essential for developing a student’s ability to improver his or her writing.

Offering specific feedback that includes constructive criticism and recognition of successful elements is essential for developing a student’s ability to improve his or her writing.We know that “informing your students of their successes will motivate them, contribute to their self-esteem, and will give them information they can use to improve” (Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick, 2006). This type of feedback is time-consuming, but crucial. The research also tells us we should offer “comments as often as is practically possible. Students need feedback when their learning goals are still present in mind and when they have an opportunity to act upon it” (Brookhart, 2008). Again, the writing teacher is tasked with providing thorough feedback in a timely manner, which poses a significant challenge for the typical teacher. This is where technology can help. By providing immediate feedback for students — whether via student collaboration or with the assistance of specific writing software — technical edits and revisions can be made before the document is submitted to the instructor for final review. “The Handbook of Writing Research” notes: “Automated systems can then provide students with significantly more opportunities to practice their writing, along with suggestions and strategies for how to revise their essays and develop their writing skills.” This layer of feedback and revision frees the teacher to focus on and address larger structural issues, arguments and logic in the document. As writing teachers and technology advocates, we have used the following applications and programs to enhance writing instruction. By facilitating collaboration and multiple revisions before a document is finalized, we are better preparing students for the writing projects they will encounter in college and career.

Google Docs In addition to its cloud-based design, which allows collaborators to access work from their Internet-connected devices, the free Google Docs app has a number of built-in features that aid in a collaborative-writing process. Tech Take continues on page 24

FALL 2016

Tech Take continued from page 23

When providing feedback, you can highlight text and insert a comment so that the student understands exactly which part of the text you are referencing. Items can be discussed or “resolved” at any time. Whether students are working simultaneously or at different times in a Google document, color-coded cursors allow you to see who is making which changes. Teachers and collaborators also can use the Revision History option to see who worked on the document and when. Especially when working on an initial draft, the voice-typing feature in Google Docs is a helpful and surprisingly accurate way to get your ideas onto the page.There are add-ons — both free and paid — that have advanced voice-based features. Read & Write for Google Chrome is a great example. However, the average user likely will be completely satisfied without any add-ons. We use Google Docs regularly for inoffice collaboration and for training purposes. To view one of Diana Benner’s Google Docs lessons, visit http://bit. ly/2aMCPZm.

Add-ons As mentioned above, there are add-ons available for students who need to use voice commands and have text read aloud. You can search for add-ons in the Chrome store; you’ll be surprised by the number and variety of add-ons available for free. If you have a student with a specific challenge, a quick search can turn up several options. The following are add-ons that we have used successfully. Pupil Pref makes it easy to change the background color of a Google Doc,

INSIGHT

which reduces visual stress and also can Developed by a middle school teacher, the help visual learners more easily organize interface is structured so that vocabulary document types. words, the writing prompt and any related concepts (like idioms, alliteration, etc.) SAS Writing Advisor and Pro-Writing appear on the same screen where your Aid are add-ons that check for grammar students type their work. correctness and consistency, find overused or vague words, scan for plagiarism and In all Boomwriter tools, students can crehelp overall readability. These add-ons are ate books by responding to a prompt and/ not equal to a good teacher, but they are or writing chapters. All the students vote far superior to the built-in grammar check on the best story (authors are anonymous) found in programs like Microsoft Word. and can comment on each other’s work. The competition pushes young writers The ease with which you can copy and to be creative, and the teacher is able to paste content from the internet makes send feedback, ask for revision and work teaching good citation skills essential one-on-one with students privately inside in today’s classroom. There is a research the app. option within Google Docs that makes searching the Web even easier, but students The primary application for ProjectWriter will likely do better using Google Scholar is the science or social studies classroom. for academic research. Honestly, BoomWriter projects are so fun that you may want to experiment for a The citations themselves are best dealt cross-curricular project, even if you don’t with using an add-on like EasyBib, which specialize in writing. While BoomWriter makes citing sources simple. You can will print the books your class creates choose your style guide and EasyBib will for a fee, the platform itself is free for all generate an alphabetized bibliography at educators. the end of your paper. How we wish this tool had been available during our college At TCEA 2016, we discovered Research days! Assistant from Turnitin, a platform known for its robust plagiarism checker. Revision Technology that provides Assistant is the closest approximation to an actual writing teacher we’ve seen yet.With feedback one of the program’s 40-plus prompts or If your students are able to work a little your own, student feedback falls into the more independently, a few robust writ- following four categories: Clarity and ing platforms have emerged that enable Focus, Use of Evidence, Development of students to strengthen their work with less Ideas, or Language and Genre Awareness. teacher interaction. Two we have experimented with are ProjectWriter from This is not a grammar and spell-check BoomWriter and Revision Assistant from tool. It is more like a virtual writing center Turnitin. than anything else.A favorite feature is the “signal check,” which students can request If you haven’t used BoomWriter tools, at any time. It allows for instantaneous especially if you are an elementary feedback on specific portions of content. educator, you should check them out.

After experimenting with the Revision Assistant tool, we asked for data on its impact on student writing. According to Turnitin, in a 2015 pilot study, 164 teachers and 3,439 high school and middle school students used the tool. Of those users, 94 percent of the students revised their work at least one time with Revision Assistant. Middle school students revised an average of 10 times, while high school students revised six times. We can summarize our experience as teachers no better than authors Andrea Lunsford and Lisa Ede have done in “Writing Together: Collaboration in Theory and Practice, a Critical Sourcebook.” The authors wrote, “The research in collaborative learning theory is clear and unequivocal: Real learning occurs in interaction as students actively use concepts and ideas or strategies in order to assimilate them.” Supporting peer-to-peer collaboration and offering constructive feedback for our students are critical to developing the communication skills our students need. Technology can help us to develop our students’ technical skills and allow us to focus on message and argument development. As we strive to provide the most individualized learning possible for our kids, these tools will become increasingly important and commonplace in our classrooms.

References Allen, Laura K.; Jacovina, Matthew E.; and McNamara, Danielle S. (2015). “Computer-based writing instruction.” Handbook of Writing Research, 316-329. Brookhart, S. (2008). “How to Give Effective Feedback to Your Students.” Downloaded from www.ascd.org/publications/books/108019.aspx on May 14, 2014. Goo, Sara Kehaulani. “The Skills Americans Say Kids Need to Succeed in Life.” Pew Research Center RSS. Pew Research Center. Feb. 19, 2015. Lunsford, Andrea A., and Lisa S. Ede. (2012). “Writing Together: Collaboration in Theory and Practice, a Critical Sourcebook.” Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 162-63. Nicol, D. and Macfarlane-Dick, D. (2006). “Formative Assessment and SelfRegulated Learning: A Model and Seven Principles of Good Feedback Practice.” Studies in Higher Education, Vol. 31 (2), 199-218. “Turnitin Revision Assistant Results from the Classroom: Pilot Study Review.” (2015).

September 23–25, 2016

www.tasa.tasb.org

Explore TASA’s Diana Benner is the director of professional development for the Texas Computer Education Association. Alexis Carroll Cline is the communications manager for the Texas Computer Education Association.

Student-Centered Schools Future-Ready Students http://www.tasanet.org/Transformation

FALL 2016

BOOK REVIEWS What Texas school administrators are reading

Multipliers by Liz Wiseman with Greg McKeown

Reviewed by Vicki Adams, Superintendent, Hillsboro ISD

ore than likely, you have had experiences with a variety of types of leadership. Did these leaders cause you and others around you to stretch yourselves and multiply your output, or did they diminish your creative talents and dedication? As administrators and teacher leaders, we are naturally high achievers, and we may have moved into our positions because of our intellectual capacities. But are we utilizing others to the best of their abilities? Are we “Multipliers”? Or are we “Diminishers”? Authors Liz Wiseman and Greg McKeown share their insightful research in “Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter.” Oftentimes, leaders may feel they have to be the smartest, most talented people in the room to seem successful. These are the people who dominate meetings, think they have all the answers and control the actions of the organization. Wiseman found that these types of leaders zap the energy, capability and intelligence from their staff.Whether accidental or not, their impact restricts the talents — and reduces the brain power — of the staff. Diminishers continually need a greater number of employees and a larger amount of resources to complete projects and solve problems. On the other hand, Multipliers have the ability to get ideas flowing and get more output from fewer team members.They are “genius makers” and have the ability to create or invoke innovation, intelligence and hard work. Data compared in the book demonstrated that Multipliers can get more than two times the effort, ideas and creativity from people.Wiseman explains in detail five disciplines of Multipliers: (1) the Talent Magnet, leaders who attract and optimize talent; (2) the Liberator, those who require people’s best thinking; (3) the Challenger, those who extend challenges; (4) the Debate Maker, those who have the ability to ask the tough questions about decisions; and (5) the Investor, those who instill accountability. Wiseman guides us to ask the tough questions, but are we willing to rethink our leadership style? With funds for education dwindling, Multipliers is an engaging manual for school administrators to achieve more with our most valuable resource, our employees. This book can strengthen an entire school district by increasing our ability to tap into the brainpower of our staff members. It actually can change the manner in which we consider leadership and, in turn, impact our students in a positive manner.

INSIGHT

Non-Negotiable: The Story of Happy State Bank and the Power of Accountability by Sam Silverstein

ulture has become a keyword in our society. It is continually splashed across headlines and media with court cases, presidential opinions and political agendas. Yet, in the corporate world, it means something very different. Investopedia says corporate culture “refers to the beliefs and behaviors that determine how a company’s employees and management interact and handle outside business transactions.” So, a corporate culture, as applies to schools, would be about how staff interacts with each other and with students, parents and the community.This has become much more important to public schools as we compete against home schools, private schools and charter schools. “Non-Negotiable: The Story of Happy State Bank and the Power of Accountability” is an easy-reading book about the development and application of a company’s core beliefs, which permeate the entire organization.They have used this model to develop a culture in which the organization has been named to the “Best Companies to Work for in Texas” three years in a row.

Reviewed by Robert McLain, Superintendent, Channing ISD

All school districts probably have a mission statement or vision, along with some stated beliefs, but most school districts spend very little time discussing culture with staff and checking to see whether or not these beliefs are being followed throughout a district.This lack of discussion creates a gap between the stated culture (mission) and the hidden culture (what is actually happening). This book gives a great example of a company whose beliefs have become “non-negotiables” throughout the organization, thus providing an immense sense of local accountability. Author Sam Silverstein writes:“Any time you are tempted to fixate on outside circumstances, rather than internal non-negotiables, as the determining element of your performance, you have lost control.” This statement alone shows how to develop local accountability, but it also addresses so much that has become wrong with education across the nation. When reading this book, I left a plethora of highlights and questions written in the margins, like: Where do we take a stand? How do we communicate this belief? Do all our people know exactly what we believe, and how do we know? This book has caused me to think about how much time the corporate world spends with new staff discussing,“This is us and this is not us,” and how little time and effort administrators spend discussing what should be the most important ideas about our organization.The first two chapters give a brief history of J. Pat Hickman and Happy State Bank, helping to set up the lessons in the remaining chapters. This book has helped me to take my beliefs and put them into brief statements that help keep me focused on what I am willing to take a stand. Our school district is using this book to help us develop a new mission statement and to develop some “non-negotiables” of our own — to help us “differentiate between what is vital and what is merely urgent,” to quote American author Henry Cloud. This book is well worth the read for anyone, but especially for leaders who want to strengthen n the culture of their organizations and identify core beliefs.

FALL 2016

SCHOLAR PROFILES TASA checks in with the 2015 Johnny L. Veselka Scholarship recipients The Texas Association of School Administrators established the Johnny L.Veselka Scholarship during the 2013-2014 school year to honor and provide financial assistance to outstanding doctoral students pursuing careers in educational leadership, with particular emphasis on the superintendency. The scholarship recognizes the continuing leadership of Johnny L.Veselka, who began working at the association more than 40 years ago and stepped up to serve as the executive director in 1986. Each January at TASA Midwinter, three $2,500 scholarships are awarded, as the number and quality of applicants allows. At the 2015 conference,Yvonne Hernandez, Aaron Peña and Cynthia Webber claimed the award.

Yvonne Hernandez was an assistant principal in Edgewood ISD when she learned that she was chosen to receive the Johnny L.Veselka scholarship. “Receiving the scholarship impacted not only my doctoral experience greatly, but my experience as a school administrator,” she says.“Shortly after receiving the scholarship, I was scouted by another district to apply to work as a school principal at a reconstituted campus.” Now the principal of Dwight Middle School in South San Antonio ISD, Hernandez continues to pursue her doctorate in school improvement and superintendent certification from Texas State University in San Marcos. Her projected graduation date is May of 2018. Hernandez cites the commute she makes twice a week between San Antonio and San Marcos as the most challenging aspect of continuing her education at this time in her life. “Working as a school administrator in San Antonio requires much of my time, and I find myself negotiating how I will invest my time,” she says. The middle school principal says she often tells colleagues who are eyeing a doctorate to be certain they are willing to devote much time and energy to the program. “I tell them that a doctoral degree is not like any other degree they have earned due to the intensity and research involved,” Hernandez says. The silver lining, of course, is the opportunities that arise when one makes such a commitment. “I’ve had the wonderful opportunity of presenting my research at different conferences nationally and internationally,” she says. In July 2015, Hernandez was selected to be a delegate at the British Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society Annual Conference. During the gathering, which attracted educators from nearly every continent, Hernandez represented American school principals on a panel that shared their experiences, insight and best practices as leaders of struggling schools. 28

INSIGHT

Aaron Peña, principal of Woodway Elementary School in Midway ISD in Region 12, has his sights set on a December graduation this year, when he will receive a doctoral degree in education administration from the Cooperative Superintendents Program at The University of Texas. His doctoral journey has been long and not without its challenges.

“The most difficult aspect of pursuing my doctoral degree has been working on the dissertation after completing all the coursework,” Peña says. “The absence of regular accountability is a big challenge.” The Midway ISD principal credits his determination to perservere to a strong support network.

According to Peña, being a Johnny L. Veselka Scholarship recipient has held more value beyond the dollar amount. “It enabled me to meet Texas superintendents and leaders in public education administration, such as TASA’s Dr.Veselka,” he says.

Peña encourages other school administra“Mentors of mine — such as Dr. George tors who are considering a doctoral degree Kazanas, Dr. Brad Lancaster and Dr. to follow in his footsteps. Roland Hernandez — all inspired me to pursue my doctorate,” he says. “Dr. Chris “My advice to other administrators is to Allen specifically encouraged me to apply stop thinking about it and just do it!” he to the Cooperative Superintendents Pro- says. gram at UT.”

Cynthia Webber, principal at Haslet Elementary in Northwest ISD, calls education “a driving force” in her life.The elementary school principal is pursuing her doctoral degree in educational leadership at Dallas Baptist University (DBU) and is set to graduate in May 2018.

“Education has always been a driving force in my life,” she says. “Since kindergarten, I have learned that knowledge is power, and I have continually sought ways to enhance my impact in my spheres of influence.“ The most challenging aspect of pursuing a doctorate, according to Webber, is balancing the demands of the program with her professional obligations and commitments as a wife and mom.

I leave the laptop at home and go out and cheer for my boys on the baseball field. “It’s a continual process of transparency and reflection,” she continues.“I am lucky enough to have amazing people in my life who help keep me accountable and sane.” Webber says the most rewarding aspect of her doctoral journey has been the relationships she has developed with her DBU Cohort 7 members. “We have an incredibly supportive community, and we are continually lifting each other up and pushing one another forward,” she says. Webber says the Johnny L.Veselka Scholarship uplifted her as well, because it provided for tuition, books and so much more.

“I have given myself permission to not demand that life be in perfect balance 24/7,” she says.“Some days are work heavy “It was once said that one can see further and others are study heavy. Still other days, by standing on the shoulders of giants, and

that is what I feel the Johnny L. Veselka Scholarship has allowed me to do,” Webber says. “Dr.Veselka and so many others have provided many of us with leadership by the example they have provided. This scholarship has been a tangible demonstration of their leadership in my life.” Her advice to other administrators considering a doctorate: “Do it. There will never be a good time to pursue a doctoral degree, so might as well get started today. We do not pursue audacious goals because of their practicality; we pursue them because of their transformational n power.”

FALL 2016

TASA Texas Association of School Administrators District Subscriptions and Services

When renewing your individual membership for 2016–17 in the TASA Member Services Center (https://msc.tasanet.org/), please consider the benefits of subscribing your district to one or more of the following: School Transformation Network (http://goo.gl/zugj8X) — opportunities to receive special briefings and engage with leaders of Texas High Performance Schools Consortium and Consortium Associates districts, discounts on transformation-related professional development and services Legislative and Public Policy Services (http://goo.gl/2IrAcr) — supports TASA efforts to monitor and influence legislative and public policy matters on behalf of your district Accountability Forum (http://goo.gl/l3ipwL) — free registration to twice-yearly conferences, detailed analyses, participation in interactive online forum

Districts may also benefit from the following services in 2016–17: School Transformation Customized Services (http://goo.gl/Pri3yE) — TASA will work with you to customize a program that’s right for your situation. Our experts can provide training or consulting to staff, or assist in the facilitation of transformation in your district and larger community. Texas Curriculum Management Audit Center (http://goo.gl/IGjHQe) — delivery of Curriculum Management Audits™, training programs, consultation, and technical support services offered in cooperation with Curriculum Management Solutions, Inc. Data Analytics via Forecast5 (http://goo.gl/OBJG9T) — an array of analytic tools that can assist your school district in analyzing operational data and performance

TSPRA Voice

BUILDING YOUR BRAND School public relations is more than writing a press release by Jessika Leal

A marketing campaign can include printed collateral, television spots, flyers, videos and social media. The look and message of your campaign must be consistent through all its communications.

ublic schools and school districts are operating in a different market. In years past, we never had to think about marketing, social media or building our brands. School communications and public relations (PR) departments were story-driven media professionals whose goal was to attract positive media coverage — and keep the district out of the negative headlines. Although that remains part of the profession, school PR professionals now deal in social media campaigns, brand awareness and strategic marketing. Gone are the days of “simple” crisis management.

Leveraging social media Although the duties of school PR professionals have grown, chances are the size of your PR department has not. The great news is that social media marketing has become an incredibly valuable communications tool.Think about opportunities to use social media sites like Facebook,Twitter and Instagram. Many districts now host aYouTube channel.These channels are perfect for teacher spotlight videos, special events and graduation ceremonies. With the right monitoring and placement, these low-cost social media outlets can be a district’s new best friend for spreading a message.

Using brand ambassadors Did you realize that staff members — from your teachers to your nutrition staff and bus drivers — are your most valuable brand ambassadors? While you may be doing an excellent job of putting together external marketing campaigns, if you are not creating internal communication plans, then you are missing out on a big part of your target market and crucial brand ambassadors: your staff. Promoting your brand through district employees sounds simple enough.They work for you; they will be your best storytellers and biggest cheerleaders, right? Well, not always. It is essential that you keep your staff inside the communication loop.When they feel informed and included, they are more likely to support your message and, therefore, support your branding efforts. Your internal communications must go beyond the weekly/monthly newsletter. Provide avenues for two-way communication. Create surveys to obtain staff feedback. Most importantly, confirm that you are using preferred modes of communication with your staff.You may find that you need to reevaluate your communications plan.

Consistency in communication No matter what your communication plan includes, it must be consistent — in look, feel and sound. Ensure that your district logo is not altered when used. Have a logo style guideline that is accessible TSPRA Voice continues on page 32

FALL 2016

TSPRA Voice continued from page 31

to your district staff. Emphasize the need to stay true to the logo.This creates brand identity.You have made a good investment in creating your district logo, and you must maintain the integrity of that logo.When someone sees that logo or symbol, they should automatically know who and what it represents.

districts with limited PR resources on staff. If you go this route, start with a small campaign that your in-house staff can further build upon. Crafting an effective marketing and branding campaign is crucial in today’s public school strategic planning. We must position ourselves as a customer servicedriven entity, with market share and target market.We know our communities have a choice when it comes to educating their children. We must become intentional in spreading our positive stories.

A marketing campaign can include printed collateral, television spots, flyers, videos and social media.The look and message of your campaign must be consistent through all its communications. It can be as simple as the way district staff answer the phone. Maybe consider using the tagline of your In some cases, we should consider joining current campaign as the greeting. forces with surrounding districts to spread the word about all the excellent opporAnother easy and very effective tool is tunities in our public school system. The displaying the same positive message on success of the Bexar County’s “Go Public” every marquee in your district. Also, you campaign paved the way for public schools can use images from a television spot on in the county to market themselves under the main page of your website. Every a singular branding campaign. campaign should be multidimensional and consistent in message. Putting a successful marketing plan together depends on the much-needed support of the school superintendent, Leave it to the administrators and board members.

professionals

Many school districts retain outside marketing and branding professionals to create innovative campaigns. Outside consultants are worth the investment, especially for

INSIGHT

Says Alief ISD Superintendent HD Chambers: “In the last couple of years, we have grown our marketing and branding campaign to include television

commercials, highlighting programs and teacher recruitment for our district. Our feedback has been extremely positive. I am a firm believer in being our own storytellers. Your story is being told with or without you. In Alief, we want to be the ones telling the story.We are intentional in our marketing and branding efforts both internally and externally.” As hashtags, blogs and videos become everyday tools in public relations, we have to change our mindset.We must embrace this change without reservation or intimidation. Moving forward, there is a plan that will fit your district’s needs. Keep in mind with the tools available on social media, even the smallest budget can take advantage of designing a campaign with unlimited creativity. Make a commitment to tell your story because, remember: If you are not, someone else is. Jessika Leal is the communications and public relations liaison for Alief ISD. Prior to working with public education she worked in radio and television. She has experience in community outreach, marketing and branding for corporations, public officials and broadcast companies.

Higher Education Trends

60x30TX How will your district support this statewide goal? by Gary Bigham

While many of us as superintendents (all right, I admit I am a past superintendent) lead school districts in communities where we are the only ‘education game’ in town, we cannot lose sight that our districts are only one of many educational institutions involved in shaping the future of our state and nation.

o one in this reading audience will question the statement,“Education is an investment in human capital” (Brimley,Verstegen & Garfield, 2016, p. 1). Moreover, this reading audience will likely agree that the many stakeholders involved in education play a vital role in the future of our state’s and nation’s prosperity and overall well-being. Alexander and Alexander (2009) asserted that “public schools exist not only to confer benefits on the individual but also, just as importantly, to advance civil society, for which they are necessary, indeed essential” (p. 27).Thus, not only does education serve to improve lives, it is also integral to the advancement of civil society. While many of us as superintendents (all right, I admit I am a past superintendent) lead school districts in communities where we are the only ‘education game’ in town, we cannot lose sight that our districts are only one of many educational institutions involved in shaping the future of our state and nation. As such, we must keep the bigger picture in sharp focus, be vigilant in fulfilling our responsibility to society as a public school district, and be assertive in preparing and encouraging our students for progressive postsecondary endeavors. In 1999, the Texas Legislature established the Towards EXcellence,Access and Success (TEXAS) grant program in association with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s (THECB) Closing the Gaps by 2015 plan. Since the inception of these initiatives — which all Texas school districts must address in their improvement plans — higher education institutions in Texas increased enrollment by almost 600,000, from 2000 to 2014, and awarded approximately 130,000 more bachelor’s degrees, associate degrees and certificates during that same period, according to the coordinating board. Although Texas met most of its goals and targets in THECB’s plan, our challenges as a state are far from diminished.The U.S. Census Bureau revealed that Hispanics in Texas accounted for 65 percent of the state’s population growth in the 2010 census. Of the students enrolled in Texas public schools during the 2014-2015 academic year, 52 percent were Hispanic, according to the Texas Education Agency (TEA). Furthermore, for individuals between the ages of 25 to 34, the Hispanic population comprised 43 percent in 2015, and it is projected to grow to 52 percent by 2030, according to THEBC. The significance of these statistics is that Hispanics historically have been underrepresented in the state’s institutions of higher education — a trend that must be reversed as we forge into the future. Equally concerning is that approximately 60 percent of students enrolled in Texas public schools during the 2014-2015 academic year were economically disadvantaged, according to TEA, and socioeconomic status is a strong indicator of one’s likelihood of attaining postsecondary education. Of the economically disadvantaged students in a cohort of eighth graders in 2003 tracked longitudinally by THECB, 60 percent graduated from high school, 40 percent enrolled in higher education, and only 10 percent received a higher education degree or certificate. Higher Education Trends continues on page 34

FALL 2016

Higher Education Trends continued from page 33

Thirty years ago, young Texans (defined as ages 25 to 34) were one of the most educated populations in the world, ranking between third and fourth, with respect to educational attainment, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (EOCD). In 2013, the EOCD’s ranking of young Texans’ educational attainment fell between 23rd and 24th. Moreover, the percentage of young Texans who have attained associate and bachelor’s degrees is 7 percentage points below the national average, THECB reports. These findings, combined with the historic underrepresentation of Hispanics and economically disadvantaged individuals attaining postsecondary degrees and certificates, serve as an alarming call to action for all educational entities in Texas. In response to these challenges, THECB has implemented the 60x30TX higher education strategic plan for 2015 through 2030.The overarching goal of 60x30TX is that by 2030, at least 60 percent of Texans ages 25-34 will have a certificate or degree. Additionally, there are three supporting goals focused on completion, marketable skills and student debt to ensure the overarching goal is attained.

INSIGHT

improve college and career readiness through enhanced collaboration with neighboring institutions of higher education;

increase the number and availability of dual credit and other college courses offerings;

encourage greater participation of all high school students (with attention to all ethnic and economically disadvantaged groups) in dual credit and other college courses;

consider awarding high school credit to middle school students (in courses where applicable) to increase availability of collegelevel courses in their high school schedules;

“aggressively promote college attainment to students and parents prior to high school”;

offer vocational certification programs for high school students;

develop, improve, grow, and nurture relationships and partnerships with local community colleges and universities; and

“scale up and share practices that support students in their academic preparation for postsecondary education” (THECB, 2015, p. 21); and

“streamline credential pathways through the P-16 continuum to ensure that secondary education graduation plans, including endorsement coursework, prepare high school graduates for completing a postsecondary credential” (THECB, 2015, p. 21).

So, where do Texas public schools fit into this larger picture? What should superintendents do to encourage postsecondary education and ensure a smooth transition for students upon graduation from high school? According to THECB, public school districts should engage in activities including, but certainly not limited to, the following: n

The completion goal states: “By 2030, at least 550,000 students in that year will complete a certificate, associate, bachelor’s or master’s degree from an institution of higher education in Texas.”The marketable skills goal states: “By 2030, all graduates from Texas public institutions of higher education will have completed programs with identified marketable skills.” Lastly, the student debt goal states: “By 2030, undergraduate student loan debt will not exceed 60 percent of first-year wages for graduates of Texas public institutions.”

THECB contends that Closing the Gaps “changed the educational emphasis from high school graduation to college access and success”; whereas, 60x30TX “focuses on college completion and workforce readiness.” I want to point out for the naysayers who vocalize that every student is not college material that this higher education plan does not restrict postsecondary education to only colleges and universities. Certificates are also valued as we move forward.

“provide high-quality education programs for educationally underserved adults”;

With respect to the completion goal, public school districts should consider engaging in activities including, but not Regarding marketable skills, public school limited to, the following: districts should consider engaging in n “scale up and share practices that activities including, but not limited to, the guide students to higher education” following: (THECB, 2015, p. 20); n integrate and emphasize marketable skills across the curriculum as applicable to the subject and grade level;

establish partnerships with local References businesses and invite members of industry to serve as members on Alexander, K. and Alexander, M. D. (2012). local advisory councils; and American Public School Law (8th ed.). Belmont, Calif.:Wadsworth regularly communicate marketable skills to students, their families, and Brimley, V., Verstegen, D.A., & Garfield, the community, and the imporR.R. (2016). Financing education in a climate tance of higher education in further of change (12th ed.). Boston, Mass.: Pearson. developing those skills.

Texas Education Agency (2016). Texas In addressing student debt, public school Academic Performance Report: 2014districts should consider engaging in 15 State Performance. Retrieved from activities including, but not limited to, the https://rptsvr1.tea.texas.gov/perfreport/ following: tapr/2015/state.pdf n

alert secondary students and their Texas Legislature Online (2016). Texas families of grant opportunities for Constitution and Statutes. Retrieved from postsecondary education; http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/

expand opportunities for low-cost TEC §11.252 dual credit courses for secondary students; and TEC §56.301

emphasize the importance of perTexas Higher Education Coordinating sonal financial literacy across the Board (2015). 60x30TX: (Texas Higher math curriculum. Education Strategic Plan: 2015-2030). Austin, Texas: THECB. Retrieved from Certainly, innovative educators will http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/reports/ expand and improve upon what I have PDF/6862.PDF?CFID=41531877&CF presented. The message that must be TOKEN=29618147 heard is that the scene is changing, and the responsibility of Texas public schools in Texas Higher Education Coordinating implementing 60x30TX is great. ExcepBoard (2000). Closing the Gaps: The Texas tional executive leadership is absolutely Higher Education Plan. Retrieved from critical in preparing Texas students for http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/reports/ postsecondary education as we forge into PDF/0379.PDF?CFID=45041597&CF the future! TOKEN=13335875

Midwinter Conference January 29–February 1, 2017

U.S. Census Bureau (2014). AmeriGary Bigham is an associate professor can Communities Surveys 2008-2012. of educational leadership and Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/ coordinator of the Superintendent programs-surveys/acs/ Program at West Texas A&M University in Canyon. He is a member of the 2015-2016 TASA Higher Education Committee.

http://www.tasanet.org/midwinter

Don’t miss this opportunity to discuss and share innovative practices, network with peers, address issues administrators face daily, and gain fresh insights.

FALL 2016

Small Schools Perspective

ETHICS IN BUDGETARY DECISIONS Superintendents are the stewards of community trust by Eric J. Cederstrom with Jennifer T. Butcher contributing

n addition to various external influences, a superintendent’s personal and professional ethics will influence his or her decisions on how to best support students and the health of the school district. Many superintendents of small, rural districts, in particular, go into the job anticipating that they will make many decisions alone, especially when it comes to developing and implementing the budget. Most superintendents recognize and appreciate that the seemingly solitary nature of their role often is a direct reflection of the trust the community has placed in them. I was once told that what we fund is what we value. I wish I could remember if my dad, an instructor or other mentor in my life told me this, but I cannot recall who the source of this information was. Regardless, the concept of “value funding” has driven most of my personal and professional decisions in the past 30 years. I have been the superintendent at Palo Pinto ISD for the past eight years.This job is my only superintendent position to date.The board of trustees hired me, trusting that my decisionmaking ability would overcome any perceived lack of experience as a practicing superintendent, and I thank them for that opportunity. Many areas that one may view as out of the regular job description fall directly within my responsibility as the superintendent of a small, rural district.That is not to say that I have more to do than others.The reality of small school districts is that everyone does more, or it would not get done. As the primary developer of the budget, I have very few resources to draw upon for suggestions, opinions or mandates. What we as an organization value is what we fund.The valuing procedure involves my initiating faceto-face conversations with the board of trustees and with campus teams to determine our priorities. My ethical challenge is framing my professional feelings and opinions about funding priorities within the context of what the board desires and the employees and students need. As part of my role, I continually and annually reassess our budgetary decisions. Even though the accounting and audit thresholds are met to fulfill statutory obligations, I still find it appealing to reexamine whether we have funded what we truly value or what is expected of us — or if we have arrived at a degree of compromise between wanting and needing. Without my noted curiosity toward the budgetary process, I would not have had the desire to seek out the question of personal, professional and community influences in developing the budget and how my peers in the state of Texas address it.

Planning and personal ethics Superintendents possess a strong sense of responsibility to themselves in doing the right thing for those who employ them.This sense of responsibility is the inherent belief system that forms the basis for personal ethics. It is imperative that superintendents make decisions that are right for the kids. As

INSIGHT

a result, superintendents see themselves as through simply being involved in their stewards of the district’s trust and resources, communities — attending events and gatherings and listening to what people and they aim to act accordingly. have to say, either directly or through the Though influences such as board mem- board of trustees. A superintendent’s active bership and legislative outcomes change, community involvement helps the public superintendents feel a responsibility to understand that school district budgets take care of things so that teachers and can and should reflect community values students are equipped to be successful. (Childs, 2013). Resource management is a key component to the survival of organizations and Communities trust that superintendents school superintendents (Abshier, Harris & will recommend a budget that takes care of student needs without being extravaHopson, 2011). gant, so that taxes are appropriately leveled. A superintendent’s decisions on budgetary Planning and items rely on effective communication, as professional ethics well as being able to balance community With limited support and resources upon fiscal needs with the educational needs of which to draw, superintendents must students (Phillips & Dorata, 2013). Comproduce an ethical and acceptable budget. munities want good things for their kids at Because superintendents often make mul- a reasonable and appropriate price based tiple decisions without external input or on community expectations. critique, dilemmas can occur. Being aware of situations that could cause dilemmas is essential to the superintendent’s job (Noppe,Yager, Webb, & Sheng, 2013). The possibility that district needs may conflict with state or federal guidelines is dependent on the ethical foundation of a superintendent. One dynamic that can prove challenging is that staffing is often considered a constant expenditure item — even though payroll costs continue to rise and still account for at least 85 percent of the budget (Bethel, 2011).

Planning with community in mind In small, rural school districts, there is minimal, if any, formal platform to include community members in the budget development process. However, superintendents can gather input informally

Barriers to budget implementation

Funding levels and funding inequity can pose problems that lead to ethical dilemmas. When funding levels or community expectations differ among neighboring districts, superintendents must weigh priorities with budget constraints that may not be on par. In the end, leaders show what they value through their actions and what they support, despite the obstacles that present themselves (Cranston & Kusanovich, 2014).

Texas Association of School Boards and one of Texas’ 20 education service centers. Also, superintendents who are new to the role should surround themselves with trusted mentors. Taking such initiative is paramount to a superintendent’s moral and ethical development as he or she serves the school community (Dickson & Mitchell, 2014). Superintendents who are willing to share their experiences and observations should conduct trainings for those interested. The need for these trainings is essential, as superintendents consistently note a lack of basic training for specific tasks and expectations.This shortfall is especially noted in small or rural communities, where the district’s success or failure is often tied directly to the superintendent (Lamkin, 2006). Lastly, superintendents should participate in the legislative process to address inequities in school funding. As Burrows (2015) noted, the current state of public school funding in Texas and the educational system’s legal challenges exist within the premise of winners and losers, ranging from funding levels, recapture totals and funding equity to fractional funding and legislative promises.

Collegial support

Eric J. Cederstrom is the superintendent of Palo Pinto ISD.

Superintendents should seek support from colleagues and other agencies when making budgetary decisions. Abshier et al (2011) suggest training through the Texas Association of School Administrators, the

Jennifer T. Butcher is an associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at Houston Baptist University’s College of Education and Behavioral Sciences.

Small Schools Perspective continues on page 38

FALL 2016

Small Schools Perspective continued from page 37

References Abshier, W. C., Harris, S., & Hopson, M. (2011). Superintendent perspectives of financial survival strategies in small school districts. Rural Educator, 32(3), 1-10. Retrieved from http://eric. ed.gov/?id=EJ987607

Childs, J. M. (2013). Budgets are moral community. Canadian Journal of Educational documents: Hunger, money and com- Administration and Policy, (158), 1-31. munity. Dialog: A Journal of Theology, 52(1). Lamkin, M. L. (2006). Challenges and 10-18. changes faced by rural superintendents. Cranston, J., & Kusanovich, K. (2014). Rural Educator, 28(1), 17-24. More drama in school leadership: DevelBethel, B. (2011). Texas school chiefs: oping creative and ethical capacities in the Noppe, R., Yager, S., Webb, C., & Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not to blame. Reporter News. next generation of school leaders. Cana- Sheng, B. (2013). Decision-making and Retrieved from http://www.report- dian Journal of Educational Administration and problem-solving practices of superintener news.com/news/2011/mar/25/ Policy, (151). dents confronted with district dilemmas. school-chiefs-were-not-to-blame/ NCPEA International Journal of Educational Dickson, J., & Mitchell, C. (2014). Shifting Leadership Preparation, 8(1), 103-120. Burrows, A. (2015). School finance and the role: School-district superintendents; tax reform in Texas. Journal of StateTaxation, Experiences as they build a learning Phillips, C. R., & Dorata, N. T. (2013). 33(2), 41-51. School district boards, audit committees, and budget oversight. CPA Journal, 83(3), 18-23.

We are more than architects. We are a team of experts, each focused on a unique aspect of education, standing beside you as we work toward a common goal: the success of all students.

Read more of our story at www.huckabee-inc.com.

INSIGHT

TASA Corporate Partners TASA is grateful to our 2016–17 corporate partners for their support. Each level of the Corporate Partner Program is designed to offer our partners quality exposure to association members. Partners at the President’s Circle, Platinum, and Gold levels may customize special events and opportunities. PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE Apple Chevron Dell Edgenuity Forecast5 Analytics Northwest Evaluation Association–NWEA Scholastic Stantec Turnitin PLATINUM Blackboard CollegeBoard CompassLearning Discovery Education Google for Education Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Huckabee K12 Insight Naviance by Hobsons Page PBK Pearson Schoology Scientific Learning VLK Architects

SILVER JASON Learning Medicaid Finance & Consulting Services Schneider Electric SMART BRONZE 1 GPA ABM BloomBoard Cenergistic ETS FirstSouthwest, A Division of Hilltop Securities GCA Services Group IDIS Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP Lone Star Furnishings Mind Research Institute myOn NextEra Energy Solutions Renaissance Learning Silverback Learning Solutions Steelcase Education Teachscape Truenorthlogic Vanir Construction Management, Inc.

GOLD Achieve3000 Cisco High STEPS Indeco Sales, Inc. Milliken Organizational Health Source 4 Teachers TCG Consulting

TASA

Learn more about TASA’s Corporate Partner Program 2016–17 http://www.tasanet.org/Page/233

TASA

Presorted Standard U.S. Postage PAID Austin, TX Permit No. 1941

Texas Association of School Administrators 406 East 11th Street Austin, TX 78701-2617

We know Texas. Through our Lone Star Investment Pool, we offer investment services that fit the unique needs of Texas public school districts, whether in sprawling urban areas or remote rural communities. Call us or visit our website to find out more. • Focus on safety, liquidity, and yield • Three unique fund choices • Dual portfolio managers

800.558.8875 firstpublic.com

TASA proudly endorses