Thanks for the
Memories
by Dr. Gaylord Tryon, SAI Executive Director
In May of 1955, I graduated from Glidden-Ralston
High School with absolutely no idea what I wanted to do with the
rest of my life. Too young and naïve to join the Army and
not being able to sing like Pat Boone or wiggle my hips like Elvis
Presley, I was at a loss as to what to do. Thanks to some thoughtful
and caring parents, I enrolled as a 17-year-old freshman at Buena
Vista College. After attending some of my classes and just barely
getting by, I decided to transfer to Iowa State Teachers College
during my junior year to see if they could make more of my life
than what I was doing on my own. While I still had no idea what
I wanted to pursue for a career, I ended up taking several teacher
education courses, did my student teaching at Price Lab School
and literally loved every minute of it. Finally, I knew what I
wanted to do and that was to become a classroom teacher.
(Coming from a family of 10 children, nine of who became teachers,
and a father who served on the school board for 27 years, it was
fitting that I chose a career in K-12 education.)
I am very grateful to the superintendents who took a chance
with me early on in my career. Cy Griewe gave me my first teaching
job (seventh grade social studies, driver education, coach) at
Sac City. At 27 years of age and with just one summer toward my
Masters Degree in school administration, Bart Ogden really gave
me my first big break by offering me an opportunity to be the
new elementary principal (with some classroom teaching responsibilities)
at Odebolt-Arthur. After two very enjoyable years (including a
high learning curve) at Odebolt-Arthur, Walt Hetzel took a major
risk and hired this green horn kid from a small town in western
Iowa to become elementary principal in Ames. I had six good years
in the Ames system and enjoyed the challenges of opening a new
school my fourth year in the district.
In 1973 I gave up one of the best elementary principal jobs
in the state to accept the challenge of being the first (and only)
executive director of the Iowa Association of Elementary School
Principals. Because of the satisfaction I got from working with
members, I decided to stay in association work and continue my
career as a state executive director.
Having served in K-12 education for the past 42 years (extending
over six decades), including 28 years as state executive director,
my career as a full-time professional educator will come to an
end on December 31 of this year. While I am looking forward to
redirecting my career, I will miss the excitement, joy, challenge,
and satisfaction of serving as the executive director of the School
Administrators of Iowa.
I am extremely grateful for an outstanding staff, dedicated
state officers and supportive members of the Executive Committee
and Representative Council. I am particularly grateful for the
tremendous support the membership has given to me (and SAI) over
the years.
A professional organization exists to serve its members. An
association is only as strong and effective as members are willing
to join and be involved. That's why SAI has grown to be the strong
and effective organization it is today.
I am leaving SAI feeling very good about what we have been
able to accomplish since the organization was founded on Sept.
1, 1987. ("We" meaning the membership, elected leaders,
and staff.) Our membership count is at an all-time high, we are
fiscally sound, we are constructing our own office building, the
membership has elected some solid and effective leaders, we have
a fantastic staff, we have several great services and programs
in place, and the enthusiasm/support for SAI appears to be greater
than ever. Equally important, a very bright and articulate educational
leader has been chosen to become the new executive director-Dr.
Troyce Fisher.
SAI has been very good to me. I feel like I have been treated
fairly and honestly every step along the way. I am proud to have
been associated with SAI and its members these past 14 years.
I have made many friends whom I will miss dearly. I will miss
the daily hustle and bustle of a busy and productive office. I
will miss the interaction with members over the phone and at district
meetings. I will miss watching members grow in their respective
jobs and advancing their careers. I will miss the excitement of
the annual August convention. I will miss helping members work
through a difficult situation. I will miss talking about IPERS
and pushing the agenda for further improvements. I will miss working
with a dedicated and talented staff. I will miss the counsel and
guidance of elected leaders. I will miss not having an office
in our new building. I am going to really miss not working for
SAI!
But, it's time for me to move on to other challenges and opportunities.
It's time for someone else to lead the School Administrators of
Iowa to new and even greater heights.
Thanks for your support. Thanks for the good times. Thanks
for all you have done for me. THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!
Top
Random Ramblings re: Recruiting
by Kathy Lee Collins, J.D., SAI Director of Legal Services
(Isn't alliteration cool?)
OK. This month we're going to look at our problems filling
positions on our staff. But don't get your hopes up; I don't have
the cure for the teacher and administrator shortages. But I do
have some thoughts about things we can do to help our districts
as we face these grim next months or (God forbid) years.
Problem: Teachers who don't sign their contracts
or return them by the deadline.
They look around to see if they can find another job. If they
don't, they sign. If they do, they resign. It's late. There goes
the July family vacation while you interview for a replacement.
There is apparently no penalty in law for teachers who refuse
to sign their contracts timely, so what we can do to discourage
this behavior?
Suggestion: Try negotiating this into your Master
Contract (to be included in the Wages article): "An employee
who fails to sign and return his or her continuing contract by
at least the twenty-first day following the delivery date, or
the date that has been established that delivery was attempted,
will not receive any negotiated salary increase for the ensuing
year unless an extension has been granted for good cause."
Note: You might want to make clear that "any negotiated
salary increase" means both any increase in teaching and
in supplemental pay.
Another option would be to grant the pay increase but deny
the employee movement to the next step.
Discussion: some people assume that management can deny
the salary increase negotiated with the union if a teacher doesn't
return the contract timely. Basically people think that the old
contract and therefore salary schedule would be in effect instead
of the new. But the problem with this thinking is that it flies
in the face of "collective bargaining," which means
the employer is prohibited from paying members of the bargaining
unit in any way other than upon the negotiated agreement. Thus,
if you want to be able to hold a teacher on step or deny her the
raise everyone else gets, that action has to be written into the
Master Contract.
Problem: Attracting teachers with credentials
and/or experience in shortage or hard-to-fill areas. Can we engage
in "signing bonuses" or hiring incentives such as paying
off school loans for such candidates?
Suggestion: Again, if your district's teachers
are organized (a union represents them), you are constrained
as to what you can pay in "wages," "compensation,"
and "benefits." The Public Employment Relations Board
(PERB) has issued opinions in disputes that help us understand
how broadly or narrowly the PER Board views those words. The point
is this: A "signing bonus" doesn't sound like "wages,"
and if it isn't, you can pay it without being in trouble with
the union. But if it is, you can't pay it unless you've negotiated
it and it's in the master contract.
I'm familiar with some master contract provisions that allow
the superintendent, in hiring a teacher in a severe shortage
area, to go above, for example, the typical number of years of
experience a candidate is given on the salary schedule. That is,
if credit for an experienced teacher is limited to 6 years on
the negotiated salary schedule, these added provisions would give
the superintendent the authority to make the offer more attractive
to the candidate by placing him or her at the ten years-of-experience
step on the schedule. Not bad discretion.
I personally don't think it's a very good idea to offer or
agree to pay an individual's school loans or other debts as an
inducement to sign a contract. It might not technically violate
the Iowa Constitution's ban on "public money for a private
purpose," but I don't think it passes the "smell test."
That's more of a P.R. measure than a legal measure, but it counts
for more in a lot of ways!
Of course, with the Governor, the D.E., SAI, ISEA, PTA, and
IASB advocating for a totally different manner of compensating
educators, the whole salary schedule thing may go the way of Mohawk
haircuts and the hula-hoop. In that case, as the late Roseanne
Rosannadanna said, "Never mind!"
Problem: Districts that offer contracts to teachers already under contract (whether they know it or not!) with a school district for the ensuing year. What can a district do if they have an opening, interview, select the best candidate, and find out that s/he has not been released or won't be released from his or her job?
Suggestion: First of all, don't rely on the
teacher's assurance that s/he can get out of the contract or isn't
under contract at all. (Remember, teachers often think if they
haven't signed their new contracts, they aren't under contract.
Hah! They're forgetting that "continuing contract" thing.
The law requires them to turn in the contract or resign by the
21st day after it's offered. Sure would be nice (in some cases)
if we could say, "Gotcha!" and "You're history!"
to the teacher who refuses to turn in the contract, but the law
gives them that on-going protection.) Instead, pick up the phone
and call either the principal of the candidate's building or the
superintendent and find out whether or not the teacher is likely
to be released, when, and under what conditions. If the administrator
says the teacher won't be released unless hell freezes over or
until they find a "suitable replacement," you have two
choices: wait and hope, or pull the offer off the table. If you
don't, you're creating a terrible situation for everyone but your
district.
Recently, the Council of School Board Attorneys met and discussed
this issue. We noted that in two situations in recent history
one district has sued another over this type of scenario. The
law, of course, states that a licensed practitioner (teacher or
administrator) cannot be under two contracts for the same period
of time to two different districts, and that the second contract
is invalid. Well, great. That hasn't stopped people for the past
several years from leaving. So you have to go to court to enforce
the law. That's a pain in the assumption. So, the only logical
solution is to offer to wait as long as you can (depending on
the position) or retract the offer.
You've probably heard me moan and groan about the state statute
limiting the ability of the State Board of Educational Examiners
to take disciplinary action against a person for (one-time) breach
of contract. Turns out the SBEE's attorney at the A.G.'s office
read and interpreted the statute to the effect that the SBEE actually
can (and does!) accept complaints of first-time contract breaching,
investigates them, sets them for hearing if the teacher didn't
have a really good reason for the breach, and routinely issues
warnings to them that if they do it again, they are looking at
a suspension. It so happens that the SBEE is also currently looking
at revising its rules of professional practice. One of the ideas
I've heard tossed about is perhaps establishing in these rules
that an administrator's failure to pull an offer off the table
under the circumstances we're looking at above is tantamount to
"aiding and abetting" an ethics violation, and would
itself be an ethics violation. If that happens, it won't be just
a matter of The Golden Rule, "Doing the Right Thing,"
or whatever you want to call it. It would then become a violation
of the criteria of professional practices, something for which
you could lose YOUR license.
Problem: Recruiting.
We're going to face some difficult times in this shortage period.
We'll be looking at creative ways to solve our problems. Some
people's version of "creativity" may be a bit unethical:
the old "I've got mine. You get your own!" I'd like
to think one of the things we need to do is look at how we recruit.
Read this story:
I have a friend in New York City (he works on "Lawn-Giland")
who conducts Teacher Fairs, among other things. He has very few
school officials from Iowa or the Midwest in attendance. When
Iowa administrators do show up, they tend to sit in their "booth"
without any brochures, pictures of their district, schools, or
anything to attract potential candidates. What a waste of money!
We have to learn how to sell ourselves, that is, our schools and
our communities. We're going to have to broaden how and where
we advertise. Particularly how.
My friend wrote me this success story:
Poor community. Needed a supt. Board of Ed. didn't know how
to go about it. Board wanted to put an ad in Ed Week and the NY
Times. I overrode their suggestion and added a slew of other city
newspapers. They agreed. Wording and text was the next hurdle.
They wanted simple facts, nothing about the community, benefits,
etc. I said, "Do it yourself, then." They stepped back
and looked at our demo. Reason behind demo: Low salary had to
attract one of two types of candidates: a young 'kid' trying to
make it up the ladder or an almost retired 'kid' who may have
relatives nearby and need to stay in state to get retirement benefits.
Bingo! Ad read: "Catskill area small district, k-12 with
xxx # of students and xx # of bldgs. needs a supt. to pull the
district up to new heights. Candidate must enjoy fresh air, tall
trees, lakes and golf courses, with housing starting in the xxx$$
and up to $$$.
Kayaking in summer and skiing in the winter come with the job.
Select both, more, or none. Present administration comprised of
5 principals, each from a different area of the US, who brought
wondrous diversity or values and experience to the district. Secretarial
assistance and support group enjoy low turnover in this 'family
rich' community. Ideal applicant will send all documents appropriate
to the position by next Friday to: . . ."
FIFTY resumes were received. The appointment went to an almost
retired supt. from another area of New York State. His parents
were over 90 and lived 45 minutes away. Mission accomplished!"
I think there's a message there. Think about it. We're going
to have to devote a bit more to our budgets for recruiting, I
suspect. Why not consider going to a Teacher Fair? Or advertising
on the Internet so you can draw recruits from the really boring
parts of the country to our beautiful Iowa? Surely there are others
besides my husband from San Francisco who are sick of the 45 minute
commute for an eight-mile journey, who yearn to breathe fresh
air you can't actually see, or who have always wondered what it
would be like to have a "white Christmas." This isn't
Heaven; it's Iowa! You have some budding advertising writers in
your English, business, journalism, or creative writing classes.
Maybe even those who teach those classes! Give them a 50-word
limit to describe your community to a disenchanted Easterner or
huge-city-Southerner. Sell your community! Remember, a 3-bedroom
1800 sq. ft. house in most larger cities goes for around $200,000.
Maybe knowing they could buy a 1920's gingerbread house for $42K
would be just the ticket! An acreage for $100,000? Step back
and await the stampede!
Expand your thinking. Expand your recruiting budget. But above
all, be ethical. Go get 'em!
Top
"So Who Are (or Who Will
Be) the Winners?!"
by Dr. Marcus Haack, SAI Associate Executive Director
OK, I've waited as long as I can to write this newsletter
article. I'm already almost a week beyond the November 15th deadline
for submitting the December installment of MARC MY WORD. I keep
thinking if I wait long enough we'll know who our next president
will be, whether or not we'll enter the 2001 legislative session
with one or two teacher compensation plans, or where exactly the
money will come from to fund improvements in teacher pay. By the
time you read this we may know some of the answers, but as I sit
at my computer preparing this article it's still anyone's guess
on all three of those issues!
So what DO we know for sure as we march ever closer to the
2001 session of the Iowa General Assembly? First of all, the make-up
of the legislature in terms of numbers is exactly the same as
it was during the last session. The Republicans still hold a 30-20
seat advantage in the Senate and a 56-44 seat advantage in the
House.
We also know that, for the most part, the leadership in both
parties will remain the same, with one important exception. Richard
Myers of Iowa City is replacing House Democratic minority leader,
Dave Schrader. Myers was formerly the minority whip in the House.
Immediately after the election the Republican leadership announced
that their priorities for the upcoming session would include the
following: exempting social security from the Iowa income tax,
making English the official language of Iowa (here we go again!),
increasing teacher pay, and requiring testing of third grade students
(ditto!). Tax cuts are also high on the Republican priority list.
Of great interest to all of us political observers will be
the level of cooperation (or lack thereof) that exists going in
to the 2001 session. Following the election Republican leaders
could barely contain their excitement at maintaining their dominance
in the Senate and the House. Neither could they conceal their
scorn for a Democratic governor who worked hard, but failed, to
increase the number of Democrats in the legislature. Before Election
Day rolled around, there were predictions that the Democrats stood
a chance at reclaiming the majority in one or both of the chambers.
Now the Republicans view the election results as an indication
of a popular governor who just might be vulnerable in the next
gubernatorial election.
So the big question is this: Will Republican leadership in
the legislature and the Democratic governor commit themselves
to a bipartisan effort during the 2001 session? Or will the two
sides spend their time jockeying for position in anticipation
of the 2002 elections? We can only hope (and insist) that the
welfare and well being of Iowa and Iowans will emerge as the top
priority versus partisan bickering.
Given the uncertainty of what may or may not happen during
the 2001 session, what should SAI members be doing RIGHT NOW?
There certainly are some actions that each one of us should take
which could help make this a productive session for education.
SAI, along with most of the other major education associations,
will be working hard on two issues: (1) improving educator compensation
and (2) guaranteeing an allowable growth of at least 6%. In addition,
we will oppose efforts to fund these initiatives by taking money
from existing educational programs and using it to support compensation
or allowable growth legislation. In other words, no robbing Peter
to pay Paul. That's been done too often in the past in an effort
to give the appearance that education has benefited from an infusion
of "new" funds.
Between now and the beginning of the 2001 legislative session
in January, every SAI member needs to contact his/her representative
and senator and explain the need for supporting increased educator
compensation and adequately funding allowable growth at the 6%
level. Use examples and stories from your own local district to
impress upon legislators how critical this session will be regarding
the future of quality educational programs in Iowa. This time
around success will not be measured in how well the lobbyists
"on the hill" are spreading the word, but by the level
of commitment of each SAI member in fighting for the resources
needed to guarantee a preferred future for Iowa, its schools,
and its children!
Top
Opportunity to Hire!
by Dr. Elaine Smith-Bright, SAI Director of Professional Development
Name most any school district in Iowa and if the predictions
hold true, they will be hiring an administrator in the next three
years. By 2003, just over 32% (610) of Iowa's current public school
and AEA administrators are projected to retire. Yes, this certainly
has the makings of a leadership crisis since there is also a predicted
shortage of candidates, but most clouds have that proverbial "silver
lining," and so does this one! When a leadership change is
imminent, it is a perfect time for districts to review, rethink
and define what type of leader they're interested in securing.
What characteristics would they like that administrator to have?
What type of skills would they like him/her to display? What will
they hold that administrator accountable for?
In their continuing efforts to help school districts meet their
demands for appropriate leadership to foster student achievement,
SAI and IASB have joined to present three regional workshops on
the hiring process (January 9 - Carroll, January 10 - Ames, January
11 - Cedar Rapids). Actually these workshops are a follow-up to
last year's "Key Work of School Boards in Rethinking Administration"
which was held in January in conjunction with the Institute for
Educational Leadership at UNI. From that seminar the publication
"Attracting, Recruiting and Retaining Quality School Administrators"
was developed and distributed. It recommended 10 goals with accompanying
strategies to allow districts to redesign school administration:
Goal 1 Delineate between educational leadership and management
functions/responsibilities for administrators with emphasis placed
on the importance of educational leadership that leads to school
improvement.
Goal 2 Ensure a fair, focused, on-going administrator evaluation
system based on district goals.
Goal 3 Ensure alignment between community and board expectations,
district needs and job responsibilities of administrators.
Goal 4 Identify, recruit and develop aspiring administrators from
teachers and staff members in their own educational system.
Goal 5 Nurture and support leadership development of administrators
now employed in the district.
Goal 6 Insist that the administrator licensure agency and the
institutions, organizations and associations that prepare or provide
continuing education programs for administrators be responsive
to school district leadership needs.
Goal 7 Provide competitive salaries and fringe benefits to administrators.
Goal 8 Develop policies and practices and skills to hire the best
person for administrator positions.
Goal 9 Ensure a communication system that builds support for administrative
leadership.
Goal 10 Ensure a positive climate of board/administrator relationships.
January's workshops will touch on a number of these recommendations,
but their focus will be on Goal #3 and Goal #8. In the last few
years a great deal of attention has been spotlighted on management
vs. leadership for K-12 schools, and there probably is not a school
board today that would not say they are looking for a visionary,
transformational leader. However, repeated research with boards
has confirmed that most "wound up hiring 'nice guys' that
provided smooth sailing." Smooth sailing will not suffice
for the leadership needs of schools for the new century.
Policy makers, faculty members, job seekers, and all those involved
in the training and selection of future administrators understand
the need to make sure there is alignment between community and
board expectations, district needs and job responsibilities of
administrators. Although administrators of the future are expected
to still be prudent managers, they also must be accomplished educators,
instructional leaders with vision and passion, skilled
communicators, technologically savvy, and student advocates. Strong,
collaborative leadership by local boards and administrators is
now recognized as a key cornerstone of the foundation for high
student achievement. Further, if an administrator is hired to
be an instructional leader, then that is the criteria that should
form the foundation of their performance evaluation.
Join us to discuss and learn about hiring centered around alignment
issues: stakeholder participation to clarify job expectations,
guidelines for candidate selection, job description, brochure,
advertisement, evaluation, student achievement focus, and policies,
practices and skills issues: hiring criteria, legal considerations,
licensure and certification, promoting from within. There will
also be an excellent testimonial from a district that recently
hired a new superintendent. All of this has been designed to help
your district team HIRE THE BEST ADMINISTRATORS!
As districts who have passed bond issues or PPELs can attest,
there is no magic formula that will automatically guarantee a
successful campaign outcome. Running a campaign requires planning,
time, patience, and excellent yearround communication. A
lastminute push to communicate with your community will not
help the cause if you haven't been keeping them updated on classroom
and building issues.
Let's assume your district has built a relationship with the
community and has engaged them in the school decisionmaking
process. The next step is to begin planning for election day countdown.
It is imperative that a district spends time planning, with community
input, to determine the need for a finance election. Once the
district and the community have established the needs and the
cost of those needs then campaign planning can begin. Planning
for a successful election campaign should begin at least 6 months
to a year prior to the election. During that time:
1. Get organized. Set-up a committee of district staff (remember
to include support staff), board members (less than a quorum),
patrons (parents, key business leaders, non-parents) and students
who will lead the charge for planning the campaign.
2. Make sure district employees, board members, students, and
community volunteers understand Iowa's campaign finance and election
laws as they relate to school districts, board members, and district
staff.
3. Keep district staff informed. Internal communication and understanding
is key to the success of a campaign. Well-informed staff and board
members make the best public relations liaisons. They are the
people who will be on the front lines answering questions in grocery
stores and at local gas stations.
4. Plan ways to make personal contact with as many people as
possible within the community. This may seem like a difficult
task but it is key to campaign success. If the campaign is begun
early committee representatives and volunteers should have time
to reach a wide variety of community members.
5. Do the research. Know something about the voters in the community.
What are their attitudes? How do they vote on various measures
and why do they vote the way they do?
o Analyze the district's election history. Compile results by
precincts.
o Look at what worked and what didn't work in previous finance
campaigns.
o Conduct community surveys either via phone, mail, focus groups,
or facetoface. Ask voters how they feel or what they
think about the issues in the upcoming election. The survey results
will assist in directing the campaign course and keep it on track.
6. Messages need to be clear and brief. Pick one or two messages
and use them faithfully throughout the campaign. Remember, the
reason for the campaign boils down to what is best for the community's
children.
7. When the campaign is over, whether it succeeded or failed,
it must be evaluated. What worked? What didn't? The evaluation
will be useful the next time the district must ask voters for
support.
8. Don't forget to say thank you. Again, whether the campaign
was a success or not, everyone involved should be publicly thanked
for their contributions.
These are just few overall strategies for conducting successful
financial elections. But, to understand success one must also
understand why campaigns fail. Research shows that unsuccessful
campaigns have these common threads:
1. Too late, too much, too fast. Finance campaigns take planning
and time to develop. Don't overwhelm the community with information
and short timelines. No one likes to be rushed into making a decision.
2. The district did not do the research necessary to get to know
the community members' attitudes and opinions.
3. The campaign was not targeted to neighborhoods and voter groups.
Parents have different reasons than non-parents for wanting school
improvements. Target messages to individual audiences.
4. Information was too complex and full of educational jargon.
5. Campaign activities were not prioritized and planned or not
completed. The volunteers overseeing the activities must be dedicated
and kept enthused about the campaign and its issues.
The overall success of a bond issue or PPEL is based on how
well informed the community is about the district and the issues.
Don't take the community for granted. It all comes back to strong,
yearround district communication. Long before a district
asks for voter support it must establish a trusting relationship
with community members.