SAI Testifies
at Legislative Hearing on IPERS
by Dr. Gaylord Tryon, SAI Executive Director
On Wednesday, November 17, 1999,
SAI was invited to present testimony to the Legislative Interim
Committee on Public Retirement Systems. Following is an excerpt
of this testimony.
"There are three issues that we want to call your particular
attention to:
(1) Death Benefit--Currently, when a member dies before retiring,
his or her surviving spouse receives only what the individual
contributed over the years, plus interest earned.
Right or wrong, most people plan on two major sources of income
in preparing for retirement--IPERS and Social Security. If an
individual dies before retirement, even though he or she may be
65 years old and have 35-40 years in the IPERS program, the surviving
spouse will be seriously short-changed in his or her retirement
income. This can be catastrophic for many people.
Each year, we work with several members who are faced with the
unfortunate choice of having to retire earlier than planned, because
of a serious illness, just to meet the IPERS requirements.
Members should not have to go through this kind of additional
pressure. IPERS benefits earned at the time of death should be
available to surviving spouses--not just the amount contributed
by the employee! How can anyone justify the employer contributions
going to the IPERS trust fund instead of a member's beneficiary?
(2) The second issue we would like to address is the Seven-Year
Final Average Salary.
The IPERS program has not been very kind to higher paid employees.
In the two most recent studies sponsored by the IPERS system,
the consultants hired to facilitate these efforts affirm this
statement:
In the report submitted by Buck Consultants in 1995, they stated,
"The weakness of the IPERS benefit formula is that it adversely
affects the long service and higher paid employees."
In their more recent report, Buck Consultants noted the disparity
of the seven-year phase-in when they stated, "Relief should
be provided to those members who will be retiring within the next
seven years and whose benefits will be adversely affected by the
continued application of a portion of the salary cap limitation."
We are well aware of the little empathy that exists for "higher
paid employees." But, like it or not, we do have people serving
in leadership positions that earn (and deserve) additional compensation.
This list includes a lot of people--including many of our elected
leaders, state directors, community college administrators, school
administrators, AEA administrators and hospital administrators
just to name a few. For the most part, these people are long service
employees--people with additional training, and individuals who
have extended contracts. These are the people responsible for
leadership, for vision, and for planning. Rather than being penalized
by the state retirement system, they should be duly recognized
and rewarded.
At a time when we are facing a serious shortage of school administrators
in Iowa, we need every advantage possible to recruit people into
these crucial roles. It certainly works to our disadvantage in
recruiting people from other states when we talk about the seven-year
final average salary for higher paid employees.
Each of you has a copy of our recent retirement study pertaining
to school administrators. I won't go through the study in detail,
but there are some areas I would like to highlight.
| 2000 |
80 |
| 2001 |
30 |
| 2002 |
65 |
| 2003 |
435 |
|
610 |
| Year |
|
|
| 2000 |
10 |
28 |
| 2001 |
2 |
21 |
| 2002 |
7 |
26 |
| 2003 |
77 |
24 |
|
96 |
99 |
One can easily see that the seven-year phase-in has drastically altered the normal retirement process for school administrators.
Most of our people are looking at this
seven-year final average salary issue as being very unfair and
even discriminatory. They are being asked to pay contributions
on their full salary, but when computing their retirement benefits,
they are faced with a $55,000 limitation and having to include
the previous wage ceilings of $44,000, $41,000 and $38,000 in
computing their final average salary. In effect, they are still
working under a quasi wage ceiling. This will be the case until
they can compute their benefits using their full salaries based
on a three-year final average salary.
Our plea to you this afternoon is to allow all IPERS employees
to compute their benefits using the traditional three-year final
average salary.
(3) Because of a severe shortage of school administrators and
classroom teachers, our third issue has to do with adding some
flexibility to the retirement system to encourage individuals
to continue working and to encourage retirees to come back to
work.
We would urge the legislature to give credit to 40 years of service
(instead of the current 35 years) and to eliminate the reemployment
wage ceiling altogether. There are people that want to take advantage
of early retirement, but there are also a lot of good people that
will stay on the job longer if they could get due credit for years
they work. Furthermore, we strongly believe that a lot of retirees
would come back to work if they could earn more than the current
$12,000 reemployment wage ceiling."
Without appearing to be too optimistic, I believe "Big Mo"
is on our side right now. We have generated a lot of interest
and support on doing something about the seven-year final average
salary.
Top
Pop Quiz!
by Kathy Lee Collins, J.D., SAI Director of Legal Services
Given that this is my last CYA column of 1999, (some would
also say it's the last one of the millennium, but I'm one of those
who believes the millennium ends on 12/31/00), I feel the need
to write something profound. But nothing profound comes to mind.
So let's go with something simple instead. I love giving tests
and I'm sure you love taking them, so here we go!
1. Which of the following students may be legally counted on
the third Friday in September?
a. resident, enrolled student
b. student open enrolled to your district
c. foreign exchange student
d. any student who was enrolled last spring, didn't officially
drop, didn't transfer, and didn't graduate
e. all of the above
2. If a general education student brings a knife with a 2-inch
blade to school, which of the following actions are you required
by law to take?
a. expulsion for twelve calendar months
b. expulsion for "at least one semester"
c. ten-day suspension with a possibility of expulsion
d. notifying law enforcement of the weapon
e. none of the above
3. If a special education student brings a knife with a 2-inch
blade to school, which of the following actions are you required
by law to take?
a. expulsion for "at least one semester," still providing
FAPE
b. ten-day suspension, with no responsibility for FAPE
c. 45-day suspension, still providing FAPE
d. notifying law enforcement of the weapon
e. none of the above
4. When a student transfers out of your district, which of
the following statements about records is true?
a. You are required to forward a copy of the cumulative record
and maintain minimal but significant educational information in
a "permanent record" maintained forever.
b. You are required to obtain written or oral parental consent
before forwarding student records.
c. You may hold the student's records if s/he owes fees or fines.
d. You are required to send the original records and whether you
keep a copy or not depends on your board policy
e. You may forward everything except "medical records/information"
5. Which of the following students MUST you enroll and educate
if s/he moves into your district?
a. a special ed student who was excluded (expelled) from her previous
school and has not yet been reinstated in that school
b. an 18 year-old senior living on his own
c. a child of compulsory attendance age who is living with his
grandparents who have guardianship
d. a homeless youth
e. a twenty year-old who has no diploma or GED
6. Only one of these statements about probationary teachers
is true. Circle the letter corresponding to the right one.
a. You can terminate probationary teachers without having to prove
just cause, but if you go for a discharge you have to prove just
cause.
b. A board may waive probation for rookie teachers (no experience
anywhere).
c. A board may waive probation for teachers who have successfully
completed a probationary period anywhere else.
d. Probationary teachers are not entitled to any kind of hearing;
they serve at the pleasure of the board.
e. You can extend the probationary period of a teacher without
her consent if you do so during the first two years of the three-year
probationary period.
7. You have a Good Conduct Rule that applies to all students,
whether they are currently out for extra-curricular activities
or not. (If the student violating the rule isn't currently participating,
s/he is prevented from attending extra-curricular activities.)
Which of the following statements is true?
a. You will be upheld so long as your rule is never challenged.
b. You are in deep do-do, Partner.
c. The State Board of Education doesn't approve of your rule but
can't do anything about it unless there is an appeal or they decide
to adopt a state-level Good Conduct Rule.
d. As far as attendance at extra-curricular activities is concerned,
you can legally keep a Good Conduct Rule violator from attending
prom/dances, but not events open to the public, including (or
especially) graduation.
e. all of the above
8. If a special education student ("EI") wants to
enroll in your alternative school,
a. she can, even if there's a waiting list.
b. she can't unless her parents are willing for her to be "staffed
out" of special education.
c. she can, but you can't get special education funding for her.
d. she can if the staffing team concludes that the alternative
school would provide an appropriate program for her.
e. she can, unless you don't have any special education teachers
on staff.
9. If an early elementary student (grade 1-4) has excessive
excused absences ("illness"), which of the following
is your best legal option?
a. File a CINA petition on her so she'll be placed in a foster
home.
b. Call the county attorney and her parents will be behind bars
in a flash.
c. Work with the family to encourage the child's attendance.
d. Ask the juvenile court to appoint the superintendent the child's
surrogate parent.
e. Contact the county health department and ask that the parents
be ordered to bring the child in to be examined by a physician.
10. If a student's parents are divorced and the mother has
physical custody, which of the following statements is/are true?
a. The child's stepfather has the same rights to information as
the child's mother has.
b. The child's father has the same rights to information as the
child's mother has.
c. The child's father has some rights regarding information on
the student, but not the same number of rights as the mother has.
d. The child's father may only attend parent-teacher conferences
with Mom's consent.
e. The child's mother may determine what information is shared
with the father.
****************************************************************************
Done? Good! Let's grade your test!
1. The answer is "a." All kids you count have to
meet both criteria: "resident" and "enrolled."
Foreign exchange students can't be "residents" because,
by definition, they are here temporarily and usually for school
purposes; they haven't lost their home, so they're not here for
the purpose of making a home. The "d" student hasn't
enrolled for this year, so s/he may be a resident, but fails on
the "enrollment" portion. If you selected "e,"
share the name of your auditor with the rest of us!
2. This is kind of a trick question because of a "trick law."
Answers (a) through (c) are not true. Answer (d) is true if you
read the law one way, and false if you read it another way. Here's
the deal: Boards are told in Iowa Code section 280.17A to "requir[e]
school officials to report to local law enforcement agencies any
dangerous weapon, as defined in section 702.7, possessed on school
premises in violation of school policy or state law." When
you go to the Dangerous Weapon definition in 702.7, it says that
knives that would meet the definition of 'dangerous weapon' under
state law are switchblade knives and a "knife having a blade
exceeding five inches in length." If you read this section
literally, we don't report our 2" knife unless it's a switchblade.
However, the lead-in explanation to the definition uses that ubiquitous
legal phrase "including but not limited to." So if the
definition of 'dangerous weapon' is "not limited to"
a knife with a blade exceeding five inches, then a knife with
a 2-inch blade could be a "dangerous weapon." I'd pick
(d), and if my local law enforcement officer wants to tell me
it doesn't meet the definition, Okey-Dokey.
Suffice it to say, unless the weapon is a "firearm,"
we aren't required to expel a student for possession of a weapon.
At least, we're not required by any statutes. Our board policies
probably come pretty close to promising we'll expel a student
who brings any kind of weapon to school. But I'd like to see expulsion
limited to those situations where the student either displays
the weapon in a threatening manner or threatens to use it and
has it at school. Not to those "show-and-tell gone awry"
times.
3. This time the answer is "e." Once again, a knife
is not a firearm, so we aren't REQUIRED by some law or statute
to expel a student for possession of a knife. The definition of
"dangerous weapon" for special education purposes is
(wouldn't you know it!) different from the state definition with
the five-inch limit. The federal definition of "dangerous
weapon" says if it's longer than 2 1/2 inches. So in our
little test hypothetical, we can't even use our 2-inch knife to
trigger (pardon the mixed metaphor) the 45-day out-of-school interim
alternative placement. That only comes into play with drugs ("knowingly
possesses or uses . . . or sells or solicits the sale of a controlled
substance while at school or a school function under the jurisdiction
of a state or local education agency") or if the child "carries
a [dangerous] weapon to school or to a school function under the
jurisdiction of a state or a local educational agency."
That doesn't mean we couldn't convince an administrative law judge
that keeping the student who brought a 2-inch knife to school
in the current placement isn't "substantially likely to result
in injury to the child or to others" and get him/her removed
to an interim alternative placement. It just means we have more
to prove.
4. The only correct answer is "a." And I'm concerned over the number of schools that may be forwarding original records and not even keeping a copy. Examine your policy and check with your secretarial and counseling staff to make sure we're doing it right.
5. I probably shouldn't have asked this one. (a) is a toughie.
We have a statute that says we don't have to enroll a student
who was (suspended or) expelled in a previous district until s/he
has completed the term and conditions, if any, of that expulsion.
But we also can't exclude or refuse to serve a special education
student who shows up at our doorstep. I guess on (a) I'd vote
to refuse to enroll in the regular education program until the
expulsion period/conditions are up, but serve him/her in an alternative
placement until that time. (b) Whether or not you have to take
this kid does not depend on his age or his status as on his own.
It depends, as it does with all students, on whether he is physically
present in this district, why he left his previous home and moved
here (was it for the purpose of making a home? or solely for school
purposes?) and whether he has an intent to remain here, albeit
not necessarily forever. So (b) may be correct, but we don't have
enough info. Option (c) is resolved exactly as was (b) and guardianship
doesn't matter one whit. The question is, Why did you leave your
Mom/Dad?
We do have an obligation to educate (d), the homeless student,
unless that student wishes to continue to attend the previous
school of attendance before the student relocated to our district.
Answer (e) also depends. Is the kid in our district for the purpose
of making a home? Or solely for school purposes? If s/he's here
for the right reason, we educate; all students are eligible for
a tuition-free education in their district of residence between
the ages of 5 and 21 (and even past 21 in some cases) unless the
student has graduated (or has a GED). Lots of potential right
answers, but the best answer for each is "it depends."
6. Answer (c) is the only correct response.
7. Answer (e). NEWS FLASH! On November 12, the district court judge in Sac County ruled on an appeal by the Wall Lake View Auburn district on judicial review of the State Board of Education's decision last February. At issue was the WLVA Good Conduct Policy that applied ineligibility consequences for a violation to prom and graduation. If you'll recall, when the student's parent appealed, the State Board of Education went against the school district, holding that Prom and Graduation aren't the kind of extra-curricular activities that the Iowa Supreme Court was talking about in the old Bunger case about which students we can have Good Conduct Rules for. Long story short: The district court judge affirmed the State Board's decision as to attendance at or participation in graduation exercises, and reversed the State Board as to prom. We don't know whether or not the State Board intends to appeal the portion of the decision it lost, but that effectively overturns the Ortner decision, leaving schools free to apply their Good Conduct Rules to prom (and presumably other dances) if you choose to. Please understand you don't HAVE to.
8. The answer is (d). Watch your mailboxes or check the S.A.I. web page in the future to read our "Best Practices" document on the issue of special education students in alternative schools. Hope it helps. If you answered anything but (d) and actually believe your answer was right, you might want to rethink your position.
9. Unfortunately, about the only thing we can do with excessive excused absences is try to impress upon the parent(s) the importance of attendance and offer any means we have of assisting the parent and child to improve the situation. Laws can't fix everything, and this is a perfect example.
10. Answers (a) and (b) are both true. The FERPA officer who conducted an in-service on the law a couple of years ago suggested that if a step-parent wants information we need to be sure that the parent has approved that request. (FERPA defines a parent as a natural parent, adoptive parent, legal guardian or person acting on behalf of a parent or guardian in the absence of a parent or guardian.) I found that attitude more than a bit ridiculous, but I suppose if you really want to "dot your i's and cross your t's," asking for a note or phone call from the child's biological or adoptive parent to the effect that his/her spouse can have access to info on the kid(s) would do it.
Happy Holidays and Happy Y2K, You Wonderful People! May no
one (including me) drop out of the sky on 1/1/00!
The "A" in PAC Stands
for ACTION!
by Dr. Marcus Haack, SAI Associate Executive Director
I HATE asking for money. It's embarrassing to go around with
my hand out asking hard-working folks to cough up some cold, hard
cash. I also dislike asking people to give of their precious time.
After all, SAI's members are already over-worked and putting more
time into their jobs than any of us would care to admit. That
being said, I'm going to swallow my pride, get over my reluctance
to badger you and plead for you to share two of your valuable
resources: your money and your time.
We are now gearing up for yet another election year. The presidential
race is already in full swing, and it won't be long before legislative
races across the state begin to take shape. Unfortunately those
races require ever-increasing levels of funding from a growing
number of individuals and special interest groups. As sad as it
may seem, money DOES talk when it comes to electing candidates
who will be our "friends" in the legislature and who
will be willing to promote our causes in the legislative process.
While driving to work this morning I heard a report on the amount
of money spent in two previous Iowa's state legislative elections.
The total for 1994 was $4 million. By 1998 that total had risen
to a whopping $7.1 million. Who knows how much money it will take
to conduct the 2000 legislative elections? We can only be certain
of one thing: The costs WILL increase.
According to PacFacts, a newsletter published by Map Iowa, 136
political action committees (PACs) contributed more than $2000
during a four-year period from January 1, 1993 through December
31, 1996. The top PAC contributions came from the Iowa State Education
Association ($411,190). Second on the list was the group who fought
hard to pass the constitutional amendments which would have limited
state spending and required a supermajority of the legislature
to pass new tax legislation. That group, Taxpayers United, spent
$358,400 over that four-year period.
Where did SAI rank according to Map Iowa? We were 83rd with a
four-year total of $7,075 in contributions. That's not quite $2,000
per year in contributions. We've been very consistent every year.
Approximately $2,000 is contributed by members to the PAC fund,
and about $2,000 in contributions are spread among a few legislative
candidates.
The same holds for special elections. Just last summer, when the
special election was being held for the constitutional amendments,
the SAI representative council set a goal of acquiring and contributing
$20,000 toward the defeat of the amendments. How much did the
special appeal raise? You guessed it! About $2,000!
This year is shaping up to be one of the most important (of course,
aren't they ALL important?) legislative years for SAI. Early indications
are that we have a real shot at making some substantive and positive
changes in IPERS, changes we've been pushing for several years.
We're also facing a legislative session that will be dealing with
a very tight state budget at a time when there is a desperate
need for major increases in school funding.
It is critically important that we build strong and lasting relationships
with current (and future) legislators. There are two ways to do
that. Of course, this is where YOU come in.
The first is to be generous in your contributions to the SAI PAC.
If each of our 2000 members could spare as little as $10, we could
build a PAC fund of $20,000. Increasing our PAC contributions
ten-fold would allow us to support many more pro-education, pro-school
administration candidates in the state legislature.
Along with money there's a real need for each of you to invest
time in building relationships with your elected representatives
and senators (as well as with candidates later in the election
season). Call them. Invite them to come to school to see what
works and what needs additional state support. Get to know them
on a personal level. Once you've done that it's much easier to
give them a call during the session to voice your concern about
pending legislative actions.
So there it is, time and money. A small investment of both from
each of our SAI members would go a LONG WAY toward helping elect
a legislature that is willing to consider our needs, our proposals,
and our welfare as they set state policy. Won't you consider helping?
Please?
Top
Administrator Support for Student
Achievement
by Dr. Elaine Smith-Bright, SAI Director of Professional Development
Recently I was asked to participate in a panel presentation
at the IASB convention to share what our organization is doing
to assist school districts in their efforts to improve student
achievement. I welcomed the opportunity, because I believe many
people outside of education, and even some that are part of the
larger educational community, do not readily see administrators
as grappling with and concerned about student achievement. Rather,
their perception is that of the administrator dealing with day
to day issues. Certainly it is true that each day administrators
are faced with a myriad of questions and challenges: Are the buses
running? Is there a substitute for P.E? Can we get the services
we need for this special education student? What time do I have
to cover the game tonight? But it is the administrator who is
the vital and critical force in focusing a building's or a district's
vision and actions on student achievement. Effective schools research
continues to show the administrator as a pivotal component in
effective schools.
Specifically, administrators support student achievement through:
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT providing opportunities
for all educators in the system to learn the best skills and practices
that enable students to achieve at an optimum level.
CULTURES OF HIGH EXPECTATIONS instilling in staff
and students an expectation of their best effort in pursuit of
academic excellence.
CONTENT STANDARDS assuring utilization of a common
core, comprehensive curriculum that delineates what students should
know and be able to do.
ACCOUNTABILITY arranging for the collection, analysis
and reporting of statewide and local assessment data to demonstrate
proficiency in progress toward meeting established standards.
ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES assigning staff, dollars,
facilities, equipment and instructional materials on a basis that
promotes student learning outcomes.
TECHNOLOGY organizing for technology's integration
into curriculum and guaranteeing universal availability to staff
and students.
STAKEHOLDERS inviting the community into the process
of designing and monitoring continuous school improvement.
EMPOWERMENT sharing and fostering a wide base of
leadership opportunities.
This list could go on and on! Even though administrators may not
often sit down one on one with students, they are deeply aware
of and constantly striving for increased student achievement.
SAI assists districts in their efforts to increase student achievement
by supporting the administrators that serve in those districts!
One of our primary goals, through our workshops is to help our
members obtain the skills and processes that will make them successful
in the arena of student achievement. Those workshops are planned
with direct membership involvement in terms of content and presenters.
Our workshops, just to name a few, have included presentations
on Effective Planning and Use of Technology, Educational Leadership
in a Time of Changing Expectations, Improving Student Learning,
Setting Standards and Benchmarks, Portfolio Assessment Systems,
Interpreting Standardized Test Scores, Engaging the Community,
and the School Improvement Process. Further, SAI has and will
continue to offer specialized learning opportunities such as the
Motorola Executive Leadership Institute that provides training
in Effective Communication, Psychology of Change, Problem Solving,
Decision Making, Envisioning the Future, and Creativity.
There was never any question in my mind just how critical the
administrator is in fostering student achievement, nor in SAI's
support. I just hope I was able to reaffirm for some and convince
others in attendance, of the same.
Celebration is an important component of building a positive
culture. Schools have long known the power it can have for bonding
the school and the community.
Citizens, from the youngest to the oldest, rarely forget that
day the high school football team won first place in the state
tournament. Spontaneously the whole town gathered in the gym to
welcome the team home.
Students from kindergarten on vowed their team is going to win
too some day, and parents and senior citizens rerun mental movies
of their school days. It didn't matter if people ever played on
a team or even attended that school, in that moment the community
and school were united in a celebration that made everyone feel
good about themselves and the school.
But what if you haven't had a winning team or any other kind of
event that sparks such spontaneity? Can you create a celebration
that has meaning and purpose for your school? And why should you
bother?
When Can We Celebrate?
Classrooms, buildings and entire districts have many opportunities
to celebrate, from student and staff recognitions, holidays, retirements,
and commemorative events to graduations and the beginning of the
school year.
As part of the national interest in nostalgia, many buildings
and districts are celebrating their anniversaries. Whether it's
the 5th, 25th, 50th or the 100th, an anniversary is an excellent
time to bring alums and parents back into buildings and to engage
them once again in understanding and appreciating the legacy of
public education.
How Do We Get Started?
Depending on the extent of your celebration, it will take planning...most
likely, even a year in advance.
Establish a Celebration Planning Committee, composed of staff,
students, parents and citizens. The committee should have representation
from all the various "audiences" you want to enjoy the
celebration.
Either the committee chair or a liaison to the committee should
be someone who has easy access to the school administration, the
budget, and/or other resources. It also should be made clear to
the committee that they are to submit a plan and a budget, but
the final approval will need to be given by school officials and,
depending on the celebration, even the board.
What Does the Committee Do?
The Planning Committee has a key role to play. Specifically, they
should:
· Establish what they want the celebration to accomplish,
and perhaps what they don't want to have happen as well. For example,
if one of their goals is to reunite retired teachers with former
students and no retired teachers receive invitations, their purpose
isn't likely to be achieved! (Surprisingly enough, such things
have happened).
· Determine general planning timelines, working backwards
from the time the celebration is to begin. Project dates for completing
a list of activities, building a budget, presenting the plan to
others for approval and seeking help for implementation.
· Brainstorm ideas for activities and events. This is a
time really to have fun, allowing all "wild and wacky"
ideas to be included. Again, depending upon the scope of the celebration,
this might be a time to seek ideas from others through surveys,
contests or other methods of building anticipation. · Prioritize
the activities, based upon what committee members think is feasible
and what matches the proposed outcomes of the celebration.
· Build a budget for the activities and project where volunteer
support and funding would be available.
· If the celebration is lasting over a period of time with
multiple goals and many activities, group activities according
to the goal each would fulfill, demonstrating the value to the
overall celebration.
· Develop a calendar for the events.
· Present the plan to decision-makers for approval and
possibly funding.
· Establish sub-committees or some other means for more
detailed planning and implementation of each event or activity.
Everything from parking to child care to concerns about weather
must be considered.
· Serve as general oversight to assure that everything
gets done and on time.
Keep People Posted
Anticipation is part of celebration. From the initial releasing
of the planning committee's names through each step of their work,
frequent "teasers" reminding people that something is
going to happen builds momentum. Once the committee's plan is
approved, it should be made public.
All kinds of activities can be planned and have a positive benefit
for school-community relations:
· Special events-Dinners, luncheons, assemblies, rallies,
forums, concerts, alumni games, receptions, picnics, carnivals,
dances...
· Public information-Newspaper inserts, news media coverage,
brochures, flyers, posters, signs, timelines along school walls,
photo displays, tours of facilities, logos, slogans...
· Sharing Memorabilia-Old photos, yearbooks, programs from
plays and concerts, scrapbooks of clippings, re-enactment of historic
events, burying a time capsule, videotaped and printed memories
of former students...
· Recognition-Speakers, plaques, commemorations, presentations,
ribbon-cuttings...
Celebrations do take planning. But the results are well worth it. More than any other way, celebrations can involve the whole community with the school in inclusive, informative and trust-building ways.