Tom Lane of Carlisle is Iowa Superintendent of the Year

Tom Lane, superintendent of the Carlisle Community School District, has been named the 2012-13 Iowa Superintendent of the Year by SAI.

SAI Executive Director Dan Smith stated, “Tom Lane is an exemplary leader who has worked with his community to build a five-year vision for teaching and learning. The district’s improved student learning efforts include, a summer reading program established to assist struggling readers, and the creation of the DMACC Career Academy for Warren County providing additional programming to juniors and seniors beginning fall of 2013. Moreover, Lane gives back to the profession by supporting and mentoring his colleagues.”

Read more …

Make Time for Learning: Take Small Bites

The Internet feeds us a vast number of resources, and with your already full plate, it's challenging to portion the information into digestible pieces. SAI staffers have assembled this brief list of education and leadership blogs to supplement your learning.

AASA member blogs - read about school leadership from your peers around the nation and in Iowa.

Change Leadership: Transforming Education for the 21st Century - from Innovation Education Fellow at the Technology & Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard and author Tony Wagner.

Dangerously Irrelevant - by Scott McLeod, director of Innovation at Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency and founding director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education.

Education Elements - thoughts from Iowa Department of Education Director Jason Glass. 

Excellence and Ethics - from the Institute of the same name which specializes in research and development of teaching and learning tools that help build an intentional culture of excellence and ethics.

Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice - written by former high school social studies teacher, district superintendent and university professor Larry Cuban.

MindShift - states it "explores the future of learning in all its dimensions — covering cultural and technology trends, groundbreaking research, education policy and more."

Modern Servant Leader - a site with a mission to "spread servant leadership awareness, adoption and action."

What blogs do you like to read?

Troyce's Top 10 (+1) list of recommended reading

Iowa's Cohesive Leadership System Director Troyce Fisher suggests these titles to add to your stack for summer study:

Professional Capital: Transforming Teaching In Every School by Hargreaves and Fullan: If there's just one book I'd wish all administrators would read this summer, this one's it!

Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World by Wagner: If you liked The Global Achievement Gap, you'll love this tour of schools and workplaces that are successfully developing innovators.  

Aligning School Districts as PLCs by Van Clay, Soldwedel and Many. Using a three-part framework and wonderful examples from the district of Nirvana, this book lays out how to align the district to build a collaborative culture, establish a focus on results, and ensure that all students learn.  

How To Create a Culture of Achievement in Your School and Classroom by Fisher, Frey and Pumpian: A nice companion read to Aligning School Districts (above) that could inform principals and teacher leaders about how to build collective capacity of staff.  

Leaders of Learning: How District, School, and Classroom Leaders Improve Student Achievement by DuFour and Marzano: A very readable book that identifies practical strategies for leaders at each level of the system in the context of PLCs.  

Improving Student Learning When Budgets Are Tight by Odden. Back Cover Description: A How-To Manual for Achieving Excellence Despite Budget Cuts.

Finnish Lessons: What Can The World Learn from Educational Change in Finland? by Sahlberg: Details Finland's 30-year journey to excellence (and not coincidentally they did it while focusing on what Fullan has identified as the "Right Drivers").  

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Cain: Most innovators are introverts, yet our schools value extroversion to an extreme. A fascinating perspective on how to prevent losing introverts' talents.  

Teaching Minds: How Cognitive Science Can Save Our Schools by Schank: A discussion about how to transcend subject-based instruction and move toward 21st century skills through the use of content.

Changing Lives: Gustavo, Sistema, and The Transformative Power of Music by Tunstall: An inspiring success story of the rescue of children from poverty in Venezuela through music.  

Feel-Bad Education: And Other Contrarian Essays on Children and Schooling by Kohn. Love him or not, you can count on Alfie to make us question our most treasured practices. If nothing else, read the introduction: "Well, Duh!" (Twelve) Obvious Truths That We Shouldn't Be Ignoring.  

What books would you add? 

Find more from SAI's Annual Conference speakers.

School Leadership in Iowa: Past, Present and Future

View the Leadership Partnership's March 29 presentation to the State Board of Education about what's been accomplished in Iowa and what remains to be done to create a cohesive leadership system. Troyce Fisher presented on behalf of the group at the invitation of the State Board.

State Board presentation on Prezi

It's Hiring Season: Reap the Benefits of Reviewing Your Practices

As you lay the groundwork for hiring new faculty and staff this year, here are some resources and ideas to consider.

Ask the Right Interview Questions

A recent article appeared in the Higher Education Chronicle titled, “We Need a New Interview Script: Why Do We Keep Asking Questions That Yield Little But Vague, Canned Answers?” It speaks to the wasted time spent asking questions that are

1. canned;
2. impersonal;
3. have two parts; and
4. have no good answers. 

So, think carefully about the process you’re using when you hire teachers. It’s much better to ask, “Tell us a time when,” questions than “What would you do if?” Past behavior predicts future behavior.  

Additional Resources

Dr. Bonnie Boothroy and Dr. Troyce Fisher have recorded a webinar on best practices for hiring. Access the recording and companion materials.