Arlington, VA — U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan spent an unprecedented hour responding to questions from state board of education members on issues ranging from waivers and sequestration to the Department’s use of competitive grants. The discussion took place last Friday, March 15 as part of NASBE’s Annual Legislative Policy Forum. Presiding with Duncan were NASBE President Patrick A. Guida (RI) and Elaine Gantz Berman (CO), chair of NASBE’s Governmental Affairs Committee.

During the meeting, held at the U.S. Department of Education, Secretary Duncan urged state board members to make their collective voice heard in fighting the $1.3 billion in funding cuts to Title I and special education budgets that resulted from the recent sequestration. In his opening remarks, he also noted that if the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is indeed reauthorized this year, drawing on the best policies and practices now being implemented in the states would make for a “great” bill.

In addition, Duncan lauded states’ work in implementing the Common Core, but also urged board members to do more to support educators during the transition as they adapt to the changes. During a lengthy and free-flowing Q & A session, the Secretary assured attendees that the Department’s support for the major assessment consortia – PARCC and Smarter Balanced – will not fade. “We’re in for the long haul,” he said.

In answer to a question about the chances for ESEA reauthorization, Duncan admitted he was not optimistic, but said he and his staff continued to work closely with Senators Tom Harkin (IA) and Lamar Alexander (TN) on development of a bipartisan bill. Again, he said it was critical for members of Congress to hear from state board members on the importance of reauthorization.

As far as providing additional flexibility within federal funding, Secretary Duncan repeatedly said he was committed to “setting the bar high” while giving states and districts significant leeway in figuring out the best ways to reach the goals. But one exception to his own rule, he said, was in defining the parameters for turning around the poorest-performing schools. “Too often in the past, states checked ‘other’ when it came to choosing their primary strategy for turnaround. But kids in these schools can’t wait for ‘other’ to happen,” he said, which too frequently meant little actually changed.

The Secretary was joined by the assistant secretary for planning, evaluation and policy development, Carmel Martin, who advised board members that the Department will soon challenge them to implement accountability systems for teacher preparation programs linked to outcomes.

NEW YORK (February 26, 2013) Great school principals rarely just happen. They need to be cultivated by school districts, and a major new Wallace Foundation publication describes nine major steps districts can take to do just that.

Districts Matter: Cultivating the Principals Urban Schools Need distills insights from school leadership projects and major studies supported by the foundation since 2000 to highlight key district actions to boost school leadership, including drawing up meaningful job descriptions and mentoring novice principals.

“We know that leadership is second only to teaching among school-related influences on learning, and effective principals enable teachers to do their jobs well,” said Jody Spiro, director of education leadership at Wallace. “If we are serious about improving education in the nation’s urban schools, school districts must make school leadership a top priority. The good news is that’s happening in a growing number of districts. This report offers policymakers, district leaders, training providers and others valuable lessons about what districts can do to cultivate effective principals for their schools.”

Read and/or Download the Full Report by clicking the button below:

SUPERINTENDENT POSITION PROFILE

Hays Consolidated Independent School District (CISD) is seeking a superintendent to lead the district to the next level of academic achievement and meet the challenges of steady district growth and change.  Hays CISD is located in North Central Hays County to the south of Austin, Texas on the IH 35 corridor.  The district covers over 221 square miles, and serves both the Kyle and Buda communities.

Hays CISD currently serves over 16,000 students on 22 campuses.  District campuses include two 4-year high schools (9-12), five middle schools (6-8), 13 elementary schools (K-5), an alternative high school of choice, and a disciplinary campus.  The student body of Hays CISD is 60.9% Hispanic, 33% White, 3.4% African-American, 1.7% multi-racial, .7% Asian, .2% American Indian, and .1%  Pacific Islander .  Nearly one half – 49.3%– of Hays CISD students are economically disadvantaged, and 14.5% are Limited English Proficient (LEP).  Hays CISD has 2,261 employees, and an annual operating budget of over $118 million.

Hays CISD is expecting to grow by a minumum of 4% per year over the next five years.  Enrollment has increased annually for more than 10 years, with significant growth occurring in the past five years.  The number of district campuses has tripled since 2000.  Two new elementary schools opened in 2010 to accommodate the district’s rapid enrollment growth.  The district will need to seek funding for additional schools in the very near future.

The superintendent will work as a team with a united, seven-member, elected Board of Trustees to provide the best possible education for Hays CISD students.  The Hays CISD Board of Trustees has adopted the following mission statement, goals, and strategies:

Hays CISD Mission Statement: 

The mission of Hays CISD, an innovative community of learners that values the diversity and legacy of the people, is to nurture students to become extraordinary citizens through unique, personal educational experiences.

District Goals:

Goal 1:  Improve performance in student achievement indicators.

Goal 2: Improve the culture of recognizing, welcoming and appreciating the contributions of parents, volunteers and mentors –partners in the district’s effort to provide exceptional educational experiences and to foster student achievement.

Goal 3:  Increase the racial and ethnic diversity of our teaching and administrative workforce.

Goal 4: Celebrate and support all district employees who are successful in creating a culture of high achievement.

District Strategies:

Strategy 1:  We will revolutionize the learning experience by meeting the needs of 21st Century learners through relevant curriculum and engaging instruction guided by personalized education plans.

Strategy 2:  We will remove barriers to student performance by assessing physical, social and emotional needs and providing necessary supports.

Strategy 3: We will create an employee-friendly organization based on the ideals of trust and communication.

Strategy 4:  We will actively establish relationships with community and business groups to enhance educational opportunities in support of the District’s mission.

Strategy 5: We will develop infrastructure to support robust technology integration across the organization and all curricula.

Strategy 6: We will infuse instruction with environmental stewardship and integrate sound environmental practices into facility design, construction, and operation.

The successful candidate must be able to work closely with the Hays CISD Board of Trustees to meet the academic, fiscal, and growth challenges currently facing the district.  He or she must exhibit a highly motivated, energetic, and positive attitude. The superintendent must have broad leadership skills to motivate and improve schools while also serving as the primary ambassador to the public for the district and the school community.

The successful candidate must bring a wide range of skills and expertise to the task of managing Hays CISD.  A leader with extensive educational and administrative leadership experience in elementary, middle, and high school environments is preferred.  A willingness to make a long-term commitment to Hays CISD is highly desirable.  A terminal degree in the candidate’s area of expertise is preferred.

Successful candidates should possess the following qualities/skills/experiences:

• Always puts students first; a student-centered instructional leader who understands developmentally appropriate educational practices and has a strong background in elementary and secondary  teaching and learning.
• A visionary leader who is articulate in discourse with an educated, highly motivated community.
• Possesses strong instructional leadership skills and takes leadership on instructional issues based on best practice and current research.
• A person of strong moral character and absolute integrity; a humble leader who inspires trust and treats others with respect.
• Possesses highly effective communication skills; communicates effectively with the Board, employees, parents, children and community members on a regular basis.
• A good listener who is able to provide constructive feedback and encourage opportunities for collaboration.
• Possesses engaging interpersonal skills, and is actively involved with the students, parents, faculty, staff, and the community at large.
• A resilient leader who listens to input relative to problems or concerns, weighs the data, makes a decision, and clearly articulates the reason for decisions within the district.
• A visible presence in the schools who works closely with teachers and school leaders.
• Ability to hire the right people to get the job done, able to delegate appropriately and evaluate performance on an on-going basis.
• Works effectively with parents, engaging them as partners in support of student success.
• Able to secure and promote positive student behavior.
• Able to lead the community and district staff in the development of both long and short term goals for the district.
• Understands Texas school finance and has the ability to work within the constraints of scarce resources.
• Able to explain complex budget issues to the general public and function as a steward of the taxpayers’ money; makes decisions which support educational opportunities for students.
• Able to develop and maintain strong relationships with the community, champions the schools and community through transparency and trust building.
• Able to work cooperatively with Board members through collaboration and consensus building; proactively engages the Board of Trustees in decisions that best support Hays CISD and its students.
• Bilingual, English and Spanish, is preferred.

Application Criteria:

1. The superintendent will have five or more years of successful administrative experience managing people in a leadership position.
2. Successful experience as a superintendent is preferred.
3. The Board of Trustees prefers candidates who are prepared to make a long-term commitment to the district.
4. A valid superintendent certificate or comparable certification or endorsement.
5. Salary range is comparable to similar size districts and is negotiable with the Board depending on experience and qualifications.
6. Once selected, the superintendent is expected to reside in Hays County, with a preference that he or she resides within Hays CISD boundaries.
7. A terminal degree in the candidate’s area of expertise is desirable.

The Hays Consolidated Independent School District encourages all qualified candidates to apply by the deadline of April 5, 2013.  For more information and to apply, contact:

Gary Solomon, Lead Recruiter

• Email HAYSCISD@PROACTSearch.com
• Web www.HaysSuperintendent.com
• Phone 800.944.6129

Online Registration is Now Open: Register Here.

2013 Annual Legislative Policy Forum Agenda: View Agenda Here.

“It was gratifying to hear the President stress the desire of the Administration to work with states in growing preschool programs nationwide. NASBE members recognize that high-quality preschool programs have significant long-term benefits for learning, and NASBE positions have long called for increasing standards for teachers of young children, equal access for all children to quality early childhood programs, and accountability for preschool programs based on a continuous improvement approach.

“NASBE also appreciates the President’s emphasis on ensuring that high schools better equip graduates for careers in a high-tech economy. All of us in the states are working hard to ensure our students are college- and career-ready. As always, we look forward to working with the Administration on finding new and innovative ways to develop partnerships that will continue to help public school students be prepared for life after high school.”

Education research shows that most school variables, considered separately, have at most small effects on learning. The real payoff comes when individual variables combine to reach critical mass. Creating the conditions under which that can occur is the job of the principal.

For more than a decade, The Wallace Foundation has supported efforts to improve leadership in public schools. In addition to funding projects in 28 states and numerous school districts within them, Wallace has issued more than 70 research reports and other publications covering school leadership, on topics ranging from how principals are trained to how they are evaluated on the job. Through all this work, we have learned a great deal about the nature of the school principal’s role, what makes for an effective principal and how to tie principal effectiveness to improved student achievement.

This Wallace Perspective is a culling of our lessons to describe what it is that effective principals do. In short, we believe they perform five key practices well:

• ƒShaping a vision of academic success for all students.
• ƒCreating a climate hospitable to education.
• ƒCultivating leadership in others.
• ƒImproving instruction.
• ƒManaging people, data and processes to foster school improvement.

This Wallace Perspective is the first of a series looking at school leadership and how it is best developed and supported. In subsequent publications, we will look at the role of school districts, states and principal training programs in building good school leadership.

NASBE will base the new web portal on AEP’s Arts Education State Policy Database and ArtsEdSearch, through which state board members will be able to easily access educational information about how the arts can support general education policy goals. For instance, if a state board is working on new high school graduation requirements, members and staff can use the web page to find research and policies that include the arts as a critical part of a student’s education.

“The arts not only enrich our social and emotional lives, they provide rare and special avenues to develop skills we need and use every day,” said NASBE Executive Director Jim Kohlmoos. “As state boards develop new and innovative evidence-based education policies, it is incumbent on them to consider every avenue to student success. We are excited to partner with AEP to help make arts education part of those efforts.”

“Evidence and action – within policymaking – is a powerful combination in ensuring the arts remain an essential part of a complete education for every young person in America,” said AEP Director Sandra Ruppert. “AEP and NASBE’s collaboration comes at an exciting crossroads in education reform, and we look forward to helping state boards understand the role of the arts as a gateway to learning and student success.”

The webpage will be hosted on NASBE’s website, and will also be linked to AEP’s site. When the portal is completed in the second quarter of 2013, NASBE and AEP will host a webinar open to all to guide potential users through the webpage and the two databases.

The initiative is made possible by funding from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to NASBE.

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The National Association of State Boards of Education represents America’s state and territorial boards of education. NASBE exists to strengthen State Boards as the preeminent educational policymaking bodies for citizens and students. For more, visit www.nasbe.org.

AEP, www.aep-arts.org, is a national coalition of more than 100 education, arts, business, cultural, government, and philanthropic organizations. AEP was established in 1995 through a unique interagency agreement between the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Department of Education.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction
OHIO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

The State Board of Education of Ohio seeks an individual with proven education reform leadership and previous successful professional experience to run the Ohio Department of Education and lead the state’s primary and secondary schools. Compensation for the position will be in the range of $200,000 plus an excellent comprehensive benefits package. Final salary for the successful candidate will be negotiated and determined based upon proven experience, qualifications and meeting State Board of Education criteria.

Interested candidates may apply online at www.rayassoc.com

Ray and Associates, Inc.
Ph: 319/393-3115 | E-mail: glr@rayassoc.com

Application Deadline: February 15, 2013

Please do not contact Ohio Department of Education or the State Board of Education directly. 

“At NASBE, our hearts are breaking with the news from Connecticut today, and our deepest sympathies, and I know those of state board members around the country, go out to the victims and their families. As we and so many others promote policies and values to help make schools safe places for children to learn and thrive, we are sometimes reminded that so much more needs to be done.

“And now, stunned by these senseless acts of violence against children and their teachers, we will mourn, we will do what we can to help those affected, and we can’t help asking ‘why has this happened?’ But we must also move forward to do our best—with others in the education community—to prevent incidents like this from happening again.”

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The National Association of State Boards of Education represents America’s state and territorial boards of education. NASBE exists to strengthen State Boards as the preeminent educational policymaking bodies for citizens and students. For more, visit www.nasbe.org.