Leadership Matters - February 2013

In this month’s issue

Respondents to truancy survey say more teeth needed in enforcement Of those who responded to January’s Leadership Matters survey question regarding truancy, 30% said it was a moderate problem, and 70% said it was not a big problem. No one who responded labeled it a serious problem in their district. Methods used to deal with truancy included phone calls (80%), handled by staff (70%), use of truancy officers (50%), references to law enforcement agencies (20%), and mentors, community organizations and ROEs (10% each). Among the suggestions and comments offered by superintendents were:  “Build relationships with families and be consistent and fair in approach.”  “The State has laws in place to combat truancy, but there is no meat to the enforcement. If the State is going to pass laws related to truancy, the authorities (DA/judges/court system/etc.) need to be willing and able to enforce the laws.”  “School leaders need some real “teeth” in the laws to deal with truancy. Parents of chronic truants know that the state’s attorneys and judges in counties decide how much effort to place on truancy issues. In too many cases, the counties have full dockets and do not wish to put any time on the “minor” truancy issues. Police officers and ROE truancy officers should be able to write tickets to the parents or guardians of a chronically truant minor. This will put more “teeth” at the local level to solve the issue.” This month’s question: Does your district employ School Resource Officers? Please click on the question above to respond. Also, please include any comments or suggestions you may have regarding the school safety issue.

ISAL II Kicks off P. 6 —————————-- ISAL I Testimonials P. 7

ISBE shoves schools off Testing Cliff P. 5

Vision 20/20 P. 3

Spring Legislative agenda set P. 11

SB 7 Growing Pains P. 12

IASA interactive calendar P. 10

Leadership Week Still time to register P. 13

Implications of Performance Evals P. 14

News from the IASA Regions P. 15

2013 Education Predictions P. 18

Get to know your IASA Board Members P. 17

Educator Preparation and Licensure P. 16

Call for Presentations —————— IASA Annual Meeting P. 23

Communicating with Legislators seminar scheduled P. 20

Referendum Capacity? P. 19

2648 Beechler Court Springfield, IL 62703-7305 217.753.2213 800 Woodfield Road, Ste. F109 Schaumburg, IL 60173-4717 847.466.5075

IASA Newsletter Editor Michael Chamness mchamness@iasaedu.org

Assistant Editor Mary Ellen Buch mbuch@iasaedu.org

1200 West Main Street Marion, IL 62959-1138 618.364.0501

Volume 1, Issue 2

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