Leadership Matters - August 2013

‘Back to School’ edition offers info to take into new school year It hardly seems like it could

That story seems quite timely as the issue appears to be bubbling up throughout the state.  An update on the impact of the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as “Obamacare,” on school districts that was co-authored by IASA Associate Director and Legal Counsel Sara Boucek and Barbara Erickson, an attorney who specializes in employee benefits, with an emphasis on state and federal pension laws and health insurance with Hodges, Loizzi, Eisenhammer, Rodick & Kohn, LLP.  Diane Hendren, IASA’s Director of Governmental Relations/Chief of Staff, offers a glimpse of the main education legislative issues that likely will be on the General Assembly’s radar for the 2013-14 school year -- and notes that the next few weeks are really good times to make contact with your elected representatives while they are back in their districts.  Dr. Richard Voltz, IASA Associate Director for Professional Development, writes about teacher evaluation from the viewpoint that the observations and evaluations should be more about improving teaching than just coming up with a rating.  Noting that the Catlin School District has withdrawn from the Federal Lunch Program, IASA Field Services Director for the Northcentral Super Region, Dr. Bill Phillips – who also withdrew his district from the program back in the 1970s when he was serving as a superintendent -- writes about that federal program.  A story about the new School

be time for school to start again, but here we are -- and clearly it will be another very challenging year for public education. It is our hope that this “Back to School” edition of Leadership Matters can supply you with some helpful

Message from the Executive Director Dr. Brent Clark

information to take into battle. Working with the IASA Board of Directors, I have written a letter to State Superintendent Dr. Chris Koch asking him to consider delaying the public reporting of the 5Essentials Survey until next year and use this first year’s results to formulate a statewide baseline, and also to give ISBE time to improve the survey itself in order to make the results more relevant to school districts and to the public. That letter can be found on page 4. Among the other topics included in this month’s newsletter:  New IASA President Dr. Steve Webb offers his thoughts and promises a common-sense approach for his tenure. I think Steve’s approach is a very good fit for IASA and for tackling the issues currently facing educators.  Several IASA Board members identify what they view as their main challenge going into the new school year and offer their plans to address those challenges. Dr. Nick Osborne, IASA Field Services Director for the Southern Super Region, also offers some practical tips for going into a new school year.  The Vision 20/20 initiative is in full swing, and this month’s update is about a survey of our superintendents that will be vitally important to the success of our goal to develop a road map for the future of public education in Illinois. The survey offers all superintendents a chance to express their views, and those views will help shape the agenda for the Vision 20/20 work groups. The more superintendents we hear from, the better and more reliable the data will be – and the more weight the final plan will carry.  Dr. Lindsey Hall, superintendent in Morton Community Unit District 709, shares her experiences regarding participating in a public meeting with members of the Morton-Tazewell Tea Party regarding their concerns and objections to the Common Core State Standards.

Safety Act changes recently signed into law requiring that an emergency response drill involving a shooting incident must be held annually at each school building that houses students. That story was written by Grace S. Park, a University of Chicago student who is serving as an intern at IASA this summer.

Grace Park IASA Intern

Grace is a fourth-year psychology and biological sciences major who was selected as a 2013 University of Chicago Metcalf Fellow in partnership with the university’s Institute of Politics. Grace was born in Mendota and grew up (Continued on page 4)

3