5
Ask not what your Association can do for you...
By Scott Kuffel
IASA President
Somehow it seems that every school year
of the last decade finds us discussing how this
could be a historic year for public schools. One
more thing from Springfield, Chicago or
Washington, D.C. has us clamoring for mandate
relief, pursuing more equitable funding, or
decrying the oppression of new "reform" that
essentially neither "informs," "performs," nor
"norms" much in the way of substantive
improvement that we've seen from any data.
The
Illinois
Association
of
School
Administrators (IASA) promotes a mission
statement that reads,
"To
support school leaders in
the pursuit of educational
excellence
through
continued
school
improvement."
Lyle
Kirtman, in his book
"Leadership and Teams:
The Missing Piece of the
Educational
Reform
Puzzle," posits that "The job
of an administrator is about
insights, not tasks. Leaders
must ask more questions
and give fewer answers."
Often I hear colleagues
asking me, "What is IASA
doing about XYZ?" or "When will IASA produce
ABC?" The vision of IASA is "
Maximum
Educational Success for all Students
," so I
propose to you: "What have you done recently to
support IASA's vision or mission?"
Without
question,
the
greatest
accomplishments we can make to bring that
vision and mission to reality are at the level of
our own Local Education Authority (LEA). The
questions we ask, the stands we take for
children, and the way we communicate with our
parents and public grow exponentially in power
when a common message is carried across our
state. Why should we not expect the citizenry of
our state see us as the ones who "Stand for
Children" or who "Advance Illinois"?
The respect I have for so many of you grows
immeasurably when I read and hear about the
programs, initiatives and celebrations you
conduct at the local level to invite legislators,
business leaders and those who can influence
policy to impact change at the most micro level.
You do not sit on the sideline and wait to see if
Diane Hendren or Sara Boucek is going to carry
the water up the hill. You fill your own local
bucket and drive to your legislative offices or
caravan to Springfield. You speak to your local
PTA groups or Chamber of Commerce, whether
it's about Common Core curriculum or school
funding.
Kirtman also identifies seven competencies
for high performing leaders
in education, and his first
competency is "Challenges
the Status Quo." How
willing are you to join with
others
to
challenge
common practices, rules
and regulations if they
block results or stymie
improvements? We are the
IASA -- not just Dr. Clark,
or Dr. Voltz, or Mike
Chamness – and when we
work
together
in
a
coordinated effort on an
issue we can have great
impact on public education
in Illinois.
Questioning takes courage and, as Maya
Angelou said, "Courage is the most important of
all the virtues, because without courage you
can't practice any other virtue consistently."
Courage can grow through collaboration, through
shared conviction, through small victories that
we share and build upon.
Don't wait for others in IASA to step up for
you, for collectively we are the Association. You
are an equal partner and an equally important
leader in our quest to pursue educational
excellence by continuing to improve every
minute, every day. Ask yourself, if not
us
, then
who
? If not
now,
then
when
?
Often
I
hear
colleagues asking
me, "What is IASA
doing about XYZ?"
or "When will IASA
produce
ABC?"
The vision of IASA is "
Maximum
Educational Success for all
Students
," so I propose to you:
"What have you done recently to
support
IASA's
vision
or
mission?"
- Scott Kuffel, IASA President
