A
dmini
Published quarterly for members of
The Buckeye Association of School Administrators
S
cope
Summer 2014
President’s Message
By
Michael Tefs, Ed.D.
In a recent column o
f Inc .magazine,
entrepreneur Brad Feld explained how
he writes his way to a solution.
“Finally, after
almost 20 years of writing, the light bulb came
on for me. I write to think,”
he explains. I am
using this article by “writing to think” my way
to a successful 2015 and the awesome
responsibility of serving as a superintendent of
schools.
The Buckeye Association of School
Administrators (BASA) is watching the
educational landscape and working diligently
to cultivate your advocacy and
professional development. There are
more actions that require our attention and
leadership than I have ever experienced. Here
are just a few initiatives that I am “thinking”
about and working to build systems for their
successful implementation:
Curriculum:
Nationally, the Common Core State Standards
debate continues to flourish and has certainly
made landfall here in Ohio in the form of
HB597. We all have been working diligently,
since 2010, at implementing Ohio’s new
learning standards. Assessing what is
noise
and what is
material
to our leadership as
superintendents for the academic learning
standards we deliver instructionally is certainly
up for debate and often dependent on our
local political and philosophical cultures. How
are you engaging this conversation in your
professional learning community?
Continued on page 5
I hope this issue of the AdminiScope finds each of you
reflecting on a great start to the school year and all of
the great things you will be able to experience with your
students, staff, and community in the year ahead. Now
is the time we get to implement the plans that have been
prepared to provide students a great experience and
experience the satisfaction that comes with seeing those
planning efforts result in success. While you may never
receive the credit you deserve for this great work, you
will know that your leadership was a major contribution
and can take great pride in your efforts.
This will be a year of change and new opportunity at
BASA as well. Just as you work on plans to better serve
students, we work on plans to better serve our members.
To that end I am pleased to announce that BASA has
formed the Ohio School Leadership Foundation. The
foundation was created as a 501(c3) organization that
will permit us to pursue funding from foundations and
businesses for programs and opportunities to support
school leadership and our profession. Some of our
current BASA programs will be shifted to the foundation
so that outside funding can be secured. In addition the
foundation will be able to provide program evaluation,
survey work, and other efforts to support school
leadership. You will certainly hear more about this effort
as we move forward.
As a result of the formation of this new foundation Dr.
Jerry Klenke will be transitioning on January 1, 2015
from his role as Deputy Executive Director at BASA to
the role of President of the Ohio School Leadership
Foundation. With Jerry’s rich background and
experience, he is very well suited to lead the
establishment of the foundation and make its operation a
valuable resource for superintendents.
Continued on page 3
By Dr. Kirk Hamilton, BASA Executive Director