Page 10 - Leadership Matters March 2013 issue.pub

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more than 40 miles to Le Roy to scout out
the dinner.
“I thought it was an excellent way to
collaborate in an organized manner and
share a consistent message and vision,”
said Kilgore a few days later. “We have tried
things like a ‘community café’ event where
people could come in and ask questions, but
we were not getting the turnout we had
hoped. With the dinner and the RSVP there
seems to be a better hook and maybe
people are more committed to show up.”
Kilgore said that he was impressed enough that he
plans to get a group together to craft something similar
that would work in Pontiac -- presumably including a
good meal.
Speaking of the good food, the steaks, chops and
chicken breasts were grilled by firefighters from the Le
Roy Community Fire Protection District (who had to
grill and run when they received an emergency call to
respond to a car accident). Student Council members
were the servers. While dessert was being served,
Tipsord gave a 30-minute overview broken down by
four categories: student achievement, facilities,
finances and community relations.
He shared some good academic
news: LeRoy
Junior High has
received the
state’s Academic
Excellence Award
three years
running, and the
district met the
Adequate Yearly
Progress (AYP)
standards that are
virtually
unattainable for
most school
districts under the
federal No Child
Left Behind
(NCLB) program.
Tipsord then told about ISAT test score standards
being raised by the state for third- through eighth-
graders, the net result being that as many as 30
percent of students statewide who met the standards
last year would not meet this year’s standards with
those same scores. He used an analogy about a high
jumper who actually improves but cannot clear a bar
that has been raised even higher.
“You don’t view your child as a test score and
neither do we,” he said. “At work today, were any of
you given four options and asked to choose the best
one? (No one raised their hand.) Our goal is that when
your child walks across the stage with their diploma
they are ready to enter into a competitive world with a
21st-century education.”
He added that the school district is working with
area businesses, including a partnership with State
Farm, to make sure the school curriculum is aligned to
help students be successful not only in college, but
also in the business world.
Tipsord also talked about a three-year, $3.85
million plan to renovate facilities in a way that matches
the district’s educational objectives, including school
security upgrades like modernized single access points
mixed with common-sense protocols.
He described the district’s financial approach as
one of “managed deficit spending,” defined as using
some of the district’s financial reserves for capital
projects that reinvest in the schools’ infrastructure, but
stopping short of endangering the fiscal future of the
district.
“We know where the responsible line is and we will
not exceed that point when it comes to using our
reserves,” he promised.
In the area of community involvement, Tipsord said
that the district has expanded the use of social media,
but that he and the board wanted to maintain face-to-
face communication as the top priority.
“The tougher things get financially, the more we
need to inform you,” he said, adding that all information
would be available on the district’s website as well as
limited use of Twitter and Facebook that he labeled
“uni-directional.”
“We are going to push information to you, but we
are deleting all comments that are posted. So far, all
the comments have been positive, but if we only
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(Continued on page 11)
LeRoy ‘State of the Schools’ story ——————————————————
“You don’t view your child as a
test score and neither do we...Our
goal is that when your child walks
across the stage with their diploma
they are ready to enter into a
competitive world with a 21st-century
education.”
— Superintendent Gary Tipsord, LeRoy Community
District 2, speaking to community members at the ‘State
of the Schools’ dinner.
“We may
have
spent
$500
tops, but
you can’t
put a price tag on the
communication it
generates with our
community.”
— Board member John
Morrell, Jr.