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‘Back to School’ edition offers
info to take into new school year
It hardly seems like it could
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
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.
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
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 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 5)
Message from the
Executive Director
Dr. Brent Clark
Grace Park
IASA Intern
