9
Burgett receives gift of inspiration, passes it on ___________________________
International. He also has authored books including
What Every Superintendent and Principal Needs to
Know
,
The Perfect School
,
and
Teachers Change Lives
24/7: 150 ways to do it right
.
An inspirational speaker
who talks about practical
ways to improve schools,
Burgett was selected to be
the keynote speaker to
close the upcoming IASA
Annual Conference on
October 11. Registration is
now open for the October 9-
11 conference at the
Crowne Plaza in Springfield.
Burgett said he will
focus on six main items in
his
presentation
titled
“Leadership in Challenging
Times: Back to the Basics.”
The first of those items is
transferring ownership of
education financing to staff
and the community.
“Superintendents need
to know that the financial
crisis now facing schools is
not their fault, and that it should not distract them
from their vision,” Burgett said. “They need to
understand it and work within their political and
personal spheres to address it, but their main focus
needs to remain on their vision to educate children.
“This is one of the most challenging yet
opportunistic times ever in public education. With all
of the current technology, it’s our job to get kids
excited about their educational opportunities, to go
from doom to zoom.”
The other main items Burgett plans to talk about
include having a mission, cultivating the board of
education, being visible and persistent, eliminating
the weakest links, and balancing expectations with
compassion. The six steps are what he said
“separates the weak from the strong.”
Interestingly enough given his success as a
school superintendent, all Burgett really ever wanted
to be was a teacher. In fact, he continued to teach a
class when he became a principal, and he even
taught a class he titled “Love, Trust and Success” to
high school sophomores when he first became a
superintendent at the Elizabeth (now River Ridge)
School District. When he
became superintendent at
Highland, the district was too
big for him to continue to teach
a class.
“I never wanted to be a
principal and I never wanted to
be a superintendent,” Burgett
said. “It was only after a couple
of years of being a principal
that I learned you could affect
the lives of more children by
affecting teachers. Then as a
superintendent you can affect
the principals and teachers. By
using your ability to hire, train,
evaluate and fire, you can
make the system better.”
Burgett has a couple of
guiding principles. One is a
work ethic of doing more and
being nicer. Another is to “get
over it” regarding moral
problems associated with these
tough times of leaner budgets
and higher expectations.
“I spoke in Wisconsin after the teachers had
their right to bargain taken away. It was all doomsday
and blah, blah, blah,” Burgett said. “We are in these
jobs for the reason of making a difference for kids
and to provide them the best educational
opportunities within the parameters we’re given. The
same time you are looking at eliminating the
negatives, you cannot let them take you off track. It’s
about looking into the faces of kids and giving them
motivation, excitement about learning and
inspiration.”
Those words are spoken by a person who
received inspiration from a guidance counselor and a
teacher that turned a life around and helped create
an educator who has spent his career passing the
same gift on to another generation of students.
(Continued from page 8)
“
We are in these
jobs for the reason
of making a
difference for kids
and to provide
them the best
educational
opportunities within the
parameters we’re given. The same
time you are looking at eliminating
the negatives, you cannot let them
take you off track. It’s about
looking into the faces of kids and
giving them motivation, excitement
about learning and inspiration.
”
— Former teacher, principal, award-
winning superintendent turned author
and speaker Jim Burgett will be the final
keynote speaker of the IASA Conference
49th Annual IASA Conference
October 9—11, 2013
Click
o register or for
more information
