Leadership Matters May 2014 working doc

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grieving process for the first week following Bralick’s passing. “Tony would have wanted that and it was the least I could have done for an incredible person who had such a significant impact onme as a person and as an educator,” Schuler said. TheWaukesha school district established theAnthony J. Bralick Scholarship in hismemory. From Jerome, Schuler said he learned about being a “classy professional educator.” “She taught me that as an administrator you should always do the right thing, period. The right thing for students first and then the right thing by staff, parents and the profession,” Schuler said. “She said all of that takes significant time, but it’s timewell spent raising human capital.” Schuler has been an educator for 22 years. He graduated with a B.A. from Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and earned both his Master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before being named superintendent in Arlington Heights in 2005, Schuler served as superintendent at Marshall, Wisconsin from 2000-2002, and at Stevens Point,Wisconsin from 2002-2005. Among his top concerns about public education are the one-size-fits-all approach that many reformers prescribe, that education appears to be low -hanging fruit formany politicians and no one is really championing public education from the left or the right, and what he says is the false assumption that public schools arenot being successful. He realizes that there is no silver bullet, and he asserts that’s good. “A one-size fits all approach doesn’t inspire innovation. We should celebrate the diversity of districts in our country and share the many success stories going on in our schools so we can learn best practices from each other,” Schuler said. He also believes that local education leaders have to ensure strategies are in place so that parents are being vocal advocates for our public schools and that they are sharing what they know about the successes of their children’s schools with the non- parents in thedistrict. It is critical, from his perspective, that we change the language of our advocacy on behalf of public schools, emphasizing that “we should be championing the work of public schools instead of always trying todefend them.” “Unless there is an ulterior motive, all civic leaders, policy leaders, and parentswant good public schools. And they exist.Weneed to take back control

AASAPresidents from Illinois

1887-88 NewtonC. Dougherty 1904-05 EdwinG. Cooley 1916-17 JohnD. Shoop 1924-25 WilliamMcAndrew

1947-48 HaroldC. Hunt 1956-57 Paul J. Misner

1961-62 BenjaminC.Willis 1969-70 ArnoldW. Salisbury

1979-80 OlinW. Stratton

1992-93 PaulW. Jung

2004-05 Dr. DonaldKussmaul

2007-08 Dr. Sarah Jerome

of themessage.” Schuler believes that relationships and authentic communications are key elements to being an effective school administrator – and that theburden is on the superintendent to forge a good working relationship with the school board, teachers and staff and the community. “I do think it’s the superintendent’s responsibility to modify his or her style to meet the style of the board president. They are the elected official and we need tomeet themwhere they are at,” he said, noting that he has been superintendent in three different school districts and has worked with seven different

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