Leadership Matters - February 2013

Matters FEBRUARY 2 0 1 3 I ASA MONTHLY NEWSLETTER Leadership

IASA to develop road map for public education

In this month’s issue

Respondents to truancy survey say more teeth needed in enforcement Of those who responded to January’s Leadership Matters survey question regarding truancy, 30% said it was a moderate problem, and 70% said it was not a big problem. No one who responded labeled it a serious problem in their district. Methods used to deal with truancy included phone calls (80%), handled by staff (70%), use of truancy officers (50%), references to law enforcement agencies (20%), and mentors, community organizations and ROEs (10% each). Among the suggestions and comments offered by superintendents were:  “Build relationships with families and be consistent and fair in approach.”  “The State has laws in place to combat truancy, but there is no meat to the enforcement. If the State is going to pass laws related to truancy, the authorities (DA/judges/court system/etc.) need to be willing and able to enforce the laws.”  “School leaders need some real “teeth” in the laws to deal with truancy. Parents of chronic truants know that the state’s attorneys and judges in counties decide how much effort to place on truancy issues. In too many cases, the counties have full dockets and do not wish to put any time on the “minor” truancy issues. Police officers and ROE truancy officers should be able to write tickets to the parents or guardians of a chronically truant minor. This will put more “teeth” at the local level to solve the issue.” This month’s question: Does your district employ School Resource Officers? Please click on the question above to respond. Also, please include any comments or suggestions you may have regarding the school safety issue.

ISAL II Kicks off P. 6 —————————-- ISAL I Testimonials P. 7

ISBE shoves schools off Testing Cliff P. 5

Vision 20/20 P. 3

Spring Legislative agenda set P. 11

SB 7 Growing Pains P. 12

IASA interactive calendar P. 10

Leadership Week Still time to register P. 13

Implications of Performance Evals P. 14

News from the IASA Regions P. 15

2013 Education Predictions P. 18

Get to know your IASA Board Members P. 17

Educator Preparation and Licensure P. 16

Call for Presentations —————— IASA Annual Meeting P. 23

Communicating with Legislators seminar scheduled P. 20

Referendum Capacity? P. 19

2648 Beechler Court Springfield, IL 62703-7305 217.753.2213 800 Woodfield Road, Ste. F109 Schaumburg, IL 60173-4717 847.466.5075

IASA Newsletter Editor Michael Chamness mchamness@iasaedu.org

Assistant Editor Mary Ellen Buch mbuch@iasaedu.org

1200 West Main Street Marion, IL 62959-1138 618.364.0501

Volume 1, Issue 2

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IASA to launch Vision 20/20 initiative

Message from IASA Executive Director Dr. Brent Clark

Many times statewide organizations are best known for what they oppose rather than those things for which they stand. When it comes to educating children, the IASA has always tried to be proactive. The IASA Board of Directors in November overwhelmingly supported a proposal to move forward with a “visioning” process to develop a long-range blueprint for improving public education in Illinois. The mountain educators in Illinois have to climb is high and getting much steeper with more and more unfunded mandates, a litany of reform measures that have limited or no proven record of success, and the raising of federal and state standards – all converging at the same time budgets are being slashed and teachers are being laid off, resulting in larger class sizes and less individualized instruction. It’s easy to say those things are wrong, but just being anti-something doesn’t really help solve problems. We need to offer a better plan, and the visioning initiative will help us accomplish that goal. Public education probably won’t look the same in five years, let alone 10 years from now. We believe IASA members have the collective education, experience and wisdom to provide a long- term vision for public education, which we are calling “Vision 20/20,” referring not only to the time frame, but also to developing a clear focus. Our guiding principle will be our current mission:

“Maximum Educational Success for All Students.” Tackling such a daunting task is not a knee-jerk reaction to the latest budget cut, unfunded mandate or tactic by so-called reformers. Back in July of 2012 we asked Dr. Phillip Schlechty and Dr. John Horn, both of (Continued on page 4)

“The mountain educators in Illinois have to climb is high and getting much steeper with more and more unfunded mandates, a litany of reform measures that have limited or no proven record of success, and the raising of federal and state standards – all converging at the same time budgets are being slashed and teachers are being laid off, resulting in larger class sizes and less individualized instruction. It’s easy to say those things are wrong, but just being anti-something doesn’t really help solve problems. We need to offer a better plan, and the visioning initiative will help us accomplish that goal. Public education probably won’t look the same in five years, let alone 10 years from now.” -- IASA Executive Director Dr. Brent Clark

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Vision 20/20 ————————————————————————————

 Governance , including finding the proper partnership and balance among local school districts, the Regional Offices of Education and the Illinois State Board of Education.  Digital Learning ,

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the Schlechty Center in Louisville, Ky., to brief the IASA Board of Directors about a public education visioning project they helped facilitate in Texas. Dr. Schlechty also addressed our entire membership at the IASA Conference in October. Several of Dr. Schlecty’s public education observations seemed to hit the mark, including the following:  Public sentiment regarding public educators goes something like Framework

including exploring what public education should look like in the future with regard to technology in the classroom, online learning and virtual schooling.  Assessment and Accountability , including possible alternatives to current testing models, methods of assessment and looking at the effectiveness of the new

 Finance  Leadership  Governance  Digital Learning

“We know what you’re against, but we have no idea what you are for…”  Over time, schools have been transformed into government schools, not community

 Assessment & Accountability  Organizational Transformation

reform measures.  Organizational Transformation , including

the development of partnerships between educators and community leaders at the local level. This initiative will be discussed further during our “Leadership Week,” scheduled for February 26-28 in Springfield. The framework we plan to submit to the board calls for each of our 21 regions to select a representative to serve, with that representative to be assigned to one of the subcommittees. Those representatives would be supplemented by at-large appointments so that we would have seven or eight members on each subcommittee. The six subcommittees will work with a subcommittee chairperson, the Education Consultants and Research Associates (ECRA) and other research resources to finalize and formalize a new vision for Illinois public education. The timeline for this project is to have “Vision 20/20” completed by June of 2014. That is a very ambitious schedule, but an important one given the fact that we will elect a governor in November of that year. It will require an extraordinary effort on the part of the leaders, staff and membership of IASA. Please consider in advance your commitment and willingness to take part in this important initiative if called upon to serve on one of the “Vision 20/20” subcommittees or to share your ideas with those who are on the subcommittees. It will take a team effort, but the end result will benefit the children of our state.

schools, and it is time to harness the power of teachers and local educational leaders to take back more control of their schools.  The bottom line is mission transformation to create “student-centered schools.” One of his political observations also made sense: Politicians generally are followers more than they are leaders. They follow many things, including the wishes of large campaign donors. But the thing they follow most is public opinion. School districts must be the standard bearers of public opinion as it relates to public education in their communities. Our strategy is to arm teachers, principals, administrators and school board members with a vision that will resonate with parents and citizens at a grassroots level. The framework for the visioning process is to form six working subcommittees to deal with the following categories:  Finance , including the issues of foundation-level funding, adequacy of funding and the development of revenue.  Leadership , including what the jobs of superintendents and principals should look like going forward, as well as training and professional development, licensing and the certification process as education undergoes a metamorphosis.

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ISBE shoves schools off testing ‘cliff’

expectations for grade 3-8 students did not align to the new Common Core State Standards that are now focused on success in college and the workforce. So, why are schools wasting valuable instructional time and resources by continuing to administer a test that fails to produce meaningful results? Perhaps the most distressing aspect of the “transition” from the ISAT to PARCC assessments and the increase in cut scores is the disregard for how these changes will impact the children in our classrooms. Why are we subjecting thousands of children and teachers to the stress of ISAT administration for the next two years and the humiliation of a pre-determined course of failure on the ISAT?

By Dr. Thomas E. Bertrand Superintendent Rochester Comm Unit #3A

Last week, school districts across the state received an email from Illinois State Superintendent Chris Koch pertaining to the proposed increase in “cut” scores used for the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) that is administered each spring to students in grades 3-8. Cut

scores are used to determine a range of scores necessary to assign a student an overall performance level of “exceeds standards,” “meets standards,” “below standards,” or “academic warning,” in the areas of reading, math and science. Superintendent Koch stated in his email to schools that “the increase in

How do school staff and parents explain to a 9-year- old that their failure to meet state standards is due to a statistical adjustment that will enable ISBE to avoid the public relations disaster of a dramatic drop in test scores with the new PARCC assessment? How do school administrators explain to their dedicated teachers that they are doing an outstanding job of working with children despite a dramatic downturn in test results?

performance levels will align our expectations for our grade 3-8 students with the more rigorous standards of the new Common Core State Standards that are focused on college and career readiness.” Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) staff has made it clear to districts that the increase in cut scores is part of the transition to the new Partnership for

Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessment that all schools will be required to administer beginning with the 2014-2015 school year. The impact of these new cut scores will be dramatic. Rochester District 3A staff applied the proposed new cut scores to third-grade math results from the 2012 ISAT tests. This would change the number of third-grade students who failed to meet state standards in math from 1% to 25%. Similar trends will be seen across all grade levels in districts across the state. ISBE has advised school administrators to prepare to have “tough” conversations with the many parents who will be alarmed that their child is now performing “below” standards on the same state assessment that in previous years they earned a “meets” or “exceeds” designation. ISBE acknowledges that Illinois’ previous

School districts across the state face historic cuts in state funding and an overwhelming increase in state mandates, rules and regulations. The pace of these changes under the guise of “reforms” has accelerated at the same time that schools face unprecedented budget deficits due in part to existing state mandates. This latest decision by ISBE illustrates the complete disconnect that has developed between the agency and the dedicated school administrators and teachers who work every day with the children in our school districts. It also represents a further erosion of the local control of duly elected school board members who represent the very property tax owners who are paying an increasing percentage of the cost of education while the state abdicates its responsibility to fund our schools. Most importantly, it is not good for the children that we serve.

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ISAL II kicks off with 22 Illinois superintendents

The second IASA School for Advanced Leadership (ISAL) cohort kicked off its two-year journey on January 11 with 22 superintendents from around the state as part of ISAL II. Developed by IASA to create a new level of leadership in public education, the ISAL program graduated 23 in its inaugural class last August. “Given all of the challenges facing superintendents and public education in Illinois, we thought it was important to provide a unique opportunity through rigorous curriculum,

ISAL II participants. A listing of the cohort can be found on page 8.

related to skills needed to accomplish the district plan  Personal growth planning with benchmarking related to leadership behaviors  Ongoing development coaching focused on leadership behaviors The facilitator for ISAL II is Nancy Blair, a professor of leadership studies at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee and an author of three books on leadership. “I think the ISAL program is unique. I say that because it compares to what we do in our doctoral programs at Cardinal Stritch with regard to transformational leadership,” said Blair, who also facilitated the first ISAL cohort. “We work deeper than most programs, from the inside out, and people come to our university from all different fields, not just education, because of that different focus.” Dr. Nick Osborne and Dr. Gary Zabilka, both IASA Field Services Directors, are co-chairing ISAL II, which includes overall management of the program and facilitating the planning and design committees that help steer the project. Each participant is assigned a “coach,” and the coaching staff includes six veteran coaches from the original ISAL, including retired superintendent Dr. Christine Benson, Dr. Thomas Bertrand (Rochester Community Unit 3A), Dr. Patrick Halloran (Morris Community 101), Superintendent Scott Kuffel (Geneseo Community Unit 228), Dr. Joseph Pacha (Illinois State University professor and former superintendent in Marion, Iowa), and Dr. Don White (Troy Community 30C), who served as chair for the (Continued on page 8)

training and experiences for those men and women who were willing to push themselves beyond what is expected of a superintendent,” said IASA Executive Director Brent Clark, describing why IASA began the process of developing ISAL in 2005. ISAL studies the role of superintendents through five leadership lenses: facilitator of shared moral purpose, change agent, relationship/culture promoter, capacity builder and coherence maker. Participants must develop both a personalized professional growth plan and a comprehensive assessment to determine their school district’s leadership needs. The district assessment pathway includes such things as:  Assessment of core organizational purpose  Data-based assessment of current state  Assessment of coherence (programs, processes, policies to district learning goals)  Gap analysis and district performance goal development  Leadership learning across the five research- based lenses linked to student achievement  Professional district leadership planning with benchmarking linked to student achievement  Ongoing performance coaching The self-transformation as a leader pathway includes:  Assessment of core values and personal vision  Assessment of coherence within leadership practice  Gap analysis and leadership goal development

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Graduates talk about benefits of first ISAL As challenging as the times are in our profession, we are all looking to enhance our skill set. We seek advanced degrees, collaboration with colleagues, and issue-specific professional development. Two years ago, I was looking for all of those things and was blessed to find each piece all wrapped up in one experience: the IASA School for Advanced Leadership (ISAL). ISAL provided the opportunity to take various content and skills and apply them very specifically to my district and my own personal development. Too often, our professional growth is done with a general world view and misses the mark of focusing specifically on “our” issues. ISAL provided us the opportunity to selfishly focus on our individual district in combination with the unselfish sharing of support and ideas from colleagues throughout our state. Our success is in large part dictated by the capacity of those who are a part of our district team. ISAL provided knowledge, application and implication of various leadership strategies as well as facilitation strategies necessary to move our organization to a place of advanced opportunity. As a result of the ISAL experience, my board, my administrative team and I have all been challenged to look beyond the status quo, to challenge what is possible, and to commit to the long-term improvement of our profession. Gary Tipsord I completed ISAL as I was moving to my second superintendency after serving four years in my first superintendent position. I was able to bring the major areas of study and focus in ISAL to my second position -- in both my transition plan as well as strategic planning. ISAL gave me the ability to understand the difference between mentoring and coaching. The experience has allowed me to utilize a coaching model in my professional conversations with teachers and administrators and has been an invaluable leadership tool. Coaching a teacher or administrator leaves the person you are coaching walking away feeling empowered and provides that person with clarity to ideas and thoughts they have already formulated. The speakers for ISAL were outstanding! My favorite speaker was Dr. Tony Frontier on assessments and the necessity of an assessment plan to drive instruction and improve student achievement. I was able to bring Tony in to speak to my staff and parents on opening day this year to provide a greater understanding about common core, curriculum, assessments, and the mental framework necessary for our district to move forward toward understanding and continuous improvement. I learned that sometimes it is good for superintendent groups to have facilitators so they are not responsible for leading the discussion. So often we are responsible for facilitating and overseeing professional discussions that we really aren’t able to sit back and truly listen and reflect what our colleagues are sharing. Superintendents then gain a better understanding of what a great learning community ISAL represents! Dr. Jean Sophie I applied to be part of ISAL because I wanted to model continued professional development for my faculty and staff. In my mind, I could use this experience to assist with the implementation of the Common Core State Standards in our district. However, I received that content and so much more, both professionally and personally, from the experience. On a professional level, ISAL inspired me to begin a collaborative administrative group that meets monthly to focus on CCSS/PARCC implementation. This group consists of Benton Consolidated High School, our three feeder schools and a small neighboring district. We worked with Dr. Anthony Frontier on using the Understanding by Design (UbD) curriculum model to develop instructional units aligned to the CCSS. On the opening day of school, all K-12 teachers were together for an overview of CCSS and UbD. I was told that it had been over 20 years since all the districts had been together for training. Looking out on the 150 or so teachers, I was awed by the sight that symbolized the (Continued on page 8) Dr. Kelly Stewart

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ISAL II —–—————————————————————————

“Not only do our sponsors offer financial support that helps make the program affordable, but they also attend some of the sessions and offer their insights from the business world perspective,” Osborne said. Osborne said not only do

(Continued from page 6)

first ISAL. A coaching seminar was conducted in conjunction with the first weekend session of ISAL II and each coach will have two students. Participants are required to attend four weekend sessions

superintendents benefit from the ISAL experience, but school districts gain by having a leader who advances and improves their leadership skills. “Personal growth leads to improvement in overall performance,” Osborne said. “If you don’t know what you don’t know, you are vulnerable.” Another unintended benefit of participating in the ISAL program is expanding one's professional network by getting to know superintendents from across the state, said Zabilka, recently retired superintendent from Morton Grove and a graduate of ISAL I. “Before I began this program, I had no idea what kinds of issues other superintendents downstate dealt with. To my surprise, those superintendents deal with many of the same issues—achievement, finances, facilities, etc. -- but offer different

Robert Abney, Waltham 185 Dr. Joseph Bailey, Medinah 11 Dr. Lori Bein, Roselle 12

each of the two years as well as having regular interaction with their coaches, including online, by phone and in-person. Then there is the interaction among the participants. “That interaction is what makes ISAL a collegial cohort in the truest sense,” said Osborne, a retired superintendent and a professor at Eastern Illinois University.

Dr. Darcy Benway, O'Fallon Twp HS 203 Dr. Kim Boryszewski, Schiller Park 81 Kathy Countryman, Sycamore 427 Lea Damisch, Marengo/Union Dist. 165 Dr. Debbie Ehlenburg, Alden-Hebron 19 Anthony Galindo, Gibson City-Melvin Sibley 5 Dr. Dawn Green, Somonauk 432 Lori Harrison, Illini Central 189 Dr. Michael Lubelfeld, Pennoyer 79 Steve Murphy, Carbondale Comm 185 Dr. Kathie Pierce, Fenton 100 Dr. Nick Polyak, IL Valley Central Unit 321 Dr. Jamie Reilly, Golf 67 Dr. Tami Roskamp, Beecher 200U Dr. Bhavna Sharma-Lewis, Harrison 36 Dr. Andrew Wise, Olympia CUSD 16 Dr. Jill Gildea, Fremont Dist. 79 Guy Gradert, Ridgeview CUSD 19 Christina Grant, Thompsonville 174

“They start together, they finish together and they support each other along the way. If you have no one to ask questions of or to bounce ideas off, being a superintendent can be a lonely existence.”

perspectives that were beneficial for me to hear,” Zabilka said. “I've gained a great deal of respect and appreciation for all of our superintendents in this state. Regardless of where we're from, we all want what's best for kids!”

ISAL II is being co-sponsored by Ameresco, Inc., FGM Architects, Hodges Loizzi Eisenhammer Rodick & Kohn LLP, and the Illinois School District Liquid Asset Fund Plus (see ad on Page 9).

start of a collaborative relationship that will serve all of us well as we address the current educational initiatives. However, it was the personal growth and support I received through my participation in ISAL that took me by surprise. While I have always known intellectually that one needs to take care of body, mind and spirit to be the best leader and person possible, I tended to neglect all but my mind. Even though my physical goal was minimal compared to some, it has literally and figuratively meant a step in the right direction for me. Walking has not only led to better health, it has helped me to alleviate stress, and with the current challenges we all face, stress reduction is sorely needed. In addition, for the first time since I became a superintendent, I felt completely at ease to share my concerns with others. This experience opened my eyes to the isolation we have at the top and how healthy it was to be able to share with my ISAL colleagues and coach in an environment of complete support and confidentiality. Moreover, my participation in ISAL helped me get through one of the most difficult events of my life – the loss of a parent. Yes, ISAL made me a better leader, but more importantly, it made me a better person. (Continued from page 7) Stewart: Benefits of ISAL —–—————————————————————————

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We are proud to sponsor the IASA School for Advanced Leadership (ISAL), an innovative school leadership program developed by IASA. We believe our support is an investment in the future of public education and in the future of Illinois.

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Budget, cost shift and school safety shape spring agenda

exchange for giving up access to the state’s health insurance plan and foregoing future

The education legislative agenda for the 98 th General Assembly is beginning to take shape. While the intertwined issues of budget and pension reform — including the controversial cost-shift proposal — look to occupy center ring of the spring session circus, other important issues like school safety and the never-ending struggle against unfunded mandates will make for interesting sideshows.

salary increases for calculating pension benefits. Part B is considered the constitutional “backstop” if any provision in Part A is ruled unconstitutional by the courts. The impact of the cost shift on school districts could be substantial on top of budget cuts and unfunded mandates. And the pressure to take some sort of action on the pension reform issue continues to mount. Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services recently again lowered the state’s credit rating, this time to A-, just a couple steps above junk bond rating. "While legislative action on pension reform could occur during the current legislative session and various bills have been filed, we believe that legislative consensus on reform will be difficult to achieve given the poor track record in the past two years," the ratings agency said. School safety on agenda after Sandy Hook tragedy The governor held a School Safety Summit on January 22 to discuss ways in which we might make our schools safer and ways to lessen the chances of another tragic incident such as occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. IASA along with School Management Alliance partners the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB), the Illinois Principals Association (IPA) and the Illinois Association of School Business Officials (IASBO) attended as well as law enforcement, emergency management, public health, the Illinois Education Association (IEA), the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT), ISBE and other stakeholders. Lots of good ideas were discussed, including the importance of School Resource Officers (SROs), ways to enhance the security of entrances to schools, getting more mental health resources involved and trying to promote a culture in which students would report threats of school violence. While some of those items might only involve training or a change in procedures, much of what was discussed would involve expenditures. No one is opposed to enhancing school safety, but if unfunded mandates emerge, many school districts (Continued on page 20)

Diane Hendren, Chief of Staff / Director of Governmental Relations

The education budget showdown Governor Quinn is scheduled to deliver his “State of the State” address February 6 and his “Budget Address” March 6, so we soon will know where he stands on the issue of funding for public education. We already have a pretty good hint given that his office released a preliminary report indicating cuts of up to $400 million for the FY14 education budget. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) recently released its FY14 budget proposal calling for full funding of General State Aid (GSA) as the largest part of an $874 million increase. It is really important that superintendents and other educational leaders get behind restoring GSA to its foundation level after public schools suffered through an 11 percent cut this school year. If education is cut as deeply as the governor has suggested, it is estimated that GSA could dip as low as 80 percent of the foundation level in FY14. Here is a link to the full ISBE budget table . Cost shift rears its head again As quickly as the cost shift disappeared during the lame-duck session in early January, it has reappeared in bills proposed by Sen. Daniel Biss (D-Evanston) and Rep. Elaine Nekritz (D-Northbrook). Senate Bill 35 and House Bill 98 both mirror the language in the Nekritz-Biss-Cross bill in that they offer no choice provision and include a pensionable salary cap, a four-year freeze on cost-of-living adjustments, no COLA until age 67, a 2 percent increase in employee contributions – and the cost shift. Senate Bill 1, introduced by Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago), includes two parts. Part A mirrors SB 35 and HB 98 except for the fact it does not have a cost shift. Part B offers employees and retirees a choice to keep their 3 percent compound COLA in

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Senate Bill 7: Growing pains By Dr. Richard Voltz Associate Director of Professional Development

and learning and determine the professional teaching practice rating for the teacher. 5. Teacher evaluators finding the time that will be required to do the teacher performance-based evaluation with veracity. 6. To arrive at a joint decision on how to summative rate the teacher using professional practice and student growth. The collective bargaining implications as a result of these laws Collective bargaining on the implications of SB 7, in my opinion, is the most difficult bargaining issue administrators will face in their careers. There has already been more strike and strike threatening activity this school year than there has been in the last several years. This contentious bargaining is probably due to

The Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) (Senate Bill 315; Public Act 96-0861) was passed by the Illinois General Assembly and signed by the Governor in January 2010. In summary, PERA requires performance evaluations of the principal/ assistant principal and teachers in every school district and must include data and indicators of student growth as a significant factor. It also requires a four rating category system and prescribed training for all principal and teacher evaluators. Senate Bill 7 (SB 7) was signed into law by the Governor on June 13, 2011. SB 7 addresses, among other things:  A standard upon which the State Superintendent may initiate certificate/ license action against an educator for incompetency;  Requirements for the filling of new and vacant positions;  Acquisition of tenure;  Reductions in force/layoffs and recall rights;  The system for the dismissal of tenured teachers;  Required school board member training; and,  Processes related to collective bargaining and the right to strike. ISBE subsequently prepared the Part 50 Rules that define the procedures for implementation of PERA and SB 7. There are 138 “shalls” in the Part 50 Rules. The following is a list of potential issues that could cause the most problems as Illinois educators prepare to implement all sections of this new law prior to September 2016: 1. The collective bargaining implications as the result of these new rules. 2. The difficulty in rating teaching based on at least 30% students’ academic growth. 3. Interpretation of what “Distinguished” means in the Frameworks for Teaching (FFT). 4. Following the required teacher evaluation training for all teacher evaluators, the actual competencies needed to do this work to actually improve teaching

two main factors: 1) lack of money at the district level; and 2) conversation about changing the teacher performance evaluation system. This will only get more contentious as we get closer to the 2016 deadline of full implementation. The recently published study by The Illinois Education Research Council and the

University of Chicago titled “Designing and Implementing the Next Generation of Teacher Evaluation Systems: Lessons Learned from Five Case Studies in Five Illinois Districts” determined four major challenges. They are: Cultivating Buy-In and Understanding; Using Evaluations for Instructional Improvement; Reducing the Burden on Principals; and Incorporating Student Growth into Teacher Evaluation Systems. Concerning the first challenge, administrators need to include stakeholders in every step of this journey. When training administrators, train teacher leaders also. When practicing how to gather evidence, include teacher leaders in the process. When choosing assessments and student growth models, include teachers from the very beginning. This is absolutely one topic that administrators and teachers need to reach consensus on before implementation. The difficulty in rating teaching based on at least 30% students’ academic growth The key provision in this new evaluation paradigm is the law requirement that teachers be evaluated (Continued on page 24)

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The IASA will hold its first-ever Leadership Week February 26-28 in Springfield and will offer attendees the opportunity to hear a dynamic lineup of speakers address topics such as school safety, pension reform, debunking myths about America’s failing schools and how to effectively build teacher expertise. There also will be a Legislative Advocacy Day including visiting legislators in the State Capitol. Also, Forecast5 Analytics will provide a demonstration of 5Sight, the business intelligence tool that allows for rapid querying of relevant data that school districts submit to the state annually . There is no registration fee. Simply click on the Leadership Week logo above to register. School safety Illinois Emergency Management Agency Director Jonathon Monken will talk about school safety improvements in the aftermath of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Destroying myths about failing schools Cambridge Strategic Services President Dr. John Draper will present “Crucial Conversations about America’s Schools.” He will separate fact from fiction regarding dropouts, achievement gaps, pay-for-performance, charter schools, and standardized test scores. Pension reform Ralph Martire, Executive Director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability will make a presentation explaining why the state is facing a debt crisis, not a pension crisis. Empowering teachers to improve Dr. Anthony C. Frontier, Associate Professor in Doctoral Leadership Studies at Cardinal Stritch University will present “Beyond Judgment: Supervision that Develops Teacher Expertise” to empower teachers to improve their practice in an era focused on measuring their competence. State of education in Illinois State Superintendent of Education Dr. Christopher Koch will deliver a keynote address regarding current issues facing public education in Illinois, including the state education budget.

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Bargaining implications of performance evaluations

With new rules regarding the Illinois Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) and the Education Reform Act (Senate Bill 7), school districts are beginning to grapple with the collective bargaining implications of the new laws. Although the implementation dates for a student growth component are not until September 1, 2013, 2015, and 2016 for many districts, the bargaining proposals that will impact evaluation plans (and therefore reductions in force or RIF) are being implementation of the

Anderson This article was written by David Braun, an Associate in the Monticello -based law firm of Miller, Tracy, Braun, Funk and Miller, Ltd. He focuses his practice in the area of school law and has been a presenter at IASA workshops, academies and conferences. He served on the Education Law Council of the Illinois State Bar Association from 2008-2011.

rules for how teachers’ evaluations are categorized for purposes of reductions in forces. The law establishes specific topics for the RIF committee’s discussions. The RIF committee’s changes must be complete and agreed to by February 1 of any year in which a RIF is to be performed; otherwise the rules from the previous year (or the law if no prior agreement was reached) apply. The RIF committee is not required to meet annually unless otherwise required by agreement. Issues to watch during discussions:  The law establishes what the committee may (and may not) agree to. Only the RIF committee can discuss how to move employees from Grouping 2 to Grouping 3 (but not Grouping 4), and only the RIF committee can discuss alternate definitions for Grouping 4. Further, only the RIF committee can discuss (and agree to) how to deal with noncompliant (that is, something other than Excellent, Proficient, Needs Improvement, and Unsatisfactory) evaluation summative ratings.  Schools should not agree to changes to the reductions in force procedure beyond those defined by law, and should not agree to pre-determine evaluation outcomes (everyone is an Excellent, for instance). Limiting discussion to those permitted by law is advisable. PERA/Evaluation Joint Committee The PERA or Evaluation Joint Committee establishes the rules for implementation of the student growth portion of the evaluation. The evaluation committee determines rules for the implementation of the student growth component and for the usage of assessments. If the evaluation (Continued on page 21)

created today. Therefore, it is imperative that districts carefully examine their plans, their proposals, and their procedures long before the implementation dates arrive. Evaluation plans may now be impacted by as many as four separate committees:  The district’s pre-existing evaluation committee;  The PERA joint committee on evaluations;  The ERA joint committee on reductions in force; and  The bargaining committee. While nothing in the law requires any of these committees to have differing membership, each committee has its own jurisdiction. As such, decisions made by the “wrong” committee could jeopardize the district’s ability to enforce the rules the committee created. Three components are therefore critical in decision-making for any district engaging in bargaining these issues: 1) What committee is meeting? 2) What authority does that committee have? 3) What will happen when the committee reaches agreement? All of these issues should be addressed at the very first meeting of each committee, and each meeting should identify which committee is meeting, who was present, what the committee discussed, and to what the committee agreed. For those going to the bargaining table this year, now is the perfect time to discuss the answers to many of these questions. Education Reform Act/RIF Joint Committee The SB7 or RIF Joint Committee establishes

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Member News from the Regions

Southwestern

Jim Greenwald will become Superintendent of Granite City School District 9 on July 1. Greenwald currently

Kerry Cox will become Superintendent of Carrollton School District 1 on July 1. Ms. Cox currently is principal at Glenwood Middle School. She will replace Dr. Elizabeth Pressler , who is retiring. Superintendent Kim Hanks of Pleasant Hill Abe Lincoln November 2012 issue of School Administrator, the national monthly magazine published by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA). The story, headlined “Personal Priorities: When Crisis Hits Home,” talks about how her staff and the community bonded together with Hanks to help her continue to lead her school district even while she battled to overcome breast cancer. Hanks also was voted to an at- large position on the Executive Central Illinois Valley Elementary District 69 was featured in a story in the

Berwyn South School District 100 has been named an Apple Distinguished Program for the 2012-2013 school

Southwestern

Cook West

year for its 1:1 Wireless Device program. Click here to view the press release. Anthony G. Scariano , IASA School Service Member and Partner at Scariano, Himes & Petrarca, passed away on December 26, 2012.

serves as principal at the school district. He will replace Dr. Harry Briggs, who is retiring. Mr. Arden Wills passed away on January 2, 2013. Before his retirement in 1998, Mr. Wills was the superintendent of South Wilmington District 74. Dr. Kate Sievers became the new superintendent of Calhoun District 40 on January 1, 2013. She was previously the principal of this district. Kathy Dinger will become superintendent of 1. Ms. Dinger currently is director of curriculum and instruction for the Libertyville Elementary School District 70. David Messersmith , IASA Past-President retired from Bushnell-Prairie June 30, 2012, and Bill Mattingly and Mick Nickson have been serving as interim co-superintendents this year. Three Rivers Western Two Rivers Bushnell-Prairie City District 170 on July

Olympia District 16 has been recognized as an AP Honor Roll School. This recognition comes from the College

Corn Belt

Board for opening AP classroom doors to a significantly broader pool of students, while maintaining or improving the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher. Click here to view the full article. Josh Olsen will become Assistant Superintendent of Schools for Olympia Community District 16 on July 1. Mr. Olsen currently serves as superintendent for Fieldcrest District 6 in Minonk. Mr. Olsen will replace Andrew Wise , who will replace current superintendent Brad Hutchison when he retires July 1.

Board of Illinois Women in Educational Leadership. Gary DePatis will become superintendent of Pekin

Community High School District 303, on July 1. He will be replacing Paula Davis, who is retiring.

IASA Superintendent of the Year honored with billboard Dr. Jane L. Westerhold, superintendent of Des Plaines District 62 in Cook North, was recently recognized for being named the 2013 Illinois Superintendent of the Year with her likeness being placed on a billboard on the side of a Des Plaines highway.

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Educator preparation and licensure update

By Brad Hutchison Superintendent, Olympia 16

practices, national and Illinois trends on the topic of teacher preparation, and partnerships so that the best possible recommendations could be provided to ISBE. The committee also conducted surveys of more than 2,500 non-tenured teachers, cooperating teachers, school and district administrators, and faculty of colleges/universities in hopes of having the best feedback possible as we worked to complete the assigned task. Armed with this information, members of the steering committee developed the following key success factors that need to exist to foster meaningful partnerships between P-12 Districts and community colleges/universities:  Partnerships should include P-12 districts, community colleges, and colleges/ universities.  Partnerships should be developed to foster partnerships across multiple programs and the units should include an Advisory Committee.  Partnerships should demonstrate collaboration in the design, including the design and implementation of the clinical experiences.  Partnership roles and expectations should be clearly defined and agreed upon in writing and or with a memorandum of understanding.  ISBE should engage stakeholders in developing a rubric that will guide the development and assessment of the Memoranda of Understanding that meet state requirements for the partners. A copy of the full report titled: “ Educator Preparation and Licensure Recommendations ” that was presented to ISBE on December 20, 2012 can be accessed by clicking on the above highlighted link. Actively participating in educational reform committees takes time and energy, but I am appreciative to have a voice in the process and would encourage other IASA members to volunteer to serve when the opportunity presents itself.

One mission of the IASA is to support school leaders as they tirelessly work to improve the educational experience for all learners. One way that members of IASA work to support the continual school improvement efforts within Illinois is to voluntarily

serve on a wide array of committees. Fellow IASA Board of Directors member Dr. Robert Lupo (Superintendent of Ridgewood Community No. 234) and I recently served on the ISBE-sponsored Illinois P20 Council Educator Licensure Steering Group. The committee was formed at the request of State Superintendent Chris Koch to advise the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and policymakers on educator licensure and teacher preparation changes required as part of Public Act 97-0607. Other professional stakeholder organizations such as ISBE, the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE), the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB), public/ private teachers prep colleges/universities, professional organizations, unions and policy/ advocacy groups also were invited to serve on the steering group committee. Dr. Erika Hunt, director of the Illinois State University Action for Education Leadership Project, and Audrey Soglin, executive director of the Illinois Education Association (IEA) were appointed co-chairs of the steering group committee. A key component of the law required that the number of Illinois certifications be reduced from 66 to 3 licensures by July 1, 2013. To accomplish this daunting task, the Educator Licensure Steering Group divided the volunteers into two subcommittee focus areas:  Partnerships and Clinical Experience  Educator Pipeline Multiple meetings, webinars and video conferences were conducted for more than six months by members of the Educator Licensure Steering Committee who worked to bring forth meaningful recommendations. Members reviewed research, best

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Getting to know your IASA Board members

David W. Messersmith IASA Past President (2012) School district: Retired June 30, 2012 from Bushnell-Prairie City

Tremont. We met at a Disco! Daughter Natalie teaches second grade in Tremont, and son Zachary works for IASB in Governmental Relations. His wife is Kristen and our grandson, Archer is age 1. Favorite hobby: Wine Making & Baking Favorite movie: Billy Jack Favorite book: Bible Favorite musical artist: Sir Elton John One thing people probably would be surprised to know about you: As Lay Speaker in our Church I preach when called on. Biggest concern about public education: Finance - Unfunded Mandates Most encouraging thing about public education: Great people working hard to provide education to children.

District 170 after 11 years, Currently-Western Area Career System EFE Director (Macomb) One thing you would like people to know about your school district: Bushnell-Prairie City has great people working in the district!

IASA Region: Western Years on IASA Board: 9 Years as educator: 34

High school: Princeville High School Class of 1975, First Team All Blackhawk Conference - Nose Guard 1974 Colleges or Universities: Western Illinois University & Illinois State University Family: Married 32 years to Julie Harness from

Scott D. Kuffel IASA Secretary School district: Geneseo CUSD 228

Favorite hobby: Reading Favorite movie: Cool Hand Luke Favorite book: Bill Simmons, “The Big Book of Basketball” Favorite musical artist: The Wood Brothers

One thing you would like people to know about your school district: We have won four state football championships, and five state music sweepstakes championships! IASA Region: Blackhawk Years on IASA Board: 8 Years as educator: 28 High school: Kewanee HS Colleges or Universities: Illinois Wesleyan and Illinois State Family: Wife, Jennifer; Judson (22), Dugan and Hunter (18)

One thing people probably would be surprised to know about you: I was an exchange student to rural Kenya in high school. Biggest concern about public education: Erosion of local control and the constraints irresponsible mandates place on innovation and creativity Most encouraging thing about public education: The talent and passion of young teachers and administrators in schools today.

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Dr. Voltz’s 2013 education predictions

and local school districts will continue to receive less state funding. Unless the local taxpayers

Schools, especially middle and high schools, will be using Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) much more in FY14. It is very difficult for schools to

Dr. Richard Voltz, Assoc. Director of Professional Development

be able to afford and also predict which device to buy for each student. Many school communities have the majority of students who already possess a smart device provided by parents. Schools will learn to utilize these devices in the school technology infrastructure that allows for filtering of content to comply with federal and state regulations. Students who do not own devices will be allowed to use school purchased devices. The use of BYOD and other technologies will lead to technology purchases of textbooks and related materials with the savings from not purchasing textbooks to be put into buying devices for those students who do not have devices and allowing the district to ramp up the infrastructure of the buildings for students to access information and content via the web. Teachers will join together in a shared environment such as has been done with Wikipedia, Firefox and the like to write their own textbooks and related materials. Included in these instructional materials will be lessons available online for students 24/7 similar to Kahn Academy but the lessons will be written, produced and directed by the teachers themselves. You can view my podcast of Mrs. Tignor, Eureka Middle School math teacher to get a feel of what this will entail by clicking here . Building level administrators will make many more teacher observations and recording of evidence as Illinois transitions into this new teacher evaluation paradigm. This will lead to a much better conversation between teachers and administrators about what is happening in the classroom and which in turn will increase instructional practices and student achievement. As Illinois advances into this reform-mandated performance-based teacher evaluation system relationships between teacher unions and management will be more contentious than ever unless both sides can agree to solve these problems together, in collaboration with the mutual intent of improving instruction. Student/teacher class size will increase considerably over the next one to five years. Illinois’ budget problems will not be solved in the short term

agree to increase property taxes services for students in Pre-K through 12 will continue to decline. To go along with the previous item, administrator to teacher/student ratios will continue to increase as well. This will occur at the same time as the demand on building level administration increases due to the new mandated teacher performance evaluation systems. Many veteran administrators will retire as soon as they can because they will feel that the position’s responsibilities will be impossible to meet. The number of applicants for both teaching and administrative positions will increase. You may wonder how this can happen when the job seems harder than ever. There are two reasons this is predicted to happen, the first is that there will be fewer teaching and administrative positions to apply for because of the budgetary problems. The second is that there will also be less white-collar positions for college graduates to be employed and many college graduates will see education as a viable career path. Districts will even see increased applicants for administrative positions because even though the job will seem harder, school administration is a very well paid career. Illinois high schools will start to offer more online courses for a variety of reasons. Online courses will be less expensive to offer than on campus courses, it will allow the high school to expand its curriculum, it will meet the needs of students because of the 24/7 access and also student learning changes, it will allow students to make up credits, and it will be an economic engine for those districts who can figure out how to offer online courses before private entities lock up the entire market as is happening in other states. There will a negative professional educator reaction to the implementation of the Common Core. I cannot understand how the Common Core has been able to change the very essence of local control of curriculum with almost no opposition. It seems to me ISBE has just been able to declare “Common Core” for all without a debate at all from local school districts. Do Illinois educators even know what is in

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