State Board Intervenes In Midfield Board to Address Concerns

Thursday, the state Board of Education first met in a special called meeting to approve intervention in the Midfield School System and make two leadership announcements within the state Department of Education. The normally scheduled K-12 work session followed with a commission report on Career and Technical Education, an update on EDUCATEAlabama, federal waiver options and a status report on school systems’ one-month reserve funds.

Special Called Meeting: Midfield intervention and
new deputy & assistant superintendents

In the called meeting, the board unanimously approved a resolution recommending intervention in Midfield. State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tommy Bice explained this in no way was a takeover by the department. He described it instead as an opportunity to provide the new interim superintendent support to build a leadership plan as the system tries to right its ship. He further explained that good things are happening in Midfield schools. However, there is a need to focus on governance, academics and financial strategies for future improvement. Board members Dr. Yvette Richardson and Mary Scott Hunter commended the Midfield board for seeking assistance as it moves forward.

The state board also approved two leadership positions in the department. Former Assistant Superintendent Sherrill Parris was promoted to deputy state superintendent and former Director of Technology Initiatives Melinda Maddox was named assistant state superintendent.

K-12 Work Session: Career and technical
education suggestions redefine “Dirty Jobs”

The state’s Career and Technical Education Commission began its presentation to the state board with a video of Mike Rowe, host of the Discovery Channel show Dirty Jobs, presenting testimony to the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Rowe emphasized the need to reconnect Americans with the importance of career and technical education. He said in Alabama one-third of all tradesmen are over age 55, and there are not enough workers to replace them. The presentation pointed to the dire need in manufacturing, transportation, utilities and other industries nationwide for skilled tradesmen, who are in short supply. Watch the video at www.mikeroweworks.com/2011/05/mike-rowe-speaks-to-commerce-science-and-transportation-committee/.
The state commission recommends making career and technical education available for all students to address the widening skills gap in Alabama and the nation. Commission members also presented compelling testimony, including that of Sylacauga High School senior Leigh Terry, to describe modern-day career tech programs that redefine the outdated conception of the dimly lit, crude wood-working shop.
Students who participate in career tech are reportedly 10 times more likely to graduate from high school, and 70 percent of those students continue to two- or four-year college compared to the average 58 percent of students generally. Commission members said career tech is an integral part of Alabama’s mission for every student to be college-and career-ready.
The commission’s primary recommendations were to:
· Create a high-level business/education advisory council;
· Ensure every student is enrolled in a career pathway developed in the eighth grade and takes at least two sequenced career tech courses;
· Dramatically improve local business and industry commitment to career development, exploration and awareness; and
· Consolidate local K-12 and postsecondary business advisory councils.
Bice said the next step is for the state Department of Education to study the recommendations and bring back specific strategies for the next work session.

K-12 Work Session: EDUCATEAlabama program
demonstrated to state board

On Thursday, the board was given a demonstration of the new EDUCATEAlabama program, the formative assessment that replaced Alabama’s Professional Education Personnel Evaluation program and allows teachers to do a self-evaluation focused on instructional practice. Administrators can use the tools for individual instructional leadership while also using the electronic data to track trends and assess training needs for their entire faculty. EDUCATEAlabama will eventually serve as a tool for compiling data by school system and even state board districts. The information is expected to be available in a public domain in year three. Bice emphasized that the assessment is formative and was developed to help educators strengthen their teaching practice. He said it is not to be confused with a summative assessment that focuses on effectiveness, though development of a summative assessment as a complement to EDUCATEAlabama would be a next step.

K-12 Work Session: Update on waiver option for
ESEA (No Child Left Behind) requirements

Bice told the state board he had met with education community stakeholders (including AASB) about the U.S. Department of Education’s process for waiving stringent requirements and penalties of No Child Left Behind. Although the flexibility waivers could offer is attractive, some education advocates have said the strings attached are enormous and do not necessarily align with Alabama’s goals. Bice said several states agree that the current waiver option runs counter to state progress. Alabama, California, Nebraska, Montana, Pennsylvania, Louisiana and others have preliminarily discussed a joint effort to seek waivers based on each state’s terms. Bice plans to seek the state board’s permission to move forward with Alabama’s strong work to build an alternative waiver plan. Meanwhile, there is movement in Congress to discuss the reauthorization of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act that was last reauthorized as No Child Left Behind in 2002. Should that law be reauthorized in the next few months, a goal AASB and local board members are actively working on, the waiver option would be moot.

Fiscal Accountability: Report notes number of
school systems with at least a one-month reserve

Deputy State Superintendent of Administrative and Financial Services Dr. Craig Pouncey said that as of Sept. 30, 2011, 60 school systems did not have one month of operating expenses in reserve. However, because of legislative measures to allow local system flexibility with Child Nutrition Program reserves, the use of partial units for staffing and other budgetary flex items, that number has now been reduced to 31. School systems without the one-month budgetary safeguard will meet Feb. 13 to discuss strategies.
The state board’s regular meeting for K-12 public education, which will include a resolution to appoint the State Science Course of Study Committee, is set for Feb. 9.

Earn 7 academy hours for Policy & Planning

Register today at www.AlabamaSchoolBoards.org to take the March 9-10 Leadership for Policy and Planning core course. This School Board Member Academy course is worth 7 credit hours and will be at The Wynfrey Hotel in Birmingham. It is one of eight courses required to advance in AASB’s school for school board members. Leadership for Policy and Planning is designed to help school board members understand policy from the operational and the vision perspectives, to develop useful policy manuals and to avoid the common mistakes that can cause boards legal nightmares.
General sessions include:
·    Beliefs Matter: Build a Culture of High Expectations, presented by Dr. Mary Delagardelle of the Iowa Department of Education.
·    Leadership and Governance, presented by Allison Black Cornelius of Blackfish Strategies.
·    Handle Hot Topics Without Getting Burned, presented by Mark Boardman, a veteran school board attorney with Boardman, Carr, Hutcheson and Bennett PC.
During the conference, AASB will also collect books for homeless young people ages 5 to 18. Please deposit the books in boxes marked “Leaders for Literacy” near the registration desk on the second floor of The Wynfrey. Register for the conference at www.AlabamaSchoolBoards.org and housing can be booked at www.wynfrey.com using group code 1BA517. Call AASB at 800/562-0601 should you have questions.

MISSED YOUR Winter District Meeting? THEN REGISTER FOR ONE OF THESE

Don’t worry if you missed your area’s 2012 AASB Winter District Meeting. There is still time to attend. Meetings are scheduled for Jan. 30 in District 8 (Florence), Jan. 31 in District 9 (Madison), Feb. 2 in District 7 (Tuscaloosa), Feb. 9 in District 4 (Montgomery), Feb. 13 in District 3 (Ozark) and Feb. 21 in District 6 (Anniston).

In addition to a legislative and education budget look ahead, attendees will receive free board training meant to separate effective governing from destructive meddling. All you have to pay for is your meal. During Family Feud: Micromanagement Edition, AASB Executive Director Sally Howell and Director of Board Development Susan Salter will offer ideas for more governance-appropriate ways a board or board member can respond in tricky situations, including those caused when boards micromanage. As an added bonus, AASB will tie the whole discussion into its six new Standards for Effective School Boards. Attend for an opportunity to network with your neighboring school board members. Hospitality time begins at 6 p.m., and dinner is served at 6:30 p.m., followed by a 45-minute program. Earn 1 credit hour in the AASB School Board Member Academy. Register at www.AlabamaSchoolBoards.org.

GET INVOLVED, JOIN A COMMITTEE

AASB members participate in association governance through standing committees and ad hoc committees formed as needed. Committee members are appointed for one-year terms by AASB’s president with the approval of the board of directors. If you’re interested in serving on the Academy Advisory, Multicultural, Budget and Finance, Resolutions or Bylaws committees, please contact Tammy Wright by Feb. 22, twright@AlabamaSchoolBoards.org or P.O. Drawer 230488, Montgomery, AL 36123-0488.

TIME FOR CELEBRATION & OBSERVANCE

Alabama is poised to celebrate/observe the following special occasions: February as Digital Learning Month, College Application and Financial Aid Month and Career and Technical Education Month; Feb. 6-10 as National School Counseling Week; and March as Arts Education Month.

REMEMBER: Annual financial disclosure forms for 2011 are due to the state Ethics Commission March 30. Visit www.ethics.alabama.gov.

— info@AlabamaSchoolBoards.org