Educational Leadership Commons^™

The Coach And The Team Working Together Make For A Winning Season, Wayne L. King

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Serving your community is a privilege in whatever capacity; however, when you are elected by your community to serve, you are expected to use the knowledge and ability that the voters acknowledged by electing you to that position.

The public school systems today are the most valued institutions of our country. They are the starting point of everyone's life. If mistakes are made in the student's early life, that student may well suffer those consequences throughout his/her entire life.

The board of education of any given district is to see that children do not falter, but rather build from year …

Communication: The Key To A Positive Relationship Between The Board Of Education And The Superintendent, Bill R. Kruse

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

The challenge to the operation of an effective school district begins with a shared vision of the purpose and direction of the school district. All players must share this vision. The school board, administration, faculty, and community members must all be headed towards the same end. Only if this direction is clearly defined and a road map to achieve this vision is laid out will the students enjoy the benefits of an effective school district.

Once the vision is defined, the work really begins for everyone, but especially for the superintendent. It will be this person's challenge to make sure …

Leadership, Debra M. Van Den Berghe

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Can we ensure long-term communication and information flow within and between the board of education and superintendent of schools?

The single most important factor that will determine long-term board/superintendent relations of leadership among these two entities. The future of board/superintendent relations will be America's educational system's ability to identify, attract, train, and retain effective leaders, both as school board members and as superintendents.

In the 21st century, three factors will be crucial to the leadership abilities of board members and superintendents. These characteristics include the ability for American schools to identify, attract, and train effective leaders in both roles and …

Issue Area Five: Making Effective Decisions, Including Emphasis On Consensus Building, Conflict Resolution And Learning Together, Donald M. Gunderson, Elizabeth T. Cooper

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

No one person or organization-whether it's a family, a business, a civic organization, or a school district-can exist without occasional conflict. What's more, no one would want to exist without conflict, for conflict is responsible for the birth of new ideas, options, and inventions. The important issue is how the conflict is viewed and ultimately resolved. At some point before, during, or after the conflict has occurred, people have the ability to resolve that conflict. That ability, however, depends on the participants' willingness or desire to resolve the conflict.

In a school district setting, many ways exist to resolve conflict …

Board Decision-Making Processes Are Enhanced And Empowered By Using A District-Wide Vertical Team, Ronald Barney

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

How often have you heard or read about a board of education adopting a new program at the superintendent's recommendation only to have 50 people at the next board meeting vehemently opposing the idea? What went wrong? Very often boards rely upon the recommendations of the superintendent. While competent and highly trained, this person cannot know everything about all the issues that may surround every decision. How, then, can the board decision-making process be enhanced so that boards of education can feel comfortable that issues have been adequately discussed and prepared?

Boards of education need to follow a site-based decision-making …

The Why, Who, And How Of Developing Community Links, Suzette G. Jensen

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Developing positive links with the community will require school board members and school administrators to deal head-on with the issues facing public education. We must deal honestly with negative attitudes about the quality of our public schools and the problems we are facing.

Perhaps the first question we should answer is. ''Why do we need to develop positive links with the community?" The most likely answer is "so the community will support (dollars) public education." Or, perhaps, we could be more philosophical and suggest we need positive links with the community to nurture community support for the drastic changes needed …

Opening The School Doors To Keep The Public Informed, Marybeth Wagner

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

In education, as in business, public relations are extremely important. Good public relations keep people informed and encourage them to find out more about the producer and the product. The best way for the local school district to do this is to get members of the public into the schools. It is the job of everyone who works for, or is involved with, the schools to forge positive links with the community.

Because fewer homes now have students in school and thus have fewer ties to the K-12 local education system, it is important to get people into the schools …

Let's Slow The Jump On The ___ Assessment Bandwagon, Gregory E. Dunn

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Contrary to what you may think, I did not forget to "fill in the blank" in the title of this paper. Actually I'm just a little confused as to the proper term to use. Should I fill the blank with "alternative" (Worthen, 1993), "authentic" (Wiggins, 1989), "direct" (Willis, 1990), "performance-based" (Herman, Aschbacher, & Winters, 1992), "functional" (Iowa Department of Education, 1991), or "curriculum-based" (Deno, 1987; Tucker, 1985)? It gets even more confusing when writers use terms as synonyms for each other (Herman et al.; Willis) or when writers use the same term but define it differently (Linn, Baker, & Dunbar, …

In The Name Of Improving Education And Searching For Answers . . . The Challenge Is Ours Now, Kathy D. Brill

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

The Primary Program Crowing and Learning in the Heartland defines assessment as the systematic process of gathering evidence of what a child can do. In the same document, evaluation is defined as the on-going process of making judgments and decisions based on the interpretation of evidence gathered through assessment (Nebraska/Iowa Departments of Education, 1993).

Assessments of student learning are of a wide variety and should evaluate an even wider berth of student skills, thought processes, and learning styles. Evaluation should be to help learning and provide information that leads to improving the quality of student learning. A familiar form of …

A Practitioner's View Of Current Issues In Assessment, Linda Calvin

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

The current educational debate concerning testing centers on the various merits of standardized tests, norm-referenced tests, authentic assessments, and performance-based assessments. The issues include questions of fairness, accountability, relationships between desired outcomes and test results and the concomitant implication for improved teaching strategies and curriculum, validity and reliability; and usefulness for comparison purposes.

Integrated Learning Systems: Blessing Or Burden?, Lee Vermulm

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Potentially the most powerful tool of transforming schools lies with using technology to alter the relationship between assessment and instruction. Before that can happen, educators must consider the purpose of assessment. Many traditionally see it as something separate from instruction-something to do before or after, rather than during instruction. Frequently teachers view assessment with some fear and dislike because its associated so closely with pronouncing a final verdict-a grade. It's rarely considered as integral with the teaching and learning process. Consequently, use of technology in assessment depends partly on teacher attitudes toward assessment in general.

A Prerequisite To Authentic Assessment: The Development Of A Reflective Classroom, Jeanette L. Fields

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

During the past decade the American educational community has been struggling through a long and difficult labor to achieve a quiet philosophical rebirth. This rebirth is an attempt to create an educational culture where values, beliefs, and customs are built upon reflective inquiry. Dewey and his predecessors believed "that to transform reflection into action consonant with the students' thoughts became the very function of teaching" (Eiseley, 1962, p. 152). The ability to observe intuitively and intellectually, the analysis and reflection of those observations, and the development of intellectually passionate learners therefore are not direct results of an authentic assessment culture, …

Considering Learning And Teaching First; Then Assessment Follows, Robert M. Boody

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Let's begin by admitting that as a field we really know very little about the impacts of various assessment models on students, schools, or anything else. Worthen, Borg, and White (1993) note that "most criticisms and defenses of tests are still primarily 'articles of faith, ' not scientifically supported positions" (p. 412). This statement should give us some pause. It suggests that the well-respected, professionally competent authors of a good text on educational measurement and evaluation aren't really sure of the impacts of measurement on students and other things! I admit that the authors would probably not understand their statement …

The Educational Dividend: A Return On Public Investment, Thomas E. Deeter

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Investment dividends provided to shareholders serve as one index of corporate success or growth. To maintain public support, school districts must inform stakeholders about the effectiveness of the teaching and learning process in preparing students for the future. Accountability systems used to plan for school improvement require information on many topics and form a variety of sources. Results of an evaluation process in general and of assessment practices in particular indicate educational success (educational dividends). Assessment results demonstrate student achievement regarding knowledge, performance, or interpersonal outcomes, and indicate that a school is indeed achieving its mission. By accessing results by …

Putting The Meaning Back Into Accountability, Robert L. Ziomek

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Over the last 20 years, starting with the minimum competency testing movement of the 1970s, the word accountability has been slowly eroding away and, just recently, has been rendered meaningless due to overuse, misuse, and sophistry. When used in combination with other words like fiscal, educational, and social, the phrase is elevated to the level of an oxymoron (see e.g., Hansen, 1993). A careful reading of any dictionary or thesaurus reveals the following descriptive phrases and synonyms associated with the adjectives accountable and accountability: subject to giving an account, capable of being accounted for, answerable, responsible, liable, explainable, attributable, obliged …

Preface

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

The Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) is a unit of the College of Education at the University of Northern Iowa. The Institute's mission is to promote the improvement of elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education throughout the state of Iowa. To fulfill this mission the Institute serves as a catalyst for: informal dialogue on educational issues impacting the schools of Iowa, region and nation; developing collaborative relationships with individuals and/or organizations external to schools; and education policy development.

This compilation of position papers and issue group consensus reports represent the individual and collective wisdom of Iowa educational leaders relative to strengthening …

Information: The Key To Better Relationships, Marla Anstey

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

As a first year board member, I am still very much a novice. There is much to learn, including but not limited to the-Iowa Code, board authority, board restrictions, and school policy. Experienced members of each board can assist and be very helpful in instructing new board members. Former board members are helpful sometimes, but false ideas can also be gotten from bitter former members. The board member that had "an axe to grind" should be feared and ignored. Personal opinions need to be heard but not always heeded.

Trust, respect, and a willingness to communicate are important. Trust can …

Issue Area One: Building Mutual Trust And Understanding Within And Between The Board Of Education And Superintendent Of Schools, Susan Fisher

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Picture the ideal school district where the board of education and superintendent have a perfect relationship built on trust and mutual understanding. The district basks in the brilliant sunshine of a communication system providing information that is honest, sufficient, timely, and legal. Everything works! Ideal situations don't just happen. They begin with the first handshake between a new superintendent and the hiring board, or a new board member and experienced board members and with the superintendent already in place. No doubt communication has taken place before hiring or election and an initial impression has been made. (Specific strategies for developing …

Insights On Building Mutual Trust From Superintendent/Board Members, James L. Robinson

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

There are times when school board members and the superintendent disagree on certain matters. It would be highly unusual if there never were disagreements, as school administration is not an exact science. The debate over whether administration is an art or a science continues to stir the interest of many. Considered as a science, it is suggested that when certain variables are controlled, certain activities will lead to predictable outcomes. As Griffiths (1959) pointed out:

The term art is used to designate practice guided by intuition and experience rather than by scientific findings. It is true, at the present time, …

Develop And Maintain A Positive Board/Superintendent Relationship, Mary Kay Rhodes

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

The relationship that exists between the superintendent and the members of a board of education is so dramatically important that it affects the philosophy, direction, and inner workings of the district. Obviously, the tone of that relationship varies somewhat from issue to issue and from circumstance to circumstance. Too, the relationship that exists between individual board members and the superintendent varies from one person to another. Whenever personalities are involved, that is the case. But for the most part, the relationship between a superintendent and his or her board as a whole is fairly static from one year to the …

School Boards' Roles And Expectations: One Person's Perceptions, Anton Netusil

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Assisting over 600 boards of education in the past 15 years with a board orientation/evaluation process I developed has given me a wealth of information about boards of education. I'd like to share some perceptions I have developed over time. Their accuracy will be left up to the reader.

Perception One More than half the superintendents in this country make no attempt to help their boards learn what their responsibilities are. As I become older, perhaps I become more cynical, but often I think this happens because the superintendent doesn't want a truly functioning board of education. From a management …

Issue Area Four: Ensuring Long-Term Communication And Information Flow Within And Between The Board Of Education And Superintendent Of Schools, Richard S. Boardwell

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Good communication has always been needed between the superintendent of schools and his/her board of directors. Although there are many ways to address this issue to ensure the long term flow of information and continued communication within and between these two parties, certain attributes are helpful and necessary for all involved to increase the effectiveness of this communication process. One of these attributes is trust. People must trust one another to some degree before they openly communicate with one another. An ethical approach and attitude in their work with others also enhances the communication process. Without trust and an ethical …

Strengthening Board Of Education/Superintendent Relationships In America's Schools: A Collection Of Papers [Complete Monograph]

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

No abstract provided.

Board/Superintendent Relations: Roles, Expectations, And Communications, Peter F. Flynn

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

To build mutual understanding and trust within and between the board of education and the superintendent of schools, parties must address at least three facets of the relationship. These facets are a continual pursuit of role responsibilities, a basic understanding of expectations, and effective communication.

When two parties come together to work on a task, the best time to begin the process of mutual understanding is at the outset. Each party in a trusting relationship must have a comfortable feeling for role responsibilities. In these days of collaborative decision-making, there may not be the hard and fast definitions that existed …

Ideas For Creating Cohesiveness And Cooperation Between Administration And Board, Janeice Geitzenauer

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

A good relationship between the board of education and superintendent of schools is essential if there is to be cohesiveness and cooperation in making effective decisions.

One way of building understanding and trust within and between the board of education and superintendent of schools is for the superintendent to give the same documentation to all board members, thus not playing favorites. This could be handled effectively by writing a Board Brief before each meeting and distributing it to all members. This would contain information on agenda items, as well as any information the superintendent felt pertinent for members to have, …

Trust: The Dimension That Makes Everything Work, Mary F. Pettit

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Mutual understanding, trust: such commonplace terms, yet often they depict a relationship so fragile it can be destroyed by a word or, worse yet, never exist among a small group of people who not only handle millions of taxpayers' dollars, but, more importantly, are responsible for the education of the district's children. It is a frightening prospect!

One highly respected Iowa superintendent, Dr. Stephen H. Williams, identified trust between the superintendent and the board as the key, the one dimension that makes everything else work, and-I might add-without which nothing works.

Educational Needs For Students Approaching The 21st Century, David G. Freese

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

As a school board member for 25 consecutive years, many changes have occurred, but one thing has remained the same. Budgets have steadily grown and increased to a point where we are today facing cuts and accompanying concerns of how we are going to operate through another year.

During the last 25 years, great strides have been made in methods of teaching, servicing, and applying education. During that same time, special interest groups have established themselves and brought into being a variety of responsibilities which have been added to the jobs of teachers and administrators, e.g., human growth and development …

Ready For School, Kim L. Landhuis

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

An African proverb states, "It takes an entire village to educate a child."

More than ever, our United States education system has been criticized unfavorably when compared with other industrial countries. More than ever, we envision an educational system that enables all students to be successful participants in families, in communities, and especially in global economies. To fulfill that vision, America 2000 was formulated with six remarkable National Education Goals.

By the year 2000 all children in America will start school ready to learn. This first National Education Goal is truly considered the most crucial step leading to sure success …

Using Strategic Planning To Develop A Vision, Karen Thomsen

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

I believe the best thing a school board can do for their district is show leadership by developing and supporting a vision. This vision should focus on student needs to enable them to perform adult roles in the future. To gain commitment from everyone, this vision should be shared through the school system and the community. Peter M. Senge (1990), in his book The Fifth Discipline, said:

A shared vision is not an idea. It is rather a force in people's hearts, a force of impressive power. It may be inspired by an idea, but once it goes further-if it …

The Motor Of Education, Sharon Bennett

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

To develop an understanding of roles and expectations of the board of education and superintendent of schools, honest open communication in an atmosphere of complete trust is essential.

The board of education can stand in the way of a superintendent getting his/her job done if it is too involved in administrative decisions. To help alleviate this situation, a clear concise list of duties and expectations on each side can be drawn up cooperatively so both the board and superintendent will know what is expected.

It is important to take time to become acquainted with each other on a personal basis …