principal navigator, winter 2015
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principalNAVIGATOR
Vol. 10, No. 2
Making a Difference
The magazine of the Ohio Association of Elementary School Administrators
What’s Your Story? • Empowering Children to Succeed • Ethical Leadership• Ten Helpful Tips for New Administrators • Smart Strategies for Success
Winter 2015
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YOUHAVESigned UP FOR ?
By now you’ve probably heard the buzz about our new service, the OAESA 360° Feedback Tool for Principals.
You may have heard how OAESA 360° gathers critical evidence about your job performance through online
assessments taken by you, your teachers, and your supervisors to identify your strengths, weaknesses, and
blind spots. But did you know that OAESA 360° can help you track your growth and development over time?
That’s why now is the perfect time to sign up for a year’s access. Let our feedback tool help you navigate
through a successful 2014–15 school year.
set to sign up, just visit www.oaesa.org and click on the OAESA 360° icon at the top for all your OAESA 360°
needs. Still have questions? Give us a call at 888.646.2372.
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Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to the Winter 2015 Principal Navigator! We know you are so busy wearing the many hats of an administrator. Sometimes the job can be so overwhelming! For this issue the editorial committee, our editor, and I wanted to give you a magazine that would “feed your soul”—something to take you back to why you got into this profes-sion and to remember who or what inspired you to be the educator you are today. I suggest you get a beverage and settle into a comfy chair so you can read this issue and then re!ect on your own experiences. Who made an impact in your life and profes-
sional journey? Who inspired you to make a di"erence for kids—all kids? Who did or said things you swore you would never do or say? We’ve learned from all of them, but we are o#en so busy in the doing that we don’t take time to connect the dots and appreciate the higher mission and purpose of what we do each and every day.
You’re going to smile when you see yourself in so many of the stories included in the magazine. I thank our colleagues for making themselves vulnerable and sharing their own stories—successes and toe-stubbers alike. But $rst of all, I’d like to share my own story.
For as long as I can remember, I always wanted to be a teacher. My sister and I had a school set up in our attic, and our young-er brothers and neighbors were our willing (?) students. To this day, Mary Lou and I give ourselves credit for the fact that our youngest brother skipped $rst grade! I entered college in Chicago with every intention of declaring elementary education as my major. However, in those days, it was very tough to get a teaching job. So in my sophomore year, I made an appointment with Dean Nelson to discuss my practical decision to become a business major. A#er all, my dad was a banker; I was working part time at a bank; and they had promised me a job a#er graduation. %e dean listened to my reasoning and said, “I think there will always be a job for someone called to be a teacher.” I smiled at her but took the school-of-business paperwork back to my dorm to complete.
%ere, a care package was waiting for me from the women from my church. I quickly opened it, hoping there would be cook-ies, and I was not disappointed. %ey had also sent a daily devotional book that I glanced at while chomping down several chocolate chippers. I found the day’s reading, and it was entitled, “Teachers Make Such an Impact in our Lives.” I read and reread the page and knew right then and there that I was called to be in education. I didn’t need skywriting—this was close enough. So I walked back to Dean Nelson, returned the business paperwork, and completed the forms to declare elementary education as my major. And I did happen to land a teaching job right out of college, despite the bleak forecast!
%e rest, as they say, is history. I have been fortunate to learn from and work with so many wonderful educators throughout my career. I could not even begin to list all of you who have taught me so much. I know we have made a di"erence in the lives of the children and their families.
Could I have been as blessed if I had a career in business? Sure, I think so. One of the best life lessons I had was from watch-ing my dad, a bank president. I $led checks for his bank one summer and observed a lot. He was as attentive and kind to the custodian as he was to the millionaire customer. I’ve never forgotten what he said me when I asked him about this. He told me when he met people he tried not to classify them as rich or poor or whatever, but instead in his head, he said, “Hello, human being!” I was sixteen when he taught me that, and that’s been my mantra ever since. Try it—I guarantee you will also be blessed!
Julie Davis, EdDOAESA Executive Director
Executive Director’s Exchange
Sincerely,
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Feature Stories
Smart Strategies for Success
12Check out these strategies for both instructional and cultural success for you and your school.
Toni Gerber
Empowering Student Success
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First-year principal writes about his transition from the business world to education.
Jack Hunter
Ten Helpful Tips for New Administrators
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A current principal provides ten take-home tips for those new to admnistration.
Carol Rosiak, EdD
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32 42
15Ohio’s 2014 –15 Distinguished Principal
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Dr. Rachel Jones, principal of Gurney Elementary in Cha-grin Falls Exempted Village Schools is this year’s honoree.
What’s Your Story?19, 23, 28, 37, 39
19OAESA Members share their journeys into education and administration in vignettes throughout this issue.
18Ethical Leadership
Learn skills an ethical leader must possess to confront the challenges facing today’s administrators.
Paul Kulik, PhD
Are you interested in writing for the Navigator? We are currently accepting articles for the following theme:
T!"# G!$%!e Spring 2015 issue wil echo the theme of OAESA’s 58th Annual Professional Conference
and will feature articles from OAESA members, clinic presenters from the conference, and other experts on the topic of grit.
Articles are due March 15, 2015.
Please e-mail the editor, Abigail Smith, at [email protected] for for article guidelines and to let her know you are interested.
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About the Principal Navigator
Unless otherwise noted, all articles published in the Principal Navigator become the property of OAESA and may not be reprinted without per-mission from OAESA. !e articles published in the Principal Navigator represent the ideas and/or beliefs of the authors and do not nec-essarily express the views of OAESA unless so stated. Advertising inquiries should be directed to OAESA by phone at 614.794.9190 or e-mail
!e Principal Navigator (ISSN 1088-078X) is published three times per school year by the Ohio Association of Elementary School Ad-ministrators, 2600 Corporate Exchange Dr., Suite 168, Columbus, Ohio 43231. Subscrip-tions are available only as part of membership. Periodical postage paid at Westerville, Ohio,
and additional mailing o"ces.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Principal Navigator
2600 Corporate Exchange Dr.Suite 168
Columbus, Ohio 43231.
OAESA is a"liated with the National Associa-tion of Elementary School Principals (NAESP).
Editorial Committee
Jeromey Sheets, EdD, chair, Lancaster City SchoolsJulie Frankl, North Central Ohio ESCKeith Helmlinger, Sidney City SchoolsAngela Schaal, Sylvania City Schools
Laurie Vent, Upper Sandusky Exempted Village SchoolsPaul Young, PhD, retired
Stephen Zinser, Cincinnati Archdiocese
OAESA Sta!
Julie Davis, EdD, Executive DirectorMark Jones, Associate Executive Director
Nancy Abrams, Business ManagerDonna Ball, Special Projects Coordinator
Audrey Carson, Communications SpecialistTony Piehowicz, Corporate Partner Advisor
Abigail Smith, Editor, Principal NavigatorJoanne Turner, Coordinator of O"ce Operations
Kathy Windau, Membership Coordinator
SAIL Sta!
Tyler Carson, SAIL/University Partnerships AdvisorMelissa Butsko, SAIL/University Partnerships Advisor
In Every Issue3 Executive Director’s Exchange
Julie Davis, EdD
8 Highlighting a PrinciPALKevin Gehres, OAESA President
10 OAESA Board of Directors2014–2015
16 SAIL for EducationMentors Making a Di!erence by Robert Schutlz, EdD
20 Elementary Essentials"e Impact of Social-Emotional Learning by Kurt Pavelich
24 OAESA ChalkboardNews from the Association
26 Legal Report Management-Related Issues for School Leaders by Dennis Leone
29 Middle School MattersConnect with Respect by Annemarie Nosse
30 Ohio Ready SchoolsHighlights from the 2014 Fall Ready School Conference
36 Legislative UpdatePolitics and Your Role in Education by Mark Jones
38 Health IssuesDoes Hearing Matter? by Melissa McCoy
41 Zone Meetings and New MembersDates for Spring Zone Meetings
44 Sorry... We’re Booked!Book Reviews from Members
Vol. 10, No. 2
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Highlighting a PrinciPAL
Tell us a little bit about your background.I have a BS in elementary education from %e Ohio State University, and my MS in [ed-ucation] administration from University of Dayton. I taught for nine years at Antwerp Elementary School and have been a principal in Van Wert City Schools for the past six-teen years. During that time, I have been the principal of four elementary buildings, and now I am in my third year at Van Wert Elementary School. Prior to my career choice in education, I spent twelve years as an independent insurance agent. I have also served as a volunteer $re$ghter/EMT for the past thirty-six years and an AHA CPR instructor for thirty years. I am married to my wife, Carol, and have $ve incredible children and four beautiful grandkids! To say I have been very blessed would be an understatement.
Who or what inspired you to go into education?I was inspired by my high school world history teacher; he taught with such passion and energy. His love of teaching and the way he was able to relate to students has always stuck in the back of my mind, and when I began to take college courses at age thirty-two, that passion fostered my desire to become an elementary educator.
What have you learned over the years, and what advice do you have for new/aspiring administrators?I think the one thing that resonates with me is that, whether you are a classroom teacher, an administrator, an insurance agent, an EMT, or a world history teacher in the early 70s, it’s all about relationships. If you love working with, helping, and also connecting with people, then you can resolve whatever issues may arise. %us, my advice to new/aspiring administrators would be to continue to foster their pas-sion for their job; to never stop nurturing and supporting the relationships with students, sta", and parents; and to radiate their love of education through energy, laughter, and work ethic.
We visited Van Wert Elementary School and love it! Tell us about your school and its climate.Our building is in its third year as one of the $nal pieces of our district’s master plan. Our HS/MS complex was the $rst to be built as part of the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission (OSFC) Expedited Plan, opening in November of 2005. Our elementary building, and our Early Childhood Center, were opened in the 2012–2013 school year. We are very fortunate to have beautiful art rooms, a divided gymnasium, computer lab, media center, and music rooms—one of which contains a rare piano lab, where each of our second grade students are exposed to keyboarding. We are blessed with an incredibly dedicated sta" that works very hard, loves to laugh, enjoys time with each other, and is passionate about what they do with kids. As a result, we strive to create a climate that all students want to be a part of and where everyone enjoys coming to school. Ad-ditionally, a major part of our climate involves the wellness of the total student. We have a walking program for twenty-$ve minutes daily before school that involves all 790 students, and also an a#er-school Roadrunner’s Club that has nearly 150 student participants this fall.
What expectations do you have of yourself?%e expectations I have of myself include to simply “do the work” on behalf of my students, sta", and parents. I believe if we are good stewards of the gi#s that we have been given in life, then we can impact the lives of others in very positive ways.
2014–15 OAESA President
Kevin Gehres
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What has been your best experience in serving OAESA?Without a doubt, the best experiences in serving OAESA are the relationships I have had the privilege to foster—be they serving as zone director, on the board of directors, as OAESA president, or by attending conferences. Our roles as teachers, principals, and leaders always max out in the form of a di"erent position or retirement, but the friendships we are granted the opportunity to develop and nurture last forever.
Why did you get involved with OAESA governance? And why should others get involved?I $rst became involved with OAESA as a county representative to keep better informed about the growth and changes in education. A#er serving as county rep for over ten years, I ran for zone director to continue that individual growth and to try to give back to the association that had bene$tted me over those years. My parents have always instilled the responsibility of giving back in everything my brother, sister, and I did. I believe that all principals should become involved in OAESA in whatever way their situations allow. At the time I became a zone director, my kids were all in college, so the opportunity was an easier one for me.
Give us an idea of what OAESA hopes to accomplish this year.%is OAESA Board of Directors is very focused in four major areas: advocacy, membership, networking (building relationships), and professional development. As such, we continue to work hard at being as transparent as possible in all that we are striving to do. One of our current goals/challenges is to become “Eighty-eight Strong”—where we plan to recruit a county rep for each of the eighty-eight counties in Ohio. We have approximately 88 percent $lled and are dedicat-ed to reaching our goal! However, to do so means we need our principals to take that step forward and be willing to take on a greater role within their association. %e county representative role is a very critical one as it serves as an important conduit of information to and from our mem-bership. Additionally, we continue to re$ne the profes-sional development opportunities for our membership. Our OAESA 360° Feedback Tool is designed to o"er busy educators insight into their job performance through our web-based assessment system. We have re-energized our professional conference in June and also continue to o"er helpful programs, such as the Lunch and Learn webinars.
What’s the one thing our organization is doing this year that OAESA members shouldn’t miss?If you missed our professional conference at the Kalahari Resort last June, you missed out on a great two days of clinics, speakers, and fun! Building upon that, you certainly want to put June 10–12 on your calendars for our 2015 conference to be held at the Hilton Columbus at Easton, under the banner of “True Grit.” It’s a great opportunity for refocusing, refreshing, re-energizing, and renewal. Be sure to come out and share some time with “Educators Partnerin’ for Success!”
&e theme for this issue is Making a Di"erence. What are your observations about this topic?As educators, we have the opportunity to make a di"erence in someone’s life on a daily basis. It may be as simple as a smile, a $st bump, a hug, or an encouraging word. Too o#en the fast pace of our lives, of educational changes, and the plethora of testing blur our minds—even at times obstructing our vision. However, our challenge day in and day out is to nurture the responsibility in “Making a Di"erence.” %ere is much that we do not have direct in!uence over in education, but we can never lose sight of the opportunity to foster positive re-lationships with students, with sta", and with parents. To accomplish that, we must stop listening to the negative and teach from the heart. Students walk into our buildings every single day, craving to connect with us and with each other. We have the privilege to work in a great atmosphere each and every day—one that welcomes all who come through our doors. Our challenge is to embrace that and do whatever it takes to make that di"erence for each student. It is, in my opinion, what public education is all about, and why it’s the di"erence maker.
Kevin’s Presidential Reception, September 20, 2014
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Board of Directors
2014–2015
Executive Board
Heidi Kegley
President-Elect
Frank B. Willis Intermediate74 W. William St.
Delaware, OH 43015740.833.1700
Beth DiDonato
Past President
Eastport Avenue Elementary1200 Eastport Avenue
Uhrichsville, OH 44683740.922.4641
Kevin Gehres
President
Van Wert Elementary10992 SR 118 SouthVan Wert, OH 45891
419.238.1761k_gehres@sta".vwes.net
Dr. Jeromey Sheets
NAESP Representative
Tallmadge Elementary611 Lewis Ave.
Lancaster, OH 43130740.687.7336
Aretha Paydock
Federal Relations Coordinator
!e Arts Academy at Summit1100 10th St. NWCanton, OH 44703
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Zone Directors & Representatives
To BeDetermined
Zone One Director
David Winebrenner
Zone Two Director
Kings Jr. High5620 Columbia Rd.
Kings Mills, OH 45034513.398.8050
Stephanie Klingshirn
Zone Three Director
Mississinawa Valley Elementary10480 Staudt Rd.
Union City, OH 45390937.968.4464
Troy Armstrong
Zone Four Director
Wauseon Primary School940 E. Leggett St.
Wauseon, OH 43567419.335.4000
Jonathan Muro
Zone Five Director
Madison Middle School1419 Grace St.
Mans!eld, OH 44905419.522.0471
Erin Simpson
Zone Six Director
Overlook Elementary650 Broad St.
Wadsworth, OH 44281330.335.1420
Melanie Pearn
Zone Seven Director
Madison Ave. Elementary845 Madison Ave.
Painesville, OH 44077440.357.6171
Susanne Waltman
Zone Eight Director
Strausser Elementary8646 Strausser St.
Massillon, OH 44646330.830.8056
Steven Foreman
Zone Nine Director
Zanesville City Schools116 N. Fourth St.
Zanesville, OH 43701740.588.5539
Timothy Barton
Zone Ten Director
Alton Hall Elementary1000 Alton Rd.
Galloway, OH 43119614.801.8000
Amanda Albert
Assistant Principal Rep
Northmor Elementary7819 SR 19
Galion, OH 44833419.947.1900
Barbara Werstler
Middle School Rep
Geo G Dodge Intermediate10225 Ravenna Rd.
Twinsburg, OH 44087330.468.2200
Gretchen Liggens
Cleveland District Rep
James A. Gar!eld Pre-k–83800 West 140th St.
Cleveland, OH 44111216.920.7000
April Knight
Columbus District Rep
Avondale Elementary141 Hawkes
Columbus, OH 43222614.365.6511
Zone MapDaniel Graves
Central Office Rep
Columbus City Schools270 E. State St.
Columbus, OH 43215614.365.8951
Would you like to get involved with OAESA governance?
We are currently seeking a Zone One Director, county representatives, and district liaisons in all areas of the state.
Contact your zone director directly or call the o!ce at 614.794.9190 for more information.
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Smart Strategies for Success
During the BPMP training, each of the lead mentors presented a breakout session for both experienced and beginning principals. What could I share in a very short amount of time that would have meaning for them? In these times of ever-increasing expectations and mandates, I have found that a balance is needed to target e!ective instruction and improvement while minimizing the stress on teachers and students. "is combination can only happen if a principal, as the instruc-tional leader of the school, works to build a positive learning environment and culture.
Based on successes I had as a principal, I de-cided to share Smart Strategies for Success for You and Your School. I broke the strat-egies into eight core areas in building both instructional and cultural success. I also de-#ned the vision of the school as critical to the core areas.
"e vision of the school in which I was prin-cipal for twenty-four years was to provide a fun, safe, caring, and challenging environ-ment for learning for sta!, students, and par-
by Toni Gerber
ents. Really? With the stress of OPES, OTES, Common Core, STEM, new standards, and new testing in a new format, how could it be fun? Yes, it can be. While promoting the academic bene#ts of teaching with rig-or through the Common Core standards, it becomes even more important to promote a special core within your school.
Developing this special core leads to build-ing a community of learners. It starts with you as a principal. Be a learner. Share your knowledge and enthusiasm. Provide sta! development that promotes all teachers as learners and educators. Ensure that your school community is safe for all sta! and students—both physically and emotionally. Students and sta! need to feel valued and nurtured to be successful. Parents should feel accepted. Your genuine e!orts will cre-ate a ripple e!ect through sta!, students, and parents.
Students deserve a challenging and engag-ing learning environment. "e rigor of the Common Core can provide this. "e use
of technology as a tool to understanding is critical. Higher-level thinking and an-alyzing skills are paramount in the world today. However, a challenging curriculum for all learners will only be e!ective, if sta! members are motivated and positive. If they feel they have no voice and aren’t val-ued, school results will be minimized.
"e eight core areas that I de#ned as being key to building success at your school are: the principal as the role model; community and school relations; communication with sta!; building team; student and family re-lationships; discipline; evaluations and ob-servations; and student testing and results. Please note: student testing and results is not the most important core area nor is it listed in the vision. If testing is the focus of your school’s vision, again, you will not build a positive learning environment. "is singular focus leads to an environment of stress for all.
for You and Your School
As a lead mentor of the Beginning Principals Mentoring Program (BPMP), I participated in the BPMP training in Dublin, Ohio, in early September
2014. !is critical program, funded through Race to the Top and sponsored by OASSA/OAESA, pairs each beginning principal with an experienced prin-cipal who serves as a mentor for the school year.
continued on p. 14...
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Market your school to the communities and families. You are the lead promoter. School signs should have academic and personalized messages. The community
should know that good things are happening. Don’t use your sign to tell when there isn’t school.
Newsletters – Most schools send electronic newsletters. Consider being the exception. Most parents delete emails. Send home an inviting, informative newsletter with student names and photographs.
Use social media to make announcements or to highlight events in a fun way.
All communications should look polished and
professional.
Strive to learn your students’ names. Learn something about them. This takes time but it is well worth the time. You are showing the students, sta! and parents that the students at your school are valued and known.
Strive to know key parents who volunteer at your school. Strive to know and build a relationship with parents of at-risk
students. This will promote trust in both the parent and the student. Sponsor themed family nights. Encourage parent input.
Get to know the sta! members personally and professionally.
One-on-one or small group conversations
help promote this feeling that each sta!
member is valued by you.
Recognize the strengths of your sta!. Share positives in
sta! meetings or memos to sta!.
Lead Teacher & Learner – Sta! meetings should mirror an
excellent classroom lesson. Model respect,
responsibility, kindness and enthusiasm.
Show that you have a high
standard of the importance of
learning. Be the role model that you want to see in your sta!.
Academically – teachers need concise, focused
and e!ective sta! development. Teacher leaders should facilitate trainings with the principal.
Acknowledge the importance of your sta! ’s family. They are best able to nurture other family’s children, when they know that the importance of theirs is valued.
Sponsor sta! events such as Annual Olympics, outing to a game or other fun event or provide a breakfast just as a time to chat.
Value the sta! ’s input. Encourage shared decision making.
Be knowledge-
able of OTES levels and strong instructional practices
Set the tone of the importance of evaluations and growth
Be honest, fair and kind Be prompt to an evaluation and to set up follow-up
after the observation Deal with ine!ective lessons and teaching in the
evaluation process. Be direct and set goals of improvement with the teacher.
Share that testing is important to the district.
Promote the rigor of the Common Core.
Promote the importance of teaching the standards rather than the focus being on the passing of the tests.
Minimize the pressure of testing on sta!, students and parents.
Be consistentHave clear expectations. De"ne rules in writing. Have parents and students sign a Responsibility Contract. Make the contract as clear and positive as possible. Strive to build a relationship with the students with discipline concerns. If they believe you like them and/or believe in them, their behaviors will decrease. Catch them in a positive situation. Praise them.
SMART STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS ! For You and Your School
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negatives in the challenges that are in edu-cation today. %ey will join the team and be proud to be contributing. Students who feel valued will be better engaged in learning and more respectful. Parents will volunteer more. Family events will be enthusiastically sup-ported. Parents will share with other parents and community members about how pleased they are with their child’s school. Commu-nity members will read about the positive things happening. Word will spread. A tiny trickle will turn into a ripple that will keep moving in the direction of success…for your students, families, sta", and yes, for you.
About the AuthorToni Gerber retired in 2013 a#er being a principal and instructional leader with Syl-vania City School District in northwest Ohio. Previously she had served as the principal of a private school.
school. Be sure to include positive expec-tations too. Empower students to make a plan to change a behavior when a problem occurs. Let students know you feel they will be successful. Watch to provide honest positive feedback to a student who has had consequences. Work to build positive rela-tionships with the student and his or her parents when there has been a concern.
Evaluations and Observations. Be knowl-edgeable about the OTES levels and of ex-cellent instructional practices. Set the tone about the importance of evaluations and professional growth. At the same time, rec-ognize the stress that teachers feel about OTES. Be prompt in arriving for an obser-vation as sta" members have spent much time preparing. Set up a follow-up to the observation as soon as possible as teach-ers are anxious to hear your feedback. Be truthful, fair, and kind. Deal honestly and directly with ine"ective lessons. Help the teacher set goals for improvement. Be aware that e"ective teachers are watching to see if you deal with ine"ective teaching. %ey will have more respect for you if you take this instructional leader role.
Student Testing and Results. Don’t make state testing a focus or vision of the school. Use it for what it is—a measurement of progress. Promote the rigor of the Common Core. Facilitate learning by having teachers professionally prepared and provide them with the materials and tools that they need to teach the standards. Promote the concept that your school is a learning community in which the standards are taught with rigor and enthusiasm.
Minimize the pressure of testing on sta", students and parents whenever possible. So what’s the payo" for this investment of time when you already have an ever-grow-ing list of things to do? %e $rst result will be that you will have more fun by incorpo-rating positive interactions into your day. “It’s your job, but don’t do it unless you’re having fun,” says Derek Jeter, former New York Yankees shortstop. Being a principal is a stressful, demanding position. Putting fun into your day invigorates you and sets the tone for all those around you.
If you incorporate these smart strategies for success into your daily routine, a#er time, the academic results in your school will im-prove. Teachers and sta" will feel they are a part of a learning community with a spe-cial core. %ey will see more positives than
&e Principal as the Role Model. Be the role model you want to see in your sta". Demonstrate that you have a high standard of the importance of learning. As a prin-cipal, use every opportunity to model re-spect, responsibility, kindness, and enthu-siasm. You are the lead teacher and learner.
Community and School Relations. Mar-ket your school to families and the com-munity. Use school signs, newsletters, and social media to highlight the school as a vibrant learning community. If the only posts are listing the dates when there is no school on your building’s sign, you send the message that not much is happening at your school. Will the community think of your school as vibrant? It’s up to you.
Communication with Sta'. Take the time to get to know your sta" members per-sonally and professionally. Recognize the strengths of your sta". Share positives at sta" meetings. Encourage sta" members to share a success, no matter how seem-ingly small. Share humorous stories about school happenings or conversations with the students. Laughing is contagious and therapeutic. Design your faculty meeting to mirror an excellent classroom lesson.
Building Team. Value the input of your sta". Use a shared decision-making frame-work but don’t deviate from the vision. Provide focused and e"ective professional development. All work and no play do not build a team. Plan fun sta" events for a#er hours. Provide a sta" breakfast, without an agenda, as a time to chat informally. A popular event at my school was the Annu-al Olympics with activities ranging from basketball, pingpong, euchre, charades, word games, and Chubby Bunny (How many marshmallows can you hold in your mouth?). It’s a fun event to promote the idea of a team.
Student and Family Relationships. It’s well worth the time to learn the names of the students in your building. You earn the respect of students, parents, and sta" by doing so. It reinforces the vision that every child is valued. Welcome input from your parent leaders. Learn the names of parents as well, as you work with them within a group or individually.
Discipline. Be consistent and clear. Have students and parents sign a responsibili-ty contract stating the expectations of the
continued from p. 12...
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Dr. Rachel Jones, principal of Gurney Elementary in the Chagrin Falls Exempted Village School District, has been chosen as Ohio’s 2014–15 Distinguished Principal of the Year. She was selected through a state-wide search process conducted by the Ohio Association of Elementary School Administrators (OAESA) and chosen by her fellow principals to represent Ohio at the National Distinguished Principal Program in Washington, DC, this past October.
OAESA annually recognizes one elementary principal and/or one middle school principal as Ohio Dis-tinguished Principal(s) of the Year. %e OAESA Distinguished Principal Committee, with assistance from OAESA sta" members, reviews all of the candidates. To qualify, principals must have at least $ve full years of service and must exemplify quality leadership in education, as de$ned by criteria and standards set in the following categories:
• Leadership and Management• Parent/Community Relations• High Standards for Students• School Atmosphere• Personal/Professional Growth
All nominees completed an extensive written application addressing each of these areas. %ree $nalists were invited to Columbus for an interview with the OAESA committee. Finally, as Dr. Jones became one of two $nalists, a visitation team conducted an on-site evaluation at her school.
Dr. Jones has been the principal of Gurney Elementary since 2001. %e school currently has approximately 540 students and seventy sta" members. She recently completed the National Board Certi$cation Pilot Program for Principals and achieved her doctorate in 2006 from the University of Akron. Dr. Jones also received her master’s from the University of Akron and her bachelor’s degree from Kent State. Prior to her job at Gurney Elementary, she served as an adjunct faculty member with Ursuline College and the Univer-sity of Akron, taught in Hudson City Schools, and served as an assistant principal in the Twinsburg City School District.
Dr. Jones was $rst honored at the OAESA Annual Awards Dinner on June 17, 2014, during the 57th Annual Professional Conference. On October 16 and 17, Dr. Jones represented Ohio at the National Association of Elementary School Administrators’ (NAESP) National Distinguished Principal Program in Washington, DC. %e program contained two days of planned activities that honored and brought well deserved rec-ognition to top elementary and middle-level educators chosen by the states, the District of Columbia, and private and overseas schools.
Dr. Rachel Jones Named Ohio’s 2014–15 National Distinguished Principal of the Year
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M!"#$%& Making a Di'erence
by Robert Schultz, EdD
Growing up in the 1950s, I recall the launch of Sputnik. Years later I learned about the National De-fense Education Act (1958) and understood why, as a young man, I was guided toward becoming an engineer, even while in elementary school. Following that path leads to concentrations in math and
physics, but the thought of working in a sterile environment with a white coat made me physically ill. A re-ex-amination of personal and family values caused a shi# in perspective, and I changed focus. I took an education elective as a sophomore, considered my professional path, and transferred to Bowling Green State University as an elementary education major in the second quarter of my junior year. I had a lot of courses to make up but had committed to the pursuit of an education degree.
Pursuing education was an unexpected shi#, as I swore that I would never become a teacher. In fact, educa-tion was the one career to which I had some exposure, and I wanted no part of it. Looking back, I think I was groomed as a scientist because that was perceived as a national need, with no consideration for the desires and tendencies of the student. My father had been an engineer and then moved into education a#er WWII, ultimately becoming a school superintendent. My mother was a kindergarten teacher and was loved by many. To this day she is seen and recognized by hundreds of her former students. My older sister was a teacher and eventually my younger sister, younger brother, and wife all became teachers. %e direction of my career was clear.
Among the many that in!uenced my career choice to become a school administrator, I count my father as the most in!uential. Seeing his hard work for the good of children and young adults was a true inspiration. Watching him devote countless hours of operating the business of leading teachers and principals to higher levels of performance raised my respect for the position of administrator. My understanding of what it took to be a truly $ne leader matured from seeing the role of the principal as a position of power and in!uence for good to one of servanthood and sacri$ce so that children can learn in a safe and e"ective school environment.
Now in retirement, I am uniquely blessed to continue to serve through teaching future administrators at the graduate level. I have had the opportunity to be a Standards Aligned Instructional Leadership (SAIL) graduate and a SAIL professor. Serving in the department of Graduate and Innovative Programs at Concordia Univer-sity in Chicago (CUC), I am also fortunate to work with a cohort of future principals (interns), sharing my experience and expertise with the next generation of school leaders. Each of those intern administrators has a mentor principal to look to for guidance in many areas of leadership. All of their mentors are willing to share their knowledge and skills, most notably as instructional leaders. %is cycle of excellence prepares principals with practical experiences to lead Ohio elementary and secondary schools into the future.
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As for my mentor, Dad has long since passed away. Even so, he con-tinues to be a role model for me. If you are fortunate enough to visit the community of Delaware, Ohio, I invite you to stop by Robert F. Schultz Elementary School. Please call before you visit at (740) 833-1400. %ere you will $nd a picture of my dad in the media center, con$dently smiling down on the boys and girls. I know he would be pleased with the quality education and caring environment that his namesake school o"ers.
Continuing to give back to our profession is a sacred calling. Al-though for most of us, there are few moments of recognition or fan-fare. We will likely never have a school named for us or have our pictures hanging on the wall of an elementary school long a#er we are gone. However, we can enjoy the deep satisfaction in knowing, as principals, our legacy is in the people we touch. As leaders we con-tinue to in!uence the lives of kids, teachers, and our community with the $ne work we do. Press on!!e Author’s Father, Robert Schultz
About the AuthorRobert Schultz, EdD, received his doctoral degree in organizational leadership from Nova Southeastern Univer-sity in 2006. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from BGSU. He spent many years serving as an admin-istrator in both rural and suburban districts. Since retiring from education in 2005, Dr. Schultz has continued to teach, develop courses, and direct seminars on leadership.
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longer appropriate if we expect our students to embrace the challeng-es of the twenty-!rst century world.
Expressing care and concern for others. Successful leaders acknowl-edge and appreciate contributions others make to an organization and know how and when this recognition is most appropriate. "ey free-ly give others credit for the many achievements and honors given to the school. Servant leaders put the needs of others foremost in their planning and consideration as they administer their duties and re-sponsibilities.
Engaging in re!ective practice. Leaders who are able to a#ect mean-ingful change evaluate initiatives based on their processes and out-comes. "ey are lifelong learners who pro!t from both successes and failures, and they use the knowledge from both to propel future proj-ects toward school improvement.
Finding meaning in life. Leaders who are most able to survive and thrive in their respective roles have a !rm sense of self, have embraced a vision and mission that guide their thoughts and actions, and can clearly communicate these to all stakeholders. "ey are committed to meaningful educational change that ensures improved achievement for all young people. "ese individuals are satis!ed that they are truly making a di#erence in the lives of others.
Ethical leadership is a choice that requires self-sacri!ce, genuine em-pathy, and active listening. When partnered with sound communica-tion skills, it is certain to be one that casts a light. Even though recent-ly we have seen examples of leadership casting a shadow, the ultimate question is: Which type of leader will you be?
Reference
Johnson, Craig E. (2012). Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership: Casting Light or Shadow. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.
Leadership:
Ethical
by Paul Kulik, PhD
A $er seeing reports of data scrubbing in several urban school districts and viewing information of !scal malfeasance in other districts and educational service centers, one may be-
gin to suspect that ethical leadership has lost its way in education to-day. Regardless of the pressures placed on leaders to demonstrate im-proved student achievement and public outcry to operate our schools on leaner budgets, the importance of ethical leadership has never been more critical than it is in today’s society.
In his text, Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership, Craig E. John-son (2012) uses the metaphor of an educator “casting a light or shad-ow” while ful!lling his or her responsibilities as the CEO of a school or district. Speci!cally referenced in his work are the skills that an ethical leader must possess to confront the challenges facing today’s executives (p.64–65):
Taking perspective of others. Leaders should accurately understand their settings and be willing to make personal connections with stake-holders, which is so critical in building trust and support for today’s schools. Never before have our leaders been held more accountable by the public than they presently are. Too o$en leaders depend solely upon informal media, i.e., e-mail, websites, blogs, etc., to communi-cate crucial messages—all of which can be subject to misinterpreta-tion or are lacking in clarity to communicate to an increasingly di-verse group of stakeholders.
Interpreting situations and responding ethically. Educational lead-ers must perceive the climate and culture of their constituents and respond to them with honesty and integrity, especially relating to stu-dent growth and achievement. Most importantly, leaders must recog-nize the consequences of their actions and demonstrate insight and wisdom as they make decisions that impact our nation’s most pre-cious resource—today’s youth.
Persevering in times of con!ict and stress. E#ective leaders muster courage and resilience when challenged by interest groups or indi-viduals who neither share nor value the tenets on which our educa-tional system was founded. Leaders must be willing to communicate the urgency for change if we are to prepare our young people for the current, competitive global marketplace. Yesterday’s education is no
Casting Light or Shadow?
About the AuthorPaul E. Kulik, PhD, is a retired principal and superintendent. He cur-rently serves as an instructor for the SAIL/CUC partnership programs.
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One of the most in!uential teachers of my life was Mrs. Barra, my $rst grade teacher. Her enthusiasm made learning exciting. Back in 1968, centers were something new. I just remember a big, colorful,
two-layer cardboard wheel on the wall with our names and activities on it. We would be so excited to see the wheel turn to determine what centers we would get to go to—art being my favorite! Mrs. Barra had a way of making each child feel special. I remember how she moved around the room, checking our work. I would always color my papers, adding extra doodles, such as lines to make stars “shine.” She would tell me, “Your paper is so bright it makes my eyes hurt!” %en she would laugh and put a star on my paper or help me $x a mistake. She truly got to know every child.Mrs. Barra and her husband, who happened to be the prin-cipal, actually became good friends of our family. We keep
in touch to this day! Because of Mrs. Barra, I can’t remember a time I didn’t want to be an educator just like her.
Laurie VentPrincipal
East & South ElementariesUpper Sandusky Schools
Laurie (Deckler) Vent, First Grade
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Elementary Essentials
An ongoing focus at Royal View Elementary in North Royalton has been to provide students with experiences that impact social and emotional learning while engaging parents to be involved in these activities through social media.
Research indicates a direct correlation between academic atti-tudes, behaviors, and performance (Zins, et al., 2004). !erefore, in an era when elementary students are facing more state-mandat-ed standardized assessments and increased accountability for high academic achievement levels, Royal View prides itself on focusing just as much attention on the children’s social-emotional learning.
Students at Royal View appreciate these e"orts, which in turn leads to an increased attachment to the building and improved attitude toward school in general. Case in point is our Royal Pride Positive Behavior Support System, which enables all classroom teachers, specialists, support sta", custodians, and bus drivers to recognize students who are meeting behavioral expectations through re-spect, responsibility, and active learning. Since the implementation of the program in 2012, we have witnessed that this research-based approach has a positive impact on students’ engagement in school.
A student who receives a Royal Pride Ticket feels just as proud to receive the initial recognition as he or she does when called to the o#ce at the end of each week when a random drawing leads to a prize and a picture with the principal. When we launched our building’s Facebook and Twitter pages in August 2012, we used these forums as additional avenues to recognize our weekly Roy-al Pride students—a practice that enabled par-ents to be engaged through “likes” and “shares” of the pictures of their children being honored.
In addition, we have attempted to use this plat-form as a way to enhance the relationships with our business partners who sponsor the Royal Pride program by including their name and link on our Facebook and Twitter pages when we publish the picture of the weekly honorees. By using social media outlets in this fashion, we are able to portray our business partners as strong
corporate entities that are willing to give back to the community.
According to research, student perceptions of teachers’ warmth and support and of teachers as promoters of positive and respect-ful social interactions in the classroom are signi$cant predictors of academic motivation, engagement, and performance (Blum, Mc-Neely, and Rinehard, 2002; Ryan and Patrick, 2001). We see this in action when we recognize more than three hundred $%y students throughout the year with our positive behavior system.
Another initiative to increase family pride in the elementary build-ing was the establishment of Family Day this past June at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky. !e event was attended by nearly one hundred families who spent the entire day alternating between the highest thrill rides to kiddie favorites, all while wear-ing matching gold T-shirts with a roller coaster design. While the event had nothing to do with our primary academic mission, it did enable students to make an additional connection to the school as a vehicle to enhance their social and emotional well-being.
With more than $ve hundred followers of the daily content of our
T!" I#$%&'of Social-Emotional Learning
by Kirk Pavelich
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building’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, we decided to capitalize on another popular form of social media when we launched an In-stagram page just before the family trip to Cedar Point in June. We had hoped that Instagram might be an additional outlet for parents to follow the itinerary of Family Day at the amusement park while enabling them to meet up with fellow Royal View families at spe-ci!c attractions they wanted to ride.
In a little over four months, we have gained nearly two hundred more followers on Instagram who use this resource to follow dai-ly updates on class projects, assemblies, guest speakers, and Spirit Day festivities. When speaking with parents, I am always quick to emphasize that our involvement with Facebook, Twitter, and Ins-tagram is simply an additional tool to communicate with parents and engage the community in an era when two-thirds of Ameri-cans own a smartphone. We believe that social media should never be viewed as a total replacement for the communication that still takes place through building website content, e-mail messages, and old-fashioned letters sent home with the students.
Another traditional event that enables us to enhance family com-
mitment and attachment to our building is the annual fall festi-val, held each year in late September. "e Royal View Fall Festival started in 2000 as an opportunity for families to come to the school grounds on a Sunday a#ernoon to play carnival-style games, dec-orate pumpkins, have their faces painted, and roast marshmallows and hot dogs over a !re pit.
Likewise, each March, Royal View families gather on a weekend for the Shamrock Shaker, an event that takes place near St. Pat-rick’s Day and features music, dancing, games, activities, and great food. We believe that family engagement is a vital component in advancing our school’s e$orts to increase student achievement by enhancing the building’s climate.
We also celebrate other times during the year, including Donuts with Dad in February, Mu%ns with Mom in May, and Grandpar-ents’ Day during the October book fair. All of these events have a direct impact on the quality of social relationships established and maintained between students, family members, and sta$.
During my tenure as principal at North Royalton Middle School, the administrative team also focused on the social-emotional development of students through the establishment of pro-grams such as the Fall Tailgate Party and an academic pep rally/team building contest based on the popular reality show Survi-vor. "anks to my assistant principal, Je$ Cicerchi, who played a key role in organizing the !rst event in 2011, the NRMS Tailgate Party quickly became the most exciting middle school social event of the year. Nearly eight hundred students opted to stay two hours a#er school to learn cheers, play games, enjoy music from a popular teacher who served as the DJ, and share pizza with their classmates. "e army of students then marched up the hill to our stadium, decked out in &uorescent colors, and cheered on our seventh and eighth grade football teams. With the initial success of the tailgate, we carried the concept to the winter sports season as well, with students being o$ered the chance to cheer on the eighth grade girls’ and boys’ basketball teams, a#er participating in the same types of a#erschool ac-tivities.
continued on next page...
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References
Blum, R.W., McNeely, C.A., and Rinehard, P.M. (2002). Improving the Odds: the Untapped Power of Schools to Improve the Health of Teens. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, Center for Adoles-cent Health and Development.
Bryk, A.S., & Schneider, B.L. (2002). Trust in Schools: A Core Re-source forImprovement. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.Osterman, K.E. 2000. “Students’ Need for Belonging in the School Community.” Review of Educational Research. 70: 323-367.
Ryan, A.M. & Patrick, H. (2001). !e Classroom Social Environ-ment and Changes in Adolescents’ Motivation and Engagement During Middle School. American Educational Research Journal, 38(2), 437-460.
Zins, J.E., Weissberg, R.P., Wang, M.C., & Walberg, H.J. (2004). Building Academic Success on Social and Emotional Learning: What Does the Research Say? New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Interested in learning more about Royal View and North Royalton Middle School? Follow them:
facebook.com/RoyalViewElementary twitter.com/RoyalViewElem instagram.com/royalviewelem
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continued from p. 21...
Bryk and Schneider (2002) have found that the quality of social re-lationships, operating in and around schools, can also predict pos-itive student outcomes. While the Fall Festival, Shamrock Shaker, and Tailgate Parties do not directly impact the goals of our district’s academic mission, they do ensure that we are all addressing the broader mission of impacting the social and emotional learning of our students, which in turn enhances their ability to be successful in our school system and throughout their lives.
About the AuthorKirk Pavelich has worked as an educator for nineteen years. He has been the principal at Royal View Elementary, a 2010 National Blue Ribbon School, since 2012 a"er having served as the principal at North Royalton Middle School from 2009–2012. He can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].
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“Why did you choose education?”—I love this question. It’s so basic to what we do each and every day. We should ask, “Why did I choose education?” when we wake up in the morning, re!ect on our livelihoods on Saturday, in the middle of July when our buildings are vacant, and not just at conferences and workshops. Perhaps I could give the standard reasons I chose education as a profession or maybe I could really dig deep, do some soul searching, and come up with an inspirational epiphany. Or perhaps I could reveal my vulnerability and expose my weaknesses—that some days I really wish I did not choose education. I’m not so sure it’s important that educators and administrators actually answer this question as much as it is to ask it—to others and ourselves—frequently.
Asking why we chose this profession and re!ecting critically on that decision can serve to energize and improve what we do to help students each day. In a society where immediate responses are highly valued and quick, clever, shiny answers are prized, re!ection and deep contemplation are viewed as antiquated, a waste of time, or even an ine"ective practice. I would argue that we must think deeply about why we are educators and also that we need to be content with the fact that what we re!ect on today may (and probably should) evolve in two weeks, two months, or two years. Similarly, re!ecting on the past, which can be unpleasant, (especially if you’ve made the mistakes I’ve made!), can be equally valuable. In fact, deep re!ection on our choice of vocation is more useful than de$nitively stating once and for all the single, $xed reason why one chooses education as a profession.
Confused yet? Good. Stop reading my article right now and force yourself to remember why you chose education ten, $f-teen, twenty years ago. Is this the same reason you’re in education now? If so, why? Has your commitment, dedication, and passion to educate children evolved? If upon re!ection you have found that indeed your reasons for choosing education have changed, how exciting! Just think where your evolutionary commitment may take you! %e point of this little exercise is we must guard against a $xed mindset when it comes to the “why” of what we do each and every day.
As a building principal with no assistant principal, I don’t have much time to do anything but run around, donning a hard hat and putting out $res all day. Our work in education is not getting easier but more demanding, more encompassing, lon-ger, and more tedious with higher stakes. However, I have to admit that I love re!ecting on why I chose education. I’m okay with nonlinear re!ections or contemplative thoughts of my commitment to education that change, shi#, and circle around. If I don’t push the limits of my psyche and allow my re!ections to be authentic re!ections on the “why” of what I do each day, I’ll be stuck. %is is my tenth year as an administrator, and I need to grow now, tomorrow, in two weeks, and hopefully forever.
If you’ve made it this far in reading my brief essay, congratulations! You’ll notice I have not given a single reason why I chose
David Martin, PhDPrincipal
Hilton ElementaryBrecksville-Broadview Hts. City Schools
education as a profession. Rather, I keep asking myself this question and keep probing deeper and re!ecting on the evolutionary changes of the why. Don’t stop asking yourself why you chose education as a profession. Re!ect, contem-plate, and be okay with change within yourself.
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The OAESA booth at the Ohio School Boards Capital Conference Trade Show this past November provided an opportunity to share information about services to our members, including the OAESA 360° Feedback Tools. It was great to connect with principals, superintendents, and school board members. Here is a photo of Donna Ball, Special Projects Coordinator, explaining the feedback tools to an interested principal:
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When was the last time you visited OAESA’s website? Check it out for the latest news from your association. Visit www.oaesa.org today.
SAIL for Education and Concordia University, Chicago are welcoming forty new students for the January 2015 start date. The partnership is also slated to graduate a record number of SAIL stu-dents in May. Are you a SAIL student or are inter-ested in the program and have a Twitter account? Follow us: @sailforeducation.org.
OAESA HAS BIG NEWS: We’re moving at the end of February to a bigger office! We will send you infor-mation about the specifics as our moving date draws near.
The OAESA Communications Committee began hosting monthly ad-ministrator Twitter chats in October 2014. The chats are designat-
of each month at 8 p.m. These chats have garnered great conversa-tion and participation from principals all over Ohio and several from
Join in and start tweeting!
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Legal Report
While the tips referenced in the Fall 2014 issue of the Navigator were written to help educators avoid legal trouble in their interac-tions with parents and students, the following six hot-button areas will assist those educators who hold managerial positions to bet-ter handle district-wide matters that o#en have the potential for litigation. %e issues summarized below, representing signi$cant oversight challenges for those who supervise others, have frequent-ly been in the national news. %ey can serve as a trigger for parents and taxpayers to attend school board meetings and demand action. Becoming anticipatory is a must for those who hold managerial positions so they can avoid the legal headaches associated with the potential problem areas below.
Educators Using District-owned Equipment for Personal Business. %e temptation o#en is great for educators to use dis-trict-owned equipment or the district’s e-mail system to engage in personal business without permission. It is possible for the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) to determine that such activity is “conduct unbecoming of an educator,” depending on the $led complaint and the circumstances surrounding it. Educators should never use district communications to do things like try to sell their cars, attempt to $nd a job for a friend, promote personal business ventures, advertise at church bazaars, etc., without permission. Likewise, educators also should not borrow school tables and chairs for a garage sale or a family reunion, use the school copier to make copies for a family member, or use the school lawnmower and school district tools for work at home without permission. It is always best to remember that citizens have the right to feel that their tax dollars should not be used for the personal business of educators. Certain school boards have adopted policies authoriz-ing employees to use the district-owned e-mail system for person-al business for a certain number of hours per week. While such a policy is legally okay, teachers in other schools may have been disciplined for not having permission to do the same.
Educators Co-mingling School Money and Student Activity Funds with Personal Bank Accounts. Naively, some educators who collect money for school projects and school activity funds co-mingle these dollars with their personal checking accounts. When called on the carpet for doing so, educators may claim that the co-mingling was “temporary” in nature. Even if this were true, such behavior can fall under the Ohio Board of Education’s de$-nition of “conduct unbecoming of an educator” (Licensure Code of Professional Conduct for Ohio’s Educators, 2008, p. 7). Ohio’s Auditor of State not only frowns on co-mingling but might issue
M"#"$%&%#'-R%("'%)Issues for School Leaders
what is called a “$nding for recovery” against educators who do it, requiring them to pay back the school district. Educators risk being disciplined and losing their licenses for such $nancial indis-cretions.
Educators Providing Unconditional Trust to &ose Who Handle Money. Educators need to become more professionally suspicious of peers, support sta", and volunteers who handle money for the school or for student activities. %is is a must. New oversight mech-anisms must be developed to produce meaningful checks and bal-ances, even when trusted, long-time employees are involved. Sadly, educators now must try to think like a thief, becoming anticipatory of how others might steal school money due to their access to it. Peers that educators least expect to take money might be casing the school’s monetary past practices without anyone knowing it. Whether it’s handling of school lunch money, athletic gate receipts, student activity funds, dance tickets, petty cash, or concession rev-enue, educators must develop improved ways to oversee and pro-tect the money that is ultimately under their supervision. If money comes up missing, educators may be held legally responsible for restitution, even if they personally had nothing to do with the loss. Providing unconditional trust to those who handle school mon-ey is a risky proposition—now more than ever before. %e school district’s treasurer is o#en the best go-to person for advice and di-rection pertaining to the handling of school money and the proper use of receipts.
Educators Engaging in “Deliberate Indi'erence.” With antibul-lying legislation sweeping the country, educators are under new pressure to properly follow up on claims by students that they have been bullied by other students. While the US Supreme Court stip-ulated in 1999 that teasing and normal student-to-student banter should not result in damages against school districts (Davis v. Mon-roe County Board of Education), the nation’s high court also has said that damages may be incurred when educators fail to follow up on severe harassment that jeopardizes a student’s educational opportunities. %e court describes this as “deliberate indi"erence.” Further, a 2012 decision by the federal circuit appellate court that serves Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee (Mathis v. Wayne County Board of Education) suggests that the deliberate-indi"er-ence standard could be violated if school o&cials are slow to re-spond to bullying claims and if the student disciplinary disposition is minimal in light of the severity of the student harassment (Car-ey, 2013, p. 1083). Complicating this matter is the fact that Section
by Dennis Leone
27
3313.666(A) of the Ohio Revised Code de$nes bullying as student harassment that occurs more than once. Further, this provision of Ohio law states that the bullying or harassment must be such that it causes “mental or physical harm to the other student and is so su&ciently severe, persistent, or pervasive that it creates an intim-idating, threatening, or abusive educational environment for the other student.” Parents, of course, do not want to be told that what happened to their child has to occur twice for school o&cials to consider it bullying. Parents also always will have their own inter-pretation of whether the act involved threatens their child’s educa-tional environment.
While educators may determine they can wait until a second al-leged bullying o"ense occurs before taking action because they feel it is minor misconduct, a wiser course of action when there are se-rious allegations is to swi#ly and e&ciently follow up on the matter to avoid a “deliberate indi"erence” conclusion by a federal court. Educators Searching Student Electronic Devices. Educators should not necessarily assume that if a student’s electronic device goes o" in a classroom, which certainly would be in violation of a school regulation, this would open the door for school o&cials to search the contents of that electronic device. Such a search may be legally permissible—a federal circuit appellate court serving Mich-igan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee ruled in 2013 (G.C. v. Owens-boro Public Schools)—but only if it would likely “produce evidence of a criminal activity, an impending violation of other school rules, or potential harm to persons in school.” Educators need to remem-ber that the legal standard established by the US Supreme Court (New Jersey v. T.L.O., 1985) stipulates that student searches cannot be “excessively intrusive” in light of the pupil’s age and the nature of the infraction. Interpreting this standard, some federal courts outside of Ohio have supported searches of student electronic de-vices (J.W. v. DeSoto School District, 2010), while others have not (Klump v. Nazareth Area School District, 2006).
Educators Disciplining Students for O'-campus Cyberbullying. In 2012, a#er the Ohio legislature added electronic communica-tions to the list of student actions that statutorily may constitute harassment or bullying, some educators felt this new law empow-ered them to discipline students for mean-spirited social media postings, even if they originated from a student’s home on Saturday night. %is is not the case. It is imperative for educators to remem-ber the following about Ohio’s current bullying law:
(A) While student-generated electronic communications now may constitute harassment, intimidation, or bullying pursuant to Section 3133.666(B)(1) of the Ohio Revised Code, the board-ad-opted policy is to specify that such acts are prohibited “on school property, on a school bus, or at school-sponsored events;” (B) the Ohio legislature speci$cally rejected proposed legislation (Senate Bill 127) in 2012 that attempted to empower school o&cials to dis-cipline students for any electronic cyberbullying act—regardless when or where it originated; and (C) no federal district court or circuit appellate court that serves Ohio has weighed in on the legal question of disciplinary action being imposed for student cyber-bullying that originates o" campus during nonschool hours.
For these reasons, educators are rolling the dice legally and engag-ing in overreach if they decide to discipline a student for a Saturday
night social media posting that originates from a student’s home. While it appears that school o&cials have more ability to discipline students for electronic postings that occur when they use school-owned devices, federal courts and circuit appellate courts across the country have not been uniform in their interpretation of student free speech rights when it involves electronic cyberbullying that originates o" school property and involves the student’s own elec-tronic devices. In 2013, the US Supreme Court refused to consider con!icting circuit appellate court decisions—one that support-ed the discipline of a student in West Virginia who electronically wrote nasty, inappropriate things about another student and one that did not support the discipline of two Pennsylvania students who electronically wrote inappropriate things about their high school principals. It seems that state and federal courts have gener-ally been supportive of disciplinary action when students threaten violence against other students, school employees, or the school, no matter how it is communicated, especially when students allege that they intend to use weapons or explosive devices.
While Ohio law does not speci$cally authorize the discipline of stu-dents for electronic acts that are generated from a student’s home, school o&cials can take discipline if such postings are distributed on school property or at school activities. It also is legally permissi-ble and advisable—when principals are shown a copy of a trouble-some electronic posting that originated from a student’s home—to communicate with the parents of that student about the agitation their child’s electronic posting has caused at school. Such commu-nication can serve as a formal notice to parents that the principal does not want their child to associate with the other student at school, that the principal will be naturally suspicious of the stu-dent because of the posting, and that disciplinary action will occur should their child cause any problems at school with the student who was the subject of the electronic posting. %is communication may show a judge that the school did all that it legally could to be helpful and sensitive to the matter.
One south-central Ohio school district suspended a student during the $rst week of school in August of 2012 because the student—writing at home—posted a mean-spirited electronic statement about another student in July. Would the school’s suspension de-cision a month later survive a First Amendment legal challenge in federal court? Likely not.
About the Author
Dennis Leone served as a public school district administrator for thirty years in Ohio between 1980 and 2010, spending twenty-three of those years as a superintendent of schools. He currently teaches school law courses for Ashland University as an assistant professor of educational administration.
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A special spot in heaven is reserved for Miss Lewis, my second grade teacher. Miss Lewis taught me the importance of preserving dignity and of o"ering encouragement to students through her wise and e"ective manner in helping me move forward in my literacy journey. A lazy eye and a September birthday were factors that did not help me become a strong learner when $rst starting
school. Reading was not at all what I had hoped it would be. In fact, it was quite the opposite. My mother had always read wonderful stories to us, and I knew all about Mr. Popper’s adventures with his penguins, Heidi’s idyllic life in the mountains, and the Five Little Peppers and all of their antics before going to school where my mother promised I would unlock the mystery of making those words come to life for myself. On day one of $rst grade, I got my brand new reader, and I read the $rst page: “Oh!” %e second page said, “Oh! Oh! Oh!” In fact the whole book had only $#een words in it! I determined then and there that this was not reading, and I wanted no part of it. So right from the start of school, I had already decided that reading was not for me.
We had to do a weekly book report for Miss Lewis. She had a table laden with a treasure trove of literature from which we were to pick a book, read it, and write about our favorite parts. Instead, I chose to make up a book rather than deal with all of those words that someone else chose. I remember walking home from school thinking of a plausible title and an author’s name that Miss Lewis would believe really penned a story. A#er about my third made-up book report, Miss Lewis pulled me out to the hall to ask me about this book that she had never heard of before. I assured her that my mother took me to the library every week (which really was the truth). When I looked into her eyes, I knew she knew. I knew that I had let down my teacher when I lied.
Yet instead of admonishing me for lying, Miss Lewis took me by the hand and simply said, “I want to intro-duce you to a friend of mine.” We walked to the back table together. She handed me a book called Curious George and said, “Linda, I want you to meet my friend, Curious George. I think he will become your friend too!”
Of course I loved the book, and even more, I loved Miss Lewis for teaching me that helping students to maintain their dignity may require some level of grace but is always worth it. %ank you, Miss Lewis, for teaching me this most important lesson of all! You will always be my hero. -
Linda Locke, PhDPrincipalSouth ElementaryUrbana City Schools
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Middle School Matters
C*##%+' ,-'. /%01%+'to Make a Di"erence for Students
by Annemarie Nosse
As I wandered into the school parking lot, weighed down by my thoughts and an overstu"ed briefcase, I nearly collided with an old man walking his dog. “Rough day, huh? Bet every day is tough in there,” he mused, gazing at the school building with a look of awe.
Smiling at the seriousness of his tone, I said, “Every day is a chal-lenge, but the kids make it worth it.”
“%at’s a lot of kids,” he said, shaking his head as he walked away.
On the drive home, I thought about the students and our respon-sibility to make them feel comfortable, safe, and welcome and how little things make a big di"erence. I thought about positive expe-riences at our school and the success of one student in particular that the principal took time to connect with, inspiring the student with the con$dence to do what he needed to do.
As other students enjoyed sixth grade orientation activities, Ran-dall cowered by the bushes, afraid to go into the school. %e prin-cipal spoke with him and encouraged him to take a few steps into the building. He wasn’t where he needed to be, but the principal was con$dent that he would get there in time.
As the school year started, “Randall” sometimes refused to go to class and stayed in the hallway. %e principal kept an eye on Ran-dall, telling others to leave him alone because he knew that Ran-dall would eventually go in if no one paid attention to the problem. Critics thought this strategy was a little odd and the time taken with one student was a little excessive.
Randall was a frequent visitor to the o&ce, having conversations with the principal, the o&ce sta", and me to help him to feel more secure as he transitioned into sixth grade. He was always given time to voice his concerns, with the focus on helping him do what he needed to make it through the day successfully. It didn’t take much time to get Randall going in the right direction, and his re-lief at being heard was obvious as his tightly drawn lips turned into a smile before leaving the o&ce.
Randall chose to eat lunch in the o&ce the $rst couple of months, and he was always given individual attention and respect. As he became more comfortable, he made conversation and laughed, instead of focusing on his worries. Over time, we gave him less attention. Sometimes I worked while he visited and only spent ten
minutes in conversation with him. Eventually we made a plan for Randall to gradually integrate himself into the cafeteria for lunch.
A couple of weeks into the plan, I glanced up from my paperwork to see the tip of a shoe protruding into my o&ce door. Without leaving my desk, I asked, “Randall, aren’t you supposed to be in the cafeteria now?”
He appeared in the doorway and said, “yeah, but I’m gonna miss you guys,” in a way that made me want to let him stay. Instead, I got up and asked him to follow me, and he reluctantly complied. As I led him toward the cafeteria, we were met in the hallway by his teacher who helped him to $nd a seat and talked to the stu-dents at the table until he knew that Randall was comfortable enough to stay.
Randall never returned to the o&ce to eat lunch a#er that day. Although I missed him, seeing his independence inspired me. I knew that Randall was a success story due to the patience and con-$dence of our school team, led by the principal. I also knew the dedication it took to make this happen. Our team giving Randall the temporary levels of support and progressive sca"olding of the skills he needed helped him become fully independent at school. As Randall progressed, the supports were gradually taken away when they were no longer needed.
As education becomes complicated with change in more and more places, it is easy to lose sight of the big picture. %ings can be tough every day. Educational leaders who embrace the challenge with a determined focus on creating situations that are good for students drive school culture. %e success stories of a school help keep our focus on the students. %ey keep us motivated, even when things get di&cult and inspire us to keep positive momentum and re-member that educators make a di"erence—our greatest reward.
About the AuthorAnnemarie Nosse is an aspiring principal with more than twenty years of experience in education. She is in her thirteenth year as a school psychologist with Elyria City Schools. Contact her by phone at (440) 284-8041 or e-mail at [email protected].
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!e Fall Ohio Ready Schools Professional Development Forum brought together representa-tives from Ready School sites across Ohio and their supportive partners. !e Forum was held in Dublin, Ohio, at the OCLC Conference Center on October 28, 2014. Early childhood consultant, author, and national presenter Daniel Hodgins engaged participants in the morning session by sharing information related to “Creating the !inking Child.”
Daniel says that when a child feels like a failure, learning stops.
Daniel’s tips for multisensory learning: 1) repeat visually2) repeat orally 3) repeat kinesthetically
!ree questions to ask when developing thinking children: 1) What do I believe about children? 2) How do my practices "t what I believe about children? 3) What do I need to change to make them "t?
“Physical activity is cognitive candy.” ~ Daniel Hodgins
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!e a"ernoon session was led by Ann Anzalone. Ann teaches at the university level, serves as a consultant to school dis-tricts throughout the country, and maintains a private practice. She shared her expertise on brain organization for learn-ing and the high-return achievement factors that enhance learning. In addition to new information, the day provided multiple experiences for networking.
• Attention span for children is basically their age plus two, which equals the num-ber of minutes the child can sit/attend (6 years +2 = 8 minutes of attention).• !ree ways to get information to stick by attending to the three Hs: head, heart, and hands.
!e #1 impact on student achievement is expectations students have for themselves.
“!e true art of memory is paying attention.” ~ Ann Anzalone
One of Ann’s exercises in mental clarity.
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TEN HELPFUL TIPS FOR NEWADMINIS
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TEN HELPFUL TIPS FOR NEWTRATORS
by Carol Rosiak, EdD
“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”
~ Maya Angelou
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A principal’s job description is multifaceted. It involves varied tasks and roles, all of which come with the expectation of leadership that inspires a school community. According to the Ohio Department of Education (2013), the
e!ectiveness of a principal directly correlates to high student achievement. "e expectation that all students gain a minimum of one year’s growth and this con-nection to building leadership can overwhelm a new administrator. Pivotal to the success process is an administrator’s ability to create a shared vision, ensure con-tinuous progress, support high-quality standards, allocate resources and manage school operations, establish and sustain collaborative learning and shared leader-ship, and engage parents and community members in the educational process to create a resourceful environment (Ohio Standards for Principal E!ectiveness, 2013). "e potential for building administrators to miss out on liking what they do and becoming overwhelmed by the demands of school leadership is real. Being aware of these demands and identifying and implementing strategies to help organize the day is critical in making sure administrators enjoy what they do every day. "e fol-lowing list is not written in order of importance, nor should these tips be viewed in isolation. Leadership is a cohesive dance in which many parts make up the whole.
continued on p. 34...
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As an administrator multiple items will cross your desk on a consistent basis. Your inbox will quickly become over-whelmed with papers, e-mails, phone calls, meeting requests, and a host of random sta", parent, and student needs. %ese are not necessarily negative or problems, just daily items that need attention. %is organizational tip helps allevi-ate the over!ow in the inbox by taking care of simple tasks as soon as you “touch” them. When you touch the item, you complete that task fully prior to moving to the next. %e use of two folders in your mailbox will help with identifying tasks that need immediate response (red folder) and those that are not urgent (green). Sta" will place the items in the appropriate folder in your mailbox. Always start with the items in the red folder. Categorizing the importance of each item is an essential component of the touch-once process.
TIP # 1: Touch Once
TIP # 2: Be VisibleBe visible every day to students, parents, and sta". %ink of this as just a part of what you do. One example of being visible is welcoming the students outside at morning arrival. %is simple routine is purposeful and has great impact on the entire day. Rain, snow, or sunshine—being visible should be a priority. %is act places the focus on students, which helps build rapport and promotes positive behavior and attitudes. Even when you have morning meetings, excuse your-self for a few minutes to be present with students. Another simple way to be visible is to make sure to spend time walk-ing around the school. Scheduling this out-of-o&ce time each day will ensure that this act can be stress free. Whether this is done $rst thing in the morning, during lunch hours, or by grade level or department, planning for it is critical.
TIP # 3: Present a Positive DemeanorPositive attitudes are contagious. Sta" and students will know if this is phony, so be genuinely positive. Norman Vincent Peale was quoted by Ron Clark in his book !e Excellent 11: Qualities Teachers and Parents Use to Motivate, Inspire and Educate Children (2004), and the quote is appropriate in leadership as well: “Your enthusiasm will be infectious, stimu-lating and attractive to others. %ey will love you for it. %ey will go for you and with you.” (Clark, 2004, p. 1)
TIP # 4: Focus on Team “Us”%ere is a di"erence between being a teacher and an administrator, of course. However, school leaders started as teach-ers. Being cognizant of your beginning as a teacher helps you relate to those still in the classroom. %e old cliché, it takes a village to raise a child, is apropos in today’s schools. Verbally stating “us,” not “them,” helps build team mentality.
TIP # 5: Hold Purposeful Staff Meetings%e length of a sta" meeting in many public schools is dictated by teacher contracts, so time is limited. Providing meaningful information is critical in creating an e"ective and e&cient meeting. Designing the !ow and dissemination of information as you would an instructional lesson is a great approach. Best practice requires thoughtful re!ection on agenda items and the importance placed on each topic. According to Simon Sinek, author of Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action (2009), “%ere are only two ways to in!uence human behavior: you can manipulate it, or you can inspire it.” (p. 17) Use your sta" meetings to inspire the great work educators engage in every day. Be purposeful to promote professional development within your sta", highlighting what your teachers are doing in the classroom and asking them to share. Minimize housekeeping items to a small portion of the meeting—if you can send it in an e-mail, don’t waste time going through it verbally.
TIP # 6: Take Time to ThinkAn administrator will have many conversations throughout the day with sta", parents, students, central o&ce person-nel, and outside organizations. It is not uncommon to be presented with a question that you do not know the answer to immediately. Take time to think when someone makes a request or asks you a question to ensure you can give an appropriate, high-quality response. %is re!ection will help minimize poor decisions that appear to be made in haste.
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%e building administrator is the leader. Whether behavior and actions are positive or negative, the principal is a model. Modeling honest communication facilitates a positive culture that promotes respect. Even when challenging sit-uations or conversations occur, you must remain calm and present information in a straightforward manner that pro-motes trust. Open and honest communication is essential in establishing respect and con$dence in the leader’s ability.
TIP # 7: Communicate Openly and Honestly
TIP # 8: Survey Your StaffKnowing your sta" members and their perceptions is an integral part of being successful. Understanding that you will not make everyone happy and that not everyone will like you all the time is critical in accepting professional critique. Self-deception is the process of denying or rationalizing important evidence so that one can make up his or her own truth. %e Arbinger Institute proposes that “self-deception blinds us to the true cause of problems, and once blind, all solutions we can think of will actually make matters worse. (%e Arbinger Institute, 2000, p. viii). As leaders we need to be aware of our blind spots. Surveying the sta" not only helps the administrator with taking a real look at how the sta" works and thinks, but it also gives the sta" a voice and shows their professional engagement. Some outliers are inevita-ble and should be analyzed cautiously. However, patterns of responses can be a powerful tool in determining leadership strengths and areas of consideration. Sta" perception of the leader is a reality and can help or hinder the culture of a building. Being aware of these perceptions and analyzing why they exist can transform professional relationships, re-duce con!icts, and, therefore, strengthen rapport. Although surveying the sta" may appear scary or uncomfortable, it doesn’t have to be personal; it can simply be a way to engage the sta" in a conversation that leads to true collaboration. One simple example is to create a survey, using an online survey company, a#er a sta" meeting that asks what they liked or didn’t like and how the sta" meeting could be more purposeful. %e sta" will be appreciative and feel valued- a great way to continue building a respectful rapport.
TIP # 9: Be AvailableAn open door policy is more than a cliché; it is a philosophy or belief that truly embodies successful leaders. Encourag-ing the sta" to share positives, concerns, questions and ideas will help you understand the world outside the principal’s o&ce. %is proactive approach will take time to foster, but the impact will be evidenced by the parents’ and sta"s’ per-ceptions, as they regard you as approachable and as an advocate for education.
TIP # 10: Be in the TrenchesAn administrator that knows the importance of jumping in and helping, at every level, is greatly appreciated and will be viewed as a team player. Additionally, chipping in gives the administrator a better understanding of what each job entails. Seek out opportunities to cover classes, supervise recess and/or the lunchroom, answer phones, vacuum if the custodian is absent, and assist the cafeteria workers.
ReferencesArbinger Institute (2000). Leadership and self-deception: Getting out of the box. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishing.Clark, R. (2004). !e excellent 11: Qualities teachers and parents use to motivate, inspire, and educate children. New York: Hyperion.Macias, A. (2014). 15 Pieces of Advice From Maya Angelou. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/maya-angelou-quotes-2014-5.Ohio Department of Education (2013). Ohio Principal Evaluation System, 3-6. Retrieved from http://www.education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Teaching/Educator-Evaluation-System/Ohio-Principal-Evaluation- System-OPES/Additional-Information/OPES-Model-Final-7_9-Revised-2013-1.pdf.aspx.Sinek, S. (2009). Start with why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action. New York: Portfolio/Penguin.
About the AuthorCarol Rosiak, EdD, is the principal at Goldwood Primary School, which is part of the Rocky River City Schools in Rocky River, Ohio.
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Legislative Update
When I began my career in public education nearly thirty-$ve years ago, I suppose I was like many new teachers who enter the $eld with lo#y ambitions of changing the lives of my students, delivering what I hoped would be memorable and rewarding lessons. I fo-
cused nearly all my energy and attention on the events occurring inside the walls of my classroom, with barely an eye on what might be happening in the rest of the school building, let alone the district or state. As far as my twenty-one-year-old mind was concerned, the topics of politics and public education were about as related as spaghetti and polar bears. Oh, the ignorance of youth!
Today, I would assert that the relationship between education and politics is more like that between polar bears and global warming. Anyone presently involved in teaching or administration feels the signi$cant impact that political decisions have on the daily work they do. For the past few decades, there has been a growing demand for accountability from schools, including many associated re-forms intended to address perceived !aws and shortcomings in education. I would like to believe that each initiative was well intended, but outcomes are more important than intentions.
For the most part, educators have been so busy trying to implement these reforms, improve our schools, and meet the growing demands placed upon them that they have rarely taken the initiative to actively engage with legislators about these issues. Perhaps educators wonder if just one voice will be heard. Perhaps we feel uninformed about the details of how the legislative process works. Or maybe, we just want someone else to speak for us instead.
All of these ideas work to keep us comfortably on the sidelines. Unfortunately, what is required now, even more than any time in the past, is for educators to take an active role in advocating for the needs of our students. We cannot a"ord to sit this one out. As Ohio’s new 131st General Assem-bly convenes in the near future, we must rethink our level of political engagement when it comes to legislation a"ecting our schools. In the coming weeks and months, OAESA will work harder to keep you informed about issues at the statehouse. We’ll also o"er suggestions about how you can support, individually, our collective e"orts on behalf of our students, sta", and schools. Together, we can make a di"erence!
P*(-'-+0and Your Role in Education
by Mark Jones, OAESA Associate Executive Director
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Julie FranklRetired Principal and
Educational Consultant State Support Team Region 7
My love for working with children started early: babysitting, coaching summer so#ball, and teach-ing Sunday school in high school. At $rst my goal was to become the next Miss Barbara for Romper Room, but I soon le# my telecommunications major to work directly with students on a daily basis. Kent State University had a wonderful program with dedicated and forward-think-
ing sta" members who prepared me well. In fact, all along my journey, I had positive role models and people who saw my potential, and I’m very grateful.
My education journey began in 1984 at the rural district that was then Plymouth Local Schools (now Plym-outh-Shiloh). %ere I had the opportunity to work with teams that had a great passion for helping students reach successful outcomes, even if they sometimes had very di"erent styles and philosophies. Our administra-tors understood the power of working together, and we had the opportunity to help create the courses of study for the county and to work on early e"orts to di"erentiate with strategies that worked universally to engage more students from the start. We had time to plan together and to have “Kid Talks,” creating positive supports and celebrating. We were mindful of our data and worked to provide meaningful integrated experiences in literacy, math, and writing that set rigorous goals and created success.
%at early experience as a young teacher opened doors that created my thirty-plus-year mission, spanning four Ohio school districts and now a state support team. I never considered my career a job but a mission that’s still alive today.
I have always believed in high expectations and that children are capable of much more than most people believe. Because of all of the rich experiences and relationships I have had along the way, I’ve also come to appreciate the importance of sustainable systems embedded in transparent, high-impact strategies to support the enthusiastic teachers joining our ranks and re-energize the experienced.
As a principal, I saw several circumstances out of our control that broke my heart yet further instilled the importance of empathy, unconditional love, and safe boundaries, within the context of discovery, for our stu-dents. If we look for the positive, listen for the celebrations, and open our hearts and minds to the possibilities,
they’re mostly joyful. My wish for you is that you seek out the people who see what you’re capable of, encourage you, chal-lenge you, and expect lots from you and that you, in turn, do that for the sta" and students in your care. One step at a time, one day at a time, one smile at a time—we can do this.
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Health IssuesDoes
H%"/-#$Matter?by Melissa McCoy
Hearing loss in school children may interfere with the ability to learn and the development of normal speech and language. Children with hearing loss score signi$cantly lower on comprehensive tests of basic skills, and they exhibit behavioral problems and lower self-esteem. %e American Speech and
Hearing Association estimates that eighty-three out of every thousand US children have educationally signif-icant hearing loss. In Ohio, the Dangerous Decibels Program and the Ohio Hearing Aid Assistance Program are making a di"erence through prevention and treatment of hearing disorders to assure school readiness.
Today, children of all ages are exposing themselves to loud music through MP3 players, iPods, concerts, and other noisy activities. Continuous exposure to loud noise can damage the structure of hair cells in the inner ear, resulting in tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and noise-induced hearing loss. A majority of children have experienced tinnitus and hearing impairment a#er listening to loud music. While hearing loss is usually painless, it is always permanent.
%e good news is that noise-induced hearing loss is 100 percent preventable.
One resource geared toward the prevention of hearing loss through education is the Dangerous Decibels Program. %is program makes a di"erence by educating children about dangerous sounds. According to the outcomes of a study conducted by W.H. Martin involving 1,630 $rst, fourth, and seventh grade students, this educational program signi$cantly improved the knowledge and attitudes about noise exposure and positive behaviors about hearing-loss prevention. %is free program is evidence based and meets Ohio’s benchmarks for physical science and mathematics.
Dangerous Decibels is an interactive $#y-minute lesson for students designed to reduce the incidence of noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus by changing knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors about sound ex-posures.
Common underlying educational messages in the Dangerous Decibels program include:
1. Sources of dangerous sounds.2. Consequences of dangerous sounds.3. Protection from dangerous sounds.
Ohio children diagnosed with permanent hearing impairment should be given the tools to succeed in school. However, treatment for children with hearing impairment is expensive and, for some, inaccessible. Children who
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have untreated hearing loss may have di&culty in all areas of aca-demic achievement, especially reading and mathematics. Accord-ing to the American Speech and Hearing Association, children with hearing loss achieve one to four grade levels lower than their peers with normal hearing, unless appropriate management occurs.
%e Ohio Hearing Aid Assistance Program (OHAAP) makes a dif-
ference by providing $nancial assistance to these families with chil-dren less than twenty-one years of age, for purchasing hearing aids and covering additional out-of-pocket expenses. Families with incomes at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty guidelines are eligible for the program. Families are encouraged to contact participating providers about the OHAAP program. Providers can be found at http://1.usa.gov/1DXDcUx.
Reference
Martin, W.H. (2008). Dangerous Decibels®: Partnership for preventing noise induced hearing loss and tinnitus in children. Semin Hear-ing 29: 102–110.
About the Author!e Ohio Department of Health Children’s Hearing and Vision Program provides the Dangerous Decibels program and the OHAAP to prevent and treat hearing loss. Schools interested in these resources may contact Melissa McCoy, MA Public Health Audiologist, by calling (614)466-1995 or by e-mailing her at [email protected].
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I chose education as my career because I wanted to make a di"erence in the lives of children. I don’t think there is a greater feeling than seeing the “light bulb” go o" when a child understands something or the smile that children get when they succeed at something. I got to see $rsthand that individually and as a group
educators have the opportunity to change the world.
Growing up, I had the opportunity to make a di"erence in the lives of three people who are very close to me. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, my family adopted my three cousins to give them an opportunity to have a better life. My cousins had a lot of issues when they joined our family. %ey were physically and men-tally delayed and not functioning at their appropriate age levels. I felt really bad about this and wanted to do something to help them. %ey were not this way by choice, and I didn’t want them to su"er and be behind their entire lives.
My parents knew how far behind they were, became involved in their education, and wanted to do whatever they could to help them be successful. My parents formed great relationships with the teachers they had, and I witnessed how amazing and helpful my cousins’ teachers were. %ey went above and beyond to help them be successful, and we noticed a big di"erence in their progress. Watching the e"ect the teachers had, I started to work with my cousins nightly on their homework and the skills they were lacking. At times, I didn’t understand why they couldn’t get simple things, but seeing them struggle and then $nally getting it and the happiness it brought to them was so rewarding for me. It drove me to want to help them more and more. As I watched them grow up, I saw them accomplish many things that I never would have thought possible. Because of this experi-ence, I knew education was the career for me.
Being an educator is such a rewarding career. We don’t get into the $eld for $nancial reasons but because of the passion we have for watching kids succeed. %ere is not a day that I don’t want to wake up and go to work. I absolutely love working with kids and knowing that I may be the person to make a di"erence in their lives.
Jamie FrankoAdministrative InternParma City Schools
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WELCOME TO OAESA’S NEW MEMBERS!Zone 1Phillip FitchLisa ImelMichelle KightNicholas MorrisJosh MorrisShane RheaElaine Seimer
Zone 2Cynthia AndersonCynthia BerdingLisa CourtneyDafney DavisKendell DorseyChrissy EddsJill FanningChristopher FlanaganChristine FooteAndrew GeorgeTamara GilbertDustin GoldieSarah GrebTraci Gri!enJamie HoodAaron HopkinsJamie KunzJustin McCollumNina MillerPaige Patton-RadelKari PenningtonNick RobertsTonya SchmidtSarah SloanEric "omasHarry VollKatrina WagonerLeslie Zurmehly
Zone 3Izdihar Abadi
Hayley BarhorstJonathan BurkeJohn BurkholderMatt DillonJennifer FledderjohannHeather HenningPaul HohlbeinLynda HolycrossChad LensmanTodd PencekJeremy PequignotKylie PritchardMarlo SchipferMichelle TeisVanisa TurneyMike VagedesNathan Walters
Zone 4Allison BennerMatthew CarrKirsten Co!manKaryn CoxTammy DarrowMatthew DavisAmy DominiqueMatthew DubeHeath Hu!manKirk JonesJustin Krogman"omas LammersAngela MacwhinneyLindsey McVeyAndrew MickeyTaryn MileyMark PughElizabeth ScaifeWesley SchroederLance "orpJennifer Wensink
Zone 5Tyler BatesKelli BaumanKari CaseLaurie CzaplickiLeah FilliaterMicah GibbsAnnette GorrellJennifer HickmanValerie KaminskiDanny KissellMatthew MillingerLawren NeeleyPenny ReinhartNora RuddyAndrew SchieferWayne SchneiderAlex SharickLynne StarkPamela VeleteanSarah WalkerKarly WattersonHolli Weber
Zone 6Victoria AbdowLashonda AbdussatarWilma AlexanderJim AlexandrouScott AsteyKristen BoothElizabeth BurkeLaxmi ChariNia DavisMatthew DoslakStephanie Ea!ordNicole FranksJudy GrayDaniel HarlanJustin HarnistHolly Heiple
Danjile HendersonRobin HoldenRuth HotchkissKimberly HussingChristopher JollyPaul KijinskiJames KoviBecky LuthMichael MalloyKelsey MellinoIan MillerJohn MusatLoi NguyenAmy OlivieriMarc PettySuweeyah SalihPaula ShaferBrian Si#arErin SpencerKimberly SummersJa Tina "reatErica Wigton
Zone 7Gregory BonamaseSarah ChapmanRon DahlhoferBeth DyerKim FiskJulie FultonJanet HalickiAnnette HarrisEric JonesStephen KovachBrett McCannKim MentaBrock MillerAbigail MillerJe! NovakEmily PetrickMathew Prezioso
Grantley RichardsonDaniel SebringJennifer SoukenikAnthony StretarCynthia TomassettiDawn VilkJulie Weber
Zone 8Sara CrooksKaylee EarlyScott GiammarcoRyan HolmesAlyssia KappasMatthias KarolewskiDana KendziorskiTom KotsanisAngela LeggettWilliam LiberatoreCherie MartheyDiana McMillenKate PlantJesse RobinsonJohn SpondylDavid "ompson
Zone 9Larry BevardMichael BrewerNatalie BuchananMark EdwardsKimberly HearingKristen SchreiberTi!any SpeckTim Van CampTodd Woodard
Zone 10Jessica AndersonLenora AnglesMichelle Banks
Jaclyn BaumannColeen BoyleDiane CampbellBlair CernyBrian Co!eySusan DrakeAmy EsteppSean FlynnJudy FrazierWilliam GiacomelliRyan GramlichJoel GrantNicole HenryGabe HooverEbone JohnsonStaci LutzKarrina LynchRobin Mayo-WhiteAmey McGlennAndrea McVayAmber MocarskiCynthia MooreKathryn MyersTricia MyersMorgan NagelAngel NegronAngela NelsonKatyn OlszewskiAudra PearsonNaim SandersJillian SimsMiguel "ompsonShannon TrexlerLeslie UhlGermaine WellsAkya WilliamsWilliam WionLaura Wolfe
Spring Zone Meetings
ZONE ONEFeb. 12, 8:30–12 pm
OSU Endeaver Center1862 Shyville Rd.
Room 160Piketon, OH 45661
ZONE TWOMarch 12, 5–7 pm
Scholastic Book Fairs Warehouse
5459 West Chester Rd.West Chester, OH 45069
ZONE THREEApril 8, 10–12 pm
TBD
ZONE FOURApril 11, 2–4 pm
Wood County ESC1867 N. Research Dr.
Bowling Green, OH 43402
ZONE FIVEFeb. 2, 5:30–7:30 pmOld Bag of Nails Pub
625 Lexington Ave., #7Mans!eld, OH 44907
ZONE SIXMarch 18, 5–7 pm
Winking Lizard1615 Main St.
Peninsula, OH 44264
ZONE SEVENApril 22, 5–7pm
Pu!erbelly152 Franklin Ave.Kent, OH 44240
ZONE EIGHTMarch 3, 8:30–11 am
Schoenbrunn Inn (Delaware Room)1186 W. High Ave.
New Philadelphia, OH 44663
ZONE NINEApril 1, 10–12 pm
Zanesville Country Club1300 Country Club Dr.Zanesville, OH 43701
ZONE TENApril 23, 4:30–7 pm
Buckeye Hall of Fame Grill (Film Room)775 Yard St., #100
Columbus, OH 43212
Mark your Calendar!
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E'()*+,-./ C0-12,+. 3) S455++2
by Jack Hunter
My career started immediately a"er college in an urban teaching environment. My goal was to become a foundational leader for children from a lower socio-eco-nomic background. I knew these children could accomplish anything they put their minds to; they just needed to be empowered to succeed. !is became the
driving force behind my daily teaching.
As a new teacher, I worked tirelessly to empower the children to see the symbiotic nature of a positive attitude and their self-worth to succeed in school and all activities. %e passion my students wit-nessed led to substantial gains on standardized tests. Students were amazed at the growth that occurred and my passion and drive for teaching was forever instilled.
A#er teaching for a few years, I was o"ered a business opportunity. I accepted and worked for a large, private company for eight years. A#er leading this company through a venture capital acquisition, I gained insightful information about how to run businesses. How-ever, my passion had always been to educate children in urban en-vironments, so I made the tough choice between $nancial growth and public service. I decided to take my experience and knowledge in business, couple it with my love of education, and venture back into the public sector. I knew I had found my true mission yet again. Once I was placed back in an urban environment, I felt at home, and my passion began to drive my success. I took the same tenacity and goal-driven attitude I had in business and put it to work in the classroom and school. Failure was simply not an option. I made sure students knew my expectations, and I continued to lead with empathy. However, I did not allow students to be coddled or fall short of their goals. My business experience showed the connection between the private and public sector as well as the importance of aligning the private entities and the school system. %is kind of re-
lationship has an empowering connection on all stakeholders.
In learning how private businesses work, the experiences I gained prepared me to lead a public organization. %e multifaceted nature of a private organization provided me with the structure and pro-cesses to implement similar procedures in a school with $delity. I encourage all leaders to network with the business community. Simple conversations, for example, can lead to initiatives that could result in thirty-plus volunteers coming to your school to mentor students. Discussions with business leaders may open up $nancial resources that allow you to bring programs to your school to assist with academic endeavors. As academically focused leaders, we have to reach out to anyone and everyone in the community who can become stakeholders and help our children. In my case, I reached out to the Department of Aging to recruit senior citizens to read to students and to the Police Association for a#erschool sporting op-portunities, and I wrote numerous grants to businesses that tradi-tionally do not fund public schools. A large majority of our wealth exists in the small business sector, yet we spend the majority of our time reaching out to the Fortune 100 for monies. My recommen-dation is to solicit the small businesses for assistance with funding opportunities. A good example is to solicit private sector employ-ees to assist with First Lego League. With a nominal investment of a thousand dollars, you can start an a#erschool Lego competition team. Once a business is involved, you will see more opportunities
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E'()*+,-./ C0-12,+. 3) S455++2
become available. We had success recruiting a company, and our school team quali$ed for a regional event that the company fully sponsored. %is was the $rst time my students had been to a hotel, not to mention dine at a restaurant with cloth napkins. By bringing in outside programs, students recognize that the entire educational focus is on them. For instance, our 2012–2013 school year suspension days were 420 days lost. However, a#er joining the school team last year as principal and implementing Love and Log-ic, District Behavior PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention and Sup-ports) and a plethora of extracurricular programs, our suspensions dropped to forty-eight school days last year. Our value-added score improved one letter grade in one year, and our performance index also improved. We showed a large gain in the lowest 20 percent of our students. Additionally, by using district programs, such as Dr. Durant’s Young Men and Women of Excellence, we were able to connect troubled youth with peer mentors and have team-building programs on the weekends. Having students engaged and looking forward to getting acquainted with their mentors meant students were willing to continue the program. %is yielded a 1.2 percent gain in attendance in the $rst year. In the second year, we looked to further reduce the negative and celebrate the positive. I now have businesses contacting our school to get involved and become a part of the exciting changes that have begun to happen. Community in-volvement is on the rise and we no longer have a PTO but a Chase POSSE (Parents of Superior Soaring Eagles). Our data wall is one of the $rst things you see as you enter the building because learning is our top priority. Students, attendance, community involvement, parent involvement, and determination for success are the other goals that drive my position as principal and instructional leader.
Changing the culture of the school is multifaceted. Gone are the days of just watching students during lunchtime and being a pres-ence in the school. Both new administrators and veteran principals all have the same opportunity: the obligation to students and stake-holders to focus on the entire development of the student. %is can only be achieved if principals are focused on community resources that lead to community involvement. It takes time to coordinate all of these resources, along with all the other administrative responsi-bilities, but the rewards are truly worth the time. %e individualized educational experience of each student in your school will surprise you with all positive results. I welcome interested administrators and/or teachers to visit our school and witness the above referenced opportunities for our students. As a $rst year principal, I have only scratched the surface of community resources and opportunities for all involved in our school. %e student growth that has occurred becomes our driving force.
About the AuthorJack Hunter obtained his administrative degree from the Universi-ty of Cincinnati. Prior to his career in education, he worked in pri-vate business as a successful chief operating o$cer in Chicago. Using gained business acumen, Jack recently returned to education and is currently transforming his Toledo Public STEM school into a thriving learning environment as its principal. Mr. Hunter’s school has been featured on the front page of the Toledo Blade and is currently in-volved in national STEM competitions.
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Sorry...We’re Booked!
S'2)%#' V*-+%: T.% I#0'/2&%#' *3 C."#$%by Russell Quaglia and Michael Corso
Reviewed by Shannon Kriegmont, principal, Madison South Elementary, Madison City Schools
Student voices are critical if we are to improve outcomes—be-yond testing—for all students. %e authors make a case for empowering students as partners in education, using much
of their own research as proof.
%e book is divided into three sections: Listening, Learning, and Leading. %e Listening section summarizes the Aspirations Framework, focusing on working with each student to dream and achieve. %e next section, Learning, summarizes data from their My Voices Survey, suggesting that only half of students are engaged and interested in schooling. Finally, Leading proposes that schools can and should increase opportunities for students to work as partners in all areas of education. %ey make connections to the whole child movement, the hierarchy of needs, and 21st century learning. Readers may make connections to other initia-tives in their schools.
Late in the book the authors admit that many people may think “that this is the ‘so#’ work of teaching…[not] the ‘hard’ work of teaching the academic disciplines.” I will admit that early in the book I had the same view; however, the authors are persuasive in their arguments. %eir passion for student voice forces the reader to re!ect on important questions: What do we want for students? Why did we become educators? Is the test score the most import-ant measure of a student’s worth? Discussing the book as a sta" may help refocus our aspirations as educators in this era of in-creased testing and mandates.
Would you like to remember the optimism that made you choose education as a profession? Would you like a book to read that encourages you to embrace optimism
and o"ers a fresh perspective on teaching in the 21st century?
Deliberate Optimism o"ers a candid look and a refreshing view-point about the signi$cance of developing positive relationships within a school environment. Now more than ever, as the educa-tion landscape faces some tough challenges (high-stakes testing, Common Core, teacher evaluations, etc.), the authors reinforce the consistent need for healthy interactions between students, sta", and the community in order to bring about real change for the greater good.
%is book recognizes the bene$ts of choosing optimism over de-feat and encourages all stakeholders to take action in some way. %e authors outline small steps that educators can take each day that can amount to substantial growth and progress overall. %e book examines ways to rediscover self-motivation and how to embrace a positive viewpoint, even when events seem out of your control. In addition, the book explores how educators can create an optimistic classroom that students not only enjoy but where they !ourish academically, emo-tionally, and socially. Finally, the book emphasizes the systemic need for educators to partner with other stakeholders in an e"ort to build a stronger school and a stronger learn-ing community.
Deliberate Optimism—Reclaiming the Joy in Education is $lled with re-search-based strategies, real-life sce-narios, and practical examples that any individual or school can incor-porate now for a brighter tomorrow and a successful future.
D%(-4%/"'% O1'-&-0&—R%+("-&-#$ '.% J*5
-# E)2+"'-*#by Debbie Silver, Jack Berckmeyer,
and Judith BaenenReviewed by Marybeth Harter, principal,
Firelands Elementary, Firelands Local Schools
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While it is clear that “the principal matters,” it is equally vital that high-quality instruction needs to take place in order to achieve academic goals of a school. %e authors give clear examples about what it takes to turn a failing school into one that is e"ective aca-demically and emotionally.
Leading with inquiry requires crucial, speci$c steps needed to cre-ate change. First, the authors de$ne the characteristics of dynam-ic schools and basic characteristics critical to the inquiry-action cycle, such as joint enterprise, mutual engagement, and a shared repertoire. %is is true whether changes are required in instruc-tional strategies, community involvement, or simply evaluating one’s goals.
In creating a collaborative cycle, there are speci$c steps in reach-ing a goal: 1) identifying the problem of practice; 2) establishing acceptance and responsibility for the problem; 3) articulating the theory of action that is speci$c; 4) taking action toward the goal; 5) evaluation of what is taking place; and 6) re!ection on what has or has not been accomplished.
By using the collaborative cycle of inquiry and action, the authors de$ned problems of practice and included all the groups involved in this process: community, teachers, students, government, dis-trict, superintendent, parents, principals, and school board.
While I consider my school one that is high achieving, the detailed examples have made me re-evaluate my focus as an administra-tor along with my building goals. %e principles examined in this book will work whether you are in a school that needs to make great strides in instructional strategies or if you are looking to self-evaluate yourself and/or your building goals.
Are you someone who loves to share and collaborate? Are you a lifelong learner
who embraces the power of tech-nology as a connection to other educators? If so, !e Relevant Ed-ucator may be the professional resource you’ve been looking for! In this book authors Tom Whitby and Steven Anderson explore the many ways that “connectedness” empowers learning. Speci$cally, the power of social media collab-oration is highlighted as a way to
a"ect change in education. Technology has removed the previous constraints of time and space, allowing educators to communicate globally and opening up the whole realm of professional develop-ment. %e book o"ers sound advice on how to navigate the many 21st century technology skills available to us as educators. Within the book you’ll $nd a number of social media sites to examine and evaluate so you can explore ones that best $t your needs. With a focus on staying relevant. as we move through a rapidly advancing technological world of learning, this book gives practical advice that can easily be applied in virtually any educational setting.
T.% R%(%6"#' E)2+"'*/by Tom Whitby and Steven AndersonReviewed by Louise Henry, principal,
Munson Elementary, Chardon City Schools
L%")-#$ ,-'. I#72-/5 "#) A+'-*#by Matthew Militello, Sharon Rallis, and Ellen Goldring
Reviewed by Steve Perry, principalMcGregor Elementary School, Washington Local Schools
A#er being a successful leader in two elementary schools for a small urban district, Lee, an elementary principal, learns that he will be moved to a middle school. Apprehensive
and simply scared are great words to describe his outlook. While he admittedly has the full support of the superintendent to turn his new school around, $nding the root of the problem is key as Lee realizes he cannot do this alone.
%e text begins with “the myth of the great principal.” %e $rst chapter details what goes into a new position and how to win the buy-in of all stakeholders, speci$cally sta" delivering instruction. continued on p. 46...
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U#&-0'"8"4(% I&1"+': A P"/'#%/0.-1 A11/*"+. 3*/
D/"&"'-+"((5 I&1/*6-#$ I#0'/2+'-*#by Jim Knight
Reviewed by Carol Rosiak, EdD, principal, Goldwood Primary School, Rocky River Schools
Award-winning author, Jim Knight, wrote Unmistakable Impact. In this book he proposes that successful schools, or Impact Schools, are dependent on the positive, profes-
sional learning relationship between school leaders, instructional coaches, and teachers. He connects the importance of imbedded, sustainable professional development to the positive impact on teaching and student learning. He purports that in many school districts, school improvement plans are too long and complicated focusing on short-term goals. %e author further states that these plans do not propel a district toward positive change but can cause teachers to feel overwhelmed and diminish teachers’ impact on student learning. In this book he also identi$es $ve core concepts essential to professional learning opportunities that will help pro-pel a district toward positive impact. Jim Knight e"ectively addresses current issues that face instruc-tional coaches and leaders. He presents the roadblocks to success in a clear and understandable manner, and his solutions to these roadblocks are detailed and provide current research to support his contentions. %e overall premise of the book is to give realistic solutions in the journey to create Impact Schools.
continued from p. 45...
Practical highlights of Unmistakable Impact include an in-depth breakdown of his core concepts of humanity, focus, leverage, sim-plicity, and precision, which are detailed as critical in strength-ening learning opportunities for sta". His idea that “professional learning enables authentic dialogue” (p. 38) is another concept for administrators to think about. In order to create an environment that embraces learning at all levels, administrators must engage sta" members in critical thinking and sharing, regarding profes-sional development.
Sorry...We’re Booked!
If you are interested in reviewing a book for the Navigator, please e-mail the editor at [email protected].
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LIVELITERACY