Oak Hills Local (Hamilton) works to incorporate 21st century learning Bryan Bullock, OSBA communication coordinator Light is pouring in the long windows in Kara Farquhar’s classroom and students are gathered in small groups around tables. The students are transfixed on the laptops and touch-screen devices they’re using to simultaneously collaborate on Web-based projects. They ...
Serving on a local board of education involves commitment, focus, and accountability. From hiring the superintendent to being advocates for public education to setting policy to being stewards of the budget, local boards have tremendous responsibility. Our stakeholders expect the absolute best for our customers, our children. So, along with these roles and responsibilities of ...
Local school boards meet all around this country in governing our nation’s public schools. Who makes the agenda? In my home state of Georgia, the superintendent and board chair have the responsibility of creating the monthly agenda; each member of the board can additionally request that an item be placed on the agenda. What’s put ...
Planning for accreditation can be an incredibly busy time for any district. Our plates are all full, as the tired saying reminds us, but we needed to collaborate on this extremely important sign and seal of our district work. And as with all things in a school district, working with adults is an excellent opportunity ...
Now that doing more with less is the new norm, how do you market and promote your school district and successful programs? Maybe it’s time for a brainstorming session with your school public relations professional. Don’t know where to start? I’ll kick the conversation off with these five freebies: Create desktop wallpaper and screensavers for ...
Let’s face it. Not all board members are tech savvy. But more and more, it is so important that leadership can use technology to access important information (such as online meeting agendas, policies as well as news, registering for conferences…the list is endless). But what about the board members who’ve been led to the water ...
Education leaders want their districts and schools to be high performing. To do that, leaders recognize that they must create Performance Cultures. But what exactly is does this mean and what do leaders do to create a Performance Culture? Culture, simply defined, means “the way we do things around here.” At Georgia Leadership Institute for ...
A solution to transform public education Last week I had the privilege of being one of three speakers in the TEDx session at the NSBA Technology and Learning Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. The first speaker, Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow addressed the importance of listening to students about how they want to learn in ...
Over the last few years, I asked many people from school districts this question, “Are your board meetings and policies online?” And I’ve been pretty content to hear the answer has most often been “Yes, they are.” “Great!” I think (until I go look on their website). In most cases, I’m finding a few PDF files ...
My dear friend and former superintendent of our school system always said that she never expected anything of her leadership team and staff that she wasn’t willing to do herself. Those words from a servant leader have always resonated with me. In public education, we expect great things from our teachers. They have to administer ...
Additional contribution by Bill Sampson We’ve compiled our top 10 Do’s and Don’ts for Evaluating Your Superintendent. Here goes. 1. Do create and approve the evaluation instrument ahead of time. Your superintendent should know BEFORE the evaluation period exactly what he/she is going to be evaluated on! 2. Do use templates to develop your evaluation ...
During the 2010 Council of School Board Association Communicators Conference in Atlanta, I finally put into words what I’ve been musing for awhile. We’re at a communication crossroads where ink-stained fingers meet digital dudes and divas meet those who like a little broadcast with their print news and social media. Media consumption is no longer ...
With the demands and complexities of public school systems in the 21st century, it is hard to imagine how school districts can continue raising the bar without effective and comprehensive strategic planning. As I talk with people about strategic planning, I typically see people fall into one of two camps. Those who love it and ...
Why is succession planning important? There will be a wave of retirements within the public education world in the next few years. As leadership shifts within a school system, a seamless transition is critical. With the appropriate strategic planning, a school system can weather changes in leadership from the school level with principals to the ...
For years, schools have set policies to restrict students from bringing their own technology devices to school. “It is a distraction from teaching. “It will promote cheating. “It will not be fair for those who don’t have them. “There will be inappropriate use.” etc. etc. With increased budget cuts and higher expectations for achievement in ...
Video of Keith Ellenburg- Technology Director, Putnam County Schools Once upon a time, a board member looked around after a board meeting at all of the packets of paper in the board room and exclaimed aloud, “I wonder how many trees we’ve killed this year. We should be using technology to go paperless! They did ...
With tighter budgets than ever before in education, what do you do when the public questions the work of the board of education? This time of year when it seems like every citizen has something to say about the millage rate of their school system. Well, as board members, it’s imperative that we are transparent ...
It’s so important for public school boards of education to be “onboard” when it comes to modeling good governance. If a school board expects 21st century classrooms, they should model that practice too by using technology tools themselves. Using computers for paperless meetings is a “must do”—it’s not just about being green, either. Technology tools ...