18227 LM Nov-Dec 2018

LeadershipMatters Nov mber/December 2018

Dr. Gary Kelly 2019 Illinois Superintendent of the Year

Making a Difference Part IV: HowSchools Are Using EBF

Strategic Dashboards & ILSchoolStories.com now live!

2019 of the Year Illinois Superintendent

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KELLY CAPS CAREERWITH TOP HONOR Complacency could have easily set in for Dr. Gary Kelly with retirement on the horizon. DuQuoin CUSD #300 was in good shape financially, contract negotiations were settled and Kelly’s successor had been picked before the start of the 2018–19 school year. But Kelly didn’t see it that way, and still doesn’t.

School Districts Go Live with Strategic Dashboards To Tell Their Story: New Version of Dashboard Supports Added Features Making A Difference Part IV: How Schools Are Using EBF

5 20 25 24

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IL-EMPOWER Learning Partner

Photo Recap of Chicago JAC

Part IV

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IASA News in Brief

IASA Calendar of Events

Roselle CUSD #12 Introduces New Digital Magazine: D12 Path to Excellence

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Volume 6, Issue 10 November/December 2018 LeadershipMatters Mary Schaefer Director of Communications and Marketing mschaefer@iasaedu.org Jason Nevel Assistant Director of Communications jnevel@iasaedu.org 18227

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

1200 West Main Street Marion, IL 62959-1138 618.364.0501

Marjorie Gladish Graphic Designer mgladish@iasaedu.org

www.iasaedu.org

Scan here with your phone’s QR code reader to get the IASAAPP— Don’t have a QR reader? Go to or and search for IllinoisASA.

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CompromisePossible inNew Political Environment Message From the Executive Director

Dr. Brent Clark There will be a shift in the political atmosphere in Springfield this coming January with the inaugurations of our state’s newly elected lawmakers and governor on January 9 and January 14, respectively. Both the House and Senate chambers of the 101st Illinois General Assembly will also have Democratic super-majorities. Forty-three new legislators, including appointments, either recently have or will take office in January. A lot of these freshmen legislators will be flexing their muscles to bring campaign promises and hopeful political change to Springfield. But, political reality says they will have a tough time going up against the financial nemesis, the 50 year pension repayment ramp, that continues to plague Illinois. In my opinion, this is the single largest issue facing our state and is going to have to be dealt with sooner rather than later if the state is going to move forward fiscally. However, I remain confident compromises will be made and cooperation from all sides will be present to address critical issues with this new change in administration. Governor-Elect Pritzker has announced his 35-person Education for Success transition team comprised of school superintendents and many other representatives from the education community. This transition team will tackle many important issues facing public education that need to be addressed in order to ensure maximum educational success for all students. These education issues are multi-faceted and present unique challenges, especially considering the overall strain on Illinois’ budget. This education transition team will have an important role in helping to vet and craft key education policies for the Pritzker administration. The team is scheduled to meet multiple times between now and inauguration day and there is already some discussion of keeping the group together through the end of the spring session.

Back in early August, we started the process of refreshing the Vision 20/20 document to have it ready for the next gubernatorial administration. We are putting the final touches on this document and it will go to Pritzker’s team soon. Next month in Leadership Matters, we plan to detail the latest on Vision 20/20. Stay tuned. One recent development with Vision 20/20 I can share is HB 4284 becoming law after lawmakers convincingly overrode the governor’s veto during veto session. The initiative requires three active educators to serve on the Illinois State Board of Education board. We have tried to pass this bill for several years and are pleased because it provides professional expertise that will help guide the implementation of state initiatives and help ensure that oversight and regulatory efforts positively impact student learning. Lastly, I know many of you have been busy this fall in preparing your district Strategic Dashboard that helps tell your school district’s success story as a supplement to the Illinois School Report Card. This issue of Leadership Matters promotes some of the dashboards that are now complete and also is a quick reminder to turn your Strategic Dashboards live and tag your posts with #ILSchoolStories . Here at www.ILSchoolStories.com you will see other live school district Strategic Dashboards and it’s a central-hub for sharing successes about Illinois public schools. We are going to be capturing this online data and plan to use it to share with legislators this Spring.

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The IASA is Proud to Have BeenNamed an ISBE Learning Partner

IL-EMPOWER provides customized supports to help underperforming and lowest-performing schools

In the Governance and Management category and the Curriculum and Instruction category, IASA will provide five services to local school districts: 1. Targeted mentoring and coaching of school superintendents. 2. Danielson Framework Teacher Evaluation Training for Teachers. 3. Danielson Framework Teacher Evaluation Training for Teacher Evaluators. 4. Coaching Teacher Evaluators. identify local needs and build on strengths for improvement. The program empowers schools to conduct equity-infused needs assessment, using the Illinois Quality Framework, which originated through Vision 20/20, to determine opportunities for growth in specific areas: Governance and Management, Curriculum and Instruction, and Climate and Culture. IASA has joined a select group of partners that have been pre-approved to be part of the IL-EMPOWER statewide system of supports. School districts as part of this network can create or enhance their improvement plan to build capacity, leadership and resources to improve student outcomes.

5. Principal Evaluation Training and Coaching. Plus Additional Regional Trainings and Administrator Academies on ESSA and the EBF As ISBE continues to roll out updates, changes and new interpretations of the Illinois plan for ESSA, IASA, working with our partners from around the state, will continue to provide training to the field in order to provide relevant, timely and consistent information to those responsible for implementing both the requirements of the Illinois Accountability Model and the Evidence- Based Formula. Although this regional training is not specifically part of our proposed IL-EMPOWER services, we will encourage our IL-EMPOWER Partners to take advantage of these opportunities, both within and outside of IASA’s contracts with them.

Let us help you improve student outcomes

For more info contact: Dr Richard Voltz at rvoltz@iasaedu.org

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2648 Beechler Court Springfield, IL 62703–7305 217–753–2213 • fax 217–753–2240

www.iasaedu.org

Gary Kelly DuQuoin CUSD #300

2019 Illinois Superintendent of the Year

By Jason Nevel IASA Assistant Dir

Complacency couldhaveeasilyset in forDr. GaryKellywith retirement on thehorizon. DuQuoinCUSD#300was ingoodshape financially, contract negotiationsweresettledandKelly’s successor hadbeenpickedat thestart of the2018–19school year.

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Illinois Superintendent

of the Year

ctor of Communications

But Kelly didn’t see it that way, and still doesn’t, as he heads into the halfway point of his 22nd, and final, year as superintendent in DuQuoin. That’s because he still wanted to grow as a leader. Despite a distinguished career—culminating by being named 2019 Illinois Superintendent of the Year—Kelly spent eight weekends over the past two years in Springfield. He was one of 25 Illinois superintendents who participated in the ISAL IV Cohort, a professional development opportunity offered by IASA that focuses on building exemplary leadership skills, knowledge and skill sets essential for ensuring successful student achievement at the local level. Kelly, an educator for 33 years, saw the program as an opportunity to grow. “I did not want to be complacent,” he said. “I’m going to work just as hard in my last year as I did in my first year.” Deservingof Recognition That commitment to his craft is why both students and colleagues say Kelly is deserving of being named 2019 Illinois Superintendent of the Year. He was nominated by his peers in the Egyptian region based on the following criteria: leadership for learning, communication, professionalism and community involvement. He received the award in November at the Joint Annual Conference in Chicago.

According to DuQuoin CUSD #300 Board member Larry Valier, Kelly’s vision, leadership and caring attitude allowed the district to flourish from a facility, programmatic and financial standpoint. “Dr. Kelly is a student-focused leader who cares about our students and demonstrates that attitude at all times,” Valier said. “Our district’s motto of ‘Working Together for All Students’ is a derivative of his leadership style and determination to serve all students.” Teachers in DuQuoin also praise Kelly’s leadership style. Jean Ann Mathis, a longtime teacher and former president of the teacher’s union, described Kelly as being compassionate to family, faculty and community members. “He knows the families so well because he’s been here so long,” Mathis said. “He’s always checking on the kids because he truly cares about them.” Molly Dearmond, a senior at DuQuoin High School, broke her leg last year. Kelly regularly kept tabs on her recovery. “Every time he would come to school and ask about my recovery and how school was going,” she said. As for having the same enthusiasm in Year 22 as Year 1, Mathis witnessed it personally. “He is almost more energetic now,” she said. “He wants to make sure everything is just right for the next person.”

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continued...

Illinois Superintendent

of the Year

“He’s been a huge asset for this district and been responsible for a lot of great things for kids and faculty,” said Trenton Waller, a school board member in DuQuoin. Southern IllinoisNative Kelly grew up in Sesser, a town of about 1,900 people in Franklin County. He describes himself as the product of a one-parent family because his father passed away when he was in kindergarten. “My mother was my hero,” he said. “I was in kindergarten and I have two brothers, one who was in sixth grade and one that was just over 1-month old, when our father passed away. My mother, grandparents, uncles and aunts had a profound effect on me, which taught me an appreciation of others, the

Kelly ... cont’d.

Accomplishments DuQuoin CUSD #300 is located in Perry County in southern Illinois. The district serves about 1,500 students, nearly 60 percent of whom are eligible for free and reduced lunch. In the two decades that Kelly has been at the helm, the district has passed two referendums to finance facility improvements, including building two new schools. The reason both referendums passed is simple, according to Mathis. “People in this community believe in (Kelly),” she said. In addition to building improvements,

ability to never quit and to do my best regardless of the circumstances.” The importance of an education was instilled in him early on from his mother, Kelly said. He was also fortunate to have several family members who were educators, a main factor that compelled him to enter the field.

DuQuoin has continued to increase curriculum, programming and extra-curricular principal and teacher evaluation tools during Kelly’s tenure. For the past six years at the elementary level, DuQuoin has implemented a blended offerings, and modernized its

Kelly studied at Rend Lake College and the

University of Illinois in Champaign. His first teaching job was at Mt. Carmel High School, where he also coached football and basketball. He eventually became a principal in North Wayne CUSD #200 in Cisne before moving to DuQuoin in 1993, where he worked as principal and assistant superintendent before taking the top job in 1997. “I’ve got students whose parents were at the high school when I was principal,” Kelly said. “That shows you how long I’ve been here.” Great Staff andStudents Kelly is quick to credit his staff, board of education and students for any success he’s had in DuQuoin. He is humbled and appreciative of being named 2019 Illinois Superintendent of the Year. “This award is about the work of people in my school district, specifically our administrators, faculty and staff who work hard every day to provide the best for our students,” he said. “It is about having great students in our school district. It is about the work of my colleagues who I have been fortunate

and supported classroom model in grades kindergarten through fourth. The program places students identified as at-risk for learning in designated classrooms with a teacher and instructional aide who modify instruction and match teaching strategies to individual student learning needs. The structure lends itself to designating staffing resources to students with the greatest learning needs, Kelly said. “Making a positive impact on each and every student is what I’ve been devoted to,” he said. Social-emotional growth is also important for Kelly in DuQuoin. This school year, the district embarked on a trauma-informed plan for each school in the district. As is the case for any superintendent, one of the main priorities is being fiscally responsible, a box Kelly has checked. Through years of pro-ration in state funding, the DuQuoin School District never cut academic or extra-curricular programs, nor have any staff received reduction-in-force notices.

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Illinois Superintendent

of the Year

Accomplishments inDr. GaryKelly’s22Years as Superintendent of DuQuoinCUSD#300 • Managed the district’s budget through tough financial times without cutting academic or extra-curricular programs or sending reduction-in-force notices to staff. • Passed two building referendums and two sales tax referendums to build and finance facility improvements. • Implemented blended classrooms at the elementary level that place students identified as at-risk for learning in rooms with a teacher and instructional aide who modify instruction to fit student needs. • Revamped the district’s evaluation tools for both teachers and principals. • Helped to establish a District Educational Foundation to provide financial support in the form of classroom grants to support student learning, providing over 600 scholarships to graduating seniors to support their further academic endeavors and the development of the High Schools’ joint county-wide CEO program. • Implemented focus group meetings with parents, community members and students to discuss and share various aspects of school improvement and programs. • Oversaw the development and continued revision of the district’s strategic plan.

to represent, who do amazing things in their districts for the betterment of all children. Without the immeasurable support of my wife, my kids and my faith there is no way for me to be successful in the work I have done in serving my district.” In addition to 33 years as an educator, Kelly is a past president of IASA, DuQuoin Chamber of Commerce, DuQuoin Lion’s Club and has served on numerous other boards. He also is a member of the American Association of School Administrators and served on the AASA Executive Committee and as Governing Board Member. He is a two-time recipient of the IASA Egyptian Region Superintendent of the Year award. Furthermore, Kelly is also a Clinical Assistant Professor within the Department of Educational Administration and Higher Education at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Dr. Brent Clark, executive director of IASA, described Kelly as a “tenacious” leader for his students, staff and community. “He has never given up and has always kept fighting for improvements within his district. He is highly respected for his stewardship, knowledge and expertise,” Clark said about Kelly. “He truly is an exceptional school leader and role model who is well deserving of this honor.”

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ReceptionHonoring As part of the 2019 AASA National Conference on Education in Los Angeles in February, there will be a 2019 Illinois Superintendent of the Year Dr. Gary Kelly DuQuoin CUSD #300 Friday, Feb. 15, 2019 5:30–7pm

Join Us!

TheNest atWP24 (The Ritz-Carlton, 24th Floor) 900W. Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles

Co-Sponsored by: American Fidelity and ECRA Group, Inc.

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air Poor

All Illinois School Districts are working to comply with the requirements of education reforms. For years, the Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA) has worked to provide support via the Senate Bill 7 Performance Rankings File . This program gives districts a method of managing district positions aligned to local qualifications, teacher’s credentials, and performance ratings. The program compiles this local data and creates reports needed to comply with Senate Bill 7. The 2018–2019 file has been enhanced with updates in response to user ideas. Recent updates include: software available for purchase Performance Rankings Tool 2018–2019 Senate Bill 7

• Expanded license endorsements and content specific endorsements. • Only one notification letter per teacher (rather than one for current and more for other eligible positions). • The ability to export data to use for other data needs.

• Four podcasts—overview, transition data, sorting data within the program, and optional merge letter process. • Method to filter teachers on or off evaluation cycle. • Tracking of the evaluator name and evaluator’s IEIN. • Ability to sort lists of data within the program.

This software was originally reviewed by the Senate Bill 7 teams from the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) and the Illinois Education Association (IEA). The 2018–2019 version of this software builds on the knowledge gained from hundreds of users.

The 2018–2019 IASA Senate Bill 7 Performance Rankings File is ready for you to purchase and download. The access request form can be found at http://www.iasasurveys.org . The cost of using this software has never increased and the annual licensing fee is $275 for members and $550 for non- members. Please note that previous versions of the IASA Senate Bill 7 Performance Rankings File are no longer supported. Also, the service method for the 2018–2019 software will be via email only.

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School Districts Go Livewith Strategic Dashboards To Tell Their Story By Mary Schaefer IASA Director of Communications & Marketing IASA’s vision to provide Illinois school districts an infrastructure to tell their story and define their success is quickly becoming a reality. Over 800 Illinois school districts now have the IASA/ECRA Strategic Dashboard and over 1,000 school administrators across the state have been trained on how to best tell their story via the dashboard. As a result of the statewide trainings, IASA and ECRA have received a tremendous amount of feedback for how to enhance the Strategic NewVersion of Dashboard Supports Added Features

features being added. A feature commonly requested by superintendents was to be able to include media items as part of a strategic indicator. The newly released version of the dashboard now supports rich text and inclusion of images, files, videos and other digital assets to more comprehensively and effectively communicate the importance of a strategic indicator. Also, a chart customization feature has been added to create the exact visual you desire. You can now edit nearly all chart properties and can duplicate charts for reuse. Furthermore, the district name no longer covers your banner art, and you can edit how your district name appears.

The most desired feature voiced by superintendents was the ability to share dashboards and learn from each other. As a result, IASA and ECRA launched www.ilschoolstories.com to provide superintendents a single location to publish and browse Illinois school district dashboards.

...now supports inclusion of images, files, videos and other digital assets to more comprehensively and effectively communicate the importance of a strategic indicator.

Dashboard. According to Dr. John Gatta, Chief Executive Officer of the ECRA Group, the dashboard is constantly evolving and improving with new elements and

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IASA interviewed four school superintendents/administrators to learn more about the launch of their dashboard. Rick Schmitt, superintendent of Sandwich CUSD #430, used the launch of their district dashboard as a way to market the school district to the area community. Their dashboard is prominently displayed as a click-through link on the district website . I was very impressed with the framework of the IASA/ECRA dashboard and the ability to plug in pictures of our school and attach videos to it in order to promote our school district to build upon our success story.

#ILSchoolStories

IASA and ECRA Launch www.ILSchoolStories.com website Site Features Links to School District Strategic Dashboards

IASA in cooperation with ECRA has launched a new website to help share the word about important work being done in public school districts at www.ILSchoolStories.com . The site allows you to see other live school district Strategic Dashboards that have chosen to opt-into the site. It also is a central-hub for sharing successes about Illinois schools with an active Twitter feed that uses the hashtag #ILSchoolStories. If you have not already gone public with your dashboard, here is another reason to finish up the final preparation on getting your dashboard live to be included in this newly launched site. A new toggle-on button on the Strategic Dashboard settings page allows users to add their district’s public dashboard to the www.ILSchoolStories.com website. This is a great location to see other dashboards and learn from each other to see best practices of the Strategic Dashboard.

“I was very impressed with the framework of the IASA/ECRA dashboard and the ability to plug in pictures of our school and attach videos to it in order to promote our school district to build upon our success story,” said Schmitt. “There are a lot of success stories that simply don’t get mentioned in the Illinois School Report Card and we wanted to share that information with our community.”

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continued...

Dashboards ... cont’d.

Schmitt states after attending the IASA sponsored ESSA Academy and Dashboard training in August he returned to brainstorm with his district’s administrative team, including principals, technology coordinator, special education director and curriculum director on setting up indicators and achievements for the district to include in their dashboard. The district serves 2,100 students in PreK–12 grades. “We set up a document for the overall school achievements so everyone was working off the same framework. Each of the six school principals developed information that was included in their own success story, learning environments, school achievements and extra curriculum for students. That was their opportunity to highlight what was happening in their schools,” said Schmitt. “We emphasized the fact students in our district maintain a 3.0 average at the community college level. Also, we promoted what we do in the professional development area for our staff.” The district dashboard went live on October 30th, the day before the ISBE School Report Card was launched. Schmitt issued a press release about the dashboard to the local news media once it was launched and alerted parents via the district’s e-bulletin and via Twitter. The Sandwich Record published this story . Schmitt reports the Media Club and technology staff is working on a 2–3 minute video highlighting successes throughout the district that will be added to the dashboard in the future. Jeff Stawick, superintendent of CCSD #146 in Tinley Park, came back from the IASA/ECRA dashboard training enthusiastic about implementing his district dashboard. “The professional development training we received in putting the dashboard together really got our juices flowing and we wanted to pursue our vision for areas that still needed additional attention,” said Stawick. “We recognized the dashboard is really a contrast to the school report card. It does a nice job communicating the value of public schools. It goes a step further in providing that local touch of what our local needs assessment and strategic plan say we value as a school district.” Community Consolidated School District #146 is a PreK- grade 8 school district serving approximately 2,400 students. The dashboard is available on the district website . Stawick affirms the dashboard has a direct connection with the district strategic plan that was developed five years ago with ECRA. “The way our strategic plan is

organized is actually the categories of our dashboard. It is a demonstration of our effectiveness to that end,” said Stawick. “It is a good overall descriptor of our district, of what we value and believe in, including our mission, vision and principles.” In launching the district dashboard, Stawick used the opportunity to blog about the dashboard on his superintendent blog and promote the dashboard via social media. “We want to make sure everybody knows it is out there,” said Stawick. “We are going to use the dashboard as a district improvement tool and organizational help tool.” He indicates this winter the district is planning to refresh its strategic plan. The dashboard includes a video of the district serving Tinley Park, Orland Park and Oak Forest communities. “We want to be as transparent as we can, but if you are going to include every detail of everything you do it will be easy for some of that information to become outdated,” said Stawick. “We only wanted to go as deep as we would be able to maintain over time. The dashboard is a living tool that will continue to evolve as we update it with new data, ideas and strategies for success.”

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#ILSchoolStories — for links to other districts’ dashboards

Jeff Fetcho, superintendent of Hamilton County CUSD #10, had conversations with various faculty and staff in every building and narrowed down highlights for student success in the construction of his district dashboard. He adds the district’s technology/curriculum staff person was instrumental in helping to build the framework and promoting the dashboard’s launch on Twitter and Facebook. The district serves a student population of 1,299. Fetcho was one of the early adopters in creating and launching his district dashboard site and he sees it as a building block to further reporting successful achievements for the district. He plans to review the dashboard at monthly administrator meetings and always have it on the agenda for discussion purposes and for updates to the site. The dashboard is accessible from the district website . “For the first time we have a school safety officer so we definitely wanted to mention that within the dashboard,” says Fetcho.

dashboard,” said Fetcho. He was vocal in encouraging other superintendents to begin work on their dashboard site at Egyptian IASA regional meetings. Dr. Jill Griffin, superintendent of Bethalto CUSD #8, and Kelly McClain Director of Curriculum Instruction and Assessment at Bethalto, both attended the IASA/ECRA dashboard training and were equally impressed by the various components of the dashboard. The district serves 2,500 students in PreK-12 grades. After reviewing some dashboards being compiled by other districts, they executed a strategy for all the elements they wanted to see on their district dashboard . Their priority was to regularly communicate with stakeholders the district’s vision, mission statement and goals and to make sure these elements are easily identified on the dashboard homepage. Also, they wanted to make sure they had something on the home page that was drawing people in so they showcased photos of students from the district.

Hamilton County CUSD #10

“Anytime you put pictures of students on the page, that is going to entice people into reading the other elements of the dashboard,” states McClain, who worked to pull all the pieces together for the district dashboard with Griffin. “This year we plan to use the dashboard to present our district report to the board of education. This actually saves us a step—in that we can walk them through the actual data included in the dashboard instead of a normal PowerPoint presentation.” McClain sees the project as a work in progress but feels the main elements are in place on the dashboard. The technology department is currently finalizing a video that will soon be linked on the home page as well.

Hamilton County CUSD #10

One of the elements Fetcho likes about the site is the teacher information report card that includes the pupil-to- teacher ratio, teachers evaluated as excellent or proficient and the ability to list those with a Master’s degree or higher. “We have used the dashboard in training purposes, and I’ve had several area superintendents reach out to us to learn how we developed the process of implementing the

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Difference ... cont’d.

Enrollment: 1,230 FY18: $428,465 Type: preK–8 FY19: $238,673 Evidence-Based Funding has helped Hamilton County CUSD #10 stabilize after years of pro-ration in general state aid, superintendent Jeff Fetcho said. The district used the infusion of new state dollars to bring back positions that were cut, balance the budget and maintain classroom sizes. New hires include a classroom aide at the elementary level, three paraprofessionals to support special education programs, a vocational teacher at the high school, school resource officer and a building principal. The principal was added to have an administrator at each of the district’s four buildings. “We’ve always put an emphasis on where the achievement gap is occurring and tried to put interventions in place to help students most in need,” Fetcho said. Hamilton County CUSD is also updating its K-3 reading curriculum and 5-8 science curriculum with EBF. The latter is now aligned to Illinois’ new science standards. Enhanced Other ways EBF is helping Freeport is technology, a new curriculum and more professional development opportunities for teachers. The high school is undergoing a one-to-one initiative with Google Chromebooks. The new curriculum, Schiffman added, is more viable for students and aligned to Common Core and Illinois Next Generation Science standards. It also features both digital and traditional resources. “We’re trying to prepare our students for that next step, whether it’s college or career,” he said. “We know technology is an important piece and a tool for that next step.” For social-emotional supports, the district added social workers, making it so each of the district’s 12 buildings is staffed. EBF dollars also allowed the district to hire Behavior Support Personnel, a Family Resource Coordinator and properly fund its PBIS program. “We continue to see the need for preparing kids socially and emotionally, so they continue to have a growth mindset,” Schiffman said. “It really goes back to taking care of our kids and meeting the needs that they have.” Hamilton County CUSD #10

classroom resources for science classrooms, such as virtual reality goggles and 3-D printers, have also been purchased. Lastly, Fetcho noted, the stability EBF brings will help the district maintain classroom sizes below 15 students per classroom at the kindergarten level and renew its NWEA Map Assessment contract. “It used to be very hard to do any long-term planning,” Fetcho said. “We’re very pleased with the new EBF structure and what it means for the students in our district.”

Pontiac CCSD #429

Enrollment: 1,250 FY18: $105,605 Type: preK–8 FY19: $90,018

Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) dollars have helped Pontiac hire an additional social worker, math interventionist, math coach and part-time school resource officer, superintendent Brian Dukes said. The additional social worker allows the district to have a social worker at each of the district’s four buildings. The move is in conjunction with a new social emotional curriculum the district is piloting to provide better supports for at-risk children. “Our community has changed over the years, and we really felt like this was a position we needed to add,” Dukes said. In addition, EBF should help boost the district’s math scores, Dukes noted. A new math interventionist is working with sixth, seventh and eighth graders identified as needing extra support. Meanwhile, a new part-time math coach is providing professional development and classroom assistance for junior high math teachers. The coach will eventually transition to the elementary level. “We’re able to catch kids and identify ones that need more help and then provide them with the support they need,” Dukes said. As for the school resource officer, Duke said, he will be shared with the high school, adding the officer’s responsibilities will focus on building relationships with kids and educating them about law enforcement. “EBF is truly allowing us to speed up the process on a number of initiatives and attack certain things as a district that we feel are important for our kids,” Dukes said.

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“These specific and timely interventions are provided by highly qualified teachers in both literacy and mathematics hired using EBF.” EBF dollars are also being used to provide additional coaching and mentoring supports to teachers who specifically work with at-risk students. Lastly, the district also utilized EBF to improve social- emotional supports for students. Additional social workers were hired, which was done in conjunction with the rollout of a new social-emotional learning curriculum, DuRoss said. “The focus on Whole Child success is a critical component of our strategic plan and in fact, it is the most important work we do with children.”

Schaumburg CCSD #54

Enrollment: 15,003 FY18: $416,225 Type: preK–8 FY19: $404,250

Schaumburg District 54 was one of eleven school districts in the country recognized as a Model PLC for its exemplary work in establishing a high-achieving professional learning community in 2018. The collaborative processes and results orientation associated with this work correlate to excellent academic and social-emotional results in the district. However, with Evidence-Based Funding dollars in hand, superintendent Andrew DuRoss said, the district has built on the PLC foundation by allocating resources to close the achievement gap for identified at-risk students. Professional Learning Community teams in Schaumburg District 54 utilize curriculum-aligned acceleration practices five days a week for a half-hour in both literacy and mathematics.

LEADING OUR SCHOOLS IN OUR COMMUNITIES

Join us in Springfield February 26–27, 2019 A jointly sponsored event designed for district leadership teams: the superintendent, school board members, business officials and building principals for the ALLIANCE LEADERSHIP SUMMIT

Save the Date!

FEBRUARY 26–27, 2019

SUPERINTENDENTS, ASSEMBLE YOUR DISTRICT LEADERSHIP TEAM AND MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

 Hear from educational experts and political analysts  Discuss educational leadership issues  Engage in the legislative process

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IASB • IASA • IASBO Joint Annual Conference

November 16–18, 2018 • Chicago A look back at a great conference...

“This award is about the work of people in my school district,

“Our kids are more than a score on a standardized test.” —Dr. David Schuler, Superintendent of Township HSD #214

specifically our administrators,

faculty and staff who work hard every day to provide the best for our students.”

“Evidence-Based funding is changing the conversation in our district.”

—Dr. Gary Kelly, superintendent of DuQuoin CUSD #300

—Dan Cox, superintendent of Staunton CUSD #6

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“Don’t let your character change color with your environment. Find out who you are, and let it stay its true color.” —Rachel Joy Scott, victim of Columbine High School shooting

“Kids don’t come into the world knowing who not to like.” —Ruby Bridges, civil rights activist

“Through self-empowerment and mindfulness, how can we take care of ourselves in a better way? If we are not 100% ourselves, we cannot expect 100% of others. —Women in Leadership pre-conference session

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Roselle SD #12 Introduces NewDigital Magazine: D12 Path to Excellence

By Mary Schaefer IASA Director of Communications & Marketing

Roselle SD #12 successfully secured passage of a voter referendum in March of 2016 allowing for a .60 percent property tax rate increase to help resolve a structural deficit the district had incurred for over 30 years, according to Dr. Melissa Kaczkowski, superintendent of the district. To showcase some of the achievements made possible as a result of the referendum, the school district created a full-color, quarterly digital magazine, D12 Path to Excellence , in May of this year. The first edition of the 46-page digital magazine included feature stories of plans underway at the district for the upcoming school year, insight into how the district changed financially and academically, facility upgrades, special student programs underway, as well as bios on administrators, teachers and staff in the district. “The digital magazine allowed us to talk about the district turnaround that was made possible as a result of the property tax referendum. Not only are we keeping the promises made in the referendum campaign, we are exceeding them,” said Kaczkowski, who is in her fifth year as superintendent at Roselle. “Just the impact of being a district that didn’t have the financial resources to do what we needed to do, we have changed the picture of the district financially, academically and from a facility standpoint. We had buildings that were 52 years old and were crumbling and major facility work that needed upgraded.” Kaczkowski placed priority in sharing with stakeholders through the digital magazine all the progressive work that was being made possible as a result of the tax increase the voters approved. “We were excited to tell our story, and we have tackled all the work that we identified needed to be done when we talked about what could be possible through the referendum. We are now in a place where we are not just talking about what we had planned to do with the new funds, but we have the data and product in place to show people we have exceeded every promise we made,” said Kackowski. “We knew what we wanted to accomplish could not be done through state funding, and we had major facility work that needed to be done, which we completed this past summer.”

The May issue of D12 Path To Excellence promoted how the district is coming full circle in addressing a long-term structural deficit in the district’s finances, including significant investments and improvements in teaching, learning, curriculum and instruction and how the district was prepared to tackle construction projects in the summer, including $8.8 million in facility upgrades. Kaczkowski is proud the district was able to install new floors in schools, purchase new furniture for students, paint the school buildings and add new LED lighting and security enhancements this past summer. To illustrate the overall district turnaround, the magazine showcases the upward trajectory of the district from the first balanced budget in more than 25 years and an almost unheard of two credit rating upgrade in the past year, to three curriculum upgrades and rising test scores. Kaczkowski says the district plans to keep producing a quarterly magazine in order to have a source of accurate and positive information about the district within the community. “When we started on the road to secure successful passage of the referendum, we knew communication was going to be essential with voters on why the referendum was necessary,” adds Kaczkowski. “We were up against some huge challenges, and we want to continue to share our success story out there to keep promoting the power of communicating what has been made possible as a result of the new funds.”

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55 th CALLFORPRESENTATIONS 2019 Annual Conference Share your best practices with your colleagues!

Click here to submit a proposal to present a Breakout Session.

Key Dates:

Submission Deadline: February 22, 2019 Presenters Notified: Late March 2019 Conference Held: Sept. 25–27, 2019

Questions: Contact Jodi Gillespie, Panel Coordinator, at 217–753–2213 or jgillespie@iasaedu.org

AASA National Conference on Education February 14–16 2019 Registration and housing is now open! Visit http://nce.aasa.org/ to register. The preferred hotel for the Illinois delegation is the JW Marriott LA Live. Superintendent of the Year Reception A reception honoring the 2019 Illinois Superintendent of the Year is planned for Friday, February 15, 2019, from 5:30 to 7pm at The Nest at WP24 (The Ritz-Carlton). LOS ANGELES, CA

SAVE THE DATE!

NewsInBrief

Document HubNow Available

Superintendent’s Survey Coming in January

We created a new resource page on our website called “Document Hub,” where a number of hard-to-find documents are all available to download or view in one place. Topics include ESSA, EBF, Assessments, Teacher Shortage and Illinois Report Card. Look for the purple icon on the right side of our home page at iasaedu.org. We will continue to update this page when more important documents become available.

This is an early notice to be on the lookout for a Superintendent’s Survey that IASA plans to send out during the second week of January. The survey is a way to get feedback from members on the services we offer, learn more about superintendent demographics in Illinois and what IASA’s legislative priorities should be. The survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete.

InMemoriam

Dr. Jack D. Felger, a past IASA member and superintendent, passed away on Friday, November 23, 2018. Dr. Felger was superintendent of Prairie Hills ESD #144 from 1972–1990. He is survived by his wife, Marilyn, and adult children: Jason, Karen, Durk and Craig, and several grandchildren. A special memorial service to celebrate the life and contributions of Dr. Felger will take place in the Spring of 2019 at a date to be announced.

ISDLAF+MonthlyUpdate Click here to view the most current ISDLAF+ rates, economic indicators and general economic news brief. To obtain additional information regarding this IASA sponsored service, contact Dr. Donald E. Weber, Senior Vice President, Corporate Relations/ISDLAF+ at 630–657–6435. To check daily rates, visit the ISDLAF+ website at www. isdlafplus.com.

Robert L. Buser, 90, died peacefully on November 13, 2018. Bob was a professor of education at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL from 1968 until retirement in 1995. Bob served in the United States Air Force as an instructor in weather observation. After his stint in the military he was a teacher

and principal in Pendleton and Covington, IN, respectively. Bob continued his education, completing a master’s degree at Indiana State University and doctorate at Indiana University.

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Calendar of Events IASA Event Professional Development Event

Click here to view the IASA interactive Calendar of Events online.

Legislative Event Region Meeting (Contact your Region President for details)

December 2018

January 2019

Mon. Dec. 3 Tues. Dec. 4 Thurs. Dec. 6

Blackhawk Two Rivers Kishwaukee Southwestern

Tues. Jan. 8 Wed. Jan. 9 Thurs. Jan. 10

Starved Rock

Abe Lincoln, Illini, Northwest

Cook South, Corn Belt

Fri. Dec. 7

Fri. Jan. 11

Lake, Kaskaskia

Seeking the Superintendency

Wed. Jan. 16 Thurs. Jan. 17

Wed. Dec. 12 Fri. Dec. 14

Illini, Wabash Valley

Central IL Valley

Lake, Cook North, Kaskaskia, Central IL Valley

Fri. Jan. 18

Cook North, Three Rivers

Season’s Greetings &Best Wishes For a Prosperous New Year!

Wed. Jan. 23 Thurs. Jan. 24

Wabash Valley

Kishwaukee

Fri. Jan. 25

Western, Egyptian

Gathering Evidence...

Tues. Jan. 29

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Winter/Spring Academy/ Workshop Opportunities

The following academies are accepting registrations for winter and spring. The list is growing so check out the PD Calendar of Events on the IASA website and IASA app for all your needs. If you’d like to schedule an Academy or training session in your area or school district, contact Melissa Arney at 217–753–2213 or marney@iasaedu.org

Click on date to register:

Gathering Evidence During Observations & Conferencing Using the Danielson Model (AA#1801)

Jan. 29, 2019

Highland Church of Christ, 500WHighland Ave, Robinson, IL 62454

Principal Evaluator Competency Skill Building for Pre-Qualified Principal Evaluators (AA#1865)

Mar. 20, 2019

Highland Church of Christ, 500WHighland Ave, Robinson, IL 62454

Apr. 16, 2019

Middletown Prairie Elementary School, 1301 S Bulldog Dr, Mahomet, IL 61853

Moving from Vision to Action: Learn to Become an Essentialist (AA#1820)

Mar. 29, 2019

IASAOffice, 2648 Beechler Ct., Springfield, IL 62703

18245

Please check our Professional Development Calendar for frequent updates

www.iasaedu.org

Scan here with your phone’s QR code reader to get the IASAAPP— Don’t have a QR reader? Go to or and search for IllinoisASA.

Preparing for the job of the 21st Century Superintendent

July15–19 2019 Application Deadline: Fri., March15, 2019

video

Have you ever wondered what you didn’t learn in graduate school but may need to know in order to be an effective leader? If you are thinking about becoming a school superintendent then #ASuperWeek in July 2019 is for you! Presented by Michael Lubelfeld, Ed.D. and Nick Polyak, Ed.D.

more information

apply now

In addition to applying, you must email your District Super- intendent’s letter of support to: aknudson@iasaedu.org.

COMMUNICATION: IS MESSAGE MANAGEMENT TAKINGUPYOURWHOLEDAY?

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