Leadership Matters - March 2013

Leadership Week —————————————————————————

Ralph Martire, left, laid out his plan to solve the state’s pension issue, while Illinois Emergency Manage- ment Agency Director Jonathon Monken discussed the state’s plans to help school districts address the school safety issues.

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ways to develop teacher expertise, and the presentation on school safety by Illinois Emergency Management Agency Director Jonathon Monken was extremely enlightening, addressing a number of things the state is planning to do and a number of no- cost or low-cost things school districts can do to address the issue of school safety. I had to return to Litchfield to take care of some district business, but I was told State Superintendent Dr. Chris Koch updated attendees on the upcoming education budget battle, addressed several issues and reiterated his support for eliminating the mandate for special education class size and the 70/30 ratio for general education classrooms. In closing, I believe many superintendents in attendance shared my feelings about Leadership Week. It was a truly wonderful experience to hear the facts from Ralph Martire and then have the opportunity to walk to the Capitol to share that information. We found that some legislators truly do not understand all of the facts and that they appreciate our expertise and viewpoints on public education. Make a call, visit their local office, or make the trip to Springfield. Personally, I have not done enough, but promise to do more for my district, our students, and the state. Our kids -- and my own kids --deserve it!

pockets. The Vision 20/20 group will include one representative selected by each Region and another representative from each Region selected by Dr. Clark. This will allow Dr. Clark to make certain we have a group of Illinois experts to cover each of the six areas of the visioning process and be truly representative of the entire state. This process will begin in the spring.

Please let your Region’s president know if you would like to be considered to represent your Region on this initiative. I believe this is going to be a wonderful opportunity to truly impact education in Illinois with a very positive approach. A lot was packed into the two days of presentations during Leadership Week. The presentation by Dr. John Draper tore apart many of the myths that pervade

Photos courtesy of Laura Kashner, Geneseo District 228.

public education and offered good ideas about how to start to turn that tide around by pointing out the great things that are happening in our very own school districts. He received a standing ovation at the end of his presentation. It definitely is worth watching his video (the highlighted link above). Dr. Anthony Frontier’s presentation focused on

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