Leadership Matters - October 2014

IASB to offer workshops regarding community engagement

As most superintendents know, the primary task of the school board is to continually define, articulate and re-define district ends to answer the recurring question: “Who gets what benefits for how much?” In order to define those ends and clarify the district’s vision, mission and goals, the school board needs to connect with its community around the aspirations that people have for their local schools. While many school districts do very good work around public relations or polling, connecting with the community involves much more than that. It requires an ongoing, two-way conversation that enables the school board to hear and understand the community’s educational aspirations and desires, to serve effectively as an advocate for district improvement and to accurately inform the community of the district’s performance. That’s why the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) prepared and distributed a new report, “ Connecting with the Community: the Purpose and Process of Community Engagement as part of Effective School Board Governance .” Its purpose is to help school boards – and superintendents – understand what community engagement is, why it is critical, what they can expect to accomplish, and how to evaluate the results.

While IASB is not trying to be prescriptive, it is offering workshops and other tools to help boards and school administrators know what each of their roles are in the community engagement process. It is our hope that this experience will forge stronger bonds between members of the school management team and the community, as they initiate this difficult but vital work. Districts that want to know more about IASB’s community engagement process should contact their IASB Field Services Director in Springfield or Lombard.

2014-2015 Moon Scholarship Program

Are you a superintendent or an aspiring superintendent? Are you pursuing graduate study to become the best superintendent you can be? Do you know there are scholarships available through IASA to help offset the costs of your coursework? Established in 1993 in memory of Dr. James V. Moon, a former superintendent at Morton High School District, the James V. and Dorothy B. Moon Scholarship program is committed to improving the education and qualifications of school administrators. Since its inception, 80 scholarships totaling nearly $174,199.78 have been awarded to current or aspiring superintendents.

Practicing school administrators in Illinois qualify if they are college graduates pursuing an advanced degree in educational administration at an accredited college or university. Several scholarships ($2,500 minimum each) are awarded each year and are paid directly to the college or university to cover tuition, fees and/or textbook expenses. To obtain more information on the application and awards process, click here or contact Cherry Middleton, IASA Executive Secretary/Office Manager, at 217/753-2213 or email at cmiddleton@iasaedu.org .

This year’s application deadline is Friday, January 2, 2015.

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