KEEP A POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE (PMA)

With the stresses of today's economy and the need to reduce budgets, it's amazing that leaders can or want to survive in their positions. In order to do so, we must figure out ways to address our PMA. After all, we WILL NOT see better economic times for a few years according to those who forecast Minnesota's state budget. School leaders must continue to be creative and make some tough decisions with options that have been unacceptable in the past.

So, what do we do to address a PMA? Experts give us this list:

• Stay focused and believe in yourself
• Maintain a moral compass where collaboration is seen to support each other
• Be transparent and trustworthy
• Look to create a positive image through educational excellence
• Build relationships with the public
• Always protect the core values and priorities
• Remembering that we aren't going out of business; we are just changing the way we do business
• Don't downsize expectations when downsizing the budget
• Create a communication plan to share all messages; translate the numbers into stories with themes that are clear and compelling
• Don't "sugar coat" anything
• Allow people to grieve over lost colleagues and programs
• Tell memorable stories that align to our district's strategic plan
• Show no fear
• Cultivate more relationships through enhanced communication
• Demonstrate accountability
• Celebrate all who get involved in the lives of children
• Build the image...consistently throughout the year
• Realize that everyone is doing with less
• Tell your story with tact, diplomacy, pride and grace
• All of us need to speak with one voice..."We will continue to do what's right for children"

Please, during these tough times, we must work together to keep a PMA. It's what we must do for the reason we exist - for children.

WHERE ARE WE GOING? FOLLOW THE ROAD MAP!

Sometimes people (including St. Cloud Area School District staff members) will ask, "Where are we going as a school district; where is the school board and superintendent trying to take us?" I love questions like this because the answer is so simple; I carry it everywhere I go. It's called a strategic plan; it's District 742's Road Map. At the very least, this should be the first thing we highlight when someone says, "What are we trying to accomplish?"

The Road Map defines our purpose, it shapes our words and actions, provides direction and allows us to see our destination, and it takes an entire district to collaborate (team) to make it work. I carry it with me when I meet with all staff, community members, parents, and the media. In fact, I set it in front of me when I talk to the media. It served as my outline when I addressed the entire staff at the beginning of the year. We all refer to it when we meet with staff (example: in all guiding change situations). We refer to it in board meetings, board committees, district committees and etc.

Therefore, carry this with you everywhere you go...it hasn't failed me yet. It works! If you don't have it go to http://isd742.org/StrategicPlan/index.html.

Overcoming Life's Obstacles

The video below is a performance by Ma Li (馬麗) and Zhai Xiaowei (翟孝偉). The music is composed by San Bao, his works include the music of the film - The Road Home directed by Zhang Yimou starred by Ziyi Zhang, this music is originally from a very popular TV episodes in China, named Qian Shou (牵手 hand in hand).

Too often in life we find ourselves questioning, "Why do we have to deal with so many problems and the struggles that misfortune brings us?" I came across this quote:

"Never let the things you can't do stop you from doing the things you can do." -Anthony Fernando

Now, watch the video while thinking about this quote.

District 742 Local Education & Activities Foundation (LEAF)

The District 742 Local Education & Activities Foundation (LEAF) was founded in 1993 as a fully independent, non-profit organization for the purpose of promoting and enhancing school-based, extracurricular activities and educational opportunities in District 742 Public Schools. LEAF’s endowment fund provides supplemental funding for academics, activities, arts, and athletics in the District’s schools. Effective July 1, 2009, LEAF has established a second fund, the Academic Opportunities & Enhancement Fund, which will provide academic grants to District 742’s educational program. The Academic Opportunities & Enhancement Fund will make grants to a variety of educational efforts including projects that remove barriers to learning, creative curricular ideas to challenge students, innovative teaching ideas, projects with a student achievement focus, pursuit of excellence projects for/by staff in District 742 schools, and a variety of other ideas or projects submitted by teachers or other District staff.

I've include a link to LEAF for the future, and this can be found on the right side of this blog. Please consider giving to LEAF.

Language Immersion Program

The Language Immersion program is available for Spanish at Clearview Elementary School and Mandarin Chinese at Madison Elementary School for kindergarten through second grade students. In the school, students are immersed in Spanish/Chinese while they learn mathematics, science, reading, writing and other curriculum. Immersion means that teachers communicate only in Spanish/Chinese while teaching students.

Benefits of Learning Two Languages:

• Enhances academic and linguistic performance in both languages
• Cognitive advantages – physically enhances brain development
• Increases career and social opportunities
• Expands world view
• Scores statistically higher on SAT college entrance exams
• Increases attendance at colleges and universities
• Improves English language skills
• Enhances learning capacity for life

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Jan. 18

The Jan. 18 Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday celebrates the life and legacy of a man who brought hope and healing to America. It is a day of interracial and intercultural cooperation. It is a day to recall King’s message of equality for all. A martyr for his causes, King’s spirit lives on in programs and celebrations this January. The Corporation for National and Community Service encourages people to engage in community service on Jan. 18. The slogan is: "Make it a day on, not a day off." View our MLK Day link list.

http://www.schoolmessenger.com/

The St. Cloud Area School District will soon be implementing instant messaging (Phase II of Family Access), a mass notification system called School Messenger. This is an efficient way of communicating (phone, text, and e-mail messages). The District Communication/SEE Team will review the Protocol for using School Messenger for implementation. The Protocol will be reviewed in the context of current and proposed policies regarding all-staff e-mails, fund raising, advertising, communications from non-school personnel and guidelines for community use.

The most important reason for implementing School Messenger is to enhance parent communications to and from the school. Widely touted as the single most important factor in determining a child's academic success, parent involvement yet remains one of the most difficult things to achieve. The key is open, two-way communication between stakeholders. School Messenger is uniquely well-suited to the task.

For more information, go to http://www.schoolmessenger.com.

ADMINISTRATIVE EVALUATION

District 742 has implemented a system of evaluation where administrators receive 360-degree feedback on their performance. Our intent is to focus on instructional leadership as well as school operations. This started by having all administrators in the district working together using a framework that gathers feedback related to my competencies and the strategic directions of the district. This has been completed for the executive directors of the district as well while the principals are just beginning the process.

I know that the evaluation of principals needs to shift from operations to instruction. Management, organization, and finance are important but only secondary to learning and teaching. Until principals know that they are going to be measured on things like classroom learning walks to collect data about effective instruction, it doesn't get done. Therefore, this is a paradigm shift in our school district because of the role that principals have had to play for so many years. By setting goals and conducting 360-degree feedback sessions, we will start to recognize a shift to the following:

• Ambitious goals for student learning
• Challenging academic content and effective classroom practices that maximize learning to all students
• A school environment where student learning is the focus
• Linking to families, businesses and higher education
• Accountability for themselves and their staff (individually and collectively) for achieving high standards
• Articulating a shared direction
• Engaging people
• Promoting the diverse needs of students
• Effectively communicating within and outside the school
• Systematically collecting and analyzing data to make judgments that guide decisions and actions for continuous improvement

District 742 is on the right path as we continue to explore ways to impact instruction through evaluation. I believe that the best way to systemically make change district-wide, for the benefit of children, is through effective supervision and evaluation of programs and people. I also believe the principals of any district should be the most influential leaders in the organization for making those changes.

TWO MINNESOTA TEACHERS AMONGST THOSE HONORED BY PRESIDENT OBAMA

More than 100 science, math and engineering teachers and mentors were named Wednesday by President Obama as recipients of a prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence. Of the two from Minnesota Kari Dombrovski of Talahi Community School received for her excellence in teaching science. She will actually receive her award in the Fall at a White House ceremony.

This is an annual award where recipients are selected by a panel of distinguished scientists, mathematicians, and educators. The winners receive $10,000 awards from the National Science Foundation to be used at their discretion.

Congratulation to Kari!

**2010 CENSUS BUREAU MEDIA ADVISORY**

Press Conference: 2010 Census Kick-Off
January 13, 2010 , 10 a.m.

Where: City Hall, 400 2nd Street South, Saint Cloud, MN 56301

What: The 2010 Census has already brought jobs to your community, now as we kick off the new year the 2010 Census is building momentum to ensure that your community is counted.

Come learn why many of your community members are already working as Census partners. Census data is used for congressional apportionment, legislative and congressional redistricting, as well as to determine funding and locations for schools, housing, child-care centers, shopping centers, roads and more. These improvements can have a significant impact on the lives of everyone in the community. You’ll also receive key dates and learn how the Census happens.

This is one of the shortest census forms in history, the 2010 Census form asks 10 questions and takes about 10 minutes to complete. Census forms will be delivered or mailed to households in March 2010. Census Day is April 1, 2010, the official day of the population count. Households should complete and mail back their responses upon receipt. Census workers will visit households that do not return their forms to take a count in person.

We move forward when you send it back. For more information about the 2010 Census, visit www.2010census.gov.

Personalized Learning Plans

Imagine a school where a group of professionals sit down to determine how you learn best and what engages or excites you about what's taught. Imagine a professional educator who is personally assigned to assure that you are meeting the goals that you have helped set for yourself. Imagine knowing the standards by which you are to succeed and then having someone personally encouraging you to deeply understand what is taught. Finally, imagine all of these professionals collaborating to diagnose what you need to reach your full potential.

Diagnostic growth measure assessments provide the data we need to successfully provide best practice instruction so that students achieve at their full potential. The technology and software programs we have allow us to strategically plan for the educational success of our students. This data gives us the ability to potentially give every child a personalized learning plan.

The above is exactly what we need to do, and I believe that we are moving in that direction. Some districts are already practicing this, and with further technology developments, and the engagement of parents in the process, we can't afford to miss this opportunity. Keep posted about personalized learning plans, and I really do encourage you to ask questions about how this could be done efficiently and effectively.