| Lee Dixon's profileFlorida School BossBlogLists |  Tools  Help |
|
|
December 07 Sigh-An-Are-YaThis is the last post for FloridaSchoolBoss.
My 15 months of blogging has been a great experience, and I highly recommend it for retired school bosses as a way to unwind (is "de-stress" a word?) and share some tips with those who carry on.
Creating a blog is incredibly easy. Having something to say, as in all forms of writing, is the hard part. That, and not having Johnnie Ruth around to proofread what you write! A blog does provide a good tool for reflection for active school bosses, although you don't want to open it to others as the blog would become a public record. A few active school bosses have tried blogging (sometimes in lieu of a newsletter), but I don't recommend it. It's a little like talking to a TV camera everyday.... something will slip eventually that you didn't mean to say in public.
I'm proud of the work done at FloridaSchoolBoss and... should someone stumble onto the site... the posts are grouped by category and will provide useful tips for new and aspiring school bosses for a few years. I tried to give the kind of advice in the postings that I gave to new and aspiring administrators when I worked to support them on a daily basis. The job of a school boss isn't easy, and there are lots of highs and lows. Everybody needs someone to help them through the lows and avoid pitfalls when possible.
I will also supply free advice on any and all topics for the cost of an email. Just contact me at gleedixon@gmail.com. If the topic is sensitive, contact me and I'll provide a phone number. The advice is guaranteed to be worth the cost.
To stay up with current events in Florida Education, just check The Gradebook, Jeff Solochek's blog. He summarizes articles from the Florida papers and provides links on a daily basis. He also does a good interview with an education newsmaker each Sunday.
To sample education blogs, check in with The Education Wonks to view The Carnival of Education. A different education blogger takes on the challenge each week to review submissions from other bloggers and provide links to the best of what's out there. The EWonks coordinate the process, but each weeks Carnival leads you to the blog site for the next week's issue.
I'm on to other things. I'm still not sure what, but it's fun taking my time figuring it out.
I may blog again, but probably in a more general format and with a more general theme. After all, what will I do with those movie pics? And after a six month hiatus from Netflix, and with local movie ticket prices of $9, or roughly the cost of a ticket and popcorn and a soda at the Brahman Theatre, I may re-up with Netflix. That will lead to even more movie recommendations to share, including music DVD's.
Maybe sort of a good books, jazz, grandbabies, scuba diving, South Carolina kind of blog?
Thanks for reading!
October 28 Advice For Prospective School BossesThis LeaderTalk posting supplies some straightforward advice for those wanting to pursue a school boss career. I was just talking with a friend, and former school boss, who agreed that the biggest problem lately was getting those prospective school bosses... folks who actually want to apply for positions... to act on the advice.
So my first addition would be: Find a mentor and do most of what the school boss recommends.
Advice like this got me into a nice career pretty quickly. October 24 A Wise School BoardIt's official. The Manatee County School Board wins the "School Board of the Year" prize for this year!
It's what they didn't do that made the difference in winning this year's award.
You may recall that a couple of smart and creative co-eds at one of their high schools figured out a great way to get some attention. They donned bikini tops and painted their torsos with school colors to be just like the boys who have been doing that at high school and college games recently. (By the way... probably not at the high school in my old district... just a guess!)
High school bosses love this stuff. They really get a hoot and secretly admire students who find interesting loopholes... or think they do.... and try to jump through.
The school board, at a very hyped meeting.... decided not to decide. I love this quote in particular:
"The principal does have certain incumbent powers given to him or her," said board chairman Harry Kinnan.
The school boss in this case will decide in time whether to stop the boys... and will make sure that the girls suffer no permanent harm for testing the waters. For example, they will still will be eligible for school controlled or influenced scholarship awards they would otherwise have qualified to receive.
Here's the article in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
September 26 How Much Should District Leaders Earn?Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers published school district administrator salaries for the four Treasure Coast districts recently.
It was interesting to see these figures in print, even though we all know that public sector salaries are public records.
The article was short, and certainly not biased against district administrators.
Although these folks make less than their private sector counterparts, it's a comfortable living.
Most top level leaders, those who report directly to the superintendent or run sensitive areas like Finance and IT, earn over $100K. My smaller former district stood out like a sore thumb with salaries so low they were just summarized at "all less than $90K". With the other perks of the job, like the retirement system and sick leave terminal pay, it's hard to complain.
The story missed the ugly side of administrator salaries... those who are not at the top of the scales. For several years now, becoming an administrator has been a money losing proposition... at least for several years... until school bosses work their way up the unnecessary salary ladders. For an experienced teacher, it may not be financially affordable to become an AP, even with a high probability of becoming a principal within only a few years.
Who will have the courage to address this problem?
Philosophically, it's a simple question. Which teachers do we want to promote to the positions of educational leadership? The best? The worst? The middle of the pack? Of course we want the best to lead. You can't do that when there is a financial penalty for stepping up to the leadership plate.
I worked for Danny Mullins early in my administrative career. He fixed the administrative salary problem in our district in the late 1980's and the fix worked for over a decade... until the teacher salary scale eventually began encroaching upon the administrative scales. September 22 Civics TestThis test is for school bosses.
Nothing quite like an anonymous, instantly scoreable, test to get the juices flowing.
This Civics test was designed to assess the level of knowledge of college freshmen and college seniors.
Florida School Bosses should take the opportunity to complete any quiz like this that they run across.
Because....
it keeps us on our toes...
and reminds us that we are and should be lifelong learners...
and it reminds us that even educational leaders, the best of the best of a group of college educated (Master's degrees no less) professionals don't know everything we're supposed to know...
and, of course, it reminds us how hard it is to retain purely academic knowledge, i.e. stuff that we don't use every day...
and we can access real feelings of empathy for our kids at FCAT time, since we know they are under a whole lot more pressure.
P.S. --- and if any old web site like this can instantly score and provide very detailed feedback like this, why can't we?
My 90% score? Not brag, just fact. Of course, being retired and having the time to read biographies of both John Adams and Alexander Hamilton this summer helped a little! September 16 District-Provided Cell PhonesFlorida School Bosses need to be ready to see more negative press attention, often driven by audit reports, like this one in Duval. (As you might guess, this was the least negative of several articles recently.) I
Shouldn't school bosses be provided a cell phone?
All school bosses? Or just district staff? Or just principals?
Who should be given a cell phone?
What about wireless internet?
I've never been a fan of district provided cell phones. (I'm also not that big of a fan of cell phones in general... although I recognize that the world has changed and most folks need a cell phone of some sort. For one thing, public pay phones are a thing of the past. I currently use a Tracphone... though not for routine calling... and pay $99 per year. Plus Vonage at home for most local and long distance.)
I used a district provided Nextel for the last 5 years or so of my tenure. The boss made me do it. This was after a significant threat caused a lockdown of most schools for a couple of hours. I had no problem communicating during the situation, which I was managing for the district. But our SRO leader, a great friend, talked to the boss and recommended that I be given a cell phone, just in case.
It was very handy, especially as everybody who was anybody in Okeechobee... except me, of course... had Nextel walkie-talkie service.
My problem? Most of the district employees I called, all subordinate to me except for two individuals, paid for their own phone. They chose to have the phone. The district didn't require them to buy a Nextel. By using the two way service, I wasn't using up their calling plan minutes. But the district paid for mine.
My problem with district provided cell phones goes back to those questions about who should get one. It's a significant perk, after all.
Having district staff assigned a phone, but not school bosses, grates on me (and most school bosses). If principals get one, how about AP's? There is no argument for one over the other. If anything, AP's have the greater need, because they are less likely to have access to a phone and more likely to deal with emergencies.
My wife, an elementary school boss, always used to call her daytime custodian.
Most day staff... school bosses and custodians, hated to carry both radios and Nextels. That often provided an incentive for school bosses to buy their own Nextels. But those plans are expensive for custodians.
If we include all school bosses, district and school alike... what about those teachers who regularly supervise events after school and away from school?
And don't get me started about remote internet service.
The main argument on the other side is that most business people are provided cell phones. First of all, I'm not sure that's true anymore. But executives may be provided phones, so let's assume that is still true.
My final point is that district provided cell phones are being provided as perks, in lieu of the political courage to raise school and district administrators salaries as they are being overrun by teacher salary scales. Often, school bosses are expanding the assignment of perks on their own, which leads to periodic school board reviews and associated negative press. Especially with various bonus programs, like NBCT and STAR, many teachers are making more, without the stress or risk associated of serving in leadership positions. (Notice I don't mention workload... because if they are good, they probably work just as hard.) September 15 Add This to Philosophy of Ed CourseMost of us wasted a semester in a course called Philosophy of Education.
It didn't have to be that way.
What if the course revolved around discussions like the one sparked by The Tempered Radical.
Starting with this quote from a fellow blogger...
I go to the doctor and she tells me to take a medication to get better. I don't follow her instructions and get worse. Should I sue her? Is it her fault? Has she committed malpractice? According to YOU she did.
He takes on the issue of whether we as educators own the problem of student motivation. And he says we do! And shares an explanation from another colleague of why we do.
I suspected this guy was a little wierd, and was about to cite this as a case that even wierd folks have good ideas... and then I noticed that he was selected Teacher of the Year in Wake County, NC!
I still suspect he may not be all that popular among colleagues. September 11 "Outsider" in Charge?Shouldn't a superintendent have both teaching and school (and maybe even district) administrative experience?
Normally, yes.
Perhaps one exception would be when a system is overwhelmingly corrupt and/or plain broken.
That's when an outsider... if they have the right leadership skills... might be a good fit.
Michelle Rhee, the new boss in Washington, D.C., at least has teaching experience. Not much, but it was in inner-city Baltimore.
She's a policy wonk. Her teaching experience was with Teach for America, which puts Ivy leaguers into impoverished urban schools.
Then she left... they mostly all do... to start her own think tank of sorts. The focus was recruiting quality teachers for impoverished, urban school districts. So she spent a lot of time with urban superintendents and visited classrooms in many urban districts.
I have to admit that I was impressed. It's very early in the game, but she's observant and has some good ideas.
She may be the stereotypical, work till you die Korean chick... but I think I could work for her. I used to work for a not-so-stereotypical work till you die, rural south Florida good 'ol girl. And I loved it.
Watch Brian Lamb's interview of Michelle on Q and A... a C-Span Sunday night show. Watching the video would be better than reading the transcript, but at least do one or the other.
By the way, for general information, you can't beat a Brian Lamb interview. He also runs C-Span... and I think he has since the beginning. His first interview show, Booknotes, was great. The topics for Q and A run the gamut. Sometimes it's good to check on issues outside the education world.
September 05 Super Wants to Let Go of Charter SchoolsThe superintendent in Brevard County is recommending that the board voluntarily give up it's right to control charter schools (to the extent that they have control under Florida law in the first place).
Huge.... huge.... mistake!
I know the staff, including their excellent Finance Director, is plumb wore out. Charter schools do that to a district.
But giving up control is not a good idea.
Take a long weekend and reconsider. Hire some extra help to monitor the charters. Retired school bosses are out there and would be willing to live on the beach for a few weeks every now and then to monitor problem charters. It's not rocket science, but it does take time.
This is the same superintendent who led the fight, now joined by several other superintendents, to take back responsiblity for sex ed instruction from all of the biased (both ways) non-profits. That was leadership.
August 30 Team Building is like Self-Esteem Building Which Florida school board is the most dysfuntional?
Hillsborough board members made their move recently when a team-building exercise misfired.
Reporter Marilyn Brown of the Tampa Tribune described the scene:
"A Hillsborough School Board training session erupted in accusations, scoldings and door slamming Tuesday as the group met to create a vision for the district."
She left out the condescending that was going on.
Read the whole juicy article.
So how are team-building as self-esteem building alike?
The fact that you are having to "build" either one means you're in trouble.
Plus, artificial approaches never work in either situation. The best way to build a child's self-esteem is by heling the child to real accomplishment... and not by telling the child how great they're performance has been when any idiot knows otherwise. With kids, the assistance we give may be the encouragement to work harder, or direct teaching of skills or knowledge, or occasionally making sure that we recognize and take advantage of a child's strengths... wherever they may lie.
Likewise, when a group of equals calls in a team-building specialist, they are doomed. How about just being honest with each other? Or maybe holding our tongues when it's apparent that we haven't bonded enough yet to accept criticism from each other?
One of the interesting questions posed by this article is whether a school board should ever think of itself as a "team" in the first place. Some school boards go way too far in this direction, and individual school board members give up their independence too easily. Standing behind the will of the majority, after it's determined, is all that professionalism demands of a board member.
The overemphasis on team cohesion is not as easy to detect as when a board member becomes unnecessarily disagreeable in public, even after their view or position is not supported by the majority.
Some of this applies to team building at a school level... but things are quite different when one individual... the school boss... is in charge.
August 19 Middle School Boss Opts Out... for High School AD Job"South Fork named its new athletic director just in time for the start of school. Cathy Smith, 49, began her new position on Thursday after having served as the principal of Dan McCarty Middle School in Fort Pierce for two years." This article tells of a Treasure Coast school boss who recently left the principalship of a middle school to become a high school athletic director. Why would anyone make that kind of a career move? The move certainly can’t be based on economics. There’s no way a high school AD would ever make as much as a principal, even with the AD supplement. That also means a cut in retirement income, as a smaller "last five" will reduce retirement benefits throughout retirement. And it certainly isn’t a change that provides for more time at home for hobbies, family and friends. Although the AD job involves a lot... a lot... of "light duty" attending ball games, it’s still time away from home and family. There is no reason an elementary or middle school principal has to work more than 50-55 hours per week... and some of that can be done at home. Obviously, this person has a lifetime love of sports and the sports world. That helps. But actually the AD is more of an organizer and snake-charmer... she won’t just get to enjoy the sporting activities at school. Having to keep coaches on the straight and narrow isn’t easy. They bust their butts for the school and their program, making it very tough when you have to discipline them. But some of them tend to screw up... and some screw up a lot. Often out of exuberance. Sometimes due to ego... some coaches just don’t think the rules apply to them. Sometimes coaches are just stupid when it comes to things outside their sport. High school bosses can easily share stories of each of these types. Altogether, they comprise about a fourth of all coaches. The rest can both coach and administer their programs in a reasonable manner. And AD’s really don’t get to hang with student-athletes any more than principals get to hang with their better students. In this regard, Coach is to AD like Teacher is to Principal. Coaches and teachers get to have all the fun with students on a day to day basis. AD’s only get to watch the fun from a distance. The interesting thing is that with the pressure on today’s coaches... and therefore AD’s... to produce winning athletic programs... the pressure difference could easily be a big motivating factor... in favor of the AD job vs. the school boss job! You see, in the athletic world, the pressure to win is huge...but it’s more rational than the pressure to succeed in academics. A school boss must win... i.e. produce higher than average test scores and that ‘A’ school grade and AYP... regardless of the talent they have to work with. Talent among faculty, which can be influenced to some degree by a school boss, and talent among students, which can’t be influenced by school bosses. Yes, you can get untalented students to do better than they would have without your leadership influence, but you can’t always get them to outperform students with more educational talent (read advantages). You can’t consistently hire better than average teachers into just any school situation either. And if you can’t do that, you certainly can’t compete against schools with more talented students. But what about athletics? Isn’t the pressure to win greater than that experienced by an elementary school boss? More than winning every year? Nope. More importantly, only a few places (and usually specific sports in those places) require a winner in sports every year. Football programs in the Glades area of Florida must win every year or the coach is gone. Lose three years in a row and the AD is gone. Volleyball programs in high socioeconomic high schools and elite (private) high schools must win or the coach is gone. Few schools face pressure to win every year in every sport. Sure a program that loses more than their share of games in a majority of sports will draw the attention of the parents of athletes... and may result in a change of leadership if the AD doesn’t right the ship eventually. But folks expect to have good years and not so good years. Sometimes the difference in talent is obvious, and that helps. You can see when a football team is short and slow vs. an opponent that is big and fast. Many AD’s don’t face that much pressure to win more than their share of games overall. You see, in sports, there is a realism that doesn’t exist in the world of academics today.
August 10 Fred on FederalismOK, so this is not so much practical help for weary school bosses... but strictly political.
I'm not encouraging anyone to vote for Fred Thompson.
I'm just wanting you to listen... really listen... to his wonderful take on federalism.
I've been preaching against the growing federal role in education for years now. NCLB might be the reason people finally figure out that the money isn't worth it. What's New?Florida School Bosses wonder what's new for the 2007-08 school year.
One thing is public access to technology... er... the internet.
Not the $80 per month on the taxpayer's dime version. Public access.
Visiting mom in Indiana, I stopped by the Panera store to check-in on the world... and lo and behold... their internet server was down!
No problema... the store manager pointed me down the street to another WiFi access location.... Mickey D's! Unbelievable. There is a cost (not at Panera), but $2.95 for a 2 hour session fits my retirement budget.
But wait, after checking the Florida papers, and half of my edublog reading list, Mickey's server shut down.
So, at half past ten, I'm sitting outside the small local library using their wireless. For free. Thank goodness it cooled down here today. The bugs aren't even that bad.
And at McDonalds, my new video rental service, Redbox, failed include Wordplay in their available videos. I guess I can't blame them for failing to keep a documentary... on crossword puzzles, in stock. Videos at the Redbox rent for $1.00 per night, with a credit card. Just like buying a Pepsi... or should I say Coke, since we are school bosses?
Wink! July 21 Merit Pay Pilot ProjectThe federal and state governments need to quit spending money on competitive grant projects and just give us the money.
Actually, the feds should just keep theirs (and give it back to the taxpayers), thus letting states and local governments run education like the framers of... the U.S. Constitution... envisioned.
But the occasional pilot project can do the world a load of good.
They are useful when politicians want to start something new, but really don't know how to get there.
Welfare reform came about because of pilot projects in places like Wisconsin, for example.
Here's a good example of the benefits of doing some pilot project merit pay schemes (OK, that's a loaded word) before we make them applicable to the entire state.
First, a headline that union leaders dream about.
Sentinel Exclusive Errors riddle tests to rate top teachersMerit-pay bonuses in Orange are at stake. Almost 2 in 3 exams had some problem.
Actually, there are two good things about this pilot project. First, and most importantly, the meltdown didn't affect the entire state. Secondly, the Orlando Sentinel got a scoop!
July 17 Do Homework Before Hacking on SuperintendentFlorida School Bosses love it when school board members call out a superintendent. Except when they don't know what they're talking about.
Jay Wheeler, board member in Osceola, wonders aloud (in the Orlando Sentinel) why the other four board members keep superintendent Blaine Muse around.
After all, Osceola deserves to be above average like everybody else.
He even focuses on a tendency to make excuses based on the demographics of the district.
But wait, Florida has facts that are only a keyboard stroke away. Checking the FDOE District Profiles for 2005-06, the latest report available, shows some real differences between central Florida districts.
Brevard for example, had:
81% A schools
15% B schools
04% C schools
and
1.365 LEP students
22,884 students on F/R lunch
and 75,207 students
Meanwhile, Osceola had:
33% A schools
26% B schools
33% C schools
09% D schools
and
8,511 LEP students (this is not a typo)
27,340 students on F/R lunch
and 49,772 total students
In other words, oranges and apples. Well, oranges and rockets.
I knew Blaine Muse years ago when he was a junior curriculum administrator working for Roger Dearing in Osceola. He's a hard working guy who doesn't settle.
The other four board members seem to know that.
Such is life. Blaine will deal with it. And he won't respond the the attack.
There are certainly things he could do better and he needs healthy criticism from his board members. But a board member, like everybody else, has to do their homework before attacking. July 16 Those Crazy Elementary School TeachersFlorida's High School and Middle School Bosses have been hiring elementary teachers to fill their reading specialist positions. But do they really understand the "elementaryness" factor?
Take Leesepea for example. Although known to be potty-mouthed at times... in interesting ways of course!.... she reeks of "elementaryness" in this posting:
After lunch, we wandered around the shopping center, and James was nice enough to allow me to drag him down the street to Office Depot, where I stocked up on boxes of crayons (nine cents for the Crayola brand 24 pack), colored pencils (79 cents for a pack of 12, but 2 get one free) and markers (99 cents for a 10 pack, buy 2 get one free). Coupled with my 5% discount from my Star Rewards card, I walked out with a dozen of each for less than $20, which I promptly came home and packed into my 3 drawered storage carts ($10 each at Target)! The only thing I missed out on were the pencil boxes; they were advertised at 19 cents each and the sales clerk said there was a line of teachers waiting outside before the store even opened, and the pencil boxes sold out in less than an hour. I suppose I didn't really even need them, but when I saw the ad in the paper my eyes lit up and I knew I had to drop in.
The only thing more geeky than getting excited over school supplies on a Sunday in the middle of July is admitting that I dragged two other fellow teachers to a Staples in San Diego last Wednesday to take advantage of the one-cent sale, where I picked up six-dozen pencils, thirty hand-held pencil sharpeners, poly-binders at 3 for $1, 30 three-prong folders, a pack of mini-gel pens and a 2GB thumb drive - all for less than $30. Not to mention the cases of notebooks I picked up at Target the morning before I left for the conference. I *heart* school supplies. Those of us, like James, that are married to one, know the drill. Hey, a 20 mile drive to school on July 15 to drop off boxes of supplies for next school year lets me get caught up on my blog... so it's a win-win! July 12 Crazy ol' Art JohnsonYou remember Art. The Palm Beach County superintendent who wanted to ban cell phones and end unhealthy Val/Sal competitions?
Well... hows a .500 batting average sound?
The line is dead on the cell phone ban.
But look what's happening in Collier and Martin with Val/Sal. Of course, these are the districts that are most ripe for reform of high school honors systems. After all, they are the primary bases for helicopter parents. Too many folks there have way too much money for their own good. And they don't mind spending it on lawyers and lobbyists to make their kids the best that they can be.
Keep an eye on places like Flagler, Seminole and maybe Sarasota. When the dominos start to fall, it might be time to get in line for reform in your district.
Thanks Art! June 21 Update on NBCT Effectiveness StudiesBrett, at DeHavilland Blog, reacts to another bloggers comment about the recent studies of National Board teachers:
If you follow the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards issue you'll want to check out the CALDER site, a lot of the recent research all in one place. Regardless of where one comes down the evidence is not very compelling -- especially considering the cost. The Board needs to get on top of that. I respect Andy Rotherham – he was, after all, the one who effectively forced NBPTS to release the less-than-flattering Sanders study they had commissioned and were apparently trying to bury. He’s proven himself to be someone who wants to get the facts on the table regardless of the issue, rather than do so selectively to support pet causes (as is otherwise so common in education). Read on.
The Eduwonk blog is written by Andy Rotherham, a key player on the Clinton White House educational policy team.
The National Board teachers, as a group, aren't performing better than others.
Share this with legislators and those who talk with them.
Let the District PayFlorida School Bosses need to be careful about letting vendors pay for travel or meals.
Here's why:
Technology official for Broward schools accepted trips paid by vendors By Jean-Paul Renaud South Florida Sun-Sentinel Posted June 21 2007
June 19 Problem EmailsEngage brain. Type.
Florida School Bosses, and most of SW Florida's public, probably read this in a Fort Myers News-Press story recently...
"You might be a redneck if ... you send offensive e-mails that land in your boss’ inbox.
Jack Shelton is no Jeff Foxworthy. Shelton, the Lee County School District’s transportation director, has been slapped with an official verbal warning after forwarding an e-mail full of redneck jokes deemed inappropriate for the office." Read the whole story here.
What Florida Schoolbus Bosses (and their supervisors) want to know is... how on earth did Jack find the time to forward silly emails?
FYI... that "redneck grill" concept might be useful here in the new backyard. |
|
|
