Employee Health, Wealth and Happiness and Preservation - Making a Difference

Marian Callahan

It may seem that there’s nothing you can do about stress. The bills won’t stop coming, there are only so many hours in the day; and your career and family responsibilities will always be demanding. Classroom teachers learn to tolerate their own personal stresses to put the needs of their students first. But sooner or later worries can snowball into deeper emotional and physical issues.

 

Stress management begins with identifying the sources of stress in your life. The Arizona School Boards Insurance Trust (ASBAIT) offers support and guidance to bring balance to lives of teachers and staff in Arizona school districts. ASBAIT Consultant to Management Rick Edwards and Marin Callahan, ASBAIT manager of wellness explained that stress management and problem solving skills are learned behaviors.

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) makes a direct impact on the morale, retention and productivity of employees which creates the return on investment and enhancing student performance. Everyone has a unique response to stress, and no single method works for everyone or in every situation, so with the support of EAP and other ASBAIT wellness services, employees can experiment with different techniques to bring harmony to their personal lives and efficiency to the workplace.

Board members can support EAP and other services through ASBAIT by crafting messaging regarding the assistance available for district employees.

Adriana Parsons
Peoria Unified School District  

By Appointment Only

When a vacancy pops up on your Governing Board because of a resignation, state laws delegate the County Superintendent to fill the position.  It’s an important function. 

Saddle Mountain Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Mark Joraanstad shared the steps needed in order to gain a collaborative leader.

After advertising your vacancy, develop a collaboration team to interview candidates and make recommendations to the County Superintendent.   Before your interviews, build your profile of what you want in a board member and know the difference between a board member and administrator.

What you don’t want:  Someone who has an axe to grind, or someone with a hidden agenda.  What you do want:  A listener and collaborator.

Good interview questions are essential.  Come up with scenario questions to find out how he or she will handle situations. 

Candidates are required to attend a County seminar.  The County Superintendent will then notify the district and the chosen candidate of the appointment and that persons office will send a press release will be shared with the media. 

Irene Mahoney-Paige

Gilbert Public Schools

School Board Members and Social Media

Denise Lowell-Britt

Denise Lowell-Britt, Esq., of Udall Shumway and Helen Hollands, director of communications and marketing for Mesa Public Schools, presented a review of the benefits and potential pitfalls of board member participation in the social media arena.

Hollands kicked off the presentation with a quick review of actual headlines in which board members faced fame and ridicule for their tweets and posts. Four potential scenarios, from comments that could place the district at legal risk to posts that could violate the open meeting law, were presented to provide a backdrop for the presentation.

Lowell-Britt continued with a comprehensive review of the applicable laws and legal procedures that must be considered when a board member chooses to use social media in his or her official capacity.  Paramount to any participation is ensuring that the open meeting law is understood and not violated, and executive session discussion is protected.

A second consideration is whether or not the post is a public record. Determination is based upon content, not format or location, leaving the board member’s personal technology subject to public scrutiny, and the member liable if records are not maintained according to statute.

Copyright law and infringement is another potential pitfall. Availability of content does not equate to permission to use. And access to FERPA-protected information does not imply permission to share. The ultimate concern is risk of litigation against the district due to the board member’s participation in social media.

Hollands continued the presentation by sharing several ways board members can positively impact their districts through social media. These include celebrating successes, promoting positive media, inviting the community to events, sharing important information and providing insight into educational topics. Proven techniques for these purposes were provided. For example, a board member should share a link to district-provided content rather than restating and possibly misrepresenting the district’s official position on a topic or compromising embargoes information.

In conclusion, Hollands shared best practices and board policies to live by.

Agua Fria Administrators Shared College and Career Ready Index Measurement Instrument

Administrators from the Agua Fria Union High School District provided an overview of the revisions for the College and Career Ready (CCR) index, a measurement system utilized by the district, designed to help improve students’ ability to be successful after high school.

The CCR is an additional system to the traditional Education and Career Action Plan that is utilized by other public school districts. Guidance counselors are able to more easily identify strengths and weaknesses in a students’ education portfolio, to help guide them to a path of engagement and success.

The revisions included an adjustment to the overall points possible, added participation component, and restrict the point allowance for Honors, IB and AP courses. The index covers a range of components from CTE participation to completing a FAFSA application.

The system is a continuous work in progress that is a collaborative one, including input from administration and principals from within the district to make revisions. It is monitored by district administration to focus on important elements to help make students successful.

Danielle Hunt
West-MEC 

Solar Can Be Successful With Correct Planning

Elaine “Missy” Wood, director of business services of the Lake Havasu Unified District, Ed Shaeffer, Technology Coordinators, LLC, and Rick Romain, consulting engineer of Technology Coordinators, LLC presented.  Following an announcement in 2009, that school district may lose $120 million in state aid for energy bills, Lake Havasu Unified School District began to explore alternative energy options as a means to avoid increasing class sizes, eliminating programs and staff.

The intent of the project was to: reduce electrical expenditures, establish predictable electrical expenditure budgets, avoid inhibiting potential future energy conservation measures, create an educational opportunity for all, promote community growth, commerce and well-being and contribute to a clean environment by using renewable energy. After initial exploration, the district realized the dangers of so many unanswered questions, so they worked to procure the services of a qualified renewable energy expert that would not have any perceived or actual conflict of interest. Technical advocacy takes time and resources, but support of this level of expertise was important to ensure a predictable outcome.

After exploring the pros and cons of two options, the district implemented Plan C.  Plan C doubled the dollar value of every solar kilowatt hours produced, was effective with smaller system sizes, and was an ownership model that switched to a revenue neutral “lease/purchase” as a long-term investment allowing the district to realize electrical savings in the second half of the projects life-cycle.  In an evaluation of the program from January 1 through June 26, 2014, it has met the revenue neutral target. Budget projections predict that this project will exceed all expectations long term.

Kelly Alexander

Kyrene Elementary School District

CTE's Role in Achievement, Engagement and Transition

Dr. John Mulcahy

Dr. John Mulcahy, West-MEC’s administrator of Adult Education and Professional Development and president of the Association for Career Technical Education of Arizona presented data and led discussion in a highly interactive session, asking participants to think about the outcomes they wanted for all students.  However he stressed the caveat that “Statistics mean never having to say you’re certain.”

Ninety-seven percent of U.S. high school students take at least one CTE course, and studies show that CTE results in increased engagement, higher achievement and a positive transition to higher education.

There is good news regarding engagement:  high school completion is the highest in 40 years, and the racial/ethnic gap is closing.

The bad news is that there is variability among states, with Hispanics and Blacks trailing Whites in graduation rates by 12 and 14 points and boys dropping out more than girls.  Mulcahy presented statistics with state and national perspectives.

According to the ASU Morrison Institute for Public Policy, CTE participation has a positive effect on students’ academic engagement as measured by the likelihood of dropping out and absenteeism.

Students that are immersed in CTE programs come to school regularly and graduate on time. A ratio of one academic to two CTE courses is optimal, and  97 percent of Arizona 2011-12 CTE concentrators completed high school vs. 76 percent of all other Arizona high school students.  Nationally, 90.18 percent of CTE concentrators graduate as opposed to 74.9 percent of all freshmen.

“According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics, the majority of CTE students in high school continue on to postsecondary education, and those who join the workforce outright or work to supplement their incomes as they pursue further education are often in a better financial situation than high school graduates who did not pursue CTE.” 

Work-based learning has positive correlations with graduation, academic achievement and career success, and CTE student organizations have also been shown to increase academic achievement, career self efficacy and employability skills.

Paula S. Wirth, APR
Education Consultant

Balancing Leadership for Change

Barbara U'Ren

School leadership is a balancing act, especially in the complex times we are currently experiencing. Prescott Union School District Superintendent David Smucker, Cottonwood-Oak Creek Superintendent Barbara U’Ren, Beaver Creek Superintendent Karin Wood, and retired superintendent Dr. Nancy Alexander summarized the path Yavapai County took over the last year to create positive change agents and a continuum of strong leadership.

Their story started with a Yavapai County Professional Development Summit where the Yavapai Education Service Agency asked their school leaders what they needed. With a variety of schools, both district and charter, the needs have a degree of variance. They all started the Summit with one idea of how to drive professional development in the county, but left with a completely different idea focused on leadership, classroom instruction and long-range planning through tri-lateral planning all stymieing the continuous improvement efforts for schools.

The presenters focused on the leadership leg, explaining that while district sizes may vary, a strategic professional development strategy for leaders can be effective for multiple districts and leaders. Recognizing that any effort must be research-based, practical and adaptable to each district, the McREL Balanced Leadership Framework provided the anchor for all. This includes creating a purposeful community and school-level leadership focused on student learning and prepared to address magnitudes of change.

Yavapai County started training their first cohorts of leaders in fall and spring of the 2014-15 school year, ending up with three cohorts so far. Each of the presenters then identified the ways the model and trainings have fit into their districts and aha moments, each representing different-sized districts with slightly varying needs. The process has been beneficial, creating many opportunities for growth and learning within each district.

Kelsey Jahntz
Grand Canyon University