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May June 2013 issue of the Illinois School Board Journal
Citation preview
PLUS: BARGAINING PERA • SPUTNIK AND PUBLIC EDUCATION
M A Y / J U N E 2 0 1 3 Vol. 81, No. 3
Education in other countries ...
Is it really better or just different?
How are we doing? That’s what
every well-run organization
wants to know. They build this ques-
tion into their philosophy and process,
so that continuous improvement is
not only possible, but so that it can
be given maximum attention and
weight.
The same question, however,
when posed by organizations that
are not well-run or accustomed to
refining even its best work, can be
daunting. In fact, they might even
ask additional questions, like:
Why; who wants to know?
Who or what are we being com-
pared to?
Introspection can reveal much
about the strength or weakness of
any organization. It’s only when this
practice of soul-searching becomes
compulsive or fixated on finding faults
that it becomes corrosive and self-
defeating. Which brings us to the
theme of this issue: comparing the
quality of public education between
the U.S. and other countries.
There is no shortage of critics –
both internal and external – whose
sole mission seems to be finding what’s
wrong with schools in America. Nev-
er mind that the comparisons are
unfair or that the data is selective-
ly pared to support a pre-purposed
mission and message. Nonetheless,
our authors have attempted to find
suitable sources for comparing pub-
lic education systems.
Our cover story focuses on Japan,
and features an American who teach-
es English as a second language in
Japan. He sees similarities but sig-
nificant differences between the
countries and their concept of pub-
lic education. While the data from
student performance may tilt in
Japan’s favor, he notes that their sys-
tem is very selective and the cur-
riculum tightly controlled.
Expectations for and support of pub-
lic education does not depend on
local control or community val-
ues. A sidebar to this article features
his daughter, who is a foreign
exchange student at a high school
in Nebraska. Her observations reveal
even more about our different cul-
tures and education values.
Finland’s system of public edu-
cation has undergone significant
reforms and is now considered to be
one of the world’s modern success
stories. Two Illinois professors of edu-
cational leadership spent several
months examining the reasons for
this transformation. They suggest
that a culture of innovation is the
key to enabling U.S. schools to make
similar reforms.
How long has America been fix-
ated on its potential for failure? Many
would say that it began on October
4, 1957, when Russia successfully
launched the first satellite into orbit.
The latest installment in the series
highlighting IASB’s 100-year anniver-
sary discovered numerous articles
published in this very magazine that
examined the impact Sputnik had
on U.S. public education.
“That a 24-inch ball circling the
earth where no such object was to
be seen before should have a pro-
lific effect on the education program
of an entire nation is amazing,” wrote
the director of research for North-
ern Illinois University in the May-
June 1958 issue of The Journal. “That
it should take some such impetus to
make a people examine carefully one
of their most important institutions
is in some ways absurd. And yet that
is what has happened.”
Fifty-five years later, many would
believe that we are stuck in a specter
of permanent introspection, obsessed
more on failures than successes of
U.S. public education.
To help correct this apparent
imbalance, this issue also reprints
from the American School Board
Journal an excellent article by the
director for the Center for Public
Education, “Ten good things about
U.S. public education.” The author
acknowledges that public schools
have their work cut out for them,
especially as they tackle the job of
preparing all of their students for
success after high school in this
increasingly complex 21st century
world. “Policymakers at the federal,
state and local levels all have a role
to play. But the supportive involve-
ment of the community – from one
district to the next – is our strongest
guarantee that the challenge will be
met.”
A timely feature article is also
presented by a well-known Chicago
school attorney on what to expect
when bargaining PERA evaluations.
Elsewhere in this issue, be sure
to catch up on our regular features,
including Practical P.R., Ask the staff,
Milestones, and the ever-popular Boil-
er Room.
Vol. 81, No. 3
M A Y / J U N E 2 0 1 3
ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL(ISSN-0019-221X) is published every other month by the Illinois Associationof School Boards, 2921 Baker Drive, Springfield, Illinois 62703-5929, telephone217/528-9688. The IASB regional officeis located at One Imperial Place, 1 East22nd Street, Lombard, Illinois 60148-6120, telephone 630/629-3776.
The JOURNAL is supported by the duesof school boards holding active member-ship in the Illinois Association of SchoolBoards. Copies are mailed to all schoolboard members and the superintendentin each IASB member school district.
Non-member subscription rate: Domes-tic $18.00 per year. Foreign (includingCanada and Mexico) $21.00 per year.
PUBLICATION POLICYIASB believes that the domestic processfunctions best through frank and opendiscussion. Material published in the JOUR-NAL, therefore, often presents divergentand controversial points of view which donot necessarily represent the views orpolicies of IASB.
James Russell, Associate Executive Director
Linda Dawson, EditorGary Adkins, Contributing EditorDiane M. Cape, Design and
Production ManagerDana Heckrodt, Advertising Manager
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
Cover by Corbin Design, Petersburg
July/August Classroom technologySeptember/October Suicide prevention
COVER STORY
12 | Education in other countries …Is it really better or just different?An American teacher working in the Japanese education system shares his observations aboutthe differences between the two countries.
Linda Dawson
14 | Sidebar: A Japanese student in America sees school with different eye16 | Sidebar: How does Japan govern its schools?
20 | Can a Finnish education model yield similar success in the U.S.?In spite of our best efforts, improvements to public education have been slow, at best. So what is the key to Finnish educational success?
John Hunt and Sandra Watkins
FEATURE STORIES
4 | Centennial celebration …Space race and public education follow same trajectorySputnik 1 had an immediate and lasting impact on public education as IASB and local school districts progressed from the 1950s to the 1970s.
James Russell
6 | Bargaining PERA evaluations:What to expect at the tableIt’s important to start thinking about what teachers’ unions might demand when it comes to including data and indicators as a factor in rating teacher performance.
Thomas M. Melody
10 | From 1956, IASB’s thoughts on policies, rules and regulationsRead what IASB’s first full-time executive director had to say on why school boards need to have written policies.
Robert M. Cole
24 | 10 good things about U.S. public educationThe director of the Center for Public Education reflects on what we’re doing right and where we should go next.
Patte Barth
28 | A firm foundationThe urgent need for effective school boardsIn order for a school district to succeed during times of great challenge, it not only needs great teachers and administrators, it needs great school board members.
Robert G. Grossi
T O P I C S F O R U P C O M I N G I S S U E S
REGULAR FEATURES
Boiler Room. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Practical PR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Milestones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Ask the staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside back cover
2 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MAY-JUNE 2013
You know, I’m proud of our
school. I think our teachers do
an excellent job of preparing the stu-
dents for the future. As a matter of
fact, I think teachers are among the
most dedicated and hardest working
folks in any profession.
That’s why I get upset when I
hear critics say the U.S. lags behind
the school systems of other nations.
Since the current recession set
in a few years back, I’m hearing these
criticisms more and more…as though
the critics think the schools have sud-
denly slacked off in their efforts just
when the nation needed them most.
I ran this by Mr. Keck and, as best
I can recall, the conversation went
somethin’ like this.
“You know, Gus, it’s not that the
teachers in foreign school systems
work harder than ours do, it’s more
a matter of how their school systems
are set up.”
“What do you mean, boss?”
“Let’s take high school test scores.
People sometimes get bent out of
shape because students in foreign
schools sometimes test higher than
our high-school students do. Does
that mean their young people are
sharper or that their teachers work
harder? No…it’s because their school
systems are set up differently than
ours. Many nations have very high
drop-out rates in their high schools,
and some even have high drop-out
rates at the elementary level. These
students are not pursued by the author-
ities through truant officers and court
orders like we do in our country, but
tend to enter their blue-collar work-
force. This has a marked impact on
test scores. If only the cream of the
crop remain in their schools, their
test scores are bound to be higher
than ours, for the simple reason that
we make every effort to keep the poor-
er-performing students in the sys-
tem.”
“I see.”
“In addition,” Keck continued,
“let’s look at the kind of tests admin-
istered. Many other nations have high-
ly-centralized education systems,
with curriculum and teaching method-
ology dictated by the national gov-
ernment. This means their high school
tests are criterion-referenced, and
the questions on those tests go to the
heart of what was actually taught. In
the United States, every school dis-
trict and every state has a different
approach to learning, with subjects
being introduced at different grade
levels, school districts free to design
their own curriculum and method-
ology, etc. That’s why we can only
administer normative-referenced,
standardized tests to our high school
population. Students tend to perform
better on criterion-referenced tests
than they do on standardized tests.”
“Sounds like the deck is stacked
against our kids,” I responded.
“It gets worse, Gus, let me explain
it this way. Schools don’t exist in a
world of their own. Their main pur-
pose is to give the students the skills
they’ll need later in life, when they
enter the workforce. True, we have
classes in art, for instance, but that’s
because we want to broaden a young
person’s perspective of life, and not
because we actually think they’ll
grown up being professional artists.
That’s why we put a far greater empha-
sis on subjects like science, math,
and computer education…knowledge
they’ll need in any number of career
paths. We do this rather well.”
“OK, I follow you so far,” I
responded.
“But here is the ‘fly in the but-
termilk.’ In order to prepare students
for the world of work, we have to have
Gus, the custodi-
an at Eastside
Grammar, is the
creation of
Richard W.
Smelter, a retired
school principal,
now a Chicago-
based college
instructor and
author.
Being realisticby “Gus”
B O I L E R R O O M
a rather accurate prediction of how
many jobs, and what types of jobs,
will be available in the near future.
Our students need this information
before they enter college. One of the
reasons the current recession has
been so bad is due to students hav-
ing had an unrealistic view of the
number of jobs that would wind up
being available when they graduat-
ed. For instance, in 1996, over 46,000
students competed for 16,200 open-
ings in medical school, while almost
71,000 competed for 43,000 open-
ings at law schools. How many doc-
tors and lawyers do we need? Do we
actually have a firm grip on this? Out
of the students who actually got into
medical and law school, and went on
to graduate, how many found posi-
tions in the workforce? Maybe some
of these students should have been
counseled into a different career path.
Instead, many took a job for which
they were already over-qualified,
bumping a person who only had a
high school diploma.”
“I see, Mr. Keck...sorta like the
pre-recession housing market... when
more “spec homes” were built than
there were folks who could actually
afford them.”
“That’s a good analogy, Gus.”
“Do other nations prepare for
the future more realistically, boss?”
“Well, some do. Let’s take Ger-
many, for example. There are actu-
ally three different types of German
high schools…the Gymnasium, that
takes in the most gifted students, the
Realschule that takes in a broad range
of students, and the Hauptschule,
which is centered on vocational train-
ing. The German government keeps
a strict tab on how many jobs will be
available in various careers so that
high school students can be direct-
ed into the type of high school that
will best serve them in the future.
Many German high school students
also work as apprentices in the work-
force while they attend high school,
which helps to further refine their
skills in a particular area. True, they
may land their first full-time job much
later than do American high school
graduates, but they don’t need as
much on-the-job training.”
“Yeah, I see. You know, Mr. Keck,
they’re holdin’ auditions for our high
school musical. I think it’s Oklahoma
this year. I hear that over forty kids
are auditioning for the four or five
leading roles.”
“Well, they’d better have a back-
up plan, Gus…just like a college foot-
ball player who has his heart set on
being the star quarterback and some-
day playing for the NFL. You know,
we teach young people that they can
be anything they want to be in our
society, but that’s really only a gen-
eralization. Being highly skilled is
necessary, of course, but that’s only
part of the equation. What we should
be saying is they can be anything they
want to be if it’s available. I always
wanted to be a school superinten-
dent, but there are only a relatively
small number of superintendents in
each state and only a finite number
of positions that are actually open in
any given year. Somewhere along the
line, I found a certain comfort level
in being a school principal, and count-
ed myself fortunate to have gotten
this far. One has to be realistic, unless
you want to spend your entire life
being frustrated and unemployed!”
Somehow, I can’t imagine Mr.
Keck ever running around like a wet
hen having some fit of frustration.
He’s too level-headed. He’d bet-
ter be…after all, he’s the principal.
PresidentCarolyne Brooks
Vice PresidentKaren Fisher
TreasurerDale Hansen
ImmediatePast PresidentJoseph Alesandrini
IASB is a voluntary association of local boards ofeducation and is not affiliated with any branch ofgovernment.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Abe LincolnRoger Edgecombe
BlackhawkJackie Mickley
Central Illinois ValleyThomas Neeley
Cook NorthPhil Pritzker
Cook SouthTom Cunningham
Cook WestJoanne Zendol
Corn BeltMark Harms
DuPageRosemary Swanson
EgyptianJohn Metzger
IlliniMichelle Skinlo
KaskaskiaLinda Eades
KishwaukeeMary Stith
Lake CountyJoanne Osmond
NorthwestBen Andersen
ShawneeRoger Pfister
SouthwesternJohn Coers
Starved RockSimon Kampwerth Jr.
Three RiversDale Hansen
Two RiversDavid Barton
Wabash ValleyTim Blair
WesternSue McCance
Chicago BoardJesse Ruiz
Service AssociatesSteve Larson
MAY-JUNE 2013 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 3
4 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MAY-JUNE 2013
The world was changing dra-
matically in the twenty year
period following the end of World War
II. The “Baby Boom” generation was
in its infancy and all of its ramifica-
tions were felt most in local school
districts. Enrollments were bulging,
as were expenses to keep up with the
staffing and construction required to
house the new population.
Technology was also making its
impact on local schools – with tele-
vision becoming a significant new
tool, or distraction, according to many.
But it was another technological
advance that had an even greater
impact on U.S. public education and
one that continues to this day.
The Russians successfully
launched Sputnik 1 on October 4,
1957, the first-ever satellite to orbit
the earth. The impact of this mile-
stone would be felt for decades, cred-
ited by many as the pre-cursor to
the space and arms race in what
became known as the “Cold War”
between Russia and the United States.
This competition not only altered
national public policy and politi-
cal strategy, but it became the focal
point for how the public viewed its
schools.
The first of what would be many
articles on the subject appeared in
the May-June 1958 issue of The Illi-
nois School Board Journal. Dr. Charles
Howell, director of research for North-
ern Illinois University, saw the poten-
tial for damage to the image of public
education. “That a 24-inch ball cir-
cling the earth where no such object
was to be seen before should have a
prolific effect on the education pro-
gram of an entire nation is amazing,”
he wrote.
“That it should take some such
impetus to make a people examine
carefully one of their most important
institutions is in some ways absurd.
And yet that is what has happened.”
The source of introspection came
not so much from the success of Sput-
nik; rather, it was the failure of the
U.S. to beat or match the Russian
effort that caused the consternation.
American efforts to duplicate the
satellite launch failed several times,
resulting in significant embarrass-
ment. Another Journal author, Robert
E. Pruitt, superintendent of Forest
Park Public Schools, captured this
sentiment when he described the
frustration this way:
“In December 1957, we were star-
tled when our own Sputnik dribbled
out over the beaches of Florida that
we were not to catch up just by decid-
ing that we would. Russia credits good
education for their accomplishments,
so we turn also to education with
numerous quick, cheap answers.
There is no doubt that the answer is
education, but the process will not
be quick or cheap.”
His words were prophetic. Less
than a year after the launch of Sput-
nik 1, Congress passed the National
Defense Education Act, pouring bil-
lions of dollars into U.S. education.
Today’s ongoing debate over how U.S.
students match – or fail to match –
their overseas counterparts in math
and science scores can be attributed
directly to the Sputnik launch and
the Cold War era of the 1950s and
James Russell is
IASB associate
executive
director for
communications.
Centennial celebration ...Space race and public educationfollow same trajectory
by James Russell
Part III — 1953-1972This is the third in a year-long series that will detail the histo-
ry of the Illinois Association of School Boards from its inception in
1913 through its 100th anniversary on December 13, 2013.
F E A T U R E A R T I C L E
MAY-JUNE 2013 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 5
60s.
Of course, that was not the only
thing occupying the attention of Illi-
nois educators and school boards.
School finances and state fund-
ing were part of an ongoing debate.
The state’s School Problems Com-
mission concluded in 1953 that cal-
culations of federal and state aid
should be changed, so that districts
that depended on both were not penal-
ized. And in 1970, IASB outlined
its position and rationale on public
school financing in the state Consti-
tutional Convention debate. The Asso-
ciation recommended that the
convention readopt Article VIII, Sec-
tion 1: The General Assembly shall
provide a thorough and efficient sys-
tem of free schools, whereby all chil-
dren of this state may receive a good
common school education.
The rationale was equally emphat-
ic: “It is essential that the state’s
responsibility for education be
acknowledged in the constitution
because the General Assembly mem-
bership is subject to change. If the
responsibility is not stated in the con-
stitution, a general assembly could
enact legislation placing the complete
burden of financing, etc., on the local
district.”
School finances were not the only
concern of the Association during
this era. In 1955, a joint commission
of IASB and IASA concluded an 18-
month study on the working rela-
tionship of school boards and their
chief administrators. The result of
this study was a document entitled,
“Statement of Principles Basic to
Effective Cooperation,” that was pre-
sented to and adopted by both asso-
ciations.
The state’s first Open Meetings
Act took effect in 1958 and was met
with little resistance or fanfare. “The
new state law dealing with official
meetings of public agencies of the
state, including school boards, is noth-
ing new, but merely reaffirms what
had been considered good public pol-
icy,” according to an article in the
June 1958 issue of the School Board
News Bulletin.
That year, IASB board of direc-
tors appointed a committee to eval-
uate member services and concluded
two things: 1) that present services
could be improved and enlarged; 2)
that many members do not know
what Association services are avail-
able.
This era also saw a boom of new
school construction.
In 1959 alone, Illinois voters
approved 209 out of 230 bond issue
elections. This 89 percent pass rate
encompassed elections in 57 differ-
ent counties. Similarly, voters approved
99 of 120 proposals to increase local
education tax rates. But finding enough
space to house a burgeoning enroll-
ment was frustrated by the fact that
the state was experiencing a severe
teacher shortage.
Between 1952 and 1972, Illinois
public school enrollment skyrocket-
ed by 1 million students (1.2 million
to 2.3 million). However, teacher
ranks were slow to keep pace. One
reason was cited in an article pub-
lished in the July-August 1953 issue
of the Journal: “If our teachers con-
tinue to leave the profession to enter
business and if our young people go
directly into business, our teacher
shortage will be increasingly hard-
er to cope with,” said Arthur Adams,
assistant superintendent of public
instruction. His suggestion was to
increase salaries, improve housing
facilities for teacher families, encour-
age teacher participation in local com-
munities, maintain school facilities,
add funds for teacher training, and
spread the message that “teaching is
a basic need for the preservation of
our way of life.”
As public school enrollment grew
in this era, so did the Association. In
fact, membership topped 1,000 dis-
tricts in 1961. This included 954
school districts, three non-high school
districts, and 43 county boards of
school trustees. It was appropriate;
therefore, that Association services
and staff grew accordingly. In Decem-
ber 1972, at the conclusion of this
twenty-year period, IASB named
Harold P. Seamon to succeed B.B.
Burgess as the Association’s third full-
time executive director. Robert M.
Cole, the Association’s first director,
retired at the end of 1968, conclud-
ing 25 years of service.
IASB presidents1952-53 Robert Krebs, Mt. Vernon
1954-55 Harold Dean, Mendota
1956 Donald M. Stevenson, Elburn
1957-58 Harold S. Dawson, Champaign
1959-60 Joseph Ackerman, Chicago
1961-62 Junius Califf, Rock Island
1963 Reid R. Tombaugh, Pontiac
1964 Owen Marsh, Springfield
1965-66 Martin L. Cassell Jr., Barrington
1967-68 John Illyes, Palestine
1969 Robert A. Jamieson, Peoria
1970-71 George H. Wirth, New Athens
1972-73 Edward C. Epstein, Crete-Monee
6 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MAY-JUNE 2013
F E A T U R E A R T I C L E
With PERA implementation
dates on the not-too-distant
horizon, it is important to start think-
ing about what teachers’ unions might
be expected to demand when it comes
to including data and indicators of
student growth as a significant fac-
tor in rating teacher performance. In
fact, contracts that are being bar-
gained right now may well extend
beyond a district’s applicable imple-
mentation date, and thus would have
to address this issue. This article is
intended to make some predictions,
hopefully reasonable ones, as to pos-
sible union positions on various issues
related to the negotiation of post-
implementation date teacher evalu-
ations.
At the outset, it is important to
remember the role of the joint com-
mittee as expressed in the PERA itself:By no later than the applicable
implementation date, such school
district shall, in good faith coop-
eration with its teachers or, where
applicable, the exclusive bar-
gaining representative of its teach-
ers, incorporate the use of data
and indicators on student growth
as a significant factor in rating
teaching performance, into its
evaluation plan for all teachers,
both those teachers in contrac-
tual continued service and those
teachers not in contractual con-
tinued service. The plan shall at
least meet the standards and
requirements for student growth
and teacher evaluation estab-
lished under Section 24A-7, and
specifically describe how student
growth data and indicators will
be used as part of the evaluation
process, how this information
will relate to evaluation stan-
dards, the assessments or oth-
er indicators of student
performance that will be used in
measuring student growth and
the weight that each will have,
the methodology that will be used
to measure student growth, and
the criteria other than student
growth that will be used in eval-
uating the teacher and the weight
each will have. To incorporate
the use of data and indicators of
student growth as a significant
factor in rating teacher perfor-
mance into the evaluation plan,
the district shall use a joint com-
mittee composed of equal rep-
resentation selected by the district
and its teachers or, where applic-
able, the exclusive bargaining
representative of its teachers.
105 ILCS 5/24A-4.
In addition to these provisions,
Illinois State Board Education reg-
ulations require the joint committee
to determine the types of assessments
(Type I, II or III) to be used for each
category of teachers, subject to the
general limitations set forth therein
(23 Ill.Admin.Code §50.110). The
joint committee is also required to
determine how certain student char-
acteristics shall be used for each mea-
surement model chosen to ensure
that they best measure the impact
that a teacher, school and school dis-
trict have on students’ academic
achievement.
This is the role of the joint com-
mittee. It is expected that the unions
will try to expand the role of the joint
committee beyond what is provided
for in the statute and the regulations,
and to expand the requirements relat-
ing to the joint committee to a posi-
tion that all aspects of an evaluation
plan have to be negotiated. This is
obviously to be avoided. While teacher
evaluation plans have always had
to be done in cooperation with the
teachers’ union, allowing the joint
committee to have more authority
than it actually has would unduly
expand the role of the union in the
creation and the operation of the plan.
It has long been the case that the
procedural aspects of an evaluation
plan are mandatory subjects of bar-
gaining, but the substantive aspects
of the plan are not (Alton Education
Thomas Melody
is a partner with
the Chicago law
firm of Klein,
Thorpe and
Jenkins, Ltd. His
practice is
concentrated in
labor and
employment law.
He is a member
of the executive
committee of the
Illinois Council of
School Attorneys
and contributes
regularly to IASB
activities.
Bargaining PERA evaluations:What to expect at the table
by Thomas M. Melody
MAY-JUNE 2013 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 7
Association and Alton Community
Unit School District No. 11, 9 PERI
¶ 1085 (IELRB, 1993)). PERA did not
change this. In fact, PERA specifi-
cally provides:Nothing in this subsection (a)
shall make decisions on the use
of data and indicators on student
growth as a significant factor in
rating teacher performance
mandatory subjects of bargain-
ing under the Illinois Educational
Labor Relations Act that are not
currently mandatory subjects of
bargaining under the Act. 105
ILCS 5/24A-4.
PERA did, obviously, call for the
creation of the joint committee and
specify its duties. But this does not
mean that substantive aspects of an
evaluation plan are now mandatory
subjects of bargaining, or that all
aspects of an evaluation plan are now
subject to approval by a committee
that has a 50-50 split of teachers and
management. Thus, even though the
use of data and indicators on student
growth is required to be incorpo-
rated into the evaluation plan in good
faith cooperation with the teach-
ers’ union, this does not mean that
all aspects of the evaluation plan,
or even those aspects of the plan under
the “jurisdiction” of the joint com-
mittee, are now mandatory subjects
of bargaining.
It is also expected that the unions
may attempt to use PERA to encroach
on other management rights or to
otherwise expand their rights and
powers in the realm of teacher eval-
uations. For example, they may claim
that there should be some kind of
appeal procedure by which a teacher
can challenge his or her evaluation
rating. There is no requirement that
any such procedure exist and it should
not, at least in my opinion, exist. Eval-
uation ratings, as substantive com-
ponents of an evaluation plan, do not
have to be negotiated and are not sub-
ject to arbitration (Board of Educa-
tion of DuPage High School District
No. 88 v. IELRB, 246 Ill.App.3d 967,
617 N.E.2d 790 (1st Dist., 1993)).
As another example, the unions
may claim that the joint committee
should be involved in RIFs or in fill-
ing vacancies. Just because the RIF
revisions in Senate Bill 7 now relate
RIFs to evaluations does not mean
that the joint committee should have
anything to do with RIFs. Similarly,
the fact that vacancies now have to
STAFFOFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Roger L. Eddy,Executive DirectorBenjamin S. Schwarm, Deputy Executive Director
Meetings ManagementPatricia Culler, Assistant to the Executive DirectorCarla S. Bolt, Director-designeeSandy Boston, Assistant Director
Office of General CounselMelinda Selbee, General CounselKimberly Small, Assistant General Counsel
Executive SearchesDonna Johnson, DirectorDoug Blair, ConsultantThomas Leahy, ConsultantDave Love, Consultant
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
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Production ServicesDiane M. Cape, Senior Director
ADVOCACY/GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS
Benjamin S. Schwarm, Deputy Executive DirectorDeanna L. Sullivan, DirectorSusan Hilton, DirectorZach Messersmith, Assistant Director
AdvocacyCynthia Woods, Director
BOARD DEVELOPMENT/TARGETING ACHIEVEMENT THROUGH GOVERNANCE
Angie Peifer, Associate Executive Director
Board DevelopmentSandra Kwasa, DirectorNesa Brauer, Consultant
Targeting Achievement through Governance
Steve Clark, Consultant
COMMUNICATIONS
James Russell, Associate Executive DirectorGary W. Adkins, Director/EditorialLinda Dawson, Director/EditorialJennifer Nelson, Director, Information ServicesGerald R. Glaub, Consultant
FIELD SERVICES/POLICY SERVICES
Cathy A. Talbert, Associate Executive Director
Field Services
Larry Dirks, DirectorDean Langdon, DirectorPatrick Rice, DirectorJeff Cohn, DirectorBarbara B. Toney, DirectorLaurel DiPrima, Director
Policy Services
Anna Lovern, DirectorNancy Bohl, ConsultantAndrea Dolgin, ConsultantJackie Griffith, ConsultantWayne Savageau, ConsultantBrian Zumpf, Consultant
IASB OFFICES
2921 Baker DriveSpringfield, Illinois 62703-5929217/528-9688 Fax 217/528-2831
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8 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MAY-JUNE 2013
be filled based on qualifications and
not just seniority does not bring
the joint committee into that dis-
cussion. The joint committee has
nothing to do with either of these top-
ics and if any such effort is under-
taken it should be resisted.
Also, it is important to remem-
ber the reason PERA was adopted,
which is set forth in the findings at
the beginning of the Act:
The General Assembly finds and
declares all of the following:
(1) Effective teachers and school
leaders are a critical factor con-
tributing to student achievement.
(2) Many existing district performance
evaluation systems fail to ade-
quately distinguish between effec-
tive and ineffective teachers and
principals. A recent study of eval-
uation systems in three of the
largest Illinois districts found that
out of 41,174 teacher evaluations
performed over a five-year peri-
od, 92.6 percent of teachers were
rated “superior” or “excellent,”
7 percent were rated “satisfacto-
ry,” and only 0.4 percent were rat-
ed “unsatisfactory.”
(3) Performance evaluation systems
must assess professional com-
petencies as well as student
growth.
(4) School districts and the state
must ensure that performance
evaluation systems are valid and
reliable and contribute to the
development of staff and
improved student achievement
outcomes.
The General Assembly seems
to have realized that when every
employee, or nearly every employ-
ee, gets the highest possible evalu-
ation rating, then the whole evaluation
system becomes virtually worthless.
Evaluation ratings should accurately
reflect the skills and abilities of the
employee being evaluated and, just
like every member of the group can-
not be the worst, every member of
the group cannot be the best. When
all employees are rated “excellent”
then the meaning of “excellent” is
necessarily and automatically watered
down. Thus, in working with the joint
committee to incorporate the data
and indicators on student growth, I
believe it is important to remember
that the purpose of evaluations is
not to make all the employees as
happy as possible but to ensure that
our teachers are continuing to devel-
op and our student achievement out-
comes are improving. Efforts to “water
down” the impact or outcome of
using data and indicators on student
growth should, in my opinion, be
avoided.
It is also expected that the unions
may try to expand the 180-day time-
line. This should be avoided. PERA
requires that if the joint committee
cannot reach agreement on the things
it is supposed to reach agreement
within “180 calendar days of the
committee’s first meeting,” then the
district shall implement the mod-
el evaluation plan established by the
state board of education with respect
to the use of data and indicators on
student growth. The 180-day time-
line, and the required consequence
of having to adopt the state plan, is
a built-in protection against the
unions requiring never-ending nego-
tiations and thus avoiding the imple-
mentation altogether. In my opinion,
the 180-day timeline is a strict and
clear timeline and cannot be avoid-
ed by arguing that some committee
meetings are “informal” or “unoffi-
cial.” The fact that there is a maxi-
mum time frame for the joint
committee’s work to be completed
is, in my opinion, a benefit to man-
agement that should not be aban-
doned.
Finally, the unions may also try
to claim that they have some right
to select or to participate in the
selection of the management rep-
resentation on the joint committee.
Nothing in PERA changed the well-
settled labor law principle that both
sides have complete discretion to
select their own representatives.
Just like management has no right
to determine who the union brings
to the table, the union has no right
to determine who management brings
to the table. The number of repre-
sentatives from each side has to be
equal. This does not mean that either
side gets to pick who is on the oth-
er side.
In conclusion, a lot remains to
be seen with respect to union strate-
gies relating to the negotiations of
PERA evaluations. These predictions
hopefully will provide some item of
what we can expect as the imple-
mentation dates get closer.
Evaluation ratings, as substantive
components of an evaluation plan,
do not have to be negotiated and are
not subject to arbitration.
10 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MAY-JUNE 2013
F E A T U R E A R T I C L E
The Illinois Association of School
Boards has consistently urged
school boards to establish written
policies, rules and regulations. We
have done so for several reasons.
The first and foremost reason is
that the School Code (Chap. 122 Sec.
6-20 — Illinois Revised Statutes 1955)
specifically charges school boards
with the mandatory duty “To adopt
and enforce all necessary rules for
the management and government of
the public schools of their district.”
Our courts interpret this section by
repeatedly saying it is assumed that
boards have carried out this provi-
sion of the law and failure to do so is
fatal.
The second reason for having
written policies is because they are
fundamental to the morale of the
whole school system — teachers,
non-teachers, pupils, parents and
school boards. Any school board that
will first set its own house in order
by letting everyone know the condi-
tions upon which it will operate com-
mands the confidence and respect of
all who work with them.
The third reason for having writ-
ten policies is that they clarify for all
concerned the educational aims of
the district and the methods by which
they may be achieved. In addition, a
set of policies, rules and regulations
put together into a single document
establishes an orderly process of devel-
opment and a common source for
procedure where all may look for
guidance. Bringing previous board
actions together under appropriate
headings eliminates contradictions
and misunderstandings.
There are several points about
policies, rules and regulations which
we believe are basically important.
While the law says that there shall be
rules established, yet on the other
hand the record must not be clut-
tered with a lot of unnecessary rules.
There is no need to have rules just
for rules’ sake. A rule is good only if
it serves a purpose.
Another point is that policies,
rules and regulations serve best only
if they are stated in a positive man-
ner so as to accomplish a positive
purpose. Too many times there are
included items that belong strictly to
administrative detail and have no
place in a policy statement.
Finally, it must be understood
that policies are subject to change.
Therefore, they must be consid-
ered flexible to the extent that they
may be changed, altered or revoked
whenever conditions warrant, and
that new policies may be added as
need for them arises. Whenever one
of these occurs, thought and consid-
eration must be given to the date upon
which they will become effective.
Ample notice of changes or additions
will cause them to be more readily
accepted with good grace by those
who are affected.
We believe there is a distinction
between a policy and a rule or regu-
lation. It is not always easy to recog-
nize the difference; however, as a
general rule, the school board usu-
ally develops policies while rules and
regulations are developed by the staff
with approval by the board. Experi-
ence has shown that participation in
the development of rules and regu-
lations by those who have worked
under them will mean more than rules
and regulations developed in any oth-
er manner.
Robert M. Cole
was the first
executive direc-
tor of the Illinois
Association of
School Boards,
serving from
1943 to 1969.
He authored this
article for the
September 24,
1956, issue of
the School Board
News Bulletin.
His ideas are
consistent with
the way IASB
continues to
work with school
boards around
policies, rules
and regulations.
From 1956, IASB’s thoughts on policies, rules and regulations
by Robert M. Cole
12 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MAY-JUNE 2013
C O V E R S T O R Y
Why Johnny Can’t Read, but
Yoshio Can” represents just
a portion of Richard Lynn’s 1988 book,
Educational Achievement in Japan.
When published in National Review,
the excerpt of the Northern Ireland
author’s work punctuated what had
been touted when A Nation at Risk
was released in the United States in
1983: students in the U.S. did not
measure up to some other foreign
students, especially those from Japan.
In his writings, Lynn said evi-
dence of high Japanese education
standards began to appear in the 1960s
and that students schooled in Japan
consistently scored first on science
and math tests, while American stu-
dents were consistently last or next
to last. Most European students fell
somewhere in between.
“There can be no doubt that
American schools compare poorly
with Japanese schools,” he wrote. “In
the latter, there are no serious prob-
lems with poor discipline, violence
or truancy; Japanese children take
school seriously and work hard.”
Lynn went on to say that the U.S.
could emulate success in Japan by
instituting a strong national cur-
riculum, strong incentives for stu-
dents and stimulating competition
between schools.
So why, if these things have been
evident for 25 years or more, do many
American students still seem to strug-
gle and Japanese students still seem
to excel? Is it as simple as Lynn’s diag-
nosis? Or do more factors come into
play?
Is public education in foreign
countries — especially in Japan —
better than that in the U.S., or is it
just different?
One teacher’s journey
Marlin Hughes, a native of Nebras-
ka, went to Japan in search of a change.
What he found was a wife, a daugh-
ter and a business life that has put
him in a good position to see the dif-
ferences between education in Japan
and his homeland.
Hughes currently teaches Eng-
lish privately to Japanese students
as the head of English Traveler Fukuo-
ka ’95. In addition, his 16-year-old
daughter Aika has been educated
in the Japanese system and is now
an exchange student at the high school
Linda Dawson is
IASB director/
editorial services
and editor of The
Illinois School
Board Journal.
Education in other countries…Is it really better or just different?
by Linda Dawson
“
Hughes attended. He has also taught
in public junior high and elementary
schools in Japan, as well as pub-
lic/private kindergartens and nurs-
eries.
A resident of Itoshima City,
Fukuoka prefecture, since 1995, he
has logged more than 25,000 class
hours and has taught more than 5,000
children and adults from all walks of
life.
Hughes initially wanted to go to
Africa with the Peace Corps after he
graduated from Hastings College, now
the University of Nebraska at Hast-
ings. But during his interview with a
Peace Corps agent in Lincoln, he
found himself unable to commit to
giving up a dating relationship in order
to leave.
While dating in general wasn’t
bad, the agent told him, the notion
of maintaining a relationship while
serving in a host country would only
prove to be a mistake and lead to
many problems. “He said that being
a Peace Corp volunteer means a 24/7
job the entire time you serve,” Hugh-
es recalled.
Still thinking about working over-
seas, Hughes had the good fortune in
1991 to run into a fellow York High
School graduate who advertised in
the local newspaper for help with run-
ning an English school in Japan. With
support from family, co-workers and
friends, he boarded a plane for Japan
on February 13, 1992 … and has lived
there ever since.
“I worked with Michael (Con-
nely) for two and a half years, learn-
ing the tricks and trades of teaching
English as a foreign language,” Hugh-
es said, “then I branched out during
my days off, found students, found
supporters, found offices, and split
from Michael’s school in the winter
of 1995.”
At first he thought he was crazy
for such an undertaking, but after
starting out with just four students,
he expanded to more than 50 with-
in months. He has become a student
of Japanese culture even as he teach-
es his native English.
The Japanese system
Some things about education in
Japan are very similar to that in the
United States, Hughes said.
“The Japanese have a similar sys-
tem in regards to when children start
school, pre-K through grade 12, and
a nursery system that takes kids as
young as three months,” he said.
The pre-K system in Japan “enter-
tains kids so that they can enter ele-
mentary school somewhat prepared,”
and is for children ages 3 to 6. The
Education Statistics Japan US
Duration of education 12 years 12 years
Compulsory education 10 years 12 years
Secondary enrollment 7,894,456 24,185,790
Secondary teachers 612,629 1,615,032
Primary enrollment 7,257,223 24,559,490
Primary teachers 378,950 1,728,192
Total expenditure % GDP 4.6 7
Spending per secondary student $5,890 $7,764
Spending per primary student $5,075 $6,043
Math literacy 557 493
Science literacy 550 499
Reading literacy 522 504
% primary PE instruction 10 12
% primary arts instruction 11 7
% primary language instruction 14 17
% primary for. lang. instruction 13 7
% primary math instruction 12 16
% primary science instruction 11 14
% primary social studies instruction 12 12
% primary technology instruction 8 3
Source: NationMaster
Marlin Hughes is an American teacherworking in Japanese schools.
MAY-JUNE 2013 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 13
14 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MAY-JUNE 2013
big difference is who can attend pub-
lic pre-K/kindergarten and who attends
private … and the cost.
Public pre-K/kindergarten costs
about $200 a month, while similar
private schools cost about $350 a
month. While the private pre-K/kinder-
gartens are superior, both systems
require that the mother be a stay-at-
home housewife and not work.
“If this rule is broken,” Hughes
said, “the family will be asked to
change to a nursery system.”
The nursery system, on the oth-
er hand, takes children from 3 months
to 6 years, and those moms must be
employed. Cost of the nursery sys-
tem ranges from $120 to $500 a month,
depending on the age of the child.
Babies get almost a 1:1 ratio of teacher
and child, Hughes said, so the cost is
greater.
Children reaching age 6 are
enrolled in primary school. Accord-
ing to the Japanese Ministry of Edu-
cation, Hughes said, students must
be in school from the primary grades
(1-5) through junior high (6-9) or age
15. These are generally neighborhood
schools and attendance is compul-
sory.
The school day in Japan is based
on a seven-period day; it begins at
A Japanese student in Americasees school with different view by Aika Mishel Hughes
My life in a U.S. high school has had some very inter-
esting turns, including attending the Japanese Tea
Ceremony and being part of two sports teams that have
gone to a state tournament.
I have also had the privilege to be a part of a unique
system only approached by a few: an International
Exchange program. You see, I am of a mixed race, my
father is an American and my mother is a Japanese nation-
al. Let me tell you what I have perceived as good and bad
about the programs in the U.S. and my homeland.
Academics have been encouraged by both my own
parents and my current homestay parents. As a Japan-
ese high school student, I was very busy studying for my
classes and had no time to think about anything else,
even on the weekends. You see, in Japan you don’t have
small quizzes like in the U.S., so we have to take care
of our own grade.
In Japan, we have mid-terms and finals, and that’s
it! If you get a bad grade on your mid-terms or finals, you
will fail the class.
Also, in Japan, you have the same class schedule for
a whole year. Even if you fail the semester test, you
still have a chance to get the grade back by scoring
better on the next test. In the U.S., students change their
schedules when the semester is over. That is fun, but
also troublesome.
If you scored badly on tests during the first semes-
ter, you don’t have a chance to bring your grade back up.
I have noticed, though, that not all classes in the U.S.
have quizzes. The teacher either chooses to have them
or chooses to primarily grade students from their tests.
Both Japanese and American students learn from
teachers, but how classrooms are set up differ quite a
bit.
In the U.S., students don’t have their own textbooks,
but in Japan we do. This expense is picked up by our par-
ents, and textbooks can get quite costly at times. But
they are ours to write in, rather than texts in the U.S.
that are turned back to the school at the end of the semes-
ter.
But Japanese students are careful what they write
in their textbooks, because their teachers sometimes
ask to see the students’ books. If they drew pictures rather
than take neat notes, students are reprimanded for keep-
ing a sloppy book.
Teachers in Japan not only grade you on what you
score, but also how you did on worksheets that are con-
stantly handed out every class. They also grade you on
how your textbook looked. Bad notes — not-so good
grade.
The good thing about having your own textbook is
Aika Mishel Hughes, 16, is the daughter of Marlin and
Takiko Hughes of Itoshima City, Japan. She is a foreign
exchange student at York High School in York, Nebraska, for
the 2012-13 school year. She wrote this to accompany the
cover story, which features her father, Marlin Hughes.
MAY-JUNE 2013 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 15
8:40 a.m. and ends at 4:30 p.m., with
40 minutes for lunch. Students in
grades 1-3 only have six periods, while
grade 12 students may have as many
as nine periods.
The school year generally runs
from April through March and is bro-
ken into three terms, with brief spring
and winter breaks as well as the month-
long “summer holiday,” according to
www.education-in-japan.info. This
holiday coincides with the height
of cherry blossom time, which is con-
sidered a time of renewal in Japan.
Other than the longer school
year, another big difference is the
way schools are funded in Japan.
Everyone in Illinois is familiar
with the basic way public schools are
funded. The bulk of tax money for
education comes from local proper-
ty taxes, with additional funds from
the state and federal government. All
real estate is taxed to support schools,
regardless of whether the property
owner has children in school or not.
In Japan, Hughes said, funding
comes from the prefecture, which is
comparable to state government in
the U.S. However, only those with
children in the system pay taxes to
support the schools. The elderly and
single adults are exempt.
you can use this note taking/classroom text to prepare
for upcoming mid-terms or finals and that makes test
prep easier. On the other hand, when you have your own
textbooks, you have to carry them home every night and
that is a pain.
In Japan, we don’t have the same schedule every
day. My dad told me that in U.S. colleges they do the
same as we do in Japan, regarding daily classes. A neg-
ative about studying in Japan is that students don’t have
the freedom to choose their own schedules — the schools
do it for them.
Another difference is that Japanese teachers come
to the students’ classroom, not the other way around like
here in the States where the students change classrooms.
In American high schools, many students get involved
in sports and other after-school activities that make life
more interesting. In Japan, we have fewer chances to
participate in these things because we are programmed
to primarily study.
Here, students seem to really enjoy school because
they have the freedom to choose what they want to study
for a semester, and they have the chance to get involved
in many things that make a teenager’s life more enjoy-
able.
In Japan, it’s very important to have a good grade
and keep it. While Japanese schools do have sports teams,
it is hard for the student to do both because of the home-
work load they have every night. Students go to school
early and come home late from studying. So if you play
a sport, you come home even later, like 9:30 p.m. or even
10 p.m.
Playing sports in America requires students to try
and mix both fun and competition. In Japan, fun is for
another time. Japanese students practice sports all week-
end, too. Because uniforms are owned by the students
in Japan, parents must also pick up this fee. Like I
said, it can get quite costly.
We also play the same sports in Japan the year round,
not like the U.S., which switches according to the sea-
son. I love this system here in America. I think a lot of
my friends in Fukuoka, where I go to school, would
like this, too.
The last thing that I’d like to talk about is the thing
I miss most about student life in Japan.
In Japan, it is important to have events that make
parents want to get involved along with their kids, and
one of them is the annual school festivals/sports festi-
vals. These require students to practice weeks before the
event in order to look good in front of the parents, because
some schools ask parents to run, jump or even dance
right along with the kids.
If sporting events aren’t your thing, then you can
participate as a cheerleader to help your class team out.
This is something that I have really missed, because I
feel that students really get close to each other at this
time. It is however, one of the few times we do get this
close.
16 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MAY-JUNE 2013
Private schools, he said, run on
the same guidelines as those in the
U.S., i.e., hefty tuition with no gov-
ernment assistance.
The high school experience
While the primary system is sim-
ilar to the U.S., things start to change
at the junior high level.
“When high school rolls around,”
Hughes said, “all students must take
an entrance exam to get in … and the
high school doesn’t always lie with-
in the boundaries of their neigh-
borhood to town.”
The competition for spots in many
of these high schools is fierce, he said,
and the competition to attract stu-
dents can even get a little dirty.
Hughes said he and his wife feel
fortunate that their daughter tested
well and was accepted at a private
high school once she finished junior
high. Her placement is what has
allowed her to study in the United
States this year.
In terms of cost, the Hughes may
pay more dearly, however, for choos-
ing a private school. Costs range
from a low of $250 a month to as
much as $3,000 a month. However,
the advantage of a private high school
is that it often is paired with a uni-
versity.
Successful completion of the pri-
vate high school can give a student a
“green light” for college entrance
exams, which Hughes described as a
“bearcat” compared to the ACT/SAT
system used in the United States.
In the U.S., a student can still be
admitted to college, even with a low
score. In Japan, “if one can’t score
high enough in the preliminary rounds,
they are rejected and told to either
try a lower ranked school or not even
go to school at all after graduating
high school.
Much pressure is endured dur-
ing the senior year, and Hughes
acknowledged that the country expe-
riences higher student suicide rates
as a result.
And that brings us to another
twist in the Japanese system: the
“cram school.”
According to the education in
Japan website, many students attend
private afterschool study sessions
(juku or gakken) while they are in
junior high and high school. A sep-
arate cram school (yobiko) operates
for those students looking for help
before they take university entrance
exams.
These schools come with yet
another extra cost beyond the cost
of attending junior high or high school;
the yobiko can cost as much as $10,000
a year, Hughes said.
In a paper written in 1995 at
Carnegie Mellon University, James
Kim compared Japanese and Amer-
ican education systems and cultures
and theorized that the only reason
Japanese students are more successful
is because of these cram schools, not
because their public schools are so
much superior.
“The sole purpose of a juku school
is to provide the student with the
information and knowledge in order
How does Japan govern its schools?
The Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture represents the
central educational authority in Japan. It gives assistance to all levels of
education throughout the country. Japan is composed of 47 “prefectures”
(prefectures are similar to U.S. counties). Each prefecture has a board of
education that coordinates education in that geographic unit. Each
school board is comprised of five members who are appointed by that pre-
fecture’s governor, approved by the legislative assembly and serve a four-
year term.
While some of the duties of the board are similar to school boards in
the United States (such as overseeing the drafting of budgets), other duties
far exceed those of school boards domestically. Such duties include issuing
certificates to teachers, promoting events and activities related to physical
education and managing the wide variety of educational units in the pre-
fecture, including museums and public libraries.
Public education is also handled at the municipal level by a municipal
board of education. Each board, consisting of five members selected by the
mayor, holds office for four years. They have the responsibility of selecting
a municipal superintendent of education from among their own member-
ship, managing the educational institutions, and selecting textbooks.
MAY-JUNE 2013 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 17
to pass the entrance exam and be
accepted into a top university,” Kim
wrote. “Americans need to pay clos-
er attention to where Japanese stu-
dents acquire their much admired
education.”
By securing a spot in a top Japan-
ese university, Kim wrote, such a stu-
dent also “guarantees a job for life.”
Dropouts, GEDs and testing
Once a Japanese student has
completed junior high, he or she has
the right (with their parents’ per-
mission) to leave school, although
data shows that 95 percent of stu-
dents go on to high school and grad-
uate.
While this graduation rate is high
for a major power, Hughes said the
number is deceiving.
“Most think that all Asians, espe-
cially the Chinese and Japanese, are
superior in academic talent than their
western neighbor,” he said, “but one
teacher told me, ‘a fifth of these stu-
dents might as well not have attend-
ed because during classroom study,
they were in a different world and
because of this thinking, the coun-
try will be in turmoil in the not so dis-
tant future.’”
Japan does have a system simi-
lar to the General Education Devel-
opment (GED) test used in the United
States, but it’s rarely used just because
its purpose is counter to everything
in Japanese culture.
Hughes said children are taught
at an early age to be part of the group.
“To be singled out in Japan means
that one is not in acceptance of the
group’s decision and therefore is cast
out so that group cohesion will not
be interrupted.”
In other words, students are not
held back, nor are they put into accel-
erated classes.
All curriculum in Japan is nation-
alized for the public schools, but pri-
vate institutions follow their own
guidelines, and are often a grade above
public schools in what students are
taught, Hughes said.
In the public primary grades,
he said, the emphasis is on basic
mathematical thinking and build-
ing strong group cohesion. As stu-
dents advance, more emphasis is
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18 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MAY-JUNE 2013
placed on taking pride in Japanese
cultural tradition: diet, self-control
and nature.
Once students enter junior high,
they are constantly tested to find
out where they rank in the class —
even though they are taught not
to draw attention to themselves. A
typical junior high testing schedule
for a seventh grader might look like
this:
• National placement test
• Book company test
• Book company test
• A-JHS placement test
• A-JHS mid-term
• Book company test
• Prefecture test
• A-JHS final
• National placement test
Of these, Hughes said, only two
are used to determine a student’s
grade.
Editor’s note: Marlin Hughes
acknowledges the input from Tomoko
Shojima, a teacher at Nijyo Junior
High School in Itoshima City; Yukiko
Murakami, a cram school teacher;
Yukiko Satoh and Fumiko Yoshida,
both retired junior high school teach-
ers; and Atsuko Yamaguchi, a cram
school teacher and school organiz-
er for Maple English, Karatsu City,
Saga Prefecture.
References
Education in Japan, http://www.
education-in-japan.info/ sub1.html
James Kim, “Japanese Education
vs. Amerecan Edukashun: A Compar-
ative Account of Literary Education
between Two Cultures,” http://eserv-
er.org/courses/fall95/76-100g/papers/
kim/default.html
Richard Lynn, “Why Johnny Can’t
Read, but Yoshio Can,” National Review,
October 28, 1988
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20 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MAY-JUNE 2013
C O V E R S T O R Y
While much has been written
recently about the alleged
failure of the U.S. public school sys-
tem, Finland’s system of public edu-
cation has been highlighted as one
of the most successful in the world.
Finnish students consistently score
at the top or near the top on inter-
national tests of student achievement,
while the scores of U.S. students on
the same exams are mediocre in most
cases.
American policymakers have
expressed concern over the perfor-
mance of U.S. students on these tests
and have called for a range of account-
ability measures in an attempt to turn
this situation around.
Beginning with the publication
of A Nation at Risk in 1983 and
through the No Child Left Behind Act
(2001) and the more recent Race to
the Top program (2009), teachers,
administrators and school boards
have been under extreme pressure
to raise test scores. Accountability
in the U.S. public education system
is now focused on how well students
score on state-mandated tests.
In spite of our best efforts,
improvements have been slow, at
best. So what is the key to Finnish
educational success?
Visiting Pasi Sahlberg
We decided the best way to exam-
ine Finnish educational success was
to travel to Finland and to interview
the chief spokesperson for the Finnish
model, Pasi Sahlberg. Sahlberg is the
author of numerous articles on the
Finnish success story and is most
widely known for his 2010 book,
Finnish Lessons: What can the World
Learn from Educational Change
in Finland?
On August 7, 2012, we met with
Sahlberg in his office in Helsinki. In
a wide-ranging interview, which con-
sumed much of the afternoon, he gave
us a comprehensive overview of what
he perceives as the reasons for the
success of the Finnish educational
system.
Reform of the Finnish educa-
tional system began around 1970 with
the implementation of what the Finns
call, peruskoula. This is a universal
system of public education in which
all students are treated equitably,
regardless of their residency, eth-
nicity or innate ability.
Prior to peruskoula, the Finnish
people were not very well educat-
ed. In the 1950s, educational oppor-
tunities were unequal in Finland, with
most young people leaving school
after six or seven years of formal edu-
cation, Sahlberg said. Only those liv-
ing in larger towns and urban areas
even had access to middle schools.
With the implementation of this
new program, all Finnish students
receive the same education through
the second year of high school. At
that point, they either take a voca-
tional track or a college-bound track.
No stigma is attached to the voca-
tional track and 43 percent of Finnish
students exercise this option. Anoth-
er 52 percent pursue the college track
and about 5 percent drop out of school.
Major characteristics
Sahlberg outlined the following
characteristics of the current Finnish
educational system:
• All schooling is free, including pre-
school. Mothers (or fathers) may
stay home and actually continue
to receive pay for the first year after
giving birth. Their specific job is
protected for three years, but they
do not receive pay for the second
and third years of their childcare
leave.
• Finnish students begin public school
at age seven. There is no organized
attempt to teach reading before
age seven.
• When a student first enters school,
the teacher assesses his/her read-
John Hunt is
associate profes-
sor of education-
al leadership at
Southern Illinois
University-
Edwardsville and
a former school
superintendent.
Sandra Watkins is
professor of edu-
cational leader-
ship at Western
Illinois University,
Macomb, and a
former assistant
school superin-
tendent.
Can a Finnish education modelyield similar success in the U.S?
by John Hunt and Sandra Watkins
MAY-JUNE 2013 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 21
ing level and then asks the student
what he/she would like to read. The
student is then grouped in the class-
room with students functioning at
the same level or across the grade
levels with similar students.
• Students do not receive written
grades before the fifth grade. Feed-
back is given by teachers in nar-
rative and verbal form.
• Curriculum is determined at the
building level by the principal and
teachers, and there is no Common
Core-type curriculum in Finland.
• School boards are appointed by
each municipality and the school
board selects the CEO, or super-
intendent.
• No external high-stakes tests are
employed before the end of grade
12.
Sahlberg said most Finnish ele-
mentary and middle schools have
fewer than 300 students. The largest
high school in Finland, in fact, has
just 1,400 students.
Finnish teachers are well trained
and entrance into teacher education
programs is extremely competitive
and coveted by the very best students
in the country. Teachers are drawn
from the top quartile of secondary
school graduates and only 15 percent
of those are accepted. They receive
a three-year graduate-level teacher
preparation program with a living
stipend.
In addition to receiving intense
instruction on how to teach, they also
spend a year in a university labora-
tory school, honing their skills on real
students. Most teachers in Finland
now have master’s degrees in both
their content area and in education.
In addition they are given sufficient
planning time for both individual and
joint planning.
Expanding on the idea of plan-
ning time, Finnish teachers meet at
least one afternoon each week to work
jointly on curriculum. From an inter-
national perspective, Finnish teach-
ers devote less time to formal classroom
teaching than do teachers from most
other countries.
At the middle school level, for
example, Finnish teachers spend just
more than half the hours in the class-
room as do American teachers at the
same grade levels. Finnish teachers
are also given much more time for
professional development activities
than teachers in many other coun-
tries.
The Finnish public is reported
to have an 80 percent confidence lev-
el in its teachers. Because of this,
even though the community coun-
cils, or school boards, help develop
the thrust of particular schools, they
often defer to the expertise of teach-
ers and principals in curricular mat-
ters. Teachers are well-compensated
and highly respected, both of which
contribute to the very low attrition
rate. Furthermore, it is estimated that
only 10 to 15 percent of teachers leave
the profession during the course of
their career.
Could this work here?
Critics of the Finnish educational
system attribute much of its success
to the fact the country has a relatively
small population and is not very
diverse, suggesting that the measures
which work there cannot practical-
ly be transferred to a country such
as the U.S.
Sahlberg counters by stating that
Finland’s population of approximately
5.5 million is comparable to that of
some U.S. states. He also claims that
Finland is becoming much more
diverse due to its growing immigrant
population.
With this said, are there elements
of the Finnish system that could be
— or should be — considered for
implementation in the U.S. public
school system?
One strategy that is not likely to
be considered is the redistribution
of wealth that is used in Finland. When
the country was first moving to perusk-
oula, the rural and poorer schools
were upgraded first, and then improve-
ments were subsequently imple-
mented in the wealthier suburban
and urban areas. A larger portion of
the public money was spent on the
poorer schools. With the heavy reliance
on property tax in many U.S. states,
including Illinois, such a shift in wealth
is unlikely.
What about other areas? Cer-
tainly, the issue of smaller school size
could be examined. While the typi-
cal Finnish class size is not smaller
than ours, with 25 students being typ-
ical, their schools overall are much
smaller.
Smaller schools enable teachers
and principals to better know and
understand their pupils. Smaller
schools make it more likely that
the school welfare teams in each build-
A reasoned and thorough discussion of
public education is needed and can
only happen if all elements of the edu-
cational community begin working
together.
22 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MAY-JUNE 2013
ing will identify students with spe-
cial educational needs, helping to
ensure that needy students are not
overlooked.
Educators and much of the pub-
lic have long understood the value of
smaller schools in the U.S. Even some
larger schools have divided them-
selves into houses or other smaller
units in the attempt to gain the ben-
efits of smaller school size. Natural-
ly, moving to smaller schools comes
with a cost in terms of administra-
tion, facilities and perhaps busing.
Teacher quality is another major
issue to consider. Illinois made one
move in this direction when it
increased the cut score on the Basic
Skills Examination for entrance into
teacher education programs in Sep-
tember 2010. Between September
2008 and August 2010, 85.5 percent
of candidates passed the Basic Skills
Examination on the first attempt.
However, after the cut score was
increased, the percent of candidates
passing the examination between
September 2010 and August 2011
dropped to 28.3 percent.
Once enrolled in teacher edu-
cation programs, it would be hard to
argue against increased experience
working with public school students
in pre-clinical experiences. Indeed,
pre-clinical experiences have increased
for teacher education candidates over
the past three decades.
It also would be hard to argue
against an increased internship, or
student teaching experience. Ironi-
cally, many teacher education insti-
tutions once housed laboratory schools,
similar to those now found in Fin-
land. Unfortunately, most of the U.S.
lab schools were eliminated during
the past 40 years.
Legislation is making strides with
efforts to improve the caliber of teach-
ers. In 2010, Governor Pat Quinn
signed the Performance Evaluation
Reform Act (PERA) into law. This bill,
along with Senate Bill 7, ties a por-
tion of teacher and principal evalu-
ation to student achievement. This
action is an attempt to improve the
quality of teachers already in the field.
Another Finnish concept that
could be considered in the U.S. is the
autonomy given to teachers. This has
led to a level of creativity among teach-
ers that was once the hallmark of U.S.
public education.
However, many current U.S.
teachers know nothing other than
the type of NCLB-induced account-
ability that equates quality to student
performance on state-mandated tests.
In Finland, the teachers and prin-
cipal, working with the local council
or school board, determine the focus
and curriculum for the school. All
subjects are considered to be impor-
tant, not just those addressed by state-
mandated tests.
This is possible in the U.S., but
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MAY-JUNE 2013 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 23
only if we are prepared to approve an
element of risk-taking in order to
restore creativity and innovative prac-
tices in the U.S. schools. It would also
necessitate restoration of the sta-
tus of teachers as educational experts
and a major rebuilding effort for
the public perception of education.
Conclusions
There is no doubt that Illinois
faces a huge problem in terms of its
budget. A bleak financial picture col-
ors every decision and every con-
versation regarding education in the
state.
However, an educated citizenry
is essential for the survival of the state
and the nation. A reasoned and thor-
ough discussion of public educa-
tion is needed and can only happen
if all elements of the educational com-
munity begin working together. This
includes not only teachers, admin-
istrators and parents as individu-
als, but also their professional and
community organizations.
By regaining a moral and pro-
fessional high ground, as a unified
community, professional educators
and their constituents can establish
the groundwork for Finnish-style edu-
cational reforms in the U.S. sys-
tem.
This task seems monumental,
but we cannot assume that it is impos-
sible, because the stakes are too
high.
ReferencesIllinois Certification Testing Sys-
tem. General Assembly Report: ICTS
Basic Skills and Content Area Test Pass
Rate Summary: Initial and Cumula-
tive. September 2008 to June 2011,
http://www.isbe.net/certification/html/tes
ting.htm
National Commission on Excel-
lence in Education (NCEE), A Nation
at Risk: The imperative for educational
reform, Washington, D.C., 1983
No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)
Act of 2001, Public Law 107-110, 2002
Performance Evaluation Reform
Act (PERA), Senate Bill 315, Public Act
96-0861, January 2010
Race to the Top (RTTT) Program,
signed into law as a portion of the Amer-
ican Recovery and Reinvestment Act
(ARRA) of 2009, Public Law 111-5,
2009
Pasi Sahlberg, Finnish Lessons:
What Can the World Learn from Edu-
cational Change in Finland? New York,
N.Y., Teachers College Press, 2010
Pasi Sahlberg, personal commu-
nication, August 7, 2012.
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24 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MAY-JUNE 2013
F E A T U R E A R T I C L E
Policymakers and pundits have
decried “our failing schools”
so often it’s become an accepted truth.
But the naysayers are wrong. To be
sure, our schools need to do better.
But we have much to be proud of, too,
and it’s on this foundation that we
can build a 21st century system that
will work for all kids.
It’s time that we recognize our
accomplishments and give our pub-
lic schools a collective pat on the
back. Here is my personal Top 10 list
of things we’re doing right and where
we should go next.
10. A tradition of universal edu-
cation
Beginning in 1642 when Mass-
achusetts enacted the country’s
first education law, Americans
have placed a high premium on
producing an educated populace.
As Thomas Jefferson wrote,
“Whenever the people are well-
informed, they can be trusted
with their own government.”
Indeed, the history of Ameri-
can education is one of expand-
ing educational opportunity. From
the push for compulsory school-
ing in the last half of the 19th cen-
tury through Brown v. Board of
Education in the mid-20th, it’s a
story that continues to this day.
What’s next? The Common
Core State Standards define expec-
tations for all students that will
prepare them for their next steps,
whether they lead to a four-year
college, two-year credentials or
training for 21st century jobs. At
this writing, 46 states and the Dis-
trict of Columbia have adopted
the Common Core State
Standards.
9. Beginning reading
Over the last decade, our
fourth-graders have improved
their reading skills by six points
on the National Assessment of
Educational Progress (NAEP). If
that doesn’t sound like much, con-
sider that 10 points on the NAEP
scale is approximately one year’s
worth of learning. More signifi-
cantly, the gains have largely been
from the bottom up, and the
achievement gap is narrowing
between children of color and
their white classmates. As a bonus,
American fourth-graders rank
among students from the top-scor-
ing nations in reading literature.
What’s next? Middle- and
high-schoolers aren’t making the
same gains. We need to do more
than just teach kids how to read,
but also focus on developing crit-
ical readers, especially of infor-
mational texts.
8. Civics
On the 1999 international
assessment in civics, U.S. ninth-
graders were No. 1 in civics skills.
By a lot. But what about now?
There hasn’t been an interna-
tional look at this topic since then,
but NAEP offers a clue. Over the
last decade, American fourth-
graders have improved their civics
performance by seven points. His-
panic students improved the
most—by a whopping 17 points.
What’s next? As with read-
ing, middle and high school stu-
dents are not showing the same
progress as their younger siblings.
This deserves our attention, con-
sidering that high school seniors
are able to cast their first votes
or will be voting soon.
7. English language learners
An original study for NSBA’s
Center for Public Education (CPE)
compared the reading achieve-
ment and characteristics of lim-
ited-English-speaking students
in the U.S. to other industrial
nations with high proportions of
Patte Barth is the
director of the
National School
Boards Associa-
tion’s Center for
Public Education.
Her article origi-
nally appeared in
the June 2012
issue of NSBA’s
American School
Board Journal
and is used with
permission.
10 good things aboutU.S. public education
by Patte Barth
MAY-JUNE 2013 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 25
immigrant children (“PIRLS of
Wisdom,” 2009). While English
Language Learner (ELL) students
in American public schools tend
to come from poorer families com-
pared to those in other countries,
their schools nonetheless pro-
vide resources not available to
their international counterparts
and their performance is as good
or better as a result. The big advan-
tage? The U.S has more teachers
trained to teach ELL students.
What’s next? The number of
ELL teachers, though larger than
other countries, is still too small
to meet the need. Another big
issue: Evidence-based instruc-
tion for ELL students too often
takes a backseat to politics. Yet
the research is clear in this regard:
Dual-immersion programs pro-
duce the best long-range results
for ELL students, followed by lan-
guage support in elementary
school. Despite its appeal to some,
English-only submersion has been
proven to have the least effect
(CPE, 2007).
6. ESEA and IDEA: Monumental
laws
In 1965, the country passed
the first Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act (ESEA) as
part of President Lyndon John-
son’s war on poverty. Its intent
was to provide poor children equal
access to a solid public educa-
tion. As such, ESEA did noth-
ing less than establish education
as a civil right, and every presi-
dent since then has supported
the provision of Title I funds to
schools serving poor children.
These goals were further extend-
ed to children with disabilities in
1975’s Education for All Handi-
capped Children Act, now the
Individuals with Disabilities Edu-
cation Act (IDEA), which guar-
antees a “free and appropriate”
education to all special-needs
children.
What’s next? Under Presi-
dent George W. Bush, ESEA
became the No Child Left Behind
Act (NCLB). It added a sharp focus
— and school accountability —
on narrowing achievement gaps
among groups of students based
on race, ethnicity, family income
and special needs. While the idea
of accountability no doubt will
continue, both NCLB proponents
and critics recognize that adjust-
ments need to be made.
5. High-level high school courses
One of public education’s
biggest successes is the increase
in high school academic rigor. In
1990, fewer than a third of high
school seniors (31 percent) had
a core curriculum that includ-
ed math through at least Algebra
II and three lab sciences. By 2009,
that number was 59 percent. More-
over, the course-taking gap
between white and black students
has disappeared.
What’s next? The Office of
Civil Rights recently reported
that there are still 3,000 high
schools in the country lacking
the capacity to offer Algebra II,
meaning their graduates will not
be college-ready or qualified to
enter training programs for many
21st century jobs. Making sure
all students have access to high-
level courses and support to suc-
ceed must be among our highest
public priorities.
4. High-quality kindergarten
No educational investment
pays off more than making sure
children are ready for school when
they enter the kindergarten door.
Recognizing the potential return
on investment, states have been
expanding access to and increas-
ing the quality of pre-K programs.
Over the last decade, the num-
ber of 4-year-olds enrolled in state-
supported programs has doubled
to the current 27 percent. When
including Head Start, we now have
39 percent of 4-year-olds in pub-
licly funded programs. And it’s
not just access that’s improving.
States have been more active in
ensuring the programs attend to
children’s educational prepara-
tion as well as to their social and
emotional development.
What’s next? Despite the
recession, states have attempt-
ed to preserve their pre-K fund-
ing. However, last year witnessed
the first decline in state funding
for pre-K since 2002. These are
painful setbacks, as the nation
still has a long way to go to ensure
universal access for families who
wish to participate in pre-K.
3. High school graduation rates
Researchers have uncovered
student characteristics—such as
poor attendance, failing grades
and disciplinary actions—that
are highly predictive of students
who may be in danger of drop-
ping out. In response, states and
districts have implemented data
systems to flag these “early warn-
ing signs” and provide effective
interventions, often in collabo-
ration with community-based
organizations. The result is that
26 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MAY-JUNE 2013
graduation rates are beginning to
improve. Since 2002, on-time
graduation rates have increased
from 72.6 percent to the current
75.5 percent. According to an
analysis by CPE’s Jim Hull, includ-
ing late graduates in the calcula-
tion would raise that rate by
another 5 to 8 percentage points.
What’s next? Even an 80 per-
cent to 83 percent graduation
rate leaves too many young peo-
ple out of jobs paying a decent
wage. President Barak Obama
has set a goal for the nation to
reach a 90 percent high school
graduation rate by 2020. Reach-
ing this mark will require the com-
bined efforts of schools and their
communities to keep kids in school
and on track to graduate.
2. Mathematics
Yes, really! We may not be
No. 1 in mathematics interna-
tionally, but math progress is still
the great untold story in Ameri-
can education. Since 1990, Amer-
ican fourth-graders have gained
a phenomenal 28 points on NAEP
math. Eighth-graders weren’t far
behind, posting a 21-point boost
over the same period. And progress
was evident in every student group.
Still not convinced? Scores on
the mathematics portion of the
SAT are significantly higher than
in 1972, while the number of test-
takers has more than doubled so
that the scores no longer repre-
sent the academic elite alone.
What’s next? Education tech-
nology may be the engine that
propels the math achievement of
all students, and can be especially
helpful in remote or hard-to-staff
schools. Innovators like Sal Khan
are developing new ways to make
even the most sophisticated con-
cepts understandable to students
using online platforms. Moreover,
access is not determined by geog-
raphy.
And my No. 1 good thing
about public education is …
1. Community support
Approximately nine out of 10
school-aged children attend pub-
lic schools in this country — a fig-
ure that has remained fairly stable
for 40 years. Communities main-
tain their support of their local
schools even as their opinion of
public education in general
declines. In 2011, only 17 per-
cent of Americans told Gallup
pollsters that they would grade
American public education as an
A or B. In contrast, 51 percent
would give an A or B to their local
schools. Parents were the most
satisfied, 70 percent of whom gave
their child’s public school these
high grades. When asked to explain
the discrepancy, respondents cit-
ed familiarity and local pride.
What’s next? Public schools
have their work cut out for them,
especially as they tackle the job
of preparing all of their students
for success after high school in
this increasingly complex 21st
century world. Policymakers at
the federal, state and local levels
all have a role to play. But the sup-
portive involvement of the com-
munity — from one district to
the next — is our strongest guar-
antee that the challenge will be
met.
An in-district workshop designed for a Board with one or more
new members or a new superintendentBenefits of a Starting Right workshop include:
• Building quality communications and relationships,
• Creating agreement about roles and responsibilities,
• Improving board meetings,
• Establishing a better board-superintendent partnership, and
• Securing effective leadership for the district.
Contact your Field Services Director today for more information!
Springfield Office • 217/528-9688Lombard Office • 630/629-3776
Starting Right: Board-building for the new Governance Team
28 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MAY-JUNE 2013
F E A T U R E A R T I C L E
As elected officials of the entire
community, the board of edu-
cation has a unique role that is often
overlooked. They are not only respon-
sible for the students who are cur-
rently in their buildings, they are
responsible for the little brothers and
sisters of those students who are still
in diapers and for the children who
will become part of the community
five, 10 and 20 years down the road.
But without a solid plan and vision
to navigate through an extended fis-
cal crisis, some school boards may
be making decisions, often on the
recommendation of their adminis-
trators, which put their district on a
path of unsustainable deficit spend-
ing. The end result will be that future
boards will be forced to eliminate crit-
ical programs and valuable staff mem-
bers in order to pay for these poorly
made decisions.
We are seeing from countries in
Europe the impact of policies that have
no focus on long-term implications.
This “kick the can down the road”
form of governance is threatening to
destroy many once great countries. I
am convinced that this same type of
management philosophy will similarly
destroy school districts in our state
unless immediate systematic changes
are made to the decision processes
within school districts.
School board’s role
Most of us have heard the bal-
cony seat analogy to describe the role
of the school board. The implications
are that the board should not be “on
the dance floor” micromanaging the
district, but rather should rely on the
superintendent to manage the dis-
trict and ensure quality education. I
couldn’t agree more.
Micromanaging by board mem-
bers, whether with good intentions
or bad, can adversely impact a dis-
trict both financially and academi-
cally and can unnecessarily distract
administrators from their mission.
However, I often think that this
analogy is misunderstood, with some
people believing that not micro-
managing means that the board should
be in a separate, windowless room
rather than an open balcony — watch-
ing, listening and evaluating the dance.
Not being involved in establishing
what the dance should look like or
not being able to effectively evaluate
the quality of the dance can be as
destructive as micromanaging the
district, especially during these dif-
ficult times.
Build a sense of urgency
“Those who are most successful
at significant change begin their work
by creating a sense of (real) urgency
among relevant people. Without enough
urgency, large-scale change can
become an exercise in pushing a gigan-
tic boulder up a very tall mountain.”
— John P. Kotter, professor emeritus,
Harvard Business School
In order to integrate the value of
strategic planning and a culture of
long-term fiscal and academic sta-
bility within the organization, there
must first be a real sense of urgency
developed at the board of educa-
tion level.
The challenges facing our grad-
uates are harsh. Our students are
entering a work force that has more
than 23 million people either unem-
ployed or underemployed. Individu-
als with less than a high school diploma
are unemployed at a rate three times
greater than that of individuals with
at least a bachelor’s degree.
Robert G. Grossi
is treasurer of the
Bloom Town-
ships Trustees of
Schools in South
Chicago Heights.
His article origi-
nally appeared in
the Winter 2012
issue of Update,
a publication of
the Illinois Asso-
ciation of School
Business Offi-
cials, and is used
with permission.
A firm foundation
The urgent need foreffective school boards
by Robert G. Grossi
MAY-JUNE 2013 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 29
We must improve the skills of
our students in order for them to have
a chance to successfully compete in
a global workforce and give them a
chance to live the “American Dream.”
This is only half the challenge.
Not only must we improve the qual-
ity of education we provide, we must
do so during a time of decreasing
financial resources.
In a perfect model, effective super-
intendents work with staff to devel-
op a plan to address student needs.
The superintendent would then add
staff, programs and professional devel-
opment as necessary with the goal of
improving student learning. During
times of increasing revenues, school
districts can both implement these
plans and balance the budget.
In this new world where revenues
do not increase, the objective of
improving the quality of education
and the objective of balancing the
budget will often clash. This is the
new dynamic that all school districts
must effectively navigate to survive.
This is the new dynamic that reaf-
firms the role of the school board
member as a critical partner in estab-
lishing long-term financial and aca-
demic stability in the school district.
Embed long-term goals
The only way to effectively inte-
grate long-term stability and success
into the district’s decision-making
process is to embed those objectives
within the district’s stated goals. In
effective school districts, every part
of the organization is aligned with
the district’s mission, vision and goals
as articulated by the school board in
its strategic plan.
The strategic plan must focus on
improving the current level of student
learning while ensuring goals and objec-
tives can be met efficiently. With a
focus on efficiency and effectiveness,
districts can preserve quality pro-
grams, staff members and facilities so
that future students will continue to
be afforded the level of education they
need to succeed in life.
Quality data = quality decisions
In order for school boards to make
better decisions, administrators need
to provide their boards with data that
is clear, timely and relevant to the
decisions required of the board.
Before making any major finan-
cial decisions, the district must have
a living document that projects the
future financial condition of the dis-
trict over the next three to five years
based on reasonable assumptions.
The document should include threats
that are specific to the school district
and a plan to stabilize the district’s
financial condition — should one be
needed. This document then should
be shared with all stakeholders in the
district, so that a common under-
standing can be reached to build con-
sensus for potentially difficult financial
decisions.
I must note here that the finan-
cial projections/plan is worthless
unless the information is grounded
in reality and is presented in a for-
mat that is clearly understood by the
board of education and other stake-
holders.
What else does the school board
need to effectively participate in the
district’s financial strategy? Consid-
er the four bold-faced items below.
The budget needs to be discussed
in conjunction with the long-term
financial plan. An effective presen-
tation of the budget should be able
to convert this collection of numbers
into an understandable document
that links the district’s resources to
an expenditure plan that best match-
es the established goals of the dis-
trict, especially its educational goals.
The board of education also should
be provided with information on how
the proposed tax levy impacts the
average taxpayer and how the tax
levy supports the vision, mission and
goals of the district. By having a focus
on long-term stability when consid-
ering the tax levy, the board of edu-
cation can better justify decisions
that may include maximizing its tax
levy during difficult economic times.
The most difficult question busi-
ness managers are ever asked by a
board of education during contract
negotiations is, “What can we afford
to give?” The board must know the
anticipated long-term impact of a pro-
posed contract offer, before it is made,
both in terms of its impact on the dis-
trict’s future financial condition and
its impact on the stated goals of the
district.
The board needs to know, for
example, if staff or program reduc-
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30 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MAY-JUNE 2013
tions will be required to cover an
anticipated deficit generated from
a contract offering before the offer is
given. It is irresponsible to simply
offer a 2.5 percent raise because that
is the average salary increase in the
surrounding area.
Every school district also should
have a long-term facilities plan that
includes a list of major capital needs
and wants over the next 10 years.
Again, the district must weigh the
decision of addressing these items in
alignment with district’s stated objec-
tives. If long-term financial stabili-
ty objectives are threatened, the
district may want to postpone address-
ing items on their “wants” list until
their financial condition stabilizes.
Conversely, it may be prudent
and necessary to address items on
the “needs” list generated from over-
crowded or unsafe facilities even dur-
ing difficult economic times in order
to maintain academic and safety-ori-
ented objectives.
Align decisions with goals
Once the board is provided sol-
id data to make well-informed deci-
sions, decisions can be made in
alignment with the district’s purpose,
direction, priorities and desired out-
comes, including long-term goals.
This is critical as decisions become
more difficult, more impactful and
more emotional. Before any decision
is made at the board of education lev-
el, each board member needs to know
the answer to the following questions:
• What is our district’s vision for its
children?
• What is our district’s strategic plan?
• How does the strategic plan sup-
port our district’s vision for its
children?
• How will the success of the strate-
gic plan be measured?
Additional responsibilities
In addition to aligning major
financial decisions to a strategic plan
focused on long-term stability, boards
of education also need to refine and
expand other critical responsibilities
to best meet the great challenges fac-
ing their school districts.
School board members should
be advocates for district improve-
ment and be willing to engage peo-
ple in conversations about the
importance of quality schools with-
in their community. Times of great
challenge often create times of great
emotion. Making tough decisions in
alignment with the long-term goals
of fiscal and academic stability will
likely evoke greater public partici-
pation.
In order to navigate through these
emotional times, it is critical that the
board of education speaks with one
voice and that individual concerns
from community members be appro-
priately directed to the superinten-
dent to ensure consistency and clarity.
The Illinois Association of School
Boards (IASB) states: “The board
employs and evaluates one person
— the superintendent — and holds
that person accountable for district
performance and compliance with
written board policy.”
IASB also stresses that the board
constantly monitor progress toward
district goals and compliance with
written board policies using data as
a basis for assessment. The superin-
tendent needs to know what is expect-
ed of him/her so that the board can
effectively evaluate whether he/she
meets these expectations.
The growing needs of students,
the raised expectations on student
performance and the challenge of
meeting goals with fewer resources
has raised the stress level on many
superintendents to dangerous levels.
It is easy to be popular with staff when
the district is giving 5 percent raises
and lowering class sizes. But it can
get awfully lonely when staff is forced
to work harder for less money.
Maintaining the physical and
emotional well being of the superin-
tendent is critical to achieving all the
goals and objectives within the school
district. That’s why school boards
should (1) provide the superinten-
dent with a clear understanding of
his/her expectations; (2) give the
superintendent the time and support
to “do his/her thing”; (3) recognize
both publicly and privately the super-
intendent’s hard work and accom-
plishments; and (4) be cognizant of
the superintendent’s personal health
by making sure he/she takes time
away from the district and maintains
balance in his/her life.
Putting it all together
In order for a school district to
succeed during this time of great chal-
lenge, the district not only needs great
teachers and great administrators, it
needs great school board members.
School boards that are making crit-
ical decisions during periods of great
challenge based on emotion, self-
interest, past practice or conflict aver-
sion are putting the future of their
districts at risk.
School boards that are making
decisions using sound data in align-
ment with a well developed strategic
plan focusing on long-term stability
will serve as the district’s rudder,
allowing it to effectively navigate
through the great financial and aca-
demic challenges facing its district.
THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MAY-JUNE 2013 31
P R A C T I C A L P R
Imagine moving to a foreign coun-
try with your family. On the first
day of school, your child is filled with
excitement and nervous energy but
with the very first step on to cam-
pus you feel lost. All of the build-
ing signage is in a foreign language,
parents around you are conversing
in a foreign tongue and once inside
the school, you are greeted by staff
who do not speak your language.
Feeling unwelcome and uncom-
fortable, you don’t know where to
begin and think to yourself, “how
am I going to help my child succeed
when the school is not communi-
cating with me?”
Similar scenarios are played out
across the United States on a regular
basis. Today’s America is not just a
melting pot, but a stew of ever increas-
ingly complex issues that face schools,
including how to serve the needs of
a culturally and linguistically diverse
community. At Cook County School
District 130, we serve portions of the
communities of Blue Island, Alsip,
Crestwood, and Robbins in the south-
west suburbs of Chicago. With over
4,000 students attending our schools,
59.5 percent are Hispanic and for
many, the primary language spo-
ken in the home is Spanish. As a pri-
marily low-income district, we need-
ed to find a way to address the mul-
tilingual needs of our community and
effectively communicate with them
so our message isn’t lost in transla-
tion.
The following topics are a guide
that District 130 has followed and
other districts and boards should con-
sider when tailoring a communica-
tions program that reflects the needs
of their multilingual and diverse com-
munities:
Let’s talk translations
With Spanish being spoken in
many District 130 homes, it cannot
be stressed enough that proper trans-
lation is the key to reaching our audi-
ence. We need to ensure that our
translations do not look careless or
are translated incorrectly and end
up being offensive. Whether we choose
to use a staff member, consultant
or translation company, we make cer-
tain that our translations are done
properly as many languages contain
various dialects.
When hosting parent meetings
or utilizing a PowerPoint presenta-
tion, a translator should be available
and PowerPoint slides translated. Dis-
trict’s phone system should also be
set up to include an option of anoth-
er language when parents call district
office or their child’s school.
Overall, school districts can cre-
ate a welcoming environment by mak-
ing signs and other documents available
in other languages. Recruiting and
retaining a diverse, multilingual staff
will also help in creating a welcom-
ing environment for both students
and parents. That also means paying
close attention to what is being dis-
tributed and that English and trans-
lated materials get into the correct
hands. Translation should not be the
only tactic used to communicate with
diverse audiences. Differentiating
strategies and tactics is just as imper-
ative as differentiation in the class-
room.
Planning publications
While planning our district
newsletter, design was an issue
addressed the first day we met with
our printer. We chose to incorporate
English and Spanish in the same
Stephanie
Fordice is the
communications
coordinator for
Cook County
School District
130 in Blue
Island and a
member of the
Illinois chapter of
the National
School Public
Relations Associ-
ation.
At the corner of diversityand communication
by Stephanie Fordice
Columns aresubmitted bymembers of
32 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MAY-JUNE 2013
newsletter that is mailed out to all
households on a quarterly basis.
Another option to consider: a Span-
ish insert or separate English and
Spanish newsletters. When design-
ing publications, it is important to
keep in mind that not all languages
read from left to right. As the popu-
larity of e-newsletters increases, an
issue that has come to our attention
is that many of our parents, both Eng-
lish and Spanish speaking, do not
have regular access to a computer,
nor do they have an email address.
Having a beautiful e-newsletter that
parents cannot access is not an effec-
tive way to reach the audience. That
makes it imperative to know the com-
munity before choosing which type
of newsletter best serves their needs.
Our school newsletters are also trans-
lated into Spanish to ensure impor-
tant information is reaching parents.
Other publications including
brochures, fliers, parent handbooks,
calendars, and annual reports should
also be available in other languages.
Online applications
One of the most visible commu-
nication vehicles is the district web-
site and it needs to incorporate a
translation function such as Google
Translate. At District 130, we also
post important documents in both
English and Spanish and often times
have certain headings and banners
translated while other districts may
opt to have separate sections on their
website for parents who speak a lan-
guage other than English. Another
important aspect for the website,
as well as any collateral materials, is
to ensure that photos and images
accurately reflect the diverse student
population.
At District 130, we frequently
use online surveys. Initially, we used
separate English and Spanish sur-
veys. After realizing the data would
need to be calculated by hand from
two surveys, we changed our format
to include Spanish and English in the
same survey. Some parents who do
not have Internet access are unable
to take these surveys at home. We
debated to offer print versions of the
electronic survey, but for now, our
parents are encouraged to visit school
during school hours or go to the local
library to take our surveys.
The popularity of social media
has taken off; however each district
must determine whether this is an
effective means of communication
for their constituents. A survey of
internal and external audiences can
identify the pros and cons of starting
a social media presence. Translation
will also be a factor with social media,
which means the district should inves-
tigate functions either within the
social media platforms or consider
posting in both English and anoth-
er language.
Videos are also an increasingly
popular way to communicate.
Whether it be explaining the budget
or providing an overview of the dis-
trict, videos can either be recorded
in English and a separate video in
another language or, subtitles may
be displayed at the bottom of the
screen.
Blogs are another avenue dis-
tricts chose to explore as a means of
communication. At District 130, the
superintendent’s blog, operated through
WordPress.com, is built into our web-
site and is able to be translated for
our audience.
Our parents rely on the district
mass notification system for atten-
dance, announcements and for emer-
gency notifications. We do not have
the Blackboard Connect system trans-
late for us. Instead, each time a dis-
trict or school-wide message is sent
out, it is translated and recorded in
Spanish. Additionally, parents are
asked to select whether they prefer
their messages in English or Spanish
on our registration form.
Incorporating parent liaisons
In November 2012, District 130
hired two new parent liaisons to
increase parental involvement and
School boards and administrators will encounter some backlash
from members of the community when it comes to serving a diverse
population. It is just as important for them to know that their tax
dollars are being spent wisely and how the district is serving their
students.
MAY-JUNE 2013 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 33
to create a dialogue between home,
school and the community. With one
parent liaison fluent in Spanish,
the duo is in place to identify com-
munication gaps and to listen to
the needs of parents. Several factors
are often in play as to why some par-
ents are not involved. Lack of child
care, transportation, flexibility, and
the language barrier are often pre-
venting well-intentioned parents from
participating in their child’s educa-
tion. Parent liaisons can also reach
out to diverse community leaders to
become a key ingredient in creating
successful community engagement
partnerships.
School boards and administra-
tors will encounter some backlash
from members of the community
when it comes to serving a diverse
population. At District 130, we have
had community members call, write
to the local newspaper and show up
at board meetings to protest the use
of Spanish in our district newsletter.
These individuals feel that all of our
materials should only be in Eng-
lish. We counter that complaint by
explaining that our reasons for serv-
ing all stakeholders, including those
who only speak and read in other
native languages. It is just as impor-
tant for them to know that their tax
dollars are being spent wisely and
how the district is serving their stu-
dents.
Diversity communication should
not be an afterthought when imple-
menting a communications program.
The National School Public Relations
Association has developed a diversi-
ty engagement blog to address the
needs of diverse stakeholders in school
districts and information can be found
at: www.nspraconnectingcommu-
nities.blogspot.com. With a multi-
tude of multiple languages, ethnic
and socio-economic backgrounds
stirring the melting pot of American
culture, it is critical to serve our com-
munity members and stop and ask
for directions along the road of diver-
sity communication.
ExecutiveSearchES
ILLINOIS ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL BOARDS
The Gold Standard of Executive Searches
WhyIASB?
• The only search service that is part of an IllinoisStatewide organization that is governed by locallyelected school boards.
• IASB has been the nation’s leader for more than 30years in providing information and encouraging educators seeking professional advancement. Hundreds of educators have become Illinois SchoolSuperintendents as a result.
• No search is completed until the client school board is satisfied.
• IASB continues to assist the board and new
executive after employment.
For information contact:
2921 Baker Drive One Imperial Place
Springfield, IL 62703 1 East 22nd Street, Suite 20
217/528-9688, ext. 1217 Lombard, IL 60148
630/629-3776, ext. 1217
www.iasb.com/executive
34 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MAY-JUNE 2013
A Directory of your
IASB ServiceAssociates
IASB Service Associates are businesses whichoffer school-related products and services andwhich have earned favorable repu tations for qual-ity and integrity. Only after screening by theService Associates Executive Committee is abusiness firm invited by the IASB Board ofDirectors to become a Service Associate.
Appraisal ServicesINDUSTRIAL APPRAISAL COMPANY — Insurance
appraisals, property control reports. OakwoodTerrace - 630/827-0280
Architects/EngineersALLIED DESIGN CONSULTANTS, INC. —
Architectural programming, site planning & design,architectural and interior design, and constructionadministration. Springfield - 217/522-3355
ARCON ASSOCIATES, INC. — Full service firm spe-cializing in educational facilities with services thatinclude architecture, construction management, roofand masonry consulting, landscape architecture andenvironmental consulting. Lombard - 630/495-1900;website: www.arconassoc.com; e-mail: [email protected]
BAYSINGER DESIGN GROUP, INC. — Architecturaldesign services. Marion - 618/998-8015
BERG ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS, LTD. —Consulting engineers. Schaumburg - 847/352-4500;website: http://www.berg-eng.com
BLDD ARCHITECTS, INC. — Architectural and engineering services for schools. Decatur - 217/429-5105; Champaign - 217/356-9606; Bloomington -309/828-5025; Chicago - 312/829-1987; website:http://www.bldd.com; e-mail: [email protected]
BRADLEY & BRADLEY — Architects, engineers andasbestos consultants. Rockford - 815/968-9631; web-site: http://www.bradleyandbradley.net/
CANNON DESIGN — Architects. Chicago - 312/960-8034; website: www.cannondesign.com; e-mail:[email protected]
CM ENGINEERING, INC. — Specializing in ultra effi-cient geo-exchange HVAC engineering solutions forschools, universities and commercial facilities.Columbia, MO - 573/874-9455; website: www.cmeng.com
CORDOGAN CLARK & ASSOCIATES — Architectsand engineers; Aurora - 630/896-4678; website:www.cordoganclark.com; e-mail: [email protected]
DESIGN ARCHITECTS, INC. — Architecture, engi-neering, planning and interior design. Hillsboro -217/532-5600; East St. Louis - 618/398-0890; Marion- 618/998-0075; Springfield - 217/787-1199; e-mail:[email protected]
DEWBERRY ARCHITECTS INC. — Architects, plan-ners, landscape architecture and engineers. Peoria -309/282-8000; Chicago - 312/660-8800; Elgin -847/695-5480; website: www.dewberry.com
DLA ARCHITECTS, LTD. — Architects specializing inpreK-12 educational design, including a full range ofarchitectural services; assessments, planning, feasi-bility studies, new construction, additions, remodel-ing, O&M and owner's rep services. Itasca - 847/742-4063; website: www.dla-ltd.com; e-mail: [email protected]
DLR GROUP, INC. — Educational facility design andmaster planning. Chicago - 312/382-9980; website:www.dlrgroup.com; e-mail: [email protected]
ERIKSSON ENGINEERING ASSOCIATES, LTD. —Consulting civil engineers and planners. Grayslake -847/223-4804
FANNING/HOWEY ASSOCIATES, INC. — Schoolplanning and design with a focus on K-12 schools.Park Ridge - 847/292-1039
FGM ARCHITECTS ENGINEERS, INC. — Architects.Oak Brook - 630/574-8300; Peoria - 309/669-0012;Mt. Vernon - 618/242-5620; O’Fallon - 618/624-3364;website: http://www.fgm-inc.com
GREENASSOCIATES, INC. — Architecture/construc-tion services. Deerfield - 847/317-0852, Pewaukee,WI - 262/746-1254; website: www.greenassociates.com; e-mail: [email protected]
HEALY, BENDER & ASSOCIATES, INC. — Archi -tects/Planners. Naperville, 630/904-4300; website:www.healybender.com; e-mail: [email protected]
IMAGE ARCHITECTS, INC. — Architects. Carbondale- 618/457-2128
JH2B ARCHITECTS — Architects. Kankakee - 815/933-5529
KENYON & ASSOCIATES ARCHITECTS —Complete architectural services for education. Peoria- 309/674-7121
KLUBER ARCHITECTS + ENGINEERS — Buildingdesign professionals specializing in architecture,mechanical, electrical, plumbing, structural, and fireprotection engineers. Batavia - 630/406-1213
LEGAT ARCHITECTS, INC. — Architects. Chicago -312/258-1555; Oak Brook - 630/990-3535; Wauke -gan - 847/263-3535; Crystal Lake - 815/477-4545
LZT ASSOCIATES, INC./LARSON & DARBY GROUP— Architecture, planning, engineering. Peoria -309/673-3100; Rockford - 815/484/0739; St. Charles,MO - 630/444-2112; website: www.larsondarby.com;e-mail: [email protected]
MECHANICAL SERVICES ASSOCIATES CORP. -HVAC, plumbing and electrical design. Crystal Lake -815/788-8901
MELOTTE-MORSE-LEONATTI, LTD — Architectural,industrial, hygiene and environmental service.Springfield - 217/789-9515
PCM+D — Provide a full range of architectural ser-vices including facility and feasibility studies, architec-tural design construction, consulting and related ser-vices. East Peoria - 309/694-5012
PERKINS+WILL — Architects; Chicago - 312/755-0770; website: www.perkinswill.com; e-mail: [email protected]
RICHARD L. JOHNSON ASSOCIATES, INC. —Architecture, educational planning. Rockford -815/398-1231
RUCKPATE ARCHITECTURE — Architects, engi-neers, interior design. Barrington - 847/381-2946;website: http://www.ruckpate.com; e-mail: [email protected]
SARTI ARCHITECTURAL GROUP, INC. —Architecture, engineering, life safety consulting, inte-rior design and asbestos consultants. Springfield -217/585-9111; e-mail: [email protected]
WIGHT & COMPANY — An integrated services firmwith solutions for the built environment. Darien -630/696-7000; website: http://www.wightco.com; e-mail: [email protected]
WM. B. ITTNER, INC. — Full service architectural firmserving the educational community since 1899.Fairview Heights - 618/624-2080
WRIGHT & ASSOCIATES, INC. — Architecture andconstruction management. Metamora - 309/367-2924
Building ConstructionBOVIS LEND LEASE — Construction Man -
agement/Program Management. Contact JohnDoherty. Chicago - 312/245-1393; website: www.bovislendlease.com; e-mail: [email protected]
CORE CONSTRUCTION — Professional constructionmanagement, design-build and general contractingservices. Morton - 309/266-9768; website: www.COREconstruct.com
FREDERICK QUINN CORPORATION — Constructionmanagement and general contracting. Addison -630/628-8500; webite: www.fquinncorp.com
HOLLAND CONSTRUCTION SERVICES, INC. — Fullservice Construction Management and GeneralContracting firm specializing in education facilities.Swansea - 618/277-8870
MANGIERI COMPANIES, INC. — Construction man-agement and general contractor capabilities. Peoria -309/688-6845
POETTKER CONSTRUCTION — Construction man-agement, design/build and general contracting ser-vices. Hillsboro - 217/532-2507
S.M. WILSON & CO. — Provides construction man-agement and general construction services to educa-tion, healthcare, commercial, retail and industrialclients. St. Louis, MO - 314/645-9595
THE GEORGE SOLLITT CONSTRUCTION COMPANY — Full-service construction manage-ment general contractor with a primary focus on edu-cational facilities. Wood Dale - 630/860-7333; web-site: www.sollitt.com; e-mail: [email protected]
TRANE — HVAC company specializing in design,build, and retrofit. Willowbrook - 630-734-6033
TURNER CONSTRUCTION COMPANY —Referendum assistance, conceptual and masterplanning, budget assistance or verification, partici-pant in panels, construction management and con-sulting. Chicago - 312/327-2860; Web Site: www.turn-erconstruction.com; Email: [email protected]
Computer SoftwareSOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY, INC. — Administrative
Software. Tremont - 888/776-3897; website: http://www.sti-k12.com; e-mail: [email protected]
Environmental ServicesALPHA CONTROLS & SERVICES, LLC — Facility
Management Systems, Automatic TemperatureControls, Access Control Systems, Energy SavingSolutions; Sales, Engineering, Installation,Commissioning and Service. Rockford, Springfield,Champaign: toll-free 866-ALPHA-01 (866-252-4201);website: www.alphaACS.com; e-mail: [email protected]
CTS-CONTROL TECHNOLOGY & SOLUTIONS —Performance contracting, facility improvements and energy conservation projects. St. Louis, MO -636/230-0843; Chicago - 773/633-0691; website:www.thectsgroup.com; e-mail: [email protected]
MAY-JUNE 2013 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 35
ENERGY SYSTEMS GROUP — A comprehensiveenergy services and performance contracting com-pany providing energy, facility and financial solutions.Itasca - 630/773-7203
GRP MECHANICAL CO. INC. — Performance con-tracting, basic and comprehensive building renova-tions with a focus on energy and mechanical mainte-nance services. Bethalto - 618/779-0050
HONEYWELL, INC. — Controls, maintenance, energymanagement, performance contracting and security.St. Louis, Mo - 314-548-4136; Arlington Heights -847/391-3133; e-mail: [email protected]
IDEAL ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, INC. —Asbestos and environmental services. Bloomington -309/828-4259
OCCUPATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTHSOLUTIONS, INC. (OEHS) — Industrial hygiene,microbiological evaluations and ergonomics.Chatham - 217/483-9296
RADON DETECTION SPECIALISTS — Commercialradon surveys. Burr Ridge - 800/244-4242; website:www.radondetection.net; e-mail: [email protected]
SECURITY ALARM SYSTEMS — Burglar and firealarms, video camera systems, door access systems,door locking systems, and alarm monitoring. Salem -618/548-5768
Financial ServicesAMERICAN FIDELITY EDUCATIONAL SERVICES —
Educational services specializing in Section 125compliance, 403 annuity administration, flexiblespending accounts, health savings accounts andhealth care reform education. Fairview Heights -314/504-1525
BERNARDI SECURITIES, INC. — Public finance con-sulting, bond issue services and referendum support.Fairview Heights - 618/206-4180; Chicago - 800/367-8757
BMO CAPITAL MARKETS/GKST, Inc. — Full servicebroker/dealer specializing in debt securities, includingmunicipal bonds, U.S. Treasury debt, agencies, andmortgage-backed securities. Chicago - 312/441-2601; website: www.bmo.com/industry/uspublicfi-nance/default.aspx; e-mail: [email protected]
EHLERS & ASSOCIATES — School bond issues; ref-erendum help; financial and enrollment studies. Lisle- 630/271-3330; website: http://www.ehlers-inc.com;e-mail: [email protected]
FIRST MIDSTATE, INC. — Bond issue consultants.Bloomington - 309/829-3311; e-mail: [email protected]
GORENZ AND ASSOCIATES, LTD. — Auditing andfinancial consulting. Peoria - 309/685-7621; website:http://www.gorenzcpa.com; e-mail: [email protected]
HUTCHINSON, SHOCKEY, ERLEY & COMPANY —Debt issuance, referendum planning, financial assis-tance. Chicago - 312/443-1566; website: www.hse-muni.com; e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
SPEER FINANCIAL, INC. — Financial planning andbond issue services. Chicago - 312/346-3700; website: http://www.speerfinancial.com; e-mail:[email protected]
STIFEL, NICOLAUS & COMPANY, INC. — Full ser-vice securities firm providing investment banking andadvisory services including strategic financial plan-ning; bond underwriting; and referendum and legisla-tive assistance - Edwardsville - 800/230-5151; e-mail:[email protected]
WILLIAM BLAIR & COMPANY — Bond issuance,financial advisory services. Chicago - 312/364-8955; e-mail: [email protected]
WINTRUST FINANCIAL — Financial services hold-ing company engaging in community banking,wealth management, commercial insurance premi-um financing, and mortgage origination. Willow -brook - 630/560-2120
Human Resource ConsultingBUSHUE HUMAN RESOURCES, INC. — Human
resource, safety and risk management, insurance consulting. Effingham - 217/342-3042; website: http://www.bushuehr.com; e-mail: [email protected]
InsuranceTHE SANDNER GROUP CLAIMS MANAGEMENT,
INC. — Third party administrator for worker's compand insurance claims. Chicago - 800/654-9504
Office EquipmentINTERIORS FOR BUSINESS, INC. — Classroom fur-
niture and classroom technology services, classroomtechnology assessment, space planning, CEU’s, andties to the USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council) foradditional environmental assessments. Batavia -630/761-1070
Superintendent SearchesHAZARD, YOUNG, ATTEA & ASSOCIATES, LTD —
Superintendent searches, board and superintendentworkshops. Glenview - 847/724-8465
The superintendent or another
administrator sends a letter or note
to these individuals, explaining the
program and then calling each one
to organize small-group meetings of
seven or eight people each.
At each meeting, the enlisted
communicators need to be assured
they are not being asked to do any-
thing—at least nothing new. The only
goal is to make sure that those iden-
tified know some things. Future meet-
ings will not be necessary, either,
because the KCs will be kept informed
by telephone or email.
After this informal network is set
up, it can be used as needed. Best
practice suggests that they usually
are contacted in the following
situations:
• to counteract rumors during a cri-
sis with facts
• to take a quick, informal survey on
issues or questions of importance
• to spread a favorable “good word”
about school or district
achievements
• to bring information back to the
district, especially when they hear
significant rumors, rumblings or
ideas about the schools
Maintenance of this word-of-
mouth network only requires a review
of the list on occasion to make sure
every segment of the community is
being reached and heard.
Thus Key Communicators can
provide fast help for school leaders,
particularly during a crisis. The main
idea is simply to maintain a com-
munications network that can respond
quickly when required, turning “heard
it through the grapevine” to the school
systems’ advantage.
Ask the staff continued from inside back cover
Karen M.
Roloff, a North-
brook/Glenview
School District 30
Board member
since 1989, was
honored by the
Northbrook Civic Founda tion, receiv-
ing a special volunteer award for mak-
ing a significant contribution to
the welfare of the Northbrook com-
munity. Award recipients were rec-
ognized in a ceremony at the village
hall. Roloff’s career as an educator
has spanned nearly 45 years. She
has been a college professor of com-
munication at numerous schools,
most recently at DePaul University.
She currently teaches at Elmhurst
College. Serving as an elected board
member of District 30 for over 23
years, she served 12 years as District
30’s board president; and she is the
only founding Trustee still serving
on District 30’s Education Founda-
tion.
36 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MAY-JUNE 2013
Milestones
M I L E S T O N E S
Achievements
In memoriamMary Olive Appuhn, 91. Died Feb-
ruary 13, 2013. She served on the
Du Quoin CUSD 300 Board of Edu-
cation.
Barbara A. Bartolomucci, 74. Died
February 4, 2013. She served as
president and a member of the
Arbor Park SD 145 board of edu-
cation, Oak Forest.
Lyle V. Chambers, 94. Died January
18, 2013. He was a past member
of the Lostant CUSD 425 Board of
Education.
William V. Collins, 82. Died March
8, 2013. He served on the Flana-
gan school board for many years.
Carl Cotner, 77. Died January 29,
2013. He was a member of the Hey-
worth CUSD 4 school board for
eight years and had served as pres-
ident.
Ralph Dantino, 56. Died February 18,
2013. He served on the Geneva
CUSD 304 school board from 1996
to 2001.
Beverly Dean, 73. Died February 2,
2013. She served on the DePue
USD 103 Board of Education from
1976 to 1992.
Donald R. DeTaeye, 81. Died March
8, 2013. He served on the Moline
USD 40 Board of Education and
had worked for the Rock Island
School District as a high school
teacher.
Orville Joseph “Joe” Hewkin III, 65.
Died March 9, 2013. He served on
the Urbana SD 116 Board of Edu-
cation in the 1980s.
M. Stanley Hughey, 95. Died Febru-
ary 23, 2013. He served as a mem-
ber and board president of the
Wilmette SD 39 Board of Educa-
tion, and the New Trier THSD 203
Board of Education.
Joan Milam Kelley, 82. Died January
31, 2013. Kelley was deeply devot-
ed to community service. She was
the first African American mem-
ber of the Galesburg District 205
Board of Education, where she
served from 1968 to 1977.
Jane Weis, 92. Died February 19,
2013. A former math and science
teacher at Waukegan Township
High School, Weis later served two
terms on the school board of
Waukegan CUSD 60.
The Illinois School Board Journal
welcomes news about or from Illinois
school leaders. News may include but
need not be limited to accomplishments,
changes in position or duties, retirement,
death and other milestones related to
board/district duties. For more infor-
mation about submitting news items,
phone the Communications Department
at 217/528-9688, ext. 1138, or e-mail gad-
kins@iasb. com.
Question: How can schools com-
bat the grapevine of negative
chatter and gossip from undermin-
ing important school district mes-
sages?
Answer: School leaders can make
that same “grapevine” mode of com-
munication – a word-of-mouth set of
contacts – work for the district by
harnessing its unmatched power while
turning it into a two-way communi-
cations tool.
The Key Communicators (KC)
approach, which many in schools
first discovered three decades ago
through the National School Public
Relations Association, involves sim-
ple networking. It was developed
by the late school public relations
pioneer Donald Bagin, then a pro-
fessor at Glassboro State College, New
Jersey.
Technology may have changed
how people communicate, but the
concept essentially works the same
today as it did 30 years ago.
It simply consists of developing
a list of individuals who like to talk
and who are already key, trusted
sources of school information for lots
of people.
The cost to implement the plan
is absurdly low, and it takes only a
small amount of staff time. But once
established, the network requires lit-
tle maintenance.
It is launched, Bagin suggested,
by asking for help from a few peo-
ple who know and can identify the
key communicators in the school dis-
trict. These chosen people serve as
KC “identifiers.” They should include,
as far as possible, a cross-section of
the community’s formal and infor-
mal social groupings: civic groups,
clubs, churches, bowling or softball
leagues, etc.
In meeting with these KC iden-
tifiers, someone from the school sys-
tem simply explains that the goal is
to communicate for the district via
a word-of-mouth network, and then
asks how the community can best be
reached. KC identifiers can also be
asked to help in identifying all com-
munity segments.
The identifiers are asked to con-
duct informal surveys over several
weeks time among the people they
come in contact with, posing ques-
tions like this: “We are doing a casu-
al survey about how well our schools
are getting the word out about the
good work they are doing. Can you
name a few of the people you have
recently communicated with about
school teachers or taxes?”
The written lists of names gath-
ered by identifiers can then be tab-
ulated, and names that keep appearing
over and over are the school district’s
key communicators. The names should
be scrutinized to classify each per-
son in relation to the segment or seg-
ments of the community to which
they communicate. If any segment
is missing, the next task is to fill in
the gaps so that the whole commu-
nity is represented.
The same process can be used
to create key communicators from
within each school building. Students
and teachers are vital sources of school
information for the community, but
so are the bus drivers and cafeteria
workers and janitors. Many people
trust these individuals as their pri-
mary source of news on schools.
Gary Adkins,
IASB director,
editorial services,
answers the
question for this
issue.
Key Communicators canhelp get out the good word
by Gary Adkins
A S K T H E S T A F F
continued on page 35
Technology may
have changed how
people communicate,
but the concept
essentially works the
same today as it did
30 years ago.
2921 Baker DriveSpringfield, Illinois 62703-5929
Address Service Requested
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US POSTAGE PAIDILLINOIS
ASSOCIATION OFSCHOOL BOARDS
www.iasb.com
“We say we want to get all stu-
dents to the same high standards, but
our words amount to little more than
a slogan. If we really wanted to follow
through on this, then we would put
more money behind the hardest-to-
educate children … .”Mark Tucker, president, National Center on Education and the Economy,“Benchmarking the World’s Best,” School Administrator, September 2012
“It is indeed ironic that we spend
our school days yearning to graduate
and our remaining days waxing nos-
talgic about our school days.”Isabel Waxman, account executive, Fresh Group, United Kingdom
“We have lots of studies about
what’s wrong with our education sys-
tem. We need to accept responsibil-
ity, be bold, find solutions and move
forward to make education a center-
piece of our economic development.”Christine Gregoire, former governor of Washington (2004-12), 1947-
“Our task is to provide an edu-
cation for the kind of kids we have …
not the kind of kids we used to have
… or want to have … or the kids that
exist in our dreams.”Mary Kay Utecht, owner, Essential Solutions computer software
“Most of the things worth doing
in the world had been declared impos-
sible before they were done.”Louis D. Brandeis, U.S. associate SupremeCourt justice (1916-39), 1856-1941
“Vocational education programs
have made a real difference in the
lives of countless young people nation-
wide; they build self-confidence and
leadership skills by allowing students
to utilize their unique gifts and tal-
ents.”Conrad R. Burns, former U.S. Senator from Montana (R), 1935-
“Without education you will
experience the door-to-door sales-
man’s plight: many doors will be shut
in your face.”Scott Gilliam, director of training at D.A.R.E America, from “The WholeChild Blog,” January 10, 2013
“There are no littleevents in life, those we
think of no consequencemay be full of fate, andit is at our own risk if
we neglect the acquain-tances and opportuni-
ties that seem to becasually offered, and of
small importance.”
Amelia E. Barr, British
novelist, All the Days
of My Life, 1831-1919
IASB Centennial
FROM 1913●
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“And so, my research report concludes that the fall of the
Roman Empire was due to the lack of TECH SUPPORT.