Welcome to School Leader

Surviving the Departure of your Superintendent

Surviving the Departure of Your Superintendent

In a Class of His Own

When Medical Problems Are Financial Problems

Plug In. Boot Up. Log On.

Data (Self) Analysis

Howell Makes the Grade

Getting Help in Making Your District Technology-Rich

The Wonders of Wikis and Podcasts

It’s always a little traumatic for a district to lose its CSA. But some upfront planning can make that process less disruptive

By Dr. Timothy Brennan

A few months ago, I enjoyed one of those unique experiences that interim superintendents sometimes have. One of our staff members looked hesitant as I said hello, so I introduced myself. “Oh,” she said, extending her hand, “We’re all so glad that…somebody …is up there.” Over the years, I’ve been lucky about where “there” has been for me: Holmdel, Parsippany-Troy Hills and South Huntington (Long Island), with one-year interims in Union Twp. (Hunterdon), Cherry Hill, Moorestown and now Ridgewood.

As you might expect from my professional experience, and, like many people in public education, I always thought that the most important decision for a board of education was, Who will be our superintendent? Ironically, after 23 years in the superintendency, I don’t believe that anymore.

Depending upon whom you ask, the average stay for a New Jersey superintendent is somewhere between two and four years. According to research done by New Jersey School Boards Association, 43 percent of school districts statewide changed superintendents over a recent two-and-a-half year period. Eighty-two percent of superintendents nationwide have reached retirement age, according to Professor George Cooper of Fordham University. The number of willing replacements is declining. Consultants report that 15 years ago, a single ad for a superintendent opening could bring 100 applications. Today, multiple ads might produce 30 candidates, only some of whom meet the minimum requirements. “There is a general lack of respect for the superintendent. They become someone to attack when things don’t go well,” says Cooper, who’s co-authored a study titled “Career Crisis in the School Superintendency.”

So here is what I now think is the most important decision that a Board of Education will make: How can we govern our school district in a way that takes full advantage of the superintendent’s abilities, and that maintains the momentum of our initiatives when the superintendent moves on?

Answering this question requires first that you locate yourself on the superintendent cycle. All districts are in one of these stages: either you have lost your superintendent, suspect that you may be about to, intend to lose that person, or know that it is going to happen someday.

No matter where you are in this cycle, now is the time for superintendents and boards to start working together on how every member of the leadership team can play a part in bolstering the future of your district. Nothing is sadder than walking into a school district where people do not know how to move forward because they had been relying on a single human being to do that for them.

Here are the “Big Five” goals for school leaders who want to construct an effective district that weathers change effectively.

Learn to Look Is this you? Tonight’s agenda includes budget, Quality Assurance Annual Report, athletic schedules and food services. Next month it’s community use of facilities, taxes, line item transfers and NJQSAC. In the meantime, there will be an emergency meeting on student drug use, and you must help prepare the agenda for the first teacher negotiation session. Along the way, you’ll run into people in the food store who want to talk about MRSA, and overnight field trips. When you get home there will be a phone message from a neighbor who saw a speeding school bus the other day. If you’re like the board members and superintendents I’ve worked alongside, somehow you manage to follow these bouncing balls with grace and aplomb. That could be a problem.

To paraphrase a famous slogan, “You can see what you’re doing for them, but can you see what this is doing to you?” To get your answer, try this famous, and fun experiment from the Visual Cognition Laboratory at the University of Illinois. Note: you can either go online for the visual exercises (recommended) or just read the description. To start, Google “Viscog movie 15” on your browser. It contains a video of a group of people bouncing and passing basketballs. Count the number of times that both balls bounce in total. After viewing the video, write down the number of bounces you counted. Skip the next paragraph until you have watched the video.

Did you see anything unusual in that video? I mean really unusual! Watch it again. This time, forget about counting the ball bounces and, instead, take in the entire picture. Skip reading the next paragraph until you have completed your second viewing.

Move yourself from the role of participant to that of observer and the results may startle you. About halfway through the video, a person wearing a gorilla suit walks into the center of the screen, performs a simian-style chest-thump, and walks off the other side of the screen. Last October, in a workshop of over a hundred people, only five saw the gorilla the first time. One participant continues to insist that I actually showed two different videos. Unless you allow yourself to see the big picture in your role as school leader, you are not helping the children to the best of your abilities.

Determine the Real Need Are you in the part of the superintendent cycle where the best course is on-the-spot action, or careful deliberation? You may need immediate action if you:

Have no superintendent;
Have a PR problem that can undermine budget and general support;
Have no baseline of information on which to build goals and plans;
Have no succession program.

Careful deliberation, no matter what your present situation, can allow you to:

Re-set your bearings concerning direction and priorities;
Revise procedures that may have been ill advised;
Begin to initiate structure that will guide you and your fellow leaders.

Most districts in transition need a blend of these two courses. No matter where you are, remember the words of Winston Churchill, “Be on the lookout for a crisis. It’s your big chance.” If you are in crisis, solve that first, especially if the confidence of the community may have been shaken.

Let’s say that the superintendent has left suddenly. There are credible indications of wrongdoing. You have to put this behind you before you go on with other business. Appoint an interim or acting superintendent, and have a press release written in which this person’s credentials and the good reputation of your district are highlighted. You can get help from a PR agency with the statement. You can find out what replacements might be available from NJSBA or NJASA. If you have a well-regarded someone who used to lead your district, often that person will be willing to come in temporarily to get you through the initial difficulties.

If you are not in the middle of an emergency, get started on the long-term view of your district. Here’s a method that can help you carve out time to work on the long-range items. Ask the board secretary to take the board meeting agendas for the past twelve months and make an outline, for each meeting, of the topics you discussed. This should include things that “just come up,” and should be categorized if possible. Categories might include: curriculum, finance, operations, school/community relations, and human resources. Transform this calendar into a spreadsheet of the topics covered month by month. This gives you an overview of the year. Write on the bottom of that spreadsheet the things that you think are most important to accomplish. Find the months with the least crowded agendas. Those are the meetings at which the board can work on these topics.

During the next two or three board meetings, have someone write the time at which discussion on each topic begins and ends. Since the board members are involved in the conversation itself, one of our administrators usually does this. After a few months, you will see how you are spending your time. Finally, rearrange the topics so that the most important things are discussed when everyone is still fresh.

Establish a Baseline Before you can accomplish anything, you need to decide what is most important to accomplish. Once those goals are in place, somehow, the other stuff will get done as well.

When trying to formulate your goals, and to put them in perspective, it helps to think of moving up a “Do-Re-Mi” musical scale from general to specific: vision, mission, values, goals, objectives, strategies, activities and back to vision. Notice that goal is right in the middle. Let’s start with the foundation, the most general. Close your eyes for a second and picture the school district three years from now if you are able to help advance your most important goal. Perhaps an image of a fall afternoon comes to mind, and everywhere throughout the town kids are running up and down athletic fields in the crisp autumn air. That’s your vision.

Vision is more than just a flight of fancy. This picture came to mind because of something you believe the school district should be doing. Perhaps you are convinced that athletics are essential, because the district needs to prepare every student to participate in the fullness of life. That’s a mission.

Why did your vision show everybody participating? That shows what you value. Another person might see fewer kids participating, and the district winning state championships. In setting up a district that can survive the departure of the CEO, it is very important to establish the core values of the district culture (what Will Rogers called “how we do things ‘round here”). Watch carefully in determining this. It’s what people do, not what they say.

With your vision, mission and values identified, you are ready to set goals. Here’s a useful process to identify goals. Gather a group of leaders from your district, including, at a minimum, the board, the superintendent and the administrators who work most closely with them, and give them each two index cards. On one card, each person writes the most important quality for your district to have, retain or become in the next three years. On the other, they write the single most important thing to be accomplished within the current year. Through discussion, build a prioritized list. From here, let the professional staff take over the setting of objectives, strategies and activities. This will help avoid the evil “micromanagement by board.” To avoid its equally evil twin, “board-in-the-dark,” have the administrative team commit these specifics to a written action plan for each goal (there should only be two or three). Remember that the board must avoid running the schools; and, at the same time, see that the schools are well run. Add to your board agenda an item to be discussed each month during prime time: “Progress toward Goals.” That way the board gets a monthly update.

Start a Succession Program Everyone the superintendent recommends for a leadership position should be capable of consideration for being promoted to the position above them on the line chart. The district may end up losing people who are not promoted, but having people of that quality for a shorter time is preferable to having a sudden loss of leadership with nowhere to turn.

For current staff, begin cross-training now. Human relationships are impermanent; and the face of education changes constantly. Having school leaders work outside their everyday routines can be refreshing. It promotes growth, and fosters a greater sense of perspective that can increase teamwork. Having administrators serve as liaisons and consultants to board committees can also broaden perspectives on both sides of the table.

Finally, shore up an acting superintendent chosen from current staff. Interns and retired administrators can fill the bill so that, for example, the curriculum director who now must spend about 80% of her time as acting superintendent is provided the assistance to maintain the district’s curriculum initiatives.

Build and Maintain Board/Team Collaboration Over the years, I have worked with some very intelligent people. However, I’ve had to remind more than one of them that, no matter how smart they are, board members cannot effectively run the school district from their position as part-time volunteers. Nor can administrators substitute their values and aspirations for those of the citizenry as reflected in its elected representatives on the school board.

The real power of any board and superintendent arises from the energy of the people around them. This refers to your fellow board members as well as to the administrators who are accountable to you. In the Viscog film, you can’t see the gorilla until you switch from participant (bounce counter) to observer (whole scene viewer). Taking that process one step further, switch from participant to observer by looking at things through the eyes of a colleague. In any organization, the basis of rancor and conflict is often confusion; both can be reduced by understanding and appreciating another point of view. This exercise can pay big dividends for both sides when the tough issues come along.

In a school district of shared vision; where the team knows and strives toward the group’s most important goals; everyone is valued but no one is irreplaceable, not even a valued superintendent. When a district like this loses its chief school administrator, it can confidently continue its forward progress while it recruits and orients a new leader.

Dr. Timothy Brennan is interim superintendent of the Ridgewood Public Schools and a former superintendent for South Huntington (NY) Union Free School District, Parsippany-Troy Hills and Holmdel. He can be reached at tbrennan@ridgewood.k12.nj.us

In a Class of His Own

Norwood’s John Kline is New Jersey’s Teacher of the Year

By Janet Bamford

To watch John Kline in action is to appreciate a professional at the top of his form. The 39-year-old has taught social studies to 7th and 8th graders at Norwood Public School in Bergen County since 1996. On the December day that School Leader visited Kline’s classroom, he was introducing a unit on the Civil War to his 8th graders. Using a high-technology version of a blackboard as he spoke, the strains of the song “Dixie” played and a photograph of Jefferson Davis appeared as he discussed the south’s strategic advantages and disadvantages. Later, the song “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and a photograph of Abraham Lincoln provided the backdrop to his overview of the Union’s position. Mid-lesson, he noticed a student staring out the window, and subtly re-engaged the child’s attention by appealing directly to one of that student’s interests. “Can you imagine coaching a football game and getting the other team’s playbook ahead of time?” he asked, referring to an incident when the Union Army acquired a copy of some Confederate Army battle plans, “what would you do with that if you were a general?”

Kline, who was named New Jersey Teacher of the Year in October, combines an enthusiasm for his subject area, social studies, and an obvious affection for his middle-school students, to produce a dynamic classroom where kids of varying abilities thrive. Kline employs a variety of tools to make history come alive, including dressing in historical costume (he has been known to teach in a battle uniform as Civil War General Ambrose Burnside, complete with long sideburns), having students play-act as major historical figures and inviting local political candidates into his class to debate current issues. “John is passionate about teaching,” said Betty Johnson, Kline’s principal at Norwood Public School, “children will return from our regional high school to visit with him, and high school teachers comment on how well prepared his students are. He is caring, knowledgeable, endearing and well respected by the students, the staff and the community.”

Kline, a native of Long Beach Island in New Jersey, received his bachelor’s degree in history and sociology from Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania, and his masters’ degree in American history from Rutgers-Camden. He also received a masters’ in teaching from the College of New Jersey in 1995.

As teacher of the year, Kline has begun a semester-long sabbatical sponsored by Educational Testing Service. During this time he will travel the state and share his experience with other teachers. He also is representing New Jersey in the National Teacher of the Year competition. Kline and his wife Kristen have three daughters, and live in Norwood, a few blocks away from the school where he teaches.

Recently, School Leader sat down with Kline to talk about his philosophy on teaching, how he uses technology in his classroom, what he thinks new teachers need and more.

What made you want to get into teaching in the first place?

I’m the oldest of six children, so in some ways I’ve always been teaching. I have always loved history and I went right into graduate school after college. While getting my masters in American history, I started doing some substitute teaching. That led me to get a masters in teaching. After that, I got a job here at Norwood, and have been here ever since.

You seem to use a lot of unconventional teaching methods. How do you think these techniques help your students?

Today with my class we were doing the introduction to the Civil War. I like to use music when I can because the power of music to embed things in your memory is amazing. I’m sure you’ve had the experience where you’re riding in the car and you hear a song you haven’t heard for 20 years and it takes you back to remembering all kinds of emotions and events. I guarantee you the kids that heard those songs today will remember them.

How do you use technology in the classroom?

The technology helps so much. I can flip up pictures of what I’m talking about. The Internet has changed everything. I will post the homework and my notes on the Internet after I’m done with a section. If I post them too early, the kids won’t take notes and write things down during class. Sometimes, I tell the kids they’re not getting the notes to this because they can get a little lazy. The kinesthetic learners, especially, will learn if they’re writing things down. Technology has changed greatly how people teach, and I think it’s better for the children.

What does a top notch teacher need from an administrator and from a school board?

My administration is very supportive of me. When I ask for things, they’ve never said no to me. They might say “we can’t afford it right now,” or “let’s see how you can do this in a different way,” but my principal and my superintendent promote innovation and risk- taking. I wanted to demo a Smart board for the classroom, and they said go find out about it and do it. The Smart board in my classroom was paid for by the PTO.

What can be done to encourage more excellence in teaching?

The hardest three years of your life are the first three years of teaching and that’s where we turn a lot of people off and lose a lot of people. The attrition rates are very high in those years. I wish teacher training programs could almost be like internships. You do your student teaching but I wish there was some other way to ease someone into teaching.

You almost need a junior teachers program, where you get someone who is 22 years old and pay them half-salary and they teach half time or something like that. I know that’s not realistic, but I think when you get young people right out of school teaching, you need to go easy on them the first few years and try to ease them into the system a bit.

Schools have to be willing to invest in teachers with expertise, too. Honestly, I sometimes wonder if someone like me would even get hired these days. I already had a double-masters degree before I even started. Now I think for a middle school social studies teacher, they might just say we’ll get someone with a B.A. and start them out at step 1 on the salary scale.

You teach in a school that goes from kindergarten through eighth grade. How do you like that?

In a K-8 school, you really know these kids very well; you’ve seen them for years. When a kid is having trouble, we talk about what interventions work, and what has worked in the past for this child. I also think a small K-8 school keeps the kids a little naïve, and I think it enables you to keep a great watch on them. Another advantage of a K-8 school is that those 1st and 2nd graders think the 8th graders are the greatest thing ever. Last month my 8th graders dressed up as 19th century legends like Andrew Jackson, Sacajewea, Lewis and Clark and Frederick Douglass, and they made up Power Point presentations and did them for the younger kids. The younger kids loved it, and the older ones really had to learn their stuff. But there are drawbacks to a K-8 school, too. You are limited in what you can offer. Some of the boys in this school would thrive in a shop class but we just don’t have the facilities to offer that. I try to supplement that with different projects that are hands-on in my classroom.

What do you think education will look like in the future?

I think education will be a lot more individualized. In the future, every kid will have an IEP (Individualized Education Plan). With all of this testing that we do, the solution is to build computerized tests that are diagnostic. So you can take a test for Algebra 1, for instance, and know exactly what you do and don’t know. When you know the subject you can move on. From a global educational perspective, when you look at the way the world is shaping up, it’s very competitive. If you’ve read Thomas Friedman’s book, The World is Flat, you know his message is “there’s a kid in China that wants your job.” Other places have longer school years and longer school days. It isn’t just China. What makes us so arrogant that we think we can do in 180 days what everyone else takes 240 days a year to do?

In the 12 years you’ve been teaching, what do you do differently now than you did when you were starting out?

I still think about the days when I would get up in front of the class and lecture the kids for 45 minutes. I would try to fill them up with as much information as I could, in the hope that they would leave with all they were supposed to know. I do less lecturing now, and more interactive activities with the kids. When I do lecture, I use a discovery method. I’ll ask them if you were Lincoln, what were your options when Fort Sumter was attacked? I try to guide them to the solution. After years of teaching, I have realized it’s more about the process. If I can teach them to love my subject area and get them excited about it, then let them discover it for themselves, they will get a lot more out of it.

Janet Bamford is an editor/writer at NJSBA. Her email is jbamford@njsba.org.

When Medical Problems Are Financial Problems

A unique–and often overlooked –state relief fund assists New Jersey families with their children’s medical bills

By Ralph Condo

When Louis and Susan Varilias of Succasunna learned their son, Louis III, had muscular dystrophy, they prepared themselves for the many challenges of raising a child with a disability. They had jobs and health insurance, so they were not prepared for the financial burdens they would soon face.

They quickly learned, however, that medical problems can soon lead to financial problems. Luckily, this Morris County family also learned about a unique program offered to New Jersey families, the Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund (CICRF).

The fund, established by the state Legislature in 1988, offers cash grants to families whose medical expenses have become burdens. And it assists families regardless of their income.

Like many families, Susan Varilias said it was pure luck that she learned about the fund ten years ago. Soon after moving to New Jersey, she picked up a free newspaper on her doorstep. Inside was an article about the Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund.

“We had huge medical bills,” said Susan, whose son was then 8. “Once I found out about the fund, it was a huge financial relief.”

The fund initially helped the family make some home modifications such as installing ramps and creating a handicapped-accessible bathroom.

“We have normal expenses like a home, a car, and saving for college. When you put major medical expenses on top of all that, I don’t know where we’d be now without the fund,” she said.

In addition to Louis, the family has 15-year-old twin girls, DeAnna and Alessandra.

Last year, 337 families received assistance from the fund, totaling $8.3 million. Since the fund issued its first check in 1989, more than $108 million has been distributed to some 4,500 New Jersey families with uncovered medical expenses.

Some of the families who receive assistance have children who are among the state’s estimated 260,000 uninsured children, but most are insured. Of the families served in 2007, 89 percent had medical insurance. Rather, these families incurred potentially devastating medical bills not covered by insurance, state or federal programs, or other sources.

The fund is a financial safety net for families that can easily become overwhelmed by medical expenses. Often, medical bills are not covered by insurance due to pre-existing conditions, expenses in excess of maximum benefits, or high co-payments.

The extraordinary but little-known program, the first of its kind in the nation, does not receive any funding in the state budget. Rather, it is wholly funded by a $1.50 per employee assessment imposed on employers.

The fund, administered by a small staff and a 12-member Relief Fund Commission, works hard to promote its existence to all New Jersey families. The fact is that any family, regardless of income or insurance status, may be just one illness or accident away from personal and financial hardship. Still, the fund is often a hidden resource that families often mistakenly believe they are not eligible for.

The program recognizes that an illness or medical condition of a child can be “catastrophic” to the family’s finances, regardless of income. As a result, there is no income “cap” to those who are eligible. Instead, expenses must exceed 10 percent of the family’s first $100,000 of annual income, plus 15 percent of any excess income over $100,000.

To be eligible, a family must live in the state for at least three months and have uncovered medical bills or expenses incurred by a child age 21 or younger. The fund reviews expenses on a retroactive basis, dating back to 1988 when the program was created. Applications are reviewed for both outstanding bills and out of pocket expenses that have been paid but have created a hardship on the family.

Susan and Louis Varilias, now members of the fund’s Family Advisory Committee, like to spread the word about the fund. “I always tell people about it and they think they won’t qualify,” Susan said. “I always tell them to try it and see what happens.”

“We fight with insurance companies every day of our lives,” she said. “But with the fund, they have something that provides so much relief to families, and then they make it so easy. This is a great benefit to the people of New Jersey.”

For families in every county of the state, the fund has paid for an array of uncovered expenses, from traditional bills like physician and hospital services to extraordinary expenses such as long-distance telephone bills to airfare to medical procedures.

Non-traditional expenses such as home modifications or the purchase of specialized vehicles to accommodate a disability are also eligible under the fund, but usually are not covered by insurance. For families like Susan and Louis Varilias’, grants for those expenses have dramatically improved their son’s quality of life.

Before receiving a grant from the fund, Susan Varilias often found herself carrying 13-year-old Louis III out of the house, down the steps and into the car. To get him out of the car, she had to unfold a wheelchair from the trunk and carry him out of the family’s car. Today, her family has a specialized van that accommodates her son’s wheelchair. Her home also now has ramps.

For Louis, who graduated from Roxbury High School last year, the wheelchair-accessible van has allowed him to start college at New Jersey Institute of Technology, where he is studying video game design.

“With these things, life is just not as complicated,” she said. “What this has done for Louis is really just provided him with so many things that he would not have been able to have if it were up to us to provide those things on our own. It has made his life easier in many ways.”

By the Numbers

Ralph Condo, is a member of the Waterford Township Board of Education, and also serves as Waterford’s representative on the Hammonton Board of Education. Condo is the executive director of the Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund Commission. He can be reached at ralph.condo@dhs.state,nj.us.

SPECIAL TECHNOLOGY SECTION

Plug In. Boot Up. Log On

If there’s one way in which schools today differ from schools even a decade ago, it’s in technology advances that have allowed teachers and administrators to be more effective than ever.

In this section, School Leader takes a look at some of the issues that school board members, administrators and educators face in choosing, managing and making the most of technology. You’ll find advice on how school districts can attract outside funding for technology, and details on how one district uses database technology to more effectively manage its budget, track teacher and student performance and organize professional development. We examine the comprehensive technology program of one award winning N.J. district and take a look at how teachers are using interactive multimedia to enhance education.

In New Jersey the promise of technology has paid off—and we’re just at the beginning of the technological age in education.

Data (Self) Analysis

How database technology helped build success in one district

By Anthony N. Dragona

What would you think if I told you that a single, cost-effective mechanism could not only substantially improve the operation of your district, but also enhance student achievement? That’s exactly what happened when we implemented database technology in 1999. As mundane as it sounds, FileMaker Pro revolutionized the way our students learn by redefining the way we think about, generate, process, store and share information.

From Mayberry to Matrix Nine years ago, if you roamed the halls of any of the 12 schools in the Union City school district, you would have encountered a familiar scene: Teachers with their noses buried in clipboards; administrators weighed down by enormous key chains, en route to one of the many filing cabinets (guarded with life and limb) which used index cards and papers to store data on our 10,000 students and 1,500 faculty and non-instructional employees.

Save for the conspicuous absence of any poodle skirts, it could just as well have been 1959 as 1999.

Then, with the advent of the No Child Left Behind Act, and monies received from the state’s Abbott initiative, the Union City Board of Education found itself faced with new, stringent reporting requirements that the current “system” simply could not support.

So, in the fall of 2001, we brought together key stakeholders to discuss the best way to go about modifying the way we think about, generate, process, store and share information. We moved from Mayberry to Matrix with nary a glance back.

The Solution We knew our problems: the schools needed a place to store data, records and profiles; it needed to be able to deliver data to desktops for use in school-based decisions; and also to share complex sets of data through customized views to many users. Database technology was the resounding, unified, answer to each of our problems.

There are many fine database programs out there. But with dual platform compatibility and a cost of less than $70 per license, the choice for us was easy: FileMaker Pro. After selecting the license package from FileMaker Pro, all we had to do was pair up with our software developer, who was enthusiastic about modifying the program to meet our specific needs.

The Process We approached this project in four phases. The planning stage allowed us to discuss what reports we were currently doing manually that could be done more efficiently and accurately using a database. The development phase brought our ideas to the keyboard where staff members were able to “kick the tires” and suggest modifications. The deployment phase focused on training and taking time for each user to understand the importance of their task as well as the need for accuracy (this really came to life when the staff was able to print their first report). The final (and ongoing) phase is modification. As staff members use the database, we take their suggestions to ease the workflow, fix bugs, and make adjustments based upon changes in report criteria.

The Cost What did it cost us to go paperless? The initial purchase in 1998 was approximately $40,000 for 35 databases with 11 schools. Through development, the number of databases in 2002 increased to 115. Annual maintenance for all our databases is approximately $25,000.

The Goods We currently have a variety of databases, including 15 forms for employee evaluation, 1-page snapshots of records for employee profiles, 5-year budgetary projections with summary and detail, a catalog of professional development courses and credits, databases for added pay/added day and extra duties payrolls, and an online policy manual. Since 2001, our original 35 databases have grown to 115 databases; all inter-related, and all providing the flexibility for us to grant access to appropriate users to different levels of the database.

With today’s ever changing technology, our implementation is continuous. It only took us two years, though, to complete phase one in which we culled data. Three additional years were designated to expansion of end users. This included implementing professional development and tracking the usage and usability of the database, as well as making modifications and improvements.

Data Deciphered Before the implementation of FileMaker Pro, we were data-rich, but analysis-poor. Information was diligently stored, but the nature in which it was filed did little to promote cross-sectional or longitudinal analysis. While a treasure trove of information lay scattered in those file cabinets, it would have taken a code-breaker to do much more than take the data at face value.

With our customized FileMaker Pro database, we can identify specific factors affecting outcomes and create campus profiles that help us identify sub-populations requiring specialized services, analyze relationships between programs and performance improvements, and even pinpoint why initiatives fall short. The databases also provide detailed information about remediation needs and can even help us identify the types of test questions that students answer incorrectly. This enables us to more closely target the specific skills students lack.

Humanizing Human Resources The centerpiece of the human resources database is the one-page employee snapshot. As new administrators are appointed, they now have the capability of quickly viewing data on their new staff by toggling through a one-page employee profile screen. This snapshot displays key data from over 14 different databases on one screen, including: staff member demographics, graduate course work, certifications, professional development, previous electronic evaluations and professional improvement plans, and staff attendance for the prior four years. There is even a photo for visual assistance.

This provides administrators a comprehensive understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of their staff, which not only helps in initial classroom assignments, but also in developing individual improvement plans. As new opportunities arise, administrators have all the tools at their fingertips to evaluate which staff member is best suited for the task, not only based on their static history, but on their dynamic growth as an educator by taking into account performance evaluations and professional development.

More Than Budget Balancing: Budget Forecasting A huge benefit of the database is the way it facilitates the accurate allocation of our resources. After all, even a school housed with highly qualified teachers and highly motivated students might fail to thrive if resources are misallocated.

Our databases provide all the information we need to budget resources in a way that can best impact education. We can evaluate negotiations packages, costing out collective bargaining contracts, proposed and adopted. And, since 80% of the budget is salary and benefits, database data can be used to project the costs for subsequent budgets through our budget builder database.

We also have a comprehensive knowledge of our fixed assets, and their location, value, status, obsolescence planning, and equipment disposal. Databases make it easier to more accurately code and classify these assets, potentially saving thousands of dollars in the appropriation of resources.

Professional Development: Beyond the Podium In the paper age, professional development was, by and large, left at the podium. With database technology, attendees have access to event materials, including workshop notes and PowerPoint slides, which facilitate discussion and implementation of strategies long after an event’s formal conclusion.
In the old days, professional development events often explored similar terrain and tapped the same experts. Through the use of databases, administrators can tailor professional development programs to the unique needs of their school by reviewing data on previous workshops, including: content, evaluations, and fee structures of presenters. Administrators can often view portions of past presentations to judge whether they’re worth repeating.

Virtual Mentoring Our latest database initiative moves beyond the mere presentation of information to the lively exchange of ideas. Linked to the NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards, the Electronic Lesson Plan database allows for teachers to enter their lesson plans in a fixed format template, which can be viewed district-wide. Teachers, supervisors and administrators also have the ability to submit lessons as Best Practices.

While this database provides an exceptional opportunity for new teachers, familiarizing them with the tried and true techniques of their peers, it’s also a morale boost to the veteran teachers to have their plans selected as “best practices.” And though the exchange of ideas starts out electronically, many of our teachers have established meaningful person-to-person mentoring relationships as a result of this technology.

Success and Failure Deciphered Student assessment data is the key to unlocking proven methods of individualized student learning. Prior to database analysis, reams of paper containing test data would arrive in June, as most teachers were harried with end of the school year tasks and assignments. Minimal analysis of data took place.

Now, with a stream of data available throughout the year, teachers, supervisors and school administrators dissect student assessment during weekly scheduled grade-level collaborative planning sessions to establish individualized instructional modifications for students.

Statewide student assessment data on standardized tests confirms that general education students from Union City equal or exceed statewide assessment results in grades 3, 4 and 8 from all other districts. Additionally, between 2002 and 2007, there was an over 40% increase in grade 11 Mathematics test scores and a nearly 15% increase in grade 11 Language Arts scores.

A quick look at the demographics of Union City makes these accomplishments even more significant—97 percent of our students speak Spanish at home, 95 percent are from a minority background, 87 percent qualify for USDA Free Lunch program, and a staggering 51 percent of the student population fall into NCLB sub-groups with 41 percent Limited English Proficient and 10 percent Special Needs.

Staff Become Stakeholders Let’s be honest: data entry is uninspiring at best, repetitive at worst. Even though we knew that staff would theoretically understand the significance of data collection, the simple fact is that until data becomes personalized and visually displayed, it is difficult for data collection to ever be viewed as more than a mundane task. Therefore it was pivotal to the success of our program for each employee to participate in the collection and presentation of data.

Through the process of data entry, the employees gained an understanding of the value of the task and the importance of the data’s contribution to a report that has a direct impact on improving students’ success and self-esteem. At meetings and presentations in which their data is discussed and displayed, employees see their data used and analyzed and they experience a level of fulfillment in their work that elevates it above the menial.

Demands of a Database The district has established an environment where data is key to decision-making, allocation of resources, and student improvement. Although it may take us as long to do an online evaluation as a paper evaluation, the fact that it is archived, searchable and accessible from many locations is of paramount importance. Databases don’t really save many man-hours of work (although the retrieval of information is much faster); they make it easier to use, manage and analyze the information.

Piecing it Together FileMaker Pro’s database technology brought our district together by unearthing the puzzle pieces to our students’ success.

Thanks to this technology, our staff members have a more intricate and intuitive relationship with each other. We aren’t limited to just evaluating the end results, but rather have the tools in place to find out exactly how we ended up there and what we need to do to get moving in a different direction. Perhaps most importantly, we all have a keener sense of appreciation for our role in the improvement of our students’ lives.

Now, when you roam the halls of our district, you’ll see teachers toting laptops instead of clipboards and administrators carrying passwords in place of key rings. You’ll also see all of us working together daily, eager to see what the pieces of the puzzle reveal on any given day.

Anthony N. Dragona, RSBA, is school business administrator for the Union City Board of Education. He can be reached at adragona@union-city.k12.nj.us.

Howell Makes the Grade

Each year the National School Boards Association and the Center for Digital Education conduct a national survey to examine how school districts are applying information technology to better engage local communities and improve the quality of education. Last fall, the results of the latest Digital School Boards Survey were announced, and Howell Township School District tied for second place in the medium-sized school category (2,501 to 15,000).

Howell has a comprehensive, cutting-edge technology program that has grown over several years. “We passed a referendum in 1998 that allowed the district to put in the necessary infrastructure, at least 4 computers in every classroom and one for every teacher, as well as ceiling-mounted LTD projectors in each classroom,” said Claire Williams, district technology supervisor. “Just as importantly, there was a huge commitment to professional development.” Today the Howell technology menu provides a model for how a district can integrate technology into every aspect of a district’s operation. A few of the highlights:

The extensive Web site posts in-depth information on present and past board meetings, including agendas and minutes, as well as policy and budget information. Public opinion surveys are conducted online and results are posted online. Howell’s site has e-commerce capabilities, enabling, for instance, parents to sign in to their child’s lunch box website and make payments to their account.

There is continuous communication with the community. Board news is distributed via “Board News Bytes,” a subscription email service; and automated systems send school-related electronic information to parents. The district uses the local cable television channel to disseminate other information, as well as to broadcast events like school performances.

The district uses state-of-the-art information security methods. To address the physical security needs of students and staff, there are security cameras at all schools that the local police department has access to. There are also door access systems in place.

The district’s hardware investments have continued. There is currently a two-to-one student-to-computer ratio throughout the district.

Instructional technology is exemplary and innovative. During the summer, the district uses iPods for English Language Learners, to help prevent them from regressing. The district uses online instructional tools such as the Criterion Online Writing Program and Skills Tutor.

“Our newest initiative is the adoption of NWEA,” said Williams. The Northwest Evaluation Association has online adaptive tests to measure student achievement. “It allows for individualized testing, and allows teachers to pinpoint the areas they need to reinforce and areas where the student has mastered the subject.” All assessment data is stored, so the student’s progress can be tracked from grade to grade.

As well as enhancing student achievement in the district, the Howell technology programs have improved district efficiency and saved money, reports Chris Tully, director of information technology for the district.
“The Howell Township Board of Education has put technology in the forefront for many years. It’s wonderful to get recognized for our efforts,” said Dr. Enid Golden, district superintendent.
—Janet Bamford

Getting Help in Making Your District Technology-Rich

Outside funding for technology can mean the difference between having a stellar program and a so-so program

By Betsy Price

School boards need to take a leadership role in making sure their districts foster technologically proficient students. That’s a role that involves being part facilitator, part planner and part fundraiser.

As facilitators, the board, along with the administration, must conduct assessments of educators’ and students’ technology needs. They must also organize strategic planning to address those needs, identifying programs that meet the local challenges, talents and expertise of students, and developing a blueprint for acquiring necessary software, hardware and electronic curriculum.

However, the most daunting task may well be financing technology programs. Experience demonstrates that school districts cannot rely solely on local state and federal government sources to provide the required funds for an exemplary technology support program.

Schools have always been challenged to find the money to support technology. It was easier in the early years because any technology was a value-added to a school and was not yet an indispensable part of the school’s operations. Now technology is a commodity and, like the electric and water bills, is a regularly expected line item on the budget. As schools enter a time when teaching materials and management tools are becoming increasingly digital, technology costs are exceeding budgets. Outside funders are key sources for additional funds to support first-rate technology programs.

Part of the challenge in obtaining outside funding is finding and identifying potential donors, whether that be local corporations, or grant-giving foundations. But districts also have to make themselves attractive to those funders. Here are some tips.

Create visual identities for schools A school’s Web pages establish a visual identity that can be the single most persuasive tool to attract and secure funders. When potential funders investigate the district, an individual school, or teacher, chances are their first impressions will come from the Web.

Most funds from outside sources, such as corporations or foundations, come from advertising and public relations budgets. This money is bestowed to promote community goodwill and also to create future sales by using a school as a model for the successful use of their product. Even federal government agencies have to prove to the legislators that they are accomplishing their goals. All of them are looking for a poster child to demonstrate to their investors, customers, or benefactors the commendable work they are doing. Board members want their district to be that poster child and to be in a position to claim such funding.

Boards and districts should ask themselves:

On your schools’ home pages, do you highlight positive events, those unique pockets of achievement that set your school apart?
Do reports of your academic and extra curricular activities demonstrate the spirit, dedication and teaching goals of the teachers and the student body?
Does the design, composition, grammar, and spelling show the high quality of professional standards in the school?

Think of potential funders as investors in your schools. Investors want to be assured from the start that funds will be handled properly, the school will complete the project within the allotted time and budget, and that the project will be a credit to their organization. A well-constructed visual identity can attract or repel funders. This especially applies to inner city, rural, or other underserved schools that desperately need additional services and support programs. These schools often can attract more funding because vast improvements are quantitatively easy to show and qualitatively very rewarding.

Create a continuous public relations campaign Nationally, schools receive a tremendous amount of negative publicity. It seems like the headlines are full of bad news about issues such as NCLB, school violence and drop-out rates. Districts need to be in firm control of their own public relations. It is important to let local companies know about achievements such as high-achieving students, winning sports teams, science fairs, school concerts. These are all areas which local funders might want to sponsor, so they could connect their business to the school’s success. Often these small pockets of achievement go unnoticed by outsiders unless the district takes the initiative to promote them and link them with potential donors. And remember, every area of a school is supported by technology. The winning baseball team needs handheld computers to collect game, season, and player statistics. Take inventory of your district’s public relations program:

Does the district have a direct communication channel to know which teachers or support staff are receiving grants, doing pilot testing, or other extra activity that the school can promote?
Do you send out electronic newsletters to the media, local businesses, industry, and influential individuals promoting your district’s successes in academics, sports, and community service?

Identify what the unique learning challenges are for each school in your district One of the greatest benefits of technology in furthering student achievement is its ability to act as a diagnostic tool to improve teaching and learning. Technology can decode what needs are unique to a district, school, or even small group of students, and what educational tools will help students in those groups learn. Funders want to know what challenges a school is addressing with their funds, how the money will be applied, the qualifications of staff, and the measurable outcomes of the funded activity. With proper data management and mining, districts are now capable of identifying areas in which students are excelling and where they need extra help. For example, by mining data from state achievement tests, grades, attendance records, and even cafeteria records, schools can pinpoint a grade level when student grades, interest or achievement level in a subject or skill excels or drops. A school or district can also analyze which individual teachers, programs, or techniques work. From this information schools can present a well conceived program on how they will successfully improve student achievement. Ask yourself:

Are your district-wide data collection methods compatible so that advanced data mining can identify areas where technology would be a viable tool and the targeted students would benefit?
Are exemplary teachers and the techniques and programs they use identified and documented?
Are historic evaluation statistics from previous grants easily accessible for use with future grant proposals?

Funders are like bankers. They want a clear, workable business plan that shows how the money will be spent and what the return will be. In grant proposals, be sure to provide funders with quantitative figures from your school database that identify a teaching challenge, how teachers have already shown success, and a plan, complete with timeline and measurable outcomes, on how you will meet the challenge. Funders are like bankers in another way. They readily give money to those who have proved that they have successfully used money wisely and achieved their goals. Use your historic data to show how other funded projects have been successful.

Support teacher-leaders, the greatest single attraction for funders Many funders do not like to put money into general operating coffers of districts. They prefer to invest in individual teachers or restricted programs. The reason for this is simple; there is a more visible return for their money. Teacher-leaders are capable of accomplishing goals, are easily accountable and, if they are not successful, funding can quickly be cut off. Funders want evangelists to promote their product or educational ideal and they know teacher-leaders are effective in promoting tools, electronic materials, or teaching techniques within a school, district, or nationwide.

Funders rely on these teachers to disseminate their results at professional organizations, through articles in practitioner journals, and through the other myriad informal channels teachers have, such as blogs, Web sites, and listservs. They actively seek teacher-leaders out at national conferences and via other teacher networks to provide them with product, grants, and professional development.

To ascertain whether your district adequately supports teacher-leaders, ask yourself:

Does the district have professional development money or incentives for teacher-leaders to attend national or regional professional meetings to learn about funding opportunities?
Are teachers encouraged through extra funding, incentives, or time-off to become officers or board members in national professional organizations?
Does the district have workshops for teachers on grant writing, writing articles for professional journals, and the process for seeking outside funding?

Often school districts are unaware of small but significant accomplishments of individual teachers and staff. Because so many grant opportunities are made directly to this group, the teachers often apply and receive funds without the district knowing about them. They get a computer, an iPod, or a software package to test, and believe it only affects their classroom, so it goes unreported. However all these little grants bundled together can be an important and significant contribution towards the entire technology package of the district.

Now that your school has positioned itself to be an attractive recipient of funding from outside sources, what are the next steps to take?

Set your teacher-leaders out on the hunt When teachers attend professional conferences, seek resources on the web, read journals, or just visit with colleagues, urge them to be constantly on the lookout for opportunities for their classroom—and for other school district classrooms. Start a district blog and a reward system for teachers to broadcast interesting opportunities to their colleagues. Successful grant-winning teachers should give district-wide workshops and be mentors to new teachers on how to organize grant writing teams, how to use district data to create a winning persuasive argument, and how to create an evaluation plan.

Keep a database that teachers can easily access that contains demographic data about the district and the individual schools. Teachers can use this information in writing descriptive narratives in grant applications. Keep a record of evaluation measurements data of successful projects. Every grant should be a building block for the next one.

Identify potential benefactors Ask yourself: who, besides the school, would benefit by having name exposure attached to a structure or project? A new electronic billboard for your football field will benefit a local or regional company or retail store every time there is a game or event. Naming an auditorium with a new lighting system will put a business or donor’s name in the newspaper and in the school’s electronic communication venues every time there is an event. This represents thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in free advertising to the donor.

When visiting donors, school districts should take along statistics and charts from your databases—items like attendance at events, number of hits on your web pages, number of newsletter recipients or the amount of money people spend at events. This will illustrate the potential of their donation. Keep in mind, too, that the amount of the donation that districts request should reflect the value of the advertising dollars they might have otherwise spent. Don’t give away thousands of dollars of advertising and community goodwill for a couple hundred dollars.

Remember to use board members as a resource District board members can be key to opening doors and bringing in outside money. Board members are leaders in the community and their opinions carry a great deal of weight with parents as well as the business community. Discussions at board meetings often focus on what is wrong with the district, but when board members leave the meeting they need to carry and broadcast the message of what is right with the district.

Technological innovations can be a valuable addition to your schools. With careful planning, your district can get outside funding sources to help foot the bill for some of your technology needs.

Betsy Price is an associate faculty member at the University of Texas at Brownsville. She is the author of the recently published book, Managing Technology in Our Schools: Establishing Goals and Creating a Plan. She can be reached at Betsy.Price@utb.edu.

The Wonders of Wikis and Podcasts

How these interactive multimedia tools can help students learn

By James Puglia and Carl Hazen

The advent of high speed broadband Internet connections, has presented educators with exciting new tools. We have found two of these newer technologies, podcasts and wikis, to be useful, inexpensive and effective in helping generate meaningful and lasting learning experiences for students. Here’s what we’ve learned about each.

Podcasts Podcasting has grown exponentially over the past few years. Podcasting is the creation of audio content that can be heard live or downloaded later to a computer or portable MP3 player. A common misconception about podcasts is that you need an iPod or Apple computer to create or listen to them. Podcasts can be viewed or created with MP3 players, digital recorders, mobile phones or on computers with compatible software. Since most schools use Windows, Mac OS or Linux-based operating systems, there are many ways to record audio or video. In fact, one free and simple-to-use software program, Audacity, enables individuals to easily record and edit digital audio on multiple computer platforms. The only other equipment needed is a good headset or desktop microphone; these cost $15 to $30.

The educational potential of podcasting is undeniable. It offers the opportunity for true differentiated learning. For instance, audio podcasts are ideal for auditory learners. Podcasts also enable students to review material repeatedly and on-demand to understand a difficult subject.

The process of writing a podcast script improves student verbal and written communication skills. Whenever a student is presenting information to an audience, he or she will be more engaged and produce a better product. This is especially true for middle school students. And podcasting is a great tool to use across subjects and grade levels. With help from teachers, podcasts can be created by students as young as first grade.

In one of our classes, after watching a teacher demonstration, seventh-grade science students were able to explicitly detail their findings in a podcast during and after a worm dissection lab. The exercise allowed students to share their knowledge and results. Other students viewed their peers’ podcasts on a shared network and could download the content onto an iPod, other portable media device, or computer to view outside of school.

Wikis A wiki is a website that allows users to edit and change content. (The word wiki is an abbreviated version of wiki-wiki, a Hawaiian phrase that means “quick.”) Wikispaces co-founder Adam Frey describes a wiki as “a web page with an edit button on it.” Wikis can be housed internally on your district’s server or through Internet sites. Wikispaces is an education- friendly wiki host that has given away more than 50,000 towards its goal of 100,000 free sites to educators. Privacy issues are addressed by using settings that allow the wiki to be set-up to allow only private use. It’s not difficult to become proficient at using wikis, since the editing is mostly done via an easy-to-use visual editing toolbar. Users do not need to learn computer coding or web design, even with the advanced multimedia functions.

Compared with blogs and discussion boards, wikis offer several distinct advantages.

A wiki provides individuals working together and provides a location for many authors to share ideas. Wikis are flexible and content can readily change. One of the most powerful tools of a wiki is the ability to revert to an earlier revision. If a teacher sets up a class site and information is inadvertently deleted, the teacher can roll back the wiki to an earlier date without ever having to worry about lost content.

If students use a wiki for a group project, a teacher can track what each student wrote or edited, a great tool ensuring that all students contribute. There are also advanced features that students can easily learn, such as embedding videos or audio podcasts.

Students can collaborate within one classroom or across time zones. The Flat Classroom Project, a program that involved high school students from Georgia and Bangladesh, provided an example of a successful international wiki. Wikis can be used across all core curriculum areas. Bedminster middle school students made a Time 100 Project wiki, where each student picked one of the most influential people from the 20th century to study and write about. Students were also able to embed multimedia enhancements within their wiki, including streaming video, podcasts and presentation slides. The teacher and other students added comments to each wiki and students then wrote a persuasive essay about the individual. These students were selected to present their material at the state Department of Education’s Kid Tech Day held in Trenton in 2006.

Both wikis and podcasting are tools for 21st century students and educators. Districts should support this engaging, inexpensive, and powerful educational technology.

James Puglia is a technology teacher and Carl Hazen is a science teacher at Bedminster Township Public School. They can be reached at the following email addresses: chazen@bedminsterschool.org and jpuglia@ bedminsterschool.org.