Better Schools Magazine Summer 2023

SUMMER 2023

Fundamental Resources and Editorials for School Administrators

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: DOES THE DOSAGE MATTER FOR NEW TEACHERS?

WALKING THE WALK: COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP IN ACTION

GETTING TO KNOW CHRIS LEGRANDE

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CONTENTS CCOSA Executive Committee Janalyn Taylor Principal, Nance ES CCOSA Chairperson OAESP Past-President Melissa Barlow Principal, Yukon HS CCOSA Vice Chairperson OASSP President Kevin Hime Superintendent, Lawton OASA President

8 Words From the Director

25 CCOSA District Level Services Program

By Dr. Jeanene Barnett, CCOSA Education Policy & Research Analyst & TLE Director

By Dr. Pam Deering, CCOSA/OASA Executive Director

10 Paying It Forward

By Teresa Golden, Danielle Patterson, Timothy Ray, Ron Sunderland, and Crystal Szymanski

13 On Schedule

By Derald Glover, OASA Assistant Executive Director

Scott Farmer Superintendent, Ft. Gibson OASA President-elect

27 Energy Efficient Schools of Oklahoma (EESO): Empowering Oklahoma Schools to Lead the Nation in Strategic Energy Management

By Derald Glover, OASA Assistant Executive Director

Matt Johnson Principal, Shawnee HS OASSP President-elect Jennifer Patterson Asst. Principal, DeWitt Waller MS OMLEA President Laura Bullock Principal, Idabel MS OMLEA President-elect Traci Newell Principal, Elgin ES OAESP President Tara Burnett Principal, Highland Park ES OAESP President-elect Kimberly Elkington-Baxter Director Special Services, McAlester ODSS President Amy Swartz Director Special Services, Ponca City ODSS President-elect Dr. Gregg Garn Higher Education Liaison

14 Professional Development Helps Grow New Teachers–but the Right Dosage Matters

By John Wink, Wink Educational Consulting; Presenter at the 2023 CCOSA Summer Conference

18 2023 Legislative Session Update: New Professional Development Requirements

41 Supreme Court Narrows the IDEA’s Exhaustion Requirement

By Nathan Floyd

43 Chris LeGrande Getting to Know CCOSA’s Newest Executive Director

By Dr. Jeanene Barnett, Education Policy & Research Analyst & TLE Coordinator

ASSOCIATION UPDATES 45 OASA

53 OAESP

49 OASSP/OMLEA

54 ODSS

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28 Instead of Telling Girls, “You can be anything you want to be,” Do This.

By Lisa Hinkelman, Founder & CEO, Ruling Our eXperiences, Inc. (ROX); Presenter at the 2023 CCOSA Summer Conference

CCOSA Staff Dr. Pam Deering CCOSA/OASA Executive Director Derald Glover OASA Assistant Executive Director Chris LeGrande OASSP/OMLEA Executive Director Glen Abshere OAESP Executive Director Andrea Kunkel CCOSA General Counsel ODSS Executive Director Dr. Jeanene Barnett Education Policy & Research Analyst & TLE Coordinator Kathy Dunn Director of Professional Learning, State and Federal Programs Cynda Kolar Business Manager Asia Allen Marketing & Communications Coordinator

32 Walking the Walk 33 Leading With Our Best Selves: Four Keys to Success

By Dr. KIrt Hartzler, Superintendent, Union Public Schools

34 Pillars of Practice: The Foundational Elements of Courageous Leadership

By Alan J. Ingram, Education Consultant, Ingram Consulting

36 What Does Courageous Leadership Mean to You?

By CCOSA Award Winners

Lynne White OAESP Executive Assistant & Assistant to the TLE Coordinator Nicole Donnelly Membership Coordinator/ CEC Executive Assistant Jen Knight OASA Executive Assistant Catherine Goree OASSP/OMLEA/ODSS Executive Assistant

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Words from the Director Dr. Pam Deering, CCOSA/OASA Executive Director deering@ccosa.org

In fall 2022, we knew we would have a tough legislative session coming up in the spring—the possibility of bad policy, school choice, and lots of money at the state level. But how would education fare? We believed that the conference theme this year, Courageous Leadership, would aptly fit the session, and it did!

So, you may ask, what is Courageous Leadership, and why talk about it now? You demonstrate it daily—the grit, determination, making tough calls in the best interests of kids, facing fears and challenges, not losing focus, feeling lonely, and always learning. Does that sound familiar?

Recently, a successful courageous leader said: “It is incredibly hard. I don’t know how to explain it.

I just can tell you how I feel right now is free, because the expectation is overwhelming; the pressure is overwhelming. They (the players) have each other to laugh with. I’m standing here by myself. (You) begin to feel like you’re smothered a little bit because everyone wants something,” said Patty Gasso, OU softball coach and the winner of three straight national championships and many other awards.

How often have we felt the same way, but we keep on?

It took a lot of courage this year to face the legislative session that started with the Governor’s State of the State and his agenda for school choice. With over 3,000 bills introduced, we tracked 500 ed-related bills, narrowing down to a few—mostly funding and a few policy bills. Legislators supported education funding with the largest appropriation of all time—$3.9 billion, with $786 million in new money! Please tell them thanks for the funding. Not only must we celebrate the new money, but we must also celebrate the teacher pay raises. We know we have to continue to advocate for staff pay and funding each year because we know other states are upping their game as well. On the side most do not see, many of the bad education policy bills did not get heard this year, thanks to the excellent work of our legislative advocacy team, our partner associations, and the education coalition.

With all of these celebrations, we have to remember that we now have tax credits, the school choice option supported by the majority of the Legislators and the Governor where your tax dollars now will benefit private school and homeschool families.

These tax credits have the potential to cost the state $300 million over time, but with an immediate impact projected for FY24 of $133 million (State Board of Equalization, June 2023) to the various funds that support public education.

Thank you for keeping your focus on kids. You didn’t let the rhetoric some state leaders use against public education distract you from our mission of educating students in public schools.

You are courageous leaders. Together, as CCOSA members, we will work to keep public education alive so ALL kids can succeed and thrive, not just a select few!

Remember: As a courageous and resilient school leader, YOU move through challenges and adversity while maintaining your own well-being and the well-being of your school district. Keep your courageous mindset optimistic with a focus on what you do best—educate children!

It’s great to be a team together for kids!

CCOSA is your team!

Respectfully, Pam Deering, Ph.D. CCOSA Executive Director ■

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PAYING IT FORWARD

These educators share school leadership advice they wish they’d known sooner.

The new school year is right around the corner, opening the doors of school leadership to hundreds of new administrators in districts from Perry to Poteau, Madill to Mid-Del, and all points in between. We asked a few seasoned admins—and CCOSA award winners—to reflect on their own early days of school leadership. Here’s what they said.

There’s not always a right way or a wrong way to do things, but you have to problem solve and work to find the right solution.

There are problems that are adaptive and technical. Technical problems have a right answer or a wrong answer, and they can be solved by an expert. Adaptive solutions have challenges that are difficult to identify and difficult to solve, and they need more people involved. Having a better understanding of how to do that adaptive problem-solving would have helped.

Ron Sunderland Principal, Woodward High School OASSP High School Principal of the Year

Prior to becoming an administrator, assure that your reasons for wanting the job are justified.

If your reasons are to make more money (comfort), or you think it’s because you deserve a promotion (accomplishment), then rethink your motives. Being an administrator means you have one purpose: To Serve.

Teresa Golden, M.Ed. Director of Special Services, Kingston Public Schools ODSS 2023 Director of the Year

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Be resilient, adaptable, and open-minded. Setbacks are a part of the journey, and it is important to bounce back from adversity and inspire others to do the same. Educational leadership is an ever-evolving field, and there will always be new challenges and opportunities to learn from.

As administrators, it is important to remember that others look to us for guidance, and we must be ready to help members of our team navigate difficult or unfamiliar situations.

Danielle Patterson Principal, Ethel Reed Elementary School, Holdenville Public Schools OAESP 2023 Principal of the Year

Effective communication is important in most professions, but in school administration the ability to communicate effectively with a wide variety of people will make or break success as a school leader.

Have multiple approaches in your tool bag and work to give each person what they need.

Crystal Szymanski Principal, Stillwater Junior High OASSP/OMLEA Middle Level Principal of the Year

Education is a constantly evolving field, and staying abreast of new research, methodologies, and best practices is essential for professional growth. When I began, I put my nose down and worked in my space, trying to make a positive change in the ways I knew how to. It was extremely helpful to me once I started to seek out opportunities for continuous learning and professional development, such as attending conferences, workshops, or webinars. I also began to engage in networking with other educational leaders to exchange ideas and experiences through our state and national associations.

Timothy Ray Assistant Principal, Charles Page High School, Sand Springs OASSP Assistant Principal of the Year

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ON SCHEDULE

By Derald Glover, OASA Assistant Executive Director

The 2023-24 school year is coming fast. Our to-do list will help you prepare for the responsibilities ahead.

School leadership is hard work. Part of what makes it so difficult is that so many areas must be addressed to get the school year started off smoothly. One of the best ways to be prepared is to have a schedule in mind for key events. Take some time to review and have a plan for who will address these and other items now,

and you’ll have less stress during the course of the school year.

Below is a sample list of monthly “To-Dos” (some schools may perform certain functions on different months) and a few key accountability items you should be aware of during the year.

August

November

May

■ New staff onboarding.

■ Beginning year PD requirements

■ Gun-free school weapons report due

■ Legislative advocacy.

■ End-of-year RSA reporting.

■ Final federal claims submission for

December

■ State vision screening report.

■ McRel end-of-year evaluation of

(CCOSA guidelines).

■ Bus evacuation drill reminder and

emergency drills (first two weeks of school).

■ Beginning year Reading Sufficiency Plan and Report guidance.

■ Safety Committee review of safety procedures and recommendations.

■ Assignments for activity supervision schedule.

September ■ Estimate of Needs (EON) review and

comparison to previous year.

■ Oklahoma Cost Accounting System (OCAS) Site Code changes due to OSDE by Sept. 1.

■ OCAS Revenue/Expenditure report due to OSDE by Sept. 1 and corrections by Sept. 30.

■ Development of district budget.

■ Review of previous year student counts and comparison (consolidated application) to current year (before certification!).

■ Oklahoma School Report Card calculation review and plan to improve.

■ Alternative Ed implementation plan guidance.

■ Statutory waiver and deregulation guidance.

October

before accreditation audit.

■ Submission of local salary schedule.

■ Low-income student count report.

■ School board filing for open seat (first

week of December).

June

■ Historical graduation cohort report.

■ McRel midyear administration

review and guidance (legal).

■ CCOSA Summer Leadership ■ Notification of intent not to rehire a

goal review.

January ■ Bus evacuation drill reminder and

emergency drills (first two weeks of school).

■ OASA Legislative Conference.

■ Renewal of superintendent contract.

■ Submission of superintendent contract to OSDE. ■ Oklahoma School Testing Program (OSTP) pre-code opens.

■ Flexible Benefit Allowance reporting opens.

February ■ Legislative advocacy.

■ School board elections.

■ Midyear personnel reports.

■ Renewal of administrator’s contract

(date varies by school).

March ■ Legislative advocacy.

■ Annual technology survey due.

■ New school board membership report.

■ RSA promotion and retention report.

■ First Quarter Statistical Report (FQSR)

April

due 10 days following first nine weeks.

■ Initial certified personnel report.

■ Annual notification of school

hours/days.

■ Renewal of AP courses.

administrators.

■ District bullying prevention policy

■ Annual accreditation application.

■ Civil Rights Compliance

checklist guidance.

fiscal year payment.

■ Legislative advocacy.

■ Budget estimating for next year and

School District Budgeting Act.

■ Strategic planning for next year.

Conference.

teacher due first Monday in June.

■ Deadline for teacher notification

to leave 15 days after first Monday in June.

■ Preparation of consent agenda for the coming year.

■ Review of temporary EON or School District Budgeting Act final budgeting review.

■ Electronic Application for Indian Education guidance (EASIE).

■ Review of temporary EON. ■ Submission of Teacher and Leader Effectiveness (TLE) and McRel score report.

■ Alt. Ed student data report.

■ Selection and approval of auditor for coming year.

■ McRel administrator goal setting for coming year.

July ■ Preparation and planning for the

coming year (complete hiring of personnel, prepare beginning of year staff meeting, set bus routes, student physicals, approval of activity accounts and fundraisers, crisis plan meetings, etc.).

■ End-of-year personnel report and revenue/expenditure report.

■ July-January TLE training and McRel training.

■ Open transfer statement followed by quarterly incoming open transfer reports.

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Professional Development Helps Grow New Teachers— but the Right Dosage Matters

By John Wink, Wink Educational Consulting, Presenter at the 2023 CCOSA Summer Conference Holly took her two-year-old daughter, Chloe, to the hospital for a routine procedure. The doctor calmed her concerns by detailing how quick the procedure would be and reassuring her that her daughter wouldn’t feel a thing as she would be sedated.

Based on her confidence in the doctor from their years of knowing each other, Holly felt relieved and comfortable that everything would be fine.

The nursing staff began preparations for the procedure, and the sedation prescription was administered. Immediately, Chloe started sweating profusely, talking nonstop, and screaming in terror at spiders she saw in the room.

Her heart rate raced, and her blood pressure increased dramatically.

Chloe’s adverse reaction to the prescription created a crisis and an imminent danger to her life. Immediately and with calm automaticity, the hospital staff responded to address Chloe’s little

body, and after two hours, she was stable and ready to be released to go home.

Chloe’s reaction was not due to a rare condition or allergic reaction.

It was the result of a minor clerical error that produced major implications. Rather than giving Chloe 0.2 mg of Ativan, the doctor prescribed this little two-year-old 2.0 mg, more than two times the adult dosage. Chloe was given the wrong prescription.

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Do your current prescriptions of professional learning match both the maturity and needs of your new teachers?

Dosage matters when it comes to helping people medically, and when it comes to professional learning, great leaders view all professional learning as good medicine that grows great educators. The problem with professional learning is that many educators have been institutionalized by years and years of the false belief that equal dosages for professional learning grow all educators equally. But that philosophy would never be accepted in our classrooms. One thing all educators believe is that differentiated instruction is a huge factor needed to close the unique gaps for all students; therefore, I contend that if we believe in differentiated learning for all students, we must model that belief by providing differentiated professional learning for all educators.

The challenges to the concept of differentiated professional learning are providing leaders time to prepare and provide a wide variety of professional learning and then providing the resources or people to deliver high quality and personalized professional learning.

In order for us to provide 24/7/365 professional learning, we also need to consider that many new teachers to the profession cannot process the same dosage of professional learning as returning educators. If we fail to acknowledge that fact, we will do what the doctor did to little Chloe, causing our new teachers to overdose on professional learning. When we provide too much information in one big dose, novice teachers and even teachers new to our campuses will become overwhelmed and ultimately fail to implement their new learning in their work with students and staff.

How do we ensure we don’t overdose our new teachers with too much information and professional learning?

3 Magic Prescriptions for Professional Learning If we want to save our teachers, we must acknowledge the fact that professional learning is a prescription drug that, if not carefully measured, will burn teachers out with unnecessary stress. In my work with novice or newto-profession teachers for the past three years, there are three ways I have successfully helped schools ensure that novice teachers thrive and grow exponentially in their first year to the profession or campus.

1

Bite-Sized Synchronous Learning

New-to-profession teachers cannot sit through six or even three hours of professional learning and walk away competent and confident to implement every strategy unless leaders create a bite-sized synchronous learning plan to spiral the content throughout the school year. Every month, we work with leaders around the country to provide thirty-minute to onehour live synchronous sessions via Zoom to give novice teachers quick, practical, and meaningful professional learning based on the common challenges new teachers face. Every month, new teachers work with our staff in a live and collaborative training session to learn content, collaborate with their colleagues, and make a plan to implement their learning in instruction.

2

Top Notch Teacher Academy— Asynchronous Learning Babbel is one of the fastest growing language acquisition apps in the world, providing a two-prong approach to learning. First, they provide short lessons on new content that take less than eight minutes to complete, and second, they intentionally spiral prior content in three-minute activities.

When learners use the app five days a week for three to eight minutes per day, their language acquisition accelerates.

We have launched the WinkEdLearning App to provide all teachers learning modules over the Hierarchy of Instructional Excellence, but we are excited to launch our new TNT (Top Notch Teacher) modules with a year-long approach to developing novice teachers in three- to six-minute

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activities accompanied by one or two reflection questions to guide them in implementing their new work. Teachers can also share their learning with their administrator or coach and make action plans to immediately transform their learning.

3

Mentoring Structures to Solidify Novice Teacher Support A major determining factor if new teachers will succeed is the quality of the mentoring program the novice teacher receives. In traditional mentoring programs, campus leaders assign mentors to novice teachers and give them basic guidelines of what to do to help mentees succeed. Where we fall short is failing to recognize that mentor teachers have a lot on their plates for their own classroom, and often they don’t have the time to prepare for the deep work of mentoring novice teachers in a concise and precise manner.

For mentoring to be a success for every novice teacher, leaders should create a scope and sequence of topics and concepts to regularly discuss with novice teachers. In our work with school districts around the country, we are working with mentor teachers to prepare them for the content novice teachers cover in the Top Notch Teacher Academy in our WinkEdLearning app. The idea is simple: We expose mentor teachers to the same content used to train novice teachers, then give mentors guidelines to facilitate mentoring conversations between the mentor and mentee. We believe that when mentors have structure in the specific work they do with novice teachers, both the mentor and the mentee have a greater chance of success, and the mentee has a greater chance of returning the following year. Support only works when you build the structure for it to work.

The Magic Is Not Magic– It’s Intentional The population of new-to-profession teachers is growing every year, and due to the challenges of being a new teacher, coupled with the challenges of society, retaining teachers is an even greater challenge.

If we want to be successful at not only retaining teachers, but growing them, leaders must be intentional in their efforts to develop each teacher’s competence and confidence with the best and most precise dosage of professional learning. The 3 Magic Prescriptions are not curealls. They only work when we, leaders, are intentional and persistent in prescribing the best professional learning to our teachers. When our work with teachers is implemented with fidelity, teacher retention transitions from a lofty goal to an absolute certainty. ■

Former school principal and superintendent John Wink is currently an educational consultant on school success and a presenter for Solution Tree. Since starting his work with school districts in Arkansas and Texas, Mr. Wink has a successful record of leading school success initiatives.

Bonus Secret! from “Eight Secrets to Excellence in Every School” Systems of professional learning ensure excellence in all classrooms.

In order for learning expectations to be achieved, great leaders realize that there will inherently be learning gaps for every adult in the building; therefore, every learning expectation is accompanied by a professional learning expectation for the adults in the building.

Professional learning is not an event for a day or two in the summer and sporadically throughout the school year. It is a 24/7/365 endeavor. Great leaders make continuous efforts to train their followers in face-to-face or virtual environments, synchronous or asynchronous events, weekly communications via email, and daily interactions with all stakeholders. Great leaders remember that they are great teachers of teaching first.

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2023 Legislative Session Update New Professional Development Requirements

By Dr. Jeanene Barnett, Education Policy & Research Analyst & TLE Coordinator NEW: CCOSA worked with legislators on HB 1441 (2023) for a reduction in requirements for professional development.

In addition to the eight mandates instated for the upcoming school year, Oklahoma schools should plan for a few mandates that legislation from prior years requires for implementation in future years.

Mandates Implemented in 2023-24

Below is a list of mandates categorized by the school year in which they are required to be implemented, with a hyperlink to the bills themselves so you can read the specific language for more details if needed. Finally, you’ll find a more detailed summary of key bills and the implementation required from schools.

Mandates Implemented in 2024-25

SB 89 (2021) Health Education Act providing health education.

HB 3400 (2020) Minimum of four Advanced Placement courses available to students.

HB 2768 (2022) Dysgraphia PD required.

SB 252 (2021) Computer Science (one in high school, aligned to standards in middle and elementary school].

SB 429 (2023) Tribal regalia allowed.

SB 1119 (2023) Teacher pay raise.

SB 1121 (2023) 6 weeks maternity leave required.

HB 1445 (2023) Bonds posted on website.

HB 2513 (2023) Handle with Care (HWC) Oklahoma Program.

HB 2903 (2023) School security grants.

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New Mandates 2023-24 SB 89 (2021) creates the Health Education Act, which requires health education (physical, mental, social and emotional, and intellectual) be taught in the public schools.

By SY2022-23, the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) shall develop a microcredential and professional development for health teachers.

By SY2023-24, school districts must provide instruction (either integrated into an existing subject or as a standalone course) addressing all health education subject matter standards, as adopted by the State Board of Education (SBE), at least once in the grade spans of prekindergarten through 2nd grade, 3rd through 5th grade, 6th through 8th grade, and 9th through 12th grade. At the February 23, 2023, State Board of Education meeting, the SBE approved the new Oklahoma Academic Standards for Physical Education and Health.

HB 2768 requires each district’s annual dyslexia PD to include information and training in dysgraphia beginning in SY2023-24.

SB 429 (2023) protects the right of any student to wear tribal regalia at an on-campus function or one at any institution.

As with dyslexia, the program shall include training that reflects recommendations from the Oklahoma Dyslexia and Dysgraphia Handbook review group. The updated handbook is expected to be posted on the OSDE website by August 1, 2023.

This group has been directed to (1) study how to identify students who have dysgraphia identified through possible reading and broad written language scores; (2) study RTI and other effective research-based approaches in writing, reading, and literacy to identify appropriate measures to assist students with dysgraphia; (3) make recommendations for resources and interventions for students with reading or writing difficulties, including dysgraphia and broad written language disorder.

It also allows a school to set a policy about times when items cannot be worn because the specific characteristic of the garment or item would either endanger the safety of students or others or interfere with the learning environment if worn during a specific activity. The bill defines “tribal regalia” as traditional garments, jewelry, other adornments such as an eagle feather, an eagle plume, a beaded cap, a stole, or similar objects of cultural and religious significance worn by members of a federally recognized Indian tribe or the tribe of another country and clarifies that tribal regalia does not include any firearm, other weapon, or any object that is otherwise prohibited by federal law, except in compliance with an appropriate federal permit.

SB 26: Another bill that directly impacts the work of our coaches with students is a change to SB 26, authored by Senator Dewayne Pemberton, R-Muskogee.

This bill amends language related to designation and use of restrooms or changing areas for the exclusive use of the male or female sex.

Coaches who are the opposite sex of the student-athletes are now allowed to enter a locker room before, during, or after an athletic activity if all students are fully clothed. The bill requires that any male coach must be accompanied by an adult female when entering a girls’ locker room, or any female coach must be accompanied by an adult male when entering a boys’ locker room. It specifies that the adult cannot be a current high school student.

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Oklahoma and federal laws and regulations require or suggest certain professional development (PD) for a variety of school employees.

NEW: CCOSA worked with legislators on HB 1441 (2023) for a reduction in requirements for professional development; the update is reflected below with reductions from the prior year highlighted in green. One new additional PD requirement is Dysgraphia, an addition from HB 2768 (2022).

New Mandates 2024-25 HB 3400 (2020) requires all public high schools to make a minimum of four Advanced Placement courses available to students. Options for accessing Advanced Placement courses include: a school site or sites within the district, a career and technology institution within the district, a program offered by the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board or one of its vendors, or a school site or sites in another school district.

2023

2024

All Staff, Every Year 1. Bloodborne Pathogens 2. FERPA (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act) 3. Title IX (Sex Discrimination) 4. Awareness training of local Board policies and grievance procedures 5. Title IX: McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 6. Hazardous Communications 7. Bullying Prevention (suicide awareness & prevention training, required every other year, can be combined with bullying prevention) 8. Suicide Awareness 9. Child Abuse and Neglect; Child Sexual Abuse Awareness and Reporting

All Staff, Every Year (Federal Requirements) 1. *Bloodborne Pathogens 2. *FERPA (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act) 3. ***Title IX: Sex Discrimination 4. Awareness training of local Board policies and grievance procedures 5. *Title IX: McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 6. *Hazardous Communications

New Staff; Certified & Support Staff For all new staff and then, once staff has received initial training, one time every 3 years or at the district’s discretion:

New Staff; Certified Staff (once every 5 years) For all new staff and then, once staff has received initial training, one time every 5 years or at the district’s discretion, as designated below:

1. Alcohol and Drug Awareness (one time every 3 years once staff has received initial training) 2. Recognizing and Addressing Mental Health Needs of Students (one time every 3 years once staff has received initial training)_ 3. Digital Teaching and Learning (timing based on local district’s need and discretion once staff has received initial training)

1. *Child Abuse and Neglect; Child Sexual Abuse Awareness and Reporting 2. *Alcohol and Drug Awareness 3. *Recognizing and Addressing Mental Health Needs of Students 4. *Digital Teaching and Learning (timing based on local district’s need and discretion once staff has received initial training)

New Staff; Certified & Support Staff (PK-3) One time every 3 years once staff has received initial training:

SB 252 (2021) requires high schools to offer a minimum of one computer science course (redefined in HB 4389-2022) to students, and middle and elementary schools to offer instruction aligned to the Oklahoma Academic Standards for Computer Science. It permits the instruction to be offered through standalone computer science courses or through integration in other courses.

1. Autism All Certified Staff, Every Year 1. Dyslexia At District Discretion 1. Workplace Safety Training (grades 7-12 only; timing based on local district’s need and discretion once staff has received initial training)

New Staff; All Staff (once every 5 years) For all new staff and then, once staff has received initial training, one time every 5 years or at the district’s discretion, as designated below: 1. *Bullying Prevention 2. **Suicide Awareness

New Staff; Certified & Support Staff (PK-3) One time every 3 years once staff has received initial training: 1. Autism All Certified Staff, Every Year 1. Dyslexia & Dysgraphia (NEW) At District Discretion 1. Workplace Safety Training (grades 7-12 only; timing based on local district’s need and discretion once staff has received initial training)

* CCOSA District Level Services (DLS) program provides all-staff training on these topics. ** CCOSA DLS provides links to free online training for Suicide Awareness from state-required sources and verification of completion form. *** CCOSA DLS program provides information for use by local Title IX compliance officers with the verification of completion form.

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Certified Teachers (PK-5) Every Year 1. Science of Reading (for districts receiving greater than $2,500 in RSA funds, 10% must be spent on evidence-based PD from an OSDE-approved list). (https:// tinyurl.com/RSAapprovedlist)

All Coaches in Grades 7-12 All courses can be found on NFHSLearn.com.

Concussion Management course (https://nfhslearn. com/courses/concussion-insports-2).

Heat Illness Prevention course (https://nfhslearn. com/courses/heat-illnessprevention-2).

The professional development listed in this article includes Oklahoma-required PD trainings, but you have local control of how you implement it. You can invite experts to facilitate the training or join CCOSA’s District Level Services program and have access to free resources that fulfill the requirements.

Be sure to document every staff member who completes the training and keep it on file for OSDE accreditation documentation purposes and/or federal monitoring requirements.

FY2023 Accreditation required attendance documentation and agendas for Dyslexia and Reporting Child Abuse.

Each program may also include components on classroom management and student discipline strategies; outreach to parents, guardians, or custodians of students; special education; and racial and ethnic education.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest course (https://nfhslearn.com/ courses/sudden-cardiacarrest).

First-Year Coaches Fundamentals of Coaching course (https://nfhslearn.com/courses/ fundamentals-of-coaching).

All Cheer Coaches AACCA Spirit Safety Certification course.

These required professional development sessions are a part of the larger district professional development program focused on student achievement as is outlined in 70 O.S. § 6-194 (OSCN 2023): The professional development programs adopted shall be directed toward development of competencies and instructional strategies in the core curriculum areas for the following goals: 1. Increasing the academic performance data scores for the district and each school site; 2. Closing achievement gaps among student subgroups; 3. Increasing student achievement as demonstrated on state-mandated tests and the ACT; 4. Increasing high school graduation rates; and 5. Decreasing college remediation rates. ■

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(Formerly WenGAGE) Accounting & Student Information Systems Schedule a demo to see our systems in action! sylogist.com/ed-demo

Learn More: sylogist.com/ed (800) 749-5691

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CCOSA District Level Services Program

By Dr. Jeanene Barnett, CCOSA Education Policy & Research Analyst & TLE Director

Expanded Support

Training

The CCOSA District Level Services program offers expanded support and service to our members, strengthening education leaders by offering exceptional services to support school districts in the following areas:

We have entered into an agreement with the Oklahoma Autism Network at the University of Oklahoma to provide the teacher-based autism training required of all new teachers and every three years after the initial training for all K-3 teachers. This will strengthen the beginning-ofthe-year professional development offered to schools participating in the DLS program.

■ Consulting services ■ Professional learning ■ CCOSA Quality School Framework Toolkits ■ Exclusive discounts and free services from

CCOSA partners

Professional Learning Under professional learning (PL) services through the CCOSA District Level Services (DLS) program, districts have the option for all staff members to complete state and federally required professional development, including: ■ Bloodborne Pathogens

■ FERPA

■ Bullying Prevention

■ Dyslexia Awareness

■ Child Abuse and Neglect;

■ Hazardous

Child Sexual Abuse Awareness & Reporting

■ Digital Teaching & Learning

Professional Learning for DLS districts also expanded in other areas for 2022-23. In addition to the five free registrations to the Law Conference, Legislative Conference, and popular School Budget Bootcamps (collectively valued at $3,500), DLS districts have free access to State Finance Projections, formerly from Vernon Florence, that is now offered by CCOSA.

Communications

■ Title IX: McKinney/Vento

and Homeless Assistance

By the Numbers CCOSA served 142 districts through District Level Services in 2022-23.

This compares to:

2017:

2018:

2019:

2020:

2021:

2022:

2023:

35 44 59 78 65 115 142

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DON’T LET UNEMPLOYMENT COSTS SIPHON DOLLARS FROM YOUR DISTRICT’S CLASSROOMS.

WE WILL GUIDE YOU THROUGH THE EMPLOYMENT PROCESS FROM START TO FINISH! Let OSSBA help your district with unemployment issues, plus save money and time by letting our attorneys handle your claims, follow ups, appeals and more. We also offer additional employment services to support school districts, including an online library of information and documents, training opportunities and legal information on employment issues.

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Energy Efficient Schools of Oklahoma (EESO) Empowering Oklahoma Schools to Lead the Nation in Strategic Energy Management

By Derald Glover, OASA Assistant Executive Director In many cases the cost of energy in schools is the second- or thirdhighest expenditure each year. By utilizing research-based strategies, schools can realize up to 20% savings that can be better utilized in the classroom. In 2019, CCOSA, OG&E, CLEAResult, and a group of schools with comprehensive energy savings plans already in place built the Energy Efficiency Framework to support good stewardship of energy resources in public schools. The next step was to work with more schools to implement comprehensive energy programs and compile a statewide list of schools that are tracking their savings data. We hope to highlight energy savings already happening in our schools and motivate all schools in Oklahoma to develop an Energy Efficient Schools of Oklahoma (EESO) program of their own.

Some of the schools we have identified that already have implemented energy efficiency programs or are in the process of implementation are Coweta, Enid, Fort Gibson, Locust Grove, Mustang, Moore, Noble, Mid-Del, Inola, Atoka, Kingfisher, and Norman.

What constitutes an EESO Program?

1. School has an energy efficiency plan for electric, natural gas, and water.

2. School has a dedicated staff person who serves as an energy manager.

3. School utilizes an energy usage assessment program to track savings.

What do you need to do to participate?

■ If you checked all three EESO

requirements, email Nicole Donnelly at CCOSA at nicole@ ccosa.org, and we will send you a participation agreement.

There is no cost to participate.

Implementation of an EESO program generates a return on investment through low/no cost savings measures.

■ If you don’t have a comprehensive

energy program but would like to start one, or you have questions regarding your current energy efficiency efforts, call Derald Glover at (918) 781-9540 or email glover@ccosa.org.

School Commitment: Schools participating in the EESO programs will maintain a strategic energy efficiency program that includes the following goals: ■ School will work to develop an

energy efficiency plan for electric, natural gas, and water.

■ School will assign a staff person

to serve as an energy manager.

■ School will utilize an energy

usage assessment program.

■ School will strive to use energy

savings to enhance classroom spending and/or invest in energy efficiency equipment.

■ School will submit energy cost

saving data on a semi-annual basis.

CCOSA Commitment: CCOSA and its partners are committed to facilitating schools in achieving our goal of making Oklahoma schools examples of energy-efficient practices by providing the following: ■ Recognition of participating

schools and top performing schools through targeted social media posts and recognition at the CCOSA conference.

■ Training and guidance to schools

developing a program.

■ Assistance on finding

affordable and easy-to-use assessment tools.

For more information about what an EESO school may look like, check out our CCOSA EESO Rubric here.

Let’s make Oklahoma schools the most energy efficient systems in the nation! ■

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Instead of Telling Girls, “YOU CAN BE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO BE,” Do This.

By Lisa Hinkelman, Ph.D., Founder & CEO, Ruling Our eXperiences, Inc. (ROX), Presenter at the 2023 CCOSA Summer Conference

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THESE LAST FEW YEARS HAVE TREATED US TO SOME AMAZING FIRSTS. First all-female fighter pilot flyover at the Superbowl.

First NASA astronaut all-female spacewalk.

First female vice president of the United States.

These and many more “firsts” are remarkable and worthy of celebration. Girls are seeing women in spaces where they have never been—breaking barriers and charting new paths. However, the fact remains that for girls, there are still many more “firsts” that need to take place for them to see themselves as truly belonging in all occupations and places of leadership, and to see themselves as capable of achieving at the highest levels.

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“If we want girls to continue to make history, let’s give them the tools, the environment, the opportunity, and the encouragement they need to reach their full potential.”

The Girls’ IndexTM, a national survey with more than 10,000 girls, showed that 46% of high school girls did not think they were smart enough for their dream job. About 70% of girls believe certain jobs are better for men than women, and a third say they stay away from leadership positions because they don’t want people to think they are bossy.

Couple this with the fact that girls and women are not equally represented among the most powerful and influential positions in the United States, and it truly is a perfect storm. In the business arena, women represent fewer than 10% of Fortune 500 CEOs. In politics, about 27% of elected officials in the U.S. are women. Even in the most female dominated industry of K-12 education, women comprise 80% of K-12 teachers but represent fewer than 20% of school superintendents.

When we tell girls, “You can be anything you want to be,” there is still work we need to do to make that true—and the work starts in schools.

nurses, teachers, cosmetologists, and school secretaries. Through passive learning and observation, they make conclusions about who does what and start to make conclusions as to what they may or may not be able to access.

SERGEI SAVOSTYANOV / TASS

Schools are often the first places where kids learn about careers and leadership. They learn about different occupations, and they start to make connections about who does what. The opportunity to expose kids to a wide range of opportunities begins for educators when students are in kindergarten. This is often where they begin to make connections between the kind of jobs different people do. They learn who does the physical tasks (like carrying boxes or moving furniture) and who does the clerical tasks (like serving as an office assistant). As they go through their educational journey, students more often see men as police officers, scientists, sports coaches, and superintendents and women as

These realities tend to be further reinforced for kids as they get older. From sports coaches and athletic directors to school nurses and secretaries, the gender divide in occupations is as evident in schools as it is outside of schools.

This lack of representation is not due to girls and women lacking interest in leadership or in certain types of careers; it is due to the individual and systemic realities that continue to impact girls as they progress through their lives.

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to everyone can help diminish the perception that certain jobs are “better” for men or women.

DOD / US NAVY

3

1

While changing these statistics will take time, there are immediate ways we can create classrooms and schools where girls can learn, grow, and thrive. If we want girls to continue to make history, let’s give them the tools, the environment, the opportunity, and the encouragement they need to reach their full potential. Create learning opportunities where girls have clear leadership roles and where the traits and characteristics of leadership are clearly articulated to all students. Leadership traits have often been characterized by behaviors that are typically associated with men and boys. Assertive, decisive, bold, outspoken, direct. These words tend to conjure up a different

connotation when applied to men versus women. When applied to boys and men, they are seen as strengths and signs of a strong leader. But when applied to girls and women, these traits can be viewed as abrasive or “too much.” Help students recognize and identify characteristics and behaviors all leaders should possess and give them chances to demonstrate, and be rewarded, for evidencing such traits.

2

Ensure that girls see women in a wide variety of roles, occupations, and leadership positions.

When you are planning Career Day, ensure that women (and men!) in nontraditional careers for their gender are included among your guests. Ensuring students see that all careers are accessible

Remember that confidence is not built through compliments; it is built through experiences.

Bolstering girls’ confidence does not happen by simply telling them how smart or pretty they are. Confidence is built by the experiences we have that stretch our expertise. It is fostered by trying a new skill or activity and growing our competency and comfort in that area. We must create safe environments for girls to try new things and ensure they are encouraged and supported for their efforts. Too often, we comment on a girls’ appearance, outfit, or hairstyle rather than comment on her achievement, effort, or tenacity.

Let’s go beyond giving girls a pep talk by telling they can be anything they want to be. Let’s equip them with the awareness, information, and skills they need to navigate the challenges and obstacles they will face along their journey. Let’s advocate for more equitable policies and opportunities, and let’s be willing to cheer them on while we actually help them get there. ■

Reprinted with permission from Corwin Connect, published by Lisa Hinkelman, Corwin Press.

Dr. Lisa Hinkelman is an educator, counselor, researcher, and author who has spent nearly 20 years researching girls and educating adults as a professor at The Ohio State University and as the Founder and CEO of Ruling Our eXperiences (ROX), a national nonprofit organization focused on creating generations of confident girls.

Hinkelman’s second book, “Girls Without Limits: Helping Girls Succeed in Relationships, Academics, Careers and Life,” is a Corwin Press bestseller, and her work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Education World. Dr. Hinkelman earned her bachelor’s degree in education and psychology from Chatham College in Pittsburgh, PA, and her master’s and doctorate degrees in counselor education from The Ohio State University.

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Walking the Walk A collection of educators share what they’ve learned about courageous leadership along the way.

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Leading With Our Best Selves: Four Keys to Success

By Dr. Kirt Hartzler, Superintendent, Union Public Schools

“We would like to offer you the job.”

Those were the words I heard twenty-nine years ago when I first moved out of the classroom and relinquished my coaching responsibilities to become an assistant principal.

With a master’s degree in hand and a decade of teaching experience, I was certain I was ready to be an instructional leader. I was not. Truth be told, I was ready to return to teaching and coaching by the end of the first week, even by the first day of school.

Possessing the requisite organizational and behavioral theory associated with school management had not prepared me for the real world of school administration. I quickly realized that if I was going to be the instructional leader I was expected to be, I needed to connect with colleagues who had already made this transition. Through their collective experiences, insight, and wisdom, they offered me the hope and inspiration that I desperately needed in order to stay with something I now revere—the job of being a school leader.

This ended up being one of the best decisions I ever made—it provided me with a support base and mentors who I could lean on when grappling with those sometimes difficult school and leadership issues and decisions.

Don’t underestimate the power of professional relationships.

Keep your cup full. As leaders you cannot pour from an empty cup.

And in most circumstances, our level of success will never surpass our level of personal development.

You must also see value in yourself in order to add value to others.

Leadership can be defined in one simple word: influence. As a leader, you aspire to have a positive influence on your school and those you are fortunate enough to lead.

Once I had made the decision to stick with school administration, I realized I needed to become a full-time student of leadership. I am hard pressed to believe that anyone is really an authority on leadership, but all school leaders can be lifelong students of the construct. After all, leadership skills are not innate; they are acquired and honed. Therefore, the more we invest in learning and understanding leadership, the more effective we can become for our students, staff, school, and community.

Leadership is not linear; it is parabolic and full of tension. In “Crucibles of Leadership: How to Learn from Experience to Become a Great Leader” (Harvard Business Review Press, 2008), Robert J.

Thomas found that great leaders possess a critical skill in what he calls “adaptive capacity.” The construct has an almost magical ability to transcend adversity, with all its attendant stresses, and to emerge stronger than before—by learning.

As a school leader, I have often struggled with the tensions associated with leadership. But we must remember that tension is a part of the leadership process and should not be perceived as a flaw. If you are an effective leader, then you will inevitably experience tension on many fronts and in many forms.

Leading through the pandemic provided us all with ample tension—probably more than we care to admit. But we did it! And all of us are to be commended for leading our schools through such challenging times.

These same tensions are present if you strive to create conditions of equity, trust, and optimal (safety included) teaching and learning conditions within schools. You might even say these tensions are a byproduct of leadership. Embrace them as a means to learn—be open

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to dissenting views, ideas, and opinions. This dialogue may indeed add value to your decision-making process. Do not be afraid to admit your failures. I could offer up plenty of personal examples of things I presented as a school leader that did not work. The first step, however, in restoring and building trust among your colleagues is to admit the failure and, above all, to learn from it. I think you will also find the tensions associated with the failure to be attenuated dramatically.

As I humbly learned at the beginning of my school administrative career, possessing the requisite skills, knowledge, and disposition did not guarantee me success, although these skills— along with a solid theoretical base—proved vital to withstanding the many challenges, lessons, and opportunities of leadership.

Your degree of character (i.e., integrity, generosity, and humility) and ability to build and maintain trust among your direct reports also matters. But the greatest virtue that any school leader must possess is that of courage.

Being a courageous school leader means you are not afraid to tackle tough situations. This we know— all schools have conditions that impact learning. Those conditions either serve to enhance or impede learning for all.

If leadership really is about influence, then we must ask ourselves: How courageous are we, and how willing are we to ensure that our schools thrive and each student is given the opportunity to be engaged and academically succeed?

One thing is clear to me. As school leaders, our students’ hopes and expectations reside within our own ability to lead—with our BEST SELVES. ■

Union Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Kirt Hartzler was recently named the 2023 OASA State Superintendent of the Year.

Pillars of Practice

The Foundational Elements of Courageous Leadership

By Alan J. Ingram, Education Consultant, Ingram Consulting As unique as a fingerprint, every leader encompasses a combination of attributes and limitations. But leaders steeped in the work of tangible change must share one common attribute—courage. As I pause to consider Oklahoma leaders, present and past, who embody the kind of courage that can change the world, Kyle Reynolds, Deborah Gist, and Keith Ballard come to mind. While the world is not ours to conquer as education leaders, I agree with Lindsay Whorton, president of the Holdsworth Center, who asserts that public schools will be a critical arena for courageous leadership and change.

When I reflect on my leadership journey, I recall triumphs and failures in courageous leadership.

Courageous leadership requires cultivation and practice. As a superintendent, leading with courage required me to get out of the executive suite. It required connection, and most importantly, courageous leadership required that I showed up authentically and unapologetically.

Connection We need community. As leaders, it is critical that we understand the need to engage with others as we go about our work. As education leaders, we rely on an organizational structure to populate our innermost circle.

But the tentacles of leadership connections must extend far beyond our chiefs and executives.

Courageous leadership brings with it a skill of meeting communities where they are. Stripping the learned vernacular and highbrow language of the boardroom to plain, easy-to-understand language and descriptions invites ideas and perspectives that are fresh and valuable. Making these connections as a leader eliminates that old game of telephone, where the original message loses integrity through varied interpretations and variations of the messengers.

Closely aligned with connection is an openness to solicited and unsolicited feedback offered by your community.

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Authenticity The Harvard Business School defines authenticity as a leadership style exhibited by those with high standards of integrity, taking responsibility for their actions, and making decisions based on principle rather than short-term success.

They use their inner compasses to guide their daily actions, which enables them to earn trust. For me, a personal breakthrough in this area took the form of three little words—“I don’t know.”

For years, I held the notion that as a leader I needed to have the answers to all things. Through my practice of courageous leadership, I have learned the power of “I don’t know.” Inevitably, a statement of my intention to research and learn more about what is unknown follows. It has been my experience that showing up authentically in this small way builds trust in me as a leader and cultivates a healthy work environment.

While connection and authenticity are foundational to my personal practice of courageous leadership, University of Houston research professor, author, and podcast host Brené Brown’s work has helped me identify vulnerability, clarity of values, trust, and rising skills as the pillars of courageous practice.

Vulnerability.

Trust.

Brown defines vulnerability as uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure. She says leaders exhibit courage when they are willing to be vulnerable even though it means they may fail. There is ample room for vulnerabilities in public education. It is not unusual for educators to spend 30 or more years honing their craft. While admirable, longevity may chip away at the sense of urgency and the openness to change that is absolutely necessary to reimagine public education. As leaders of change, we must expose ourselves to the risk of failure when we implement sweeping, innovative means of change.

Cultivating a culture of trust takes intention and hard work, and it is a long game. Transparency is the building block of trust for education leaders. It takes courage for a leader to share their inner workings with stakeholders at all levels—from cabinet, faculty, and staff to families and the community. The effort includes strategic outreach, genuine collaboration, honest communication, and most importantly, demystification.

People fear what they do not understand, so it is the duty of a courageous leader to help them understand, and transparency is the tool.

Clarity of Values.

The future of public education is rife with controversy.

The national debate about disparate educational outcomes and the partisan divide over Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in K-12 education, for example, have been in the news and garnered attention for quite some time. As a nation, we have barely begun cultivating a climate for honest, constructive dialogue about the ways in which race and racism influence American education. Nothing grounds me more in this work than the immense value I place on equity in education. It is the lens through which every decision I make is evaluated. Courageous leaders are not silent about hard issues that threaten the system of public education.

Rising Skills.

“Don’t judge me by my successes. Judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” This quote by Nelson Mandela gets to the heart of courage.

Courageous leadership is not about fearlessness. It is built upon a foundation of relentless dedication that embraces the unknown, the untested, and that which may seem impossible. Courageous leadership is as unique as a fingerprint, rooted in an individual’s hope and belief and the fire burning deep within them to dare greatly. ■

Alan J. Ingram, Ed.D., is an education consultant (Ingram Consulting), a former district superintendent, and deputy commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

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WHAT DOES COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP MEAN TO YOU?

By Members of the ODSS Executive Committee

In keeping with our Summer Leadership Conference theme, we asked a few award-winning CCOSA members this important question.

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My journey through leadership has been many things, but the one word that describes it best is fulfilling. I’ve been extremely fortunate to have been mentored by some great leaders throughout the years.

Through this mentorship, I have been given opportunities to grow in ways I did not think possible. When I decided to take the leap into leadership, it was about a greater purpose. I wanted to be a part of building schools where each and every kid felt safe, seen, and valued.

Growing up, I did not see many school leaders who looked like me. That has always been at the core of why this work is so important to me. Students need to see themselves reflected in their school leaders and be exposed to leaders from various backgrounds and experiences.

When this happens, students are more likely to develop empathy and understanding for others and appreciate each individual’s unique contributions to the school community. This is what makes the work we do as school leaders so rewarding—creating communities where all students can thrive and reach their full potential.

As I reflect on where I am now, I have learned many lessons along the way. There are some I learned pretty quickly and would offer as advice to anyone just starting their leadership journey. These are things that I believe are critical to a foundation in leadership because they will help guide the work you do daily.

1

Leadership is messy.

You will live in the gray, which means that there is no playbook to tell you exactly how or what to do in all situations. In these instances, you learn to lean into the art of leadership and start thinking creatively and outside the box.

2

Flexibility and being able to adapt is key.

Your calendar is just a suggestion! Things will not always go as planned, and the ability to accommodate change is extremely important.

3

Don’t sweat the small stuff!

As a beginning administrator, it is normal that you want to do your very best and prove that you can do the job. However, not everything will always be within your control. You will learn to navigate all the things that come at you, and picking and choosing what you tackle next is important.

Leading is hard. While I have found that I can do hard things, I also learned that those hard things are easier when a strong village surrounds you. Having supportive family, friends, and colleagues who are there for you is how we are able to do the work. I strive daily to lead with integrity and to make decisions that are in the kids’ best interest, even when those decisions are sometimes unpopular.

Courageous leaders are BRAVE and have the ability to motivate and inspire people. They lead with confidence, determination, and resilience in the face of adversity.

Courageous leaders always lead by example, admit their mistakes, and take accountability for their actions. While I’m not perfect, and there are days when I fall short of my expectations, my goal is always to strive to be a courageous leader every single day.

Stephanie Williams

Executive Director of Student Learning, Norman Public Schools

Stephanie Williams is OASA’s 2023 State Assistant Superintendent/Central Office Administrator of the Year.

Williams is in her 20th year as a public school educator and has been with Norman Public Schools since 2005 as a teacher and an administrator. Prior to her current role as Executive Director of Student Services, she served as NPS’s Executive Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and has served in several other leadership roles within the district–Principal of Longfellow Middle School, Freshman Academy Principal at Norman North High School, and Assistant Principal at Whittier Middle School. Williams taught Pre-Algebra/Algebra at Irving Middle School for five years and, prior to that, taught in Oklahoma City. In 2018, she was selected as Oklahoma Assistant Principal of the Year by CCOSA. She also serves on the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education’s Education Professions Division Advisory Council at the University of Oklahoma.

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WHAT DOES COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP MEAN TO YOU? Administrators are leaders in their community who make decisions focused on serving students and empowering them to become self-reliant and outwardly focused contributors to society through leading by example, which in turn will create purpose and fulfillment in them as they become young adults. In addition to focusing

Always work to do what’s best for kids even when it may not be what’s best for me personally.

Crystal Szymanski

Principal, Stillwater Junior High

Crystal Szymanski is the OASSP/OMLEA Middle Level Principal of the Year. Szymanski has focused on increasing teacher collaboration around student learning in English and mathematics and supports innovation by leading a learning environment where teachers feel safe to use technology, analyze student assessment data, and explore new teaching methods.

As a result, Stillwater Junior High School students on average showed more than 1.5 academic years of growth in state assessments this past school year.

As an assistant principal focusing on academic and behavioral intervention, many of my interactions with people can be uncomfortable. I believe a courageous leader is not immune to fear but is able to overcome it.

They acknowledge their fears and take action despite them. They are willing to step outside their comfort zone and embrace unfamiliar situations. This type of leader faces tough choices head on, even when they are unpopular or come with inherent risks.

Timothy Ray

Assistant Principal, Charles Page High School, Sand Springs Public Schools Timothy Ray is the OASSP Oklahoma Assistant Principal of the Year. As assistant principal for more than a decade at Charles Page High School, Ray has been an integral part of shaping school culture, supporting student learning, and transforming student behavior outcomes. For the past three years, Ray has implemented a new program, We Always Return with Purpose (WARP), as an alternative to long-term suspensions. Using the book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey, students return from a shortened suspension to attend two days of training, followed by monthly meetings with Ray. As a result, the school has reduced long-term suspensions from an average of 24 per year to five on average. Only 5% of students in the WARP program have had subsequent behaviors requiring long-term suspension.

on students, you must be able to lead intentionally, with moral and ethical values; school leaders must be honest (through action and communication), humble (admit when you are wrong and know that there are times when you need help), and honorable (respect your position, students, staff, and community).

Teresa Golden, M.Ed.

Director of Special Services, Kingston Public Schools

ODSS 2023 Director of the Year Teresa Golden has been Kingston Public Schools’ Director of Special Services since 2016. She has served as the President of the Oklahoma Directors of Special Services, mentors new directors through CCOSA and ODSS’ First-Year Special Education Directors Project, and is one of the founding hub team members for TeleSPED, CCOSA’s partnership with the OSU Center for Health Sciences Project ECHO and OSU-Tulsa. A few of her accomplishments at Kingston Public Schools include implementing and sustaining an emotional support therapy dog program, dyslexia intervention classrooms, and an early childhood behavioral classroom, in which students with significant challenging behaviors receive adaptive skills supports to facilitate their independent entry into the general education setting.

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Real leadership isn’t about winning a popularity contest. It’s about doing important work on behalf of others. Courageous leadership is about being trusted and respected for the defensibility of the decisions you make. It’s about courageous action to defend core principles, even when it costs something significant.

Courageous leaders are willing to put themselves out there and take risks in order to achieve goals and inspire others. They understand that leadership often requires stepping out of comfort zones and facing challenges head-on. Courageous leaders are willing to take decisive action and make difficult choices while remaining committed to their vision for success. Leaders take responsibility for their actions and decisions, accepting both the successes and failures that come from them. They are willing to own up to mistakes and learn from them. Courageous

leaders understand that progress often involves taking risks, and they are willing to step into the unknown, make tough choices, and embrace uncertainty in pursuit of their goals. Bold leadership is not afraid to voice opinions and advocate for what they believe in, which creates a culture of open dialogue. A collaborative school environment is fostered through this, which allows for diverse perspectives to be valued. Courageous leaders understand the need for their team to feel safe to contribute to discussions of school success and therefore actively listen with open, empathetic ears.

Danielle Patterson

Principal, Ethel Reed Elementary School, Holdenville Public Schools

Danielle Patterson is the OAESP 2023 Principal of the Year. Patterson has been described by her colleagues as a dedicated team player who has created a studentcentered school culture that feels like family. Under her leadership, Ethel Reed Elementary has developed a “Walk to Read” program ensuring all students regardless of backgrounds are successful. In addition, she has created clubs for students including the Counting Club, Color Club, Shape Club, Addition Club, Subtraction Club, Multiplication Club, and Division Club. Students demonstrate mastery to become part of the club.

A courageous leader must display openness and humility. A courageous leader must focus on making the environment safer for others.

A courageous leader must be willing to change the conditions in the organization to make it safer for people to be honest, to try new things or take other prudent risks, and reward, rather than punish, those who try new things, even when they don’t go well.

Ron Sunderland Principal, Woodward High School

Ron Sunderland was named the OASSP 2023 High School Principal of the Year in May. As principal of Woodward High School since 2019, he has encouraged a school culture marked by student well-being and safety, innovative learning programs, and growth in student achievement. In addition to boasting a 96% average attendance rate, Woodward High School revamped its master schedules to embed time for ACT Prep for students. In the 2022-23 school year, through a GEARUP grant, all junior students at Woodward High School received free ACT tests in the fall semester, followed by ACT tests in the spring semester provided through funding from the Oklahoma State Department of Education. As a result, 62% of juniors improved overall composite ACT scores during that time. Under his leadership, Woodward High School has also expanded opportunities for students to embrace college and career pathways. In 2017, Woodward Public Schools launched Technical Applications Program (TAP) with introductory STEM courses. This partnership with High Plains Technology Center helps middle and high school aged students gain a working knowledge of the full-time and adult programs available in careers and at the technology center by introducing coursework in seventh grade and continuing into high school. ■

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Supreme Court Narrows the IDEA’s Exhaustion Requirement

By Nathan Floyd The United States Supreme Court recently issued an opinion in the case of Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, 598 U.S. 142 (2023), which will make it easier for families of students with disabilities to bring suit against school districts for alleged discrimination on the basis of disability. This case dealt with what is known as the exhaustion requirement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

This provision, found at 20 U.S.C. § 1415(l), provides that before filing a civil lawsuit under other federal laws protecting the rights of children with disabilities, the IDEA’s due process procedures must be exhausted when the relief being sought is also available under the IDEA. In Perez, a deaf student filed a due process hearing complaint with the Michigan Department of Education against his former school district based on allegations that the district failed to comply with its duties under the IDEA to provide a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) in a number of respects.

The student and the school district reached a settlement before a hearing was held. Under the settlement agreement, the school district agreed to provide the student with the forwardlooking equitable relief he sought, including additional schooling at the Michigan School for the Deaf.

After settling the due process complaint, the student filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and seeking backwards-looking relief in the form of compensatory damages.

The district court dismissed the federal lawsuit, concluding that the IDEA barred the plaintiff from bringing an ADA claim without first exhausting all of IDEA’s administrative dispute resolution procedures, which he had not done, and the court of appeals affirmed based on prior precedent.

On appeal to the United States Supreme Court, the Court unanimously found in favor of the student. It found that the IDEA’s administrative exhaustion requirement in Section 1415(l) applies only to actions that seek relief also available under the IDEA. Because the only form of relief sought in Perez’s lawsuit was compensatory damages under the ADA—which are not available under the IDEA—the IDEA’s exhaustion requirement did not apply.

This ruling has important implications for school districts that become involved in disputes with special education students or their families. Going forward, claims brought under federal laws protecting the rights of children with disabilities that do not seek relief from a denial of a FAPE—the only relief available under the IDEA—are not subject to Section 1415(l)’s exhaustion requirement. Thus, a parent seeking non-FAPE related relief (such as compensatory damages) under a federal antidiscrimination statute no longer needs to exhaust the IDEA’s administrative remedies.

This means it is now possible for a parent to file an IDEA due process action seeking forwardlooking relief for a denial of a FAPE and simultaneously bring an action seeking compensatory damages (i.e., backwardslooking non-FAPE related relief)

for prior discriminatory conduct of the school district, even if the due process complaint and the lawsuit arise out of the same alleged events.

This Supreme Court decision places more power in a parent’s hands and could potentially put school districts in the position of “fighting a war on two fronts” due to the wider range of remedies that students and their families can pursue. If you have questions or concerns about how to navigate troublesome situations involving the IDEA and ADA, RFR attorneys are available to advise your school’s leadership regarding best practices, policies, and procedures. ■ Reproduced with permission from Rosenstein, Fist & Ringold, Attorneys and Counselors at Law, Chalkboard, an Education Newsletter from the Attorneys of Rosenstein, Fist & Ringold (2023 Issue 1).

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Chris LeGrande Getting to Know CCOSA’s Newest Executive Director

Chris LeGrande joined CCOSA as executive director of OASSP and OMLEA on July 1, 2023, after a long career at Guthrie Public Schools. You can reach him via email at LeGrande@ccosa.org.

Q: Where did you go to school?

Q: What are you responsible for at CCOSA?

A: I am a 1986 graduate of Guthrie High School and a 1991 graduate of Oklahoma State University, where I received a B.S. in Secondary Science Education. In 2005, I was awarded an M.A. in Educational Leadership from Southern Nazarene University.

A: I will be responsible for mentoring, coaching, and supporting middle-level and secondary principals. In addition, I will be assisting the entire CCOSA team as needed to ensure the success of our organization.

Q: What made you become an educator?

A: From a young age, I very much enjoyed school. I performed well academically and had a junior high science teacher whose differentiated instruction challenged me intellectually and sparked an interest in science education.

Q: What educator made the greatest impact on your life, and how?

A: My junior high science teacher, Peggy Momsen, made learning fun and took a vested interest in my success as a student-athlete. Carolyn Hendricks, my 10th and 11th grade English teacher, fostered a love of writing and continually stressed the importance of presenting myself in a professional manner, both of which have been fundamental in my educational career.

Q: What have you been reading recently? What is your favorite book? Your favorite YA book?

A: I am currently reading “The Teacher’s Principal”

by Jen Schwanke.

My favorite book is “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand.

The Bible is my favorite young adult book.

Q: What does courageous leadership mean to you?

A: For me, courageous leadership entails thinking outside the box and experimenting with creative and innovative strategies in which to improve your school or district. It involves possessing a “not afraid to fail” mentality. In short, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Q: What advice would you give a new high school principal? A new middle school or junior high principal?

A: My advice to a new high school principal would be to learn to trust your administrative team and delegate responsibilities. You cannot successfully perform all your assigned duties on your own accord. My advice for a new middle school/junior high principal would be to never forget what it was like to be an adolescent. We are all kids at heart, and it is perfectly permissible to laugh at one’s self.

Q: What are you most looking forward to in your new role?

A: I relish the opportunity to travel our great state and meet with fellow middle-level and secondary principals to share and impart wisdom learned in over thirty years in the profession. Furthermore, I look forward to cultivating meaningful relationships and providing genuine support through both good times and bad. I want to be a champion for public education. ■

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OASA

Dr. Pam Deering, CCOSA/OASA Executive Director Derald Glover, OASA Assistant Executive Director

The CCOSA Summer Leadership Conference was a huge success!

The effort to host such a large event should not be taken for granted. Our CCOSA staff worked for months securing the conference center and hotel, scheduling meeting spaces, preparing promotional materials, developing the conference app, securing sponsors and vendors, and answering thousands of questions from administrators and sponsors.

Our directors spent months getting input on presentations, planning presentations, securing speakers, and creating schedules to maximize the professional development opportunities for the attendees.

The conference wouldn’t be possible without the support of you, our OASA membership.

OASA leaders create a culture within their school of continuous learning and encourage the rest of their leadership team to attend conferences like ours. It is your leadership that makes CCOSA the most powerful voice for public education in the state! This last year we achieved our goal of 3,000 CCOSA members. We are thrilled to reach that milestone, but we want to continue to grow membership. There is strength in numbers! With over 90% of our school superintendents as members, OASA participation is at an all-time high. So, during this summer, let’s celebrate the end of another challenging year but also be proud of the leadership of our OASA membership.

Speaking of OASA leadership, OASA Banquet attendees celebrated the accomplishments of our OASA members. OASA District Superintendent and Asst. Supt/Central Office Administrators of the Year, State Superintendent and State Asst. Supt. Central Office Administrators of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients, retiring members, OASA Years of Service recognitions, and OASA leadership were recognized for their work as school leaders in their districts and in OASA. We are proud to work with these educators whose hearts and minds are devoted to serving students in our public schools.

Dr. Kirt Hartzler is the OASA District Superintendent of the Year. Hartzler has been the Superintendent of Union Public Schools since 2013, and before becoming a superintendent, he held multiple roles such as Deputy Superintendent and Associate Superintendent with Union Public Schools as well. He received his master’s degree in education from Northeastern State University and later graduated from Oklahoma State University with his doctorate in education. Hartzler is active on several education boards and consistently provides meaningful content through his presentations and publications, covering topics from Curriculum Issues to Public Education in a Changing Society.

Stephanie Williams is the Asst. Supt/ Central Office Administrator of the Year. Williams is wrapping up her 19th year in education. Beginning as a teacher in Norman and Oklahoma City Public Schools, she has worked in several administrative roles over the years and is currently the Executive Director of Student Services with Norman Public Schools. In 2022, she started her doctoral program with Southern Nazarene University, pursuing an Education in Administration and Leadership degree. Williams is an active member in both OASA and NASSP and contributes her time and expertise serving on several boards. She also chairs the Diversity and Equity Council at Norman Public Schools.

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At the banquet, OASA honored Dr. Ann Caine, Billie Jordan, and Robert Trammell as our 2022-23 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients.

Dr. Ann Caine has spent her entire career involved in education, beginning in the Geary, Moore, and Putnam City Public Schools. She was promoted to Elementary Assistant Principal and then Principal while also teaching higher education at night. Caine also served as Superintendent of Stillwater Public Schools. She continued to have a positive impact on teaching and learning as she worked to educate school board members in her position with OSSBA. Currently, Caine serves as the 16th president of the Oklahoma State University Alumni Association.

She has received numerous honors, such as the Oklahoma PTA Administrator of the Year, Leadership Oklahoma, Journal Record “50 Women Making a Difference,” OASA District 4 Superintendent of the Year, OASA Superintendent of the Year, and OSU College of Education and Human Sciences Hall of Fame.

Billie Jordan received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from NSU and completed doctoral hours at Oklahoma State University.

She has been involved in education for 41 years, with 28 of those years as an administrator. Jordan’s administrative service began as a Curriculum Director/High School Principal at Gore Public Schools, and then she continued her career as an Elementary Principal in Tahlequah.

She was soon promoted to Assistant Superintendent over Grants and Federal Programs in Tahlequah and from there to

Superintendent. Jordan currently serves as the Executive Director of both the Oklahoma School Advisory Council and the Oklahoma Association Serving Impacted Schools. She has touched many lives and impacted many school districts with her passion to help children. Jordan currently serves on the Cherokee County Board of Health, has received the Tahlequah Police Service Award, Boys & Girls Club Volunteer Service Award, and was active in Leadership Tahlequah.

Robert Trammell has served Oklahoma public schools for 36 years, with 27 of those years as an administrator. He received a bachelor’s degree from Southwestern Oklahoma State University and a master’s degree from the University of Central Oklahoma. Trammell began his career as an Elementary Principal at Boone-Apache schools. Later, he served as an Elementary Principal, High School Principal, and the Superintendent of Snyder Public Schools, where he established their first E-Rate grant and started Snyder’s first pre-K program. In 2016, he joined Cheyenne Public Schools as Superintendent. In 2022, under his leadership, Cheyenne Elementary earned national recognition as a Blue Ribbon School. Over the years, Trammell has held memberships and offices in numerous professional organizations such as OASA, OSSBA, OSAG, OSSAA, and OROS. He is also known as a community leader in Rotary Club and Kiwanis.

Trammell is frequently asked to speak to these community organizations regarding school administration and finance.

Finally, we would like to send heartfelt congratulations to OASA’s newly retired members.

Their service to children, their districts, and their communities has made a profound and lasting impact. You have our enduring gratitude for your courageous leadership!

■ Shelley Arrott ■ Dr. Alan Baker ■ Rick Beene ■ Larry Case ■ Mike Davis ■ Dr. Melonie Hau ■ Tod Harrison ■ Larry Henson ■ Stephanie Hime ■ Keith Fisher ■ Dr. Darrell Floyd ■ Geri Gilstrap ■ Dr. April Grace ■ Mickey Gregory ■ Dr. Kyle Reynolds ■ Robert Trammell ■ Dr. Keith Weldon ■ Susan VanZant

OASA is your professional organization, and our strength is through engaged members.

We will continue to fight on behalf of public school administrators by advocating on your behalf at the State Capitol, but we need your input and involvement as we move forward. Through our Quality School Frameworks, our communications networks, and our advocacy, we continue to show that schools are being led by true professionals.

We hope you will continue to be an active part of this amazing organization! ■

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ASSOCIATION UPDATES

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OASSP/ OMLEA Will Parker, OASSP/OMLEA Executive Director

OASSP UPDATE For the 2022-23 membership year, OASSP wrapped up the school year with 924 members.

We are excited to be a part of exceeding CCOSA’s goal of 3,000 active members. Thank you to all our new secondary members who have helped OASSP grow significantly. A summary of the past six years includes significant growth:

Outgoing and Incoming OASSP Officers and Regional Representatives

2018 = 776 OASSP members

Executive Director: OASSP/OMLEA: Chris LeGrande President: Melissa Barlow, Yukon High School, Yukon Public Schools President-elect: Matt Johnson, Shawnee High School, Shawnee Public Schools Past President: Randy Biggs, Frederick High School, Frederick Public Schools NASSP State Coordinator: TBD.

2019 = 784 OASSP members 2020 = 819 OASSP members 2021 = 811 OASSP members 2022 = 890 OASSP members 2023 = 924 OASSP members

OASSP/OMLEA Principals of the Year Recognized On June 16, 2023, the CCOSA Summer Conference recognized three administrators who represent OASSP and OMLEA members. These included Ron Sunderland, Principal at Woodward High School, 2023 Oklahoma High School Principal of the Year; Crystal Szymanski, Principal of Stillwater Junior High School, 2022-23 Middle Level Principal of the Year; and Timothy Ray, Assistant Principal at Charles Page High School, Sand Springs Public Schools, 2022-23 Oklahoma Assistant Principal of the Year.

Below is a short summary of each winner: Ron Sunderland, Principal at Woodward High School, was named the Oklahoma High School Principal of the Year by the Oklahoma Association of Secondary School Principals (OASSP). He will also be recognized by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) and be eligible to become one of three finalists to be named as contenders for the National Principal of the Year award. A judging panel will choose finalists based on their written applications, data provided, and letters of recommendation, according to the NASSP. continues next page

During the June 16, 2023, OASSP Business Breakfast Meeting at the CCOSA Summer Leadership Conference, we thanked both outgoing and incoming officers and region representatives.

2023-24 OASSP Officers:

Outgoing Region Reps:

Incoming Region Reps:

Region 1: Jason Schreiner, Goodwell PS

Region 1: Laurie Brooks, Guymon PS

Region 3: Tom Betchan, Pioneer-Pleasant Vale PS

Region 3: Robb Mills, Enid PS

Region 5A: Stan Trout, Sand Springs PS

Region 5A: Blaine Wise, Glenpool PS

Region 7: Bobby Kreutz, Grove PS

Region 7: Michelle Brumley, Chouteau-Mazie PS

Region 9: Bret Stone, Guthrie PS

Region 9: Ryan Schenk, Cashion PS

Region 11: Della Parrish, Wagoner PS

Region 11: Brian Hummingbird, Warner PS

Region 13: Katy Korstjens, Mustang PS

Region 13: Christy Bradley, Mustang PS

Region 15: Matt Johnson, Shawnee PS

Region 15: Elizabeth Williams, Holdenville PS

Region 17: Jeremy Newton, Frederick PS

Region 17: Jeremy Newton, Frederick PS (re-elected)

Region 19: Vacant

Region 19: Andy (Anthony) Davis, Ardmore PS

Region 21: Kevin Robinson, Calera PS Outgoing Past President: David Beiler, Jenks PS

Region 21: Kevin Robinson, Calera PS

Outgoing Executive Director: William D. Parker Thank you to each leader for their dedication to representing the interests of each region and its membership across the state!

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OASSP/OMLEA Principals of the Year Recognized continued from previous page The Oklahoma Association of Secondary School Principals (OASSP) and the Oklahoma Middle Level Education Association (OMLEA) announced Crystal Szymanski as the Middle Level Principal of the Year.

Under Szymanski’s leadership, Stillwater Junior High has developed many opportunities for students to learn and to apply soft skills and problem solving. One example is the SJHS Robotics team that is in its second year of existence and its first year of formal competition. This year, the school had six competitive teams who worked extensively to research, build, and code their own robots.

Four of those teams earned a place in the Oklahoma State Competition, and this past month, SJHS sent two teams to the Vex Robotics World Championship. Szymanski will also participate in a national conference in the coming school year as a part of her award.

Timothy Ray, Assistant Principal at Charles Page High School, Sand Springs Public Schools, was named the 2022-23 Oklahoma Assistant Principal of the Year by the Oklahoma Association of Secondary School Principals (OASSP). On April 22-25, 2023, Ray was recognized at an event by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) in Washington, D.C. NASSP’s Trailblazing Leadership Weekend honors all 2023 State Assistant Principals of the Year and the 2023 NHS Student Scholarship Finalists. The program not only saluted these school and student leaders but also provided a forum for current and past honorees to advocate for education and share best practices and expertise.

OMLEA UPDATE OMLEA Membership OMLEA membership is based on members of CCOSA’s associations who also self-select into the Oklahoma Middle Level Association alongside their other CCOSA memberships. For 2022-23, we currently have 719 members, which is an increase of 67 from our 2021-22 total membership of 652 educators. OMLEA shares members mostly from among our elementary and secondary groups, including approximately 246 assistant principals, 421 principals, and 52 directors, coordinators, or superintendent members.

OMLEA Leadership On Thursday, June 15, 2023, OMLEA’s Executive Committee met for a luncheon business meeting.

We are grateful for those who led OMLEA throughout the 2022-23 school year, including: President: Kate Creekmore, Bixby PS President-elect: Jennifer Patterson, DeWitt Waller MS, Enid PS NE Region: John Potter, Pryor PS OKC Area: Traci Kay, Alcott Middle School, Norman PS Tulsa Area: Blaine Wise, Glenpool MS, Glenpool PS SE Region: Laura Bullock, Idabel MS, Idabel PS NW Region: Kurt Myers, Etta Dale JHS, El Reno PS SW Region: Christy McIntyre, Duncan MS, Duncan PS Past President: Robb Mills, DeWitt Waller MS, Enid PS MS POY Rep: Michelle Brumley, Chouteau-Mazie MS, Chouteau-Mazie PS For 2023-24, we are proud to announce Jennifer Patterson will serve as OMLEA President and Laura Bullock will serve as President-elect.

Note to readers:

This is Will Parker’s final OASSP/ OMLEA update.

After six years with CCOSA, Parker has moved on to new adventures with his own business training school leaders. During his tenure, he worked hard to grow OASSP and OMLEA membership and made a positive impact on the lives of the principal members who count on CCOSA to serve as role models, mentors, and friends. We are grateful for his vision and outstanding leadership. We are excited that Chris LeGrande has joined CCOSA as Executive Director of OASSP/OMLEA. Look for his articles in this and upcoming issues. ■

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ASSOCIATION UPDATES

OAESP

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Glen Abshere, OAESP Executive Director OAESP membership had tremendous growth last year, ending the year with 849 members!

It is time to renew your membership for the 2023-24 school year. Join online today at www.ccosa.org/ membership. We have a new membership database. You should have received an email from membership@ccosa.org with a unique link to update and renew your membership. If you did not receive this email, please contact our office, and we can resend it to you. If you have a new email address, we will update the email address and reset your password for you. We are proud to say we are now 3,000 members strong at CCOSA. Thank you for being a member of CCOSA and OAESP! Please encourage others to join.

Our goal this year is 900 members or more.

TeleLEAD is preparing for the beginning of our fourth year.

TeleLEAD returns on September 6 and meets on the first and third Wednesday of the month. We need case studies to present. If you have a case study for consideration, please get in touch with me. FERPA and privacy are guaranteed.

The New Principals Academy is designed to promote an interactive discussion on topics essential for participants to develop understanding and knowledge of the leadership role at the school level. The purpose is to provide guidance to steer an early career principal or assistant principal through the initial period of adjustment as a beginning administrator and set the foundation for a long and rewarding career as a school administrator. The academy meets four times in the fall semester and once in the spring for an advocacy experience. Registration is now open on our website.

OAESP Leadership Conference The OAESP Executive Committee approved changes to the OAESP Leadership Conference. The conference will be held February 28-29, 2024, at the Embassy Suites OKC Downtown/Medical Center. Information about the conference, including registration and hotel reservations, will be released in October or November. The keynote speaker will be Jessica Cabeen, author of “Principal in Balance,” “Lead With Grace,” “Unconventional Leadership,” and others.

The conference will be in a one-and-a-half-day format with breakout sessions and roundtable discussions.

RFPs for breakout sessions will be released in November.

Please mark your calendars now to join us for the OAESP Leadership Conference.

The OAESP Executive Committee nominated Andrea Sifers to serve as the NAESP State Representative and Federal Relations Officer. Sifers is the Principal of Ft. Gibson Intermediate Elementary School. She will represent Oklahoma at the national level, advocating for public education in Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma Principal Leadership Institute is entering its second year. This year-long seven-day training is designed for principals and assistant principals who are beyond their first year of service. The new cohort will take a deep dive into essential skills of school leaders to be effective leaders. The application period for this institute is now closed for this year with 20 participants. The application period for the next cohort will open in April 2024.

Principal Coaching and Mentoring: Supporting and Sustaining School Leaders training is designed for those who supervise principals or mentor other principals and will give participants tools to use when mentoring other leaders to provide thoughtful guidance. This cohort meets three times in the fall semester. Registration is now open on our website. ■

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ODSS

Andrea Kunkel, CCOSA General Counsel & ODSS Executive Director Kim Baxter, Amy Swartz, Rachelle English, and Christi Frederick will serve as ODSS officers for the 2023-24 school year.

President Kim Baxter is the Director of Special Services for McAlester Public Schools and serves as an adjunct instructor in the MAASE program at Southern Nazarene University. Baxter started a special education advisory committee for her district before the 2022-23 school year and shared her experience in a spring 2023 presentation for TeleSPED and the spring 2023 issue of Better Schools.

President-elect Amy Swartz has served as the Director of Special Services for Ponca City Public Schools since 2007. She grew up in Newkirk in a family of educators, and her parents are retired teachers. Swartz has served on the Board of Directors of the Child Development Center, which provides quality child care and early education for infants to pre-K or kindergarten in Ponca City.

Past President Rachelle English is the Director of Special Services for Stilwell Public Schools, where she also serves as a certified school psychologist. She is completing classes toward a BCBA. English has the following quote on her LinkedIn page: “Surround yourself with women who would mention your name in a room full of opportunities.”

Legislative & Policy Liaison Christi Frederick recently relocated to Oklahoma City and began a new job as the Special Education Compliance Administrator for Oklahoma City Public Schools. Before that, she served as the Director of Special Services for Lone Grove Public Schools. Frederick’s daughter is a proud Oklahoma public school teacher.

All four officers have long histories of service to ODSS and their director colleagues. All have served as mentors to new directors and assisted in training as part of the First-Year Special Education Directors Project. All were part of the first-ever group of special education directors to participate in Day at the Capitol in March 2023. And all four just attended the July CEC/CASE Special Education Summit in Alexandria, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., honing their advocacy skills as they explained their districts’ needs connected to the special educator shortage, funding, and mental health to the Oklahoma Congressional delegation and their staff members.

ODSS is proud to have these four leaders confidently guiding our vibrant group into a new school year. ■

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