2009 Spring - Alabama School Boards Magazine

24 PRE-K GUARDIAN

Inside

Jacquelyn Autrey, one of the state’s 16 program monitors, helps maintain Alabama’s nationally recognized reputation for quality pre-kindergarten programs.

SPRING 2009 Vol. 30, No. 1

www.AlabamaSchoolBoards.org

14 FACE TO FACE Rep. Greg Canfield serves on the House Government Appropriations Committee and is sponsoring the Rolling Reserve Budget Act bill endorsed by AASB.

9

PRORATION CRISIS WON’T BLOW OVER

16 COVER STORY 60 Years of Service: AASB celebrates six decades of work to develop excellent school board leaders through quality training, advocacy and services.

19 SURVEY SAYS

FEATURES 8 ALABAMA’S SCHOOLS IN BUDGETARY LIMBO Local school boards face many uncertainties and a $1 billion shortfall in state education funding.

12 CAUCUS SETS GOALS Caucus of Black School Board Members serves as a forum for the distinct issues faced by the state’s minority school board members and students.

2008 AASB Membership Survey shows 98 percent believe AASB equips members with the necessary governance skills.

22 10 QUESTIONS Longtime advocate Linda Tilly strives to be a voice for Alabama’s children.

SHINING EXAMPLE Montgomery County’s Loveless Academic Magnet Program (LAMP) among nation’s top high schools.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PRESIDENT Sue Helms Madison

DISTRICT 1 Patsy Black Monroe County

PRESIDENT-ELECT Florence Bellamy Phenix City

DISTRICT 2 Bill Minor Dallas County

VICE PRESIDENT Steve Foster Lowndes County IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Jim Methvin Alabama School of Fine Arts

STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Sally Brewer Howell, J.D. CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Ken Roberts, C.P.A. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS Denise L. Berkhalter

PUBLICATION POLICY Alabama School Boards is published by the Alabama Association of School Boards as a service to its members. The articles published in each issue represent the ideas or beliefs of the writers and are not necessarily the views of the Alabama Association of School Boards.

Subscriptions sent to members of school boards are included in membership dues, and complimentary copies are sent to public school principals throughout the state.

Additional subscriptions can be obtained by contacting AASB. Entered as third-class mail at Montgomery, AL. Permit No. 34.

Alabama School Boards is designed by J. Durham Design, L.L.C., Montgomery, AL. Address all editorial and advertising inquiries to: Alabama School Boards, Editor, P.O. Drawer 230488, Montgomery, AL 36123-0488. Phone: 334/277-9700 or e-mail info@AlabamaSchoolBoards.org.

OFFICERS

29 IN EVERY ISSUE 4 UP FRONT 6 EDUCATION & THE LAW 27 HELP 11 CALENDAR 28 PEOPLE & SCHOOLS 30 AT THE TABLE

DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS Lissa Astilla Tucker DIRECTOR OF BOARD DEVELOPMENT LuAnn Bird MEETING/MARKETING COORDINATOR Mandy Fernandez MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR Debora Hendricks EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Tammy Wright ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANTS Donna Norris BOOKKEEPER Kay Shaw

DISTRICT 3 Jeff Bailey Covington County DISTRICT 4 Katy S. Campbell Macon County DISTRICT 5 Jennifer Parsons Jefferson County DISTRICT 6 Sue Jones Jacksonville DISTRICT 7 Susan Harris Winfield DISTRICT 8 Pam Doyle Muscle Shoals DISTRICT 9 Laura Casey Albertville STATE BOARD Sandra Ray Tuscaloosa

STAFF ASSISTANT Lashana Summerlin CLERICAL ASSISTANT Paulina Woods

ON THE COVER: AASB images.

Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009 3

UPFRONT

Trends, Research&Dates Compiled by Denise Berkhalter

AASB will soon announce which school boards are going to participate in a two-year, multi-state research project to develop training programs designed to help Alabama’s school boards govern for higher student achievement. The project is called Governing for Achievement and is a partnership effort of the state Department of Education, School Superintendents of Alabama and the A+ Education Partnership.

Alabama’s research will replicate a statistically proven training program that improves student achievement through school board actions.

For more information about researched-based and customized full board training, contact AASB Board Development Director LuAnn Bird at lbird@alabamaschoolboards.org or 800/562-0601.

photo©istockphoto.com

AASB to Conduct Research to Improve Student Achievement

SHOULD TWINS ATTEND THE SAME CLASS? Whether or not to place twins or multiple birth siblings in the same or separate classrooms is a decision parents and educators struggle with each school year. The decision is made with the students’ best interest kept in mind. Representatives from the state Department of Education, the Alabama Association of School Boards, the Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools and the School Superintendents of Alabama met with Rep. Greg Wren last fall to discuss alternatives to state legislation to address the issue. The joint effort helps avoid state legislation on this local decision by disseminating information statewide on placing multiple birth siblings. Read the full guide at www.alabamaschoolboards.org/IssueBriefs.htm.

32,390 DID YOU KNOW?

Alabama’s gifted student population totaled 32,390 students in 2006-07, and state funding for gifted and talented education was at $2.3 million, according to the National Association for Gifted Children. In June 2008, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute’s report High-Achieving Students in the Era of No Child Left Behind revealed that gains among nationally gifted students didn’t keep pace with gains of lowerachieving learners during this period of high emphasis on adequate yearly progress under the federal NCLB law. Read the report at http://www.edexcellence.net/doc/ 20080618_high_achievers.pdf.

4 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009

Virtual High School Gains Popularity By the year 2019, an estimated one-half of all high school courses will be taught online predicts co-authors Clayton M. Christensen, Michael B. Horn and Curtis W. Johnson in Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns.

More than 1 million students in America take online courses, according to the Sloan Consortium’s 2007 survey, K-12 Online Learning: A Survey of U.S. School District Administrators. That number for 2007-2008 represents a 47 percent increase over 2005-2006, reports the consortium that supports quality online education (www.sloan-c.org).

SAY WHAT? “It’s a matter of talking to your legislators and letting them know where you can best tolerate (budget) cuts. … It’s better that we share that input and make our own determinations about where the cuts are made. We want them to be in the areas that will sting the least.”

— AASB Executive Director Sally Howell Quoted by the Florence Times Daily at the association’s district meeting

GOOD POINT! “Education must be our state's priority. If we are to lure industry, which would in turn boost our tax revenues, we must have the proper means to give our children all of the skills and tools it takes to be successful.”

— Opelika-Auburn News

FUNDING PRIORITIES FOR STATE GOVERNMENT Average Rank

Percentage #1

58%

1.6

Education

28%

2.1

Health Care

8%

3.0

Public Safety

5%

3.3

Highways 0

1

SHOULD REVENUE BE EARMARKED FOR EDUCATION?

2

3

6% 14%

Yes No No Opinion PARCA Survey 2009 - State Funding Priorities

Feb. 9 editorial

‘FRIEND OF THE COURT’ Brief Submitted in Boone Case At the request of the Birmingham Board of Education, the Legal Assistance Fund Board of Trustees agreed to join the Francine Boone et al. v. Birmingham Board of Education case by issuing an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief. At issue is whether a tenured teacher is due notice of cancellation of a coaching/supplemental contract by the end of the school year under the tenure law. The case is pending in the Supreme Court.

Because legal challenges are costly — not only to the school board involved in a certain case but potentially to other boards facing similar issues — the Alabama Association of School Boards’ Legal Assistance Fund supports school boards’ common interests by assisting members involved in cases of statewide significance. Typically, the LAF enters such cases by filing “friend of the court” briefs or providing legal research. Governed by a board of trustees, the LAF seeks to influence the outcome of court challenges, but under no circumstances will it bear the full cost of a case.

80%

4

SURVEY SAYS: EDUCATION A PRIORITY While 30 percent of Alabamians worry about jobs and the economy, 20 percent believe education problems are more important and 58 percent are willing to pay more in taxes to avoid education cuts, according to survey results presented at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama. In February, Samford University Associate Professor Dr. Randolph Horn presented Budget Issues: What Alabamians Think. The survey found 80 percent of respondents believe revenue should be earmarked for education, and 58 percent believe education ought to be state government’s No. 1 funding priority. Dr. Ira W. Harvey of Decision Resources LLC shared Finding a Long-term Equilibrium Between State Revenues and Expenditures, which recommends a true budget reserve linked to long-term revenue trends — based on the start of a cycle rather than the peak — to help end the need for proration. View both presentations at http://parca.samford.edu/presentations.html.

EDUCATION SECRETARY LAUDS ECONOMIC STIMULUS U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan hailed passage of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February as a “historic opportunity to create jobs and advance education reform.”

“About $44 billion in stimulus funding will be available as soon as next month,” said Duncan, who is scheduled to speak in April at the National School Boards Association Annual Conference in San Diego. The economic Arne Duncan stimulus package provides more than $100 billion in education funding, as well as billions more for school modernization. It includes: ■ $40 billion in state stabilization funds to help avert education cuts. School systems have

discretion to use some of this money for school modernization.

■ $13 billion for Title I, including $3 billion for Title I school improvement programs.

■ $12 billion for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) programs.

■ $5 billion in incentive grants to be distributed on a competitive basis to states that most

aggressively pursue higher standards, quality assessments, robust data systems and teacher quality initiatives. This includes $650 million to fund school systems and non-profits with strong track records of improving student achievement.

■ $5 billion for early childhood, including Head Start, early Head Start, child care block grants

and programs for infants with disabilities.

■ $2 billion for other education investments, including pay for performance, data

1,543 BY THE NUMBERS

The December 2008 class of 214 National Board Certified Teachers, brings Alabama’s total to 1,543 teachers. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards seeks to impact student learning through improved teaching.

Alabama does the same by paying nationally certified teachers a $5,000 annual salary supplement along with other financial incentives. For details, call 800/228-3224.

systems, teacher quality investments, technology grants, vocational rehab, work study and Impact Aid. Additional School Modernization — (up to) $33.6 Billion: ■ An additional $8.8 billion in state stabilization funds are available for other state services including education. School modernization is an eligible use of this funding.

■ Authority for states and school systems to issue $24.8 billion in bonds over the next 10

years for renovation, repairs and school construction that will be retired through a combination of local, state and federal dollars.

For more information about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, visit www.Recovery.gov or www.ed.gov/recovery.

■ Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009 5

EDUCATION & THE LAW

Board Employees Must Follow Policy or Lose Immunity

By Lucy Hester, Bishop, Colvin, Johnson & Kent LLC

Board of education employees are considered state agents, not employees of local government agencies, such as cities and counties. As such, they are entitled to the protection of “state agency immunity.”

returning to a vehicle or parking lot during the school day without the permission of an administrator. By referencing the faculty directory in the student handbook, the court found that Yancey was not an administrator, as his name was included with all other faculty members and was not listed separately with the principal, assistant principal and superintendent. As a general faculty member, Yancey was thus not authorized to permit the students to enter the parking lot, retrieve and use a personal vehicle.

S

tate agent immunity is available to board employees when they are “exercising judgment in the discharge of duties imposed by statute, rule or regulation in releasing prisoners, counseling or releasing persons of unsound mind or educating students” (Ex parte Cranman, 792 So.2d 392, 405, Ala. 2000).

However, state-agent immunity is not unlimited in its reach. For example, it does not extend to employees acting in their personal capacity or “willfully, fraudulently, in bad faith, beyond (their) authority or under a mistaken interpretation of the law.”

An Oct. 31, 2008, decision of the Alabama Supreme Court illustrates how the failure of an employee to follow board policy can render the employee’s actions unauthorized and thus beyond the protection of state-agent immunity (Ex parte Brett Yancey). The Yancey case was brought by two students against a head football coach and athletics director. The students participated in the coach’s football weight-lifting class, during which he required them to clean the weight room, locker room and the field house bathrooms in order to instill team discipline. As they had been allowed by the defendant to do on other occasions, the students used a personal vehicle to transport trash barrels to the dumpsters on the day of the accident giving rise to the lawsuit. The students chose to travel on a public street and were injured in a traffic accident.

The board’s student handbook, which was determined by the court to be board policy and to apply to both students and faculty members, included provisions prohibiting students from

6 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009

photo©istockPhoto.com

State-agent immunity is not unlimited in its reach. For example, it does not extend to employees acting in their personal capacity or “willfully, fraudulently, in bad faith, beyond (their) authority or under a mistaken interpretation of the law.”

Although the court concluded that the defendant was entitled to the benefits of state-agent immunity to the extent he had used his judgment and discretion in teaching the weight-lifting class, that immunity was lost when he acted beyond his authority in failing to discharge his duties in accordance with detailed rules or regulations.

The Yancey decision cited and applied principles announced in an earlier Supreme Court opinion, Giambrone v. Douglas. In Giambrone, a student was injured during a wrestling practice “challenge match” with his coach. Because the board did not have a policy addressing wrestling practices, the court concluded that Douglas had broad authority to exercise judgment in the safe conduct of his wrestling team practices. However, that authority was limited when the school’s athletics director furnished and required adherence to the guidelines and rules of the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA), which mandates clinic attendance for head coaches; the National Federation of Wrestling, which governs high school wrestling, including illegal and unsafe moves; and the AHSAA Athletics Directories, which warns that coaches should not arrange competition between individuals with widely disparate physical abilities.

Defendant Douglas did not attend any wrestling coaching clinics prior to the incident in question.

Moreover, Douglas, weighing approximately 70 pounds more than Giambrone, arguably exhibited an illegal and unsafe wrestling move during the challenge match with his student.

Importantly, the court rejected the contention that the guidelines and rules in question could not constitute policy or give rise to a legal duty simply because they were not formally or officially adopted or approved by the board as “board policy.” In other words, rules, regulations, procedures and practices — especially if sanctioned or mandated by school officials — can limit the scope of an employee’s authority and thus of his immunity. For these reasons, and as Skippy Mullins warned in her July

2002, Alabama School Boards article “In Policy, Less Is More,” school boards should adopt the less-is-more rule when authoring, adopting or endorsing policies, regulations and less formal (but typically more detailed) procedures, practices and even “guidelines.”

A 2001 decision of the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals illustrates the point. In Bayles v. Marriott, the appeals court applied state-agent immunity to a principal who had been sued by a school coach. The coach was injured as a result of a practical joke that had been concocted by several employees, administrators and faculty members. The pertinent policy was broadly phrased and drafted in general terms, providing only that the principal was responsible for school plant safety and that hazards should be reported to the maintenance supervisor. In upholding immunity for the principal, the court stated that it “might reach a different result if, instead of the broadly stated, general safety policy, (the principal) had instead been responsible for following a detailed rule or checklist and had failed in this responsibility” (Bayles v. Marriott, 816 So.2d 38, 41-42, Ala. Civ. App. 2001).

These cases illustrate how school board employees can lose their state-agent immunity by departing from both official and quasi-official policies, rules and regulations. To limit these risks, boards and their employees should remember the following key points: 1. Policies, rules or regulations should be adopted or endorsed only when absolutely necessary; 2. Policies, rules and regulations should be current, brief, simple and broad in scope; 3. Handbooks, rules, regulations and operating procedures should be consistent with board policy; 4. Policies, rules and regulations should be understood and followed by employees; and 5. In-service or other training regarding the liability risks associated with policies, regulations and likestandards should be coordinated for employees where roles and responsibilities expose them to individual liability.

Bottom Line Before adopting, requiring or endorsing policies, rules, regulations or standards, know what you are approving, why you are approving it and whether the requirements can or will be consistently met by employees. A deviation from such regulations can result in the forfeiture of an otherwise available immunity defense.

■ Lucy A. Hester of Bishop, Colvin, Johnson & Kent LLC is a graduate of Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. Her areas of practice includes education law.

Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009 7

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S PERSPECTIVE

By Sally Howell, J.D., AASB Executive Director

Alabama’s Schools Face $1 Billion in State Education Budget Cuts These are challenging times.

School board members understand that.

T

he nation is in a recession. Alabama had to backfill a gaping $1.8 billion hole in the state budget for 2009 with across-the-board cuts, including what amounts to a 9 percent proration to the state education budget. The current year was also shored up with a six-year loan to use half of the state’s $437 million Education Rainy Day Fund.

Schools survived the 2008 fiscal budget year only because the state emptied its $440 million savings account. Along the way, school boards across the state have been making tough budget choices — from layoffs to deferred maintenance, loans and drawn-down savings.

Thankfully, help is on the way. Alabama is poised to receive $3 billion — over 2 1/2 years — of the more than $825 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan approved post-proration by Congress with much debate in February.

Gov. Bob Riley said federal funds that are part of the Alabama Economic Recovery Plan will spare the state from most of the nearly 3 percent cut in the already prorated K-12 budget for fiscal year 2010 that he proposed earlier in the session. That cut is on top of the 9 percent proration for the current fiscal year.

Rather than a $5.6 billion education budget for 2010, Alabama may have nearly $6 billion for education thanks to the federal economic stimulus package. That compares to a $6.7 billion budget for 2008 and the current year’s education budget of $6.3 billion.

The federal stimulus is no silver bullet. Even if the governor goes through with his plan to borrow the remaining half of the Rainy Day Fund — a line-of-credit against Alabama’s oil and gas trusts — schools will still come up just short for the 2009 budget. In addition, millions will still need to be trimmed from next year’s education budget on top of cuts already made this year.

Alabama has been here before. In fact, this is the 16th time the state has called proration for education since 1950. The 2008 budget year technically should have been a year of proration but was saved by the education savings account nest egg.

The funding for education is at the mercy of economic cycles of ups and downs. Primarily funded through income taxes and sales taxes, it is highly susceptible to upswings and downturns.

What adds insult to injury is the timing. The cuts in the budget come on the heels of astounding growth in the educa-

8 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009

tion fund. Spending grew from $4.2 billion to $6.7 billion over four years. The growth in dollars invested in Alabama’s K-12 programs resulted in nationally recognized progress.

Innovative state programs have demonstrated measurable gains that make our state a role model in such areas as reading, science and technology. Pockets of success are the norm in places where, before, there were statistical reasons for failure — high poverty, a large minority population and special education.

We see excellence, are witnessing progress and are worried the excitement about it all will dwindle if we don’t hold tight to what really matters — a quality education for Alabama’s students.

So, how does this state’s leadership make these tough choices when there simply are no easy places to cut K-12 education without hurting the very core of our budding success?

In January, we asked our membership that very same question. (See the 2009 State Budget Cut Survey online at www.AlabamaSchoolBoards.org.) You responded with a resounding call to attempt to make the least impact on students and learning in the classroom. You want to protect teachers, successful programs that have a statewide benefit to students and critical funds necessary to keep the academic environment up and running for students.

The coming weeks will be a flurry of budget activity. At press-time, the state superintendent of education planned to meet with school system leadership teams to discuss details of the economic stimulus. Lawmakers expected to return from their spring break to find a revised budget proposal from Gov. Bob Riley for 2010 — one that delineates between federal stimulus sources and state revenue sources.

And there are decisions to be made. The formula used to disburse federal stabilization dollars will be important, and AASB, of course, strongly advocates the use of the state Foundation Program formula. Another question mark is whether the governor will use the federal dollars over a two- or three-year timeframe. It’s also not clear just when, or if, the second half of the Rainy Day Fund will be released to lower proration from 9 percent to 5.5 percent.

This, we know. Now is no time for even more uncertainty.

Whether state officials use the remaining dollars in the Rainy Day Fund or direct a portion of the federal stimulus dollars to shore up the 2009 budget, local boards need a clear picture soon of what the final figure for proration will be when the fiscal year ends Sept. 30.

■ photo©istockPhoto.com

By Terry Wilhite We’re quite adept here along Alabama’s Gulf Coast at keeping a watchful eye on the weather forecast and hurricane tracking maps. When the “cone of certainty” puts us within striking distance of a hurricane, we tune to every weather update as we head to the garage to get the plywood and screws — all the time hoping that the tropical behemoth will veer toward Mexico or Texas (not that we’d wish ill will on anybody).

As if it were one of those big tropical blobs spinning on the television weather map, we have braced for proration.

(Continued on page 10) Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009 9

e have been placed in the “cone of certainty” by waning revenues and daily reports of national economic decline. In December, the governor made it official.

Proration had hit Alabama, making landfall with double-digit numbers. Now, in school districts like mine and yours, the storm surge is rising quickly. We’re seeing the dark clouds swirl overhead, and like tropical force winds, we’re feeling the slap of cost cutting at every turn.

Slow moving storms are always the worst, and this financial twister called proration — across the board budget cuts — is methodically tracking across every budget line item, leaving a trail of destruction and a body count in its path.

This event is record setting. Just as some of our brave neighbors on the Gulf Coast hear the weatherman say “hurricane” and think, “I can ride this thing out,” so too, many of our employees see the word “proration” and recollect going through times of reduced funding. But past years of proration are like an afternoon thundershower compared to the current economic tsunami that is playing out nationally and has been rated the most severe since The Great Depression.

The damage will come in waves. The first storm surge will claim jobs — hundreds of them for a system the size of the one I serve and thousands statewide. In addition, the rising tide will sweep away programs, professional development and other pillars of educational advancement that have recently anchored some of the finest academic achievement this state has ever known.

It will not be pretty. Much of the damage this storm is causing right now is happening in the dark — out of the sight of parents and the communities that we serve. They’re hearing of impending program and job cuts, but they have yet to see the devastation in the daylight. Morning will come, however. This summer — when parents show up for registration and familiar teachers’ names aren’t on class rosters anymore, when homeroom counts have increased and band and art classes have been stricken from their children’s schedules — the trail of destruction will begin to be apparent. It will get clearer when the first day of school arrives and students discover that the number in their classroom is larger than it was last year. When the school day is over and the wait for the bus is longer, parents and students will learn that drivers are pulling extra routes because many of their counterparts no longer have a job.

We have to own up to reality. Most of us are eternal optimists, which is a very good thing. We’re still hoping proration will just go away. Maybe a high pressure system in the form of economic stimulus money really will make this monster veer toward open waters. Let’s hope. But hope alone isn’t going to see us through. The first step in leading our organizations through these dark times requires that we have to own up to the fact that we’re dealing with a crisis. As a leader, it is okay to say “crisis.”

A crisis requires a different approach, a different mindset. Once a crisis is declared, most people are willing to do what they would otherwise not be willing to do. We cannot continue to do business as usual. We must declare a crisis. We must act. We must lead. Most importantly, we must communicate.

W

10 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009

Communication is critical. An event this size demands a well-thought-out and executed communications strategy. Just as the damage will unfold in waves, likewise, our communication strategies must be designed to meet the need of the phase in which we find ourselves. In pivotal moments like these, how well we perform as leaders will make the difference — whether we’re remembered as former New York Gov. Rudy Giuliani when terrorists struck on 9/11 or as Michael Brown, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) during Hurricane Katrina. How well an organization rebounds from this financial disaster is dependent upon its leadership team. Whether leaders remain in place to manage the cleanup and recovery will be largely dependent upon communication skills.

The rules changed overnight. Did anybody tell you? If we think we can communicate like we did three years ago, not to mention 10, reality will prove us wrong. The difference between winning and losing will depend on one’s knowledge of what works with current communication strategy and technology.

Look no further than the recent presidential election as proof of what communication strategies and tactics work. Here are some key words and concepts we must now embrace to be effective leaders and communicators.

N

o matter how solid the working relationship, it is easy for the superintendent, board, key staff and principals to stray from the primary message. Anything less than unity will be readily detected and rejected by our stakeholders, and most assuredly, it will be exaggerated by the media.

It is important to have a professional on staff to coordinate the information effort. The public will not tolerate confusion and discord during a crisis.

STRAIGHT!

Communication is based upon trust. While advice to “shoot straight” might seem blatantly obvious, it is not. Like it or not, the public throws us into the same distrustful pot as every other corporate or government leader, and we often fail to realize that while we see ourselves as very trustworthy, our would-be followers do not see us that way at all. We have to work triply hard to communicate clearly, to build trust one word and one person at the time and to quickly straighten out any erroneous information we may unintentionally impart.

Credibility with our stakeholders does not come from where we may first think. The rule changed. It no longer originates from a position or educational degree. When I was a communicator in the electric utility business, we could bring in an industry expert in rate design to explain why power bills were on the rise. However, a “good ole boy” on the tailgate of a pickup truck had far more sway with our clientele with his homespun knowledge of electric rates — namely, in his words, that they were a rip-off. Such “authorities” gain instant credibility and followings. In the education business, no doubt, we’ve experienced similar. We had better find out who the real influencers are and spend a lot of time with them. That is easier said than done because many of them are anonymous and now hang out on Internet blogs with huge followings. They will be the key to our success and can be our best allies. But, we have to methodically work through the issues with them, and to be credible, these influencers must appear to keep their distance from us and relay to their followers information in their own words.

SPEED!

By the time we’ve called our legal counsel and consulted with key players to develop talking points, “citizen journalists” — many of them our employees — have already posted developments to their blogs, dispatched their opinions via Twitter (Google it if you don’t know what it is) and e-mailed hundreds of people on their contact lists who then, almost simultaneously, hit “forward” on their own e-mail. Of course, much of the information is probably not accurate at all. False information travels faster than the truth.

As Winston Churchill said, “A lie is half way around the world before you can get your pants on.” If that was the case in Churchill’s day, imagine what it is now. Speed is everything. If we don’t communicate rapidly, somebody will reach our stakeholders faster than we do and fill the void with incorrect information.

For years, I have heard it said that we as leaders need to be able to contact our key stakeholders within 45 minutes. In this instantaneous day and age, 45 minutes is light years. Such length is unacceptable. In our school system, one of the most invaluable communications services that we’ve put together is our key communicator network. Within a minute, our superintendent can contact every elected official in our county, every youth minister, every police chief, every fire chief, every mayor, every councilman and a host of other influencers. We can choose to send them an e-mail, text message or a phone recording. The speed happens by using rapid notification technology. I am amazed that 1,000 key communicators can be updated by a recorded message in less than 60 seconds. That sort of speed is the expectation of the day. No less will suffice.

DIRECT!

✔

MARK YOUR CALENDAR APRIL 2009 4-7

NSBA Annual Conference and Exposition San Diego

14

Teleconference/Webinar on Personnel Law

MAY 2009 18

Regular Legislative Session Ends

JUNE 2009 7-10 SSA Summer Conference Perdido Hotel, Orange Beach

TBA

Board Secretary Workshop

JULY 2009 8-10 NSBA/Southern Region Little Rock, Arkansas

25-26 AASB Leadership I Perdido Hotel, Orange Beach

26-27 School Board Attorneys Conference Perdido Hotel, Orange Beach

26-28 AASB Summer Conference Perdido Hotel, Orange Beach

As Gerald Barron said in his book, Now Is Too Late (a highly recommended read about crisis communication), “It is no longer a viable excuse to say, ‘We communicate through the news media.’

That is like saying, ‘We prefer to use a town crier, if you don’t mind.’”

While media relations are important, employees and other key (Continued on page 30)

DECEMBER 2009 3-5

AASB Annual Convention Wynfrey Hotel, Birmingham

■

Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009 11

CAUCUS PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE

By The Rev. Preston Nix

From the Black Caucus The Alabama Association of School Boards brings together school board members from a variety of backgrounds — from farmers to professors and high school graduates to Ph.D.s.

I

t’s that diversity, in my opinion, that makes this association such a wonderful haven for all school board members — be they novices or experts — who need skills, knowledge, advice, information or just a network of peers to tap into.

It’s that diversity that ultimately led to the formation of the Alabama Caucus of Black School Board Members. The caucus brings together those who recognize the unique challenges associated with ensuring a quality education for minorities — including persistent poverty and achievement gaps.

Progress has been made, but there is more to accomplish in this state where 41 percent of our 743,000 students are minorities, including more than 260,000 African American students. That’s why, as we diligently work toward student success for all students, our caucus also keeps a watchful eye on those who have statistically and historically fallen through the cracks.

The caucus is hard at work.

As a member of AASB’s Multicultural Committee, I communicate with AASB’s leadership and the committee on matters relating to minority board members, education leaders, communities and students.

We are affiliated with the National Caucus of Black School Board Members, and members who are involved with the national Council of Urban Boards of Education come back and report what they’ve learned. Through individual members’ local, state and national connections, we are able to bring important information back to the caucus, including the latest on policies and practices that affect minority students. And, we have long served as a forum for the distinct issues faced by the state’s minority school board members — who comprise about 25 percent of AASB’s 800-plus membership.

In December 2008, the caucus came together for our annual board meeting. We discussed the possibility of an Alabama Caucus of Black School Board Members 12 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009

photo©istockphoto.com

Scholarship to encourage minorities to enter the teaching field. We also appointed a committee to create an archive that will become the historical record of the caucus’ accomplishments. We took a look at the state’s dropout rate and talked about issues prevalent among black youth that could be contributing to that problem. We encouraged caucus members to actively participate in AASB by joining the various committees.

We passed a resolution in support of AASB’s effort to derail the movement to force a school start date on schools through legislative action. We honored long-time caucus member and outgoing Montgomery County board member Henry Spears for his dedicated service to schoolchildren, AASB and the caucus. Later in the meeting, we looked ahead to 2009.

Our goals for this year are as follows: ■ Increase our membership and better inform

members of the caucus’ goals.

■ Maintain a mutually beneficial relationship

with AASB. ■ Support AASB within our goals and vision.

■ Inform legislators of our goals and vision.

■ Revisit our bylaws.

■ Address the dropout rate.

■ Implement a scholarship foundation.

■ Increase the number of graduates who pursue

a profession in education by asking that there be state and federal incentives, such as paid tuition for those who agree to teach for a set period.

If you’re interested in participating in the black caucus, look for details in the near future about our next meeting.

■ The Rev. Preston Nix of the Attalla school board has served as president of the Alabama Caucus of Black School Board Members since 2007.

APRIL 14

ACADEMY DATES TO REMEMBER:

TELECONFERENCE/WEBINAR ON PERSONNEL LAW

July 25-26, 2009. . . . . 2009 AASB Leadership I

Looking for low-cost, high-quality training on the state’s tenure, dismissal, contract principal and other employment laws?

We’ve got a $40 value for you!

For more information, contact AASB at 800/562-0601 or visit www.AlabamaSchoolBoards.org.

Perdido Hotel, Orange Beach

July 26-27, 2009 . . . . School Board Attorneys Conference Perdido Hotel, Orange Beach

July 26-28, 2009 . . . . 2009 AASB Summer Conference Perdido Hotel, Orange Beach

December 3-5, 2009 2009 Annual Convention The Wynfrey Hotel, Birmingham Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009 13

FACE TO FACE

By Ken Roberts, AASB Chief Operating Officer

Rep. Greg Canfield

R

ep. Greg Canfield of Vestavia Hills believes there is a way to end deep education budget cuts. He calls it the Rolling Reserve Budget Act, a bill he has introduced into the 2009 legislative session.

Canfield said his proposed legislation would create a new budget process for Rep. Greg Canfield the Education Trust Fund that provides sustainable growth in education funding, beats inflation, builds reserves, prevents proration and generates funds to help pay for capital construction for schools as well as unfunded liabilities associated with teacher retirement and the Public Education Employees’ Health Insurance Plan (PEEHIP). Because the current ETF budget process requires annual forecasting of revenues, Canfield said the budget is consistently revenue short one-third of the time. Indeed, Alabama has declared proration 17 times in the last 59 years, and the state is now experiencing its most challenging budget crisis in recent history.

Rolling Reserve Budgeting is based on averaging the growth in ETF revenues over a long period of time, since revenues that fund education are highly sensitive to economic changes.

Annual revenue growth rates, for example, can vary as much as the -3.1 percent of fiscal year 1982 to the +13.7 percent boom in 1983. The extreme revenue fluctuations make forecasting ETF revenues year-to-year a difficult task.

Rolling Reserve Budgeting, in Canfield’s opinion, is a better way to fund education in Alabama. The Alabama Association of School Boards, School Superintendents of Alabama, Business Council of Alabama and the higher education community support the measure. In this interview, Canfield shares his thoughts about legislative service and education funding with AASB Chief Operating Officer Ken Roberts. ▲ Roberts: I am so glad you could talk with us today. Just to start off, tell us a little bit about yourself and what brought you to public service. ◆ Canfield: Well, Ken, I am 48 years old. I have been married for 25 years to my wife, Denise. I have two children, Rachel and John. Rachel is a junior in college at the University of Alabama. My son, John, is a freshman at Vestavia Hills High School. I’m originally from Birmingham and graduated from public school at Huffman High School in Birmingham. I became interested in public service as I had 14 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009

started my own business. I got more and more involved in the community because of being in business in Vestavia Hills and became very active with the chamber of commerce and in supporting our local public school system. It just sort of grew from there. I felt that oftentimes we tend to complain about our public servants, but we’re not always willing to step forward. Somebody at the right time invited me to do it, and I did. ▲ Roberts: In general, what do you feel are the biggest challenges facing the Legislature? ◆ Canfield: Beyond the shadow of doubt, the biggest challenges facing the Legislature this year are going to be the two budgets (General Fund and Education Trust Fund), especially the Education Trust Fund budget. Now, those budgets are to the point now where the Legislature is going to have to make some tough decisions in moving forward.

And, unfortunately with respect to the Education Trust

“Public education in Alabama represents the single best opportunity that we have to move our state foward.”

— Rep. Greg Canfield, announcing the Rolling Reserve Budget bill he introduced in the 2009 legislative session

Fund, those decisions have some very chilling effects throughout school systems, communities and counties across the state of Alabama. ▲ Roberts: We’re certainly going through a troublesome time for education and looking for solutions to help us weather this economic storm. I understand you’ve proposed legislation to help. Please tell us about your Rolling Reserve bill. ◆ Canfield: Certainly. Aside from the fact that we are going through a very difficult recessionary period, the biggest problem facing public education in Alabama is the cycle of proration that we have that seems to be built into the legislative budget process for public education.

From 1979-2009, 30 years of budgets have been passed. Unfortunately, eight of those years have ended in proration, usually during the middle of a school year. The cuts that come from proration have a horrible affect on our school systems. County and city school systems across the state of Alabama end up bearing the brunt of making very significant cuts in programming, having to lay off support personnel, laying off untenured teachers and cutting back on school support for things like tutorial programs for students who might be struggling in school.

In all of that, proration ends up setting Alabama back.

Basically, for every two steps forward we take in Alabama, we’re taking one step back because our budget process is broken. Rolling Reserve budgeting seeks to end proration and create an environment where we can use historical growth averages as a benchmark for budgeting to (1) end proration and (2) create an environment where education spending in Alabama can always be in a growth mode. ▲ Roberts: In the kindergarten through 12th grade education world, local school boards struggle for every dollar as they strive to help students achieve and to address the many needs in our schools. What do you think about unfunded mandates to local boards of education? ◆ Canfield: As a House member, I’m in a little unique situation from most. I have a district, District 48, which encompasses five separate school systems, and I talk regularly to each of the school superintendents and members of the school boards. I hear quite clearly their concerns about any legislation passed in Alabama that creates a requirement for funding yet doesn’t create the funding mechanism itself. I know their struggles, and I understand their concerns. I have always taken the position that I will not support legislation that creates unfunded mandates, as long as I know that is what’s happening. I just think that it’s not a very responsible way to govern, and it’s not very responsible in terms of the Leg-

islature’s responsibility to public education for us to do that either. ▲ Roberts: Is local control by school boards on behalf of their schools and communities at risk in your view? ◆ Canfield: Well, today we’re seeing an environment which is reflecting and mirroring in some ways what’s happening at the federal level. We’re beginning to see the same kind of thing happening at the state level, which is a trend toward more state government control just as we’re seeing a trend toward more federal control. And, my concern is — as we continue to move in that direction at the state level — we’re going to get into areas where the state doesn’t belong. And, we could get into areas where we’ve got a lot of individual school systems across the state that have achieved high success levels in public education, but if the state gets too over-involved, we could see that success deteriorate. So, I am a firm believer in the local control of school boards over their school systems, except in those extreme cases where we end up in financial difficulty or mismanagement or something along those lines. ▲ Roberts: What grade overall do you give local, state or federal government for their support of public education in Alabama? ◆ Canfield: Well, I would say the federal government would have to get a C- because I think the federal government’s commitment to education seems to be such that it ebbs and flows with whatever is politically important in Washington, D.C., at that time.

I would give the state, in terms of support of education, probably at this point a C+. There are some efforts that have been made to improve education. We see some initiatives, such as the reading initiative and AMSTI (Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative), where we’ve seen clear progress, but on the funding side, (Continued on page 27)

ABOUT REP. GREG CANFIELD A Vestavia Hills resident and native of Birmingham; graduate of Huffman High School, attended the University of Alabama and earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Alabama at Birmingham; a member of Delta Chi Fraternity, Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church and charter member of the Vestavia Hills Civitan Club; and married to Denise, father of Rachel and John.

What he does: Has served in the Alabama House of Representatives since 2006; founder and former president of Canfield Insurance & Financial Services, which he sold before joining J.H. Berry Insurance Agency of Birmingham.

Committees: Government Appropriations, Constitution and Elections, Jefferson County Legislation and Shelby County Legislation.

Contact him: 205/325-5308 in Jefferson County; 205/620-6610 in Shelby County

Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009 15

Join us this year as the Alabama Association of School Boards celebrates six decades of service to school boards and support for local decision-making in public education.

O

ur 60th anniversary offers an opportunity to reflect on your association’s past accomplishments and to look ahead to our ambitious future — one that AASB’s 128 founders may have only imagined on June 16, 1949.

We’re well on our way.

For years we’ve enjoyed 100 percent membership from all 132 city and county boards of education. Compare that to the 40 county and 13 city boards of education represented at our organizational meeting at the grand old Jefferson Davis Hotel in downtown Montgomery.

AASB’s 1,000-strong membership includes not only city and county school boards, but several special school boards, as well as associate, honorary and professional sustaining members. Also under the auspices of AASB is the more than 100 members of the Alabama Council of School Board Attorneys.

From the outset our association has helped local education leaders improve student achievement.

Our mainstay has always been cost-effective services that target the unique needs of school boards.

We continue that tradition through advocacy, board training, leadership development and by providing the latest resources for effective governance of kindergarten through 12th-grade education.

Members today have access to an award-winning School Board Member Academy for ongoing training, self-insured risk management programs, a legal assistance fund, a special education Medicaid reimbursement program and an array of policy services, publications, consultation services, full-board workshops and award/recognition programs.

Our staff brings elected and appointed board members from a variety of backgrounds up to speed on how to improve the educational opportunities for this state’s 740,000 students.

And AASB represents Alabama school boards before the state Legislature, state Board of Education, U.S. Congress and as part of a number of state, regional and national education policy groups and education task forces. Our collective voice speaks loudly now that AASB has matured into a public education resource often tapped by government, political and education advocacy leaders.

By pooling resources through its membership, AASB is able to provide these services and resources to boards that otherwise couldn’t afford them on their own.

The entrance to today’s Alabama Association of School Boards reflects the growth and comtemporary role of the association when compared to the signage of the first AASB office.

16 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009

1940s 1949 • AASB was organized in 1949 as the Alabama Association of Members and Executive Officers of County and City School Boards by 128 individuals from 40 county and 13 city school boards. It was the 39th state school boards association formed in the United States.

Organized as the Alabama Association of Members and Executive Officers of County and City School Boards in 1949, the association was initially comprised of 128 individuals from 40 county and 13 city school systems and led by Dr. L. E. Kirby, the association’s first president.

Our history filled with achievements and pioneering breakthroughs has created for us the opportunity to offer members new and enhanced services.

Last year, we expanded field services to In 1949, the include more sophisti- organization’s name was officially cated research and data changed to the Alabama Association of School Boards. collection, more answers to school finance questions and new customizable board development training that the association brings directly to your full board.

In recent years, your association has landed several grants to increase school board awareness about such issues as pre-kindergarten, community engagement and the connection between board action and student achievement.

We’ve compiled the results of a membership survey — with a 29 percent response rate — that is helping us adapt to meet your modern-day needs. (See page 19; full survey is posted online at www.AlabamaSchoolBoards.org.)

A number of you, along with AASB’s 14-member Board of Directors and other stakeholders, are involved in shaping the strategic plan for this organization’s future. Soon AASB will have a bold mission, defined objectives and a plan of action to develop excellent school board leaders dedicated to the ideal that all students can succeed.

Needless to say, we will always hold dear our roots. Yet, we are also compelled to forge ahead in this new age of high intensity to pursue our mission and advance the human condition through quality education.

• N.F. Nunnelley, superintendent of Talladega County, served as secretary-treasurer of AASB from 1949 until 1951.

In 1949, AASB was founded at a meeting in the Jefferson Davis Hotel in downtown Montgomery.

• Dr. L.E. Kirby of Jefferson County became AASB’s first president. Membership dues were set at $1 per individual board member.

• By July 1949, the association’s name was changed to the Alabama Association of School Board Members.

1950s 1950

• An official member of the National School Boards Association, AASB had its first convention at the Birmingham YMCA. • The association approved its first constitution and bylaws, drafted with the help of the Alabama Education Association and produced by a committee led by C.B. Gillmore.

• Dr. George Howard of Tuscaloosa became AASB’s first official chief executive. He was part-time executive secretary of AASB while serving as professor and chair of education administration at the University of Alabama. The university lent Howard’s services to AASB and an office to serve as its headquarters.

• In 1952, AASB began sending members a periodic publication called The Bulletin, Dr. George Howard which was produced in-house. of Tuscaloosa became AASB’s

1950

served as part-time executive secretary from 1951-1969.

• Alabama’s Legislature — as noted in Alabama Code Section 16-1-6 — recognized AASB as school board members’ official representative agency and authorized members of the state, county and city boards of education to pay dues and to join as bodies rather than individuals.

(Continued on page 18)

Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009 17

Alabama Association of School Boards

Celebrating 60 Years of Service to School Boards Continued from page 17

1974

1950

• The legislative act caused the association to adopt a new Constitution and change its name in 1956 to the Alabama Association of School Boards.

1957

1975

• Carl Bottenfield became president of AASB. His eight-year leadership ended in 1965, making Bottenfield AASB’s longest serving president. The 22-year Jefferson County board member was also the first Alabamian elected to the NSBA Board of Directors.

1960s 1965

• AASB began publishing Leg-Alert, a weekly report on education-related bills and activities during the legislative session.

1976

• AASB published its Legal Reference Manual.

Carl Bottenfield retired as AASB president in 1965 and was the first Alabamian elected to the NSBA Board of Directors.

• AASB began its quest to halt funding to non-public schools from the Education Trust Fund.

• AASB set aside $5,000 for a building fund.

1968

• Geographical regions of member school boards were reorganized from eight into nine districts to coincide with the nine Congressional districts at that time.

1969

• Dr. Randy Quinn became AASB’s second part-time chief executive in 1969. He retired as executive director in 1988 to become executive director of the Colorado Association of School Boards.

Dr. Randy Quinn became AASB’s second • The Very Important Paper part-time chief executive in 1969. became AASB’s first commercially printed, monthly newsletter. V.I.P. was a black-and-white, four-page publication that eventually grew to eight pages before its last issue in December 1979. V.I.P. replaced The Bulletin.

1970s 1970

• AASB expands its services to include an annual conference for new school board members and policy development.

• A state Board of Education member was added to the AASB Board of Directors to serve as a liaison — a position now held by Dr. Mary J. Caylor.

18 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009

• AASB moved its headquarters from Tuscaloosa to Montgomery in the Union Bank Building downtown. In 1977, the association constructed its own $122,000 office building on a $19,000 lot near the Perry Hill Road exit of I-85. Adjacent to that property, at 4240 Lomac St., the current headquarters was built in 1992.

• For the first time in the association’s history, 100 percent membership is achieved. All 127 Alabama school boards joined AASB.

1980s 1980

• The Legal Assistance Fund was created to assist members involved in court cases of statewide significance and that were of common interest to school boards. LAF is governed by a board of trustees.

• In January 1980, the first issue of In 1984, AASB recognized political the 16-page Alabama School cartoonist John Crawford for his Boards magazine debuted with a contribution to the association’s flagship publication.

“Crawford” cartoon on its cover.

• The board of directors approved a plan to create a legislative network of school board members in each legislative district known as the ALERT Network. It has evolved into today’s more targeted Leader to Leader grassroots network that links board members to legislators to serve as local sources of education information.

1981

• To honor an outstanding news media representative or organization, the AASB Board of Directors approved the “Service to Education” award. That award has been expanded to an annual Media Honor Roll.

1982

• The Alabama Council of School Board Attorneys were founded under the auspices of AASB, though the council has its own board and is affiliated with the National Council of School Board Attorneys.

(Continued on page 20)

AASB’S PRESIDENTS 1949-2008 2008 -

Sue Helms

Present

Madison City Board of Education

2005-07

Jim Methvin Alabama School of Fine Arts

2003-05

Tommy McDaniel Alabama School of Math & Science

2001-03

Linda Steed

W.E. “Buster” Smith

ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY

E-MAIL USAGE

Muscle Shoals Board of Education

■ 78% Personal computer * ■ 77% E-mail * ■ 75% Internet/World Wide Web * ■ 61% Fax machine * ■ 36% Teleconference facilities *

■ 69% Very comfortable using e-mail ■ 20% Moderately comfortable using e-mail ■ 8% Not very comfortable using e-mail ■ 3% Not at all comfortable using e-mail

Robert A. Lane

Ken Washburn Ozark Board of Education

1991-93

Elton Ralston Dallas County Board of Education

1989-91 1987-89

Barbara Jones Fairfield Board of Education

IMPRESSION OF AASB’S STAFF/WORK

Ed Starnes

■ 98% agree that AASB equips members with the necessary governance skills ■ 97% agree that AASB regularly informs them about activities and events ■ 96% agree that AASB models “professional excellence” ■ 96% agree that AASB updates boards on lobbying and advocacy issues ■ 96% agree that AASB is a “trusted resource” on governance and boardmanship ■ 93% agree that AASB is a “good steward of membership dues” ■ 93% agree that AASB is highly influential in the development of public education policy ■ 91% agree that AASB provides timely and accurate responses to member inquiries ■ 91% have participated in some type of AASB School Board Academy training ■ 79% have called AASB with a governance, legislative or policy question

Huntsville Board of Education

1985-87

Dr. Mac Irving Ozark Board of Education

1983-85

James McCarty Muscle Shoals Board of Education

1981-83

Joe Grimes Dallas County Board of Education

1979-81

Nellie C. Weil Montgomery County Board of Education

1978-79

Dr. Norman Berger Mobile County Board of Education

1978

James Holloway Homewood Board of Education

1977-78

Raymond Grissom Russellville Board of Education

1975-77

Richard Moss Florence Board of Education

1973-75

Judge Miller Childers Selma Board of Education

1971-73

William B. Crane Mobile County Board of Education

1965-71

Dr. Ralph D. Higginbotham Anniston Board of Education

1957-65

Carl R. Bottenfield Jefferson County Board of Education

1952-57

Dr. A.R. Moseley, Sr. Sylacauga Board of Education

1951

V.V. Mitchell Elmore County Board of Education

1950-51

Dr. A.R. Moseley, Sr. Sylacauga Board of Education

1949-50

HERE ARE SOME OTHER SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS:

Lowndes County Board of Education

Colbert County Board of Education

1993-95

To improve the quality of the Alabama Association of School Boards’ services and programs and to better understand members’ needs and concerns, AASB asked all members to take a survey in 2008. More than 28 percent responded, including one person who said, “Bottom line: AASB does an outstanding job.”

Of the 271 completed surveys, nearly 72 percent represented board members while 15 percent were superintendents. There was a nearly even representation of men and women. About 80 percent identified themselves as Caucasian and nearly 17 percent as African American. About 56 percent were age 55 or older.

■ 5% No children * ■ 4% High school graduate ■ 13% Some college ■ 33% College graduate/some post college ■ 51% Post graduate degree

1999-2001 Neal Howard

1995-97

By Denise L. Berkhalter

■ 55% Former educators or board of education employees ■ 15% Parents of school-age kids * ■ 23% Grandparents, school-age kids * ■ 55% Older (non-K-12) kids * ■ 3% Parents of ages 0-4 *

Pike County Board of Education

1997-99

Survey Says: ‘AASB Does an Outstanding Job!’

Dr. L.E. Kirby

PUBLICATIONS ■ 99% of members are “extremely satisfied/satisfied” with Leg-Alert (newsletter that covers state government) ■ 99% of members are “extremely satisfied/satisfied” with the Boardmanship Basics series ■ 99% of its readers are “extremely satisfied/satisfied” with Alabama School Boards magazine ■ 99% of members are “extremely satisfied/satisfied” with FYI (newsletter that covers state board) ■ 86% of members are “extremely satisfied/satisfied” with the www.AlabamaSchoolBoards.org ■ 80% are “extremely satisfied/satisfied” with the FYI e-newsletter ■ 79% are “extremely satisfied/satisfied” with the Leg-Alert e-newsletter

ADVOCACY & TRAINING ■ 94% of those familiar with the news and information service say it is “extremely valuable/very valuable” ■ 92% of those familiar with academy training say it is “extremely valuable/very valuable” ■ 89% of those familiar with the lobbying/advocacy service say it is “extremely valuable/very valuable” ■ 89% of those familiar with the policy assistance service say it is “extremely valuable/very valuable” ■ 89% of those familiar with the risk management service say it is “extremely valuable/very valuable” ■ 86% of those familiar with the Legal Assistance Fund say it is “extremely valuable/very valuable” ■ 85% of those familiar with full-board training say it is “extremely valuable/very valuable” ■ 83% of those familiar with AASB’s networking and information-sharing opportunities say

they are “extremely valuable/very valuable” * Won’t add up to 100% because respondents were allowed to choose all answers that applied to their status as parents/grandparents and their access to technology.

Jefferson County Board of Education Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009 19

Alabama Association of School Boards

Celebrating 60 Years of Service to School Boards Continued from page 18

1982

• AASB conducted its first district meetings, which are still held every spring and winter in all nine regions.

The first Alabama Leadership Hall of Fame • The self-funded Alabama inductees were Tuscaloosa Superintendent Dr. School Boards Insurance Thomas E. Ingram Jr., Frances E. Nungester of Trust — renamed the AlaDecatur schools and Dr. William H. “Zeke” Kimbama Risk Management brough, former assistant state superintendent.

Program for Schools in 1999 — was created to provide low-cost risk management services and insurance coverage to school boards.

• AASB purchased a mini-computer system to send instantaneous mail via “Electrolert,” an electronic network designed to keep members informed about legislative and education news. Today, AASB e-mails “calls to action,” and “news alerts” and two e-newsletters — Leg-Alert and FYI.

1983

• In September, the board of directors endorsed formation of KID-PAC in conjunction with other education organizations.

The political action committee was discontinued in 1991 due to poor financial support.

1984

• On April 2, Montgomery County school board member Nellie C. Weil became the first Alabamian to hold a national office in the National School Boards Association when she was elected second vice president. She was AASB’s first female president.

• The first inductees into the new Alabama Educational Leadership Hall of Fame — housed at Troy State University and co-sponsored by AASB and the Alabama Council for School Administrators and Supervisors — were named.

1986

Nellie C. Weil, AASB president from 1982-83, became NSBA’s first vice president in 1985 and was elected in 1986 as NSBA president — still the only Alabamian to serve in that position.

• On Jan. 11, AASB officially launched its School Board Member Academy, a four-level school for school board members.

• Dr. George Howard, along with Carl Bottenfield, were inducted into the Alabama Educational Leadership Hall of Fame.

1988

• After serving three years as assistant executive director, Dr. Sandra Sims-deGraffenried was promoted to executive director July 1, 1988, to become the first female executive director of AASB and any major Alabama education organization.

20 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009

She was also the first female to win NSBA’s Thomas A. Shannon Leadership Award (2005). The former teacher retired from AASB in 2007.

• AASB won its struggle to convince the Legislature to establish a Proration Prevention Account to protect school boards in the event of an education Dr. Sandra Sims-deGraffenried was budget shortfall. the first female executive director of the Alabama Association of • Alabama celebrated its first School School Boards.

Board Member Appreciation Week, which Gov. Guy Hunt declared for Nov. 15-21. Since 1993, AASB has promoted January as School Board Member Recognition Month.

• Court Report, a monthly legal newsletter that recaps education-related court decisions, was launched and distributed to members of the Alabama Council of School Board Attorneys.

1989

• AASB began its tradition of hiring a Business Office Education program student from area high schools to promote learning opportunities for students.

• The For Your Information newsletter was launched to provide timely education news — between issues of the monthly magazine — to AASB members. FYI is now produced twice per month.

• The first booklets were produced in AASB’s Boardmanship Basics series — concise, easy-to-read publications on the role of the board president, superintendent searches and other education topics.

• Field services were expanded to include board evaluation and conducting tax referendum campaigns.

• AASB revamped its dues structure.

1990s 1990

• Calls could be made to AASB at 800/5620601 on its new toll-free, in-state line.

• Attorney Barbara Fox Jones, J.D., of the Fairfield Board of Education became the first African American president of AASB and only the second female president.

Barbara Fox Jones, J.D., became the first African American to serve as president of AASB.

1991 • AASB made history when it sought “friend of the court”

status — a neutral position — in an Alabama Coalition for Equity lawsuit challenging the equity and constitutionality of the state’s education funding formula. Thirty-four boards made up the coalition. In 1993, a judge found the state’s K12 system was neither adequately or equitably funded.

1992 • The board of directors approved an education orientation

2006 • The first President’s Award was presented. Each year boards

conference to acquaint legislators with AASB and pertinent education issues.

• AASB established its All-State School Board Member award to annually recognize up to five past or present outstanding school board members.

with 60 percent or more of members having attended three or more AASB academy courses are honored.

• AASB leadership took steps toward revamping the association’s mission, goals and objectives to create a comprehensive strategic plan to guide the association.

1993 • AASB won the Ameri-

2007 • After serving six years as assistant executive director,

Former AASB President Robert Lane served for eight years as a member of the NSBA board — the third Alabamian to do so.

can Society of Association Executives’ Excellence in Government Relations Award for the association’s “Champions for Children” campaign that yielded $40 million for K-12 school boards’ critical needs.

1994 • The board of directors approved a resolution — that evolved into AASB’s “Defending the Trust” campaign — urging the Legislature to allocate all education funds to public schools and not to divert any to non-state agencies.

1996 • AASB’s School Board Member Academy won the Award of Excellence from the American Society of Association Executives.

1999 • AASB celebrated its 50th anniversary.

• AASB launches its Medicaid Administrative Claiming Program in January to help schools recapture up-front costs for services provided to Medicaid-eligible students.

• AASB’s “Great Expectations Graduation Exam Communications Kit” was created and later won awards from the National School Public Relations Association and the American Society of Association Executives.

• The www.theaasb.org Web site was launched in October to provide 24-hour access to association news and information.

It drew 844 visits and 15,000 hits in the first four months.

2000s 2001

• A multicultural committee was established to ensure AASB remains sensitive to the cultural differences of its members and the children they serve.

2004 • AASB revised its School Board Member Academy in alignment with the National School Boards Association’s Key Work of School Boards, a study of best practices.

2005 • AASB offerd a fee-for-service program that still helps systems recover costs of therapy, treatment and other medical services provided to Medicaid-eligible students.

Sally Howell, J.D., was promoted to executive director July 1, 2007. The association’s current chief executive had served in various AASB roles, including communications director, since 1986.

• A comprehensively redesigned Web site was launched. www.AlabamaSchoolBoards.org has grown to average 40,000 hits and 8,000 page views per month.

• AASB expanded its school finance expertise by hiring a chief operating officer and research specialist with a background in fiscal management of schools.

• All-State School Board Member Robert Lane of Lowndes County shattered the record for AASB School Board Member Academy hours with 798.

2008 • AASB completed a thorough technology audit designed to upgrade existing technology and increase efficiency through improvements.

• AASB expanded its field service offerings by hiring a board development director focused on creating customized training for full school boards. Efforts to market AASB’s services were also enhanced by hiring a marketing and meetings coordinator.

• AASB leadership took a strategic look at the association’s mission, goals, objectives, strategies and services and asked for an NSBA Program and Operations Review.

• AASB received a two-year Pew Charitable Trusts grant through NSBA’s Center for Public Education for collaboration with child advocates in the state and to inform school board members, policymakers and others about the benefits of high-quality pre-kindergarten education.

2009 • AASB celebrates 60 years of service to school boards and public education in Alabama and boasts 100 percent membership (132 boards) and more than 1,000 total members.

• AASB received a state Department of Education grant for a two-year research project designed to help Alabama’s school boards govern for higher student achievement. ■

AASB Executive Director Sally Howell, J.D., confers with current AASB President Sue Helms of Madison. In 2006 when she was president-elect, Helms became the first Alabamian to serve on the national 100 District Leaders for Citizenship and ServiceLearning Network.

Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009 21

10 QUESTIONS

By Shannon Hendricks

Linda Tilly, Executive Director, VOICES for Alabama’s Children

C

hildren have a voice. Linda Tilly, executive director of VOICES for Alabama’s Children, is among the child advocates who see to that.

Established in 1992, VOICES focuses on health, safety, education and economic security — all issues that deeply affect chilLinda Tilly dren and families. It is an entity that espouses the belief that all children deserve an education that prepares them for the future and inspires them to achieve their potential.

Tilly’s tenure with VOICES has been busy. Nationally, she has served on the Kids Count Network Steering Committee for the Annie E. Casey Foundation and on the Voices for America’s Children Board of Trustees. In Alabama, she’s a member of many statewide committees, including the Children’s Policy Council, which monitors annual spending of Alabama’s tobacco settlement funds for children’s programs, and on the Governor’s Council on Pre-Kindergarten Policy.

Q. What is your role with VOICES, and how did you come to join the organization?

A. I am a mother, which makes me a natural child advocate.

I have one daughter, who will be a senior in college this year. I have been with VOICES for Alabama’s Children as executive director for 12 years, and my background was not in nonprofit or child advocacy. In fact, I have master’s in business, and my field was corporate marketing. After staying at home with my daughter for 10 years, I thought it was time for me to return to work. I was really surprised when my friend (A+ Education Partnership Director Cathy Gassenheimer) approached me about a position that she thought I would be interested in and would enjoy. When I look back, this is just one of those things I was meant for.

Q. What is VOICES’ primary mission?

A. Our mission is to ensure the well-being of all of Alabama’s children. We do that through public research, public awareness and through advocacy. That really makes the organization unique. We annually publish our Alabama’s Kids Count data book that tracks 19 measures of child wellbeing. We look at measures of health, measures of economic security and measures of education. Poverty is a key issue for a child in Alabama, when looking at the demographics, as well. VOICES for Alabama’s Children is the only organization in the state that publishes this kind of 22 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009

information. So, this research gives us a foundation — a starting point — for working toward our mission of well-being for all of our children. And, it gives us a way to determine whether we are improving or getting worse — county by county and in the state as a whole.

Q. How does your mission relate to K- 12 education?

A. I like to think about overall well-being as if it were fabric. All the threads have to be strong. Education is one of those threads. There are groups in the state, A+ Education Partnership being one, that focus just on education. We work with them and look to those experts in particular issue areas.

Our Kids Count data book takes a look at several education indicators as measures of well-being. For instance, the first-grade retention rate right now is sort of an early education measure we’ve been reporting. Our dropout rates this coming year will switch to graduation rates as the state moves in that direction. We also look at special education enrollment.

Former Gov. William Winter of Mississippi said, “The only road out of poverty runs by the schoolhouse.” We certainly believe that in a state like Alabama where 25 percent of our population lives in poverty that education is a real key toward improving overall child well-being and the poverty rate.

If we look at the numbers — whether they are measures of health, safety or education — it’s amazing how many statistically correlate to poverty. But, I don’t want anyone to think we are saying if children are poor they will not do well. That is absolutely not true because we have wonderful high profile examples like Alabama Congressman Artur Davis. On the other hand, children who grow up in poverty do face significant challenges and don’t start with a level playing field.

Q. Can education level the playing field?

A. Education really is one of the great levelers, and that’s the primary reason we have placed the emphasis that we have had for the past several years on expanding the availability of high-quality, state-funded pre-K to more of Alabama’s children. That will continue to be a focus for us. All families who want this for their children will be able to get high-quality pre-K that will go a long way to getting children off to a good start and on a better playing field. The

better you start out in life, the better off you are.

We have done research to get opinion from public school teachers, and they would agree that having a more high-quality pre-K experience for children would be greatly beneficial to K-12 school systems. If we could pair our top quality, state-funded pre-K — Alabama and North Carolina are the only states that have met 10 out 10 national quality benchmarks — with the resoundingly successful Alabama Reading Initiative, then we really could offer children a greater chance to succeed.

Q. What new and exciting work is VOICES doing that will impact K-12 education?

A. The nature of our work is such that that it takes 3-5 years to do things we set out to do. I am tremendously excited about the fact that we have over the last two years dramatically expanded the budget for Alabama preschool through the Office of School Readiness. That’s something we are going to continue to work on. It takes years to see things come into fruition and become more of an ongoing program rather than a new one.

As for an upcoming new program, there will be more focus on public awareness throughout the state and better ways to deal with young people who get into trouble. In the last legislative session, the Legislature revised the juvenile code (Alabama Juvenile Justice Act of 2008). It calls for more appropriate treatment for children in need of supervision. Maybe they are truant or have run away from home and have done things that, since they were underage, would not be considered a crime. We have often looked to incarceration as our first option when dealing with these juveniles, which is sometimes the easiest. As a state, under this code, we are going to be calling on family courts and attorneys to find more appropriate ways of dealing with these children. But, we need to create a lot of public awareness. VOICES has been awarded an Annie Casey Foundation grant to work on that this year.

Q. Last year, didn’t VOICES have a couple wins in the Legislature?

A. Our biggest success, which was our No. 1 priority, was to increase the funding for our pre-K program. While I know the budgets are extremely tight and there are so many needs, pre-K is one of the best investments that the state can make. Four-year-olds who benefit from the expanded pre-kindergarten program will go into the K-12 system much better prepared to succeed and less likely to need special education. They will be ready to go, and the K-12 school teachers can expect these children to be eager and ready to learn as a result of our funding for that program.

The other piece that we worked on was revising the juvenile code. Parts of the code went into effect in January 2009, and the other part kicks in at the start of October 2009. We

will not see an overnight transformation, but over time we will see school-age children from ages 8 to 18 years old having better chances to succeed in school and in life.

Q. What do you hope to accomplish this year?

A. We will continue to work on expansion of high-quality pre-K. The large expansion that we have had for the last several years is still only reaching about 5 percent of Alabama’s 4-year-olds. So, we have got to keep moving and calling attention to what is important to that program.

There were attempts at this last legislative session to improve our teen drivers’ license law, and I expect we will work on that. That is a multi-step procedure. Restrictions need to be placed on teen drivers because they are so inexperienced. For example, 16-year-old licensed drivers should have a limited amount of passengers in the car at one time, and the first six months of driving should be restricted to driving to school and work. Students 16 and 17 years old have the highest crash rates than any other group, not because they are reckless or don’t possess good judgment but because they are inexperienced.

Q. What has been your greatest accomplishment at VOICES? A. Increasing the understanding of children’s issues among state policy writers. Over 12 years ago, people at the State House did not talk about children’s issues, but we have increased the visibility of multiple children’s issues since I have been here.

Q. What has been your greatest challenge in your role?

A. Increasing the understanding of advocacy.

Q. If you had one message for the school board members and other top education leaders in this state, what would it be?

A. At VOICES, we see all of public education as truly important. It needs to be adequately funded and supported. We truly believe that education is going to be the single biggest way to impact child poverty in Alabama. We don’t ever want to pit one part of education against the other. But, by starting early, we can contribute to improving K-12 education and be partners and work hand in hand with everyone in improving our education system. I’m encouraged.

Alabama continues to do the good things that improve education, and VOICES wants to be a part of that.

■ LEARN MORE VOICES for Alabama’s Children seeks to ensure all children in this state have the best chance to succeed in life. Each year VOICES collects county-by-county data depicting how children are faring in terms of health, safety, education and family income. The result is the annual Alabama Kids Count report. Find more info at www.alavoices.org.

Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009 23

By Eve Harmon

Alabama leads the nation in pre-kindergarten program quality.

Jacquelyn Autrey, one of 16 Alabama Office of School Readiness pre-K technical assistants, helps keep it that way.

The assistants visit and ensure standards set by the state and the National Institute for Early Education Research are abided by at 188 sites statewide. Autrey personally monitors six First Class sites — five in Montgomery and one in Clayton.

24 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009

First in Quality First Class Pre-K is Alabama’s state-funded, voluntary early education program. It serves 4-year-olds and emphasizes school readiness as well as child health and development. The program is managed by the Office of School Readiness within the Alabama Department of Children’s Affairs and has twice met every quality benchmark set by the National Institute for Early Education Research, which simultaneously ranks Alabama near the bottom for the State’s low outreach — about 5.6 percent of its 4-year-olds.

Low student access is definitely something Autrey hopes to change. As she makes her rounds, she often visits committees interested in starting pre-K programs. Her advice to these committees is often the same — get a copy of the First Class pre-K grant application and try to meet all the standards before applying.

“To find out the need would be the first step,” she added.

“Then, they should look at the grant and see if they could reach those indicators — which include the facility, the playground.

One of the major quality indicators of our pre-K program is that the community works together.”

First-hand Look Autrey’s days monitoring pre-K programs out in the field begin early. “I prefer to be at the sites at the beginning of the school day, so I can be there when the children first arrive,” she said.

To her, everything is of importance — how students are transported, greeted, play and interact with teachers and one another.

It is only when they lie down for naps that she takes a break from observing and talks to the teacher about what is going well and what can be improved.

Each technical assistant is uniquely qualified to mentor teachers. Each has a Bachelor of Science degree — and in some instances a master’s degree — in early childhood education or child development.

Not only do technical assistants provide on-site support to teachers and assess the classrooms, they also model appropriate practices and provide professional development.

Technical assistants are an extra pair of eyes in the classroom, said Dorothy Colvin of Davis Elementary School’s Success by 6 Program in Montgomery County.

Colvin’s classroom features hands-on learning centers equipped with age-appropriate materials and activities. As she rotates to each center, she sometimes misses those special moments when

students do or say something that indicates they’ve made a connection or gained knowledge.

“Mrs. Autrey is a delightful person to work with,” Colvin said.

“She observes, takes notes and when she’s finished, she’ll sit down with me and tell me the wonderful things that she is hearing in the classroom. It feels good to know you’re doing the right things. And, when there is a need for improvement, she gives me helpful hints.”

First Class Paperwork Autrey said she often doesn’t leave a site until after 2 p.m.

“But, my day is still not over,” she explained. “There’s always paperwork.”

Contrary to how most people feel about paperwork, Autrey says she finds it “fascinating.” It’s used to determine if a First Class site will continue benefiting from the more than $17 million in pre-K grants and other state funding meant to provide quality educational opportunities for the state’s youngest students.

Autrey stresses the importance of documenting everything she does in the classroom, not just for the children in Alabama, but for the nation.

“We are under a microscope — Alabama’s pre-K program.

We’re designated No. 1, the best in the nation, so if any state wants to find out what we’re doing, we’ve got to be able to show them,” she said.

Monitoring these sites is important work. When a child learns something new and she sees the light bulb behind their eyes come on, it’s an assurance to Autrey of just how significant her work really is. It’s also a reminder of her former career as a teacher. After 17 years educating students in Lee and Butler counties, Autrey was supposed to retire in 1999 but just found she couldn’t leave education entirely.

“I saw where they needed people for early childhood education, which was a brand new area opening up,” she said.

She had a master’s degree in early childhood education and was qualified for a specialist position. She wanted to help. The rest is history.

First Things First It’s no coincidence that Colvin, who had retired as a kindergarten teacher, answered the pre-K call just as Autrey did. She, too, saw the need for developmentally appropriate educational opportunities to improve kindergarten readiness.

“I retired four years ago from Montgomery Public Schools and heard wonderful things about pre-K. As a teacher, I saw such a need in kindergarten,” Colvin said.

“Pre-K teaches those simple things — listening to direction and following through, walking in line, knowing the colors and alphabets, talking in sentences, tying shoes,” she added. “These are readiness skills you may take for granted that a child entering first grade should know but that simply may not have been taught in some homes. With testing ... and benchmarking in firstgrade, those readiness skills are being taught hurriedly.”

(Continued on page 26) Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009 25

Meet a Guardian of Pre-K Quality Continued from page 25

And there are other benefits to a strong head start in education through quality pre-K and kindergarten programs, Colvin said.

“It gives them that love for school and sets that routine they’ll need to get through six hours of school,” she said.

That “love for education” is inherent in Autrey. She lights up when talking about the pre-kindergarten program, using her hands to illustrate her points. She talks about her immense appreciation of the people who have helped get the program off the ground, of the teachers who devote themselves to preK and even the groups of adults who are so dedicated to getting a pre-K program in their own communities. It’s easy to think that she remembers each of their faces and names better than she does her own.

First Step to Learning Autrey has seen the rewards of the First Class Pre-K Program. Visiting one site, she said she saw a little boy in the house play center. Knowing that interaction is important with children so young, she sat at the kitchen table and groaned, “Oh! I am so hungry! I’ve come all the way from Montgomery, Ala.” After the boy politely asked if she would like some breakfast, she said, “Oh, yes, please!” The boy began to cook a hearty, imaginary meal for her and asked, “Would you like that to-go?”

Later, she saw the boy in the writing center and asked him what he was going to do there. He replied he was making business cards for her.

“He was using his language from what I call ‘real-life experiences’ to express his own ideas,” Autrey said. “Many children never have that chance. Nobody ever asks them to express themselves.”

On another occasion, boys were working in the block area.

“They had built this real tall stack of blocks, but it was unusually shaped and had three little teeny-tiny blocks on top.

I couldn’t figure out what they were doing,” Autrey said, so she asked them. The boys replied it was a water fountain and asked if she would like a drink.

“It’s all play, but it has a lot of meaning for them,” she said.

“The three boys worked cooperatively to come up with a design for a water fountain. All that thinking, that planning ahead, projecting things, is vitally important.”

Autrey never seems to sit perfectly still, and she never seems to be off-duty. Even when she isn’t on-site or doing paperwork, she is looking for articles and information to pass on to teachers.

“I think I’m getting ready for my rocker soon,” she jokes. The thought doesn’t linger.

She’s far too busy.

■ Eve Harmon is AASB's legislative intern and a graduate of Auburn University. She may be reached at Legintern@ alabamaschoolboards.org.

26 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009

FIRST CLASS PRE-K SITES BY TYPE Public Schools............................................................ 87 Child Care................................................................... 52 Head Start ................................................................. 37 College/University Lab Schools.................................... 6 Faith-based.................................................................. 5 Military........................................................................ 1

DID YOU KNOW? Alabama has 16 First Class Pre-K program technical assistants who serve 188 sites in 63 counties and more than 111 cities.

The technical assistants are charged with keeping pre-K sites up to National Institute for Early Education Research standards.

Here’s what they look for when visiting a site: ▲ High-quality instruction ▲ Interactions between the children and teachers ▲ A classroom set-up conducive to learning ▲ The use of materials in developmentally appropriate ways

“We are under a microscope — Alabama’s pre-K program.

We’re designated No. 1, the best in the nation, so if any state wants to find out what we’re doing, we’ve got to be able to show them.”

— Jackie Autrey, Alabama First Class Pre-K Program technical assistant

46 % 28 % 20 % 3% 3% 0.5 %

Face to Face: Rep. Greg Canfield Continued from page 15

until the Legislature gets to a point where we’re budgeting more responsibly, we’re not going to be able to continue to grow these initiatives and improve education as we want to.

On the local level, I think it depends upon what community you’re in. I know in the communities that I’m in, I would give my local school boards an A because they are firmly committed to education. But, there are other areas around the state that struggle more economically, so it’s more difficult for them to provide local support. ▲ Roberts: Is the role of public K-12 changing, and is the role of school boards changing along the same lines? ◆ Canfield: I’ll deal with the last half of the question first. The role of local school boards has changed due to the legal environment that we’re in here in Alabama, and that’s an unfortunate thing because all too often we see local school boards having to be engaged in litigation that is both frivolous and unnecessary. That takes away from their focus. They should be able to focus on planning strategically to do things to move their local systems forward.

As it relates to K-12, I’m not so sure I believe the focus of K-12 has changed much over history. I see K-12 as being the foundation of educating children across our country. That goal has always been the same and has never changed. Perhaps, the environment of teaching in K-12 has changed, but I don’t think the role has changed. ▲ Roberts: What do you hope to accomplish during your tenure as a state legislator? ◆ Canfield: Well, the Rolling Reserve Budget Act that I’ve introduced this session represents the reason why I believe I’m a legislator in the state of Alabama. I have always believed we are called to serve. That call to service requires that we do and act on that responsibility that we have and honor the trust that the people who elect us have given us. We must try to seek every opportunity possible to make a positive difference in the state.

In this case, I’ve always found public education to be one of the more important aspects of our state government, because public education in Alabama represents the single best opportunity that we have to move our state forward economically and to provide the environment that is needed in order to attract new talent into the state, as well as more importantly, keeping our talent here in the state. If I can make a difference in terms of how we responsibly pay for education and help it grow without having systematic setbacks from proration, I think that would be a nice achievement. And, I would be proud of that. ▲ Roberts: Is there a message you would like to send to local school board members across the state? ◆ Canfield: Yes. The message I would send to local school boards is that there is hope. There is hope that there is a bet-

ter way to provide for the funding and underlying budget mechanisms for education across the state — one in which they don’t have to live through the uncertainty of when the next series of prorations is going to be. We’ve got the resources to do it. It just requires the right people in the Legislature getting the opportunity for the case to be made to the Legislature. ▲ Roberts: What is it local school boards can do to help make your job easier and further your cause? ◆ Canfield: I’ve always believed strongly that change occurs at the grassroots level, and that probably represents the one thing that local school boards could do most to help me in the effort of getting the Rolling Reserve Budget Act passed. They should continue to make contact with their local representatives and senators across Alabama and let them know how important this bill is to them.

■

Help.

Q. A.

Money is tight, but I still feel it’s important for our board members to continue their School Board Member Academy training. Any ideas on how to emphasize the value?

Investing in quality board training is necessary to develop and maintain good governance practices.

Boards also need the skill and background to effectively make such major decisions as releasing personnel, disputing contracts and determining fiscal policy. Certainly, less revenue means more scrutiny of travel and training costs, so be ready to: • Note your board’s existing commitment to board development.

• Explain that board members are community representatives who come from a variety of backgrounds and have varying levels of expertise in education leadership and board governance.

There are few “built-in” opportunities for board development — though the opposite is true for education professionals.

• Identify skills you hope to gain and share that information with the board.

• Afterward, ask for time on the board agenda to present lessons learned for the full board’s benefit.

• Publicly discuss why the training was valuable and if there was a legal or otherwise reasonable obligation to participate in the academy event.

—Denise L. Berkhalter Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009 27

&

People Schools AASB Welcomes Your News Send news of appointments, elections, promotions, retirements, honors, births and deaths to Attn: People & Schools Editor, Alabama School Boards Magazine, P.O. Drawer 230488, Montgomery, AL 36123-0488 or info@AlabamaSchoolBoards.org.

Gary Warren

Gary Warren

AASB welcomes the newest member of the state Board of Education, Gary Warren of state board District 7. He has experience as a bus driver, school administrator and classroom teacher. Warren, who resides in Haleyville, began his term this year and serves until 2013. His district includes Colbert, Fayette, Franklin, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Marion, Tuscaloosa, Walker and Winston counties.

Dr. Mary J. Caylor

Dr. Mary Jane Caylor

AASB congratulates state Board of Education President Pro Tem Dr. Mary Jane Caylor, who was selected to serve as liaison to the Alabama Association of School Boards. She replaces Sandra Ray, who didn’t seek reelection to the state board. Caylor is an ex-officio member of the 14-member AASB Board of Directors that governs the association and directs its activities as determined by the membership. The retired Huntsville city schools superintendent has represented state board District 8 for 13 years.

Dr. Suzanne Freeman

Dr. Suzanne Freeman

Congratulations to Dr. Suzanne Freeman, superintendent of Trussville city schools, who is the Alabama Superintendent of the Year. She was one of four finalists for the National Superintendent of the Year award given by the American Association of School Administrators. She is the first finalist from Alabama to compete for the top honor.

Diane Long Blocker

Diane Long Blocker

Congratulations to Diane Blocker, Alabama’s 2008 Preserve America Secondary History Teacher of the Year.

She teaches American and world history at Huntsville High School in Huntsville. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History sponsors the annual award.

Eve Harmon

Eve Harmon

AASB welcomed Eve Harmon aboard this year as its legislative intern and to assist with the association’s PEW Charitable Trusts pre-kindergarten grant. Harmon graduated cum laude from Auburn University with a degree in English literature. She tutors at Dannelly Elementary School in Montgomery County. She has been writing for several years and has been published in the Auburn Circle. She said she enjoys working with AASB to help Alabama’s children.

28 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009

OF NOTE ■

Congratulations to AASB Immediate Past President Jim Methvin of the Alabama School of Fine Arts board.

He was recently elected as vice president for Awards and Jim Methvin Recognitions for the University of Montevallo National Alumni Association.

Methvin has served on the UM Alumni Association Board for four years.

■

Boaz Middle School recently landed in the national spotlight thanks to principal Ray Landers, who was named 2009 Middle School Principal of the Year.

The National Association of Secondary School Principals and MetLife will present a $3,500 grant to Landers to benefit school programs and students. Despite a high number of disadvantaged students, the school is top-ranked for its state writing assessment scores and has closed the reading and math gap between low-income students and students not living in poverty.

■ Jacinth Greywoode, LAMP’s 2008 valedictorian, is a shining example of the success of Montgomery’s Henry A. Loveless Academic Magnet academic program. Greywood Jacinth Greywoode earned several prestigious academic distinctions including U.S. Presidential Scholar, National Merit and National Achievement Finalists, along with several scholarships. He was accepted into Princeton.

SYMPATHIES ■

■

Sympathies to the family of the late Dr. Larry D. Morris, who served as pastor of Alpine Baptist and as a Talladega County school board member for more than 30 years.

Condolences to the family of James Mitford Spinks, a retired dentist and former member of the Thomasville school board from 1962 to 1972, who died in January at age 87.

He was a World War II veteran.

Loveless Named to Newsweek’s Top U.S. High Schools List for the Fourth Time Submitted by Mona Davis, public information manager for Montgomery public schools Henry A. Loveless Academic Magnet Progam in the Montgomery County school system has been recognized as the 56th best high school in the nation for 2008 according to Newsweek magazine. The publication ranks the top 1,200 American high schools. This is the fourth straight year Loveless has been recognized as being in the top five percent of all U.S. high schools, and the first time it has broken the top 100.

“It is wonderful to be recognized nationwide for something we’ve known all along,” said Montgomery County Superintendent John Dilworth. “Loveless is a special place, and with the A+ Education Partnership grant and additional emphasis placed on advanced placement classes and exams, I am sure we will continue to see Loveless excel in the future.”

Loveless Principal Elizabeth Norman agrees. “I am pleased our school is listed on Newsweek’s list of the top high schools in America. Our ranking is a testament not only to the number of students who take and are prepared to take AP exams, but also to the quality of teaching and learning that takes place at the school,” Norman said.

The 2008 public school ranking was based on the number of advanced placement, international baccalaureate and/or Cambridge tests taken in 2007 by all students at a school, divided by the number of graduating seniors.

College preparatory courses, such as this advanced placement English class, are a hallmark of the Loveless academic program.

Loveless had a record number of National Merit and National Achievement semifinalists during 2008-2009. Of the 20 students selected, 14 were National Merit semifinalists and six were National Achievement semifinalists.

Ten Alabama high schools were named in the list. None were ranked higher. In addition, LAMP was among two Montgomery County high schools named among the state’s top five performers according to a recent edition of Business Week magazine.

LAMP was ranked as the state’s Best Overall Academic Performer, and Booker T. Washington Magnet High School was named the Great School’s Parent Choice Public High School for the state. Both schools received 10 out of 10 points.

Great Schools also gave perfect “10” scores to six other Montgomery schools. They are: Bear Exploration Center, Floyd Middle School, Forest Avenue Elementary, MacMillan International Academy, Brewbaker Technology Magnet High School and Baldwin Arts and Academics Magnet School.

The achievement is one of several prestigious state and national recognitions Montgomery Public Schools have received this school year.

Brewbaker Technology Magnet, Booker T. Washington Magnet and George Washington Carver high schools were all recently recognized by U.S. News and World Report as among the top high schools in America.

T.S. Morris Elementary teacher Stephanie Glover received the prestigious Milken Foundation’s National Educator Award and $25,000, and Floyd Middle Magnet was named among the top 20 middle schools by the Southern Regional Education Board for its Making Middle Grades Work college preparatory ■ program.

Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009 29

Communication During Proration Continued from page 11

AT THE TABLE

stakeholders want to hear from the superintendent directly. In the business world, the old paradigm was for “corporate” to write the memo, send it down to the supervisors and let them relay the information to their employees. That strategy does not work anymore in business or education for several reasons. First, it takes too long — our employees are already blogging and e-mailing and forming their own conclusions. They are ahead of us! Secondly, even when it is relayed by the principal or supervisor, the information is secondhand smoke. Whenever possible, a superintendent should give principals a “heads up” that a message is about to be relayed to all employees, but the actual word needs to come directly from the top. Further, principals should also be equipped to answer employee-specific questions, namely, “How does this affect me and my job specifically?” In other words, broad information should come from the top while employee and school specific information should be relayed by the principal, both as quickly as possible. Board members play a key role in connecting with their communities. The message board members share, however, must be the same as those relayed by the superintendent and principals. If it is not, the crisis response will come off as chaos, and the communication will not be credible.

By Eve Harmon

Pam Doyle School Board Muscle Shoals Board of Education Hometown Muscle Shoals A Board Member for Nine years Books at Bedside One of them is The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie and another is Left Behind by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins

CUSTOMIZED!

Inspiration Giving all children the opportunity for a quality education, those who want that opportunity. Some just don’t want that, do they? If so, then we have to create that passion in their minds, that interest.

Our audiences do not want general information. Each stakeholder type expects information tailored specifically to its needs. The most popular news format this day and age isn’t printed on paper but assembled via the Internet using software that builds a customized electronic “newspaper” based upon reader preferences. The post-Katrina FEMA response reminds us just how important it is that all the key players are united with response and communication. No matter how solid the working relationship, it is easy for the superintendent, board, key staff and principals to stray from the primary message.

Anything less than unity will be readily detected and rejected by our stakeholders, and most assuredly, it will be exaggerated by the media.

This is the reason it is so important to have a communications professional on staff to coordinate the information effort. Ask FEMA’s Michael Brown, discord is the quickest way for leaders to lose control and one’s job. The public will absolutely not tolerate confusion and discord during a crisis.

In summary, we have our work cut out for us in these perilous times. When it comes to leadership, our stakeholders expect speedy, straight-shooting communications, directly from the top and customized messages tailored to specific needs.

The good news is, when relationships are built, understanding occurs and expectations can be managed.

■

Motto as a Board Member Children first.

Walter Mitty Fantasy Parasail... I’d like to fly a helicopter.

Advice to New Board Members Slow to judge, quick to listen and jump in feet first as a team player.

Greatest Accomplishment as a Board Member Pulling together team spirit and working together as a team.

Pet Peeve as a Board Member Proration and micromanagers.

Terry Wilhite is the communications director for Baldwin County Public Schools and is a former school board member. He has a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism and political science from Troy University, advanced management training from the University of Nebraska and more than 25 years experience in communications.

Reason I Like Being an AASB Member Leader to Leader and the lobbying that allows us to work with legislators.

My Epitaph We miss her! She was happy.

30 Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009

■

Alabama Association of School Boards

Professional Sustaining Members

A Partnership That Works!

AASB appreciates these professional members for supporting association activities and you all year long.

• • • • • •

Aho Architects LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hoover, AL Alabama Beverage Association . . . . . Montgomery, AL Alabama Gas Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . Birmingham, AL Alabama Supercomputer Authority . Montgomery, AL Almon Associates Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tuscaloosa, AL American Fidelity Assurance . . . . . . . . Birmingham, AL

• • • •

Barganier Davis Sims Architects . . . . . Montgomery, AL BlueCross BlueShield of Alabama . . . Birmingham, AL Christian Testing Labs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Montgomery, AL Council of Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Birmingham, AL Coca-Cola Bottlers Inc.

205/313-6345

• KPS Group Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Birmingham, AL

205/458-3245

334/263-6621

• Krebs Architecture & Engineering . . . Birmingham, AL

205/987-7411

205/326-8425

• Lathan Associates Architects PC . . . . . Birmingham, AL

205/879-9110

334/832-2405

• M.B. Kahn Construction Co. Inc. . . . . . . . Huntsville, AL

803/360-3527

205/349-2100

• McKee & Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Montgomery, AL Architecture and Design

334/834-9933

334/834-2038

• Osborn & Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Huntsville, AL

256/534-3516

205/220-5771

• Payne & Associates Architects . . . . . . . Montgomery, AL

334/272-2180

334/264-4422

• PH&J Architects Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Montgomery, AL

334/265-8781

205/841-2653

• PPM Consultants Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Spanish Fort, AL

251/990-9025

205/987-0950 or 800/365-3714

• Rosser International Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . Montgomery, AL

334/244-7484

• Davis Architects Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Birmingham, AL

205/322-7482

• SACS CASI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Montgomery, AL

334/244-3163

• Fibrebond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Minden, LA

318/377-1030

• Sain Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Birmingham, AL

205/940-6420

• Gallet & Associates Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Birmingham, AL

205/942-1289

• Seay, Seay & Litchfield P.C. . . . . . . . . . . Montgomery, AL

334/263-5162

• Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood Inc. . . . Montgomery,AL Birmingham, AL Mobile, AL Huntsville, AL

334/271-3200 205/879-4462 251/460-4006 256/533-1484

• Sherlock Smith & Adams Inc. . . . . . . Montgomery, AL

334/263-6481

• Siemens Building Technologies Inc. . . . . . .Pelham, AL

205/403-8388

• SKT Architects P.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Huntsville, AL

256/533-6617

• Hoar Program Management . . . . . . . . . Birmingham, AL

205/803-2121

• Southland International Bus Sales . . Birmingham, AL

888/844-1821

• Interquest Detection Canines . . . . . . . . . Demopolis, AL

334/341-7763

334/263-6400

• Jenkins Munroe Jenkins Architecture . . Anniston, AL

256/820-6844

• JH Partners Architecture/Interiors . . . . . Huntsville, AL

256/539-0764

• 2WR/Holmes Wilkins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Montgomery, AL Architects Inc. • TAC Energy Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Birmingham, AL

• Kelly Services Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dothan, AL

334/673-7136

• Transportation South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pelham, AL

205/663-2287

• KHAFRA Engineers, Architects . . . . . . . Birmingham, AL and Construction Managers

205/252-8353

• Evan Terry Associates PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . Birmingham, AL

205/972-9100

• Volkert & Associates Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mobile, AL

251/432-6735

205/970-6132

Alabama School Boards • Spring 2009 31

Alabama Association of School Boards Post Office Drawer 230488 Montgomery, Alabama 36123-0488

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Montgomery, AL Permit No. 34