Spring 2020

A PUBLICATION OF THE NEBRASKA COUNCIL OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS

I LOVE PUBLIC SCHOOLS DAY A Growing Tradition

Spring 2020

www.NCSA.org

C ONTENTS

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I Love Public Schools Day: A Growing Tradition

BY TYLER DAHLGREN

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Innovative Teacher Scholars Academy

BY TYLER DAHLGREN

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Emergency Operations Planning: Why?

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Self-Care is Critical for School Administrators

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11 Sponsorship

BY SCOTT STEMPER, CESAR TORRES, & JOLENE PALMER

BY TAMMY SCHAEFER

Unfinished Business

NCSA EXECUTIVE BOARD 2019-2020

Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Terry Houlton Vice Chair. . . . . . . . . Sheri Chittenden Immed. Past Chair. . Dr. John Skretta NASA Representatives President. . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Mark Adler President-Elect. . . . . Dr. Jeff Edwards Past President. . . . . . . . . . Greg Sjuts NASBO Representatives President. . . . . . . . . . . . Erin Heineman President-Elect. . . . . . . . . . . Pam Roth Past President. . . Jason Buckingham NAESP Representatives President. . . . . . . . . . Tammy Schaefer President-Elect. . . . . . . . . Sara Paider Past President. . . . . . . . Casey Slama NASES Representatives President. . . . . . . . . . . . . Laura Barrett President-Elect. . . Lona Nelson-Milks Past President. . . . Dr. Terry Houlton

BY ROSS RICENBAW

NSASSP Representatives President. . . . . . . . . . . Ross Ricenbaw President-Elect. . . . . . Brad Jacobsen Past President. . . . . Sheri Chittenden

BC Calendar of Events

NARSA Representative President. . . . . . . . . Dr. Dallas Watkins

NCSA MISSION

The mission of the Nebraska Council of School Administrators (NCSA) is to be an effective leader for quality education and to enhance the professionalism of its members. NCSA Today is a benefit of membership in the Nebraska Council of School Administrators, 455 South 11th Street, Suite A, Lincoln, NE 68508.

Telephone 402.476.8055 or 800.793.6272. Fax 402.476.7740.

Annual membership dues are $335 (active members), $125 (associate members), or $50 (student members). NCSA Today is published quarterly. Send address changes to NCSA, Membership, 455 South 11th Street, Suite A, Lincoln, NE 68508. Copyright ©2019 by NCSA. All rights reserved.

NASBO State Convention is going V I R T U A L !

April 15-17, 2020

Registration now open!

Visit ncsa.org for schedule, topics, and to register.

NCSA STAFF Dr. Michael S. Dulaney Executive Director/Lobbyist Dr. Dan E. Ernst Associate Executive Director/Lobbyist Amy Poggenklass Finance and Membership Director Megan Hillabrand Professional Development Manager Tyler Dahlgren Communications Specialist Carol Young Executive Administrative Assistant Connie Hilker Administrative Assistant The opinions expressed in NCSA Today or by its authors do not necessarily reflect the positions of the Nebraska Council of School Administrators.

SPRING 2020 NCSA TODAY

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P ROMOT I N G O U R SC H O O L S

I Love Public Schools Day: A Growing Tradition

By TYLER DAHLGREN, NCSA Communications Specialist By the time NCSA’s Executive Board sat down for its winter meeting on the morning of Jan. 29, #ilovepublicschools had already been the top Twitter trend in the state for well over an hour.

It was the fifth-annual I Love Public Schools Day, and Nebraskans were just getting started. Tweets came pouring in by the thousands, messages of pride, support and celebration from school districts and communities, both big and small, near and far. By the time lunch was served, the hashtag, which has become a Twitter staple on any given day inside the state’s borders, was trending nationally, at one point climbing all the way to No. 4.

“People across the state are all coming together to celebrate this day, and it’s awesome,” said Brittany Mascio, Director of Marketing and Impact for I Loves Public School, the filmmakers and storytellers who, a handful of years ago, spearheaded what has become a statewide holiday. “It’s very surreal, in some ways, if you think how this project started and how it’s grown in a relatively short amount of time.”

The message, in itself, has always been powerful. Mascio came to that realization the first time she saw one of their shirts out in public. Now, they’re everywhere. The shirts come in every color and can be personalized for different school districts. No matter the color, the heart that puts the love in “I Love Public Schools” is always red.

The shirts are iconic. The holiday is getting there, too. From the first day of school, districts have it on their calendar. It’s a day to celebrate innovation and success. Triumphs and relationships. The present and the future.

“To think that kids are going to grow up with this idea that their teachers are proud of them is probably the most fulfilling thing about this day and this movement,” said Mascio. “I think about these kids who are in class right now, and they know that their teachers do something special on this particular day. They make a big deal of why they’re in school and why they’re there to learn, and they celebrate.”

From the start, I Love Public Schools has encouraged educators to share their stories online. The shirts, in many cases, have served as a starter to very important conversations. How that evolved into a holiday was both intentional and organic.

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“We wanted to give a very specific call to action, carve out a specific period of time and give some simple suggestions on how to participate,” Mascio said of the motivation behind the big day. “We asked ourselves, ‘What would happen if we proclaimed it to be a holiday and how would that make people feel different about doing this on one day with all the people across the state of Nebraska?’”

Flash-forward to 2020. The team at I Love Public Schools did indeed proclaim I Love Public Schools Day a holiday, and the education community has provided an overwhelming answer to that question.

“It’s incredible.”

Schools aren’t sitting alone on-board. There was more support from the community this year than ever before. I Love Public Schools Day isn’t just ingrained into the fabric of Nebraska’s educational calendar. It’s spread far beyond.

“We did outreach to communities across the state, to simply encourage them to honor the day, get involved and find some way to connect with the schools in their area,” Mascio explained.

Once again, the team was surprised by the response.

“We had tons of small businesses honoring our teachers and our students, and even just saying thank you to our educators in different and creative ways,” said Mascio. “I think that’s reflective of the power of this holiday. It’s part of the fabric of what a school year looks like now. We have so much support from our choir in so many ways, that our communities have listened and joined in. That is so powerful.”

From school therapy dogs donning those famous shirts to the Woodmen tower in downtown Omaha shining red to a

The NCSA Executive Board shows their support on January 29.

PRO MO T ING O UR S CHOOL S hilarious tweet from the Joslyn Art Museum, it was difficult for the team at I Love Public Schools to select only a few favorite highlights from the day.

“Personally, I love seeing students interview their teachers and talk about why they love their school,” Mascio said.

“From what we do as storytellers and as filmmakers, it’s so great to see the student videos. I love those.”

For I Love Public Schools, the day starts before the sun comes up, around 5:30 a.m., because, as Mascio explained, teachers tend to wake up really early. Mascio and Social Media Manager Kortney Kaisershot constantly monitor the tweets and archive their favorites while simultaneously telling the story from a widened scope about what’s happening in Nebraska. This year, the team took a quick break for dinner around 8:30 and continued to observe trends and patterns deep into the evening.

“There’s been times where I sit on the floor in my apartment with my laptop until midnight,” Mascio said. “People are still going strong and I want to honor them and reply to them, because I’m grateful they participated.”

The tweets never really stop. January 30th, and throughout the entire year, they continue to pour in.

The I Love Public Schools team celebrates #ilovepublicschools.

“What a great thing for a kid to grow up and reflect on their experience in elementary school, middle school and high school and have that memory of ‘Yeah, my teachers wore these shirts. They told people they were proud to be in a public school and proud to be my teacher.’”

With everything moving so fast, the day begins and ends in a flash. But those memories? They live on in the message. ■

NASES Announces Outstanding New Special Education Supervisor of the Year Presented annually to a member in their first three years administering special education programs and/or services in Nebraska, the Nebraska Association of Special Education Supervisors Outstanding New Special Education Supervisor of the Year for 2020 was recently presented to Gretna’s Paul Duin.

Duin, whose career in education has spanned 33 years, has been with Gretna Public Schools since 2007 and assumed his current position as Assistant Special Education Director in 2017. Deborah Siemers, Special Education Director at GPS, said Duin displays values every day in both his professional and personal life that make him a worthy recipient of the award.

“No matter what needs to be done, Paul takes on the task with complete dedication and commitment,” Siemers wrote. “People trust Paul and his integrity is never questioned due to his track record of honest work.”

Duin has been a member of the International Dyslexia Association since 2009 and, according to Siemers, has a “heart for teaching reading.”

“He has taken the lead at GPS to provide teachers the training needed to help students grow using research-based interventions,” she added. “His passion and love for teaching reading continues to inspire teachers across the district on a daily basis.”

Congratulations to Paul Duin, the 2020 NASES Outstanding Special Education Supervisor of the Year! ■

SPRING 2020 NCSA TODAY

5

PR OG RA M S PO TL I G H T

Innovative Teacher Scholars Academy

By TYLER DAHLGREN, NCSA Communications Specialist The story of how UNL’s Teacher Scholars Academy came to be starts with an important piece of perspective.

into the state’s communities as well-rounded educators, and, even further, well-rounded human beings.

“First of all, nobody gets to be anything without a teacher, right?”

“The academy fits in line with our institution’s mission, which is to serve the people of our state” said Foreman, himself a Gering High School graduate. “We do a lot of research in our schools, and we know a lot of what’s happening. We’re producing really fabulous teachers. For us to take the next step, and really lead that initiative, is so important because we want to serve our state and we want to build those relationships.”

Dr. Sherri Jones

Sitting in a classroom on the second floor of the university’s Teachers College Hall, this is how Dr. Sherri Jones prefaces our discussion. Through a window behind the Dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences, the sun starts to sink closer to Memorial Stadium as herds of college students, some future educators themselves, enjoy an unusually mild February day.

“The originating idea behind the Teacher Scholars Academy was to help build the teaching workforce in the state of Nebraska, and to make sure that students with great dispositions to be teachers could have an opportunity to do so,” said Dr. Jones, who began her tenure as Dean on July 1, 2019, near the same time the academy was launched. “You have to have teachers. It’s a very important profession that impacts children, their futures, and the world, for that matter.

It impacts the future. We want to impact the future.”

Through a generous donation from the William and Ruth Scott Family Foundation, UNL’s Teacher Scholars Academy (there are also academies at UNO and UNK) started the 201920 academic year with a cohort of 40 recent high school graduates. The four-year-model is innovative and specific, designed to grow high-quality teachers and leaders.

Throughout their first year in the academy, scholars will learn individual leadership. Year Two centers on community leadership. Scholars focus on mentorship in Year Three, and are sent out into communities and schools across the state in their fourth and final year in the academy.

Year 1: Self-Empowerment Year 2: Community-Empowerment Year 3: Mentor and Service-Empowerment Year 4: Professional-Empowerment “They are having all of these experiences, practicum and student teaching, in Nebraska schools, so they are really finding out, first-hand, what Nebraska has to offer,” said Dr. Jones.

“They are taking part in community service and they are engaged with communities throughout their training.”

Along the way, the students build a network of colleagues.

Scholars all live on the same floor of the residence hall. They are provided opportunities to engage with UNL faculty and become a part of a smaller community on a large campus.

“In Nebraska, we want communities to have strong schools, and at UNL, we want to be a part of preparing the teaching workforce for tomorrow’s communities,” said Dr. Jones. “We want to play a role in making sure that our schools have all the teachers they need, especially in shortage areas.”

“When a student gets on a college campus, especially at a Big Ten institution like this, they can often feel lost at times,” Foreman, who received his Bachelor’s in Music from UNL before going on to obtain a Master’s in Student Affairs Administration from Michigan State University, said. “The scholars aren’t only meeting with each other early on, they’re really learning how to navigate relationships with each other in a highly-engaging way.”

In terms of the teacher pipeline, Academy Coordinator Braden Foreman said UNL wants to draw students from all corners of the state to learn at the institution before sending them back

In addition to a full-tuition scholarship, Teacher Academy Scholars receive $8,000 stipends for other costs and a number of invaluable opportunities. The application process is thorough and includes an essay (responding to a prompt), a video of themselves describing why they’re pursuing teach-

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NCSA TODAY SPRING 2020

Braden Foreman

PRO GRA M S POTL I G HT

ing and a standard resume. Faculty developed a rubric which analyzes applications in terms of critical thinking, skills, qualities, and personality.

“We’re looking at the full individual and how they’re able to build connections with others,” said Foreman. “That is one of the biggest things I want to see in a future candidate, how they take their strengths and abilities and communicate those with others? How do you bring other people along with you and how do you understand the role of community in the education?”

School, after all, isn’t just a four-wall institution. Teachers don’t just punch the clock, give a lesson and leave.

“Teaching is something you engage with daily and even outside of the classroom,” said Foreman. “So we’re looking for people who are able to really understand that, how social systems work together. It’s a big ask for some of these future teachers who are 18-years-old, but we are looking for candidates that are really able to understand people and how to interact with the world.”

"The originating idea behind the Teacher Scholars Academy was to help build the teaching workforce in the state of Nebraska, and to make sure that students with great dispositions to be teachers could have an opportunity to do so."

— Dr. Sherri Jones, Dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences at UNL

School districts play an important role in the future of the Teacher Scholars Academy, too, especially in identifying prospective teachers and encouraging them to apply to the program. The process has quickly become a group effort.

“When I think about the future for our scholars, I would like them all to become teachers in Nebraska schools,” said Dr. Jones. “A situation where candidates become scholars and then they go right back to their home schools for their experiences.”

A grow-your-own cycle, if you will.

“We feel honored as a college to be entrusted with this opportunity, and we want to make the full use of the gifts the donors have provided to support this program and put out really top-notch graduates.”

What can our readers, school administrators, do to educate their kids about the Teacher Scholars Academy?

Dr. Sherri Jones: Make sure their high school students, from freshmen up, know about this program. They can reach out to us at the College of Education and Human Sciences and engage us in having these kinds of conversations with their high school students that help them realize they can come to UNL, be successful and have an opportunity to go back to their communities as teachers. They can also keep those doors open for the graduates of the Teacher Scholars Academy to come back and fill teaching roles. Welcome those students.

Braden Foreman: If there are unique opportunities that your school district needs or has a need to fill, we would love to know so that we can help point our scholars in that direction.

One of the things we’ve done is ask our scholars what experiences they’re looking for. If there are administrators in school districts that have a need, I would love to help partner with getting our students a learning experience or exposure to an opportunity where they can make a connection in a school district that they might not have in the past. ■

SPRING 2020 NCSA TODAY

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SCHOOL S A FETY & SEC U R I TY

Emergency Operations Planning: Why?

By SCOTT STEMPER, CESAR TORRES, & JOLENE PALMER, NDE School Safety Section Public safety is a topic in the forefront of national and international news. We bear witness to these events every day and wonder how these incidents continue to happen. Whether they are man-made, nature-made, or just critical incidents, how can these terrible and unspeakable events possibly happen?

We often hear people say, “We know everyone here,” “We are a small town where those things don’t happen,” and “It won’t happen here”. Yet after nearly every incident, interviews with witnesses of these tragic events state, “I never thought this would ever happen here.” We need to know, IT can happen anywhere and we must do what it takes to prevent IT. Although our first thought about planning and drilling goes directly toward school killers, the same hesitancy to plan also can transfer to nature-made events like tornadoes, pandemics, and floods. IT can happen anywhere. It is always better to be prepared and never need it, than need it and not be prepared.

With these tragedies happening across America, each incident allows us to learn more about how these events could have been prevented or mitigated and how a well-coordinated response could have saved lives. It most often lets us know just how vulnerable we can be and the improvements that need to be made. The hope is that these heart breaking incidents kick-start the conversation of planning and preparation and begin thinking about our response BEFORE, DURING, and AFTER an event.

This planning will help schools and communities lessen the impact of these unfortunate events. Effective planning involves a holistic approach in bringing together local community agencies such as law enforcement, emergency managers, emergency medical services (EMS), and school districts to discuss and plan for these hazards and vulnerabilities. Together these agencies bring their own expertise, resources, and leadership to create comprehensive plans and specific, well-coordinated responses to protect their students, staff, school, and community.

The Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) has partnered with Educational Service Units across the state to provide two-day Emergency Operations Planning (School Safety Plan) trainings for every Nebraska School District over the next several years. The purpose of these trainings are to bring schools together with local agencies to develop, redesign, and implement Emergency Operations Plans. It is a

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critical partnership between schools and their community.

All school districts have their unique community, resources, and environmental landscapes. These trainings will be community specific, taking into account each district’s needs, resources, and environment in an effort to create efficient and effective plans to keep everyone safe. School safety is an important part in creating an environment where students, teachers, parents, and all other investors in education feel safe and are kept safe. It sets the stage for an environment conducive to learning so that students may develop emotionally, socially, and educationally.

The approach for the updating of each school’s EOP is based on federal guidelines for High Quality Emergency Operations Plans for Schools. The guidelines are a result of a collaboration between six federal agencies (i.e. The Department of Homeland Security, The Federal Emergency Management Agency, The National Incident Management System, The US Department of Education, The Department of Justice, and The Department of Health and Human Services) who have a vested interest in safety.

As Nebraska School Districts work toward the updating of their EOPs it raises awareness to potential threats, hazards, and vulnerabilities in each community and begins the conversation of how an entire community can prepare for these threats as they become more common not only nationally but also locally. Plans, more than just procedures need to be in place prior to any event to ensure the safety of all.

Effective planning includes a variety of hazards specific to each school community, such as weather both heat and cold, thunderstorms and blizzards, tornadoes, floods, flood debris, power outages, chemical spills, gas/water breaks, explosions near and far, wildfires, wildlife, pandemics epidemics, school killers, bombs, cyber threats, acts of targeted violence, human trafficking, auto/bus crashes, suicides, homicides, and the list goes on and on.

The design of the training is to help your school team identify the potential hazards and vulnerabilities and have a plan in place for the BEFORE, DURING, and AFTER an event and how your school should prevent, prepare, respond, and recover from each. All hazards put the physical and psychological wellbeing of students, staff, and school communities in a compromised position and possibly even in danger. Proper planning and efficient responses will allow for the minimiza-

A FFILIA T E LE A DERSHI P

Self-Care is Critical for School Administrators

By TAMMY SCHAEFER, NAESP President

Schaefer

As school administrators our main responsibility is to build relationships with students, staff and families, work on our craft, make sure the school is functioning properly, supporting staff instructionally, put out fires all day and the list goes on.

The question remains, what do we do for ourselves?

Networking

Who are your supporters? Who can you trust to discuss challenges and seek advice? Building these relationships is important for any school leader. Online is the easiest means due to crazy schedules, but finding the right one is key.

Voxer, walkie-talkie app, marco polo, twitter, facebook are some that you can either gain opportunities to ask questions and get a response from other administrators or find groups that may be dealing with similar challenges as yourself.

Read for Growth

School leaders need to commit to reading materials that give fresh perspectives on issues.

• Make a commitment to a regular practice of reading.

• Share your resources with staff.

• Share with your students.

Build Routines

Work stress means stress outside of work. Finding a way to manage work and responsibilities will help to stay focused and connected throughout the year. When was the last time you exercised? Read a book for pleasure? Went to the movies? Went shopping? Spent time with special friends? If you are not able to think of any recent memories, you may be in need of a self-care tune up.

Building time in your calendar to commit to your passions will be helpful. There are a number of school activities that may pull us out of balance, so you need to be intentional about our routines. Maintaining a proper routine which will provide opportunity to spend time with family and friends, engage in healthy activities and make time for other leisure activities.

Good health is essential to the ability to do our job and must be a priority.

Self-reflection

It is easy to lose sight in those dark moments of doubt where you question your choice to become a school leader, step outside the situation to see the bigger picture. Break down the challenge into achievable goals can ease things up. Every day, focusing on new goals and reflecting upon them will help to gain a new perspective on where you possibly were and where you are headed. Creating a sense of purpose for the day and gratitude for what can be accomplished.

Being Mindful

If you are able to incorporate simple mindful strategies in day-to-day activities, it may help alleviate daily stress. Handling stressful situations calmly with a positive attitude can make things easier. If you feel the tension rise, take a moment to move, breathe deeply, get fresh air and stretch.

Making sure physical response to stress doesn’t impact our emotional response to a situation is critical. At the moment we feel most challenged in our professional role, it’s important to pause and remember the value of caring for ourselves as well as our students.

Writing this article was difficult for me. It is easy for me, personally, to tell another colleague these things, but to actually practice what I believe I need to be intentional. I am still learning daily about balancing my professional career vs. my personal life, but I am willing to set small goals, because keeping healthy and being present are key. ■

Emergency Operations Planning: Why? (continued from page 8) tion of the magnitude of an event and most likely will save lives. The goal is that no school will have to face any of these hazards, but the reality is that many schools in Nebraska

have already had to respond to a number of these hazards.

IT can happen anywhere. It is always better to be prepared and never need it, than need it and not be prepared. ■

SPRING 2020 NCSA TODAY

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AF F I LI A T E L EAD ER S H I P

Unfinished Business

By ROSS RICENBAW, NSASSP President

Unfinished business. For many reading this, that iconic phrase will likely stir images of our favorite team in the early nineties. Be it a missed fumble at the goal line, a phantom block in the back penalty, or ultimately a certain fullback scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns to bring a legendary coach Ricenbaw his first National Championship, the memories are permanently etched in our brains as Nebraskans. Being a sports fan, I’m a firm believer that athletics provide applicable, real-life lessons. And, when applied appropriately, the perspective gained allows for breakthroughs beyond the playing field.

Fast forward twenty-five years to the spring of 2018. At the time I was searching for a teacher to take over an industrial technology position for a person who had taught for over forty years. I knew finding the right fit for a candidate would be a challenge, but I believed we had the right person for the situation. He had been out of the classroom for a couple of years, coincidentally working for our legendary coach as part of the TeamMates program.

As a middle level minded educator, I believe it is imperative that our staff embrace the uniquely awkward stage of middle school students. In preparing to interview a candidate with more experience as a high school teacher, how could I gauge whether he would be the right fit for middle school students? I don’t recall all the questions we asked in our interview, but there was one that I believed would give us the perspective needed to make a decision.

The question was, “As you move from a high school teacher to a middle school teacher, can you be okay with not being able to see the finished product of a student?”

I don’t recall when this was asked during our interview or the exact words that were said. However, the answer must have been good, as we made the job offer and the teacher is still in our building. In addition, the question must have also been appropriate, as throughout his time in our building our teacher has reminded me on occasion of how thought-provoking that question was for him. I would agree that it is a good question for a middle school teacher, but upon more 10

NCSA TODAY SPRING 2020

"As a middle level minded educator, I believe it is imperative that our staff embrace the uniquely awkward stage of middle school students."

— Ross Ricenbaw, NSASSP President

thought, should I really be thinking about the answer in such a limited context?

Taking the question further, I truly wonder when and even if we ever see the finished product of our students. Should we ever consider them, “finished?” Some of my favorite moments in education are when I see former students after they return from their first year of college, or get their first jobs, and even seeing them have their own children. I have yet to be an administrator to a former student’s child, but I know my time is coming. Although it hasn’t happened to me yet, I’m also curious to know if I’ll ever hire a former student. There also exists the possibility that a former student becomes my boss someday. Hopefully, I was nice to them.

The more I ponder this as an educator, the more I realize that we should always be considering the long-term implications of our work with students. Along with that, shouldn’t we also consider ourselves “unfinished?” In its purest form, education is a human profession, both for students and adults. We are all constantly changing, and I believe within every educator is the desire to be a life-long learner.

With that in mind, back to my hiring question. Maybe it would be better to ask, “How do you handle being an unfinished product and in what ways will you grow as an educator to provide support and guidance to students?” It is true, we will never know the extent of the impact we will have on students.

We are, however, in control of and have the responsibility to make our impact as positive and inspiring as possible. I’m sure our legendary coach would say the same. ■

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL April 15 – 17

NASBO Virtual State Convention

April 23 – 24

NASES Spring Conference – ESU #13 – Scottsbluff

JULY July 29 – 31

Administrators' Days – Younes Conference Center – Kearney

*Region meeting dates can be found on the NCSA website.

NATIONAL CONVENTION DATES NASSP – July 7-9, 2020 – National Harbor, MD

AASA – February 15-17, 2021 – New Orleans, LA

ASCD – July 12-14, 2020 – Louisville, KY

ASCD – March 26-29, 2021 – Washington, DC

NASBO – October 2-5, 2020 – Nashville, TN