INSIGHT—Spring 2013

TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS PROFESSIONAL JOURNAL

SPRING 2013

INSIGHT Innovative chess curriculum teaches critical thinking skills to second and third graders in Brownwood and Spring ISDs. Page 10

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spring 2013 Volume 28

No. 1

Chess Program Photos Courtesy Brownwood ISD

Featured Articles Leadership Focus

Innovative Chess Curriculum Teaches Critical Thinking Skills

10

by Reece Blincoe and Dalane Bouillion Shares how Brownwood and Spring ISDs use innovative First Move chess curriculum as a learning tool to teach critical thinking skills and enhance intellectual development, as well as provide purposeful experiences through multiple challenges

Using Test Scores for Teacher Evaluation: Why Caution Is Necessary

15

by Nate Jensen, John Cronin, and Andy Hegedus Offers insight and guidance from NWEA on issues to think about before tests are used as an evaluation tool and to help ensure better choices are made about the role test scores play in a teacher’s evaluation

Insights on the Effects of the Texas Education Funding Crisis

25

by Virginia Resta, Leslie Huling, and Pat Yeargain Reports on research conducted by Texas State University in partnership with TASA, highlighting key findings related to the effects of school funding cuts and “pay for performance” initiatives

Secondary School Principals’ Hiring Priorities

31

by Katharine Bridget Bourke and Casey Graham Brown Examines the views of secondary principals across three districts of varying size on how successful the prioritizations of certification, references, and personality have been in their hiring practices of teachers

The “100 Percent Rule”

35

by Jackie Lain Provides an overview of Senate Bill 6 and a new service to assist superintendents in complying with their legal duty to certify 100 percent coverage of the TEKS in the district’s instructional materials

TSPRA Voice

Practicing the Power of Positive Publicity

37

by Johnston Farrow Emphasizes how negative publicity can be turned around with dedication, determination, and teamwork, as evidenced by the power of effective public relations in one Gulf Coast school district

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Officers

Departments TASA Spring Calendar President’s Message Executive Director’s View

5 7 9

Jeff N. Turner, President, Coppell ISD Darrell G. Floyd, President-Elect, Stephenville ISD Alton L. Frailey, Vice-President, Katy ISD Rod Townsend, Past President, Decatur ISD

Executive Committee Nabor Cortez, La Feria ISD, 1 Paul Clore, Gregory-Portland ISD, 2 Robert Mark Pool, El Campo ISD, 3 Trish Hanks, Friendswood ISD, 4 Shannon Holmes, Hardin-Jefferson ISD, 5 Eddie Coulson, College Station ISD, 6 J. Glenn Hambrick, Carthage ISD, 7 Diane Stegall, Chisum ISD, 8 Tom Woody, Vernon ISD, 9

TASA Headquarters Staff

Executive Director Associate Executive Director, Administrative Services

Assistant Executive Director, Communications & Information Systems

Johnny L. Veselka Paul L. Whitton, Jr.

Todd Williams, Kaufman ISD, 10 Wayne Rotan, Glen Rose ISD, 11 John Craft, Killeen ISD, 12 David Shanley, Johnson City ISD, 13 Shane Fields, Albany ISD, 14

Ann M. Halstead

Leigh Ann Glaze, San Saba ISD, 15 Robert McLain, Channing ISD, 16

Director of Communications Suzanne Marchman and Media Relations

Deanna Logan, ESC 17 Kevin Allen, Iraan-Sheffield ISD, 18

Design/Production

Anne Harpe

Edward Gabaldon, Clint ISD, 19

Editorial Coordinator

Karen Limb

Kevin Brown, Alamo Heights ISD, 20

INSIGHT is published quarterly by the Texas Association of School Administrators, 406 East 11th Street, Austin, Texas, 78701-2617. Subscription is included in TASA membership dues. © 2013 by TASA. All rights reserved.

TASA members may reprint articles in limited quantities for in-house educational use. Articles in INSIGHT are expressions of the author or interviewee and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of TASA. Advertisements do not necessarily carry the endorsement of the Texas Association of School Administrators. INSIGHT is printed by 360 Press Solutions, Cedar Park, Texas.

Mary Ann Whiteker, Hudson ISD, Legislative Committee Chair

At-Large Members Karen G. Rue, Northwest ISD, At-Large Martha Salazar-Zamora, Round Rock ISD, At-Large Sharon Shields, La Vega ISD, At-Large Nola Wellman, Eanes ISD, At-Large

Editorial Advisory Committee Jeff N. Turner, Coppell ISD, Chair Kevin Brown, Alamo Heights ISD John Craft, Killeen ISD Deanna Logan, Ralls ISD Karen G. Rue, Northwest ISD Martha Salazar-Zamora, Houston ISD Mary Ann Whiteker, Hudson ISD

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TASA Spring Calendar April 5–7

Texas Association of Suburban and Mid-Urban Schools (TAS/MUS) Spring Conference

10–11

Academy for Transformational Leadership, Region 5 Schlechty Center (Session 3 of 4)

10–11

First-time Superintendents’ Academy (Session 4)

Austin Marriott North, Round Rock

11–12

TASA Future-Ready Superintendents’ Leadership Institute (Session 3 of 5)

Omni Corpus Christi Hotel Bayfront Tower, Corpus Christi

18–19

Academy for Transformational Leadership Schlechty Center (Session 4 of 4)

30–May 3 Level I: Curriculum Management Audit Training

CMSi, Jan Jacob

Horseshoe Bay Marriott Resort, Marble Falls ESC Region 5, Beaumont

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Austin– University Area, Austin TASA Headquarters, Austin

May 7–8

Academy for Transformational Leadership, Region 6 (Session 4 of 4)

Schlechty Center

8–9

Texas S.M.A.R.T. School Transformation Academy QLD (Session 4 of 4)

ESC Region 6, Huntsville TASA Headquarters, Austin

June 13

Leadership in the Digital Learning Age, Region 1 (Session 3 of 3)

November Learning

ESC Region 1, Edinburg

19–20

Academy for Transformational Leadership, Region 5 (Session 4 of 4)

Schlechty Center

22–23

Leadership in the Digital Learning Age (Session 3 of 3)

November Learning

23–25

UT/TASA Summer Conference on Education

25–26

TASA Future-Ready Superintendents’ Leadership Institute (Session 4 of 5) TBD

ESC Region 5, Beaumont Westin Austin at the Domain, Austin

Chess Program Photos Courtesy Brownwood ISD

Austin Renaissance Hotel, Austin

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A Pivotal Point ith the 83rd Legislative Session well underway and the recent Midwinter Conference in our rearview mirror, I did something I ask my staff to do regularly— reflect. I find the practice both cathartic and rejuvenating—something from which we can all benefit as we sprint toward the finish line of another school year.

President’s Message We are at a pivotal point in our history with the chance to change the course of public education in

What occurred to me were some thoughts about the deep roots of education in this state and the vision for education in the future as set forth by our predecessors. It did not take me long to find many similarities between the arduous work of those past leaders (Lamar,Austin, and others) who paved the way for generations of future learners and educators and the difficult journey toward educational reform we are on today.

When you consider its beginnings, the fact that education in Texas has undergone numerous transformations since the days of those small classes held in Spanish missions (1690s) is not news to us; in fact, it’s been a staple in our history. From those first state-controlled elementary schools (1824) to raising the level of school standards (1949) to today’s technology-infused 21st century education—we have always taken risks and made progress. The groundwork was laid thanks to leaders who believed that educating children was and should always be a purposeful priority in our state.

Texas and write the next chapter.

Senate Bill 1557 has given us the opportunity to create a pilot of new standards, assessments, and accountability measures that will allow us to move away from the current rules and regulations that are strangling our future—the very children they were designed to serve.

Our schools historically faced and overcame insurmountable odds: a shortage of funding, lack of supplies such as textbooks, frontier conditions, insufficiently trained educators, inadequate facilities, lack of equality, poor or no transportation, and more.

Does this sound familiar? The movement persevered because leaders had vision— not for what education was but for what it could be.

By the turn of the century, the Texas census recorded over half a million children attending schools in country school districts and another 342,000+ attending school in independent school districts across the state.The population was growing, becoming more culturally diverse, and experiencing an industrial revolution…a far cry from the small numbers learning by lamplight inside those mission spaces—a sure sign that we must again make adjustments in order to move forward.

While transportation and modernization have eliminated our frontier conditions, as educators we still face more than a fistful of challenges: a shortage of funding and a lawsuit over adequacy, societal demands to stay abreast of ever-changing technology, finding ways to reach and engage every child in his or her learning, managing the

continues on page 8

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negative effects (on students and staff!) of a testing system that’s run amok, decreased time for teacher training and resources, a lack of local control, increased yet unfunded state mandates—and the list goes on.

This unceasing journey to pursue the very best education for all children may look and sound more complex now—in 2013—but we are still called upon by conscience and those educational pioneers of the past to again make education our purposeful priority and persevere.We can make meaningful educational reforms that will help us meet new societal challenges so our children and grandchildren will be well-equipped to experience personal success in their lifetime.That, my friends and colleagues, is exactly what we’re doing—painstakingly paving the way—for children.

Think about it. Public education may never have had the poignancy it has right now. Conversations (in grocery checkout lines, at the bank, on the soccer field, in our places of worship) are often about our educational system and high-stakes testing.The passion at the grassroots level is unmistakably on our side.

We are at a pivotal point in our history with the chance to change the course of public education in Texas and write the next chapter. Senate Bill 1557 has given us the opportunity to create a pilot of new standards, assessments, and accountability measures that will allow us to move away from the current rules and regulations that are strangling our future—the very children they were designed to serve. For the first time, this state’s educational frontline leadership (with the support of our TASA organization) has a seat at the design table.

We will not fail our children by adopting the federal model of brinkmanship—there’s too much at stake.Texas’ chance for real education reform is now and we must work as a cohesive unit in support of those efforts.We must seize this opportunity to improve our schools—it is our time and our responsibility to do so.

Save Our Schools Rally at the Capitol

On February 23, thousands of Texans gathered on the steps of the State Capitol to voice their opposition to the underfunding and overtesting of Texas schoolchildren. Speakers included former Commissioner of Education Robert Scott, education reform advocate and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch,TASA Legislative Committee Chair and Hudson ISD Superintendent Mary Ann Whiteker, Perrin-Whitt CISD Superintendent John Kuhn, and more.While 2011 might have been the Alamo for Texas public schools, said Kuhn,“this year is our San Jacinto.”

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Forging Ahead s we continue our ongoing mission of school transformation, we are beginning to see evidence that all the hard work is paying off.

Executive director’s VIEW In the midst of this legislative session, we are continuing to seek opportunities to create a system that fosters higher levels of learning so that all students are future-ready.

The Texas High Performance Schools Consortium, charged with informing the governor, legislature, and commissioner concerning methods for transforming public schools, is well underway. As the districts began the process of designing and determining high-priority learning standards, digital learning environments, and customized assessments, it became clear that space was needed from the current system for true transformation to occur. It is impossible to develop a new system while still being required to operate in the current one. With that in mind, the Consortium provided a report to policymakers in December 2012 with recommendations to amend current statute, giving the districts the freedom to innovate and the flexibility to meet student needs.

Legislation filed by Rep. Bennett Ratliff (HB 2824), if passed, would allow participating school districts to be freed from restrictions that unduly limit their work. The Consortium would be able to focus its work on effective digital learning opportunities; the identification of high-priority learning standards; multiple assessments for learning; and the development of an effective and efficient accountability system that, in the long term, could improve the quality of student learning, reduce the number of standardized assessments, and allow greater parent and community involvement. In the midst of this legislative session, we are continuing to seek opportunities to create a system that fosters higher levels of learning so that all students are future-ready.

Efforts to transform education don’t stop with the Consortium. Just this month, we had the exciting opportunity to launch TASA on iTunes U. This initiative will help transform teaching and learning by providing course content for high school teachers in the four core subject areas of mathematics, science, social studies, and English language arts. The exponential increase of iPad implementations in Texas schools— coupled with the need for educators to redesign instruction that empowers students, facilitates their understanding, and creates engaging experiences—prompted TASA to launch this initiative (see pages 22–23).

While we know that students must be engaged in a digitally rich world, we also know that being constantly connected has both benefits and pitfalls. TASA has also partnered with Common Sense Media, the national nonprofit dedicated to helping kids and families thrive in a world of media and technology, to create Texas Digital Citizenship Day. On March 5, educators and advocates across Texas participated in the first statewide Digital Citizenship Day, an initiative to teach students to be responsible and safe in the digital world.We are pleased that 2,891 downloads of the teacher toolkit occurred across the state as part of this event.

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Innovative Chess Curriculum Teaches Critical Thinking Skills

by Reece Blincoe and Dalane Bouillion

Chess Program Photos Courtesy Brownwood ISD

hess, a classic game of strategy, originated in India some 1,500 years ago. Legend has it that the ruler of India asked his wise men to devise a way to teach the children of the royal family to become better thinkers and a means to also create better generals on the battlefield. Chess was the result. In the centuries since its invention, chess has spread to every country in the world. In the United States, it has received endorsements by many, ranging from Benjamin Franklin to former U.S. Secretary of Education Terrell Bell. Brownwood ISD and Spring ISD use chess as a learning tool to teach critical thinking skills, advance math and reading skills, improve behavioral and social skills, and build self-esteem in 2nd and 3rd grade students. Our First Move curriculum was professionally designed, maps to state standards, and is fun and easy to teach.

How Do the Students Benefit?

Students see chess as a game and do not realize the powerful learning that goes on while they play. Learning to play chess promotes courtesy towards others and sportsmanship. Chess develops self-esteem, builds team spirit, and requires concentration. Students who play chess are taught to focus for an extended period of time, and will analyze situations to predict an outcome.They learn to think strategically. Chess encourages students to discover patterns and use logical deductive reasoning to solve problems.

Chess levels the playing field, or board, in this case. Age, gender, ethnic background, socioeconomic status, and spoken language are irrelevant factors when playing chess. Our districts have also found that because most of our students have never been exposed to chess, all students start from the same level of experience. Our students with learning disabilities acquire skills at similar rates as those without special needs.This allows both types of students to challenge one another. Chess gives students the same advantage or opportunity.

Chess is also valuable due to its intellectual brand attributes. Chess is known to be a smart person’s game, and students who play chess believe they are smart.Why is this important? Students tend to perform better when they are expected to achieve at higher standards.

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We have brought chess to the schools because we believe it directly contributes to academic performance. We believe chess enhances intellectual development by fostering the following skills: Focusing—Children are taught the benefits of observing carefully and concentrating.

If they don’t watch what is happening, they can’t respond to it, regardless of their intelligence.

Visualizing—Children are prompted to imagine a sequence of actions before it happens. We actually strengthen the ability to visualize by training them to shift the pieces in their mind, first one, then several moves ahead.

Thinking Ahead—Children are taught to think first, then act. We teach them to ask themselves “If I do this, what might happen then, and how can I respond?”

Over time, chess helps develop patience and thoughtfulness.

Weighing Options—Children are taught that they don’t have to act on the first thought that enters their mind. They learn to identify alternatives and weigh the pros and cons of various actions.

Strategizing—Children are taught to weigh their moves in terms of potential short- and long-range actions, which can eventually facilitate the connection to life’s short- and long-range goals. They are also taught of the need to re-evaluate their plans Analyzing Concretely—Children learn to as new developments change the situation. evaluate the results of specific actions and sequences. Does this sequence help me or Juggling Multiple Considerations hurt me? Decisions are better when guided S i mu l t a ne o u sl y— C h i l d r e n a r e by logic rather than impulse. encouraged not to become overly absorbed in any one consideration, but to try to weigh Thinking Abstractly—Children are taught various factors all at once.This requires them to step back periodically from details and to see multiple patterns, which develops consider the bigger picture. They also learn thought processes. to take patterns used in one context and apply them to different but related situations.

None of these skills are specific to chess, but they are all part of the game. The beauty of chess as a teaching tool is that it stimulates children’s minds and helps them to build these skills while enjoying themselves. As a result, children become more critical thinkers, better problem solvers, and more independent decision makers. Moreover, the learning environment supports the child being in charge of his or her own learning, increasing the probability of student engagement.

How Is the Chess Curriculum Taught?

First Move is offered during the school day as a supplemental program to the existing core curriculum. Chess is taught for one hour, one day a week. Brownwood ISD typically offers the lessons on Friday after all lessons and typical end-of-the-week exams are completed. Spring ISD allows each elementary campus to select the day of the week in which to provide the lesson, with the majority of the schools teaching chess on Thursday or Friday. All second and third grade teachers receive a “chess box” with lesson CDs, oversized chess board to hang on the wall, chess pieces, and lesson plans. Teachers simply follow the lesson

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plans and facilitate the learning.The “Chess Lady” is on each video and teaches the moves of each piece with a catchy phrase or rhyme. Each lesson is concluded with questions to validate the learning, and then students put the principles to practice.

Spring ISD has hosted the actual “Chess Lady” on two occasions, and the students were flabbergasted to learn that she is not imaginary or only the famous teacher in the videos.

choose to offer a separate division for each individual grade level. Each division will take a 30-minute objective test. The pilot currently includes district meets only. Check the A+ website (www.uiltexas.org/aplus) for additional information on the Chess Puzzle Solving pilot event, including links to online study and practice resources.

Correlations to the Visioning Document

Next, IIc states “Learning standards should embrace development of the whole person to build students’ capacity to shape their own destiny as individuals and as contributing members of society.” We believe the chess program absolutely helps develop the whole person. Finally, IId discusses students’“multiple intelligence and talents” and how a strong curriculum should “provide opportunities for all students to excel and experience success.”

The two districts mentioned are focused on providing purposeful experiences to our students through multiple challenges in our chess program. n

While it is easy to see how teaching chess could fall into many articles in the Visioning Yes! The UIL Legislative Council has document—Creating a New Vision for Public authorized a pilot event in Chess Puzzle Education in Texas—we believe it specifically Solving for the A+ Academic Program.The is addressed in Article II, dealing with The Chess Puzzle Solving pilot will be offered New Learning Standard. We believe chess for grades 2–8 in three divisions: grades 2–3, helps students “apply their learning to new grades 4–5, and grades 6–8. As with other situations, to synthesize, solve problems, create Reece Blincoe is superintendent at Brownwood A+ events, districts may choose to structure knowledge, and cultivate and utilize the full ISD, and Dalane Bouillion is associate superwith these as combined divisions or may range of their capabilities,” as stated in IIb. intendent at Spring ISD.

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Using Test Scores for Teacher Evaluation: Why Caution Is Necessary

by Nate Jensen, John Cronin, and Andy Hegedus

Introduction ace to the Top (RttT) signaled a dramatic change in federal education policy. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 had focused accountability measures on fixing schools; RttT has now changed the focus of federal policy to “fixing” educators. School systems and states that participate in RttT are required to revamp their teacher evaluation policies, with one element of this being the requirement that standardized tests be used in the evaluation process. While the state of Texas has chosen not to participate in Race to the Top, the question remains relevant as stakeholders advocate for local schools to include testing in the evaluation process.

Here at Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), our involvement in these conversations has increased significantly over the past several years, as more and more of our 5,200 partner schools and districts are implementing (or being required to implement) teacher evaluation systems that are based, at least in part, on the test performance of a teacher’s students.

Unfortunately, much of our involvement comes after schools have already made the decision to use tests for this purpose, without first considering the practical limitations of using student test scores as evidence of teacher effectiveness. Our goal in this article is to provide some insight and guidance to Texas educators before stakeholders push them to enter the evaluation fray, so they are aware of some of the issues that need to be considered before any tests are used in the evaluation of teachers—a use well beyond the original intent of most assessments.

NWEA’s goal is to serve as an honest broker in these discussions. In most situations, we believe that assessments best serve as a basis for dialogue between teacher and principal to assist them in setting goals for the classroom that will be closely targeted to the needs of students. Because we serve districts in every state, many of which have required tests be included as a part of a teacher’s evaluation, we are asked to engage with schools on how to implement these testing requirements in a way that is fair to teachers, defensible, and aligned to the classroom.

In this article, we will focus on three important issues. First, we will discuss the need to consider if what is being taught in the classroom is aligned to what is assessed on the test.

Second, we will address some issues surrounding the overall confidence a school or district should have that student test scores are providing an accurate depiction of a teacher’s performance. Finally, we will advocate for the need for context in interpreting student test results, including the importance of a principal’s opinion in this evaluation process.

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On a broader scale, many teachers within a school do not even teach in a grade or subject area covered by a standardized test—they teach subjects like music, physical education, social studies, etc. And yet, with increasing frequency, reading and math tests play a significant role in the evaluation of these non-math and reading teachers. This is typically done by making all teachers responsible for school-wide improvement goals that are focused on math and reading.

1. Content Taught vs. Content This may seem like a reasonable practice, as Assessed The first point probably makes intuitive all teachers have a role in helping students sense—if a test is used as the basis for a improve in math and literacy. If these teacher’s evaluation, then it is important that tests constitute only a small percentage of the content assessed on the test is aligned a teacher’s evaluation, then this might be to the content required to be taught by the defensible. However, art, music, physical teacher in his or her classroom. For many education, and other specialists are hired for teachers, this is not an issue. For example, their ability to teach these subjects. Basing a a test of general math knowledge likely major portion of their evaluation on general aligns well with the math content taught tests of reading and math is likely unfair, by a 3rd grade teacher. However, for other and distracts these teachers from focusing teachers, such as a 9th grade algebra teacher, on their primary teaching responsibilities. the content alignment is more problematic We would encourage schools to consider because this teacher’s instruction is focused other options beyond student test scores as on a specific area of mathematics and not the basis for the end-of-year evaluations of the entire domain. As a result, it is very these teachers. difficult to ascertain the algebra teacher’s contribution to student learning through a 2. Confidence in Test Results Even if there is strong alignment between test of general math knowledge. what is taught in the classroom and assessed In discussing the alignment between content on the test, how confident can we be in taught and content assessed, a school leader the accuracy of what test results mean should also consider whether the test used about how much students learned, and for a teacher’s evaluation adequately captures by extension, the impact a teacher had on all of the learning for which a teacher is student learning? Let’s be clear—no test in responsible. A 3rd grade teacher might be use today was designed to measure teacher responsible for teaching her students in performance. All tests measure student all four core subject areas (math, reading, learning in some fashion and inferences social studies, and science). And yet, when are then made about teacher effectiveness only math and/or reading tests are used in based on the performance of students on this teacher’s evaluation, not all aspects of these tests.This does not invalidate the use of the work the teacher did with her students assessments in this process per se, but it does are fully captured. This teacher might be a mean that educators must be confident that fantastic social studies teacher, but struggles whatever assessments are used are capable with teaching reading. If math and reading of measuring achievement and growth tests are the only assessments used for such with enough precision to make accurate a teacher’s evaluation, this distinction would judgments about a teacher’s effectiveness. not be evident, and only a portion of the story about the teacher’s performance would Perhaps the two biggest factors related to confidence in test results are related to be captured.

As we noted in a previous TASA article, “One of the best ways to improve prospects for the future is to learn from the lessons of the past” (p.15).1 We think the lessons we have learned from schools can help shape the ways in which student test scores are used as a component of a teacher’s evaluation, so that the missteps we have observed across the country in this area are not repeated.

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the test itself; specifically, is the test being used in a manner consistent with the way in which it was designed, and can the test adequately capture the test performance of all students, regardless of their achievement level? To the first point, many of the tests used today in the evaluation of teachers are the state-administered proficiency tests that are designed to measure adequate yearly progress (AYP). The aim of these tests is to identify the percentage of students in a grade/subject area who are proficient; that is, what percentage of students appear to have learned the content that the state has determined is important for students to know in a particular grade and subject.

Unfortunately, in a growing number of states, these tests play a significant role in a teacher’s evaluation, and the manner in which these tests are used often runs counter to the design of the test. For example, in many states, these proficiency tests are used to measure the growth of students from year to year, even though these tests were not specifically designed to measure growth.

As a result, student growth estimates may not accurately capture the actual amount of learning that occurred for a teacher’s students. This could result in inaccurate estimates of the impact a teacher had on student learning.

The ability of a test to accurately measure achievement and growth for all students is also an important factor to consider when selecting a test for evaluation purposes.

Proficiency tests are designed to measure proficiency, and, to accomplish this, many of the questions on this type of test have a similar difficulty level, with some questions slightly more difficult than the content standard in a particular grade/subject area and some questions slightly less difficult.The problem with the design of these tests is that they are less sensitive to the performance of low and high achieving students. On these tests, low-achieving students respond to questions that are too difficult for their achievement level, and high-achieving students respond to questions that are too easy.This type of test tells us very little about

what skills and concepts these students actually know.

This point is illustrated in the following figure in which we compare student math scores on the Measures of Academic Progress® (MAP®) (on the vertical axis) to math scores on the New York State proficiency test (on the horizontal axis) for students in the 6th grade. Within the red circle, we see test scores on the New York test that are clustered; these are instances where students got the same number of questions correct on the New York test.

The students identified here missed very few items on the state exam; those at the far right received perfect scores, the group immediately to left missed one item, and so on. The small number of missed items on the state tests creates two problems when trying to measure the teacher’s contribution to growth in the next year. First, for those students who received perfect scores, one isn’t measuring “growth” at all. These students got every item correct, so we don’t know how high their actual performance might be. For the other high scorers, the small number of missed items introduces noise in the measurement that makes estimating their growth difficult as well.

After all, while these items may represent

content not mastered, they may also simply reflect inadvertent errors. That is the reason why the standard error of measure is large for high-performing students on most state exams, because these tests do not provide a lot of useful information about the performance of these high-performing (or low-performing) students.

of research2 that indicates that student poverty is generally associated with lower growth. Because of this, classrooms with a large percentage of low-income students will likely (though not always) show less growth than classrooms with fewer lowincome students.

If teacher evaluations were simply based on In this example, a teacher’s evaluation would the amount of growth observed for each look much different if the evaluation was classroom, then those teachers with more based on the state proficiency test then if low-income students would likely fare less it were based on the MAP® assessment. well on their end-of-year evaluations than If a state test was used, a teacher with a teachers with fewer low-income students. large percentage of these high-performing For many of these teachers, their evaluation students would have considerable difficulty would be less favorable, not because of their showing growth with his or her students, actual teaching performance but because since there is no room for improvement on of a student factor that was outside of their this type of test for a student who gets every control. item correct. As a result, a teacher could receive an unfavorable evaluation simply as This simple point illustrates why context is a result of the test that was selected. so important if one is going to attempt to evaluate teachers based on student test scores.

Different students grow at different rates, 3. Need for Context It is certainly true that some teachers have and student characteristics that are related to a greater impact on student learning than more or less growth—particularly poverty, other teachers. However, it is also true special education status, language mastery, that certain students perform better on prior achievement, and others—all need to standardized tests and show more growth be considered in the final evaluation of a over the course of a school year than other teacher. If these characteristics are not taken students. For example, there is a large body into account, then a teacher’s end-of-year effectiveness rating will be based primarily on the types of students in a teacher’s classroom, not on how well that teacher actually taught his or her students. Valueadded methodologies were introduced to take into account these student factors that are related to differing amounts of growth.

Removing these outside factors helps assure that the analysis remains focused on the teacher’s specific contribution to learning of his or her students.

However, student test scores—even when value-added analyses are used— cannot provide definitive evidence of the effectiveness of a teacher. That does not make value-added analyses useless, as this type of approach is critical if the results are going to be a fair assessment of the teacher’s contribution to learning. However, it does

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mean that the approach does not produce a definitive finding of a teacher’s effectiveness.

After all, there are many aspects of teaching that are not reflected in student test scores, and this is why, in our opinion, a principal’s judgment is so important. A principal can use student test performance as one indicator of a teacher’s effectiveness and place that test performance in the context of what he or she has actually observed occurring in the classroom. While this evaluation is inherently subjective, a principal’s judgment is still extremely valuable in this process, as principals can use student test scores in conjunction with other pieces of information, especially data from their own observations, to arrive at a teacher’s final performance rating.

Final Thoughts These are just some of the broader issues that educators need to consider when test scores are used as a component of a teacher’s end-of-year evaluation.As results from these evaluations play a larger role in high-stakes decisions, greater attention needs to be paid to ensuring that tests and test scores are being used in a fair and appropriate manner.

Student test scores should be used in conjunction with other sources of data,. such as classroom observations, peer evaluations, parent and student feedback, etc.

If tests are used, then multiple measures and data points should be employed.

Multiple measures of student performance, and different ways of evaluating these test scores, can provide more information about the impact of a teacher on student learning.

When possible, student testing data across multiple years should be factored into the evaluation process to provide a more stable assessment of a teacher’s impact on student learning.

Texas chose to go slow in considering the use of tests for teacher evaluation and, in our opinion that is a wise choice. There is no one right way to evaluate teachers using student test scores, but there certainly are a lot of wrong ways to use test results for this purpose. The guidance included in this

article should at least highlight some of the issues that an educator needs to think about before tests are used as an evaluation tool, and help ensure that better choices are being made about the role test scores play in a teacher’s evaluation. n The authors of this article are with the Kingsbury Center at Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA). Nate Jensen, Ph.D., is a research specialist; John Cronin, Ph.D, is the director; and Andy Hegedus, Ed.D., is a senior research manager.

Endnotes 1 Cronin, J., & Dahlin, M. (Fall 2012). The Road to Accountability “Heck”: Good Intentions but Bad Metrics. INSIGHT, 15–19.

2 For example, see Sirin, S.R. (2005). Socioeconomic Status and Academic Achievement: A MetaAnalytic Review of Research, Review of Educational Research, 75(3), 417-453.

In addition to some of the main issues we have highlighted in this article, we think there are several other key points that an educator should consider:

An evaluation by a principal or designated evaluator should be a central factor in a teacher’s evaluation, not student test scores. While student test scores can provide data to inform a teacher’s evaluation, a principal’s judgment about the performance of a teacher should carry more “weight,” as principals can identify attributes of a teacher that may not be fully captured in student test scores.

NWEA prefers approaches in which student achievement data are used collaboratively by the teacher and principal to set and monitor improvement goals.

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TASA’s 2013 School Board Awards Program Underway!

Information on TASA’s 2013 School Board Awards Program is available on TASAnet.org, including an informative How-to Guide for nomination. Start now! Remember, in order for your district to be eligible for the 2013 School Board Awards Program, your superintendent must have been serving in his/her current position since July 1, 2011. Entries are due to the appropriate regional education service centers by Friday, June 28.

Nominations School boards nominated for the awards program must have served during the school year immediately preceding the awards program. For 2013, only those school boards serving during the 2012–13 school year are eligible to be nominated.

2013 Deadlines n

June 28: District submissions due to their Regional Education Service Center

n

July 31: Regional Honor School Board selection due to TASA

n

No later than September 10: TASA School Board Awards Committee selects 5 Texas Honor School Boards

Texas Outstanding School Board Named TASA/TASB Convention: September 27–29, Dallas Convention Center For further details—including Criteria, Procedures, and Outstanding and Honor Board History—go to TASAnet.org > Recognition/Awards > School Board Awards.

McAllen ISD Texas 2012 Outstanding School Board The McAllen ISD board of trustees was named TASA’s 2012 Outstanding School Board at the 52nd annual TASA/TASB Convention. McAllen was selected from among five school board finalists, including Cedar Hill, Klein, Longview, and Northwest ISDs. The selection committee’s decision was based on several criteria, including the board’s support for educational performance, support for educational improvement projects, commitment to a code of ethics, and maintenance of harmonious and supportive relationships among board members.

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TASA launches on iTunes U! TASA on iTunes U is the latest in the association’s ongoing work related to MISSION: School Transformation. Beginning in December 2012, TASA engaged 58 teachers from across the state in a project to transform the teaching and learning process, developing interactive, online content for high priority, essential learning standards.These teachers have formed teams to develop course resource collections for teachers in 18 high school courses in Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and English Language Arts.

The content for four courses—Biology, Precalculus, English 2, and World Geography—were released on March 5 in conjunction with SXSWedu.

Materials in each collection are aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills and all collections are free and open to the public.The collections are designed to complement and support the work of the Texas High Performance Schools Consortium.Additional course content will become available over the next six months and teachers throughout the state will be able to access this content as it is released. Sessions highlighting TASA on iTunes U will be offered at upcoming TASA conferences.

TASA on iTunes U:

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INSIGHT

SXSWedu:

Precalculus

Biology

(Course Lead) Mansfield ISD Tracy Pattat

Jamie Biel

Lake Travis ISD Jodie Deinhammer

World Geography

Michael Fore

English II

Clear Creek ISD

Dana Browning

Mary Selcer

Lake Travis ISD

College Station ISD

Janet Espinosa Judi Bell

Coppell ISD

Decatur ISD

Clarissa Gonzalez

Chrissy Boydstun

Harlingen CISD Casey Helmick

(Course Lead/Content Area Lead—Science) Northwest ISD

(Course Lead) Mansfield ISD Eric Simpson

(Content Area Lead— ELA/Reading) Lewisville ISD

(Content Area Lead— Social Studies) Eanes ISD Catherine McGuinness

(Course Lead) Mansfield ISD Kelly Young

Coppell ISD

Eric Martin

Eanes ISD

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Insights on the Effects of the Texas Education Funding Crisis on Teachers and Schools

by Virginia Resta, Leslie Huling, and Pat Yeargain uring the 82nd Legislative Session, Texas lawmakers reduced state spending on public education by $5.4 billion, which resulted in the elimination of 10,000 teaching positions despite an average increase of 83,000 students statewide in each of the last four years.

(Children At Risk Report, 2012).This was one of the largest cuts to education in the history of the state. School districts across Texas responded by increasing class sizes, canceling student field trips, and cutting back remedial classes, according to a survey of more than 3,500 teachers, school employees, and parents (Stutz, 2011).

Since teachers are the most important school-based factor in student achievement (Educate Texas 2012), educational researchers from Texas State University and the Texas Association of School Administrators believed it important to explore the effects of the educational funding cuts on teachers and schools. In the fall and spring of 2011, researchers conducted 28 focus groups around the state, each consisting of 4–5 experienced teachers who were in their eighth to tenth year of teaching. All those attending the focus groups had participated in the Novice Teacher Induction Program (NTIP), coordinated by the Texas State University System, in their first year of teaching. Researchers used the opportunity to also explore the longterm effects of NTIP participation on the teaching and mentoring experiences of participants.

NTIP: A Brief Summary NTIP was an innovative model to mentor and support novice teachers in their induction year in an effort to stem attrition and to increase teaching effectiveness of participating novice teachers.

NTIP was a system-wide initiative involving the seven universities comprising the Texas State University System (TSUS) and was funded by a $2.75 million grant from the Houston Endowment. The grant provided funding for the NTIP model and supported an ongoing 10-year research effort to investigate the long-term effects of the program.

The TSUS universities partnered with 37 public school districts across Texas to support more than 300 novice teachers per year (approximately 1,000 total teachers) during the 2002–05 school years. NTIP incorporated a variety of mentor training and support components suggested in the professional literature on teacher mentoring (Odell and Huling, 2000, 15–33; Darling-Hammond, 2003, 6–13; Moir and Barron, 2002, 54–56; Moore Johnson, 2004, 193–224).

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NTIP participants were provided with a mentor (a newly retired master classroom teacher) and were enrolled in a field-based graduate course each semester and earned 3 hours of graduate credit in both the fall and spring semesters. Between 2005 and 2010, NTIP staff conducted follow-up research to track the career progress of teachers in each of the three NTIP cohorts. Retention data on each NTIP-supported teacher were collected each year through the participant’s fifth year of teaching. Comparison retention data were also collected for the state and for each Education Service Center (ESC) region in which each of the seven university sites were located.

their graduate studies and have advanced into leadership positions in education, and undoubtedly more will follow as they gain additional experience and continue their careers in education.

In every year of data collection, each cohort of NTIP participants was retained at higher levels than other teachers who began teaching during the same year in the state and in the comparable Texas ESC regions. The five-year retention rate of all three cohorts averaged 79.35 percent, compared to the state retention rate of 68.31 percent, and the comparable ESC regional retention rate of 65.60 percent (Huling, 2009). Additionally, a substantial number of NTIP participants have also continued

The fall of 2010 was spent designing a focus group study in which NTIP participants would be invited to an evening dinner session during which they would participate in a one and one-half hour facilitated group discussion with 4–5 other participants and a trained NTIP facilitator. Interview questions were formulated, research sites were selected, and focus group facilitators were trained.The study was designed for data collection to occur in 2011. Data collection incorporated the features displayed in Table 1.

Focus group discussion questions were developed and utilized in the study. Each focus group explored a number of questions, related to the following four topics: • Personal teaching experiences • Mentoring experiences • School ecology and workplace conditions/culture • Effects of school funding cuts and “pay for performance” initiatives

Focus Groups Methodology The 2010–12 NTIP scope of work was designed to capture the insights of NTIP participants (in their eighth to tenth year of teaching) about schools, teaching, and teacher education; and to investigate their mentoring practices. Of particular interest was how the budget funding crisis was affecting teacher retention, morale, and teaching practices.

Focus group discussions were conversations guided by group facilitators using previously agreed-upon questions. The free flowing conversations were audiotaped. Before each session, participants signed release forms granting permission for the discussion to be audiotaped and used for research purposes.

At the conclusion of each focus group session, teachers received a $100 stipend for their participation.

Focus Groups: Data Analyses and Findings Data analysis began in the spring of 2012 using qualitative methodology. Audiotapes were transcribed by an external transcription service. A team of four researchers then analyzed the transcripts and developed codes

Table 1 Location, Dates, and Participants Involved in NTIP Focus Groups Location

NTIP University

# of Groups/Facilitators # of Participants

Austin

Feb. 28, 2011

Texas State

5

23

Leander

May 2, 2011

Texas State

3

12

San Angelo

Oct. 11, 2011

Angelo State

4

19

Houston/Aldine

Nov. 14, 2011

Sam Houston State

6

28

Beaumont

Nov. 15, 2011

Lamar

5

24

El Paso/Ysleta

Dec. 4, 2011

Sul Ross State

5

22

5

28

128

Total

26

Date

6

INSIGHT

for each question within the focus group conversations. Once the transcripts were coded, researchers were able to identify the relative strength of comments in relation to one another by code and by interview question.

I was asked to pick up the classes of a teacher who is being laid off. It’s a new prep for me but I don’t want to talk to him about it because I feel like it’s just putting a knife in his back. n A Central Texas elementary English as

Researchers worked through the data from each focus group question and used questions to triangulate findings related to the four major topic areas investigated in the study.This article highlights the key findings related to the effects of school funding cuts and “pay for performance” initiatives.

When asked what impact the school funding cuts were having on teacher morale, teachers participating in the focus groups expressed concerns relating to the morale in their schools, their abilities to remain effective teachers due to diminished or inadequate resources or increased class sizes, and their compensation and benefits as shown in Figure 1.

Morale in Schools n A high school chemistry teacher from

central Texas expressed his declining morale because of an increasing workload and his concern for a laid off colleague:

a second language teacher’s morale was suffering due to increasing class size:

n A middle school math teacher from East

Texas was one of many who reported paying for needed classroom supplies out of pocket: I think if you’re a good teacher, then you end up getting what you need for your class, but you just end up taking the personal hit for it. Our whole math department budget (sixth, seventh, and eighth grades) is $500 for the whole entire year. If one (projector) bulb goes out, $250, you end up taking it out of your own pocket.

I was told about three weeks ago that I am going to be at two campuses. I was told,“Well, you’re now going to be parttime at two campuses,” but really they are giving me two full-time positions, because there are 20 students at one n Many teachers were concerned about campus and 28 at another, so I am going students suffering due to reduced teacher from a class size of 20 to 48 kids. effectiveness with fewer resources as stated by this middle school math teacher Diminished or Inadequate from east Texas:

Resources

n Teachers reported that they were

increasingly asked to pay for supplies out of pocket or fund raise in order to obtain needed materials as this kindergarten teacher from West Texas stated: Now we have to make things like journals that we used to buy. That’s probably the major thing at our school right now.That’s why we try to fund raise as much as we can because where else are we going to get the money?

My class sizes are huge. I have between 30 and 34 students in each math class.

I feel like I’m not enough. I don’t feel like my students are getting what they deserve.

The difficulties in the workplace resulting from these budget cuts were causing teachers to reconsider their decision to remain in the profession. Most were currently coping with the hardships but also indicated that if the cuts became even more severe they could envision a point where the conditions would become a “deal-breaker” for them in regard to remaining in the profession. A total of 98 comments to this effect were documented compared to only 16 comments that indicated the teachers planned to “stick it out” no matter how difficult it became.

Figure 1.

Teacher concerns related to the school funding crisis.

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Figure 2 shows the relative weight of the types of concerns that might eventually lead a teacher to leave the profession.

they needed; and that with an increased class size, the teacher would be able to provide each student with less support.

She commented:

leaving the campus. When asked to envision factors that might cause them to leave teaching, “difficulties with colleagues and administrators” was cited most often, n Teachers’ comments are helpful in followed by policy-driven curriculum The program cuts are a major concern. change and the “do more with less understanding how teachers are viewing I think that could raise the stress level of environment” that has directly resulted their situation in these times of economic just being in a classroom with more kids from budget challenges. The majority of challenges. In respect to teacher and not having the personnel to service comments on this topic (54 percent) indicate compensation, a first grade teacher from those kids with special needs.That is how that teachers can envision leaving teaching if West Texas shared the following: budget cuts would cause me to look conditions continue to deteriorate due to elsewhere.

Currently, we’re on a pay freeze; a two budget cuts. The most often stated concern year pay freeze. We call it a pay decrease in this area related to increased workload and because our insurance premiums are Teachers attribute relationships with teaching assignments. going up, so truly we’re getting paid less colleagues as the strongest contributor to in the next two years than we have been. a desirable workplace. This one factor was During the discussions, teachers were cited more often than all the other factors also eager to voice their opinions about n A first grade teacher from Central Texas combined. The second most frequently how effective or ineffective the “pay shared a concern related to workload cited contributor to school retention was for performance” initiatives had been at and assignment issues. She was troubled a supportive administration. Given these their schools. Of those teachers who had that with fewer staff resources, struggling findings, it is not surprising that absent experienced the “pay for performance” students would get less of the extra help these factors teachers would consider bonuses on their campuses, 83 percent viewed them negatively.

Figure 2. Conditions identified by teachers as “deal breakers.”

Teacher Autonomy 8%

28

INSIGHT

n As a middle school teacher from East

Texas stated:

Teacher Compensation 24%

Support Issues 28%

As seen in Figure 3 (page 29), reasons for these negative opinions among teacher participants were closely divided between those who felt the bonuses created friction among teachers, decreasing faculty collegiality (40 percent); and those who felt the system was basically unfair because it did not adequately account for student characteristics (35 percent).

Workload and Assignment Issues 40%

I think it’s evil and I hate going to convocation because it’s all about grabbing money.‘How much money did you get? How much did your campus get?’ And everybody’s just there to grab their check. You see people moving chairs because they’re offended.

References

Summary Teachers describe schools as high-pressure work environments and often mention the “trickle down” effect of superintendents, who under pressure themselves, apply pressure to principals, who in turn apply pressure to teachers.

Teachers are feeling the effects of a “do more with fewer resources” culture. They detail having more students than in the past, fewer resources to support struggling students, and not having materials that were available the past. They report that teachers are expected to do without, fund expenses out of their own pocket, or “fund raise.”

The funding crisis has added to teacher stress, and a number of teachers report that it is a factor in their plans to ultimately leave the profession. Some teachers speculate that the worst effects of school funding cuts will likely not show up until several years from now when students who are being deprived of services fall further behind and the effects are compounded for the students and teachers who try to serve them.

In addition, “pay for performance” bonus initiatives were deemed ineffective at best for decreasing faculty collegiality; inadequately considering the varied characteristics of students; and, at worst, promoting cheating and corruption or gaming of the system.

In summary, there was considerable “good news” in the data. Even 8–10 years after they participated in NTIP, teachers continue to recall the value of their NTIP experiences and often credit the program for keeping them in the profession and helping them get off to a good start upon which they could build their teaching careers.Teachers are also adopting their NTIP experiences as models of how they mentor others and frequently say things like, “I think back to what my mentor did for me and I try to do that for my mentee.”

At the same time, researchers were troubled by much of what they heard. It seems that teacher stress is at an all-time high and teachers are feeling more maligned and less appreciated than has been the case in the past. This was not true for teachers from every district, but it was the case more often than not. n

The authors are from the College of Education at Texas State University. Virginia Resta is assistant dean for Academic Affairs; Leslie Huling is a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and director of the Education Policy Implementation Center; and Pat Yeargain is coordinator of the Novice Teacher Induction Program.

Children at Risk. (2012). Doing more with less? Public education in a new fiscal reality.

Houston,TX:Author.

Darling-Hammond, L. (2003). Keeping good teachers:Why it matters, what leaders can do. Educational leadership, 60 (8) 6–13.

Educate Texas. (2012). Texas Teaching Commission: Recommendations for the next generation of teaching policy in Texas. Austin, TX:Author.

Huling, L., Resta,V., and Yeargain, P. (2009).

Novice Teacher Induction Program: An investigation of the long-range effects of induction support. TASA INSIGHT. Moir, E. and Baron, W. (2002). Looking closely, every step of the way. Journal of staff development, 23, (4), 54–56.

Odell, S. and Huling, L., Eds. (2000). Quality mentoring for novice teachers. Indianapolis: Association of Teacher Educators and Kappa Delta Pi. Sanchez, C. (2011). Texas schools grapple with big budget cuts. Retrieved from http://www. npr.org/2011/12/22/144079041/texasschools-grapple-with-big-budget-cuts Stutz,T. (2011). Texas school districts struggling with funding cuts, survey shows. Retrieved from http://education/headlines/20111117texas-school-districts-struggling-withfunding-cuts-survey-shows.ece

Figure 3. Teachers stated reasons for negative views of “pay for performance” bonus initiatives.

It wasn’t a fair system because the kids you work with (and their life circumstances) are largely beyond your control and/or the level you work with

21

It was a complicated formula and no one knew how they earned what they earned

3

It pits teacher and schools against one another and creates friction The way it was set up on some campuses, teachers could game the system It promotes cheating and corruption

24 2 10

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Secondary School Principals’ Hiring Priorities

by Katharine Bridget Bourke and Casey Graham Brown ith the innumerable variables that are a part of the hiring process, principals are tasked with narrowing their searches from a veritable deluge of applicants at times. Ingersoll (2003) noted this hiring dilemma: the “sheer size of the teaching force, combined with the relatively high annual turnover of the teaching occupation, means…there are relatively large flows into, through, and from schools each year.The image these data suggest is a revolving door” (p. 148).To prevent such a revolving door, reduce attrition amongst new hires, and hire well in the first place, understanding hiring priorities is crucial to an administrator’s success.

Sorting through applications, resumes, cover letters, and portfolios can be overwhelming; however, it is from these crucial hiring decisions that most other success or failure may be attributed (Pacheco, 2000). Student achievement, school climate, and staff morale rest largely upon the recruiting of the right teachers for the job.Trimble (2001) posited, “two qualifications associated with high student achievement: full teaching certification and the equivalent of a major in the subject to be taught” (p. 45).

Once prospects have been located and applications have undergone an initial review, principals face the task of determining which teacher characteristics are most important to them. “When principals make decisions about the recruiting of beginning teachers, they will prioritize sets of information about beginning teachers according to the value that they put upon those sets,” wrote Broadley and Broadley (2004, p. 259). Broadley and Broadley posited that employers seek four basic criteria in teachers: personal attributes, academic prowess, teaching and subject knowledge, and moral character.

Locating Prospects The first hiring challenge for principals is to find qualified applicants. Schools need more than merely individuals with bachelor degrees in the subject area or lay-off casualties in need of new work. Schools need people with “pedagogical content knowledge” (Shulman, 1986, p. 9) who know what to teach.

An often chosen avenue for principals to find teachers is through college job fairs attended by education program graduates seeking employment. According to Darling-Hammond and Sykes (2003),“Even if teachers may be more altruistically motivated than many other workers, teaching must compete for talented college graduates in ways that include pay” (p. 20). Thus, in their recruitment efforts, school systems are compelled to attempt to maintain their competitive edge through salary structures when possible.

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Major and Certification Types As a common practice, and in compliance with No Child Left Behind of 2001, districts ask applicants for their basic credentials, including majors, transcripts of coursework, and the program through which they received certification, whether a university, post-baccalaureate program, or alternative certification program.

Another component important for administrators to consider in the realm of majors and certifications is teaching level.

A teacher’s certification level provides important information. That which makes an outstanding elementary teacher may or may not make a strong middle or high school teacher. A focus upon solely a major in education, however, would be remiss.

Researchers have emphasized the merit of a teacher’s depth of subject area knowledge (Stronge, 2002).

lives, advocating for students, never giving up on students, and acting friendly.

Communication skills such as correct grammar, voice quality, listening skills, coherency, and clarity were paramount to the school leaders in Trimble’s (2001) work. When prioritizing applicant traits, principals are wise to consider both personal and professional characteristics of teaching prospects.

Method

As little research on principals’ perspectives and priorities in hiring teachers and the perceived impact of those hiring decisions exists, and NCLB of 2001 has increased the focus upon instruction, the views of secondary school principals on how successful the prioritizations of certification, references, and personality have been for principals was examined. The topic was approached through the qualitative tradition of phenomenology. Thirteen secondary Interviews principals across three districts of varying Unfortunately, as seen in the work of size were interviewed.

Anderson and Shackleton (1990), interviews can be dysfunctional or, as the authors Findings termed it, idiosyncratic in nature by leading The principals’ prioritizations of candidates’ not to the best-qualified person but instead qualifications were fixed upon hiring the to the person most compatible with the right people for the job at hand. Thus, school (Broadley & Broadley). In fact, holding an appropriate certification to meet Anderson and Shackleton posited that there the requirements of NCLB of 2001 mattered are three trends within hiring: a tendency to more than whether the certification prefer applicants with similar biographies, was obtained traditionally or through an a personal liking of the applicant, and a alternative route. Possessing a personal preconceived model of the person needed fit with the campus and demonstrating a for the position. Barrick and Mount (1991) mastery of the content was more important noted the importance of conscientiousness than a specific grade point average or a of applicants. Botwin and Buss (1989) and particular major. Their success with these John (1989) viewed this trait as being a prioritizations was high because they were reflection of dependability, responsibility, and meticulous about checking references, were organization, while Peabody and Goldberg mindful of personal agendas when receiving (1989) and Digman (1990) described it as referrals, and chose to sidestep marginal hardworking and persevering. teachers when possible.Their hiring failures came only when they either failed to check While a multitude of teacher actions may references thoroughly or they did not receive elicit positive perceptions, Marzano (2011) honest references from other administrators suggested: showing interest in students’ desiring to pass on mediocre teachers.

32

INSIGHT

Certification The highly qualified requirements of NCLB of 2001 have largely leveled the playing field of applicants by setting a baseline for knowledge and certifications; thus, several referred to personal connections and references as being analogous to the phrase “it’s not what you know; it’s who you know.” NCLB’s effect on hiring also took another form for respondents. The increase in academic accountability was cited by several as the greatest deterrent from hiring on the basis of external pressures or selective favoritism.

Teacher References Checking references, even in the case of displaced personnel, is key to making a good hire. However, references also have the potential to pose a problem. One administrator noted that his most negative hiring experience was the result of hiring solely on the word of a reference. While the reference was positive as related to the teacher’s abilities and content knowledge, the reference was unable to shed light on the applicant’s fit for the campus. One administrator trusted the factual nature of the reference, although others shared situations in which they knew the references they had received were unrealistically favorable at best or completely fabricated at worst. By relying almost exclusively on another’s word, the administrator hired an individual whose personality was ill-fitted for the department, the team, and the school as a whole.

Checking teacher references was part and parcel for teacher hiring for all respondents.

Arising as a theme amongst administrators was the cruciality of checking teacher references as a step in the hiring process.

Concurring with Falcone (1992) who referred to reference checking as a “critical selection tool” (p. 19), principals ruminated that those who did not conduct such checks were foolhardy. Four respondents acknowledged that they had been burned

by falsely positive references in the past and, teacher’s passion, where his or her heart is, For schools with strong state and federal accountability ratings, NCLB is a benefit therefore, felt an increased obligation to the that made him or her successful. in that it narrows the field in a decisive truth. manner. However, for struggling schools Conclusions Personality Principals wanted to hire teachers for or rural schools for whom there may be a Continually cropping up as a sub-theme whom teaching was a chosen profession to shortage of NCLB-compliant applicants, was principals’ paramount preference for which they felt called.This theme emerged the stipulations of the act can have the effect people with proficiency, poise, and passion. in comments such as a desire to avoid an of narrowing the field so severely that hiring Principals had fixed their minds upon what applicant with “a cavalier attitude about comes to a virtual standstill.Waiting for such truly mattered to them in applicants and teaching” or one who did not treat teaching an applicant to attain official certification very little could sway them from their quest as a profession as evidenced by his or her attire often means that principals have had to delay for the best in their eyes. However, they or attitude.Another leader spoke poignantly hiring; “an unknown number of talented mentioned a handful of exceptions to the to this lack of respect for the teaching candidates may be lost every year due to an rule. Certain niche positions may require a profession when he referred to an applicant excessively long hiring process that occurs variation in aptitudes, or to complete a team demonstrating an “urgency to already leave too late” (McCarthy & Guiney, 2004, p. 3). or department a variation of personality when [he/she hasn’t] even gotten [the For some, such delays have meant hiring an traits may be needed to make the group job].” Whether inferred through questions applicant who met the letter of the law in run smoothly or to change an existing a teacher asked about the employee start/ terms of certifications but missed the mark dynamic. Late hires were another example end times and the number of after-school in so many other areas that administrators of when principals found that they might requirements or inquiries into the number were left frustrated. vary their hiring checklists. The priorities of years needed before leaving the classroom might shift from finding the perfect fit of for advancement into administration; or a Summary both personality and performance to finding concern for the timeframe of the job rather As accountability for results in America’s merely one who can perform the job well. than, in the words of one leader, “getting schools has increased, the importance of the job done”— all stood in stark contrast hiring well has grown exponentially. In light In the end, the core beliefs and desires of the to what administrators were looking for in of the fact that “recruiting, preparing, and hiring administrators remained the same: teachers.The reality of teaching as a career is retaining good teachers is the central strategy applicants with commitment, confidence, that it demands a strong work ethic, which for improving our schools,” it is imperative integrity, love of kids, and overall aptitude is difficult to assess in an interview; however, that principals make good hiring decisions reigned supreme. The administrators, as a this quality often shows itself through (National Commission on Teaching and group, found that successful hires shared one a teacher’s desire to “care about kids and America’s Future, 1996, p. 8). In the words of important trait: they cared about and sought [willingness to] be there for them in all kinds Arturo Pacheco (2000) in his address to the of ways even when not required” (Gabriel, American Association of Colleges of Teacher connections with kids.

2005, p. 32).

Education, “Better teachers lead to better schools” (p. 8). n Ultimately, many school leaders noted that success circled back to the applicant’s The requirements of NCLB of 2001 impact personal qualities of personality and passion hiring.The introduction of NCLB set a bar for the job. McBer (2000) defined this for minimum qualifications for teacher hires passion for learning as “the drive and an which, once met, allow hiring administrators ability to support pupils in their learning, to follow a more nebulous qualification of and to help them become confident best fit rather than something scientifically and independent learners” (p. 60). An discernable. However, NCLB also prevents Katharine Bridget Bourke serves as an assisadministrator spoke of this succinctly: “If principals from hiring an applicant who, tant principal at Garland ISD and is a you’re here because you think it’s going while he or she may be the best fit for the recent doctoral graduate from Texas A&M to be easy and you can enjoy your June, campus in other aspects, does not possess the University–Commerce. Casey Graham Brown is an associate professor at Texas A&M July, and August, well this is not the job for required certification.

University–Commerce. you.” Several principals noted that it was a

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References

Falcone, P. (1992, December). Reference National Commission on Teaching and checking: Revitalize a critical selection tool. America’s Future. (1996). What matters most: Teaching for America’s future. New York, NY: Anderson, N., & Shackleton, V. (1990). HR Focus, 69(12), 19.

Author.

Decision making in the graduate selection interview:A field study. Journal of Occupational Gabriel, J. G. (2005). How to thrive as a teacher leader. Alexandria,VA: Association for No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001, Psychology, 63, 63–76.

Supervision and Curriculum Development. Pub.L.No. 107–110 Stat.1425 (2002).

Barrick, M. R., & Mount, M. K. (1991).

The big five personality dimensions and Ingersoll, R. M. (1998).The problem of out- Pacheco, A. (2000, February). Meeting the job performance: a meta-analysis, Personnel of-field teaching. Phi Delta Kappan, 79(10), challenge of high-quality teacher education: Why higher education must change. Presentation 773–776.

Psychology, 44, 1–26. at the annual meeting of the American Botwin, M. D., & Buss, D. M. (1989). John, O. P. (1989). Towards a taxonomy Association of Colleges of Teacher Structure of act-report data: Is the five-factor of personality descriptors. In Buss, D. M., Education, Chicago, IL. model of personality recaptured? Journal of Cantor, N. (Eds.), Personality psychology: Personality & Social Psychology, 56(6), 988– Recent trends and emerging directions. (pp. 261– Peabody, D., & Goldberg, L. R. (1989).

Some determinants of factor structures 274). NewYork, NY: Springer-Verlag.

1001. from personality-trait descriptors. Journal of Broadley, G., & Broadley, K. M. (2004).The Marzano, R. (2011, March). Relating Personality & Social Psychology, 57(3), 552– employment styles of school principals to students: It’s what you do that counts. 567. recruiting beginning teachers. Educational Educational Leadership, 68(6), 82–83.

Shulman, L. (1986).Those who understand: Research, 46(3), 250–268.

McBer, H. (2000). Research into teacher Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Darling-Hammond, L., & Sykes, G. (2003). effectiveness: A model for teacher effectiveness. Researcher, 15(2), 4–14.

Wanted: A national teacher supply policy (Research Report #216). Nottingham, for education: The right way to meet the English: Department for Education Stronge, J. H. (2002). Qualities of effective “Highly Qualified Teacher” challenge. and Employment. [Report]. Retrieved teachers. Alexandria, VA: Association for Education Policy Analysis Archives, 11(33), from https://www.education.gov.uk/ Supervision and Curriculum Development.

1–57. Retrieved from http://epaa.asu.edu/ publications/eOrder ingDownload/ RR216.pdf Trimble, S. (2001). The teacher applicant epaa/v11n33/ pool:What top administrators seek. Principal Leadership, 1(7), 44–47.

McCarthy, M., & Guiney, E. (2004).

Building Digman, J. M. (1990, January). Personality structure: Emergence of the five-factor a professional teaching corps in Boston: Baseline model. Annual Review of Psychology, 41, 417– study of new teachers in Boston’s public schools. U.S. Department of Education. (2005). New Boston, MA: Boston Plan for Excellence.

No Child Left Behind flexibility: Highly 440. qualified teachers fact sheet. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/nclb/methods/ teachers/hqtflexibility.html

School Leadership Review, Winter 2014 Call for Papers Submissions for the 2014 issue of School Leadership Review will be accepted for consideration until September 1, 2013. The theme for this issue is open. Please submit manuscripts to Dr.Timothy B. Jones, editor, tbj004@shsu.edu.

The School Leadership Review is a nationally refereed journal sponsored and published by the Texas Council of Professors of Educational Administration.This journal is designed to offer a publishing opportunity to professors of educational leadership across the country on topics related to school administration. www.tcpea.org 34

INSIGHT

The “100 Percent Rule”

by Jackie Lain n 2011, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 6 (SB 6), which essentially decentralized and in large part deregulated the purchasing of instructional materials in Texas. As with most comprehensive reform legislation, the full impact of these statutory changes has taken time to decipher. In sum, districts now have a limited amount of state funding to purchase instructional materials and technology, more flexibility over how the state funds can be spent, and increased accountability for their choices.

Under SB 6, the State Board of Education (SBOE) is required to set aside 50 percent of the annual distribution from the Permanent School Fund to the Available School Fund to support the new state Instructional Materials Fund. But, the amount distributed to districts from that fund is subject to legislative appropriation. From appropriated funds, districts, open-enrollment charter schools, and juvenile justice alternative education centers receive an annual Instructional Materials Allotment (IMA) based upon their prior year’s enrollment.

Districts received approximately $150 per student in IMA funds for the 2011–12 and 2012–13 school years. The proposed state budget for the 2014–15 biennium appropriates $420,880,000 per year for technology/instructional materials. If that appropriation holds true, districts would receive approximately $170 per student in instructional material funding over the 2013–14 and 2014–15 school years. Districts may also roll forward their unspent IMA funds from the 2012–13 biennium.

Superintendents and school board presidents have a legal duty to certify annually to the commissioner of education and the SBOE that the district is providing each student with instructional materials that cover 100 percent of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for all courses in required curricula (except physical education). But, because SB 6 eliminated the state “Conforming” list, districts have far less guidance about the content of the instructional materials available for purchase. Only materials that met 100 percent of the TEKS could be placed on the Conforming list, whereas materials may be included on the state-adopted list as long as they cover at least 50 percent of the TEKS. Publishers must “correlate” or align products submitted for stateadoption with the TEKS. The alignments show which and what percentage of the TEKS is covered in the instructional material. But, few publishers provide alignments for products that have not been submitted for state adoption (i.e., non-adopted products). Given the

SB 6 Highlights: • Replaced the word “textbook” with “instructional materials” (which includes textbooks as well as online content) in state law • Replaced the $30 per student annual technology allotment with an “Instructional Materials Allotment (IMA)” which may be used to purchase either instructional materials or technology that directly supports classroom instruction • Replaced the state “Conforming” and “Non-Conforming” lists with the “State-Adopted” list and made instructional materials that meet at least 50 percent of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) eligible for state adoption • Gave school districts ownership of their instructional materials and technology, meaning that districts are responsible for insuring instructional materials and technology and may sell their surplus • Maintained the “100 percent rule,” the legal requirement that superintendents and school board presidents must annually certify to the commissioner and SBOE that they are providing each student with instructional materials that cover 100 percent of the TEKS for all courses in the foundation and enrichment curricula (except physical education)

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Learning List is developing an online library of objective, unbiased reviews of K–12 instructional materials and online courses.Think of it as “Consumer Reports” meets “Angie’s List” for K-12 instructional products. For each product submitted, LearningList.com will feature three types of reviews: (1) An alignment to the TEKS and to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) (2) An editorial review based on customers’ experience with the product (3) Subscriber feedback and ratings based on specific criteria

limited amount of IMA funds districts are receiving and the fact that even products on the state-adopted list may cover less than 100 percent of the TEKS, districts increasingly are going to want or need to purchase non-state adopted products. Some districts have staff who do alignments of the products they are considering purchasing. But, the alignment process is personnel-intensive and time consuming, often resulting in significant overtime expenses. Further, the district’s staff is only able to align a few products, thus limiting the number of products the district is able to review.

request that a publisher submit a particular product for review. There is no cost for submitting products to Learning List for review.

Reviews for Math and English Language Arts products will be available in June 2013, and other subjects will be added quarterly.The reviews on LearningList.com will be accessible through a districtwide, campuswide, or individual annual subscription, which may be purchased with Since Learning List is a service for educators, IMA funds. n educators are invited to help determine which products Learning List reviews. By going to www.LearningList.com, educators can (1) submit open-source instructional Jackie Lain is president of Learning List, www. material or online courses for review and (2) LearningList.com.

As another option, Learning List is a new service to (1) assist educators in selecting the instructional materials and online courses best suited for their students’ needs and (2) support superintendents’ and school board presidents’ annual certification of 100 percent TEKS coverage.

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TSPRA VOICE TASA joins TSPRA in supporting the critical role of public information and communications professionals in Texas public schools.

Practicing the Power of Positive Publicity

by Johnston Farrow tories of good things happening in schools don’t sell newspapers, one publisher once told me. People tend to remember the bad things much more than the good. “If it bleeds, it leads,” former editors used to say—a train wreck is difficult to look away from.

It doesn’t always have to be that way in the world of public education.

The practice of public relations generally falls into two categories: good publicity and bad publicity.When a school district practices good public relations, it can help build a positive perception within its community and beyond.When the district faces more bad publicity than good, it can lead to a negative perception, something much more difficult to counteract.

Don’t underestimate the power of practicing positive publicity. While bad news sells newspapers, everyone enjoys a heartfelt story of students and teachers succeeding in the classroom. Share these stories often enough, to as many people as possible, and the message being received by the public about your schools starts to change.

Negative publicity can be turned around with dedication, determination, and teamwork at the highest level of school district administration. A good communications department can be the secret weapon for a superintendent and school board. An efficient communications staff is able to immediately respond to misinformation, potentially negative news reports, and community concerns.

Even with all cylinders firing on the positivity train, bad things will happen that can momentarily derail the best laid plans. Students are children, after all, and unfortunately staff can act like children sometimes. Bad choices will be made. But sharing the many great things occurring at your district will make those once-inawhile negative incidents seem like blips on the radar screen.

The following is a tale of the power of effective public relations and how it’s helping one Gulf Coast school district.

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employees it could reasonably maintain and By 2008, Galveston had fallen on hard times. the cost of keeping all schools open.

On September 13, Hurricane Ike washed over the 27-mile long, three-mile wide land Citizens openly criticized controversial mass, producing a Category 4 storm surge. moves by school district administration in The downtown business district took on blogs, forums, and even websites. Officials 12-feet of saltwater and very few parts of the were wary of the local news media that island were left unscathed from the moldy would often rather report on misdeeds and corrosive effects of saltwater submersion. than achievements. It didn’t help matters when the district’s official communications Galveston Independent School District representative left before the start of the 2008 (GISD) was no exception. The hurricane school year. Ironically, district administration caused over $60 million in damage, set a schedule to interview new candidates temporarily boarding up four schools and for the empty position on September 13, forcing thousands of families to flee to the 2008, the day Ike hit Galveston’s coastline.

the 62-year-old football field but partially a referendum against how people perceived the state of the district.

mainland until damage could be assessed and homes could be rebuilt. Enrollment dropped dramatically.

Communications staff presented the plan to the school board and high levels of administration, down through the principals, teachers, and staff. This ensured everyone was on the same page, knowing how they could contribute to getting the word out about the positive happenings in the district.

Recovering from the Storm

In the following state of emergency, GISD held off conducting interviews for a fulltime communicator for nearly a year, and To add insult to injury, only weeks voices of negativity ran unabated. Keeping previous, the school district had opened schools open in a disaster zone was the sole the 2008–2009 school year with the logo, focus for GISD officials. But in a very vocal “GISD: Catch the Wave.” The district not community, every step made by the school only caught the wave from Hurricane Ike, board was conducted under a microscope. it already had been riding a wave of bad Despite the district moving forward in the face of one of the worst natural disasters publicity the previous few years.

Catch the Wave GISD logo foreshadowed the Hurricane Ike disaster and was publicly criticized for its use following the storm.

Since the early-2000s, GISD faced steadily declining enrollment due to a variety of factors: higher cost of living on a barrier island; North Galveston County transforming into a series of commuter suburbs for those working in Houston; and some would say, bad perceptions of the schools falsely perpetuated on rumors and hearsay. The reduction in numbers forced the GISD school board to make a series of tough decisions regarding the number of

in U.S. history, groups of Galvestonians wouldn’t hesitate to badmouth moves they didn’t agree on in public forums. Mistrust between GISD administration and the community ran high.

A bond election to replace the football stadium in November 2009 lost convincingly with over two-thirds of the community voting against, not necessarily a sign of people voting against replacing

What Galveston ISD desperately needed was a strategic communications plan.

Getting a House in Order At GISD, the change started in-house.

The first major step was to control the message going out to the public. The communications department—now with a full team—drafted guidelines and procedures for the district to follow.

Any and all news outreach now flowed through the communications department.

No one other than the communications department talked to the news media, unless otherwise directed. It allowed for one central flow of information to be diffused to staff, parents, and the community.

Work went into informing the most important assets—parents and teachers— about the regular district goings-on. The communications department started putting out The Wave, a regular e-newsletter, to community stakeholders and staff, filled with news, information, and student achievements. Teachers were asked to send in their newsworthy items. It could be anything from fundraisers, in-class projects, science fair winners, athletic feats, or any positive stories.

More emphasis went into keeping the GISD website current and up-to-date.

The main reason was this: the website was the first thing any potential parent visited when researching the school district. A fresh site filled with pertinent, easy-to-find

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towards GISD when they could reach their deadlines with accessible information. If information was easily available under the Texas Freedom of Information Act, the GISD-TV became a force for pushing reporters received it in a quick timeframe out information. The district operated its without having to file a request. In building own cable television channel, provided by closer relationships with news media, local Comcast, as a way to send out information. reporters expressed a desire to cover more The communications department spent positive pieces, which led to frequent story more time shooting original video, pitches to local editors and producers and showcasing activities throughout the district. a regular weekly education column in the Utilizing television reached those without a local paper. subscription to the newspaper or a computer.

Communications staff forayed into the The district embraced social media. The negative world of online forums and blogs. smart, savvy parent now on Facebook and Local media outlets offered a comments Twitter already uses these forums to get the section in which anyone could anonymously word out about their feelings on anything post their thoughts on any topic or story. It and everything, including the lives of their is here where the district won new converts children and their school day. Parents now by politely and concisely answering any had a place to get information as it happened. questions, concerns, misinformation, or rhetoric with cold, hard facts.

To guarantee safety, the communications department became the sole administrator A somewhat controversial tactic, this of all social media accounts associated has done wonders for Galveston ISD. with the district, and only one or two In previous years, one disgruntled parent trusted employees ran the accounts at the created a school watchdog site. Unfiltered school level. Not only could a message be diffused quickly to hundreds in the case of an emergency but the communications department could also monitor what was being said on the accounts. In the year since Galveston ISD opened social media, results have been nothing more than positive. information, including pictures of smiling children and their achievements, went a long way in attracting families.

and anonymous, many comments bordered on farcical, but sometimes a commenter posed legitimate questions. These were quickly answered by district staff with the rule of avoiding injecting personal opinions, condescension, or impoliteness.

While some troublemakers disliked their fun being ruined by those pesky facts, many would-be commenters tired of the reoccurring deluge of negativity started to write again, confident that someone would back up their thoughts. Even the blog owner eventually started officially posting responses from the communications department.The blog eventually stopped being frequented and was eventually shut down.

While many might associate leadership change at a district as a sign of turmoil, a leadership change was an opportunity to start things anew. Larry Nichols joined Galveston ISD as superintendent of schools in 2010 with over 20 years of experience as a district leader. The first people he met besides his staff—the local mayor and the publisher of the local newspaper.

Hitting the Pavement, Doing the Legwork Perhaps the most important step in changing negative perceptions came in making greater connections between the district and the community. Reaching out to detractors to find common ground went a long ways toward quieting negativity. More often than not, an understanding could be reached, and if not, just the act of listening to someone’s concerns was powerful in terms of getting people back on the side of the district.

Relationships with local educational institutions have gone a long way in changing perceptions about Galveston ISD. Superintendent Larry Nichols (far Helping news media staff do their jobs was right) with UT-Medical Branch President Dr. David Callendar (second from also key to turning around perception. Local right) and Galveston College President Dr. Myles Shelton (third from right) at reporters were much more sympathetic the Ball Preparatory Academy White Coat Ceremony.

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The speaking engagements did not end there. The local chapter of the NAACP and LULAC welcomed him to speak at meetings. Superintendent Nichols visited neighborhood task forces and organizations, Rotary clubs, Lions Club, Kiwanis Club, and any group that met regularly. Almost immediately, people knew of his plan for the schools, and could similarly inform him of their concerns and areas of needed improvement.

Admittedly, Superintendent Nichols did not want to be the center of attention, wanting his work to take center stage. However, he understood the importance of having a community behind him in order to improve the district’s standing. Those relationships forged early on continue to this day, with local leaders only a phone call away should the need arise.

Galveston recovers from the storm, so does GISD from the storm of bad publicity.

A big part of that is the willingness of GISD administrators to get involved with local organizations. These include the Galveston Chamber of Commerce that reaches the businesses that hire employees with families. GISD currently holds a seat on the Chamber Education Committee as well as the Chamber Legislative Affairs Committee. It’s here that Superintendent Nichols rubs elbows with officials from the largest organizations on the island in a show of mutual cooperation among the island’s biggest employers.

In keeping those strong relationships going, it makes it easier for people to approach district staff. After attending a tour of local schools, current Galveston Mayor Lewis Rosen now forwards requests by Another successful tactic was to offer those interested in taking a similar tour to frequent school tours for those new to the communications department. Slowly, the island. Known as a university town, the positive message of the great things with University of Texas–Medical Branch, happening in GISD schools is spreading to Texas A&M Galveston, and Galveston those with little to no investment in local College calling the island their home, these schools other than paying local taxes. institutions brought in dozens of employees each year. The district opened the doors of Five years ago, relationships with city hall, schools as a way to show potential families the local news media, and UT-Medical the exciting things happening in the Branch were tenuous at best. People would classroom, a more effective tool than any rather choose to move to the suburbs of piece of marketing material or presentation South Houston based on what they had by school officials. heard about the schools—true or not—and commute to the island. Five years later, the Generally, those that took the time to visit children of the Galveston city manager, the schools were confident in enrolling publisher of the largest local newspaper, and their children in GISD. Since 2009, school enrollment has gone up nearly 1,000 students, putting a stop to the downward trend that plagued the district in the early2000s.

the president of UT-Medical Branch attend GISD schools, their parents now vocal advocates for the public school system.

The days of controversy are in the past because of sound leadership and an effective communications plan.

Summary Think of public relations at a school district in terms of sailing a large ocean liner—a cruise ship of immense proportion, with students, teachers, and staff as its passengers.

It takes considerable effort to steer that ship in the direction it’s supposed to go. It takes time, energy, and the work of a lot of people to position it towards positive perception.

A few years after Galveston ISD would “catch the wave” of Hurricane Ike and bad publicity, the communications department designed a new logo that would go on to win a Gold Star Award from the Texas School Public Relations Association. It included a sailboat in place of the letter “a” in the word Galveston, setting across calm, cool waters on a gentle breeze. It’s a wonderful symbol of where the district has been and where it is now, thanks to the efforts of well-thought out public relations initiatives.

Incorporate some of these tips into your district to journey past more turbulent waters. Smooth sailing is ahead! n Johnston Farrow is a district communications specialist at Galveston ISD.

Paying Dividends The difference in perception of Galveston schools since the day Hurricane Ike washed ashore in 2008 is astounding, a direct reflection of the rebirth of the island as one of the biggest tourist destinations in Texas.As

The latest, award-winning GISD logo features a boat sailing on calm waters.

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