If you’re heading to the NSBA Annual Conference this week, CUBE has a lot of great sessions lined up to help board members walk away refreshed, invigorated, and equipt for positive decision making once you return back home again.

Linda Darling-Hammond, Stanford professor and former education advisor to President Obama (while campaigning), will give a keynote address on Friday morning as part of CUBE’s early bird sessions.  Beverly Hall, recently awarded the AASA’s Superintendent of the Year, will present with members of the Atlanta school board about the achievement gains Atlanta has seen over the last several years.  As urban districts seek solutions to common problems, we highlight two sessions will help attendees find ways to implement changes to their own districts.

But that’s not all,  CUBE also has sessions about how counselors impact achievement, the financial crisis and how districts are coping with its reality, site visits to CUBE districts San Diego and Chula Vista Elementary, and CUBE’s annual business meeting will occur where districts will select five new Steering Committee members.  There’s a lot going on with CUBE, and if you can’t make it to San Diego, all our sessions will be posted on the CUBE web site following the conference.

We know school board members like to do good things, especially in the name of education.  And everyone knows that doing good is even better when you can have fun doing it.  And we can’t think of a better way to do that than by participating in the annual 5K in on Sunday morning.

Come join the National School Boards Foundation for its 9^th Annual 5K Walk/Run.  The 5K will take place during NSBA’s Annual Conference on Sunday, April 5, along the waterfront in beautiful San Diego.  This year’s course is conveniently located adjacent to the Convention Center and conference hotels.  Prizes will be awarded to the top finishers in each age category.  To register and learn more about this fun-filled event, please visit the 5K booth in the Convention Center.  We’ll see you there!

So what do school board members, superintendents, and other education leaders across the nation have in common with the Navy?  Education, games, and simulations!

The Navy and other military branches work hard to connect with today’s students and schools to provide resources across the country through their ROTC and outreach programs.  Although, ROTC programs are such a huge benefit to students, they don’t always get the attention and support they deserve when it comes to the education system.  Why?  The obvious answer is that schools have so many mandates and bench marks to hit that often time’s result in additional programs losing their much deserved attention despite their benefits to the education system and student learning and development.  We’ve seen this happen again and again with music and art programs as funding and staff are scaled-back, and with after-school programs, outreach and volunteer programs in schools when there are staffing shortages.  So with the military’s support of education, their outreach to schools, and their effective use of technology in their own education and training efforts why aren’t schools tapping this readily accessible and mutually beneficial relationship more often?  Well, a group of Annual Conference attendees will be participating in a site visit to a naval base on Coronado, just outside downtown San Diego to answer that question.  The Navy will share what they have been doing to ensure that the fluency of their highly trained squadrons remain informed, experienced, and safe.  How do they do this? The answer is simple – technology, education, and continued professional development.  

Games and simulations are not new to training in the military.  The Army and Marines use it to simulate the experiences that their infantry officers will encounter while in combat.  The belief is that the more times a soldier is exposed to situation the more clearly they will be able to navigate the challenges and ensure the safety of their men and those they are there to protect.  NSBA aims to demonstrate how this very same idea can be applicable in the classroom by exposing students to simulations and games around biology, anthropology, math, spelling, and grammar.  S.T.E.M. is a hot topic in education today and games and simulations hit all four parts of the initiative: Science.Technology.Engineering.Math.  Is it possible for games and simulations to bring S.T.E.M. to life and maybe encourage more young girls to explore the fields of science, technology, math and engineering?  The statistics are promising. 

Simulations are used in the military because they are the most realistic way to bring to life the words on the pages of the books that were written to train and protect our soldiers.  Reading something and experiencing it are two totally different realms of learning and retention.  If a pilot reads about how to land a plane or do a night-trap (landing a plane at night on a ship) they may understand the concept but would they feel affluent and confident enough to get in a plane and try it without first having the safety of a simulator to practice?  The same is true for how students learn.  People learn by doing.  Adolescences learn to drive and car by driving on their permit under the watch of their parents.  A pilot learns to fly by testing their wings out in a simulator first.  A doctor learns to operate on a cadaver.  To provide students with the ability to get their hands dirty and learn by doing is an invaluable gift that hopefully more schools will explore.   Games and simulations provide that access across the curriculum and grade levels. 

NSBA’s site visit with the Navy will demonstrate the amazing efforts and honorable mission of the Navy as well as their utilization of games and simulations in education.  To learn more about the visit please stop by our website and to find out more about the Navy and their ROTC efforts and use of simulations please visit their website.

We hope to see you in San Diego!

Thoughts on Monday

A friend of mine who is an administrator in a neighboring School District once told me that her Superintendent told her this when she joined their leadership team: “If you are not going home exhausted at the end of the day, then you are not working hard enough.”

I am exhausted and definitely ready to go home.

Now, that does not mean that I have not enjoyed myself, learned a lot, and appreciated this conference. Oh, to the contrary. This has been one of the most enjoyable and worthwhile professional experiences of my career in public service.

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Absenteeism can be a chronic problem for some students, whether due to illness, family problems, or disengagement from school. For school districts, absenteeism often means a loss of state funding when average daily attendance (ADA) is the basis for funding. And absenteeism, of course, can also have a significant impact on student academic success.

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Many dedicated preschool advocates woke up early today for the NSBA’s Pre-K Legislative Committee networking breakfast. These are school board members who signed up to join the Committee last October and are committed to be advocates to lobby for more federal investments in voluntary pre-k programs across the country. The Committee is part of NSBA’s advocacy programs in response to the increasing awareness that quality pre-k programs have long lasting positive effects on children’s development . This year, the Committee is geared up to respond to potential actions in Congress that would help states advance their pre-k programs or establish new programs. NSBA will host an online conference on pre-k messaging for the Committee members in April. For more information on the Committee and pre-k issues, check out www.nsba.org/prekcommittee and www.centerforpubliceducation.org.

The guest speaker for the annual National Black Caucus of School Board Members Luncheon this year was Lorraine Monroe, educator and founder of the Frederick Douglas Academy located in Harlem, New York. Dr. Monroe thrilled the audience with her no-nonsense approach to educating our black youth. Her career and experiences have spanned the globe and her attainment of success in education is immeasurable.

Her charge to board members and administrators in the audience was to, “make our teachers crazy about the children!” She indicated that we need to challenge our children, from the womb and give them experiences that will take them well beyond high school. Dr. Monroe stated that, “the first step to college begins in kindergarten.” “As educators, she indicated that we can’t be just what the kids like; we have to ask more, demand good behavior and change their lives.” It is important to equip all children for the future and beyond.

It is easy to see why Dr. Monroe has attained her level of success in educating children because she has high expectations for our youth, accepts no excuses from staff and understands that you can’t change home, but knows that a child can be transformed from those circumstances. Her belief that you can create high achieving schools and transform children’s lives is real!

Dr. Monroe also indicated that teachers and administrators need to be on the same page at the same time. She stated that teachers cannot be children and shouldn’t dress like them or try to be their friends. Teachers are there to teach, inspire and motivate children to learn. There must be clear boundaries for success.

In the closing remarks, Dr. Monroe asked everyone in the room to stand and repeat these words: “With these hands, with this heart, with this mind, we can do anything!” Imagine starting the day at your school with this pledge. The children will learn it, live it and love it. I left that luncheon knowing that we have to meet our children where they are, show them love and teach them. They need to understand, according to Dr. Monroe, “that going to school is their job and that they need to get a diploma”. We should give them life changing experiences as young as possible so they know about college and have a plan to get there. Dr. Monroe told a story about learning various folk songs in her middle school years and how that impacted her later in life when she traveled to Europe. Her comment to a child, “you belong anywhere your American Express card takes you,” is a testament to her commitment of educating all children and changing their lives. She has no limits on what our children are capable of doing. Dr. Monroe is a dynamic speaker with an amazing message for educators. Attending this luncheon has definitely been a highlight for me! I am inspired to return to my district and assure that our children are positioned for true educational success. To read more about Dr. Monroe and her successful school model, see her book, Nothing is Impossible: Leadership Lessons From Inside and Outside the Classroom.

If you agree with me, be sure to pick up your free water bottle from the NSBA School Health Programs display at the Health & Wellness Pavilion. I’ve been filling my bottle from the wonderful water coolers provided in every session room. And I plan to take my empty bottle through airport security and fill it with ice on other end.

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Featured speaker Ken Kay opened the luncheon session by endorsing state partnerships with 21st Century Learning. 21st Century Skills promote economic stability and personal success in the United States. Anyone is welcome to explore Route 21 on their web site (www.21stcenturyskills.org). The Framework for21st Century Learning model looks like a half rainbow resting on four steps. Check it out.

The rate at which information is changing has created the need for a new educational model. Every twenty-four months the amount of technical information doubles. It no longer is enough just to know information. The questions become where do I find information and how do I work with information once I find it? The trend for current students will be three to five careers per lifetime.

Kay focused on federal and state legislation. Board members and superintendents can become federal advocates to spread the word about the relevancy of these skills. Legislative Bill S1483 (the Rockefeller Snow Legislation) is the 21st Century Incentive Fund. It provides a federal match for states who are part of this partnership. Nine state partnerships exist. Ask your governor and state commissioner of education if they would support this partnership in your state.

NCLB doesn’t come to terms with national assessment of many 21st century skills including technology competency. Kay sees NCLB being revised to include measurement of these global benchmarks. School systems need to emphasize critical thinking and problem solving. Our K—12 educational pedagogy and assessments must be in alignment with relevant career options that may not even exist at the current time. Our students will be competing with other students internationally for jobs. Funding should support education that prepares students for working and living in our changing global economy.

Community Advocacy and Parental Engagement is clearly what will move a school to higher heights meaning achievement and accreditation. However, when the Parental Engagement is absent what is a school to do? Go to the community and build partnerships just don’t complain, invest in parent liasons, just don’t complain, invite college stduents to mentor or tutor, just don’t complain.
If the mission is important then the message should be too – Get involved for the children’s sake.

Urban districts continue to face problems with assigning students to schools where students want to actually attend. Sometimes it is overcrowding or sometimes oversubscription. The answer some say is to duplicate what is going on in the oversubscribed or overcrowded school in strategic areas throughout the districts.