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Transcript of The Illinois School Board Journal
M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 1 2 Vol. 80, No. 2
READING • WRITING • ARITHMETIC • BEANS • BALLS • BUSES
Why is it that some people are
able to sit down and write so
effortlessly and others struggle to
compose a simple e-mail? It’s the
same reason, perhaps, that some peo-
ple can pick up an instrument and
play anything by ear, but others could-
n’t play very well even if they prac-
ticed every day for a year and had the
music in front of them.
Ask some writers and they may
talk about “writing” things first in
their head by organizing their ideas
and thinking about the ultimate goal
for the story. Others make precise
outlines, organizing their thoughts
in a structured picture of what they
want to say.
And even though people may be
adept at writing, they are not always
adept in the same way. Someone who
writes technical pieces may not have
the first idea about how to start a nov-
el. A novelist might not be able to
think and write in terms of the “invert-
ed pyramid” that is so important for
a newspaper article.
Often people struggle with just
putting down their thoughts. In the
comic strip “Zits,” teenage Jeremy
recently sat at the kitchen table with
a ream of paper in front of him. When
his mother asked what he was doing,
Jeremy said he had to finish his jour-
nal that was due the next day. When
was it assigned? Last September. How
much had he written? Not one word
so far. “Do you remember what we
were doing on …?”
For those of you who have
teenagers, I know you’re smiling now.
You’ve seen your child leave a writ-
ing assignment until the last possi-
ble moment. Recreating four and a
half months of a journal may be over
the top, but needing five pages on a
president when they’ve chosen some-
one too recent to have much written
about them is par for the course.
Or maybe you’re smiling because
you can remember staying up all night
to finish a paper that had been assigned
two weeks ago … or at the beginning
of the semester … and you didn’t get
around to writing it until the night
before it was due.
We’ve all read something at one
time or another that has made us say,
“Huh?” Think about the instructions
that come with anything that needs
to be put together … from a model
airplane to a new entertainment cen-
ter. Did you ever wonder if the peo-
ple who prepare the instructions ever
had any instruction in writing?
Writing affects everyone’s daily
lives. Even those who say they have
not read a book in years (whether on
paper, Kindle, Nook or iPad) have
read a menu, the directions to a video
game or the crawl line at the bottom
of the TV screen. In order for any of
that to appear, someone … some-
where … had to write, and write effec-
tively.
The cover story for this issue
of The Journal deals with writing —
both the physical activity and nur-
turing the creative process.
Whether cursive or keyboarding
wins the battle might be inconse-
quential when it comes to living a
successful life. But encouraging stu-
dents to write and to be evaluated on
their writing will still be important,
whether they’re putting a pen to paper
or typing words into a computer.
Whether your district includes
cursive writing instruction and when
to begin that process can be board
level questions when asked in the
correct way. What does the research
say to support cursive writing? You’ll
find that, as with other subjects, it’s
varied. To help stimulate that dis-
cussion, you’ll find a list of board lev-
el questions included with this cover
story.
***
When you say something repeat-
edly and someone actually listens, it
can be a wonderful thing … especially
when you’re dealing with Congress.
That’s why we’re certain that past
IASB president Christy Coleman of
Geneseo is very happy.
Each year when she has attend-
ed NSBA’s Federal Relations Network
Conference in Washington, D.C., Cole-
man made certain that every repre-
sentative, senator or staff she met
with from Illinois recognized the
importance of the “E-Rate” program
to districts like hers. E-Rate reduces
the cost of Internet access for high-
need schools and libraries, a service
that might be in jeopardy without a
waiver from the Consolidated Appro-
priations Act for FY 2012 and pro-
tection from the Anti-Deficiency Act,
which could tie up funding com-
mitments.
On the last day of January, NSBA
announced that more than $2.25 bil-
lion in E-Rate discounts will be avail-
able to school districts without
interruption for the next two years.
Congratulations, Christy! They
listened.
Vol. 80, No. 2
M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 1 2
ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL(ISSN-0019-221X) is published every other month by the Illinois Associationof School Boards, 2921 Baker Drive, Springfield, Illinois 62703-5929, telephone217/528-9688. The IASB regional officeis located at One Imperial Place, 1 East22nd Street, Lombard, Illinois 60148-6120, telephone 630/629-3776.
The JOURNAL is supported by the duesof school boards holding active member-ship in the Illinois Association of SchoolBoards. Copies are mailed to all schoolboard members and the superintendentin each IASB member school district.
Non-member subscription rate: Domes-tic $18.00 per year. Foreign (includingCanada and Mexico) $21.00 per year.
PUBLICATION POLICYIASB believes that the domestic processfunctions best through frank and opendiscussion. Material published in the JOUR-NAL, therefore, often presents divergentand controversial points of view which donot necessarily represent the views orpolicies of IASB.
James Russell, Associate Executive Director
Linda Dawson, EditorGary Adkins, Contributing EditorDiane M. Cape, Design and
Production ManagerDana Heckrodt, Advertising Manager
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
Cover by Corbin Design, PetersburgHeadline type courtesy of Sophie Mayfield
May/June Third R: ArithmeticJuly/August First B: Beans (Finance)
COVER STORY
14 | Writing: Practical skill or dying art?From penmanship to curriculum, writing will face a gauntlet of changes in the near future as the CommonCore State Standards prepare to shake up the way students are taught.
Alice Armstrong
16 | Sidebar: Questions board members should ask about writing
18 | Sidebar: Types and forms of writing
FEATURE STORIES
4 | A parting view …Governing duties differ at Association levelLearn how IASB’s board of directors functions in a way that keeps members from being at odds with what is in the best interest of their local districts.
Michael D. Johnson
8 | Improve board performance by harnessing board conflictGovernance is best performed by a “corporate body” that allows natural diversity to have a voice that finds a focused way forward.
John Cassel and Cathy Talbert
9 | Sidebar: Governance conversation can break the stalemate
11 | Fulfilling its purpose:Why board governance?A director of board services for the Indiana School Boards Association provides his rea-soning as to why communities need locally elected or appointed school board members.
Michael T. Adamson
20 | Students pay respects to overused wordsSee how one teacher held a “funeral” to make her students use more interesting words.
Valerie Wells
26 | Famed coach offers leadership pyramidSchool leaders could learn a lot from late college basketball coach JohnWooden.
Dennis White and Greg Reynolds
T O P I C S F O R U P C O M I N G I S S U E S
REGULAR FEATURES
Boiler Room. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Practical PR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Milestones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Ask the staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside back cover
2 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MARCH/APRIL 2012
Two days ago, I was havin’ break-
fast down at Amy’s Café with
my good friend, George, who works
for the phone company. He spends
most of his time repairing downed
wires.
“Say, Georgie boy,” I began. “Don’t
you ever get tired of fixing the same
old stuff all year?”
“No way, Gus! I like the old infra-
structure! We all know that telephone
wires should be put underground and
that telephone poles are obsolete, but
I like the job security. Hey … you
work in a school. Maybe you can help
explain somethin’ to me.”
I told him I’d try, but that I’m not
an educational expert. I just keep the
place clean. George then directed my
attention to the menu.
“Look at the top, Gus. What does
it say?”
“Amy’s Café.”
“That’s right! Had no trouble
readin’ that, did you?”
“No. I can read along with the
best of ’em.”
“Now, Gus, what do they call that
style of writing?”
“Cursive, I think.”
“Right again, Gus! Cursive! That’s
the style they taught you to use after
you learned to print, way back in the
1800s, when you went to school!”
“I’m not that old, George. Well,
not quite. What are you gettin’ at?”
“Just at how nicely ‘Amy’s Café’
is written. The letters are formed per-
fectly.”
“Well, George, that’s probably
because it was done at some print-
er’s by a computer.”
“Doesn’t matter. Now, look at
this.”
George reached into the inside
pocket of his coat and produced an
envelope. He passed it across the table
to me while the waitress was pourin’
us some more coffee.
“This is a letter my sister’s daugh-
ter sent me, just last week. Sis is tryin’
to get her to send a real, hand-writ-
ten letter now and then, instead of
always usin’ e-mail. The kid’s in high
school. Just read the first few lines
and tell me what it says.”
I read the first few lines, as direct-
ed.
“Let’s see,” I began. “It says, ‘Hi,
Uncle George … I’m really bummed
out! Car got rear-ended!’”
George took the letter back, and
called the waitress over.
“Agnes. Do me a favor and read
the first few words of this letter. Tell
me what it says.”
Agnes stared at the letter for a
few seconds and then ventured her
guess.
“Gee, George … I think it says,
‘Hi, Uncle George … I’m really burned
out! Cargo’s upended.’ Does your
niece work at some shipyard?”
“No, Agnes, no she doesn’t. You
know, I had to call her up to ask her
what she’d written. You know what
it’s supposed to say?”
Agnes and I couldn’t guess.
“Hi, Uncle George … I’m really
busted up! Carl got suspended.”
George informed us that “Carl”
is his niece’s boyfriend.
While Agnes made out the bill,
George produced two slips of paper
Gus, the custodi-
an at Eastside
Grammar, is the
creation of
Richard W.
Smelter, a retired
school principal,
now a Chicago-
based college
instructor and
author.
Confused friend longsfor well-taught cursive
by “Gus”
B O I L E R R O O M
Probably looks like
my dog’s signature,
too, if I could get him
to hold a pen!
from his wallet.
“Now,” he began. “These are two
prescriptions I have to get filled down
at the pharmacy. One’s from my wife’s
doctor and the other is from my doc-
tor. The wife’s doctor’s last name is
O’Meara, and my doctor’s last name
is Dombrowski. Look at the signa-
tures, Gus. Can you tell one signa-
ture from the other?”
I studied the signatures careful-
ly … just two, similar-looking, squig-
gly lines. I informed George that I
hadn’t a clue as to which doctor wrote
which prescription.
“Precisely, Gus! You can’t even
tell that one’s an Irish last name and
the other is Polish! And, guess what?
They both look like my dog’s vet’s sig-
nature! Probably looks like my dog’s
signature, too, if I could get him to
hold a pen! Must drive the druggist
crazy! I think there’s this company
that makes the same signature stamp
for all the doctors! Totally illegible!”
“So, George, what’s the bottom
line? I gotta run.”
“Just this, Gus. Tell those teach-
ers to teach cursive better. Bring back
the beauty, and clarity, in hand-
writing! Tell them to teach their stu-
dents the plain, old-fashioned charm
of the handwritten letter! Heck!
We live in a world of abbreviated text
messaging!”
I thought about what he’d said
as I drove to work.
Perhaps we are living in a world
in which beauty and simplicity have
been cast aside by ugliness and speed.
Perhaps we’ve grown too attached to
our electronic devices.
I thought I’d stop by Mr. Keck’s
office to ask him what he thought
about all of this.
I never got to see him. He was
too busy text-messaging somebody.
PresidentCarolyne Brooks
Vice PresidentKaren Fisher
ImmediatePast PresidentJoseph Alesandrini
IASB is a voluntary association of local boards ofeducation and is not affiliated with any branch ofgovernment.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Abe LincolnRoger Edgecombe
BlackhawkJackie Mickley
Central Illinois ValleyThomas Neeley
Cook NorthPhil Pritzker
Cook SouthTom Cunningham
Cook WestJoanne Zendol
Corn BeltMark Harms
DuPageRosemary Swanson
EgyptianJohn Metzger
IlliniMichelle Skinlo
KaskaskiaLinda Eades
KishwaukeeMary Stith
Lake CountyJoanne Osmond
NorthwestBen Andersen
ShawneeRoger Pfister
SouthwesternJohn Coers
Starved RockSimon Kampwerth Jr.
Three Rivers / TreasurerDale Hansen
Two RiversDavid Barton
Wabash ValleyTim Blair
WesternSue McCance
Chicago BoardJesse Ruiz
Services AssociatesSteve Larson
“It’s not true, but it sure keeps the tailgaters away.”
MARCH/APRIL 2012 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 3
4 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MARCH/APRIL 2012
Editor’s note: In September 2000,
Michael D. Johnson became
just the fifth full-time executive direc-
tor in the 98-year history of the Illi-
nois Association of School Boards.
He retired from that role in May 2007
and returned in July 2007 as exec-
utive director emeritus to focus on
the transition to a new executive and
to help with fundraising for the Asso-
ciation. He will relinquish that role
and end 11-plus years of service with
IASB in June 2012.
This is the fourth of five articles
Johnson will write for The Jour-
nal, outlining what he and the Asso-
ciation have done and where he
believes both are heading. In this
issue, Johnson reviews the role of
the board of directors in Association
governance.
Just what is the role of the board
of directors in Association gover-
nance? Who are they and what do
they do? How do they impact local
member districts and their school
boards?
These are questions any non-
profit association might face. The
answers are equally important to the
Illinois Association of School Boards
and how it operates.
The Association’s constitution
provides that major policies be estab-
lished by an annual delegate assem-
bly and places governance in the
hands of an elected board of direc-
tors. The board of directors — made
up of officers and regional directors
— employs an executive director and
approves annual budgets to carry out
the work of the Association, through
its offices in Springfield and Lom-
bard.
The IASB board of directors estab-
lishes policies governing the Associ-
ation and setting standards for its
management and operations. These
governance policies establish ends
for the Association, including a state-
ment of its mission, define the lim-
its on executive authority of the staff,
set forth board procedures and describe
the board/staff relationship. Taken
together, these governance policies
provide clear direction for the staff
organization.
Although IASB board policies
can provide considerable insight into
the governance process for local boards
of education, the governance poli-
cies of a not-for-profit association dif-
fer from those of a public school
district.
In fact, there is a significant dif-
ference between a local board of edu-
cation that is elected and the corporate
board that is appointed and respon-
sible for IASB governance. The con-
stitution, policies and practices of
this board combine to create a gov-
ernance structure designed to keep
directors from having to choose
between what’s good for the Associ-
ation and what’s good for their local
district.
Let me give a few examples:
Our board of directors does not
vote on dues every year. Instead, dis-
trict member dues are based on a for-
mula that fluctuates by local
enrollment, budget, etc., so that it
Michael D.
Johnson is
executive
director emeritus
of the Illinois
Association of
School Boards.
This is part four
of a five-part
series.
F E A T U R E A R T I C L E
A parting view …Governing duties differat Association level
by Michael D. Johnson
The IASB Board of
Directors set the
standards for the
Association staff,
provide leadership
and model it for
local boards.
MARCH/APRIL 2012 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 5
may go up or down in a given year. If
the directors had to vote on it annu-
ally, that could impose a hardship on
their local district and put them in
conflict with their local interests and
fellow board members.
And because our directors sup-
port an Association budget and dues
structure that does not place 100 per-
cent of the budget burden on mem-
ber dues, local districts can pick and
choose what fee-based services they
prefer or need. This also increases
the accountability required of staff
to members, staff to the executive
director, and executive director to
the board of directors.
Likewise, IASB directors adopt-
ed a formula with inflation factors to
set the annual conference fee that
doesn’t require them to act every
year, or force them to make arbitrary
decisions to raise or lower or freeze
registration fees based on emotions
or conditions. The formula is set, and
the fees are predictable and fairly
adjusted.
Here’s another example. The Del-
egate Assembly is charged with vot-
ing on Association position statements,
via resolutions submitted by local
school boards, but the board of direc-
tors is largely removed from this polit-
ical process. The directors who do sit
on the resolutions committee screen
and hear rationale for these resolu-
tions, but they themselves do not cast
the decisive vote on them.
Lobbying is an essential part of
our work, but it is not handled by
the directors. And because this
authority is given over to Associa-
tion staff, IASB is always well rep-
resented at the table when
negotiations on critical education
issues are decided. Very few other
associations enjoy this type of sup-
port and autonomy. And the results
show when potentially damaging leg-
islation or mandates are minimized
or eliminated.
So what does this board of direc-
tors do?
They set the standards for the
Association staff, provide leadership
and model it for local boards.
It’s not uncommon for the direc-
tors to see and hear reports and
demonstrations of new programs or
services developed by Association
staff. Although they do not approve
or disapprove these programs, direc-
tors do approve the budget that allows
staff to research and implement the
programs and services the Associa-
tion provides to local districts.
I credit our board of directors for
advocating for IASB’s entrepreneur-
ial spirit. That support encourages
the Association staff to be leaders in
our fields, to look forward and antic-
ipate what members need, and to find
the best people and resources to pro-
vide it. IASB has always been the
leader that other state associations
follow and look to for guidance.
Because governance of the Asso-
ciation is based on geographic rep-
resentation, it also allows for regional
input and differences. For example,
each of our 21 divisions has its own
bylaws, which vary by division and
expand or contract how they gov-
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6 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MARCH/APRIL 2012
ern locally. That allows for division
dinner meetings to reflect what the
local board members want and need,
and not carbon copy a template that
IASB staff or the directors might dic-
tate.
Each division is also responsible
for electing the person it wants to
have a seat on the IASB board of direc-
tors. There is no term limit, per se;
rather, directors serve so long as the
division supports them, and pro-
vided the directors continue as local-
ly elected school board members.
The one exception to this is the
one-year terms that our Association
officers serve. Each officer can serve
two consecutive years, so if a person
moves up the ranks from vice pres-
ident to president to past president,
their maximum career service is
six years.
At that point, they can join the
“old goats club” of IASB past pres-
idents. This distinguished group rep-
resents the history of the Association
and provides invaluable wisdom,
experience and support for those
coming up the ranks. They also help
new officers and directors avoid
repeating any mistakes from the
past.
What qualities make for an effec-
tive director or outstanding offi-
cer?
I’ve had the privilege of working
with many good ones and a few great
ones in my 11-year tenure. I believe
those qualities include a capacity for
leadership, a grasp for seeing and
doing what is best for the entire state,
and a commitment to serve above
and beyond the hours spent at local
board meetings. Although we try very
hard to keep their local service ahead
of any service they provide as direc-
tors, the ones who survive — and
thrive — at both are those individ-
uals who can accommodate and bal-
ance these commitments without
conflict.
If you want to learn more about
the Association’s governance poli-
cies, go to the IASB website and click
on this link: http://iasb.com/pdf/Gov-
Policies.pdf. And if you want a cur-
rent list of the officers and directors,
you can find it in the front of this mag-
azine, or by linking to it at:
http://iasb.com/whatis/officers.cfm.
Next issue: the transition of exec-
utive directors
STAFFOFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORMichael L. Bartlett, Deputy Executive Director
Meetings ManagementPatricia Culler, Assistant to the Executive DirectorSandy Boston, Assistant Director
Office of General CounselMelinda Selbee, General CounselKimberly Small, Assistant General Counsel
Executive SearchesDonna Johnson, DirectorDoug Blair, ConsultantDawn Miller, ConsultantThomas Leahy, Consultant
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICESJennifer Feld, Associate ExecutiveDirector/Chief Financial Officer
Production ServicesDiane M. Cape, Senior Director
ADVOCACY/GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONSBenjamin S. Schwarm, Associate Executive DirectorDeanna L. Sullivan, DirectorSusan Hilton, Director
AdvocacyCynthia Woods, Director
BOARD DEVELOPMENT/TARGETING ACHIEVEMENT THROUGH GOVERNANCEAngie Peifer, Associate Executive Director
Board DevelopmentSandra Kwasa, DirectorNesa Brauer, Consultant
Targeting Achievement through GovernanceDebra Walden, ConsultantSteve Clark, Consultant
COMMUNICATIONSJames Russell, Associate Executive DirectorGary W. Adkins, Director/EditorialLinda Dawson, Director/EditorialJennifer Nelson, Director, Information ServicesGerald R. Glaub, Consultant
FIELD SERVICES/POLICY SERVICESCathy A. Talbert, Associate Executive Director
Field ServicesLarry Dirks, DirectorDean Langdon, DirectorPatrick Rice, DirectorJeff Cohn, DirectorBarbara B. Toney, DirectorLaurel DiPrima, Director
Policy ServicesAnna Lovern, DirectorNancy Bohl, ConsultantAndrea Dolgin, ConsultantJackie Griffith, ConsultantWayne Savageau, ConsultantBrian Zumpf, Consultant
IASB OFFICES
2921 Baker DriveSpringfield, Illinois 62703-5929217/528-9688 Fax 217/528-2831
One Imperial Place1 East 22nd Street, Suite 20Lombard, Illinois 60148-6120630/629-3776 Fax 630/629-3940
www.iasb.com
8 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MARCH/APRIL 2012
F E A T U R E A R T I C L E
Conflicting perspectives, ideas,
values and styles are the
essence of a board. Most organiza-
tions — and certainly all associations
— do best when they are a true expres-
sion of what their members want.
The subtle complexities required
to be “on point” are why most orga-
nizations choose to be governed by
a board of directors, rather than an
individual.
A board of directors is a group of
equals who gather around funda-
mental questions like: Who are we?
What do we care about? What are we
trying to do? Most organiza-
tions find
themselves caught in a mixture of
competing answers to these and oth-
er questions. To find common ground,
the board must bring members’ var-
ied expectations together at one table
for the purpose of collectively creat-
ing a unified way forward.
The importance of diversity
Board governance works best
when there is a healthy, vigorous
debate over tough, key questions,
according to Patrick Lencioni, author
of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team:
A Leadership Fable. “If team mem-
bers are not making one another
uncomfortable at times, if they’re
never pushing one another out-
side of their emotional com-
fort zones during
discussions, then it is
extremely likely that
they are not making
the best decisions for
the organization,” he
writes in his book,
stressing that if the nat-
ural diversity found on
every board is honored
and nurtured, a focused
way forward will emerge.
And make no mistake:
A focused way forward is essen-
tial, as board governance works best
when the board comes to agreement
about the organization’s purpose and
direction, and then empowers the
CEO and staff to execute it.
Think of it like this: While man-
agement is best centered in one per-
son who is accountable for the whole,
governance is best located in a “cor-
porate body” that articulates an orga-
nizational mission and embodies the
ethos and culture of the whole. For
that reason, healthy, productive con-
flict should be valued and nurtured
around every board table.
Common conflicts
Effective boards welcome diverse
opinions and work by disabling con-
flict. The members of these boards
find the experience rewarding because
they are able to make a satisfying con-
tribution to the organization.
Unfortunately, many boards are
not healthy. Either they don’t see the
value in productive conflict or they
are handicapped by debilitating dis-
agreements, such as the following
common board conflicts:
• The board disagrees about its job.
Sometimes board conflict is what
might be called “structural.” If
board members do not agree about
the board’s job — and how the board
relates to the CEO — they will
Cathy Talbert is
IASB associate
executive direc-
tor, field services
and policy ser-
vices. John
Cassel retired in
2011 as IASB
field services
director for the
Starved Rock,
North Cook and
DuPage divi-
sions. This article
appeared in Janu-
ary/February
issue of Forum
magazine, a
publication of
the Association
Forum of
Chicagoland,
and is
used with
permission.
Improve board performanceby harnessing board conflict
by John Cassel and Cathy Talbert
Healthy, productive conflict
should be valued andnurtured around
every board table.
MARCH/APRIL 2012 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 9
Governance conversation can break the stalemate
In many ways, association boards are a lot like local
school boards. One task of every school board is to deter-
mine exactly how much money the local community
should invest in public education. It’s not surprising that
in today’s world, some board members get elected with
the sole agenda of dramatically limiting district expen-
ditures.
This can be a ready-made recipe for conflict. Typi-
cally, all board members profess commitment to fiscal
responsibility. However, most seated board members are
looking to balance a variety of commitments and values.
It’s one way to think about the work of a school board:
Its job is finding the right balance between educational
excellence, community needs and fiscal responsibility.
Most school boards self-consciously work at finding
a balance. So when someone shows up who believes
finances trump everything, conflict erupts.
Some boards work through the conflict; others get
stuck and reach out for assistance, seeking help from the
Illinois Association of School Boards. Often a board with
this dynamic will be stuck in a “money” conversation:
budget line items, expendable programs, unnecessary
expenses and non-negotiables. As an antidote, IASB
attempts to help the board and its members move
from defending individual positions to identifying com-
mon interests. It encourages board members to pause
and reflect on all that they value for their school district,
their community and their children. It encourages an
explicit “values” conversation. What do we really care
about? How can we really hear and respect each other’s
values? Do fiscal concerns really stand alone, or has this
theme emerged because it’s hard to see the values behind
program decisions?
Most of the time, this true “governance conversa-
tion” (What do we really care about?) gets boards past
their stalemate. A high-functioning board of diverse views
really is the best vehicle to balance competing values in
tune with community well-being.
arrive at the table with different
understandings of the task at hand.
Every board should have regular
opportunities to ask, “What’s our
job?” “How do we want to do busi-
ness at this table?” Wise boards
review their charge regularly and
work from a set of written board
agreements and policies about
group norms, roles and responsi-
bilities.
• The board fails to function as a
team. Becoming a team requires
time and effort. The board must
establish leadership expectations,
communication patterns and behav-
ioral norms. It’s doubly compli-
cated because the board must
establish its internal structures
and then figure out how they relate
to the CEO. With board members
and CEOs coming and going, it’s a
never-ending process. Many boards
simply do not dedicate the time
required for these formative tasks.
Wise boards know board orienta-
tion and teambuilding is essential,
and time well spent. Sometimes
you need to slow down to speed
up.
• A few “difficult people” control
the board’s agenda. The most pop-
ular workshop at many board con-
ferences is “dealing with difficult
people.” How, one wonders, did
all these difficult people get appoint-
ed to boards? Certainly, recruit-
ing and appointing new board mem-
bers is a task that boards should
take very seriously. Nevertheless,
many boards are troubled by both
internal and external players. On
investigation, one discovers many
of the internal “difficult people”
are not truly dysfunctional peo-
ple who could care less about the
organization, but rather consci-
entious members who do not feel
heard, included or respected, or
who do not understand existing
agreements about the board’s job
and procedures. Every board must
spend time developing a culture
that is truly respectful of what each
10 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MARCH/APRIL 2012
board member brings to the table.
Communication patterns should
embody the reality that informa-
tion is power and all members are
kept in the loop. Board orienta-
tion should be thorough and care-
ful.
Mission: collaborative conflict
All board members owe their
organization — and each other — a
willingness to listen carefully and
respectfully, an eagerness to share
their honest and best thinking, and
a commitment to move forward togeth-
er.
With that in mind, all board mem-
bers should support and hold them-
selves accountable for the decisions
the board makes. If the board’s process-
es do not generate the respect and
appreciation they deserve, not all
board members will consider them-
selves accountable for board deci-
sions. The result is a weaker
organization.
The bottom line is this: Boards
that function on the primary work of
the board and build a culture of trust
and respect will find themselves doing
powerful work. The diversity of per-
spectives around the board table —
which is so helpful — will come togeth-
er in a unity of purpose, propelling
the organization toward its mission
and enhancing the lives of all stake-
holders.
In modern society, the ability to
engage one another with civility and
respect during a meaningful exchange
of ideas is in jeopardy. As servants of
the body politic and the common
good, boards are in a position to change
that by embracing productive con-
flict. It’s an important challenge —
and all association board members
should rise to the occasion.
Development – Policies that provide for good board processes, a strong board-superintendent relationship, appropriate direction and delegation to the superintendent, and district ends.
Updating – Policies that are current with legal requirements and provide for effective board governance.
Review – A process that assures board policy continues to accurately support the board’s mission, vision and goals.
Monitoring – A process that assures board policy is being followed and is having the intended effect.
Communicating – A process that allows easy access to current board policy by theboard, staff, students, parents and the community.
If your board needs assistance in any of these areas, contact IASB Policy Services today!630/629-3776 or 217/528-9688Ext. 1214 or [email protected] or [email protected]
IASB Policy Services IASB Policy Services Provides custom, in-district services and workshops
to assist your board with all aspects of its policymaking role:
F E A T U R E A R T I C L E
Why board governance? It is
a question that is forever
asked by critics of public education
governance and one that receives
varying amounts of press when the
wind of political criticism blows
toward school boards and their role
in the governance process. Regard-
less of its origin, it remains a good
question and one that begs more than
a cursory answer. Why has the egal-
itarian governance over public edu-
cation been assigned to a group of
elected and/or appointed members
of the local community? Is this a
time-worn governance model? Does
it still work?
History and hindrances
Local control and an unwaver-
ing drive for representative govern-
ment was the precursor to school
boards in mid-17th century colonial
America. Pioneers and householders
established school committees and
those committees evolved to hiring
schoolmasters and keeping the school
house in repair and heated during
the winter, buying supplies, assess-
ing student progress, evaluating per-
formance and monitoring truancy.
This system of control by school com-
mittee spread across the country and
these committees performed many
of the same roles as today’s school
boards. (NSBA, 2006)
Representative governance over-
sight by a locally elected and/or
appointed group of citizens mirrors
most other forms of oversight offices,
each representing the voice of their
constituencies in their individual
capacities as public officials. Iron-
ically, there has almost always been
a tendency for other elected offi-
cials, as well as private citizens alike,
to view school board positions dif-
ferently from other offices, when, in
reality, a school board member is as
much a public official as other office
holders. Additionally, other public
official’s incursions into areas of edu-
cational governance are probably
more frequent than what is realized
in other offices. Perhaps that is
because other elected and/or appoint-
ed officials find public education to
be an easy diversionary target, or
perhaps it is because a few well-cal-
culated sound bites regarding edu-
cation are a sure way to garner a few
more votes at the polls, or it may
simply be that, in the grand scheme
of things, the general consensus is
that school board members occupy
a lesser, more subservient, office.
Regardless, it is easy to understand
why school board service is often
described as a thankless job, but this
is a different issue altogether … or
is it?
The real question
That is the question isn’t it? Why
do board members continue to place
themselves, their reputations, and
their families in an arena of public
scrutiny? Why do they endure the
derisive comments and thankless
criticisms of their constituents, as
well as from other public officials,
when from all outward appearances
there are seemingly no benefits to be
realized?
Without pretending to under-
stand the mindset of any individual
who willingly places himself or her-
self in front of the firing squad of pub-
lic opinion, it is important to examine
some tenets of school board gover-
nance that are uniquely different than
most other public offices. Although
this may not altogether explain the
psychosis behind anyone’s desire to
serve public education in this day
and age, it does provide some insight
regarding what board members under-
stand about the office that many do
not.
Michael T. Adam-
son is director of
board services
for the Indiana
School Boards
Association. His
article appeared
in the Fall 2011
issue of The Jour-
nal and is used
with permission.
Fulfilling its purpose:Why board governance?
by Michael T. Adamson
MARCH/APRIL 2012 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 11
Distinctive differences
One of the most distinctive dif-
ferences between the office of a school
board member and other elected posi-
tions is that in many states this office
is non-partisan. This stance is some-
what hard to defend considering that
the election process is steeped in par-
tisan politics, but it is true nonethe-
less.
The election process for school
board members, not unlike their par-
tisan counterparts for other public
offices, is only the vehicle utilized to
determine which candidates will serve,
but that is where the similarities
between school board candidates and
candidates of other offices end.
Although board members do not serve
party politics and, ethically, they can-
not serve a party and be true to the
board office, public education gov-
ernance is impacted by partisan pol-
itics and ultimately must govern in
compliance with legislation result-
ing from partisan politics, but that is
the extent of the partisan influence
upon the primary tenets of school
board governance.
Public education is simply that
… education that is available for every
child of the public … and that means
all the public. If that is true, then
board members must embrace and
represent the cause of public educa-
tion by governing indiscriminately.
The children in Indiana (as well as
Illinois) schools, for all real and prac-
tical purposes, do not have a politi-
cal affiliation. Their need for education
is not dependent upon whether they
come from homes that are democ-
ratic, republican, libertarian, inde-
pendent, tea-partiers, and so on.
Consequently, responsible public
education governance oversight can-
not be contingent on these issues
either. That means that board mem-
bers, who may have strong party affil-
iations and political opinions, must
lay aside those positions to consider
what is best for education, regardless
of politics. That is perhaps easier said
than done, but it is the only defend-
able position possible.
Another difference is that edu-
cational issues are all that school
board members are required to
address. Board members are only
responsible to deliberate upon the
means whereby they can meet the
educational objectives of their school
[district]. This is the only elected
position that can truly state that edu-
cation is their only concern and it is
this benefit of the office that acts as
the enabler of the non-partisan posi-
tion.
Finally, board members are rep-
resentatives of the culture and cli-
mate of the communities they
represent. They are a group of men
and women who regularly meet for
the sole purpose of addressing the
needs of public education in their
local school [district]. Their job is to
establish the policies and allocate the
resources for public education to
occur according to federal and state
guidelines while reflecting their com-
munity’s goals and objectives. (John-
son, 2010) This is no small task
because it often requires a school
board to meld potentially divergent
opinions into single expressions of
leadership governance for their school
[district].
Why do we govern by boards?
A better question is, “Who would
you rather be responsible for pub-
lic education governance?” Critics
of the current governance system
claim board service no longer meets
the needs of public education, but
that statement is, minimally, an over-
ly simplified and convenient con-
demnation. It is easy to say that the
current model of governance has failed
and should be replaced, but with
what? Furthermore, with renewed
accountability expectations in all
areas of education, what single indi-
vidual or group do you trust to do
what is best for education in your
local community, to emphasize and
reflect the educational values that
your community believes are most
important?
There are many reasons public
education is governed by boards of
Public education is simply that … education that is available for
every child of the public … and that means all the public. If that is
true, then board members must embrace and represent the cause of
public education by governing indiscriminately.
12 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MARCH/APRIL 2012
locally elected and appointed citi-
zens, other than being the way we
have always done things. Public edu-
cation is governed by boards because
multiple perspectives help ensure
that the best decisions are reached
in matters affecting a broad con-
stituency; governance by boards pro-
vides checks and balances when
individuals from different backgrounds
and experiences converge, thereby
discouraging the domination of lead-
ership by a single individual; public
education is governed by boards
because local control is an inherent
value of a free democracy. These rea-
sons express what the Founding
Fathers long ago recognized as the
benefits provided by local expression
and control over the affairs of our
lives.
Is there a better way?
If we were redesigning public
education governance, how would
we develop the model? Ideally, gov-
ernance would not be relegated to a
single individual to prevent a one-
dimensional focus in policy and deci-
sion-making. We would want the
governing body to have an experi-
ential understanding of local values
and we would insist that they under-
stand the culture of the communi-
ty. The system of governance
employed must be flexible enough
to reflect a local identity but robust
enough to ensure that students are
equipped to meet the challenges of
the 21st century. The system must
have strong accountability measures
in place that are realistically estab-
lished using data and that are regu-
larly reviewed for progress and
alignment to educational goals and
objectives.
This sounds like a good begin-
ning. But wait, isn’t this what we have?
Granted, not every board performs
as well as it should; not every school
[district] challenges students to reach
their fullest potential to the degree
that they should, and not every com-
munity shows their value for educa-
tion beyond more than cursory
support. But that does not mean that
the governance model is broken, only
that it needs revitalizing where it is
not performing to expectations.
The challenge
Part of the dilemma of board gov-
ernance is that resources to promote
public education at the local level are
dramatically impacted by the politi-
cians who wave the educational ban-
ner for personal interests. That is not
to say that those individuals are not
interested in education, only that
education is a value that they are will-
ing to compromise, to varying degrees,
to blend educational objectives into
an overall political platform that often
capitalizes on the general public’s
collective misperceptions regarding
educational issues. For politicians,
education represents only one of
many interests they target as a respon-
sibility of their office. Consequent-
ly, part of the challenge is to somehow
raise the value of education beyond
partisan politics.
The final part of the challenge is
to conscientiously and consistently
elevate the collective governance
knowledge of school board members
to better equip them for the rigors of
board service. Current research
emphasizes the value of board train-
ing and professional development
and the boards that have embraced
that reality are consistently performing
at greater levels of effectiveness in
their school districts. (Maeroff, 2010)
School board governance left the
Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn era long
ago and whether board members rep-
resent [districts] in dense urban areas,
the most remote and isolated rural
areas, or anywhere in between, the
demands of the office require mem-
bers who have the practical and intel-
lectual knowledge to represent the
cause of public education effective-
ly.
ReferencesP.A. Johnson, “Leading for Learn-
ing: Leadership Practices of Effective
Boards,” ERS Spectrum, 2010
G.I. Maeroff, School Boards in
America: A flawed exercise in democ-
racy, New York: Palgrave Macmillan,
2010
National School Boards Associa-
tion, Becoming a better board mem-
ber (third edition), Alexandria, Virginia:
NSBA, 2006
MARCH/APRIL 2012 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 13
IASB SERVICEASSOCIATES
The best ofeverythingfor schools
IASB Service Associates provide quality products and services for schools. Membership is by
invitation only. A list of Service Associate firms is on the IASB website and in this Journal.
The best ofeverythingfor schools
14 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MARCH/APRIL 2012
C O V E R S T O R Y
If the computer had existed in the
1700’s, would Thomas Jeffer-
son have penned the Declaration of
Independence? Probably, but not in
his elegant script for he well may have
learned keyboarding skills instead of
cursive writing in grammar school.
Would the Declaration of Inde-
pendence be any less profound if Jef-
ferson had typed it in Times New
Roman? Probably not. But some neu-
roscientists concerned about the
impact of raising children on tech-
nology worry that the Thomas Jef-
fersons of tomorrow may be unable
to think deeply enough to conceive
of such profound ideas.
Recent research demonstrates
that heavy use of technology impacts
many aspects of human development.
From inhibiting the growth of social
skills and deep, abstract thinking
to creating active addictions to social
networking and texting, too much
technology in the lives of children
may cause them to suffer life-long
struggles in … and outside … their
academic careers.
Charged with educating and
socializing society’s children, public
schools must teach children how to
use technology to their advantage
without growing overly dependent
on it or letting it take control of their
lives.
How can schools accomplish this
goal? Perhaps they can do it through
more rigorous instruction in writing,
both the physical and intellectual
exercises.
Curriculum in Illinois
Educators are expected to teach
skills identified in their district’s cur-
riculum. Today, much of that cur-
riculum is driven by the Common
Core State Standards (CCSS).
An initiative of the National Gov-
ernors Association aimed at bring-
ing uniformity and rigor to the nation’s
classrooms, CCSS has been adopted
by Illinois, along with the vast major-
ity of other states. In 2014, the state
plans to replace the current set of
standardized tests with assessments
Alice Armstrong
of Springfield, Illi-
nois, is a high
school English
teacher, free-
lance writer and
copy editor.
Writing: Practicalskill or dying art?
by Alice Armstrong
MARCH/APRIL 2012 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 15
aligned to CCSS. Consequently, class-
room teachers will be teaching skills
identified in the CCSS.
For elementary students, these
standards now identify keyboarding
but not cursive writing skills. Cur-
sive writing was already receiving
short shrift in many classrooms pri-
or to the adoption of CCSS. Now, cur-
sive writing instruction may well be
doomed to extinction as teachers will
be too busy to give attention to skills
outside of the curriculum.
Many parents and educators view
this trend toward technological skill
development as progress for public
education, and as a much-needed
leap into the 21st century. Others,
however, feel just as strongly that this
change signals a retreat, in the name
of progress, from teaching a basic skill
with which many children struggle.
For most of the 20th century,
third-graders across the nation
clenched pencils in their little hands
and labored to link loopy letters into
legible words.
Why, techies wonder, would any-
one put a child through that misery
when a computer keyboard is avail-
able? It’s like teaching kids to tie
shoelaces when they could use Vel-
cro. But, just as using Velcro does not
teach fine motor skills, it is not always
available, nor is it always desirable.
Learning to write in cursive, like
tying a shoe, not only enhances fine
motor skills, but it can arm a child
with a practical skill that can be used
in almost any situation quickly and
conveniently.
Yes, children also need key-
boarding skills in order to navigate
modern life effectively. But Marc Pren-
sky, author of Teaching Digital Natives
— Partnering for Real Learning, likes
to point out that most of today’s kids
are “digital natives.”
According to a 2010 study spon-
sored by the Kaiser Family Founda-
tion, 93 percent of American
households have a computer and 66
percent of children ages 8 to 18 have
their own cell phone. Having used
technology practically from the
moment they left the womb, these
children already know how to use a
computer and navigate a keyboard
upon entry into kindergarten.
In contrast, kids are not learn-
ing to write cursive before they start
school. Few who do not get cursive
instruction in elementary school will
learn it on their own, so how will they
learn to sign their names? Most will
not. Already a large number of high
school students can only print their
names. Having no distinct signature
may be a handicap in adult life.
While it is true that many elec-
tronic transactions no longer require
a signature, plenty of paper contracts
still do need a “John Hancock” and
probably will for decades. The day
may arrive when contracts are sealed
with eyeball scanning or something
similar, but that day is still far in the
future. In the meantime, a signature
is a necessity.
Cursive as a thinking skill
Writing in cursive remains a fast,
convenient alternative to printing. A
students’ inability to write and read
cursive writing may actually slow
down instruction.
Teachers must print when writ-
ing on the board and making nota-
tions on student papers, a much more
laborious mode of communication
than script. Students printing their
notes rather than writing them in cur-
sive can fall behind and demand that
the teacher slow down. Such tech-
nologically dependent children may
not be prepared for keeping up with
a college professor’s lecture or a boss’
instructions, and their demands to
slow down won’t likely be met.
Are convenience and speed alone
reason enough to spend time and
money teaching kids to link their let-
ters in sinuous script? Maybe. How-
ever, there are other important reasons
to keep cursive alive.
Research reported in Develop-
mental Science indicates that the
physical act of writing helps cement
learning, a truth that can be seen, lit-
erally, on a functional MRI scan. When
the brains of children learning to rec-
ognize letters on a keyboard and push
the button are compared to brain
scans of children learning to write
with pencil on paper, the scans clear-
ly and consistently revealed much
greater brain activity associated with
the act of writing.
The 2010 study, led by Karin Har-
man James, assistant professor of
psychology and neuroscience at Indi-
ana University, indicated that the use
of fine motor skills in children is
Learning to write in cursive, like tying
a shoe, not only enhances fine motor
skills, but it can arm a child with a
practical skill that can be used in
almost any situation quickly and con-
veniently.
16 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MARCH/APRIL 2012
strongly linked to learning. Thus, chil-
dren who put pencil to paper have
a firmer grasp of spelling and con-
structing ideas than children who use
a keyboard. Somehow, says James,
“ … the act of drawing out letters
strengthens learning.”
This notion is supported by pro-
fessors in other disciplines as well.
According to Donna Werderich,
assistant professor of language arts
at Northern Illinois University: “We
don’t have data showing the effects
of taking away cursive, but there is
data showing a correlation between
putting pen to paper and the thought
process: expressing thoughts and pro-
cessing information.”
The physical act of writing exer-
cises the brain in a way that typing
does not. What’s more, well-devel-
oped fine motor skills are important
all on their own.
Daily life requires the use of these
skills for everything from tying shoes
to braiding hair to locking and unlock-
ing doors. Anecdotal evidence sug-
gests the decline in cursive instruction
is accompanied by a decline in the
manual dexterity of many children.
A few years ago, teachers at Penn
Manor elementary schools in Penn-
sylvania, where cursive had been all
but cut from the curriculum, noticed
a significant increase in the number
of children needing occupational ther-
apy and wondered if the lack of cur-
sive writing was responsible. In
response, these educators decided to
increase the time devoted to teach-
ing cursive writing, and discovered
that the need for therapy decreased.
Some special education teach-
ers believe cursive instruction also
helps children overcome dyslexia and
dysgraphia, with findings published
in The Cursive Writing Approach to
Readiness and Reading, by Phillip
J. McInnis and Sandra K. Curtis.
Dyslexic and dysgraphic students
reverse letters when they read and
write. In their experience, these spe-
cial education teachers see an improve-
ment in reading and writing fluency
when using cursive. They theorize
that the continuous nature of cursive
reduces the frequency of letter rever-
sal.
In 1995, McInnis wrote that teach-
ing dyslexic children cursive first
helps eliminate letter reversals because
it reduces the potential for errors that
can come with picking up the pencil
from the paper to form letters indi-
vidually.
Dying like Latin
Still, not everyone is convinced
that teaching cursive writing is nec-
essary or desirable. In fact, many edu-
cators and parents argue that cursive
writing ought to go the way of Latin.
It has outlived its usefulness, they
say, and with the curriculum jam-
packed as it is, teachers have no time
Just like the reading program profiled in the Janu-
ary/February issue of The Illinois School Board Jour-
nal, school board members should maintain a “balcony
perspective” when it comes to district writing programs.
However, board members also need to ask the proper
questions of administration to make certain that what
is being taught regarding writing follows the direction
that the board has set for the district.
The following represent some board-level questions
that might be raised for discussion regarding writing in
the district:
• Are our students receiving instruction in cursive writ-
ing? If so, at what grade level does it begin? Is there
reinforcement in subsequent grades?
• Do teachers from different grade levels talk about writ-
ing instruction and compare what they are asking of
students?
• What sources of research do teachers in the district
use as a basis for writing instruction?
• What amount of time do teachers spend on writing
assignments?
• If the district conducts writing tests, what are the scor-
ing trends for the past five years? Ten years?
• If the district has discontinued writing tests, have
teachers seen a change in written classroom work?
• Has the district received feedback from local employ-
ers regarding students’ abilities to write effectively on
the job?
Questions board membersshould ask about writing
MARCH/APRIL 2012 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 17
to devote to an archaic form of com-
munication.
Sharon Eilts, a special education
teacher in Cupertino, California, gives
voice to an opinion many of her peers
hold: “Cursive instruction, although
lovely and a reminder of earlier times,
has no place in modern education.”
Susan Greenfield of Oxford Uni-
versity may offer some support to this
line of thinking. In a recent study
she conducted, adults who had no
experience with the piano were divid-
ed into three groups.
One group spent five days in a
room with a piano, taking instruc-
tion and drilling lessons on the key-
board. A second group spent five days
in an identical room but engaged in
zero interaction with the piano. A
third group in another identical room
was instructed to play piano in their
mind’s eye for five days.
Follow-up brain scans confirmed
the hypotheses for two of the groups
but netted surprising results in a third.
Predictably, the piano players’ brains
showed significant changes in the
brain structure responsible for con-
trolling finger movement. Again pre-
dictably, the brains of those who had
no interaction with the piano showed
no changes.
However, researchers were
stunned to find that the brains of the
people who only imagined playing
the instrument changed nearly as
much as those who had actually put
fingers to keys.
“‘The power of imagination’ is
not a metaphor, it seems,” she con-
cluded. “It’s real, and has a physi-
cal basis in your brain.”
Is less more?
Kids spend so much time inter-
acting with technology at home that
keeping the emphasis away from tech-
nology during the school day may be
what kids need. At home, the 2010
Kaiser study also reports, the aver-
age child age 8 to 18 spends 7.5 hours
per day, seven days a week using some
sort of electronic media. When mul-
titasking with various forms of media
is figured into the mix, 10 hours of
consumption is squeezed into that
7.5 … and that does not include com-
puter use for homework.
Many people worry that this
much technology in the lives of chil-
dren can be harmful to their intel-
lectual development. Jordan Grafman,
chief of cognitive neuroscience at the
National Institute of Neurological Dis-
orders and Stroke and a member of
the Dana Foundation, an organiza-
tion dedicated to compiling and shar-
ing information about brain research,
is one of these people. He fears that
children who spend too much time
with technology will develop lazy
thinking habits.
Grafman notes that while kids
can get lots of information quickly,
“Fast is not equated with delibera-
tion.” He worries that spending too
much time with electronic media “…
can produce a tendency toward shal-
low thinking. It’s not going to turn off
the brain to thinking deeply and
thoughtfully about things, but it is
going to make that a little bit more
difficult to do.”
Oxford University’s Greenfield
has similar concerns.
“Already, it’s pretty clear that
the screen-based, two dimensional
world that so many teenagers — and
a growing number of adults — choose
to inhabit is producing changes in
behavior,” she says. “Attention spans
are shorter, personal communication
skills are reduced and there’s a marked
reduction in the ability to think
abstractly.”
None of this bodes well for devel-
oping students who can write clear-
ly and effectively, for writing well
requires abstract thinking skills.
Illinois application
Traditionally, once students learn
the mechanical skills of writing, teach-
ers begin to focus more attention on
the development of content and the
quality of ideas students include in
their writing. For nearly 20 years, to
hold teachers accountable for instruc-
tion and students accountable for
learning, Illinois administered writ-
“Already, it’s pretty clear that the screen-based, two dimensional
world that so many teenagers — and a growing number of adults —
choose to inhabit is producing changes in behavior. Attention spans
are shorter, personal communication skills are reduced and there’s
a marked reduction in the ability to think abstractly.”
—Susan GreenfieldOxford University
18 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MARCH/APRIL 2012
ing tests to students in every few grade
levels from third grade through junior
year.
However, those tests have been
eliminated during the last few years
to save money and time. Last sum-
mer, the state eliminated the last
state-issued composition test from
the11th-grade Prairie State Achieve-
ment Exam (PSAE).
The elimination of writing from
the state’s spring assessments means
teachers will probably focus more
instruction on what the state does
test: reading, science and math. While
one can argue about whether testing
should drive curriculum, the simple
truth is that it does. Teachers and
administrators are under great pres-
sure to produce high test scores, so
the teaching of writing may get less
attention in some schools this year.
Springfield School District 186
will not be one of them, however,
according to Margie Buyze, literacy
coach in the district. She insists
the state’s elimination of the writing
portion of the PSAE is not letting the
districts’ language arts and English
teachers — or their students — off
the hook.
“I do not think the fact that writ-
ing is not being tested on our state
assessments has impacted the impor-
tance of solid writing instruction in
our district. It’s an essential element
of our Tier 1 literacy instruction,”
Buyze says. “Tier 1” refers to initial
differentiated classroom learning that
all students experience under Response
to Intervention strategies.
In fact, in some ways, omitting
the writing tests may improve instruc-
tion.
“Actually, without the pressure
of the ISAT,” Buyze notes, “teachers
have expressed that they have more
freedom to explore different genres
and topics.”
Still, District 186 continues to
administer its own writing tests.
“The district pays an outside
company, MetriTech, to hand score
a writing assessment for all grade sev-
en and nine students once a year,”
she said. “This is in an effort to val-
idate our scoring process and to keep
our expectations consistent and high.
Students take the assessment in
December, and we receive the results
in February.”
The state does plan to resume
administering a writing test, though
no one is quite sure at the moment
what that test will look like or when
it will be in place. A new achievement
test, one designed to reflect the cur-
riculum driven by Common Core
State Standards, is in the making now,
and the state hopes to have it in place
by 2014.
With ‘Common Core’
A positive aspect of writing instruc-
tion outlined in CCSS does not reflect
Types and forms of writingIn addition to two styles of pen-
manship (printing and cursive), the
art of writing, according to educa-
tion.com, also takes at least six dif-
ferent major forms: narrative,
expository, descriptive, persuasive,
journaling/letters and poetry.
“Because students are learning
the distinctions between various gen-
res, it’s important that teachers use
the correct terminology and not label
all writing as ‘stories,’” says Gail E.
Tompkins, writing for book publish-
er Pearson Allyn Bacon Prentice Hall.
Descriptions of the six forms of
writing are:
Narratives involve retelling famil-
iar stories, developing sequels for sto-
ries that have been read and creating
original stories that have a beginning,
middle and an end to develop plot
and characters.
Expository involves collecting
and synthesizing information to give
directions, sequence steps, compare
things, explain cause/effect rela-
tionships or describe problems and
solutions.
Descriptive involves observa-
tions and choosing precise language
to convey sensory details, create com-
parisons with similes and metaphors,
and make writing more powerful.
Persuasive involves using log-
ic, moral character and emotion to
win others over to a particular view-
point by use of clearly stated posi-
tions, examples and evidence.
Journaling/letters involves writ-
ing to themselves or known audiences
in a personal, often less formal style,
to share news, explore new ideas and
record notes.
Poetry involves creating word
pictures and playing with rhymes and
other stylistic devices to create vivid
yet concise language that can be
arranged in different ways on a page.
A multitude of examples can be
found within each form of writing,
including newspaper articles, tech-
nical manuals, business letters and
contracts, books (both fiction and
non-fiction) and e-mails.
MARCH/APRIL 2012 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 19
new thinking, but brings an old phi-
losophy back into focus: writing across
the curriculum.
A 2011 article published by the
National Council of Teachers of Eng-
lish (NCTE), points out that “read-
ing and writing cannot be learned
once and for all; these skills repre-
sent complex arrays of capacities that
vary from one discipline to another.”
In other words, the writing style
and documentation format used in
the sciences look very different from
those used in literature, which look
different from those used in history.
The CCSS make clear an expecta-
tion of teachers in all disciplines to
incorporate writing appropriate to
their subject matter into the course
work.
If implemented, this writing pro-
gram has the potential to improve
student learning, which should trans-
late into higher test scores. Howev-
er, it will not be easy or inexpensive
to implement.
Districts will have to invest heav-
ily in professional development to
prepare all teachers, even those who
teach P.E., to incorporate writing into
their lessons. However, if the expe-
rience of Brockton High School in
Massachusetts is a legitimate mea-
sure of the success such an approach
can deliver, the investment would
reap big dividends.
In 1999, Brockton’s test scores
were dismal, some of the lowest in
Massachusetts. The faculty and staff
implemented a rigorous program of
reading and writing in every class-
room regardless of the course. Over
the past decade, their scores have
steadily climbed and now are among
the highest in the state. Researchers
tracking Brockton’s progress and
approach assign much of the credit
for their success to this reading and
writing across the curriculum.
Implementing such a program
in Illinois high schools would not be
easy even if districts would be will-
ing to invest in the necessary pro-
fessional development. Writing is
hard work and many students resist
hard work, though ironically, they
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20 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MARCH/APRIL 2012
F E A T U R E A R T I C L E
Dressed in black, including a
spectacular church hat, Julie
Fane lowered her voice to the appro-
priate funereal tone and announced
to her fifth-grade class at Muffley
School that they would be attending
a funeral, inviting them to guess
the guest of honor.
No, she said, not the fish, who
were swimming in the tank in appar-
ent good health. Not Steve Jobs, the
recently deceased mastermind behind
Apple.
Taylor Prasun knew. “Is it words?”
Fane laughed. “Taylor’s a genius.”
Since the start of the school year,
Fane has kept track of the most
overused words in her students’ work,
and the 12 top — or bot-
tom — were laid to
rest, never to be used again this year:
“amazing;” “good;” “said” (the entire
class gasped when they heard that
one); “great;” “big;” “awesome;” “bad;”
“because” (the most overused of the
group, Fane said); “happy;” “look;”
“nice;” and “beautiful.”
Students were paired off and
made black construction paper tomb-
stones for the deceased words while
Chopin’s “Funeral March” played in
the background, and afterward they
trooped outside to lay the words to
rest in a grave previously dug by Fane
and her “accomplice,” student Trai
Dobbs, who said he didn’t know why
his teacher wanted him to help her
dig a hole but did it anyway.
It’ll be hard to avoid the words
on the list, said Will Evans, especially
the word “said.”
That’s the idea, Fane said. Her
students tend to get into a rut in their
writing, and she wants to challenge
them. The tombstones will be dis-
played on the walls, with “ghostly
cousins” attached to them, each bear-
ing a synonym for the dead word.
Students can use the words when
talking, just not when writing.
“This is a lesson they’ll remem-
ber for a long time,” Fane said.
Taylor guessed what was hap-
pening because she has a friend who
was in Fane’s class last year who told
her.
“We went on the (school) play-
ground and found the graves (from
last year),” Taylor said.
Valerie Wells is a
staff writer for
the Herald &
Review newspa-
per in Decatur,
Illinois. Her arti-
cle originally was
published Octo-
ber 29, 2011,
and is used here
with permission.
Students pay respectsto overused words
by Valerie Wells
AMAZINGr.i.p. BEAUTIFUL
GREAT
BADHAPPY
LOOKNICEr.i.p.
SAID
P R A C T I C A L P R
Jay Wojcik is
director of com-
munications for
Lombard SD 44
and a member
of the Illinois
chapter of the
National School
Public Relations
Association.
How to be good stewardsof community tax dollars
by Jay Wojcik
Lombard SD 44 is proud of its
reputation for being fiscally
responsible in good and bad finan-
cial times. Just as many stakehold-
ers are making cuts in their personal
budgets and finding new, creative
ways to save money, so is our school
district.
Here are three examples of how
we are good stewards of communi-
ty tax dollars:
Residency review
For more than 17 years, District
44 has received the Bright Red Apple
Award. Although more than 860 school
districts in Illinois are eligible for this
award each year, less than 75 districts
qualify each year.
The award is presented by
SchoolSearch, a Kansas City-based
firm that provides comparative school
district information for corporations,
home builders, school districts,
libraries, real estate professionals,
legislators and relocating families.
The award is based on data compiled
in the Illinois State Report Card.
To earn the award, District 44
had to meet or exceed the elemen-
tary state averages in academic per-
formance, pupil/teacher ratio, expenses
per pupil, education level of teach-
ers and average teacher salary.
Achieving Bright Red Apple sta-
tus and offering wonderful programs
and services makes the district a place
where our community parents want
to send their children. However, it’s
also a place where parents who do
not reside within our boundaries also
want to send their children.
Educating non-resident students
causes a financial burden. It costs
the district $11,422 to educate a child
and nonresidents contribute no edu-
cation tax dollars to offset that
expense.
To remedy this, the district has
hired National Investigations Inc. to
confirm the residency of all incom-
ing kindergartners — about 300 chil-
dren. To date, the firm has found
12 kindergarten students who do not
live in our attendance area.
In addition, about two-thirds of
these students also have older sib-
lings enrolled in District 44. Accord-
ing to James Blanche, district
superintendent, “Ensuring that all
the students in our schools live in
our district is a cost-saving measure.
In some grades it means not having
to open another section of a grade
level and thereby avoids the costs
associated with an additional class-
room, materials, computers and a
teacher.”
The district plans to make resi-
dency confirmation an on-going pro-
cedure. “Tax dollar resources in the
state are getting tighter and we want
to make sure we are stretching our
taxpayers’ dollars as far as we can,”
Blanche added.
Medicaid reimbursement
Through the efforts of special
education and related services staff,
District 44 was able to recoup approx-
imately $260,000 dollars in reim-
bursements for 2010-11.
“All of Lombard District 44’s spe-
cial education students will be able
to benefit from the revenue generat-
ed from Medicaid dollars,” said Ellen
Teelucksingh, assistant superinten-
dent for special services. “These
monies must be spent on educational
resources that will ultimately improve
the instruction, programming and
support provided to Special Educa-
tion students in the District.”
Teelucksingh said obtaining these
Columns aresubmitted bymembers of
MARCH/APRIL 2012 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 21
22 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MARCH/APRIL 2012
funds was possible because, in accor-
dance with the Illinois Healthcare
and Family Services (HFS) Medicaid
reimbursement program, some activ-
ities performed by medical profes-
sionals and staff in a school-based
setting are eligible for partial reim-
bursement with federal matching
funds from the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services.
The basis for this relationship
between Medicaid and education was
established by the Medicare Cata-
strophic Coverage Act (Public Law
100-360), as amended in 1988. Under
this plan, Medicaid pays for costs of
direct, medically necessary services
provided to eligible children who have
disabilities as provided by the Indi-
viduals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA). In Illinois, services that
may be claimed for School-Based
Health Services’ Medicaid reim-
bursement are:
• Audiology
• Developmental assessments
• Medical equipment
• Medical services
• Medical supplies
• Nursing services
• Occupational therapy
• Physical therapy
• Psychological services
• School health aide
• Social work
• Speech/language pathology
• Transportation
These services are frequently
specified as “necessarily related ser-
vices” in Individualized Education
Programs (IEPs) developed by schools
for children with disabilities. When
provided under a child’s IEP, the ser-
vices are eligible for federal Medic-
aid reimbursement, usually half of
the established cost to provide the
service.
Schools may also claim some
costs associated with the adminis-
tration of the program, in addition to
direct medical services. Allowable
administrative claims include out-
reach activities designed to ensure
that the entire student community
has access to Medicaid-covered pro-
grams and services. Local Education
Agencies (LEAs) may claim costs for
specific administrative activities, as
well as costs incurred for implementing
and monitoring the Illinois state Med-
icaid plan, according to Illinois School
Based Health Services (http://www.
sbhsillinois.com/).
Credit rating
At the beginning of the 2011-12
school year, Moody’s Investors Ser-
vice upgraded District 44’s credit rat-
ing from Aa3 to Aa1. The new rating
reflects the district’s financial posi-
tion characterized by sound man-
agement and high reserve levels,
below average debt levels and large
tax base.
Moody’s, a credit rating agency
for commercial and government enti-
ties, ranks the credit-worthiness of
borrowers using a standardized rat-
ing scale and is one of the “Big Three”
credit rating agencies.
Tod Altenburg, assistant super-
intendent for finance and facilities,
said that “ ... this is very positive news
for District 44. A higher credit score
means that a lower interest rate would
be charged if the District had to bor-
row money. This action by Moody’s
is a strong endorsement of the sound
educational and financial operations
of the district.”
District 44 also has received the
Association of School Business Offi-
cials International (ASBO) Certifi-
cate of Excellence in Financial
Reporting for the past five years.
Earning and maintaining share-
holder support is one of District 44’s
four short-term goals for 2011-12.
The goal reads: “In order to ensure
the district’s future financial stabili-
ty, the district will continue to iden-
tify revenue enhancements such as
staff turnover savings, Medicaid reim-
bursement funds and energy cost effi-
ciencies. Additionally, the district
will continue to identify expenditure
reductions through an on-going review
of staffing levels and resources. The
district seeks to realize $750,000 in
funds as a result of these financial
practices.”
The three examples given here
show how District 44 is honoring its
commitment to make the most effec-
tive use of our taxpayers’ dollars and
achieve the district’s goals.
should discuss with the board attor-
ney and agree on how your district
will handle the records created and
stored by board members on their
private e-mail accounts and person-
al electronic devices. Use the board
attorney to educate board members
further about records retention and
disclosure and the preferred best
practices for your district. An agreed
practice should then be reflected in
the board policy manual.
Ask the staff continued from inside back cover
MARCH/APRIL 2012 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 23
Donald P. Doerle, 85, Vernon Hills,
died December 13, 2011. He was for-
merly a school superintendent at Dia-
mond Lake SD 76, Mundelein, for 14
years. He was also a naval veteran of
World War II and the Korean War.
Robert Draper, 83, Ohio, died
November 30, 2011. He had served sev-
eral years on the Ohio Grade School
board of education. He was a real estate
broker, licensed auctioneer and a cer-
tified appraiser, owning Draper Real
Estate and Auction Service, and a farmer.
Lawrence J. Evers,
90, Springfield and for-
merly of Greenview,
died December 10,
2011. He was a former
Greenview CUSD 200
school board president.
He farmed in the Greenview area, was
a director for 33 years of the National
Bank of Petersburg and had previous-
ly served as Greenview’s mayor.
James K. Funk, 77,
Nokomis, died Decem-
ber 9, 2011. He served
on the Nokomis CUSD
22 school board for nine
years. He retired from
the U.S. Postal Service after 28 years,
working in Nokomis and as the post-
master in Witt. Funk was a founding
member of the Nokomis Boosters Club.
Roger W. Harding,
96, Pontiac, died
December 19, 2011. He
had served as president
of the Oswego CCD 434
school board, and was
also on the Pontiac District 90 board.
He farmed his entire life in the Ponti-
ac area. Harding had served 15 years
on the St. James Hospital Advisory
Board and was a life member of the Pon-
tiac Elks Lodge.
Todd F. Harmey-
er, 50, Beardstown, died
January 16, 2012. He
was a former member
and past president of
the Beardstown school
board and was a current member of the
Cass County Board. He had been the
director of public works for Beardstown
for 23 years.
John Herrin, 77,
Dawson, died Decem-
ber 16, 2011. He had
served 10 years on the
Tri-City CUSD 1, Buf-
falo, school board. In
1954, he launched a career in the fer-
tilizer business and continued in the
profession as president and CEO of Her-
rin Ltd. until January 2000. He went
on to become vice president of Brandt
Chemical Co.
LeRoy J. Harris, 100, Glen Car-
bon, died January 20, 2012. He had
been a school board member in Glen
Carbon in the 1950s until consolida-
tion. He began his work career as a min-
er for Glen Carbon and then worked as
an electrician at the Granite City Lock
and Dam, retiring from there as Lock
Master. He received his Eagle Scout
Badge at age 89, 69 years after earning
it.
Robert G. Holmes,
87, Bloomington, died
December 11, 2011. He
was a past president of
the District 87 school
board. Holmes retired
as vice president/general manager of
Country Mutual Insurance Co., Bloom-
ington, in 1989, where he had worked
for 26 years. He was also a past presi-
dent of the Illinois Insurance Infor-
mation Service.
Richard “Dick” Jaeger, 86, Gene-
va, died January 24, 2012. He had served
as a member of the Geneva school board,
was sales manager for the Elmhurst
Chicago Stone company for 35 years
and was a past president of the Illinois
Ready Mixed Concrete Association.
Glynn P. Johnson, 60, Hampton,
died December 18, 2011. He had served
on the Hampton SD 29 school board.
Johnson retired from the John Deere
parts warehouse, Milan, in 2009 after
30 years of service. He had taught and
had been a classroom instructor for
Junior Achievement.
Paul E. Johnson,
80, Pontiac, formerly of
Chenoa, died January
24, 2012. He was a for-
mer president of the
Chenoa Board of Edu-
cation. A veterinarian and consultant
to several large corporations, he also
served as president of the Chenoa Rotary
Club
Mitchell P. Kartalia, 98, Barring-
ton, died December 5, 2011. A resident
for more than 50 years, he formerly
served on the Barrington CUSD 220
school board. Kartalia had a 40-year
career with Square D Company, retir-
ing as the firm’s president, CEO and
chairman.
Clyde E. Kesler, 89,
Champaign, died
December 30, 2011.
Kesler was a former
member of the Cham-
paign CUSD 4 school
board. He was a professor of civil engi-
neering and theoretical and applied
mechanics at the University of Illinois.
He was active in a number of technical
and professional organizations, but was
best known as “the father of the con-
crete canoe.”
Gerald C. Kuenstler, 88, Olney, died
Milestones continued from page 32
24 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MARCH/APRIL 2012
January 9, 2012. He
served on the West Rich-
land CUSD 2 school
board from 1974 to 1977.
He was a retired farmer
and was also a former
member of the Olney Squarenaders and
the Knights of Columbus. He was “con-
servation man of the year” in 1972.
Robert I. Logan, 93, Highland Park,
died December 1, 2011. Logan was a
member of the Highland Park District
113 school board and had served as
president of Highland Park Hospital in
the 1960s. He had a 60-year career as
an attorney, banker, business execu-
tive and consultant. He later became a
noted photographer, selling his first
photo at age 90.
John L. Lund, 56,
Oregon, died Decem-
ber 21, 2011. He was a
former member of the
East Coloma SD 12
school board. A chiro-
practor, he began his career in Sterling
in 1980, moving his practice to Rock
Falls in 1981. He had served as an offi-
cer with the Prairie State Chiropractic
Association.
David A. Malinsky,
89, Ottawa, died
November 14, 2011. He
was a former district
superintendent for 19
years at Hononegah
CHSD 207, Rockton. Prior to that he
was a teacher and football coach at
Dupo and Sullivan for four years each,
and spent two years as a high school
principal in Donovan.
Merwyn Scott “Babe” Miller, 74,
Yorkville, died November 26, 2011. Dur-
ing the 1960’s he had served as a mem-
ber of the Yorkville school board. Miller
was a co-owner and publisher of the
former Plainfield Enterprise newspa-
per. Prior to that, he was employed for
many years as a guidance counselor at
Plainfield High School.
Gilbert T.H. Monke, 82, Mt. Olive,
died November 12, 2011. He was a mem-
ber of the Mt. Olive CUSD 5 school
board, and a life-long dairy and grain
farmer. He was a former member of the
“Town Clocks” bowling team.
Robert L. Morrison, 90, Beach Park,
died December 29, 2011. He was a past
president of the Beach Park CCSD 3
school board. In 1986 he retired as the
finance director for Lake County. He
also served on the boards of Immanuel
Baptist Church and Christ Communi-
ty Church.
Alfred Jack Mullen,
87, Silvis, died Novem-
ber 26, 2011. He was
a member of the Unit-
ed THSD 30 school
board, East Moline. He
had been a farm manager before serv-
ing as farm advisor for the University
of Illinois Extension in Montgomery
County. Mullen also volunteered as a
reading tutor at Ridgewood Grade School,
East Moline.
Hans W. Mueller, 89, Mokena, died
January 19, 2012. He had served on
both the Mokena SD 159 and Lincoln-
Way CHSD 210 school boards. He retired
from Caterpillar after 31 years and also
had served on the Mokena Village Board
for five years.
Jeanne Piesber-
gen, 65, Caseyville,
died December 12,
2011. She served on
the Collinsville Unit
10 school board for 20
years and also served as board pres-
ident for two years. She had been des-
ignated a Master School Board Member
by IASB. She was a hospital nurse
who spent most of her career in obstet-
rics.
Earl G. Reeves, 95,
Oswego, died Decem-
ber 7, 2011. He served
as president of the El
Paso Township High
School board and the
board of its successor, the El Paso unit
district. He had a 33-year career with
Pfister Associated Growers Inc. prior
to the company’s acquisition by Cargill
& Co.
Robert L. Rhinehart, 87, Hudson,
died December 7, 2011. He served on
the school board for McLean County
Unit District 5, Normal, from 1959 to
1975. He was a lifelong farmer in the
Hudson area and was a long-time mem-
ber of the Elks Club.
Nyle R. Schme -
deke, 64, Morrisonville,
died November 17,
2011. A lifelong farmer
and veteran of the Air
National Guard, he was
a past president of the Morrisonville
school board, a former supervisor of
King Township and a past office man-
ager at the local FS cooperative.
Dick L. Shepard,
90, Chillicothe, died
January 5, 2012. He
served on the Chilli-
cothe school board for
15 years. A farmer and
active in his community, he was a
member of the board of the First Nation-
al Bank of Chillicothe for 25 years. He
also was a member of George Wash-
ington Lodge 222 and the Scottish
Rite for 60 years.
Cecile M. Stern, 75, Springfield,
died January 18, 2012. She had served
on the Ball Chatham Elementary School
board. She had been the co-owner of
The Beadery in Springfield and was a
founding member of the Chatham
Library.
MARCH/APRIL 2012 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 25
Kenneth Rae Tug-
gle, 65, Chrisman, died
December 13, 2011. He
served on the Chrisman
Unit 6 school board for
more than 10 years,
including several years as president.
He was a retired farmer.
Frank Ventura, 48,
Mokena, died January
16, 2012. He had served
on the Mokena SD 159
school board, resigning
last September due to
illness. A certified public accountant,
Ventura also had served on the Lincoln-
Way Area Special Education District
843 parent advisory committee and the
Lincoln-Way Area Next Steps Training
team.
James Henry War-
ren, 70, Deerfield, died
November 3, 2011. A
former Highland Park
superintendent, he start-
ed as a high school his-
tory teacher. Warren later worked as a
principal before taking a post as assis-
tant superintendent for THSD 113,
Highland Park. In 1978 he assumed a
job as superintendent in the south sub-
urbs. He returned to District 113 as
superintendent in 1983 until his 1994
retirement.
Brian Wisher, 66,
Washington, died Jan-
uary 10, 2012. He was
currently serving his
third year on the Wash-
ington CHSD 308 school
board. He was a PE teacher and dean
of students in District 308 for more than
25 years. He later served as the athletic
director at Springfield High School,
retiring in 2002 after a 35-year career
as an educator.
Robert D. Zimmanck, 84, Arling-
ton Heights, died November 18, 2011.
He had recently stepped
down after 23 years on
the THSD 214 school
board, the longest
tenure for any District
214 board member.
Zimmanck worked as a human resource
director at Arlington Plating for 18
years following his retirement from
Teledyne Post. He was vice chairman
of IASB’s North Cook Division from
2005 to 2011.
The Illinois School Board Journal
welcomes news about or from Illinois
school leaders. News may include but
need not be limited to accomplishments,
changes in position or duties, retirement,
death and other milestones related to
board/district duties. For more infor-
mation about submitting news items,
phone the Communications Department
at 217/528-9688, ext. 1138, or e-mail gad-
kins@iasb. com.
Open Meetings Act (OMA)Training for School
Board Members
• Designed for you to comply with the new OMA mandatory trainingrequirement
• Addresses uniqueschool board issues
• Offered this spring in each of IASB’s 21 divisions
A certificate of completionwill be provided.
For available dates andlocations, visit www.iasb.com and click on EventsCalendar, then ViewUpcoming Events.Space is limited, so register today!
26 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MARCH/APRIL 2012
F E A T U R E A R T I C L E
The perception exists among
many community members
that school leaders exert a powerful,
if indirect, influence on teaching qual-
ity and student learning. Leadership
is a team process in the classroom
and the boardroom.
No one can run an organization
by themselves. A school superinten-
dent must work with the board of edu-
cation and the administrative staff
as a team. The way a team is led will
have a major impact upon the suc-
cess of the organization … in this
case, the school district.
Experience has shown that when
asked what they want from a leader,
team members will often identify
several values:
• Commitment to people, as well
as task.
• Desire to support and serve
the team, as well as lead from
the front.
• Enthusiasm, energy, inspi-
ration and sufficient
expertise.
• Willingness to shoulder
responsibility rather
than pass the buck.
• Ability to make the
team come togeth-
er to achieve more
than a group of individuals.
The late John Wooden, a cham-
pionship basketball player and arguably
one of the best-known coaches in the
sport, is an excellent example of a
team leader.
Affectionately named the “Wiz-
ard of Westwood,” he won 10 NCAA
national championships in a 12-year
period, seven in a row as head bas-
ketball coach at UCLA. His incredi-
ble 88 consecutive wins earned him
an unprecedented national coach of
the year six times.
He is a member of the Basketball
Hall of Fame as a player and coach.
And, at the time of his death in 2010
at age 99, the Associated Press report-
ed that he was one of the most revered
and beloved coaches in the world.
Renowned for his short, simple
inspirational messages to his play-
ers, Wooden’s baseline mantra was
his Pyramid of Success, written in
1948. Interestingly enough, this
book was used as often with his
players on how to be a success
in life as it was to be success-
ful in basketball.
Until his death, the for-
mer UCLA coach still kept
in touch with many of his
former players, but that
only seems natural for a
leader whose “pyramid”
includes friendship,
loyalty and team spir-
it as three of its 15
blocks.
Dennis White is a
former Illinois
school superin-
tendent who
now teaches in
the School of
Advanced Stud-
ies, University of
Phoenix. Greg
Reynolds is a vis-
iting assistant
professor at
Southern Illinois
University-
Edwardsville.
Famed coach offersleadership pyramid
by Dennis White and Greg Reynolds
MARCH/APRIL 2012 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 27
Playing the game
Wooden was the classic example
of it not being about the number of
wins and losses: it’s about how the
game is played. In fact, his players
say they don’t recall their coach ever
stressing the importance of winning
a game. It was about sticking to the
fundamentals.
John Valley, who played under
Wooden on the 1969 and 1970 UCLA
national championship basketball
teams, said: “On the first day of prac-
tice, I remember him saying, ‘I’m not
going to be talking to you about win-
ning or losing because I think that’s
a byproduct of our preparation. I
would much rather be focused on the
process of becoming the best team
we’re capable of becoming.’”
At a workshop some years ago,
Coach Wooden explained, “Every-
thing starts with character.” He imme-
diately recited one of his most famous
quotes: “You should be more con-
cerned with your character than your
reputation because your reputation
is what others think you are, but your
character is how you truly are.”
Wooden said his leadership arose
from a “pyramid” and without it, his
teams would not have reached the
success they enjoyed. He effectively
intertwines success and leadership
in such a way that the power of his
pyramid can be the elusive road map
to success as a school leader.
In Pyramid of Success, Wood-
en defines success, in part, as the
peace of mind gained from knowing
you made the necessary effort to
become the best of your ability at
anything and everything you set as
a goal.
A school administrator may find
peace of mind most illusive. The work-
day pressure seems to never stop.
Teachers, students, staff, parents,
Wooden said his leadership arose from a “pyramid” and without it,
his teams would not have reached the success they enjoyed. He effec-
tively intertwines success and leadership in such a way that the
power of his pyramid can be the elusive road map to success as a
school leader.
28 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MARCH/APRIL 2012
community members and board mem-
bers alike are merely a few daily inter-
lopers.
Place these factors under the
umbrella of fiscal responsibility and
it is easy to understand routine in
school leadership is, at best, elusive.
Every decision has a price. Typical
work responsibilities that should take
20 minutes can be stretched to two
hours. The unintended consequences
brought about by previous decisions
can be overbearing.
Abraham Lincoln believed that
you can get there much faster if you
know where it is you are going. Coach
Wooden has provided an invaluable
legacy through his Pyramid of Suc-
cess road map that can provide the
type guidance to get to the destina-
tion of improved leadership.
Pyramid traits
Loyalty, friendship, cooperation,
enthusiasm and industriousness make
up the base of Wooden’s pyramid.
Without an effective leader, a nega-
tive void forms that is detrimental to
the entire school district.
Teachers, staff and students arrive
at the school every day seeking an
enthusiastic, friendly leader from
whom they can expect cooperation
as they go about the business of edu-
cating children. In a school with an
industrious leader, devotion to the
school’s vision and student learning
will be self-evident.
Self-control, alertness, initiative
and intentness make up the second
row. The school leader must under-
stand the complexities of effective
decision-making. It is only through
intensive and alert behavior this
occurs.
Being alert to the internal and
external climate of the school enhances
the type of self-control necessary for
making successful decisions.
Condition, skill and team spirit
are next on the list. Believe it or not,
Wooden did not always speak to ath-
letic conditioning as the defining fac-
tor for the success of his teams. He
claimed mental conditioning is the
necessary element to withstand crit-
ics and deal with success in a con-
sistent professional way.
Skill improvement can only occur
if the leader is willing to recognize
weaknesses and set a realistic plan
in motion to overcome and master
areas that are lacking. Wooden’s insis-
tence that self-glory take a back seat
to working together was the basis for
much of the teams success.
Poise and confidence are second
from the top of the pyramid. Confi-
dence is a must, because over-confi-
dence or issuing short, sharp directives
is not leadership. It is merely assertive-
ness, according to Ozan Onay in his
July 2011 Leadership blog. Assertive-
ness does not move an organization.
Onay quoted John Lilly, the for-
mer CEO of Mozilla, as stating that
leadership visualizes the successful
organization and goes about making
5th Biennial LeaderShopSymposium
June 16, 2012Lombard, IL
How You as a LeaderCan Thrivein Adversity
Presenter
Diane Reed, Ed.D.Co-Director and Associate Professor
in Educational Leadership, former superintendent and author of
Resilient Leadership for Turbulent Times
S A V E T H E D A T E
“I believeresilience is
the single mostimportant quality in a leader.”
Warren Bennis
By InvitationONLY!
Resilience is absolutely necessary for successful
leadership, and for a balancedand satisfying life. Plan now to
attend this exciting learningopportunity designed
exclusively for School BoardLeaderShop Academy members
and their superintendents.
Additional information and registration details will follow in early spring.
MARCH/APRIL 2012 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 29
it so. Furthermore, leaders get oth-
ers to help move the organization for-
ward.
Onay also claims that fixating on
a convenient solution is motivated
by opportunism. Not all problems
have quick, easy, and painless con-
clusion. Leaders who understand
problems have a variety of solutions.
Wooden encouraged under-
standing problems first and allowing
solutions to arise from this enlight-
enment. Poise is not a byproduct of
problem solving; poise enhances prob-
lem solving.
At the top of the coach’s pyra-
mid is competitive greatness. A school
leader cannot retreat in the face of
daily responsibility. Success is often
measured by matching competitive
greatness to the problems present-
ed. The emergence of a type of com-
petitive self-satisfaction becomes a
strong motivator to overcome any
obstacle.
The challenge is to analyze your
own behavior with those pointed out
in Pyramid of Success to see where
you match-up. Read more about the
different building blocks and seek out
detailed descriptions of the pyramid
online.
If you find a high correlation,
congratulations! If you fall into the
category that indicates a less than
satisfactory correlation, know that
understanding and improving lead-
ership behavior is at your fingertips
through the pyramid.
Leadership within the school
organization can be defined many
ways. Coach Wooden provided prac-
titioners with a set of simple and pow-
erful tools. His book can become a
road map to gain self-satisfaction and
piece of mind knowing that the chil-
dren in your district get your best
effort every day.
These factors are particularly
intriguing because they challenge the
beliefs and traditional conceptions
of leadership. They push us to gain a
better understanding of how we relate
to others.
Furthermore, Wooden asks us to
examine how we distribute power
and authority. We consistently have
called on ordinary people to do extra-
ordinary work, and many times we
succeed. We can succeed more often
if we understand and implement the
tenets of leadership put forth by John
Wooden.
The notion of sustainable improve-
ment may well represent today’s major
learning edge in school leadership.
ReferencesOzan Onay, Leadership, http://
regardingwork.com/2011/07/01/lead-
ership/
IASB FacilitatedSchool BoardSelf-Evaluation
Working together … better!
Last year over 150 Illinois School Boards learned thatself-evaluation is a key step toward a better board.
Board members say:• Good chance to build some teamwork.• Allowed everyone to express their thoughts.• Agreeing to do things differently (we were in a rut
of repeating the same patterns over and over).
Benefits include:• More effective leadership for the district• Improved teamwork• Successful board meetings
Contact your field services director to begin planning your next board self-evaluation workshop. Springfield 217/528-9688 • Lombard 630/629-3776
30 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MARCH/APRIL 2012
A Directory of your
IASB ServiceAssociates
IASB Service Associates are businesses whichoffer school-related products and services andwhich have earned favorable repu tations for qual-ity and integrity. Only after screening by theService Associates Executive Committee is abusiness firm invited by the IASB Board ofDirectors to become a Service Associate.
Appraisal ServicesINDUSTRIAL APPRAISAL COMPANY — Insurance
appraisals, property control reports. OakwoodTerrace - 630/827-0280
Architects/EngineersALLIED DESIGN CONSULTANTS, INC. —
Architectural programming, site planning & design,architectural and interior design, and constructionadministration. Springfield - 217/522-3355
ARCON ASSOCIATES, INC. — Architectural, con-struction management and roof consulting. Lombard- 630/495-1900; website: http://www.arconassoc.com; e-mail: [email protected]
BAYSINGER DESIGN GROUP, INC. — Architecturaldesign services. Marion - 618/998-8015
BLDD ARCHITECTS, INC. — Architectural and engineering services for schools. Decatur - 217/429-5105; Champaign - 217/356-9606; Bloomington -309/828-5025; Chicago - 312/829-1987; website:http://www.bldd.com; e-mail: [email protected]
BRADLEY & BRADLEY — Architects, engineers andasbestos consultants. Rockford - 815/968-9631; web-site: http://www.bradleyandbradley.net/
BERG ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS, LTD. —Consulting engineers. Schaumburg - 847/352-4500;website: http://www.berg-eng.com
CANNON DESIGN — Architects. Chicago - 312/960-8034; website: www.cannondesign.com; e-mail:[email protected]
CM ENGINEERING — Specializing in ultra efficientgeo-exchange HVAC engineering solutions forschools, universities and commercial facilities.Columbia, MO - 573/874-9455; website: www.cmeng.com
CORDOGAN CLARK & ASSOCIATES — Architectsand engineers; Aurora - 630/896-4678; website:www.cordoganclark.com; e-mail: [email protected]
DAHLQUIST AND LUTZOW ARCHITECTS, LTD. —Architects and engineers. Elgin - 847/742-4063;Hinsdale - 630/230-0420; website: http://www.dla-ltd.com; e-mail: [email protected]
DESIGN ARCHITECTS, INC. — Architecture, engi-neering, planning and interior design. Hillsboro -217/532-5600; East St. Louis - 618/398-0890; Marion- 618/998-0075
DLR GROUP, INC. — Educational facility design.Chicago - 312/382-9980
ERIKSSON ENGINEERING ASSOCIATES, LTD. —Consulting civil engineers and planners. Grayslake -847/223-4804
FANNING/HOWEY ASSOCIATES, INC. — Schoolplanning and design, with a focus on K-12 schools.Park Ridge - 847/292-1039
FGM ARCHITECTS ENGINEERS, INC. — Architects.Oak Brook - 630/574-8300; Peoria - 309/669-0012;Mt. Vernon - 618/242-5620; O’Fallon - 618/624-3364;website: http://www.fgm-inc.com
GRAHAM & HYDE ARCHITECTS, INC. — Architec -tural services. Springfield - 217/787-9380
GREENASSOCIATES, INC. — Architecture/construc-tion services. Deerfield - 847/317-0852, Pewaukee,WI - 262/746-1254; website: www.greenassociates.com; e-mail: [email protected]
HEALY, BENDER & ASSOCIATES, INC. — Archi -tects/Planners. Naperville, 630/904-4300; website:www.healybender.com; e-mail: [email protected]
HUFF ARCHITECTURAL GROUP, INC. — Architects,engineers, construction managers and school con-sultants. Springfield - 217/698-8250; Champaign -217/352-5887
IMAGE ARCHITECTS, INC. — Architects. Carbondale- 618/457-2128
JH2B ARCHITECTS — Architects. Kankakee - 815/933-5529
KENYON & ASSOCIATES ARCHITECTS —Complete architectural services for education. Peoria- 309/674-7121
KJWW ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS — Facilityassessments, infrastructure master planning,acoustical engineering, architectural lighting, con-struction administration, systems commissioning.Naperville - 630/753-8500
LEGAT ARCHITECTS, INC. — Architects. Chicago -312/258-1555; Oak Brook - 630/990-3535; Wauke -gan - 847/263-3535; Crystal Lake - 815/477-4545
LZT ASSOCIATES, INC./LARSON & DARBY GROUPArchitecture, planning, engineering. Peoria - 309/673-3100; Rockford - 815/484/0739; St. Charles, MO -630/444-2112; webite: www.larsondarby.com; e-mail:[email protected]
MECHANICAL SERVICES ASSOCIATES CORP. —HVAC, plumbing and electrical design. Crystal Lake -815/788-8901
MELOTTE-MORSE-LEONATTI, LTD — Architectural,industrial, hygiene and environmental service.Springfield - 217/789-9515
PCM+D — Provide a full range of architectural ser-vices including facility and feasibility studies, architec-tural design construction, consulting and related ser-vices. East Peoria - 309/694-5012
PERKINS+WILL — Architects; Chicago - 312/755-0770; website: www.perkinswill.com; e-mail: [email protected]
PSA-DEWBERRY — Architects, planners, landscapearchitecture and engineers. Peoria - 309/282-8000;Chicago - 312/660-8800; Elgin - 847/695-5480; web-site: www.dewberry.com
RICHARD L. JOHNSON ASSOCIATES, INC. —Architecture, educational planning. Rockford -815/398-1231
RUCKPATE ARCHITECTURE — Architects, engi-neers, interior design. Barrington - 847/381-2946;website: http://www.ruckpate.com; e-mail: [email protected]
SARTI ARCHITECTURAL GROUP, INC. —Architecture, engineering, life safety consulting, inte-rior design and asbestos consultants. Springfield -217/585-9111; e-mail: [email protected]
WIGHT & COMPANY — An integrated services firmwith solutions for the built environment. Darien -630/696-7000; website: http://www.wightco.com; e-mail: [email protected]
WM. B. ITTNER, INC. — Full service architectural firmserving the educational community since 1899;.Fairview Heights - 618/624-2080; website: http://www.ittnerarchitects.com; e-mail: [email protected]
WRIGHT & ASSOCIATES, INC. — Architecture, con-struction management. Metamora - 309/367-2924
Building ConstructionBOVIS LEND LEASE — Construction Management/
Program Management. Chicago - 312/245-1000
CORE CONSTRUCTION — Professional constructionmanagement, design-build and general contractingservices. Morton - 309/266-9768; website: www.COREconstruct.com
FREDERICK QUINN CORPORATION — Construc tionmanagement and general contracting. Addison - 630/628-8500
HOLLAND CONSTRUCTION SERVICES, INC. — Fullservice Construction Management and GeneralContracting firm specializing in education facilities.Swansea - 618/277-8870
MANGIERI COMPANIES, INC. — Construction man-agement and general contractor capabilities. Peoria -309/688-6845
POETTKER CONSTRUCTION — Construction man-agement, design/build and general contracting ser-vices. Hillsboro - 217/532-2507
PROFESSIONAL CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT,INC. — Construction management. Mundelein - 847/382-3680
THE GEORGE SOLLITT CONSTRUCTION COM PANY — Full service Construction Man -agement General Contractor with a primary focus oneducational facilitiesd. Wood Dale - 630/860-7333
S.M. WILSON & CO. — Construction managementand general construction services. St. Louis, MO -314/645-9595
TURNER CONSTRUCTION COMPANY —Referendum assistance, conceptual and masterplanning, budget assistance or verification, partici-pant in panels, construction management and con-sulting. Chicago - 312/327-2860; website: http://www.turnerconstruction.com; e-mail: [email protected]
Computer SoftwareSOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY, INC. — Administrative
Software. Tremont - 888/776-3897; website: http://www.sti-k12.com; e-mail: [email protected]
MARCH/APRIL 2012 / THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL 31
Writing continued from page 19
Environmental ServicesALPHA CONTROLS & SERVICES, LLC — Facility
management systems, automatic temperature con-trols, access control systems, energy saving solu-tions; sales, engineering, installation, commissioningand service. Rockford - 815/227-4000; Springfield -217/529-3111; Toll-Free - 866/ALPHA-01
CTS-CONTROL TECHNOLOGY & SOLUTIONS —Performance contracting, facility improvements and energy conservation projects. St. Louis, MO -636/ 230-0843; Chicago - 773/633-0691; website:www.thectsgroup.com; e-mail: [email protected]
ENERGY SYSTEMS GROUP — A comprehensiveenergy services and performance contracting com-pany providing energy, facility and financial solutions.Itasca - 630/773-7203
HONEYWELL, INC. — Controls, maintenance, energymanagement, performance contracting and security.St. Louis, Mo – 314/548-4136,Arlington Heights -847/797-4954; e-mail: [email protected]
IDEAL ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, INC. —Asbestos and environmental services. Bloomington -309/828-4259
MECHANICAL INCORPORATED — New construc-tion, renovation, comprehensive and basic preventa-tive maintenance service contracts. Freeport - 815/235-1955; Hillside - 708/449-8080; Rockford - 815/398-1973; Fox Lake - 847/973-1123; website: www.mechinc.com; e-mail: [email protected]
OCCUPATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTHSOLUTIONS, INC. (OEHS) — Industrial hygiene,microbiological evaluations and ergonomics.Chatham - 217/483-9296
RADON DETECTION SPECIALISTS — Commercialradon surveys. Burr Ridge - 800/244-4242; website:www.radondetection.net; e-mail: [email protected]
RCM LABORATORIES, INC. — Environmental, healthand safety services. Countryside - 708/485-8600
SECURITY ALARM CORPORATION — SecuritySystems & Fire Alarm Systems. Salem - 618/548-5768
Financial ServicesBERNARDI SECURITIES, INC. — Public finance con-
sulting, bond issue services and referendum support.Fairview Heights - 618/206-4180; Chicago - 800/367-8757
BMO CAPITAL MARKETS/GKST, Inc. — Full servicebroker/dealer specializing in debt securities, includingmunicipal bonds, U.S. Treasury debt, agencies, andmortgage-backed securities. Chicago - 312/441-2601; website: www.bmo.com/industry/uspublicfi-nance/default.aspx; e-mail: [email protected]
EHLERS & ASSOCIATES — School bond issues; ref-erendum help; financial and enrollment studies. Lisle- 630/271-3330; website: http://www.ehlers-inc.com;e-mail: [email protected]
FIRST MIDSTATE, INC. — Bond issue consultants.Bloomington - 309/829-3311; e-mail: [email protected]
GORENZ AND ASSOCIATES, LTD. — Auditing andfinancial consulting. Peoria - 309/685-7621; website:http://www.gorenzcpa.com; e-mail: [email protected]
HUTCHINSON, SHOCKEY, ERLEY & COMPANY —Debt issuance, referendum planning, financial assis-tance. Chicago - 312/443-1566; website: www.hse-muni.com; e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
RAYMOND JAMES & ASSOCIATES, INC. — Full ser-vice Investment Banking firm. Chicago - 312/612-7814
ROBERT W. BAIRD & CO. INC. — Financial consult-ing; debt issuance; referendum assistance. St.Charles - 630/584-4994; website: http://www.rwbaird.com; e-mail: [email protected]
SPEER FINANCIAL, INC. — Financial planning andbond issue services. Chicago - 312/346-3700; website: http://www.speerfinancial.com; e-mail:[email protected]
STIFEL, NICOLAUS & COMPANY, INC. — Full ser-vice securities firm providing investment banking andadvisory services including strategic financial plan-ning; bond underwriting; and referendum and legisla-tive assistance - Edwardsville - 800/230-5151; e-mail:[email protected]
WILLIAM BLAIR & COMPANY — Bond issuance,financial advisory services. Chicago - 312/364-8955; e-mail: [email protected]
Human Resource ConsultingBUSHUE HUMAN RESOURCES, INC. — Human
resource, safety and risk management, insurance consulting. Effingham - 217/342-3042; website: http://www.bushuehr.com; e-mail: [email protected]
InsuranceHINZ CLAIM MANAGEMENT, INC. — Third party
administrator for workers comp and insurance claims.Chicago - 800/654-9504
Superintendent SearchesHAZARD, YOUNG, ATTEA & ASSOCIATES, LTD —
Superintendent searches, board and superintendentworkshops. Glenview - 847/724-8465
will often work very hard at avoiding
the work.
In fact, teachers can attest that
many students just plain refuse to
write. “Sally” may be willing to bub-
ble in A, B or C on a test, but if she’s
asked to write answers in sentence
form, she will leave the page blank.
This resistance to writing may
be a result of the lazy thinking neu-
roscientist Grafman frets about or
a result of a discomfort with writing
born of feelings of inadequacy. What-
ever the root cause, overcoming stu-
dent reluctance to write will present
a challenge for educators.
References
Karin Harman James, “Sensori-
motor experience leads to changes in
visual processing in the developing
brain,” Developmental Science, 13:2,
2010
Phillip J. McInnis, “Simplifying the
writing process,” Spring 1995,
http://www.nathhan.com/mcinnis.htm
Phillip J. McInnis and Sandra K.
Curtis, The Cursive Writing Approach
to Readiness and Reading, M/C Publi-
cations, 1982
Mark Prensky, Teaching Digital
Natives — Partnering for Real Learn-
ing, Corwin, 2010“Will this cover my car payment?”
William Delp was
named Superintendent
of the Year 2011 by the
Lake County superin-
tendents organization.
Award qualifications
focus on “caring,” “sharing,” and “learn-
ing.” Delp retired in June 2011 as the
superintendent of the Special Educa-
tion District of Lake County (SEDOL).
Delp had been very active in outside
organizations and made sure that oth-
ers were informed about important
issues.
Jerome Kern, a Lansing District
158 school board member, was hon-
ored in December 2011 with a Distin-
guished Service Award for his 40
consecutive years of service on the
board. “He’s one of the finest gentle-
men I’ve ever met,” board President
Joe LaBella said. Kern said the board’s
recent efforts to reduce the property
tax levy, eliminate debt and renovate
the Lansing district’s schools are among
his proudest accomplishments. “I nev-
er thought in my wildest dreams that
I’d be here as long as I have,” Kern said.
“There was always something around
the corner that I wanted to see accom-
plished.”
Dee Molinare, Tin-
ley Park, joined the
board of Lincoln-Way
CHSD 210, New Lenox,
on December 8, 2011.
Molinare will serve out
the term of David A. Izzo, who was
appointed to the Will County Board.
Molinare is an adjunct instructor in
mathematics and psychology for Joli-
et Junior College. She had been a mem-
ber of the Summit Hill SD 161 board
since 2001. She resigned from that
board prior to accepting the appoint-
ment.
In memoriamHobart C. Ault, 82, Fiatt, died Jan-
uary 30, 2012. A self-employed farmer
in Fulton and Warren counties, he retired
in 2000 and had served on the Cuba
school board and as a township road
commissioner.
Walter J. Bernatavich, 94, Spring
Valley, died December 29, 2011. He
served on the Hall THSD 502 school
board from 1954 to 1980. He worked
for Illinois Power for 31 years, retiring
in 1982. He was a Spring Valley com-
missioner from 1957 to 1965, and served
on the Bureau County Board from 1990
to 1998. He was active in local politics,
and served as a precinct committee-
man from 1942 to 2010.
Julius “Zeke”
Brown, 96, O’Fallon,
died January 11, 2011.
He had served on the
O’Fallon CCSD 90
school board. He had
been head of the electrical engineer-
ing department at Southern Illinois Uni-
versity-Edwardsville, teaching there
until his retirement.
Edward J. “Boogie” Bugos, 53, Can-
ton, died December 10, 2011. He had
served as a Canton Union SD 66 board
member for the past 10 years, and was
past treasurer. He had operated the
Canton Country Club
Restaurant, and recent-
ly worked as an insur-
ance agent. He was one
of the founders of the
Canton junior football
league.
Robert Phillip
Cahill, 75, an Illinois
Appellate Court judge
since 1992, died Decem-
ber 4, 2011. He served
for four years in the
1970s as a member of the Evanston/Skok-
ie SD 65 school board. He was appoint-
ed an associate judge in Cook County
in 1983.
Loren S. “Doc”
Cotton, 80, Atlanta, died
December 18, 2011. He
was a former member
of the school board at
Olympia CUSD 16, Stan-
ford. Cotton retired from S and S Con-
struction Company and was a member
of American Legion Post 341 in Atlanta,
where he was a past commander.
Natasha S. Deutsch, 80, Evanston,
died January 4, 2011. An Austrian immi-
grant when she was a child, she obtained
a master’s degree in sociology in 1952.
She served and presided over dozens
of committees, including the
Evanston/Skokie SD 65 school board,
United Way, Northlight Theater and
the John Howard Association. She also
established the Evanston Community
Foundation.
Milestones
32 THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL / MARCH/APRIL 2012
Milestones
continued on page 23
Question: I use my iPhone® all
of the time. Sometimes, I gen-
erate content or receive information
on it that relates to my duties as a
board member. Is it true that the FOIA
officer for the board on which I am
seated may search my phone and/or
release content or information from
it pursuant to a Freedom of Infor-
mation Act (FOIA) request?
Answer: Conducting public busi-
ness on a personal electronic account
or device is subject to disclosure under
the FOIA. If the content or informa-
tion on your phone is a public record
under the FOIA, who owns the account
or device is not relevant. Nor is it rel-
evant where, how or on what account
or device the record is created or
located. Rather, the Illinois Attorney
General, in Public Access Opinion
No. 11-006, has outlined that the key
question is: Was the requested record
prepared by or used by one or more
members of the public body in con-
ducting its affairs?
If the answer is yes, then it is a
public record and your district’s FOIA
officer may need access to your phone
to respond to a FOIA request, even
though your phone belongs to you,
not the district. This is true for oth-
er personal accounts and devices
as well, e.g., e-mail from personal
accounts, social media platforms
(Twitter, Facebook, etc.), and other
platforms yet to be invented.
In addition to FOIA disclosure,
destruction prohibitions in Illinois
law and rules for discovery in litiga-
tion impose more legal obligations
on the records stored on your phone
that pertain to your duties as a board
member.
The Local Records Act prohibits
destruction or deletion of any pub-
lic record without written approval
of the Local Records Commission.
Public record, for purposes of the
Local Records Act, is much broad-
er than the definition in FOIA. Delet-
ing a record without permission of
the Local Records Commission vio-
lates the Local Records Act.
There are also rules for litigation
that impose legal obligations that
apply to district records when law-
suits are filed or may be filed against
the district. These obligations start
when your district becomes aware of
a potential lawsuit. At that time, both
parties must preserve all electroni-
cally stored material and messages
concerning the subject matter at issue,
regardless of where the information
is stored. This is called a litigation
hold. If the information is deleted or
the board member was not aware of
the litigation hold and deleted items
that were subject to the hold, the
court may award sanctions against
your board and district, e.g., mon-
ey punishments and possibly an
adverse judgment.
Many attorneys in the field dis-
courage school board members from
the use of their private e-mail accounts
and personal electronic devices for
the dissemination of public records.
Best practice suggests that all com-
munications containing district records
be transmitted through district-pro-
vided accounts.
Your board and superintendent
Kimberly Small,
IASB assistant
general counsel,
answers the
question for this
issue.
‘Business content’ triggersFOIA, not who owns device
by Kimberly Small
A S K T H E S T A F F
continued on page 22
Public record, under the
FOIA, means: “all records,
reports, forms, writings, letters,
memoranda, … electronic com-
munications, recorded infor-
mation and all other
documentary materials per-
taining to the transaction of
public business, regardless of
physical form or characteristics,
having been prepared by or for,
or having been or being used by,
received by, in the possession
of, or under the control of any
public body.”
Public record, under the
Local Records Act, has a more
broad definition than FOIA.
2921 Baker DriveSpringfield, Illinois 62703-5929
Address Service Requested
NON-PROFITPRST STANDARD
US POSTAGE PAIDILLINOIS
ASSOCIATION OFSCHOOL BOARDS
www.iasb.com
“The difference between the rightword and the almost right word is thedifference between lightning and alightning bug.”
Mark Twain, American author and humorist, 1835-1910
“Most of the basic material a writerworks with is acquired before the ageof 15.”
Willa Cather, American author, 1873-1947
“As elected school board mem-bers, we must put aside our party affiliations and partisan principlesand do our job — which is to repre-sent the children and the local edu-cational agencies we were elected toserve.”
Martha Fluor, president, California School Boards Association, “Schools must take priority over partisanship,”California School News, July 2011
“Proficiency in oral language pro-vides children with a vital tool forthought. Without fluent and struc-tured oral language, children will findit very difficult to think.”
Jerome Bruner, American psychologist, Child’s Talk: Learning to Use Language, 1983
“High-stakes testing is distort-ing the very purposes of education,
demeaning the role of teachers, andturning our schools into test-prep fac-tories. If we truly want schools thatrespect professionalism and encour-age creativity and innovation, ournation needs radically different policies for testing and accountabil-ity.”
Diane Ravitch, research professor of education at New York University and a historian of education
“An education isn’t how muchyou have committed to memory, oreven how much you know. It’s beingable to differentiate between whatyou know and what you don’t.”
Anatole France, French poet, journalist and novelist, 1844-1924
“Teaching provides a way to stayyoung at heart, to maintain a lifetime
of active learning ... . It is in everyrespect a profession of hope.”
Vito Perrone, retired director of teachereducation, Harvard Graduate School of Education, 1933-2011
“Education is a progressive dis-covery of our own ignorance.”
Will Durant, American writer, historianand philosopher, 1885-1981
“Education is learning what youdidn’t even know you didn’t know.”
Daniel J. Boorstin, American historian,professor, attorney and writer, 1914-2004
“Data is not information, infor-mation is not knowledge, knowledgeis not understanding, understandingis not wisdom.”
Clifford Stoll, American astronomer and author
“I want to take some time before college to go free-range, dad.”