WebChannel NA
Change Happens …are you ready?
Presented by
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www.nsba.org/webchannelNA
Next Month
February 21, 2008, 11 – Noon, EST
Education Vital Signs: A Report
2
The Webinar Controls
3
Our Panel Today
Glenn Cook,
Editor-in-Chief
American School
Board Journal
Alexandria, VA
gcook@nsba.org
4
Our Panel Today
Kathleen Vail,
Managing Editor
American School
Board Journal
Alexandria, VA
kvail@nsba.org
5
Glenn Cook
Editor-in-Chief
Kathleen Vail
Managing Editor
From “Change Happens”
Shifting student demographics,
growing economic threats from
overseas, and mounting pressure
from state governments and the
federal No Child Left Behind Act
mean school districts will most
certainly be changed in the near future,
whether they initiate it or have it forced upon
them. Yet many of us know little about the
dynamics of this inevitable process or how we
might make it work to our advantage.
Other “Change” Challenges
Workforce: Aging and mobile
 Average tenure of urban superintendents is 2.3 to
5 years, depending on which report you read.
More than half of the nation’s superintendents in
a number of states are at retirement age.
 According to the two leading principals’
associations, more than half of the nation’s
school districts reporting shortages of top
candidates
 Half of teachers leave profession within first five
years.
 Average employee will switch jobs 7 times in
his/her professional career.
Poll:

What do you see as the most pressing “change
challenge” that you face?
A. Shifting demographics
B. Top-down accountability without
appropriate financial resources
C. Aging workforce/recruiting issues
If you have another, more pressing challenge, e-mail it to
Kathleen Vail at kvail@nsba.org. We’ll report the results at
the end of this webinar.
From “Change Happens”
Lighthouse found that board
members in high-performing
districts had a stronger belief
in their ability to influence their
students’ education. And this
was true regardless of the
size of the district, the board
members’ educational level, or the district’s
location (urban, suburban, or rural).
“Conditions for Change”
1. Shared Leadership
2. Continuous Improvement and Shared Decision
Making
3. Ability to Create and Sustain Initiatives
4. Supportive Workplace for Staff
5. Staff Development
6. Support for School Sites through Data and
Information
7. Community Involvement
Source: Iowa School Boards Association’s Lighthouse Project
From “The Leading Source”

“Be Prepared” is OK. “Be Ready” is better.
In doing the story, however, I realized … the most
successful boards hadn’t simply learned to
weather change -- to “be
prepared,” in Scout jargon -but they were truly “ready” for
this change and were often initiating it and
embracing it, despite the fact that all change
involves discarding some time-honored traditions
and habits and moving into the unknown.
Source: http://leadingsource.asbj.com, January 8, 2008
So, are you doing what
it takes to be ready?
Poll: Are you ready for change?

True or False:
Our district has a detailed crisis management
plan in the event of a school shooting or some
other form of tragedy involving students and staff.
Comments on this question? E-mail Kathleen Vail at kvail@nsba.org.
We’ll report comments at the end of this webinar.
District: Questions to ask
Are the board and superintendent, in a retreat or
some other informal setting, annually forecasting
the short-term (1 year) and long-term (5 to 7
years) changes that will take place in your district?
 When was the last time you reviewed your
district’s mission statement and crisis plans? Do
they sit on a shelf gathering dust, or are they living
documents? When they’re read aloud, do you feel
like you are listening to Charlie Brown’s teacher?
 Do your board’s goals match the current mission
statement?

Staff: Questions to ask
Do you have a mentoring program in place for
new teachers?
 Do you have a formal process for cultivating
prospective school-level and central office
administrators – aka “a farm team.”
 When major changes are afoot, do you have a
system in place for notifying your staff first before
the news is sent to the community?

Poll: Are you ready for change?

True or False:
The general public does not understand that
schools are changing and evolving constantly.
Comments on this question? E-mail Kathleen Vail at kvail@nsba.org.
We’ll report comments at the end of this webinar.
Community: Questions to ask
Does your district have a communications plan
that addresses how you will engage the
community around major change initiatives?
 Does your board and administration believe that
internal/external communications is an investment
worth making, even if other areas have to be
trimmed?
 Does the board have a systemic way to meet
regularly with the community to get feedback on
how the school district is performing?

ASBJ: Resources
E-mail:
Glenn Cook
gcook@nsba.org
Kathleen Vail
kvail@nsba.org
Letters to the Editor: letters@asbj.com
 Reader Panel: www.asbj.com/readerpanel
 The Leading Source:
http://leadingsource.asbj.com
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