Monday Humor

If you can't afford a doctor, go to an airport - you'll get a free x-ray and a breast exam, and; if you mention Al Qaeda, you'll get a free colonoscopy

Allison

Please be praying for Allison's grandpa. He is in the hospital in Texas. He is not doing well. Brian and Allison have flown to Texas this morning.

KSDE News

State Board seeks flexibility in AYP accountability

TOPEKA – The Kansas State Board of Education is seeking flexibility in how Kansas schools are held accountable for student performance under the federal No Child Left Behind legislation. In a letter sent to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan this week, State Board of Education Chairman David Dennis asked that the annual targets for student performance on state reading and math assessments be held at 2009-2010 levels until the state is able to implement new Common Core Standards and related assessments in those curricular areas.

“Seeking this flexibility for Kansas schools is something our State Board feels strongly about,” Dennis said. “Because the federal legislation that provides the guidelines by which schools are held accountable for student performance is due to be reauthorized, this is an ideal time to request this modification to our state accountability plan.”

In asking for the flexibility to hold annual performance targets steady, rather than have them rise each year until reaching 100 percent in the 2013-2014 school year, Dennis cited a number of reform efforts Kansas has implemented that are likely to mirror reforms in a reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), more commonly known as No Child Left Behind.

Last March, the U.S. Department of Education released the Blueprint for Reform, which laid out a framework for the reauthorization of ESEA. Included in the Blueprint was the use of common standards for student performance, as well as assessments to measure that performance. Kansas is among 41 states that have adopted the Common Core Standards for English/language arts and mathematics, which were developed through a state-led initiative organized by the National Governor’s Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. In addition, Kansas is among the governing states in the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium, a group of 31 states working to develop the next generation of assessments aligned to the Common Core Standards.

The Blueprint for Reform also recommends moving away from the current accountability system in No Child Left Behind to a growth model, which considers not just whether students and schools are able to meet a specific target for performance, but whether they’re showing marked improvement in performance over time. Kansas has in place a longitudinal database that will allow the state to develop an effective growth model for accountability purposes.
“In light of Kansas’ demonstrated commitment to continuing reform, and the state’s intent to maintain challenging performance targets, I think the request for some flexibility while we work to implement the new standards and assessments is appropriate,” Dennis said.

The Kansas 2009-2010 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) performance targets for percent of students meeting standards or above were 82.3 percent in mathematics for grades K-8 and 76.4 percent for grades 9-12. In reading the targets were 83.7 percent for grades K-8 and 81.3 percent for grades 9-12.

A copy of the letter to Duncan can be found online on the Kansas State Department of Education website. Dennis is hopeful a response to the request will be available in early May, at the conclusion of the state’s testing cycle.

Family Weekend

This weekend we spent in Kansas City for our annual trip to watch my nephew Chris play college volleyball for Hannibal-La Grange College at Park University. We spent Friday evening with Brian and Allison and Saturday afternoon with mom, dad, Mike, Doreen and Emma. We hit Cabelas on Saturday evening. Sunday we went to church at the Heartland Church of Christ then watched a couple of movies. A fun weekend.

Spring Come Quickly

One of my favorite new courses in Western Oklahoma, Sugar Creek Canyon in Hinton. Beautiful course. The front nine is wide open and the back nine is played in the canyons. Great scenery.

Valentines Day 1979

Valentines Day 1979

I Hate Snow!

It could be worse.......right?

7 Qualities of Leadership

2. Communicate Your Vision

Follow me, were going to get there together.

Communication:

• Believe its important
• Communicate so people can understand
• Be clear, concise and correct in your communication
• Optimism
• Hope
• Must do it verbally

7 Qualities of Leadership

7-Qualities of Leadership (Pat Williams)

1. Vision

Leadership is always about the future. You must see it before it takes place. With vision it keeps you focused, it keeps you fueled and it helps you finish.

A Texan Enjoying the Snow

Allison enjoying her day off from school.

Blizzard

This is a picture of our house yesterday afternoon during the blizzard. We had a little over 18 inches.

Winter Storm Pics

Historic Winter Storm

The winter storm began around 2:00 a.m. this morning. We currently have over 13 inches of snow looking at 20 inches when it ends tonight. The media is calling this storm historic. I call it the pits!

Cherokee county emergency manager Jason Allison tells KSN/KODE two separate units of the Kansas national guard are being mobilized in Cherokee county to assist emergency personnel. Allison says the roads in Cherokee county have become virtually impassible throughout the county. The units will be setting up in Columbus and in Baxter Springs to assist with emergency calls.

Leadership

I heard a great keynote speaker at our annual conference on Friday. Pat Williams, the GM of the Orlando Magic, spoke on leadership.

Leadership strategies are being sold and communicated in a variety of ways these days. It's a multi-million dollar business where companies, businesses, and even governments are seeking genuine leaders to lead their organizations and employees in the 21st Century.

Leaders must motivate people to act towards achieving a common goal. In education these days, that is becoming even more difficult because of NCLB, Federal mandates and dwindling resources.

Maybe that's the reason why there are so many superintendent positions open across the state of Kansas currently and very few applicants.

Leadership is a tough business..................

Leadership Gold

Great book on leadership by John Maxwell.

Snow in SE Kansas

Another snow day for the kids of Columbus.

School Finance

Initial school funding details from Governor’s proposed budget

Details continue to unfold regarding Governor Brownback’s proposed budget and the impact on Kansas public schools. Various House and Senate committees are scheduled to receive briefings, and KASB staff will report new details as they become available.

Here’s what we know now:

For the Current Fiscal Year/School Year:

A spending “freeze” uses $86 million in current year Federal Education Jobs Funding to replace state funding. This helps create an ending balance for the state of $35 million.

• No additional supplemental funding for the current year is proposed to make up for the shortfalls in the statewide 20 mill levy, higher enrollment and more free lunch students counted for at-risk funding. Previous estimates suggest this could reduce the base $75.

Proposed for Next Year FY12:

• Base budget per pupil reduced from the current published level of $4,012 to $3,780.
  
• Special education increased by $60 million to comply with federal maintenance of effort requirements. This would equal approximately $90 on the base budget per pupil, but presumably will be distributed through the special education formula.
  
• The $86 million Education Jobs Funding used in the current year is replaced. This would avoid further cuts in the base.
  
• Despite the reduction in the base budget per pupil, total state funding for all K-12 programs – including special education, bond and interest aid, KPERS school aid, and replacement of the Education Jobs funding – is estimated to increase about $200 per FTE pupil.
  
• The ending balance for FY12 is only $7.5 million, which equates to about one-tenth of one percent. This means any shortfall in state revenues will throw the budget out of balance.
  
• A transfer of $200 million from the State Highway Plan is made to help finance state general fund expenditures.

Snow

I hate snow!

Weekend

We celebrated our family Christmas this past weekend. It was great having Craig, Brian and Allison here with us.

We enjoyed a trip to NW Arkansas on Saturday before taking Craig to the airport on Sunday afternoon. We hit the Walmart Visitors Center in Bentonville. We had AQ Chicken. Craig wanted to bowl so we enjoyed a fun game in Springdale. We ended the day watching Country Strong in Joplin Saturday evening.

Craig left from Tulsa at 1:00 on Sunday. He had a safe flight to Atlanta then on to New York City. He heads back to work tomorrow, then his final semester of school begins February 1.

Wednesday Pics