Retirement

So, yes, I announced a few weeks ago that I would retire from Lake Forest School District as of June 30, 2014.  This has been a great place to work and as a team there have been a lot of accomplishments.

Over the next six months this space may be used to comment on how things used to be as well as how they will be in the future.  I might speak a little about some of the things of which we are most proud.  I may speak a little about the search for the new superintendent.

One of the things I am most proud of is the logo.  When I came here in 2003 we really didn’t have a district logo.  Business cards carried the coat of arms and some of them had these words to go with LFSD – Learning Focused on Student Diversity.  I would ask people what it meant and nobody could translate it for me.

Early on, I was struck by the freedom of choice in Delaware.  There are many private and charter schools.  The state encourages districts to support parent requests to send their children to public schools other than the ones where they reside.  It was clear that our parents had choices where to send their children.   I want them to look no further.  We needed to say something about that.  So, in the summer of 2003, when asked to order some trinkets to pass out at a parent education fair, I ordered a bunch of magnetic, six inch rulers with the phrase “Lake Forest – your best choice”.

With the help of some volunteer graphic artists that was eventually translated into our logo which has become the Lake Forest brand.  Once we ordered a few shirts with the logo, everyone wanted them.  We are all Spartans from our Spartan Sprouts and Little Spartan day care program to our high school scholars and teams.

I know one thing.  When I decided to accept the position as superintendent of Lake Forest School District in the summer of 2003, it was the best choice for me.

 

Student Led Conferences

Soon it will be Thanksgiving and one side dish always served with Thanksgiving week in Lake Forest is Parent Conferences.   Monday, November 25, all Lake Forest Schools will hold conferences where, by tradition, parents meet with their child’s teachers to discuss report cards, grades, etc.

That is, everywhere but Lake Forest High School.  There, the students will lead the conference with their parents in the presence of their coach/advisor.  If there is a need to have a specific conference with a specific teacher, arrangements will be made to do that at a later date.  This is a great way to help students own their school performance.  How the student is doing, is not something adults talk about in their absence.

At Lake Forest High School, every student is assigned a faculty advisor.  There are even a few others not on the faculty who serve as advisors like Elementary Supervisory Ed Cutler and me.  We each are working with our own group of sophomores who we started advising when they were seventh graders at W.T.Chipman.

The students have been preparing for this event for a month now.  They must make decisions about which samples of their work they will share.  They must reflect on their effort and their results and share what they think they need to do better.  They will get the opportunity to script out how that conference will go and will even be given an opportunity to role play with one of their peers for practice.

It makes a lot of sense doesn’t it?  Students won’t be able to shrug their shoulders and say to their parents, “I don’t know” or “school’s OK”.  This is the second year for student led conferences at LFHS and we like it a lot.  Maybe we ought to consider this approach for middle school.

Great to be a Spartan

Recently we were fortunate to host a big event for Lt. Governor Matt Denn and Secretary of Education Mark Murphy.  The two big shots were on a tour of Delaware announcing the 17 Recognition Schools.

Of those 17 schools, three of them belong to Lake Forest.  So what are the odds?  All six schools in Lake Forest represent less than 1.5% of all the schools in the state.  Yet, when the state is recognizing those schools with the highest achievement, 18% of them are Lake Forest Schools.  That’s pretty cool.

They are:

·        Lake Forest North – also named a Distinguished Title I School

·        Lake Forest East – a former Distinguished Title I School

·        Lake Forest South – which won the award 2 years ago

Each of our principals – Mrs. Lands, Mrs. Piavis and Mrs. Hart – made great speeches after being introduced by the Lt. Governor.  They pointed out that their students’ high achievement is attributed to: supportive parents, hard-working students, dedicated teachers, a focused central office, a vigilant school board and a diverse community.  They pointed out that the kids who hit such high targets and earn this recognition for their school are from a variety of backgrounds and many face personal challenges outside of school.  They live on farms, in nice developments, in old houses, in trailers and in apartments; some have no mom or dad; some are special education students; some go home to a family where nobody speaks English; some suffer major health issues.  Yet, they do outstanding work and reach for the stars.

Each Recognition School will receive $50,000.  They can use it for anything to support their efforts to continue to raise student achievement.

It was a great day to be a Spartan, as most days are.

First Day of School

Monday was the first day of school.  It's always exciting.  Exciting even for me - and it was my 40th first day of school as an educator.

As I visited every school, I listened as teachers and principals marveled at how smooth things were going.  How well behaved the children were.  How all the plans for executing the first day worked well.  I always remind them that we all know how to "do" school. 

People ask me “How was the first day?  

I generally joke that “All went well.  We didn’t lose any.” 

Truth is, sometimes we lose a child or two – temporarily.  Imagine the logistics.  Schools like Central Elementary have 600+ students.  Most all of them ride the bus.  Many are not going home after school.  They’re going to after school care or grandma’s house or dad’s house.  Sometimes we have the wrong info.  It is easy for the child and/or the school to get confused.  “Oh wait.  This is Tuesday?  I’m on the wrong bus.”

One middle school student failed to get off the bus at home as expected.  In fact he failed to get on the bus.  For some reason he decided to walk home with a friend and didn’t think it was necessary to call his mom for permission.

Most parents are amazingly patient and understanding when these things happen.  Thank goodness all of our bus drivers have cell phones and we can quickly confirm a child’s whereabouts.

I remember the first day of school in September 1962.  We had moved into a new community.  My brother Davy was in 6^th  grade.  I was in 5^th and my sister Mary Jane was to start kindergarten.  We were all in White Hall School that had one class for each grade.  My mother gave us strict directions to collect our sister after school and see that she got on the right bus.   At the end of the day, wrapped up in our own friends and the excitement of the first day, neither of us even remembered having a sister.

Mary Jane and her friend got on the wrong bus and didn’t have a clue that it was wrong until the driver, at the end of the run, looked around and asked “Why are you still here?”  Needless to say, there was some punishment for the Curry boys when it was all over.  I don’t recall my mother or father suggesting it was the school’s fault.    

Here’s to another great year.

Evaluating Principals

Recently I attended a training session on the evaluation of principals.  As the evaluator of principals in Lake Forest, it is my responsibility to monitor their performance.  I coach, mentor and cajole.  We set goals, train together and review student progress data.  If a principal is weak in a particular area, an improvement plan may be developed.  The formal evaluation process is required by the state and expected by the board of education.

There are five major areas in the evaluation process for principals to be rated:

1.      Vision and Goals - This includes establishing, implementing, communicating and promoting the vision and goals of the school and district.  It also asks for evidence that the principal uses multiple sources of data for determining and monitoring the goals.

 

2.      Culture of Learning – Here we monitor to what extent the principal advocates, nurtures and sustains a school culture and instructional program that is conducive to student learning.  This can include such things as leading the instructional changes that need to take place, effectively evaluating teacher performance and providing professional development as needed.

3.      Management – The specific areas of safety and efficiency are part of this component.  The buildings and grounds, the budget, discipline and compliance with regulations are included.  Also included in here is the principal’s management of time and resources.

 

4.      Professional Responsibilities – This area focuses on the interaction with staff and the community as well as consistent dealing with students and staff.   Does the principal respect and invite the opinions of others?  Are families welcomed into the school?  It also is where we note if the principal is doing what is necessary to grow professionally – taking classes, attending seminars, etc.

 
 

5.      Student Growth – New this year, this component is based primarily on the number of students who meet their growth target in the state test.  Other measures may be included, but no matter what, it is designed to apply some pressure to the principal for improved student performance. 

Being a principal is a hard, hard job.  Sometimes it is a very lonely job.  Some days it seems as though nobody is happy.  Sometimes it feels as though, strange as it may sound, the teachers and the students and the parents and the community all have differing opinions about why school is here.  It is the principal’s challenge to get everyone going in the same direction.  When everyone is moving in the same direction, singing from the same songbook and working together for student success, it can be the most rewarding job in the world.

Lake Forest Board Approves New Tax Rates

The Lake Forest Board of Education met for its annual organizational meeting on Wednesday, July 3, 2013 in the Lake Forest Central Business Office.   Chris Baker was elected to serve as President of the Board for the coming fiscal year with Danny Aguilar as Vice President.

Following a presentation by Business Manager Christine daCosta, the board approved the school tax rates for fiscal year 2014.

Due to a successful current expense referendum in December, Lake Forest School District will increase its current expense rate by 12.87 cents.   Because the district has experienced a significant increase in intense and complex special needs students, tuition tax was increased 3.02 cents.   The match tax for minor capital improvements, extra time, reading & math resource teachers and the technology is increasing by a fraction of a penny (0.05 cents).  The debt service rate will remain at 14.5 cents.

The total tax rate will increase by 15.94 cents from $1.1569 to $1.3163 per $100 of real property beginning July 1, 2013. 

For more information:

Dan Curry, Superintendent   284-3020 x 104

Christine daCosta, Business Manager   284-3020 x 105

Ten Years

Last week I had the pleasure of handing out diplomas and shaking hands with my 10^th graduating class from Lake Forest High School.  The class of 2013 is a remarkable group which earned more than $2 million in scholarship dollars for post high school education.  We are very proud of them.

As the honor students made their graduation speeches that night and reminisced with classmates about their journey, my mind wandered back as well to consider all the things that are today Lake Forest that didn’t exist ten years ago when I arrived in 2003.

This is now our logo, our brand –

In the last 10 years we’ve done more than $30 million in new construction and remodeling school buildings.  We built a new South Elementary and got rid of all those rotten modular classrooms.  WTChipman has had a significant make-over both inside and out.  Central Elementary got 4 new classrooms.  Lake Forest High School built new space for fine arts, health and fitness, upgraded the exterior and remodeled most every lab and classroom.  North and East got some upgrades and new parking lots.

Of the 13 principals/assistant principals in Lake Forest only 3 were principals in 2003 and all of the central office administrators but one have been hired since that time.

School uniforms.

Student achievement in Lake Forest is at an all time high.  Most notable - our 8^th and 9^th grade math test results are significantly higher than the state average.  Our third grade math and reading scores far exceed the state average as well.

School board leadership has remained stable and focused upon district goals.  John Schulties has served for 13 years and Chris Baker for 11 years.

Consistent leadership over time both with school board and administration pays off.  I believe I’ll stick around for another 10 years.