Goodbye and Good Luck

I want to thank everyone for their support of the Lake Forest Schools over the last eleven years while I have had the privilege to serve as superintendent.  Together we have accomplished much.

Delaware, and thus Lake Forest, has gone through a lot of changes in that time.  For three years we experienced amazing growth which led to the need for new construction.  The community came through and supported that idea with new South Elementary and additions at Lake Forest High School.  This gave us the space we needed to move the sixth grade to the middle school and start all-day kindergarten.

Our teachers and administrators, hatched a plan to make something called Learning Focused Strategies the foundation of our teaching.  They began to make more time to collaborate and study student performance and the art of teaching together which led to unprecedented student performance.  Race to the Top brought some new objectives and responsibilities and our people were already moving in that direction.

The end result has been multiple recognitions for Lake Forest Schools from state leaders.

Most recently, U.S News and World Reports released their best of the high schools report.  Only 8 schools in Delaware made that list and one of them was Lake Forest High School.

On May 22 the Lake Forest Board of Education hired Dr. Jason A. Conway to be the new superintendent in Lake Forest starting July 1.   After months of searching, using a process of collaboration from community and staff, they determined unanimously that Dr. Conway was their best choice.  I hope the staff and community will embrace him in the same way that I was embraced in July of 2003.

Lake Forest was my best choice.  Goodbye and good luck. 

How Can Taxes Go Down with Approval of a Referendum?

The small capital improvement referendum on May 28 will require a slight increase in taxes to pay for our share of the $7.7 million in bonds.  You can see in this chart in the column labeled "Tax Amount for Referendum, that we project no more than 1.5 cent increase in 2015, a .5 cent increase in 2016 and a .5 cent increase in 2017 (that's right- half a penny).   The total increase is 2.5 cents over 3 years.

However, we also project annually reducing our  current Debt Service Tax, which exists to pay for past bond sales.  You can see in  the column labeled "Proposed Debt Service Rate w/o Referendum", that rate is presently 14.5 cents.  We plan to reduce that existing rate by 2 cents in 2015, 1 cent in 2016, another 1 cent in 2017 and .5 cent decrease in 2018.

So we increase 2.5 cents in 3 years and decrease 4.5 cents over 4 years.  The end result, even with approval of this referendum on May 28 is a Debt Service Tax Rate that is, by 2018,  2 cents lower than it is today.   That's a good deal.

 

Teacher Appreciation Week

May 5-9 is teacher appreciation week.  I find that’s a good time to reflect on what teachers did for me in my life. 

I seem to remember the characters.  Maybe they were good teachers, I’m not sure.  I generally did well enough in school and enjoyed being there anyway.  But here are a few who come to mind:

·        Miss Hardway – First grade teacher, Lost Creek, West Virginia.  I remember getting in trouble for kissing the girls as their ring-around-the-rosey circle came past me.  When we came in from recess I was chastised and all were lectured that the boys would kiss the boys and the girls would kiss the girls.  I’m glad that rule didn’t stick.  No wonder she was never married.  She retired following my exit from first grade and my mother always implied that I must’ve had something to do with that.

·        Mr. Suitor – Sixth grade teacher and principal of White Hall Elementary School, West Virginia.  He was well known for his coffee thermos and every sixth grade class was to have someone try to slip Exlax into it.  He was really very kind to me considering that he caught me putting a tack on another student’s chair.

·        Ms. Lyons – 7^th grade English Teacher, Fairmont Junior High, West Virginia.  I always liked to write and tell stories and she encouraged me.  She was small and petite and once, when in a traffic jam in the hallway, I poked her in the ribs thinking she was a classmate.  Oops.

·        Ms. Eliason – 7^th and 8^th grade music teacher, Fairmont Junior High, West Virginia.  My brother and I played accordion and sang, so music class was a breeze.  She was my first intro to eccentric teacher of the arts with the fog of heavy perfume, her dramatic way of talking and the blazing red beehive hairdo.

·        Mr. Everhart – 7^th and 8^th grade physical education teacher, same place.  In his class I witnessed my first mean spirited and racist teacher.  Never thought I’d learn to hate a teacher, but I find when I think of him today I am as disgusted as I was then.

·        Mrs. Christian – High School Choral teacher, Fairmont Senior High School, West Virginia.   I always loved being part of the touring choir and she would let us drive her big old station wagon to load up the risers and set up for some of our traveling concerts.

·        Ms. Huber – Freshman Algebra I and Senior Pre-Calculus/Trig.  How I qualified for that senior class with a foundation of C’s and D’s I’ll never know.  She persevered and insisted I deserved to be there.

·        Ms. Ford – Creative writing.  I was one of a group of college bound seniors who had Ms. Ford all year long for an elective in creative writing.  We wrote stories and poetry and monologues and entertained each other.  We made each other laugh and cry.   She got married and moved away and 20 years later, while serving on an accreditation team that was reviewing her school, I found one of my stories still in use on her bulletin board. 

I find it’s always fun to share teacher stories.  We sometimes are forced to recall our own misdeeds or poor choices, but they are part of who we are.  Every teacher in someway becomes a part of who we are.  They don’t often get to know if they had an impact or not.  We should let them know.

If you were able to read this and comprehend it fully, thank a teacher. 

May 28 Referendum

The State of Delaware has approved their share of the funding for our next construction plan.  Now we have to get the commitment from our community for our share.  We do that through referendum and the vote will be on May 28.

What’s in it?  Mostly safety and security improvements. 

·        At both North and East elementary schools, the office is not next to the entry door.  Visitors are viewed through security camera and the door is opened electrically.  When the visitor comes through the door, it is possible for them to go wherever they want without going to the office.  At those two schools we need to move the office and reconfigure some rooms, walls and doorways so that front door and school office are together.

·        Security cameras – WTC, South, East and Central elementary all need expended security equipment.

·         Lab tables in science rooms at W.T.Chipman and some of the old floor tiles contain asbestos.  They pose no immediate danger but we have been gradually removing these old products from around the district.

·        We would like to build an enclosed corridor for students to transition between the main building and the gym at W.T.Chipman.

·        At the High school, the football field has become a bit of a safety concern and the rubberized surface is lifting off the track.  This package includes resurfacing the track and installation of an artificial surface for the football field.  This will also make it easier for us to open the field to all sports including Pop Warner, because we will no longer worry about mud and over use.

·        There are a lot of other details and small projects included in our plan that we hope to have available on our website soon. 

So what’s the cost?

The complete package will cost $7,707,300.  The State of Delaware will pay for $5,086,800 or 66% of the construction costs.  The local 34% share is $2,620,500.   This amount will be obtained by using $1,369,000 accumulated from development impact fees already collected and held presently by Kent County in the School District Capital Improvement Fund and by a slight increase in property taxes from the authorization to purchase local bonds for the rest if this referendum is successful.  The tiny tax increase will be offset by reductions in our overall debt service rate, meaning no net increase in taxes.  We’ll raise them a penny or two on one hand, while reducing them a penny or two on the other.

More details will be available soon.

Coach

I coached an athletic team once.  I was drafted to coach a community soccer team for 7 and 8 year olds in the introductory year of a youth soccer program.   Never played soccer myself.  Thankfully, neither had my players.  So, we learned together.  It was like herding cats.

In recent years I have had the opportunity to coach again, but this time not in sports.  This time I’m coaching life.

I work with a group of ten sophomores at Lake Forest High School.   I have been working with them monthly since they were in seventh grade.   They are a high energy group with lots to say.  The school provides me with the monthly lesson.  Over the years we have addressed setting goals and making commitments.  We have had lessons on careers and decision making.  We have had lessons on interpersonal skills and communication and college choices and SAT scores.  We have had a lot of fun.

I not only look forward to our monthly gatherings – I look forward to running into my kids when I visit the high school.  We’ve gotten close over the last 4 years.  It has been a joy to watch them grow. 

I also coach a group of 14 seventh graders at W.T.Chipman.  We have been together for two years.   Seventh graders challenge my patience in ways that sophomores don’t.  But, I love them all the same and look forward to spending time with them as well as seeing them outside of our coaching sessions. 

Dr. Joe Murphy of Vanderbilt University does a lot of work with Delaware administrators.  He tells us that students will be more successful in a culture “ where they are known, cared for, supported, respected, feel they have ownership and membership and an opportunity to participate, be recognized and exercise leadership.”

That’s what we try to establish through our coaching program.  I’m glad I agreed to participate.  The rewards for me have been greater I’m afraid than the rewards to the kids.  They have blessed me with their optimism and energy.  They have kept my feet on the ground.

Snow Days

I got a call yesterday from a very polite and patient lady who inquired how we determined when to cancel school.  This happened to be one of those days with single digit temperatures and with many roads covered in packed snow.  We had decided on a 2 hour delay along with the other districts in Kent County.  Everyone south of us had canceled for the day.

I explained that we always begin with “can the children who are transported be transported safely”? 

The first snow of every winter need not be much to cause us to close, because we recognize that we all need to re-learn how to drive in those conditions.   But, after several snow storms and several bouts of extreme cold temperatures, we also have to recognize that we are in winter driving mode - people need to get to work and parents expect to have their children in school.

There are many places in the country where the road rarely sees the sun due to the shade of roadside forests.  The snow pack will be there until things warm up.  All that the snow plows are doing is polishing the shine. These conditions could remain as they are for weeks.  We cannot wait for 100% of our roads to show dry pavement before we return to school.

We also need to remember that our bus drivers are not just drivers.  They are professional drivers.  They have a special license and special training and they are entrusted with the safety of the children they transport every day.  They know what they’re doing.   Rarely does a bus have an accident at the fault of the driver.  It’s generally the other drivers on the road that cause problems.

Finally, I like to point out that in Delaware, children must have a minimum number of hours of instruction each year.  We have a few excess hours built in which means we don’t have to make up these days missed so far.  But, if we have one more snow day, every subsequent day will have to be made up.  Most who are concerned about the roads, also are not in favor of extending the school year deep into June.

As an elementary principal in the West Virginia mountains several years ago, I have fond memories of the sound made by the school buses in chains as they rumbled away at the end of each winter day.  It was no big deal.  Once they left town and went out into the country the chains were necessary for them to get where they needed to go.  Some buses stayed chained up for weeks at a time.

When I took the school bus operator class myself, I was required to demonstrate that I could put the chains on a bus as part of my driver’s test.  I can’t remember the last time I saw any vehicle with chains.

We’ve missed more school this year than we have in many years and winter has just begun.  Hang on and pray that the ground hog foretells an early spring.

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.