Time to put on our thinking caps

I wanted to visit a bit about the all-district collaboration which I have called for the morning of Friday, February 27, 2009. It seemed important to me and to others on the administrative team to garner input from all of our staff about ways to economize, work “smarter and not just harder” and to be proactive in the fact of economic and fiscal uncertainty. To that end, we decided to pursue the collaboration as a means of getting all of our staff members involved in brainstorming ideas to further the cause of teaching and learning in our district in ways which might both assist us financially and afford our students greater opportunities than they now have.

We will be addressing the issues of time, staffing, resources and building on our successes on this day. Each of the thirty work groups will be asked to come up with their top suggestion in each of the four areas which will be submitted and summarized for the entire group. Summaries will be sent out to all staff on the Monday following our Friday meeting. I believe that there is some urgency here and I hope that we have clearer direction from the legislature than we now have. To that end, I am asking each of you to put on your thinking caps and come to our session prepared to offer your great ideas both for the short term and long term for USD 373.

If something prevents you from participating, feel free to send me an e-mail with your ideas. We need everyone as we work collaboratively to continue to move our district forward in an uncertain time. I look forward to February 27 and to some great ideas which, hopefully, we can implement both this year and next.

Working Smarter

I appreciated the hopeful, yet pragmatic tone of President Obama’s address yesterday.There is no doubt that things will probably get worse before they begin to get better.We will be watching the legislature with interest and anticipation as its members grapple with ways to assist our state out of its current financial morass. What does that mean for us in USD 373? It means that we need to think about our current and future expenditures and continue to think about ways to work smarter and more creatively as we face the prospect of reduced budgets. One thing I have been thinking about is an employee idea bank, where our staff can make suggestions for saving money for the district. It is going to take all of us thinking and working collaboratively to move past our current situation.

I’ll be putting something out to staff in the near future regarding this project. It is still my fervent hope that we will be able to achieve budgetary reductions without having to eliminate any staff. If you have additional ideas, I would be happy to hear them. Thanks for all you continue to do for our students in USD 373.

New Year, New Ideas

Here we are at the start of a new year which, hopefully, brings new promise and better times to our country. I have recently been in two retreats with our administrators to address issues that will be facing us both in the immediate and more distant future. I will send out that information to staff this week. I am hopeful that we can collectively think of ways to continue to expand learning options for our students and to provide the necessary resources to support our staff. It will, undoubtedly, be a challenging budget year for us. However, we need to examine things we can do which do not necessarily cost money, but which might improve the educational opportunities we provide. I will once again be visiting with staffs in each of our buildings and departments in an effort to hear what staff members have to say about our district and where we are headed. I hope you will choose to join in those discussions. We spent a lot of time yesterday discussing how we might identify and address root causes of issues facing our district and, we hope to use some of the techniques we discussed in conversations with staff. I am meeting with the Sunset staff today so those staff members will be my guinea pigs with this process. I hope all of you returned to the new semester rejuvenated after the long break and prepared with the planning day yesterday. Thanks to those teachers who shared their thoughts with me regarding the benefits of the planning day to begin second semester.

We are undoubtedly going to have to challenge some of our assumptions this semester, and we are going to have to find ways to work together in the best interests of our students. I am confident that we can do so in such a way that will continue to move our school district forward. Thanks for going on this exciting journey with USD 373 and I look forward to your comments.

Keeping the Focus on Students...

One of my favorite quotes is by Dr. Robert Schuller. He once said, “Tough times don’t last. Tough people do.” We know that we are in for challenging times in the months and possibly years ahead. However, it is important to remember that the downturns we are experiencing are not permanent; And, reflecting on the quote I sent to you last week, how we react is often more important that the situations we face. So, I guess the point of today’s blog is to suggest that we need to keep focused; primarily upon the students we serve, remembering that they are experiencing similar feelings to ours with all of the uncertainty surrounding us. We may be the bright spot in their day. Keeping the focus on students, on learning, keeps the focus off of us and our issues. I think we have tough, resilient staff members in our district, capable of withstanding whatever comes our way.
Together, we can overcome obstacles and maintain a positive educational climate in our district. We may also need to be a bit more sensitive to and more respectful of each other as well. Stress is not fun. How we manage stress may be challenging. However, I know that by supporting each other, we provide each other with additional ways to both cope with and survive internal and external stressful situations. In the spirit of the season, I am suggesting that we need to take a deep breath, find ways to relax and reflect, and be thankful that we work in a profession that so profoundly impacts so many people and, in effect, the very future of our community, our state, and our nation. Thanks for reading and I’ll look forward to your responses…

Opportunities to work Smarter, not just Harder

What we know is that there are uncertain times ahead for all of us in this country. However, as we think about how we are delivering services to our students, this may be a good time to think about different ways to organize, to use resources, and to provide a wider variety of learning opportunities for all students in USD 373. I am hosting a meeting this week to consider ways to offer a collaborative driver education program next summer in light of drastic reductions in our driver education reimbursement from the state of Kansas. Perhaps it is time for all of to reflect upon the possibilities of organizing our schools and classrooms in different ways to maximize our resources and to provide more learning options for our students. You’ve heard me say before that we don’ t control a lot of what happens in education, but that we do control what occurs between 8:00 and 3:00 every day. Could this be the time for us to examine more multi-age grouping options? Larger group instruction followed by smaller group interaction in a variety of courses at the high school? Opportunities for more individualization during the school day? More collaborative lessons? Staggered starting times? Friday apprenticeships for high school students on Fridays during their junior and senior years? A change in the strict adherence to time via block scheduling or seven period scheduling? As we approach 2009, perhaps it is time for us to have some creative, brainstorming discussions concerning how we might reorganize our schools to better meet the learning needs of all students! I would be very interested in your comments and thanks for reading.

Dr. John R. Morton, Superintendent
Newton Public Schools USD 373

Education is an investment, not just an expenditure

We are living in challenging times. We are going to be challenged as well. It is my hope that we can collaboratively work together to take on some of the issues which will be confronting us. We will definitely be challenged by the current economic climate. We have done great things for students because of the resources we have been able to bring to bear to support teaching and learning. In talking with other educators both in our state and throughout the country, there is much concern regarding funding shortfalls. Undoubtedly, we will be impacted as well. I am hopeful that we can create and sustain a dialogue concerning how we can best move forward together regardless of our fiscal situation and how we can meet the learning needs of our increasingly diverse students. I am working with others in the state to mount a campaign to increase awareness in a number of settings that education is an investment, not just an expenditure. What we need to do is to present a united front concerning the importance of education and the importance of investing in the future of our community and our state. We hope to create a button which can be worn by all of us in our community, when we go to Topeka, and when we interact with any group. We need to think more creatively and positively about how we get our message out and how we can support each other. Let me hear your ideas and how we can make sure we maintain the quality of educational opportunities which we offer our students. I have to be an optimist in this area – I believe we can, together, chart a course which can keep us moving in the right direction. I will both appreciate and await your input.

Happy Thanksgiving! In the midst all of these challenges, we also need to stop and be thankful for the difference we are able to make in the lives of our students in USD 373. I’m also thankful for all that you do every day for our students and our district.

Giving Thanks

American Education Week always signals a special time of year for me, coming as it does just prior to Thanksgiving. To me, it provides the opportunity for all of us to be thankful for the educational system we have in place in the United States and, more specifically, for those students, staff and parents who comprise the Newton Public Schools USD 373. While we have the added challenges and opportunities associated with No Child Left Behind, we still need to take the time to pause and reflect upon the tremendous influences education has had on all of us.

We all have educators who have played significant roles in our lives and who have helped mold us into the people we are today. Much of that effort occurred in such a subtle way that we probably did not realize the influence that these significant adults had on us at the time. But influence us they did; assisting us in developing the intellect, work habits and character we possess as adults in 2008.

A number of teachers come to mind as I think of those who inspired me to do my best in school. I was fortunate to have teachers who provided a significant influence for me at all levels in my educational career; Mrs. McCracken at Will Rogers Elementary; Mrs. Coy at Truesdell Junior High; and Mr. Alfaro at South High School. They were living the axiom that all students could succeed long before it became the national byline.
In addition, I had the great fortune of having a class under Dr. Harry Corbin at Wichita State University. All of these teachers encouraged me to do my best; they challenged my thinking and helped pave the way to my career as an educator.

Those adults, in addition to my parents and extended family, made tremendous contributions in my life just as I know that there are educators who have done the same for you. So, at this time of year when our thoughts turn to giving thanks, perhaps we ought to pause and reflect upon those educators and staff members who have given so much of themselves to us, to our children, and perhaps to our grandchildren as well.

Education is the only entity which touches every other profession and chosen vocation in our country. That degree of influence is awesome, indeed. It causes us to reflect again upon the power of an educated populace and the tremendous contributions that all of our citizens make as a result of their educational experiences and the ability that they have to apply those lessons learned to the pursuit of their livelihoods as well as their lives.

As we strive in USD 373 to make sure that no child is left behind, our challenge is to build on our excellent education tradition to continue to make the education of our students the highest priority in our country in the 21st century and to support those who are charged with this responsibility.

I would strongly encourage you during American Education Week to visit a school, write a note to an educator who influenced your life, eat lunch with first graders, make a donation to the USD 373 Endowment and volunteer to help a student with reading or math. Working together, we will continue to sustain the high level of support that education has enjoyed in the Newton community and to provide the foundation for continued progress as we continue to move into the twenty-first century.