The Cupcake Wars

This New York Times article describes the difficulties of fundraising in public schools.  For urban schools in areas that are gentrifying, resentment can develop on the part of both newcomers and residents who have long worked to keep schools together.  Class differences can cause difficulties as new comers with more means attempt to use their expertise to raise money for their children's schools, leaving long-time residents feeling discounted.

More and more school districts are turning to foundations and other fundraising methods to supplement shrinking public support for schools. And, in some places, this "solution" is creating different problems, some that may be more difficult to address than raising money.

Early Warning Systems

This article from Education Week explains how educators are learning to use leading indicators to better target resources and reach students who may be at risk for falling behind.

The connection between collaboration and innovation

Google was interested in learning if there was a connection between collaboration and innovation. So, they did a little research.  Turns out that there is a strong correlation between the two.  If 1 is an absolute correlation, and 0 is no correlation, the collaboration-innovation is pretty strong, .81.

Seems like no matter which way we look at it, relationships, teams, connection are required for success in today's world.

Do you know where you are going?

I am sitting in Midway Airport thinking about vision.  We describe vision as declaring where you want  to be in a specified period of time.  Three years. Five years.  AND, I am thinking of one of my favorite Yogi Berra quotes, "If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else." It occurs to me that creating and communicating your vision is a lot like air travel.  I have spent a lot of time in airports over the last year, many of them for the first time.

Airports are incredibly easy to navigate, even if you've never been in a particular one before. That's because the signage is crystal clear. Short-term parking Long-term parking Economy parking Arrivals  Departures Concourse Gates Baggage claim I think you get the idea.

Now I know that creating a vision for a school district is much more complex.  And I still think we can learn from the airport metaphor. Are you clear about where you want to go? What is your district's vision? Do you have clear signs for getting there? Do you have goals? Do you check data to see if you are on the right track? Do you practice continuous improvement, celebrating what works and asking what could be better?

We know what it feels like to get diverted, to run into rough weather. And yet the plane still arrives, even if it is late.  

 Do you have a clear picture of your district's journey? Do you send consistent messages about your vision? Do you continuously ask, "what does this have to do with our vision?" If not, how can you know where you are going? How can you know when you get there?

What makes a leader?

This newsletter from Alternative Resolutions h as a nice list of skills and dispositions found in today's successful leaders.

Arne Duncan on The Daily Show

Arne Duncan was on the Daily Show last week, talking about Race to the Top and the new initiative aimed at improving the teaching profession.

Hope for Wisconsin Testing

Wisconsin has taken a leading roll in the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium.  In this article on assessment in California, Linda Darling Hammond explains how this test will be good for California students.  It will be interesting to see how testing experts in Wisconsin will view the change for our state.