5. Political Influence & Governance
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Public school systems in the United States have the ultimate responsibility of educating future generations so that society can survive and thrive. School districts operate within a system of governance answering to local, state, and federal government for various requirements and responsibilities. Within this system, districts have an extended responsibility to communicate about the system itself, its priorities, and its ability to further the mission of serving children and families.
I believe in being an informed educator. As a result, I seek out information related to current political issues in education. I read educational news at the local, state, and federal levels from online news sources including our local school board minutes, the Minnesota Association of School Administrators website, the National Public Radio website, and National Education Association news outlets. Beyond having an understanding of issues related to the government in education, I have one area where I work closely and care deeply.
For the past five years I have been involved in the Q Comp initiative in our district. Five years ago there was a question about how long Q Comp would remain in statute in Minnesota. During the 2010-2011 school year, I served as the lead author of our district’s Q Comp Plan. A larger undertaking in the development of a plan was the communication to and acceptance from the stakeholders involved. Along with the authoring group, I presented to large groups, small groups, and individual teachers in the process of building buy-in for the components of the plan we were writing. I met numerous times with administrators and the superintendent negotiating on elements of the plan, writing them to meet state requirements, and also ensuring that they remained acceptable to teachers and the School Board. After months of attention, the Board unanimously accepted the application and the teachers voted with a 95% acceptance (Artifact 1).
Since that time, the Q Comp program has remained in our district, being voted on favorably by the Board and teachers each year; however, it has experienced extended uncertainty at the legislative level. Even the staff of the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) has communicated uneasiness about the program’s future at meetings of Q Comp leaders. This year, I was pleased to find that MDE included a link on its website that gave updates to legislative actions related to Q Comp and the Teacher Evaluation Statute (Artifact 2). I am pleased with the outcome that currently Q Comp remains unchanged.
Beyond my role in the Q Comp program, I have been a leader in the Response to Intervention program. I serve on two of the three student intervention teams in our district and help make decisions to support struggling students. One of the support options we are proud to host in our school is a group of therapists from Nystrom and Associates (Artifact 3). This forward-thinking program brings therapists who would ordinarily be accessed outside of school site and the school day, into the buildings so kids can see them without needing transportation or interruption to their family’s schedule. Of course, we also look to many other local agencies to support issues such as truancy and families in crisis; however, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of students accessing counseling services since Nystrom was incorporated into our school.
As an educator, I have a responsibility to understand the structure of political elements that impact my employment and the success of my students. I need to be knowledgeable enough to access information as it relates to my role as an educational leader so that my school and district can be adequately prepared to meet requirements and, if needed, speak out related to issues of concern.
I believe in being an informed educator. As a result, I seek out information related to current political issues in education. I read educational news at the local, state, and federal levels from online news sources including our local school board minutes, the Minnesota Association of School Administrators website, the National Public Radio website, and National Education Association news outlets. Beyond having an understanding of issues related to the government in education, I have one area where I work closely and care deeply.
For the past five years I have been involved in the Q Comp initiative in our district. Five years ago there was a question about how long Q Comp would remain in statute in Minnesota. During the 2010-2011 school year, I served as the lead author of our district’s Q Comp Plan. A larger undertaking in the development of a plan was the communication to and acceptance from the stakeholders involved. Along with the authoring group, I presented to large groups, small groups, and individual teachers in the process of building buy-in for the components of the plan we were writing. I met numerous times with administrators and the superintendent negotiating on elements of the plan, writing them to meet state requirements, and also ensuring that they remained acceptable to teachers and the School Board. After months of attention, the Board unanimously accepted the application and the teachers voted with a 95% acceptance (Artifact 1).
Since that time, the Q Comp program has remained in our district, being voted on favorably by the Board and teachers each year; however, it has experienced extended uncertainty at the legislative level. Even the staff of the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) has communicated uneasiness about the program’s future at meetings of Q Comp leaders. This year, I was pleased to find that MDE included a link on its website that gave updates to legislative actions related to Q Comp and the Teacher Evaluation Statute (Artifact 2). I am pleased with the outcome that currently Q Comp remains unchanged.
Beyond my role in the Q Comp program, I have been a leader in the Response to Intervention program. I serve on two of the three student intervention teams in our district and help make decisions to support struggling students. One of the support options we are proud to host in our school is a group of therapists from Nystrom and Associates (Artifact 3). This forward-thinking program brings therapists who would ordinarily be accessed outside of school site and the school day, into the buildings so kids can see them without needing transportation or interruption to their family’s schedule. Of course, we also look to many other local agencies to support issues such as truancy and families in crisis; however, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of students accessing counseling services since Nystrom was incorporated into our school.
As an educator, I have a responsibility to understand the structure of political elements that impact my employment and the success of my students. I need to be knowledgeable enough to access information as it relates to my role as an educational leader so that my school and district can be adequately prepared to meet requirements and, if needed, speak out related to issues of concern.