Category Archives: School management

Dear Applicants:

If you are interested in applying for a teaching position in our school district, thank you! Randolph Central is a wonderful place to work, with terrific students, a great team of professionals and a supportive community. Having reviewed all of the application files that were submitted, I would like to share a few tips with you, if applying to our school district (or any other).

If the deadline for the position is Monday, September 26, 2011, then you need to have all of your materials in by that date. Not two days later, backdated to September 26. Do whatever you have to do to mail your resume, application and letter of interest,  or use express mail, or drop your application file off to us. Can you email your materials to me? You may do so, but you’d better also be using ‘snail’ mail because it otherwise looks lazy on your part. Can you submit your materials late? You can, but you won’t be considered. Responding late to a job posting screams, “I don’t meet deadlines. This is a clear indication that I work on MY time, not yours and you can expect me to be late with every other deadline you ever set for me.”

Is it a good idea to apply for the position if you’re not certified yet or if you’re certified in another content area? NO. Back in the day it may have been possible to hire someone in a non-traditional manner or to have someone teach out of his content area or to hire a teacher on a long term substitute basis while awaiting certification. NOT NOW. We cannot legally hire you if you’re not certified, and certified means the certificate is in your possession for which you can provide us a copy, in the content area for which you will be teaching.

Bottom line? With only a one to two day posting, we received 60+ applications. It’s a competitive job market. Don’t get yourself knocked out of the running by applying without the proper certification, submitting your application file late, misspelling words on your resume, emailing your materials to the superintendent without paper copy follow-up, or completing the application in an illegible, haphazard way. This is the time to put your best foot forward. You cannot afford to do it any other way.

Respectfully Hoping the Best for You,

A Superintendent in a Position to Hire You

I grew up in a small coal mining town in Pennsylvania. We had the coal mine at the bottom of the hill, a cross road where the company store sat and then the road at the top of my little town where sat the Elementary school and the Fire Hall. In between were all of our houses, most of which were divided in two with one family on one side and another family on the other side. It was a colorful place. Literally. We were primarily Polish and Italian, Czechoslovakian and German. One half of the house might be sided yellow and the other half blue. It wasn’t an easy life for the men who worked there, but it was better money than most could make elsewhere. My father lost his right leg at the age of 30 in that coal mine (and went right back to it as soon as he was able) and my grandfather died of black lung after a life time in the mines.

I grew up there in the sixties and seventies, so you can imagine that I definitely understood what the union was about and what a strike looked like. My father, who didn’t go far in formal public school, was the hardest worker I knew (still is to this day) and a voracious reader. He made it to management and so I learned that side of the labor/management debate too.

As a business student in college, I was taught that unions were the result of poor management. I believe that’s true. If you study the history of unions to the Industrial Revolution, there were deplorable working conditions in most places.

As a retail manager, I was taught what to do to help prevent unions from organizing in the workplace and that included treating our employees so well that they didn’t see the need for a union organizing in our stores.

And then I became a teacher. I walked into my job with the same thoughts. I’m a hard worker, I do what’s right, why would I need to join the union? These aren’t the sixties in the coal mines, this is a public school!

That’s when I met Tom Waag, a veteran teacher at Pine Valley who sat me down and said, “let me explain this to you, young lady.” From Tom, I learned of the working conditions and pay that he encountered when he started as a teacher and how hard they’d worked to improve their contract so that I, in turn, could enjoy a fair starting salary. I have to add here that Tom Waag was the best union person I’ve ever known. Why? Not only would he fight for you if you were being treated unfairly but he’d be the first person to tell you so if he thought your claim was unjustified and a load of bunk. Solid man. A hard worker, straight shooter and great guy.

As a teacher, I learned early that no one was asking the questions I had when presented with a contract settlement that I thought was unfair to those of us on the bottom of the pay scale. As a young teacher, I was about to pay  18% for my health insurance and there was not even close to enough raise to make up for that–this was the settlement my union got for me? That’s how I ended up on the negotiating team, the veterans probably figured they’d better teach me how it worked. That’s when I learned how hard it is to negotiate and just how long it takes. I also lobbied for NYSUT as a Committee of 100 member, fighting not for worker’s rights in Albany, but for our public schools and the issues we faced.

And just like my father, I went from the union side to the management side. Now I negotiate contracts for the district, approaching every negotiation fully aware that my colleagues on the other side of the table are working to keep what they’ve got and gain some while I work just as hard to contain our costs. It’s no easy job.

With everything that’s happening in Wisconsin and across the country, I’m drawing on a lifetime of varied experiences with unions and wondering about their future. I think we’ve developed a good level of trust here at RCS–that giving a realistic view of our budget future and telling the truth, that being transparent and straight-forward about what we can and cannot do, that working together to keep our district financially stable–will see us through all of the significant changes with our new governor. Time will tell.

At the end of the day, I’m not sure where we’re headed over the next ten years as public school districts. I do know for sure that unions or not, we’ve all got to work as hard as my dad in that coal mine to improve and collaborate and change or we’ll be as obsolete as that little coal mine is today. I’m here for the long haul to keep RCS moving forward, growing and changing and improving. We need everyone to give all they’ve got so we’re standing at the top as an outstanding school district that serves our community well—and I’m counting on the unions to help us get there.

When someone calls with a concern or praise or wants us to do something differently, we LISTEN intently. We most often have lots of discussion about that concern or request or problem. We investigate EVERY issue that comes before us carefully. We follow through.

If we don’t do exactly what you want us to do, it doesn’t mean we’re not listening. You can’t always get what you want. And you’re not always right. There’s always more to the story, another perspective, other people involved. Don’t rush so quickly to judgment. If you’re always angry at everyone around you, as my mother would say, you better look in the mirror.

And I’ll make you a deal. I’ll listen. I’ll realize I can’t always get what I want. I’m aware on a daily basis that I’m not always right. I’ll have room in my head for the ideas of others, not just my ideas. I’ll listen to all sides of the story. I’ll make the best decision I can, given the information I’ve gathered. I’ll research and evaluate and then decide.

If the decision isn’t what you wanted, it doesn’t mean I didn’t listen. It’s just that you’re not always right and your opinion isn’t the only one that matters.

Maybe you noticed our smashed yellow suburban in the parking lot last week? I didn’t blog about it because, well, I didn’t think it was newsworthy. I should have realized it would elicit a reaction and that anyone who saw it might wonder what happened. Randolph being Randolph, I assumed word would travel quickly in our community.

To set the record straight for anyone who didn’t hear the “whole” story, three of our Ag students traveled to Harrisburg with our FFA advisor, Pat Walker. While there, another driver ran a stop sign and despite the fact that Mrs. Walker was traveling slowly as she approached the other vehicle, she did hit them. The police were called and even by the other driver’s own admission, the other driver was completely at fault.

Mrs. Walker and our students were fine, the hotel shuttle picked them up and the Cornell FFA helped out by transporting the small group to the competitions and back in their DOT approved vehicle. Thanks Cornell FFA! And my condolences to Mrs. Walker for the amount of teasing and cajoling she will have to endure from her FFA kids the rest of the year. 😉

We sent another vehicle down for them on the flatbed that went to pick up the suburban–nice thinking Mr. Chambers. It’s important to note that Mrs. Walker is completely 19A certified as a bus driver and therefore has met all of the same requirements as our drivers to transport our students in what is our DOT inspected school vehicle.

I’m not keen on teachers transporting our students anywhere and am still evaluating Randolph’s current practice of requiring incidental teacher drivers to pass a physical and therefore transport students on occasion. I don’t like, never have, and we are reviewing this practice. Even though it’s legitimate in this manner, I’m not sure it’s always our smartest move. At any rate, Pat Walker is in a different league, driving with the same qualifications as our bus drivers.

We are grateful everyone was safe and that they returned home to us as scheduled. As far as getting the suburban fixed. . . that might take a week or two.

“How’s your school year going?” I sure get that question a lot. Generally I think people just ask it to be polite. But it made me think about all of the things we’re working on and how appropriate an update might be about now. Most of this post will also be in the next school newsletter for everyone who doesn’t access information here on the blog.

We’ve experienced a smooth transition back to a grades PK-6 elementary school and a 7-12 high school.  Our new technology addition was open for classes on the first day of school and the renovations to the old technology wing are expected to be completed by mid-October. Soon you’ll notice our High School Main Office is located right next to the front entrance of our school, exactly where it makes the most sense.  Randolph’s youth wrestling team will surely enjoy the new wrestling room which will be ready for the new season for our RCS wrestlers.

Our elementary students and teachers can experiment, explore and imagine in our new Science lab while our occupational and physical therapy teachers work with their students in the multi-purpose room. Both new spaces afford opportunities to do things with our children that we didn’t have before the renovations.

As required by the State Education Department, we are beginning work on our facilities planning for the next five years. The mechanics bay in the bus garage and the playing fields for soccer and baseball will both be a focus for us. We are interviewing new architectural firms and exploring all of our options so that we can present our best solution to district voters sometime in the future.

Our Fall Sports Teams are tearing it up out there and we are happy to celebrate their successes! Teachers continue to work together to tackle new programs like Read 180, a grades 5-12 reading program that helps our students become better readers,  and RTI, response to intervention which compels us to try and document multiple methods with students prior to a referral to special education. Just as it should be, don’t you think?

Please rest assured that we are working together to pay attention to the frequent updates on the H1N1 virus. Everything we’ve heard to date continues to stress the importance of frequent hand washing, routine cleaning of our schools, and the need for students and employees to stay home from school when experiencing symptoms: fever of 100 or greater, cough, sore throat and possibly fatigue, muscle aches, congestion, and/or vomiting. It’s very important that parents have accurate and reliable emergency contact information on file here—if your child gets sick with these symptoms, we will need you to pick him or her up from school. Parents–please don’t expect the school to hire a bus driver to take your child home when sick, that’s your responsibility and we can’t continually expose our drivers OR send your child home on the buses where the virus can spread.  You must make arrangements with someone who can pick up your child when sick if you are unable to do so.

For the past several years the BOE has been planning for the addition of a superintendent of buildings, grounds and transportation. The civil service exam for that position is being offered on October 31, 2009 and we hope to have someone in place by the start of the new year. The additional management and leadership that we gain through this position will go a long way to helping the district make good decisions in these critical areas.

The Board of Education continues to plan with us for our future and we are participating in another BOE retreat in October, when we will talk about our collective vision for our district. Financially, the district is preparing for every contingency with the possible cuts to state aid or the stabilization funds. We know times are tough for many families right now and we will work hard to try to present another year with a 0% increase to the tax levy for our taxpayers.

A good start to what will hopefully be a great year!

Here’s a link to a story in the Buffalo News today by News sport columnist Bucky Gleason. Mr. Gleason takes a strong stance against the “boorish behavior of parents that’s infected youth sports”. Go check out the link and let me know if this kind of behavior affects us here in Randolph.

I’ve been an administrator who’s worked with parents and coaches to problem solve sports issues and I’m also the parent of a high school athlete. I’ve never been a coach so I’ve no idea what it’s like to walk in those sneakers. But in my experience, nothing makes parents hotter than what happens with their kids on our athletic fields and in our gyms.

I wonder if former football coach Dan Elvin has it right when he’s quoted in this article saying,

“What I think is happening is that parents spend so much time outside the home that this is their way of showing love for the kid,” Elvin said. “We want to boost their self-esteem. Instead of them earning self-esteem, we give it to them. We say, “Honey, you’re a good player. You should be playing. It’s unfair. Go talk to the coach.”

I’ve been lucky enough to have great coaches for my kids in several different sports. Have I always been happy with every decision that they’ve made? Of course not. The coach is looking at all 10-40 kids on the team and I’m just watching mine. The only time I complained to the coaches (AFTER the game, in private) was over a problem with an official when I felt the coaches should have advocated for my kid. We talked about it, I felt listened to and understood AND I better understood their point of view.

That’s the thing too, there are always two sides to every story. I remember a mother who was upset that her senior son didn’t get to play. When I talked to the coach, he told me all the ways he’d tried to use the kid and said “you know, if I keep putting him in despite his shortcomings, it’s not fair to the other kids who actually want to win.” I’d never thought about it like that before.

And what about the fact that it’s actually good for kids to try lots of different things in school, learning the hard fact that they’re going to be good at some things but not so good at other things? Thank goodness I learned very early on that I couldn’t carry a tune so that I could give up my hopes of joining a rock band–and not making the basketball team as a 5’11” girl? That was tough to swallow in seventh grade, but it also let me join other organizations and clubs where I honed leadership skills that I still use today.

I keep thinking of what my mom  said if I complained that I didn’t get my fair share of something, “Life’s not fair, get used to it.”

Here it is only two weeks from the start of school and I’ve not written this month at all. So what’s been happening here at RCS?

Our staff has been working diligently to prepare for the start of school. We concluded the August regents last week and a couple of days of training for our administrative team on leadership with Thoughtful Classroom. Contract negotiations and the preparation involved consume a lot of time and wrapping up the current building project is a huge priority. Our teachers have been involved in all sorts of staff development, collaboration, and committee work.

Our custodial and cleaning staff do a remarkable job during the summer. The preparation never ends for the clerical support staff and technology staff. They are truly the glue that brings us together for that September 1 start date. Our faculty returns September 1 for three days of staff development and our students return on September 4 for the start of the 2009-10 school year!

I’m always excited in August, a fresh start is so appealing. Everyone gets the opportunity to begin again, learning from our mistakes and trying hard to continue to learn and grow.

Personally, I’m anxious to mark my first beginning as the RCS superintendent. This is my 21st “FIRST DAY of SCHOOL” as an educator but my 1st as superintendent. I’m hoping we have an excellent year, focused on learning for everyone–students and adults alike. I’m sure we’ll have our challenges, but I’m also sure we’ll tackle them together, as a team.