February 19, 2012 – 10:46 am
The gathering in Houston provided a great venue for us to recharge the batteries and add tools to our repertoire. As we return home, we need to make a commitment to continue the sharing of both successes and failures in an effort to continue the learning. For me, the sessions on the Power of the [...]
February 19, 2012 – 9:26 am
As I reflect on the passion and the energy with which Freeman Hrabowski delivered his address last evening, I was reminded about the importance of the human connection in this current age of accountability.
His riveting story about the student that rose from his birth in a crack house and his development years in foster homes, [...]
February 18, 2012 – 5:46 pm
Attending the Third General Session I was intrigued by the comments offered concerning the goals of AASA and how the current political climate and the interests of political forces in our country appear to be in conflict with the basic core mission of American public education: To provide the basis for an informed citizenry in [...]
February 18, 2012 – 5:21 pm
Another interesting session I attended at AASA in Houston concerned itself with a not-so-new dilemma: the senior year in high school. As a former high school administrator I am always concerned about the rigor of our educational offerings to students as they begin to transition from their last year of formal public education to the [...]
February 18, 2012 – 5:11 pm
This superintendent found the Round Robin Sessions to be very useful as they were interactive and collaborative in nature at the AASA National Conference on Education. With the movement away from what I characterize as a “snapshot” approach to accountability (standardized test scores) to a more complete “motion picture” (growth model) I was pleased to [...]
February 18, 2012 – 12:37 pm
One of the most interesting benefits to the National Conference on Education is the opportunity to learn from other administrators about what is happening around the nation. It seems like you can always find someone to share an idea with and inevitably you find out that they have a problem even bigger than yours!
Yesterday, I ran into a [...]
February 17, 2012 – 5:19 pm
I was intrigued by one particular comment that Jamie Vollmer made during the opening general session: see what you think. Jamie said basically that our mission as public schools has shifted significantly. We are no longer tasked with the job of teaching children…rather we are now expected to raise children. This was a rather profound [...]
February 17, 2012 – 12:34 pm
Great start to the AASA Conference with our keynote speakers Jamie Vollmer and Rick DuFour. Jamie began by challenging school leaders to unleash the potential in each child noting that this will require us to transform a system that was carefully designed for a different era. To accomplish this goal, Jamie encouraged us to engage [...]
February 16, 2012 – 7:39 pm
AASA Conference was off to an electrifying start today. Jamie Vollmer “lit up” the capacity audience at the opening general session this afternoon with a compelling message about what he characterized as the “great conversation” concerning public education. The audience responded enthusiastically to his presentation and the need for our communities to learn more intimately [...]
