NUSD's Superintendent Search by Fran Rozoff

As part of the process for choosing a new person for NUSD’s top spot, the Board should ask Novato’s teachers what characteristics they value in a leader. Here are some important qualities from my perspective:

Vision: A superintendent should have a clear vision of what matters most in education and passionately own that vision and relentlessly pursue it.

A superintendent must be able to share that vision and inspire others to buy into it. He or she must be able to communicate clearly that a comprehensive education, which includes science, technology, literature and the arts is important for Novato’s school children.

Integrity: a person of integrity is the same on the outside and on the inside. A District superintendent must be honest, fair and transparent to earn the trust of district employees. A District leader who is centered in integrity knows that it may be necessary to be a follower occasionally.

Dedication: a superintendent inspires dedication by example, doing whatever it takes to complete the next step to achieve his/her goal. The next NUSD chief must possess the unwavering commitment to continue to provide an educational experience that goes beyond just teaching the basic skills, and to put the current political educational relativism in perspective to do what is best for kids.

Openness: being able to listen to new ideas, even if they don’t conform to the usual way of thinking. Our new Superintendent needs to be able to listen to teachers for ways to improve curriculum and instruction, the conditions in which teachers work, and children learn. Openness builds mutual respect, trust and collaboration between administration and employees, as well as energizing the District with new ideas that can further the vision of an excellent educational system---one that eliminates barriers to students success.

Creativity: the ability to think outside of the box that constrains solutions. The most important question that a superintendent can ask is, “What if …?” What if the schools in this District were involved in healthy competitions like science fairs, essay contests, spelling bees, debates, and athletic events rather than the unrelenting focus on data related to test scores? What if teachers had more time to help students write thoughtful essays, paint a picture, read critically, complete scientific experiments or study about the world through an historical perspective?

Fairness: the ability to inspire respect by dealing with others consistently and justly. When employees are being treated fairly, they are more willing to work cooperatively together to provide the best education they can for students.

Assertiveness: the ability to clearly state what one expects so that there will be no misunderstandings. The active participation of students, families, public officials, local organizations and the larger Novato community is necessary to educate children effectively. An assertive Superintendent can rally the community and motivate Novato’s citizens to volunteer and vote for parcel taxes and bond measures, or donate to non-profits like School Fuel.

A sense of humor: effective leaders know how to use humor to energize followers and foster good relationships. Building good relationships is essential to any system. Our new Superintendent should understand that the employees of this district are its greatest asset.

To move forward in selecting a new District leader, you need to look back. Look back on the last 8 years. Despite the constant churn of educational reforms, budget cuts, increasing federal and state mandates and a chronically inadequate funding formula, NUSD has continued to thrive by providing a strong curriculum, experienced teachers, effective instruction, adequate resources, and a community that values education. Look back to a superintendent who created that vision of educational excellence, a leader with uncompromising integrity, dedication, openness and creativity. A person who, with humor and kindness, treats students, parents and colleagues fairly and has a single-minded desire to do what is best for kids. Look back to our top administrator whose unwavering support of NUSD’s human resources has made all the difference. Move forward by looking back at the exemplary model of stewardship Superintendent Jan Derby has provided as a blueprint for future District leaders.

10 Maxims for Teachers by Maurice Englander

The public has been promised educational reforms, although based upon false assumptions about teachers and learners. Standardized testing and scripted lessons are proposed substitutes for the teachers' grades and lesson plans. Neither manifests the slightest understanding of what teachers do or how learners learn. At minimum, this is what teachers do know about learners:

1-Not all learners learn at the same rate. California and federal testers mistakenly assume that al learners start from the same place in life and can be goaded or enticed into reaching the same learning goals at the same time.

2-The learning curve is not fiction. For some, the climb is too steep. Lacking the will, the intellect, and the sustaining energy, some will never get to the out-of-reach summit.

3-College is a means to ends many do not choose for themselves. As herding sheep and goats differs from herding cats, so pointing all learners toward college is a misguided effort to turn reluctant cats into willing sheep.

4-However well devised, tests measure a fraction of what a learner learns or is intended to learn. Often, the most important is the least of what the teacher planned for. There is no single, straight line from what the teacher teaches to what the learner learns.

5-In almost all classrooms, the most eager sits next to the most reluctant. Both need and deserve the teacher's time and attention, but what the teacher can give to each varies for learner to learner. Enough for one might not be enough for another. No teacher can be equally attentive to all.

6-The most desirable teacher-pupil ration is one-to-one. The more learners per teacher, the more limited the time and attention she or he can give to any one learner. The most demanding are not always the most needy. The most needful are often the least demanding.

7-The best teacher in the world can't reach all learners equally well. Some cannot be reached at all. Neither teachers nor learners come in standard sizes and shapes. Expecting the same results for each on standardized tests is the equivalent of expecting each to tip the scales at the same weight and attain the same height.

8-If doctors were judged by the percentage they heal or lawyers the percentage of their wins in court, many of the sick would receive no care and many of the innocent would be jailed for lack of a lawyer. If the teacher must be judged by the learner's performance on standardized tests, fewer of the most able will be willing to teach the least able, until finally there will be none of either in a public school.

9-As guide to learning, the teacher can show the learner the path, but the learner must walk that path. The teacher can't do it for him.

10-As a proposed teacher substitute, the newest fad promotes a process by which a curriculum factory produces a word-for-word script the teacher must follow. However, a script-reader is no a teacher but an actor pretending to be one. The learner isn't a passive member of an audience at a performance, but a direct participant in the learning processes. A metronome does not conduct an orchestra, nor a script conduct a class.

Current efforts at school reform are a cover for the legislators' failure to provide and an excuse to demand more of the schools than the politicians demand of themselves. It is they who must assure that the present generation will add to the foundation upon which future generations can care for themselves as well as earlier folks provided for them. Failure to do so will cripple generations to come.

The bottom line is that public school isn't a frill; it is the most essential contributor to the nation's future. Without it, there will be no future worth the having.

Maurice Englander was chair of the English department at Lowell High School in San Francisco. He served as president of the California State Federation of Teachers from 1962-1963.

New NFT President: Leslie Lipman

My name is Leslie Lipman and I've been a kindergarten/first grade teacher at Lynwood for 15 years. In addition to my classroom duties, I've served on our school leadership team, safety committee, campus improvement committee, as the teachers' rep for PTA, and on the district's calendar committee and nutrition/wellness committee. I've also been the student council advisor for the past 10 years.

As a college student and communications major, I thought that I'd go into law and maybe even politics. I served as the Humanities Representative for the Associated Students and then as Chairman of the Board. I took the LSAT (scoring in the 97th percentile!) but decided that teaching was what I really wanted to do.

I'm excited about taking on this new challenge that will allow me to use my logic, experience and interest in law to represent the Novato teachers. Our salaries and benefits are my top priority and in these unprecedented times of drastic budget cuts, it's more important than ever that we all work together to insure that our voices are heard. I look forward to working for and with you!