GLISI Executive Leader Update, March 2009

Volume 4, March 2009

Dr. Gale Hulme, GLISI's Executive Director of Programs and Systemic Solutions, joins Scott Cowart, Director of Executive Development, in writing the GLISI Executive Leader Alert newsletter. GLISI is excited to offer views of the work with their unique perspectives. Look for Scott's next edition in April and Gale's next edition in May.

In This Issue

Opportunity Amid the Crisis

Hancock County's Success Case

District Talent Management: Georgia Districts Move Ahead in the Nation

Opportunity Amid the Crisis

Welcome to our fourth online issue of Executive Leader Alert! Each day new stories of economic gloom underscore the financial crisis local school districts face. While the current crisis deserves focused attention and comprehensive resolution, leaders must simultaneously reassure stakeholders that strong leadership is at the helm. Stakeholders need to know that the district and its schools will not only survive, but thrive once the dark clouds lift. As President John F. Kennedy reminded us, "When written in Chinese, the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity."

Opportunity Amid the Crisis
With the Amended Formula Adjustment, new austerity cuts, reversal of previous QBE enhancements and the recently announced reduction, school districts have been hit hard by the economic downturn; however, the federal stimulus package is providing a ray of sunshine, including funding that can be used to provide school improvement professional development and other professional learning. Because districts have never paid for Base Camp and Leadership Summit, this expenditure would not be viewed as supplanting.

Amid this crisis there is opportunity to focus on developing the only unlimited resource in your district, the talent of leaders at all levels. You understand that leadership ranks second only to the quality of teaching in influencing student learning (Leithwood, Louis, Anderson & Wahlstrom, 2004), but how can you prove this truth to skeptics? How can you ensure stakeholders - who are also under financial siege and who will scrutinize district investments - that district dollars and time invested in leader development are wisely spent? GLISI offers a powerful tool, the Success Case, to communicate the return on investment for leader development that will turn your critics into cheerleaders.

Last month, Scott Cowart introduced the Success Case, based on Robert Brinkerhoff's The Success Case Method, and provided links to several examples from successful GLISI districts. This month, later in this newsletter, we will zoom in on one inspiring district Success Case to illustrate the impact of documenting your district's Success Case. We encourage you to call upon your GLISI Performance Consultant to help you develop your district's Success Case. Not only do the Success Cases show the effort and impact of leaders in your district, but they provide assurances that time and money invested in GLISI support and services yield measurable improvement results. What better time to show stakeholders that good things are happening under your leadership than now?

GLISI Maintains Focus on District Support In Spite of Economic Downturn

GLISI has sustained a hefty cut - $1.3 million, which is 60% of our State funding. Like you, GLISI is developing different economic scenarios, identifying risks and opportunities, and prioritizing initiatives to mitigate the risks and leverage the opportunities in order to sustain high-quality support, training, consulting, and performance solutions to your district and its leaders. Because our programs are funded primarily from the private sector, GLISI is making the case for continued private funding and has received encouraging feedback from several of our benefactors.

Our commitment to you is that GLISI will continue to offer Communities of Learning and Achievement, customized to your needs, and many consultant services at no cost. In order to sustain the organization with the significant reductions we have experienced, we will move to a for-fee structure for other services, including:

Base Camp and Leadership Summit
Local Leadership Institutes, designed and delivered by GLISI
Contracted consulting
Facilitation of local and regional leadership induction programs
Professional developer training

Applying for Base Camp/Leadership Summit, FY 2010
In the coming year, GLISI plans to offer two sessions of our cornerstone leadership development program - Base Camp and Leadership Summit - on a for-fee basis.

A minimum five-member team will be accepted for fee, at a projected rate of
$2088 per participant. This fee includes specified follow-up support.
Up to 240 seats will be available on a for-fee basis.
A limited number of team scholarships will be available. Scholarship applications will be evaluated based on demonstrated district financial need, AND evidence of implementation and impact following prior GLISI training (returning districts), or submission of a strong post-training implementation plan (new districts).
Team applications and scholarship applications will be available on the GLISI Web site by Friday, March 20, 2009. Completed applications will be due to GLISI by April 15, 2009.
Approved district teams will be notified by May 1, 2009.
Districts paying from FY 09 funds may send checks by May 30, 2009.
Districts paying from FY 10 funds must send a purchase order by May 30, 2009.
Payment in full will be due no later than July 17, 2009.

If your district is interested in attending Base Camp and Leadership Summit, accessing our free services, and investing in our other proven, top quality programs and services, contact the following GLISI staff immediately to negotiate services in FY 2010.

To apply to participate in Leadership Development Programs, including Base Camp and Leadership Summit, Local Leadership Institutes, and Professional Developer Training, contact gale.hulme@glisi.org
To apply for Leadership Performance Coach training, contact georgia.wilson@glisi.org
To apply for support with Leadership Induction Programs, such as Rising Stars Collaboratives, contact joann.brown@glisi.org
To arrange Performance Consulting Support, contact scott.cowart@glisi.org

Don't Miss the Opportunity -- Reserve Your FY 2010 GLISI Support and Services, Now!

As you plan for the coming year, we hope that you will continue to turn to GLISI to meet your leadership development and consulting support needs. State cuts mean we will be planning our program and staff calendars and allocating our resources carefully. We look forward to serving you in the year ahead and for many years to come.

Hancock County's Success Case

What can leadership do to create the conditions for student success in a small rural district with high poverty levels and shrinking resources?

How can leadership succeed when a mere 38% of the adult population age 25 or older completed high school and only 6% graduated from college?

In 2005, 79% of the babies born in Hancock County were born to unwed mothers, and 17% of those babies were born to unwed teen mothers. These barriers did not stop Superintendent Dr. Awanna Leslie and her Better Seeking Teams from achieving desired results. Here are highlights from Hancock County Schools' Success Case:

Context: Hancock County's School System serves approximately 1,468 students in three schools. 98% of Hancock's students are African-American, 91% are eligible for Free/Reduced Meals, and 14% are served in the Students with Disabilities subgroup. The median household income in the county is substantially below the state average, at $24,297.

Problem: Improving student achievement in a small rural district with a high poverty level presents difficult challenges as reflected in Hancock's AYP status and the Georgia High School Graduation Test results.

Actions: Hancock County has taken full advantage of learning opportunities offered by GLISI. Leaders have transferred their learning from Base Camp and Leadership Summit, Rising Stars Collaborative™ participation, and Balanced Scorecard training to rewrite their school improvement goals, to set measurable leading and lagging indicators, and to establish teams to monitor the leading indicators to ensure timely interventions to academic challenges for student success.

Results: A system-level change team, grade-level teams, vertical subject-area teams (SWAT), and community-based teams met on a scheduled basis to study leading and lagging indicators thus ensuring timely interventions that ultimately improved student achievement.

Impact: