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Across the Board
A Publication of WPSBA
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President's Welcome
|  Greetings Board of Ed colleagues.
Regardless of your school district, we all, as trustees, share the same dedication to educating and preparing our students for the future, advocating for public education, and respecting the financial realities.
It would be fair to say we are at a critical crossroads for public education with significant external pressures ever present -"consolidation," "high-stakes testing," "privatization," and "insolvency" are, for many of us, heard too often in far too many educational discussions.
I can think of no better group than WPSBA and its membership to help lead the way and set the direction for education in the 21st century, working together in the best interests of our area schools.
We are the best of democracy in action. I look forward to a productive year and welcome our work together.
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New Digs!
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WPSBA and LHEC have moved to a beautiful new space at 450 Mamaroneck Avenue in Harrison. We are housed in the SW BOCES offices located on the third floor. So if you're ever in the neighborhood....
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Board/Superintendent Joint Dinner
Questioning the Common Core...Show me the Data!
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The School Reform Landscape, Fraud, Myth, and Lies...the title tells it all! Dr. Christopher Tienken, co-aut  hor of this new book, will share his insights at the 36th Annual Joint Dinner on Thursday, November 14th.
Dr. Tienken is a nationally recognized writer and speaker, an assistant professor of Education Administration at Seton Hall University and editor of the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) Journal of Scholarship and Practice. Dr. Tienken, who began his career in education as a teacher and administrator, researches topics such as education policy and school reform, the effect of professional development, the construct validity of high-stakes testing, and the impact of poverty on student achievement. To read more about Dr. Tienken, please visit his website.
Thursday, November 14th from 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm
6:30 pm Reception; 7:00 pm Dinner & Program
DoubleTree Hotel Tarrytown
455 South Broadway, Tarrytown, NY 10591
Cost: $48 per person
Registrations must be made through your District Clerk
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School District Leadership Trivia
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We've gathered some statistics that we thought were worth sharing. Did you know that in the 54 school districts of Putnam and Westchester:
- 170 BOE members are females; 193 are males
- 42% of BOE members have served 1-3 years; 26% have served 4-6 years; 18% have served 7-9 years; 14% have served over 10 years
- 13 superintendents are females; 41 are males
- 67% of our superintendents have served in their current position for 5 years or less. Within that group, approximately: 27% were internal candidates; 20% were from other districts in our region; 17% came from upstate NY; 25% are from out of state; and 12% are interims and their prior positions were not counted in these findings.
- 35 of the 44 newly elected BOE members participated in the WPSBA six-hour Governance Training.
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This summer we surveyed you, our members, to find out what WPSBA services, programs, and offerings you find valuable and what you'd like to see more of. Here's what you had to say...  What programs or workshops interest you the most? Your top choices were: Speaker/Panel Programs on Education Issues; Forum with State Legislators; Negotiations Roundtable; and Table Conversations on Key Topics. We followed that up by asking about program topics. Your top four, respectively, were: Common Core Implementation; PARCC & High Stakes Testing; School Budgets & Levy Overrides; and Communication Strategies. We're delighted that board members use our web site. When asked what online offerings you'd like, your top three responses were: A board member discussion board, pulse polls, and more online advocacy campaigns (see WPSBA VoterVoice page). And of course, we always appreciate your comments. We'll leave you with one we think you'll enjoy. "You [WPSBA] would receive a VERY WELL [Top Rating] from me if you were able to convince the GOVERNOR that education is truly important and the TAX CAP given the mandates does not help us ensure that we can maximize our children's education."
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Forty plus board members and superintendents recently gathered at the WPSBA Breakfast & Network to discuss issues and share information, while enjoying a delicious breakfast prepared by SW BOCES culinary arts students. Table discussion topics included APPR, Common Core, Hunting for New Sources of Revenue, Creating Grassroots Community Engagement, Developing Communications Strategies, and Navigating Superintendent Searches.
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