[Marram]

CONTACT: Greg Tuel FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TELEPHONE: 219-872-4350
CELL PHONE: 219-921-5555
EMAIL: greg@tuel.net
DATE: September 18, 2008
FROM: Tuel for School Board Committee

SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE SETS LEADERSHIP STANDARDS
Greg Tuel Continues Series of Reports on Our Schools

Local activist Greg Tuel, candidate for the Civil City Seat of the Michigan City Area School Board and current President of the Krueger Neighborhood Association (KNA), continues his report on school related topics with this paper on leadership standards for our school system. The race for the School Board will be decided this November 4th during the General Elections. There are three seats being contested: the Civil City Seat, the Coolspring/Pine Township Seat, and the Springfield/Long Beach Township Seat. The following is the text of Tuel’s paper:


Leading Our Schools To Extraordinary Success

According to the Indiana Department of Education (DOE) data website, http://www.doe.state.in.us/htmls/education.html, out of approximately 300 school districts in the state:
 In 2007/08, 49.1% of our students passed both the English and Math ISTEP: MCAS ranks 286th in that category
 Since 2004, the percent of Michigan City students who passed both the English and Math ISTEP has increased about 7% (from 41.8%) while the state average has increased about 2% (62.9% to 64.7%).
 MCAS ranks in the lowest 10 Indiana school districts in terms of graduation rate (59.7%)
 MCAS ranks 8th in terms of percentage of students receiving free lunches (53.7%), and 13th in terms of single parent families (37.2%)
 MCAS ranks 55th in terms of families living below poverty

There is no question that poverty and low academic performance go together in the state of Indiana. The DOE data tells that story. In fact, there is only one other district with a higher percentage of reduced lunch students that also has a higher percentage of students passing Math/English ISTEP. There are, however, four others who come close to us in terms of having a similar economic situation, and which score substantially higher than us on ISTEP – one of them more than ten points higher. We can learn something from those schools, but even they should not be our benchmarks. We should strive to be better. We should strive to produce a system that is more than just mediocre in a state that performs at a mediocre level.

We have to recognize that there is a lot of good in our school system as well. There are good teachers who work over the summer to become even better. If you drive by the schools after 4:00 pm, you will see the cars of staff members who work overtime without pay because they care. And our community has created a strategic plan with a vision for the future.

We can continue moving forward, but at a more urgent pace, if our strategy is better focused on what happens in the classroom. Every investment we make in materials and personnel should directly impact the teaching and learning that goes on in the classroom. To do that:
 More open, direct, and honest communication must occur between our administration, teachers, staff, business community, neighborhood groups, parents, teachers, and city government
 The contract should be settled by a diligent effort to work with the mediator and/or fact finder
 Everyone involved needs to remember that there is no room for disrespect around a negotiating table and no time for games during this critical period
 We must continue to work with our staff to modify and implement our strategic plan
 The way we do business should be more “user friendly” and inclusive: board meetings should be designed so that public comment precedes decision making.
 Our administration and board members should encourage and welcome input given by union representatives, individual staff members, and the general public at the outset of the budget cycle and as they modify and implement the strategic plan.
 Finally, at the most basic everyday level, our school leaders should strive to respond to people who reach out to them rather than avoiding communication

Now is the time for bold and innovative steps to be taken: proposals like that made by Don Dulaney and Bob McKee and under review by the Michigan City Common Council. This proposal is similar to the Kalamazoo Promise: if a student graduates from Michigan City High School and gets accepted into a state college, there will be resources available to make that happen. These funds would be secondary to any other scholarships now available, and would serve as a ray of hope for students who otherwise do not believe they have a chance of going to college. As Franklin Roosevelt once said, Americans demand “bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it: If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.”


Greg Tuel
Candidate, Civil City Seat
Michigan City School Board

[Dave]

As Franklin Roosevelt once said, Americans demand “bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it: If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.”

Can you remember the last time anyone in a position of authority said "you know, that program/policy I implemented? It isn't working/is a failure. Sorry about that. We need to try something else"?

I can't.

Not one. Not a single CEO who drove his company into a hole, not a mayor/city planner who killed a downtown, not a single President who started a pointless war, not a single candidate who answers a reporter's question wrong. The motto these days seems to be "never admit a mistake." If something fails, blame it on someone else. Admitting a mistake in their view shows weakness.

However, when one has committed an error obvious to all, admits that it was a mistake, and works to correct it, it shows honesty -- and honesty is not weakness.

If Michael Harding held a press conference tomorrow, and said, "I've come to the conclusion that a number of positions I've taken were mistakes -- not having a contract with the teachers for over a year, screwing over the support staffers on retroactive pay, etc., etc., etc., and I'm going to make the following moves to correct these errors," I would be much more inclined to support the man than I currently am.

I'd also like a pony.

[Michelle]

Ooh, are you handing out ponies, Greg? Sign me up, please!

I thought the standard advice from PR folks in dealing with mistakes is to come out with the info first and have a plan on how things are going to be different. But you're right, Dave, you rarely see that in practice. Maybe there's enough wiggle room in policy matters to make it worthwhile to obfuscate it.

[Dave]

I wasn't asking marram (Greg) for a pony!

I was asking Harding for a pony. Or Bush. Or Oberlie. Or Skilling (Enron). Or McCain.

I suspect I'm going to be afoot for some time to come, however.

[JHeath]

I wasn't asking marram (Greg) for a pony!

I was asking Harding for a pony. Or Bush. Or Oberlie. Or Skilling (Enron). Or McCain.

I suspect I'm going to be afoot for some time to come, however.

No ponies for you!

[Michelle]

No ponies for you!

Darn it, I knew it was too good to be true.

So is the "pony" just a metaphor for the issues with the school board or something?

[Marram]

No ponies for you!

I have no stand on the pony issue.

I do, however, strongly believe in standing up and doing something, objectively evaluating the results, and then being willing and able to adjust.

[Dave]

So is the "pony" just a metaphor for the issues with the school board or something?

It's a metaphor for anything one wants but isn't likely to get.

[Marram]

It's a metaphor for anything one wants but isn't likely to get.

That's a good metaphor, and, furthermore, can be extended to show how you should "be careful what you wish for." We'll see what Dave says when I show up at his house with a pony.

[Dave]

We'll see what Dave says when I show up at his house with a pony.

LUNCH!

[Roger Kaputnik]

Here is what I look for in candidates:

1. Intelligence. Now, the candidate does not have to be the biggest Poindexter from grade school, but some demonstrable smarts is critical.

2. Knowledge. Let's see if you know something about the position and issues. You don't have to be the Wikipedia about everything, but know something.

3. Honesty. Be honest about your candidacy, your grasp on the issues, the counterarguments, and the effectiveness of your policies.

4. Honor. Show loyalty and fidelity to yourself, your spouse, your community.


Doesn't seem that high a barrier.

[Marram]

Here is what I look for in candidates:

1. Intelligence. Now, the candidate does not have to be the biggest Poindexter from grade school, but some demonstrable smarts is critical.

2. Knowledge. Let's see if you know something about the position and issues. You don't have to be the Wikipedia about everything, but know something.

3. Honesty. Be honest about your candidacy, your grasp on the issues, the counterarguments, and the effectiveness of your policies.

4. Honor. Show loyalty and fidelity to yourself, your spouse, your community.

That is a very good list.

I would add "perseverance" -- the ability to work through difficulties and hardships -- and "focus" -- choosing priorities and being able to put everything else aside -- to it.