Scot Graden's Blog

As our students move through school, chances are what they learn will be different from what you learned in school. In fact, change is all around us. We live in a digital age where companies can plant jobs wherever there’s an internet connection, and two-thirds of all jobs require higher education or advanced training. If we want our students to be able to compete with those who are challenging us for jobs, we must be prepared to out-educate them.

Of course, this challenge is made more difficult by the existing financial woes of the State of Michigan. But as I have stated before – there is no time to be a victim of a broken system. We must continue to focus on opportunities for our students, even when those opportunities are very different from what we experienced as students. The world has changed, it’s time our education system adapts with it to better prepare our students for the future.

A Saline High School faculty member recently sent me the text from President Obama’s recent announcement about his “Educate to Innovate” campaign.  The effort is aimed at moving America to the top of the pack globally in the area of science and math achievement over the next decade. In the speech he made a couple interesting statements.  One was related to starting a “White House Science Fair.”

He stated, “I’m announcing that we’re going to have an annual science fair at the White House with the winners of national competitions in science and technology. If you win the NCAA championship, you come to the White House. Well, if you’re a young person and you’ve produced the best experiment or design, the best hardware or software, you ought to be recognized for that achievement, too. Scientists and engineers ought to stand side by side with athletes and entertainers as role models, and here at the White House we’re going to lead by example. We’re going to show young people how cool science can be.”

I am excited to hear about the shifting focus to highlighting hands-on learning opportunities.  In many ways, the access to information is everywhere.  However, to create or add value our students will need to be able to use critical thinking skills, imagination and take chances on big ideas.  President Obama also made some excellent points about the crisis we are currently facing.

“This nation wasn’t built on greed. It wasn’t built on reckless risk. It wasn’t built on short-term gains and shortsighted policies. It was forged on stronger stuff, by bold men and women who dared to invent something new or improve something old — who took big chances on big ideas, who believed that in America all things are possible. That’s our history. And, if we remain fixed on the work ahead, if we build on the progress we’ve made today, this is going to be our legacy as well.”

As an educator, I need to practice what I preach and be willing to take big chances on big ideas.

This week I thought a fair amount about what I am thankful for this year.  One of the things that came to mind was the quality community partners we are fortunate to have here in the Washtenaw County area, and in particular Ele’s Place.

Ele’s Place is a nonprofit, community-based organization with a mission to create awareness of and support for grieving children and their families. Through peer support group programs, Ele’s Place helps children to cope with the death or life-threatening illness of a parent, sibling or other close family member or friend.

Based on the fact that we find them such a strong supporter of our families in need, the Saline High School Dance team and many Saline Area School administrators and “local celebrities” volunteered to provide a benefit fundraising dance on Friday, December 4th at 8:00pm in the Middle School Auditorium to support this worthy cause.  The event is being done in conjunction with the Moonlight Madness Craft Show being held the same night at the Middle School.

Admission to the dance is $5 per person and admission to the Craft Show is included.  Advance tickets available through Saline Community Education.  Come on out and support the cause and “check out our moves”.

Working together never seems to be as easy as it sounds.  Yet, we know it is a vital skill for our students to possess. Group work can often lead to unequal workloads, little accountability and tense students.  However, as most of us have experienced in our lives – under the right circumstances groups can achieve remarkable results.  A 2008 study in Educational Psychology found that 2nd graders who were in classrooms that stressed cooperative learning performed better in reading comprehension than 2nd graders in traditional classrooms.

I have discussed previously that collaboration is an important 21st Century skill.  One of the keys to effective collaboration is creating “positive interdependence” within the work group.  Having shared goals, assigned roles, evenly distributed resources and rewards, can do this.

As educators, we have known for centuries that knowledge is built and extended through the exchange of ideas and we should be pushing students to question each other’s understanding.  This has never been more important than now.  With technological advancements people separated by continents can learn and work collaboratively.

We need a strategy.  I have said it and others have said it to me as well.  Historian Edward Mead Earle describes strategy as “the art of controlling and utilizing the resources of a nation to the end that its vital interests shall be effectively promoted and secured.”  Clearly, we need a strategy – both short term and long term.

In the short term, we need a multi-faceted approach to balancing our budget.  Facing a 2 year $5.4 million shortfall – we need to develop a balanced plan using what I call the three C’s.  This includes Cash (the use of revenue & possibly a portion of fund balance), Concessions and Cuts. This week, we will begin to develop the list of cost saving measures to reduce the $2 million hole for the 2009-2010 school year.  Many of these may be orchestrated during the second half of this school year.   We have targeted $250,000-$300,000 in non-staff cost reductions which will likely including freezes on supplies, reducing building budgets, restructuring events, etc.

The next step will be to determine possible staff reductions.  The process will take place in December and January with recommendations to the Board of Education in late January.  As Saline Area Schools has experienced in recent years, mid-year staff cuts create a serious disruption to the educational process.  Unfortunately, these are serious times.

After the process to address the 09-10 budget, we will need to look at this issue in terms of  the 2010-2011 school year.  Budgeting for 2010-2011 would typically start in January.  We will be looking for the most up to date (and accurate?) information from Lansing.  With the long term “cloudy” forecast, we will need to be conservative in our fiscal decisions. The 10-11 budget must be adopted by June 30^th.

We are also developing a timeline and process for a “Strategic Plan” that can help guide us and provide instructional priorities for the next several years.

It has been said that leaders do not get to choose his or her time to lead, it is chosen for them. This statement has never felt truer than now.  As most of you know, I care deeply about Saline Area Schools.  I often refer to my father graduating from Saline High School, my own experiences as a student in the system from kindergarten through graduation, and the pride I have in the fact that next year I will have all four of my children in school – each one in a different Saline Area School building.  The challenge is before the Board of Education and myself as we work through many issues, most of which may have negative impacts on the students and staff.

We have a choice to make.  As frustrated as I am at Lansing – I refuse to be a victim and I refuse to let Saline Area Schools be victimized.  We must come together as a community, to share in the sacrifices and work towards a brighter future.  Over the next several weeks we will be reviewing options to change the way we currently operate.  My passion for the history and tradition of our schools cannot cloud our push to evolve into the district we can be for all students. Our community is too valuable and our future is too important to get trapped into wishing things were like the “good ole’ days.”

Lately, I have found my self saying, “It is what it is….”  Now is NOT the time to make excuses or to blame others.  Now is the time to unite. We will resolve the budget issues, we will strive to continue to be the premier district in the State of Michigan, focusing on the needs of all of students.

I have been a vocal advocate for Project Based Learning as a important component of a successful academic institution like Saline Area Schools.  We are very fortunate to have many staff that have embraced this method of instruction.  We are also privileged to be the main host site for the SWWC and the numerous hands-on programs they offer.

I read an article from Friday’s Wall Street Journal about the growth of “tinkering” at some very well respected institutions of higher learning.  Here is a quick quote:

“There have always been hobbyists, but it was really hard to go from being a hobbyist who built hot rods to becoming a car company,” says Erik Kauppi, a member of at A2 Mech Shop, an Ann Arbor, Mich., workshop where tinkerers pool tools they own. “But now, all of a sudden a guy or a couple of guys have a lot more leverage.”

The electric scooter that Mr. Kauppi, who is 49, developed at the workshop is now in production. His business, Current Motor Co. in Scio Township, Mich., plans to begin shipping its scooter, with a starting price of $5,500, this month.

It’s great to see a local entrepreneur quoted.  It is also exciting to see a growing trend in this method of hands-on exploring and innovation in an age of computers/information.

Interesting article today in the New York Times regarding the selling of lesson plans.  Here is an excerpt:

Joseph McDonald, a professor at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development at New York University, said the online selling cheapens what teachers do and undermines efforts to build sites where educators freely exchange ideas and lesson plans.  “Teachers swapping ideas with one another, that’s a great thing,” he said. “But somebody asking 75 cents for a word puzzle reduces the power of the learning community and is ultimately destructive to the profession.”

Teachers like Erica Bohrer, though, see the new demand for lessons as long-awaited recognition of their worth.

“Teaching can be a thankless job,” said Ms. Bohrer, 30, who has used the $650 she earned in the past year to add books to a reading nook in her first-grade classroom at Daniel Street Elementary School on Long Island and to help with mortgage payments. “I put my hard-earned time and effort into creating these things, and I just would like credit.”

Click here to download the presentation.

I’m writing to invite you to a financial “Community Conversation” in the Liberty School Auditorium from 6:30-8:30 p.m. this Monday, November 16th.

The event will be the first of what I hope will be many frank discussions about current and projected Saline Schools’ budget shortfalls. As a primer for that discussion, here’s some background…

Based on up-to-date staffing, adjustments in Special Education reimbursement, declining enrollment and a $292 per-pupil reduction, we have a $2 million shortfall for the (current) 2009-2010 school year.

And, based on a conservative estimated-per-pupil state funding cut of $300, an expected decline in enrollment (the size difference between the graduating class and a typical incoming kindergarten class), and increases in salaries, health care, energy, etc., we project an additional shortfall of $3.4 million next year.

This is a combined $5.4 million deficit in the next 18 months. (As a point of reference, our current fund balance is $3.4 million – 6.5% of our $53 million total budget. Independent auditors recommend that a company of our size maintain a 10-15% fund balance.)

If we do nothing to address this issue Saline Schools will be insolvent by the middle of next year. The Board of Education and I have made it clear that this is NOT an option. We have begun the process of assessing the ramifications of our current shortfall and exploring the options for solving it.

I will give additional information and open the dialogue to you at Monday’s “Community Conversation.” I look forward to seeing you there.

Based on the recent reductions in Saline Area Schools per pupil funding that opened a $1,600,000 hole in our budget – I feel I will need to communicate effectively with staff (and community) about the steps we are going to need to take to remedy the budget and provide a stable financial future for Saline Area Schools.

In reflecting on the last two years as Superintendent, I feel like I am increasingly prepared for what lies ahead.  I’ve learned that I have to understand the context in which I am leading. School systems are places with enormously distributed authority and many different types of stakeholders, all of whom have important roles within the district.  This presents a challenge when communicating information, but it is also a strength in difficult times.

I feel like I have a solid sense of the district culture and I perceive that the staff and community has a understanding of who I am.  I encourage both staff and the community to share their thoughts with me – I will listen. Many know I’m not a touchy-feely kind of leader, but I am thoughtful in my approach to working through complex issues. I do tend to be very decisive and take the responsibility of making decisions seriously. But I think it’s incredibly important to realize that relationships define everything that we do, and it’s all about the quality of those relationships that makes an organization work.

It is time to roll up the sleeves….