Winter in Iowa

As the warm summer days have turned cooler, it is with dread that I anticipate the snow and cold that typifies an Iowa Winter.  This is never my favorite time of year.  The motorcycle essentially stays in the garage (I try to brave the cold/snow/ice one day a month for some inexplicable reason), the driveway will be in need of clearing as will the walkways, the yard becomes unusable, and I simply don't like being cold.  Some people love it and always will.  This is not my category.  This year, however, I am able to add yet another piece to the "anti-winter" stance that I maintain.  As Superintendent of Schools, it is my responsibility to determine whether the roads and weather are in such condition that delaying or cancelling school is necessary.  Typically...

Read more »

Job Description

After spending the last 14 years in administration at the building level, this year moves me into a district view.  I have loved the opportunities that I have had in a HS, and I believe that the job I did was a good one that benefitted students.  In short, I'm proud of what I have done, what my educators have done, and what my students have accomplished. In my fifteenth year, my focus has changed.  Although the opportunity to lead is still there and the challenges of that opportunity are still invigorating, the vantage point has changed a bit.  What I use to do well and had a comfort with has now become new, unsure, clouded, and unfamiliar.  Normally that is exceptionally refreshing for me.  This is, to a degree, similarly refreshing.  The part I was not...

Read more »

Let the Beatings Stop

Although I originally loved the creativity and fun of the title of this blog "Beating the Dead Horse" as it was an attempt to drag conversations into the depths of challenging our own beliefs.  I still look for those opportunities and cherish those moments and hours where that has been achieved.  Following a move to a school system where the Bronco is the mascot, the reference takes a new twist.  What once was fun and playful is now potentially offensive and derogatory to a degree.  Although not intentional, it is appropriate to move the site.  So feel free to join me at Bronco Bits, the new option.  URL is http://broncobits.blogspot.com/ if you are interested...

Read more »

It's All About the Benjamins (Repost)

Back in April of 2010, I posted the below on another site.  That was as a High School Principal.  Now as a Superintendent, it seems to be consistently relevant. I'm sure that many people out there would agree that we really work hard in education to provide the best possible education for our students. I have believed this for a long time and still do. With the current status of economy across the nation, however, it is my observation that what I have long believed to be a staple belief is being eroded by another key belief...survival. Survival is one of the initial instincts that we all have. It spans across the personal barriers of eating, reproduction, learning, loyalty, interdependence, and so many other concepts. As institutions or businesses, survival is key to being able...

Read more »