A new beginning

Welcome back to the first day of the 2008-2009 school year! I started my day visiting some of our schools and I sensed an energy in our classrooms that causes me to be especially optimistic about the future of education in Springfield Public Schools.

There is excitement about education in our community. Students, teachers, staff and community members are proud of our schools and it shows.

Of course, I believe their pride is well placed. We realized some critical milestones recently that position us for continuous improvement this year. Our graduation rate is up. Attendance is improving. Last year’s seniors performed remarkably well on the ACT exam.

As we embark on a new year, we will sharpen our focus on student achievement, persistence to graduation and increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of our system. We will engage all our stakeholders in this effort to ensure Springfield students receive every opportunity to succeed.

I hope this blog will give you an avenue to become more engaged in the discussion about education. Send me your questions or comments and we’ll address them in this forum. Let’s start with your comments about the first day of school. How did it go for your child?

Increasing transparency

One purpose of this blog is to increase the transparency of Springfield Public Schools’ operations. It is imperative that a high-performing system give stakeholders easy access to information about critical decisions and everyday operations.

Another way we are trying to enhance transparency as an organization is by posting our internal audit reports online. I’m not aware of many other public entities in the area that do so. You can read them and find out for yourself where we are doing well in managing our resources and where we’ve identified opportunities for improvement. When you do, you’ll see an audit of the Superintendent and Board of Education was the first one posted.

I’d also like you to be aware that we are currently evaluating the feasibility of the KSPR building at 1359 E. St. Louis St. as a potential site for our administrative offices. The deadline is looming for us to determine whether we will invest money in our current building or move to a more efficient facility. We know we will have to spend a minimum of $600,000 to repair the boiler at Kraft Administrative Center just to pass building code. Last week, the elevator in the building was taken out of service for required costly repairs that may take more than six weeks.

While some might oppose our moving to a different building, it could help solve several problems. In addition to addressing the inadequacies of our current building, moving to a new location would allow us to improve the Central High School campus by providing much-needed green space and parking for the school.

Any thoughts?

Keep your comments coming

Since my first blog entry, I’ve received numerous responses from readers. Several of you asked for a more detailed explanation about why we won’t be posting your comments for everyone to read.

On July 15, the school board adopted Policy EBH: Technology Usage to ensure appropriate use of district technology resources. Here’s an excerpt that applies to my blog:

Closed Forum

The district’s technology resources are not a public forum for expression of any kind and are to be considered a closed forum to the extent allowed by law. The district’s webpage will provide information about the school district, but will not be used as an open forum. The district’s webpage may include the district’s address, telephone number and an emailaddress where members of the public may easily communicate concerns to the administration and the Board."

While we have established these general guidelines, I do not expect them to impede our ability to have free discussion. You can still ask tough questions and I will respond.

The spirit of this blog is to facilitate an open and honest dialogue. With your enthusiastic participation, I am confident that can be achieved.

Let's start the discussion

I am always looking for ways to improve the quality of education at Springfield Public Schools and my own performance as superintendent. I truly believe the best way to accomplish both can be as simple as having a conversation.

So, I thought it made good sense to tap into the power of "blogging." This electronic journal will allow me to interact with you more informally and give you a way to share your thoughts directly with me.

Welcome to the first installment of "Norm’s Notes." My goal is to make this a place where we hold regular conversations – candid, courteous and relevant – about important topics that might otherwise go unexplored.

Through regular journal entries, I will provide insights into what’s happening in the district and in the broader world of education. In turn, I hope you’ll share what’s on your mind. Such two-way dialogue will foster clearer understanding for all of us.

I regret that I won’t be able to post your comments on my blog due to legal limitations. However, I’ll do my best to review each comment submitted and consider them for discussion starters in future Norm’s Notes.

In spite of this minor limitation, I’m excited about this new line of communication. I think you know me well enough to realize I’m very comfortable sharing information, seeking feedback and encouraging an honest dialogue about the issues and challenges we face as a district.

So let’s get started. Do you think my new blog will be a useful communication tool?