World Food Prize

Back several jobs ago, I received a mailing inviting me to attend the World Food Prize Banquet in Des Moines. I did a bit of research on it, shared it with some teachers to see if they had students who would want to attend and when no one indicated they wanted to attend, used the old standby excuse, “Des Moines is a long way from here and it really doesn’t affect us.” Boy, was I wrong.

Now that we live in Pleasantville, which is only minutes from Des Moines, I was re-introduced to the project by our Ag teacher, Monte Collins. In fact, Pleasantville High School has been represented at the World Food Prize for many years. This year, Lauren James, a senior here at Pleasantville, attended and I asked her to write a reflection on her experiences. Here are the reflections of a high school senior and how she has been affected by this idea.

World Food Prize

By: Lauren James

I attended the World Food Prize in Des Moines, Iowa on October 13 through October 15. There I met with teenagers from all across the country and four other countries, as well as meeting with mentors and leaders from all over the word. This experience was really life changing. I had the amazing opportunity to listen to the former president of Ghana, John Agyekum Kufuor, and former president of Brazil, Luiz Inaco Lula Da Silva, speak as well as watching them receive their award for being the 2011 World Food Prize Laureates. I especially enjoyed listening to President Luiz Inaco Lula Da Silva speak the most because his speeches were full of passion and excitement.

On Friday we also had the privilege of being able to tour Syngenta, learning about the work they do there. Another experience I had that I enjoyed was packing meals for those in Iowa that are hungry, which are one of every six people. Later that night we had the hunger dinner, which was where we were assigned as lower class, middle-class or upper class. I was assigned to the lower class and had to sit on the floor for my meal. When it came time to eat, the women had to wait for the men to get their handful of rice and glass of water for their meal. Then with what food was left, we women went up and received our meal, having to eat the rice out of our hands since we were too poor to afford dishes and silverware. The World Food Prize leaders said that 60% of the people in the world are classified in this lower class. The middle-class was a step up from lower class, but any family that would have to suffer through a drought or other costly event would put them into the lower class. The middle class had rice and beans to eat, as well as chairs to sit on. However, the women had to wait for the men to get served first, and they actually ran out of food for the women. That’s how the life is typically for women in poor countries. The upper class is a different story though. They had the luxury of chairs, dining room table, and a delicious meal that had salad, chicken, vegetables and cheesecake. Only 14% of the world’s population is in the upper class. This hunger dinner was a huge eye opener, allowing all of us students to really see the blessings we have in this life.

On Saturday, all of us students had to give a three-minute presentation over the country we choose. We then further had to explain about the troubles they are having that are contributing to high hunger. After we explained the causes of the hunger, we then explained our solutions on how we would fix the high amount of hunger in that country. For example, I chose the country of India and discussed how low wages; poor education and recurrent droughts were contributing to the high malnourishment and undernourishment in children and adults. My solutions to fix this problem was by providing more nutritious meals during the school day to encourage children to come and get an education, as well as receiving nutritious food. I also encouraged fortifying more “atta” (wheat flour) with iron and micronutrients and then distributing it across India, thus helping everyone receive more protein each day. And finally, with the recurrent droughts they are suffering from I decided that we need to make drought resistant seeds more affordable and available to them.

All in all, this experience really helps open your eyes to see how fortunate we are. Not only that, but it really makes you want to help bring this awareness to more people and help figure out solutions to fix world food hunger. Thank you.

As you can see, Lauren is a bright young lady who will take this experience and take advantage of this opportunity. Please encourage your students to get involved like Lauren did. Thanks for your support.

Taking Advantage of What We've Done

This blog post is mostly directed at the secondary staff of the Pleasantville Community Schools, but there needs to be some history for others not of this district. When I was hired for this position, everyone raved about the four-day week, its advantages and the reasons behind it. I really want to thank the past administration, board and staff who had the courage to try something different.

For the record, the Pleasantville Community Schools does not have school on Mondays during the months of January, February, and March. I’m not sure who came up with this idea but I’m sure Dave Isgrig, former superintendent, was instrumental in its development. What a visionary thing to do. The school day was lengthened to accommodate the “lost time” of the four-day week. We start school at 8:05 am and dismiss at 3:33 pm. By counting the “time” in classes, we actually lengthened the total time from the previous schedule. Many rural schools, like Pleasantville, start around 8:20 or 8:30 and finish around 3:00 or 3:15. I realize that’s a real generalization but those times have been used in previous districts where I have worked. Pleasantville actually added 30 minutes of instruction to the normal school day.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could take this to another level? No, I’m not talking about a three-day week; I’m talking about taking advantage of our 1:1 deployment and combining it with the four-day week. What would it look like if, on the Mondays of those three months, teachers had “office hours” for students to contact them with questions or comments about their assigned work? If we kept track of the number of contacts or even set up Monday activities, this could become a model for the state and possibly the elimination of the dreaded snow-day make-ups.

Individual staff could either sign up for designated “office hours” or entire departments could be online and available at specific times or all day, depending on their preference. For example, as an old (that term is relative) science teacher, think of the possibilities with online labs, discussion groups, heck, even some formative assessments in the way of projects. Think of the “flip” possibilities with the teachers explaining some topic on video and having the kids write a reflective paragraph on it. I’m sure that there could be many different opportunities for kids that we could collectively come up with.

If a snow day should happen to come, we could have posted on our website what the schedule is for the day. I think it would be important that documentation for the State Department of Education be kept, particularly if we want to show the state that there might be a better way to make up snow days. I’m not real sure right now what this would look like but I am certainly open to ideas. I’m thinking of ideas such as showing some sort of percentage of kids who were online doing schoolwork, the number of responses sent in via the Internet and/or assignments turned in on time. This, as you can tell, is not a finished product but rather a call-to-action for the middle school and high school staffs to come up with a viable, working plan on utilizing two very important aspects of Pleasantville Community Schools, the four-day school week and the 1:1 computer program. I want you to know that I am planning on sharing this post with Director Glass from the DE as well. I am very confident that the staffs will put their collective heads together and come up with something new, innovative and certainly in the best interest of the kids of Pleasantville. Thanks for all you do for our kids.

My Transition to a New School

This is my first year at Pleasantville Community Schools in Pleasantville, Iowa as their superintendent. It is, however, not my first superintendency. I had served in this capacity for the previous seven years in a district in northwest Iowa. In my previous district, it was my first job as a superintendent and I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I asked a lot of questions and I feel good about the fact that I left that district better than I found it.

Now that I am in Pleasantville, I feel more confident of how things should be run, at least in my opinion. Here is what I have found in my new district. I have found the teachers and staff to be very warm and welcoming. I did a little exercise this summer in that I spent 20-30 minutes with each teacher. I asked them to describe the district using three words, what two things we need to get better at, what is your biggest hope for the school year and what is your biggest fear. In visiting with the teachers, I truly believe that they feel, like I do, that teaching is a calling, not a job or even a career. They really want the best education for our kids and will be willing to do whatever it takes for them to be successful. That was so reassuring to me.

When asked to describe the district, many staff members used the word “traditional” but also used words like “innovative” and “progressive.” While it sounds a bit counter-intuitive, I understand where they are coming from with their answers. We have a veteran staff, many of which graduated from Pleasantville High School, and we have moved into a 1:1 environment and continue to try new things.

I have found that there is a difference between schools of different sizes. The staffing for a small school is, in my opinion, much more diverse. They are asked to do many more things, other than simply teach their classes. They have more duties, more variety of classes at the secondary level, and more personal relationships due to their added responsibilities.

I have found that certain people within this district have many more responsibilities than I think they should have. We are in the process of re-aligning who does what within our district. People rely on one or two people way too much in my opinion and we have to “spread the wealth” so it’s a bit more evenly distributed and it doesn’t take time away from their primary responsibilities.

Finally, I’m a list writer. The lists are electronic but are lists still the same. Actually, right now, I have three lists going. My first list is about complete and has immediate goals. My second list is a long-range plan but strictly for teaching and learning and my third list is strictly for facilities. I don’t know if my lists will ever be finished for as I cross things off, I also keep adding to them. But, as each list grows and shrinks, I know we are getting better as a district.

Long story short, I love it here in Pleasantville and I truly look forward to coming to work everyday. Thanks.

Plans

Whenever I ask my father, Charley, what his plans are for this summer or anytime in the future, he always answers with the same response, “Heck, I have no plans. I don’t even buy green bananas.” Please keep in mind a couple of things, first of all, if any of you know Charley, you know he didn’t say “Heck” and secondly, on June 2 he will be turning 87 years old. I suppose when you are that old, still play 18 holes of golf daily and you really enjoy life, you can get by with using a different word than “Heck.” So, where is this all headed?

Everybody makes plans, whether long term or short term. I would like to share with you some of the plans the Okoboji Community Schools are making for the future of your children. The high school has placed the order for the new laptops for next year’s students. Chris Koenck, our Director of Technology, has done an outstanding job of getting the best price and the biggest bang for our buck. We will be using Lenovo Think Pads for student computers and these are the best machines for our use. Our new wireless infrastructure is in place district-wide and operational. The entire tech team needs to be mentioned for the time and effort they have put into making our first year of 1:1 so successful. Chris Williams, Evan Prunty and Chris Witt all have very specific jobs they perform along with Chris Koenck and our tech department is one of our shining stars. I can hardly wait to hear about the successes our students are having next year and all of the imaginative things they will create. It’ going to be a great year.

One other plan you can count on is that Okoboji will continue to put highly qualified teachers in each and every classroom. We have been very fortunate to have hired outstanding teachers in the past and our plan is to continue that practice. Of course, hiring new staff means that existing staff are leaving. While we enjoy new people coming and joining our group, we always have strong feelings for those who are leaving. The following teachers will not be returning next school year and they all will be sorely missed: Kevin Poeckes, Melissa Nelson, Makayla Payne, Jeremy Payne, and Dave DeWild. These five people have made plans of their own and we can only thank them for the years of service they have given to this district. We certainly wish them well with their plans. All are leaders amongst leaders and we are blessed to have served along side of them.

Last week, the administrative team met with representatives from a book company. Now, that, in and of itself, is not so unusual. What is unusual are the plans this company has for the future of textbooks. As Okoboji has always been on the cutting edge with technology and classroom integration of technology, this is a very intriguing idea for our building principals. If things progress like we hope, Okoboji will be selected to beta test some of these “new” technologies. In fact, the company doesn’t even call them textbooks any more; they call this a content management system. This was very impressive and all schools will be heading in this direction, at least those schools that are 1:1. I believe we will see many dramatic changes in the years to come with the materials that we use to teach our students. Textbooks are the obvious choice for a quick change but there will be many more exciting elements to education coming soon.

Many of you know, I will not be returning to Okoboji next school year either. So, what are my plans? I want to grow up and be just like my dad. Take care.

140 Characters

Those of you who reside in the “Twitter” universe will understand the meaning of 140 characters. For those of you not there yet, Twitter is a form of social networking and I use it to communicate with other educational leaders, family and friends. The writer, of what is called a Tweet, has only 140 characters to get their point across to the reader. With the risk of showing my age, as if my bald head and gray hair doesn’t already give it away, there used to be an article written every month in the Reader’s Digest called, “My Most Unforgettable Character.” As my time winds down at Okoboji, I’d like to share some of my most unforgettable characters. Space does not allow me to describe 140 of these people so I will only address a few.

Katy Sporrer and Joan Brown have been instrumental, not only in my development as a superintendent, but keeping this district on solid ground. Their knowledge and background of school finance, personnel, insurance programs and the general culture and climate will serve this district well into the future. They are capable, competent and caring people who make coming to the district office fun.

One of the people who I have really grown to admire is Dennis Baschke. Not only is he my “go to” guy when it comes to buildings and grounds, he’s my “go to” guy when it comes to talking softball and athletics in general. As the old saying goes, “If you want to find a weed in the Okoboji school grounds, you have to bring your own.” The pride and care he and all of his staff put into this school is overlooked by those who take schools for granted, but certainly appreciated by those of us who notice such things. He’s a great guy who truly loves what he does.

One of my best buddies over the past seven years turns out to be Howard Titterington. Granted, Howard hasn’t driven a bus for us in three years but I sure enjoy visiting with him and listening to him tell stories about the schools and driving buses. Howard and his entire family hold very special places in my heart. Here’s someone who has given over 60 years of service to kids, making sure they get to their destination without incident. I consider both Howard and Roseanna as dear friends.

I believe that one of many strengths of this district lies in the administrative team. The combination of youth, experience, the idea of service, technology, and instructional leadership embodies our building administrators. Rob Olsen at the elementary, Ryan Cunningham at the middle school and Brian Downing at the high school each bring a unique perspective to the overall direction of this district. I have had the distinct pleasure of working with many fine administrators over my career but this collective group is special. Okoboji is lucky to have had fine administrators just during my tenure here, including Julie Davies, Bart Mason, Dave Dorenkamp and Mike Schmitz. Thanks for all of your help over the years.

A school district is only as strong as the teachers we put in front of kids. I have said many times that the best public relations we can do as a district is to put a quality teacher in every classroom. We are blessed to have quality teachers in this district. The staff of teacher associates works equally as well with our kids. I firmly believe that people who work with kids have a moral purpose and that this job is about as close as you can get to having a religious calling in a secular position. God bless you all for what you do.

The kids of this district are the best. Every educator feels that their kids are great but having been in other districts, our kids truly are. I hope to find more kids like ours in my future. They truly care about each other, and particularly new kids. Victoria and I have witnessed this first hand with the addition of our niece Adriana moving in with us. She has been welcomed with open arms and we are truly grateful for that.

And for my radio buddy Ryan, irregardless of what people say, if we don’t follow the rules, we have anarchy. I’ve enjoyed every moment of those radio broadcasts. That was truly enjoyable, no matter how bad I messed up those poor boys names.

Thanks for the prayers and support that have been given to Victoria, Adriana and me. You have no idea how much that means.

What's your boat?

In John Ortberg’s book, “If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat,” he talks about being safe and playing it safe. Your boat is whatever it is that represents safety and security. Your boat is whatever you put your trust in, especially when life gets a little stormy. Your boat is whatever keeps you so comfortable that you don’t want to give it up, even if it keeps you away from having a better life. How does all this equate to the Okoboji Community Schools?

I feel that part of my job as superintendent is to constantly challenge the status quo of this district and to get the staff to stretch and take a few risks – to get out of their boat, so to speak. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, this upsets some people. It’s upsetting because they are comfortable, they feel safe and secure. Many people will tell you that they are not a risk taker when in fact; they are willing to try new and different things.

I have been blessed in my life to come across people who have really made a difference in my life. One such person is my friend Scott. Scott is a mental health counselor by trade, and a very close friend. I have really only know Scott for a period of about ten years, but he has a profound impact on me daily. I have a picture of Scott and me taken on vacation a few years back horsing around on a golf cart. I sit in the cart and Scott sits in his wheelchair. You see, Scott is a paraplegic, unable to use his legs, yet he is one of the most gifted musicians I know. His hobby is gardening and landscaping. He helped to build his own house and it’s beautiful. He is married to a wonderful woman and has two very energetic children. He is also very active in his church. Even when he’s in pain, he never complains, always is quick to smile and has the best attitude I’ve ever seen in a person.

One of the reasons I like hanging out with Scott is because he challenges me and my way of thinking, just as I hope I challenge him. He’s never really been athletic, even before the accident that took the use of his legs in his mid 20’s, just as I’ve never really been musical, yet we have become the best of friends. He makes me think differently, more globally, seeing the big picture and he constantly reminds me that if I want to make an impact in someone’s life, I have to get out of my boat. Scott has had a tremendous impact on my life, both professionally and probably more important, personally.

I want our teachers and staff to have that same type of attitude, one of getting out of their boats, taking on some new challenges, thinking differently about the way we do things around here. We all could use a dose of thinking differently, including myself, as I sometime fall back into the safety of my own boat, doing the same things that I have done over and over again. If we are truly going to impact the lives of our students, we cannot stay in the safety of our own boats, whatever they may be. We have to have a little faith and venture out on the water.ohn Ortberg’s book, “If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat,” he talks about being safe and playing it safe. Your boat is whatever it is that represents safety and security. Your boat is whatever you put your trust in, especially when life gets a little stormy. Your boat is whatever keeps you so comfortable that you don’t want to give it up, even if it keeps you away from having a better life. How does all this equate to the Okoboji Community Schools?
I feel that part of my job as superintendent is to constantly challenge the status quo of this district and to get the staff to stretch and take a few risks – to get out of their boat, so to speak. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, this upsets some people. It’s upsetting because they are comfortable, they feel safe and secure. Many people will tell you that they are not a risk taker when in fact; they are willing to try new and different things.
I have been blessed in my life to come across people who have really made a difference in my life. One such person is my friend Scott. Scott is a mental health counselor by trade, and a very close friend. I have really only know Scott for a period of about ten years, but he has a profound impact on me daily. I have a picture of Scott and me taken on vacation a few years back horsing around on a golf cart. I sit in the cart and Scott sits in his wheelchair. You see, Scott is a paraplegic, unable to use his legs, yet he is one of the most gifted musicians I know. His hobby is gardening and landscaping. He helped to build his own house and it’s beautiful. He is married to a wonderful woman and has two very energetic children. He is also very active in his church. Even when he’s in pain, he never complains, always is quick to smile and has the best attitude I’ve ever seen in a person.
One of the reasons I like hanging out with Scott is because he challenges me and my way of thinking, just as I hope I challenge him. He’s never really been athletic, even before the accident that took the use of his legs in his mid 20’s, just as I’ve never really been musical, yet we have become the best of friends. He makes me think differently, more globally, seeing the big picture and he constantly reminds me that if I want to make an impact in someone’s life, I have to get out of my boat. Scott has had a tremendous impact on my life, both professionally and probably more important, personally.
I want our teachers and staff to have that same type of attitude, one of getting out of their boats, taking on some new challenges, thinking differently about the way we do things around here. We all could use a dose of thinking differently, including myself, as I sometime fall back into the safety of my own boat, doing the same things that I have done over and over again. If we are truly going to impact the lives of our students, we cannot stay in the safety of our own boats, whatever they may be. We have to have a little faith and venture out on the water.

Cold is a relative thing, especially in Iowa

I received this post from a friend of mine who works at the Iowa Great Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce. It is nice to see things like this which may (or may not) cause us to stop for a while and just smile. I would give credit to whoever wrote it but things like this seem to have a life of their own. Anyway, after this week throughout our nation, enjoy it.

COLD IS A RELATIVE THING. . ..

At 65 degrees above zero:
People in Florida turn on the heat.
People in Iowa plant gardens.

At 60 degrees above zero:
People in California shiver uncontrollably.
People in Iowa sunbathe.

At 50 degrees above zero:
Italian and English cars won't start.
People in Iowa drive with the windows down.

At 40 degrees above zero:
People in Georgia don coats, thermal underwear, gloves, and wool hats.
People in Iowa throw on a flannel shirt.

At 35 degrees above zero:
New York landlords finally turn up the heat.
People in Iowa have the last cookout before it gets cold.

At 20 degrees above zero:
People in Miami all die.
People in Iowa close the windows.

At zero degrees:
People in Arizona fly away to Mexico.
People in Iowa get out their winter coats.

At 10 degrees below zero:
Hollywood disintegrates.
Girl Scouts in Iowa are selling cookies door to door.

At 20 degrees below zero:
Washington, DC, runs out of hot air.
People in Iowa let the dogs sleep indoors.

At 30 degrees below zero:
Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.
Iowans get upset because they can't start the snowmobile.

At 40 degrees below zero:
ALL atomic motion stops.
People in Iowa start saying, "Cold enough for ya?"

At 50 degrees below zero:
Hell freezes over.
Iowa public schools will open 2 hours late.