ASBA Connect E-News

COMMUNICATIONS

Now available remotely – Our most requested custom board trainings!

board training

ASBA’s governance and board support experts are eager to get back on the road and come to your district to provide you with custom training and facilitation to meet your board’s needs. However, until it is safe to do so, we’ve adapted some of our most requested custom board trainings and our board self-evaluation facilitation to live, online formats.

Scheduling is now open for the following:

Roles and Responsibilities
Effective teams understand the role and responsibilities of each team member. During this training, we take a deep dive into the different, yet interconnected duties of the superintendent and board. (2 hours*)

Effective Board Meetings (plus Remote Meeting Best Practices upon request)
This training helps your ream identify ways to have productive, efficient and informative board meetings. Agenda Setting, meeting norms and pacing are just a few of the topics covered in this training. (2 hours*)

Open Meeting Law
ASBA General Counsel Chris Thomas, provides an overview of Arizona’s Open Meeting Law. The workshop can be tailored to meet the district’s individual needs. (2 hours*)

Board Self-Evaluation

Board teams use ASBA’s online self-evaluation tool to assess their effectiveness, then review the results with an ASBA facilitator and identify areas of opportunity for improvement during the workshop. (3 hours*)

*One hour of preparation time is required for this session.

Questions? Contact Nikkie Whaley, board support specialist, at nwhaley@azsba.org, or Julie Bacon, leadership development specialist, at jbacon@azsba.org.

Two Arizona school districts fill technology needs with new K12itc partnership

Beginning July 1, 2020, Globe Unified District and Bicentennial Union High School District will outsource their technology to K12itc, a technology company exclusively focused on K-12 schools, and annual VIP partner with ASBA. With technology needs growing and online learning becoming the new reality for students across Arizona, smaller and rural districts face different challenges and obstacles compared to larger districts in Arizona.

K12itc’s managed services can save school districts up to 15 percent annually while providing the most secure and reliable network. Today, K12itc provides managed services to more than 60 school districts nationwide. The company is headquartered in Kansas City, Mo. K12itc will provide both districts with Albert, a managed technology platform for K-12 schools.

K12itc is a technology company exclusively focused on K-12 schools and has partnered with ASBA since 2019. Its purpose is to create better technologies for school districts nationwide. K12itc is part of the Menlo family of companies. Learn more by contacting Brian Nelson by email, Brian.Nelson@menloinc.com or calling 816.382.4862.

We should appreciate our teachers now more than ever

Ann O'Brien

Aligned with Strategic Goal: Advocacy

An article by Ann O’Brien, ASBA president-elect

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week! Expressions of thanks are made in many ways and languages, and as governing board members, it is especially important that we demonstrate our respect and appreciation for every teacher all year long.

As you know, board members approve budgets, set policy, provide structure, and establish a direction for our school districts. All these elements build the foundation necessary for student achievement and the success of our districts. It is imperative, then, that we value our teachers’ voices, provide a collaborative culture and deliver unwavering support to ensure that our educators can deliver differentiated learning to all students.

Teachers, both new and veteran, provide valuable insight on how district policy and programs will impact their students. Ensure teachers have a seat at the table. Valuing their voices means listening to their feedback. Do your educators sit on district committees for curriculum, grading, mission and vision setting? Are you providing an opportunity to give feedback? In Deer Valley USD teachers are involved in all district committees and they complete an annual feedback survey.

A collaborative culture is an opportunity for our educators to share what they do best with colleagues and learn ideas and techniques their fellow teachers have to offer. This cooperation and teamwork create opportunities for all students to receive the best possible education. Partnerships and alliances, both vertically and horizontally, increase the prospect of students increasing their achievement level. How and when are your district’s teachers able to collaborate?

Today’s teachers are so much more than simply educators. Our teacher’s counsel, mentor and mediate as they work with students from a wide variety of financial, social, and emotional environments. The investment we make in our educators makes it possible for them to give their all to every student. Your district can make a profound difference in this area by providing an employee assistance program.

We recognize how crucial appreciation is in these unprecedented times as educators provide instruction, support and care from a distance while caring for their own families. Please remember to thank your teachers this week and all year long!

AZEdNews partners with ADM Group and The Brand Agency to award $500 scholarships for seniors

brand agency scholarship

AZEdNews, a service of Arizona School Boards Association, has teamed up with ADM Group and The Brand Agency to offer students in Arizona public schools a chance to win $500 scholarships beginning May 1.

This new partnership will provide high school seniors with the opportunity to win $500 scholarships for college-level institutions, including vocational schools and trade schools of their choice. Students can submit their online entries on azednews.com along with a short video explaining how the scholarship will be used. Students will be notified weekly during June and July. The scholarship funds will be mailed directly to the secondary institution.

Reminder: Political Agenda Submissions due May 29

ASBA board members, superintendents, and superintendent secretaries should have all received the political agenda submission packet via email last week. All submissions for the 2021 political agenda are due by Friday, May 29. Please reach out if you have any questions by emailing Leigh Jensen, Governmental Relations Associate at ljensen@azsba.org.

political agenda

We need YOU to present at our Annual Conference, Dec. 3-4, 2020

There are many ways school boards can support each other through the sharing of promising practices and creative solutions to common challenges. Annual Conference provides an opportunity for school leaders to share what’s working in their districts and learn from others who have successfully implemented results-based solutions.

Submissions open Friday, May 15. More information will be posted on the ASBA website under Events >Annual Conference.

Deadline for consideration is Friday, Aug. 3.

We continue to serve you…even if it’s from home!

The Arizona School Boards Association supports and respects the very difficult decisions which have been made and will continue to be made in the face of this public health crisis by the educators and leaders of school districts around the state, all with the health and safety of their students and communities at heart.

We continue to stay committed to providing member support. We believe one of the most critical ways in which we can do so is to be responsive to your pressing questions by providing quick access to clear, consistent facts and information to all of our members, new webinars with timely information and key strategies, remote custom trainings, salary results PLUS anything else you may need.

ASBA is available by phone at 602.254.1100 or email. Please don’t hesitate to contact us. Remember, ASBA is your association.

The Value of ASBAIT

The Arizona School Boards Association supports and respects the very difficult decisions which have been made and will continue to be made in the face of this public health crisis by the educators and leaders of school districts around the state, all with the health and safety of their students and communities at heart.

We continue to stay committed to providing member support. We believe one of the most critical ways in which we can do so is to be responsive to your pressing questions by providing quick access to clear, consistent facts and information to all of our members, new webinars with timely information and key strategies, remote custom trainings, salary results PLUS anything else you may need.

ASBA is available by phone at 602.254.1100 or email. Please don’t hesitate to contact us. Remember, ASBA is your association.

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