Dear colleagues,

It’s a new year and the local paper headline reports your district’s significant gains in student achievement. Asked to comment on the improvement, the board president says the recipe for student success isn’t always found in some secret formulation of program ingredients. Rather, success is found within those individuals willing to truly and openly face the barriers to student learning – simply put, it’s the team’s dedication to improving learning for all children.

My own personal vision…perhaps. But by necessity we often focus our advocacy efforts toward the external influences in the educational environment, rather than looking inward toward our own organizational culture and performance.

It is true that core to our needs is a continuing advocacy for the basic salt of ample education funding. However, as we begin new advocacy activities, I ask that we consider an internal focus as well. Specifically, how much time do we take to foster a professional learning community within our local boards?

Research illustrates the positive correlation between district leadership and student achievement (Marzano & Waters, 2006). Yet studies show that 85 percent of executive teams spend less than one hour per month discussing strategy. To attain the benefits of leadership we must demonstrate it routinely and with focus.

To this end, I challenge each of us to enhance, with intent, the time we spend focusing on achievement – both as directors and as districts. I urge each of us to move beyond the general board agenda, to address the core issues and beliefs underlying internal barriers to student learning. Collaboration and commitment to a local strategy of work teams, data, and best practices is not always easy. Recognizing that often the identification of problems generates the greatest diversity of beliefs and perceptions, we must be willing to examine our own thinking and consider new creative solutions to old problems.

As WSSDA and as local boards we must meet challenges head-on. Soon state policy makers will once again be generating solutions to local issues. Constant commitment to ideals is important, but to influence others we must demonstrate creative thinking now.

As president of WSSDA I believe the recipe for student success is not found in the state’s soup du jour, but in the actions of those at the local level. These times present many challenges, but also many possibilities. Please join in demonstrating how, through teamwork and personal growth in leadership, all children can learn.