District Administration - November 2009 - (Page 8)

Letters Shifting Roles: A Positive Trend I enjoyed the 9th Annual Salary Survey article (“Administrator Roles Shift with the Times,” September 2009). e story spotlighted certain positions. It was reassuring to see that our salaries in Greenville County were for the most part in sPecial secTion: Does This Web Site Work? I love reading your articles, particularly those in the section “How Well Does is Web Site Work?” In fact, your suggestions have inspired more than a few changes to our district’s Web site, including implementing a feature that translates our site into 35 diﬀerent languages and adding to our master template a drop-down list containing direct links to each school’s Web site. And I realized that our logo did not link back to the home page. Linking the logo was a simple enough change, and it deﬁnitely adds to the usability of our site. Jesse Glaves, Webmaster, Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, Soldotna, Alaska Textbook Value Is Questioned In response to an August 10 Tech Disruptions blog post, “Textbooks Do Have Some Good Qualities”: An e-textbook is just a textbook in a different medium. Textbooks, especially in K8 science, are notoriously bad. And the notion that losing textbooks leaves the teacher with nothing is incorrect. ere are better alternatives to K8 textbooks. Joseph J. Bellina Jr., professor of physics, Saint Mary’s College (Indiana) DistrictAdministration september 2009 The laTesT ProdUc T Trends 72 The Magazine of ls Turnaround Schoo turning The new urgency forls 56 around failing schoo Managing Generational Diversity Build the foundation for true staff collaboration 68 tion.com lary Sarvey Su PLUS Going Global Will your graduates 62 be ready to compete? Using the web ts 84 to empower studen 9 th AnnuAl school disTricT ManageMenT s Administrator Role 42 Shift with the Times ing Personalized Learn AM 8/19/09 11:41:56 And in another response to the same blog: No oﬀense, but you missed it entirely. It’s not about printed versus digital. It’s about the entire metaphor of a “textbook” that’s essentially out of gas. Matt Federoff, chief information ofﬁcer, Vail (Ariz.) School District www.DistrictAdministra CVR0909NOBox.indd line with the survey data. It was also interesting to see that your story explained how district leaders’ job titles and position descriptions are evolving to reﬂect that which you would ﬁnd in the business sector. In my opinion, that evolution is a very positive trend in American school districts that will result in continuous improvement and increased eﬃciencies. And I’d be curious to obtain a copy of a more complete survey, if possible, from Educational Research Services. G. Pat Mitchell, executive director of human resources, Greenville County (S.C.) Schools High Praise for Greg Utecht Your recent Administrator Proﬁle story covered one of our member technology coordinators, Greg Utecht of Lakeville (Minn.) Area Public Schools (“Technology Pioneer from Past to Present,” September 2009). Greg has been a valued tech coordinator member for many years. He was awarded the title TIES 2008 Technology Leader last year, from which we nominated him for the national CoSN leadership award. It was good to see other public recognition of his work. Dianne Tourville, graphics, Web and print, TIES Communications Blogger Elliot Soloway responds: Textbooks have run “out of gas,” as Mr. Federoﬀ points out, but it is no mean feat to create a complete lesson aligned with standards. Textbooks have played an important role in that. We need to create support for teachers in creating lessons. Letters to the editor may be sent to jhartnett@ districtadministration.com, or mailed to Judy F. Hartnett, District Administration, 488 Main Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06851. Selections that are published may be edited for length and clarity, and become the property of D A. STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULAtion (as required under the act of August 12, 1970, section 3685, Title 39, United States Code); ﬁled August 22, 2008. e title of this publication is District Administration (Publication #012735). It is published 10 times a year with combined issues of June/July and November/December. e publication is located at the general business oﬃces of Professional Media Group, 488 Main Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06851. e editor is Judy Faust Hartnett, 488 Main Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06851. e publisher is Daniel E. Kinnaman, 488 Main Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06581. e owner is Professional Media Group LLC, 488 Main Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06851. Its owner is Joseph J. Hanson, 488 Main Avenue, Norwalk, CT. ere are no bonds, mortgages, or other security holders. e average number of copies printed per issue was 76,456 during the preceding 12 months (12 issues); for September 2009, 74,384 copies were printed. No copies were sold through dealers, carriers, street vendors, or over counters. e average number of request copies mailed during 8 November/December 2009 the preceding 12 months (12 issues) was 52,496; for the September issue, 49,941 copies were requested. e average number of sample, complimentary or free copies distributed by mail for each issue during the past 12 months was 22,220; for September 2009, the ﬁgure was 23,490. e average number of free distribution copies per issue, outside the mail (carriers and other means), was 328 during the past 12 months and 0 for the month of September 2009. e average total free distribution for the twelve months was 22,548; for the month of September 2009 it was 23,490. e average number of copies not distributed during the 12-month period was 1,412; September 2009’s undistributed copies number 953. No returns were received from news agents. e 12-month average total distribution per issue was 76,456; for the September 2009 issue it was 74,384. e 12-month average request circulation percentage was 69.95%; 68.01% for the September 2009 issue. I certify that the above statements are correct and complete. Dana Kubicko, Director of Production & Circulation. District Administration http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - November 2009

District Administration - November 2009
Contents
Advertiser Index
From the Editor
Letters
News Update
Facilities & Construction
Stimulus Monitor
Administrator Profile
District Profile
Conversations
Mobile Learning Guide
The New Writing Pedagogy
Staying Ahead in Education
Tightening the Purchasing Process
Minding Your E-mail
New Books
How Well Does This Web Site Work?
Problem Solution
New Products
Professional Opinion
Crisis Response

District Administration - November 2009