The September 2020 issue of School Administrator (“Educating for Democracy”) was remarkably timely in these times of division, partisan bias and misinformation raging across the country. Working to create informed, deliberative and perceptive students is indeed a priority goal for schools.

The article by Jason Glass (“On Civility: Five Rules for Engagement”) highlights what schools need to do in practical terms to produce more analytical and open-minded students. The piece on civic education in the early years by Sheldon Berman offers a wonderful blueprint (with an accompanying chart) for building civic dispositions among younger students.

Throw in Jim Mahoney’s My View commentary (“I Wouldn’t Want Your Job”) and Nicholas Clement’s ­column on the importance of superintendents themselves being healthy and you have the makings of terrific reading in your magazine. Cover to cover, this issue was really worth reading.

JOSEPH BATORY
RETIRED SUPERINTENDENT,
UPPER DARBY, PA.

Amen to Mahoney

Re Jim Mahoney’s My View commentary titled “I Wouldn’t Want Your Job” (September 2020):

People say that to me daily.

ASPASIA ANGELOU
SUPERINTENDENT,
NADABURG UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT AND MORRISTOWN ELEMENTARY DISTRICT,
WITTMANN, ARIZ.

Cell Phone Use

Thank you for Joy Baskin’s Legal Brief column regarding the use of personal cell phones for work and school district cell phones for personal needs (September 2020). The column was informative and relevant given how technology-driven our lives and jobs are today.

I have been doing this long enough that I can remember when my school district started reimbursing for the use of mobile phones back in the 1990s and the phones could only be used for calls. We even had to itemize our monthly call list to determine what percentage of the calls or minutes were school-related (and would be reimbursed) and what percentage of the calls or minutes were personal (and would not be reimbursed).

While the billing and reimbursement of mobile phones is much simpler now that we don’t pay per minute or text, the use of them has increased exponentially in terms of frequency, duration and versatility.

The information and advice in Baskin’s column are valuable for any employer or employee in which their technology devices are shared between business use and personal use. It is even more important for school districts and other organizations that are subject to a state’s public information or open records laws and need to be vigilant.

I greatly appreciated Baskin’s excellent Legal Brief column.

MICHAEL NOVOTNY
SUPERINTENDENT,
SALADO INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT,
SALADO, TEXAS