Best of the Blogs
School Administrator, October 2020


“One of the first things I hear from coaches about the pandemic is that if parents are not allowed to watch — that might be a good thing. Too often youth sports have not been about young people com-peting with other young people, but about parents competing with other parents through their kids.”

From “Maybe Youth Sports Come Back Different” by Chris Kennedy, superintendent, West Vancouver Schools, West Vancouver, B.C., Canada, on his blog Culture of Yes 

“We may have to make lemonade out of peaches, but it can be done if we stick together and keep our frustrations out of the sight/ears of our children.”

From “RCSD Reopening Schools Update” by Peter C. Blake, superintendent, Rome City School District, Rome, N.Y., on his blog Leading Through Listening
 
“[A]s much as people want their children back in school, and as much as our children want to return to the things that they love, all of the plans in the world, and all of the hard work of my staff to try to provide quality and safe in-person educational experiences for students and families, won’t matter if people do not use their heads.”

From “Now, More Than Ever, We Must Look Out for Each Other” by David Moyer, superintendent, Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205, Elmhurst, Ill., on his blog Super-Chat205
 
“Now comes the most fundamental of all challenges: The task of building a school system this fall that can flexibly respond to the pandemic conditions, regardless of how they are manifested.”

From “Toti:ltcha - Our Future Learning Plan” by Kevin Godden, superintendent, Abbotsford School District, Abbotsford, B.C., Canada, on his blog The Triumph of Teamwork
 
Read the full postings of these and other members’ blogs at www.aasa.org/SAblogs.aspx.


FLASHBACK OCTOBER 2010
Should school boards’ searches for superintendents be conducted largely in the public eye or run confidentially? Various perspectives were spelled out by contributors Art Stellar, Terre Davis and William Attea. … Jason Ellingson wrote about his quick transition into the superintendency of a Midwestern district. … AASA President Edgar Hatrick, in his President’s Corner, focused on the most important qualities in a new superintendent when there’s a search. … Headline over the Tech Leadership column: “Is Facebook a ‘Friend’ to School Administrators?” … Profile subject: Marcus Newsome, superintendent, Chesterfield County, Va. … Six letters to the editor address college and career prep, Diane Ravitch’s Punchback column and reaction to “The Making of a Weak Teacher.” … Advertisers included Aflac, Herff Jones and Del Monte Fresh Produce.