Inside

For more information about ACSA Region 17

visit our website @www.acsa17.org or

contact:Jan Billings, Ph.D.

949-673-0125or Darcy Brockman at

acsaregion17@gmail.com

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The Writing Journey in AUHSD

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WINTER 2017

Business Partners’ DirectoryRegion 17 Events

GROWING IN KINDNESSby Dennis Cole, Region 17 President

leaders in action

Association of California School Administrators - Region 17

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Wes Smith Region 17 Shout Out

which many of you have seen of a teacher who stands outside of her class and does an individualized handshake with each of her students. Literally every student created and choreographed their own handshake, taught it to her, and she learned them all. Each day she greets them at the door and engages in this ritual of care - fist bumping, heel kicking, hand slapping, elbow tapping, and every other imaginable way of physically greeting her kids…on their own terms. What an act of kindness.

I am sure this very teacher goes into her classroom and carries this same level of kindness to each of her kids. She customizes their lessons, and individualizes their homework based on their needs. She even lets them set their own learning goals, and commits herself to guide them towards success in them. But certainly the greatest success is that each of these students learns to reflect the kindness she has shown them.

Kindness seems in short order as of late. Recently, when someone performs a simple act of kindness

Follow Us! Like Us!(continued on page 4)

I experienced perhaps one of the greatest joys I will take part in this year in January. So many of

our colleagues gathered for the 6th Annual ACSA Region 17 Conference at Concordia University International in Irvine, and the event was a smashing success. The theme was built around having a growth mindset which we know has been at the forefront of leadership mindfulness in recent years.

Beginning with an excellent keynote by a profound principal and leader, Dr. Greg Gero, and continuing into a myriad of excellent workshops – each led by our own region experts - on how growth mindset impacts how we make decisions, plan our LCAPs, implement technology, and interact with parents and students, this conference was the epitome of how we in Region 17 are so committed to growing and thriving together. A special thank you goes to Bob Johnson and his planning team for creating an amazing time together.

As I entered my work week following our gathering, I found myself looking for new areas to grow. I came across an impressive video

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College & Career ReadySTS education

Keys to Success Women’s Leadership Night

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Culturally ProficientC & I Academy

ACSA Region 17 ConferenceRegion Scholarships

BEING A CULTURALLY PROFICIENT SCHOOL LEADER*by LaDay Smith, ACSA Region 17 Board Member At Large

The United States of America is in the midst of a cultural seismic shift. Around the time the 2020 United States Census is conducted, more than half of the nation’s children are expected to be part of a minority race or ethnic group. This proportion is expected to continue to grow so that by 2060, just 36 percent of all children – people under age 18 – will be single-race nonHispanic white, compared to 52 percent reported in the 2015 census.

With recent incidents in our nation shaping our societal perspectives, along with significant decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court, it’s not only our population’s demographics that have and will continue to shift. This shift also includes the migration of cultural attributes that are counter to the current mainstream culture. This transformation will need to be absorbed as soon being the macro culture of our country. Essentially, what the census is telling us is that the people who are the fabric of those cultures

will soon be the composition of the larger culture in our country.

We, as educational leaders, are responsiblefor ensuring that an environment for teaching practitioners is conducive to cultivate college, career and life ready students and citizens. It is imperative, even morally imperative – and a social justice – that we acknowledge the importance of identifying this cultural shift. We must create genuine, authentic learning opportunities that will foster an acceptance, appreciation and anembracement for all cultures.

Hopefully it is duly noted that I did notstate that we need to “tolerate” differing cultures,but there needs to be a distinction that we must be accepting, appreciative and embracing of all cultures that are not congruent with our own.

*Article featured in Association of California School Administrators Leadership Magazine. January/February 2016.

For this year’s academy, held in Costa Mesa at OCDE, we have 25 amazingly engaged educator participants. The academy takes place over eight weekends from September to May. It is a big commitment for current educators who are currently serving in roles as principals, district office administrators, county office leaders, and even School Board members and Assistant Superintendents who want to learn more about Curriculum and Instructional practices. These dedicated folks travel to OC from as far north as Oxnard and as far south as the Coachella Valley to attend Friday evening and all-day Saturday sessions. We are fortunate to have local educators participating as well.

To ensure that the information is relevant to our participants, Academy Directors work long and hard to procure the services of current practitioners, all of whom are ACSA members. This year, presenters have included Superintendent Anne Silavs from the Cypress School District; Assistant Superintendents Hanan Thornton from Magnolia School District, Kathie Nielsen from Tustin, Jennifer Shepard from Huntington Beach, Leisa Winston from Laguna Beach and Christine Olmstead from OCDE. These professionals have presented information on a large a number of significant topics, including Instructional Leadership, Leaders as Change Agents, Best Instructional Practices, Communicating District and School Policies, Political and Legal Context considerations, and Resume and Interview preparation.

Several district office administrators have also shared their expertise on a variety of topics, including 21st century schools,

CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION ACADEMYby Darlene Messinger, ACSA Region 17 Director of Student Charter

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ACSA REGION 17 CONFERENCEby Bob Johnson, Director of Professional Development

On Saturday, January 21, 2017, Region 17 hosted its sixth annual Region Conference at Concordia University in Irvine. This year’s conference theme was “Growth Mindset” and over 130 administrators and aspiring leaders participated, including approximately 25 educational leadership program students from Region 17’s Student Charter.

Dr. Greg Gero, a principal and adjunct professor at Claremont Graduate University, presented a keynote presentation titled “Mindset Matters! How to Maximize Improvement for Your Students, Your Teachers, and Your School” that was informative and engaging. 15 unique breakout sessions followed that were organized into learning strands that included Data-Based Decision Making; The Culture of Engagement; Technology and Digital Tools; Inspirational Leadership. This year, a strand designed for classified leaders was also offered for the first time. Administrators from within Region 17 presented the breakout sessions and shared their expertise in a variety of areas. Participants also had opportunities to network and learn from each other.

We are grateful to Concordia University for hosting the Conference and to our Region 17 Business Partners, many of whom attended the event. With their support, we were able to provide high-quality professional development to our members that included a catered breakfast and lunch at a minimal cost.

Region 17 is proud to organize and host events like the Region conference that benefit our members. Thank you to all who helped in the planning and organization of the event and to all who attended.

REGION 17 SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

3Jennifer Kajdasz, FVSD; Cindy Bak, FSD; Erin Bains, FVSD; Matt Cukro, LHSD; Mark Holman, FVSD

it is a cool drink in the hot thirsty desert of political heat and vocational sandstorms. We get so embroiled as a society in what seems important we forget that the biggest impact we have is not in swaying the beliefs of the many around us, but in being kind the each individual, no matter their beliefs.

In Orange County, we have an initiative called “One Billion Acts of Kindness,” with a goal of documenting one billion acts of kindness acted out all over our community. The larger goal is, of course, to transform our world into a place where we look through the lens of kindness, of service, and of care.

I invite you to join me and do an act of kindness this week for another, or simply notice an act of kindness someone has done for you and then go to http://kindness1billion.org/ to share it with others. I would love if you would email me at dcole@ocde.us to share a bit of the kindness you have experienced. I know each one will brighten my day and the very act of telling your story will make your day brighter.

Let’s take action to create a kinder world for our students, families, and staff. It is the greatest part of your work, and the most impactful. Let kindness reign.

GROWING IN KINDNESS (continued from page 1)

THE WRITING JOURNEY IN AUHSD: LITERACY IN EVERY CLASSROOMby Kelly Gallagher

The following excerpt is taken from an article that Kelly Gallagher, an English teacher at Magnolia High School in the Anaheim Union High School District, wrote for Educational Leadership. Kelly is nationally recognized for his books on reading and writing and for conducting workshops across the United States. In the full article, Kelly documents AUHSD’s “writing journey” highlighting the district’s goal to improve student writing across the curriculum. The district’s belief is “Of all the things high schools can do to improve their students’ college readiness, the most important move can be summed up simply: Students should be asked to write more, and they should be taught to write better.” For Kelly’s full article visit our website at acsa17.org.

A California school district provides a case study in how to improve student writing across the curriculum.

Over the past several years, I have been fortunate to work with an incredible array of teachers from across the United States who have given me valuable insight into their professional challenges. For a while now, I’ve started each workshop by asking the same question: “How many of you are seeing a decline in your students’ writing abilities?” Sadly, no matter where I’m presenting or what the demographic of their students, the teachers’ responses overwhelmingly confirm my worst fears: Wide swaths of students are not developing their

writing skills—skills we know to be foundational to their literate lives.

Why are writing skills in decline? To answer this question, one might start by reading a recent study of U.S. middle schools conducted by the Education Trust (2015), in which the researchers examined a key question: Do classroom assignments reflect today’s higher standards? Their findings were sobering. Only 38 percent of assignments were aligned with a grade-appropriate standard. About 85 percent of assignments asked students to either recall information or apply basic skills and concepts. (The assignments were “largely surface level,” the report noted.) Only 1 percent of assignments required students to think for extended periods of time; most assignments could be completed in one class period.

This lack of rigor was especially evident in schools’ writing expectations for students in middle school.Middle and high school teachers do not need elaborate studies to understand that many students come to us with weak writing skills. We read their papers, and we see firsthand what happens when they have had limited writing experience. We remain concerned that young, competent writers are becoming an endangered species, and we know this will only change when decision makers in schools make teaching writing a top priority.

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MEMBER SERVICES CONTINUES TO RAMP UP EFFORTS TO GROW STUDENT MEMBERS.

Member Services started working with Region 17 leaders Dennis Cole, Anne Welsh-Treglia and Director of MAED at Concordia University Ron LaMotte in the fall on an agreement that would allow the university to pay for student membership for the entire cohort. The agreement, which was finalized recently, swept in about 80 students into ACSA membership and is the very first agreement of its kind. The larger end goal is to launch a sustainable student charter in Region 17, which currently does not have one.

Once successfully established, the charter would then serve as a support for pre-service administrators and new administrators in their networking efforts and professional development opportunities. Charter members would also be invited to all Region 17 events so the experience the power of ACSA communities on a larger scale and how it can positively impact their move up the career ladder. The student charter launce is expected to take place in conjunction with the region’s leadership conference on January 21st at Concordia Univeristy’s Irvine campus.

If this pilot project proves to be successful, Member Services will approach other universities to partner in a similar fashion. Please contact Senior Director of Member Service & Support, Margarita Cuizon at mcuizon@acsa.org for questions about this and any of our student engagement initiatives.

STATE ACSA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WES SMITH, GIVES A “SHOUT OUT” TO REGION 17!

assessment, charter schools, equity and diversity, literacy in Next Generation Science Standards, Mathematics, ELA/ELD, and History/Social Science. These presenters include Kelly Skon from Saddleback Valley, Amy Kernan and Mike Morrison from Laguna Beach, Joan Perez from Hermosa Beach, and Rob Vicario from OCDE. All of these folks are receiving excellent reviews from academy participants.

We are looking forward to Janelle Kubinec from WestEd who will be presenting a weekend of sessions on Federal, State and Local Accountability. We know her presentation will be highly engaging!

We would love to see more of our local aspiring leaders in Curriculum and Instruction participate in next year’s academy. For more information, please contact Darlene Messinger at dmessinger16@gmail.com.

CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION ACADEMY(continued from page 2)

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“College and Career Readiness” is a phrase buzzing through all school districts across the nation. Each school district is responding to this phrase in a variety of ways depending on the needs of the students they serve. Coupled with this focus is the LCAP and LCFF Rubric which provides a map based on stakeholder feedback and accountability to help all students be “College and Career Ready.” In Orange Unified, we have responded to this focus with a “whole child” approach. From looking at our graduation requirements, to course offerings including CTE and Mathematics pathways, to professional development offerings, to technology integration within the classroom, parent trainings, as well as, providing support for students through non-academic services such as adding a mental health counselor to the elementary schools one day a week.

In order to help prepare our students, a recommendation has been made to the Board of Education to change our graduation requirements to include a college and career readiness requirement. We have defined this expectation as a student needing to take

“FOSTERING A COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL STUDENTS FROM KINDERGARTEN TO SENIOR YEAR”

by Jennifer Bourgeois, OUSD

at least one year of CTE, AVID, AP, or Dual Enrollment. Keeping in mind this end result of graduation, OUSD has created specific scaffolds to support the student to reach these goals. One of these scaffolds is in the area of STEM. At all three levels, elementary, middle and secondary, students are afforded opportunities to be involved in the STEM areas. Elementary schools have STEM labs and/or makerspaces to expose students to the various STEM fields. At the middle school level, students are able to explore a specific STEM field. At the high school level, students are provided the chance to experience a STEM field by taking advantage of a CTE pathway.

Through collaboration, critical thinking, communication and creativity, Orange Unified is finding a way to meet the needs of our students, push them academically, and foster a District of Excellence for the students, staff, parents and community. Upon graduation, our students will be prepared for whichever path they choose as they will prepared for college and/or a career.

STS education is excited and honored to partner with ACSA in their goal to help California students prosper by supporting administrators. We are pledged to providing K-12 schools with the right technology– technology that helps educators prepare students for successful futures in both college and career– and we consider our partnership with ACSA a critical step toward growth. As a community and as individuals, we value relationships with those who share a strong sense of responsibility to serve our communities, education, and the future. It is with great pride and optimism that we represent the education technology community in supporting the Association of California School Administrators.

For nearly two decades we’ve supported education with hardware, software, and services that keep the modern classroom a productive learning environment. Acknowledging education’sunique needs, our consultative approach helps schools succeed through the right technology– curated computer solutions, interactive smart displays, classroom management and productivity software, and white glove services. In every instance, STS education looks for creative ways to help schools make the most of their resources, such as our Asset Value Recovery program which benefits both education and the environment.

REGION 17 WELCOMES STS EDUCATIONby Marc Netka, CEO

resonated with the young women in the audience who gave her a rousing standing ovation at the end of her talk. Ms. Henderson graciously posed for pictures with the students who held her gold medals!

The remainder of the conference offered breakout sessions led by Orange County teachers, administrators, college counselors, and Disneyland Ambassadors. Session topics were: Interviewing Tips; Communication; Career Pathways; Finding Your Inner Strength; Teamwork; Social Media; and, College Options.

The girls were treated to breakfast and lunch through the generosity of OpTerra; prizes of headphones, iPads, Kindles, and gift certificates were donated by Region 17 partners, Benchmark Education and Horace Mann. Concordia, a partner of Region 17, was a perfect venue for the event. The evaluations of the participants were clear – they had learned a lot; they had met and interacted with young women across Orange County; they loved being on a college campus; and they were inspired by Monique Henderson’s story and message of her “Keys to Success.”

ACSA Region 17, in partnership with OpTerra Energy Solutions, sponsored the first Young Women’s Leadership Conference “Keys to Success” in October at Concordia University. The event is unique among the 19 regions in ACSA. An offshoot of the region’s Women’s Leadership Conference, the event drew over 150 11th and 12th grade girls from nearly 70 high schools in Orange County. With the help of principals and counselors, two girls were selected from each high school to receive scholarships to the event.

Monique Henderson, the keynote speaker, is a three-time Olympian and two-time gold medalist in the 4x400 relay teams in 2004 and 2008. At 17, she set a high school national record of 50.74 in the 400 meters and became the first high school athlete to make the Olympic

track and field team since 1976. After a successful academic and athletic career as a four-year letter winner at UCLA, she is now the Women’s Head Coach at Golden West College and has

coached top ranked teams in California. Her message of perseverance and focus on a goal

“KEYS TO SUCCESS”by Dr. Jan Billings, Executive Director Region 17

“50 YEARS OF LEADERSHIP IN 30 MINUTES”Women’s Leadership Night with Keynote Speaker, Dr. Jan Billings

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BENCHMARK EDUCATIONMechelle Pedregal, Ed. SalesMPedregal@benchmarkeducation.comLinda Hansen, Ed. SalesLHansen@benchmarkeducation.comTamison Anderson, Ed. ConsultantTAnderson.benchmark@gmail.com

STS EDUCATIONMarc Netka, CEO(866) 499-2580 x 1817

BUSINESS PARTNERS’ DIRECTORY 2016-2017

UPCOMING EVENTS

ACSA Region 17 is fortunate to have the support of outstanding corporate business partners. Their support makes it possible for our region to not only continue its programs but continue them at a very high level of quality. In turn, we encourage our ACSA members to support our partners throughout the school year. Below is a Partners‘ Directory for

your convenience.

February27 Region 17 Network Night, AnaheimMarch1 Retirement Committee Meeting, Mimi’s Cafe1 ACSA/OCSBA Joint Dinner & Co-Admin wkshp.8 Board of Directors’ Meeting, SchoolsFirst FCU10 Every Student Succeeding, Bowers MuseumApril2-3 Legislative Action Day, Sacramento5 Retirement Committee Meeting, Mimi’s Cafe26 Board of Directors’ Meeting, SchoolsFirst FCUMay3 Retirement Committee Meeting, Mimi’s Cafe8 Administrator of the Year Banquet, Irvine 11 Leadership Assembly (State ACSA)17 Board of Directors’ Meeting, Mimi’s CafeJune7 Retirement Committee Meeting, Mimi’s Cafe16 Leadership Training, OCDE

Got News?Articles from region members and charters are

welcomed for publication in the newsletter.Please send all articles to acsaregion17@gmail.com

Webmaster - Cory Robertson

Visit our website for additional Region 17 information and additional upcoming events for both region and

charters - www.acsa17.org

Charters - we want to hear from you!We’d like to help you keep your members informed and up-

to-date - you may submit pictures, event dates, and all things charter-related to us at acsaregion17@gmail.com.

We will add to our website under your charter page!

BOWERS MUSEUMEmily Mahon, Sr. Director of Ed.(714) 567-3679emahon@bowers.org

DANNIS WOLIVER KELLEYSue Ann Salmon Evanssevans@DWKesq.com

DISNEYLAND RESORTS

HORACE MANNHamid Yazarlou(714) 559-5495hamid.yazarlou@horacemann.com

LIFETOUCH NSSFrancie Bouchee-Flores(949) 660-0528fflores@lifetouch.com

OPTERRA ENERGY SERVICESSuzanne Gentilini(714) 785-3025sgentilini@OpTerraEnergy.com

SALAMON ART INC.Guy & Jennifer Salamon(714) 968-0900salamonartinc@gmail.com

SCHOOLSFIRST FCUKristin Crellin(714) 466-8400kcrellin@schoolsfirstfcu.org

VALICRobert Fleishmanrobert.fleishman@valic.com

CONCORDIA UNIVERSITYDoug Grove, Ph.D.(949) 214-3434doug.grove@cui.edu

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LAKESHORE LEARNINGEd Sudario, Regional Manager(800) 421-5354 x 7528esudario@lakeshorelearning.comCori Brooks M.Ed., Regional Elementary Manager(619) 540-4516cbrooks@lakeshorelearning.com