IndianagramThe Indiana Association of School Principals leads in the advocacy

and support of all principals in their commitment to every child.February 2016 VOL. 18 NUMBER 2

A publication of the Indiana Association of School Principals

Maslow and/or Bloom................................................................P1 IDOE......................................................................P2 Andrea Korreck - IASP Vice-President......................................P2 Horace Mann/IASP Secretary Awards.......................................P3 IPLI Flyer....................................................................................P4 Riley Kids Caring and Sharing Update.......................................P6How Coherent are your Programs?............................................P8

Taming Test Anxiety............................................................................P10 Legal Corner.........................................................................................P11 New Members......................................................................................P13 Corporate Sponsors..............................................................................P13 NAESP Report.....................................................................................P14 Elementary Science Bowl Results.......................................................P15 Academic Decathlon State Finals Results...........................................P15 Bulletin Board......................................................................................P16

by Dr. Kelly Andrews, President of IASPMaslow and/or Bloom

I recently shared a colleagues’ Facebook post that quoted Alan E. Beck, “In teaching, you can’t do the Bloom stuff until you take care of the Maslow stuff.” It gave me a moment to pause because, while I believe we all know this to be true, the world in which we find ourselves today, i.e.: the push and race toward the measurement of knowledge acquisition; causes us to get caught up in the competition. We often forget that without meeting our students’ basic needs, the success of educating our students goes out the window in a hurry. “Every person is capable and has the desire to move up the hierarchy toward a level of self-actualization. Unfortunately, progress is often disrupted by failure to meet lower level needs” (McLeod, 2014). So, we as educators spend time studying the effects of the lack of basic needs on children, understanding how to manage these effects, and then providing resources toward those needs so we can have a level of confidence that we when we deliver educational instruction, it will stick.

Fast forward now to the subject of the reform movement that includes standardized assessments. History has been replete with reform efforts in the United States beginning with the anxiety felt from the launch of Sputnik in 1957 and A Nation at Risk (1983), to current reform efforts in the 21st century of No Child Left Behind and now the Every Student Succeeds Act. All of these efforts have been calling for the ability to measure our progress. The stress to produce and be the world leader in education has landed squarely on the doorstep of our schools for years. Do you feel the pressure?

The shrinking globe has made it easier than anyone in 1983 could have imagined for investments and jobs to go anywhere on the planet that seems likeliest to succeed with them. Here we must look to our schools to produce the highly educated citizenry on which America’s future economic vitality depends. (Peterson & Chubb, 2003, p. 21)

As you know, there have been controversies surrounding standardized testing, not just in Indiana, but in many states in our nation. Indiana is attempting to remedy the situation with recent new laws in collaboration with the IDOE. Despite this, we are still in a conundrum, attempting to find a solution to alleviate the pressure of this type of measurement and still understand student achievement in order to compete. The effects of these standardized assessments on students, educa-tors, and our communities are solidly corroding our ability to move our state and nation forward in the competition to be a world leader. In the end, it is always going to be up to us as administrators and leaders to build educational capacity with students by first building relationships and trust. As principals, we are the second most influential component to teachers in regard to student achievement (Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005; Hallinger & Heck, 1996; Horng, Klasick, & Loeb 2010). We must collaborate with the greater community to provide for our students’ needs. We will not have the ability to deliver Bloom without providing the resources for Maslow. IASP supports principals so we can continue to build Maslow’s foun-dations to provide the base for our students to thrive. Stay positive, stay warm, and just hang in there….we are in this together!Hallinger, P., & Heck, R. H. (1998). Exploring the principal’s contribution to school effectiveness: 1980-1995. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 9(2), 157-191.Horng, E. L., Klasik, D., & Loeb, S. (2010). Principal’s time use and school effectiveness. American Journal of Education, 116, 491-523.Marzano, R., Waters, T., & McNulty, B. (2005). School leadership that works: From research to results. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. McLeod, S. A. (2014). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.htmlPeterson, D. (1991). Evaluating principals. (ERIC Digest, 60). Retrieved from http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9219/principals.htm

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IndianagramDepartment of Education Update

Before I share some important information with you regarding the 2016 legislative session, I want to take a moment to recognize the sacrifice of Amy Beverland Elementary School Principal, Susan Jordan. Like all of you, I am heartbroken for the students who have lost a compassionate and dedicated principal, the educators who lost a strong and innovative leader, and the family and friends who lost a caring mother, grandmother and friend. My thoughts and prayers are with Susan Jordan, her family and the entire MSD Lawrence Township community.Over the past month, my Department has been focused on working with the legislature to achieve three goals: (1) hold-ing schools and teachers harmless for the results of the more rigorous Spring 2016 ISTEP+ assessment, (2) reforming Indiana’s student assessment system from a high-stakes, pass/fail assessment to an individualized, student-centered assessment, and (3) implementing strategies developed by educators to recruit and retain excellent teachers in Hoosier classrooms.Thanks to your support and advocacy, the legislature quickly adopted my proposed hold harmless approach for schools in Senate Enrolled Act 200 and educators in House Enrolled Act 1003, mitigating the negative impact of the more rigor-ous college and career ready ISTEP+ exam last spring. Additionally, there are several bills that are making their way through the legislative process which would create a committee to develop a new assessment to replace ISTEP+ after the 2016-17 school year.Unfortunately, the strategies developed by educators to recruit and retain excellent teachers for Hoosier schools have not received the support necessary to become law. Regardless, I remain committed to implementing the strategies developed by the Blue Ribbon Commission on the Recruitment and Retention of Excellent Educators because I believe that every child in Indiana, no matter where they live, deserve the best educators in their school building.In that vein, I am excited to announce that the Indiana Department of Education recently received a $5 million State Personnel Development Grant from the United States Department of Education’s Office of Special Education. The Department will partner with Indiana University’s Center on Education and Lifelong Learning and Center on Community Living and Careers to establish the Indiana Center on Teacher Quality. This Center will work to increase the number of high-quality educators for students with disabilities as well as provide additional professional development to those already in the profession.I am pleased by the progress being made to support Hoosier students. As this legislative session moves forward, I will continue to advocate on behalf of students and educators. I encourage you to stay up-to-date with the legislative session by following the Department’s Facebook page and downloading the INschool mobile app.

by Glenda Ritz, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction

Andrea Korreck Named IASP Vice-PresidentIASP is pleased to welcome Andrea Korreck to the position of Vice-President representing the elementary school level. As a member of the IASP Executive Committee, Andrea will serve 1-year terms as Vice-President, President-Elect, President, and Past President. We appreciate the extensive commitment to IASP over the next four years. Andrea, a 14-year IASP member, has served in numerous roles for District 7 including Membership Chair, Treasurer and President, and initiated the regular meeting schedule for Mar-ion County Elementary principals. Andrea served as a Fall Conference facilitator for three years and just assisted IASP with the development of our Legislative platform as a part of the Legislative Committee. Andrea is currently the Principal at Clinton Young Elementary in Perry Township, Indianapolis and through

her work restructured Clinton Young through Title I efforts to attain an A rating. She has had the opportu-nity to attend numerous national conferences and was a presenter at the ASCD National Conference in 2006. Andrea is a certified TAP evaluator and was a member of the 2007 cohort with the Indiana Principal Leadership Academy.Andrea’s focus for her term with the Executive Committee is to continue the focus on continuous professional growth for IASP Members, always considering how we can best serve our students at all levels of their achievement. Dr. Todd Bess, IASP Executive Director commented on Andrea’s selection, “Andrea brings to IASP a wealth of experience in urban and suburban education, and a thorough knowledge of how to help students in their relative stages of development. We are looking forward to her leadership over the next four years and know that IASP will benefit from her positive outlook for Indiana students and educators.” Dr. Tom Little, Perry Township Superintendent, in supporting Andrea’s role with IASP noted, “Mrs. Korreck will represent your organization with class and distinction.”Welcome Andrea, thanks for your leadership and dedication to IASP!

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The Horace Mann/IASP Secretary AwardsRecognize Your Secretary!

Nom

ina

tion

For

mPrincipals, do you have someone in your office whose job performance exceeds your expectations...someone who goes above and beyond the call of duty...someone who you and your school can't live without?

If so, don't miss this opportunity to nominate your exemplary school secretary or office assistant for one of 5 awards that will be presented during the 2015 Secretaries Conference:

• Secretary of the Year• Above and Beyond Award

• Leadership Award• Service Award

• Compassion Award

To nominate someone, complete the form below and return it to IASP by April 1, 2016.

Please complete and send nominations form to Terilyn Hoke by April 1, 2016:Mail: IASP, 11025 East 25th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46229Fax: 317-454-0749Email: thoke@iasp.org

Please attach one or two additional sheets giving detailed information on the following: the nominee's specific skills in areas of leadership, service, understanding, patience, or working beyond expectations. Use examples to explain how the nominee demonstrated his/her commitment to the school and/or community.

NomineeNominee must have at least two years of service

NameAddressSchool NamePhone Number Email Address

NominatorNominator must be an active IASP member

NameAddressSchool NamePhone Number Email Address

Briefly describe why you have nominated this person

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Participation in INALI includes:

• Extensive teacher evaluation training

• Mentoring by trained, highly-qualified mentors

• Monthly regional group meetings

• Summer IASP New Administrator Workshop

• Two day-long seminars during the 2016-2017 school year

• Access to resources to support the needs of new administrators and their schools

• One-year membership in the Indiana Association of School Principals

• Registration for either the 2015 IASP Assistant Principals Conference or Principals Conference with a special session at each conference for INALI participants

• One-year membership in Ed Leaders Net work: On-demand professional development to enhance one’s educational leadership

• 45 Professional Growth Plan (PGP) points for each year of participation. Completion of INALI fulfills IMAP requirements.

INALI

The Indiana New Administrator Leadership Institute (INALI) is designed to help beginning administrators become effective instructional leaders and to quickly and comfortably as-sume the responsibilities of building adminis-tration.

INALI is a two-year professional develop-ment program that includes extensive teacher evaluation training, coaching by highly quali-fied mentors, and monthly regional cohort meetings.

The INALI program builds upon the annual IASP New Administrator Conference and creates ongoing support through seminars, monthly regional meetings, mentor communi-cation, and access to Ed Leaders Network, an online, on-demand professional development resource.

INALI is supported by the Indiana Principal Leadership Institute, the Indiana Association of School Principals, and the Indiana Associa-tion of Public School Superintendents.

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◊ Who may participate?Membership in INALI is open to new Principals, Assistant Principals, and Deans.

◊ Apply at www.iasp.orgStarting November 23, 2015, click on theConferences/New Administrator tab to access the registration form.

◊ Interested in being a mentor?If you are a recently retired Indiana principal and interested in being an INALImentor, please contact:

Tim McRoberts Associate Executive DirectorIndiana Association of School Principals

Office: 317-891-9900Cell: (317) 840-9120Email: tmcroberts@iasp.org

INALIApplication Process

Corporation CommitmentA one-time financial contribution of $600from the school corporation will providemotivation for the new administrator toparticipate with fidelity and integrity, and it will demonstrate corporationwillingness to support the newadministrator.

Year 1

• July 17-19, 2016: New Administrator Workshop

• September 19, 2016

• Assistant Principals: November 18, 2016, in conjunction with the IASP Assistant Principals Conference

• Principals: November 21, 2016, in conjunction with the IASP Fall Conference

• February 7, 2017

• Monthly regional group meetings (TBD with mentor)

Year 2

• Monthly regional group meetings (TBD with mentor)

Cohort #3: 2016-2018(Tentative Dates)

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“Everyone knows a Riley kid”Something happens when a family is impacted by the incredible compassionate care and skill of a Riley physician. Often, they are motivated to give back to Riley Hospital for Children through the Kids Caring & Sharing program. Addy Stevens was just 2 years old when she underwent open-heart surgery—twice. Eight years later, her story is inspiring hundreds of high school students to give back in a big way.In September 2007, Riley pediatric cardiac surgeon Mark Rodefeld, M.D., performed surgery to secure a patch over the hole in Addy’s heart caused by a heart defect. Unfor-tunately, two days later, an echocardiogram showed the patch had come loose.“When Dr. Rodefeld came in, he had tears in his eyes. You could see the pain on his face,” Addy’s father, Scott recalls. “It was devastating to know that Addy had to go through open-heart surgery again, but the compassion from him meant a lot to us.”The second patch held, and Addy, now 10, is thriving, and the Stevens family loves to give back to Riley. This enthusiasm spills over into Scott’s job as athletic director at Cascade High School in Hendricks County. Scott says students always turn out for Riley fundraisers. This year the school even sponsored one of Riley’s trade-mark red wagons, which are used to transport children around the hospital.The Stevens family was thrilled when the Mill Creek Community School Corporation was named a Miracle Corporation through the Kids Caring & Sharing program, an honor for districts that have all schools participate in a Riley fundraiser and raise at least one dollar for every student.

“I gladly share my family’s Riley story, but I never have to go around begging people to give,” Scott says. “Everyone knows a Riley kid. Everyone’s been touched by Riley.”Addy will be featured in February’s “My Heart Belongs to Riley” campaign with her story highlighted in email and earned media campaigns. Consider a special “heartfelt” Riley phil-anthropic initiative for your school in February. Need ideas? Contact Susan Miles at smiles@rileykids.org.

Fishers High School Boys Basketball Team Broadens Their KCS Engagement If they were trying to live up to the core principle of their high school, “To prepare lifelong learners who positively impact an ever-changing world,” the Fishers boys basketball team had a slam dunk. On January 16, 2016, the team presented principal Jason Urban, a Kids Caring & Sharing advisory board member, a commemorative Riley Hospital license plate in recogni-tion of the team’s donation of a Riley red wagon. The dona-tion, valued at $1,924 in an homage to the year the hospital admitted its first patient, is significant. The fundraising effort was organized by the FastBreak Club, the booster club for the team, and head junior varsity coach Drew Fountain was determined to have the boys on the team use their time, talent and energy to help others. Fishers High School has been a Kids Caring and Sharing school for six years and serves as a wonderful exam-ple of how to support Riley Hospital as a school community, using different fundraisers for the various student interest groups. Their annual Riley Dance Marathon is a popular event, raising over $43,000 last year. Events throughout the year that support the marathon include Runway for Riley, a fashion show that pairs students with Riley patients, and a new contest, Mr. Dance Marathon, where students compete against each other in various Riley Week events and more to raise money. Other activities by Fishers High School include a new gala initiated by their science department will channel funds raised to research, a top fundraising priority for Riley Hospital. The boys and girls lacrosse teams are also planning a Riley fundraiser later this spring. How can you reach out to your different student interest groups and support Riley Hospital as a school commu-nity? Contact Susan Miles at smiles@rileykids.org for new fundraising ideas to broaden the appeal of philan-

thropic service in your school or to become a new Kids Caring & Sharing School.

Riley Hospital Kids Caring & Sharing Update

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Become a Kids Caring and Sharing school Visit www.KidsCaringAndSharing.org

J.W.R. Home Creative Writing Summer CampWhat a unique camp opportunity to share with your schools! The J.W.R. Home Creative Writing Summer Camp was launched by the James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home and Visitor Center in 2015 to celebrate the literary legacy of the famous Hoosier poet. Focused on the creative muse that resides in all children, by the end of the week all campers will have the opportunity to become published authors! Campers meet in both the James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home – the only late-Victorian preservation in the U.S. – and the Billie Lou Wood Visitor Center right next door. While your child or grandchild is at camp: What a wonderful opportunity to arrange a tour of Riley Hospital for Children. Contact Susan Miles at smiles@rileykids.org. Or explore the Lockerbie Square Historic District and the Mass Ave Cultural District while your camp is in session. Here are the dates: June 13 – 17: Two sessions, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Aug 1 – 6: Two sessions, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Grades: 2 – 8 Cost: $100 Where: James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home and Visitor Center, 528 Lockerbie Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202 More info: Chris Mize, Museum and Camp Coordinator, 317-808-8565 or cmize@rileykids.org or visit RileyKids.org/Museum

Riley Hospital Kids Caring & Sharing Update

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IndianagramHow Coherent are your Programs?

by: Serena J. Salloum, PhD, Ball State University

Over the past three decades, we have seen a variety of efforts, ranging from local to federal, to reform American schools. The most recent two reauthorizations of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, No Child Left Behind and Every Student Succeeds Act, continue to emphasize teacher and school accountability. With account-ability demands on contemporary schools, it is not uncommon to see schools pursue a variety of initiatives. These “Christmas Tree Schools” boast a wide variety of programs (Bryk, 1994). Like shiny ornaments displayed on a tree, programs are often lovely on their own, but uncoordinated. To improve working conditions for teachers and learning environments for students, the consideration of instructional program coherence is necessary.Leaders shape many aspects of teachers’ work environments, such as the daily schedule, allotting collaborative time, and program implementation. As program architects, teacher leaders, principals, and superintendents need to thoughtfully consider instructional program coherence. As defined by Newmann, Smith, Allensworth, and Bryk (2001), instructional program coherence is “a set of interrelated programs for students and staff that are guided by a common framework for curriculum, instruction, assessment, and learning climate and are pursued over a sus-tained period” (p. 299). When schools and districts have coherent programs, (1) a common instructional frame-work guides curriculum, instruction, and assessment; (2) working conditions are supportive of the framework; and (3) resources are dedicated towards advancing the framework. Instructional program coherence might enable teachers’ confidence in executing the task at hand when the task is clear. Research illustrates the degree to which schools have coherent instructional programs relate to student achievement (Newmann et al., 2001). Recent work also suggests that instructional program coherence has consequences for teachers’ working conditions, in particular collective efficacy, or teachers’ confidence in the schools’ ability to educate all students (Salloum, under-review). To get started, ask yourself:

• Does your school or district have a common instructional framework?o Do teachers across grade levels or content areas coordinate student-learning goals through

assessment and instruction? How?o Do teachers organize curriculum to avoid unnecessary repetition across grade levels and to deepen

understanding?o Does professional development support the implementation of a common instructional framework?

Is professional development embedded?o Are support programs such as intervention, field trips, and family education connected to curriculum,

instruction, and assessment?• Do working conditions support the implementation of the common instructional framework?

o Do teachers have access to aligned professional development that supports the instructional plan?o Do various initiatives at the school or district level thwart the instructional framework?o Do policies at the school or district level support implementation of the instructional framework?

• Are resources dedicated towards advancing the framework?o Do teachers have common planning time (or PLC) where they are able to discuss curriculum,

instruction, and assessment?o Are there intervention resources for students who are not meeting learning goals?o Are the teaching staff and program leaders consistent? Is the curriculum stable?

Once a program has begun, it is necessary to follow up to make sure it is working to ensure continuity in improving the teaching and learning environment,. This consistency is important in making sure that new programs actually strengthen instruction and, ultimately, student learning.

References:Bryk, A. S., Easton, J. Q., Kerbow, D., Rollow, S. G., & Sebring, P. A. (1994). The state

of Chicago school reform. Phi Delta Kappan, 76, 74-74.Newmann, F. M., Smith, B., Allensworth, E., & Bryk, A. S. (2001). Instructional

program coherence: What it is and why it should guide school improvement policy. Educational evaluation and policy analysis, 23(4), 297-321.

Salloum, S.J. Building coherence vs. disseminating triage: An investigation of collectiveefficacy, social context, and teachers’ work. American Educational ResearchJournal. (Revise and resubmit)

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IndianagramTaming Test Anxiety

As testing season approaches, it is common for stress and anxiety to surface in students. Most youth experience some level of anxiety during an exam, and low to moderate levels of nervousness can help motivate and increase performance. How-ever, for some students anxiety reaches a point that becomes debilitating and interferes with their ability to perform well on tests, undermining performance. According to the American Test Anxieties Association approximately 16-20% of students have high-test anxiety, making this a widely prevalent scholastic impairment in our schools today. Another 18% are troubled by moderately-high test anxiety levels. Test anxiety is an equal opportunity problem: it affects boys and girls and students from all ethnic/cultural and income groups equally, although students who are learning English or are having reading diffi-culty are more anxiety-prone than others (Kipps-Vaughan & Ashton Trice, 2013).Anxiety has four components (cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and physiological) that are often interchangeable. Students can present with a combination of these components, and student anxiety responses can vary by situation or over time. The chart below offers examples within each component of anxiety. Cognitive - Negative/self-defeating thoughts - ‘Going blank’ - Difficulty concentrating or focusing - Difficulty organizing thoughts - Racing thoughts

Emotional - Fear - Anger - Hopelessness - Embarrassed - Uncontrollable laughing or crying

Behavioral - Fidgeting - Pacing - Rocking in seat - Drumming on desk

Physiological - Nausea - Headaches - Muscle/body aches - Rapid heart rate - Sweating - Dry mouth

Cognitive aspects include all of the thoughts that race through the mind before, during, and after the “dreaded” event of tak-ing the test. Common thoughts that sometimes you may hear students say include, “I never do well on tests,” or “I am not smart, why should I even try?” This negative self-talk can impede a student’s ability to focus and be present to recall infor-mation required for the test. Anxiety is an emotionally evoking experience because feelings of embarrassment or even anger can surface during bouts of test anxiety. Behavioral aspects can often be observed when students are overly aroused. Behav-iors that are different than their normal behavior patterns could be indicators that a student is feeling undue performance pressure. Finally, it is very common for the body to respond to anxiety. Common indicators are upset stomach, headaches, sweaty palms, and an increase in heart rate. When a student begins to experience any or a combination of the above aspects of anxiety, it distracts them from the task at hand and becomes a vicious cycle (or what I call the anxiety hamster wheel) that is hard to interrupt. Can anxiety be prevented? Probably not, but schools can create learning environments that feel safe, focus on relationships, promote positive self-esteem, and allow students to make mistakes and take risks. Working to ensure all classrooms in your school can be described in this way will lead to lower levels of test anxiety in students. Prevention is the best approach. Think about this component as both things to avoid and things to do. Our students are keenly aware of the anxiety of the adults around them, and so it is important not to overemphasize high-stakes tests. Studies have shown higher levels of student anxiety in schools that emphasize the “upcoming test” rather than operating as business as usual. For example, in schools where banners are hung urging students to do their best on the upcoming test, principal announcements that always conclude with reference to the upcoming test, or in classrooms where students spend time every day in test-taking sessions, levels of anxiety were higher. Understandably, all of these strategies are motivated by good inten-tions, but these appeals can help create fear and often backfire. It might be best to view practice tests and test strategy sessions in moderation. It can be very helpful to allow students some experience with practicing test taking strategies, especially if they have never had experience with timed tests or other aspects within the test. The key word here is some—not every day for a month immediately before the test. Another part of prevention is to equip teachers with tools to teach their students simple ways to manage anxiety and encour-age this practice to be embedded into instruction. Below are a few simple, yet effective, anxiety reducing strategies.Teach Students to Breathe Better. Help students to learn breathing exercises that can help calm them down. Here’s how to do it: sit in a comfortable position and breathe in and out slowly, taking about 3 seconds for a) breathing in, b) holding the breath, and c) breathing out. Have the entire class do this two to four times before a test. When students become familiar with the practice, they can be encouraged to use this any time they are feeling nervous or worried about working on a task in class, including taking tests. Focus on Blocking Negative Thoughts. Help students identify the negative thoughts that invade their mind that often spark the onset of anxiety. Teach them to watch out for any negative messages they might be sending themselves about the test (“I’m no good at taking tests” or “I’m going to fail”). Normalize Mistakes. Assure them that everyone makes mistakes and encourage students to take risks and learn from their mistakes. Despite prevention and school-wide implementation of anxiety reducing strategies, some students may need extra support. School counselors are well-trained to provide individual interventions and/or small-group counseling to students needing

higher levels of assistance. Happy Testing!

by Dr. Brandie Oliver, Butler University School Counseling Program

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Issue: I have a question regarding public and private rights. I currently have a corporation provided cell phone and I know that, just like email, anything my cell phone is used for can become public information and I am totally fine with that. My question is: If my corporation changes their cell phone policy and provides a small stipend to me for using my personal cell phone (instead of providing me with a cell phone), is my own phone still subject to being determined to be public information since they are paying some of my monthly bill? The corporation would offer a monthly stipend of $50 and an average cell phone plan is $90. Response: I view the proposed new cell phone program as a fringe benefit to you for using your personal phone to perform governmental business. I do not read the Indiana APRA (Access to Public Records Act) as applying to a record (a text for example) that you receive or send as an administra-

tor regarding public business on your personal phone. I believe that a former Indiana Public Access Counselor was of the position that school board members who communicated school-related information on their own personal computers were not subject to APRA, but the present Counselor is of the opposite opinion. The fact of the giving of the stipend for business use of a personal electronic device was not an issue in these PAC opinions and could play an important role in a court decision. However, the “final answer” has not been settled by the Indiana judiciary and so it is possible that the Indiana Public Access Counselor, a trial court, the Court of Appeals, or Supreme Court of this state could render a contrary opinion on your specific question. As to totally personal information related to you that is maintained on your own cell phone, it is my opinion that such is not a record accessible to the public merely because you get a financial benefit for using the phone for public business. In other words, I believe that the most a court could rule is that you would have to divulge information related only to public business that is contained in your personal cell (assuming that the information is not confidential, such as student record information under FERPA). Be aware that in the case of a situation involving litigation against the school regarding a matter about which your phone contains relevant information, once the suit is filed, you would have to preserve relevant information and if a subpoena is issued, you would have to disclose that information relevant to the subpoena’s request. Issue: I have two teachers who offer participation points in their classrooms. The participation points consist of home-work completion, volunteering to answer questions in class, working on assignments when given time. The part I have told a couple teachers that I have a problem with is they are deducting three points per day for students who are absent. They take these points even if the absence is excused. They are taking into account field trips but all others are held against the students. I guess my question is whether they can then dock a student points for absences and is there a differ-ence in them docking a student if the absence is unexcused because I know that will be the question I get if they can’t do the other. I think they make participation 25% of their grades. Response: There is no case on point in Indiana to the best of my knowledge regarding a teacher docking points for any type of absence as part of the participation grade which makes up 25% of the course grade. Therefore, the general legal rule that would be applied is what the Court of Appeals expressed in the case of Muncie Community Schools v. Barnell, 678 N.E.2d 799 (Ind.App. 1997). The Court noted that any person has a state constitutional right to sue a governmental agent and attempt to prove that the person’s decision was unreasonable. The key language of the ruling in favor of Mun-cie Schools reads as follows on page 805 (emphasis added in bold print):“This court has noted that an arbitrary and capricious administrative act is one which is willful and unreasonable, without consideration and in disregard of the facts or circumstances of the case. Superintendents, and administrative staff mem-bers are empowered to take any action “reasonably necessary to carry out or prevent interference with an educational function or school purposes.,, The term “school purposes” includes the maintenance of an orderly and effective educa-tional system… Barnell argues that since he was not threatening any one with what might be considered by some to be a relatively innocuous knife, his expulsion was not reasonably necessary to maintain order and was therefore arbitrary. We disagree. School officials, with their expertise in such matters, are in the best position to determine in their discre-tion what actions are reasonably necessary to carry out school purposes, and their decisions in this regard will not be disturbed upon judicial review unless clearly arbitrary and groundless.”Therefore, the key is whether this teacher’s practice of a deduction of three points for every absence, excused or unex-cused, could be proven by a plaintiff to be “clearly arbitrary and groundless.” In my view, the practice itself would most likely be found valid because it is reasonably designed to motivate students to attend school and classes. However, depending upon the particular facts of the situation, the rule as applied could be proven to have unreasonably results. For

Situation BriefsThe following issues have been presented to this writer in the recent past by school administrators. The summary responses are shared to improve

administrator recognition of problem areas and to give a brief legal background to assist in problem resolution. Consultation with the school attorney is very important because each situation is different and the law to be applied is more complex than what is revealed in these responses.

This column is intended for informational purposes and should not be viewed as legal advice.

by Dave Emmert, Esq., Emmert Educational Consulting

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example, a student with a severe health condition could miss enough classes to significantly lower the child’s grade not only for the grading period, but for the entire course. As to the issue of unexcused absences, a significant ruling by the Supreme Court of Connecticut in the Campbell case upheld a school board policy that deducted five points from the student’s grade for each unexcused absence (where the stu-dent could pass the course by achieving 50 out of 100 points.) The key here was that the student would have purposefully missed school without valid excuse, which was deemed a lack of academic effort logically linked to the course grade. In conclusion, I believe the school would likely prevail on the question of the overall reasonableness of the teacher’s prac-tice, but could lose in a particular situation where there was a substantial drop in the student’s grade due to these deductions for excused absences over which the student had no control.Issue: We have a student who is Islamic and has brought it to my attention that he is having difficulty finding the appropri-ate amount of time to conduct his daily prayers during school time. He claims that he needs 2 different times to conduct his prayers and that he needs roughly 10 minutes each time. I spoke to our middle school principal where he had attended and she said that the student was told that he had to do his prayers during non-instructional times and that this could not inter-fere with his instructional schedule meaning that if, for example, he chose to do the prayers during the passing periods he still had to make it to his classes on time. This restriction seemed to me like it maybe wasn’t quite right from a legal per-spective because the passing periods only give the student 5 minutes to travel between classes thus finding time for prayers would be impossible.What kind of accommodations are we required to provide for a student like this to ensure we are not violating his rights?Response: It appears that this student has a sincerely held religious belief and prayer practice, and, therefore, not only has the right to exercise such at school under the state and federal constitutional religion clauses, but also under Indiana’s 2015 “RFRA” law. The bottom line is that Martinsville High School, as a governmental entity, cannot interfere with this religious exercise unless you have a compelling governmental interest and have chosen the least restrictive means to interfere with the prayers.The student is requesting 10 minutes twice a day for private prayer (as opposed to public prayer during class time that would be a clear disruption of the educational process where you would have a compelling governmental interest to pro-hibit such disruption). You are doing the correct thing and attempting to work out a mutually acceptable accommodation.Based on the 1975 Amish case of Wisconsin v. Yoder, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the state of Wisconsin failed to prove that it had a compelling governmental interest to force Amish children to continue two more years of compulsory education when their religion required them to leave school and participate in the Amish culture which, in all practicality, amounted to vocational education conducted by their families.In your situation, the Muslim student is requesting 20 minutes a day for prayer, and it appears that you could work out the details where the missed education would be divided between various classes and be actually less than the full 20 minutes. The amount of lost educational time over the school year will be a very small percentage of the two years of formal educa-tion lost in the Wisconsin case. Any school that would refuse to accommodate a request such as you have would very likely lose in court (and be required to pay the student’s attorney fees as well).I advise, therefore, that you work out an accommodation where this student will have a private space and miss as little time from a particular class as practical.Issue: A parent came in to see me yesterday about her son, who is from the Philippines. He recently received his GED (or the equivalent from the Philippines) and is going to start college in Indiana in the fall. His mother wants to enroll him as a high school student for the spring semester to “experience school in America” and help him transition for college in the fall. He seems like a nice young man, but I have concerns about enrolling him. What are our obligations for people with a GED? The young man just turned 18 last month.Response: Your question regarding whether or not there is a legal duty to enroll this student from the Philippines when he is apparently going to an Indiana college this fall and his mother resides in your school district is an open question when he passed the Philippine version of Indiana High School Equivalency Examination without graduating from a high school. The Indiana statute on graduation requirements at IC 20-32-4 makes no mention of the High School Equivalency Diploma established by the Legislature at IC 22-4.1-18-2, which allows the IDOE to grant this “equivalency diploma” based on a student’s acceptable test scores. There is nothing in this statute, however, indicating that this “diploma” issued by the IDOE is the equivalent of graduation from an Indiana public high school. Because the Legislature did not address the Indiana High School Equivalency Diploma in the graduation statute, this seems to bolster the IDOE contention that a student is entitled to pursue graduation from an Indiana high school regardless of whether or not he/she has received the High School Equivalency Diploma. Additionally, IC 20-33-1-2 requires the public schools to be “open to all children until the children complete their courses of study….”

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It seems to me that the common sense answer to your question is that the Legislature did not likely intend for the state taxpayers to pay for a half-year’s high school education of a foreign-educated student who is apparently already accepted to college merely because his parent want him to have the experience. On the other hand, courts interpret the intent of the Legislature by the language it uses in its statutory code. Because I was unable to locate sufficient evidence of the intent to bar this student, and because the language seems to allow this student to attend, I am of the opinion that he has the right to enroll. You then would be able to collect the proportionate share of the ADM for educating him. Whether or not he graduates from your high school depends on his meeting your graduation requirements.Issue: We have a person who has filled out all the paper work to substitute teach in our corporation but he has been actively posting on Facebook “to kill the Muslims” also calling the White House the Brown House. He is making other racist and terroristic remarks. We have not been calling him to sub and now he is going around telling people that he has all of his paper work in but we are not asking him to sub. He is now demanding that he be told why he is not being called. Shall we tell him why the corporation is not comfortable calling him? Any help you can give me would be benefi-cial.Response: I can only give you a general answer because I do not know what exactly he has communicated. Any govern-mental employee or candidate for employment has freedom to speak on matters of public concern if the content is other-wise protected. The government employer may only make a decision negative to the employee or potential employee if the speech is not protected, or if protected, when the speech has or will cause harm to the efficiency of the government employer. (The Pickering case balancing test.) Examples of unprotected speech are defamation, terroristic or personal threats, and “fighting words.” A general racist remark about the President of the United States would not qualify as a “fighting words,” and would likely not be considered unprotected speech. However, in my view a racist remark would not qualify as speech on a matter of public concern, but one of his own personal concern. An open, honest, intellectual comment regarding racial issues, on the other hand, would more likely be found to be of public concern. It appears to me, based on the somewhat non-specific facts that you gave me, that your better argument legally if you decide not to use him as a substitute teacher is that his expressions indicting he is a racist are not statements of public concern, and do not qualify him for First Amendment pro-tection. If you go this route, you are not required by law to give him the reason, but you could say that you have serious reservations about his ability to lead and educate students.You have to be very careful on this one to make sure that if you take action to remove him from the substitute teacher list (or leave him there and not call him) that you know his speech is not on a matter of public concern, is not protected, and/or will harm the efficiency of your school. Because those who drive the activity buses are not required to have a CDL, there is no requirement that they be drug test-ed. The closest case that I found that would support your school if it adopted a random, suspicionless drug testing policy for activity bus drivers that I found in this research for your question is Krieg v. Seybold, 481 F.3d 512 (7th Cir. 2007) a portion of which I have copied below. Our Seventh Circuit (which sets legal precedent in Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin) upheld the city of Marion, Indiana drug testing policy for city employees in safety sensitive positions, which involved a driver of various heavy equipment vehicles. In my view, the driver of a school activity bus could reasonably be found by a court to be in a safety sensitive position that would justify a policy requiring random, suspicionless drug testing.

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Welcome New MembersIASP is pleased to welcome the following administrators to the Association:

Christianna Cummings - Indiana Math & Science Academy West, IndianapolisSally Skowronski - Nativity of Our Savior School, PortageCole Zook - North Decatur Elementary School, Greensburg

Thank You to our Corporate Sponsors:

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IndianagramNAESP Report

by: Susan Cobb, Principal at Ouabache Elementary, Terre Haute

ESSA and How the New Law Empowers Principal Leadership Over the past several years, NAESP has worked aggressively on Capitol Hill and with the Obama Administration to help lawmakers understand a very important facet of the educational ecosystem: the importance of school leadership. With-out recognition and support for principals as the catalysts for continuous school improvement, it is virtually impossible to improve school conditions that lead to better instruction in the classroom and student learning outcomes. In addition, our efforts focused on showing the detrimental impact of a shortsighted, stick-driven approach to accountability on schools, which did nothing to uphold schools that were showing student progress, but not meeting arbitrary bars. As we sort through the provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), we are pleased to say that our persistence paid off. Principals have many good reasons to be cautiously optimistic about the potential of ESSA to usher in necessary changes to state and local systems. The law’s intent seeks to reset and refocus state accountability systems, with an option to include student growth and multiple measures of school performance, as well as to provide schools with greater flexibility to direct resources to meet the needs of students. However, this will require intention, time, and much discussion between educators and state and local leaders to determine how to more holistically shift systems with the least amount of disruption to school operations, planning, and student learning. Many states may already be headed in the direction that ESSA offers, but work will need to be done to meet any new regulations the U.S. Department of Education plans to issue. The majority of principals that we’ve talked to trust that their state will approach ESSA with good faith and full transpar-ency and, as a first step, establish formal and informal groups of educators, including principals, to draft new plans for accountability and assessment systems. Ideally, states will also have an eye towards establishing capacity-building systems to recruit, prepare, and support principals as a part of measuring educator “engagement.” As these important discussions between state and local policymakers and educators get underway (we hope), principals should note three important areas of the law that empower school leadership. 1. Defining Terms. The law includes a definition of school leader as the principal (which could also mean the assistant principal), or the designated school official responsible for the daily managerial and instructional leadership inside the school building. There have been a lot of questions about what this term “school leader” could mean, and NAESP worked hard to clarify that it should mean the principal. 2. Collaboration on Setting State and Local Plans. The law clarifies that state and local entities will drive accountability, assessment, and other major areas from the bottom-up—not as a one-size-fits-all approach. But, state and district implementation plans must be determined in collaboration with educators—including princi- pals—who must weigh in on issues ranging from sample sizes to how growth models should work in an accountability system. Now is the time for principals to speak up on issues that are important for subgroup accountability –specifically those related to English-language learners. 3. Dedicated Funding for States on Principal Professional Development. The law differentiates professional learning for principals from that of teachers, and permits states to use 3 percent of Title II Part A funds (sup- ported at around $2 billion annually) to develop better systems of support and a pipeline of principals who are prepared for the profession. This is an important distinction and a slight improvement from current law where principals were lumped together with teachers related to activities under this section of the law. Now, states can focus funds to create mentoring, induction and performance measures to attract and retain effective principals. As ESSA moves forward, NAESP will provide additional information on how to use the new law to empower principal leadership. Over the coming weeks, the advocacy team will gather telling data from the field, and will provide resources and presentations. In the meantime, email kpollitt@naesp.org if you have questions about ESSA and how it supports success for schools and principals. Kelly D. Pollitt is NAESP’s Chief Strategist, Policy and Alliances.

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Indianagram2016 Elementary Science Bowl Results A record number of elementary teams competed across 3 days in this year’s Science Bowl competition! Congrat-ulations to all students involved in this year’s events! Below are the top 10 teams in each competition class. Click here to view the Science Bowl page to view the complete results.

Blue Class

Yellow Class

Red ClassOrange Class

Green Class

2016 Indiana Academic Decathlon State Finals Congratulations to the 18 teams that competed February 12-13, 2016 in this year’s Academic Decathlon State Finals at Purdue University! Special Congatulations to our 2016 Indiana State Champions, Reitz Memorial High School (Small) and Lowell High School (Large). Reitz Memorial will represent Indiana at the National Academic Decathlon competition this year in Anchorage, AK! Lowell HS, Martinsville HS and River Forest HS will also represent Indiana in the online Nationals competition. Andrean High School John Glenn High School Martinsville High School Chesterton High School Kankakee Valley High School New Albany High School Crown Point High School La Lumiere School New Prairie High School Donald Gavit High School Leo Jr/Sr High School Portage High School Highland High School Lowell High School Reitz Memorial High School Homestead High School Madison Cons. High School River Forest High School

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Elementary M.A.T.H. Bowl February 25, 2016

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April 30, 2016 (Junior)

Educatorsour savings pack a wallop!Did you know you can get lower rates onyour Horace Mann auto and homeinsurance if you have more than one typeof insurance with us?

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Academic Super Bowl Area Contest April 19, 2016 (Senior)

MLK Jr. Essay Contest Deadline

February 28, 2016

Academic Super Bowl State Finals

May 7, 2016 (Senior)