2001 AASA President-Elect and Executive Committee Elections.

Ballots for the 2001 AASA elections will be mailed to all members following the National Conference on Education in February. Candidates for President-Elect and Executive Committee were asked, upon filing, to provide biographical information as well as to state their positions, in 100 words or fewer, on issues relevant to AASA members. The following are their answers to two issue-related questions.

President-Elect Candidates

What positions/programs/initiatives should AASA be pursuing as the professional association for education leaders and as an advocacy organization for public education?

William H. "Bill" Adams

If AASA is going to be effective in advocating for children and the public education enterprise, we must first better connect with and serve our current membership while preparing our association to accept and serve the leaders of tomorrow. To achieve this, I will expand opportunities for input from our members, while continuing to forge AASA's relationships and partnerships with state associations. By further expanding AASA's electronic initiatives, we can better connect with members and state associations. AASA must offer services that the states may not be in a position to provide, such as our federal Legislative and policy initiatives.

Bill Hill

Develop Future School Leaders: AASA needs to work with state associations to promote public education as a worthy profession in order to retain and recruit new leaders across this country.

Create Regional Offices: In order to reach out to members, connect with future school leaders and be more visible to state associations, AASA should have three offices that include an East Coast, Central and West Coast location.

Lead the Charge for Pension Portability: University professors can work anywhere within the United States and still receive their pensions. AASA should make national/regional reciprocity for public educator pensions a priority as well.

Executive Committee Candidates

What positions/programs/initiatives should AASA be pursuing as the professional association for education leaders and as an advocacy organization for public education?

Richard P. Fragale

AASA must take a leadership role in providing the best possible training for administrator candidates. We must prevent the dwindling cadre. Such training must be focused upon appropriate skills. Just as important, such training must be time sensitive, not time intensive, so that overburdening does not deter the capable and enthusiastic. We must prepare more and better administrators to meet the new and many challenges of today's roles.

David E. Gee

The rush to meet higher standards, to provide rigorous standardized tests, to offer vouchers and to create charter schools -- all represent so-called "cure-alls" that are no substitute for the focus on the individual child. I believe this direction compels AASA to be the strong voice that helps keep the focus on our children.

In addition, our nation's educational system is experiencing a well-documented leadership crisis. This is AASA's natural place to lead. Our national organization should be understood by the media and political establishment as the voice of the profession and as a resource to address this crisis.

Daniel R. Mastrobuono

A number of whole-school reform models are continuously considered by the federal government as appropriate for moving education forward. AASA should become a reviewer of those models. This would allow superintendents to ask AASA for. recommendations about models to meet areas of weaknesses in districts without research capabilities. This would especially help small districts. This activity would allow districts to provide a description of needs to be improved to AASA for review. AASA then could provide whole-school reform models an administrator could review for possible utilization. This service may encourage more membership from administrators in small districts.

President-Elect Candidates

How can teachers and school administrators be held accountable for student learning?

William H. "Bill" Adams

We hold students accountable for grades; teachers for curriculum content and administrators for multiple, often unrelated measures. But are these valid indicators of student learning? By defining accountability in terms of student learning, we can resist the temptation to rely on multiple unrelated indicators or a single high-stakes test to measure student achievement. Accountability must be defined as part of a system for education that results in high achievement opportunity for all children, regardless of their school setting or socioeconomic circumstance. From this definition, a comprehensive accountability model using interrelated multiple measures can be developed to serve all children.

Bill Hill

Teachers and administrators are not solely responsible for student learning in America ... and never will be. A child's success can be made stronger through partnerships that include school, family, church and community. My experience in small/rural, suburban and urban school systems has proven to me how important and beneficial these partnerships truly are. Higher standards as measured by high-stakes tests and limited accountability are wrong and harmful to our profession and to the children of this nation, especially the poor.

Executive Committee Candidates

How can teachers and school administrators be held accountable for student learning?

Richard P. Fragale

Administrators can hold teachers accountable for student learning by making certain that teachers teach to the standards, and ensuring that teachers are provided with the necessary staff development and tools to teach all students.

Frequent evaluations of student progress are necessary to assess student achievement levels and growth. It is the responsibility of administration to monitor the evaluation program, and ensure that assessments are used to gain formative information, stressing improvement in areas of weakness to produce significant growth.

David E. Gee

I believe that we can be held accountable for student learning, providing we look at the measurements that are used. In many states, the standards movement has changed to high-stakes testing and to state report cards that compare districts. Far too often a single test score is used to determine good teaching and effective administration. We know that student learning, inspired teaching and visionary leadership are more than a single test score. Accountability measures should properly focus on data accumulated over time-data that demonstrate the positive impact educators can have when given appropriate time and resources.

Daniel R. Mastrobuono

Teacher of the year, Andy Baumgartner states about accountability: "It is essential to first dispel the myths and then to clearly define the players and their respective responsibilities." People speak about accountability by simplifying the weaknesses in society. We must first define accountability. Do we develop mechanics for capitalism or fully functioning human beings? Once defined, accountability requires that we supply the support mechanisms needed.

Accountability cannot justify not paying taxes, building buildings and prizing education.

Once the supports are in place we must work hard to ensure that we are speaking the same language and doing our best.