Resolutions Committee Proposes 2001 Platform and Resolutions.

At its August meeting, the AASA Resolutions Committee drafted the following proposed platform and resolutions for the association for 2001. The platform and all resolutions will be discussed and voted on at the Delegate Assembly, February 15, 2001, at the 2001 National Conference on Education to be held in Orlando, Fla.

Written comments are welcome. They should be directed to Karin VandeWater either via e-mail at [e-mail] or at 1801 N. Moore St., Arlington, VA 22209.

PROPOSED PLATFORM

(What are AASA's beliefs?)

The unique purpose of our country's public education system is to educate ALL students to high standards. Quality education requires superior leadership, sufficient funding, effective instruction, competent staff appropriate programs, suitable facilities, community and parental support and involvement. AASA supports strong local control through duly elected or appointed school boards that acknowledge the superintendent, a professional education administrator, as the chief executive officer of the district. Therefore, the American Association of School Administrators declares the following as its platform:

A. Condition of Children and Students

AASA believes educational leaders should support programs and systems that:

1) help build stable, supportive and involved families that nurture children;

2) invest in and build on the strengths and diversity of communities to ensure that every child in America enjoys his or her right to grow and develop in a healthy and safe environment, with his or her nutritional and educational needs met;

3) offer services that provide for the basic health, well-being and personal security of all students so that they can focus on learning rather than survival; and

4) engage national and state organizations and institutions in the development, adoption and implementation of a national public policy on children. Such a policy should include, but not be limited to, the enactment of a proposed Children's Rights amendment to the Constitution and legislation that addresses the following issues:

* Education

* Nutrition

* Health care and,

* Child care.

This commitment to children requires that AASA and other state and national organizations be accountable for rethinking and, where appropriate, for reforming public education. AASA pledges its resources to lead this effort.

B. Safe Schools

AASA believes that children have a right to live in a safe and nurturing environment. Therefore, the opportunity to learn in a safe and nurturing place is a fundamental right of every child in America. Students cannot learn without it. AASA urges all districts to review policies directed to protect students, but also to keep in mind that the pursuit of a safe environment must be tempered by a balanced emphasis on the protection of individual student's rights.

A greater connection between adults and children is essential to support the development of healthy and responsible youth. Every student should have a nurturing relationship with at least one educator who knows and cares for that child. AASA encourages schools to work closely with community, civic, corporate and faith-based organizations in the development and promotion of programs and activities that promote respect and civility in our culture. Specifically we support mentorships, after-school and summer school programs, community service and any other activity that will enable youngsters to become engaged in constructive activities and interact with responsible, caring adults.

All adults must be held accountable and responsible for keeping children safe, including responsible gun ownership and any other issues that threaten the safety of children.

C. Educational Programs

AASA believes that children will rise to meet higher expectations for learning. Therefore, schools for the 21st century must embody:

1) high expectations for all students, challenging curriculum, engaging instruction and assessment systems geared toward increasing students' learning;

2) school leadership that results in greater success for all students;

3) state-of-the-art programs and facilities;

4) shared commitment among members of the educational community to provide equal opportunity and quality results for all students;

5) identified values embedded in the structure and organization of schools and the everyday actions of all school employees; and

6) adequate resources to provide quality results.

D. School Administrators

1) AASA believes continuous professional and personal development of all employees should be a high priority of school boards.

2) AASA believes only higher education degrees received from colleges and universities accredited by regional associations or the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education should be recognized for the preparation, appointment and promotion of school leaders.

3) AASA believes multiyear contracts for administrators are desirable because they provide an opportunity for stable and quality educational leadership.

4) AASA believes compensation for school administrators should be comparable to salaries and benefits paid to individuals with similar responsibilities in the private sector.

5) AASA believes retirement programs should be portable to permit school personnel to pursue their profession in any state or international assignment without restriction or penalty. Social Security should be available on a non-discriminatory basis to all eligible personnel, but the enforced merger of retirement systems with the federal Social Security program should not be permitted.

6) AASA supports programs that attract educators, including underrepresented groups such as women and minorities, into the profession and that develop their leadership potential through mentoring.

7) AASA encourages the building of collaborative relationships with employee groups in order to increase student achievement.

8) AASA opposes strikes, sanctions and other types of withdrawal of services in educational institutions.

9) AASA believes the interests of children are best served when the appropriate roles of administrators and boards of education are defined and practiced.

10) AASA encourages school boards to conduct formal self-evaluations and to work cooperatively with superintendents to mutually develop a superintendent evaluation process.

11) AASA believes all school administrators must be afforded due process in matters of contract renewal or discharge.

12) AASA encourages employee wellness programs.

E. Relationships With Other Organizations and Agencies

1) AASA recognizes that family involvement programs contribute to excellence in education.

2) AASA supports national, state and local initiatives to develop collaborative, communitywide systems that address child care, health care and other needs of children.

3) AASA supports the National Congress of Parents and Teachers, its state and local affiliates and other parent organizations in their continuing efforts to improve education.

4) AASA promotes joint legislative advocacy with groups concerned with the education and welfare of children.

5) AASA will continue to explore, establish and maintain working relationships with administrator associations in other countries.

6) AASA encourages school districts to participate with accrediting associations, school development councils and other groups involved in school improvement efforts.

7) AASA, in cooperation with the National School Boards Association and its state affiliates, shall promote stronger relationships between administrators and boards.

8) AASA should increase its efforts to strengthen a mutually supportive relationship with the state and regional associations of school administrators.

9) AASA should build strong relationships with business associations and organizations.

F. Finance and Governance

1) AASA supports a free and appropriate public education for all elementary and secondary students.

2) AASA supports federal and state legislation for major programs for school construction and renovation.

3) AASA urges Congress to maintain the separation of church and state in all regulations.

4) AASA urges federal and state agencies to reduce reporting requirements, duplicative regulations and interference in program implementation.

5) AASA urges the federal government to make adequate and equitable funding of public education a national priority. The federal government should pay for education as originally intended.

* AASA supports an increased level of federal funding for public education.

* AASA supports unrestricted federal aid to education paid directly to local school districts.

* AASA opposes unfunded mandates.

* AASA opposes the use of block grants or general aid as a means of reducing federal funds.

* AASA supports entitlements or categorical aid funds in addition to general aid through the programs such as:

--Impact Aid to Education;

--Federal school lunch;

--Individuals With Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA); and

--Title I of Improving America's Schools Act (IASA).

6) AASA believes funding for education should reflect a balance in types of taxation from local, state and federal sources.

G. Equal Education and Employment Opportunities

1) AASA believes that raising the achievement of all students to high levels is education's highest priority.

2) AASA supports zero tolerance of all forms of discrimination and harassment.

3) AASA believes that school administrators should provide leadership toward eliminating isolation and segregation of social, economic, ethnic and racial populations from each other.

4) AASA endorses the long-standing, court-approved federal tax policies with regard to non-public schools and racial discrimination.

5) AASA believes school administrators should provide staff development activities that enhance sensitivity to gender, cultural diversity and other equity issues. School administrators, through staff development activities, should ensure broad representation of individuals from various cultures.

6) AASA believes local school superintendents, school boards and leaders of state and national educational organizations should ensure that women, minorities and underrepresented groups are:

* appointed to leadership positions;

* included in leadership training opportunities as both participants and leaders;

* involved at various levels of decision making; and

* engaged in the total political processes of their communities.

7) AASA believes that school boards and superintendents are responsible for ensuring that all individuals with communicable diseases are provided with equal access to educational opportunities in age-appropriate programs. Educational leaders should develop educational programs for school staff, students and communities to provide information about communicable diseases. Local school policies should be developed to protect individuals' rights and privacy.

H. Communications and Public Relations 

1) AASA believes that school leaders should continually study their communities to understand their dreams, expectations, concerns and needs regarding the education of their children.

2) AASA believes that understanding communities will facilitate clear definition of expectations for student learning in the context of state standards.

3) AASA will provide positive leadership in formulating state and national initiatives involving education policy.

4) AASA should coordinate with other advocacy groups to assist in the formulation of educational policies and programs that promote education and learning for a global age and an interdependent world.

I. Planning and Research

1) AASA believes long-range planning must take place in order to maximize all resources and meet the demands of a changing society in a technical age.

2) AASA believes educational planning should provide opportunities for participation by those persons who will be affected by that planning.

3) AASA believes research and development programs should lead to improved student performance. All school reform efforts should be based on sound research and practice.

4) AASA advocates cooperation with colleges and universities and other organizations in research efforts.

PROPOSED RESOLUTIONS

I. Leadership

AASA recognizes that the explosion of technology and rapidly changing societal demands challenge educators to re-examine the role of public education. To ensure that school systems are responsive to their community's educational needs, school leaders should continually re-examine the purpose and mission of our public schools.

AASA also believes that strong and effective leadership is essential to the success of public education in the new millennium. However, success is unlikely if the frequent turnover of leadership, especially in urban districts, continues. The future of public education is also threatened by the realization that prospective leaders, with the vast repertoire of skills needed to meet the challenge, are in short supply. In order to address these issues:

* AASA should lead a national conversation to examine and redefine the core values, mission and responsibility of public education.

* AASA should encourage the exploration of alternative systems of delivering learning to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by emerging technologies and other models of instruction.

* AASA should develop innovative models to identify and strengthen the skills and competencies of leaders, especially superintendents and principals. It should also work to create a more supportive climate for leadership and identify incentives to attract a new and diverse group of educational leaders.

* Superintendents should model the use of emerging technologies for management and instructional purposes.

II. Accountability for Student Achievement

AASA believes that student achievement is the highest priority of public education and calls upon all parties, including legislatures, boards, administrators, teachers, parents and other members of our communities to make student learning foremost in their deliberations and decisions.

AASA calls for a national commitment to high achievement for all students, and particularly a commitment to eliminating the gaps in achievement between children of different ethnicity gender and socioeconomic groups. While we believe that high expectations and quality instruction are essential to raise achievement, we also recognize that greater resources are necessary to provide extended learning opportunities for all students and especially for students who need extra help. These resources include:

* Universal access to quality preschool and other early childhood programs

* Increased instructional time, including extended day and extended school year programs

* Small class size combined with effective instructional practices

* Extensive professional development

* Partnerships with business, parents, governmental agencies and community groups through coordinated services and supports

* Use of technology to raise student achievement

* Parent education and adult literacy

Along with our commitment to high achievement for all, AASA believes that student achievement and the quality of learning within a school or school district should be assessed using a variety of credible standards, aligned with multiple criteria. No state or school district should adopt an accountability system that relies upon a single assessment to determine a student's eligibility for graduation or a school's eligibility for accreditation. Rather, we call upon the state-level policy makers to recognize that the range, richness and complexity of the learning experience cannot be measured by only standardized assessments, and must include other measures of student learning in state accountability systems.

III. Governance - Boards/Superintendent Relations, Roles and Responsibilities

Boards of education and superintendents are responsible for building and maintaining a strong partnership focused on increasing student achievement for all students.

AASA believes that the current governance system is not serving the needs of children. In too many cases deteriorating relationships between superintendents and boards of education interfere with providing quality education for children. The board of education has a tremendous influence on the school district and that influence can have an impact on the culture and climate of the district, employees' feelings about the district and the community support of the district. Therefore, it is critical that boards of education provide quality leadership in policy development, rather than be involved in the day-to-day operations of school districts. Governance will be improved if more citizens become informed about the candidates and educational issues, and vote in school board elections.

AASA should work with many groups, including the National Governors' Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the National School Boards Association and the private sector to develop and promote legislation and programs to improve school system governance.

The following recommendations are intended to increase the probability that the local school boards and superintendents across the country will carry out their responsibilities in a way that contributes positively to the continuous improvement of public schools and leads to greater public support.

* Clarify that the role of the board as policymakers is to set direction for the organization and that administration's role is management of the organization according to policy

* Develop guidelines and a process for holding board members accountable for operating at the policy level.

* Develop state and national training programs for boards and superintendents to ensure that each performs their respective roles.

IV. Public Relations: Communicating Effectively With the Public

The future of public education depends on effective communication and relationship building. Developing long-term relationships with staff and community helps build understanding of, advocacy for and commitment to the mission of the school district. For the community and staff to support their schools, they must understand their schools' accomplishments and needs.

Since people support what they help to build, public relations must focus on connecting and involving all internal and external stakeholders, including parents, students, staff, school board members, business leaders, elected officials and community members. There should be ongoing, planned, two-way communication with these groups, focused on listening, responding and engaging.

Effective communication is a specific skill. Thus, all school systems should have a staff member who designs and manages the communications program. This staff member should receive professional development in communication and be a communication adviser to the superintendent.

AASA recommends the following key elements for effective communication:

* Community and staff need honest, reliable and up-to-date information in order to be engaged in and support the mission of the school district.

* Communication is a primary function of leadership and a responsibility of all staff members. While the superintendent is responsible for modeling effective communications, every staff member is an ambassador for the school district. Each is responsible for helping other staff and community members understand the direction, actions, accomplishments and needs of the district. Professional development in communication should be provided to all staff.

* Effective communication helps increase student achievement.

* Public relations planning must occur at all levels and be included in all programs and initiatives. Research, including feedback and input from key publics, must be used on a continuing basis to help guide the direction of the educational program.

* The district must develop focused and clear messages that are consistently communicated. Messages must be tied to the educational goals and mission of the district, and must include the successes, needs and future direction of the school system.

* The most important messages should include one-on-one communication tactics and should be repeated frequently using a variety of communication formats.

V. Recruitment/Retention and Portability

AASA recognizes that a shortage of qualified teachers and administrators seeking active employment exists and is projected to continue into the foreseeable future. To address the current shortage and help retain quality teachers and administrators, AASA shall develop resources and initiatives to be used in the development of successful models for the recruitment, training and retention of teachers and administrators with an emphasis on underrepresented groups including women and minorities. AASA recommends these models include the following elements:

* Salaries comparable to those for jobs in the private sector with similar responsibilities

* Enhanced portability of retirement plans for educators across states, including options for electing a national retirement plan to be developed as an alternative to state plans

* National standards for licensing teachers and encouraging states to offer reciprocity of licensure for candidates who meet these national standards

* Establishment of a national professional standards board for licensure of school administrators.

* National standards for licensing administrators and encouraging states to offer reciprocity of licensure for candidates who meet these national standards

* Paid internships for career transitions to education

* Comprehensive professional staff development/educational opportunities funded at a level comparable to the private sector

* Merit compensation 

* Close working relationships with colleges and universities

* Development of "future teachers" programs

* Flexible working conditions, including job sharing, part-time and other part-time opportunities.

VI. Special Education/IDEA/Medicaid

AASA believes that the education of disabled children is one of the best examples of the national commitment to equal educational opportunity for every child. AASA strongly supports the state and federal commitment to the education of disabled students.

However, special education has been an under-funded federal mandate. The annual appropriations process pitting IDEA against other worthy programs for scarce funds has only provided 12-13 percent of the original goal of 40 percent of the national per pupil average expenditures. The failure of the appropriations process to provide the $11.8 billion dollars needed to provide 40 percent of the national average per pupil expenditures requires that IDEA be moved to entitlement status, like the school lunch and the Stafford student loan programs.

Making IDEA an entitlement requires only $10.8 billion new dollars. The unprecedented eight-year economic boom has produced a total surplus projection of $4.5 trillion ($4,500,000,000,000,000), with a surplus of $2 trillion after Social Security and Medicare are protected. Adding $10,800,000,000 ($10.8 billion) over five years is possible as well as fiscally prudent. $10.8 billion new dollars represents only .0005 or one half of one percent of the projected non-Social Security surplus and .00025 or one quarter of one percent of the total projected surplus.

AASA recommends the following steps to most effectively and efficiently provide the new IDEA funds:

* Increase IDEA funding by $2.2 billion per year until the 40 percent level is achieved, (AASA estimates 5 years) and then increase by the amount required to maintain federal commitment at 40 percent of the national average per pupil expenditures.

* Add a state matching provision as a condition of receiving the new IDEA entitlement funds to ensure that the states do not reduce their effort as the federal effort increases.

* Take new funds from the surplus, and not out of current education and human service funds.

IDEA also requires other changes to provide the best education possible for all children, disabled and non-disabled. Other changes required to improve IDEA include:

* Eliminating differential treatment and discipline for special education students

* Reduction of burdensome paperwork requirements that detract from teacher and administrator time for improved direct services

* Expedited, mandatory mediation between school districts and parents when disagreements develop over student placements, with particular attention to reducing unnecessary and protracted litigation 

Medicaid reimbursements for school-based health services must be returned directly to the schools where the costs were incurred. The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) must allow the continuation of Medicaid paperwork reductions created by "bundled rates." It must also continue reimbursing administrative claims according to existing state plans, so that reimbursements can be expedited and directed to students.

VII. School Funding

AASA calls for a significant increase in state and federal funding to meet rising public expectations for student services because added legal requirements, responsibility for social issues and escalating student needs put added strain on local budgets. Specifically, funds are needed to support new construction to meet enrollment demands and to modernize school facilities. Moreover, despite more than two decades of school finance reform, the disparity in funding among districts remains a pressing issue across the country. Therefore, we call for increased efforts to ensure equity in funding so that all children can reap the benefits of equal education opportunity.

Given the current disparities, AASA recommends following these steps to ensure education meets the tests of both adequacy and equity:

* Federal programs designed to support the educational needs of disadvantaged children should receive entitlement status.

* Disadvantaged children should be defined as those living in poverty and those with disabilities.

* Fully 95 percent of entitlement funds must flow directly to local school districts.

* Funds must be received by the local districts within 90 days of federal disbursement date.

AASA also recommends a significant increase in federal and state funds in school facilities construction.

* Facilities construction includes both renovation of existing buildings and new construction.

* Funds must be disbursed directly to local districts.

* Federal support for construction must provide all children access to schools that offer safe and appropriate learning environments.

AASA believes that state and federal funds must provide adequate resources for both pre-service and in-service training for teachers and administrators.

* Technology must be integrated into curriculum.

* Hardware and software in our schools must be up-to-date and not lag behind.

* Software should be used for decision-making purposes within the district