Notes From MARE 2016

I was fortunate to attend the 2016 Missouri Association of Rural Education conference. Below are a few takeaways I found valuable.

Address from DESE commissioner:
Dr. Vandeven addressed the group. I was impressed with her understanding of the challenges faced by small rural schools. Vandeven was willing to openly discuss the challenges presented by creating MSIP, and she solicited questions from the group. Her candor was appreciated.

Keynote:
Kent Stock coached Norway High School to an Iowa state championship in baseball during its final year of existence. His experience was made into a movie, The Final Season. His talk focused on the value of relationships and learning from failures.

Legal Issues:
A school attorney led a breakout session which focused on the legal issues surrounding communication with board members. She stressed that if a board member used "reply all" to an email the communication would be subject to sunshine law. She also cautioned that informal gatherings of four or more board members could be an "unposted" board meeting, which is a violation of state statute.

Address from Missouri Teacher of the Year:
Darbie Valenti shared her experience of growing up in an abusive environment and her journey to becoming a nationally recognized educator. Her message inspired the audience to cultivate environments where all students were supported and challenged to learn.

Finance:
A session was held on calculating the costs of salary schedule improvements. Participants worked through a scenario which included requests from teachers and limits from board members. One strategy which was explored was adding to the base, but not granting steps in the same year. Over the course of two years teachers gained their requested increase, but the district budget was stabilized in the first year.

Teacher Motivation:
A session on staff motivation reminded administrators of the importance of considering the perspective of teachers. Supporting teachers properly begins with seeing challenges from their perspective.

Fellowship:
While all the sessions were valuable, I found more value in the down time between sessions, visiting with other superintendents, especially those with more experience. The encouragement and advice was appreciated.