One of my favorite movies is Rocky. I bet when you read the word “Rocky”, the image conjured in your mind was that of Rocky Balboa standing on the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum, basking in his triumphant workout. The steps ably serve as a metaphor for Rocky’s climb to the pinnacle of his profession.

When I think of that movie, I'm taken to the end of the film, where Apollo Creed is declared the winner, but he still goes over to Rocky and congratulates him on a great fight. That ending leads to the equally compelling Rocky II, where Balboa defeats Apollo at the end of a very close bout. It’s a thrilling moment because Rocky finally receives the ultimate reward for all his hard work. It took many months and even years of hard work, but it paid off in a thrilling end.

I doubt either movie would be as compelling if Rocky had simply beaten Apollo without having to try. No hard work was necessary and no failures are shown nor experienced.

When you review the memorable moments and achievements in your own life, odds are the most treasured accomplishments are those that required the greatest struggle. You knew there would be many barriers standing in your way, and that the road to success was treacherous, but you persevered. You dealt with various defeats along the way, but those defeats helped you learn and grow. Looking back from your current perspective, the struggle is something you honor and appreciate.

Now, think about your children…it’s tough to watch them struggle, isn’t it? You don’t want them to hurt and it pains you as a parent to witness their failures. You want your child to feel successful, right? But at what point is success sacrificed for growth? I think it’s much easier to consider our own struggles than it is to deal with the struggles of our children. We view our job as parents as being the ones who can remove barriers from our children’s lives. We want to give them every opportunity to succeed, but we sometimes forget that those same barriers in our own life are what made us the resilient problem-solvers we are today. For without problems, we cannot be problem-solvers.

Perhaps Helen Keller said it best:

"The struggle of life is one of our greatest blessings. It makes us patient, sensitive, and Godlike. It teaches us that although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it."

Sometimes we simply need to remember that our children's struggles will pay off down the road. Delayed gratification is an extremely valuable concept to pass on to the next generation. Perhaps your hard work won't pay off today, but it may tomorrow. The important thing is to learn from your mistakes and to keep trying.

Recently, the Administrative Team finished the book 12: The Elements of Great Managing by Rodd Wagner and James Harter. This book is based on over ten million workplace interviews that were conducted in many different sectors of private business and in 114 different countries throughout the world. After sifting through all of the anecdotal research, the authors found twelve attributes that successful managers possessed. Their relative success was measured by the exhibited level of engagement of the workers under their purview.

The list of the 12 Elements of Great Managing:

1. Knowing what’s expected: A worker knows exactly what is expected of them at work. Clear expectations for all.

2. Materials and equipment: A worker has all the tools and skills needed to perform at a high level.

3. The opportunity to do what I do best: A worker is able to use his or her innate strengths at work. Skilled communicators work in the Human Resources or Public Relations Department; Strong researchers work in research and development, etc.

4. Recognition and praise: Workers are consistently praised for exemplary work performed.

5. Someone at work cares about me as a person: A worker feels as if they are seen as more than simply a faceless cog in the machine.

6. Someone at work encourages my development: A worker feels as if someone at work (preferably, their direct manager) is encouraging him or her to grow in his or her role within the organization.

7. My opinions seem to count: A worker feels as if they are listened to at work and that they can control some of their own work environment in order to be more engaged and more productive.

8. A connection with the mission of the company: A worker has to feel as if the end product that the company produces is useful to society.

9. Coworkers committed to doing quality work: A worker has to feel as if high expectations are shared by all members of the team.

10. A best friend at work: Do not take this literally; however, a worker should feel as if there is at least one person at work who would miss them if they were gone.

11. Talking about progress: A worker needs to feel as if the team and organization are growing and improving. This needs to be approached, at least minimally, through dialogue regarding plans for improvement.

12. Opportunities to learn and grow: A worker needs to feel as if the company will invest the necessary resources to train them for a greater role within the organization.

Clearly, many of these attributes could be transferred to discussions about what makes for an engaged school and even an engaged classroom. Students need to know what is expected of them; they need the proper materials to be made available to them if they are to achieve at our level of expectation. Students also need an outlet to do what they do best. Not everyone is gifted in math or science or reading. Some are drawn to art or music or languages…and these are just a few examples of transference.

I can also see that, as a father, I can take some of these lessons home with me when I consider how my family dynamics operate. I can make sure that my children know what my wife and I expect of them. But, in order to have proper expectations, I need to give my children the necessary skills required to complete a task. I need to make sure my kids know I love them and care about them and that their opinion matters (unless it is their opinion that they should eat chocolate cake for breakfast).

None of the 12 elements is all that earth shattering. I think they are simply a great reminder of what we need to do as managers and adults when we plan for greatness in our school children and our school system.

Recently, one representative in the Illinois House, Mr. Roger Eddy (who is the only member of the Illinois House who is also a school district superintendent), has submitted a law that would call for the repeal of all unfunded mandates that Springfield has foisted upon public school districts. What is an unfunded mandate? It’s a directive to create a new program, or provide a new service, without any new money to pay for that creation. Representative Eddy’s Bill, HB 4711, has received some support from fellow members of the House, but not everyone has backed his proposal, as some legislators fear the public backlash of being perceived as someone who voted for an unfunded mandate in the past.

I am not sure how this would directly impact Lake Bluff, as there are too many specifics to be ironed out before the bill could ever be passed into law, but I did compile a list of reports for which the administration is forced to send to Springfield on a monthly or annual basis (depending on the report). The list is below:

I’m sure the list above would be more readable in bullet point form, however, that would take up far too much space. So, I apologize for the consolidated view, but I felt it pertinent to share a glimpse of what reporting has to be done on a monthly and yearly basis. This does not include any other reporting that the federal government may need from year to year. So, while I would like to see the details fleshed out in Rep. Eddy’s bill, I wholeheartedly support its intention.

Recently, I attended the Lake Bluff/Lake Forest Chamber of Commerce Breakfast, where Lake Bluff Village Administrator, Drew Irvin, and Lake Forest City Administrator, Bob Kiely, talked about the “New Normal”. This title is somewhat of a euphemism for “The economy is not in the best shape right now”. Both men did a commendable job of showing how declining revenues have forced public entities to look for ways to cut expenses while still providing quality services. We are in a similar set of circumstances at Lake Bluff District 65.

Without going into great detail regarding public school financing in Illinois, I will simply offer up the fact that our school district is more dependent on local dollars than your average school district. In fact, our local property tax revenue makes up over 90% of our total revenue for the year. As we all know, the housing market has not recovered yet and our Equalized Assessed Valuation (EAV, the total taxable value of all real property within our district’s borders) will actually decline for our next tax levy cycle. We anticipate that the EAV will decline to an even greater extent the following year. This means that we need to learn to operate with a leaner budget for the foreseeable future. This will be our “New Normal”.

As a result, the Board of Education is taking action to chart a course for the future. The administration has been charged with creating a plan that would not require any deficit spending next year. In order to accomplish that goal, approximately $500,000 will have to be trimmed from our budget. In order to cut that amount of money, we will, regrettably, be forced to eliminate some positions within the district. At our February meeting, action will be taken to reduce our overall teaching force for the 2010-2011 school year.

The board has also charged the administration with creating a plan that does not negatively impact class size K-8. Our guideline for class size is as follows:

K-3: 20 students per class

4-8: 25 students per class

We believe that this goal is achievable in most cases. It could come to pass that a K-3 class could have 21 or 22 students, but we will make every effort to reach our stated objectives.

The district is currently putting together a communication plan regarding any cuts/curriculum/program changes for next year. We plan to disseminate information digitally as much as possible. We are currently working to identify families who may not have email addresses so that we can provide paper copies to those families.

During this time of transition to the New Normal, we ask for your trust and patience. Together, we will make this transition a successful one and we will continue moving forward in our unalterable mission of providing an excellent education for our community’s children.

Greetings! Welcome to my blog. To be honest, I have never posted a blog before and am a bit unsure of what to include in here. I thought it would be appropriate to introduce myself and my family, so I have included a picture below (hint: I'm the one with glasses).

The story of my family is also somewhat the story of what led me to Lake Bluff. I have held several positions in different districts throughout Illinois. At one time, I was a high school principal near Decatur. While principal there, I married my wonderful wife, Julie. After spending two years at that district, where I was also district curriculum director, athletic director and part-time guidance counselor, Julie and I moved to a community near Bloomington-Normal, where I served as High School Principal and District Curriculum Director. During our stay, Isaac was born. Isaac is now in 3rd grade at LBES.

After two years, we moved again...this time to a district near Champaign/Urbana, where I was Superintendent, Business Manager, Curriculum Director, Special Education Director and Director of Food Service (I even served as K-8 Principal for a semester). During our two-year stay, Elijah (we call him Eli) was born. Eli is now in 1st grade at LBES.

From there, we moved to a community and school district near Joliet, where I was Superintendent and Business Manager for five years. In our first year there, our daughter Clara was born. Clara is currently attending preschool in Lake Forest and will be a kindergartner at LBES next year.

Julie is a graduate of the University of Illinois, where she earned a degree in Dietetics.

As for me, I am a graduate of Augustana College, with a degree in English Literature and Speech Communications. I also hold a Master's and Specialist Degree from Western Illinois University and a Doctor of Education Degree from Illinois State University.

We are thrilled to be in this community and I am proud to serve as the district superintendent.