In this time of uncertainty, some of the most vulnerable are our children and their families. How you respond to and communicate with them about Covid-19 – and the steps you are taking to ensure their education continues – will leave a lasting impression. Your school district is looking to you, district leaders, for clarity…
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In a crisis situation, like the one everyone is experiencing with Covid-19, things can change at the drop of a hat. As district leaders, you are the ones everyone depends on to motivate them to stay positive and feel safe. Getting immediate feedback from your stakeholders about how you are responding to this crisis helps…
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When we ask school districts about their strategic planning efforts, we hear a number of responses – some of which are not very encouraging – such as: I looked for a strategic plan when I became superintendent and found the last one was done 11 years ago.   Our BOE is still mad because the last…
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Every day, week and month, your patrons’ inboxes are inundated with customer surveys. From your local pharmacy to retail stores to restaurants to your local municipality, there isn’t an organization (or business) that is not seeking their feedback. And you don’t want your patron survey to just add to the “clutter” – and their survey…
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Written research reports are the meat and potatoes of most companies who produce surveys for K-12. These reports tend to be voluminous – anywhere from 50 to 150 pages (or more). The alternative to these massive tomes is the digital dashboard. The term “dashboard” comes from its similarity to the dashboard, or instrument panel, of…
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When we ask district patrons to grade various people, places and things in their school district, the item that often gets the lowest score is “value for the tax dollars spent.” Ironically, even patrons who rate their district high in all other areas (and consider their district the best in the area) give the district…
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The ExcellenceK12 model for strategic planning was the discussion topic during the first round of breakout sessions at the Missouri Association of Rural Education (MARE) Annual Conference on October 23. Rick Nobles and Brad Stefanoni engaged educators in an outcomes-oriented discussion of how ExcellenceK12 works with school districts to ensure a broad cross-section of stakeholders…
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If you’re considering a tax election in the next couple of years, spring 2020 is your best bet to get something passed. Fall 2020 will be all about the presidential election and everyone in America will be voting – including millions who are anti-education.   I suggest avoiding that time frame at all costs. Spring…
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  If you haven’t read it, go buy the book The One Thing, by Gary Keller. It’s informative, well-written and will help any organization zero in on the one thing it needs to do to become more successful.    At ExcellenceK12, we know school superintendents have more than one thing to focus on — probably closer…
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