JUST THE FACTS

Public investment

• Public education and roads are the only funding obligations named in the Minnesota State Constitution.
• In inflation adjusted dollars, state funding for education has grown at an annual rate of 1% since 1996.
• Comprehensive analysis, including inflation, population growth and the cost of local government indicates the price of government in Minnesota is less than it was a decade ago.
• Minnesota ranks:

• 1^st in the nation in ACT scores
  
• 47^th in the nation in students in elementary self-contained classrooms with 23.7 in each class. (compared to the national average of 20.3) -- Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics
• 46^th in the nation in students in elementary departmentalized classrooms with 27.3 in each class. (compared to the national average of 23.7) -- Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics
• 21^st in the nation in secondary students in self-contained classes, with 15.8 students in each class. (compared to the national average of 18.6) -- Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics
• 43^rd in the nation in secondary departmentalized classrooms with 25.5 students per class. (compared to the national average of 23.3) -- Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics
• 31^st in public employees per capita -- U.S. Census of Government Statistics
• 40^th on technology capacity, with a grade of D -- Technology Counts 2009
• 42^nd on total school spending. -- Public Education Finances 2007
• 37^th on total school revenue (all sources) --  Public Education Finances 2007
• 50^th on spending for school administration. -- Public Education Finances 2007

Leadership through different lenses – taken in part from Legacee.com

• "You cannot manage men into battle. You manage things; you lead people." — Grace Hopper, Admiral, U. S. Navy (retired), Nova ( PBS TV), 1986
• "The superior leader gets things done with very little motion. He imparts instruction not through many words but through a few deeds. He keeps informed about everything but interferes hardly at all. He is a catalyst, and though things would not get done well if he weren't there, when they succeed he takes no credit. And because he takes no credit, credit never leaves him." — Lao Tse, Tao Te Ching
• "Leadership occurs when one person induces others to work toward some predetermined objectives." — Massie
• "Leadership is the ability of a superior to influence the behavior of a subordinate or group and persuade them to follow a particular course of action." — Chester Bernard
• "Leadership is the art of influencing and directing people in such a way that will win their obedience, confidence, respect and loyal cooperation in achieving common objectives." — U. S. Air Force
• "[leadership] emphasizes cooperation over competition; intuition as well as rational thinking in problem solving, team structures where power and influence are shared within the group... interpersonal competence; and participative decision making." — Marilyn Loden, Founder and president, Loden Associates, Management Review, December 1987
• "The ultimate test of practical leadership is the realization of intended, real change that meets people’s enduring needs." — James MacGregor Burns
• "Managers have subordinates—leaders have followers." — Murray Johannsen
• "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." — John Quincy Adams quotes (American 6th US President (1825-29), eldest son of John Adams, 2nd US president. 1767-1848)
• "I am looking for a lot of men who have an infinite capacity to not know what can't be done." — Henry Ford
• "Leadership is a two-way street, loyalty up and loyalty down. Respect for one's superiors; care for one's crew." — Grace Hopper, Admiral, U. S. Navy (retired), Speech, Washington, D. C., February 1987
• "As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The next best, the people honor and praise. The next, the people fear; the next, the people hate." — Lao Tse, 604-531 B. C., Chinese philosopher and founder of Taoism, Tao Te Ching
• "A manager takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go but ought to." — Rosalyn Carter
• "Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen.” — Alan Keith, Genentech

Public Engagement

• Debunking Seven Myths About Public Education, National Access Network as seen in parentsunited.org
• MYTH: The "3Rs" of high school reform are rigor, relevance, and results.
  REALITY: They're rigor, relevance, and relationships.
• MYTH: School district revenue from state and local sources outpaced inflation by 24 percent since 1996.
  REALITY: In inflation-adjusted dollars per pupil, total school district revenues have grown at an average rate of about one percent per year since FY 1996.
• MYTH: The best way to increase prosperity is to decrease taxes.
  REALITY: Education is a proven economic driver.

School Leaders’ Summer Savvy

Assess your public relations efforts and outcomes from the past year and adapt them for the coming year.

• Surveys
• Focus groups
• Coffees
• Public relations plan

Catch up on stakeholder communications.

• Notes of acknowledement and celebration
• Meetings with legislators
• Superintendent/principal open forum sessions or coffees
• Community service organization meetings that you may have missed during the academic year

Define staff expectations and develop staff training on public relations and communications.

Host administrative roundtables on public relations and communication issues, ideas and initiatives.

Develop a calendar for planned public relations initiatives during the 2010-2011 academic year.

To Do List

• Learn more about Minnesota’s Promise at www.minnesotaspromise.org
• Learn more about The Bridge to Higher Learning at www.massp.org
• Learn more about the New Minnesota Miracle at www.parentsunited.org/NewMNMiracle
• Learn more about school improvement through the MN School of Excellence Program at www.mespa.net
• Learn more about community assets for youth at www.search-institute.org
• Learn more about the impact of media on kids at www.mediafamily.org

QUOTES AND QUOTABLES

Future

• “For a vibrant and robust system, the state must invest and reinvest in education.” – Minnesota 2020
• “Without governmental investments – in education, public health and safety, a cleaner environment, public-works infrastructure and economic security – the American way of life would deteriorate, inequality would widen, middle income consumers would have less to spend and invest, and businesses would suffer.” – Dane Smith, president of Growth & Justice, as seen in the Star Tribune, June 7, 2010

Communications

“The best leaders constantly seek ways to get their message out, to articulate their vision, and to listen to others’ ideas.” – George Hathaway, Leadership Secrets from the Executive Office

Leadership

“Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, and to let him know you trust him.” – Booker T. Washington

“He who praises everybody, praises nobody.” – Samuel Johnson

Progress

• “Restlessness and discontent are the necessities of progress.” – Thomas A. Edison
• “The art of progress is to preserve order amid change.” – Alfred North Whitehead