Dr. Ballard's Message - 9/8/09
Greetings, staff. It’s been a good week as we settle into a regular school routine. Enrollment numbers and teacher allocations continue to be important issues and, as usual, some teachers are dealing with very overcrowded classrooms. The TPS human capital department and the Association of Elementary Principals are working to resolve these problems and I appreciate the contribution of Remington Elementary Principal Cassandra Funderburk, chair of the association. Hopefully, we can have our numbers in place soon and work toward a resolution. Thanks for your patience.
I continue striving to further the work generated by the Gates proposal and last week we had extensive discussions with Gates representatives and potential supporters. We have identified seven areas to focus on this year. They are:
- Coordinating the structure of the program management office
- Building a culture of performance
- Reducing internal costs
- Supporting school leadership
- Developing training
- Developing data systems
- Driving a service-oriented HC function
Although we did not win a five-year Gates partnership, the Gates Foundation is awarding TPS a $1.5 million accelerator grant that we hope to combine with other funding sources to stay on schedule.
Another topic of concern is implementing the PowerSchool program. A change of this scope cannot be accomplished without some problems and I’ve received numerous e-mails and messages updating me on the program’s status. This project has not been easy—but it’s getting much better and the end result will be a greatly improved system. I would like to recognize a couple of people and departments that have done a terrific job. The first is Todd Lee and ISS. They put in long hours to resolve glitches and I very much appreciate that. Judy Feary, the principal of Kendall-Whittier Elementary and someone that I respect very much, recently sent me a message. While she outlines some issues and offers valuable recommendations, her conclusion really caught my eye. She wrote: “I would hope some recognition would be given to the clerks and registrars who have worked to untangle the concerns while dealing with the everyday operations of a school office. They have many demands made of them, [including] parents, ill students, enrollments, home language surveys, free lunch forms, phone calls, teacher requests as well as the demand of completing timely enrollments on a new program [with] many challenges.”
I couldn’t have said it any better myself. Thanks to all of you working to make PowerSchool a success.
Last Tuesday Dr. Lana Turner-Addison, president of the school board, and board member Gary Percefull accompanied me to a meeting of the Cooperating Regional School Boards. This group consists of the superintendent and two board members from Tulsa Union, Sand Springs, Broken Arrow, Jenks, Owasso, Tulsa Technology Center and Bixby. We meet regularly to discuss issues and how we can work together to better serve our schools.
Finally, there has been controversy over President Obama’s upcoming address to America’s schoolchildren. As I understand it, the gist of the president’s speech is encouraging students to value their education and succeed in school. I value this message and appreciate that a sitting President is delivering it to the nation’s students. It is not a mandatory exercise for teachers—simply an option—and if a parent does not want their child participating, an alternative assignment is provided. The classroom is no place for politics and the welfare of our students is the sole barometer in any decision I make. TPS enjoys great support from both political parties. I firmly believe it takes citizens of all political stripes to ensure our success.
Although I have slowed a bit recently I still plan on visiting every school in the district and I appreciate all of your hard work. I hope your Labor Day weekend provided time for families, friends, and fun activities.
