A message to the members of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators (MASA) from Charlie Kyte, Executive Director.
The audio podcast above is 10 minutes long. Click once or twice on the audio bar above. There is no video this week.
OPENING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR:
Reports from across the state indicate a pretty successful beginning to the school year. We heard of few major transportation or school start-up problems. Several Districts had the excitement of moving students into brand new buildings.
MASA FALL CONFERENCE:
If you are not yet registered, just call us at 651-645-6272 and we will expedite the registration process. We have an excellent conference with opportunities for professional growth as well as networking.
H1N1 'FLU SUMMIT' REPORT:
Charlie attended the H1N1 Flu Summit on Monday. It was well presented.... here is some of what we heard:
Peek in 6-8 weeks: Cases are already multiplying in the SE part of the country since school began about 2 weeks earlier than here. The prediction for Minnesota is that the peek will be in 6-8 weeks. Thus the end of October through November could be our toughest period.
Get your flu shots: Seasonal flu shots are now available. Get them now! The H1N1 shots should become available early in October and we are going to want to get the most vulnerable folks inoculated first. Different from the past these populations are young people up to age 24, pregnant women and those suffering from asthma.
Drop doctors notes for sports: Clinics are going to have a hard time keeping up. They will not have time to deal with producing notes to allow athletes to return to teams. Watch for a MSHSL briefing on this and be prepared to just waive the requirement to have notes from doctors.
Possible event re-scheduling: Don't be surprised to see games postponed in late October because too many of the athletes are sick. Athletic Directors will have their work cut out for them.
Minnesota response.... stay calm and prepare well. Especially attend to
communities of color: Minnesotans have a reputation for staying calm in a storm and yet being well prepared. Since the H1N1 flu originated in Mexico and Central America, our latino populations are more concerned than many others. It is very important that Districts make an extra effort to assure and communicate with these populations.
Listen to the MN Dep't of Health.... best messages: Districts are being swamped with advice from the federal to the local government levels. Much is fairly consistent, but there are differences. Our advice is to listen primarily to the Mn Department of Health. They are the best in the country and will have the most consistent messages.
Winston Churchill Quote: "Plans are useless. But planning is invaluable."
MASA'S STAND ON THE PRESIDENTS OPENING DAY SPEECH TO STUDENTS:
The President had a great message for our students. But his staff put every Superintendent in America in a 'no win' position. MASA, as well as many of our members, got roundly criticized from the left and the right as we tried to navigate through this tempest which hit us with little warning on the 1st day of school. Thank goodness the news cycle is only about 72 hours long!
NCLB RE-AUTHORIZATION: We have a new Senate Education Committee Chair.... Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa. Te word we are hearing from congressional officials is that it will be hard to get the re-authorization of ESEA-NCLB done this coming spring. If it drags out we get into election season and then we roll into 2011. One of the problems is there is no middle ground consensus about what to do to modify the present law.
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