75th year celebrated at CSBA’s annual conference

Setting a new attendance record, some 4,000 district and county board members, administrators and others in the education community traveled to San Francisco for the California School Boards Association’s Annual Education Conference and Trade Show Nov. 30-Dec. 2.

“We had an amazing conference, with more people and exhibitors than ever,” said CSBA Conference Coordinator Kristy Trouchon. “There were also so many extra activities. The trade show was redesigned to be much more interactive.”

The conference culminated CSBA’s yearlong 75th anniversary celebration. A special trade show pavilion showcased the association’s history and member services. The special ceremony that opened the conference’s first general session honored more than a dozen past presidents of CSBA who were on hand, and three school trustees who have collectively logged more than 150 years of service on their local boards were also recognized.

“What an honor to work with such a terrific group of education leaders from around the state and to have CSBA’s 75th anniversary as our framework for conference offerings,” said Carol Skiljan, president of the Encinitas Union School District and chair of the Conference Planning Committee.

Conference-goers had a wide range of programs from which to choose. In addition to the regular menu of some 250 critical issue sessions, workshops, clinics and table talks on issues ranging from school lunches to collective bargaining, this year’s program included a mini-conference focused on using high-tech savvy to get students excited about school.
As part of his “Don’t Bother Me, Mom—I’m Learning” session, gaming enthusiast Marc Prensky demonstrated how “digital immigrants” (adults) can engage “digital natives” (youngsters) through their enthusiasm for video games, cell phones, instant messaging, e-mail and other high-tech tools.

Getting students engaged and excited about learning is more important than teaching specific content, Prensky declared.

“Learning feels like play when we have engagement,” he said. “What we really want is motivated—highly motivated—learners, because then there will be no stopping them.”
At a related interactive exhibit at the trade show, participants got the chance to experience some hands-on digital engagement themselves. The “21st Century Learning Environment,” a computer-equipped digital classroom sponsored by Apple Computer, the MIND Institute at the University of California, Davis, and SMART Technologies, was packed with visitors throughout the show. Presentations there included a workshop demonstrating how the Reed Union Elementary School District transformed teaching and learning at Del Mar Middle School by providing a laptop computer to every student.

Executive assistants applaud new program
This year’s conference also offered a new one-day seminar for executive assistants. Karen Isé, executive administrative assistant to the superintendent in the Conejo Valley Unified School District, was among those who attended.

“It’s wonderful to have a program tailored to the work we do,” said Isé, who added that the training was helpful for both veterans and newer assistants. “Wherever you are in your career, it’s always good to have the chance to refresh your skills.”

Preconference activities included a symposium, “Transforming High School,” led by pediatrician Robert Blum, interim director of the Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute and director of the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Center in Adolescent Health. Also participating were representatives from several California districts whose success in raising student achievement was documented in the 2006 CSBA High School Reform Task Force report, “Governance Matters: The School Board Guide to Reinvigorating High Schools.”

Hands-on art and space-age science
Other conference highlights included general sessions focused on art and science, two crucial curricular areas that some education experts fear are being supplanted by the narrow focus on reading and math required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Shaking up conventional notions of painting, artist and inspirational speaker Eric Wahl wielded squeeze bottles, brushes and his bare hands to create two dramatic works of art on stage. His unique techniques were designed to turn conventional notions of painting upside down and to encourage board members to challenge their own perspectives about teaching and learning.

Former astronaut Sally Ride presented a space-age vision of planet Earth that featured photos from her two Challenger missions. Ride, a professor of physics at the University of California, San Diego, urged members of the audience to encourage all students—and girls in particular—to pursue careers in science and math.

‘State of the State’
As part of the third and final general session, CSBA Executive Director Scott P. Plotkin joined Assistant Executive Director of Governmental Relations Rick Pratt to assure the audience that CSBA will continue to push for meaningful changes to NCLB, flexibility and autonomy for locally elected school boards and a serious discussion of what it would cost to provide an excellent public education to every California child. Also on the “State of the State” panel were Rick Simpson, deputy chief of staff to Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, and Lynn Faulks, manager of legislative relations for the California Teachers Association.

Plotkin, whose career included five years as chief consultant to the state Senate Education Committee, said 2007 will be a relatively good budget year for education but added that many schools, especially those with declining enrollment, continue to face tough challenges.
Plotkin told Simpson that the mayoral takeover legislation authored by Speaker Núñez, Simpson’s boss, has given local school boards “a lot of heartburn” and is unconstitutional. He bemoaned aspects of the agreement settling the lawsuit against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger over Proposition 98 funds owed to schools, which is codified in Senate Bill 1133. (See related story on page 7.)

CSBA’s Education Legal Alliance participated in the successful legal challenge that preceded the settlement, but subsequent negotiations over how the money could be used did not include representatives from local districts or school boards. The settlement includes so many restrictions on the use of the Proposition 98 funds, said Plotkin and Pratt, that districts may decide not to apply for their shares of the money.