Outstanding School Board Member: Nominate a local board member who exemplifies extraordinary leadership of public education by implementing initiatives that spur student achievement, advocating for secure funding sources for K-12 education and setting high expectations for the district and themselves among other high-quality characteristics. Download the application here.

School Bell: Nominate an individual working to improve public education in South Dakota through their exceptional leadership qualities, efforts to enhance facilities, teaching and learning and work with the state’s lawmakers along with additional excellent merits. Download the application here.

Community Service: Nominate a person or group that went above and beyond with their efforts to improve their local district through support of arts, music and extra-curricular activities, extraordinary fundraising efforts and steadfast commitment to the district. Download the application here.

Deadline for application submission is Friday, May 24.

If you have questions, please contact Tyler via email or at 605-773-8382 or 605-881-3791.

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ASBSD's Spring Tour kicks off next week
Posted Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Executive Director Wade Pogany invites you to join him, fellow board members and administrators at one of his nine Spring Tour stops, listed below.

1) May 23	Yankton	Yankton Schools Admin Building	2410 West City Limits Rd.
2) May 28	Hartford	West Central Administrative Offices	705 E 2nd Street
3) May 29	Madison	Madison High School	800 NE 9th Street
4) May 30	Platte	Mid-Central Co-op Office	612 S Main Avenue
5) June 11	Mobridge	Mobridge-Pollock High School	1107 1st Avenue East
6) June 12	Aberdeen	District Service Center	1224 S 3rd Street
7) June 13	Watertown	LATI Student Center (Room 433)	230 11th Street NE
8) June 17	Rapid City	District Community Room	300 Sixth Street
9) June 19	Custer	Custer High School Library	1645 Wildcat Lane

Categories:ASBSD, Spring Tour,

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People and parameters picked for school funding study
Posted Monday, May 13, 2013

Members of the Legislature’s Executive Board met today to select committee members and set subject parameters for the legislative interim study on school funding, which was selected by the board in April.

Committee members will be asked to examine how the school funding formula affects a district’s decision to seek an opt-out or utilize special tax a levy, funding’s effect on graduation and technology’s relation to teaching.

“I think we need to be concerned with the funding formula…and if that’s working for schools,” Rep. Kathy Tyler (4) said at Monday’s meeting.

Legislators, who will be examining those questions and more, include:

Rep. Jacqueline Sly (33) – Chair
Sen. Larry Tidemann (7) – Vice Chair
Sen. Jim Bradford (27)
Sen. Jean Hunhoff (18)
Sen. Al Novstrup (3)
Sen. Billie Sutton (21)
Sen. Bill Van Gerpen (19)
Sen. Chuck Welke (2)
Rep. Dan Dryden (34)
Rep. Mary Duvall (24)
Rep. Anne Hajek (14)
Rep. Paula Hawks (9)
Rep. Kathy Tyler (4)
Rep. Mike Verchio (30)
Rep. Dick Werner (22)

“This is a strong and diverse group charged with looking at school funding,” Executive Director Wade Pogany said. “I look forward to working with them in some aspect during the study.”

Legislators are typically the only people appointed to an interim study committee, but are generally expected to call upon individuals in fields related to the study topic to provide insight and information, said Sen. Corey Brown (23).

Pogany was asked to discuss the topic with the Executive Board at Monday’s meeting, where he thanked the board for selecting topic and suggested revenue sources and funding equity issues be analyzed.

“The scope of the study and the parameters set are broad enough to encompass revenue and equity,” Pogany said following the meeting. “The study has all the makings of a great starting point to improving school funding.”

For updates on the study, check the ASBSD Blog throughout the interim.

Categories:ASBSD, Summer Study, School Funding, State Aid,

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Weekly News Links
Posted Friday, May 10, 2013

Each week we’ll post links to news stories on K-12 education from the state’s various media outlets.

Rapid City Journal: Editorial in defense of cyberbullying policies.

Yankton Press and Dakotan: Three districts combine efforts to save on food costs.

Keloland: A look at an Iowa school district’s transition to Chromebooks.

Mitchell Daily Republic: Mitchell School Board member, and former ASBSD President, Neil Putnam shares his appreciation of teachers.

Keloland: Chester Online Learning Program receiving international exposure.

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May's ASBSD Bulletin
Posted Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Check out Wade's Welcome and visit www.asbsd.org/bulletin for information on the legislature's summer study on school funding, spring tour dates and locations, 2013 Convention registration directions and much more.

If you would like to subscribe to the Bulletin, email Director of Communications Tyler Pickner at tpickner@asbsd.org.

Categories:ASBSD, Bulletin, Communications,

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What is Common Core?
Posted Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Each month, ASBSD President Pam Haukaas will highlight a topic that is helping advance K-12 education in the Bulletin. This month's Bulletin will be published tomorrow (5/9). Check the ASBSD Blog for more information.

So what is Common Core and what does it mean for my district?

South Dakota along with 44 other states has adopted the Common Core State Standards. These standards promote:

Deeper understanding of key concepts students need to succeed as independent thinkers
Student’s ability to apply knowledge to real-world situations
Instruction that places more emphasis on understand and application, as opposed to memorization and test-taking
Richer, more authentic types of assessment

The development of the Common Core standards was led by the governors and educational leaders in the 45 participating states. These standards were adopted by the South Dakota Board of Education in November 2010. Download the S.D. Department of Education's Common Core FAQ.

Common Core has fewer standards, but they are more intricate in the development of critical thinking and problem solving skills our students need to be successful in the 21^st Century.

Students won’t just memorize facts, but will be able to master increasingly difficult problems and text.

Meaningful assessments become an ongoing process by giving teachers the data they need to make adjustments to curriculum and student groupings.

As districts begin to implement these standards, professional development time will be required for teachers to become familiar with the standards and to collaborate with peers to design district appropriate curricula.

The Common Core will focus on the student as learners with teachers teaching for understanding and mastery of core areas.

The standards add clarity and emphasis for teachers, helping teachers increase their students’ proficiency levels by focusing on core skills while maintaining flexibility to teach in the manner best for each child.

No longer will a text be followed from page one simply plodding through until the end; teachers will use multiple resources so that students will experience a curriculum which has meaning as well as depth and rigor. Students will develop the ability to apply learned knowledge to solve new problems and think critically.

Through communication and collaboration in the classroom, creativity and intellectual flexibility as well as strong interpersonal skills will be developed.

These broader set of competencies will give our youth an increasing advantage in work and life.

Please share with us how your district is implementing the Common Core State Standards by leaving a comment.

To leave a comment:click the "comments" link at the bottom of the post, enter your name and comment, type the security word displayed and click "post comment."

Categories:ASBSD, Common Core, Communication,

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Join tomorrow's BoardDocs webinars
Posted Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Join Wednesday’s BoardDocs webinar events and learn about their paperless meeting services.

BoardDocs provide school boards and districts state-of-the-art services that save money, streamline operations and reduce time spent producing board packets.

Over 750 of organizations worldwide have chosen BoardDocs to improve transparency and communications with stakeholders!

Learn more about their services during one of the two FREE webinars on Wednesday, May 8. On Wednesday, click on the link below next to the time you’d like to attend approximately 30 minutes before the webinar starts.

10 a.m. (9 a.m. MST) webinar – https://www1.gotomeeting.com/join/794499353

3 p.m. (2 p.m. MST) webinar – https://www1.gotomeeting.com/join/635363024

If you have questions, please contact Tyler Pickner via email or by phone 605-773-8382 or 605-881-3791.

Thank you for your interest in BoardDocs!

Categories:ASBSD, BoardDocs, Webinars,

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Thank a teacher
Posted Monday, May 6, 2013