NASA Announces 2006 Superintendent of the Year

Richard Eisenhauer, Superintendent at Lexington Public Schools has been named Nebraska's 2006 Superintendent of the Year. Dr. Eisenhauer and 49 other superintendents was recognized at the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) national convention in February.

Dick has been the Superintendent at Lexington since 2001. Prior to that, he served as Superintendent in Marysville, Washington, Stevens Point, Wisconsin, Roseburg, Oregon and Chadron, Nebraska. He receive his B.S. in Education, M.Ed. and Ed.D from the University of Nebraska.

A few of Dick’s community and professional activities include: Executive Board member of the Nebraska Council of School Administrators, Nebraska Association of Elementary Principals President, American Association of School Administrators, Committee Member, United Way of Lexington,
Campaign Chair, Chamber of Commerce, Board Member, and Rotary President.

Doug Christensen, Commissioner of Education states, “Dr. Richard Eisenhauer brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the diverse community and school district of Lexington, Nebraska. He also brings a professional and personal commitment and passion to the work of providing equitable opportunities
for all of the students and for achieving equitable outcomes for each and all of them.”

Morgen Knudsen, Lexington School Board member writes; “For Dr.Eisenhauer, “No Child Left Behind” is much more than a political slogan. During Dr. Eisenhauer’s tenure in Lexington, many new programs have been implemented. All of them aspire to tailor our programs to meet the unique needs of each student, no matter their educational background, economic disadvantage, or national origin.”

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Goddard Leads in Student, Staff Wellness

Goddard — Go almost anywhere in the Goddard School District, and you’ll hear the telltale sounds of people getting healthy.

The toothsome crunch from biting an apple in the teachers’ lounges, where once they snacked mostly on cookies. Labored breathing in the staff workout center. The pitter-patter of small feet trying to keep up with one elementary school principal on a fast-paced mile around the playground.

In three years, this district of 4,500 students and 500 employees has gotten serious about improving its collective health.

Districts in the Kansas City area have tackled student and staff wellness, too, but Goddard, an eight-school district just west of Wichita, has distinguished itself by a unique approach — using staff members as role models.

It “definitely is a leader in the state,” said Tami Larson, a health educator for the state’s Coordinated School Health Program.

When told of Goddard’s efforts, an expert with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called them “cutting edge.” Goddard “is becoming a champion in Kansas that others will follow,” said Allison Balling, obesity prevention specialist.

Soon, Goddard’s story will be told nationwide.

In December, two researchers from Kansas University School of Medicine-Wichita will talk at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Assn. A few years ago they helped the district see how to improve the school community’s health.

Goddard’s initiative comes in an era of rampant child obesity. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports about 16 percent of children from ages 6 through 19 are overweight or obese. That figure is three to four times the rate of the late 1960s.

Many school districts are addressing the problem but typically focus only on students, said Judy Johnston, a dietitian and researcher at the medical school in Wichita.

“Goddard got it right … saying, ‘What are we going to do to improve the health of the work force so they become role models?’” she said. “They have this whole cadre of people who get it. Now they have this tremendous momentum because of that investment.”

Health is a value that pervades school life in Goddard. It starts at 7:50 a.m. each Monday in the Challenger and Discovery intermediate schools.

“It’s time to get your cheeks out of the chair and do the Monday morning stretch,” two students said one morning last week. A teacher then instructed the students in an arm stretch and led them through 20 jumps.

After school on Mondays, teachers calling themselves the “broad broads” gather at Clark-Davidson Elementary school. They weigh in and put into a kitty $1 for each pound gained. Then the group spends the fund on something fun — and presumably low-cal.

Two afternoons a week, up to a dozen employees at Amelia Earhart Elementary School suit up and bounce in the school gym to beat-heavy dance-club tunes. They asked physical-education teacher Kim Klein to lead them in an exercise class using a stability ball, and she gladly went along.

At every school in the district, strategies for health and fitness have percolated to the surface.

Klein gives students a little molded plastic foot for every five miles they log. They string them on a chain. Joan Pritchard, assistant superintendent, is in the club, and her chain holds dozens of plastic feet.

Charlie Edmonds, Goddard superintendent, was hoping for something like this when he told his staff in 2002 that he wanted to improve health in the district. He was disturbed that the district’s health-insurance premiums were rising by 10 percent or more each year.

Edmonds follows his own advice. Now 63, he recently lost 35 pounds and said he ran at least 1,000 miles last year.

“My pulse is under 50 when I’m sitting around,” he boasted. “If I’m really, really angry, it might get to 70.”

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The Kansas legislature authorized Standard & Poor to review all school districts in Kansas to determine effective use of taxpayer money to reach academic goals. We are excited to say that 10 out of the 16 clients that received “Top Rating” were DataTeam clients! The following article from the Lawrence Journal World details the study and the results. Congratulations to the Baldwin School District and our other clients who have received top honors in this study!

Baldwin district praised in report

LJW 9/14/05 Topeka — A preliminary report from Standard & Poor analysts gave 16 Kansas school districts a top rating when it came to using taxpayer money to reach academic goals. The list of top ranking schools, which included the Baldwin district, was released Tuesday by S&P and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. The governor called the information key to ensuring the state’s 300 school districts are getting the most from tax dollars. Kansas school finance has been the subject of years of litigation and political rancor.

The other 15 school districts rated “highly resource effective” were Arkansas City, Geary County, Halstead, Hays, Hesston, Lincoln, Macksville, Nickerson, Renwick, Rock Creek, Scott County, Spearville, Stafford, Vermillion and Wamego.

The study looked at districts with more than 200 students, or 264 of the state’s 300 districts. “It reinforces what we here in Baldwin City already knew,” said Tom Mundinger, principal of Baldwin Elementary School Intermediate Center. “We work at every level ... Everybody has a stake in being good stewards of those tax dollars.”

Mundinger said it may be easier to be efficient in the small district of about 1,400 students because communication is easier and people know one another by first name.“We don’t have some of the levels of bureaucracy that a bigger district may have,” Mundinger said. He said there is a culture of efficiency in the district.

“We’re not saying the other districts are inefficient,” Sebelius said. “Even these districts can do more. Everybody can do better with what they have.”

Maximum returns

Sebelius said it was important to protect taxpayers and maximize return on the state’s $3 billion spent annually in public schools. Legislators increased state spending by $290 million for the current school year “Our new investments in schools require increased accountability,” Sebelius said.

The S&P audit, funded by a grant from the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City, Mo., also considered local and federal education spending. Factors such as student demographics and poverty were assigned ratios, so that districts could be equally compared.

The audit suggested spending a higher percentage of money on instruction isn’t a more effective use of resources. Seven of the 16 districts spend more than the state average of 70 percent on instruction, but the remaining nine were at or below the state average.

Only six of the 16 districts spent less than the state average of 12 percent of funds on administration, the audit said.

Identifying strategies

The governor said the S&P audit would identify what school districts were doing to get positive academic results. Those strategies will then be shared, with the goal of improving the overall quality of education.

S&P will next do a closer review of four of the 16 districts to determine what they are doing right. A final report will be released later this year.

Ron Walker, superintendent of Geary County’s schools, which have more than 6,300 students, said he was surprised by the audit. “The only secret we have is extremely hard-working staff who pay attention to the small details,” he said. “I don’t know what else we can attribute it to.”

The district’s offices are in Junction City and it provides education to the children of soldiers at Fort Riley. Almost 55 percent of the students are economically disadvantaged, compared with the state average of 36.5 percent. Nearly half the students are minorities.

Walker said the district emphasizes staff training and stringent hiring.

Sebelius said the S&P study wasn’t determining how much money schools need.

The Legislative Post Audit Division is conducting its own school spending audit, to identify what it costs to provide a suitable education. The audit was ordered by the Kansas Supreme Court when it ruled on a 1999 lawsuit that claimed the Legislature spent too little on schools.

Under pressure from the Supreme Court, legislators increased spending by more than 10 percent. The court said absent better cost estimates, it would order legislators to increase funding by an additional $580 million during the 2006 session.

That figure is based on a study conducted in 2001 that legislators have rejected, but that the court said was the only estimate available.

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Congratulations to the Summer Retirees

2005 seems to be the year of retirement for many special people, and a time to celebrate and reflect on all the memories and achievements created after so many years. This quarter we would like to recognize the following summer retirees:

Name: Vickie Cook
School: Peabody-Burns USD 398
Position: Board Clerk
How long have you been with your current organization? 29 years
How long have you been with DataTeam? 21 years
What do you like most about DataTeam? "We have been with DataTeam since it was WOS, I like everything about DataTeam. We were very fortunate when we computerized the office in 1984 to find the right company from the start. Your service and products are both excellent!"
Retirement plans: "My husband and I plan on taking a Carribean cruise in November."
Other comments: "I've enjoyed working for this school disctrict but I am looking forward to retiring!'

Name: Willma Woodruff
School: Southern Valley Public Schools
Position: Secretary to Superintendent /Bookkeeper
How long have you been with your current organization? 32 years
How long have you been with DataTeam? 11 years
What do you like most about DataTeam?"Payroll, Check requistions... I liked DataTeam! Support was wonderful in helping me."
Retirement plans: "Just to take each day one day at a time, and enjoy being home!"
Other comments: "I enjoyed every day that I went to work, my fellowship with the students and staff members, it was a good experience."

Name: Dianne Visconti
School: Buena Vista School District R-31
Position: Accounting/Purchasing Agent
How long have you been with your current organization? 20 years
How long have you been with DataTeam? 8 years
What do you like most about DataTeam? "I really appreciated how excellent the support was, and how user friendly the products were."
Retirement plans: "My husband and I have recently built a house in AZ and I will probably move down there with him when he retires next year."
Other comments: "You guys have been great to work with. I really enjoyed the experience over the years, it’s been really great. I’ve learned a lot and DataTeam has been very supportive."

Name: Berline Wooten
School: San Luis Valley BOCES
Position: Office Manager
How long have you been with your current organization? 34 years
How long have you been with DataTeam? 9 years
What do you like most about DataTeam? "I thought the products were great and I loved working with the people, they were very helpful."
Retirement plans: "Nothing for a while, for now I will just spend time with my kids and grandchildren."

Name: Lynne McKay
School: Shelby County Schools
Position: Internal Auditor
How long have you been with your current organization? 10 years as a volunteer and 18+years as a paid employee
How long have you been with DataTeam? 6 years
What do you like most about DataTeam? "That's hard because there's so many things. I would say support though. Your programs are very user friendly. All my secretaries & bookkeepers really like it and I have 48 bookkeepers! They are the best programs we ever had."
Retirement plans: "I have 6 grandchildren that I would like to get to know better than just on Sundays."
Other comments: "It's been a true pleasure. I hope that Shelby County will stay with Datateam for a long, long time because they have always come through with what we needed."

Name: Ken Young
School: ESU 9
Position: Director of Financial Services
How long have you been with your current organization? 30 years
How long have you been with DataTeam? 13 years
What do you like most about DataTeam? "I liked the support service the most. I also liked the accounting payroll software."
Retirement plans: "Spending time with my grandchildren, fishing, golfing, and travelling."

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De Soto USD 232 Shines in National Spotlight
Education Technology is Focus

The De Soto Unified School District will host a site visit May 1-3 by the National School Boards Association's ITTE: Education Technology Programs .  NSBA selected De Soto School District for achieving excellence in education technology.  School districts from around the country will send representatives to Kansas City to see the high level of teaching and learning taking place in USD 232.

NSBA has been hosting education technology site visits to districts across the country for nearly twenty years. The organization believes other districts benefit by seeing programs and technologies that others are using successfully and hearing firsthand from those who implemented them.  This year, De Soto USD 232 is one of three national site visits. The host districts represent the best in the nation — from California, to Kansas, to New York. Each district, though distinctive in character, enrollment size, and district budget, has found unique ways to deal with the educational challenges.

De Soto's leadership team is already working on the site visit schedule and agenda to enhance the experience for attendees.  Click here to learn more about the national site visit .
*Article is from the website: www.usd232.org

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Hanes Retiring After 27 Years of Outstanding Service

LaDonna Hanes is retiring after serving as business manager for Davis County Community School District, Bloomfield, Iowa, for 27 years.

Davis County CSD publishes and adheres to a core set of values that they believe fosters the best educational, work and community environment for their district:


-Students must have the opportunity to be the best they can be
-The entire community must assist student learning
-Families must be involved in support of student learning
-Technology must be used to open the world as a learning resource
-Measurement of learning must be appropriate to the situation
-A quality staff is essential
-The education system must be flexible enough to meet individual student and community needs

As is true to their core values, a great school district such as this can only be run by the finest and most quality staff. LaDonna Hanes has been a wonderful asset to Davis County CSD for many years. Anne Morgan, superintendent of Davis County CSD noted, "She's a quality person, my 'right hand woman', any time I need a source on school finance I feel very confident that she will know it or who to contact. What I appreciate the most is her honesty , if she doesn't don't know the answer she will find it out for me. Trust is pretty important, she's had more to deal with than I realize in the last 2 years. The audits come back with no suggestions of what to do and she will do anything she can to help. She will be highly missed but she deserves the retirement."

Hanes' career started after graduating from Davis County High School, and later the Iowa School Business Management Academy, when she found her way back to Davis County CSD as the superintendent's secretary. Five years later she accepted the position of business manager and has been serving in that capacity ever since. She will be retiring on September 30th of this year after working with the school district since 1977.

Hanes has embraced technology in the school office environment and has been instrumental in the selection and operation of the accounting system for the district. She has been on the front edge of technology in the state and has won numerous awards for having a perfect "special ed supplement" for their certified annual report. Ask her what she believes is the district's greatest achievement and she'll say choosing and using DataTeam's software! "Using DataTeam has been a marvelous experience. They provided the tools I needed to stay on top of the district's accounting and payroll needs. And I can't say enough about the support team, they are a fabulous bunch! In-house accounting has been an enormous achievement!" Hanes enthusiastically replied.

We would like to say congratulations and thank you to LaDonna Hanes for her years of excellent service for the kids and community at the Davis County CSD.

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Zoellner Given Distinguished Service Award by United School Administrators

Dr. Sharon Zoellner, superintendent at De Soto Public Schools has been nominated by the Kansas Association of School Business Officials (KASBO) and awarded by United School Administrators (USA) as the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor given by USA. She received the award during a banquet at the Hyatt Regency in Wichita on Thursday, January 29.

USA is based out of Topeka, Kansas and represents specialized publications and professional development through lobbying. These include; school administrators at all levels, such as superintendents, principals, school business officials, curriculum directors, special education administrators, public relations officials, directors and vocational education administrators.

Zoellner has a doctorate from the University of Kansas in educational administration, a bachelor's degree from Central Methodist College and a master's degree from Emporia State University. She is active in the Shawnee Area Chamber of Commerce, serving on the legislative committee. Previously she served as the past president of the De Soto Rotary Club. She also spent many hours volunteering on USA committees and other statewide appointments including presidency of USA in 2001.

In her past, she has served as deputy superintendent, assistant superintendent, director of finance and student services as well as elementary principal at Countryside Intermediate. She worked at Patton Junior High in Fort Leavenworth as a math and science teacher and also taught at Assumption Elementary School in O'Fallen, Mo.

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Rael Selected as Colorado Superintendent of the Year

The Colorado Association of School Executives (CASE) has announced the selection of Robert A. (Bob) Rael, superintendent of the Sierra Grande School District R-30 serving Fort Garland-Blanca, as ServiceMaster/AASA 2003 Colorado Superintendent of the Year.

The Sierra Grande School District is a rural, economically depressed district in the San Luis valley, serving 309 students in grades K-12. Seventy-five percent of the students are Hispanic. Eighty percent of the students come from families that qualify for poverty classification. 

Tamara Pacheco, former Sierra Grande Board of Education President, noted Rael’s accomplishments.

“Three years after his dedicated efforts at improving the conditions of teachers and students, our first great news came as the 2002 third grade class achieved a 95 percent score on the state CSAP (Colorado Student Achievement Program) test,” Pacheco said.

These results were preceded by a carefully orchestrated plan to select sound curriculum and to provide professional development for teachers, according to Pacheco.

“Students became very excited about learning when the district received grant funds for summer reading programs, which Bob called ‘Literacy Through Athletics’.”

This year marks Rael’s 20th anniversary as a rural school district superintendent, the last five years in Sierra Grande. Prior to that, he was superintendent in Centennial School District from 1987-97 and South Conejos School District from 1982-87. Rael holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Adams State College in Alamosa.

ServiceMaster and the American Association of School Administrators sponsor the awards program in conjunction with CASE. Rael was selected by a group of his peers from the Colorado Association of Superintendents and Senior Administrators (CASSA), a department of CASE, and an affiliate of AASA. Criteria for selection include exemplary performance in (1) leadership for learning, (2) communication skills, (3) professionalism, and (4) community involvement.

Peg Portscheller, executive director of CASE, said that Rael was selected from a field of topnotch candidates.

“Bob has dedicated his career to serving students and parents in economically depressed areas. In spite of challenging circumstances, Bob has provided outstanding leadership for administrators, teachers, parents, and the community to deliver a quality education for students,” Portscheller said. “In addition, he serves as a role model for others in the profession and maintains an active presence at the state level, advocating on behalf of students,” Portscheller said.  

As Colorado’s Superintendent of the Year, Rael is eligible to become the National Superintendent of the Year. The national winner will be announced at AASA’s annual conference in February 2003.

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Webb City R-7 Superintendent Honored By School Administrators Association

Dr. Ronald L. Lankford, Superintendent of the Webb City R-7 School District has been selected by the Missouri Association of School Administrators (MASA) as the recipient of the annual Robert L. Pearce Award for 2003. The announcement was made during the MASA Spring Conference on April 13.

Lankford was selected by a committee of his peers. Each of the eight MASA districts nominated a superintendent for the award. The Pearce award program is a long-standing tradition of the association in honoring excellence in education and community leadership among Missouri superintendents. The annual award was instituted in 1987 by Richard and David Pearce, then principals of Pearce Corporation, a Missouri architectural firm specializing in educational facility planning. The award's purpose is to honor the hard work and dedication of superintendents and their contributions to the children of Missouri.

Lankford received his bachelor’s degree from Missouri Southern State College and his master’s, specialist and doctorate from the University of Missouri - Columbia. He began his administrative career as the Assistant High School Principal at East Newton in 1975. In 1977, he was named the Junior High Principal in the Webb City School District. He became the High School Principal at the Webb City High School in 1979. From 1987 to 1998, he served as the Assistant/Associate Superintendent for the Webb City School District and in 1998, he was named Superintendent of the district.

When Lankford took over as Superintendent in 1998, he immediately faced the fact that the district had been granted provisional accreditation by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in 1994-95. He focused the district’s faculty and staff, board of education and the community on the instructional process and student performance. The result was significant improvement. In 1999-2000, the district was accredited with distinction for improvement in performance. With the inception of the third cycle of the Missouri School Improvement Program, the district attained accreditation with distinction in each of the first two years.