January 22, 2018
New awards platform a success,
thanks to ACSA region leaders
Jan. 12 was the nomination deadline for
the 2018 ACSA Awards Program, mark-
ing the first time in recent history that all
regions have shared a single deadline and
the inaugural year of the new online awards
platform. The new interface, powered by
the acclaimed company Award Force, was
selected and launched last May in a joint
effort by Communications and Member
Services.
While any transition produces a certain
amount of concern and confusion, the tran-
sition to ACSA Awards Online has proved
to be surprisingly smooth and constructive.
Awards coordinator Emily Agpoon credits
the region leadership for this.
“The success of this program has always
depended on engagement at the region and
charter levels,” Agpoon said, “and this year
their involvement and support was critical
as we moved to an entirely electronic nomi-
nation system.
“Across the board, the region and charter
leadership and region staff have stepped up
to make sure that they understood the new
processes, shared their needs and concerns,
and gotten the word out to the members.
Not only that, region award managers were
asked to learn a whole new management
tool, and have been incredibly gracious and
patient as we adapted to the requirements of
having a single point of entry and deadline.
“Even though it’s a statewide program,
its core is the grassroots communication
and work at the charter and region levels,”
Agpoon said. “Without the buy-in and
effort from our member leaders and region
staff, the online platform wouldn’t have
been possible.”
More than 600 nominations from
ACSA’s 19 regions were submitted using
the online platform, as members statewide
nominated their colleagues for recognition
in 26 award categories. Even as members
and leaders encountered a few challenges as
they began using the interface, they discov-
ered that the guesswork was taken out of the
nominations.
“Overall the feedback has been really
positive,” Agpoon said. “People liked how
easy it was to use, especially given how
confusing the forms could be in the past
with the different criteria, pages limits and
requirements for each category.
“The system tells you exactly what you
need to include, what’s required and what
isn’t, and allowed us to add helpful interac-
tive links and instructions to guide people
through filling out the forms.
“I’m really excited to see what we can do
with it next year, once we’ve had a chance
to smooth out all the kinks and work with
region leaders to improve on what we
started,” Agpoon said.
In addition to creating a more consistent
and less confusing process for members,
ACSA’s awards platform aligns with the
goals set out in ACSA’s Strategic Plan,
which calls for increased investments in
technology and a greater online presence
for ACSA.
“Moving to new technology is a key part
of our Strategic Plan,” ACSA Executive
Director Wesley Smith said. “We’re looking
for all the ways we can use the most cutting-
edge tools and innovations to create a better
experience for our members.
“This awards platform is just one of
many new advances bringing us closer to
reaching that goal.”
ACSA Senior Director of Member
Services, Margarita Cuizon, agreed. “This
[awards] program is such an important
way to recognize the outstanding work of
our members,” she said. “Once we found a
tool that met all our needs, we knew it was
the perfect opportunity to transition to an
online form and take the program to the
next level.”
Region award chairs and committees
are now reviewing the nominations that
were submitted this year. They will have
until the state deadline of Feb. 5 to select
the finalists they want to send to the state
Awards Committee for consideration, and
will be announcing their regional honorees
in the coming weeks. State recipients will be
announced in EdCal on March 26.
For more information about ACSA’s
Awards Program, visit www.acsa.org/
awards.
County superintendents release research and
strategies to address teacher recruitment
New research and policy briefs on
California’s teacher shortage were released
recently by the California County
Superint endents Educational Services
Association. The reports examine the teach-
er shortage from a local perspective and
include cost-effective teacher recruitment
and retention strategies for California coun-
ties and school districts.
CCSESA will be hosting a legisla-
tive information session on Feb. 5 at the
state Capitol in collaboration with the
Learning Policy Institute and the California
Association
of
African-American
Superintendents and Administrations.
Speakers will share successful recruitment
strategies and state policy recommendations
to address the teacher shortage and encour-
age greater ethnic diversity among teachers
and administrators.
“Our current shortage of educational
employees presents us with both challeng-
es and opportunities,” said James Brescia,
San Luis Obispo County superintendent
of schools and co-author of the research
report. “It is my hope that decision-makers
review this research, and the research of
others, to make informed policy decisions
regarding one of the state’s most important
investments, education.”
The research brief, “Teacher Recruitment
in California: An Analysis of Effective
Strategies,” summarizes the context of
the teacher shortage and provides a broad
overview of the research findings, includ-
ing characteristics of successful recruit-
ers, and a synopsis of no-cost and low-
cost strategies identified by the research.
The policy brief, “Teacher Recruitment
in California: Successful Strategies and
Recommendations,” highlights specific
strategies utilized by research participants
and quantifying commonalities between
successful recruiters, and provides guidance
for state policy makers and local educational
agencies to improve recruitment practices.
“The research brief gives practitioners
helpful recruiting strategies to implement
immediately as hiring begins for the 2018-
19 school year, while the policy brief pro-
vides policymakers with ways in which laws
and policies can be changed at the state level
to help school districts with their recruit-
ment efforts,” said San Mateo County
Superintendent Anne Campbell, chair of
the CCSESA Research Committee. “Based
upon an in-depth analysis of successful
recruiting practices, both briefs offer help-
ful guidance to educators and policy makers
throughout California as they address the
current teacher shortage.”
The research brief can be accessed at
https://goo.gl/MDGJKz.
Cedarcreek Elementary named as 2017 Let’s
Move! Active School National Award recipient
Saugus USD announced that Cedarcreek
Elementary has been recognized by Active
Schools, a national movement to increase
physical education and physical activity in
schools, as the only Let’s Move! National
Award winner in the Santa Clarita Valley.
The school is one of only 452 nationwide
and one of 35 recognized in California.
“The students, faculty and administra-
tion at Cedarcreek, as well as our Physical
Education Teacher on Special Assignment,
Samantha Ford, worked tremendously hard
to earn this honor and we are so proud of
their accomplishment,” said Joan Lucid,
district superintendent. “We highly value
the importance of physical education in
our district and this recognition confirms
that. Congratulations to our award-winning
Cedarcreek School community.”
“The administrators, teachers, staff, and
parents in these schools understand that
physical education and physical activity are
a must-have for students to reach their full
potential in school and life,” said Charlene
Burgeson, Active Schools executive director.
“They use creativity and determination to
overcome challenges and provide students
with the movement opportunities they need
and deserve.”
To earn a Let’s Move! Active Schools
National Award, a school must have met
significant benchmarks in five areas: physi-
cal education; physical activity before and
after school; physical activity during school;
staff involvement; and family and com-
munity engagement. Honorees receive a
congratulatory letter, certificate, and large
display banner.
EDCAL 3
FROM THE
Executive
Director
ACSA is the pre-
eminent student
advocacy organization.
On campus, in our
classrooms and in our communities,
ACSA stands ready to provide stu-
dents with the support they need. In
some cases, the support they need
extends past the normal school envi-
ronment.
In 2017, ACSA stepped up in unprec-
edented ways that have carried over
into 2018.
Through the Red Cross, ACSA mem-
bers donated money to support the
hurricane relief efforts in Florida
and Texas. Then we took a step
beyond that effort, sending clothes
and school supplies to our three
statewide offices for delivery to the
impacted areas. Richard Carranza,
an ACSA member now serving
as superintendent at Houston
Independent School District, said the
support he received from ACSA was
incredible.
Then ACSA went to work in
California, providing supplies for stu-
dents impacted by the massive wild-
fires this past fall. We even provided
housing to students and families in
desperate need of shelter.
Violence on campus can be a horrify-
ing experience. When incidents took
place on campuses, ACSA stepped
up to provide support through
resources, materials, and crisis assis-
tance.
Right now, we’re working hard to
gather books, whiteboards, technol-
ogy, and portable classrooms for
students in Montecito Union School
District impacted by the massive
mudslides. We’ve mobilized our lead-
ers in Southern and Central California
as a means of getting the students
who’ve been under mandatory evac-
uation orders back into school.
We’ve come together, pitching in
where possible to support one
another. Ultimately, that support for
members has meant support for
students. I said when I took this
position that ACSA would become
the lead voice for students and edu-
cation. We’re doing that on the policy
and professional fronts.
We are the authoritative voice for
students and public education. The
work we do every day demonstrates
administrators’ dedication to positive
outcomes for students, one another
and our communities.
Who is ACSA? ACSA is the more
than 17,000 edu cational leaders who
have prioritized student rights, who
defend public education, and who
support their colleagues. We may
seem too big to ever embody a small
community. But we’re a different
organization. In the face of crisis,
members are there for other mem-
bers, and I don’t see that changing
anytime soon.
Leaders from ACSA and the California Association of African American Superintendents and Adminis-
trators met recently in Sacramento after the release of the proposed state budget to discuss issues of
mutual interest. Standing is CAAASA Executive Director Dwight Bonds and to his left is ACSA Executive
Director Wes Smith.
Making Schools Better for LGBT Students - Anaheim - Feb. 8
Go to www.acsa.org for registration information.
Thanks to all of you for your commit-
ment to each other, and for our 6.2
million public school students.
– Wesley Smith
Executive Director