Interview with Mr. Neil Rochelle, Supt. Iroquois Central School District, Western NY.

Handling H1N1: With Your Community, Media, and Social Media

Handling H1N1: With Your Community, The Media, and Social Media

Neil Rochelle, Superintendent of the Iroquois Central School district in Western New York, provides a riveting account the real needs facing district leaders across the USA and globe today regarding community issues such as H1N1. He discusses the topic, the unfolding of the experience in his district in fall 2009 and the strategies he employed, including social media communication. All of these details are included in this interview with District Leaders Podcast host Dr. Kathleen P. King. Bonus topics include social media decisions, relationships with the State Health Department, and what to do when the experts disagree!

Specific topics include the following issues:

• In the fall 2009, when your district had 500 of 3000 students home sick, why and how did you decide not to close the schools?
• How did you seek to control panic in the school community as H1N1 and other disease related issues were threatening to emerge?
• Where can district leaders turn for assistance and guidance?
• How did you use social media to communicate and build support and which ones did you use?
• What do you suggest superintendents do now and if facing the introduction of the flu into their school district populations?

Special features referenced in this interview:

• Read the community letter which Neil posted on the district website’s front page.
• Visit the H1N1 area of the District website Neil and his team created
• Neil’s Superintendent Community Newsletter

MORE RESOURCES

• Flu.gov
• Center for Disease Control (CDC) regarding H1N1

For more information on this subject or to connect with Neil

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Ning (below)

District Leaders Podcast is always Leading Today for Success Tomorrow!

Biographical Background

Currently, Neil Rochelle is Superintendent of Schools of Iroquois Central School District. Previously, he was not only superintendent of schools at Keshequa Central School, but prior to that elementary principal at Keshequa Central School.

Having been a teacher for 13 years, he has now been a superintendent for 10 years. His teaching roots are in special education. He also has a specialty in Traumatic Brain Injury and served as a consultant for the NYS Education Department. Before becoming a superintendent he was a Director of Special Education and an Elementary Principal.

Neil states his goals as a superintendent simply,

My goals are simple. Provide the best leadership I can for students to be successful 21st Century Learners. In the long-term, for students to be prepared for college or post-secondary plans and eventually successful in a competitive, global economy.

Neil was born and riased in New York City. He earned his degrees at State University of New York College at Brockport (CAS, Educational Administration) and State University of New York College at Genesco (MSE, Special Education)

Related Web Links:

• Iroquois School District web site
• Iroquois School District superintendent’s page
• Neil’s Superintendent Community Newsletter
• Virtually Iroquois- Neil’s District Ning
  • http://virtuallyiroquois.ning.com/
• Changing High Schools (Neil’s Blog)
  • http://changinghighschools.blogspot.com/

District Leader’s Podcast is produced and copyrighted by The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2007. All rights reserved.

For more information email us at podcast@districtleaderspodcast.org or phone us at 1-866-435-5337 (toll free) and leave a voice message for our co-hosts.

Interview with Mr. Douglas Rodriguez, Principal of Miami Central Senior High School in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Miami, FL

Principals Making Immediate Changes

In this podcast episode, Mr. Douglas Rodriguez shares how he has been able to make significant gains at Miami Central Senior High, which has been assessed as an “F” school for the past five years in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Carolyn Pearson is our District Leader’s Podcast host and engages  Mr. Rodriguez in speaking about the importance of gaining support in the community, supporting his teachers and bonding with the student body.

Clearly, Mr. Rodriguez is on his way up. Our interview was brief but captured the essence of that special something that he has as a school administrator. We should all continue to track the progress of Mr. Rodriguez and the schools’ progress because it won’t be long till Miami Central is an “A” school.

Biographical Background

Douglas Rodriguez is a life long educator and product of the Miami-Dade County Public School System. He began his teaching career as a Social Studies instructor at Miami Central Sr. High School twenty years ago. He served the district at various schools prior to his first administrative appointment at Howard Doolin Middle School as an Assistant Principal. While an administrator at G. Holmes Braddock Sr. High School Mr. Rodriguez received his first appointment as Principal of Miami Springs Sr. During his tenure at Springs Sr. Mr. Rodriguez led the school from a “D” grade to “B” grade in three short years. In 2005 he was given the honor of opening the first public high school in the City of Doral, Ronald W. Reagan/Doral Sr. The school opened with an “A” grade and has maintained that status each year. Five months ago he volunteered to take over as Principal of Miami Central Senior High School which had received five straight “F” grades from the Florida Department of Education. When test scores were released in June, Miami Central had made substantial gains in all areas of the FCAT.

A native of New York City, Mr. Rodriguez holds a B.A from Barry University, M.A. from Nova Southeastern University and a Specialist from Barry University. He has served as the chair of the Senior High School Principals committee and was selected as Miami-Dade County School’s Police Principal of the Year in 2003, Dade County Council of Teachers of Mathematics Principal of the Year in 2007, Miami-Dade County Principal of the Year in 2008, State of Florida Principal of the Year in 2008 and was the recipient of The Leonard Miller Principal Leadership Award in 2008.

Related Web Sites: 

Miami-Dade County Public Schools  
http://www.dadeschools.net/

Miami Central Senior High School
http://miamicentral.dadeschools.net/

District Leader’s Podcast is produced and copyrighted by The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2007. All rights reserved.

For more information email us at podcast@districtleaderspodcast.org or phone us at 1-866-435-5337 (toll free) and leave a voice message for our co-hosts.

Interview with Superintendent of Schools, Freeport School District, NY  Dr. Eric Eversley:
Success in the Superintendency and Community

Topics: School Safety · Retention and Graduation · Parents and Community · High Stakes Testing · Leadership · Improving Student Performance · Trends in Education · Urban Education · ARCHIVE

Description

Join us for this compelling episode as Ed Milliken interview the Superintendent of Schools of Freeport School District, NY, Dr. Eric Eversley. High on the list of topics in their discussion are tips for Success for Superintendents.

We are pleased to have Dr. Eric Eversley as a guest on District Leaders Podcast as he has served many years as a school superintendent, administrator and teacher, from Minnesota to Colorado and now New York. In addition, he is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Harvard (University) Alumni Association.

Based on his wide experience across many types of districts, Dr. Eversley shares insights regarding the critical role of the district leader, communication skills, and relationships with the community. These experienced educational leaders also weigh-in on timely topics such as the Learning Gap and High Stakes testing as the conversation unfolds in new directions.

An episode sure to be worthwhile and inspiring

for new and experienced district leaders.

Don’t miss this compelling episode on school leadership!

Biographical Background

Dr. Eversley currently serves as Superintendent of Schools for the Freeport Public Schools, Freeport, New York. In 2004, Dr. Eversley was recognized by the Nassau County Music Educators Association as Superintendent of the Year.

Before being appointed Freeport’s Superintendent in 2001, Dr. Eversley brought a wealth of leadership experience to the position. He served as District Superintendent for the Eastern Suffolk Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), an organization of 2,500 employees delivering educational services to 53 school districts on the east end of Long Island. Prior to moving to New York in 1998 to assume that position, Dr. Eversley served for six years as Superintendent of Schools for the Proviso Township High School District in the near west suburbs of Chicago. From 1974 to 1992, Dr. Eversley worked in a variety of administrative roles for the Cherry Creek School District, a relatively wealthy high-profile suburban Denver, Colorado school district of more than 33,000 students at the time of his departure. During his 18-year tenure there, Dr. Eversley served as a middle school principal, a high school principal and in executive central office positions including Interim Superintendent. Dr. Eversley’s professional career actually began in his hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota where he taught United States history, African-American history, economics and was head football coach at Minneapolis Central High School.

Over the years, Dr. Eversley has been heavily involved in the process of evaluating schools for performance and accreditation. In the mid-1980s, he led evaluation teams at four schools in Germany for the Department of Defense Dependents Schools system. More recently, he has chaired or co-chaired three evaluation teams for the New York State Education Department at low-performing schools. In addition, while in Colorado, Dr. Eversley led numerous school climate audit teams.
Dr. Eversley earned his doctorate in educational administration from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He holds a Masters Degree from the University of Colorado and graduated with a Bachelor of Science cum laude from the University of Minnesota, Duluth. As an undergraduate student, Dr. Eversley captained the varsity football team, was twice named to the All-Conference Team, and was recognized by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
For more than a dozen years, Dr. Eversley served on the Board of Directors of the Harvard (University) Alumni Association. He has chaired the Alumni Council for the Harvard Graduate School of Education and was elected and served as Vice-President of the Harvard Alumni Association (International). He currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Harvard Club of Long Island. He also maintains a connection with the Harvard Educational Review, having served on its Editorial Board in 1973-1974.

Related Web Links:

• Freeport Public Schools, Freeport, NY http://www.freeportschools.org/
  

District Leader’s Podcast is produced and copyrighted by The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2007. All rights reserved.

For more information email us at podcast@districtleaderspodcast.org or phone us at 1-866-435-5337 (toll free) and leave a voice message for our co-hosts.

Interview with Long Island’s Connetquot School District Superintendent
Dr. Alan Groveman
Urban Education and Difficult Decisions

Key Topics include: High Stakes Testing · School Board Member · School Safety · Leadership · Improving Student Performance · Professional Development

Dr. Alan Groveman, Superintendent of Schools for Long Island’s Connetquot School District, is interviewed about critical school topics by host Edward Milliken for District Leader’s Podcast Episode 13. Dr. Alan Groveman discusses vital issues that are effecting the superintendents and our schools ranging from school violence and security, to parental involvement, professional development and strategies for improving student learning. A striking characteristic of this episode is how superintendents and school leaders need to effectively balance and meet the demands for all children to achieve learning standards (No Child Left Behind) and the demand that communities have for their schools to be safe havens for their children to attend.

Don’t miss this episode of The District Leader’s Podcast. A prime chance to join your colleagues as they consider these discuss a vital dimensions of the impact of state testing on teaching and learning.

“Leading today for success tomorrow”

Biographical Background
Dr. Alan Groveman, the Superintendent of Schools for Long Island’s Connetquot School District serving as the School Superintendent in this large suburban school district. He has placed an academic emphasis on all student programs so that pupils master the standards that are required for graduation in New York State. As a result, Connetquot pupils consistently meet and exceed learning benchmarks for academic performance.

In addition, Dr. Groveman, through extensive volunteer work, has developed an unparalleled expertise in designing and implementing organizational health and safety measures. For example, in the local fire department Dr. Groveman has been both a Captain and a Rescue Safety Officer. In addition, he has been a member of an EMT Team as well as a confined space and tactical rescue leader. With such a background, Dr. Groveman was appointed as a school district crisis management director. This experience has already proven to be invaluable in Dr. Groveman’s role as Superintendent of Schools.

As an educational leader and a health and safety expert, Dr. Groveman thoughts on student learning and pupil protection are regularly sought out by colleagues and the media.

Related Web Links:

• Connetquot Central School District http://www.connetquot.k12.ny.us/

District Leader’s Podcast is produced and copyrighted by The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2007-2008. All rights reserved.

For more information email us at podcast@districtleaderspodcast.org or phone us at 1-866-435-5337 (toll free) and leave a voice message for our co-hosts.