K - 16 and Women

Texas Faculty Women’s Forum March 30 - March 31 Austin, TX

Jane Close Conoley Dean of Education Texas A&M University

Forum: All Hot Topics! u Child care u Arts u Grants u Technology u Health benefits u Diversity u Learning styles u Mentoring u Sexual Violence

u Women are increasingly represented in the elementary principalship but still in the great minority as high school leaders and in the superintendency u Women are the great majority of elementary teachers and about 60% of high school teachers

u Challenges for teacher recruitment and retention are critical u Societal forces make many traditional schooling approaches inappropriate u Public perceptions of school effectiveness and safety are disconnected from school realities

u Many districts still dominated by narrowly educated school boards u Academic priorities difficult to maintain in culture of confrontation u In some districts teachers can escape continuing professional development

u WOMEN MAY BE ABANDONING PUBLIC PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

Schools Need u A DEFINING SENSE OF PURPOSE u LEADERS –WHO WILL TRANSFORM CURRENT PRACTICE v make democracy a reality within school walls

WHAT LEADERS MUST DO u Develop a community of purpose u Create strategic alliances u Create shared visions

COMMUNITY Engagement, equality, trust, tolerance, cooperation

THE BASIS OF COMMUNITY u HEALTHY ORGANIZATIONS u RECOGNITION OF THE NEED FOR PARTNERSHIPS u SHARED VALUES AND GOALS

Consider primary and secondary schools

HEALTHY ORGANIZATIONS  Appropriately Autonomous Staff  Many Opportunities for Self Development  Sense of Belonging to the Organization  Recognition for Successful Employees

Consider primary and secondary schools

HEALTHY ORGANIZATIONS  Attractive, Interesting, and Satisfying Jobs  Clear, Challenging, Attainable Goals  Adequate Resources  No Constraints to Performance

THE NEED FOR PARTNERSHIPS TO ACCOMPLISH IMPORTANT GOALS

BLINDING FLASHES OF THE OBVIOUS u BFO’S

BFO’S u 93/100 being born in the world are people of color u Texas will be a majority minority state within our lifetimes u Our futures depend on involving historically marginalized people u Access to success is NOT equally distributed

BFO’s u 40,000 teachers were needed last year in Texas u 2,500,000 NATIONWIDE TEACHERS WILL BE NEEDED IN THE NEXT DECADE

“THE DOG BARKS BUT THE CARAVAN MOVES ON” Persian proverb

SHARED VALUES AND GOALS: THE PATH TO A COMMUNITY OF PURPOSE

MANDATES FOR UNIVERSITY FACULTY THE NEXT CENTURY u Value teaching at every level u Support democracy at every level u Be nurturers of the educational enterprise

MANDATES FOR THE NEXT CENTURY u Form partnerships with teachers that are instrumental for children and young people

MANDATES FOR THE NEXT CENTURY u Assert the value of the young -- aware of the cultural constructions that make us callous toward their experience.

“… I can see in her eyes she doesn’t like me. She doesn’t look at me like the other children.”

PROCESSES OF COMMUNITY BUILDING u Courage u Collaboration u Reflection u Inquiry u Integration u Persistence u Experimentation

WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE, MORE IS SAID THAN DONE

The Future of Learning Organizations u From traditional hierarchies u Through autonomous units u To networked communities

Classrooms as nodes on a universal web of information

Classrooms as centers for academic and social emotional learning

“I’m with my grandma now. My mother hits me and my sister with a belt too hard. It makes marks on my skin.”

Un solo leno nunca arde.