1. Leadership, Process and Results
Lessons from South Dakota’s Jacqueline Sly
February 21st, 2017

2. Meet Today’s Presenter
Jacqueline has served the people of South Dakota as a teacher and as a state legislator. During her eight years in the South Dakota House of Representatives she has filled a variety of critical leadership roles. During her last term she was Chairwoman of House Education Committee and was a member of House Health and Human Services Committee. In addition, she was a member of the Legislative Planning Committee, the Public Safety Improvement Act Oversight Council, and the Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Initiative Native American Focus Group Together; her experiences provide valuable lessons that can be applied to your work in a variety of sectors. We look forward to sharing this exciting learning opportunity with all of you.

3. Leadership, Process and Results
Lessons from South Dakota's Jacqueline Sly
February 22, 2017

4. South Dakota’s Blue Ribbon Taskforce K-12 Education Funding Timeline
February (2015) – Governor announced task force and appointed co-chairs (I was one)
March through June – Public input, listening sessions, collected feedback and synthesized feedback into a report, appointed stakeholder members of the task force
July through August – Task force analyzed quantitative data and compared with qualitative data from the public
September through November – Made recommendations, researched and recommended policy changes for SD K-12 education system, issued final report.
January through March (2016) – Legislative session where 3 major bills passed which significantly impacted K-12 education
Ongoing – implementation and oversight of the new laws
Jacqueline Sly - February 2017

5. Establishing a Need through Stakeholder Meetings
Listened to concerns from people directly involved (teachers, administrators, school board members, parents)
Moved to more structured listening within public settings (public, business owners, in addition to those involved in education)
Jacqueline Sly - February 2017

6. Stakeholder Meetings continued
Used World Café format – used guiding questions to generate ideas for the problem and moved into solutions in the public meetings.
Responses were documented, grouped into categories and patterns began to evolve.
Used an outside group to gather and record information – provided legitimacy and objectivity (much skepticism from many involved)
Jacqueline Sly - February 2017

7. Establishing a Need through the Work of the Task Force
Task force members included a broad spectrum of interests – legislators, Executive branch (including financial), teachers, principals, superintendents, school boards, business owners, parents, Board of Regents
Website – access to all meeting materials, live audio streaming and archived, contact option for ideas and concerns
Jacqueline Sly - February 2017

8. Work of Task Force continued
Experts shared data, compare SD data with region. Used people from outside state for data analysis
Began pairing qualitative data from stakeholder meetings with quantitative data – established irrefutable need before ever talking about money
All final recommendations were by consensus. Recommendations worked in concert, not as individual pieces
Jacqueline Sly - February 2017

9. Other Process Considerations
Establishing the process is vital to the successful work of the task force
Hours of planning behind the scenes pays off
Relationships before the task force were strained between education stakeholders and the Executive and Legislative branches – great cynicism, spent considerable time building bridges and working to establish trust
Jacqueline Sly - February 2017

10. The Dance
Some of us started out being on the dance floor with only a few willing to try dancing. We looked for partners, even if dancing a different dance. It began to come together as the partners saw the need, felt heard, and became part of the discussion of solutions. Eventually others began to join and all began to feel a part of something much bigger than just more money for schools. It became clear that there would have to be compromise on the part of all involved which would result in benefit for all.
Jacqueline Sly - February 2017

11. Looking Ahead
Passing legislation is just the beginning. Implementation and oversight is in progress and the impact is to be experienced for years to come
Include oversight and options for adjustments as the journey continues.
Jacqueline Sly - February 2017

12. South Dakota Proved Margaret Mead’s Words to be True
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
Jacqueline Sly - February 2017

13. Resources http://blueribbon.sd.gov/ - Blue Ribbon Task Force website
- World Café website
content/uploads/2015/07/Strategic-Questioning.pdf - Strategic Questioning
Jacqueline Sly - February 2017

14. Questions?
Contact info: Jacqueline Sly
(m) (h)
Jacqueline Sly - February 2017

15. Upcoming March Webinar
Wednesday, March 8th, 2017 at 1:30p ET
Self-Employment and Entrepreneurship for People with Disabilities - Insights from CSG's Work Matters Report
Featuring J. Edward (Ted) Townsend III, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development
RSVP at respectabilityusa.com/events/

16. Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi
RespectAbility Contact Information
We have many resources for policy makers and employers on our website and are ready to help!
RespectAbilityUSA
11333 Woodglen Drive, #102
Rockville, MD 20852
Cell: (202) 365 – 0787
Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi
President