Scot Graden – Superintendent of Saline Area Schools
Posted in Uncategorized on Oct 27th, 2009
Recently, I have been thinking a lot about decision making. We have several major decisions that are on the horizon for Saline Area Schools. In this month’s Harvard Business Review, Mr. Thomas Davenport notes that important decisions are often made without enough thought and support, with all-too often negative results. Smart organizations, he says, improve [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Oct 25th, 2009
Well, last week is not one I will soon forget. On Friday morning, I sent this message to Saline Area School staff: Late Thursday afternoon, Gov. Granholm initiated the proration process for schools and raised the total reduction by another $127 per pupil to a net loss of $289 per student. For Saline, this equals [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Oct 24th, 2009
One of the questions I get from time to time and certainly one that I think about often is, “Does anyone read the website?” and another familiar one is, “Does anyone read your blogs?” As I have noted here in the blog previously, I am concerned about how to get information out to our broad [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Oct 22nd, 2009
I just read a very interesting Op-Ed piece from Thomas Friedman. He quotes Harvard labor expert Lawrence Katz: “If you think about the labor market today, the top half of the college market, those with the high-end analytical and problem-solving skills who can compete on the world market or game the financial system or deal [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Oct 18th, 2009
Last week I attended the Foundation for Saline Area Schools trustee meeting. The primary agenda item dealt with the distribution of the grant requests that have been sent in by our faculty. It was exciting to see the 31 grants submitted for review. In total, over $62,000 in project funding was sought for grants that [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Oct 14th, 2009
Over the last few weeks in particular, I have been in and out of classrooms where students are working together on many different projects. We call it “collaboration” and it seems to be working as an instructional strategy. The one issue that has come up at various times, particularly at the 5-12 grade level, is [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Oct 11th, 2009
This month marks the start of my third year as either the interim or permanent Superintendent for Saline Area Schools. As I reflect on the district and my role in leading it, I see the need for planning. Most of you probably agree – teachers imparting information to students in a one-way direction – is [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Oct 8th, 2009
Today was the first Community Conversation meeting of the year. I have the opportunity to meet with parents and community members to discuss Saline Area Schools. There were about 20 people who stopped in at My Favorite Cafe and shared their thoughts on a variety of issues. I would like to thank them for taking [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Oct 5th, 2009
This week there was an interesting article in the New York Times about a trend in new school construction to use artwork and design elements to create an inspiring learning environment. A quote from a building principal in one of the new schools caught my eye – “Looking at art is not just an aesthetic; [...]