The challenges of a new presidency - President's Corner

School Administrator, Dec, 2002 by John R. Lawrence

As I begin to write this, my maiden article as president of our national association, I am consumed by numerous and varied thoughts.

Scores of cliches are running through my head as I attempt to craft something noteworthy and memorable to leave you confident in my emerging leadership. However, the truth is I would be astonished if you really do remember this writing and I know that inevitably and appropriately it will only be noteworthy to me. What I do ask you to recall, though, is that I am honored by the opportunity to serve as your president, albeit unexpectedly early. I will work hard to earn the privilege.

To that end there is much to do.

Like school districts around the nation, AASA faces challenging fiscal times. At present, our association experiences a slightly lower active membership, our investment income has dwindled and attendance at our national convention has mirrored the decline of other professional organizations in a troubled economy and the post-9/11 era.

Additionally, with and for you, we face the formidable task of influencing the regulatory language of the No Child Left Behind Act to be pertinent for students and practical for schools. NCLB is the law, but the rule-making window is still open. Moreover, we also must continue our persistent efforts to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, soon to be reauthorized by the Congress. The delivery of this promise to students with disabilities, first made a generation ago, never has been more important than today when nearly every state legislature in the nation is targeting reductions in the funding of public education.

Within the association AASA strives to provide new and enhanced member services, re-energize the National Conference on Education and design a new governance structure that, subject to your approval this winter, will fundamentally change the process of electing the association's leaders.

Finally, in April 2003 the AASA headquarters will be moving to a new facility in Arlington, Va., a few miles from our current site. The economics of the relocation are solid, but there's a lot of stuff in the closets and the basement is full.

The areas I have identified here are not a complete menu of our initiatives, but they are the central missions of an active organization.

As your new president, I ask and I need your help. I ask and I need your assistance and your prayers in a complex geo-political landscape. Jam, like so many of you, a fully employed public school superintendent. My home district of Troy, Mo., is characterized by an exemplary board of education that provides me the time to work with you in helping kids and helping each other. However, as a good friend told me years ago, despite the sometimes lofty challenges of our profession, every so often "somebody still needs to get the dog off the playground." In the symbolic, if not the real sense, this is often the superintendent of schools.

Over the next several months AASA will rise to the occasion. In our stability we will reaffirm our position as the pre-eminent association of the educational community. I mentioned early in this my debut President's Corner column that I am honored to serve, and I most genuinely am. But I also wrote that to do the job I need your help and that too is most genuine. Sometimes those playground dogs can be pretty big.