American Association of School Administrators

School Administrator, April, 2003

Congratulations Kenneth Dragsetb -- 2003 Superintendent of the Year

Edina, Minn., Public Schools Superintendent Kenneth Dragseth was honored as the 2003 National Superintendent of the Year at the 135th AASA National Conference on Education.

Dragseth has been the superintendent in Edina since 1992. He has been with the district since 1967 and has served in a variety of roles including assistant superintendent, curriculum and instruction coordinator, dean of students and classroom teacher.

Dragseth's special areas of interest include curriculum development aligned with appropriate assessment, gender bias issues in education, sleep deprivation in teens related to high school start times, quality schools efforts, data-based decision malting, district and school accountability, site-based decision making, desegregation/integration efforts between suburban and urban school districts, and establishment of an ethical values program for students and staff.

Dragseth has received numerous awards and recognition including Minnesota Superintendent of the Year for 2003, Exemplary Board/Superintendent Relationship Award, Executive Educator 100, Administrator of the Year, Bush Executive Fellow and several Who's Who lists.

The three other national finalists were: William Mathis, superintendent of the 2,100-student Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union in Brandon, Vt.; Michael Moses, superintendent of the 166,000-student Dallas Independent School District in Texas; and W. Randolph Nichols, superintendent of the 38,000-student Chesapeake Public Schools in Chesapeake, Va.

During a Washington. D.C., news conference in late January, Dragseth said he considered the job of superintendent to be "emotionally satisfying," adding, "We all signed up because we want to help kids. ... It's a great life!"

The National Superintendent of the Year program, now in its 16th year, is co-sponsored by ARAMALRK ServiceMaster Facility Services and AASA. For more information about the program and a list of 2003 state superintendents of the year, go to www.aasa.org.

AASA Honors NASA, Columbia Space Shuttle Crew with the Annual Galaxy Award

"AASA honors NASA, which has worked to solve the mysteries of the universe, and the individuals who gave their lives so that we might continue our explorations."

- AASA Executive Director Paul Houston

Praising NASA's half century of keeping the dream of space exploration alive, AASA honored the agency and crew of the Columbia space shuffle with its annual Galaxy Award at the 2003 Annual Conference in New Orleans. The Galaxy Award honors leaders whose vision, imagination, courage and leadership have pointed the way to the future. Veteran educator and NASA Associate Administrator for Education, Dr. Adena Williams Loston, accepted the award on behalf of NASA and the men and women of Columbia.

Since its inception, NASA has coupled its mission of exploration with a "profound dedication to educating children about science and space," AASA Executive Director Paul Houston said. "NASA has broadened and deepened its commitment to our youth through programs aimed at educating our children about the wonders of space and what its exploration offers all of us," he said. "In doing so, NASA has tied the theories of science to the wonder of the reality of space and provided motivation for learning more about both."

Houston said that while NASA has had a remarkable record of success, "we know that great achievement comes at a price and that innovation and success are founded upon the heartbreak of our failures. School leaders also know about the invisibility of unsung leadership. When things go well, no one notices. When disaster strikes, everyone pays attention.

"The loss of the Columbia brought the stark reality of the risks that have been taken on our behalf. So today, we also honor those seven individuals who, in carrying out their work, sacrificed for all of us.

Loston, in accepting the award, described NASA's new educational initiative that will provide customized professional development to educators and offer authentic mathematics and science experiences to students and their families.

The NASA Explorer Schools Program will "inspire the next generation of explorers," according to a Feb. 12 news release from NASA. The program encourages teams of four to five science, mathematics and technology educators from a school or district to apply for a three-year partnership with NASA. Fifty school teams will be selected to work with NASA specialists to integrate agency science content into their curriculum through problem-solving activities and to incorporate challenges into their mathematics and science curriculum. Students will have opportunities to apply science, mathematics and technology to real-world issues and problems.

During the 2003 pilot year, the program will be focusing on grades 5 to 8. All NASA Explorer School Teams will be eligible for a $10,000 grant, which is designed to assist with the purchase of science and technology tools to support the teams' implementation plan to bring cutting-edge technology applications to the classroom. For details, visit http://explorerschools.nasa.gov.