Fall 2001 Issue

Dear NCA CASI Members: Welcome to a new opportunity as we begin another school year. I hope all of you are intrigued, motivated, and inspired every time you welcome your students back after a summer session. As we interact with students at all age levels and abilities, one quality must permeate all of our communications: our students must perceive school leaders as caring individuals. Sustaining a caring attitude while creating and maintaining a respectful environment may be the most difficult task on our list of educational responsibilities. Furthermore, continuing to encourage, motivate, and support those toughest kids who are the frequent visitors to your office, is a characteristic that all educators must search for in their hearts and not in their school rules and regulation manuals.

This journal focuses on respect and responsibility in our schools. As you peruse this document reflect upon your feelings about your most needy students. What can we do for them? Are we doing enough? What else can we do to teach them respect and responsibility? I believe that in order to develop successful students in these two areas we must first believe we can help all kids improve! This is similar to the philosophy embedded in the CASI mission that all kids can learn. All students can be respectful only when educational leaders believe they can, and teachers and administrators exhibit a flexible, caring demeanor at all times when disciplining pupils.

I encourage all educational personnel to model and promote socially acceptable behaviors at all times. Students will act and react to every direction we give them. If we want respect and responsibility demonstrated by all of our students, we all must first model these qualities continuously in front of our pupils. We also should be willing to set high expectations for acceptable and unacceptable behavior yet be flexible enough to deal with each pupil as an individual. This means changing consequences and rewards appropriately to afford all kids the chance to show gains in these two very important life skills.

I wish all of you success as you try to increase the level of respect and responsibility the students demonstrate on your campus. Continue to be persistent with your efforts; your students deserve it and need it. An increase in these two critical social skills will bring about an enhanced possibility for gains in your school's student achievement.

Sincerely,

Eric J. Gundrum, Ed.D.
Chair
NCA Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement

About the writer: Dr. Eric Gundrum is the principal of Cheyenne Elementary School in Peoria, Arizona. He has been an elementary school administrator for fifteen years. Prior to his school administration experience, Eric taught junior high science and mathematics. He can be contacted at egundrum@peoriaud.k12.az.us.