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contact Mary Stadick Smith at mary.stadicksmith@state.sd.us.

It is the policy of the Department of Education and Cultural Affairs to provide services to all persons, without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, disability, ancestry, or national origin, in accordance with federal and state laws.

Adjusting the sails

Over the past several years, I have quoted a saying that summarizes the essence of leadership. The saying is: “The pessimist complains about the wind, the optimist expects it to disappear, and the leader adjusts the sails.” This saying summarizes the challenges of leadership – recognizing the challenges that exist and yet making adjustments to respond to those changes.

In late July and early August, we traveled the state – hosting regional meetings as part of the 2010 Education Initiative. The meetings have allowed us to meet with more than 300 people to discuss the future of education in South Dakota. The group consisted primarily of educators (administrators and teachers) with a sprinkling of business leaders, parents, students and other citizens having ties to our educational system.

The meetings confirmed the saying above – we do have “issues” to deal with in our state’s educational system. However, there is hope, and if we “adjust the sails,” we can begin to shape the future for the benefit of our young people.

Topics that we discussed at the 2010 meetings included: early childhood education, high school initiatives and administrator/teacher quality. We also allowed time for participants to share innovative ideas.  The specific suggestions that surfaced during the 2010 Education discussions can be reviewed on the Web site: www.2010education.com.

Once all of the regional meetings have been completed (we have two postsecondary meetings in August), the ideas generated will be reviewed by members of the Governor’s staff and the Department of Education, with plans to form specific goals that can be accomplished by the year 2010. The Governor will announce those goals during the 2004-05 school year.

In closing, I want to challenge our educational leaders to be open to ideas for the future.  We do have challenges, and yet, most of us would agree that the opportunities far outweigh the threats in our educational system. If we choose to “adjust the sails,” we can sail into a bright future for the children of South Dakota.