May 5 , 2008

From Our Officers

Priscilla White, President-Elect & Summer Conference Coordinator
Time for all of us to get together is growing near!!! The conference committee has met and selected the workshops for your professional growth and your personal inspiration.

In the planning process, I have had the pleasure of talking to so many of our members. Every one has always said, "What ever you need me to do, I will do it!" Each phone call or email that I make gets me more excited about seeing old friends as well as making new friends. But in order for us to have a good conference, we need all of you to attend and to bring new members with you.

Focus Sessions have been pretty much nailed down — check out the Program Draft to help plan your conference day! Our past presidents will "kick off" our conference as we hear how they have stayed connected through the years, and how TCWSE played a huge part in their lives.

Elizabeth Clark and Anita Pankake will be other guest speakers as well as having workshops from the infamous Lu and other members that we always look forward to hearing. Some of you are presenting for the first time at our conference—a big thank you to you!!!!

To use some thing from my Girl Scout days, I'm going to "make new friends and keep the old. One is silver and the other gold." Come on—we all need to meet each other!!!!!!!

See you at the summer conference!!!!!!

Lu Stephens, Secretary
Awards! Awards! Awards! TCWSE Members, don't forget to submit your nominations for Margret Montgomery Leadership, Friend, and Bravo Awards!! This is a great opportunity to give some recognition to an individual you admire. The nomination process is simple: go to TCWSE's Awards & Recognition page, fill out your form(s) of choice online, and submit! Don't delay! Nomination deadline has been extended to Friday, May 16!

2008 Summer Conference—Register Now!
Connecting Our Leadership Community
June 20–22, 2008 • Renaissance Austin Hotel

We've got a fantastic Summer Conference planned and it promises to be another perfect opportunity to join with other TCWSE members from across the state to learn and network. We've lined up some dynamic Focus Sessions and keynote speakers, along with lots of time to socialize and learn from one another. Don't Delay — Register Now!

Keynote Speakers
In keeping with our Connecting theme, we've invited an inspiring group of TCWSE Past Presidents to share their experiences within and outside of TCWSE and how those connections have helped them in their careers and personal lives. Keynote Speakers include: Margret Montgomery, Virginia Collier, Juneria Berges, Barbara Sultis, Anita Pankake, Elizabeth Clark, Shirley Coleman, Vicki Miller, and Nancy Vaughan.

Focus Sessions — We've got a great line-up of Focus Sessions, guaranteed to meet the needs of a wide variety of attendees. Check out our Program Draft for full details!

Regional Roundup — Share ideas for regional meetings and networking with your fellow TCWSE members from around the state. Share what does and doesn't work and learn from each other in this interactive session.

Early Bird Reception, Saturday Breakfast, Awards Luncheon, Welcome Reception, Sunday Breakfast, Closing Luncheon — We've pretty much got you covered as far as meals and refreshments go!

Please join us for this one-of-a-kind conference! You will have a wonderful experience and make new, life-long friends! We look forward to welcoming you in Austin in June!

2008 Awards Program
TCWSE loves to recognize individuals whose passion and dedication make a real difference in public education! If you know people who deserve such recognition, here's your opportunity to acknowledge them. Submit your nominations for TCWSE's 2008 Margret Montgomery Leadership Award, Friend Award, and/or Bravo Awards. It's not too early to start thinking about award recipients! The deadline for 2008 awards program has been extended to Friday, May 16! [Criteria, past recipients, and links to online nomination forms]

Regional Happenings

Region 4
[reported by Denise Daniels, Assistant Principal, Katy ISD]
The Region IV Chapter is buzzing with activity this spring! Our spring conference and business meeting took place April 12 in Spring Branch ISD at the Westchester Academy for International Studies here in Houston will host the conference. The agenda included a keynote from Dr. Duncan Klussmann, Superintendent of Schools, Spring Branch ISD, and guest speaker Mr. Alton Frailey, Superintendent of Schools, Katy ISD. These outstanding speakers were followed with a catered lunch from Carrabba’s Italian Grill and a fashion show by Coldwater Creek, and finally we ended with our annual business meeting and door prizes.

Northeast Texas
[reported by Diane Stegall, TCWSE Vice-President]
Region VIII will have its next meeting in May and the program will be about “The Fly Lady.” The date and location have not been determined at this time.

Region 11
[reported by Karla Burkholder, Region 11 Representative]
Region 11 met on March 27 at the Macaroni Grill in Fort Worth. Attendees participated in "speed networking" and noted on strips of paper things learned about each other. After sharing the strips were used to created a chain illustrating our connected community. Region 11 plans to meet again in May or June at Central Market to participate in a cooking class. It will be a great opportunity for team building.

Region 20
[reported by Patricia Ramirez, Region 20 Representative]
Saturday, May 10, 2008 — Region XX & Central Texas TCWSE Members, Save the Date!
Region 20 Regional TCWSE Rep Patricia Ramirez will host a gathering for women school leaders in the Central Texas area. We will meet in San Antonio at 110 Broadway in the 2nd floor conference room from 9-12. Members and their guests may park at the Hyatt Parking Garage - fees will be covered. Come join Regional Women School Leaders for a morning of celebration and renewal as we continue to “Connect our Leadership Community”. Please RSVP by May 7 to PatRam31@AOL.Com – we want to be sure we have plenty of refreshments! If you have any questions, call 210-860-0056 or send me an email. Join us and bring along a colleague or two!

How to Avoid Getting Sued, Grieved, or Indicted
Handbooks and Websites and Policies of Employment... A Safety Net or a Snare?

Submitted by Laura S. Fowler, TCWSE General Counsel and Attorney at Law with The Fowler Law Firm PC

Whether you are a public school district or a junior college district, the following remarks by a practicing attorney are designed to help you avoid costly legal battles. All of the remarks are inspired by actual costly legal battles that educators or college dministrators easily could have avoided.

It is never too late to conduct a careful review of your employment policies. If you are thinking to yourself, “Why should I - that's the Human Resource Department's job!”… Think again!

Most schools and colleges have excellent legally defensible published employment policies. These policies appear in a variety of places. The trouble, however, is that often some published policies simply don't match the policies that appear in other places. Websites, employment contracts, employment handbooks and department or division handbooks often contain provisions concerning leave and overtime, employee benefits and grounds for termination of at-will employees that differ profoundly from the wording of published employment policies. Even if each source is itself defensible, the problems presented by such conflicts are enormous.

But do not despair! The starting place for a proper analysis of this problem is in anything that discusses payment of wages, leave, overtime and employee benefits. Actually, the primary offending sources are generally not published sources, but rather are found at the division or department level. Those need to be reviewed, revised or preferably even discarded so that all departments have identical wording. This analysis in all but the largest of schools or colleges actually does not take very long once the offending documents have been located. You may be surprised to see a document still in use at the department level that is 20 years old!

This information is provided by Laura S. Fowler, Attorney at Law with The Fowler Law Firm PC. It is not intended as a substitute for careful review by legal counsel of your choosing. As with any legal issues, please consult your attorney with questions. We would be most honored to assist you in your every real legal need. Contact Laura Fowler, 512.441.1411.

Good News!
Nancy Vaughan was named Interim Superintendent of Quitman ISD, as of February 2008. Priscilla White was named Executive Director, Teaching and Learning, at Grand Prairie ISD.

Share Your News!
Remember, TCWSE is all about building a strong support system for women administrators. Sharing your successes and triumphs is more than just tooting your own horn — you're also providing other members with ideas they may want to implement in their own district or goals to strive for. If you've got good news to share, let us know! We'll post it in the next issue of TCWSE e-Notes and online!

Added Info on Jimmie Stovall
In the last issue of e-Notes, we reported on the passing of Jimmie D. Stovall, who served as superintendent in San Vicente and Terlingua back in the 1980s and early 90s. Margret Montgomery has added some interesting information on Jimmie:

"When we sent out the notices about the very first meeting of women administrators, Jimmie was the first to respond. She called from her superintendency out in West Texas asking if there was an airport in Tyler, Texas. She was so excited to find a gtroup of women administrators, a support system she did not have out there. She was our greatest cheerleader to organize and get on with a support system for women serving in leadership roles. She arrived early and stayed as long as possible. I can still hear the excietment in her voice, and she remains an inspiration even today! What a great lady and leader!"

Contact Info for
Your Regional Representatives

Questions about this issue of TCWSE e-Notes?
Please contact Ann Halstead, TCWSE Executive Secretary/Treasurer, 512.477.6361.

Our Mission
The mission of the Texas Council of Woman School Executives is to create and maintain a united community of professional educational executives by promoting equity and quality in leadership through renewal, mentoring, and career advancement support.