NOCTILUCA June 2017

NEWS Appleton, Wisconsin June 2017 Volume XXII

Issue VIII

Page 2

From substitute teacher to superintendent

choices, the outgoing superintendent had considered an accounting career because of his interest inworkingwith numbers but “ultimately I decided to go with my heart, and education was the direction. Even as a young man I had a bulletin board in my bedroom that I decorated with seasonal stuff like you would have in an elementary classroom, so my interest in educa- tion goes way back,” added Allinger. As he ends his career here inAASD, Allinger has some important words to share with us about the importance of a public education and diversity, of making mistakes and learning, of the future of education and of the state of the district as he leaves it. The state of the district “So much takes place before stu- dents actually show up in our school,” said Allinger as he spoke to the im- portance of an early connection with students. There is now a 4K program and the district works hard to connect with families and community agen- cies, leveraging the “wealth of oppor- tunity” that exists before school even begins. “Certainly in the last decade we’ve become far more connected to children at birth to age 5,” added Allinger. But the desire to be connect- ed with students outside of the grades K-12 realm exists not only before but also after the standard schooling years. The district has been involved in strong career-based learning ini- tiatives. “We want to be viewed as a school district that helps kids be con- nected to what their future could be beyond high school.” Among building strong relation- ships and ensuring students feel safe and welcomed in the district, it has also been a focus of this superinten- dent to educate “the entire child,” which to himmeans that “our schools play a significant role in making sure that the arts are a valued part of what happens not only in art class but inte- grated throughout [the school].” As the leading visionary for the district, Allinger hopes that students know this is a great place to make mistakes, because he knows there are multiple ways to show understanding and that learning is not solely mea- sured through tests. “Students are go- ing to make mistakes; they’re going to make poor decisions, and I hope that we’re seen as a school district that understands that and that works with kids even when they might be struggling the most, that we’re not pushing them away or turning our backs on them,” said Allinger. Public education Allinger places heavy value on di- Ptacek , Allinger, from page 1

“To be a good educator or good school district, you need all 1,800 people feeling that they can bring their innovation and ideas to work.”

versity and hopes that students realize as they graduate that diversity is our strength. He describes public schools as “perhaps one of the last places of coming together, whether it be differ- ent religious groups, different ethnici- ties, different cultural experiences or different political views.” AASD has a priority pyramid that sets a safe and welcoming community as the basis of a successful district, leading to great instruction and curriculum. School vouchers, Allinger mentioned, he feels hinder the coming together that public schools offer. He’s spoken with various legislators, including Governor Scott Walker, advocat- ing for public schools and educating about the dangers the voucher system can bring. “I think people are more focused on the money than on what philo- sophically we want to try to create in the school experience. I think that [school vouchers] will lead to greater segregation.” Allinger believes that it is more powerful to learn about expe- riences from real people and not by solely reading it in a book. “I do and I don’t get the whole idea that com- petition will drive improving schools, that’s a business model. We might be better off to take a look at it as schools share information. I think we’d be better off ensuring that all students get quality learning opportunities versus going to a competitive model,” added the superintendent. Speaking about collectively sharing information as a teaching model, Allinger also warned against the system of merit-based pay, deeming it “not a formula for suc- cess.” Future of public education AsAllinger looks forward at the fu- ture of education, he thinks there will be a higher level of student respon- sibility, integration of technology and online courses, and expansion of “anytime, anywhere learning.” This anytime, anywhere learning is facilitated by technology, allowing students access to information and Related Stories: Huggins named assistant superinten- dent, Mielke to retire, page 3

school work at any point. Maybe high schoolers would arrive at different times with more flexibility in course- work and class times, similar to col- lege courses. “You’ll continue to see technology pushing the bounds of the typical school day and school year,” said Allinger. As science advances, Allinger also pointed out that our understanding of brain development will grow, especially in helping with mental health issues. “Those types of developments [in mental health sci- ence] will help us better target strate- gies to work with particular students and their families, and hopefully im- “I love to bike. And it’ll be nice to not have to go just on weekends or high traffic times in the evening,” said Allinger. Besides enjoying more free time, Allinger plans to stay engaged in the community through his in- volvement with the Performing Arts Center and the Bubolz boards. Both he and his wife have an educational endowment that will go towards en- vironmental education and he plans to have a different advocacy role for public education. Soon, his grandkids who live right down the street will enter school, and he plans to support them in their schooling careers. “The school district has allowed me to raise my family.” Three of Allinger’s four children are teachers, one is an artist, and two are married to teachers. “I’m proud that my kids are educators; I love to talk to them about it. Two of them teach in the school district, so I get complaints from all angles,” he said with a laugh, quickly adding that it was okay. “I’m not necessarily thinking that I have to be done with work; there may be opportunities to serve in a differ- ent capacity, most likely not in public education but in some other way. I’ve only known education, so it’s kind of intriguing what other opportuni- ties might come forward. I go to the Copper Rock downtown almost ev- Related Story: Herrling to retire after six years as North’s activity director, page 12 prove outcomes.” What’s next?

ery morning to get my coffee, maybe I’ll serve coffee there or something,” he said with a smile. “I don’t think I have the skills though,” he added with a chuckle. But for now, he’s ex- cited to travel with his wife. As the job of superintendent is all-consum- ing, they haven’t had the opportunity to explore as much and plan to go to Italy. Last words of advice For educators: “You’re so busy, but what an incredibly valuable pro- fession you’ve chosen. Thanks for choosing it. So many kids are count- ing on you to give us your best. And your best is all you have to give us,” Allinger said warmly. For students: As he commented on the number of opportunities avail- able, Allinger suggested students take advantage of them. “Don’t be afraid of failure. I think this is the place to do it. This a chance for you to try things and don’t be afraid; we’re going to be there to help you and so are your parents — to pick you up if things don’t go well in the cross country race or on the play stage or playing your bassoon or giv- ing a speech or writing a newspaper article,” Allinger said. “It’s been my desire to connect with individual students and staff. That’s been really important to me. I hope that people recognize, and I think they do, that I’ve tried to keep that [connection]. Everyone has ideas, but we have 1,800 people on our staff and I would hope that if I had a legacy, if there’s such a thing, it wouldn’t be a particular program or project. It would be more about the idea that to be a good educator or good school district, you need all 1,800 people feeling that they can bring their innovation and ideas to work with kids. Every student is so different in what they might need to be effective, so I would hope that my legacy would be around leveraging the strength of everyone on our staff and also in our communities.”

Related Editorial: Legacies of Education, page 4

Related Story: North’s Nurse Dougherty to retire, page 8