I was at a neighborhood get-together this weekend. I was talking to one on the guests (a successful salesman), explaining that in spite of what he has heard, schools do not actually burn money to heat the buildings in the winter and that there is not one central office person for every person on a campus. He was surprised. But what surprised him most is that we don’t let students use their smart phones on campus. As he pointed out, his phone has made his computer almost obsolete and he runs his entire day in the field from a device that fits in his palm. That has to be our challenge over the summer – How do we get the power of personal technology into our classrooms? We have to get past the urge to put $10,000 interactive white-boards in rooms while telling students to leave their tablets at home. A number of you in the LYS Nation are now using bootleg technology devices to follow Twitter. If you haven’t done so yet, we want you to join us. To let you see what you are missing, here are the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of May 22, 2011, as tabulated by the accountants at Price Waterhouse. 1. If you are a school leader who enjoyed the warmth of the TPM blanket, resist the urge to burn those under you because now you are cold. 2. So the legislature has made no progress in 5 months? Hmmm… Imagine if our kids were in the same place where they were when they started in August. 3. Breaking News: TEA to rate Texas legislature academically unacceptable… Legislators ask, “Is that with or without TPM?” 4. Don’t waste your time worrying if your people like you. Invest your time in making your people better. 5. Not making mistakes comes with experience, which usually comes from making mistakes. 6. At a state juvenile facility where every interaction between guard and student is textbook wrong. The next placement is never better. Never quit on your students. 7. Texas Republican Logic: When one hypothetical student theoretically dies from steroid abuse, it’s a tragedy. When 100,000’s of actual students are under-educated, it’s belt tightening. 8. The last summative assessment of the school year is the first formative data source for the new school year. 9. The bottom line is: Unsuccessful students + state created fiction = unsuccessful students. 10. Louise ISD is looking for an exceptional LYS leader to be its next Superintendent. Candidates send information to: superintendent@leadyourschool.com Think. Work. Achieve. Your turn…Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t Louise ISD is searching for a Superintendent. Application details at www.LeadYourSchool.com Follow Sean Cain on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation Upcoming Event / Presentation Schedule June 11 (TASB) – The Fundamental Five; Improve Now! June 15 thru June 17 – TASSP Conference June 16 (TASSP) – Conference Breakfast, hosted by E. Don Brown (LYS travel tumblers for the first 1000 attendees, last year we ran out) June 16 (TASSP) – Book Release Event for “The Fundamental 5” June 18 – TASB Conference, Fort Worth