Launching into Cyberspace (tiptoe actually)

Well this is my first official blog. I've "written" several in my mind while riding on my bike or walking on my treadmill but this is the first one to actually hit cyberspace.

I'm currently in the doctoral program at Illinois State University. It's been difficult but it's also been an amazing experience. This past year I've spent a great deal of time learning about leadership, and I've read many theorists on the subject. I'll probably share a lot of the things that I've learned as I continue to blog this year.

My current ISU class is focused on community relations. This subject is something very important to all of us within the CCUD#1 organization. I'm excited to spend time with colleagues in various educational institutions from all around Illinois as we learn how to better communicate with the communities that we serve. It is especially timely as it seems the old ways of communicating are quickly being replaced by various Web 2.0 tools.

One of the first books that we read this semester was a book called Leaders as Communicators and Diplomats and it has various contributing authors. One piece of information that has stayed with me all week was some information from a national study which found that "nearly half of all public messages about schools that come from school staff are negative." Which means the research found that the "most potent and unfavorable influence on the public's perception of schools are not newspapers, television, or even talk radio .... it's the school employees!" Ouch

So in an effort to be a part of the solution and not part of the problem, I'm going to use the end of my blog on each posting this year to give "thanks" for someone within the CCUD#1 organization. There are many fabulous people that work in the CCUD#1 organization so my most difficult task will be to narrow it down to only one on each posting. My first "thanks" go out to Lisa. I don't know Lisa very well except I know she's a bigger Cub fan than I am (and that's saying quite a bit). Lisa takes care of our unit office several days a week and she does a marvelous job. When I come in in the morning and she's finishing up she's always got a smile on her face, a pleasant greeting and that in turn starts my day off right. She's the kind of person that you're just better for knowing. Thanks Lisa for being a positive influence to those around you, especially those of us at CCUD#1.

Thanks for reading.

Tammy