In the interim
The KSBA Board of Directors recently announced the selection of Associate Executive Director David Baird to serve as interim executive director of the association. Baird succeeds retiring Executive Director Bill Scott on June 15 and will serve until the board completes its search for a permanent chief executive. That process is expected to resume this fall.
A career educator, Baird has been KSBA’s associate executive director since 2005 after retiring as superintendent of the Eminence Independent school district, a post he held for 16 years. A former teacher, principal, coach and athletic director in the Carroll County and Eminence systems, he is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University and Morehead State University, with additional studies at Georgetown College, Xavier University in Cincinnati and the University of Louisville.
Kentucky’s Superintendent of the Year in 2005, Baird was named a Distinguished Alumnus of Morehead State University in 2007. During his tenure at Eminence, Executive Educator magazine named him one of the Top 100 Educators in America.
During his 40-year career in education, Baird has served on multiple boards, including the state School Facilities Construction Commission and the state Blue Ribbon Commission on Low-Performing Schools. As KSBA’s associate executive director, Baird has been heavily involved in KSBA’s legislative efforts in Frankfort and Washington, D.C.
East Kentucky to West Coast
Microsoft executive Audrey Sniezek’s recent blog entry featured an account of a visit to the company’s Seattle headquarters by a delegation from Lee County Schools. Sniezek is the rock climber whose chance meeting with Lee County school board Chairman William Owens led to a partnership between the tech giant and the district’s high school.
On their April visit to Microsoft, the six Lee County High students in the partnership got to job shadow professionals in the computer technology field; they also toured the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, University of Washington Computer Science Department, Facebook’s offices (pictured below) and the Microsoft Envisioning Center, which illustrates technology possibilities in a five to 10 year time frame. Students also continued their computer classwork in person, instead of the distance learning format they use with the Microsoft partnership. Owens and Superintendent Jim Evans accompanied the students on the trip.
“This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these students and the school,” Sniezek wrote. “Aside from touring a piece of the Evergreen State, they learned a lot and took home memories to last a lifetime.”
Deadline at the OASIS
The deadline is a month away for submissions in the 2013 OASIS professional development program for school public relations professionals. OASIS, Outstanding Achievement in School Information Services, is sponsored by KSBA and the Kentucky School Public Relations Association. This year’s entries are due by 4 p.m. ET July 8. Award-winning work this year for the first time will reflect the state’s assessment system, recognizing distinguished and proficient entries. Click here for guidelines, entry forms and other resources.