Launches survey of innovative math program and course ideas

CARBONDALE - August 28, 2012. Continuing her effort to improve student achievement and math preparedness, Lt. Governor Sheila Simon visited Carbondale Community High School today to learn about its Essentials for College Algebra course. The course, available only to high school seniors, aims to bridge the gap between the three years of math currently required to graduate high school, and a student's future college plans.

"Too many students arrive at college unprepared for college-level math," Simon said. "We need to find new, innovative and engaging programs that will better prepare our students for college and career, and Essentials for College Algebra might be one piece to that curriculum puzzle."

The Essentials for College Algebra course at Carbondale Community High School was designed to help close the gap between a third year of required math and the student's math needs upon graduation. The course reinforces high school math skills that college-bound students need to qualify for credit-bearing, post-secondary math courses. Ideally, students who complete the course will not need to take remedial math courses at college that expend financial aid but offer no credit.

"Preparing students for College and Career Readiness goes beyond meeting the minimum requirements for graduation," said Daniel Booth, Carbondale Community High School Principal. "It means ensuring students have the skills to effectively transition to post-secondary education. It's difficult for anyone to take a year off of math and come right back at the same skill level. The Essentials for College Algebra class is designed to help students hit the ground running after high school and pursue their college and career goals while reducing the need for remediation."

Essentials for College Algebra is just one of many innovative ideas that Simon hopes to discover through a statewide math survey she launched today. Students, parents, teachers and administrators are invited to submit math curriculum and program ideas that could be considered for statewide implementation. Programs could be geared toward higher math achievement in college, career or technical preparation, middle school enrichment, or collaboration between grade levels on math curricula.

Simon will compile the survey results and present them to an Illinois Board of Education group that is tasked with developing statewide math curricula models. The curricula models could be implemented at middle and high schools statewide to help districts and teachers ensure that students graduate prepared for college and career.

"We have a great opportunity here to gather effective ideas from across the state that could boost math achievement and strengthen our students to better compete in college classrooms and for high-paying jobs," Simon said.

To participate in the survey, please click here.

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Funds will go toward creating a one call/one click resource for veterans

Dubuque, IA - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) today announced that the Federal Transit Administration has obligated $1,461,800 to the Iowa Department of Transportation for the Veterans Transportation and Community Living Project. The funding will create a database that will hold veterans' transportation information and combine it with other resources to create a comprehensive database to start a one-call/one-click resource. This will allow veterans, persons with disabilities, persons over 60, and the general public to access information about transportation and other human service resources available.

"The more resources veterans, the disabled, and the elderly have to assist them in transportation, the more ability they have to live a full and active life," said Braley. "At the very least, we owe our veterans reliable transportation, and the assistance to the rest of the community will be a great asset to many groups. I am pleased this funding is coming to Iowa and hope the resource database will provide new information and assistance to these groups."

Braley has worked hard to provide needed assistance to veterans. Less than a month ago the Andrew Connolly Veterans Housing Act, which he introduced, was signed into law by President Obama.

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack announced today that he will speak at Acciona Windpower to celebrate the assembly of the first AW3000 turbine produced in the United States.  The celebration will take place TOMORROW, August 29^th at 11:00am in West Branch.  Earlier this year, Loebsack was presented the American Wind Energy Association's USA Wind Champion Award during a visit to Acciona's facilities.  He was given this award in recognition of his ongoing support of wind energy in Iowa and working to extend the Production Tax Credit (PTC).

Acciona Windpower Celebration

601 Fawcett Drive

West Branch

11:00am

Great coaches take into consideration an athlete's talent and heart when they're building a team, but they consider group dynamics, too, says entrepreneur J. Allan McCarthy.

"It's not just a matter of getting the fastest, strongest and smartest players on your side," says McCarthy, an international scaling expert and author of Beyond Genius, Innovation & Luck: The 'Rocket Science' of Building High-Performance Corporations (www.mccarthyandaffiliates.com).

"If you're building a championship team, you're gauging how the individual athletes fit together; how their personalities, talents, drive and abilities will mesh to meet the team's goals. It's exactly what you need to do to build a winning corporate team. As Michael Jordan, put it, 'Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.' "

In the 2011 film Moneyball, Coach Billy Beane picks his players based on analysis and evidence, says McCarthy, who has worked with hundreds of companies. He doesn't ever just "go with his gut."

McCarthy provides key points for building a successful, effective team:

· Lead with a team, not a group: A team of leaders behaves very differently than a group of leaders. Many companies don't know the difference. "It comes down to clear goals, interdependencies and rules of engagement," McCarthy says, Every corporation claims to hire only the best and the brightest but it is evident that getting the best and brightest to function as a team can be a challenge.

· Know your goals: McCarthy cites Bill Gates - "Teams should be able to act with the same unity of purpose and focus as a well-motivated individual." Many big-name CEOs like to say their talent runs free with innovative ideas. "It makes for compelling literature," McCarthy says. But would that work on the football field? Corporations need their personnel to think out-of-the-box but also act in a prescriptive culture - to work within a system in order to achieve common objectives.

· Not everyone can be the coach - or the quarterback: The problem with executives is that they all want to lead and none want to follow, McCarthy says. A team made up of executives is like a group of thoroughbred stallions confined to a small space called an organization -- plenty of kicking, biting and discord. Thoroughbreds don't naturally work well as a team. Better to define responsibilities that build a "foxhole mentality," wherein one person has the gun, the other the bullets, McCarthy says. It's in the best interests of both for each to succeed.

· The strongest teams are adept at resolving conflict: Hiring the best and the brightest should create a diverse, competent group ? but inevitably these stallions generate friction that can sabotage company progress. So, sensitize team members to the early warning signs: know-it-all attitudes, multi-tasking during team meetings, exhibiting dominant behavior, not responding in a timely fashion or engaging in avoidance. Agree, as a team, on how to mutually manage and minimize counterproductive behaviors as they surface.

· Create individual and team agreements: Here is where the "rubber meets the road" - it's the final stage of planning who will do what for team objectives, as well as a collective agreement on team rules and interdependencies. Ask individuals to openly commit to what they will do, and how the team is to function. The public declaration stresses employee obligation and collaborative management.

"We live in a 21st-century economy where speed and efficiency is a top priority, and that often means a 'shoot first, ask questions later' mentality," McCarthy says. "But you get the team that you plan for, not necessarily what you pay for. If time is money, then I'd invest it in creating and building a championship team."

About J. Allan McCarthy

J. Allan McCarthy, principal of J.A. McCarthy & Affiliates, has more than 20 years of experience across 15 industries and more than 200 companies. He is a scaling expert who helps organizations determine how to best align strategy, structure and workforce capabilities. He earned his master's of management from Golden Gate University, a Stanford University AEA MBA refresher, and has worked with many international companies, including Cisco Systems, Raychem Corporation, SAP Inc., Redback Networks, BEA Systems and Ericsson.