Volume XLIV                            October 2022

No. 322

See Yourself in Cyber: Individualized Path

October is here and that means it is, once again, Cybersecurity Awareness Month. I know you want to stop reading now, but please don’t. Indulge me for a moment. We hear about cybersecurity everywhere we go. Sometimes we hear about it so much it starts to fall on deaf ears because we feel there is only so much one person, one school, one administrator can do. The feeling that we will never be protected or we do not have time to put into place all of the pieces can be overwhelming. There are so many other priorities that seem more important - child safety, education loss due to Covid, and all of the other concerns administrators and school staff are responsible for. It is especially hard to prioritize things you don’t completely understand. Then there is always the issue of lack of funding and/or lack of staff to implement the necessary items. This can all lead to making a difficult task seem nigh impossible. The key to implementing cybersecurity measures is to break it down into smaller parts. We have to look at dealing with our cybersecurity issues very similar to the way you individualize instruction for children. We don’t expect a child to learn to read in one day. We know reading is a journey, and our goal on day one is to set them on that path. The good news is that Montana has some of the best Educational Technologists throughout the state. They can help you individualize the steps for your network and your environment. Here are some tools to put into your toolbelt to help you on your way:

1. Training Your Staff and Yourself - This is a key element to protecting your environment. It is required by your insurance company but can sometimes be hard to fit into your everyday tasks. The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCA) and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) work together to create a theme every year for Cybersecurity Awareness Month. They post materials for the general public to use to become more educated in cybersecurity. If you partner with them, for FREE, they will send you press releases, training videos on various topics, and social media graphics and logos to share with your community and staff. This can be the start of your training and put you on the path to reaching your cybersecurity goals.

To sign up visit Cybersecurity Awareness Month for more information

2. Sign up for MS-ISAC assistance - Many of you have been filling out your cybersecurity insurance forms and wondering how you can implement penetration testing, phishing campaigns, etc with a lack of funding. As a public education entity, you can receive assistance for FREE from MS-ISAC to implement some of the things that are now required for cybersecurity protection. Visit MS-ISAC for K-12 Schools to sign up for their free program. If you would like to request these services simply send an email [email protected] with the subject line “Requesting Cyber Hygiene Services” to get started. 

3. META -  Of course I have to put in a shameless plug for the Montana Educational Technologists Association. Make sure you and/or your Technologist are members of META. Our members are from all over the state and we are here to help with quick answers to questions, presentations, etc.  Being a member is an invaluable resource. Consider it to be the best ‘graduated reader’ program one could ask for. There are quite a few benefits such as a membership to Consortium for School Networking (COSN) for the Technologist, and all Administrators, access to the other Technologists throughout the state, and Cybersecurity Training for your team through a partnership with Cyber Montana and Cybrary!

The bottom line is to take Cybersecurity under your wing, much like one of your students, and assess its strengths, its opportunities for growth, and to start to individualize the instruction around that! Please let me know, or any other META member know if you need help or have questions! We are all in this together!

 Advocacy is Everyone's Responsibility!  

by Dr. Rob Watson, SAM Executive Director

As fall begins and winter is quickly approaching, I am reminded about the upcoming 2023 Legislative Session. A key goal of our Strategic Plan is advocacy: SAM members will be equipped with accurate information and prepared to use it to advocate for public education. 

To this end, SAM has historically deployed a Legislative Network (LN), which includes members from all affiliates, representing all parts of our great state. We will be looking for volunteers to establish this network and I would encourage you to get involved. As a member of SAM LN your primary responsibility is to stay engaged with what is happening in the legislature and get information to the SAM colleagues in your region of the state. Our role in the SAM office is to make sure that we have supplied accurate and timely information to those in the network. If this is something that sounds interesting to you, please be on the lookout in the next few weeks for the invitation to get involved in SAM LN.

Of course advocacy does not stop or start with the legislative session. We are all responsible for staying in touch with educational issues that are happening at the local, state and national level. There are a couple of ways you can do that:

1. In the SAM Update (sent each Friday) we typically include some news about contemporary education issues.

2. For more detailed information and links to other documents, please checkout bit.ly/robnotesfall22 (or the QR code below).  I established this notes page as an easy way to find information about state or federal education issues. The most current issues will remain at the top of the document. Bookmark the page - the news will change, but the link will stay the same.

Finally, when you think of advocacy, I would encourage you to remember that our goal is to advocate collectively - bringing people together with a common interest, in a supportive environment, to explore ideas, develop goals, and seek solutions. Our voice is louder and our impact is greater when we practice collective advocacy.

Rob

Join School Leaders from Throughout Montana in Missoula for MCEL!

MCEL is scheduled from Wednesday, October 19 through Friday, October 21 at the Missoula Hilton Garden.  MCEL provides a professional learning opportunity for school administrators, trustees, and business officials.  Gather your team and register for this outstanding conference featuring opening keynote presenter James Russell (Lessons Learned...Crisis Response During One School's Tragedy), closing keynote presenter Jason Horn and MANY presentations in between.   Click here to read session descriptions! 

All SAM members are also invited to attend the annual SAM Membership Meeting on Friday, October 21 at 8:00 AM.  Agenda items include voting on the SAM Delegate Assembly 2022 Advocacy Recommendations and honoring current award winners.  Watch for more SAM Membership Meeting information coming soon.  

  Click here to register!

October is National
Principals Month  

Celebrated every October, National Principals Month is an opportunity to celebrate and honor our incredible school principals for their visionary leadership and tireless pursuit of success for each student.

The focus of this year's National Principals Month is on celebration and advocacy. National Principals Month is an ideal time for school and district leaders to tell the local story of the great things happening in their school community! 

Here are a few resources to help you get started, but be sure to check out the tools and resources on the National Principals Month webpage.

• National Principals Month webpage
• Celebrate:  Show the principals in your district how much you appreciate them for all they do! (Social Media Toolkit) (Send an E-Card)]
• Advocate:  Consider inviting elected officials from all levels of government to shadow a principal for a day. (Shadowing Visits resources)

National Principals Month is a collaboration between the American Federation of School Administrators (AFSA), the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

Did You Know... you can connect with other SAM members at your affiliate region meetings?

Five of the six SAM affiliates are divided into regions and many regions hold meetings throughout the year. Region President/Director contact information, meeting times, and meeting agendas can be found for each affiliate on their region web page. Click on the following links for information about your affiliate region (Contact the SAM office if you are unable to log in):

• MASS Regional Information
• MASSP Regional Information
• MAEMSP Regional Information
• META Regional Information
• MCASE Regional Information

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