FY18LicensureProgram

Massachusetts Association of School Business Officials (MASBO) and Worcester

State University Post-Baccalaureate School

Business Administrator Leadership Program

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What is Your Professional Goal?

Looking for a way to make a greater difference

in K-12 education using your undergraduate or

graduate degree? Working in municipal finance

and want to impact students more directly?

Seeking a transition from teaching or

educational leadership to a career that applies

your knowledge to fiscal challenges? Maybe you

work as a school business office assistant,

bookkeeper, or clerk and look to move up the

ladder? Then you might be interested in

managing the wide variety of finance and

operational responsibilities associated with

supporting student academic excellence in a

Massachusetts traditional municipal or regional

public, charter, collaborative, vocational-

technical, or private school or district.

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What do SBA’s do?

School Business Administrators (also known as

School Business Officials, Directors of Finance

and Administrative Affairs, etc.) manage

business functions that include budgeting,

accounting, payroll, accounts receivable and

payable, food service, transportation,

procurements, and more. You embed the

highest ethical standards, communication skills,

management abilities, and best financial

practices to set and achieve business standards

that directly and positively impact student

outcomes. Generally reporting to a

Superintendent or Assistant Superintendent,

Executive Director, or Chief Executive Officer,

School Business Administrators are key school

and district leadership team members.

Are You Ready to be a School Business Administrator?

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Licensure: Required by the Commonwealth and a Ticket to Your Future

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The Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires

licensure of all educators including School

Business Administrators. In order to earn an

Initial License, candidates must have prerequisite

experience, subject matter knowledge,

demonstrate successful application of appropriate

Professional Standards for Administrative

Leadership, and achieve a passing score on the

Communication and Literacy Skills MTEL test

(http://www.doe.mass.edu/lawsregs/603cmr7.ht

ml.)

How can the MASBO/WSU program get

you on your way?

ü It’s uniquely designed for candidates who

have full-time professional and/or personal

commitments, and runs from September

2017 through November 2018.

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ü In partnership with Worcester State

University, we offer five graduate level

courses taught by Professionally Licensed

current or retired School Business

Administrators that cover all areas of

Subject Matter Knowledge. Courses include

36 hours of instructional time on occasional

weekdays and many Saturdays throughout

the school year. Credits can be applied to

WSU’s Masters in Education program

(provided other WSU acceptance criteria

are met).

ü The 300 hour practicum is overseen by a

Professionally Licensed current or retired

School Business Administrator and you are

matched based on geographic location,

school type (e.g. regional to regional, town

to town, etc.), skills needs, etc.

ü Program participation incorporates

membership to MASBO, the go-to

Association for school finance professionals

across the Commonwealth, allowing

networking and up-to-the-minute

professional development opportunities

that employ a continuous cycle of

improvement formembersandcandidates.

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Who are we? We are a non-profit, private

501(c)(3) organization that exists to enhance

the competence and knowledge of School

Business Administrators in Massachusetts by

providing exceptional leadership, professional

development, and support services to

members to enable them to perform the

responsibilities of their positions to the

highest standards of the profession and

maximize their contribution to the success of

students and public education in the

Commonwealth. For over 50 years, an

overwhelming majority of public schools and

districts have counted on MASBO to ensure

that their school finance leaders and staff

members are well trained, well informed, and

well prepared to effectively manage the legal

and operational aspects of planning,

accounting, reporting, budgeting,

procurement, payroll, human resources,

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facilities management, food service,

transportation, insurance, scheduling, and

special education (among other duties and

responsibilities). MASBO is a respected partner

of our colleagues from other statewide

educational associations, as we collectively

advocate for the resources and legislation

required that provides all public school

students with a foundation for academic

excellence. We support the work of School

Business Administrators with this Leadership

Program, coaching services for new SBA’s,

professional development opportunities for all

members (including PDP’s for Professionally

Licensed SBA’s), vendor partnerships, best

practice resources, and more.

More About MASBO…

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How does the SBA Leadership

Program work?

The program is designed to be completed in

a 15 month window. As part of the

admissions process, you will have applied for

licensure and submitted many required

documents, so you’ll be off and running

before you technically start! Leadership,

Ethics, and Communication runs over the fall

and spring semesters and meets primarily at

MASBO events, so candidates benefit by

having exposure to the professional

development content and networking

available to regular members.

Three additional courses run in succession within

those two semesters with the final, capstone

course undertaken the following fall. Classes are

not scheduled during school breaks or vacations,

which allows candidates to focus their work on

completing elements of the practicum during

those times. The Program’s facilitator will

provide your orientation; coordinate registrations

with WSU; support interactions among and

between candidates, instructors, and advisors;

and provide you an endorsement to the

Department of Elementary and Secondary

Education upon successful completion of the

Program’s coursework and practicum

components (the final item in your requirements

list for Initial Licensure).

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First Three Courses Leadership, Ethics,

and Communication

Inadditiontomanagementand

oversightofallschoolfinancialmatters,

businessadministratorsarealso

educationalleaderswhobearsignificant

responsibilityforexecutingthevision

andmissionoftheentitywhile

employingclearandeffectiveavenues

ofcommunicationtoreachall

stakeholdersandmaintaininghigh

ethicalstandardsthatfoundationally

supportfiscal,personnel,andfacilities

management.

This10monthcoursefocuses

candidatesonthreeguidingprinciples:

studentlearningandwellbeing,ethical

leadership,andeffective

communication.Theseprinciplesare

appliedtotopicareasthatinclude

facilityplanningandmaintenance;

oversightoffoodservicesand

transportationoperations;assuranceof

riskmanagementandstudentandstaff

safety;maintenanceofappropriate

informationtechnology;and

managementofotherancillaryservices.

ThefallHumanResourcescourse

addressesfundamental

personnel/humanresourcefunctions

suchasrecruitment,selection,teacher

inductionandretention,supervision,

andemployeeperformanceevaluation

anddismissal,amongothers.Therewill

beaspecificfocusonstrategichuman

resourcemanagement,processesthat

supportteachingandlearning,

improvedstudentachievement,and

relatedprofessionaldevelopment.

Governmentfinancialstatements,

includingentity-wideandfund-based

statements,footnotes,andrequired

supplementaryinformation(RSI)are

thefocusofthisearlywintercourse.

ThecoverageofRSIwillincludein-

depthdiscussionsofpensionandother

post-employmentbenefit(OPEB)

disclosurerequiredbythe

GovernmentalAccountingStandards

Board(GASB).Avarietyofauditors’

reportsapplicabletogovernment

entitiesandMassachusetts,including

basicaudit,singleaudit,Departmentof

ElementaryandSecondaryEducation

(DESE)End-of-YearReportandChartof

Accounts,StudentActivityFunds,

municipalrevenuereporting,and

internalaccountingcontrolswillbe

reviewed.Thecoursewillalso

introduceServiceEffortsand

Accomplishments(SEA)reporting

basedonGASBguidelinesissuedby

GASB.

Human Resources Management

Financial Accounting

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Managing Financial Resources

This early spring course covers topics

that include the history and specifics

of the state’s Foundation Budget

funding formula; budget development

models and effective budgeting

strategies; financial best practices; and

successfully managing budget

reductions. Other topics include a

detailed review of student activity

account guidelines, an overview of

ancillary services, and the school

business administrator as an

instructional leader. Class participants

review a school-based budget, prepare

a foundation budget analysis, and

complete an in-depth study of a

district ancillary service.

Candidates will explore how the

collection and use of information, data-

driven analysis, and the use of social

science research techniques can make

public programs and policies more

responsive, efficient, and effective in

this course held during the following

fall. It is designed to help the

practitioner develop the skills required

to define and critically analyze and

evaluate policy problems; articulate

relevant decision making criteria for

policy analysis and program

evaluation; and evaluate alternative

policy options or program delivery

options. Candidates are expected to

learn the available frameworks for

policy analysis and program

evaluation; how a particular

framework is relevant in a given

context; and the strengths and

weaknesses of each framework. These

frameworks, skills, and techniques will

be applied to a wide range of

substantive public policy issues and/or

programs.

A 300 hour field based experience is a

required element of licensure and

extends from the beginning to end of

the program. Practicum work is

designed to incorporate the nine areas

of Subject Matter Knowledge in DESE’s

licensure regulations, aligned with the

Professional Standards for

Administrator Licensure. You will be

partnered with a Professionally

Licensed school business administrator

and begin your collaboration by

reviewing your Pre-Assessment (due

after acceptance to the program),

which will help determine gaps in your

content knowledge. Together, you and

your advisor will plan a series of

activities and projects intended to fill

those knowledge gaps, documenting

your work in a Licensure Log that will

serve as evidence of your satisfactory

completion of the practicum. Prior to

the end of the program, you will

complete a Post-Assessment reflecting

ways in which you’ve addressed

content gaps.

Information Based Management

300 Hour Practicum

Final Two Courses Plus Practicum

Are you ready to take the first step into the world of school finance and operations? You’ve come to

the right place! Get started today by reviewing more detailed program materials at

www.masbo.org. Next, contact MASBO’s Professional Development Coordinator Margaret Raymond

Driscoll at mdriscoll@masbo.org or call at (781) 738-3019 and get started!

You Can Make a Positive Difference in the Life of a Student! You can make a positive

Massachusetts Association of School Business Officials 87 Elm Street, Suite 1 Hopkinton, MA 01748 www.masbo.org Phone: (978) 452-7044