Giving his last State of Schools address in Amboy at the Jan. 28 District 272 Board of Education meeting, superintendent Quintin Shepherd shifted gears from the usual recap of accomplishments within the district and subsequent look toward the coming school year. As he began his presentation before the board and members of the community, Shepherd, who is leaving the district at the end of June, explained that the usual address “may not be appropriate” this year.

Shepherd began his talk by discussing how decisions are made by the district, giving three key areas that have been used in making important decisions. “The first,” Shepherd said, showing a slide of one man hanging out of a window and another man inside the building desperately hanging on, “is trust. That [picture], to me, is trust and I know it feels like that sometimes.”

Shepherd then turned his attention to the three areas in which decisions are made - technical versus adaptive, the difference between wisdom and compassion, and the difference between “if/then thinking” and “because/therefore thinking.” In technical versus adaptive decisions, Shepherd said it is important to mark the difference between technical solutions and adaptive solutions. Using as an example a computer problem, he said that would be a technical problem that has a technical solution.

“So often in education and in schools, problems that we face are adaptive in nature,” he explained. “The natural inclination is to try to solve an adaptive problem with a technical solution because it’s easier and it’s sometimes more convenient. But it doesn’t really get at the heart of the issue.”

As a practical example, Shepherd pointed to the issue of schedule changes at Amboy’s schools. “We’ve often talked about changing the schedules at all three of our buildings and sometimes the natural inclination is to feel like this is a technical problem with a technical solution when in fact, we’ve come to realize these are adaptive problems and we need to approach them with an adaptive solution.”

Next, Shepherd discussed the difference between wisdom and compassion saying that in Amboy, he has seen that decisions requiring wisdom have tended to “come from the many and work their way to the one.” On the other hand, Shepherd acknowledged how difficult it is for the board to make decisions that will affect so many students and that at times compassion must be used. “I’ve seen how we struggle with these in both directions, wisdom versus compassion,” he said.

The third type of decision, if/then thinking versus because/therefore thinking, although relatively new for Shepherd, has been important for the district. As an example, Shepherd read a phrase first using if/then and next using because/therefore.

“If we choose excellence, then we should commit to continuous improvement.”

“Because we choose excellence, therefore we will commit every day in every way.”

Shepherd pointed out that the two statements have very different meanings for students. “I’ve seen a change in this district in the few short years that I’ve been here from if/then to because/therefore,” he said. “I applaud you for that effort. It’s hard work and it’s the true commitment of the board and the teachers and of the administration that allows us to serve our students the way that we do.”

Shepherd next discussed the critical importance of communication in making decisions, thanking board member Mark Becker for his guidance. “This has happened through years of conversations with him [Becker],” Shepherd said. “I’ve really come to recognize that communication is very, very simply transparency and accountability. Being transparent in the decisions we make and being accountable for those decisions.”

To emphasize his view of what communication really means, Shepherd quoted Robert Greenleaf: “As I look through my particular window on the world, I realize that I do not see all. Rather, I see only what the filter of my biases and attitudes of the moment permit me to see.”

In conclusion, Shepherd issued a challenge to the audience. “How can I use myself to serve best? - that’s a challenge for every single person in this room whether it happens to be any of our students or parents or board members or administration or teachers,” he said. “And second: ‘The secret of institution building is to create a team by lifting people to grow taller than they would otherwise be.’ I believe that phrase is relevant to every single person in this room.”

Shepherd then quoted George Bernard Shaw: “This is the true joy in life - being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one, the being thoroughly worn out before you’re thrown into the scrap heap, being a force of nature instead of feverish, selfish, little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I’m of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die. The harder I work, the more I live, the more I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch, which I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”

Again, Shepherd challenged everyone in attendance, “We can be the bearers of a torch or we can carefully husband a little flame and keep it from going out for a little bit longer. In the past few minutes, I tried to hand you a torch. Will you accept it?”