Sandy and Halloween

The people and communities hit hard by Hurricane Sandy are in my thoughts and prayers.  That kind of devastation will take months to recover from, and to the families and friends of those who lost their lives I offer my deepest condolences.  Seems so like a nasty trick.

I can think of only one treat, one positive outcome of this storm.  There will be no trick or treating in the areas hit so hard. 

I have such a hard time with Halloween.  It has always seemed to me that this is the only organized day we celebrate masked begging and extortion by young people.  I will hide on 10/31, lights off, in honor of Sandy victims and in fear of miniature masked extortionists. 

Boo.

Dumbfounded

Two recent comments made in light of the Presidential election have left me jaw open, eyes wide and frankly totally dumbfounded.  One of the Presidential candidates said that he was worried about the ability of our Navy to accomplish its mission so he would spend a couple of trillion to enhance the fleet.  Meanwhile, his wife said in an interview today that public schools need to be thrown out and we need to start over with a choice program.

The two largest labor intensive government programs in the U.S. are our military and public education.  I am in shock that the solution to improve the military is to throw money at it, and that the solution to improve public schools is to promote choice, increase accountability and divert public funds from public ed to the private sector. 

Dumbfounded.

Suppose we reverse this inherent cognitive dissonance.  Suppose we decide that a solution to improve public education is to throw money at it.  If we doubled the budget we could double our staff.  All the data indicates that smaller teacher/pupil ratios improve student performance.  All the data indicates that if teachers are allowed to plan and collaborate and engage in meaningful professional development student performance improves.  There is no data that indicates schools of choice are outperforming public schools.  If we could double the staff then teachers could flip-flip schedules, teach several small classes and have the rest of the day to grade, plan, collaborate, and learn while the second fleet of teachers is actually teaching smaller classes.  If the Navy needs more ships, schools need more teachers.

On the other hand, if we are concerned about our Navy, then why don’t we reduce funding, open up the functions of the Navy to the private sector and divert government funds from the Navy to those private sector enterprises whose mission is to make money, not provide defense, and hold the Navy more accountable for fulfilling it’s mission.  In other words, why don’t we provide less money, more accountability and competition, the current philosophy driving public education accountability, and see how they do?

No one would support those notions for the Navy.  What in the world are we thinking about public education? 

The only rationale I can find is that we want our Navy to be successful and accomplish its mission.  We do not want public education to be successful at educating all kids so we hamstring the organization, develop an accountability system that makes us look terrible, and then divert money from public ed to the private sector.  We want to be safe.  Do we really want all kids to be successful?

I do.  I believe it is as critical to our national defense as ships at sea.

I remain dumbfounded.

The Invisible Man

I am opaque.  Light bounces off me and others can see me.  In fact, there is more of me to see than there was 20 years ago, but that is my issue.  So, why do I feel like the invisible man?

I am transparent.  By law, my contract must be available to all on line.  The expenses I incurred while traveling each year must be on line.  My emails are subject to open records requests, and even my personal cell phone is subject to such requests if I have used it to call or text anyone regarding school issues.  My email address must be available to all and each day I receive 100’s of emails from vendors and solicitors who have extracted my address from the TEA or district website.  My evaluation is based largely on the success of implementing the District Improvement Plan, which is also on line.  When the Board discusses my evaluation and/or my contract it must be posted on the agenda for everyone to see.  My contract requires that I am active in local organizations so I am a member of Lions and Rotary and the Methodist Church.  My contract also calls for me to have an annual medical exam and that the doctor report to the Board regarding whether I am fit to work or not.  Recently, even my personal medical health became a public issue and I made a public statement regarding depression.  Who else is required to do all that?  Even the Legislature that requires this much transparency does not require the same of themselves.

I do additional things to be even more transparent.  I have an open door policy which means you do not have to have an appointment to come talk, and many of you do.  I write this blog and others to share with both our employees and community what is going on in Edna ISD and my take on issues.  Each time the District Team, Cabinet and the Board meet I ask for input, ideas, suggestions, and concerns.  I am getting ready to start my rounds of fireside chats whereby I can sit and talk with each faculty and respond to questions and concerns.  I am as open as I can be.  I am transparent.  I know of no other profession that has such requirements for transparency as those applied to public school superintendents.

Want to know what I think?  Just ask.  Have a problem or concern?  Just share.

I worry about becoming so transparent that I become invisible. 

Can you see me now?

Leadership or Management?

I lamented here before regarding the Governor’s appointment of a non-educator as Commissioner of Education.  Effective September 1 Michael Williams became our Commissioner to lead an agency charged with the following:  “The mission of the Texas Education Agency is to provide leadership, guidance and resources to help schools meet the educational needs of all students.”  I feared that given Mr. Williams background and politics we would see more compliance issues with fewer resources and most likely a stronger effort than usual to implement the so-called school reforms that include high stakes testing, transparency, state driven curricula, choice, charters, vouchers, teacher appraisal tied to test scores, etc., etc.  The state will provide leadership; the districts merely comply like good managers.

Leadership means doing the right things.  Management means doing things right.  In a state where education is incredibly micro-managed at the state level and at a time when serious philosophical, political, and educational issues must be resolved we (the collective leadership in school districts) awaited Mr. Williams’s first words.

I received the first correspondence from the new Commissioner today, pasted below:

September 27, 2012
TO THE ADMINISTRATORS ADDRESSED:
SUBJECT: Procedures for the start of the day
Please allow this letter to serve as a reminder of statutory requirements for procedures at the beginning of every school day.  Section 25.082 of the Texas Education Code stipulates: The board of trustees of each school district shall require students, once during each school day at each school in the district to recite:
(1) The Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag; and
(2) The Pledge of Allegiance to the Texas state flag.
A school district may excuse a student from reciting a pledge of allegiance upon written request from the student’s parent or guardian.
Following the recitation of the pledges, the statute requires that all districts provide the observance of one minute of silence at each school.  During the one-minute period, each student may, as the student chooses, reflect, pray, meditate or engage in any other silent activity that is not likely to interfere with or distract another student.
Each teacher or other school employee in charge of students during that specific period shall ensure that each of those students remain silent and does not act in a manner that is likely to interfere with or distract another student.
If you have any questions about these procedures, please contact our Legal Division at (512) 463-9720.
Sincerely,
Michael Williams
Commissioner of Education

Really?  This is not a memo outlining philosophy, goals, objectives, mission or vision.  This is a memo dictating to schools the kind of micro-managed, compliance organization we have become.  To actually receive a memo about how to start each day in mid-October is ludicrous, assumes we are not complying and sends the message that this is high on his agenda.  Why this topic for his initial correspondence?  At least it answers all my questions:  we are to be managers not leaders, we will continue to be micro-managed, we will continue to focus on the wrong issues, and non-educators will continue to plot our course.

After I pledge to comply, I need at least a minute of silence.

Top-Down Superintendent

It is the first day of October.  The temperature is 66 degrees and the humidity is 84% with a slight NW wind.  It is a beautiful, crystal clear day.  I’m sitting in my office planning and interacting with folks in my normal collaborative way.

Just saying, if I still owned my ’96 Mustang convertible, my ’76 MG, or my ’72 Cutlass 442 convertible I would be a top-down superintendent all day.

Back to work.