Summer Reading for the New Superintendent

The following ran in Worcester Magazine's education issue two weeks ago. The education section hasn't made it up on their website yet, though, so I include it here:

As all Worcester Public School students recently were reminded, summer means summer reading time. What holds for the students should hold for the superintendent, and so I offer the following list for the new superintendent (both interim and long-term):

The Odyssey Odysseus didn't get to choose his route home from Troy, but when it was up to him, he didn't stay on Calypso's island!

Get out of your office. Kids are not learning in the Durkin building. Get out to where they are learning. It's a big city with lots of schools, but there's no excuse for kids not seeing your face until they graduate from high school. Spend time at places other than your office and school committee meetings. You'll have a much better idea of what's happening in the schools. And take notes while you're there. They don't have to be in dactylic hexameter.

Our Town As Emily says in Act III, "We don't even have time to look at one another." Wilder calls our attention to each other and the importance of those around us, urging us to recognize this while we still can.

Be approachable. This is a corollary with the above, but every teacher and parent in the system should know that she can call you if need be. Yes, going through principals and quadrant managers has its place, but when no answer is forthcoming, they should know they can go straight to the top. This takes work on your part to make it happen. When they do get in touch with you, pay attention.

Waiting for Godot Waiting and waiting for someone who never comes...

Move ahead today. We can wait for NCLB to be reversed, for the state to change the funding formula, for the system to recognize the number of challenges facing kids outside of school...or we can educate the kids we have today. Twenty-four thousand children go to school in Worcester during the school year, and their education moves from day to day regardless of what happens elsewhere. They can't wait for next year or the next decade. They are in school now. Don't wait. Work and fight for their education today.

Pride and Prejudice Is Mr. Darcy really proud or is Miss Bennet really prejudiced? A bit of both. Leaving things there would rather have ruined Austen's novel, however, wouldn't it?

Work with the city administration. The current level of mistrust between the city administration and the school administration is enormous. This hurts no one more than our kids. Fix it. For all that the superintendent is an independent administrator, answering directly to the elected school committee, the superintendent gets money from the city administration. They resent giving you money when they don't trust you. Be part of the City Manager's cabinet, go to City Council meetings, give answers as soon as they are requested, be complete when doing so.

Great Expectations : The title here says it all. While Pip's expectations aren't fulfilled, the striving forms the basis of the novel. Pip would never have gotten as far as he had without expecting more. And neither, for that matter, would Dickens.

Don't be satisfied. When a city councilor asks, "Are you satisfied with this level of funding?" unless that budget includes enough money to have kids in small classes, in safe schools, with libraries open and nurses in offices, with enough paper and books for everyone, the right answer is "NO." To say otherwise betrays the kids who are living with those daily conditions.

The Tempest You could substitute here almost any of Shakespeare's comedies, concerned as they are with authority and succession. Shakespeare was thinking of who was in charge in England. Living during the bumpy times of the Tutors, he was right to be concerned.

Do your own job. This means knowing what, exactly, is your job, as opposed to other people's jobs. The superintendent does not set the general policy of the district. The superintendent does not determine the budget. There's been a bit of confusion about this lately. It's hard to do your job if you're trying to do someone else's. Oversee the day-to-day work of the district. That's more than enough for any one person to do.

Read well and take notes. There will be a quiz.