It seems Richland School District 1 in Columbia (that's the urban equivalent to CMS) is having similar issues with hiring a new superintendent...
...and the status quo continues.
Why the rush, hush in hiring of new Richland 1 chief?
Richland County, SC — THE STEALTHY manner in which the Richland 1 school board hired a new superintendent was not only unacceptable, it robbed the public of an opportunity to learn more about the candidates and sowed seeds of discontent that could be long-lasting.
The poorly handled process also did about as much to undercut the potential for success of the gentleman chosen to lead Richland 1 as any critic could do. Even if Craig Witherspoon were the perfect candidate, the school board’s ham-handed handling of the process set him up for failure. The former head of the Birmingham, Ala., public schools, will enter this community facing a trust and confidence deficit not totally of his own making....... http://www.thestate.com/2015/03/10/4036203_editorial-why-the-rush-hush-in.html?rh=1
Wiley, I saw an article about "dysfunctional boards" being a reason a lot of schools can't find good supers. One I read (I think it was in EdWeek) talked about the problem in Michigan, I believe, and it sounded just like CMS. I'll see if I can dig up the article later. When I tried to google the topic, there were so many articles that the one I remember didn't even stand out.
ReplyDeleteI believe the main "takeaway" from the article was that the kind of people who can run successful election campaigns are not the same kind of people who are good at leading schools. That sounds like the problem with ALL politicians (in a nutshell).
ReplyDeleteSeems that being the king or queen of your own little volunteer fiefdom just doesn't qualify you for "real world" responsibilities.
Yet, that's the way, uh-huh, uh-huh, we like it...
Here's that article...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/03/04/the-problem-with-our-school-boards.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2
An excerpt (sounds familiar, eh?):
Starr had been a highly sought administrator. He was a candidate, in late 2013, for the chancellorship of the New York City public schools. While in Montgomery County, he increased the prevalence of technology and the use of project-based learning, and worked to identify key indicators for potentially at-risk students. Moreover, he had championed new programs to build pathways between high schools and local colleges.
Yet despite his successes, and his stated desire to remain in what he calls one of the "best jobs in public education," Starr agreed to part ways with the school system after extended, closed-door negotiations.
So how does this happen? And more importantly, what does it say about the state of school board governance in the United States?
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Anyway, interesting article on "school board dysfunction".
That's why they're called educrats.
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ReplyDeleteThey should have known there would be problems when they found out that his Facebook page listed this as his favorite book:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9FibHpCjRY
"He twice survived attempts to fire him during his time as superintendent of the Birmingham system, which endured financial and hiring problems, a takeover by the state education department and money scandals."
ReplyDeleteJeez. I grew up in Birmingham, so I somewhat keep up with the horrible situation there. The place is a total dump now. Scary as hell. Their ex-mayor, Larry Langford, is also in Federal prison, too.
I subscribed to a Facebook group where a bunch of "old timers" from my old neighborhood reminisce about the "good ol' days" and often recoil in horror over what happens there today on a regular basis. Mostly, though, they just try to avoid discussing it AT ALL.
Absolutely NO ONE who used to live there still lives there or even in Birmingham, proper, anymore. It's just surreal at times.
EVERYONE left.
It's not good. And the people I know won't even drive into the old neighborhoods we used to live in.
I know the last time I did it was pretty intimidating some 20 years ago.
One of my sisters tried driving through there more recently, about 10 years ago, and said their car was "surrounded" by a bunch of characters who were clearly agitated that they were in the area.
Some people don't believe this can happen, but it does.
You know, the more I think about Birmingham...
ReplyDeleteI can remember going back there to visit an old friend of mine who still lived there back in the 1980's, around 1988 or so. (I remember because I had my old 1986 RX7 back then, it was new, and he thought it was pretty sharp).
This guy was still living in a house which had been the parsonage for the local Methodist church in which his grandfather had been a pastor (so he had roots in the neighborhood for sure). When I saw him he was really nervous and was talking about moving away with his daughter.
It was then that I noticed that his jeans had the outline of a pistol worn into the front pants pocket and I kind of laughed about it. He said he always carried a loaded snubnose in his pants pocket because of the trouble with his neighbors.
He was the last person I knew who stuck around. There was no one else to visit in the area even back then. That wasn't even 15 years after my family moved away.
We moved away in 1972 as I recall. The year right before the first fatal shooting in the local HS and the installation of its first police substation.
My dad said he would not allow my sisters to go to that HS, so we moved.
My friend went to an even "rougher" school than I did, though. Not sure where he is now.
Heh, just read this about the Witherspoon hiring...
ReplyDeleteWhen Witherspoon’s name was announced toward the end of a half-hour meeting, numerous gasps of “Oh my God!” and “Oh no!” could be heard throughout the trustees’ packed chambers in downtown Columbia as many in the audience registered disapproval
Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2015/02/27/4015297_richland-1-board-votes-to-hire.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy
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ReplyDeleteOK, just decided to check up a little on Birmingham again to see
ReplyDeletewhere they might be headed with THEIR new super search...
A "name" to remember: Dr. Bishop Antwon Womack
(I kid you not...HE calls himself Doctor Bishop, can you believe that?)
This is from a few years back (in 2013), but it is typical of the stuff I've read about the "new" Birmingham:
http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2013/08/birmingham_politics_is_it_more.html
Voters in Birmingham's City Council District 1 have a choice between a former legislator who pleaded guilty to extortion, an incumbent who plea-bargained down to a couple of minor power-tripping charges, and a guy who was acquitted on charges of possessing a forged $400 check with intend to defraud.
Antwon Womack...(I swear the day is coming for CMS):
ReplyDelete"My values are not lies. It's just the information I provided to the people is false."
http://www.bhamwiki.com/w/Antwon_Womack
LOL but these are good little liberals...
ReplyDeleteI'll say it again. You get what you vote - or - appoint for...
You would think there is a decent candidate somewhere in SC that would like the challenge to be superintendent.
Well, part of this is the "grass is greener" attitude. The "outside" expert is always better than someone everyone may already know, even if the person everyone knows is actually a better candidate.
ReplyDeleteSome businesses pride themselves on building their future leaders from within while others always seem to be shopping for the next superstar from another company to run the whole mess.
For some odd reason, schools always seem to be looking "outside" for their saviors. Not exactly sure what that means.