<div dir="ltr">Given the interest on this list in County Exec Baker's proposal to radically change the governance and administration of our schools, I thought this letter from our State Senator Paul Pinsky would also be of interest (for those who are not also subscribers).<br>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Senator Paul Pinsky</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ppinsky@senatorpinsky.org">ppinsky@senatorpinsky.org</a>></span><br>
Date: Fri, Mar 29, 2013 at 8:50 PM<br>Subject: School Board Controversy: My View<br>To: Update <<a href="mailto:update@list.senatorpinsky.org">update@list.senatorpinsky.org</a>><br><br><br>
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<p>Dear Friends,</p>
<div> Many issues are being addressed in the waning days of
the legislative session but one has been dominating the
news and conversations in our county: the school board and
efforts to change it. This edition is dedicated to that
controversy. </div>
<div> </div>
<div> If you are interested and would like to attend, there
will be a public hearing in Annapolis this Monday evening
at 5:00 p.m. in the Joint Hearing Room in the Legislative
Services Building. Both the House and Senate delegations
will be in attendance. </div>
<div> </div>
<div> Also, if you have not returned your scholarship
application, they are due Thursday, April 4th. The
application is available at <a href="http://senatorpinsky.org" target="_blank">senatorpinsky.org</a>.
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<div style="margin-left:240px"> Yours, </div>
<div style="margin-left:240px"> </div>
<div style="margin-left:240px"> <span style="font-family:comic sans ms,cursive"><strong><em>Paul</em></strong></span>
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<h3><strong>Why Changes in our School System Are Needed</strong></h3>
<div> <em>Given the debate around efforts to improve our
schools, I wanted to let some of the rhetoric settle
before sharing my thoughts with you. I welcome your
response and, hopefully, this will stimulate further
dialogue on improving our schools.</em> </div>
<div> </div>
<div> <em>Besides serving in my seventh term in the
Maryland General Assembly, I have now spent over 37
years in the field of education. During that time, I
have taught high school social studies, led teachers and
been included in superintendent interview teams for the
Board of Education. Additionally, I have worked with
many state and local superintendents as well as school
policy-makers, nationally. </em> </div>
<div> </div>
<div> <strong>Our</strong> school system is very uneven:
some schools work well and some, sadly, struggle with
school leadership, student achievement and parental
engagement and are dismal. We have many strong educators
who work hard but face difficult circumstances including
adequate resources, management obstacles, new and multiple
instructional reforms, etc. Some of these problems are
national in scope and some are purely local. We also have
a high number of students coming from poverty; we have
ground to make up and challenges to meet. </div>
<div> </div>
<div> The shortage of people entering the education
profession in our country has been well documented. The
U.S. is not Finland, Singapore or South Korea, countries
frequently lauded for their success and where the
profession is respected and teacher salaries are much
greater. The shortage issue is even greater in our <em>county</em>,
given many contributing factors, including superintendent
instability. When your applicant pool for school system
jobs is small, you, out of necessity, become less
selective; this is felt throughout the system, from
principals to teachers to upper-level management. </div>
<div> </div>
<div> We have seen our last two superintendents leave our
schools, to a significant degree, because of their
relationship with the Board of Education. </div>
<div> </div>
<div> When the County Executive brought together a group of
experts in education to provide advice to him, over a year
and a half ago, some members of the Board of Education
(BoE) expressed the view that he was 'undercutting -- and
actually attacking -- the board.' The county executive's
effort to be more informed was seen as threatening and,
sadly, not embraced. </div>
<div> </div>
<div> What followed seemed to be a 'circle the wagons'
mentality with anyone who even offered advice, including
the county executive, seen as attacking the board's
domain. </div>
<div> </div>
<div> Our elected Board of Education is made up of dedicated
civic activists. They are not, and will generally
acknowledge, experts in education policy; that is not a
requirement. They work to represent the public in setting
school policy. That being said, one assumes they would
seek input from people with expertise. Unfortunately, that
hasn't seemed to be the case. Assistance that has been
offered has frequently been received reluctantly. It
appears that when input is offered from someone outside
the board, the board perceives it as simply another 'pushy
outsider,' rather than an invested stakeholder; this
includes the county executive, who actually funds the
school board budget. </div>
<div> </div>
<div> Hiring a leader to run a $1.5 billion organization, in
this case, the school system, is an overwhelming
responsibility and no easy task. Only two of the current
board members have hired a superintendent and that was
when they simply elevated the deputy superintendent, the
'number two,' into the top spot. Seven other school board
members have never been through this process. The dearth
of management experience in making this type of decision
is indeed a concern. </div>
<div> </div>
<div> As the search to find a new superintendent proceeded,
it seemed this 'circle the wagons' mentality grew
stronger. It was at this point, my personal frustration
grew. The superintendent position is critically important
to the organization and to our county at large. </div>
<div> </div>
<div> One thing that most drives teachers crazy -- and
frequently, to leave our schools -- is ineffective school
principals. Principals set the schools' tone. They decide
whether to set high expectations -- for students and
staff. They are the ones who must have a courageous
conversation with staff members who do not meet those
expectations. They are the ones who are accountable to
students, staff and parents. Being a principal is not an
easy job. Additionally, and sadly, poor principals
generally make poor staff hires; they also document
underperformance poorly. All of this hurts children and
impacts student achievement. <strong>That's why the
hiring of a strong superintendent is so important.</strong>
This leader is the one who sets expectations for
principals -- and enforces those expectations. The wrong
choice destines our schools to mediocrity, or worse. </div>
<div> </div>
<div> At this point, I have more confidence in the county
executive's willingness to gather input and make a
selection than I do of the board's ability. Is there any
one structure that has proven to be more effective when it
comes to running a school system? An elected BoE vs. an
appointed BoE? A superintendent who reports to the county
executive or mayor rather than the school board? To my
knowledge, no one governance approach has proven to make
the difference. </div>
<div> </div>
<div> Is there ever a 'right time' to take action? Of course
not. Events frequently dictate that time. Would an
extended conversation have been better? Of course. But we
are faced with a situation where choices were limited. The
county executive chose to step in. While I didn't agree
with his original proposal, I believe he is listening to
feedback and working to better shape his proposal, as I
am. For example, I believe employee relations, including
collective bargaining should be retained by the Board of
Education and am optimistic that will prove to be the
case. </div>
<div> </div>
<div> For these reasons, I support the county executive's
intervention and his response to the drop in confidence of
our current Board of Education. </div>
<div> </div>
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<div style="color:rgb(0,0,102)"> <span style="font-size:16px"><span>Click on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/senatorpinsky" target="_blank">facebook</a> page for more frequent
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