Note the Al Oertwig was as star struck as all the rest, even though now Al Oertwig claims that now he has learned better.
Al Oertwig
7. What criteria to use in selecting the next superintendent?
First, let's STOP ASSUMING that there is a national expert (SUPER-HERO SUPERINTENDENT) who will sweep in and tell us all exactly what we need to do to make our system perfect (and that it can be done easily and in short order). The national model for school leadership is one of dominating, demanding leaders who assume they have all the answers before they even meet anyone in your town.
Let's stop assuming that test scores tell us everything we need to know about improving our schools. We should expect that our staff have learned how to use data to see what gaps in learning their students have, and are able to use test data to develop stronger schools and programs.
So, what should we be looking for? The next leader should have a strong knowledge of St. Paul and an interest in learning what the community vision for our schools is. The next leader should have expertise in implementing community initiated plans and programs to improve schools. S/he should demonstrate what it takes to ignite a student's desire to learn.
The next leader needs to understand and have a record of working with staff as a key element for success in the classroom. We will all do better when we all feel we are a part of developing the plans to improve our schools.
The next leader must understand the impact of the concentration of children in poverty in our urban cores and must have a demonstrated ability to secure local, statewide & national resources to bring change.
(St Paul DFL)
Brian Joyce really just writes a process with no details. The question is really begged, what does Brian Joyce think is good or bad in a superintendent. This non-answer gives me no confidence. "I want some who gets the unique character of St Paul" is the only hint that Brian might support a local candidate.
Brian P. Joyce
What criteria would you use to make the selection for next St. Paul Public Schools superintendent?
I would want information from all stakeholders on what was good and bad in our last two superintendents. I would then look at the immediate and long term needs of our students, teacher and staff. I would combine these factors to create a template to use while screening.
Myself I want someone committed and capable of inclusive leadership. I want someone who will be there till the work is done. I want someone who gets the unique character of St. Paul and how we expect our district to work and communicate. I want ability, inclusiveness, respect, an eye on the classroom and an innovator.
(St Paul DFL)
Louise Seeba's description indications that she has the white knight syndrome. She sounds like she is saying, "Oh please lets hire a superintendent to solve our problems for us!"
Louise Seeba
7. What criteria would you use to make the selection for next St. Paul Public Schools superintendent?
First and foremost, integrity is vital in all administrators. Without it, trust is gone and cynicism creeps into any organization. Furthermore, we should be looking for a candidate that intends to be in St. Paul for many years to come. We should be very wary of someone
looking to use the district as a "stepping stone." Another quality we should be looking for is someone who has a track record of creativity. We will need this to close the achievement gap and to help solve the district's financial woes.
Ultimately, we need to find someone who will be able to work with the board, the community and the staff to increase the "net in" of students in St. Paul. Finally, I think we need to find a personality that is able to bring all of these stakeholders together.
(St Paul DFL)
Meg Luger-Nikolai has some hints that she is not taken by the white knight syndrome. However she sounds like she could commit to a long term expensive contract that the board would again be stuck with a non-performing superintendent. Meg clears wants a collaborative local leader, a hopeful sign.
Meg Luger-Nikolai
7. What criteria would you use to make the selection for next St. Paul Public Schools superintendent?
The next superintendent needs to be able to work collaboratively with the Board in implementing the Board's vision for the District's future. That individual must also be prepared to lead District employees while also relying upon them for input and feedback. The superintendent must recognize that those on the frontlines - whose work is most impacted by managerial decisions - can often provide the most informed views about the implementation of those decision. It is also crucial that we select a superintendent with staying power. Frequent turnover in this position is costly in a direct financial sense as well as in terms of the ability of the District to implement strategic planning. To that end, searching nationally for a candidate with no ties to the community (and no tolerance for Minnesota winters) might simply buy the District another three-year term.
(St Paul DFL)
Vallay Varro is very taken with bullet points. He doesn't sound like he has a clue that this controversy even exists and would simply go along for the ride, an easy victim for the white knight syndrome.
Vallay Varro
7. What criteria would you use to make the selection for next St. Paul Public Schools superintendent?
• Someone who is an administrator. The board's responsibility is to set the vision and the superintendent's responsibility is to execute on that.
• Someone in tune with the policy at the state and federal level, because they are the ones that will have to interpret that and determine how that meshes with the boards vision.
• Someone who has the political wherewithal to work with the larger community and recognizes that the overall solution will require outside collaboration with the larger community. Someone that recognizes they "can't do it alone"
(St Paul DFL)
The criteria for superintendent issue is the issue that will decide my vote. Yet I have no candidate that I am confident will stand up very strongly to the white knight syndrome. Sigh.
UPDATE: I sent out an email request for a more detailed public answer to this question. Here are the email answers that I received back in order:
Hi Grace:
I am skeptical of the perceived benefits a national search can bring knowing that we have very qualified individuals in our own Metro area. I would like to see the next superintendent stay for the long term as I believe continuity is critical. I feel this continuity is more likely to occur with a person that has a personal reason to be in Minnesota and also has a passion for improving student achievement.
St. Paul is not the only MN School District to have spent large sums on a superintendent search. My husband (a public school educator) is aware that other districts have done national searches only to find very qualified local candidates. This experience of course begs the question, what was the point of the search?
The criteria I will use with the next superintendent will be first and foremost, integrity. This is vital in all administrators. Without it, trust is gone and cynicism creeps into any organization. Furthermore, we should be looking for a candidate that intends to be in St. Paul for many years to come. We should be very wary of someone looking to use the district as a "stepping stone." Another quality we should be looking for is someone who has a track record of creativity. We will need this to close the achievement gap and to solve the district's financial woes.
An additional quality I would value is deep experience in education. I am wary of "fast track programs" and business leaders turned educators. Education comes with deep policy issues that are not fully grasped overnight. Ultimately, we need to find someone who will be able to work with the board, the community and the staff to increase the "net in" of students in St. Paul. Finally, I think we need to find a personality that is able to bring all of these stakeholders together.
Grace, I think you are right about the diversity of St. Paul as a strength. My husband and I send our kids to the St. Paul Public Schools largely because of this. A more home spun personality may be more likely to see this.
I look forward to seeing you tomorrow night. Please give me a call if you have any other questions.
Louise
Grace,
There is no white knight nor will there ever be one. The next superintendent will have a very difficult job of repairing the damage left behind by Ms. Carstarphen. The key will be the school boards ability to ensure that the new administration involves and reacts to all the diverse stakeholders in this district. This will mean more public input and at times the board will have to directly involve itself in the process to make certain it is in line with the direction given.
As to your question of courage it takes no courage to ask questions and demand answers and action. It is clear that this has been a bad time for relationships in SPPS. The board will have to change how it relates publicly to the superintendent to ensure trust is restored within and without the district. I have and am willing to speak out when things are not going well and quick to give praise when they are.
Brian Joyce
Hi, Grace: I don't think a national search should be the District's first approach to selecting a superintendent. There are a number of individuals with superintendent licensure within the District, and a search must start with those individuals. Therefore, discussions about issuing an RFP for a nationwide search are premature.
The first that the District should do is a market survey, comparing the compensation of superintendents serving comparable districts (in terms of size and socioeconomic conditions). This survey should be the touchstone for compensation decisions. Next, the District needs to formulate clear hiring criteria.
In gathering candidates, we should first tap into the potential candidates who are currently working within the District. If no one meets the hiring criteria, then the District should look to other superintendents in the state, particularly those in the largest of the state's school districts.
There is no "white knight" superintendent. The superintendent is, at the end of the day, a District employee and is responsible for implementing the Board's agenda. Previous attempts to select a superintendent with "star power" were clearly well-meaning - I believe that the District attempted to get a very well-qualified candidate. I don't even think that "star power" is necessarily inconsistent with staying power, but the track record thus far is not good.
I noted your comments on e-democracy and I think that your concerns are fair. The problem, as I see it, is that the District has to be able to commit to some notice period or contract duration in order to make the job attractive. It is a hard job and it is a political job, and even someone promoted within the District will want a certain guarantee of job security in order to take the job. I also think that there is a certain psychological value for candidates who see that an employer is willing to commit to them - I hope that it would make them more willing to commit to the District on a long term basis. Some of this could be resolved by including a "for cause" provision in his or her employment contract, i.e., committing to a term but including an escape hatch in the event that the selected individual is truly underperforming.
So, my bottom line is this: We have got to establish clear, fair criteria for hiring a superintendent, and that individual must start with knowledge that they are responsible for implementing the Board's directives. Secondly, we have to take steps to find a candidate who satisfies the search criteria and either has ties to the district or has a demonstrated record of staying in one place. Staying power is not the most important criteria for selecting a superintendent, but it is important. We won't get anywhere by continuing to hire people with "star power" merely to find they are actually meteorites shooting briefly across the St. Paul skyline.
This is all quotable and I hope it helps make your decision easier. I'd love to have your support. As a side note, I have enjoyed reading MPP, so thanks for the interesting insights on MN politics.
Meg
Grace,
Oooooh, my. I thought I'd already had enough lessons in humility in the last few years.
So, why am I saying something different than what I appeared to be saying in 2006?
For me, watching this process has been absolutely terrible. I now view the selection of
Dr. Carstarphen as a terrible mistake, and one I would work hard to avoid in the future.
In 2006 I was very concerned about the achievement gap, and Meria appeared to
give answers that suggested she had something to offer. That's what the comments
in the article related to.
One thing that I have often said is that different superintendents meet different needs
at different points in time. In 1991, the board was clear that we wanted a local leader,
and that is what we did. After Dr. Carstarphen, I believe that St. Paul is ready to
avoid the "white knight syndrome". We are hopefully willing to avoid quick, magic
answers and look at the harder work of making our schools better. In my answer, I say
that if there were things to be learned from the national direction which emerged with
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) about using data to improve schools, that staff should have
already learned these lessons, and that we now need a leader with strong knowledge of
St. Paul and expertise in implementing COMMUNICTY INTITIATED plans and programs to
improve schools. I hope I'm saying quite clearly in that response, Grace, that I have
no interest in repeating the "White Knight Snydrome".
Grace, I would hope that you would choose to trust me because I have an understanding
of what has happened with education at the national level, and I understand that well
enough to avoid the super-hero superintendent -- White Knight Syndrome for leading
our schools. Someone who doesn't know what has happened will be easily misled.
The Bush administration and NCLB have left a huge mark on our whole education system
nationwide. The White Knight Syndrome wasn't just something happening in Minnesota,
it was happening across the nation. There are/were national training programs in how
to be an assertive superintendent to meet the demands of NCLB. Somehow there would be
quick fixes to meet the demands of NCLB, or we would all be labeled and blamed.
Because the White Knight Syndrome is still alive and well in many parts of the country,
we must be very well grounded in terms of what we need vs. what some people are
still looking for in other parts of the country, so we are not led astray again by a national
consulting firm trying to sell us a bill of goods.
One of the things that I've noticed about Arne Duncan, the new secretary of education
is that he has not made as big of a seperation from the past as I would like to have seen.
That may be because Arne Duncan was really only active in education issues in Chicago
during the time of NCLB. He did not have a longer history in education to guide his thoughts.
I think my longer period of involvement gives me a broader sense of perspective, and helps
me avoid some of the traps like the White Knight Syndrome.
Grace, does this anwer get at your concern, or do you have more questions?
Al Oertwig
Should you all wonder why I am being so careful on this issue, I was against the choice of a white knight and most specifically Meria Carstarphen, because of my business experience with instant-fix white-knight hires. My agony has been being unable to put together the persuasion for what I know to be true. |
