I called school board chairman Eric Davis this morning to ask about the two workshops the board has scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday (both at 1 p.m. in Room 527 of the Government Center, 600 E. Fourth St.). The workshops center on the search for a new superintendent -- more particularly, finding the right search firm to lead the hunt for one. Makes for a busy week for the school board, which will also meet Tuesday evening (6 p.m. at the Government Center, Room 267) for one of its regular monthly meetings. It plans to talk then about redistricting, the opening of schools and the board's Strategic Plan 2014, among other issues.
Mention of that last topic prompted Davis to offer a brief but impassioned defense of the educational reforms driving the 2014 plan, the board's roadmap for improving local schools. As much as former Superintendent Peter Gorman was vilified for the dozens of controversial new tests CMS rolled out this spring, the impetus behind those tests came more from the board's 2014 plan than from Gorman. Gorman was carrying out the board's orders. Interim Superintendent Hugh Hattabaugh says he'll do the same. Davis said that, as the board begins looking for a new superintendent, he feels it's doubly important for the community to understand the 2014 plan. He said Hattabaugh and other staff members will take time during Tuesday night's meeting to spell out what the plan is, what it does, and the rationale behind it.
Davis called the plan "fundamental" to the selection of a new superintendent. He noted that about five or six years ago, the school board shifted its overarching philosophy of reform from a focus on "managed instruction" (i.e., a regimented system centered on making sure all kids were getting lessons) to "managing performance" and "empowerment" (that is, not just making sure lessons get delivered, but making sure the lessons are delivering results and that the educators delivering the lessons are held accountable). Thus, you get the current drive for dozens of new tests, and the push toward performance pay for teachers. "It's about the end result, whether the child's learning or not," Davis said. "So much of that gets lost in the individual tactics, what it means to me as an employee, or the impact on my child's school." He wants people to look not just at the new tests, but at the 2014 plan overall. He seems to believe if they do, they'll see the validity.
Obviously, critics of CMS' reform program see things differently. They want the board to rethink its direction -- or, more accurately, they want to elect three new board members this November who will force a move away from the test-heavy approach CMS is employing. Davis doesn't sound like a man who's thinking the school board needs to change course. He said: "When there's criticism about the direction we're going in, I think a valid question is, 'What's the alternative?'"
It will be interesting to see how the tensions play out in the upcoming school board race, and in the selection of a new superintendent.
Showing posts with label CMS superintendent search. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CMS superintendent search. Show all posts
Monday, August 22, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Who should handle CMS supe search?
Choosing a superintendent for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is a big deal. It will shape educational opportunities, teacher morale, public spending, local confidence in CMS and the nation's image of Charlotte.
But the process can be a bit of a snooze. The school board has had two special meetings, focused mostly on finding a search firm. HR Chief Daniel Habrat said about a dozen have already approached CMS, including the five or six national companies that tend to place superintendents in large districts.
"The minute Pete announced what he was doing, (companies) were sending us their dossiers," Habrat said, referring to the June resignation of Peter Gorman, who built a high national profile in his five years with CMS.
The board agreed Tuesday to allow local firms to have a crack at the job, even if they aren't experts in superintendent hiring. Details were a bit fuzzy; the plan seems to be that local firms will learn from the media that they can apply.
Board member Trent Merchant, a headhunter with Coleman Lew & Associates, has been advising his colleagues about search tactics. He said today that the president of his firm has expertise in education; when Gorman resigned, Merchant said, he and the president agreed not to talk about the CMS opening. If Coleman Lew were to land in consideration for the CMS search, Merchant says he'd probably recuse himself from voting.
Board member Richard McElrath said a local firm could help increase trust in CMS. And former board member James Ross (he served an appointed term from 2008-2009) was sitting in Tuesday, hoping his firm might get the business. Ross said he thinks he could find a leader who's less bureaucratic and better able to connect with Charlotteans than the last few.
Current board members have also talked about how to make sure that the three at-large members chosen in November will be ready to dive in the minute they take office in December. The departure of Merchant, Kaye McGarry and Joe White, who aren't seeking re-election, means everyone but District 5 Representative Tom Tate will be doing their first search. Even Habrat, hired in March from Wells Fargo/Wachovia, is exploring new territory.
So far, the 16 people seeking the at-large seats haven't been flocking to the search meetings, a point that has raised criticism from some current members. (Tim Morgan, a district representative seeking an at-large seat, has been at the sessions.) After a reporter tweeted White's jibes about absent candidates in July, Elyse Dashew and Ericka Ellis-Stewart dashed to the meeting and began tweeting. On Tuesday, Jeff Wise and Hans Plotseneder attended part of the search meeting. (I admit, even I haven't been sitting through the whole meetings, which tend to last hours. Bloggers Bolyn McClung and Susan Spaulding seem to be the most devoted followers of the early process.)
Tuesday night, Ellis-Stewart asked the board to consider holding search meetings in the evening "so that working parents and working adults can attend."
p.s. Sorry we haven't been feeding the blog much lately. When one reporter is covering CMS, it's hard to keep up. As a makeup, here's a little blog humor: Paul Simms in the New Yorker on what commenters would have said if God blogged the creation.
But the process can be a bit of a snooze. The school board has had two special meetings, focused mostly on finding a search firm. HR Chief Daniel Habrat said about a dozen have already approached CMS, including the five or six national companies that tend to place superintendents in large districts.
"The minute Pete announced what he was doing, (companies) were sending us their dossiers," Habrat said, referring to the June resignation of Peter Gorman, who built a high national profile in his five years with CMS.
The board agreed Tuesday to allow local firms to have a crack at the job, even if they aren't experts in superintendent hiring. Details were a bit fuzzy; the plan seems to be that local firms will learn from the media that they can apply.
Board member Trent Merchant, a headhunter with Coleman Lew & Associates, has been advising his colleagues about search tactics. He said today that the president of his firm has expertise in education; when Gorman resigned, Merchant said, he and the president agreed not to talk about the CMS opening. If Coleman Lew were to land in consideration for the CMS search, Merchant says he'd probably recuse himself from voting.
Board member Richard McElrath said a local firm could help increase trust in CMS. And former board member James Ross (he served an appointed term from 2008-2009) was sitting in Tuesday, hoping his firm might get the business. Ross said he thinks he could find a leader who's less bureaucratic and better able to connect with Charlotteans than the last few.
Current board members have also talked about how to make sure that the three at-large members chosen in November will be ready to dive in the minute they take office in December. The departure of Merchant, Kaye McGarry and Joe White, who aren't seeking re-election, means everyone but District 5 Representative Tom Tate will be doing their first search. Even Habrat, hired in March from Wells Fargo/Wachovia, is exploring new territory.
So far, the 16 people seeking the at-large seats haven't been flocking to the search meetings, a point that has raised criticism from some current members. (Tim Morgan, a district representative seeking an at-large seat, has been at the sessions.) After a reporter tweeted White's jibes about absent candidates in July, Elyse Dashew and Ericka Ellis-Stewart dashed to the meeting and began tweeting. On Tuesday, Jeff Wise and Hans Plotseneder attended part of the search meeting. (I admit, even I haven't been sitting through the whole meetings, which tend to last hours. Bloggers Bolyn McClung and Susan Spaulding seem to be the most devoted followers of the early process.)
Tuesday night, Ellis-Stewart asked the board to consider holding search meetings in the evening "so that working parents and working adults can attend."
p.s. Sorry we haven't been feeding the blog much lately. When one reporter is covering CMS, it's hard to keep up. As a makeup, here's a little blog humor: Paul Simms in the New Yorker on what commenters would have said if God blogged the creation.
Monday, June 20, 2011
The business model of leadership
Reading Sunday's article on CEO pay among North Carolina's biggest companies, I couldn't help thinking about the search that's looming for a new leader of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
Across the country, you hear a lot about the desirability of getting a superintendent with a background in private enterprise and/or a businesslike mindset. That's generally considered shorthand for a leader who's bold, responsible with money and not bogged down in bureaucracy and tradition.
But as the article reminded me, captains of industry expect to be well paid -- even when wages are stagnant and jobs are disappearing among the rank and file. My brain boggled looking at the list of seven- and eight-figure totals. The number that stuck with me: "Average total compensation for the CEOs was $93,992 a week."
Departing Superintendent Peter Gorman catches a lot of flak for his $267,000 salary, his $35,000 in extra retirement pay, his $250,000 "personal growth" grant from the Spangler Foundation and his potential 10 percent performance bonus. But next to this crew, Gorman looks like one of those guys holding a "Will Work For Food" sign.
Across the country, you hear a lot about the desirability of getting a superintendent with a background in private enterprise and/or a businesslike mindset. That's generally considered shorthand for a leader who's bold, responsible with money and not bogged down in bureaucracy and tradition.
But as the article reminded me, captains of industry expect to be well paid -- even when wages are stagnant and jobs are disappearing among the rank and file. My brain boggled looking at the list of seven- and eight-figure totals. The number that stuck with me: "Average total compensation for the CEOs was $93,992 a week."
Departing Superintendent Peter Gorman catches a lot of flak for his $267,000 salary, his $35,000 in extra retirement pay, his $250,000 "personal growth" grant from the Spangler Foundation and his potential 10 percent performance bonus. But next to this crew, Gorman looks like one of those guys holding a "Will Work For Food" sign.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Two Atlanta superintendent finalists have CMS history
The troubled Atlanta school system last night named three finalists for the superintendent's job, and two have a history with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
Cheryl Atkinson, who's currently leading the city school system in Lorain, Ohio, graduated from Garinger High and did a stint in the upper levels of CMS administration from 2003 to 2006. She was recently a finalist for the CEO's job in Cleveland.
Barbara Jenkins, deputy superintendent in Orange County, Fla., spent some time leading human resources for CMS. She's a graduate of the Broad Superintendents Academy, which trains and places leaders in urban districts.
Atlanta is just one of several urban districts seeking a new leader -- a pack CMS officially joins tonight, when the school board meets to start planning to replace Peter Gorman. Anyone can come (6 p.m. at the Government Center, 600 E. Fourth St.), but you'll probably just end up hanging out with reporters while the board discusses an interim in closed session.
And CMS alumni are making their presence known in the big leadership shuffle. The last three years have seen former Deputy Superintendent Maurice "Mo" Green go to Guilford County; former Chief Academic Officer Ruth Perez take over a suburban Los Angeles district; and Chief Accountability Officer Jonathan Raymond named superintendent in Sacramento, Calif.. Most recently, Raymond's successor, Robert Avossa, was hired to lead Fulton County Schools just outside Atlanta.
Cheryl Atkinson, who's currently leading the city school system in Lorain, Ohio, graduated from Garinger High and did a stint in the upper levels of CMS administration from 2003 to 2006. She was recently a finalist for the CEO's job in Cleveland.
Barbara Jenkins, deputy superintendent in Orange County, Fla., spent some time leading human resources for CMS. She's a graduate of the Broad Superintendents Academy, which trains and places leaders in urban districts.
Atlanta is just one of several urban districts seeking a new leader -- a pack CMS officially joins tonight, when the school board meets to start planning to replace Peter Gorman. Anyone can come (6 p.m. at the Government Center, 600 E. Fourth St.), but you'll probably just end up hanging out with reporters while the board discusses an interim in closed session.
And CMS alumni are making their presence known in the big leadership shuffle. The last three years have seen former Deputy Superintendent Maurice "Mo" Green go to Guilford County; former Chief Academic Officer Ruth Perez take over a suburban Los Angeles district; and Chief Accountability Officer Jonathan Raymond named superintendent in Sacramento, Calif.. Most recently, Raymond's successor, Robert Avossa, was hired to lead Fulton County Schools just outside Atlanta.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)