Central office decision-makers in the
typical locally centralized school district are not academicians or
scholars.
Central office administrators are
abominably trained by education professors and imbibe the same impoverished philosophy
of education as do teachers and building principals. This gives rise to the “interlocking
directorate” to which Arthur Bestor refers, citing the entire education
establishment that inflicts such a terrible, knowledge-deplete K-12 experience
on our young people. The directorate of
reference is comprised of education professors, central office administrators,
elementary and secondary principals, and teachers.
In the same way that K-5 teachers have
almost no subject area training and teachers at grades 6-12 now seek master’s
degrees in education, rather than in the fields that they teach, both central
office administrators and building principals obtain any credentials beyond the
bachelor’s degree in education rather than field-specific academic subject
areas. Furthermore, even the
undergraduate credentials of administrators at both the central office and site
level tend to be in departments, colleges, and schools of education rather than
in academic fields such as mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, history, government,
economics, literature, or the fine arts.
As you peruse the listings given below, be
aware that only a couple of credentials rendered as degrees in political
science and sociology at the undergraduate level have any academic credibility. Understand that certifications have nothing
to do with academic credibility and can be obtained via education department
courses rather than academic departments of colleges and universities.
Note, then, that Minneapolis Public Schools
(MPS) Superintendent Ed Graff; Chief of
Academics, Leadership, and Learning Michael Thomas; and Deputy Chief of Academics, Leadership,
and Learning Cecilia Saddler are trained entirely in education departments or
in social work; the latter is an
admirable calling but is a vocational rather than academic field. Then note that Associate Superintendents Ron
Wagner, Lucilla Davila, and Laura Cavender have training only in education programs; they have no rigorous academic training. This is true, too, of Director of Secondary
Education Naomi Taylor. Associate Superintendent
Carla Steinbach-Huther has an undergraduate degree in sociology, but all of her
credentials beyond the bachelor’s degree are in education programs. Similarly, Director of Elementary Education
Carey Seely has bachelor’s degrees in political science and sociology but
beyond the undergraduate level has received credentials only via education
courses.
With her training in political science only
Seely, among all key MPS academic program decision-makers, has training of
relevance to teaching a required course:
civics or government. This makes
the sum total of academic training for those who establish and implement the academic
program of the Minneapolis Public Schools slim in the extreme.
Now consider this presentation of
credentials for academic decision-makers at the Minneapolis Public Schools:
Ed Graff (Superintendent)
Degrees Earned Institution
at Which Degree Was Earned
M. A., Education Administration University of
Southern Mississippi
B. A., Elementary Education University
of Alaska, Anchorage
Michael Thomas (Chief of Academics, Leadership,
and Learning
Degrees Earned Institution
at Which Degree Was Earned
Ed. D., Educational Leadership University of
St. Thomas
(anticipated)
MSW, Social Work University
of Minnesota
B.A., Social Work University
of St. Thomas
Licensures:
Superintendent and University of
St. Thomas
Administrative Licenses
Cecilia Saddler (Deputy Chief of Academics, Leadership, and
Learning)
Degrees Earned Institution
at Which Degree Was Earned
M. A., Teaching University
of Iowa
B.A. or B.S., Communications University
of Iowa
Licensures:
English Language/ Arts
District Superintendent
K-12 Principal
Ron Wagner (Associate Superintendent)
Degrees Earned Institution
at Which Degree Was Earned
Education Specialist Degree University
of St. Thomas
M.A., Education Ball
State University
B.A. or B.S., Education Ball
State University
Licensures:
Elementary Education
English/ Language Arts
Mathematics
District Superintendent
K-12 Principal
Lucilla Davila (Associate Superintendent)
Degrees Earned Institution
at Which Degree Was Earned
M. A., Education University
of Minnesota
B.A. or B.S., Education University
of Minnesota,
Interamericana
University (Puerto Rico)
Licensures:
Elementary Education
District Superintendent
K-12 Principal
Laura Cavender (Associate Superintendent)
Degrees Earned Institution
at Which Degree Was Earned
M. A., University
of Nebraska-Lincoln
Curriculum & Instruction
B.A. or B.S., Education University
of Nebraska-Lincoln
Licensures:
Pre-Kindergarten
District Superintendent
K-12 Principal
Carla Steinbach-Huther (Associate
Superintendent)
Degrees Earned Institution
at Which Degree Was Earned
Education Specialist Degree University
of St. Thomas
M.A., Curriculum & Instruction University of St.
Thomas
B.A. or B.S., Sociology University
of Wisconsin-Lacrosse
Licensures:
Social Studies
District Superintendent
Secondary Principal
Naomi Taylor (Director, Secondary Education)
Degrees Earned Institution
at Which Degree Was Earned
Educational Doctorate, Hamline
University
Educational Leadership
M.A., Education University
of Minnesota
B.A. or B.S., Education University
of Minnesota
Licensures:
Elementary Education
K-12 Principal
Carey Seeley (Director, Elementary Education)
Degrees Earned: Institution
at Which Degree Was Earned
M.A., Education University
of St. Thomas
B.A. or B.S., Pepperdine
University
Political Science & sociology
Licensures:
Elementary Education
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