Don't Know Much About Nothin' at All
(adaptation of [What a] Wonderful World, song written by Lou Adler, Herb Alpert, and Sam Cooke)
Don't know much about history,
don't know much geography,
don't know much about the science book,
don't know much about the French I took.
Don't know much about no Rise and Fall.
don't know much about nothin' at all---
You ain't put much in our heads,
so all we got to do is fall into bed,
gettin' pregnant in our early years,
you left us with so many haunting fears---
So just when the sun of our youth had risen,
we hit the streets and were off to prison.
That must make you feel real good,
not having educated us as you should.
just sittin' there watchin' us Rise and Fall,
we don't know how you sleep at all---
You ain't put much in our heads,
so all we got to do is fall into bed,
gettin' pregnant in our early years,
you left us with so many haunting fears---
So just when the sun of our youth had risen,
we hit the streets and were off to prison.
That must make you feel real good,
not having educated us as you should.
just sittin' and watchin' us Rise and Fall,
we don't know how you sleep at all---
We don't know how you sleep at all.
Nov 24, 2015
Nov 20, 2015
If We Understand That Black lives Matter, Then We Will Overhaul K-12 Education
As a matter of long-term response to the challenges of people living at the urban core, we will demonstrate that we truly understand that Black Lives Matter by overhauling K-12 education.
The education establishment of the United States has never properly educated the great majority of African American people, and in the broader sense K-12 public education in this nation has never offered academic instruction of excellence to most people.
African Americans have been most victimized by the deficiencies of K-12 public education In the United States.
Consider the history:
Most African American slaves were denied access to literacy. When slavery ended in 1866 with the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, and when the immediately succeeding 14th and 15th Amendments respectively acknowledged fundamental rights of citizenship and voting rights specifically, the pathway opened for African Americans to gain access to education. But Reconstruction ended with the Compromise of 1877, whereby Democrats granted the contested votes in the very close 1876 presidential election to Rutherford B. Hayes in exchange for withdrawal of federal troops from the South.
This left innervated the guarantees of the Reconstruction amendments and created conditions for the rise of hate groups such as the Knights of the Golden Circle, Midnight Raiders, and Ku Klux Klan; the advent of Jim Crow; and the “separate but equal” abomination in the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). Segregation, violence, and the sharecropping system sent multitudes of African Americans scrambling on a Great Northern Migration.
But in the urban North black people found restrictive housing covenants that directed them to certain parts of the city where, as in the case of African Americans settling in alongside the Jewish population of North Minneapolis, they joined other ethnic groups who also bore the burden of hateful treatment. The Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas, decision of the Supreme Court formally ended segregation in 1954, and the Civil Rights victories manifested in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965; in combination with fair housing and employment laws in the course of the 1960s and early 1970s; opened a pathway for African Americans positioned to grab for the middle class American Dream.
Ironically, though, many successful African American people joined whites fleeing the urban core. In North Minneapolis, after rioting on Plymouth Avenue in summer 1967, Jewish people left in droves for St. Louis Park and other suburbs; when many middle class African Americans did the same, this left behind--- as a general rule--- the poorest of the poor.
The Minneapolis Public Schools, like all American systems of K-12 public education, never had offered a superb quality of education. Now mostly white educators were at a loss to provide high-quality education to a Northside population that increasingly included very challenged populations moving in from such places as Gary, Indiana; Southside Chicago; and Kankakee, Illinois.
And that’s where we remain today.
Our locally centralized system of the Minneapolis Public Schools has never provided anything close to a decent K-12 education to African Americans living at the urban core.
The time is now for us to define that education as I have in the immediately succeeding article on this blog and many other places.
If we really believe that Black Lives Matter, then we must formulate a long-term response to the challenges of people living at the urban core by overhauling K-12 education in the Minneapolis Public Schools and across these not yet very United States.
The education establishment of the United States has never properly educated the great majority of African American people, and in the broader sense K-12 public education in this nation has never offered academic instruction of excellence to most people.
African Americans have been most victimized by the deficiencies of K-12 public education In the United States.
Consider the history:
Most African American slaves were denied access to literacy. When slavery ended in 1866 with the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, and when the immediately succeeding 14th and 15th Amendments respectively acknowledged fundamental rights of citizenship and voting rights specifically, the pathway opened for African Americans to gain access to education. But Reconstruction ended with the Compromise of 1877, whereby Democrats granted the contested votes in the very close 1876 presidential election to Rutherford B. Hayes in exchange for withdrawal of federal troops from the South.
This left innervated the guarantees of the Reconstruction amendments and created conditions for the rise of hate groups such as the Knights of the Golden Circle, Midnight Raiders, and Ku Klux Klan; the advent of Jim Crow; and the “separate but equal” abomination in the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). Segregation, violence, and the sharecropping system sent multitudes of African Americans scrambling on a Great Northern Migration.
But in the urban North black people found restrictive housing covenants that directed them to certain parts of the city where, as in the case of African Americans settling in alongside the Jewish population of North Minneapolis, they joined other ethnic groups who also bore the burden of hateful treatment. The Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas, decision of the Supreme Court formally ended segregation in 1954, and the Civil Rights victories manifested in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965; in combination with fair housing and employment laws in the course of the 1960s and early 1970s; opened a pathway for African Americans positioned to grab for the middle class American Dream.
Ironically, though, many successful African American people joined whites fleeing the urban core. In North Minneapolis, after rioting on Plymouth Avenue in summer 1967, Jewish people left in droves for St. Louis Park and other suburbs; when many middle class African Americans did the same, this left behind--- as a general rule--- the poorest of the poor.
The Minneapolis Public Schools, like all American systems of K-12 public education, never had offered a superb quality of education. Now mostly white educators were at a loss to provide high-quality education to a Northside population that increasingly included very challenged populations moving in from such places as Gary, Indiana; Southside Chicago; and Kankakee, Illinois.
And that’s where we remain today.
Our locally centralized system of the Minneapolis Public Schools has never provided anything close to a decent K-12 education to African Americans living at the urban core.
The time is now for us to define that education as I have in the immediately succeeding article on this blog and many other places.
If we really believe that Black Lives Matter, then we must formulate a long-term response to the challenges of people living at the urban core by overhauling K-12 education in the Minneapolis Public Schools and across these not yet very United States.
Nov 19, 2015
The Next Step and the Next Big Question in Selecting One of the Three Finalists for Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools
On the evening of 18 November 2015, members of the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education selected three candidates as finalists in the search for the new Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS).
The six semifinalists were interviewed this week on Monday (16 November 2015) and Tuesday (17 November 2015).
Those semifinalists included Michael Goar, who has served as Interim Superintendent since taking over for Bernadeia Johnson last January 2015; Jinger Gustafson (Associate Superintendent, Anoka-Hennepin School District in Minnesota), Charles Foust, (Assistant Superintendent, Houston [Texas] School District), Sergio Paez (a former superintendent in Holyoke, Massachusetts), Kenneth Spells (superintendent in Alton, Illinois), and Jesse Rodriguez (Regional Superintendent, Milwaukee Public Schools).
................................................................................
I spoke with each of the candidates and in the case of those three candidates interviewed on Tuesday evening had the chance to sit down for substantial conversations.
Yesterday I made my recommendations in favor of Michael Goar, Charles Foust, and Sergio Paez, so for my reasoning scroll on down to the relevant article.
Those three were in fact the candidates chosen as finalists, with the school board members evidencing considerable agreement on the strength of Goar and Paez, and selecting Foust after further discussion of his candidacy.
The main point of my own reasoning that differed from members of the board at this stage concerned the candidate who would be fourth for consideration as the new superintendent. Although a calm and confident rather than charismatic person, Jinger Gustafson was the only candidate to mention Focused Instruction, which I see as a conduit for the full implementation of a knowledge-rich, logically sequenced, grade-by-grade curriculum of the Core Knowledge type advocated by E. D. Hirsch--- that excellence of education that would give all of our precious children the K-12 education that they must have to graduate from high school with great potential for post-secondary academic success and for lives as citizens who are culturally enriched, civically prepared, and professionally accomplished.
Members of the school board made little mention at the Wednesday, 18 November, meeting of either Gustafson or Rodriguez. They came to a fairly clear decision in favor of Foust as number three after a detailed discussion of his strengths by comparison with those of Spells. The vote for Foust as third finalist was seven (7) to two (2). I would have cast the vote for Foust but would have offered the comparison of Gustafson as my own candidate for fourth consideration.
............................................................................
Bottom line, then, the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education and I are in agreement on the three most deserving candidates for consideration as finalists for the position of Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools. The decision now comes down to the candidacies of Michael Goar, Charles Foust, and Sergio Paez.
Do scroll down to read my comments on these candidates in previous articles.
...........................................................................
What we have now is the great question, not yet posed by the members of the school board, and not broached by the candidates >>>>>
What is an excellent education?
Some member of the school board should ask that question of candidates, and they should all ask that question of themselves.
Whenever I ask people that question, including those who make their living in education or advocate for change in K-12 education, they typically start stammering and improvising awkwardly.
How amazing that we propose to rush forward rapidly toward excellence in education without ever defining what we mean by an excellent education.
Those of you who are regular readers of this blog know that in many places I have been clear that
An excellent education is a matter of excellent teachers imparting a knowledge-rich curriculum in the liberal, industrial, and technical arts in logical, grade-by-grade sequence throughout the K-12 years.
You know, too, that I have defined an excellent teacher as follows:
An excellent teacher is a professional of deep and broad knowledge with the pedagogical ability to impart that knowledge to all students.
For reasons that I have also discussed in many articles, those definitions are contentious. They confront education professors and other members of an education establishment who are knowledge-averse and too often themselves knowledge-poor.
For that very reason, we may not ever get to the most important question that should be posed to any superintendent candidate who proposes to oversee the impartation of an academically excellent experience for students of all demographic descriptors.
But members of the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education will be very remiss if they do not ask, and the three finalists to not answer or broach, the most important question of all >>>>>
What is an excellent education?
The six semifinalists were interviewed this week on Monday (16 November 2015) and Tuesday (17 November 2015).
Those semifinalists included Michael Goar, who has served as Interim Superintendent since taking over for Bernadeia Johnson last January 2015; Jinger Gustafson (Associate Superintendent, Anoka-Hennepin School District in Minnesota), Charles Foust, (Assistant Superintendent, Houston [Texas] School District), Sergio Paez (a former superintendent in Holyoke, Massachusetts), Kenneth Spells (superintendent in Alton, Illinois), and Jesse Rodriguez (Regional Superintendent, Milwaukee Public Schools).
................................................................................
I spoke with each of the candidates and in the case of those three candidates interviewed on Tuesday evening had the chance to sit down for substantial conversations.
Yesterday I made my recommendations in favor of Michael Goar, Charles Foust, and Sergio Paez, so for my reasoning scroll on down to the relevant article.
Those three were in fact the candidates chosen as finalists, with the school board members evidencing considerable agreement on the strength of Goar and Paez, and selecting Foust after further discussion of his candidacy.
The main point of my own reasoning that differed from members of the board at this stage concerned the candidate who would be fourth for consideration as the new superintendent. Although a calm and confident rather than charismatic person, Jinger Gustafson was the only candidate to mention Focused Instruction, which I see as a conduit for the full implementation of a knowledge-rich, logically sequenced, grade-by-grade curriculum of the Core Knowledge type advocated by E. D. Hirsch--- that excellence of education that would give all of our precious children the K-12 education that they must have to graduate from high school with great potential for post-secondary academic success and for lives as citizens who are culturally enriched, civically prepared, and professionally accomplished.
Members of the school board made little mention at the Wednesday, 18 November, meeting of either Gustafson or Rodriguez. They came to a fairly clear decision in favor of Foust as number three after a detailed discussion of his strengths by comparison with those of Spells. The vote for Foust as third finalist was seven (7) to two (2). I would have cast the vote for Foust but would have offered the comparison of Gustafson as my own candidate for fourth consideration.
............................................................................
Bottom line, then, the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education and I are in agreement on the three most deserving candidates for consideration as finalists for the position of Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools. The decision now comes down to the candidacies of Michael Goar, Charles Foust, and Sergio Paez.
Do scroll down to read my comments on these candidates in previous articles.
...........................................................................
What we have now is the great question, not yet posed by the members of the school board, and not broached by the candidates >>>>>
What is an excellent education?
Some member of the school board should ask that question of candidates, and they should all ask that question of themselves.
Whenever I ask people that question, including those who make their living in education or advocate for change in K-12 education, they typically start stammering and improvising awkwardly.
How amazing that we propose to rush forward rapidly toward excellence in education without ever defining what we mean by an excellent education.
Those of you who are regular readers of this blog know that in many places I have been clear that
An excellent education is a matter of excellent teachers imparting a knowledge-rich curriculum in the liberal, industrial, and technical arts in logical, grade-by-grade sequence throughout the K-12 years.
You know, too, that I have defined an excellent teacher as follows:
An excellent teacher is a professional of deep and broad knowledge with the pedagogical ability to impart that knowledge to all students.
For reasons that I have also discussed in many articles, those definitions are contentious. They confront education professors and other members of an education establishment who are knowledge-averse and too often themselves knowledge-poor.
For that very reason, we may not ever get to the most important question that should be posed to any superintendent candidate who proposes to oversee the impartation of an academically excellent experience for students of all demographic descriptors.
But members of the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education will be very remiss if they do not ask, and the three finalists to not answer or broach, the most important question of all >>>>>
What is an excellent education?
Nov 18, 2015
Recommendations of Three Candidates as Finalists for Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools
On Monday, 16 November 2015, and Tuesday, 17 November 2015 of this week members of the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education conducted interviews with six candidates at this advanced stage in their process for selection of the new Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS).
The six candidates interviewed were Michael Goar, who has served as Interim Superintendent since taking over for Bernadeia Johnson last January 2015; Jinger Gustafson (Associate Superintendent, Anoka-Hennepin School District in Minnesota), Charles Foust, (Assistant Superintendent, Houston [Texas] School District), Sergio Paez (a former superintendent in Holyoke, Massachusetts), Kenneth Spells (superintendent in Alton, Illinois), and Jesse Rodriguez (Regional Superintendent, Milwaukee Public Schools).
.........................................................
In order, the first three candidates interviewed on Monday (16 November) were Rodriguez, Foust, and Spells. Rodriguez emphasized his experience as regional superintendent in the Southwest region of Milwaukee, where schools face challenges in serving many students on free and reduced priced lunch and others who have underperformed academically. He cited successes in improving the educational performances of these students. Among Rodriguez’s most astute comments, conveying an on-the-ground sense of problems and viable solutions were those pertinent to addressing segregation by providing high-quality education at every school, making such institutions imparters of an academic program attractive to people of all demographic descriptors; and this emphasis on focusing on a few key initiatives in striving for major change.
Foust stressed his work with some of the most academically challenged schools in Houston, by far the largest (7th in the nation) of any of those served by the candidates. Foust stressed common sense solutions to problems with logical application of data, mentioning especially aggressive tutoring in math for all students with this deficits in this vital skill, building in extra hours and ten extra days for the accomplishment of the goal; assessing test results indicating level of progress; and then making any adjustments necessary for the individual student in continuing work toward the goal of mathematics mastery. Foust’s most astute comments centered on his willingness to listen and to maintain circumspection when those professionals with responsibility for achieving positive results fall short--- but ultimately insisting that people do what they have said that they can do; and on his question to the board: “How do you know that the 2020 Strategic Plan is going to work?” School board member Tracine Asberry smiled broadly, because this is the kind of question that she is always posing. Only school board member Don Samuels made any attempt to answer the question, citing his role on the Policy Committee, which has a timetable for reaching certain benchmarks in route to achieving the goals of the 2020 Plan.
Spells emphasized his experience as Superintendent of Schools in Alton, Illinois, where he has overseen significant improvements in the graduation rate (now 86% for all students, 83% for African Americans), attendance (now 93%), African American participation in honors classes (from 7% to 24% during his tenure), and post-graduation college attendance (now 80%)--- in a school district with 66% of students on free and reduced price lunch, very similar to the corresponding percentage at the Minneapolis Public Schools.
....................................................................
In order, the other three candidates, interviewed on Tuesday (16 November),were Goar, Paez, and Gustafson.
Goar cited his success in reducing the central building bureaucracy of MPS (very soon after assuming the position of Interim Superintendent , he cut central office staff from 651 to 531, a reduction of 120 positions [18%]); and in moving the process forward for improvements of academic results at sites (High Priority Schools) where students struggle with familial poverty and below-grade-level educational performance. Goar also stressed his experience in positions with the public school systems of Boston and Memphis. And he stressed innovative approaches in opening up the educational experiences of students beyond classroom walls, creating personal pathways to graduation, achieving cultural and linguistic competency, and ensuring vital career and technical programs.
Paez emphasized his success in turning around the schools of Holyoke, Massachusetts, by taking a careful look at the data, aligning remedial action to specific student need, and using available resources to address the most vexing needs of the students themselves. Paez stressed the need aggressively to address the language-deprivation of English Language Learners, as he has done in a district with a heavily Puerto Rican contingent of students. With reference to the words of Marin Luther King, Paez asserted that getting K-12 public education right is a matter of reparations in a nation in which the check offered for cashing by African Americans (and by extension, other ill-served populations) has been returned marked, “insufficient funds.” Given a chance to ask a question, Paez asked board members if they considered the superintendent position to be vital to advancement of the goals of the Minneapolis Public Schools, to which school board member Rebecca Gagnon answered, “Yes,” and others nodded. It was a good and pointed question, implying Paez’s readiness to assume the superintendent’s role, ideally under conditions in which the school board understands the importance of the position.
Gustafson cited her status as a first-generation college student and military veteran for giving her a sense of understanding and empathy for people facing difficult situations. She mentioned her supervisory responsibilities overseeing Q-Comp and secondary curriculum as among the district-wide duties of her role in the Anoka-Hennepin school district. Gustafson referred many times to her role in addressing the lawsuit filed against that district related to bullying allegations--- and the pain that the status involved, even as students and parents remained supportive of the academic program. And she conveyed her personal qualities of consistency, calmness, and ability to listen while maintaining high academic expectations as strengths that she would bring to the role of superintendent.
......................................................................
I spoke with each of the candidates and in the case of those three candidates interviewed on Tuesday evening had the chance to sit down for substantial conversations. Based on the interviews and my conversations with the candidates,
I recommend that Michael Goar, Charles Foust, and Sergio Paez be given the opportunity for consideration as finalists in the search for Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools:
In my conversation with Michael Goar in the aftermath of his interview, he addressed my concerns regarding current implementation of Focused Instruction, which offers the opportunity to define a strong knowledge-intensive curriculum in grade by grade sequence throughout the K-12 years. I was skeptical in broaching this matter with Goar but found his answers to convey a commitment to Focused Instruction, including fulfillment of the program at Community Partnership Schools given considerable autonomy in exchange for achieving results. Goar’s experience as Interim Superintendent and his achievements in the areas of the High Priority Schools and reduction of central staff (consistent with the Shift program of getting resources closest to the students themselves) continue to make him a compelling candidate.
Charles Foust conveys a tremendous sense of energy and on-the-ground sense of addressing the needs of historically underserved students. His statement regarding demanding his insistence on people doing what they were hired to do--- and said that they could do--- rang very true. His question to the board regarding the degree of certainty that the 2020 Strategic Plan would work conveyed a strong drive to match declared goals with a viable route to success. Foust spoke authoritatively and without notes to the board and compellingly reemphasized his major themes in my conversation with him.
Sergio Paez can cite an outstanding record in rescuing the Andover (Massachusetts) school district from takeover by the state, and his grasp of the obligation to redress the injustice of history via the design of high-performing systems of K-12 education is very impressive. Paez demonstrates a respect for the level of funding necessary to achieve results, but he also stresses always directing available funds toward the best possible achievement for students--- demonstrating understanding that prevailing challenges are not always a matter of money; and a thorough grasp of the financial aspects of running a central public school district. I was disappointed in the directness with which Paez answered my questions in the aftermath of his interview regarding Focused Instruction and the need for a knowledge-intensive curriculum throughout the K-12 years--- but he does have a strong sense of how to go about addressing student needs in mathematics and reading throughout those years and during life experiences prior to kindergarten; and I am confident that he would be amenable to productive discussion on matters pertinent to knowledge-intensive curriculum.
Of the other candidates, what Gustafson lacked in personal dynamism she countered with a sense of calm, confident leadership. She was the only candidate to mention Focused Instruction or, in my conversation with her, to demonstrate some knowledge of the Core Knowledge approach of E. D. Hirsch. She also posed the best question of all of the three (Foust and Paez were the others, as noted above) who posed such questions, asking, “What keeps you up at night?” School board member Siad Ali cited students whose needs were not being met, Rebecca Gagnon mentioned decisions that were made for political reasons and in consideration of adult rather than student concerns, and student representative Noah Branch mentioned those students who needed personal attention as human beings rather than exclusive focus on academics.
Despite demonstrating considerable strengths as a candidate, though, Ginger Gustafson ultimately ranks behind Michael Goar, Charles Foust, and Sergio Paez in my recommendations for the selection of finalists for the position of Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools.
The six candidates interviewed were Michael Goar, who has served as Interim Superintendent since taking over for Bernadeia Johnson last January 2015; Jinger Gustafson (Associate Superintendent, Anoka-Hennepin School District in Minnesota), Charles Foust, (Assistant Superintendent, Houston [Texas] School District), Sergio Paez (a former superintendent in Holyoke, Massachusetts), Kenneth Spells (superintendent in Alton, Illinois), and Jesse Rodriguez (Regional Superintendent, Milwaukee Public Schools).
.........................................................
In order, the first three candidates interviewed on Monday (16 November) were Rodriguez, Foust, and Spells. Rodriguez emphasized his experience as regional superintendent in the Southwest region of Milwaukee, where schools face challenges in serving many students on free and reduced priced lunch and others who have underperformed academically. He cited successes in improving the educational performances of these students. Among Rodriguez’s most astute comments, conveying an on-the-ground sense of problems and viable solutions were those pertinent to addressing segregation by providing high-quality education at every school, making such institutions imparters of an academic program attractive to people of all demographic descriptors; and this emphasis on focusing on a few key initiatives in striving for major change.
Foust stressed his work with some of the most academically challenged schools in Houston, by far the largest (7th in the nation) of any of those served by the candidates. Foust stressed common sense solutions to problems with logical application of data, mentioning especially aggressive tutoring in math for all students with this deficits in this vital skill, building in extra hours and ten extra days for the accomplishment of the goal; assessing test results indicating level of progress; and then making any adjustments necessary for the individual student in continuing work toward the goal of mathematics mastery. Foust’s most astute comments centered on his willingness to listen and to maintain circumspection when those professionals with responsibility for achieving positive results fall short--- but ultimately insisting that people do what they have said that they can do; and on his question to the board: “How do you know that the 2020 Strategic Plan is going to work?” School board member Tracine Asberry smiled broadly, because this is the kind of question that she is always posing. Only school board member Don Samuels made any attempt to answer the question, citing his role on the Policy Committee, which has a timetable for reaching certain benchmarks in route to achieving the goals of the 2020 Plan.
Spells emphasized his experience as Superintendent of Schools in Alton, Illinois, where he has overseen significant improvements in the graduation rate (now 86% for all students, 83% for African Americans), attendance (now 93%), African American participation in honors classes (from 7% to 24% during his tenure), and post-graduation college attendance (now 80%)--- in a school district with 66% of students on free and reduced price lunch, very similar to the corresponding percentage at the Minneapolis Public Schools.
....................................................................
In order, the other three candidates, interviewed on Tuesday (16 November),were Goar, Paez, and Gustafson.
Goar cited his success in reducing the central building bureaucracy of MPS (very soon after assuming the position of Interim Superintendent , he cut central office staff from 651 to 531, a reduction of 120 positions [18%]); and in moving the process forward for improvements of academic results at sites (High Priority Schools) where students struggle with familial poverty and below-grade-level educational performance. Goar also stressed his experience in positions with the public school systems of Boston and Memphis. And he stressed innovative approaches in opening up the educational experiences of students beyond classroom walls, creating personal pathways to graduation, achieving cultural and linguistic competency, and ensuring vital career and technical programs.
Paez emphasized his success in turning around the schools of Holyoke, Massachusetts, by taking a careful look at the data, aligning remedial action to specific student need, and using available resources to address the most vexing needs of the students themselves. Paez stressed the need aggressively to address the language-deprivation of English Language Learners, as he has done in a district with a heavily Puerto Rican contingent of students. With reference to the words of Marin Luther King, Paez asserted that getting K-12 public education right is a matter of reparations in a nation in which the check offered for cashing by African Americans (and by extension, other ill-served populations) has been returned marked, “insufficient funds.” Given a chance to ask a question, Paez asked board members if they considered the superintendent position to be vital to advancement of the goals of the Minneapolis Public Schools, to which school board member Rebecca Gagnon answered, “Yes,” and others nodded. It was a good and pointed question, implying Paez’s readiness to assume the superintendent’s role, ideally under conditions in which the school board understands the importance of the position.
Gustafson cited her status as a first-generation college student and military veteran for giving her a sense of understanding and empathy for people facing difficult situations. She mentioned her supervisory responsibilities overseeing Q-Comp and secondary curriculum as among the district-wide duties of her role in the Anoka-Hennepin school district. Gustafson referred many times to her role in addressing the lawsuit filed against that district related to bullying allegations--- and the pain that the status involved, even as students and parents remained supportive of the academic program. And she conveyed her personal qualities of consistency, calmness, and ability to listen while maintaining high academic expectations as strengths that she would bring to the role of superintendent.
......................................................................
I spoke with each of the candidates and in the case of those three candidates interviewed on Tuesday evening had the chance to sit down for substantial conversations. Based on the interviews and my conversations with the candidates,
I recommend that Michael Goar, Charles Foust, and Sergio Paez be given the opportunity for consideration as finalists in the search for Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools:
In my conversation with Michael Goar in the aftermath of his interview, he addressed my concerns regarding current implementation of Focused Instruction, which offers the opportunity to define a strong knowledge-intensive curriculum in grade by grade sequence throughout the K-12 years. I was skeptical in broaching this matter with Goar but found his answers to convey a commitment to Focused Instruction, including fulfillment of the program at Community Partnership Schools given considerable autonomy in exchange for achieving results. Goar’s experience as Interim Superintendent and his achievements in the areas of the High Priority Schools and reduction of central staff (consistent with the Shift program of getting resources closest to the students themselves) continue to make him a compelling candidate.
Charles Foust conveys a tremendous sense of energy and on-the-ground sense of addressing the needs of historically underserved students. His statement regarding demanding his insistence on people doing what they were hired to do--- and said that they could do--- rang very true. His question to the board regarding the degree of certainty that the 2020 Strategic Plan would work conveyed a strong drive to match declared goals with a viable route to success. Foust spoke authoritatively and without notes to the board and compellingly reemphasized his major themes in my conversation with him.
Sergio Paez can cite an outstanding record in rescuing the Andover (Massachusetts) school district from takeover by the state, and his grasp of the obligation to redress the injustice of history via the design of high-performing systems of K-12 education is very impressive. Paez demonstrates a respect for the level of funding necessary to achieve results, but he also stresses always directing available funds toward the best possible achievement for students--- demonstrating understanding that prevailing challenges are not always a matter of money; and a thorough grasp of the financial aspects of running a central public school district. I was disappointed in the directness with which Paez answered my questions in the aftermath of his interview regarding Focused Instruction and the need for a knowledge-intensive curriculum throughout the K-12 years--- but he does have a strong sense of how to go about addressing student needs in mathematics and reading throughout those years and during life experiences prior to kindergarten; and I am confident that he would be amenable to productive discussion on matters pertinent to knowledge-intensive curriculum.
Of the other candidates, what Gustafson lacked in personal dynamism she countered with a sense of calm, confident leadership. She was the only candidate to mention Focused Instruction or, in my conversation with her, to demonstrate some knowledge of the Core Knowledge approach of E. D. Hirsch. She also posed the best question of all of the three (Foust and Paez were the others, as noted above) who posed such questions, asking, “What keeps you up at night?” School board member Siad Ali cited students whose needs were not being met, Rebecca Gagnon mentioned decisions that were made for political reasons and in consideration of adult rather than student concerns, and student representative Noah Branch mentioned those students who needed personal attention as human beings rather than exclusive focus on academics.
Despite demonstrating considerable strengths as a candidate, though, Ginger Gustafson ultimately ranks behind Michael Goar, Charles Foust, and Sergio Paez in my recommendations for the selection of finalists for the position of Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools.
Nov 16, 2015
A Note to My Readers >>>>> Please Scroll on Down to Read Two Very Different, Highly Important, Articles Posted on this Day of 16 November 2015
Note to My Readers >>>>>
Please scroll on down to read two very different, highly important, articles posted on this day of 16 November 2015.
The first article, which will come up first as you scroll down, concerns the ongoing triumph of Damon Preston over life circumstances via the power of an excellent K-12 education.
The second article pertains to the interviews of candidates for Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) being conducted today and tomorrow (Monday, 16 November 2015, and Tuesday, 17 November 2015) by the members of the MPS Board of Education--- with selection of finalists for the superintendent position to follow on Wednesday, 18 November 2015.
Please scroll on down to read two very different, highly important, articles posted on this day of 16 November 2015.
The first article, which will come up first as you scroll down, concerns the ongoing triumph of Damon Preston over life circumstances via the power of an excellent K-12 education.
The second article pertains to the interviews of candidates for Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) being conducted today and tomorrow (Monday, 16 November 2015, and Tuesday, 17 November 2015) by the members of the MPS Board of Education--- with selection of finalists for the superintendent position to follow on Wednesday, 18 November 2015.
Damon Preston Continues to Offer a Particularly Impressive Case as to the Transformation of Life Prospects Via the Power of an Excellent K-12 Education
A recent recording of my television show (The K-12 Revolution with Dr. Gary Marvin Davison, MTN Channel 17, Wednesdays at 6:00 PM or on YouTube at Holly for Grace) featured my work with a Grade 7 student who is from the most impoverished family with whom I've ever worked--- and my forty-plus years in inner city K-12 education have led me into the homes of the economically poorest members of our society.
Damon Preston (data privacy pseudonym) has been featured in previous articles posted on this blog for his astounding academic progress and the implicit conquest of very vexing life challenges. During the recent television recording session of reference, Damon and I proceeded to get most of the way through my chapter on Economics from my nearly completed book, Fundamentals of an Excellent Liberal Arts Education, so that he was able to demonstrate just how much a Grade 7 student from exceedingly challenged circumstances can master of a high school course on economics (micro- and macro-).
In the course of the hour for recording the show, Damon and I discussed various matters pertinent to microeconomics, such as consumer influence on supply and demand; the Consumer Confidence Index; determination of wages and salaries; personal investment portfolios, including purchase of stocks and bonds, and acquisition of real estate; and tax and FICA deductions from the paychecks of wage and salary earners.
Damon and I then turned to matters of macroeconomics:
We discussed fiscal and monetary policy, so that Damon understands that the former involves the budgetary matters of expenditure and revenue while the latter concerns money supply.
Damon also understands the difference between federal deficit (annual budgetary shortfall) and debt (accumulated budgetary shortfall) and the various political disputes that swirl around such matters.
Damon fully grasps the essentials of the Federal Reserve System (including the essential functions of Federal Reserve Board led by Janet Yellen and the three ways that the Fed has of controlling money supply [establishment of reserve ratios, adjusting interest rates, and bond buying and selling]).
And Damon and I discussed the three great economic thinkers Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes, with their various degrees of faith in pure capitalism and the way in which the ideas of these thinkers still define our national debate on matters of economic policy today.
Thus, Damon now not only has received the essence of high school courses on both microeconomics and macroeconomics; he also possesses knowledge that many university graduates would do well to have rocking around in their brains.
All of you reading this blog should be very clear that what I'm up to in the overhaul of K-12 education is the provision of the only genuine route out of poverty via the democratization of the United States through the provision of an equally excellent K-12 education to all of our precious children.
Damon Preston offers a particularly impressive case of a student for whom severe poverty in the context of the United States standard of living will not be an impediment to a life of cultural enrichment, civic participation, and professional satisfaction.
You have and will continue to read about many such cases in the articles that I post on this blog.
Damon Preston (data privacy pseudonym) has been featured in previous articles posted on this blog for his astounding academic progress and the implicit conquest of very vexing life challenges. During the recent television recording session of reference, Damon and I proceeded to get most of the way through my chapter on Economics from my nearly completed book, Fundamentals of an Excellent Liberal Arts Education, so that he was able to demonstrate just how much a Grade 7 student from exceedingly challenged circumstances can master of a high school course on economics (micro- and macro-).
In the course of the hour for recording the show, Damon and I discussed various matters pertinent to microeconomics, such as consumer influence on supply and demand; the Consumer Confidence Index; determination of wages and salaries; personal investment portfolios, including purchase of stocks and bonds, and acquisition of real estate; and tax and FICA deductions from the paychecks of wage and salary earners.
Damon and I then turned to matters of macroeconomics:
We discussed fiscal and monetary policy, so that Damon understands that the former involves the budgetary matters of expenditure and revenue while the latter concerns money supply.
Damon also understands the difference between federal deficit (annual budgetary shortfall) and debt (accumulated budgetary shortfall) and the various political disputes that swirl around such matters.
Damon fully grasps the essentials of the Federal Reserve System (including the essential functions of Federal Reserve Board led by Janet Yellen and the three ways that the Fed has of controlling money supply [establishment of reserve ratios, adjusting interest rates, and bond buying and selling]).
And Damon and I discussed the three great economic thinkers Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes, with their various degrees of faith in pure capitalism and the way in which the ideas of these thinkers still define our national debate on matters of economic policy today.
Thus, Damon now not only has received the essence of high school courses on both microeconomics and macroeconomics; he also possesses knowledge that many university graduates would do well to have rocking around in their brains.
All of you reading this blog should be very clear that what I'm up to in the overhaul of K-12 education is the provision of the only genuine route out of poverty via the democratization of the United States through the provision of an equally excellent K-12 education to all of our precious children.
Damon Preston offers a particularly impressive case of a student for whom severe poverty in the context of the United States standard of living will not be an impediment to a life of cultural enrichment, civic participation, and professional satisfaction.
You have and will continue to read about many such cases in the articles that I post on this blog.
Be Aware of Interviews This Week of Candidates for Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools
During this work week beginning Monday, 16 November, the members of the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education will be conducting interviews at this advanced stage in their process for selection of the new Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS).
There are six candidates: Interim Superintendent Michael Goar has served in his position since taking over for Bernadeia Johnson last January. I went on record right away in making his case, asserting that most candidates have education establishment backgrounds and will typically be gone in 3-5 years anyway, so why go through all of the hullabaloo when Goar seems quite capable and willing to listen to good ideas. He has moved the process forward for improvements at the High Priority Schools and achieved the monumental success of reducing the central building bureaucracy of MPS from 651 to 531, a reduction of 120 positions that amount to a greater than 18% staff diminution. He has not continued to advance the development of Focused Instruction, so this is a disappointment that I will persist in rectifying, encouraging Goar and other decision-makers at MPS fully to develop Focused Instruction so as to establish a knowledge-intensive curriculum, well-defined grade by grade, accompanied by the necessary retraining of teachers.
Now that we have the hullabaloo that I sought to avoid, there are five other candidates:
The other candidates for Superintendent of MPS are Jinger Gustafson (Associate Superintendent, Anoka-Hennepin School District in Minnesota), Charles Foust, (Assistant Superintendent, Houston [Texas] School District), Sergio Paez (a former superintendent in Holyoke, Massachusetts), Kenneth Spells (superintendent in Alton, Illinois), and Jesse Rodriguez (Regional Superintendent, Milwaukee Public Schools. Thus, Goar and Gustafson are the only two candidates working in Minnesota.
I'll be observing and listening carefully today and will hold off in making a final recommendation until all of the candidates have a chance to make their cases.
But, working under Bernadeia Johnson as he did, having achieved the great success in central staff reductions, understanding the importance of improvements at the High Priority Schools, and demonstrating a willingness to listen on matters of curriculum and teacher training--- make Michael Goar by far the perceptibly strongest candidate as the process for final selection begins.
Members of the MPS Board of Education will be interviewing the six candidates today and tomorrow (Monday, 16 November 2015, and Tuesday, 17 November 2015) and are scheduled to narrow the list to finalists on Wednesday, 18 November 2015.
Look for articles on my blog this week, particularly my own recommendation after listening to the interviews and considering which of the finalists is best positioned to give the students and families of the Minneapolis Public Schools the education of excellence that I have detailed many times.
There are six candidates: Interim Superintendent Michael Goar has served in his position since taking over for Bernadeia Johnson last January. I went on record right away in making his case, asserting that most candidates have education establishment backgrounds and will typically be gone in 3-5 years anyway, so why go through all of the hullabaloo when Goar seems quite capable and willing to listen to good ideas. He has moved the process forward for improvements at the High Priority Schools and achieved the monumental success of reducing the central building bureaucracy of MPS from 651 to 531, a reduction of 120 positions that amount to a greater than 18% staff diminution. He has not continued to advance the development of Focused Instruction, so this is a disappointment that I will persist in rectifying, encouraging Goar and other decision-makers at MPS fully to develop Focused Instruction so as to establish a knowledge-intensive curriculum, well-defined grade by grade, accompanied by the necessary retraining of teachers.
Now that we have the hullabaloo that I sought to avoid, there are five other candidates:
The other candidates for Superintendent of MPS are Jinger Gustafson (Associate Superintendent, Anoka-Hennepin School District in Minnesota), Charles Foust, (Assistant Superintendent, Houston [Texas] School District), Sergio Paez (a former superintendent in Holyoke, Massachusetts), Kenneth Spells (superintendent in Alton, Illinois), and Jesse Rodriguez (Regional Superintendent, Milwaukee Public Schools. Thus, Goar and Gustafson are the only two candidates working in Minnesota.
I'll be observing and listening carefully today and will hold off in making a final recommendation until all of the candidates have a chance to make their cases.
But, working under Bernadeia Johnson as he did, having achieved the great success in central staff reductions, understanding the importance of improvements at the High Priority Schools, and demonstrating a willingness to listen on matters of curriculum and teacher training--- make Michael Goar by far the perceptibly strongest candidate as the process for final selection begins.
Members of the MPS Board of Education will be interviewing the six candidates today and tomorrow (Monday, 16 November 2015, and Tuesday, 17 November 2015) and are scheduled to narrow the list to finalists on Wednesday, 18 November 2015.
Look for articles on my blog this week, particularly my own recommendation after listening to the interviews and considering which of the finalists is best positioned to give the students and families of the Minneapolis Public Schools the education of excellence that I have detailed many times.
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