Last evening, I received another response from Little Rock School District School Board Greg Adams (Zone 4). Again, I prefer to let the members of the board speak for themselves, but here's my response. I have yet to receive responses from the remaining five members of the board.
Thu, Feb 10, 2011 at 11:17 PM
Thanks, Greg, for your thoughtful response.
I empathize with your desire for system-wide support and consensus, but ultimate support for the district will come from excellence and satisfaction at the points of delivery.
Students don't attend and/or graduate from the Little Rock School District, they attend and/or graduate from Washington, Forest Heights and Central.
The citizens of Zone 4 and all of the Little Rock School District hunger for visionary leadership, accompanied by the interpersonal and political skills to implement that vision.
You're already five months into a 36-month term. There is no time for or value in thinking of yourself as the new guy. In many ways, your and Mr. Nellums' freshness give you more credibility with the public than veteran members. I strongly encourage you to exercise that political capital before you're lumped in with the status quo.
Yes, implement the strategic plan. Yes, select and hire an exceptional superintendent. Yes, build a new middle school in West Little Rock. But do them concurrently, without waiting for completion of one before tackling another.
I would venture that Roberts has kept or attracted more students in or to the district than any one action in the past 30 years.
The same will hold true for a new middle school.
And the same will hold true for a new high school.
Fighting choice (legally challenging charters), artificially propping up Forest Heights with 70 additional West Little Rock families, and/or refusing to serve the city's fastest growing population for fear of pulling higher achieving students from Forest Heights and Pulaski Heights are fear-based solutions to symptoms, not effective answers to the district's stagnant or declining enrollment and increasingly disproportionate demographics.
My wish for my children and all the students of Little Rock is that they attend schools which reflect the economic and cultural diversity of Little Rock, not necessarily their respective neighborhoods. My wish is also that their respective schools engender support from their respective proximate communities and inspire a renewed school spirit among their student bodies and parents.
If we aren't bold in our progress, there is a very real chance that the legislature will step in and impose solutions. I firmly believe in local control of our district, but we must understand the realities of the statewide political climate when it comes to Little Rock's getting its public education house in order.
Being a thoughtful, trustworthy and collaborative board member is not antithetical to leading with clarity of vision and purpose. I truly believe all members of the board are well intentioned. However, if I'm paying attention and still have no idea how any member intends to achieve his/her respective intention, then how can you or any other board member expect community-wide support?
Finally, you shared that you were more encouraged by the Middle School Task Force's presence than the thought of its absence. To me, this speaks to the very root of what's wrong with the district.
By your and Mr. Carreiro's own admission (on a PowerPoint slide, no less), the group has no stated purpose, has met less than a handful of times in two years, and officially consists of only two parents among more than 10 times as many professional educators.
To this observer, it's a rudderless, deferral of responsibility which seemingly assuages the board into believing it's addressing the issue. Quite frankly, when I saw the slide describing the group, I thought it was meant to point out its absurdity. That's why I remain dumbfounded that you and others seem to find its existence encouraging.
I appreciate your receptiveness to my opinions and thank you for your service and consideration.
Sincerely,
Gary Newton
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