I left the Tuesday, February 8, 2011 PTA meeting at Roberts Elementary without hearing direct answers from the Little Rock School District's board members in attendance (Jody Carreiro, Zone 5 and Greg Adams, Zone 4) regarding their positions on building a new middle school in West Little Rock. So, the following day, I emailed both and asked them to respond directly to four specific questions.
Notice I said "citizens," and not "patrons" or "parents." The future of the Little Rock School District is directly tied to the future of our entire community, whether or not you have children in school (public, charter, private or home), rent and/or pay property taxes. Quite simply, without an effective public school system, we cannot be competitive economically.
I'll not post the board members' responses, but let them speak for themselves. However, below I offer my responses to theirs.
Wed, Feb 9, 2011 at 9:24 AM
Greg and Jody,
Thank you for being at the meeting last night at Roberts Elementary and for your service on the board.
Unfortunately, I believe plans for a West Little Rock middle school were lumped into overall middle school performance in the district, and therefore, no clear answers were given on your respective positions on the construction of a new school. So, I'll ask directly.
1) Would you vote, and work to gain the votes of your fellow board members, to build a new middle school in West Little Rock?
2) If yes, what is your time line for completion?
3) If yes, what are your major obstacles to completion?
4) If no, what would have to happen for you to support construction?
Roberts Elementary provides the ideal beta test for impact on the district by assessing the following:
1) How many Roberts students entered for the first time or returned to the district this year?
2) If Pre-K with older siblings, how many Pre-K students were in Roberts this year who have siblings who were outside the district last year?
I believe building a West Little Rock middle school and raising overall middle school performance should be conducted contemporaneously and are not mutually exclusive.
I am a son of a superintendent and a guidance counselor, a product of public schools in Mountain Home, Fayetteville and Lebanon, MO, a brother to teachers in both rural and urban districts, and father of two third graders.
While a native Arkansan, we returned to Little Rock from Los Angeles 5 1/2 years ago to raise our children. We chose to buy property in the Little Rock School District. We chose to attend Fair Park Pre-K because of its quality and diversity. We attended an overcrowded Fulbright because it was our zoned school. And now, we are at Roberts for another 2 1/2 years.
Thank you for your consideration, and I'll look forward to your responses.
Sincerely,
Gary Newton
After receiving Mr. Carreiro's response, I responded with the following:
Wed, Feb 9, 2011 at 12:20 PM
Jody,
Thank you for your prompt and thorough response. I particularly appreciate your direct answers to my direct questions.
I come at this not only as a father, but as a community/economic developer... Without a competitive public school system, effectively educating all children, we will be at a crippling disadvantage when it comes to retaining and expanding the region's economy.
Because of my role at [my employer], I have deferred professional involvement in the district's affairs to [my colleagues]. Please know, my opinions are my own and in no way represent [my employer].
However, as a citizen, father and champion of the community, I am willing and able to serve where my experience and skills will be most effective.
When I began my career...in 1983, the Little Rock District's lawsuit was in its infancy. At the time, my aunt was director of special education for the North Little Rock District, so I had a front row seat to early litigation. I left in 1988, and as I mentioned earlier, returned 17 years later. Upon returning, it was my great disappointment that the district remained under federal court supervision. Achieving unitary status offered optimism, but that has been tempered by a seemingly dysfunctional board and administration.
I'm encouraged by the strategic plan and implementation, as well as the prospect of an exceptional superintendent, but still believe the board, individually and collectively, should be bold and immediate in its vision and leadership. Just as our children shouldn't have to wait for ineffective teachers to become effective, the demographic trends of our district show that, without an immediate, dramatic change, our district will become one of only the economically disadvantaged, gaining no support from the larger community. It's no longer an issue of white flight; it's economic flight.
On another front, sports, band, drama and student government were key components of my own public school experience, so I am keenly interested in helping revive the district's extracurricular offerings and success. For example, one of the primary reasons the Little Rock School District doesn't engender school spirit and community support is that there is no middle school/high school coordination athletically. In successful districts, junior high and middle school coaches implement the systems of their respective high schools so athletes are not re-learning systems when becoming freshmen. It's not an issue of talent. Little Rock has the talent. It's all about the system. That's why Little Rock's private schools and Northwest Arkansas' public schools have now become the dominate athletic programs in the state
And lest anyone think that athletics and other extracurricular excellence are in competition with academic achievement, they should visit Dr. Fitz Hill and hear why athletics is a fundamental building block of Arkansas Baptist's miraculous success, particularly with African American men.
While I have yet to meet Mr. Nellums, I am acquainted with all other members of the board and understand the delicate political dynamics. My own sister-in-law was president of the Oakland, CA school board, so I am very aware of institutional, professional and individual resistance to meaningful change. I am reassured that everyone's ultimate goal is the same - world-class education for all children. It's the means to that end that trips everybody up.
My encouragement to you and your colleagues would be to clearly and consistently state your priorities and follow them with your every action. Roberts Elementary has empowered an army of motivated parents who will not accept status quo or a return to mediocrity. I would encourage every parent in the district to tour Roberts so they will be equally motivated for, and demanding of, quality.
Achievement and facilities gaps should never be narrowed by bringing down or limiting the strong, but by raising up the weak.
Finally, your own description of the Middle School Task Force rendered it inconsequential. With only two parents and a host of professional educators, its akin to putting together a customer focus group without meaningful input of the customers. At its root, that is why the public is so frustrated and disillusioned with the district. Smart, educated parents' eyes glaze over when constantly confronted with indecipherable educationese and bureaucracy. It's as if a clubby, Orwellian language has been invented to numb and disconnect those with the most at stake.
I consider myself a radical pragmatist, so I'm ready to serve in a meaningful way, whether from within or without.
As always, thank you for your consideration and service.
Sincerely,
Gary Newton
And then this response to another from Mr. Carreiro.
Wed, Feb 9, 2011 at 12:39 PM
Thank you, Jody. ... The Governor says it best: "Education and Economic Development are inseparable." In the past five years, Little Rock has had the greatest economic development success in our history. Just imagine what we will do in the next five with one of the highest performing urban school districts in the nation.
I then heard (twice) from and responded to Mr. Adams.
Wed, Feb 9, 2011 at 11:19 PM
Greg,
I would be very interested in knowing your specific priorities for the district so I can get a clearer sense of what has to happen before you vote for and encourage your colleagues to vote for the middle school.
The Middle School Task Force, as described last night, engenders no hope whatsoever, as it has no stated purpose, doesn't seem to meet, and consists almost exclusively of professional educators.
After your answers last night and your emails, I am disappointed that the representative of the very zone in which the school would be located is not its greatest, immediate, unqualified champion.
For the record, I've bought in - with my children in their fifth year of public school, five years of property taxes, and my chosen community and profession. However, that buy-in dictates that I will not support a continued patchwork approach to restoring the district. True change requires a bold, clear vision, with a pragmatic approach
to implementation.
The needs of the students should be the only priority. All other community interests will be properly served if the district truly becomes mission-centered on a world-class education for all children.
As always, thank you for your consideration and service. I'll look forward to working with you over the course of your term.
Sincerely,
Gary Newton
Last night (February 9, 2010), I sent a comparable initial email to the remaining five member of the Little Rock School District Board asking the same questions of them I did of Messrs. Carreiro and Adams.
Thu, Feb 10, 2011 at 12:02 AM
Members of the Board,
Last night, I and approximately 200 parents attended a meeting of the Roberts Elementary PTA, where your colleagues Adams and Carreiro discussed the proposed building of a new middle school in West Little Rock.
Unfortunately, I believe plans for the school were lumped into overall middle school performance in the district, and therefore, no clear answers were given on their respective positions on the construction of a new school.
So, I followed with an email to both Jody and Greg this morning asking the following questions. They answered promptly, so I write tonight asking the same questions of you.
[The rest is essentially the same as the initial email.]
