From the Journal Star:
A committee appointed to begin the search for District 150’s next superintendent will recommend the School Board hire . . . Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates to find a replacement for retiring Superintendent Ken Hinton.
This is the same search firm that was hired for nearly $20,000 in 2004 to find a replacement for ousted superintendent Kay Royster. But before they could complete their work, the District 150 board decided to hire Ken Hinton, even though he wasn’t qualified for the job at the time. The Journal Star reported on Feburary 1, 2005:
Without a public vote or notice, the District 150 School Board seems to have stopped searching for a new, permanent superintendent and has given its search firm the impression that the current superintendent arrangement will be permanent.
In a Jan. 29 e-mail response to the Journal Star stated that plans to bring superintendent candidates to Peoria for interviews have been dropped.
“We have a slate of competitive candidates we were planning to present to the board on Jan. 7 or thereafter,” he wrote.
“It is our understanding that will be the permanent arrangement. We regret that other candidates were not considered,” he stated. […]
A letter of agreement between the board and the search firm says the firm will be paid $19,500 plus expenses and does not contain a cancellation clause.
Schock said the board was still “looking into Hinton’s status. We’re finishing that up right now. Then the board will have a decision to make.”
Hinton has never completed the college courses required to be certified as a superintendent in Illinois, but several board members have expressed support for him to be named permanent superintendent.
Shortly after that, the board made it official. Here’s the Journal Star’s report from February 19, 2005:
The district hired a search firm to find candidates in September, but about three months later, some board members asked Hinton to consider the position. He began exploring his options and found the accelerated course at Western Illinois University. It starts March 11.
Board president Aaron Schock said the search firm’s contract will be terminated at Tuesday’s meeting. He said the firm performed half its duties and will get about $10,000.
Schock said he doesn’t consider this wasted money.
“I think it was the responsible thing for us to do at the time … (but) things change,” he said.
If the board hires this search firm (again) on the committee’s recommendation, I hope they let them complete their work this time. That was one of the most irresponsible decisions District 150 ever made — to throw $10,000 down the drain and hire someone unqualified for the job. Let’s hope that part of history doesn’t repeat itself.
Also of interest is that the choice of Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates was controversial in 2004 because of a past superintendent placement of theirs:
In November, the relationship between the search firm and some board members soured when they learned the search firm previously placed ousted Superintendent Kay Royster in her former job at Kalamazoo, Mich.
Let’s hope that part of history doesn’t repeat itself either!
I have come to distrust the “gene” pool of those looking for jobs as superintendents. If District 150 had more to offer, I think it would be a great idea to “lure” a successful superintendent away from his/her present job–a person not actively seeking a new job. Can I assume that this isn’t the same search firm that gave us Dr. Royster?
Sharon — That’s correct. Harold Webb Associates gave us Royster.
I agree with Sharon. Hard to imagine it will be easy to find a highly skilled candidate that would be attracted to the “opportunity” to lead District 150.
I realize that laws apply as to the qualifications needed to act as a Superintendant, but I think those laws should be changed. District 150 needs someone with more “street smarts” than “book smarts”. Someone who hasn’t had that awful fungus take over their brain as they slowly become immersed into administration and out of reality…
District 150 is not the place for superintendents to get on-the-job training.
I’m not suggesting we hire a dunce.
I’m suggesting we need someone with a proven track record of success in an urban school district.
How about common sense being a qualification! How about coming up with solutions that relate to things as they are instead of miracle cures steeped in educational jargon that have nothing at all to do with reality. Of course, I think that listening to teachers who have to face reality every day might be a new superintendent’s best way to find out what the real problems are. Then hopefully his/her common sense (more than any education degree) could head the district in the right direction. Oh, well, I can dream, can’t I?
I’m suggesting we need someone with a proven track record of success in an urban school district.
That’s a pretty generic statement, CJ. Would it be safe to say that the Bd of Ed thought they were doing just that when they hired the last two?
Well, Diane, we can’t all come up with such insightful and specific qualifications as “not a dunce.”
And no, I don’t think the Board of Education thought they were getting what I suggested when they hired Hinton because he hadn’t been a superintendent. How do you have a proven track record when, not only haven’t you been a superintendent, you’re not even qualified to be superintendent?
Yes, I believe the Board of Education was getting that when they hired Royster. The problems surrounding Royster’s tenure had nothing to do with the hiring criteria that was set by the board.
Yes, C.J., Dr. Royster did meet the criteria–I personally was quite impressed with her when I first met her, then when she made her first speech to us at the Civic Center, etc. Frankly, I believe that one of the main problems with Dr. Royster was, to some extent, the people she brought with her. She brought in her own regime of “academic officers.” At least, one of them didn’t have the certification to be an associate superintendent–thus the “academic officer” title (I believe). They were the ones who had the most contact with teachers, etc.–and the ones who really stormed in telling teachers and principals what to do, etc. Maybe they represented Dr. Royster’s own educational philosophy, but they did not present themselves as well as she did.
Perhaps it would be best not to have a whole “team” of people who are completely unfamiliar with Peoria, etc., to come in to do their own thing.
And I think that is where we differ. I believe we need to hire someone with a proven record of performance, but not necessarily a prior superintendant of schools. In fact, Chicago just hired a transportation manager or something weird like that. It would be interesting to see how he has been doing.
Yes, Diane, Chicago did just hire the transportation manager to be Superintendent of Schools and oh man, are people in Chicago pissed or what? Number one, transportation is a mess and that man is a good friend of Dailey’s. It’s your typical Chicago politics… we don’t want that here!
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/01/crowd-boos-new-chicago-schools-chief.html
Here’s more…. The man has never so much as been a substitute teacher, let alone a principal or admin of anything that has succeeded. CTA is deeper in debt than ever, so let’s look for someone with qualifications for Dist. 150.
http://hillbuzz.wordpress.com/2009/01/28/the-most-absurd-and-bizarre-thing-to-happen-in-chicago-today-had-nothing-to-do-with-blagojevich/
Last week, the schools under the umbrella of Peoria Regional Office of Education heard from Bill Daggett of the International Center for Educational Leadership. I was fortunate enough to have lunch with him and a few folks from the area.
His website: http://www.leadered.com/ (not promoting him, just noting the source)
He highlighted a school district across the river from Cambridge, MA that had extreme levels of poverty, something like 96% of the student body on free or reduced lunch, and which for years had been the bottom in measures of achievement. Per pupil spending was on the order of six or seven thousand. Contrast to the Cambridge school district, which had per pupil spending on the order of almost 20k.
There was reform, the was accountability, and there was improvement. The district was willing to look past traditional education culture and find ways to improve. The catalyst was ALUMNI fed up with the district’s culture. The school outperforms most in the state now, including the Cambridge district (if you believe Mr. Daggett, I’ve not verified yet).
As an investor in the district, I would like to see someone from outside education come in and lead the organization. What’s wrong with a successful MBA or the like coming in to lead a 200 million dollar service delivery organization? I think the key would be to have a strong number two, specializing in education. I’ve long thought it a product of education culture to assume one must be an educator to lead an educational organization. It helps, but by no means is it necessary, especially if you surround yourself with competent lieutenants.
Daggett talked about how this school actually increased class size by giving the load to three or four teachers on a pay for performance system. They got a group of kids, taught them in an inter-disciplinary style, and test scores came up. The teachers were provided performance pay based on base-line assessment improvement. The teachers actually asked from more students. My wife did a similar project in the Elgin school district while she was there, absent the pay for performance.
The point is IF beating your head against the same wall produces pain, WHY would you think continuing to beat your head against the same wall should produce different results? So what if someone is “certified” as a school superintendent. That certification is a product of education and by no means guarantees anything. My larger point is simply we should be open minded through the search committee’s process in identifying the qualities the public wants in a superintendent. I’d like to see someone with sharp business skills. Obviously others want someone strong in educational policy. Lets see what develops.
MAWB – OK scratch my Chicago reference. I’ll come up with a better example.
Eric, I believe that a superintendent with business acumen alone will not produce a viable educational system. However, your idea to have a “strong” number two with an education background might work–or vice versa. Education is not the typical management-labor situation. In the case of education, the labor (the teachers) generally have as much education as do the administrators. In fact, many teachers hold type 75 certificates. Besides teachers now what reality is. Yes, maybe teachers resist change–especially when it doesn’t make sense to them. A good leader would have the ability to bring the teachers along with his/her good ideas–using persuasion rather than just announcing the change and saying “take it or leave it”–which is the present administrative attitude.
“District 150 is not the place for superintendents to get on-the-job training.”
I agree. It isn’t the place for teachers to get on the job training either. Nor is it the place for students to get on the job the training…
Now that we agree on that…
WHAT IS District 150? What is the position of Superintendent SUPPOSED to be?
Just google “job description school superintendent” and you ‘ll get a list of stuff.
For example:
“JOB GOAL: To manage the school system and to provide leadership according to the school district’s vision.”
Duh… but what does that entail… read it carefully. There is nothing that requires any education or experience EXCEPT being able to take notes and sit in on other experts’ meetings.
“I. Relationship with School Committee
* Attends and participates in meetings of the School Committee.
* Informs and advises the School Committee about the programs, practices, and problems of the schools, as well as activities operating under the authority of the School Committee.
* Implements School Committee policies; advises the School Committee when he/she identifies the need to add, modify, or delete a policy.
* Submits recommendations to the School Committee relative to matters requiring School Committee action, supported by data and information as necessary to make informed decisions.
* Recommends, annually, to the School Committee system-wide goals. Monitors and reports back to the Committee, at least semi-annually, on the progress toward achieving the goals.
* Works with the School Committee to develop a vision for the district and a comprehensive long-range plan.
II. Budget
* Prepares annual operating budget recommendations based on guidelines set by the School Committee. Works with the School Committee to develop the final budget. Implements the approved budget.
III. Educational Leadership & Curriculum
* Keeps informed of current curricular and educational thoughts, trends, and practices, as well as proposed legislation impacting the schools. Informs the School Committee of significant developments in these areas.
* Oversees development and implementation of objectives and long-range plans for curriculum and instructional evaluation and improvement.
* Assures continuous study and revision of curriculum guides and courses of study.
IV. Personnel
* Hires all administrators.
* Ensures the hiring of qualified and competent personnel.
* Assigns, transfers, and promotes employees as the interests of the school system may indicate.
* Assures professional development opportunities are provided to the school staff.
* Assures systematic performance evaluation of school personnel and takes necessary actions regarding any employee whose performance is judged to be unsatisfactory.
* Holds such meetings of school personnel as are necessary for discussion of matters related to the welfare and improvement of the schools.
* Oversees employee relations in the school system.
V. Facilities
* Hires manager of facilities.
* Determines, with the School Committee, short and long-range building needs and oversees implementation of construction, operation and maintenance programs.
VI. General Management
* Takes necessary steps to assure the safety and welfare of students and employees in the schools and at school sponsored activities. Also takes action to assure the safety of students in transit to and from school.
* Maintains records for the schools, including financial accounts, business and property records, personnel, scholastic, and school population records. Acts as custodian of such records and of all contracts, documents, securities, title papers, books, and other papers of the School Committee.
VII. Communications/Public Relations
* Maintains open lines of communication and cooperative working relationships with other boards and departments of town government, including Town Meeting. When appropriate, attends meetings of town agencies at which matters relating to the school system appear on the agenda or are expected to be raised.
* Maintains open lines of communication and cooperative relationships with school staff, the School Committee, parents and the community at-large.
(Performs other appropriate tasks which may be assigned by the School Committee.)”
In other words… he or she is merely a suit. A “haircut” as they say in the TV news business. Let’s not go over board looking for Jesus, Mohammad or Buddha to come save our schools. (sorry, or Moses, Confucius, Krishna, Zeus, Osiris, or anyone else) when all we really need is someone who is interested in being a spokesperson.
My Masters in Education and life experience makes me MORE than qualified to handle that over paid haircut job.
here: check out this pompous bullcrap description from New York (HA! CEO)
http://www.superintendentofschools.com/File_Cabinet/Superintendent_-_Job_Description.html
here’s another from Columbia, Georgia:
http://www1.ccboe.net/HR/JobDescriptions03-04/Superintendent-Rev.%207-03.pdf
from Salary.com you get a concise description:
Job Description
Superintendent
Determines overall academic strategy and goals for a school district. Establishes, plans, and directs the policies, procedures and programs for the school district. May require a Ph.D in education with at least 10 years of experience in the field. Generally manages a group of exempt and/or nonexempt employees. Relies on experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals. Typically reports to a school board.
Other than the explicit 10 years of experience and a PhD requirement, what exactly is difficult about this qualifying for this job? Sit down with your “highly qualified and experienced” staff, listen to their recommendations and pass them on to the board. A compact voice tape recorder to do the job.
What we need a search company for is the school board and school planning committees. Hell, George W. Bush proved that anyone can be a Chief Executive Officer.
Sorry…
just google the job descriptions from around the country…
“The Superintendent directs the administration in order to manage the School District and to facilitate the implementation of a quality educational program in alignment with Board policy 1:30, School District Philosophy. The administrative staff is responsible for implementing the District’s Strategic Plan. Specific goals and objectives are to:
….the list is irrelevant.
The Superintendent shall develop an organizational chart indicating the channels of authority and reporting relationships for school personnel. These channels should be followed, and no level should be by-passed except in unusual situations.
All personnel should refer matters requiring administrative action to the responsible administrator, and may appeal a decision to a higher administrative officer. Whenever possible, each employee should be responsible to only one immediate supervisor. Where this is not possible, the division of responsibility must be clear.
The Superintendent is the District’s executive officer and is responsible for the administration and management of the District schools in accordance with Board of Education policies and directives, and State and federal law. The Superintendent is authorized to develop administrative procedures and take other action as needed to implement Board of Education policy and otherwise fulfill his or her responsibilities.
The Superintendent may delegate to other District staff members the exercise of any powers and the discharge of any duties imposed upon the Superintendent by Board of Education policies or by Board vote. The delegation of power or duty, however, shall not relieve the Superintendent of responsibility for the action that was delegated.”
He is a director of people who are supposed to know what they are doing… he is an executive… one who carries out others’ programs and policies. All he needs is a good public image and a nice haircut… you know, like the Mayor’s job in Peoria. It is the City Manager that has to know what he is doing.
Somehow we got the idea that it is the executive’s job to MAKE POLICY. It isn’t. It isn’t in our government, it isn’t in our businesses, it shouldn’t be in our schools.
Erik – That is exactly where I was going. Thanks for stating it a little more clearly. People that can turn struggling organizations around possess skills that can be applied in multiple settings. Of course there would be a learning curve, but there would be a learning curve for anyone coming new into the district. (maybe more learning that they bargained for! Lol!)
…one additional thought, there could be a case made for someone who has NOT been immersed in public education administration. I think we can all agree that D150 will need a significant shake-up to affect any substantial change.
Erik: I do believe you make another valid point. I am not at all certain that the education departments of our universities are training teachers and/or administrators adequately. Unlike when I received my education degree from Bradley, the English Department is now offering course(s)?? that expose English teaching majors to effective ways to teach writing, etc. I believe that if each of the disciplines offered such courses, teachers might be better prepared to teach their subject matter. The same would hold true for administrators–they probably should take courses in the business department of the university, etc. Perhaps these departments could offer courses geared to those who are education majors, etc. I guess that I’m stepping on some toes here, but I believe teachers and administrators would be better served by taking courses from the “specialists” rather than by teachers in the education department–those who probably received their own advanced degrees from education departments.
Maybe our universities need to take a closer look at how teachers and administrators are educated.
Erik: Am I wrong in assuming that education departments have lobbied the system so that courses in their departments–rather than courses in more specialized areas–are required for certificates for teachers, administators, and superintendents? Is it even possible for an MBA or an English major to become a superintendent of District 150?
Also, if merit pay were to be instituted, something like what you propose could be fair. If a teacher is judged by whether or not he/she can raise the levels of the students in a specific class. For instance, if a high school student is reading at 6th grade level, raising the student’s reading level to anything above that level would determine merit pay, etc. Certainly, comparing a teacher of low ability students to a teacher of high-performing students is not fair–that’s what NCLB asks of teachers.
Sharon,
Education is a closed culture. not much is freely shared, in my opinion. Like it’s so complex the silly public would never understand, so why bother. On the other hand, it is complex. The federal government complicates sovereign state mandates to provide education; it’s costly to divest from federal intervention and its costly to continue to comply with federal rules for funding. The per pupil expenditure disparity is so wide, and so deep between schools – sometimes only miles apart – it’s heartbreaking. It’s also a strangely difficult field to get into and then established.
Lets see, on average, four or five years of college including subject specific and education related course. One year of indentured servitude with the whole student-teacher scam. If you’re lucky enough to get into a district without spending a year killing yourself as a sub for as many districts as you can, you are often RIF’d for the first two or three years. Your career spans three decades, sometimes in the same building. Wonderful kids come and go, helping parents come and go, but generally, it’s an annual uphill battle, filled with frustration after frustration, heartbreak, exhilarating breakthroughs, and moments of pride that would make your heart burst.
It’s very seniority driven. You have little mobility. Spending ten years teaching in one district can mean nothing in another. If your significant other has a job offer in another state? Forget teaching for a while as you go through the administrative rigmarole of certification.
Teachers struggle to find a toehold for innovation. Administrators adopt such deeply entrenched bureaucracies, they become anti-taxpayer and anti-innovation by their construct. Grant dollars found by teachers are stolen by administrations. Teachers struggle to communicate with the public.
Conversely, administrators struggle to find a toehold for innovation. “Try something new with MY kids?!?!?!” I think NOT, shouts the maybe disproportionately under informed parent, worried maybe a tad too much about the kids who may not look like theirs. AND, school law ain’t. no. joke.
As an investor (I have a distaste for the term taxpayer, I think it’s too often used pejoratively, so I denote what I am, an investor in public services) of education, both locally, and nationally, I’m frustrated by all facets. Teachers point fingers at administration. Administration points fingers at teachers. They both point their fingers at poverty, federal interference, lax labor laws, stringent labor laws, etc., etc. And through it all the investors – the folks footing the bills – are in the middle and viewed as an afterthought until more money or supplies for the classroom is needed.
Conversely, schools have to deal with discipline and safety issues, kids who for all practical purposes are parent-less, drugs, disrespect, etc. so when that kid or group of kids does come along who show promise, it’s a challenge to push them. Kids on both sides of the mean suffer. Those on the left of the bell curve often don’t get the specialized services they need, and those on the right of the bell curve often find themselves sitting around waiting for everyone to catch up. Teaching itself is hamstrung by class structure. Kids go from 50 minutes of math, to 50 minutes of English, to 50 minutes of social science without any correlation to how math can be applied to social science, and how English (language, rhetoric, whatever…), links it all together; interdisciplinary studies? What’s that…
The actual campuses develop caste systems of their own. If not class, than outright racial or social segregation. In all that, teachers, administrators, parents, the community at-large, kids, etc., etc…we all try to cope.
I don’t fault the education lobby, but sooner or later, as a very dear friend states it, we approach a tipping point. The point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible, often with dramatic consequences. This demands an unconventional response…it’s not good enough to leave it to education. We need something on the community level and I think the longer we sit around and wait for the board of education to figure it out, or make it someone else’s problem, the longer we will be mired in this condition.
This is what I said to Bill Daggett last Friday in front of the assembled group. And it’s how I feel. So I trust you see it as that, my opinion.
Il. law requires a superintendent to have said certification. There is a program through SIU that allows an individual without teaching credentials but an appropriate level of education and managerial experience (cannot remember the exact mix) to go through an academic program leading to a superintendent certificate. The program was designed several years ago to achieve exactly what some have discussed here, bring someone with business and leadership acumen into education leadership.
The hitch in the program, as I recall, is that a candidate going through such a program must be sponsored, i.e. employed by an educational institution during the process. So . . . in District 150s case, it could hire someone promising as its business manager or treasurer, etc. and that person would perform duties for the District and receive “on the job training” in education administration while simultaneously earning a superintendent certificate. I think the program is designed so that much of its content is delivered on the weekends and possibly some Fridays. Again, it has been a while since I looked at the program.
While I think the District should utilize a professional search firm to locate experienced superintendent candidates, I think the Board should simultaneously, at least consider local business talent that could, in time fill the bill by obtaining a certificate from SIU. My concern with hiring someone local is that the process will not be objective and a “who you know” screening mechanism will be employed and the District will end up with the same compromised leadership that it already has.
As someone mentioned previously, whomever they hire for Superintendent, the Board cannot saddle the new leader with some of the same administrators that are currently in place. The Board really needs to use this current economic climate as a means to clean house and begin fresh.
Erik – Well stated blog. I think public education has already reached a tipping point. It no longer works, except in homogenous situations. Charter schools, private schools, and homeschooling are the rage. My daughter just did a research paper on homeschooling. Public education should be hugely concerned with its rapid growth and resultant drain on state dollars. Her research revealed that colleges, even elite ones, are creating new methods of evaluating homeschooled applicants and like what they see.
Public education cannot continue its “one size fits all” education methodology, because as you stated it really does not address the needs of either the students that struggle nor those students that are academically capable.
there are a number of alternative certification processes and schools which offer:
http://www.isbe.net/profprep/PDFs/alternate.pdf
For instance, I could get chief school business official certification within a year, once hired by a district.
I think there are a lot of teachers in D150 who should consider stepping up and competing for the district’s open CFO position. It’s this moment of opportunity that needs to be grabbed. The district pays employees to advance their education, so this is the perfect opportunity to retrun the investment of the community by stepping up and assuming a role of leadership.
In that regard, I’m obviously supportive of someone local. There is actually a shortage of finance folks in local government. When I left the suburbs a few years back to take a city administrator position, it took my old community close to a year to fill the position. It’s becoming common.
By George, I think you’ve all “got it”.
But Erik, the program that I am familiar with is not one in which you can annoint yourself. A school district has to identify someone as a candidate with potential and agree to employ and mentor the individual in a lesser leadership position within the organization while they are completing the schooling leading to certifcation.
I am confused? Why would a teacher be a strong CFO candidate? I thought the whole idea of this was to select someone from industry with the right technical experience, i.e. accounting, finance and then provide the educational administration knowledge and skills on the back side.
I’m didn’t mean to imply one could anoint oneself. If you look at the requirements for alternative certification, one must have master level education or life experience equivalence. I have a master degree. When I write “I could…”, I mean under the provisions of the statute, I am eligible for entering into the three phases of alternate certification (but *I* have no plans to, ever.)
I’m not familiar with the method you describe, where a district must employ someone in a lesser position, in fact, as I read the document I posted, the opposite is true; after a year of course work, they employ you in that position for a year and then do a performance audit. It’s in the document I linked. There are three phases.
I mention a teacher being a strong CFO candidate because it is my experience many teachers pursue Type 75 certification through district tuition reimbursement programs and with that, once employed in the position, would only be a year away from chief position credentials. Take a business or accounting teacher from Manual, or Central, or wherever (remember, they have bachelor degrees in business), and if they’ve done their type 75 work, (which would include master level work of planning, organizations and finance) and if they have an ability to communicate the story numbers tell, hire them. Finance isn’t that complicated. Communicating finance is damned complicated.
The discussion of looking outside education, at least in my thoughts, was specifically limited to the superintendent level where executive acumen is more important.
ERIK: District 150 under Royster told me specifically they “knew nothing about alternative certification” and even if they did (after I promised to get them the information) they wouldn’t use it. I have an MA in Education, all of the certification courses and teach at the Junior College level AND was a refused consideration with the District because I wouldn’t student teach. “WON’T WORK FOR FREE??? BE GONE!” (The response from Hinton’s administration has been no better…)
NIU informed me that the alt cert program they have is only for their Masters’ students… I already have a Masters and was told… “You have to get another one”.
In actuality, the alternative certification program is a Chicago politics type “How can I give my idiot brother-in-law a job” program.